Tiger Fist
Chandra tucked her chin into her scarf, hiding her nose and mouth from the chill of the High Ice. The wind was harsh enough to blow her legs out from under her, and the cold would freeze exposed water in under a minute. And the color -- or lack thereof. White, white, white...
They were nearly as north as one could go, staring out at the last mile between them and the geographical north pole -- the Nameless Spires. Beside her, Kesil was smoking his pipe -- the fire undisturbed by the wind -- in a robe that would look at home in a summer getaway. He was conversing with Asmodeus from a "polite distance", or so Kesil had said.
That'd been almost an hour ago.
Chandra: "What's he saying?"
Kesil: "Nothing unusual. We're not allowed in. Or maybe we are -- for a price. Then we argue about the price..." Kesil waved a mock hand, as if that explained everything. Normally, this would be the part where she would stay quiet, and kept alert until the Wizard King completed his business. Today, it was almost -100 degrees outside, and she was running out of the ki that was keeping her warm. Chandra: "What does he want?"
Kesil: "The same thing he always does. Whatever he can convince me to give him."
Chandra: "Kesil." The wizard's expression soured, his attention now divided between the two conversations, but he finally looked at her, and the way her teeth were beginning to chatter. If they weren't standing outside the fortress of Hell he might have fixed it, but until negotiations were complete he'd agreed not to use his powers. She had her own protections, of course. But many of the stronger ones were still back at Absalom, along with her winter kit -- abandoned in the chaos. Kesil: "He wants the Infinity Scroll."
Chandra: "What is that?"
Kesil: "An expedition party found it in the Nameless Spires before the Lost Age. They never found out exactly what it was, but theories abounded -- a piece of the Akashic Record, a treatise on the Dark Tapestry, some lost work of Albus Rickette."
Chandra: "And? What did it do?"
Kesil: "Taught them things. How to make new kinds of magic items, forbidden incantations. It reacted strongly with psychics, and the powers of the Mind."
Chandra: "Okay... You have far worse in your possession. Give him the damn scroll and let's get out of the cold!" Kesil grimaced, a puff of black smoke crawling out of his pipe. Kesil: "I don't have it. Never did -- I was still guarding Rovagug at the time it was discovered. He doesn't believe me."
Chandra: "What's option two?" She didn't need to ask if it existed. With the Devil, there was always option two. Kesil: "A formal alliance between the Swords of Absalom and the Hellknights."
Chandra: "...what's option three?"
Kesil: "The black lantern." Chandra sighed. It was always like this with Asmodeus -- the deals you couldn't accept, the deals you wouldn't accept, and the thing he actually wanted. They'd likely gotten well past these deals, and were squabbling for some ungodly combination of them, all while option two hovered in the air, and she freezed out here on the High Ice. Oh. Chandra: "The power embargo... He knew I'd freeze."
Kesil: "Glad you've caught up with the rest of the class. You want the bad news, or the bad news?"
Chandra: "I want to warm myself in devil blood."
Kesil: "Well, hold off on that. He's agreed to let us in, and I'm allowed to study the Wither pool in the middle of the city. Two conditions."
Chandra: "You didn't--"
Kesil: "Peace talks start tomorrow. His people are already in Absalom."
Chandra: "Kesil! He's just going to stab us in the back, and you know-- Oh gods, what's the other condition?" Kesil turned his pipe out into the snow, and watched the coals die. Then he patted her on the arm, and started walking towards the Spires. Kesil: "He wants to talk to Lalantha." Chandra watched him go for a second, and then hurried to follow, the Tiger roaring in her belly. Chandra: "Who is Lalantha?!"
Kesil: "Nothing unusual. We're not allowed in. Or maybe we are -- for a price. Then we argue about the price..." Kesil waved a mock hand, as if that explained everything. Normally, this would be the part where she would stay quiet, and kept alert until the Wizard King completed his business. Today, it was almost -100 degrees outside, and she was running out of the ki that was keeping her warm. Chandra: "What does he want?"
Kesil: "The same thing he always does. Whatever he can convince me to give him."
Chandra: "Kesil." The wizard's expression soured, his attention now divided between the two conversations, but he finally looked at her, and the way her teeth were beginning to chatter. If they weren't standing outside the fortress of Hell he might have fixed it, but until negotiations were complete he'd agreed not to use his powers. She had her own protections, of course. But many of the stronger ones were still back at Absalom, along with her winter kit -- abandoned in the chaos. Kesil: "He wants the Infinity Scroll."
Chandra: "What is that?"
Kesil: "An expedition party found it in the Nameless Spires before the Lost Age. They never found out exactly what it was, but theories abounded -- a piece of the Akashic Record, a treatise on the Dark Tapestry, some lost work of Albus Rickette."
Chandra: "And? What did it do?"
Kesil: "Taught them things. How to make new kinds of magic items, forbidden incantations. It reacted strongly with psychics, and the powers of the Mind."
Chandra: "Okay... You have far worse in your possession. Give him the damn scroll and let's get out of the cold!" Kesil grimaced, a puff of black smoke crawling out of his pipe. Kesil: "I don't have it. Never did -- I was still guarding Rovagug at the time it was discovered. He doesn't believe me."
Chandra: "What's option two?" She didn't need to ask if it existed. With the Devil, there was always option two. Kesil: "A formal alliance between the Swords of Absalom and the Hellknights."
Chandra: "...what's option three?"
Kesil: "The black lantern." Chandra sighed. It was always like this with Asmodeus -- the deals you couldn't accept, the deals you wouldn't accept, and the thing he actually wanted. They'd likely gotten well past these deals, and were squabbling for some ungodly combination of them, all while option two hovered in the air, and she freezed out here on the High Ice. Oh. Chandra: "The power embargo... He knew I'd freeze."
Kesil: "Glad you've caught up with the rest of the class. You want the bad news, or the bad news?"
Chandra: "I want to warm myself in devil blood."
Kesil: "Well, hold off on that. He's agreed to let us in, and I'm allowed to study the Wither pool in the middle of the city. Two conditions."
Chandra: "You didn't--"
Kesil: "Peace talks start tomorrow. His people are already in Absalom."
Chandra: "Kesil! He's just going to stab us in the back, and you know-- Oh gods, what's the other condition?" Kesil turned his pipe out into the snow, and watched the coals die. Then he patted her on the arm, and started walking towards the Spires. Kesil: "He wants to talk to Lalantha." Chandra watched him go for a second, and then hurried to follow, the Tiger roaring in her belly. Chandra: "Who is Lalantha?!"
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