Walking to Rosewater

[Anastasia]

'She has no leverage and refuses to believe it,' Antenora says, 'Say the word if you wish for me to lay out the facts of her situation to her.'

"Alicia," Violet retorts, "Has Malcanthet made her displeasure known yet? Has she insisted that you release me or that a dozen demon princes will raze Sylica to the ground?"

[Ebiris]

"Did you see Malcanthet mounting a gallant rescue when the Adversary had you in his grip? Did she scare him away with dire threats of reprisal? Do you think she would have tried?" Alicia asks, her expression showing quite clearly how unconcerned she is with a hypothetical 'dozen demon princes' right now.

'Feel free, I'm a hairs-breadth from cutting this short and handling things less gracefully.'

[Anastasia]

"Unlike you," Antenora cuts in, "Malcanthet knows when to cut her losses." She appears right before Violet, who visibly startles.

"Ah!" A soft little cry as Antenora stands above her.

Antenora kneels, face to face with the succubus. "We grow weary, mortal," she says that in tones of iron, her aura felt like a physical thing. "You presume that you are a player in our games when you are nothing but another creature that only plays at being eternal."

> roll 1d20+24
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 35 > [d20=11]

Violet holds her own against that aura, even if you see her breath come faster, hands clench together.

"Eriny-"

"Be silent." Antenora's voice is soft but enough to silence her, "A trial, perhaps? You know of the trials Hell holds for demons captured alive. While I do not mimic those exact...methods of prosecution, I remember trials all too well. Let me tell you what will happen if you defy us further. I will call a public trial - one open to any in the planes who wish to attend, and there will be many. You will be marched out in chains as a prisoner so that each and every one can see you as you are: defeated, powerless and broken. I will call every soul available that has been wronged from you, from the first sin you committed as a wretched mortal to the greatest transgressions in the Abyss. Each will testify to your sins and convict you of every evil act. No honeyed words will save you, no sweet temptations will avail you before the authority of the law."

"Then," Antenora goes on, not a word from Violet, "Then I will convict you of those crimes, in the face of such overwhelming evidence. No law knower in Creation could acquit you of those sins, not with that evidence. Your sentence will be eternal imprisonment so that you may never blight Creation again. You will sleep unaware, not even the solace of dreams within your grasp, for the Lady of the Lake will not spare her mercies for one such as you. It is oblivion now and forever."

As Violet watches, breath faster yet now, "Do not think Malcanthet or any hopefuls will save you. There are places we store entities that displease us. You know of some of them, I have no doubt. Your name will be known in the greatest disgrace, only to be forgotten in time." A clink of iron, as chains appear on her wrists and ankles. "That is some small measure of justice for what you have done, Violet. Your last thoughts will be of the despair of your name ruined, your freedom gone and your sentence inescapable."

> roll 1d20+76 (+15 AR'ed divine insight, +9 other)
<Penuche> Kotono invokes Penuche's magic: < 91 > [d20=15]

A shake, Violet staring down Antenora. Violet shakes as Antenora rises now, "Alicia, do you have anything to say?"

[Ebiris]

"I've already wasted too many words with nothing to show for it here," Alicia stands up. "You did better than most, Violet. But it wasn't enough." Above her hand a ball of kaleidoscopic light appears, Marie having teleported here in her alternate and shrunk down form at Alicia's prompting.

Even with antimagic and everything, putting a powerful outsider to sleep is no easy task for her magic. But Marie's dream ray will get the job done, given enough time. Then Violet's mind and secrets will be bared for the taking.

[Anastasia]

Violet snarls as she shakes, a lunge that Antenora stops with one hand. Then the magic hits her and one gets through, sending her asleep.

"The sad truth is that for all I believe everyone can be saved," Antenora says at last, "That I personally cannot save everyone. If I had reached, her found some way...what good she could do with her talents."

[Ebiris]

For reference, the dream ray does charisma damage so it would've taken a couple and as an evil creature she would then fall into a nightmare-wracked sleep which inflicts minor damage every hour.

"Thank you Marie," Alicia says after it's done, the eladrin assuming her humanoid form at her side. "It's a shame," she agrees with Antenora. "In retrospect we may have gone too strong with that last play, pushed her fight or flight buttons... I was wanting to scare her with how close she was to being put under, get her to take this seriously and be more forthcoming. But I'd already threatened that earlier and you can't keep relying on the same promise without delivering."

[Anastasia]

"It's justice," Antenora says at last, "I would give her mercy, if she was but willing to repent, to show even the slightest, sincere hint of a better tomorrow." A breath is let out, "Be it by my spear or by my law, I am a creature of justice as much as mercy and redemption. Marie?"

[Ebiris]

"Don't get so hung up on her potential just because she's a brilliant archmage with a killer body," Marie says blithely. "There's lots of pretty and talented mages out there who don't come with abyssal-sized chips on their shoulders," she points at herself for an example.

"Thank you, Marie," Alicia says dryly. "Now can you dispel her magic while she's here and then we can have Naeys use his mind theatre spell on her."

"Oh, I haven't done this before but it'll be very efficient!" Marie says brightly, a barely visible wall of magic-defeating power bisecting the room. She then picks up Violet telekinetically and drags her back and forth through it a couple of times until she has no magic left.

Wall of superb dispelling, Marie dispels at +34 which should get all of Violet's spells after a few tries.

[Anastasia]

Soon enough the magic is all gone, scouraged away to the last.

Antenora smiles, "You're right. I'm looking at two right here," she turns, "Let us not lose ourselves in melancholy. Besides, we did achieve our objective, no matter what."

[Ebiris]

"We achieved exactly what we set out to do," Alicia agrees, picking up Violet and resetting the magic and astral links around here while Marie drops the dispelling wall.

Sending word to Naeys to meet them back in Liberton along with Syala and Latha - and Jessica if she's in Sylica right now, they go off to turn Violet's mind into a theatre that will answer the many questions posed by her deeds.

[Anastasia]

Jessica is as defense and thus all of you gather. IT is a quiet room with no windows, warded properly. Chairs are here, one for each of you. As you settle in, "Before we begin," Naeys says, "What questions do you have?"

[Ebiris]

"First of all what the purpose of that demon army we fought off was for," Alicia says. "When I mentioned it and the assassin we stopped I got the feeling there was more to it. We'll have many others about her Styx-magic and its victims and Malcanthet's plans, but lets start with that and we can build on from there?"

[Anastasia]

"I have many," Antenora says, "But we can begin with Alicia's. We are in no rush."

"Why myself as well," Jessica speaks up, "I want to know that, what did I do in particular?"

"Breathed," Syala says, "That's enough for a demon."

[Ebiris]

"We'll find out soon, the spell should provide for many answers," Alicia says, settled in to at least have some mysteries put to rest.

[Anastasia]

Once done, "I will take the small liberty to ask Jessica's question first." Naeys declares, and in a voice of authority and power, "Tell us why Jessica was a target of assassination."

It's the Razor Throne. Shadows and darkness for the moment you can see it, as your view is lower. Much lower. Violet is doing things down there to make Malcanthet happy, but at the same time? 'But still, why Jessica?' Violet's mental voice is heard. It's about all you have, as the view is rather, ahem, focused on other matters.

This gets Jessica to blossom red all across her cheeks, crossing her arms, "Can you NOT ask questions like that and do THAT at the same time?"

"It's not like thousands haven't seen this before," Latha's retort is immediate, which gets Antenora to smile and Syala to to chuckle a bit.

"It's the point of it, it's disturbing," Jessica goes on, red faced, "That you think to ask THAT when your mind is on those matters!"

Meanwhile Malcanthet's voice is heard, 'Listen then. Of them all, Jessica is the weakest. Her convictions and might are the lowest, and she merely fights to strike precisely. That, and Alicia cares for her sister. Think of all the tears she will shed at her loss. Think of how weaker and more vulnerable she will be. Think of how every day she won't be able to let go of the thought that she let her sister die.' Malcanthet's voice is full of throaty triumph, as if imagining it happening to Alicia.