Moonwatching (Jaela; 86 days left)

[Ebiris]

How fortunate it was one of Velasca's and not a more loyal traitor. Is that an oxymoron? Oh well, she can indulge her curiosity about another recent issue they elected not to follow up on. "Do you know anything about a recent visit by Duke Malphas to one of Harkin's holdings? Castle Bleakcrest?"

[Anastasia]

"Yes, some," Velasca says, "The event of the season for damned fools. What do you want to know?"

[Ebiris]

"We assumed it was bait meant to Aurora into striking there, with a trap or heavy reinforcements waiting to come down. Was that correct or was it really just a golem inspection?" Afina asks, curious to know if she outsmarted herself on that one or if it was justified prudence.

[Anastasia]

"I know Malphas was there. I don't know if it was a trap," Velasca says, "Harkin was closed mouthed about it. I'd bet on it being a trap, the stupid dog's running scared after what you've done to some of his pet golems."

"It's too bad you didn't take Willah's place," Velasca says, "We might well have won already if you had. Some little crumb like yourself has grown into a legend and we've flailed about and failed to stop it. Was it you or something Medi left behind? Or are you nothing but a puppet to Morwel, Titania or Seira?"

[Ebiris]

"Medi didn't leave behind a convenient potion of unleashed potential or handbook on how to run an insurgency, no," Afina says dryly, but she doesn't comment further on how things like the forges have helped her do so much more than she otherwise might have been capable. No point giving away things without needing to, after all.

"But since we're on the subject of running scared, I'm curious what fallout there was from Taelfagn's failed attempt at capturing me on Benfal. Been privy to any tales there?"

[Anastasia]

"Only rumor," Mala says, smirking, "That some grand scheme was escaped. That you somehow came face to face with the Duke of Destiny and lived to tell of it. I suppose you're a cut above Muirfinn and Lief."

[Ebiris]

"We retrieved them anyway," Afina says placidly, not rising to the bait. "Moving on, I presume you're as aware as we are of the deadline that Bel's presence on Lifasa has set. What's Hell's endgame for that? What plans have been set in motion or reworked in light of this?"

[Anastasia]

"That? Oh, I hear the Duke of Destiny is moving frantically now," Velasca explains, "Propping up every little thing he can. Getting any forces he can get up, hiring yugoloths and astral stalkers, virtually anything he can buy with coins and get facing towards Lifasa."

[Ebiris]

"Do you have anything specific?" Afina asks icily. "Because so far all you've given us is a whole lot of rumours and generalities. Are you just so self-absorbed that you don't notice what your comrades are doing? I want something actionable."

[Anastasia]

"As you like," Velasca says, "First of all, Harkin's gotten several brigades of yugoloths, lead by a handful of ultroloths. He has several assassins and spies rustled up from deeper in Hell, dogai and the like. I get the impression they want revenge for what you did to their paragon. I'd watch your backs if I were you. He's planning on using the 'loths as a reserve force if I know Harkin, while using the assassins to soften up strategic targets and terrorize leadership. Probably field leadership, since Aurora's all but impenetrable."

[Ebiris]

That's something useful, they can make sure to have talented spotters close to any officers in upcoming battles on Harkin's territory. "That's better," she nods approvingly. "What about Quinn, Ettan, Silvber, and Apasa? What sort of reinforcements have they drafted and how are they being utilised?"

[Anastasia]

"Quinn's been assigned the Marburn Company, a mercenary army approximately 5,000 strong. They're cursed earth-aspected dwarves tainted by fiendish blood from some Prime or another," Velasca waves a hand, "The Duke can keep all of them straight, but...I find it disquieting. So many worlds," she murmurs, almost to herself. "Do you think that strange as well?"

[Ebiris]

Ugh, are they really bonding? Yuck.

"I found in unsettling when I was first introduced to the wider planes," she admits. Because she did! "Intellectually of course I always knew there were other worlds, but not so many that Lifasa's fate could be greeted with such apathy." Also they don't even grow from Yggdrasil's seeds, all she knew was a lie!

Also 5,000 nearly matches Aurora in manpower, before recent reinforcements from Arborea are factored in. Certainly they're fodder to the likes of Afina but an army is needed to hold ground, and it emphasises how bad off they are in numerical terms.

[Anastasia]

"I feel so...small." Velasca says, "Hell doesn't tell you that. That you're merely a tiny speck amid its vastness. That everything you know is merely a blink in the eye of eternity." She keeps her voice low, "I have seen thousands of worlds in an instant, all through the magic of the Duke of Destiny. I have seen them and see how Hell is infinitely vaster than them."

There's a pause, a long pause.

"That's it, you know. What the most ancient books Mala found said, hidden away in her private library. That's supposedly what the purpose of Creation is, to determine the questions of good and evil, law and chaos. More fool me to choose the feeble side, one that can't even win on one world with all the advantages, who has a paragon that can't even kill a stray pixie, a catfolk, a human and a half celestial. At least we got the troll-blooded."

[Ebiris]

"Willim died to a random cornugon we don't even have a name for. It died seconds later. That's the chaotic whimsy of battle for you," Afina says, wondering if Velasca's trying to bait her with things like that or if it's just a fundamental part of her character to unthinkingly needle. They don't really know much about pre-Taelfagn Velasca, unlike Willah and Apasa, so who knows? She's not here to work through Velasca's neuroses though, she's here to get information to help the war.

"As for Creation's purpose, I've stuck my banner to the winning side, and after Lifasa is free I'll be busy for as long as it takes to see that the right answer is found. In the meantime we have far smaller concerns. Such as the forces and dispositions of your fellow traitors?"