“The horses must have sensed he was a demon,” Hilda added.
Danyel was shaking his head. “So this smaller demon had infiltrated your school years before?”
Trisfelt shrugged. “So it now appears. But the boy was such a good kid! He was very sweet and shy; I can’t possibly see how the boy I knew could be a demon!”
Hilda sighed. “From what I have heard and read, you would not be the first to be so fooled.”
“But if the Rupert demon truly is a child, how could it play such a tricky game for several years? Hiding among two of the greatest conjurors alive today?” Trisfelt asked in befuddlement.
“Well, I’d have to assume it is as Talarius said — the big demon is lying. The Rupert demon is not a child; it is simply pretending to be,” Danyel stated.
“To what end? Simple infiltration?” Trisfelt asked. “We really are not that interesting of a school. Despite Lenamare’s claims.”
Hilda thought for a moment. “As I understand it, Exador and Lenamare were at war over a book in Lenamare’s possession.” Trisfelt shrugged and nodded. “Is it possible this Rupert demon was searching for the book? On behalf of this larger demon?”
Trisfelt shrugged, shaking his head. “At this point, anything is possible. So then, is this larger demon in league with Exador? Is that how Exador knew he had it?” Trisfelt shook his head in exasperation.
“I’m not sure we can answer anything on this now; let’s move on,” Hilda said.
They moved on to the part where Verigas started ranting. Hilda motioned for Trisfelt to pause it at the point where Talarius stopped the argument between Tom and Verigas. “Well that certainly confirms what Jenn and Gastropé said,” she stated.
“From that perspective, it does seem like the Rod sort of overreacted,” Trisfelt said.
“Be that as it may, the ends were justified!” Danyel stated confidently.
Trisfelt shook his head again. “So if the big demon and Rupert were in collusion with Exador, why would they bring the Rod right to the gates of the city and the huge horde of demons? And it seems very sloppy to select a priest of Tiernon as your gateway in such a case.”
“To say the least.” Hilda was shaking her head. “Let’s table this as well and move on.”
They continued the balling, getting into the fight. Hilda gestured at Trisfelt to pause shortly after the demon had started shooting those electric ice bolts and blasts at Tiernon. “That circle around the demon, it appeared a bit ago. We have no Sight with this recording, but I’m reasonably certain the priests have encircled the demon with a draining ritual of some form,” Hilda said to Trisfelt and Danyel.
“Yes, that’s correct. The priests worked in full support of Talarius, using both animus and mana draining rituals; they also used mana-funneling rituals to Talarius. Then, as you’ll see shortly, archers began shooting Arrows of Quôlume at him with very nasty payloads,” Danyel replied enthusiastically as Hilda made faces at him trying to get him to be quiet.
Trisfelt glanced curiously at Danyel, his suspicions reawakened. “That’s very specific knowledge you seem to have.”
Danyel blanched suddenly. Hilda intervened, waving her hands as if it were nothing. “I sent Danyel out to make inquiries among the Rod, particularly during the time you and I first met. And then a few more times since we’ve been back in the city. Over the years, he’s proven an able assistant in ferreting out useful information on my behalf.”
She needed to distract Trisfelt. “However, what I find odd is that these rituals that Danyel mentioned, are they not dark rituals? It was my understanding that priests of Tiernon were proscribed from using dark rituals.”
Trisfelt looked surprised. “Now that you mention it, I seem to recall hearing that as well. Very odd that they should do so.” Hilda looked back to Danyel, who was looking even more uncomfortable, if that were possible.
“I am sure it must have been approved by the Arch-Diocate,” Danyel said nervously.
Hilda smiled gently. “Well, then, I am sure he’ll be more than prepared to answer for and explain his actions, should this Host of Tiernon or what not, ever show up.” She chuckled lightly, as did Trisfelt.
“You are right as ever, my dear!” Trisfelt clapped his hands, putting Danyel’s apparent in-depth knowledge behind them. “I would not want to be in his shoes!” He laughed and Hilda joined in, flashing Danyel a seemingly good-natured glance which appeared to make him even more nervous.
“Anyway, let us continue.” Hilda waved at the scene and then reached for the bottle to refill their glasses.
As the giant demon fell to the ground and the priests rushed in to heal Talarius, Hilda had Trisfelt pause the balling. She was looking quite annoyed. “Am I misremembering? Wasn’t the agreement between the demon and the knight that it was to be a one-on-one duel?”
“It was indeed,” Trisfelt said. “The Rod was not particularly good about keeping its word.”
Hilda was shaking her head, most annoyed. “Demon or no demon, this is not honorable; nor is using dark rituals. While we have no Sight with this, I am sure those clouds are seriously dark magic.”
She stood up abruptly. “I need to get more wine. I find it very troubling that I should be feeling any sympathy for a demon!” She marched over and opened a bottle of red wine, paying little attention to which one. She was feeling extremely vexed.
She came back as Trisfelt and Danyel both gulped down the remainders in their glasses. Hilda poured out large glasses of the red wine, emptying the bottle between the three of them. She sat down and placed the empty bottle on the floor beside the sofa. She sighed. “Let us continue.”
The battle proceeded with the possession and defeat of Talarius, his surrender followed by his treachery. Hilda was feeling a deep-seated anger at this point. It was then that the god mana started flowing. This was what she had noticed; this was the high-powered miracle that came through the back door and was thus inadvertently allowed. She wished she could See what was going on. It was very impressive to say the least. Then came the turning of Excrathadorus Mortis.
As the hole closed and the balling ending, Hilda could not help herself from feeling that some sort of justice had been done, despite the fact that it was her own team that was on the receiving end. That Talarius had cheated was undeniable; that he had broken nearly every rule of honor in Tiernon’s book, undisputable. And did the Arch-Diocate and Vicar General seem okay with this? Apparently. Hilda let out a sigh.
“You know what I can’t figure out?” Trisfelt said.
Hilda opened her eyes and shook her head. “There is an immense amount here that I cannot figure out.”
“We all know what demons are like,” Trisfelt said, the other two nodded. “Yes, they lie. We cannot trust what the demon said at the end about simply wanting to protect his own and live in peace. It is, by every known account of demons, complete nonsense.” Everyone nodded his or her head. “So then, why did he stop? Why did he just leave? With the level of power he used to turn that artifact, the dagger — ”
“Excrathadorus Mortis?” Hilda asked.
“You know of it?”
Hilda chuckled, suddenly feeling exhausted. She was emotionally drained. “By legend only; obviously, I’ve never set eyes on it. It’s extremely famous.”
“Really? I guess I assumed so,” Trisfelt nodded.
Hilda shrugged, too tired to prevaricate. “Talarius was awarded with being its keeper nearly a decade ago. This extremely sacred blade was used in Etterdam by Sentir Fallon to slay the demon prince Orcus.”