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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joe Jolly" data-source="post: 7543025" data-attributes="member: 6870626">Settling Old Debts - 25 Neth, 4718 - 2 Kuthona, 4718Timeon’s coronation was a grand affair, attended by most of the populace of Matharyn, and afterwards the Dannisters were free with the city’s coffers to provide a grand revelry that lasted 3 days. The people were happy, and distracted. Once again Tardaesha and her companions met with Count Barca, with the contract devil Dessiter in attendance, to finalize their arrangement. The Count received the land grants he’d requested in exchange for his unswerving loyalty to the new king. He was also granted the title Master of Ships for the King’s small council.One evening, as the Ninth Knot was settling into their new roles, Dessiter abruptly appeared in their midst.“Greetings, great and powerful lords,” the contract devil fawned. “It is my pleasure to  stand again in the presence of your infernal majesties. Today I am not alone. I bring an ally and petitioner to your service. May I present the anti-paladin Sir Berithor, who has sworn service to our father and bound himself to hell. He has something to say... ”  To the shock of those assembled, Sir Richard stepped forward, though he barely resembled the proud knight they’d last encountered. He bowed low before them.“I offer you my sword and my service, if you will have it.”“ Ah,” said Dessiter. “How pleasant to see old enemies reconciled.”“And just what is it that we are supposed to do with him?” Dakota sneered.“Use him as you see fit,” Dessiter grinned. “He is yours to do with as you will.”“He’s your puppet, not ours!” Dakota snapped.“You wound me with your distrust,” Dessiter feigned. “Regardless, if you need assurance of his loyalties, we could have him swear an an oath in blood to you here and now that would guarantee his loyalty. Surely you remember the Pact of Thorns. He could sign something similar. And then you could make him a leader of a knot. You must have a few openings by now... ”“That didn’t stop us from killing Thorn,” Kelvin observed dryly. “Only because he didn't seek proper legal counsel!” Dessiter was dismissive. “Fortunately, O great ones, you have me to make sure we end up with an iron clad contract.”He quickly produced a lengthy document effectively binding Sir Berithor to the Ninth Knot.“Now, what is to become of him?” Dessiter asked.“I have just the thing,” Tardaesha smiled. “The Wall needs rebuilding, and the garrison there is in need of a new Lord Commander...since Sir ‘Berithor’s’ father so abruptly vacated the post.”_____________________________________________________________________“I’ve found him,” Kelvin announced as he strode into Tardaesha’s quarters without knocking. “Who?” Tardaesha asked, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.“Who?” Kelvin repeated. “Whom do you think? Did you not task me with finding Thorn’s lackey, Wolfram? You know, I really do have better things to do than be your errand boy.”“Now, now, brother,” Tardaesha soothed, “of course I appreciate your endeavors. It’s just that there is much more to this whole kingdom-ruling thing than I could have imagined. Where is the blackguard hiding?”“The wilderness,” Kelvin said, only slightly mollified. “Middle of nowhere. I can transport us there whenever you’re ready. He hasn’t moved from his position in awhile.”“Then why wait?” Tardaesha smiled. “Let’s assemble the others.”__________________________________________________________________Marcellus Wolfram had known it would only be a matter of time before the Ninth Knot tracked him down. In truth, he welcomed the moment when they finally appeared in the dank cavern in which he’d been huddled like a maggot for so many months. He was tired of waiting, and was determined to take at least some of them with him to Hell when he went. His two erstwhile allies, the blue dragon Azulla, and the void oni Subatai, on the other hand, were caught completely unawares. “We assume that, since you have not reached out to us,” Tardaesha smiled, “that you are no longer interested in serving our lord Asmodeus.”“You do not represent our Lord!” Marcellus screamed. “You are a usurper! You don’t deserve to clean the slop of Adrastus Thorn!”“So it’s settled then,” Tardaesha smiled. “You can take the issue up with the Dark Lord when you see him.”She nodded to Kelvin, who in turn cast out his hand towards the black-skinned oni. The creature disappeared, banished instantaneously to a hellscape of his own mind. Before Azulla or Marcellus could react, Kelvin followed up with an explosive ball of fire that engulfed half the chamber. Marcellus had prepared for such things. He did, after all, know the tactics of the Ninth Knot quite intimately. The magical wards against heat and fire he’d woven into his armor protected him. Azulla was not so fortunate. She screamed as half of her body was scorched. Marcellus did not care. He’d already turned to face Roger, who’d come rushing headlong towards him in the aftermath of Kelvin’s blast. Anti-paladin faced anti-paladin as the blades of the two unholy warriors clashed. Roger, undead and wielding his hellish blade, was the stronger of the two, but Marcellus had years of martial tactics under his belt. He feinted and moved deftly, drawing Roger in, and then surging forward. He caught the liche off guard, and with a flurry of strikes and parries, cut Roger down. He collapsed into a pile of ash.Marcellus turned towards Tardaesha, his cloak swirling around him, but before he could take a step, a wall of flames erupted from the floor between him and the high priestess.“That will only hold him back for a moment,” Kelvin told his sister. “If you have any last minute preparations, you’d best see to them now.”“Speak for yourself,” Tardaesha snapped, nodding her head over Kelvin’s shoulder.The wizard turned to look, and saw, much to his surprise, that the oni had returned.“He must be smarter than I gave him credit for,” Kelvin muttered. He casually tossed a fireball at the oni, but when it erupted, a shield of blue flames surrounded the creature, dissipating Kelvin’s fire harmlessly.“This is really starting to piss me off,” Kelvin snarled.Tardaesha took the opportunity to close the distance to Azulla, narrowly avoiding her jaws as the dragon snapped at her like a striking serpent.“Where is my son!?” Azulla hissed.“Your...son?” Tardaesha asked, honestly perplexed.“Jeratheon!” Azulla screamed. “Return him to me!!”Tardaesha almost laughed out loud. “Jeratheon is your son? Not exactly mum-of-the-year were you?”Azulla howled in rage and launched herself at Tardaesha. The High Priestess deftly side-stepped the clumsy charge and raked her blade down the dragon’s exposed flank. From behind Azulla, Katarina stepped out of the shadows and began tossing black-bladed daggers, each of them embedding in the creature’s flesh up to the hilt. “Out of the way!” Kelvin shouted from somewhere behind Tardaesha.The priestess had learned by now not to ignore such warnings. She tucked and rolled just as an explosive blast of fire washed over Azulla. Tardaesha leaped to her feet and ran to the struggling dragon. Before Azulla could recover, Tardaesha plunged her sword into her heart.“I’ll give Jeratheon your regards,” she smiled.When Tardaesha moved to return to Kelvin’s side, she saw that Wolfram had beat her to the punch. The dark knight was charging her brother, but at the last moment, a wall of flames erupted between them. Wolfram adjusted his trajectory, and turned towards Tardaesha. Though she braced herself for his attack, and even managed to score a glancing blow as he approached, she was not prepared for the sheer, unstoppable fury of the assault. He struck her so hard that his blade shattered all of her defenses, and sent her stumbling back a dozen feet or more. Wolfram stalked towards her, his weapon raised for a killing blow, but then Katarina appeared behind him and drove her dagger into his back in rapid succession. Wolfram reeled, momentarily bewildered as waves of numbness shot down his spine. Before he could regain his composure, Kelvin stepped through the wall of flames and conjured a large, disembodied hand, which immediately seized Wolfram in a crushing grip. The anti-paladin howled and flexed, bursting the fingers of the hand apart, but by that time Tardaesha was on him. She repeated the killing blow she’d used on Azulla, plunging her sword through Wolfram’s chest. As his eyes went dim, she leaned forward and hissed into his ear.“Now you will see whom Asmodeus truly favors!”Subatai had seen enough. His loyalty only went so far, and Wolfram was dead. His body melted and flowed into an amorphous black cloud, but before he could make his escape, the Ninth Knot boxed him in. There would be no witnesses and no survivors.</blockquote>

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