Apostles of Doom

Teragdor shook his head and looked towards Beragamos. What did that mean? Why would Tiernon’s right hand work with a demon prince? This made very little sense. However, sense or not, Beragamos was looking quite pale. Apparently the strain of processing mana was getting to him.

Lord Orcus suddenly looked around the room. “Yes, we all know that Tiernon and I have unfinished business. However, that business is not here. The Citadel has always been a loyal ally of Doom and Doom shall always be a loyal ally to the Citadel. We have sworn oaths, and unlike some, neither the Citadel nor Doom broke their oaths.” He was looking back at Beragamos, clearly sending the archon a message.

“So?” Orcus said, coming towards Beragamos. “Are you a man of your word, archon? Are these other avatars men and women of their word? Do we all agree to put our past disagreement aside for the purpose of defeating the Storm Lords and driving them back to their graves?” he asked. “Do we all swear to be brothers and sisters at arms and to allow the others to depart unharmed to their own homes after we achieve victory?”

Beragamos was silent, thinking for some time. “We will keep our word. We will honor such an agreement, if you do the same,” Beragamos finally said.

“Come now, my old colleague, have you ever even so much as heard of me breaking my oath, let alone known me to break my oath?” Orcus said.

Teragdor felt a chill run down his spine. There was something different about this Orcus than the one who had first entered the room. He could not put a finger on it, but this person seemed much older, more confident. Of course, one would have to be extremely confident to stare down the Supreme Archon of Tiernon, he reflected.

“I have not,” Beragamos admitted, finally shaking his head.

Teragdor glanced to Hilda and Stevos; both were staring at Beragamos in shock. Shock not that different from what Teragdor himself was feeling.

“So?” Orcus asked. “Shall we get to work? I assume some of you recognize Targh Bowelsplitter from the Isle of Doom.” He gestured to one of the two D’Orcs.

“I am also accompanied by my senior commander, Darg-Krallnom.” He gestured to the other, even bigger D’Orc. The large D’Orc chuckled and stared directly at Beragamos.

“We work together once more, Øverst-archon,” Darg-Krallnom said somewhat ominously.

“This is Sir Stainsberry, Knight Magus of the El Ohîm.” Orcus gestured to the cloaked knight. “And, as Arch-Diocate Iskerus noted, Sir Talarius, Knight Rampant of Tiernon will be fighting at my side, even as he did against the forces of Lilith, Co-factor of the Abyss and her Knights of Chaos.”

The last claim stirred more than a few murmurs around the room. A Knight Rampant of Tiernon fighting side by side with Prince Orcus against Lilith, Empress of the Abyss. Talarius must be quite the knight. Teragdor had no idea what a Knight of Chaos was, but it sounded rather bad.

“So, now you know who we are. Perhaps a few more introductions from your side and then we get down to planning the Storm Lords’ defeat?” Lord Orcus suggested.

~

Tom looked on as Darg-Krallnom, Targh and Grob Darkness Slayer discussed the large battle board, as they called the table before them. The battle board looked very much like the miniature boards he and his friends had used to play war games. The only real difference was the fact that, here, they were planning a real battle involving real lives.

Apparently through the daylight hours, the Storm Lords had mostly been testing the Citadel’s defenses. Beragamos and the Apostle Teragdor had given them a show of force that had kept them from escalating their attacks in the afternoon. However, all bets were thought to be off once Atun set.

Tom glanced at Beragamos. Earlier, when the archon had called him out, Tom had had another vision from Orcus’s life. This one had been of himself, Beragamos, Vosh An-Non and Tiernon strategizing on some issue that he could not quite recall. The only thing he truly remembered from that was Beragamos’s name and the fact that at some point in time, Orcus and Doom had worked closely with Tiernon and his avatars. Being stepbrothers, that probably made sense. He already knew that they had conspired to lock their mutual parents in Tartarus. Talk about a dysfunctional family!

“So, you have rerouted all your priests’ connections to the Outer Planes to the avatars in this room?” Sir Stainsberry asked. Tom was actually rather impressed with Talarius’s half-elven friend. He truly understood not only military issues and wizardly issues, as one might expect of someone with the title of Knight Magus, but he also understood the multiverse and how the gods and their avatars worked. He was very happy Talarius had convinced him to bring Stainsberry along.