A neverending field

[Anastasia]

Sure, that's reasonable to try. Give me a bluff check - I don't think you can fail it but since you're going to roll anyway may as well. I also need an Intelligence check.

[Corwin]

I'll just take 10 here. 104 for bluff, 41 for Int.

[Anastasia]

It's not distance, it's not speed, it's not anything but time. Every 22 minutes on the dot it happens, the timing of it absolutely flawless.

[Corwin]

If she hadn't had plenty of practice with avatars, keeping her mind on several things at once for hours on end would've taken its tall. But luckily for her, Seira is used to such multitasking as she follows their guide and keeps on making her map of the Tower as detailed as she can!

[Anastasia]

As you go, you notice something.

Subtle, really. A lesser mind wouldn't be able to put all the pieces together.

The Steelpines change as you go. It's very subtle. A slight twist of a tree here, an adjustment there. As you watch, you begin to get a sense of one thing - the terrain of it seems to be adjusting itself, changing itself slowly and steadily.

[Corwin]

That would keep things from being too static, as expected from Dispater. But then how would the guide know where to go? Are the changes largely cosmetic? Or is it that key landmarks remain while the rest changes? Seira will just have to keep observing, because asking about that sort of thing will just get her the wrong kind of attention.

[Anastasia]

Hour after hour passes. Valjan-Red is mostly quiet throughout it, until Xera speaks up.

"Are those birds good for anything?" she asks.

Valjan-Red smiles, "Oh, I hear the metal they're made of is pure and strong. Almost as good as adamantine. But if you kill one and try to take it, or capture one, you'll be flocked until you leave the forest. I've never heard of anyone who succeeded."

[Corwin]

"No one tried capturing one just before leaving the forest?"

[Anastasia]

"Somehow that never works out. It's quite the mystery," Valjan-Red replies, a little smile.

[Corwin]

"You've never been tempted to make a bit of money that way?"

[Anastasia]

"What good is money if you can't spend it?" Is the answer back, "What good is gold to a corpse?" A tsk, "Something foolish mortals always forget when they're blinded by lucre. The soul doesn't forget, though, even as it screams."

Xera's posture stiffens but she says not a word.

Zariel merely smiles darkly. "Ah, did you previously work in that trade in particular?"

"Oh, I took the initiative." Is the devil's answer instead, "A few gold coins, a few promises and a good choice of target and it's good as done. Most are too stupid to even have a clause that you won't hurt them afterwards, so collections can move swiftly."

[Corwin]

Most deities allow souls to head towards their destination. but this makes Seira wonder, and not for the first time. Just how is it fair? Entering a contract with a much older, far more experienced entity is always lopsided. Yes, it's a mistake and wrong, and yes, such people often do much worse as they step on a slippery slope. But that can't be all of them, can it? If this devil tricked a gullible mortal into a contract, is that bit of greed, perhaps during a vulnerable moment, enough for all of them to stay their hands while the mortal's soul screams in the Hells for eternity?

She can't act like Shar, though, and try to grab every soul where she suspects foul play. Like with the Temporal Contract, it'd likely lead everyone else ganging up on her. So what is the correct move here?

[Anastasia]

As you wonder serious, worthwhile questions, no answer presents itself.

Is Creation fair?

Did the Incarnations create something where a creature can suffer for eternity for a single mistake, or through no fault of their own?

It is because of Asmodeus? Or is Asmodeus only a symptom of the greater sickness?

Amid these thoughts Amaryl speaks up, "Do you still have any hand in the game?"

A chuckle, "A few, a few," he says, "I spend a few days a year on the Prime, but in long term contracts only. Planning and futures, you might say."

[Corwin]

"Playing the long game," Seira muses. "As expected of anyone on Dis."

She'll just have to talk to her friends at a better time, and to Zaphkiel as well, perhaps.

[Anastasia]

More walking, but in due time you come to the edge of the forest. The magic here is like it was before, ready to shift you along.

"Ah, we're almost there, you'll be able to rejoin the Toil Road." Your guide announces.