Crushed Slavers

[Corwin]

"We should be recognized as a power on the Inner Planes, similarly to Eblis on Fire," Seira tells Donald. "Romiel, on the other hand, occupies a position similar to Lixer's in Hell, perhaps. If Eblis or I start a fight on Fire, Kossuth would allow it and let us resolve our differences in-house. But if a truly outside power decides to push too strongly against one of the natives, the natives in question might well declare war formally. That said, I feel this issue is one that would be worth going to war over if we're pressed by the efreet or the dao."

[Anastasia]

"If we've made our decision there, then so be it," Lady Sanzha says. "Shall I continue?"

Amaryl smiles sharply, "Well, that means more slavers to fall to my bow."

"War. If it comes, we will all have enough of war," Kascha murmurs softly, looking down.

[Corwin]

"We've had these uneasy truces for millennia, tolerating all sorts of atrocities with the understanding some things will be beyond the pale for the devils. And yet we have Semyaza and Taelfagn and Bel ignore that when it's convenient, one after the other. We have to make the fiends understand that this peace is in their best interests as well, and that if they want to hold onto it, things need to change for the better."

Having explained her view of things, Seira gestures for Sanzha to go on.

[Anastasia]

"There's also a reason lately," Amaryl murmurs very softly. "The Prophecy of Primus and..."

"Ahem," Donald quickly clears his throat, "I think what you're saying is fuck Shar. Isn't that right, Amaryl?"

Lady Sanzha watches those two for the moment, a faint smile showing on her lips.

"Donald! I would never put it like that," Amaryl protests, reddening. "That's how some gutter rat of a human would put it!"

"You don't say," Donald retorts, "I wonder why that is. Gee, Elle, can you tell me? I'm stumped, that's a hard one!"

[Corwin]

If Amaryl still can't tell when she's being baited Seira will just have to let her learn on her own.

"We all don't like Shar, and with good reason," she says with a grin. "Do go on, Sanzha."

[Anastasia]

Elle laughs and pats Donald's arm, "You made your point, dear."

Amaryl blushes deeply and further, before exhaling and in elven adding, "Humans!"

"Still the best at seducing elves and pumping out half elves, too," Donald says, "So hey, there's something you all find charming about us." Kicking back in his chair, "But go on, Lady Sanzha."

Jeval looks between all of you, a bit stunned and a bit confused. "Ah...I see..." he murmurs.

"As noted, the dao are dealing with the Xorn matter with a firm hand." Lady Sanzha says, "I don't have a strong spy on the dao court yet, but I suspect there's at least a few informal communications between Fire and Earth on this matter. However, there's no signs of public reactions at all. I paid a visit to Grumbar and his court as well, but he was as verbose as he always is. If you've never met him, he's as talkative as a pile of stones. I did at least get an audience and he didn't warn us off, so he's either uninformed or not interested in acting against our efforts as of now."

"Would he warn us off?" Kascha asks, "I can't do much with Earth, anyway, for decades."

"He will, he's straightforward with his threats," Lady Sanzha says, "Especially if you come to him before you commit to something."

[Corwin]

"That's good news," Seira notes.

[Anastasia]

"It is," Lady Sanzha concurs, "I made contacts with the djinn afterwards, subtly seeing if any of them had an idea. I didn't get any sign of it, but the djinn can be rather airy," Sanzha concedes, a soft sigh after. "Water flows but in a way that can be understood. The air so often goes whichever way it wishes, no matter what you think."

[Corwin]

"Here, too, it sounds as if we'll need to strike a blow before generating the sort of momentum you were looking for," Seira finishes for Sanzha. "Have we heard back from Zaaman Rul? That could be just the sort of chance we need."

[Anastasia]

"We have, while you were resting," Elle speaks up. "There's signs it's agitating Akil. According to his source, he's been pacing at home for hours at a time, all with Razalim in hand."

[Corwin]

Seira nods slowly. "Alright, and Donald, no hints of the Great Xorn so far? Amaryl, how about a decent lead on smiteable Sharrans?"

[Anastasia]

"Nothing we can chase down, like we said. He's laying low," Donald says, "Or dead, take your pick. Sendings haven't worked, which could mean many different things." He gestures at Elle, "We just don't know enough, unfortunately."

[Corwin]

"Let's add three native forces to Summer Blaze," Seira decides. "I'll lead one of them. We'll strike at devil interests on Fire. Between their hellfire research and various holdings we should have plenty of suitable targets. Sanzha, I'm putting you in charge of selecting those targets and overall timing."

[Anastasia]

Lady Sanzha nods, "Of course," she says, "Are there any targets you want to prioritize or avoid?"

Kascha looks up at that, "We're striking hard. We should stress all of them by this, hopefully hard enough."

[Corwin]

"Like I said, devil targets on Fire. Since Akil is their liaison, it will put extra pressure on him to deal with it. And since we're not the ones striking at slavers, the efreet will waste their time wondering about the connection between our actions or about our endgoal. As for priorities, let's aim for anything run by those related to the Benfal or Lifasa campaigns, with Hellfire research being second."