Apostles of Doom

“Uhm, that’s our ship, and it’s attacking the castle as a distraction so we could come in and rescue — uhm — you,” Sir Gaius said, finishing a bit lamely.

Melissance tilted her head in some puzzlement. “Rescue me? You did not even know who I was when you entered this room. And you’ve continued to make it perfectly clear that you believe that I damned myself. So pardon me if I find that a bit odd.”

Gaius looked to the others and swayed his head slightly from side to side. “So, actually we were following a signal, an emanation of Tiernon. Apparently you are still radiating clerical power with Tiernon’s signature.”

Melissance paused, tilting her head to think. “The Abyss is completely cut off from the Outer Planes, and I was interdicted before coming here. However, I can still do basic rituals using my own mana and what I can channel from others here. Given my training, it would probably register with Tiernon’s signature.” She put her hands on her hips. “But what are you doing in the Abyss, searching for emanations of Tiernon?”

The three knights looked at each other and then down at the ground, seemingly unwilling to say.

Melissance looked to Sir Samwell. “Do you know?”

Sir Samwell grimaced. “Well, you see, it seems that Sir Talarius got dragged into the Abyss by a demon who defeated him. They have come, with the aid of Oorstemoth, to retrieve him and bring justice to the demon who took him.”

Melissance stared at him in stunned surprise for a very long minute. Finally she threw her hair back, tilted her head to the ceiling, and burst out laughing. She laughed and laughed, until finally she’d had enough. She bent forward slightly to wipe tears of laughter from her eyes. “Great — he gets defeated and dragged to hell, and you can’t wait to plunge into the Abyss after him. Me, I get bitten by a hasty vampire and turned into a ghoul — something for which we have many rituals to cure — and you are all hands off. Wacky Melissance, she damned herself by her actions!” She shook her head. “Did you ever stop to think that maybe — just maybe? — Talarius also damned himself by his own actions?” the former high priestess demanded.

~

“I am really not comfortable with this,” Barabus told his compatriots as they walked through the gates of the melted castle. A small contingent of demons, several of whom had been actively attacking the Inferno about two hours ago, were awaiting them in the courtyard.

“We reviewed the contract they sent over. It was, in a word, impeccable,” Chancellor Alighieri replied. “Exquisitely constructed, yet elegantly simple. I am quite certain we shall be safe under its terms.” He shook his head in wonderment. “We in Oorstemoth have always had the impression that the Abyss was a lawless wasteland with no understanding of legal systems, authority, chain of command, justice, honor, and so forth. However, in reading their amazingly concise one-hundred-and-fifty-two-page document, I find myself having to rethink my opinion of them.”

Sir Gadius turned to stare at the chancellor questioningly.

“Whoever wrote that document was a legal genius! They even included nondisclosure and mutual intellectual property protection provisions,” Dante said.

“What?” Barabus asked, not having a clue as to what the chancellor was saying.

“Well, for example,” Dante explained, “if, in the course of our interactions, they, or we, inadvertently see, witness or become aware of proprietary devices or intellectual processes — for example, these belts we are wearing to allow us to walk around safely in the Abyss without keeling over — those rights must be respected and dealt with according to the contract. It also applies to both military and general staffing, fortifications, etcetera. In other words, any information we gather here, or vice versa, we are not allowed to disclose to others, nor may we use that information to gain an unfair advantage over the other should our cease fire end less than amicably.”

Barabus shook his head. As far as he was concerned, the ceasefire agreement was only one hundred and fifty-two pieces of paper; paper that could easily burst into flame in the Abyss. He glanced towards Heron, who was very reluctantly and nervously nodding in weak agreement. They had received word from the knights over their encrypted Holy Mirrors, reporting that Talarius was not in the castle and that they had been offered a cease-fire along with an invitation to dinner.

To say that everyone on the Inferno had been shocked was something of an understatement. When CSO Halferth had joked that perhaps all of their attacks had served as a polite knocking, Barabus was certain that both Captain Cranshall and XO Stevensword had visibly blanched at the thought.