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<blockquote data-quote="Shemeska" data-source="post: 3835437" data-attributes="member: 11697"><p>“A little something for everyone, and only the best.” Nerath nodded and the servants began by placing covered dishes before the fiend and each of his guests.</p><p></p><p> Even before the gold covers were lifted and the meal revealed, the scent wafting up from each was absolutely mouthwatering. Some sort of meat and wine sauce along with a mixture of roasted and creamed vegetables. It wasn’t what they’d been expecting, or fearing, as the case might have been. It wasn’t “braised shank of someone who owed me a debt”, elf kidney pie, illithid headcheese, or anything else stereotypically expected on a greater fiend’s dinner menu.</p><p></p><p> “Enjoy.” Nerath said as he held a golden knife and fork, waiting for his guests before taking a taste of his own.</p><p></p><p> Victor tentatively took a bite of the delicate, perfectly cooked meat. Whatever it was, it had been pounded thin before being steeped in a mixture of spirits and its own juices along with an unidentifiable mixture of spices.</p><p></p><p> “This is really quite amazing.” Victor said. “What is it?”</p><p></p><p> Nerath nodded as he took his first bite, savored the taste for a moment, and then answered the cleric. “Roast medallions of Nic’Epona.”</p><p></p><p> Victor nodded and took another bite, but it was clear that the name held little intrinsic meaning to him, nor to anyone except Velkyn, Phaedra, and Inva who recognized one salient fact about the creature they were presently dining upon, even if they might not have known much else about it: it was sentient.</p><p></p><p> But they made no fuss and enjoyed their food. After all, the creature was already dead, and refusing to eat would have likely insulted the fiend, which wasn’t something they were keen to do when he was already in a good mood. </p><p></p><p> Dinner progressed and through it all Phaedra felt uncomfortable in the way that the fiend’s eyes focused on her. Even if he wasn’t openly leering, she felt as if he were mentally undressing her, but to make things even more bizarre, she couldn’t shake the feeling that while he was doing precisely that to Inva and probably to Velkyn as well, he seemed more interested in the dress she was wearing than what it was covering.</p><p></p><p> Finishing the meal, Nerath’s servants cleared the table and replaced the meal with a variety of expensive looking and exotic desserts as well as a glass of cognac for each for each person save Nerath who was given a specific, odd-looking drink. It was odd in that it swirled inside the glass on its own accord, immiscible currents of some golden spirit and a black, almost syrupy liquid stirred into it along with a dose of what looked like cinnamon and a few other spices.</p><p></p><p> Conversation took a pause and the ‘loth sipped at his drink with obvious pleasure, and the momentary respite from the flow of things gave Inva the chance she’d been waiting for. She sat up in her chair a bit straighter and tapped the silver-tipped point of her tail against her glass, getting the table’s attention.</p><p></p><p> “But now Your Fiendish Majesty, if I might have a moment of your attention.” Inva smiled and waited for Nerath’s response.</p><p></p><p> The others looked at the tiefling with genuine curiosity. She hadn’t mentioned anything to them earlier when they’d discussed the meeting and what to expect. Whatever she was planning, she hadn’t explained it ahead of time to any of them, including Phaedra, since even her half-fiend potential girlfriend was giving her the same look.</p><p></p><p> The fiend’s ears twitched and swiveled forward. “Oh, that you have.”</p><p></p><p> Inva smiled and whispered a few quick words to a spell and there was a barely noticeable buzz in the air, though it wasn’t from her own conjuration, but rather from a contingent counterspell the ‘loth held in check as he understood what she doing. Relaxing, his eyes danced with interest on something other than her cleavage.</p><p></p><p> “Allow me to present you with a gift.” Inva announced as shadows swirled between her hands and rapidly congealed into a black, translucent box.</p><p></p><p> The tiefling placed her fingers on the latch of the shadow chest and waited for the fiend’s nod of approval. Nerath’s lips lifted revealing ivory fangs and as he inclined his head favorably, Inva opened the chest and produced a letter emblazoned with a wax seal of Sigil’s Temple of the Abyss.</p><p></p><p> Nerath suddenly looked at the tiefling with genuine respect alongside more base concerns as he recognized the seal, the value of what she was gifting him with, the skill it suggested that she possessed, and the fact that she was doing so to get his attention for whichever particular flavor she might want in the future.</p><p></p><p> “Notarized and sealed by the High Priest to the Temple of the Abyss.” Inva explained. “Three rings of the Bells of Baphomet against anyone of your choosing.”</p><p></p><p> “Well done…” He whispered as he examined the letter and its seal. “Most appreciated darling, and Inva dear, you have my attention as well as thanks.”</p><p></p><p> Inva grinned as her gift had had exactly the response she’d hoped it would have, and unconsciously she crossed her arms displaying a bit more cleavage for the fiend’s attention. She’d already invoked the fiend’s lust, but with that gift she’d also invoked a serious level of intellectual curiosity on his part as well, a potentially double-edged prospect as both of them were liable to involve getting bent over and f*cked.</p><p></p><p> The others looked at Inva with a mixture of surprise and respect, though Victor showed a bit of wariness given his desire to get out of the fiend’s presence as quickly as possible, and Phaedra, well… Phaedra was inwardly smoldering with jealously. Although she and Inva weren’t officially even dating -and to that point they hadn’t actually sat down and discussed their feelings on the matter- Phaedra had no intention of sharing a girlfriend and potential lover with anyone else, especially with a full-blooded ‘loth like Nerath the Marauder.</p><p></p><p> “I believe the rest of you have been rather upstaged.” The fiend explained as he clapped his hands and caused Inva’s gift to vanish in a swirl of gray light that took the momentary form of tiny, screaming spirits.</p><p></p><p> Indeed they had. None of them had brought a gift of that magnitude; it simply hadn’t crossed their minds, and for most of them, having any sort of working relationship –or any other kind of relationship- wasn’t present in their thoughts either.</p><p></p><p> “Wow…” Phaedra said as she looked at Inva with surprise. She’d known that the tiefling was talented. After all, she’d uncovered the truth about her background in only a few days, and that wasn’t a secret she passed around. But having favors owed by the Temple of the Abyss was rare. Had Inva worked for them at some point? </p><p></p><p> The others stared at her in surprise the same way. Inva had shown up for their dinner meeting with Nerath fully intending to make an impression upon the ‘loth.</p><p></p><p> “Now my rather impressive little girl, I simply must ask.” He announced as he leaned forward curiously. “Just how did you come into possession of favors from either Sarnath the Apostate or Noshtoreth of the Umber Scales? I recognize the seal and it’s old enough to be from either the current High Priest or his rather dead predecessor.”</p><p></p><p> “Let’s call it a secret.” Inva shrugged and smiled wickedly. “I rather like mysteries. And since nobody knows precisely what happened to Noshtoreth, it’ll find good company.”</p><p></p><p> “You enjoy teasing as well.” He replied. “We’ll leave it a secret then. But I did hear rumors about Noshtoreth. I heard he angered Graz’zt, or some other major Abyssal power.”</p><p></p><p> Inva shrugged. “It’s possible I suppose.”</p><p></p><p> “I also heard that his soul had a particular flavor like burnt chocolate.” Nerath grinned, licking his lips to remove a stray drop of liquor, or relishing a memory. “It’s possible I suppose. But I like secrets too.”</p><p></p><p>Phaedra sipped at her drink and thought about the situation for a moment. Nerath was repugnant, representing the worst aspects of her own ‘loth heritage taken to an extreme, but even though Phaedra knew that Inva was evil, she didn’t really view her the same way at all, attraction aside. Possessing Abyssal favors and gifting them to fiends was perhaps a side of the tiefling that she hadn’t discovered yet. Perhaps Inva was even more complex of an individual than she though, or outside of the half-‘loth’s thoughts on the matter, perhaps Inva was simply not one to pass up an opportunity to better herself, dangerous as it might be.</p><p></p><p> “Your gift is appreciated my dear.” Nerath said with a respectful incline of his head. “You have my respect, and my attention in the future if you so desire to do business, no invitation or prior appointment needed.”</p><p></p><p> Phaedra sipped her drink to avoid grimacing at the look the fiend was giving to Inva, but much to her relief nothing more was discussed along those lines, at least nothing verbal, and nothing more in the company of the group. Inva had unlocked and opened a door, and as much as she liked secrets, regardless of how it developed, it wasn’t something she was likely to be open with.</p><p></p><p> The remainder of the evening consisted of largely irrelevant and hollow talk about politics over desert, and drinking interspersed with leading questions by the fiend as he verbally probed them for details about their past and what their current circumstances in Sigil involved. The two hours were all still part of Nerath’s sales pitch about who he was and what he could do, and during that time he was practically drooling onto Inva, and to Phaedra’s continued irritation, the tiefling seemed just as taken with the ‘loth. </p><p></p><p>Eventually though, the fiend realized that he wasn’t going to get anything more from them besides the expected social banter. By blood, by faith, or by reputation, dealing with the King of the Crosstrade simply wasn’t in the cards for the group at the moment… most members at least.</p><p></p><p> “Well it has been a delight.” Nerath exclaimed, finishing a shot of Bytopian brandy mixed with Styx water. “I’ve given you a decent idea of what services I might be able to offer you in the future if you find yourself in need of them. Keep me in mind.”</p><p></p><p> “Thank you for dinner.” Phaedra replied, trying to sound as graciously as possible. “We’ve enjoyed ourselves, and appreciated getting to know you, but it’s getting a bit late and we should probably get going.”</p><p></p><p> Victor nodded, followed closely thereafter by his brother and Garibaldi. They were keen to break away from the fiend while they were still on his neutral side and hadn’t walked into anything. Garibaldi at least was convinced that the whole thing was a trap of some kind, though it really wasn’t anything of the sort. Nerath simply wanted to know who had moved into the suite below his own and if possible who was paying for it. He hadn’t found out the latter answer, but he’d been afforded the opportunity to make a few mortals squirm, to openly hit on two rivals’ son and daughter, and he’d discovered a delightfully talented tiefling.</p><p></p><p> “That it is.” Nerath said with a sigh as he stood up and stepped to his left, pulling out Inva’s chair and extending a hand. </p><p></p><p> Inva took his hand and stood up, feeling a claw rub against the inside of her palm.</p><p></p><p> “Unless of course you’d like to stay.” Nerath asked as his eyes locked onto Inva’s, while in the background Phaedra coughed and stopped herself from growling.</p><p></p><p> Inva gave a coy smile. “I’m afraid I must decline your majesty.”</p><p></p><p>“A pity.” Nerath said, shrugging his bare shoulders. “Another time perhaps.”</p><p></p><p> Nerath frowned from disappointment, but unnoticed to anyone else in the room, Inva had returned his rub by running her thumb across his wrist a few telling times.</p><p></p><p> <em>“You’ll be hearing from me you delightfully wicked little thing.”</em></p><p></p><p> Inva was blushing as she let go of the fiend’s hand and joined the others as they moved towards the door. Phaedra was inwardly fuming, but she seemed much more at ease once Inva leaned in and took her arm.</p><p></p><p> “Good luck with your current employment.” Nerath said as he gestured for the door to be opened.</p><p></p><p>“Much appreciated sir.” Velkyn said. “Enjoy the wine, and if we need your services in the future, we’ll keep you in mind.”</p><p></p><p> “You’ll know where to find me if you do.” The fiend put a golden pipe to his mouth, puffed and exhaled a cloud of bluish smoke. A few streamers brushed against Inva’s neck with the palpable sensation of long, thin fingers, and filled the air with an exotic and intoxicating scent.</p><p></p><p> They left and one of Nerath’s guards closed the door behind them as they strolled down the hall and shrugged off the last bits of oddly lingering smoke. Phaedra emphatically shivered and stuck out of her tongue as soon as they were out of line of sight of the door, and Inva shivered as well, but for a distinctly different reason.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p></p><p>Back in the fiend’s chamber, all was dark and only the periodic smoldering of pipe ashes gave any light, glinting off of fangs and fur and golden piercings. Nerath lay sprawled across a divan, leaning his head back and smiling at how the evening had gone. He chuckled and opened a pair of eyes like burning coals.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, we’ll definitely be seeing more of each other in the future…”</p><p> </p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p><p></p><p></p><p> Soft light drifted down from a circular window in the ceiling, almost like moonlight, and fell upon two figures as they circled a single, magically preserved corpse.</p><p></p><p> “I take it that you’ve already chosen another victim?”</p><p></p><p> The Visionary nodded a yes as she deftly excised the last digit of the corpse’s ring finger and placed it into a vial in her other hand. Beneath her vision, and that of her companion, the glass shimmered with a permanent necromantic dweomer to prevent any decay in the centuries old flesh, ensuring that it would be found, examined, and ultimately recognized by its intended recipient.</p><p></p><p> “I have a very long list.” She explained, stepping away from the body. “It’s not a question of finding another victim. It’s a question of who to kill next, and whose death will cause the most poignant prick in their master’s flesh. I want to hurt him, gain his attention, and ultimately well… we’ll see what form revenge will be best served by.”</p><p></p><p> Tyranny’s first head chuffled like a mortal tiger while the mandibles on his second head chattered against one another. “How long do you think it will take for the Lord of Avernus to know who you are?”</p><p></p><p> “Not for some time still I suspect.” She replied. “But he’ll know it’s me the moment he finds a bit of this corpse. He’ll recognize it for who it was, and what the symbolism means in context. He’ll remember me. Oh he’ll remember me. But I fully expect his underlings to not report their findings, or to have the evidence buried in the paperwork of the ministries for years to come before the string of assassinations grows too long to avoid an obvious pattern and connection. Then he’ll look, and he’ll recognize my hand.”</p><p></p><p> “If you’re certain.” Tyranny replied. “But I do worry that Bel will notice before other plans have fallen into place. Our work on Acheron still requires years of work before it reaches fruition, and this assumes no opposition from the Lord of the 1st, the Risen’s former kindred, or my own kind as well.”</p><p></p><p> Beneath her porcelain mask, the Visionary smirked. Her immortal companion was less subtle than usual, but he did have a point. Her revenge wasn’t their group’s only goal, and if she was too quick and pointed in gaining hers, it might scuttle their longer-term plans. Lacking the patience of immortality might have been a fault, but what she’d endured for over a century gave her more hatred bubbling in her veins than perhaps even the Risen.</p><p></p><p> “The victim is minor in this instance.” She finally answered, hoping to mollify her ally’s concern. “It should work out well for our newest hires. It’s quick and it will give us a better idea of just what they’re willing to do.”</p><p></p><p> “I suppose so.” Tyranny replied.</p><p></p><p> The Visionary smirked again and turned to the exiled rakshasa lord. “Besides, are you really ready to send them off to Renais, Marsallen, or if we let her have her way, somewhere in the depths of the Abyss at the Risen’s bidding? Small steps.”</p><p></p><p> That seemed to satisfy him.</p><p></p><p> “Fair enough.” Tyranny said. “We’ll see what sort of commotion this starts in the Ministry of Mortal Affairs once it’s done, and if it seems to cause too many waves for the moment, we can adjust in the future. But in the meantime I’ll have Aspaseka talk to our hires and give them the details on your target, as well as the vial.”</p><p></p><p> “Very well.” The Visionary said with a smile behind her mask as she handed the vial into the fiend’s reversed hand. “Though truth be told, even though it certainly makes for a pointed message to Bel, I almost feel sorry for using bits of old Factol Noby here for my purposes.”</p><p></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">***</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shemeska, post: 3835437, member: 11697"] “A little something for everyone, and only the best.” Nerath nodded and the servants began by placing covered dishes before the fiend and each of his guests. Even before the gold covers were lifted and the meal revealed, the scent wafting up from each was absolutely mouthwatering. Some sort of meat and wine sauce along with a mixture of roasted and creamed vegetables. It wasn’t what they’d been expecting, or fearing, as the case might have been. It wasn’t “braised shank of someone who owed me a debt”, elf kidney pie, illithid headcheese, or anything else stereotypically expected on a greater fiend’s dinner menu. “Enjoy.” Nerath said as he held a golden knife and fork, waiting for his guests before taking a taste of his own. Victor tentatively took a bite of the delicate, perfectly cooked meat. Whatever it was, it had been pounded thin before being steeped in a mixture of spirits and its own juices along with an unidentifiable mixture of spices. “This is really quite amazing.” Victor said. “What is it?” Nerath nodded as he took his first bite, savored the taste for a moment, and then answered the cleric. “Roast medallions of Nic’Epona.” Victor nodded and took another bite, but it was clear that the name held little intrinsic meaning to him, nor to anyone except Velkyn, Phaedra, and Inva who recognized one salient fact about the creature they were presently dining upon, even if they might not have known much else about it: it was sentient. But they made no fuss and enjoyed their food. After all, the creature was already dead, and refusing to eat would have likely insulted the fiend, which wasn’t something they were keen to do when he was already in a good mood. Dinner progressed and through it all Phaedra felt uncomfortable in the way that the fiend’s eyes focused on her. Even if he wasn’t openly leering, she felt as if he were mentally undressing her, but to make things even more bizarre, she couldn’t shake the feeling that while he was doing precisely that to Inva and probably to Velkyn as well, he seemed more interested in the dress she was wearing than what it was covering. Finishing the meal, Nerath’s servants cleared the table and replaced the meal with a variety of expensive looking and exotic desserts as well as a glass of cognac for each for each person save Nerath who was given a specific, odd-looking drink. It was odd in that it swirled inside the glass on its own accord, immiscible currents of some golden spirit and a black, almost syrupy liquid stirred into it along with a dose of what looked like cinnamon and a few other spices. Conversation took a pause and the ‘loth sipped at his drink with obvious pleasure, and the momentary respite from the flow of things gave Inva the chance she’d been waiting for. She sat up in her chair a bit straighter and tapped the silver-tipped point of her tail against her glass, getting the table’s attention. “But now Your Fiendish Majesty, if I might have a moment of your attention.” Inva smiled and waited for Nerath’s response. The others looked at the tiefling with genuine curiosity. She hadn’t mentioned anything to them earlier when they’d discussed the meeting and what to expect. Whatever she was planning, she hadn’t explained it ahead of time to any of them, including Phaedra, since even her half-fiend potential girlfriend was giving her the same look. The fiend’s ears twitched and swiveled forward. “Oh, that you have.” Inva smiled and whispered a few quick words to a spell and there was a barely noticeable buzz in the air, though it wasn’t from her own conjuration, but rather from a contingent counterspell the ‘loth held in check as he understood what she doing. Relaxing, his eyes danced with interest on something other than her cleavage. “Allow me to present you with a gift.” Inva announced as shadows swirled between her hands and rapidly congealed into a black, translucent box. The tiefling placed her fingers on the latch of the shadow chest and waited for the fiend’s nod of approval. Nerath’s lips lifted revealing ivory fangs and as he inclined his head favorably, Inva opened the chest and produced a letter emblazoned with a wax seal of Sigil’s Temple of the Abyss. Nerath suddenly looked at the tiefling with genuine respect alongside more base concerns as he recognized the seal, the value of what she was gifting him with, the skill it suggested that she possessed, and the fact that she was doing so to get his attention for whichever particular flavor she might want in the future. “Notarized and sealed by the High Priest to the Temple of the Abyss.” Inva explained. “Three rings of the Bells of Baphomet against anyone of your choosing.” “Well done…” He whispered as he examined the letter and its seal. “Most appreciated darling, and Inva dear, you have my attention as well as thanks.” Inva grinned as her gift had had exactly the response she’d hoped it would have, and unconsciously she crossed her arms displaying a bit more cleavage for the fiend’s attention. She’d already invoked the fiend’s lust, but with that gift she’d also invoked a serious level of intellectual curiosity on his part as well, a potentially double-edged prospect as both of them were liable to involve getting bent over and f*cked. The others looked at Inva with a mixture of surprise and respect, though Victor showed a bit of wariness given his desire to get out of the fiend’s presence as quickly as possible, and Phaedra, well… Phaedra was inwardly smoldering with jealously. Although she and Inva weren’t officially even dating -and to that point they hadn’t actually sat down and discussed their feelings on the matter- Phaedra had no intention of sharing a girlfriend and potential lover with anyone else, especially with a full-blooded ‘loth like Nerath the Marauder. “I believe the rest of you have been rather upstaged.” The fiend explained as he clapped his hands and caused Inva’s gift to vanish in a swirl of gray light that took the momentary form of tiny, screaming spirits. Indeed they had. None of them had brought a gift of that magnitude; it simply hadn’t crossed their minds, and for most of them, having any sort of working relationship –or any other kind of relationship- wasn’t present in their thoughts either. “Wow…” Phaedra said as she looked at Inva with surprise. She’d known that the tiefling was talented. After all, she’d uncovered the truth about her background in only a few days, and that wasn’t a secret she passed around. But having favors owed by the Temple of the Abyss was rare. Had Inva worked for them at some point? The others stared at her in surprise the same way. Inva had shown up for their dinner meeting with Nerath fully intending to make an impression upon the ‘loth. “Now my rather impressive little girl, I simply must ask.” He announced as he leaned forward curiously. “Just how did you come into possession of favors from either Sarnath the Apostate or Noshtoreth of the Umber Scales? I recognize the seal and it’s old enough to be from either the current High Priest or his rather dead predecessor.” “Let’s call it a secret.” Inva shrugged and smiled wickedly. “I rather like mysteries. And since nobody knows precisely what happened to Noshtoreth, it’ll find good company.” “You enjoy teasing as well.” He replied. “We’ll leave it a secret then. But I did hear rumors about Noshtoreth. I heard he angered Graz’zt, or some other major Abyssal power.” Inva shrugged. “It’s possible I suppose.” “I also heard that his soul had a particular flavor like burnt chocolate.” Nerath grinned, licking his lips to remove a stray drop of liquor, or relishing a memory. “It’s possible I suppose. But I like secrets too.” Phaedra sipped at her drink and thought about the situation for a moment. Nerath was repugnant, representing the worst aspects of her own ‘loth heritage taken to an extreme, but even though Phaedra knew that Inva was evil, she didn’t really view her the same way at all, attraction aside. Possessing Abyssal favors and gifting them to fiends was perhaps a side of the tiefling that she hadn’t discovered yet. Perhaps Inva was even more complex of an individual than she though, or outside of the half-‘loth’s thoughts on the matter, perhaps Inva was simply not one to pass up an opportunity to better herself, dangerous as it might be. “Your gift is appreciated my dear.” Nerath said with a respectful incline of his head. “You have my respect, and my attention in the future if you so desire to do business, no invitation or prior appointment needed.” Phaedra sipped her drink to avoid grimacing at the look the fiend was giving to Inva, but much to her relief nothing more was discussed along those lines, at least nothing verbal, and nothing more in the company of the group. Inva had unlocked and opened a door, and as much as she liked secrets, regardless of how it developed, it wasn’t something she was likely to be open with. The remainder of the evening consisted of largely irrelevant and hollow talk about politics over desert, and drinking interspersed with leading questions by the fiend as he verbally probed them for details about their past and what their current circumstances in Sigil involved. The two hours were all still part of Nerath’s sales pitch about who he was and what he could do, and during that time he was practically drooling onto Inva, and to Phaedra’s continued irritation, the tiefling seemed just as taken with the ‘loth. Eventually though, the fiend realized that he wasn’t going to get anything more from them besides the expected social banter. By blood, by faith, or by reputation, dealing with the King of the Crosstrade simply wasn’t in the cards for the group at the moment… most members at least. “Well it has been a delight.” Nerath exclaimed, finishing a shot of Bytopian brandy mixed with Styx water. “I’ve given you a decent idea of what services I might be able to offer you in the future if you find yourself in need of them. Keep me in mind.” “Thank you for dinner.” Phaedra replied, trying to sound as graciously as possible. “We’ve enjoyed ourselves, and appreciated getting to know you, but it’s getting a bit late and we should probably get going.” Victor nodded, followed closely thereafter by his brother and Garibaldi. They were keen to break away from the fiend while they were still on his neutral side and hadn’t walked into anything. Garibaldi at least was convinced that the whole thing was a trap of some kind, though it really wasn’t anything of the sort. Nerath simply wanted to know who had moved into the suite below his own and if possible who was paying for it. He hadn’t found out the latter answer, but he’d been afforded the opportunity to make a few mortals squirm, to openly hit on two rivals’ son and daughter, and he’d discovered a delightfully talented tiefling. “That it is.” Nerath said with a sigh as he stood up and stepped to his left, pulling out Inva’s chair and extending a hand. Inva took his hand and stood up, feeling a claw rub against the inside of her palm. “Unless of course you’d like to stay.” Nerath asked as his eyes locked onto Inva’s, while in the background Phaedra coughed and stopped herself from growling. Inva gave a coy smile. “I’m afraid I must decline your majesty.” “A pity.” Nerath said, shrugging his bare shoulders. “Another time perhaps.” Nerath frowned from disappointment, but unnoticed to anyone else in the room, Inva had returned his rub by running her thumb across his wrist a few telling times. [I]“You’ll be hearing from me you delightfully wicked little thing.”[/I] Inva was blushing as she let go of the fiend’s hand and joined the others as they moved towards the door. Phaedra was inwardly fuming, but she seemed much more at ease once Inva leaned in and took her arm. “Good luck with your current employment.” Nerath said as he gestured for the door to be opened. “Much appreciated sir.” Velkyn said. “Enjoy the wine, and if we need your services in the future, we’ll keep you in mind.” “You’ll know where to find me if you do.” The fiend put a golden pipe to his mouth, puffed and exhaled a cloud of bluish smoke. A few streamers brushed against Inva’s neck with the palpable sensation of long, thin fingers, and filled the air with an exotic and intoxicating scent. They left and one of Nerath’s guards closed the door behind them as they strolled down the hall and shrugged off the last bits of oddly lingering smoke. Phaedra emphatically shivered and stuck out of her tongue as soon as they were out of line of sight of the door, and Inva shivered as well, but for a distinctly different reason. [center]***[/center] Back in the fiend’s chamber, all was dark and only the periodic smoldering of pipe ashes gave any light, glinting off of fangs and fur and golden piercings. Nerath lay sprawled across a divan, leaning his head back and smiling at how the evening had gone. He chuckled and opened a pair of eyes like burning coals. “Oh, we’ll definitely be seeing more of each other in the future…” [center]***[/center] Soft light drifted down from a circular window in the ceiling, almost like moonlight, and fell upon two figures as they circled a single, magically preserved corpse. “I take it that you’ve already chosen another victim?” The Visionary nodded a yes as she deftly excised the last digit of the corpse’s ring finger and placed it into a vial in her other hand. Beneath her vision, and that of her companion, the glass shimmered with a permanent necromantic dweomer to prevent any decay in the centuries old flesh, ensuring that it would be found, examined, and ultimately recognized by its intended recipient. “I have a very long list.” She explained, stepping away from the body. “It’s not a question of finding another victim. It’s a question of who to kill next, and whose death will cause the most poignant prick in their master’s flesh. I want to hurt him, gain his attention, and ultimately well… we’ll see what form revenge will be best served by.” Tyranny’s first head chuffled like a mortal tiger while the mandibles on his second head chattered against one another. “How long do you think it will take for the Lord of Avernus to know who you are?” “Not for some time still I suspect.” She replied. “But he’ll know it’s me the moment he finds a bit of this corpse. He’ll recognize it for who it was, and what the symbolism means in context. He’ll remember me. Oh he’ll remember me. But I fully expect his underlings to not report their findings, or to have the evidence buried in the paperwork of the ministries for years to come before the string of assassinations grows too long to avoid an obvious pattern and connection. Then he’ll look, and he’ll recognize my hand.” “If you’re certain.” Tyranny replied. “But I do worry that Bel will notice before other plans have fallen into place. Our work on Acheron still requires years of work before it reaches fruition, and this assumes no opposition from the Lord of the 1st, the Risen’s former kindred, or my own kind as well.” Beneath her porcelain mask, the Visionary smirked. Her immortal companion was less subtle than usual, but he did have a point. Her revenge wasn’t their group’s only goal, and if she was too quick and pointed in gaining hers, it might scuttle their longer-term plans. Lacking the patience of immortality might have been a fault, but what she’d endured for over a century gave her more hatred bubbling in her veins than perhaps even the Risen. “The victim is minor in this instance.” She finally answered, hoping to mollify her ally’s concern. “It should work out well for our newest hires. It’s quick and it will give us a better idea of just what they’re willing to do.” “I suppose so.” Tyranny replied. The Visionary smirked again and turned to the exiled rakshasa lord. “Besides, are you really ready to send them off to Renais, Marsallen, or if we let her have her way, somewhere in the depths of the Abyss at the Risen’s bidding? Small steps.” That seemed to satisfy him. “Fair enough.” Tyranny said. “We’ll see what sort of commotion this starts in the Ministry of Mortal Affairs once it’s done, and if it seems to cause too many waves for the moment, we can adjust in the future. But in the meantime I’ll have Aspaseka talk to our hires and give them the details on your target, as well as the vial.” “Very well.” The Visionary said with a smile behind her mask as she handed the vial into the fiend’s reversed hand. “Though truth be told, even though it certainly makes for a pointed message to Bel, I almost feel sorry for using bits of old Factol Noby here for my purposes.” [center]***[/center] [/QUOTE]
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Shemmy's Planescape Storyhour #2 (Updated x3 10-17-07)
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