Lamashtu: The Bells of Saint Mary's Tower

Lamashtu: The Bells of Saint Mary's Tower was the third and final instalment of the original Lamashtu Trilogy following Daemonium and The Blood Hunter.

## Episode

Lincoln Cathedral stands proudly over the Lincoln City skyline, on the ground Lamashtu can be seen walking up to it as the spirit of Constance, who stands at the top of the main tower of Lincoln Cathedral and is seen in the spirit world as a overseer, has requested to see him, she explains to him that it seems the spirit of a dead nun has been causing havoc in the church causing petty and minor disturbances during opening hours and when big events are on - Constance wishes for Lamashtu to investigate which, like many times before, he accepts.

Before he heads downstairs to begin the "contract" he asks "Did you get any more information or do you want me to find out myself?" Constance responds, "I got no further information - I requested a meeting with you specifically because of that, I don't think the cause of the disturbances is human." Lamashtu smirks "I would be disappointed if it was - I'll go inside and take a look - this place of worship is your home after all." and with that he uses a portal to go from the main tower to the door not wanting to attract attention.

After checking to find the main doors unlocked, Lamashtu decides instead to enter through the visitor centre, he walks around aimlessly for a few minutes before climbing some stairs and finding himself on a balcony overlooking the glorious building's main hall, he says to himself seemingly taken back by it all "This place has so many stories, it's a wonder things are only being reported now yet paranormal stories surrounding this place have been shared for centuries" he walks to the area where the choir practice, the area itself looks almost Coliseum-esque with choir seats surrounding an open area on the floor and with balcony's all around it, it is here Lamashtu senses two spirits: one is of a nun who maybe the one Constance told him about and the second seems to be a young man - he appears to be high on drugs and he is ranting incoherently about being surrounded by evil, how he can sense it, smell it, and how he can't escape as there is no way out however the second spirit is of no interest to Lamashtu.

Lamashtu continues exploring and finds himself at the Bishop's Eye, an infamous stained glass window high in the Cathedral's stone work, his fixed gaze is broken however when a man dressed in a cassock suddenly appears in front of him and he says "I am sorry, but could you please not touch the stained glass?" Lamashtu bluntly replies "It's too high up for anyone to touch" the man disagrees. "You must not touch the stained glass, it is part of our religion, it is a sacred and holy area for us, it is forbidden to touch the window." Lamashtu rolls his eyes and scoffs "I have heard you talk for a few seconds and I immediately find you annoying." The man replies "I am warning you, touching the window will cause great harm to you and many others." Lamashtu seemingly grows tired of the man but clearly disapproves of his threat - "Who are you to threaten me?" he coldly says.

The man says "My name is Father Patrick, and I am part of the Catholic church" Lamashtu has a look on his face that is somewhat amused by this in a strange way "Sucks to be you then because this place is not for Catholic worship" he says with a great sense of sarcasm - Father Patrick says "This place was built over 500 years ago, many different religions have their place in this building and the spirit of this place is that of everyone who ever walked these halls." Lamashtu replies "In that case, I got tipped off by someone that there's a nun walking these halls causing problems - you wouldn't know who she is would you?" Father Patrick does not answer - "Silent treatment suggests you do" Lamashtu says almost goading the man into saying something however Father Patrick suddenly disappears leaving Lamashtu unimpressed, "Damn spirits" he grumbles and then continues through the cathedral ending up at an area of lit candles "The light of the flame - to remember all the people this city has lost" you say before examining some of the stone pillars - as he looks at the pillars he notices strange markings and symbols have seemingly replaced what was once there however he can't make them out "That's wrong, they shouldn't be like that" he says confused as he begins to sense a presence in the room - he turns around only to see a woman dressed in red robes staring at him from the shadows.

"You are the cause of our torment, you are the reason why we cannot ascend to heaven, you are like the sun that blinds us" she says cryptically - Lamashtu senses a rather unhinged tone in her voice as she speaks, she continues: "Constance has seen fit to bless the land of the living with your presence, we will feast upon your flesh and drink your blood as we feast upon the blood of the innocent." Lamashtu simply says "You get an A+ for being dramatic" he doesn't get a response however as she turns and leaves the room, leaving him confused and slightly unsettled - "That must be my target" Lamashtu says to himself cautiously following the figure, as he creeps closer he sees the robed woman sitting on a stone alter, she slowly turns her head and appears to smile, she stands up and says "Your tricks have grown boring, come closer so I can feast on your blood" only for Lamashtu to say "I'm not boring and honestly I doubt you've even heard of me" in an exaggerated way however the woman doesn't respond "I thought as much" Lamashtu shrugs as he moves towards the altar, he is about three feet away when the woman decides to leap at him as she lets out a growl in a rather threatening manner, Lamashtu says "I'm pretty sure nuns are supposed to be helpers - yet I can see why the humans choose you for horror movie villains and honestly your not helping that stereotype" she full on charges at him following this comment causing Lamashtu to throw a fireball at the woman which instead of just hitting her engulfs her as she screams in pain and fury as Lamashtu watches this strange turn of events however as he does this he feels what can only be described as the cold touch of death "There's something behind me isn't there?" he says to himself.

He turns around to see the nun staring at him, she finally speaks again her voice full of sadness "I'm sorry, your quest has ended, you have failed" before disappearing from sight - Lamashtu says "It must be one of those days" before heading back up the main tower to see Constance, she stands there anticipating his arrival.

"The reason I have let you see me, is that I have need of you" she says dryly to Lamashtu who clearly has no time for her riddled messages "Look, I found the nun but she knows of you and what you do - is that normal for you or something I should take into account?" he asks, Constance replies in a rather intelligent way "It is not unusual for us to know of others in the world, but it is unusual for other spirits to have knowledge of potential clients of us overseer spirits - I do not know why she didn't know of you, only seems logical that she was expecting you to come here and she did not wish to kill you when you came" she then sets Lamashtu a task "Find the cause of her death and find a way to defeat her but be warned there maybe more Lamashtu." she then disappears as Lamashtu heads back down the spiral staircase.

Upon walking through the Cathedral, a smell fills the various rooms it is foul and stinky and is almost overwhelming and appears to be coming from where the nun was originally at the stone altar, Lamashtu investigates and looks down only to realize that a rat has been chewing on the remains of a nun, there is a trail of blood leading from the altar to an area where the rats nest is located.rail of blood leading from the altar to an area where the rats nest is located. "So it was a very recent death but this is a place of worship..." Lamashtu says questioning what he is seeing - he ponders for a while until a bloodcurdling scream can be heard from somewhere in the Cathedral, he walks up the spiral stairs to Constance and asks if she made the noise but she doesn't respond causing Lamashtu to awkwardly go back inside, upon doing so he finds a wooden chest in the corner of the room it is rather dusty yet he opens it anyway to find it filled to the brim with coins and jewels - Lamashtu questions what he is seeing again "If the method was robbery, why not take all this and to the point why kill someone in cold blood in a place of worship" all of a sudden a cold hand touches his shoulder, he turns around to see Constance who has left her post at the top of the Cathedral she says "Your quest has ended, you have failed" she then says "Your time with me has ended" before disappearing leaving Lamashtu confused.

Upon hearing this cryptic message Lamashtu takes his mind off the case for the time being and ponders that he has learned some things during his time under Constance and it has arguably made him a better person (as better as he can be) and dragged him from a very dark place but at the same time he wonders whats going on, he doesn't get much time though as the nun in the red robes once again appears quite a distance away from him pointing at him.

Lamashtu points at the corpse in the room "Is this you by any chance?" The Nun replies "No, it is not" Lamashtu then points at the wooden chest "Is this yours?" The Nun replies "How did you know?" Lamashtu explains "The symbols on these coins are the same ones that have been engraved into the stone pillars over there" The Nun then says "I know who you are, I know what you do" Lamashtu scoffs "Your cryptic threats earlier suggest you don't but I'm willing to hear what you think" The Nun beckons him closer "Come closer to me so I can see you properly" Lamashtu walks over to the Nun and is almost too close as he stands face to face with her.The Nun says menacingly "I'll make this quick, there are many spirits out there who wish me harm, and they know of me, know what I do and they know that there is a price on my head" she then tries to grab Lamashtu and stop him from seeing anything else, he easily overpowers her and sees a horrible sight, the nun is covered in a green sticky substance and her mouth and eyes are sewn shut, Lamashtu immediately knows what this is "Your nothing but a corpse yourself..." he says almost uncharacteristically grossed out and shook by whats happening.

The Nun says "For centuries I have been kept alive with the crypts of my enemies, I have survived by feeding on them and drinking their blood, it is pure torture" her voice becomes echoey as it is clear she isn't talking from her mouth anymore.

Lamashtu says "How do you feed? you don't look to be in the shape to do so" he questions- The Nun replies "I don't...not anymore, why do you think I ended up like this?" Lamashtu says "Then here's a better question, why are you still here? something to do with that other nun's corpse over there I assume" The Nun's voice once again echoes around the cathedral halls "Well that's the thing, I think I was supposed to do something with her corpse." Lamashtu looks confused "Someone told you to kill her I assume" The Nun says "Well not exactly, I think it was more like a message" - Lamashtu is clearly trying to put the pieces struggling and says in a rather annoyed tone "Hold on..." but the Nun interrupts him seemingly changing the subject almost reading his mind as she says  "I think you've been following orders and doing what you think needs to be done, I think it's time for you to break free from this, you have a quest to finish."

Lamashtu almost snaps "Don't change the subject or get cryptic again, what happened to that nun over there?" The Nun replies "She died, she passed away and passed me her corpse..." Lamashtu's face remains unamused "How?" The Nun responds like its normal "What do you mean 'how' she did it with her mind, left her body, passed on, all these things are possible, don't you think I do that too?" Lamashtu says "If you could have done it yourself you would have done it already, something is keeping you here."

All of a sudden two hands can be seen pressing against The Nun's head , she becomes less solid, more ghostly until she vanishes from in front of him - Lamashtu says, now on high alert, "That's a banishing spell..."

"Yes it is" Constance says appearing from nowhere "You we're taking too long" - Lamashtu responds "I was conducting an investigation" - "You were playing around" Constance says in return "The next one will be your last" she remarks - Constance then uses her ghostly hands to grab Lamashtu by the neck and she begins to apply pressure, Lamashtu begins to choke "What...the...fuck...is this?" Constance orders "Shut up and let me finish, I won't ask you again" she then squeezes with all of her might until Lamashtu's face turns purple and his tongue comes out of his mouth, Lamashtu weakly says "Why?" - "You will find out soon enough" Constance says "In fact here it is, look through that window."

She then grabs his head and forces his face up to a stained glass window nearby, Lamashtu then starts to see things, he sees the city, he sees people, he even sees what appears to be ghosts - Constance continues "You must be wondering what I'm showing you...I'm showing you the people of this city and the amount of ghosts in this city, there are so many ghosts here that they have made this city their home, if you're wondering why I took you in it's because it was the right thing to do, but now...you're just too...how do I say this?...human now a days."

Lamashtu tries to elbow Constance in the face in rage, Constance doesn't flinch however as she simply uses her ghostly strength and keeps Lamashtu's head pressed up against the window - Lamashtu snaps and tells her a harsh truth "I don't know what's coming out of your mouth but if you think I've become too human, it's only because YOU MADE ME DO SO" Lamashtu tries to elbow her again, Constance remains as calm as ever and keeps Lamashtu in place until his elbow connects with her ghostly face, Constance responds by spitting blood out of the corner of her mouth.

Lamashtu falls to the floor, Constance then says "Your in no shape to challenge me Lamashtu, especially if you want answers." Lamashtu snaps "Don't goad me you two faced bitch" Constance says in a happy tone "Good, I was actually hoping you would say something like that" Constance then grabs Lamashtu once more and slams him against the wall - Constance stands over Lamashtu "Your wrong you know, I didn't make you the person you are now, you chose to be like this, if I pushed you into being too human, why didn't you save yourself? Lamashtu says weakly "You've heard the stories, you know who I am, you know what I've done - I was looking for redemption following my exile, a chance at forgiveness but at the same time thinking of the revenge I would get on those that wronged me...and you just made that list."

Constance remains unimpressed "That's not nice" she mockingly says before walking circles around the downed Lamashtu, she stops in front of Lamashtu and presses her ghostly hand against his forehead, she says slowly "I'm not here to kill you, I'm not here to punish you, I'm not here to judge you, all I'm asking for is for your understanding." Lamashtu says "Go to hell Constance, you have erased any emotions I had for you" Constance smiles "I know, your mind has gotten the best of you, but that's because you've always held on to emotions for the wrong reasons" Constance continues to smile "I'm not here to fill your void that's been left behind, I'm not here to make you feel better, I'm not here to make you feel justified" Constance says "I'm here to save you, I'm here to save all of the outcasts, I'm here to show them mercy, I'm here to show you mercy" Lamashtu gets on his knees and shows her both middle fingers, Lamashtu then points behind him causing Constance to turn around where she sees a shadow of a demonic creature on the wall, she holds onto her head like her brain can't comprehend what's she seeing - she turns back around to see that Lamashtu has recovered and tries to punch her square in the face out of rage, Constance stops him though and slaps him hard in his face.Constance says "You've been marked" Constance then points to her own head, she says "I've been changed" - Lamashtu puts his hands together "Explain before I turn you into a spiritual barbeque" Constance puts her hands up "Why should I? I'm thoroughly entertained" she then grabs Lamashtu and knocks him back against the wall once again.

Constance continues to hit Lamashtu "I'm only entertaining myself because you're in no position to challenge me" Lamashtu smiles sinisterly "Is that so?" he then grabs her head and channels his fire abilities to go to his hands, Constance laughs "You've got potential if you work on your control" Constance then grabs his hands and stops him. Constance continues to hit and punch Lamashtu in the face. She says "You should know by now though, that I'm the one that has control" Constance smiles "You'll find though that I don't give up control easily" Constance stops and lets go of his hands, she says "I was hoping though, that you'd try to fight me."

In response, Lamashtu walks up to Constance and uses a hidden blade for an attack on her, the hidden blade comes out of his sleeve and comes straight towards Constance, in one fluid motion she grabs it and twists his arm around so that the hidden blade is pointing in diagonal towards Lamashtu's chest however Lamashtu uses his other hand to blind her with a fireball, Constance is thrown to the side and falls to the ground unconscious, Lamashtu uses his powers to fire a fireball straight at her. He says "I don't need to be saved by you anymore" before launching a stream of fire at the spirit, Constance is burned badly and lies on the floor dying, Lamashtu then turns around and walks up the spiral staircase to Constance's post and looks out over the city - The sight of it all causes him to smile for the first time in a long time his eyes and his face shows a look of satisfaction - he whispers to himself regarding what has just happened "I told her not to goad me."

He heads back downstairs out of curiosity to see if Constance is still on the floor dead or alive and is met with the sight of her lying on the floor. Her face is charred and her hair is smouldering. Her eyes are wide opened and she is gasping for air - Lamashtu crouches down "I think we have learnt something today" he states like he's leading some kind of therapy session - Constance wheezes out "L-L-Lamashtu" - Lamashtu smiles and says "Yes, I am still here" Constance continues to gasp for air and grabs Lamashtu as if begging for his help.Lamashtu kneels by Constance and like she said to him "I'm not here to judge you, I'm not here to punish you, I'm here to show you mercy" Constance looks at Lamashtu and continues to plead for him to help her "L-L-L-L-L-L-Lamashtu."

Lamashtu says rather philosophically "You see thats what you said to me, I dont know why your expecting me to help you - you betrayed my trust, you betrayed our connection, you betrayed what it means to be an overseer and for what cause? to get one up on me because you didn't want me around anymore?" Constance continues to mouth words that Lamashtu can't hear as she is still struggling for breath.

"There is only one thing that I can do for you" Lamashtu continues and proceeds to takes Constance up to her post on the main tower of the Cathedral and look out at the city as the sun rises, once there Lamashtu sits next to her and says "Look at it, look at the sun rise" the very weak Constance looks at it in awe as she hasn't seen a sunrise in decades, Constance opens her mouth to say something but can't muster the energy.

Lamashtu puts his hand on Constance's forehead and he says "Thank you...for showing me the way, you betrayed me in the end but it doesn't matter whose side your on so long as there's mercy" Constance closes her eyes and dies peacefully in Lamashtu's arms as the Cathedral bell chimes, Lamashtu then places Constance down by her post and watches as Constance's spirit disappears finally being put to rest after decades of being at the top of the historic momument. Lamashtu bows his head out of respect then he heads down the stairs from the Cathedral to the street as once again the Cathedral chimes with Lamashtu exclaiming "The Bells of Saint Mary's chime for another day" before walking out of sight and on to wherever life takes him next.

## Characters

* Lamashtu
* Constance King
* Ghosts