The Heavenly Host

“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.

“I think we will have to,” Boggy agreed. “Tizzy, I am so sorry about doubting you during the long, long journey here. It was worth every league and more.”

“I have to admit, the discomfort of being demon handled for that distance is drowned out by the sights of this cave system,” Talarius said, shaking his head. “The level of temptation here is incredible. It is an excellent opportunity to test myself versus the sin of greed. Truly a worthy challenge.”

“I see you are packing gems into those small bags you pulled out of your armor,” Boggy commented.

“As the octodemon pointed out, I’m going to need to make some significant donations as part of my penance,” Talarius said.

“So you’re donating it all to the Church and the Rod?” Rupert asked.

Talarius fidgeted. “Directly and indirectly,” he finally said.

“Indirectly?” Estrebrius asked.

“Well, the church has numerous expenses supporting my efforts. If I can relieve those expenses with some small personal wealth in pursuit of my mission, well, that is indirectly.”