Heron nodded. “Fiernon was miraculously able to follow them to Hoggensforth, which is where this Lord Edwyrd and his crew disembarked—”
“Wait!” Sir Samwell interrupted. Heron paused and looked at him. “You are saying that this assistant vice-constable pyromancer, whose ship was lost at sea, was able to follow the smuggler’s vessel the remainder of the way to Hoggensforth?”
Heron nodded. “It was truly inspirational. Apparently he had minored in aquamancy at the university.”
“A pyromancer with a minor in aquamancy? Those two skill sets are antipodes! While I know that master wizards must study all disciplines, starting with such a combination is very unusual,” Sir Samwell exclaimed.
“Not as much as it used to be.” Heron shook his head. “There are now several naval pyromancers who have studied aquamancy, pretty much for this sort of situation.”
“Interesting. Times, they do change.” Sir Samwell grinned.
Heron smiled back. “Sometimes too quickly.” He shook his head and continued, “Fiernon contacted our local field protectator, Wylan Wynterford. The two pursued the party to Freehold.”
“Wait — what did they do about the smuggler?” Samwell asked.
“Unfortunately, the Rod arrived and seized the vessel before Wylan and Fiernon could execute Justice.” Heron shook his head in dismay.
“Unfortunate,” Sir Samwell remarked.
“In any event, the miscreants and our two agents arrived in Freehold and sent word to the Constabulary, and I marshalled the Sky Fleet, and long story short, we ended up laying siege to Freehold, along with the Rod of Tiernon.” Heron sighed.
“You could not convince this Freehold to relinquish these uninvited guests?” Sir Samwell asked with a tone of disbelief.
“Freehold is the home of the Council of Wizardry, and the capital of the Council States.” Heron said. “Invading the city would have been an act of war. All we could do was camp outside and demand their return.” He frowned. “Unfortunately, the Rod also wanted the same party.”
“So what happened?” Sir Samwell asked.
“Well, the city put up these magical wards that would have been very difficult for either us or the Rod to penetrate, and took the matter under consideration,” Heron said.
“And their eventual response?” Samwell asked.
“Well, it turns out they somehow discovered that their city was infested with a bit over a thousand demons.”
Samwell blinked rapidly in shock. “A city of wizards infested with demons?” He looked questioningly to Heron. “I’m not sure what that means. Wizards often have lots of demons.”
“No, these were invisible demons that the wizards had been unaware of,” Heron answered.
“Invisible demons that the wizards were not aware of?” Sir Samwell repeated questioningly.
“Yes — a bit embarrassing, if you ask me.” Heron grinned.
“Indeed. So what was the resolution?” Sir Samwell asked.
“Well, the Sky Fleet and the Rod came to us with this plan to violently expel the demons — mostly sprites, shadows, imps and a few fiends — and asked us to slay them as they fled in panic,” Heron said.
“This worked?” Sir Samwell asked.
“Actually, yes, quite well, until this greater demon emerged along with a few others in its retinue. Apparently Sir Talarius had managed to capture a lesser greater demon that looked remarkably like the greater demon and was about to slay it when the greater demon landed and offered to duel Sir Talarius in single combat in exchange for the life of the smaller greater demon.”
“Well, not ideal, but better than having your army severely damaged by the greater demon,” Sir Samwell remarked.
“Yes. And it was a very close battle,” Heron added.
“This must be a very impressive Knight Rampant,” Sir Samwell observed.
“Yes, he was, but he also cheated. Talarius gave his word to single combat, but ended up getting help from the Rod and priests.” Heron sighed. “Thus, the knight nearly triumphed.”
“I am not one to wish a demon luck; far from it. However, I do have to say that a knight violating his personal oath is, quite personally, sickening,” Sir Samwell said.
“Indeed,” Heron said. “If he were one of ours, he would be in a great deal of legal trouble. However, it gets worse.”
“Worse?” Sir Samwell raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“Indeed. Talarius surrendered, and then the demon shape-changed to a human form and came forward to offer the knight mercy.”
Sir Samwell closed his eyes, suspecting what was coming. Actually, he knew full well what was coming, but needed to be convincing to Heron.
“The knight pulled forth a dark blade, one capable of permanently slaying a demon, and attempted to kill the demon with it,” Heron said.
“He violated the terms of his own surrender?” Sir Samwell shook his head.
“Shocking,” Heron agreed. “I am no longer convinced that our allies have their former moral certainty.”
“But wait…” Sir Samwell shook his head. “”
“Ah, that’s what has the Church of Tiernon so upset.” Heron grinned. “Somehow — and no one understands how — the greater demon was able to possess a number of priests and Rod members and turn them on each other, before literally tapping into Tiernon’s illumination streams and harnessing Tiernon’s god pool to reverse the blade!”
Sir Samwell sat back hard, banging his head on the wall behind him. “How is that possible?”
“We have no idea, nor does the Church.” Heron smiled. “But it does make them anxious.”
“So then the demon abducted Sir Talarius?” Sir Samwell asked.
“Opened an Abyssal Gate below the man’s feet and dropped him straight into the Abyss!” Heron shook his head in admiration while grinning.
“Well, I would have to admit, that is justice well served!” Sir Samwell told the Wing Arms Master.
“Indeed. Unfortunately, the demon must face his own high justice.”
Sir Samwell tilted his head. “So, because this demon brought this Lord Edwyrd into Gizzor Del, and led to the constabulary vessel being sunk, you are pursuing it into the Abyss?”
“Well, no; we are not quite that insane.” Heron grinned back.
“That is a relief,” Sir Samwell replied.
“No, we have consulted and compared detailed notes with the Rod and Church. We made a scrying of the battle and have watched it repeatedly. We believe that Lord Edwyrd and the greater demon are the same person. While the human form that approached Talarius is not identical to the descriptions we have of Lord Edwyrd, they are similar,” Heron explained. “In any event, we believe that Lord Edwyrd is, in fact, the greater demon. It is the only explanation we can come up with that fits all the pieces of the puzzle. It also explains the thousands of demons — those were also Lord Edwyrd’s. We do not believe a wizard could safely control that many hidden invisible demons among a city of wizards.”
“Hmm. I suppose I can see that,” Sir Samwell said.
Heron nodded. “We felt that we could use priestly support in serving justice upon Lord Edwyrd. But beyond even that, they have the ability to track and detect Talarius in the Abyss. Something that we would not be able to do on our own. Thus the alliance.”
“Fascinating!” Sir Samwell exclaimed. “I think it is an excellent idea, except for one thing.”
“What one thing?” Heron asked, suddenly alarmed.
“If he were controlling a thousand hidden demons, he would almost have to be an archdemon, if not a demon prince.”
Heron frowned. “You think so? Everyone we’ve spoken with has insisted he is a greater demon.”
Sir Samwell shrugged. “Based on my experience, such as it is”—he gestured around them, indicating his tenure in the Abyss—“it is quite unlikely that a greater demon would command the allegiance of a thousand demons, let alone be able to force them into hiding in a wizard city.”