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Cast of characters:
Mostin the Metagnostic, an insane mage.
Nwm, Druid
Ortwin, Bard
Eadric, Paladin
Previously, they Gated Rurunoth, a major demon and direct servant of the demon prince Graz'zt, in order to determine whether or not the succubus Nahael is actually trying to atone for her deeds. He was not forthcoming with a straight answer, and the longer they hold him captive, the greater the risk he will break his bonds.
Mostin\ufffds second attempt to contact Oronthon was also unsuccessful. Unlike his previous effort, which had been intercepted by Graz\ufffdzt, this time the spell did, in fact, reach the presence of the deity.
The Alienist was ignored.
Having temporarily withdrawn direct communication from even his earthly vessel, the Archbishop of Morne, the Shining God seemed disinclined to surreptitiously advise his champion, Eadric, through the dubious medium of Mostin.
As Cynric had pointed out, Eadric was on his own. Perhaps the deity waited patiently for events to unfold as they would, guided by some prescience which no other possessed. If Eadric was to experience any communion with Oronthon, either vicariously or directly, then the time was not now.
Mostin pouted, and contemplated the difficulty involved in devising a spell which would FORCE powerful extraplanar creatures to divulge information. His own "Metagnostic Inquiry" came close to the mark, although the replies were couched in such obscure and riddling terms, that they were often worse than useless.
Eadric said little, and seemed to enter a mood of deep depression. It wasn\ufffdt that events were beyond his control, but quite the opposite: he had TOO MUCH responsibility, and felt ill-equipped to deal with it. His friends, Ortwin and Nwm, reliable in their own way, possessed wildly different perspectives. Mostin he did not completely trust, and still doubted his motives. And then there was the demon in the cellar.
"I am at a loss," Eadric sighed. "We cannot contain him in this way indefinitely, and I am loathe to strike a deal with him \ufffd in any case, I suspect that any price that he demands would be unacceptable to us. We can banish him, or attempt to slay him, or \ufffd as Mostin suggests \ufffd trap him permanently." Eadric groaned. "Why did I ever agree to this?"
"You didn\ufffdt," Nwm chimed in. "But Mostin and Ortwin were going to do it anyway. I think both you and I are blameless in this matter."
"Perhaps your gods are more lenient than mine," Eadric said.
Nwm nodded, knowing that this was certainly the case.
"This is the wisest course of action," Mostin said, producing the huge pearl from his pouch. "The gem will contain his essence. And I\ufffdm speaking purely in terms of probability here: as soon as I attempt to use a spell upon Rurunoth, he might force his way from the circle. A \ufffdBanishment\ufffd is a relatively high risk dweomer: even if the circle holds, the chance of it working is small. Besides, I haven\ufffdt prepared the spell and it would have to wait until tomorrow."
"How convenient," said Nwm sarcastically.
Eadric nodded in agreement with the Druid. "Mostin, I might be less suspicious of you if you weren\ufffdt so enthusiastic about all of this."
Mostin cackled. "Try to understand, that this is what I live for. It is what I\ufffdm best at \ufffd one of the best that there is, in fact. I\ufffdm not carrying all of this religious baggage around, which says \ufffdThis is Permitted\ufffd or, \ufffdThis is Forbidden.\ufffd But I think on balance, I\ufffdm quite principled."
Ortwin nodded. "I don\ufffdt think he\ufffds a bad fellow, Ed, just crazy."
"Very well, Mostin," said Eadric, his eyes burning into the Alienist. "I will trust you again \ufffd and hope you can deliver us from the mess that we\ufffdve created with your help. But be warned, wizard, if I find that I have been manipulated by you for your own purposes, I will have my vengeance. Do you understand?"
"Perfectly," said Mostin, smoothly.
**
Mostin held the great, black pearl in front of the sphere of darkness in the cellar. "Do you know what this is, Rurunoth?" He asked.
Fires leapt up within the void, and crashed against the invisible barrier which contained the demon.
YOU WOULD NOT DARE the voice thundered in the minds of those present. Rurunoth manifested and, drawing himself up to his full height, launched himself against the barrier.
It held.
Mostin laughed maniacally. "Now, now Rurunoth," he chided, "its not your appointed time yet. You know that."
Mostin pulled one of the scrolls from his portable hole, and read from it.
His consciousness expanded.
More spells followed. Wards, protections, augmentations. Eadric unsheathed his sunblade, closed his visor and hefted his shield. He stood opposite Ortwin, with Rurunoth between them, in case the circle should break and they were forced to engage the demon in combat. The Bard nonchalantly drew his scimitar.
Opposite Mostin, Nwm stood at the fourth cardinal point, anticipating the necessary use of multiple Flame Strikes. His weapons, he knew, were useless against the demon. Instead, the Druid had summoned a Dire Bear, warded it from the flames, and enchanted its teeth to penetrate the Balor\ufffds defenses.
Mostin spoke a summoning spell of his own \ufffd his most potent \ufffd and was flanked by two vast, cracked figures which seemed to grow from the bare stone of the cellar floor. At first, Nwm took them for huge elementals, but closer inspection revealed them to be some bizarre parody, drawn from the insane regions beyond the edge of the cosmos.
Throughout, Rurunoth threatened, and cajoled, and entreated, and pleaded, and finally begged.
YOU MUST MAKE AN OFFER, he screamed.
"Why?" Asked Eadric.
WHAT DO YOU WANT? Terror, now.
"Nothing from you." The Paladin said. In a moment of clear certainty, the fear fell from Eadric as he looked at the forces arrayed against the demon. There was no way that Rurunoth could prevail against them, even if the spell failed and the circle broke. The demon would flee, if he had the chance, or be cut down in a matter of seconds otherwise.
"You are nothing," said Eadric.
A cloud of Ioun stones buzzing around his head, Mostin spoke three short words in an unknown language, made an arcane gesture, and held the black pearl aloft.
"Rurunoth," he said.
There was a wail, and an incandescent light burst briefly from inside of the thaumaturgic diagram, as the demon\ufffds physical form was reduced to ash.
Mostin sighed, and bowed his head for a moment, before dismissing the two pseudonatural monstrosities that he had conjured.
The pearl bore the faintest trace of an inner glow.
Eadric walked up to Mostin and held out his palm.
"All right, all right," said the Alienist. "I was going to give it to you anyway."
End of world rescheduled for day after tomorrow. Something should probably be done. Please advise.
