Sage consultations (Moore, 86 days left)

[Anastasia]

It's not too hard to find Elder Magi Tepen. He's back in the library, a small and simple meal of bread, jam and water before him. He looks up from it, "Moore?" he asks.

Go ahead.

[Nephrite]

"Elder Magi." Moore says -- a bit of his usual overflowing optimism and otherwise good mood muted. "Thank you for your assistance, first of all." He says, offering a bow. "I feel like no one's admonished me sufficiently yet for what happened..." He takes a breath. "I keep telling myself that the wisdom of Celestia teaches there's more to learn from a defeat than a victory but I don't know if I actually believe it. But... nonetheless, sitting and crying and moping about it won't help anyone. Jetina will recover, thankfully -- and she will return when the Holy Mountain believes she should return."

He droops slightly at that. "Still, it's my fault. I need to ensure it doesn't happen again -- do you mind if I explain to you what led up to it so we can perhaps figure out if I was led deliberately into a trap?" He asks.

[Anastasia]

"By all means," Tepen says, pushing aside his meal and giving you his attention. "Explain the events, beginning to end. Stick to facts and try not to editorialize, we can fish out opinions and justifications later."

[Nephrite]

"I couldn't sleep the other night." Moore explains. "I was laying in bed when I heard it -- the same as any other time. It was a missive from On High. I will quote it exactly as I remember it, it was as such: Wisdom: The reward for success is more opportunities to succeed." He says, then takes a breath to continue. "Knowledge: See Sarem Dizal on Smoke. The devils infest that place and prosecute profane research into the nature of smoke, poison and gases. Reward: Every soul that does not die choking on poisonous vapors. Prepare for tomorrow."

With that finished, he continues on, but gives Tepen any time he needs to take notes. "I performed a divination to find out where Sarem Dizal was, and was given the information to find it on the Choking Path. Balyss did not give me any information that would have led me to the contrary of going there, so... we went. It was probably an hour or so, I was able to sense where devils had previously walked so we followed in their footsteps. After some time I saw a magical sensor and tried to dispel it... I was unable to. It was then that the... battle started." Moore concludes.

[Anastasia]

Elder Magi Tepen sits back and laughs when you mention the message of wisdom. "Yes, a successful worker is often burdened with more work, while the slacker is let be. One of Creation's little ironies."

After that he listens to it all, "Alright, and I presume you found yourselves stuck it in then, and events proceeded on in the direction already known?"

[Nephrite]

"That's correct." Moore nods. "Afina doesn't think it's anything more than us being caught unaware, but I wanted to explore every avenue to be sure."

[Anastasia]

"It's likely unrelated to Sarem Dizal," Tepen says, "We've been scried at many times before. Generally, it's better to retreat than let Hell swing at us with whatever they have, though this time the response was truly excessive. I've never heard of that many Nessians being fielded at once in any credible work, save for the Siege of Halamaza."

[Nephrite]

"Afina had suggested it was a feint to try and draw us in and then capture us once allies had committed. I can't say I can completely discount the possibility." Moore explains. "At any rate, it is... strange, to me, that they'd come at us with such force. I have to wonder if Bel's gambit is making the rest of the Lords feel that they need to preempt his victory in Lifasa or try and aid him."

[Anastasia]

"It's difficult to say, but I can tell you what we know of Nessians," Elder Magi Tepen says, "If you feel that would help you determine that."

[Nephrite]

"By all means. I survived, so there's wisdom to be gained from the ordeal, one way or another." Moore agrees.

[Anastasia]

"Nessians are pit fiends from Nessus, the lowest layer of Hell. They're not merely pit fiends - many normal pit fiends swarm Nessus - but ones that are far stronger. It is said that they serve the Serpent Throne directly. Little else is known of them, for vanishingly little lore ever emerges from Nessus, and much of it is tainted or wrong. They're primarily seen as agents of the Lord of the Ninth, though the wisest scholars known that they are also bestowed on the Lords of the Nine, Prince Lixer and Princess Glasya before her ascension to Lord of the Sixth, Archdukes and some Dukes of Hell to use as they see fit. They are given in groups of nine."

Tepen pauses here, "They're seen as pinnacles of diabolical growth, normal devils hold them in a reverential awe. They are strong, fast, powerful and unshakably loyal to the Serpent Throne. They rarely come forth and then only at the command of Hell's leaders. A single one is a match for the greatest of heroes and exemplars, they are unrelenting foes that only cease when slain or banished."

[Nephrite]

"Do you think, then, that something more serious is going on in Sarem Dizal, like when we tried to attack Lixer's holdings some weeks ago?" Moore asks. "Or would your experience simply see this as possibly Lixer trying to take advantage of an opportunity and nothing more than that?"

[Anastasia]

"It's impossible to say," Tepen admits, "We never know for sure if a devil ambush is tied to what we're doing or just bad luck. Since you got this from direct prophecy and didn't spread it, I'd lean towards it being opportunistic."

[Nephrite]

Moore nods. "I suppose it's possible that whatever is going on there is by Lixer's design, and that's why he came. Well... at any rate, I do want to go back, but I'm unsure how to approach it given what kind of defenses they have."

[Anastasia]

"It may be unwise and the path may be cold or altered," Tepen points out, "I'd investigate but be incredibly cautious, since if we're wrong about all of this and it is tied to the devils in Smoke, you could be walking into a death trap."