“That does seem logical. And given what I understand of how this Council works, taking the dispute to them would be a logical step. And Exador, being an archdemon with similar allies, would have access to a demon army to assist him in capturing the book once it came to Freehold,” Beragamos said.
“So then,” Hilda continued, “we either have to believe in complete random chance that this demon would show up and completely disrupt Exador’s plans — ”
“Or believe that Lenamare is sufficiently skilled to give incredibly detailed instructions to the greater demon and his student to do all the things necessary to draw both the Rod and Oorstemoth to Freehold and then expose the demon horde, and thus give the Council a reason to activate the wards Lenamare had built, and then eventually expel all the demons to be killed by Oorstemoth and the Rod,” Moradel said.
“When you put it like that, coincidence seems more likely,” Beragamos said.
“Except,” Sentir Fallon countered, “you have to add in the events with Talarius and the mana theft.” He shook his head. “Clearly this was not a greater demon. An archdemon should not have been able to break the Holy Ciphers, steal our lord’s mana, possess our priests and Rod members and then destroy Excrathadorus Mortis!”
Sentir Fallon sighed and finally sat down; he had been standing. “As you know, not even Orcus could overcome Excrathadorus Mortis. I have to come back to our earlier discussion about this demon possibly being Orcus returned.”
“In which case, Lenamare must be a warlock. Yes?” Hilda stated.
“Formally or informally,” Sentir sighed.
“Informally?” Hilda asked.
Sentir shrugged. “Basically your own argument a few moments ago. A warlock is formally bound to a demon via strong linking spells, as great as those of a priest.”
Moradel nodded. “I see your point. If he were so bound, then those wards of his would have complicated such a binding. So perhaps a more informal arrangement; not a true warlock, but a demon’s agent nonetheless.”
“Assuming the binding could expel a demon prince,” Beragamos said.
“The demon did flee the city,” Hilda noted.
“Possibly a ruse,” Beragamos said. “Clearly he must have wanted to confront Talarius so he could take our forces unaware and unencrypt our ciphers while supposedly battling Talarius.”
Sentir twisted his head to Beragamos. “So you are thinking that Talarius’s initial victories were because the demon was busy cracking our ciphers?”
Beragamos bobbed his head slightly in a nod, acknowledging his own reasoning. “That would explain much of what we witnessed. At first, I thought it might have been simply a fake-out. However, if he was, in fact, occupied in infiltrating our streams, then Talarius might truly have gotten the upper hand for a bit.”
“Devious.” Moradel shook his head. “I will need to think about this.”
“As will we all,” Sentir Fallon agreed.
“What is clear,” Beragamos said, “is that we need you, Hilda, to keep a close eye on Lenamare. He now appears to be our best link to this demon. At some point they will be in contact again.”
“That is also the sword’s reckoning,” Hilda said.
“You’ve had more contact with Talarius’s sword?” Moradel asked.
Hilda frowned. “Yes; it seems he has decided to appropriate my living room as his base of operations. He spends his downtime standing in a corner.”
“That seems a bit intrusive — standing in a corner watching you and your servant,” Sentir Fallon noted.
“It is, but it is much better than if it were to sit on the couch or a chair. The furniture would be slashed to pieces and we’d have to reimburse the inn.” Hilda grimaced, thinking about this.
Moradel chuckled. “I admit that I do enjoy your positive attitude, Hilda!”
“So, back to the current issue. Our next step?” Beragamos asked.
“Assuming this is, as we suspect, a plot by a demon prince, whether actually Orcus or not, we need to start marshalling our forces. We can’t let this escalate like the last time,” Moradel said while turning to Sentir Fallon.
“I agree; we need to be prepared for the worst-case scenario,” Sentir said firmly.
“We might also want to acquire more information on this book,” Beragamos said.
“I need a shower!” Reggie said after materializing in the parlor.
“I’ve often said you stink!” Tizzy snarked.
“There you go...” Boggy pointed outside to where the rain continued to fall in the morning light of the volcano. Reggie nodded.
“Why do you need a shower?” Tom asked. He had been over in the corner working on some fighting moves with the mace. He probably should join Rupert in training, but he was afraid it might look awkward if the D’Orcs’ supreme general was training as a raw recruit. Although that was probably better than getting his butt handed to him in battle. He shook his head and holstered the mace in his belt.
“Last night was rather skeevy,” Reggie said.
“What have you been doing with that mistress of yours that wasn’t skeevy?” Tizzy asked.
“Last night was ‘training’ as she called it. She had been a bit disappointed in my lack of experience on some matters, so she decided to teach me about dream sex.”
“Dream sex?” Tom was glad Rupert was in combat training.
“Yeah, making love to someone in their dreams while they sleep.” Reggie shuddered.
“Astral penetration,” Tizzy said, nodding to himself. “Remember me telling you about this?”
Reggie grimaced. “It doesn’t seem to me a person can truly give consent in a dream. Sure, they dream that they do, but I don’t know. Seems a bit rapey to me. I don’t like it.”
Tizzy shook his head. “Bad attitude; raping, ravishing, pillaging, torture, mayhem, all are standard tools in the demon toolkit. No point in getting mushy about it.”
“You are creepy, you old perv!” Reggie said angrily to Tizzy.
“Thank you,” the octopod replied. Reggie just shook his head.
“So, what, your accursed master wants to have sex in her sleep?” Tom asked.
Reggie shrugged. “Apparently. Her and a bunch of friends of hers, I guess.”
“A bunch of friends?” Boggy got interested. “You mean like an orgy?”
Reggie shook his head. “No, more like one-on-one romance. Sort of wine and dine and bed them in their dreams. She keeps stressing that I am supposed to romance and love them, pleasure them beyond their wildest dreams, and not force the issue. However, they’re still asleep, so...”
“So more like a dream gigolo,” Tom said.
“She’s pimping you out!” Tizzy giggled.
“Maybe, but either way I’m not that comfortable doing it. She says that many of them are married! They just want some extra romance,” Reggie said.
“Well, if they’ve come to her for assistance, that seems okay,” Boggy said.
“Far more ethical than a love potion,” Talarius noted. He had remained silent up to this point. “But still, not particularly savory. Sex should only occur within the bounds of matrimony.” Talarius shrugged. “Ideally.”
“Does your religion allow premarital sex?” Tom asked, suddenly curious.
“Well, it’s frowned upon, but not forbidden. As a rule, it is very disadvantageous for younger women, particularly if they are virgins and using that fact to woo a husband. However, that is more an issue of familial duty than religious duty. Tiernon only demands that the partners respect each other and don’t take advantage of or harm each other, emotionally or physically.”