The gift of ash

[Nephrite]

'We received a request from The Adversary. He seemed to suggest he had something of note to share with us. I wasn't quite sure how to navigate that one. I have also been made aware there may be a coup soon on Akil bin Fareem's leadership.'

[Anastasia]

'The latter is unsurprising.' Barachiel responds, 'What else is known of it? For the rest, it sounds like a trap or something to serve fiendish ends. Did he not entice you in some way to come?'

[Nephrite]

'I don't know the specifics, only that Akil is scared and it seems that the devils won't be taking any steps to help his cause.' Moore says. 'I heard it from Lady Amaryl, so Lady Seira may have more details than I do. As for The Adversary... he only said he 'had business' with me, nothing more. It seemed like a situation where he was going to try and share something that was 'advantageous' to us but likely, as you suggest, would serve the daemons more than anything. He asked me to arrive in Nadir.'

[Anastasia]

Daemons. They're the NE ones he works with now, demons are CE.

It's an easy mistake to make. Just don't make it around a demon or a daemon.

'He seeks to manipulate you if not outright harm you,' Barachiel warns, 'It is folly to go to him on his terms and his conditions.'

[Nephrite]

Fixed, I knew there was something wrong there.

'I understand. Thank you for your wisdom.'

[Anastasia]

"Well?" Sylvie asks after several seconds.

[Nephrite]

"He thinks it's a trap." Moore says. "I... I don't know. I mean, I realize there are always going to people who are our enemies, but... if he wanted to trap us, or to harm us in some way, this... I guess it doesn't feel like they'd do it this way."

He turns to Xandra. "I'm sure your insight won't tell you much, do you have a gut feeling about this other than 'it's probably not a good idea'?" He asks.

[Anastasia]

"It's a trap," Xandra says without hesitation, "A daemon's word is always a trap of some manner, and all my insights scream at me that this would be a mistake."

"It may not look like a mistake, too," Sylvie points out, arms crossed. "That's the trouble with them. They can make a pile of dung look like diamonds."

[Nephrite]

"Hm... I suppose that's the insidious part, now we're talking about it, so if I just ignore it, there's the 'what ifs' of this whole situation." He says. "I do at least want to hear what it is he has business about... but I suppose there's no reason that can't simply be done... well, not personally. I'm half-tempted to see if you can just trick him into giving something up, Sylvie, by contacting him."

[Anastasia]

Sylvie arches one eyebrow up, "Hope the unexpected throws him off?"

"That and the fact that you're smarter than almost anyone I know," Jetina speaks up, "The way your mind moves is incomprehensible to me, it's so fast."

"Yeah, but..." Sylvie meets Jetina's gaze, "Being clever isn't the same as being wise. I'm smart, but I'm not nearly as wise. It's like a wand without a hand to guide it, otherwise."

[Nephrite]

"I think you've become a lot more wise since Aurora." Moore says with a smile. "I do agree with Jetina, though, I think you might be able to see something in his words that he doesn't realize gives away something. But, let's be realistic here - if we act with wisdom, then we just ignore this entirely and move on. We're trying to out-wit a daemon lord, which is a folly in and of itself... but I'm confident we have the skills to do it."

[Anastasia]

"It is folly, but..." Sylvie begins.

"Pride," Xandra speaks up here, giving Sylvie a severe look.

"Either leads to a fall or a triumph." Sylvie banters right back. "I'll do it, mostly because it may save us from doing some silly like going to the Nadir on his terms."

[Nephrite]

"I bet Zaphkiel has a great deal of pride for his son." Moore says, simply, with a small smile.

If we're making a show of this, then Moore's going to boost Sylvie's Wisdom and Intelligence by +16 with songs and pretty much hang out with her to give her skill check bonuses in case she needs those too.

[Anastasia]

How big a bonus to skills?

[Nephrite]

With the stat boosting, plus skill boosting, +45.