“Indeed, even as prophesied. He stole mana from the gods, found the Wand, relit Mount Doom, has taken our allegiance and led us to victory in epic battle! We have not only beaten, but subsumed the forces Lilith sent against us. We defeated a Chaos Maelstrom!” Darg-Krallnom shouted.
“You what?” Targh’s eyes went wide in shock.
Only about half of what the D’Orc had said made any sense to Valg. What was a Chaos Maelstrom? It did not sound good, but it did sound like an impressive victory.
“You heard me, Rust Bucket!” Darg-Krallnom punched Valg’s grandfather in the shoulder. “Lord Tommus led us to decisive victory over Lilith’s forces and then convinced most of them to turn their backs on her and join our ranks!”
“Is that a good idea?” Targh asked.
Darg-Krallnom shrugged. “I was hesitant, but I think so. He let those who wished to return to Lilith or run away do so. There was no threat to their lives. They have sworn and bound themselves to him and so now, we watch.”
“Well, returning to Lilith in defeat is a threat to their lives,” Targh grinned.
“Indeed,” Darg-Krallnom said. “However, we need the bodies to fully man Doom and bring mana levels up to where we can open the Doomalogues.”
“So are we the first?” Targh asked.
Darg-Krallnom nodded. “As planned.”
At this point Valg noted that the very large demon, Lord Tommus, was descending towards them. He had to blink because even though the demon was getting closer, it was also getting smaller. When it reached Darg-Krallnom, it had stopped shrinking and was about one or two heads taller than his grandfather.
“From what I see of the greetings going on, I assume the area is secure?” the demon lord boomed in a rather awe-inspiring manner.
“Indeed, Lord Tommus.” Darg-Krallnom glanced to Targh.
His grandfather nodded. “The Isle of Doom is currently secure. We face periodic incursions, but we have been able to hold for the last several thousand years.” He gestured to the ruins of the old city. “As you can see, our major cities were all destroyed in the wars that followed the disconnection, but we have been rebuilding.”
“Good,” the demon lord said, turning more fully to Targh.
“Lord Tommus, may I present Targh Bowelsplitter, the Oracle of Orcus upon Nysegard,” Darg-Krallnom said as Valg’s grandfather bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“You have kept the people and the island secure,” the demon lord told his grandfather. “We are all grateful for your loyalty and service, and I look forward to rebuilding the Isle of Doom to its previous glory.” He paused. “And, when we are ready, those who have so wronged us will pay for their actions.”
Loud cheers came from around the village. Valg looked down at it, about twenty feet below them. Everyone was staring at the demon lord, Darg-Krallnom and his grandfather.
The demon lord smiled and nodded. “Now, Targh Bowelsplitter, how about introducing me to your people?” It gestured toward the village as well as Valg and his mother who were in the air nearby.
“So, what are you industrious spiritual fellows up to?” Sir Samwell asked, walking up to Barabus in the assembly chamber where his priests were working hand in hand with several Oorstemothian wizards. “Seems rather odd for wizards and priests to be working together…”
“Indeed,” Barabus agreed. “While there are wizards employed by the Holy Etonian Emperor, they do not typically work with priests.”
“So what are they all up to then?” Sir Samwell asked.
“We are searching for a knight who was kidnapped by a greater demon, with the hope of also, of course, locating the greater demon, who is violation of many Oorstemothian laws and court orders,” Barabus said.
“Well, you rather amazingly found me, and extremely quickly after fourteen hundred years. I should not think it to be that hard,” Sir Samwell said.
“Yes. Well, to be honest, I was not privy to the techniques your fellow Oorstemothians used to locate you,” Barabus lied. He knew full well that the Oorstemothians had not even been aware of Sir Samwell. However, that was not a conversation that Barabus wanted to deal with. “We believe that we should be able to locate our Knight Rampant due to the fact that as an adherent of Tiernon, and a recent arrival, he should stand out.”
Sir Samwell raised an eyebrow. “Well, I am not completely sure he would be the only one, and the Abyss is rather large…” He shrugged. “So what is with all the cross-collaboration?”
“We need additional mana resources. We were cut off from Tierhallon when we entered the Abyss; this dramatically reduced the mana we had available for searching. We are thus working on a way to harness ambient mana levels to charge mana pools attuned to our priests, which we can then use to power our searching rituals.”
“Interesting.” Sir Samwell twisted his mouth in appreciation. “I hope it works. How long will it take to get sufficient mana?”
“We are hoping to try a first pass later tomorrow,” Barabus said.
“So obviously, you will rescue your knight. What exactly do you propose to do with this greater demon? As I’ve mentioned, it’s very difficult to kill someone here. Are you simply going to arrest him?”
Barabus grimaced. “We will cross that bridge when we come to it.”
“Your Dream Sending was quite useful, Hilda, and with the names and information you were able to get, we have been able to confirm what Verigas told you,” Baysir told Hilda and the rest of the group at their working lunch meeting.
Sentir Fallon shook his head sadly. “This is incredibly not good.”
“Does their action break the Balance?” Hilda asked.
Beragamos shook his head. “No, mortals cannot break the Balance. However, if one of us were to go after them — were to enter the Abyss — that would break the Balance, even as a demon traveling to Tierhallon would break it.
“I am sorry, I know I studied the Balance, but could you refresh me on its implications?” Stevos asked.
Beragamos smiled gently. “The Balance is quite complicated, and often misunderstood; however, at its core, it is simply a treaty between those of us in the Outer Planes and those below in the Abyss.”
“So is it Five Sibling specific? That is my understanding. Other pantheons are not bound by it, correct?” Stevos asked.
Moradel shook his head. “No, it applies to almost all pantheons, or at least those of the Concord of Conciliation.”
“I think I may have missed that chapter in saint school,” Hilda said.
Beragamos chuckled. “It rarely comes up. The Concord of Conciliation is basically the agreement that governs the interaction of various pantheons throughout most of the multiverse. And the Balance is a treaty between the Quintenal Cabal and the Concord of Conciliation.”
“In short,” Moradel said, “the Balance comes down to an agreement that no gods nor their avatars will enter the Abyss, and no demons will enter the Outer Planes.”
“And the demons obey this?” Stevos asked skeptically.
“In general, yes, and vice versa,” Beragamos said. “There have been infractions, which have been dealt with.”
“Who enforces it?” Hilda asked.
“Ultimately, in the Abyss, it is Lilith and Sammael. In the Outer Planes, the Concord of Conciliation maintains a tribunal, or council, made up by a rotating membership of the most senior members of each pantheon,” Beragamos answered.
“So then,” Hilda said, bringing the issue back, “the Balance is fine as long as none of us pursues this Inferno into the Abyss to rescue them.”
Sentir Fallon nodded in agreement. “Correct.”
“So what happens to them?” Stevos asked.