The ledge wound up the side of the cliff several hundred feet above the Styx. At the top of the trail loomed the manor, a sprawling mansion of gothic eaves, spiked crenellations, and iron and darkwood wainscoting. Demonic gargoyles leered from the corners of the roof, and a cold iron fence enclosed the immense structure. The gates hung open in absent invitation. Within, a few dead, leafless trees decorated the courtyard. A short path, made of what appeared to be realistically carved, stone faces, led up the tall front doors. Mandi glanced down at the path as they approached the house and realized that the faces were more than just realistic…they were real, chiseled off the bodies of individuals that had been magically petrified. She kept this information to herself.
Octurus was the first to approach the entry portal, and at his knock, the doors swung silently open. As he stared into the gloom beyond, trying to adjust his eyes, he saw something floating lazily towards him. His hands were already on the hilts of his scimitars when he realized it was an envelope closed with wax bearing Iggwilv’s seal. Plucking it from the air, he slid his thumb beneath the wax and unfolded the note within:
‘My unexpected guests…I regret that I have been unable to meet with you to discuss matters of mutual interest, or that my pets may have caused you undue harm.
My researches require my full attention for another hour; please follow my cat and await me in the Demonhunter’s Room. I will join you shortly.’
IGV
Just as he finished reading the letter, Octurus felt something brush past his leg. Glancing down, he saw a glossy, black cat circling around his ankles. It flicked its tail once and began padding down the hall.
“That’s no cat,” Daelric said in an aside to Mandi. “My True Sight shows its real nature. It’s that same creature that met us at the docks.”
“I’m well aware of that,” Mandi replied testily, having imbued herself with the same magic. “But as the saying goes, ‘When in Waterdeep, do as the Waterdhavians.’
The polymorphed feline led them to a door on the left side of the hall, and then pushed it open with its nose. The so-called Demonhunter’s Room (which Octurus liked the sound of) was a well appointed drawing room, its walls lined with shelves of books, a small niche containing a statue of a cowering vrock demon, a small domed ceiling covered in gold leaf high overhead, and four beautiful stuffed leather chairs. One of those chairs floated three feet in the air, and there sat a woman with raven-black hair wearing a rich purple leather corset over a black robe. Mandi noticed several things when she entered the room. First, the woman in the chair was not real, but an illusion. Second, three arcanaloths, for that’s what the wolf-headed creatures were, part of a demonic race called yugoloths, hovered invisibly near the ceiling. Again, she kept her observations to herself, willing to play along with the ruse a little longer.
“My Lady,” the sorceress said, bowing. “We have to come to beseech your aid in a matter of mutual concern.”
“Do not presume to know what does or does not concern me,” the woman answered. “I care little, in fact, for the concerns of lesser beings.”
“Would it make a difference if we told you that a not-so-lesser Prince of Demons is hatching a plan to unify his two personalities?” Mandi asked.
“Just the latest in Demogorgon’s mad schemes,” the lady replied. “None of them have ever borne fruit in the past, so why should I worry about this one?”
“Charon and Shami-Amourae seemed to care,” Mandi said dryly.
“Did I mention my opinion of lesser beings?” she answered.
“Very well,” Mandi acceded. “Perhaps we are wasting your time after all. But before we leave, I believe I have something that belongs to you.”
She reached into her haversack and pulled out the Demonomicon.
In a flash the arcanaloths were in motion, and Mandi shouted a telepathic warning to her comrades. The demons were preparing to cast spells, but the elven sorceress was faster, and she hastily conjured a force wall beneath their feet. When the lightning exploded from their hands, it struck the barrier and bounced harmlessly off.
“We don’t want to fight you!” Mandi called.
“Speak for yourself,” Marius grumbled.
“We only wish to speak to your mistress!” Mandi continued.
In response, the demons vanished. Mandi sensed them teleporting, and thanked whatever powers might be listening that she wove her interdiction around her daily.
“We have about twenty seconds until they appear,” she snapped at the others. “We’d best get ready. Sepoto, Cleaver, Octurus, get up there and be ready.”
She cast as she spoke, creating a shimmering field of green energy in the area she knew the arcanaloths would reappear in…a dimensional lock to prevent them from teleporting again.
Once the three warriors had quaffed their individual potions and flew into the field, she turned to Marius.
“Lock them in,” she commanded.
The gnome nodded and created a second force wall beneath the trio. When the demons reappeared, they would be trapped between the two barriers with a phalanx of steel and death awaiting them.
A moment later, the arcanaloths reappeared, but far from being taken by surprise, they snarled a challenge at the three warriors and then proceeded to erect their own force walls, sectioning off the area even further, leaving Tower Cleaver trapped behind two walls, while Sepoto faced off against one demon, and Octurus was left with the remaining two. Then, in rapid succession, the fiends unleashed barrages of force missiles at the Maztican and the goliath.
Meanwhile, down below, Mandi cursed roundly that her beautiful plan had not worked. She quickly dismissed the lower force wall, and then conjured up a familiar pair of huge, disembodied hands. One of them flew towards the pair of demons engaging Octurus and snatched one of them into its vice-like grip. The second hand mirrored the maneuver with Sepoto’s opponent. Octurus didn’t waste the opportunity. Leaping at the grappled arcanaloth, he struck with the hilt of his scimitar, shattering the demon’s jaw. Then, his blades went into a bewildering display of shining steel that ended with a long, looping cut that completely disemboweled the fiend.
Mandi smiled mirthlessly, knowing she had neutralized the other constricted arcanaloth’s ability to cast spells, since its hands were bound. That left only one to deal with. For the second time in as many minutes, she was shocked and taken aback when both fiends bowed their heads in concentration, and then out of thin air, two more arcanaloth’s appeared! No sooner had the new pair arrived, than their hands were in motion, weaving their magic. Daelric sensed what was coming, and quickly countered one of the spells, but the other was already complete, and rippling lightning surged through the group, arcing from one to the next. Both demons followed this by another bombardment of magic missiles, this time aimed at Mandi and Marius.
“That’s it!” Marius shrieked. “I’ve had enough of toying with these upstarts!”
The little gnome virtually spat out the words to his spell, and as he spoke the last one, a wave of searing heat washed over the quartet of yugoloths, leaching the moisture from their skin with the force of its impact.
At that point, the battlefield truly erupted. Sepoto and Octurus continued to harry their opponents, with the Maztican slashing at the hamstring of his, while Sepoto settled for straight-forward bashing. Meanwhile, the two new arrivals continued to saturate the party with chained bolts of lightning and magical force bolts.
It was then that Mandi sensed something behind her, and as she turned, she saw Iggwilv materialize. Only it was not Iggwilv, but another polymorphed arcanaloth. The other demons, however, didn’t seem to realize this, as evidenced by their sudden halt of hostilities, and their pleas of mercy from their mistress.
“Be gone!” the new arrival said to the pair of fiends that had been summoned, and in an eye blink, they vanished.
“Will you allow these other two to leave as well?” the creature asked Mandi.
“No,” the sorceress snapped, folding her arms across her chest.
The disguised arcanaloth sighed, and took a seat in the floating chair.
“Allow me to apologize for my brothers,” he said. “They are fools and children in many ways. And allow me to apologize for my deception. I am not my Mistress.”
The beautiful female form wavered, and an instant later, the true form of the demon was seated in the chair.
“My name is Landerbold, and I am Her Excellency’s appointments minister. She apologizes for the jealousy and enthusiasm you’ve been exposed to, and has asked me to inform you that you are free to leave, unharmed. I give you my word no reprisals will be taken against you.”
“We’re not leaving here until we’ve had a chance to speak with your Mistress,” Mandi said, pointedly. “We were brought here by Charon himself, on a mission of great urgency. The Prince of Demons is preparing to make a bold and catastrophic move, and if he is not stopped, not even Iggwilv will be safe for long.”
Landerbold sighed again and nodded.
“All is well. I assure you my mistress can meet with you. She’ll understand about the bloodshed. It was overdue…those fools needed a lesson in humility. Gather at the top of the manor stairs in your best finery in one hour. If you lack any fine garments, work up a glamour or something. Her Excellency has discerning tastes, and shabby vagabonds rarely receive her help. Oh, and one more thing: keep your wands and weapons sheathed in Her Excellency’s presence. She keeps demon lords as pets. She’ll have no problem crushing you if you try anything stupid. If you’re assassins, you’re incredibly foolish, and I look forward to seeing your deaths.”
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
