NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 2777600" data-attributes="member: 143">Glad you enjoyed Arun's transition to epic levels. Now, it's Friday, and also time for another Interlude...* * * * * Chapter 509 INTERLUDEZev’vat looked up at the towering form of a glabrezu as he materialized in the portal chamber.  The massive demon was several times his size, but it was the glabrezu who backed off, inclining its head ever so slightly in what passed for a bow, among its kind.  It might have put up more bluster, had Zev’vat not been here because of a summons.  Or if it had been a fool.  For there were few here who did not know of Zev’vat, both what he was, and who he served. The kelvezu spared little thought for the demon guardian, or the pair of hezrou that warded the heavy iron doors that led out into the main corridor of the fortress.  Graz’zt is wary, he thought, at the same time that his eyes fell over the poor condition of the place, stark even after all this time of exile.  Memories of the Argent Palace were not likely to fade soon, not when juxtaposed against such a precipitous decline. Lo, how the mighty have fallen, he thought with a inner chuckle.  He did not bother to censor his thoughts, not even here.  He was entirely conscious of his own precarious position within a precarious situation, even before the tumult of recent events had begun pushing things toward a cusp of change once more.  But his current position with his current master had been won through judicious use of his intellect and candor, and changing that now would likely put him in more jeopardy. His destination wasn’t far from the entry chamber.  No place within the fortress was; it was small, crowded.  As he made his way down the central hall, he passed a side passage from which disturbing screams issued.  Someone was being tortured; he knew all too well that Graz’zt’s specialists in that art were quite proficient.  Zev’vat had heard and seen far worse, however, so he put it aside as he reached his goal. The heavy stone door swung open at his approach.  He was expected, after all.  The sole inhabitant of the chamber nodded at Zev’vat as he entered, but neither spoke until the door had swung ponderously shut behind the kelvezu. Zev’vat did not bother with slavering obsequiousness or other false preliminaries.  He and his patron knew each other well, and could forgo all of the petty games demons usually played with each other.  “Welcome,” Athux said.  “Sit?”Zev’vat took the indicated chair.  “My father is moving ahead with his plans.  He has ordered Malad to gather the remnants of the Blood Legion, in advance of an all-out bid for power.  We will not be returning to Azzagrat; our rivals expect such a play, and have prepared for it.”“I see.”  Interesting.  I wonder if his Mightiness shared his precise target with you noble prince?  Or if we’re all equally in the dark about the plans of the Lord of Shadows…Athux fixed him with an intent look.  “You’re wondering if I myself have been trusted with the knowledge of Graz’zt’s ultimate objective.  You can ease your curiosity; I have not.  Graz’zt mistrusts me, as he mistrusts everyone and everything around him.  Given his current position, he would be a fool to do anything else.”“And yet, the ultimate fate of many revolves around his decision,” Zev’vat said.  Athux leaned back, smiling a perfect smile; it was hard not to be drawn in by the cambion’s incredible presence.  “I have my suspicions, of course.  But father is playing the cards very close to his chest.  And, naturally, he has already set plans into motion, setting a web within a web.  He is mad, his ego under test by the strains of recent events.  But he is no less cunning for that.”“I assume that I am here to be a string in one of those webs?”“You assume correctly.  Father is intent upon minimizing several variant factors that could spoil the careful alignment of his plans.  In particular, there are several primes with a potential for great disruption.”Zev’vat’s thoughts flashed back over the screams of the tortured man he’d heard in the hall.Athux nodded.  “For your own sake, you might want to avoid walking down that path just yet,” he said.  “That is a complicated matter.  Suffice it to say, these primes are your concern.”“On Faerûn,” Zev’vat said.  “You know, then.”Zev’vat snorted.  “I know what everyone in service to Him knows, about them.  I’d wondered, to be honest, why he hasn’t moved against them before.”“As always, the matter is complicated.”“Well, he certainly has had a lot on his mind.”“Focus on the matter at hand.  Permanent destruction is likely beyond your means, but in any case they must be distracted from intervention when my father reveals his hand.  They are scattered at the moment, which may give you an opportunity.”“What sort of time scale do I have to work with?”“The critical time will fall between one hundred ten and one hundred forty local hours from this meeting.  With the time conversion…”“Just under five days, on Abeir-Toril.  Not much time.”“You have completed more challenging tasks in less.”“It’s been quite a while since I last visited the Forgotten Realms.  I do not have any active contacts there, but I may be able to tug a few threads, call in a few favors.”Athux nodded again; he was well acquainted with Zev’vat’s connections, and his not inconsiderable personal talents.  “We are not without resources there, but obviously this matter must be approached with discretion, at least until it is too late for secrecy to be of avail to our cause.  Obviously direct involvement is inadvisable.  I suppose I do not have to tell you not to underestimate these particular primes.” Zev’vat let out a dry chuckle.  “Not after what happened to the last Abyssal lord who underestimated them.”The statement was bold even for the outspoken kelvezu, and for a moment an awkward silence hung between them.  There was nothing more that had to be said, so Athux subtly signaled the end of the interview, and the kelvezu left without even a bow of respect.  Patron and client, prince and vassal, lord and servant.  Their relationship had been long and fruitful, and always difficult to classify.  But Zev’vat was close enough to Athux to know that Graz’zt’s scion had his own plans at work, and that his own role in this drama was very likely to be much more significant than a mere distraction. It was going to be an interesting period of days ahead. As he departed, he passed once again the corridor with the screams of the torturee still audible.  His suspicion of the identity of the poor sod had been confirmed by what he’d just learned.  Zev’vat didn’t have to venture further to know that the cries he could hear through the stone door at the end of the corridor belonged to a man experiencing the true depths of physical and mental suffering. Zev’vat shrugged and headed for the portal chamber.  He had his assignment.  The friends of Graz’zt’s prisoner would join him in his misfortune, soon enough.</blockquote>

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