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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8912503" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>[Session 146, cont'd]</p><p>Dame Brionna briefs the Council on a new problem. [Attached] A group (a “klave”) of snake-bodied, many armed demons (which Alistair identifies as mariliths) are rampaging through the northlands and targeting the most fervently dedicated to the Light to kill them, along with kidnapping men and then teleporting away. Many Hands is taking action against them, but hasn’t stopped them yet.</p><p></p><p>They can't track them more than half a mile from any of the 3 villages they've attacked so far. This is also concerning the common people of those realms, who are noting that those that are most fervent in their dedication to the Light are then being targeted. The attacks are also only taking men.</p><p></p><p>Alistair asks, "Do you know more about why they would only take men?"</p><p></p><p>"There are the obvious speculations, but I have no particular expertise in in demonism."</p><p></p><p>The Council summons Dame Agatha. "A klave is between 6 and 13, and a veritable army if they are all mariliths. For a klave to be on the Prime, one of three things must have happened. A demonist of substantial power might have brought them through, and overestimated his ability to control them and gotten killed. That's one possibility in which case they're free on the prime until they are expelled. But their behavior doesn’t match that. If that were true, they would just rampage until they were all killed."</p><p></p><p>"Their behavior here seems to have a directed purpose to it," comments Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, exactly right. An interstitial weakness between the Prime and the Abyss might also explain it, but that sounds unlikely, too. I don't know why there would be an interstitial weakness in that area, but if it is just a weakness that pierced into one of the layers of the Abyss that was found by a klave of mariliths, their leader might well decide to send some into the Prime while securing the gate. That was my initial thought, but it sounds unlikely to me."</p><p></p><p>"I assume that the remaining possibility is that something greater than they was able to open a gate and control them?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but that’s a disturbing thought—someone capable of controlling an entire klave of mariliths would be someone on at least the power level of my mistress. You would need a separate control device for each of them.”</p><p></p><p>“Who might it be?”</p><p></p><p>“Something on the level of a lich, or perhaps a great elf, though they rarely do major summonings—only the Noldor, and then only of daemons. In fact, it is the one area of magic where the greatest tomes were not written by them. So I find that unlikely--it's more likely to be a lich or some other undead creature."</p><p></p><p>"How would they be able to detect simple followers of Glordiadel?"</p><p></p><p>"It did say fervent, didn't it?" asks Kit.</p><p></p><p>"Yes, but not the clergy."</p><p></p><p>"Go around casting detect good and see who shines the brightest."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, and also converts to anything, begging your pardon, tend to be demonstrative of their new found beliefs," notes Dame Agatha.</p><p></p><p>"Could it be the act of the close companions of the apostate? I remember there's his sister, right?" asks Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"And several other close followers. I don't recall there being any that were obviously summoners. But he certainly has other plans going on. If they were daemons, it would be a good bet but they're not. What about liches? Do we know of any that are around there?"</p><p></p><p>"For that matter, are there any people who used to be able to do this but have since died? We know people have been returning."</p><p></p><p>"If it pleases you, my lady, diabolists accepted in the Temple of Paranswarm will declare their allegiance and their capabilities, as my mistress and I have. Demonologists do not have a reputation for respect for others, courtesy, sanity, or any other redeeming feature. Generally, their best friend is secrecy. I cannot in all honesty look you in the face and tell you it's impossible that one of them hid until they reach this power level. If they were able to obtain the books, the grimoires, the ingredients, and the relics that they need..."</p><p></p><p>"My understanding is that the Kingdom of the Isles has a substantial area that remains occupied by demons."</p><p></p><p>"I think that's true."</p><p></p><p>"Could there have been a klave of mariliths there or elsewhere in the Southern Kingdoms that have simply been on the Prime since since the Day of the Dead?"</p><p></p><p>"Certainly, that's possible. But then the question becomes, why would they suddenly move? What is inducing them to take actions?"</p><p></p><p>"Besides being summoned and compelled, what else could induce a group of mariliths to take those male prisoners? If they have an extremely powerful leader?"</p><p></p><p>"A klave is led by a single marilith more powerful than the rest. They have a leader with enough willpower to hold the others in line. The way demons work is different from devils. If I speak to a baron under Lord Dispater of the Second Level of Hell, and that baron sends a knight to get a common imp to do my bidding, it doesn't matter if that baron is five miles or fifty planes away from the imp. They will continue to obey the rules. If I summoned, and I would never do such a thing, let us say, a marilith, and she spoke to a demonic knight, and he spoke to a rutterkin to do my bidding... if I turn my back on her, or she turned her back on him, my bidding would not be done."</p><p></p><p>"So if someone is commanding them, or negotiating with them, they have to be negotiating directly with the leader of that particular group. If the leader is organizing this, then she has to have enough power in the form of fear to control them."</p><p></p><p>"Right. Possibly personal loyalty, but not structural loyalty, to keep her klave in line, doing what she wishes them to do."</p><p></p><p>"The taking of men is interesting. Is that what they usually do?"</p><p></p><p>"You say not the faithful men?"</p><p></p><p>"No."</p><p></p><p>"The most likely purpose for that is to sacrifice to someone, and by sacrifice I mean attempting to get the favor of a female demon of greater status than they are by presenting it with males. She can do with the males whatever she wants--eat them, consort with them, it doesn't matter."</p><p></p><p>"Might they then want to do that themselves?"</p><p></p><p>"It's possible. I find it less likely than that they are attempting to either bribe someone higher up or they've been ordered to do this."</p><p></p><p>"I have a different line of wondering about this. I would assume that there would be a host of entities, including certainly various demonic entities that would want to step into Berta's, shoes, as it were."</p><p></p><p>"No doubt."</p><p></p><p>"Might demons of chaos be seeking to do that themselves, generating fear and propitiatory worship, and inflicting chaos, and embodying some of the concepts of Berta?"</p><p></p><p>"It's certainly possible if they could gain enough worship they could usurp her portfolio."</p><p></p><p>"And so, then, my thought is that then the combination of attempting to break faith of people in other powers in that area, and gathering not very faithful men who might be susceptible to being, shall we say, impressed by mariliths might be a means to build up a community of worshipers."</p><p></p><p>"Hmm! That's true, either for themselves or for say a demon princess or demon lady. I'm not expert enough to tell you who that might be, though--there's so many of them."</p><p></p><p>"Would they have heraldry or the like that would allow us to figure out more about this particular klave?"</p><p></p><p>"Most likely. Did anyone report that?"</p><p></p><p>"We can ask. Many Hands may have reported more information to the Empress than my report included."</p><p></p><p>"Lord Brightspan?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, Your Majesty?"</p><p></p><p>"Could you ask the Empress if she would be free to attend upon us?"</p><p></p><p>A few minutes later, she joins them. "We have heard dismaying reports from our holdings in the South."</p><p></p><p>"I'm aware. Many Hands thinks he can bring it under control."</p><p></p><p>"Does he know anything more about what specific mariliths these are? We're trying to identify what their motive might be, or who they might be working for, that sort of thing."</p><p></p><p>"He was able to determine the leader’s name. I think he is overmatched if he attempts to abjure her, but, though he is loyal to me, he does not always listen to me. It is the clave of the Baroness Aana Maruthu. She has brought through 6 dames: Berberoka, Chordeva, Krasua, Pontianak, Buschweibchen, Estry. She has more that follow her in the Abyss that she has not brought through."</p><p></p><p>"Dame Agatha, do you know anything of this baroness?"</p><p></p><p>"I could look it up in the Great Guide. If she's a baroness, she is definitely more than simply a marilith. That means that she can command a certain amount of territory in an Abyssal Plane, albeit not an entire one. A demon lady with a petty holding is perhaps at exactly the power level where either she would consort with someone who would or directly seek to take over portfolio."</p><p></p><p>"Is she highly enough placed already to be doing this to advance herself, or would she be doing it under someone else's orders?" asks Kit.</p><p></p><p>"With a devil, I would tell you she was doing it under someone else's orders, but as a demon, if she believes that she might have the power to pull it off then she might make the try on her own."</p><p></p><p>"If she's an independent operator that is actually better, because while obviously not good that she's trying to advance herself to a deity, but much better than trying to figure out which very powerful person could have had the ability to compel her to do that."</p><p></p><p>"It could still be that she is summoned or under compulsion. Your Majesty, may I borrow one of your pages? Preferably a muscular one."</p><p></p><p>"Of course."</p><p></p><p>"Go and ask for the Great Compendium. Any of my assistants can give it to you and carry it back here."</p><p></p><p>One of the older pages heads off, and then comes tottering back with a book almost as big as he is.</p><p></p><p>Dame Agatha flips through the book, then reads a section. "Of course. Yes, she's well into the status of being a name-level sorceress, as well as being a marilith, and she's capable of summoning a unit of nalfeshnee to her assistance at need."</p><p></p><p>"What are those?" asks Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"A different type of demon. Basically shock troops."</p><p></p><p>"Correct me if I'm wrong," adds Alistair, "those are more what we might view as being mid-level demons as opposed to mariliths, which are among the highest."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, nalfeshnee are mid-level demons. They're the equivalent of chivalry perhaps in human terms."</p><p></p><p>"We don't record, of course, a specific spell selection but combined with her resistances and her spell resistance, she's a potent foe in and of herself. Her klave will be undoubtedly composed of standard mariliths-- she would never permit anyone close enough to her who could be a threat."</p><p></p><p>"What sort of capabilities would be need to take her out?"</p><p></p><p>"Well, first, you need a sufficient force to hold those that she's brought through at bay. Then you need a method to constrain her, to keep her from summoning a unit of nalfeshnee. And finally, you need somebody who can abjure. I can't honestly say that I trust any demonologist. The lack of any sort of order is too much for me. However, I believe your Church have a handful of exorcists who perform that as part of their function."</p><p></p><p>"What about the people that she's taken? Where would they be so that we can try to rescue them?"</p><p></p><p>"You said they couldn't track her. She could be retreating to a planar niche, or she's teleporting back to held territory in the old South Kingdoms. One or the other. If she's doing this for herself, which I do think is likely govern her power level, then she is accumulating a community. I'll tell you something even more frightening. I know something about demons---it's kind of necessary when you're a diabolist-- she is certainly breeding those captured men with succubi to produce aludemons. Those will be native to this plane. Now, mind you, fortunately, that takes years. They have to be raised as children, but they will be native to this plane."</p><p></p><p>"How long will the pregnancies take?"</p><p></p><p>"Generally, about half the time that human pregnancy would take."</p><p></p><p>"We still have time then."</p><p></p><p>"Succubi do not like to stay pregnant for most of the year."</p><p></p><p>"I feel such sympathy for them," replies Kit drily. "Humans don't like to, but we don't have much choice, do we?"</p><p></p><p>Dame Agatha gives a short laugh at that.</p><p></p><p>"Would the mariliths also... lay eggs?" asks Alistair, thinking about their snake-like lower bodies.</p><p></p><p>"I suppose there might be some magical way to allow the males to... I don't wish to think of it."</p><p></p><p>"Because that would presumably be a way to produce more powerful cambions."</p><p></p><p>"That would produce very powerful cambions. Hopefully, they can't do it, but they definitely can utilize succubi."</p><p></p><p>"So, how do we go about finding wherever those men are being held and rescuing them?"</p><p></p><p>"I'm no expert on this, but I suppose I'm the best you've got. I think you have to prepare for men to be kidnapped."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, and then do a jail break from the inside."</p><p></p><p>"With the ability of tracking them as well. Demons are not particularly adept at psionics. If you have them swallow a psionic stone, for example."</p><p></p><p>"That's a lot to ask."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, particularly of the type of men that they would kidnap. They're not going to kidnap anyone whose presence causes them pain like faithful servants of your God will cause them. A paladin would do it in a second, but they wouldn't take one of them. Likewise a priest, likewise paladins or lyans of my faith."</p><p></p><p>"What if we recruited instead from people who were, shall we say, not of a moral character that would be disturbing to demons, but who might be desperate enough to accept an offer?"</p><p></p><p>"I think you have no choice."</p><p></p><p>"My thought is --and I'm still working this through--if we took people who were like condemned prisoners or the like. Not necessarily condemned in the sense of capital crimes, but prisoners who might have an interest in being freed and having debts paid off or their families taken care of. They might be interested in it from a purely mercenary perspective."</p><p></p><p>"And if they're prisoners for serious crimes, they're presumably not great people."</p><p></p><p>"That's the point exactly. Then we send them to the area, wherever we think they might strike next, and have them somewhat noisily talking about how you can't be faithful to Lord of Light. It seems likely that they would then get scooped up without much difficulty."</p><p></p><p>"But won't there be others who would be killed in the attack scooping them up?" points out Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>Dame Agatha responds, "Won't that happen, anyway?"</p><p></p><p>"Not if we could simply stop an assault and defeat the enemy."</p><p></p><p>"But if we want a chance of rescuing those people, we need to get to where they are," argues Kit. "There will probably be some convicted of crimes who wouldn't bother the mariliths in the way that we fear the others would, but who still can be relied on to do something difficult. Being convicted of a crime doesn't mean that you're all gone."</p><p></p><p>"And the other advantage is that if we have them swallow a psionically marked stone, even if they chose to betray us once they were captured, they might still give us the information that we need." Alistair then sends privately over the mindlink, <<I kind of think that Kit's people might be able to identify some good candidates here--loyal and reliable people who got caught doing something serious and were caught dead to rights, but at the same time..>></p><p></p><p><<Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking,>> replies Kit.</p><p></p><p><<I'm still very uncomfortable with this and I'd much rather plan to just fight them.>></p><p></p><p><<But I think this is the way we might need to go. Believe me, I'd feel more comfortable if we were able to send some paladins in with them, but we can't.>></p><p></p><p>"What about non-detection things on paladins?" asks Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"You could, but mariliths are highly resistant to magic, and she will be even more so. It could just risk the paladin for nothing."</p><p></p><p>"Also, they're unholy and might interact badly with the holy aura."</p><p></p><p>"I do think you've come up with the best possible solution."</p><p></p><p>"Are the attacks in a tight enough area that we can reasonably guess where they might hit next?"</p><p></p><p>"From the reports I've received, they're all in the very northeastern tip of land that we've taken. Now, that doesn't mean they all will be but the ones that have occurred so far were, so we might be able to position people in a half dozen nearby towns or the like, and expect that they would hit one of them."</p><p></p><p>The Empress adds, "Many Hands has told me he's attempting a general abjuration."</p><p></p><p>Dame Agatha says, "A general abjuration may not be sufficient."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, it is possible you're right. Many Hands often resorts to trial and error. Sometimes the trial and error gets expensive."</p><p></p><p>"I'm afraid of that expense. Should we be worried that he's going to get himself killed?"</p><p></p><p>"Something very odd about Many Hands that we've noticed: he has survived numerous things he probably shouldn't have. I doubt they'll manage to catch and kill him but I can't absolutely say they won't. However, he does what he thinks best for the kingdom and me, whether or not I want him to or it's best for him."</p><p></p><p>"For that matter, if he could drive off even one or two of them, that would actually be a significant gain, because we'll presumably need to plan for a strike once we know this location."</p><p></p><p>"I can lend you some pit fiends. They're probably not up to the snuff of a marilith, but they would still make a difference."</p><p></p><p>"And then we could plan on bringing Many Hands in, as well as a master exorcist from the Church."</p><p></p><p>"I didn't know you had those," mentions the Empress.</p><p></p><p>"I'm not sure we do, but we have some exorcists, so we'll find the best of what we do."</p><p></p><p>"I'm very glad that we are putting together action beyond his. His loyalty is unquestionable, but this seems like an awful lot for one wizard."</p><p></p><p>"I agree. A demonic knight was not a serious threat, but a meaningful task for Lord Davion, as I recall. One would expect a baroness to be that much more challenging. I would be confident she would still be within Lord Davion's capabilities, but I would not be confident that it would be within the capabilities of even a mostly human mage."</p><p></p><p>Dame Agatha taps the huge book. "She made the book. She is more powerful than a knight."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, understood. I do wonder whether this might be a matter that would be worth bringing the Hastur in as well. It's not strictly related to the Shadowlands but there's enough similarity to at least get their attention."</p><p></p><p>"And obviously they have the capability of dealing with an enemy like this."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, they could expel her. That is true."</p><p></p><p>Kit arranges to have some of her people find some suitable candidates. Dame Brionna reaches out to the Church to find a senior exorcist. They decide that since demon lords running around unconstrained is close enough to what the Hastur handle, Alistair will reach out and contact them.</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p>They then discuss a report to the whole Council [Attached]: Queen-Empress Anastasia definitely has gaps in her security, and they agree that they need to find ways to fill those gaps. In particular, Stromette Elliasa Bilsforth--the Queen-Empress's spymistress--is very loyal to the Queen-Empress, and savvy about palace relations (she was the Queen-Empress's wet nurse), but has no conventional training in tradecraft.</p><p></p><p>"You know, you weren't conventionally trained, either, and you do a lot of direct work in the field," comments Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"But I inherited a very strong network, and Anastasia didn't. She is very far from home and did not inherit anything resembling a network. So we want to help her maintain security and sort of maybe nudge some good people in their direction."</p><p></p><p>"I wonder if we want to have someone overtly contact her and offer to serve as an advisor?"</p><p></p><p>"That's what I was wondering. You mean this stromette."</p><p></p><p>"I'm not sure that that's the correct feminine version of strom," sniffs Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>"Probably not, but historically, there never were female stroms, so it's all a little new."</p><p></p><p>Kit stays focused on the real discussion. "What I think is that, instead of going directly to her--which might come across as a threat--we could have one of our people contact one of her people. Make that initial contact sort of farther down the chain of command so that there's less chance of her getting afraid because she thinks that she's been made."</p><p></p><p>"That makes sense, but the flip-side is that the fact that she's been made is part of what we want to tell her. It wasn't even particularly challenging for your people."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, so we do need to give her some support. I talk directly to my counterparts in some other courts, but she may still feel more nervousness about it because of her inexperience."</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps if there's a way to conceal your identity from her?"</p><p></p><p>"That's easy. The fan. So then we just figure out a way for one of my people to talk to one of her people."</p><p></p><p>"What is your person going to say to her person?"</p><p></p><p>"We need to figure that out carefully. The trick is to have this come across as an actual offer of help, because it's very easy for it to come across as a threat." Kit thinks for a while. "What if we went about this from the opposite approach? Instead of starting out from below her, what if a known friend of the Queen-Empress talked with the Queen-Empress and mentioned having been privy in her role as a Council member to some discussions of our intelligence service about her intelligence service, and offered to make arrangements for our intelligence service to provide her intelligence service with some support, advice, and training."</p><p></p><p>Dame Brionna says, "Would that mean telling the Queen-Empress who Kit is?"</p><p></p><p>"No, the whole point would be that Anastasia would already know that Kit would be in the room when the Mouth provides briefings to all three of us about matters such as that, and considering that we've already been talking to the Hanalian Court about security matters, the timing fits perfectly with that. Then, assuming that Anastasia and Stromette Bilsforth agree to this, Kit can undertake to ask the Mouth to send somebody over to them, and can then deliver that message very quickly to the Mouth indeed."</p><p></p><p>Kit sets up tea with the Queen-Empress, who is only too happy to accept assistance, and is willing to tell her to coordinate with Stromette Bilsforth. At that point, Kit assigns a lady-in-waiting who is semi-publicly known to be associated with the Body--the sort of person who gets assigned to positions like cultural attache and where there's no particular security interest in concealing her connection to the Body, but she has enough clout to be taken seriously--to begin having regular tea appointments with Stromette Bilsforth and to develop the Hanalian Court in exile's intelligence apparatus, beginning with security and counter-intelligence matters because the Queen-Empress absolutely must not be assassinated.</p><p></p><p>Kit goes to talk to her scribe about how to contact Sir Jervan.</p><p></p><p>"My lady. Good to see you. You're looking vibrant."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you. I will definitely choose 'vibrant' over 'radiant.'"</p><p></p><p>"When you stopped looking radiant, you started looking vibrant."</p><p></p><p>"Exactly. I'm trying to get a hold of one of our people in Ecsilias."</p><p></p><p>"We don't have very many people there."</p><p></p><p>"Sir Jervan?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, you mean of the Screaming Lance."</p><p></p><p>"Yes. What can you tell us about him? Second, how do we get in touch with him?"</p><p></p><p>"He's chivalry, a commoner who was knighted for being loyal and effective to the royal house. It's given him a particularly good perch to report to us over the years. He is called 'of the Screaming Lance' because, while he is a potent warrior, a lyan of Paranswarm, his intelligent lance is terrified of being broken, and it goes into combat screaming and wailing the whole way."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, dear! That would disrupt the enemy. A knight running at me with that."</p><p></p><p>"We can only hope that it has that effect. I know that the effect it has on him is embarrassment."</p><p></p><p>"Really hilarious, though. So this means he will have good information."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, at least the last time he reported in. That has been a little while now that you mention it."</p><p></p><p>"Exactly." She fills him in on what's going on in Ecsilias. "And the problems started before we cleaned house in the courier service, so we need more information."</p><p></p><p>"I do have a wood-cut up in here. That should help if you're going to contact him psionically."</p><p></p><p>"Have we before?"</p><p></p><p>"I don't believe so, but don't worry. Even if he yells, they'll just think his lance is acting up."</p><p></p><p>She goes to the duty psion and asks him to patch her through.</p><p></p><p>She gets a huge burst of static, followed by a gasp, followed by a demanding thought. "Who's in my mind?"</p><p></p><p>"I am very sorry for the intrusion, Sir Jervon. This is the Mouth. First, are you all right?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, we are all still kicking here. Well, most of us."</p><p></p><p>"We're very sorry. I'm sure you've tried to send a report, or somebody did."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, twice."</p><p></p><p>"We have only just today gotten a report. The courier service had been subverted. We have fixed that. And now that we know what's going on, we want to help, and we want to know what you know."</p><p></p><p>“They made the mistake of starting on the outside and working in. I don’t think there’s a royal bastard, of either gender, left in the country. We noticed after the third one.”</p><p></p><p>“How long ago was that?”</p><p></p><p>“About three months? When we first noticed, I sent a first report and we began investigating. We didn’t even know about the other two until they died after that. Then they struck at the palace—a bizarre attack. They landed on the battlements from above.”</p><p></p><p>“Were they human?”</p><p></p><p>“No, drow. Four drow, male, wore some odd heraldry.”</p><p></p><p>“Think about it, and I’ll see it in your mind.”</p><p></p><p>“Oh. Well, it looked like this.” He forms an image, which Kit recognizes as Moriquendarim with an additional rune on it. “I fought one. They fought like they were possessed. I have fought drow before—they fight elegantly, almost delicately. These were potent, but fought with no sophistication, no elegance. I defeated him, but if he combined his puissance with the elegance every other drow I have fought demonstrated, I would not be here to report.”</p><p></p><p>“You said there were four of them. Were they all killed before entering the palace?”</p><p></p><p>“Yes, we killed them all. We actually put them in the chapel in state, but the bodies disappeared. They didn’t leave—they were under guard—but they disappeared.”</p><p></p><p>"Are you certain they were dead?"</p><p></p><p>"Oh, yes, they were definitely dead. Mine was particularly dead when I finally took him out--I took his head off."</p><p></p><p>“Was there anything left behind?”</p><p></p><p>“The floor was wet, but nothing else.”</p><p></p><p>“They were not actually drow. Simulacra.”</p><p></p><p>"The bishop would be pleased to hear that. That was his theory, that they were some sort of created beings, I believe. He will be very pleased, because I'm afraid that he was pooh-poohed at the time."</p><p></p><p>"You can tell the bishop that he was right."</p><p></p><p>"If he had bet, then everybody would owe him a gold."</p><p></p><p>"He will be paid in satisfaction. Have there been any attempts since then?"</p><p></p><p>"Not since then. We've tightened security and reinforced the wards with the aid of an old friend from quite frankly, the fey court. I know that's not what one normally admits."</p><p></p><p>"You will get no objections from us."</p><p></p><p>"The sidhe is quite fond of the family, you know. The royal family, not my family."</p><p></p><p>"Where is the sidhe from?"</p><p></p><p>"The fey tor. I know we're a bit further inland than the fey tor, but they've been friends for the family here for generations, but I don't think they have generations in the same way."</p><p></p><p>"No, but for a long time, and the protection of the sidhe is actually a very good thing right now."</p><p></p><p>"He was most disturbed. He didn't hazard a guess as to what they were. Perhaps he knew, and he didn't want to side with the bishop. They're not fond of each other."</p><p></p><p>"I can imagine."</p><p></p><p>"They are Seelie, after all."</p><p></p><p>"Right." Kit thinks to herself, of course, with Paranswarmians the fact that the fey are seelie would be the problem. "How long ago was this?"</p><p></p><p>"Two weeks, maybe a little less. I was in the infirmary for a few days there, I'm afraid."</p><p></p><p>"You were wounded honorably in battle. We're going to think some more about this. We have some ideas, now that we have more information, for which thank you. Once we have some more ideas, I will contact you again. We will, I hope, be able to give you the support that we should have been able to give you months ago."</p><p></p><p>"I am pleased that you've contacted me. I'm afraid I have never felt the type of assistance you have requested of me in any way broke my vows to Ecsilias. You have a way--all of you--about that."</p><p></p><p>"Working to the benefit of the continent is our goal. Actually, before I go, what is the current state of the royal family--the legitimate branches? Who are the heirs? How many?"</p><p></p><p>"They're all within the castle, of course. They're children."</p><p></p><p>"How many heirs are there?"</p><p></p><p>"There is a cousin left, but she's not on this continent. She went to study in a college in Khamista."</p><p></p><p>"What college?"</p><p></p><p>"It's somewhat interesting to say this. She's a devotee of the Weeping Woman, and they maintain a type of school for those young women of a certain age who aren't yet ready for marriage, and who wish to learn more of both the magical arts and the clerical arts, so that they can better select their futures."</p><p></p><p>"I'll never understand nobles."</p><p></p><p>"Aye. But she went there with the blessing of the lord, and that's where she is. And then, of course, there is his brother, who is privately acting as regent in another kingdom. I don't remember which--it's far away and insignificant. So, two children of the current Archbaron, plus the Archbaron's brother, and the cousin off continent."</p><p></p><p>"The two legitimate heirs that are in the palace. How old are they?"</p><p></p><p>"Fourteen, and I think nine. Well, the fourteen-year-old--technically in Ecsilias, he's past puberty, so he could inherit. But he's awfully young, so I still think of him as a child."</p><p></p><p>"Thank you, Sir Jervon. I will contact you as soon as we have more information for you."</p><p></p><p>The connection breaks, and Kit gets tea and blankets for the poor psion. She gets a different Farsensor for the next call.</p><p></p><p>Kit shows the image of the Moriquendarim arms to Dame Brionna and Alistair, and they are both confused by it. They have a good knowledge of heraldry. The Moriquendarim always use their House symbol undifferenced. Different members have their own additional arms and runes, but they never mix them historically. Wearing the undifferenced arms and then, for example, a rune beneath it would be a perfectly normal way of declaring factional identity or cadet house identity. This is more like declaring a different status for their branch of the whole house.</p><p></p><p>Also, cadet house Drow tend to be more delicate and elegant in their fighting styles than the renegade houses that he's probably had more experience with, not less. They consider reaching out to the ambassador of Zorplona-Moriquendarim, but they decide to discuss it with Lord Davion first--he may not currently be fully battle-worthy, but he's definitely conversation-worthy.</p><p></p><p>"We have a report on an attack on an ally of ours that is strange in several ways. The attackers landed on the battlements on the top of their palace and attempted to fight their way in from there. They had the seeming of cadet house Drow. Once they were slain, sometime later they appeared to have dissolved as if they were simulacra, leaving only a wet floor behind They did not fight with the skill and elegance that you would expect from Drowan soldiers, not even from what you would expect from Lolthian Drow, but they were nonetheless worthy folks that were as difficult to defeat as a skilled Drowan warrior, although perhaps not as difficult as a great Drowan warrior. Let me show you their heraldry--an augmentation of a style that we do not know the Moriquendarim to use."</p><p></p><p>"No Noldor house would use that! That's an abomination."</p><p></p><p>"Does it have a meeting other than the one that we understand-- a deeper meaning?"</p><p></p><p>"Every single symbol used by the Great Houses was given by Lord Anatar. No cadet house Drow would ever alter those symbols. Any additional symbology is always held separate. That is why we do not use quartering, or any of the other things common to human heraldry."</p><p></p><p>"So it's a holy symbol for you?"</p><p></p><p>"Not for me anymore."</p><p></p><p>"No, I apologize. But for them. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how upsetting that must have been for you to see."</p><p></p><p>"This could be someone trying to use this to try to stir up discord," suggests Kit. "But from whom?"</p><p></p><p>Alistair asks, "Am I right that Anatar is the Prince of the Cities of Pain? We know of his current disposition, but we do not know whether he still withstands. We do not know whether the Moriquendarim have succeeded in rescuing him."</p><p></p><p>"If it were to become known that that symbol was being used by someone, what would happen?"</p><p></p><p>"If it were someone within Moriquendarim, their family would be eradicated by the leadership of the House. On the other hand, while the Noldor are not as inward turned as the Eldar, many of them never any longer leave their home. If it were revealed to the Noldor and they realized that it was being done by a human sorceror, for example, if a voller were nearby, it might bombard his keep or tower. But if it is a renegade from the Noldor who displayed such a thing, either it would cause war or they would ignore it completely."</p><p></p><p>"The most likely reason to me that is if someone is attempting to start a war."</p><p></p><p>"That's what I was thinking, but I do not know why they would do that."</p><p></p><p>"But nobody's claimed responsibility. If they wanted to draw an attack, they would want their identity to be clear."</p><p></p><p>"The ally who was attacked didn't recognize this symbol?"</p><p></p><p>"No, they're human. Most humans wouldn't."</p><p></p><p>"I told you things that almost no humans know about my people, but they didn't even recognize the Moriquendarim heraldry, correct?"</p><p></p><p>"They didn't understand the attack at all. They were utterly baffled. If it's somebody trying to stir up war against Moriquendarim or within them, why hasn't anybody claimed responsibility or done it in a more conspicuous kind of way. Unless this was a test for something else."</p><p></p><p>Alistair thinks carefully. "Our agent may have been baffled, but I'm sure that, for example, the Temple of Paranswarm in Ecsilias identified it. But they're not talking."</p><p></p><p>"Why, do you think, they attacked this place?" asks Lord Davion. "What did their objective appear to be here?"</p><p></p><p>"Our first thought was that this was another attack against a ruling house allied with Paranswarm, and of a piece with a series of attacks on Paranswarmian families. But the other attacks did not have Drow, or the appearance of Drow."</p><p></p><p>"Perhaps it is the renegade who was lately in Zorplona-Argoni and now is in Hanal," Lord Davion suggests, disdaining to use a name. "He's low on Drow. He doesn't have many left. And I can imagine that if he were to launch an attack anywhere, he would want it to have the seeming of being his people."</p><p></p><p>"Would even he dare to use that symbol?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, a renegade allied with the Eldritch would be willing to. And he needs more elven blood to complete his purpose, and so if he were to draw the Moriquendarim to him."</p><p></p><p>"That noble family is closely allied with the fey. They may even have fey blood themselves."</p><p></p><p>"But then we would have expected kidnappings, not murders," point out Kit.</p><p></p><p>"Do we know how the people involved died?"</p><p></p><p>"No, I can find out."</p><p></p><p>"But I like the idea that this is trying to get Moriquendarim to spend their resources, and maybe to make themselves vulnerable."</p><p></p><p>"And again, if this were to lure Moriquendarim into making a strike against him, while that would in many ways be bad for his position, it would also deliver to him fresh elven blood."</p><p></p><p>"So it would be a risky move, but not an insane one."</p><p></p><p>"He may be getting desperate."</p><p></p><p>"I'm fine with that," says Kit.</p><p></p><p>"Indeed, but if he's desperate and thinks he doesn't have anything left to lose, he might do something very big. You're chipping away at them. This young Moriquendarim lord, such as he is, is chipping away at them. My cousin, the High Clanslady, in her assault did his position considerably more damage than a strike from the two Noldor and five-hundred Drow of the Zorplona-Moriquendarim Enclave could do. The High Clanslady arranged it so that it was impossible to take her or her shadow elves alive. She also consumed their deaths for her magic, which means that their life energy was not available even as people slain on the battlefield. We know that they have been drawing some energy just from battlefield deaths, and even the High Clanslord of Moriquendarim could not have accomplished such a thing. Only Curinirim and Aufaulgautharim are capable of that. So it is reasonable to think that perhaps they are seeking to lure a risky response by the Moriquendarim and see if they are not intelligent enough to react well."</p><p></p><p>"That suggests to me that we might want to inform them of this and give our assessment to them. They may have different assets that tell them of this, so perhaps we should urge them to not take the bait, as it were."</p><p></p><p>"I concur. I am Aufaulgautharim by birth. Normally, the Great Houses do not interfere with one another, but I, too, am renegade."</p><p></p><p>"Do you have any estimate as to how long the it will take for the leaders of House Moriquendarim to either succeed in rescuing the Prince of the Cities of Pain or to be defeated?"</p><p></p><p>"The gods-- I hate to use this term for the Enemy, but nonetheless-- are capable of altering the flow of time, not only around themselves, but in given areas. If that has not been done, it should not be more than two months. If that has been done..."</p><p></p><p>"It might make two months subjectively for them, but decades for Aphonion."</p><p></p><p>"Correct."</p><p></p><p>"And presumably that is easier and more readily done for outer planar areas that are under their control. I believe that on the Prime that is mostly the domain of gods who have particular ties to time, but on their home planes..."</p><p></p><p>"Yes, exactly. They all have that capability in their home planes. It's impossible to tell how arrogant the One Beside is. The more arrogant, the more likely he is to not bother with time effects. If he views himself as being under no threat--views both his plans on Aphonian and his plans there as being beyond the interference of even great elves--then he has no need to slow them down. If he thinks they might succeed, or might return to Aphonion to do things here, then slowing things down to keep them off the board would have value to him. I don't know his mind. I may have mentioned this. He was the least active and the least obvious in the first war against the three of them. He's simultaneously clearly arrogant in some ways, yet also more deceptive and cautious and clever than the other two."</p><p></p><p>"Which gives us less information with which to make good decisions. Just to try to check off other possibilities--I find it hard to imagine that any of the Lolthian Drow would be willing to engage in a false colors act like that."</p><p></p><p>"They would not cooperate with him--even they remember. They also would be unlikely to be willing to wear cadet house colors even as a false flag. It would insult their matrons, and as anyone who has ever dealt with them knows, the one thing that is unwise to do is insult their matrons, and it might well offend Lolth herself, and that's also unwise."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed. I think we should then send them a message about that, too."</p><p></p><p>* * *</p><p>They then talk to the Hastur, hoping to get one who is closer to sane than not.</p><p></p><p><<Hail and well met.>></p><p></p><p><<Hail and well met, indeed. We have an issue that has arisen on Drucien that we thought that we should inform you of, and perhaps ask your assistance in the response.>></p><p></p><p><<Well, dribble me in batter and bake me as bread! Go ahead.>></p><p></p><p>Alistair does his best to not react to that bizarre interjection. <<There is a marilith baroness who has managed to manifest on the prime, and bring with her a klave of her underling marilith servants. The Baroness is named Aana Maruthu if it should be relevant. We fear that she may be attempting to form a cult following her, seeking to take the place left vacant by the fall of Berta. While this is not strictly related to problems of the Shadowlands, we thought it's similar enough that you might be interested in supporting an effort to expel her from the Prime.>></p><p></p><p><<You know, they get boring. All of their efforts are always the same. Grow cults, become more powerful, invade lands that don't want them. It's tragic or something or other. So, you would like us to assist you.>></p><p></p><p><<Yes, we have put in place a plan to attempt to locate their stronghold where they are taking their prisoners, and would then call on you to join in the assault.>></p><p></p><p><<Oh, that's a kettle of fish. Alright, so you're going to infiltrate them, find out where they are, and then attack them. That is precisely the play. I'm old but not daft yet. How many cultists have they gathered?>></p><p></p><p><<I don't think we have a clear count on that.>></p><p></p><p><<You know, there's a difference between 15 and 100 in terms of energy.>></p><p></p><p><<Yes, I know that there's a difference based on numbers, but not the numbers. We know they've taken three batches. I don't know how many were in each, so likely more than 15, but probably less than 100.>></p><p></p><p><<These people went with them willingly?>></p><p></p><p><<At least to some degree. On the other hand, these would have been people who had just seen their neighbors slaughtered, and so when offered the opportunity to choose between slaughter and going with them, I'm not sure that's quite willing.>></p><p></p><p><<I agree with you, although I must say I've been on the Line for too long to have any mercy for such traitors' activity.>></p><p></p><p><<I can respect that. But these are civilians.>></p><p></p><p><<Yes, it's always civilians. That's what the demons want--civilians. If they have voluntarily thrown in with worshiping the mariliths, then they're unlikely to be militarily trained.>></p><p></p><p><<Correct.>></p><p></p><p><<So we can assume that they're not going to be willingly adding themselves into the fight. Possibly be thrown willy-nilly under someone's pike, but not willingly joining the fight. Do you know when the attack is going to take place?>></p><p></p><p><<No, we don't know when we'll be able to identify the location.>></p><p></p><p><<They'll get more and more cultists the longer you wait.>></p><p></p><p><<That is precisely why we are trying to do this as quickly as we can.>></p><p></p><p><<Excellent, excellent! I salute your initiative.>> She actually does a salute. <<I'm sure that I can send one of the trainees. They need field practice anyway. A marilith is a lot easier than a Doyle.>></p><p></p><p><<We would appreciate it.>></p><p></p><p><<I appreciate your thinking of us. It's always good to have somewhere to train the young ones before they're out on the Line. Now, what else do we expect to also be sending?>></p><p></p><p><<An exorcist from the Church and also some magical resources. The Church, as we use such terms, refers to the Church of Glordiadel.>></p><p></p><p><<Oh, yes, yes. Nice young fellow. I understand that's what everyone says.>></p><p></p><p><<That's what everyone says except for Gunnora, who refers to him as being a little stuffy.>></p><p></p><p><<Yes, I would expect that from her. I will see what I can do. I am sure that we can assist. Do not think that because I'm sending you a trainee that I am sending you someone who is ill prepared for such combat. After all, we don't train them to do anything else but fight demons.>></p><p></p><p><<We understand. We are told that she is, in addition to being a baroness, a sorceress of at least name level.>></p><p></p><p><<She would have to be. Their nobles have to have access to power. They can't hold power after all if it's beyond the reach of their claws. It refuses their authority.>></p><p></p><p><<That does mean that perhaps if we can deal with the leader, the others will break.>></p><p></p><p><<Oh, absolutely, of course they will without a klave leader. They will flee. I've seen it on the Line. You always try to pick out the leader of a klave if they're crossing under the protection of a major demon, because if you can eliminate them, the others fade right away. That's because they have to fight among themselves, to see who the new klave leader is, which, of course, always results in the klave dissolving. It's very simple, really.>></p><p></p><p><<Indeed.>></p><p></p><p><<Let me know when you know when you'll need us. I'm pretty sure you told me your name.>></p><p></p><p><<I'm Alistair.>></p><p></p><p><<Oh, yes, you're the Grand-Arch-Emperor of something or other on Drucien. Very good. Let me memorize your face. There, got it. I will send you someone shortly. They should be familiar and used to being in your military configurations before the action.>></p><p></p><p><<Understood.>></p><p></p><p><<Would you prefer male or female?>></p><p></p><p><<Female, if possible.>></p><p></p><p><<Of course, very well. And do you prefer a mechanic, a keeper, or a guardian?>></p><p></p><p><<I don't think that we have any great preference there.>></p><p></p><p><<Very well. Whoever's available, then, that's female. Hmm! You twitch when I say the word female. I'll make sure that she is comely. Good day.>></p><p></p><p>The conduit closes.</p><p></p><p>"At least she was mostly coherent," mutters Alistair to himself.</p><p>[End Session 146]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8912503, member: 7030144"] [Session 146, cont'd] Dame Brionna briefs the Council on a new problem. [Attached] A group (a “klave”) of snake-bodied, many armed demons (which Alistair identifies as mariliths) are rampaging through the northlands and targeting the most fervently dedicated to the Light to kill them, along with kidnapping men and then teleporting away. Many Hands is taking action against them, but hasn’t stopped them yet. They can't track them more than half a mile from any of the 3 villages they've attacked so far. This is also concerning the common people of those realms, who are noting that those that are most fervent in their dedication to the Light are then being targeted. The attacks are also only taking men. Alistair asks, "Do you know more about why they would only take men?" "There are the obvious speculations, but I have no particular expertise in in demonism." The Council summons Dame Agatha. "A klave is between 6 and 13, and a veritable army if they are all mariliths. For a klave to be on the Prime, one of three things must have happened. A demonist of substantial power might have brought them through, and overestimated his ability to control them and gotten killed. That's one possibility in which case they're free on the prime until they are expelled. But their behavior doesn’t match that. If that were true, they would just rampage until they were all killed." "Their behavior here seems to have a directed purpose to it," comments Dame Brionna. "Yes, exactly right. An interstitial weakness between the Prime and the Abyss might also explain it, but that sounds unlikely, too. I don't know why there would be an interstitial weakness in that area, but if it is just a weakness that pierced into one of the layers of the Abyss that was found by a klave of mariliths, their leader might well decide to send some into the Prime while securing the gate. That was my initial thought, but it sounds unlikely to me." "I assume that the remaining possibility is that something greater than they was able to open a gate and control them?" "Yes, but that’s a disturbing thought—someone capable of controlling an entire klave of mariliths would be someone on at least the power level of my mistress. You would need a separate control device for each of them.” “Who might it be?” “Something on the level of a lich, or perhaps a great elf, though they rarely do major summonings—only the Noldor, and then only of daemons. In fact, it is the one area of magic where the greatest tomes were not written by them. So I find that unlikely--it's more likely to be a lich or some other undead creature." "How would they be able to detect simple followers of Glordiadel?" "It did say fervent, didn't it?" asks Kit. "Yes, but not the clergy." "Go around casting detect good and see who shines the brightest." "Yes, and also converts to anything, begging your pardon, tend to be demonstrative of their new found beliefs," notes Dame Agatha. "Could it be the act of the close companions of the apostate? I remember there's his sister, right?" asks Dame Brionna. "And several other close followers. I don't recall there being any that were obviously summoners. But he certainly has other plans going on. If they were daemons, it would be a good bet but they're not. What about liches? Do we know of any that are around there?" "For that matter, are there any people who used to be able to do this but have since died? We know people have been returning." "If it pleases you, my lady, diabolists accepted in the Temple of Paranswarm will declare their allegiance and their capabilities, as my mistress and I have. Demonologists do not have a reputation for respect for others, courtesy, sanity, or any other redeeming feature. Generally, their best friend is secrecy. I cannot in all honesty look you in the face and tell you it's impossible that one of them hid until they reach this power level. If they were able to obtain the books, the grimoires, the ingredients, and the relics that they need..." "My understanding is that the Kingdom of the Isles has a substantial area that remains occupied by demons." "I think that's true." "Could there have been a klave of mariliths there or elsewhere in the Southern Kingdoms that have simply been on the Prime since since the Day of the Dead?" "Certainly, that's possible. But then the question becomes, why would they suddenly move? What is inducing them to take actions?" "Besides being summoned and compelled, what else could induce a group of mariliths to take those male prisoners? If they have an extremely powerful leader?" "A klave is led by a single marilith more powerful than the rest. They have a leader with enough willpower to hold the others in line. The way demons work is different from devils. If I speak to a baron under Lord Dispater of the Second Level of Hell, and that baron sends a knight to get a common imp to do my bidding, it doesn't matter if that baron is five miles or fifty planes away from the imp. They will continue to obey the rules. If I summoned, and I would never do such a thing, let us say, a marilith, and she spoke to a demonic knight, and he spoke to a rutterkin to do my bidding... if I turn my back on her, or she turned her back on him, my bidding would not be done." "So if someone is commanding them, or negotiating with them, they have to be negotiating directly with the leader of that particular group. If the leader is organizing this, then she has to have enough power in the form of fear to control them." "Right. Possibly personal loyalty, but not structural loyalty, to keep her klave in line, doing what she wishes them to do." "The taking of men is interesting. Is that what they usually do?" "You say not the faithful men?" "No." "The most likely purpose for that is to sacrifice to someone, and by sacrifice I mean attempting to get the favor of a female demon of greater status than they are by presenting it with males. She can do with the males whatever she wants--eat them, consort with them, it doesn't matter." "Might they then want to do that themselves?" "It's possible. I find it less likely than that they are attempting to either bribe someone higher up or they've been ordered to do this." "I have a different line of wondering about this. I would assume that there would be a host of entities, including certainly various demonic entities that would want to step into Berta's, shoes, as it were." "No doubt." "Might demons of chaos be seeking to do that themselves, generating fear and propitiatory worship, and inflicting chaos, and embodying some of the concepts of Berta?" "It's certainly possible if they could gain enough worship they could usurp her portfolio." "And so, then, my thought is that then the combination of attempting to break faith of people in other powers in that area, and gathering not very faithful men who might be susceptible to being, shall we say, impressed by mariliths might be a means to build up a community of worshipers." "Hmm! That's true, either for themselves or for say a demon princess or demon lady. I'm not expert enough to tell you who that might be, though--there's so many of them." "Would they have heraldry or the like that would allow us to figure out more about this particular klave?" "Most likely. Did anyone report that?" "We can ask. Many Hands may have reported more information to the Empress than my report included." "Lord Brightspan?" "Yes, Your Majesty?" "Could you ask the Empress if she would be free to attend upon us?" A few minutes later, she joins them. "We have heard dismaying reports from our holdings in the South." "I'm aware. Many Hands thinks he can bring it under control." "Does he know anything more about what specific mariliths these are? We're trying to identify what their motive might be, or who they might be working for, that sort of thing." "He was able to determine the leader’s name. I think he is overmatched if he attempts to abjure her, but, though he is loyal to me, he does not always listen to me. It is the clave of the Baroness Aana Maruthu. She has brought through 6 dames: Berberoka, Chordeva, Krasua, Pontianak, Buschweibchen, Estry. She has more that follow her in the Abyss that she has not brought through." "Dame Agatha, do you know anything of this baroness?" "I could look it up in the Great Guide. If she's a baroness, she is definitely more than simply a marilith. That means that she can command a certain amount of territory in an Abyssal Plane, albeit not an entire one. A demon lady with a petty holding is perhaps at exactly the power level where either she would consort with someone who would or directly seek to take over portfolio." "Is she highly enough placed already to be doing this to advance herself, or would she be doing it under someone else's orders?" asks Kit. "With a devil, I would tell you she was doing it under someone else's orders, but as a demon, if she believes that she might have the power to pull it off then she might make the try on her own." "If she's an independent operator that is actually better, because while obviously not good that she's trying to advance herself to a deity, but much better than trying to figure out which very powerful person could have had the ability to compel her to do that." "It could still be that she is summoned or under compulsion. Your Majesty, may I borrow one of your pages? Preferably a muscular one." "Of course." "Go and ask for the Great Compendium. Any of my assistants can give it to you and carry it back here." One of the older pages heads off, and then comes tottering back with a book almost as big as he is. Dame Agatha flips through the book, then reads a section. "Of course. Yes, she's well into the status of being a name-level sorceress, as well as being a marilith, and she's capable of summoning a unit of nalfeshnee to her assistance at need." "What are those?" asks Dame Brionna. "A different type of demon. Basically shock troops." "Correct me if I'm wrong," adds Alistair, "those are more what we might view as being mid-level demons as opposed to mariliths, which are among the highest." "Yes, nalfeshnee are mid-level demons. They're the equivalent of chivalry perhaps in human terms." "We don't record, of course, a specific spell selection but combined with her resistances and her spell resistance, she's a potent foe in and of herself. Her klave will be undoubtedly composed of standard mariliths-- she would never permit anyone close enough to her who could be a threat." "What sort of capabilities would be need to take her out?" "Well, first, you need a sufficient force to hold those that she's brought through at bay. Then you need a method to constrain her, to keep her from summoning a unit of nalfeshnee. And finally, you need somebody who can abjure. I can't honestly say that I trust any demonologist. The lack of any sort of order is too much for me. However, I believe your Church have a handful of exorcists who perform that as part of their function." "What about the people that she's taken? Where would they be so that we can try to rescue them?" "You said they couldn't track her. She could be retreating to a planar niche, or she's teleporting back to held territory in the old South Kingdoms. One or the other. If she's doing this for herself, which I do think is likely govern her power level, then she is accumulating a community. I'll tell you something even more frightening. I know something about demons---it's kind of necessary when you're a diabolist-- she is certainly breeding those captured men with succubi to produce aludemons. Those will be native to this plane. Now, mind you, fortunately, that takes years. They have to be raised as children, but they will be native to this plane." "How long will the pregnancies take?" "Generally, about half the time that human pregnancy would take." "We still have time then." "Succubi do not like to stay pregnant for most of the year." "I feel such sympathy for them," replies Kit drily. "Humans don't like to, but we don't have much choice, do we?" Dame Agatha gives a short laugh at that. "Would the mariliths also... lay eggs?" asks Alistair, thinking about their snake-like lower bodies. "I suppose there might be some magical way to allow the males to... I don't wish to think of it." "Because that would presumably be a way to produce more powerful cambions." "That would produce very powerful cambions. Hopefully, they can't do it, but they definitely can utilize succubi." "So, how do we go about finding wherever those men are being held and rescuing them?" "I'm no expert on this, but I suppose I'm the best you've got. I think you have to prepare for men to be kidnapped." "Oh, and then do a jail break from the inside." "With the ability of tracking them as well. Demons are not particularly adept at psionics. If you have them swallow a psionic stone, for example." "That's a lot to ask." "Yes, particularly of the type of men that they would kidnap. They're not going to kidnap anyone whose presence causes them pain like faithful servants of your God will cause them. A paladin would do it in a second, but they wouldn't take one of them. Likewise a priest, likewise paladins or lyans of my faith." "What if we recruited instead from people who were, shall we say, not of a moral character that would be disturbing to demons, but who might be desperate enough to accept an offer?" "I think you have no choice." "My thought is --and I'm still working this through--if we took people who were like condemned prisoners or the like. Not necessarily condemned in the sense of capital crimes, but prisoners who might have an interest in being freed and having debts paid off or their families taken care of. They might be interested in it from a purely mercenary perspective." "And if they're prisoners for serious crimes, they're presumably not great people." "That's the point exactly. Then we send them to the area, wherever we think they might strike next, and have them somewhat noisily talking about how you can't be faithful to Lord of Light. It seems likely that they would then get scooped up without much difficulty." "But won't there be others who would be killed in the attack scooping them up?" points out Dame Brionna. Dame Agatha responds, "Won't that happen, anyway?" "Not if we could simply stop an assault and defeat the enemy." "But if we want a chance of rescuing those people, we need to get to where they are," argues Kit. "There will probably be some convicted of crimes who wouldn't bother the mariliths in the way that we fear the others would, but who still can be relied on to do something difficult. Being convicted of a crime doesn't mean that you're all gone." "And the other advantage is that if we have them swallow a psionically marked stone, even if they chose to betray us once they were captured, they might still give us the information that we need." Alistair then sends privately over the mindlink, <<I kind of think that Kit's people might be able to identify some good candidates here--loyal and reliable people who got caught doing something serious and were caught dead to rights, but at the same time..>> <<Yes, that is exactly what I was thinking,>> replies Kit. <<I'm still very uncomfortable with this and I'd much rather plan to just fight them.>> <<But I think this is the way we might need to go. Believe me, I'd feel more comfortable if we were able to send some paladins in with them, but we can't.>> "What about non-detection things on paladins?" asks Dame Brionna. "You could, but mariliths are highly resistant to magic, and she will be even more so. It could just risk the paladin for nothing." "Also, they're unholy and might interact badly with the holy aura." "I do think you've come up with the best possible solution." "Are the attacks in a tight enough area that we can reasonably guess where they might hit next?" "From the reports I've received, they're all in the very northeastern tip of land that we've taken. Now, that doesn't mean they all will be but the ones that have occurred so far were, so we might be able to position people in a half dozen nearby towns or the like, and expect that they would hit one of them." The Empress adds, "Many Hands has told me he's attempting a general abjuration." Dame Agatha says, "A general abjuration may not be sufficient." "Yes, it is possible you're right. Many Hands often resorts to trial and error. Sometimes the trial and error gets expensive." "I'm afraid of that expense. Should we be worried that he's going to get himself killed?" "Something very odd about Many Hands that we've noticed: he has survived numerous things he probably shouldn't have. I doubt they'll manage to catch and kill him but I can't absolutely say they won't. However, he does what he thinks best for the kingdom and me, whether or not I want him to or it's best for him." "For that matter, if he could drive off even one or two of them, that would actually be a significant gain, because we'll presumably need to plan for a strike once we know this location." "I can lend you some pit fiends. They're probably not up to the snuff of a marilith, but they would still make a difference." "And then we could plan on bringing Many Hands in, as well as a master exorcist from the Church." "I didn't know you had those," mentions the Empress. "I'm not sure we do, but we have some exorcists, so we'll find the best of what we do." "I'm very glad that we are putting together action beyond his. His loyalty is unquestionable, but this seems like an awful lot for one wizard." "I agree. A demonic knight was not a serious threat, but a meaningful task for Lord Davion, as I recall. One would expect a baroness to be that much more challenging. I would be confident she would still be within Lord Davion's capabilities, but I would not be confident that it would be within the capabilities of even a mostly human mage." Dame Agatha taps the huge book. "She made the book. She is more powerful than a knight." "Yes, understood. I do wonder whether this might be a matter that would be worth bringing the Hastur in as well. It's not strictly related to the Shadowlands but there's enough similarity to at least get their attention." "And obviously they have the capability of dealing with an enemy like this." "Yes, they could expel her. That is true." Kit arranges to have some of her people find some suitable candidates. Dame Brionna reaches out to the Church to find a senior exorcist. They decide that since demon lords running around unconstrained is close enough to what the Hastur handle, Alistair will reach out and contact them. * * * They then discuss a report to the whole Council [Attached]: Queen-Empress Anastasia definitely has gaps in her security, and they agree that they need to find ways to fill those gaps. In particular, Stromette Elliasa Bilsforth--the Queen-Empress's spymistress--is very loyal to the Queen-Empress, and savvy about palace relations (she was the Queen-Empress's wet nurse), but has no conventional training in tradecraft. "You know, you weren't conventionally trained, either, and you do a lot of direct work in the field," comments Dame Brionna. "But I inherited a very strong network, and Anastasia didn't. She is very far from home and did not inherit anything resembling a network. So we want to help her maintain security and sort of maybe nudge some good people in their direction." "I wonder if we want to have someone overtly contact her and offer to serve as an advisor?" "That's what I was wondering. You mean this stromette." "I'm not sure that that's the correct feminine version of strom," sniffs Dame Brionna. "Probably not, but historically, there never were female stroms, so it's all a little new." Kit stays focused on the real discussion. "What I think is that, instead of going directly to her--which might come across as a threat--we could have one of our people contact one of her people. Make that initial contact sort of farther down the chain of command so that there's less chance of her getting afraid because she thinks that she's been made." "That makes sense, but the flip-side is that the fact that she's been made is part of what we want to tell her. It wasn't even particularly challenging for your people." "Yes, so we do need to give her some support. I talk directly to my counterparts in some other courts, but she may still feel more nervousness about it because of her inexperience." "Perhaps if there's a way to conceal your identity from her?" "That's easy. The fan. So then we just figure out a way for one of my people to talk to one of her people." "What is your person going to say to her person?" "We need to figure that out carefully. The trick is to have this come across as an actual offer of help, because it's very easy for it to come across as a threat." Kit thinks for a while. "What if we went about this from the opposite approach? Instead of starting out from below her, what if a known friend of the Queen-Empress talked with the Queen-Empress and mentioned having been privy in her role as a Council member to some discussions of our intelligence service about her intelligence service, and offered to make arrangements for our intelligence service to provide her intelligence service with some support, advice, and training." Dame Brionna says, "Would that mean telling the Queen-Empress who Kit is?" "No, the whole point would be that Anastasia would already know that Kit would be in the room when the Mouth provides briefings to all three of us about matters such as that, and considering that we've already been talking to the Hanalian Court about security matters, the timing fits perfectly with that. Then, assuming that Anastasia and Stromette Bilsforth agree to this, Kit can undertake to ask the Mouth to send somebody over to them, and can then deliver that message very quickly to the Mouth indeed." Kit sets up tea with the Queen-Empress, who is only too happy to accept assistance, and is willing to tell her to coordinate with Stromette Bilsforth. At that point, Kit assigns a lady-in-waiting who is semi-publicly known to be associated with the Body--the sort of person who gets assigned to positions like cultural attache and where there's no particular security interest in concealing her connection to the Body, but she has enough clout to be taken seriously--to begin having regular tea appointments with Stromette Bilsforth and to develop the Hanalian Court in exile's intelligence apparatus, beginning with security and counter-intelligence matters because the Queen-Empress absolutely must not be assassinated. Kit goes to talk to her scribe about how to contact Sir Jervan. "My lady. Good to see you. You're looking vibrant." "Thank you. I will definitely choose 'vibrant' over 'radiant.'" "When you stopped looking radiant, you started looking vibrant." "Exactly. I'm trying to get a hold of one of our people in Ecsilias." "We don't have very many people there." "Sir Jervan?" "Oh, you mean of the Screaming Lance." "Yes. What can you tell us about him? Second, how do we get in touch with him?" "He's chivalry, a commoner who was knighted for being loyal and effective to the royal house. It's given him a particularly good perch to report to us over the years. He is called 'of the Screaming Lance' because, while he is a potent warrior, a lyan of Paranswarm, his intelligent lance is terrified of being broken, and it goes into combat screaming and wailing the whole way." "Oh, dear! That would disrupt the enemy. A knight running at me with that." "We can only hope that it has that effect. I know that the effect it has on him is embarrassment." "Really hilarious, though. So this means he will have good information." "Yes, at least the last time he reported in. That has been a little while now that you mention it." "Exactly." She fills him in on what's going on in Ecsilias. "And the problems started before we cleaned house in the courier service, so we need more information." "I do have a wood-cut up in here. That should help if you're going to contact him psionically." "Have we before?" "I don't believe so, but don't worry. Even if he yells, they'll just think his lance is acting up." She goes to the duty psion and asks him to patch her through. She gets a huge burst of static, followed by a gasp, followed by a demanding thought. "Who's in my mind?" "I am very sorry for the intrusion, Sir Jervon. This is the Mouth. First, are you all right?" "Yes, we are all still kicking here. Well, most of us." "We're very sorry. I'm sure you've tried to send a report, or somebody did." "Yes, twice." "We have only just today gotten a report. The courier service had been subverted. We have fixed that. And now that we know what's going on, we want to help, and we want to know what you know." “They made the mistake of starting on the outside and working in. I don’t think there’s a royal bastard, of either gender, left in the country. We noticed after the third one.” “How long ago was that?” “About three months? When we first noticed, I sent a first report and we began investigating. We didn’t even know about the other two until they died after that. Then they struck at the palace—a bizarre attack. They landed on the battlements from above.” “Were they human?” “No, drow. Four drow, male, wore some odd heraldry.” “Think about it, and I’ll see it in your mind.” “Oh. Well, it looked like this.” He forms an image, which Kit recognizes as Moriquendarim with an additional rune on it. “I fought one. They fought like they were possessed. I have fought drow before—they fight elegantly, almost delicately. These were potent, but fought with no sophistication, no elegance. I defeated him, but if he combined his puissance with the elegance every other drow I have fought demonstrated, I would not be here to report.” “You said there were four of them. Were they all killed before entering the palace?” “Yes, we killed them all. We actually put them in the chapel in state, but the bodies disappeared. They didn’t leave—they were under guard—but they disappeared.” "Are you certain they were dead?" "Oh, yes, they were definitely dead. Mine was particularly dead when I finally took him out--I took his head off." “Was there anything left behind?” “The floor was wet, but nothing else.” “They were not actually drow. Simulacra.” "The bishop would be pleased to hear that. That was his theory, that they were some sort of created beings, I believe. He will be very pleased, because I'm afraid that he was pooh-poohed at the time." "You can tell the bishop that he was right." "If he had bet, then everybody would owe him a gold." "He will be paid in satisfaction. Have there been any attempts since then?" "Not since then. We've tightened security and reinforced the wards with the aid of an old friend from quite frankly, the fey court. I know that's not what one normally admits." "You will get no objections from us." "The sidhe is quite fond of the family, you know. The royal family, not my family." "Where is the sidhe from?" "The fey tor. I know we're a bit further inland than the fey tor, but they've been friends for the family here for generations, but I don't think they have generations in the same way." "No, but for a long time, and the protection of the sidhe is actually a very good thing right now." "He was most disturbed. He didn't hazard a guess as to what they were. Perhaps he knew, and he didn't want to side with the bishop. They're not fond of each other." "I can imagine." "They are Seelie, after all." "Right." Kit thinks to herself, of course, with Paranswarmians the fact that the fey are seelie would be the problem. "How long ago was this?" "Two weeks, maybe a little less. I was in the infirmary for a few days there, I'm afraid." "You were wounded honorably in battle. We're going to think some more about this. We have some ideas, now that we have more information, for which thank you. Once we have some more ideas, I will contact you again. We will, I hope, be able to give you the support that we should have been able to give you months ago." "I am pleased that you've contacted me. I'm afraid I have never felt the type of assistance you have requested of me in any way broke my vows to Ecsilias. You have a way--all of you--about that." "Working to the benefit of the continent is our goal. Actually, before I go, what is the current state of the royal family--the legitimate branches? Who are the heirs? How many?" "They're all within the castle, of course. They're children." "How many heirs are there?" "There is a cousin left, but she's not on this continent. She went to study in a college in Khamista." "What college?" "It's somewhat interesting to say this. She's a devotee of the Weeping Woman, and they maintain a type of school for those young women of a certain age who aren't yet ready for marriage, and who wish to learn more of both the magical arts and the clerical arts, so that they can better select their futures." "I'll never understand nobles." "Aye. But she went there with the blessing of the lord, and that's where she is. And then, of course, there is his brother, who is privately acting as regent in another kingdom. I don't remember which--it's far away and insignificant. So, two children of the current Archbaron, plus the Archbaron's brother, and the cousin off continent." "The two legitimate heirs that are in the palace. How old are they?" "Fourteen, and I think nine. Well, the fourteen-year-old--technically in Ecsilias, he's past puberty, so he could inherit. But he's awfully young, so I still think of him as a child." "Thank you, Sir Jervon. I will contact you as soon as we have more information for you." The connection breaks, and Kit gets tea and blankets for the poor psion. She gets a different Farsensor for the next call. Kit shows the image of the Moriquendarim arms to Dame Brionna and Alistair, and they are both confused by it. They have a good knowledge of heraldry. The Moriquendarim always use their House symbol undifferenced. Different members have their own additional arms and runes, but they never mix them historically. Wearing the undifferenced arms and then, for example, a rune beneath it would be a perfectly normal way of declaring factional identity or cadet house identity. This is more like declaring a different status for their branch of the whole house. Also, cadet house Drow tend to be more delicate and elegant in their fighting styles than the renegade houses that he's probably had more experience with, not less. They consider reaching out to the ambassador of Zorplona-Moriquendarim, but they decide to discuss it with Lord Davion first--he may not currently be fully battle-worthy, but he's definitely conversation-worthy. "We have a report on an attack on an ally of ours that is strange in several ways. The attackers landed on the battlements on the top of their palace and attempted to fight their way in from there. They had the seeming of cadet house Drow. Once they were slain, sometime later they appeared to have dissolved as if they were simulacra, leaving only a wet floor behind They did not fight with the skill and elegance that you would expect from Drowan soldiers, not even from what you would expect from Lolthian Drow, but they were nonetheless worthy folks that were as difficult to defeat as a skilled Drowan warrior, although perhaps not as difficult as a great Drowan warrior. Let me show you their heraldry--an augmentation of a style that we do not know the Moriquendarim to use." "No Noldor house would use that! That's an abomination." "Does it have a meeting other than the one that we understand-- a deeper meaning?" "Every single symbol used by the Great Houses was given by Lord Anatar. No cadet house Drow would ever alter those symbols. Any additional symbology is always held separate. That is why we do not use quartering, or any of the other things common to human heraldry." "So it's a holy symbol for you?" "Not for me anymore." "No, I apologize. But for them. I'm sorry, I didn't realize how upsetting that must have been for you to see." "This could be someone trying to use this to try to stir up discord," suggests Kit. "But from whom?" Alistair asks, "Am I right that Anatar is the Prince of the Cities of Pain? We know of his current disposition, but we do not know whether he still withstands. We do not know whether the Moriquendarim have succeeded in rescuing him." "If it were to become known that that symbol was being used by someone, what would happen?" "If it were someone within Moriquendarim, their family would be eradicated by the leadership of the House. On the other hand, while the Noldor are not as inward turned as the Eldar, many of them never any longer leave their home. If it were revealed to the Noldor and they realized that it was being done by a human sorceror, for example, if a voller were nearby, it might bombard his keep or tower. But if it is a renegade from the Noldor who displayed such a thing, either it would cause war or they would ignore it completely." "The most likely reason to me that is if someone is attempting to start a war." "That's what I was thinking, but I do not know why they would do that." "But nobody's claimed responsibility. If they wanted to draw an attack, they would want their identity to be clear." "The ally who was attacked didn't recognize this symbol?" "No, they're human. Most humans wouldn't." "I told you things that almost no humans know about my people, but they didn't even recognize the Moriquendarim heraldry, correct?" "They didn't understand the attack at all. They were utterly baffled. If it's somebody trying to stir up war against Moriquendarim or within them, why hasn't anybody claimed responsibility or done it in a more conspicuous kind of way. Unless this was a test for something else." Alistair thinks carefully. "Our agent may have been baffled, but I'm sure that, for example, the Temple of Paranswarm in Ecsilias identified it. But they're not talking." "Why, do you think, they attacked this place?" asks Lord Davion. "What did their objective appear to be here?" "Our first thought was that this was another attack against a ruling house allied with Paranswarm, and of a piece with a series of attacks on Paranswarmian families. But the other attacks did not have Drow, or the appearance of Drow." "Perhaps it is the renegade who was lately in Zorplona-Argoni and now is in Hanal," Lord Davion suggests, disdaining to use a name. "He's low on Drow. He doesn't have many left. And I can imagine that if he were to launch an attack anywhere, he would want it to have the seeming of being his people." "Would even he dare to use that symbol?" "Yes, a renegade allied with the Eldritch would be willing to. And he needs more elven blood to complete his purpose, and so if he were to draw the Moriquendarim to him." "That noble family is closely allied with the fey. They may even have fey blood themselves." "But then we would have expected kidnappings, not murders," point out Kit. "Do we know how the people involved died?" "No, I can find out." "But I like the idea that this is trying to get Moriquendarim to spend their resources, and maybe to make themselves vulnerable." "And again, if this were to lure Moriquendarim into making a strike against him, while that would in many ways be bad for his position, it would also deliver to him fresh elven blood." "So it would be a risky move, but not an insane one." "He may be getting desperate." "I'm fine with that," says Kit. "Indeed, but if he's desperate and thinks he doesn't have anything left to lose, he might do something very big. You're chipping away at them. This young Moriquendarim lord, such as he is, is chipping away at them. My cousin, the High Clanslady, in her assault did his position considerably more damage than a strike from the two Noldor and five-hundred Drow of the Zorplona-Moriquendarim Enclave could do. The High Clanslady arranged it so that it was impossible to take her or her shadow elves alive. She also consumed their deaths for her magic, which means that their life energy was not available even as people slain on the battlefield. We know that they have been drawing some energy just from battlefield deaths, and even the High Clanslord of Moriquendarim could not have accomplished such a thing. Only Curinirim and Aufaulgautharim are capable of that. So it is reasonable to think that perhaps they are seeking to lure a risky response by the Moriquendarim and see if they are not intelligent enough to react well." "That suggests to me that we might want to inform them of this and give our assessment to them. They may have different assets that tell them of this, so perhaps we should urge them to not take the bait, as it were." "I concur. I am Aufaulgautharim by birth. Normally, the Great Houses do not interfere with one another, but I, too, am renegade." "Do you have any estimate as to how long the it will take for the leaders of House Moriquendarim to either succeed in rescuing the Prince of the Cities of Pain or to be defeated?" "The gods-- I hate to use this term for the Enemy, but nonetheless-- are capable of altering the flow of time, not only around themselves, but in given areas. If that has not been done, it should not be more than two months. If that has been done..." "It might make two months subjectively for them, but decades for Aphonion." "Correct." "And presumably that is easier and more readily done for outer planar areas that are under their control. I believe that on the Prime that is mostly the domain of gods who have particular ties to time, but on their home planes..." "Yes, exactly. They all have that capability in their home planes. It's impossible to tell how arrogant the One Beside is. The more arrogant, the more likely he is to not bother with time effects. If he views himself as being under no threat--views both his plans on Aphonian and his plans there as being beyond the interference of even great elves--then he has no need to slow them down. If he thinks they might succeed, or might return to Aphonion to do things here, then slowing things down to keep them off the board would have value to him. I don't know his mind. I may have mentioned this. He was the least active and the least obvious in the first war against the three of them. He's simultaneously clearly arrogant in some ways, yet also more deceptive and cautious and clever than the other two." "Which gives us less information with which to make good decisions. Just to try to check off other possibilities--I find it hard to imagine that any of the Lolthian Drow would be willing to engage in a false colors act like that." "They would not cooperate with him--even they remember. They also would be unlikely to be willing to wear cadet house colors even as a false flag. It would insult their matrons, and as anyone who has ever dealt with them knows, the one thing that is unwise to do is insult their matrons, and it might well offend Lolth herself, and that's also unwise." "Indeed. I think we should then send them a message about that, too." * * * They then talk to the Hastur, hoping to get one who is closer to sane than not. <<Hail and well met.>> <<Hail and well met, indeed. We have an issue that has arisen on Drucien that we thought that we should inform you of, and perhaps ask your assistance in the response.>> <<Well, dribble me in batter and bake me as bread! Go ahead.>> Alistair does his best to not react to that bizarre interjection. <<There is a marilith baroness who has managed to manifest on the prime, and bring with her a klave of her underling marilith servants. The Baroness is named Aana Maruthu if it should be relevant. We fear that she may be attempting to form a cult following her, seeking to take the place left vacant by the fall of Berta. While this is not strictly related to problems of the Shadowlands, we thought it's similar enough that you might be interested in supporting an effort to expel her from the Prime.>> <<You know, they get boring. All of their efforts are always the same. Grow cults, become more powerful, invade lands that don't want them. It's tragic or something or other. So, you would like us to assist you.>> <<Yes, we have put in place a plan to attempt to locate their stronghold where they are taking their prisoners, and would then call on you to join in the assault.>> <<Oh, that's a kettle of fish. Alright, so you're going to infiltrate them, find out where they are, and then attack them. That is precisely the play. I'm old but not daft yet. How many cultists have they gathered?>> <<I don't think we have a clear count on that.>> <<You know, there's a difference between 15 and 100 in terms of energy.>> <<Yes, I know that there's a difference based on numbers, but not the numbers. We know they've taken three batches. I don't know how many were in each, so likely more than 15, but probably less than 100.>> <<These people went with them willingly?>> <<At least to some degree. On the other hand, these would have been people who had just seen their neighbors slaughtered, and so when offered the opportunity to choose between slaughter and going with them, I'm not sure that's quite willing.>> <<I agree with you, although I must say I've been on the Line for too long to have any mercy for such traitors' activity.>> <<I can respect that. But these are civilians.>> <<Yes, it's always civilians. That's what the demons want--civilians. If they have voluntarily thrown in with worshiping the mariliths, then they're unlikely to be militarily trained.>> <<Correct.>> <<So we can assume that they're not going to be willingly adding themselves into the fight. Possibly be thrown willy-nilly under someone's pike, but not willingly joining the fight. Do you know when the attack is going to take place?>> <<No, we don't know when we'll be able to identify the location.>> <<They'll get more and more cultists the longer you wait.>> <<That is precisely why we are trying to do this as quickly as we can.>> <<Excellent, excellent! I salute your initiative.>> She actually does a salute. <<I'm sure that I can send one of the trainees. They need field practice anyway. A marilith is a lot easier than a Doyle.>> <<We would appreciate it.>> <<I appreciate your thinking of us. It's always good to have somewhere to train the young ones before they're out on the Line. Now, what else do we expect to also be sending?>> <<An exorcist from the Church and also some magical resources. The Church, as we use such terms, refers to the Church of Glordiadel.>> <<Oh, yes, yes. Nice young fellow. I understand that's what everyone says.>> <<That's what everyone says except for Gunnora, who refers to him as being a little stuffy.>> <<Yes, I would expect that from her. I will see what I can do. I am sure that we can assist. Do not think that because I'm sending you a trainee that I am sending you someone who is ill prepared for such combat. After all, we don't train them to do anything else but fight demons.>> <<We understand. We are told that she is, in addition to being a baroness, a sorceress of at least name level.>> <<She would have to be. Their nobles have to have access to power. They can't hold power after all if it's beyond the reach of their claws. It refuses their authority.>> <<That does mean that perhaps if we can deal with the leader, the others will break.>> <<Oh, absolutely, of course they will without a klave leader. They will flee. I've seen it on the Line. You always try to pick out the leader of a klave if they're crossing under the protection of a major demon, because if you can eliminate them, the others fade right away. That's because they have to fight among themselves, to see who the new klave leader is, which, of course, always results in the klave dissolving. It's very simple, really.>> <<Indeed.>> <<Let me know when you know when you'll need us. I'm pretty sure you told me your name.>> <<I'm Alistair.>> <<Oh, yes, you're the Grand-Arch-Emperor of something or other on Drucien. Very good. Let me memorize your face. There, got it. I will send you someone shortly. They should be familiar and used to being in your military configurations before the action.>> <<Understood.>> <<Would you prefer male or female?>> <<Female, if possible.>> <<Of course, very well. And do you prefer a mechanic, a keeper, or a guardian?>> <<I don't think that we have any great preference there.>> <<Very well. Whoever's available, then, that's female. Hmm! You twitch when I say the word female. I'll make sure that she is comely. Good day.>> The conduit closes. "At least she was mostly coherent," mutters Alistair to himself. [End Session 146] [/QUOTE]
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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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