One step forward and many to go

[Corwin]

"Alicia and I have always hated what happened to Zariel, so with Bel gone it seemed like the perfect time to fix that," Seira is all too happy to tell Chan. "We went in with Sulia, and while she and Alicia distracted Lixer I snuck into Noir Jardin. Alicia killed Lixer's avatar who showed up naked in a robe for some reason, and Donald cut up Glasya's avatar as she came over to help out her big brother. Sulia held her off, and now freed, Alicia grabbed the ship Glasya's so proud of and smacked Noir Jardin with it~"

Giggling, Seira adds, "Meanwhile, I killed some of Lixer's elite guards, set off a volcano underneath his throne room and stabbed him while he was trying to subdue Zariel. He ran off like the coward he is, and we all left with Zariel." She taps her chin thoughtfully. "I think there was also this old general and his trusted hellcat steed that got killed along the way? And surely all the phylacteries of the liches that served as Lixer's guard, because his fortress blew up."

Curiously, she asks, "Is that what he's saying happened? I'm told Glasya prophesied my death before running away as we got Zariel freed of her chains. Oh, and Lixer also said his dad helped him kill Bel. He all but threw a tantrum when Daddy didn't immediately show up and smite me at the first sign of trouble!"

[Anastasia]

Chan slightly tilts her head to the side, "The story is that the two of you lead a daring raid on Avernus with the aid of internal saboteurs. A diplomat from Mechanus had talked to a diplomat from Baator who pushed that line. I heard a similar story from a mercane visitor, except that it was masterminded by Antenora as a revenge against Hell. I also heard a dwarf diplomat from Moradin remark that he understood it was a provoked by an incident in the Battle for Lifasa."

[Corwin]

"I wish! Contrary to rumor I'm not actually hosting Bel at the Cauldron, so I don't really have any internal saboteurs to call upon. Not in the time frame we had, anyhow. Ah, and Anty actually sat that one out." Seira grins, then. "It's sort of provoked by me punching Bel in the face, since he ran away, Aurora wrestled Lifasa away from him and that lead to Lixer's takeover."

[Anastasia]

"You really have to have seen it," Elle speaks up, then sighs dramatically, a hand to her forehead, "My student goes around punching devils in the face instead of casting spells. Woe!"

Laughter follows from all at that, Chan shaking her head. "When all else fails, punching seems to be the default of Creation. If nothing else, we have enough wars to prove that true."

[Corwin]

"My fists were imbued with arcane might!"

[Anastasia]

"True power is in elegant spellcraft," Elle shakes her head, "Really though, greater enemies are annoyingly resistant to magic. Well, everything, really."

"It is easier to augment defensive and martial capability than magical capability," Lady Sanzha points out, "Far easier, especially when you can weave magic by divine will. The music magic I have studied is a middling replacement for it, at best."

"Then blow stronger and faster," Lady Chan remarks, "So that your winds conquer everything. Does not a fast wind fan the flames on hotter and higher?"

[Corwin]

"That's exactly the approach I'm taking!" Seira agrees. "Although I do have pretty impressive battle magic in the conventional sense, it just wasn't conductive to a sneaking through Lixer's house sort of mission."

[Anastasia]

"Well, magic can do anything if you're properly prepared," Elle remarks, "But that's Cyric's trick to it, you have to be smart enough to know what you need and lucky enough for nothing to throw that guess work off."

[Corwin]

"I'm a generalist at heart," Seira muses, "so I'll always have something useful up my sleeve! That said," she continues, giving Chan a sly look, "if you have a nice air spell to boost my flames, I'm all ears~"

[Anastasia]

"I do. I'll give you a nice one if you succeed in eliminating Raven's Nest," Chan offers, "One I think you'll like."

[Corwin]

"What, like there's a question about this?" Seira asks with a grin. "I'll take care of it like I promised, anything to make your life easier!"

[Anastasia]

"That's the spirit," Chan says, and from there...

Next move?

[Corwin]

Magma!

[Anastasia]

Okay, gimme a paste of your plan there, then.

[Corwin]

I'd like to take Sanzha to Magma and observe things together!

Speficially, my real self had been there for a while gathering data in secret. My hope is that we could observe similar conditions to those that bred the Steam elementals we found in the Cauldron as a result of conflict between Fire and Water, except this one is between Fire and Earth. Maybe spot a useful magical mutation that will ease up on our unity efforts. A good chance to chat with Sanzha about said research, too.

If Elle would like to also come, that's fine.