“Good news!” Damien told the Council once everyone had taken their seats. “The Rod has certified that we are demon-free and Oorstemoth has signed off on it!”
“Excellent news,” Alexandros Mien said, nodding to Damien with a tight smile.
“In front of each of you is the current status report of the palace and the city, including reserves and our current active forces,” Gandros said. “We are doing remarkably well.”
“Do we have estimates on cleanup and repair of the damage?” Sier Barvon asked.
“Not yet; it depends on how soon we can “lift the siege,” so to speak. We need craftsmen and materials from surrounding cities, such as your own city of Yorkton,” Damien said.
Sier chuckled. “You see through me.”
“I know that your sister is married to Burgomaster Falron and that you both come from a long line of woodworkers and masons.” Damien grinned back.
“You can’t take the merchant out of the Archimage,” Sier said, chuckling.
“To that point, Oorstemoth and the Rod are both willing to step down and reduce their forces, and have agreed not to invade the city unless the demon horde comes back.” Damien told the Council.
“And that means exactly what?” Zilquar asked.
“It means that Wing Arms Master Heron and a few of his ships will be returning to Keeper’s City to work on the pursuit of the demons; but they will be leaving about two thirds of their fleet here in case the demons return.” Several councilors frowned at this. “The Rod is also reducing its forces by about half. They claim to be going to a maintenance mode and are simply going to be here to assist in case the archdemons return, and maintain a staging point if they have to ramp up again.”
“So, in short, they aren’t going anywhere soon,” Jehenna said.
“So it would seem, but they are reducing their military footprint and they have said they would like to operate on more cooperative terms,” Damien said.
“What exactly are cooperative terms?” Randolf asked whiningly.
“It means they would like to allow small groups of their people into the city for leave and to purchase supplies, and that they would like to work with the two Councils to coordinate a defense in case demons return.”
“And how do they determine if demons return?” Davron asked.
Damien made a small grimace. “Sir Sorel, another Knight Rampant of Tiernon, will be using Sir Talarius’s Mirror of Demon Detection and flying over the city periodically to inspect the number of demons. I have told him that once the wards are down, we would expect some demons to return, as they are vital to the work of many of our residents. They are okay with a handful of demons in the city. Just no archdemons, greater demons or demon hordes.”
“I’m okay with that myself,” Tureledor said. “I don’t like having any of those in the city. I am still embarrassed that we allowed it to happen.”
“I will be asking the Committee on Demonology to come up with some method of regularly monitoring demon activity and overall presence within the city,” Gandros said. “It is something we should have thought of long ago.”
“So what do they have, a stable of flying horses? Or is this Sorel also going to use Talarius’s horse?” Davron asked. “My understanding is that such horses are quite intelligent, and it is probably wanting to charge the gates of the Abyss as it is.”
Damien had an amused expression on his face. “Apparently, Sir Sorel’s steed is a griffin.”
“A griffin?” Sier repeated incredulously. “These knights aren’t much for subtlety, are they?”
“Not at all. Sir Gadius is also outside our walls. You don’t want to know what he rides.”
“Okay, Damien, what does he ride?” Davron asked.
“A unicorn.” Damien smiled at the two councilors.
“The man’s a virgin?” Jehenna asked.
“Don’t most religious types take vows of celibacy? It’s part of the same psychopathy that leads them to take up religion in the first place,” Tureledor observed, shaking his head.
“Well, I have to say, it does make those otherwise boring goody-two-shoes far more interesting,” Davron admitted.
“Are we getting off track here?” Alexandros asked.
“Probably,” Damien admitted with a smile. “To get back on it, we need to talk about lowering the wards.”
“Yes,” Lenamare said, “and to that point, I am working to hand back full control of the wards to the normal team.” Lenamare nodded to Gandros. “My recommendation is to take them down to a minimal level, which I will detail to the team, so that they can be brought back up very quickly if needed.”
“So then are you pulling yourself out?” Sier asked.
“I am,” Lenamare stated. “I am concerned that if Exador actually is an archdemon, he may come looking for me to continue our battle. In such a case, it might be best for me to leave the city quickly. I can’t easily do that if I am in the wards.”
“So you are leaving?” Tureledor asked.
“Not at this time. I have my students to worry about and my obligation to them. Now that Exador has destroyed my school, I think this is the best place for them, along with what is left of my staff.”
“Didn’t you blow up your school?” Randolf asked.
Lenamare glared at the Archimage. “He invaded my lands, laid siege to my castle, killed a number of my people including students, and was on the verge of ransacking it and slaughtering everyone. We had to escape, and I needed a diversion. He forced my hand; I had no other choice. I therefore consider his actions the reason my students and faculty no longer have a home.”
“Ahh, I see...” Randolf said, steepling his hands before him and gazing at them intently. “So you knocked over the blocks and left?”
Lenamare glared at the archimage, who pointedly ignored him.
“Okay, let us let this point go,” Gandros said. “I do think we need to get the wards down; they are extremely expensive to operate.”
“We may need to bring in additional components from outside,” Sier noted, and Damien nodded. “Most of the extremely expensive components are non-consumables, but there are enough moderately expensive consumables that it adds up, and we have limited supplies of such on hand in the city.”
“Given current supplies, how long could we continue at the current level?” Tureledor asked.
“At least another quarter month. With some more scavenging of the city, perhaps thirty days,” Lenamare said.
“Hmm. Then we really should see about turning them down and restocking,” Gandros stated.
Damien was heading back to his rooms after the meeting when a figure stepped suddenly from a doorway along the corridor.
“You are Councilor Damien? The Inquisitor of the Council of Wizardry?” A rather odd-sounding voice asked him.
Damien had to blink to take in the extremely armored man accosting him in the relatively dark corridor. He immediately shifted to a more defensive position. “I am; and who are you?”
“I am Ruiden, Sword of Talarius, and I am investigating his abduction. I wish to consult with you on your investigation into the offending demon.”
“Okay...” Damien said, rather befuddled. Did the man just claim to be a sword?
“I suppose we could always come back with more sacks,” Antefalken sighed as they sat and rested, sorting through their treasure. It was simply too much: the blue sapphire room followed by the pink, orange and yellow sapphire rooms, the emerald room. The ruby room had been, Tom thought, both beautiful and insane. However, that was nothing compared to the diamond cavern. It could have been the crystalline Fortress of Solitude from the Superman movies. Tom’s jaw had been wide open the entire time. How could any of this be? The caverns were the sort of place that only King Midas could have imagined.