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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2133668" data-attributes="member: 143">Chapter 358“The invaders have broken through the outer defenses.  Gather our guests, and take them to join the giant and his creatures,” Shebelith Regidin said.“As you command,” Decrihni Baiul replied, giggling as he bowed.  He shot the woman standing beside Regidin a suggestive leer that caused her lips to compress into a tight line, then darted off, moving surprisingly quickly for a man clad in full plate armor. “How you tolerate that little troll, I have no idea,” the woman said upon Baiul’s departure.  She was clad in a fashionable outfit of spotless red silk, and she looked rather out of place in the dark tunnels of the Cagewright stronghold.  A wand was tucked into a case at her waist, and a detect magic spell would have revealed her to be a veritable beacon of magical auras. “He is useful, for all his idiosyncrasies, my dear Freija,” Regidin said.  He turned his considerable gaze upon her; the woman did not flinch and if anything her disapproving frown deepened.  “And do not underestimate his competence.”“I do not agree with this plan,” Freija returned.  “We should meet the enemy with the combined force of the Thirteen.”“Twelve, now,” Regidin noted.  “And a number of our colleagues are elsewhere, as you know.”Freija lifted an eyebrow slightly.  “All the more reason to gather our forces and strike a decisive blow.”“Your ideas are incisive, as always, my dear.  But the Tree cannot be left alone at this stage; matters approach a decisive fulcrum upon which the entire fate of our plans is balanced.”“I know not if you are brilliant or merely a coward,” Freija answered.  “Perhaps both.  In any case, you will have Ti’irok and his little band, Baiul and his demodands, and our new allies at your command.  Not to mention those beings that you will no doubt summon to our cause.”“Bah.  Foot soldiers are all and well, but if you and Dyr’ryd cannot be stirred from your precious Tree, at least release Ardeth and Nulin to my command.  Grehlia and Thearynn can go hide in their holes; both are as mad as Baiul, if not more, and I would as soon not turn my back upon either when my life is on the line.”“Ardeth and Nulin are completing a special project upon my behalf, but I will send them to you as soon as they are available.”“That level of commitment is unacceptable.”“You have the full intelligence as to the capability of our foes.  Their numbers are depleted, and their magical power is surely at its nadir.”“Indeed, and that is more reason to not underestimate them.  It would appear that Gau did so.”“I have full confidence in your abilities.  And consider; these invaders are potent, and are likely to have a comprehensive arsenal of magical items.”“I am not some pathetic underling to be bribed with trinkets, cleric.  And if you think to leave me out on a limb, perhaps to fall against these intruders…”“If that were my intent, would I have bothered to reinforce you with the sorcerer and the glabrezu?  Your vaunted intellect has you jousting at shadows, Freija.  I believe that these invaders will be easily handled by what forces we have assembled, but should they prove more resourceful than I have anticipated, I have complete confidence that you will be the first to withdraw, and the last to fall.”“Self-preservation is an instinct we all possess in abundance.  Perhaps fanatics like yourself and Grehlia feel differently, but I will not throw my life away needlessly.”“Nor would I expect it of you.”“You are in a position of leadership in our cabal… but I am not yours nor any other being’s pawn.”“Allow me to clarify my position: the Tree must be protected, at all cost.  If that cost includes the giant and his mercenaries, or Baiul, or you, or every other one of the Thirteen, or even my own life, then I will pay it. Once the ritual is complete, and the portal between worlds secure, then and only then will I shift my attention to other matters.”Freija’s eyes narrowed.  “As will I.”  She inclined her head in a tight gesture that might have been intended as a bow, then spun and strode stiffly away.</blockquote>

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