by J. Langland
The room was abuzz with amazed chatter among the other members of the advance party, but also among the assembled Host and the various other bureaucrats in the room. This was old news to Hilda. Of course, finding an inebriated wizard who had actually helped conjure the culprit was something of a small coup on her part. She suppressed a grin of triumph. Hubris was a sin, after all.
“Now, further,” Moradel continued, “we’ve been investigating prayer reports for the senior Rod leadership and we believe they were in Freehold investigating demonic activity.” Some of the beings present, who had not been in the advance party and were hearing this for the first time, made shocked noises. Moradel nodded. “So, in addition to standard checks, we had the advance team check for the presence of demons in the vicinity.” Numerous individuals nodded in agreement with this decision.
“So, advance party?” Moradel glanced around the room, momentarily locking eyes with each of the advanced team, including Hilda. “Any signs of significant demonic presence?” the archon asked.
“None detected by Team Alpha,” Seralina stood and stated. Team Alpha? Really, is that what Seralina was calling her coterie of hens? She had managed to wrangle her four “minions” into the advance party. Meaning everyone except Hilda.
“There is some evidence of demon mana in the area, but we observed no demons currently in or around the city,” Seralina stated with military smugness.
“No demons in the city?” An older archon leaning against a sidewall asked, sounding puzzled. “This is Freehold, a city with more wizards per square foot than anywhere else on the plane.” He shook his head in disbelief. “And you are telling me you found no demons in the city? There have always been demons in that cursed city. Wizards really can’t stop themselves from summoning and trying to foolishly control demons. It’s a genetic abnormality or something.” Several people in the room laughed at this.
Seralina looked a bit taken off guard. Apparently, she really hadn’t known much about the city. “Uhm, yes, we flew over the city and scanned it for demons. There were none in the city. We could detect the residue of demon summoning, and various protective spells, but there were no demons in or around the city.” She looked to her clique, who all nodded in agreement.
“I have to admit, that sounds very odd,” Moradel added, looking suspicious.
“How could there not be demons in Freehold? We were simply wanting to check the area around the Rod and the Oorstemothians. We expected demons in the city,” another avatar sitting in the room stated.
“Yes, and why are the Oorstemothians camped right near the Rod? While we have no current hostilities with them, this seems a bit odd,” Beragamos Antidelles stated. Everyone looked towards the archon. Beragamos was one of the oldest still active archons. He had been with Tiernon even before the Etonians’ arrival in Astlan.
“We haven’t ascertained that yet, either, I fear,” Moradel answered, shaking his head. “It is another mystery, along with the missing demons.”
Hilda hunched her shoulders a little. It all made sense to her, thanks to Master Trisfelt. She tried to suppress another grin. Her face muscles wanted to smile so much, she had to fake a small cough to hide her grin. “Uhhm hem,” she coughed into her hand. Hilda suddenly went cold, realizing that the room had been completely silent, taking in Moradel’s response. Everyone had heard her cough and were now turning to look at her.
“Hilda?” Moradel asked her in surprise. “Do you know something?”
Hilda closed her eyes for a moment; now she had done it. Slowly she stood; she had not done any real public speaking since her death, so was not really comfortable doing so. “Uhm, yes, I did discover a fair amount of information in my explorations.” She heard Katassa, one of Seralina’s minions, snort in disbelief.
Moradel seemed pleasantly surprised. “Proceed, if you will.”
“Uhm, certainly.” Hilda was not really sure how to proceed, but glancing over at “Team Alpha,” she decided to take a terse, more military style than her normal style. She would leave out how she knew until someone asked. She did not want to go into that. She cleared her throat and looked around. “I can confirm the findings of Seralina and her team,” she began. This seemed to please “Team Alpha.” “However,” Hilda continued, “I can also confirm that up until yesterday morning there were well over a thousand demons in Freehold.” There were gasps, and she decided to speed up to get the big news out before she lost them to excited gossiping. “The thousand demons also included at least three, perhaps four archdemons and multiple greater demons who were directing the thousand demons.” Now there were multiple gasps of disbelief.
“Further, both the Rod and the Oorstemothians were drawn to Freehold following the trail of at least one of the archdemons and his entourage. Apparently, the Oorstemothians had experienced numerous casualties from this archdemon. The Rod had detected him in Gizzor Dell and followed him here. Sir Talarius was called on site and had discovered Freehold to be completely infested with more archdemons and a thousand lesser demons.”
People were suddenly talking back and forth in amazement. Moradel brought down a gavel on the podium to silence people. “So where are they now?” he asked sternly.
“Well, as I understand it, the wizards in the city hadn’t been aware of the demon infestations—”
“Likely story,” someone snorted.
Hilda shrugged, and Moradel motioned her to continue. “Be that as it may, the Council devised a scheme to expel all the demons from the city. To drive them out.”
“Ludicrous!” “Impossible!” and “Suspicious” were some of the words Hilda heard from around the room.
Hilda cleared her throat and continued. “In any event, they arranged with the Rod and the Oorstemothians to slay the demons as they came fleeing over the city walls.”
“This worked?” Moradel asked incredulously.
“Apparently,” said Hilda, nodding. “That’s why there is still a strong demonic residue; most of the demons were killed.”
“Including the archdemons?” Beragamos asked.
“No, apparently three of the archdemons escaped using a flying carpet.” More gasps from around the room. Why would archdemons use a flying carpet?
“And…” Hilda said, waiting for the crowd to quiet. Moradel motioned for her to continue.
“And in this process, apparently Sir Talarius encountered a greater demon he’d dispatched previously, and was about to do so again, when what everyone believed to be a greater greater demon showed up and challenged Talarius to a duel.”
“Talarius killed a greater greater demon?” someone asked, sounding awed.
“Not exactly,” Hilda said. The room fell silent.
“So what happened? Surely the Rod helped?” Moradel asked.
“Yes, well, apparently—and I am getting this secondhand—the two fought and the Rod helped with lots of rituals and archers. It was tough fight, and Talarius succeeded in dismembering the demon and was preparing to perform a Ritual of True Death on the greater greater demon and several of his minions, when—pardon the expression—all hell broke loose.” The room lit up again with chatter and Moradel slammed his gavel to quiet people.
“All hell?” the archon asked Hilda.
“Yes, well, apparently the demon didn’t really die; it simply dissipated and then possessed a number of high priests and Rod members.” People were gasping in shock and horror. It took Moradel five minutes to quiet the room.
“Possessed? Are you sure?” Moradel asked her.
“That is what is being reported by observers and the Rod itself. Apparently, several high priests suddenly collapsed and then one began acting strangely and claimed to be the fallen greater demon. The high priest then collapsed, whereupon the previously dismembered demon re-formed out of fire and ordered the Rod to attack Talarius. From the reports I have, somewhat under a third of the Rod members obeyed the demon and attacked Talarius.” There were more gasps and another minute for Moradel to quiet the room.
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“I don’t want to ask, but continue.”
Hilda nodded. “Well, the demon then proceeded to beat Talarius nearly to death before Talarius surrendered.” There were more gasps at the thought of the Knight Rampant surrendering. Hilda continued, “Talarius pleaded for mercy, and oddly, the demon granted it.” This caused another huge stir and more gavel thumps.
“A demon granting mercy?” Moradel sounded incredulous.
Hilda had been as well, but Trisfelt had had a logical explanation, so she used it. “Well, the demon tried to grant Talarius mercy; it allowed him to surrender, whereupon the demon shape-changed into a human male.” This evoked some discussion, but not as much as she would have expected. “He then walked over and was apparently accepting the knight’s surrender when Talarius pulled Excrathadorus Mortis on the demon and stabbed him.” The room broke into a loud round of cheers. They were all, of course, familiar with the ancient Excrathadorus Mortis dagger. It was legendary and over four thousand years old.
Hilda coughed again, loudly. The room went silent, realizing she was not done. Hilda grimaced. “Okay, this is where the Pool drain comes in…” The room was deathly silent. “Apparently, at this point, the human-shaped demon began pulling mana from the priests he’d compromised and used divine mana to cleanse the wound and heal himself.” Pandemonium broke out as people began arguing about the obvious impossibility of this.
Moradel had to let this rage on for ten minutes before he got them to quiet down. “Anything more, Hilda? Where did the demon go?”
Hilda grimaced, preparing to give more bad news. “Well, that wasn’t the totality of the mana drain…” The room stayed silent. “Apparently, the demon then used the divine mana to reverse Excrathadorus Mortis.” People began yelling at this point, since this was beyond impossible.
“Enough!” Moradel shouted at the room after another ten minutes. “Hilda, we all find this hard to believe, but fine for now… Please explain why things seem so calm on the battlefield now.”
“Well, apparently after doing this, the demon opened a portal to the Abyss under Talarius and dropped him through it.” People gasped and Hilda continued quickly, “The demon then sent his minions through before leaping through himself and sealing it behind him.” She gestured that she was finished, then added, “Which is why I say the demon tried to grant Talarius mercy; Talarius refused it.” The room once again became pandemonium.
~
Not surprisingly, the morning’s planned intercession was canceled. For one thing, the predawn meeting that was supposed to last for less than an hour went nearly two hours. Afterwards, Moradel, Beragamos and Sentir Fallon, the older archon against the wall, had taken Hilda back to a private conference room to delve into more details of what she knew.
It was, Hilda sighed to herself afterwards, exhausting. She had spent four hours with the three archons peering at her with every form of Sight they could come up with as they quizzed her on all the details of what she had told them and how she knew it.
“So,” Beragamos asked for at least the third time. “This wizard, Trisfelt, he didn’t know who he was talking to? He just thought you were a mortal woman?”
Hilda nodded, tired. “Yes, my cover was quite good. We had a very relaxed conversation over wine, meats and cheese. How many humans, wizard or otherwise, are going to have a relaxed conversation with an avatar who shows up on their doorstep?”
Sentir shrugged. “She does have a good point. Most people go slack jawed.”
“He could be extremely skilled; he is a Master Thaumaturge at this fellow Lenamare’s school,” Beragamos noted.
“Well, his cover was very good then, because he certainly knew his food and wine. Further, he was clearly intoxicated in my presence; would someone trying to fool an avatar allow themselves to get intoxicated?”
“Admittedly, someone capable of that level of power and deception is unlikely to be posted as an observer in the woods,” Beragamos admitted.
“This is all quite interesting. I have to admit, Hilda, I’m very impressed with your surveillance skills.”
“Thank you, Archon.” Hilda smiled at the compliment.
Moradel smiled a bit more grimly. “Give it a moment, and you may not be thanking me.” Hilda arched an eyebrow in question. Moradel looked at the other two archons. “I assume we can agree that there is too much unknown, and too many unknown parties here, to do a straightforward intercession?”
“I think it’s too dangerous to tip our hand at this point,” Beragamos agreed.
“Clearly, this is a very dangerous situation with archdemons all over the place, demons stealing mana from us, Oorstemothians and who knows what else. We need to understand the players better, and if we just show up in all our divine glory, the other players will know we are on to them.”
“But they will assume as much anyway, correct? How are we supposed to ignore this?” Beragamos asked.
Moradel chuckled. “Was it not you who told me that it is often better to remain silent and to be thought incompetent rather than reveal yourself through action to be incompetent?”
Beragamos twisted his mouth into a dark smile. “That sounds like me. I agree with the assessment in any case; I simply want to point out that without some reaction, we might be thought weak. We need to be aware of that.”
Sentir rubbed his chin. “I am not so sure. I suspect the Arch-Vicar of the Rod and the local Arch-Diocate are worried we are going to show up. Perhaps letting that fear build might be to our advantage. This is a major screw-up on their part, and the more we can learn about how it happened without disturbing the scene of the crime, so to speak, the better.
“Further, the reversal of Excrathadorus Mortis gives me great pause. You know my history with it, before I brought it to Astlan?” Sentir looked at the other avatars. Hilda had no idea what he meant, but she was certainly not going to ask. Beragamos nodded solemnly. Moradel looked puzzled for a moment before opening his eyes wide in some realization and then closing them for a moment of silence.
Beragamos became resolute. “Clearly we must engage in this delicate situation with the utmost caution.”
Moradel nodded. “My thoughts exactly. Sentir?” Moradel looked at the elder archon.
“I think it seems eminently reasonable given the opportunity that has fallen into our laps, so to speak.” Sentir beamed, somewhat bemusedly, at Hilda, which in turn made her a bit nervous.
“Hilda? Do you agree with this plan, that we do more recon on the situation before an intercession?” Moradel asked.
Hilda had a queasy feeling in her stomach. Why was an attendant archon asking her opinion? “Um, yes. Forewarned is forearmed, as they say.”
“Excellent!” Moradel slapped the palm of his hand on the conference table. “We thank you for your service in this. Undercover work is not something we do well in Tierhallon, but you’ve done an outstanding job and I can only imagine what more information you’ll retrieve for us!”
Hilda blinked. “I’m not sure I follow.”
Moradel smiled. “Why, your generosity in volunteering to continue undercover, posing as a mortal. It’s perfect; this Trisfelt fellow is obviously intimately connected with the source of this entire incident! Let’s get you set up and in the field immediately.”
“Uhh...” Hilda was struck speechless. She’d left her cinnamon-and-sugar breakfast cake baking in the oven. She couldn’t go under cover this morning —it was already over-baked as it was!
~
“I’m thinking I should go into the Courts and gauge the reactions,” Antefalken said to Tom as the greater demon exited his cave after checking on his sleeping guest.
“Huh?” Tom looked at him, puzzled. “What reaction?”
“The reaction to your little display yesterday. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten already?” Antefalken snorted.
“How would anyone in the Courts even know about yesterday?” Tom asked. That other sick feeling, the one he’d had after his last conversation wit
h Antefalken, was coming back. It felt like indigestion, as if he had eaten way too much food, rich food full of butter, fat, sugar and caffeine. It had kept him pacing all night, unable to feel comfortable sitting still. Now the queasiness that he had felt thinking about avatars was creeping back into the fray.
Antefalken shook his head, not understanding how Tom could not see the obvious. “Hel-lo… there were at least a few hundred demon witnesses to your battle, that are now back in the Abyss, having been evicted.”
“Ugh.” Tom seemed shocked. “I didn’t think about that. The demons were fighting for their lives. Are you saying they stopped to watch?”
Antefalken shook his head in… well, Tom wasn’t sure if it was admiration or exasperation, but certainly some form of -ation. “When you and Talarius started fighting, not only did the entire Rod stop to watch, so did all the demons they’d been battling. Hell, even the Oorstemothians stopped slaying demons to watch once they figured out what was going on. Everyone outside the city, and a huge horde of people on the walls of the city watched the fight. This was like a classic grudge match, greater demon versus Knight Rampant of Tiernon. No one in their right mind would miss that.”
Tom looked stunned. “So you’re saying that all the demons that watched came back and told people here?”
Antefalken slapped his thighs and started laughing. “I am sure every bar in the Abyss was packed with demons hearing a blow-by-blow account from witnesses last night.” Antefalken shook his head. “Ignore for the moment the trick with stealing a deity’s mana; you defeated and then kidnapped one of the greatest knights in the Rod’s history, on several planes. That is big, my friend. Toss in the mana trick and you’re going to be the stuff of legends!”