Two Gambits - 12/25/2022
My heart pounded in terror, as I stood there, unable to move. Not that my torn-up leg would let me anyway, but where could I flee to? She was larger, stronger, faster and the tanar’ri tore apart my companions with ease and was now going to apply her undivided attention and finish me off. My legs were like jelly and I wanted to just fall down and surrender my life, but I was sure that wasn’t the fiend’s plan.
The marilith called me by name. She knew of me somehow, and all of this was a show to get me to break down in fear. But I had never met a marilith before, so she was here for someone else. As it slid on her snake like body towards me, I looked at the sorry state of us all. Bookshelf and Adrissa could be dead. Sage Redoubt was still kneeling, slumped against his shield. Doxx and Rosa each moaned where they lay, but I had a sudden flare of hope as Rosa turned her head to look at me with a pleading look in her eyes. An unspoken hope for the one thing I might be deliver for her: Time.
I straightened up to meet the eyes of the tanar’ri. She was wounded; sword cuts, arrows stuck out here and there, her flesh burned. But she didn’t care or acknowledge the pain they caused, if any. For all I knew she enjoyed it as much as a mortal would enjoy a fine meal. After my time as a plaything for fiends, I knew their tastes and interests could vary widely. I just needed to play the right part.
“You’ve travelled a long way to find me,” I said, holding my ground. “Isn’t sending you to chase a small lily like me a bothersome waste of time?”
The marilith cocked her head with a smirk. “Oh…the challenge was there. Dispatching the original guards for that stupid diadem took far more work than dealing with you. And for some reason the Arcanaloth’s didn’t think they needed to secure their mezzoloth’s assistance,” and she pointed with her chin to a spot behind me. There, barely visible on the frozen ground, were strips in a pile of shredded cloth and leather, soaked with ichor of some kind. No... not one pile…two of them. “Idiots busy squabbling with each other, rather being creative about what needed to be done. But I guess not everyone can be Shemeshka. But I am still disappointed…I expected you to be more effort. Pity.”
“Might be the only thing we can agree on,” I said, causing her to arch an eyebrow. “I don’t know why I ‘m worth the effort either.”
The fiend snorted, “I think this is point where I make a pithy comment about how it isn’t about you. Or so Teiazaam indicated when she called in a favor.”
“Teiazaam?” I said trying to hide the confusion in my voice. “So, they want me for leverage I suppose.”
“I wouldn’t give Teiazaam that much credit. Too young, too new at her role. She just does what Jade tells her. And she’s already at the risk of burning too bright for her own good, having managed to aggravate some senior Baatorians recently.”
I gulped and felt the pit of my stomach sink at the name.
Jade.
The radiant sister nearly broke me in Sigil, I was ready to jump over the edge of the city in Suicide Alley. Truth was she didn’t need to hurt me; she just tore me open and I inflicted all the pain to myself in front of her as she reclined with friends and sipped wine as I howled at long forgotten pain that has gnawed at me ever since.
The marilith’s coils wrapped themselves around me and lifted me from the ground and began to squeeze. Held on for a while, but it was long before I felt a rib snap under my breastplate, follow by several more, causing me to drop my rod onto the frozen ground as I struggled for air.
“Oooo…” the fiends said with a soothing like mocking voice. “She only wanted you alive for the journey. Some pain might let you keep your sanity intact is my gift to you. But I’d rather you not struggle, so I am afraid those arms and legs are going to stay here.
My breathing was shallow and fast, as my chest spasmed from the pain. I could feel blood enter my lungs, as my splintered ribs tore into them. I coughed gamely, and thick dark blood came up, staining my lips and chin as I felt myself grow weaker. My head slumped, and I saw from the corner of my eye that Rosa had been busy, as a small bear ran from between my companions. I could see Sage moving slowly, and Doxx slowly roll to her feet. The Blade, was on his back, and notched an arrow. Finally, I saw Bookshelf quietly roll over and stand. I few options on hand but one; a long shot at best as I moved my hand from trying to pull the serpent’s coils off of me, and instead reaching into my pouch and grabbed a round hard object within.
“Hmm, any opinion on what limb we should remove first?” the marilith asked with a sneer.
I pushed my right arm straight towards her face. One arm of the fiend’s dropped a sword and grasped my wrist and pulled my arm taut. My shoulder ached, and I realized it was about to pop out of its socket when I got its attention. “I guess it was fun while it lasted. C—c—can I know your name?”
The marilith looked at me with amusement. “Aren’t we a bit forward mortal, asking for names.”
“Its not like I get to keep an arm for a memory,” I said raggedly and then my voice fading to a whisper. My strength, and barely able to breathe. Her face was swimming in and out of focus and I felt like I was going to pass out when she took the bait.
Still smiling she leaned in a bit, and her head was now very close to my arm. “My name among others is Xianala,” she hissed.
“Well, Xianala I doubt you will ever forget this,” and I snapped my fingers on my right hand.
Xianala’s brows furrowed looked at my hand and for the first time realizing it wasn’t empty. In my palm was an amber gemstone, given to me long ago on another world. As the fiend looked at my hand in confusion, I pulled at the matrix surrounding it, and it exploded in a flash of light in the marilith’s face.
Xianala hissed and reflexively pulled herself back from me and released my arm. But as she did so, Sage sprang forward and thrust his armblade deep into her abdomen. Before twisting and causing the wound to erupt int green flame. The marilith blinked, trying to clear spots from her eyes, and her lower arms kept swinging wildly trying to block other attacks to no avail. Doxx easily avoided the blades and swung her staff quickly working down the coils the at held me, until the fourth blow finally was enough to cause the fiend to drop me to cold earth.
The Blade quickly stood and started to fire arrow after arrow at the blinded tanar’ri. Who screamed and twisted madly at the assault. Then from under her, I felt a surge of magic as Bookshelf caused the earth to erupt. Stone pillars struck her, giving her no reprieve from the assault. I lay there on the ground gasping for air and watched a beam of moonlight descend on Rosa’s command, burning the fiend with its radiance. And tried to push myself up with my arm, when I felt the edge of bladed underneath my chin. Xianala vision was now focused on me as she leaned down and held a sword’s edge to my neck. “If you want her to live I sugg…URK!”
Adrissa said nothing as she used her sword to remove the fiends’ s head from its shoulders. She hissed one last time, as all her limbs dropped their weapons in a clatter. As each touched the ground, each one melted into steaming mercury, while her body melted into ichor.
I lay there on the ground watching it all, unable to saying anything more, as my vision faded to darkness, with only the voice of Rosa saying, “Hang on Myrai!” and warmth flowing through out my body.
---
I opened my eyes and saw Adrissa with tears in her eyes as she stroked my cheek and smiled. As I focused on what I was in the midst of an argument.
“It knew her!” Doxx exclaimed.
“It does not change anything,” The Blade muttered back. “I am sure that all of our foes know some measure of us.”
“That’s just it! I’m tired of being in the dark here.” Doxx shouted. “I mean we were almost shredded by a marylin—”
“Marilith,” I said sitting up with a groan. “They act as generals in the Blood War…and they tend to lead from the front.”
“A…general. Alright. Why in Dolurhh is a general of a bunch of…of whatevers here looking for you.”
“I don’t suppose saying it could have been worse is a help?” I said standing up. “But I suppose that a marilith is a bit smarter than some of the bigger tanar’ri.”
“Bigger?” Adrissa asked her face said with a look of concern.
“Is there any reason to think that this…marilith will come back?” Rosa asked.
“Extra planar creatures take time to reform after being defeated on a plane not their own.” Sage commented.
“I seem recall could be months or years,” Bookshelf commented. “But it varies on power and the rules of the place.”
I shrugged, “The mezzoloths we fought probably will reform and remember nothing. The two arcanaloths who were originally here,” and I pointed to the spots that Xianala showed to me. “Probably will but will shrug and not return without a better deal. As for the marilith…she won’t be back; she came as a favor to—”
“Who is Teiazaam then?” Doxx asked.
I shook my head. “I don’t know who, but it isn’t her that scares me. It’s…Jade.”
“Jade?” Rosa asked. “The name doesn’t sound like one a fiend would carry.”
I chuckled darkly, “All of their names are pretty; all of them colors. Each color coming from the evil halo they wear. Only thirteen exist, and they are far more powerful than that marilith.”
“And why would Jade be interested in you?” Sage asked.
“I met Jade years ago,” I said the others looking at each other in surprise. “Then I was in the palm of her hand for a day and…never had I wanted to die more. But the day was done, and I had other…clients to entertain. But she didn’t come back. So, I suspect it’s not me she wants. Not really.”
“Then what?” Bookshelf asked quietly.
I looked down a moment and sighed, before meeting the warforged gaze. “My father is my only guess. A being I have never spoken to. I’m more curious on the how they found me, but I somehow bet the marilith didn’t ask and wasn’t told. Anyway, did we find what we were looking for?” I asked changing the topic.
Bookshelf nodded. “We have it. The…fiend wasn’t interested in it all, and the box was intact.” Bookshelf took out from a pouch at his side, the gems one a deep blue, the other a deep red.
“One sapphire, one ruby,” Rosa murmured. “Any significance to that?”
“The harder gemstones are used for certain higher magic rituals, spells and in powerful artifacts,” Bookshelf replied. “But these seemed to have been bound before, there is patterning inside so, they are not just another pair of gems. But I am surprised.”
“About what?” The Blade asked.
“They aren’t dragonshards,” Sage commented. “Their capacity for magic is greater and more efficient. It is possible the ancient fiends needed something else for a reason but it’s difficult to tell.”
“We should get back to that…other fiend Twisted Mirth,” The Blade said. “I have a bad feeling about all of this, and we should get it over with”
“What about these other fiends after Myrai?” Doxx snapped.
“Well, I have an idea about that,” I said somberly. “And there is only one person that could answer it—”
“--Good…any time we can avoid going near that hag—” Doxx started.
“—is Twisted Mirth,” I said sadly.
Doxx’s jaw dropped, and she shook in fury, “Why!?”
“Because she’s not just a night hag. She’s a Great Auntie,” I said.
Rosa’s eyes almost popped out of her head, “How do you know that?”
Turning I looked at Rosa, “Because she told us. She specifically said; ‘…it as close to an even exchange that you will ever get from another auntie.’ “
“What that even mean!” Doxx exclaimed beyond frustrated.
“It means that Twisted Mirth has access to knowledge and power beyond any of us here, including the marilith and her friends.” Bookshelf said quietly.
“It also is outside of everything we discussed,” I said as I felt a cold chill creep up my spine. “So…as much I hate do so…I’ll have to make a bargain with her.”
Session notes:
"Twisted Mirth, I have come to bargain!" Oh yeah...like THAT ever works. But Merry christmas all. Its been the first time my hands have cooperated, I'll take this as a good sign!
