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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3054316" data-attributes="member: 3448">Lady Constance and the priest returned, entering without knocking over the protests of one of the Archducal Guards until Dame Brionna gestured at him to return to his post.  The priest and the diabolist continued bickering, although increasingly good-naturedly, until they stood directly before the Council.  “Your grace, this is the thought demon.”  Lady Constance held forth a small crystal jar, filled with a swirling grey mist.  “Once it is opened, I will force it to answer your questions before it is dismissed.”“Aurelia and her baby are well?”  asked Dame. Brionna.“They are,” responded the priest.  “It was a weak creature, well within my powers to cast out.”“How many questions will we be able to ask?” asked Alistair.“Eight, your grace.  And they should have simple answers.  While I can compel it to answer any questions, it is unlikely to understand more difficult questions.”The group discussed for some time before assembling a list of questions that satisfied them.Alistair nodded to Lady Constance who drew a pentagram on the floor, and then shattered the jar on the stone floor and began chanting.  “In the name of Tasha of the Teeth and Lilith, Queen of Hell, I command you.  Answer these questions truthfully and fully as best as you can.”“Who is your master?”A clear thought sounded in the heads of all who were present, with a slightly unpleasant feel to it.  <<The Archdemon known as the Devourer of Light.>>“Who summoned you?”  <<The archmaga Drusilla.>>“How many other thought demons were summoned?”<<One.>>“Are there other types of demons that you work with?”<<Yes.>>“What types?”<<Two great battle tanar’ii, mightier than any I have see.>>“Where are they?”<<They ride two others until we recite the manifesting phrase that will manifest them on the Prime.>>“Who are the people they ride?”<<Two infants within this city.>>“What is the timing on their manifestation?”<<When I had all the information I was sent to find.>>With each passing question, the thought demon swirled outwards ever further.  When the eighth question had been asked, it pressed at the very edges of the magical barriers Lady Constance had created.  She gestured at the demon.  “Now learn what it is to oppose me, and suffer the wrath of Lilith, Queen of Hell, and get thee back to the Abyss.”  She twisted her hand as the portal opened and the form of the demon unraveled so that only a lowly larva passed through to the Abyss.  “You need not worry that it will report anything that it has not already, your grace.  That larva retains nothing of what it once knew.”“What do you know of the Devourer of Light, Lady Constance?” asked Dame Brionna.“You must recall that demons are beyond my main area of expertise.  I have heard its name, so it must be powerful, although I do not recall any details.  It is likely a Baron or Count, from what little I remember.  I would have to consult my texts to learn more.”“Please do so, Lady Constance,” replied Alistair.  “And thank you for your aid.  Before you leave, there is one more matter we would like to ask your assistance with.  There is a young man under a geas, and we hoped you could remove it.”Lady Constance nodded, and they led Wade back in.  Wade looked terrified as Lady Constance cast a spell to see the magic effect upon him, although oddly he seemed terrified by any magic being cast on him, not merely because of Lady Constance’s unsavory reputation.  As she looked at him, her mouth fell open.  “Great powers of Darkness and of Light...”  Dame Brionna noted that she had never befor heard Lady Constance invoke powers of Light, even as a curse.  Lady Constance continued staring at the magic effect.  “I believe I can remove it, but it will take several hours; the whole enchantment stinks of rune singing.  That would be Noldar work, although fortunately not a strong one.”“You believe that you can remove it?  Will the process be safe for Wade?”“Oh, yes, your grace.  For him, the effect will either be removed successfully, or it won’t.  For me, we shall see… if I make a mistake…”“Would assistance make you more likely to succeed?  Perhaps Lord Silverleaf’s psion or Lady Meredith?  We could ask either if you believe that it would help.”“This is strictly magic, and I doubt that the elven psion would be of much aid.  But working with Lady Meredith would make me much more likely to remove it safely, and she will surely agree to help.”The two archmages set to work on the enchantments, each using a radically different style of magic.  Much as the process fascinated Alistair, Dame Brionna insisted that everyone except the two archmages remained at a safe distance, watching from the far end of a long chamber.  Lady Constance narrated her efforts as she worked, as much to keep her focus as for any other reason.  “Yes… a very clever layered compulsion.  I do not think I’ve ever seen one so carefully done.  The top layer is simply a connection of devotion; they just reinforced his natural lust as a young man meeting an attractive girl into complete obedience.  The second layer forces him to read his mother’s records late at night.”  As she unraveled this layer, it triggered a flood of memories Wade hadn’t been able to recall, and he twitched in pain, confusion, and shame.  “And this one here… once every fortnight he reports to a rotund woman, with long braided hair.  The last one is screaming for help even as this is going on.”“Can you tell how much he has reported, or anything they seemed focused on?”“He has been reporting for nearly a year.  At times, he has reported all the guard depositions in the City, most recently focusing on the guards in the central City.  He has also reported on grain shipments over the last year; the trading markets; and evening cathedral services.  In his most recent report, he specifically listed the names of servants who work within the palace.”After some hours of effort, Lady Constance and Lady Meredith finished their work.  As they unravelled the very last bits of the enchantment, the protective ward at least partially triggered.  Black lances of obsidian shot forth from Wade, each lance dripping with a foul black ichor.  A total of six lances erupted, and Dame Brionna was very glad that she had kept Alistair, Kit, and herself at a safe distance.  Three lances struck at each Archmage.  Lady Meredith’s protective wards deflected hers, but two lances slammed into Lady Constance, carrying her to the ground.  She cried out in agony as the poison burned at her, although one of the lances had passed clean through her before its poison could reach her.  Dame Brionna darted forward and brought the power of Glor’diadel to heal Lady Constance.  With her full healing ability, she was barely able to keep Lady Constance alive as she swabbed out the wound and aided her against the poison’s slower effects.  After she stabilized, a group of devils came to bring her back to her chambers on a stretcher.</blockquote>

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