The cycle of improvement

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa returns home to meet with everyone.

[Anastasia]

That's easy enough. You all meet in your office and...

Go ahead. Let me know when you use the seed and do so IC.

[Iron Dragoon]

"So, I went in knowing he wouldn't relent. But I tried to open him up for opportunities. I've gored out his work-force. Any construction or new bases of power he was trying to establish will be halted utterly and instantly. He will either have to go begging to his fellow Lords for slaves, seek to purchase them, or turn his attention from any serious campaigning into raiding for new slaves.

Emily, work with Bastian. He'll be trying to get new slaves en masse. We can track where they're going and map out all of his holdings and expansion efforts. If we can do that, we'll know exactly what his battle lines are. Any raids you can't stymie yourself, I want the information of them wide-spread. Make him look as incompetent as you can.

Bastian and Honeydip, quietly put word out that his work-force foundation was pulled out from under him. Honeydip, you'll help him figure out the best way to word these rumors and spread them. We won't be able to stop his recovery, but we can exaggerate his need into desperation. If it circulates back to the slave traders, we might be able to engineer the replacements of his slaves to be cripplingly costly for him. Let's try to get him mired down with negotiations. Do what you can to track those negotiations; if you can back-trace them, we'll be able to locate the slave traders and their camps and arrange for strikes against them.

Jarem, all of his supply lines have just been eviscerated. His fortresses have no labor. Track them, use them. Go to war. I want his hamstrings for garters, Jarem. Our forces aren't entirely insignificant, but they're not sufficient for this, I don't expect. We've been building defensive forces and traditional armies to secure our foundation. I don't believe we have much in the way of guerilla forces and shadow war power, so let's go to a friend who does: The Red Knight. She's got the forces, the specialization, and the thirst.

Dolmaya, we've got lore to go through. We also need to sort out the rescued slaves. Get my sister involved; she needs to start learning organizational skills. Involve her in the recuperation and placement portion; I don't doubt for a second that all of them will need mental attention and it'll push our healers to their limit. Emily, I want your people there, too. This is the sort of thing you specialize in, and they should have the experience in dealing with newly freed slaves.

We need to inventory what his research focused on as fast as possible, Dolmaya. Have the librarians evaluate the tomes for what's the newest information. Let's find out who he was targeting and use it. I want every demon that was on his list to know they were on that list, and to know that his war machine just lost a few wheels. I want them to bleed him as much as we can arrange for. If Emily and Bastian can track his battle lines and fortresses, then we can sell the information to the demons and, hopefully, convince them to step up any embers of conflict into a conflagration.

Bastian, we'll need some of your people that can spot spies. There's zero chance that he didn't slip a few in with the slaves. Thread them in, do evaluations, find them. And then use them however you see fit.

In his arrogance and thirst for personal power, I don't think he sees exactly how deeply this just cut him. Let's capitalize on it. Can anyone think of anything I missed?"

[Anastasia]

Jarem raises his hand, "One question: How many slaves does he have?" A plain question, to the point. "Or did as the case may be. I can't help but think to how quickly he agreed. When a devil acts like that, they have some reason, some technicality. But let's put that aside, because even if we did hurt him with that, it's not the most important point here." He sits back, "I don't have any love for Gathgorian," Jarem goes on, "But we're on the same side in our task. Why exactly are we going at someone we have an understanding with because there's a far, far, far greater threat to Creation?"

"He-" Emily begins, but Jarem holds up a hand.

"Emily," Jarem says, "I know, but no. Not this time. None of us savor working with a devil, but he's still one of our allies against Shar and worse." A pause to rest, to massage his forehead, "He also has the ear and the support of the Lord of the Ninth, Alyssa. Even if we did hurt his operations that bad, it's in Asmodeus' direct interests to fix that problem. Do you think a single devil slaver will care in the slightest what we do if orders from the Serpent Throne come to support Gathgorian?"

A look to Emily, "If that bothers you, go paladin at the countless other monsters that aren't in on our task that literally all of Creation rests on. But damn it, you don't attack your own allies in war, even if you can't stand them. You swallow your bile, you act like a professional and you win the war in front of you."

[Iron Dragoon]

"You're mostly right, Jarem, but that's all short-term. I'm operating on the assumption that we win.

And you're right, it is in Asmodeus' direct interests to interfere. I suspect this fight will be weighted far more in personal power instead of armies; for Shar, the Asmodeus, Zaphkiel, and those like them, armies mean nothing. They'll wipe out whatever army is on the field as a side-effect. It'll be Gathgorian's personal power that comes into play, not his armies. And any army he could possibly field can be more than covered by Asmodeus' reserves, much less main forces. Nothing we do will cripple or kill Gathgorian or Asmodeus in the short term.

But assume we win, because planning on a loss in this fight is pointless. What happens? Everyone involved will be weakened. We, ourselves, will be exhausted and torn apart. The armies that, in the normal course of the Contest, clash against each other will be exhausted, sundered, and stripped down.

Jarem, we, all of us, are all new Gods. We will be on the field shoulder to shoulder with the Lord of the Ninth and his allies. Look me in the eye and tell me that you think if we win they won't immediately turn on us, knowing that we're new Gods. Knowing that we're exhausted, because they just watched us do it. They'll know exactly what state our armies are in. If we let their reserves remain in reserve, then the second Shar falls, those reserves will become their new main force against us. Even if not personally, then they'll easily be able to push any borders we have.

Further, if Asmodeus has to directly involve himself in Gathgorian's forces and power base, I have zero doubt that Asmodeus will carve a portion of it out for himself. If not out of personal greed for power, then as an abject lesson at the very least. That's not counting his fellows, all of whom are jockeying for power and position.

And lastly, the agreement between Asmodeus and Zaphkiel explicitly stated that any conflict outside of dealing with Shar will be treated normally, within the bounds of the Contest, if I understood it correctly.

If you truly believe this will cripple our chances, then convince me, but gather the information. Regardless of any strikes we may or may not engage in, have no doubt that Gathgorian's drive will bring him to our doorstep. If you're dead set against an active campaign, I'll listen. But at the very least, we can use this to prepare for one."

[Anastasia]

"If we win," Jarem reckons aloud, "I suspect our patrons will call a temporary truce because no one will be in a condition to make moves against each other. I doubt they haven't considered this. The point is this: We have other and better things to worry about that can help us before this battle rather than after it. We need to improve now, not after a hypothetical victory."

Dolmaya listens to the back and forth, quiet.

Emily's flushed red and has a scowl on her face, "So we shouldn't have saved the people we just saved?"

"Don't put words in my mouth," Jarem fires back, "You know damn well I'm right, Emily. If Zaphkiel and Asmodeus can hold their noses in the face of this, we can hold our noses over Gathgorian. Let's focus on something that may not hurt ourselves in the future. If you want to go after Gathgorian later, after this is all done, then do it then. Not now."

Bastian blows out a breath, "You're an ice cold bastard."

"A strategist has to be," Jarem's answer comes without hesitation, "A general that can't spend lives is like a beggar in a bazaar - worthless."

[Iron Dragoon]

"Emily, he's both got a point and is mostly right. But it's unfair of you to take out your frustration on him and to twist his words. He's our strategist, it's his job to weigh things and present the information, and information without bias is the most accurate and best to base a decision on. He's been nothing but stalwart and supportive, trying to twist that back on him to question his morality is uncalled for."

Turning back to Jarem, "Fair and good points. That is the job and you're excellent at it. But it's my job to look further out, too. And what I see is a question: what happens next?

But you are my strategist and I would be a fool to not heed your advice. Do the recon, but hold back any action. But I want you to have this in mind: if Shar is defeated, and the other Incarnations do something about Ao, or he chooses to allow our victory to stand and simply moves on, the next fight will be for Ao's throne. If that happens, who becomes the next Lord of the Ninth? As bad as all of them are, a Lord of the Ninth with dominion over power, victory, and purpose will be something we need to be concerned about."

[Anastasia]

"I have plans for after this," Jarem agrees, "But for now?" He glances over, "Let's all take a break and let tempers cool."

Emily looks none to happy, but after a breath, "Yes, that would be best for everyone."

[Iron Dragoon]

"Emily, we still need to sort out the newly freed. Work on that, please."

[Anastasia]

With that they all head out. Jarem lingers. "Did Gathgorian offend you?" he asks mildly, no heat in his voice. "You seem keen to oppose him after a brief meeting."

[Iron Dragoon]

"Somewhat. He flatly stated that he was the cause of victory. It's more what I said before: a Lord of the Ninth who holds sway over power, victory, and purpose. Asmodeus is smart and cunning. But Gathgorian attains that seat, it will be an inexorable war. By his very nature, he can allow nothing else."

[Anastasia]

"He wouldn't stop until dead or until Chaos is gone," Jarem agrees. "Everything I've studied about him and everything I've heard paints him as a fanatic." He sits back, a mug of ale in hand from nowhere. He has a long drink before, "I'd bet on the Lord of the Seventh or Eighth to get it before him, but anything's possible."

Another drink.

"But my understanding of it leads me to think the broken Incarnation of Law has no chance in any of its forms to take what Ao leaves behind. If they could get along well enough to do that, they'd likely be able to reform and none of this would be needed. I think that if we end up with anyone in Ao's place, it'll be the Incarnation of Balance. I'd bet Zaphkiel and Asmodeus both end up back in their home planes after this, exhausted. Or maybe Balance can fix everything and we finally meet the Incarnation of Law directly. In that case, it's all out the window anyway."

Another long drink.

"Want one?" Jarem asks, "I've been experimenting with tastes beyond the normal."

[Iron Dragoon]

Alyssa raises an eyebrow, "... Not without a description. But, as to what you said, you can't honestly believe that Asmodeus and Zaphkiel aren't, at the very least, looking for a way to claim it themselves. Asmodeus wants it for obvious reasons. I doubt Zaphkiel wants it out of pure greed, but I can't imagine he'll tolerate even the possibility of Asmodeus even trying for it.

And neither is short-sighted enough to not realize it. Even if there's not a plan for him to try for it, the simple fear of it will push the boundaries far too close. And yes, I recognize the irony in my expectations. But looking at the history... I can't say the possibility is less likely than not.

As for the Incarnation of Balance... I'm not sure. The Guardian implied there was at least some interest in me on that front. Do we try to get in contact?"

[Anastasia]

"Considering the circumstances, no," Jarem says, "Not worth the risk. We shouldn't forget our main enemy, Alyssa." Another drink as Jarem regards you - and you feel it. Your bond to Jarem, strong and vigorous.

Node update, go read.

[Iron Dragoon]

"Must be a good drink. That's a pleasant surprise. Alright, well, I asked for options to strike against Shar. Anything new on that front?"