A Deal with a Demon
The Dreamer hovers near, staying close to the heart of our previous dream, to a rift in space and time. A portal on the outer crust of the Forge flares to life, ancient clockwork shifting into position, and a mighty obelisk pierces the veil...
Vaughn let his head rest against the back of his throne, letting his senses extend beyond the Spire. He saw the Order of the Scourge and their starships, lining up in their hangars to begin the assault. He saw Cromwell within the depths of the planetoid, tinkering with the leavings of Grandsmith, hoping to find an answer to their plight. He wouldn't find it -- not without Wynrey -- and she was neither here nor there. He touched over Helen, who was waiting quite impatiently in front of the throne, and at last, to the little fly on the wall...
Vaughn: "I see you, little Owl!"
Zandeer: "I come to ask permission, as I always have." The Oni laughed, drawing Helen's attention. She followed his eyes to a corner in the wall, and gave the Dreamer a light wave. Helen: "This one objects."
Vaughn: "Then I see no reason to deny you, sweet bird! Just stay quiet! We have much to discuss..." Helen responded with a light scowl, the red-orange serpent around her shoulder releasing an accompanying hiss. On the other side of the planetoid, starships dropped from the Hellknight citadel, setting their infernal blasters to lethal fire. Helen: "Still we do not speak?"
Vaughn: "Yes, yes. Now that we're somewhere more appropriate, let us deal! What do you desire?"
Helen: "The Forge destroyed by the flames of Hell." Vaughn nodded, completely at ease with Helen's verbal twistings, keeping pace with happenings both within and without. Vaughn: "I must say, it does not inspire any confidence in Isra. Consider my reptuation, Helen! A merchant, helping a woman who is in breach of contract? With the Devil? What will they say?"
Helen: "Nothing better than they already do."
Vaughn: "You wound me! I only mean to say that the price will be high. What have you to offer?" Helen tilted her head to one side, her snake climbing up and around her neck, slithering into the nest of pins and hair at the back of her skull. A pair of eyes poked out from the darkness just above Helen's forehead, creating an eerie, four-eyed stare. Helen: "You have no idea what you want from this one." Vaughn grinned, a toothy smile from ear to ear. Vaughn: "So blunt this morning! I suppose I do have a few ideas... Perhaps the righting of an old wrong?"
Helen: "Silence."
Vaughn: "You see, I have this nasty curse about my spine! When your brother broke my bones, he thought it wise to keep them from healing. It's quite a formidable binding, as I've learned. It can only be broken by a descendant of Amphisbaena..."
Helen: "You should speak that name freely, merchant."
Vaughn: "Pardon, but I have no room for frivolity in this regard. I will save your precious planet, if you remove it. Do we have a deal?" Helen slid her tongue across her teeth, foot tapping the ground in a slow, methodical rhythm. Outside, the first blasts of laser fire assaulted the Forge, hitting the shields surrounding the elevator shaft. They wouldn't hold out for very long... Helen: "I refuse."
Vaughn: "Excellent. Shall we?" Vaughn relaxed his shoulders, reaching out to the Spire. Dozens of shields, counter-curses, charms, and enchantments faded away, allowing Helen to approach the throne without harm. She was barely taller than his knee, and so he was forced to lean forward, his skin peeling away from the stone chair, to lift her up to the source of the issue. An old wound, a Cut from one hip to the other, a complete and total severing of the spine. Helen wasted no time, her own senses flaring as the Forge's shields were breached, and began to whisper in an serpentine tongue, threads of magic building between the wound and her fingers. Like all the greatest curses, this one was easy to deliver, but nearly impossible to undo. Thankfully, Helen was a master of both exercises, and this curse was designed to bend to her will. With a long fingernail she drew her own blood, flicking it on to Vaughn's skin, and there was a fizzle of purple light. The curse vanished. The Spire's enchantments came alive, finding a source of pain in its master, and bound both bone and flesh to their original form. Helen leapt from the throne as the defenses came crashing back down, and Vaugh stood, his head thrown back in a laugh that echoed from one end of the Spire to the other. Vaughn: "Marvelous! Simply marvelous!"
Helen: "Our disagreement!"
Vaughn: "Oh, my dear! Don't spoil the fun!" Vaughn put up a placating hand, doing a little dance as he poked and prodded the air, lighting the room with eldritch interfaces connected to the Spire. Across the Forge, every system owned by a Hellknight started to scream in warning, indicating mass destruction was about to come raining down on their heads. They had no idea how right they were. The starships surrounding the elevator shaft pulled upward, fleeing towards the citadel, which began a slow retreat away from the planetoid. Vaughn made a show of rising the Spire, letting it appear to them from behind the Forge, and then tilted the entire ship on its axis, pointing the big, open end directly at the citadel. Radio communications between the Forge and the Hellknights began anew... Vaughn intercepted the signal for a moment, waiting until he heard "peace" and "negotiations", and then nodded happily. Vaughn: "I think they got the message."
Zandeer: "I come to ask permission, as I always have." The Oni laughed, drawing Helen's attention. She followed his eyes to a corner in the wall, and gave the Dreamer a light wave. Helen: "This one objects."
Vaughn: "Then I see no reason to deny you, sweet bird! Just stay quiet! We have much to discuss..." Helen responded with a light scowl, the red-orange serpent around her shoulder releasing an accompanying hiss. On the other side of the planetoid, starships dropped from the Hellknight citadel, setting their infernal blasters to lethal fire. Helen: "Still we do not speak?"
Vaughn: "Yes, yes. Now that we're somewhere more appropriate, let us deal! What do you desire?"
Helen: "The Forge destroyed by the flames of Hell." Vaughn nodded, completely at ease with Helen's verbal twistings, keeping pace with happenings both within and without. Vaughn: "I must say, it does not inspire any confidence in Isra. Consider my reptuation, Helen! A merchant, helping a woman who is in breach of contract? With the Devil? What will they say?"
Helen: "Nothing better than they already do."
Vaughn: "You wound me! I only mean to say that the price will be high. What have you to offer?" Helen tilted her head to one side, her snake climbing up and around her neck, slithering into the nest of pins and hair at the back of her skull. A pair of eyes poked out from the darkness just above Helen's forehead, creating an eerie, four-eyed stare. Helen: "You have no idea what you want from this one." Vaughn grinned, a toothy smile from ear to ear. Vaughn: "So blunt this morning! I suppose I do have a few ideas... Perhaps the righting of an old wrong?"
Helen: "Silence."
Vaughn: "You see, I have this nasty curse about my spine! When your brother broke my bones, he thought it wise to keep them from healing. It's quite a formidable binding, as I've learned. It can only be broken by a descendant of Amphisbaena..."
Helen: "You should speak that name freely, merchant."
Vaughn: "Pardon, but I have no room for frivolity in this regard. I will save your precious planet, if you remove it. Do we have a deal?" Helen slid her tongue across her teeth, foot tapping the ground in a slow, methodical rhythm. Outside, the first blasts of laser fire assaulted the Forge, hitting the shields surrounding the elevator shaft. They wouldn't hold out for very long... Helen: "I refuse."
Vaughn: "Excellent. Shall we?" Vaughn relaxed his shoulders, reaching out to the Spire. Dozens of shields, counter-curses, charms, and enchantments faded away, allowing Helen to approach the throne without harm. She was barely taller than his knee, and so he was forced to lean forward, his skin peeling away from the stone chair, to lift her up to the source of the issue. An old wound, a Cut from one hip to the other, a complete and total severing of the spine. Helen wasted no time, her own senses flaring as the Forge's shields were breached, and began to whisper in an serpentine tongue, threads of magic building between the wound and her fingers. Like all the greatest curses, this one was easy to deliver, but nearly impossible to undo. Thankfully, Helen was a master of both exercises, and this curse was designed to bend to her will. With a long fingernail she drew her own blood, flicking it on to Vaughn's skin, and there was a fizzle of purple light. The curse vanished. The Spire's enchantments came alive, finding a source of pain in its master, and bound both bone and flesh to their original form. Helen leapt from the throne as the defenses came crashing back down, and Vaugh stood, his head thrown back in a laugh that echoed from one end of the Spire to the other. Vaughn: "Marvelous! Simply marvelous!"
Helen: "Our disagreement!"
Vaughn: "Oh, my dear! Don't spoil the fun!" Vaughn put up a placating hand, doing a little dance as he poked and prodded the air, lighting the room with eldritch interfaces connected to the Spire. Across the Forge, every system owned by a Hellknight started to scream in warning, indicating mass destruction was about to come raining down on their heads. They had no idea how right they were. The starships surrounding the elevator shaft pulled upward, fleeing towards the citadel, which began a slow retreat away from the planetoid. Vaughn made a show of rising the Spire, letting it appear to them from behind the Forge, and then tilted the entire ship on its axis, pointing the big, open end directly at the citadel. Radio communications between the Forge and the Hellknights began anew... Vaughn intercepted the signal for a moment, waiting until he heard "peace" and "negotiations", and then nodded happily. Vaughn: "I think they got the message."
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