Jaela finds Ebony in the new temple to the Hebdomad and Celestia. She kneels there, lost in silent prayer. Her head is bowed and hood is down, hands joined together.
Go ahead, Jaela.
"Hey," Jaela greets Ebony, leaning on a pew next to her.
Ebony opens her eyes and looks up to you, "While I do not serve Mount Celestia, Alicia's teachings speak of the times the archons aided her. They have ever been steady friends to Sylica." She rises and pulls her hood down, "You require my services?"
"Yes," Jaela responds, keeping it simple. "I'd like you to come with me while I visit Antenora. You've heard about the response regarding Muirfinn, I assume? It concerns that."
"I have been informed," Ebony replies, "Do you seek her council on Hell's machinations?"
"I'd like to hear from you both. Can you check with her if she's got time for our visit while I get things ready?"
Ideally, I'd like Ebony to use one of our mages to use a Sending to Antenora. I'll make sure Priest has everything handled with the refugees and be ready to plane-shift myself and Ebony over if it's a favorable answer all around.
Ebony takes care of the sending personally. She kneels and is lost in spell and prayer, her wings flaring out as the spell completes. There are a rush of murmurs all around her, words gathering around her like a shield of sound. "It is done. Antenora will meet us in one day's time. She will send confirmation two hours before via a sending to me. If I do not receive it, it will be pushed back one day."
Ebony rises, hood restored to place. "It means she is away from Sylica. I know not the details but it is probably a mission in Alicia or Syala's name."
"Longer than I thought it'd take, but we'll wait patiently. Wanna come with me and look over the refugees?"
The refugees are being overseen by Priest - the ones in Aurora, anyway. Most are sleeping or eating. Priest meets you with a strong handshake, "They're healing. From conversations, they're mortals grabbed in various raids. Most aren't warriors, those were separated right off."
"Earmarked for the Blood War?" Ebony asks in a soft voice.
"Most likely," Priest confirms, "Most are mortals with useful skills, though that's a minority, as they apparently sell fast." A look of disgust mars his face, "Some were being trained, others were destined to be ship fuel."
"You know what the efreet in charge of the place told me? That it was a point of pride. They're fine with losing money on this slavery business, but the reason they keep at it no matter the cost is because of their pride in their work. That sort of alien perspective really got to me, and I've had to deal with slaad." Jaela shakes her head. "I'll find a way to break their society yet. Anything the two of us can do?"
"Pride is one of the greatest sins," Ebony remarks as she watches the freed slaves. "The efreet are slaves to it, as surely as these souls were once slaves."
Priest considers and shakes his head, "No. Recruiting is going well, many have little to return to and are signing up. Others are adamant to return home, to lost families and loved ones." He smiles then, "Let us handle this burden, Jaela, but thank you."
"I can understand having a hard time letting go of pride, but I think you're right, Ebony. The efreet are probably too dumb to see how much they've been chained up by it."
She nods at Priest. "Never worried for a minute about your competence. Though if I can make a suggestion, how about a show fight between the Master and Finnegan? Something to display our varied approaches to combat and the heights you can reach if you commit yourself to training? The idea came to me while discussing the future in Thalasia so I want to give it a go."
"That's a good-" Priest begins, only to be cut off by Elena appearing. She's frazzled and her hair is sticking out every which way.
"HibusyFinneganwentoutwithMooreandSurraruthrutoslaaddungeonworkingondemiplanebye!" Then she's gone, just like that, speaking a mile a minute.
"He will, presumably, return," Jaela says, untroubled by Elena's antics. She smiles at Ebony. "Call me when it's time to meet?"
Since her original two ideas got diverted, Jaela decides to find Mirima and look at sponsoring a local shop over a brand new wardrobe.
Is that an IC or handwave thing with Mirima?
Let's get a wardrobe to meet DEVILS IC and skip to Antenora?
To be clear due to phrasing, do you mean to skip the wardrobe or do it IC?
Let's do it IC, how long could it take.
You find Mirima easily enough. She's in the Graceful Blow's garden and asks, "A new wardrobe? From where?"
"I was thinking of looking up Bubbles," Jaela admits. "Unless you feel like a quick planar trip instead?"
Mirima crosses her arms and considers, "Mmm, no, let's try in house first. I've heard things about her fashions. Did you see what Afina's been wearing on her jaunts lately? Maybe you should get something suitable for the demi plane and then the negotiations?"
"Works for me. Elena, point us the right way?" As she waits for an answer, Jaela asks Mirima, "The demi plane?"
"The reason why we're in the Deep Ethereal?" Mirima says, "The watery demiplane that Tryll's friend made that Elena's integrating in right now?"
"Right, that demi-plane. Oh! You're right! I did want to get a proper swimsuit."
From there it's to Bubbles. She's in her room, full of designs and half finished dresses. "Why darlings," she lets you in, "What can I do for you?"
Jaela gestures at the designs and the clothing on display, grinning. "A nice dress to greet Vla'akith in while pissing off devils, and a proper swimsuit. Never actually got around to picking one. I hope you do commissions?"
"I do," Bubbles says, "Tell me what you're looking for in more detail."
"I'm thinking red dress to match my hair, one of those with wide sleeves, held together with a golden sash. Easy to move in, like dresses with a slit on the side." Raising her hand, Jaela taps the gauntlets. "I could turn these into matching bracelets easily enough and be ready to go at a moment's notice."
"Red's a good color for both of you," Bubbles says, "What about the swimsuit?"
"A purple two-piece? Go wild so long as it's there, I can always supplement with light. In fact, purple's a great color for robes, too. Maybe you could make something with a simple floral design out of lavender? I'm sure I could pick the right hair accessories for that. Something to wear at official occasions when not being openly confrontational with a bunch of devils."
"I'll work it out," Bubbles says, as...
Ready to move along?
Sure.
The next day you get your affirmative. You travel with Ebony to just outside of Sylica, mountain valley in Ysgard that is fair and wooded. Antenora waits for you there, sitting on along amid nature's splendor.
Still favoring her robes, Jaela waves at Antenora as she approaches her with Ebony.
"Glad you could find the time to meet," she greets her. "How much did Ebony explain about our situation?"
Antenora's wearing her full gear and her spear sits besides her. She looks faintly weary, but rises and offers a handshake. "The bare bones of it."
"Sending is not a medium for details," Ebony confesses, smiling as she pulls down her hood. "Your mission was successful?"
"Yes, though that's not the matter at hand." Antenora remarks, "What is Baator trying now?"
"The gist of it is that I've tasked Morniel with approaching Vla'akith about getting Muirfinn back, and while she hasn't managed quite that, she's arranged a meeting with the devils at her place. We don't leave our own behind, and given what Hell's done with Lief it's too much of a risk to not at least try something. I've asked to meet you here to both see if you had any relevant insights, and to ask you if you'd be interested in sitting at our side of the table for this."
"There's a lot to say," Antenora begins, meeting your gaze with her own. Eyes of pure opal blue light, unyielding despite her fatigue.
"Assume that Asmodeus has perused everything in Muirfinn's mind like a book. All the secrets Muirfinn has are known known to him." When Antenora says the name of the Lord of the Ninth, she draws a strange, seven-pointed pattern in the air. A soft white glow spreads everywhere. "He will use them to Hell's benefit and in these negotiations. This includes insights and knowledge of Aurora's personalities, any unique spells Muirfinn may have made, wisdom gleamed from sources holy and anything else. Everything has been taken by Asmodeus. Do not speak his name lightly, save in the realms of the holy or with Aurora. His name corrodes what is just and draws his attention. I have taken measures here to ensure our safety."
"Every offer that is made, unless at the end of a sword and from a position of supreme power, will be to Hell's benefit. He could offer you Lifasa itself and you would come to rue the day you accepted his offer, likely moments before your soul meets hellfire for eternity. Know that every devil there speaks for Asmodeus, even if many superiors removed. The Duke of Destiny speaks for him. The cronies of the other Nine speak for him. Know that even the sweetest, most rewarding offer they make is a with the devil." Antenora pauses for one moment to exhale. "The higher I rise and the more I fight Hell, the more I understand that even the greatest devil is but a tool of Asmodeus. He is the one and true enemy."
"What has happened to make you speak so strongly of this?" Ebony asks in a soft murmur, "Antenora, do you fear for us so greatly?"
"Yes." Antenora says, plainly. "Hell is the most dangerous when they have something you want. You know of the power Asmodeus has over words, recall the True King of Hell and the power his name has from Asmodeus's curse. Each word of diplomacy is a chain link waiting to drag your souls down to Hell. I beg of you to know this as one of your deadliest battles yet."
"Will you stand with us, then? Your strength would bolster us." Ebony offers her hand out, "I would ask Alicia herself, if it was right."
"I will if you will have me, but know my appearance will be a grand provocation. I am proof that Hell's power and allure is not absolute, that there is something better than all Baator will ever have. If this is acceptable to you, and the offer to bring companions to it is sufficiently worded that they cannot object, then I will come with you."
"I think our position is more balanced than it might seem," Jaela muses. "First, your concern of a provocation is exactly what I'm seeking. Angry devils are unbalanced devils. If it puts a few of them out of their element, that would tilt the scales in our favor. And should they try anything, I'd be glad to have you along."
She purses her lips. "Without dismissing what you say about his machinations, it is also true that Hell's system pits devil against devil. Among their ranks, I doubt any wish to see Lixer dead as much as his own sister. They appear to be sending representatives from all the lords as a show of strength, but divided as they are and constantly plotting against each other, I can't help but see it as actually weakening their hand. Finally, you're absolutely right about Muirfinn. They've gotten all they could from him, realistically. It is now all about diminishing returns, or doing the same thing as they had with Lief, which would in turn force us to act and lead to losses and humiliation on their side. It's easy to support that choice, but even a devil lord must be intimidated by setting themselves as a target this way. After all, we won't need to kill them. Merely force their standing to take a hit the others will exploit."
That sets out her approach for the negotiations, and if it holds an inherent weakness, Jaela hopes that Ebony and Antenora would be best placed to divine it. "The Duke of Destiny is a concern, but we finally have a countermeasure against him. I doubt it could remain secret for long, certainly not long enough for our ongoing project, so we might as well get use out of that now."
"Who else will come," Antenora asks, after considering all of that. "You clearly have a plan, what part do I and others play in it?"
"Afina, Mirajane and Morniel are a given," Jaela responds. "I originally wanted to greet them with death, but it's just not very practical." She grins at her terrible joke, adding, "Basically, we have a couple of the traitors in our prison. They've been drained of anything useful, too, so they're bargaining chips. I also want to sow discord between them by responding better to some of their factions while staying antagonistic to the others."
"Divide and conquer," Antenora says, "Which factions are you aiming for?"
"I figure I can bond with Glasya over how much of a loser Lixer is," Jaela responds. "We've already gone after him and his holdings, not to mention hit at his status a couple times. It won't cost her much to try and send us after him and strengthen her hand. As for another angle of attack, Mephistopheles's flunkies approached Afina at some point during the Astral battle, where we told them to fuck off unless they gave us Mala. One of the traitors, and a pretty annoying one at that. I figure we could piss them off, especially if you're around?"
"Doubtlessly, but Mephisto himself has been relatively restrained towards me. We attracted deeper attention from the Spark Hunters." Antenora says.
"Nothing to do about that. We'll try to improvise while there, and try to achieve one of two goals. Either a straight-forward prisoner exchange, or securing a faction's help with retrieving Muirfinn if the price is something we can pay." Jaela pauses, before asking, "Any suggestions on who else to invite on our side? If there's someone among our allies whose presence will really piss Hell off we should try to ask them."
"No one you have will offend them as much as I do," Antenora says, "I'd suggest focusing on competence and who you need, I'll cover that."
Jaela peers thoughtfully at Ebony. "I don't want to risk you if there's a chance of actual fighting, so Antenora, Afina, Mirajane, Morniel and myself should go. We could fight our way past any reasonable opposition, and if we draw unreasonable opposition it's not like there's anywhere outside our realms where we'll be safe."
"Yes," Antenora agrees, "My concern is that the Lord of the Ninth may appear or send an aspect. If it turns to violence and he is there, I pray for all of our souls. The threat of that alone makes me hesitant to do battle except as a last report. One day I will see Asmodeus overthrown and slain, but I am not yet close to that day."
"Even he probably wouldn't want to turn Mechanus against him," Jaela muses. "It's just so... inefficient? Something like that. Still, I'm willing to take the risk. After all, he could always decide to pop up during our next raid on Lifasa, so we can't hide in fear of the possibility. To get back on track, I want to head out tomorrow morning. Does the timing fit you? Want to stay at the Aurora for the night?"
"That's fine," Antenora says.
Plans?
We're going to talk to the shittiest people in the multiverse! I'll let Morniel arrange the details of our arrival and discreetly ask Vla'akith if needed about any etiquette. I think we'll do fine, but if PCs other than Eb want to come along, I have no objections.
Okay, I'll put out a call for it and we'll resume this tomorrow.