Considering Allies|Clan Linnod, Naurorod

[Kender Bard]

Karau sat in the now-vacated Elder home in a room set aside just for him, though he his head brushed the ceiling when he stood in it. His seat was something cobbled together to make a rough throne, utilizing the Earth sign of one of his thralls. It was ugly, but big, and it suited Karau fine.

He sat with a brooding expression, his bloodlust sated for the time, allowing him to contemplate. Few beings were allowed here with him, but he did let Die and a particularly bright thrall come and go as they pleased.

He focused his gaze as a demon entered, uninvited. But rather than grow enraged, as he ordinarily would have, his interest became visibly engaged and he sat up a bit straighter. The demon looked roughly like a man though with a wider torso and deep, deep blue skin. He was covered in places by a metallic-blue armor that seemed fused to his skin at the shoulders, arms, legs, and hips. He carried a sword as well, a long and heavy looking thing that appeared to be made of the same material as his armor, saw-toothed and almost translucent and steaming in the desert heat. He wore a mask as well of white bone with delicately curving spines around the top and sides, sweeping up and back, from which icicles hung. The mask sported two narrow, glaring eye slits and a wide, grinning, fanged mouth etched into it.

The ice-warrior knelt before Karau and put his sword down before the demon lord. "Lord Red, my Lady sends you coldest greetings."

Karau smiled thinly. "My Lady Blue pines after me?"

"With each passing moment."

Karau chuckled deeply at that, amused. "She sent you to make sure I didn't plan on leaving her behind."

The demon tilted his head to the side, smiled. "She sent me to assist you in freeing her. And, perhaps, one of her allies."

Karau scowled. "I'll free her, but she can wait to bring her companions through until after I've dominated this world. Never the less, it'll be good to have you here to assist, Zarhielepomasiel."

Zarhiel just smiled and bowed his head respectfully again.

Karau glanced to Die and rumbled, "What more do we need to establish this? Zarhiel is not a weak willed demon to slip through the cracks. I presume this means the rift is stable and able to support the passage of all but the strongest demons now."

[Darastrix]

Die had watched the interaction with interest. If Zarhiel was one of this Lady Blue's men, he thought he might like her. At any rate, he liked the mask. Refreshing, really. Gave one a sense that maybe someone in the Abyss had something that passed for a sense of humour.

"After the first wave of demons," he said, "another round of Water sacrifices was what let you through. Another bunch of Waters thrown into the volcano is likely all we need. We're in a bad spot to collect, though. Most people living here are Fire and there are two nations and half a river between us and the largest Water population."

Ooh, idea! Attacking Ronduin would have fairly predictable results. They didn't have any official military alliances that he could recall, but several nations would step up regardless, either due to friendship with the Mother or proximity to the land. But who cared about Ekaitz? Nobody, that's who. The Storm king hadn't even seen fit to raze the place when they'd their little civil dispute. But there were native Ekaitzians, probably some Fireteeth pirates, and Waters were the most common slaves down south. Would the pirates dissolve the alliance if they just swept through? What might Saul do to save face? He had NO IDEA, and he loved it.

"Other lands will swarm to their defense if something like that were to be noted," he went on, "and their proximity to Morilanta gives them reason to be vigilant. However, near the southeast corner of the continent is a rather small nation that recently passed into Morilanta's hands. Nobody on Naruta cares what happens to them, and I believe a disproportionate number of their slaves are Waters."

[Kender Bard]

"Have them brought here then," Karau reported. "Where's my map!"

One of the thralls obediently brought one and held it open for him to study. Karau eyed it over.

"Where do the children of Love live?" he asked of Die, gesturing at the map. "We will strike at them first!"

[Darastrix]

Good luck with that! Die thought, amused. They were sort of between two parts of a kingdom that had military might on one side and huge numbers on the other. He was almost tempted to point to Morilanta instead (really, when it came to helpful neighbors, Morilanta wasn't exactly in a good spot), but sadly, he doubted that ruse would last long. Or him, once the game was up.

"Up here in the mountains," he said, pointing at the correct location. "I have to say, I'm curious what sort of vendetta you have with the Sundancers. Love and Evil were created in the first humans, as the story goes, so why do you and your kind lean so much to Evil's side? Or have a leaning either way at all?"

[Kender Bard]

"Let's just say misery enjoys the company of misery," Karau said simply. "Make no mistake though, I loathe all humans. But then, I loathe everything. I am made of pure loathing."

Which probably wasn't too far from the truth, really.

"Besides, human souls still carry a piece of Love and Evil in them, but the souls that tend to wind up in the Abyss more often than not have a larger piece of Evil in them. That tends to... Hmm... Accumulate over time. Some demons are made of it. Others, eh. It's complicated. The Abyss is not a place where the rules that govern the mortal plane make the same sense. For example, this world is quite small and puny compared to the size of the Abyss. Yet our realms run parallel to each other and there are places where they are quite close to one another. Enough for there to be similarities." He rubbed his forehead and grunted. "Who cares, anyway? This is prattle that you'd be better off questioning Terzu over when we fetch her. Or maybe Lilth if we wind up fetching her up."

He grinned nastily, rubbed his chin. "Yes, once I've tamed this land, I think I'll work on bringing up my little harem. That should prove amusing."

[Darastrix]

Oh-ho! So Karau kept a harem, did he? Aside from the fact that holding a harem was advertising of particular weakness, it meant there were more possibilities, especially if Terzu and Lilth were anything like Morilantan women in such a position. Considering what he'd heard of the cutthroat style of Abyssal politics, Die thought it likely. They could each have their own contingencies in the event of Karau's fall, plans to facilitate it if they deemed it necessary, and probably a few regarding each other, regardless of whether they had an alliance or understanding between them.

Yes, one or both of them would make this considerably more diverting than just dealing with a big powerful warlord-type.

"Since we'll be taking from Ekaitz anyway, does my lord wish for supplies and men to made into thralls to be seized along with the Waters?"

[Kender Bard]

"Yes," Karau anwswered. "The number of thralls I have now is pathetic. I'll be working on creating more of my own. You are in charge of what thralls remain here. All of them. I put you in command of them while heading to this Ekaitz place to gather the supplies that I need. Meanwhile I'll begin my campaign towards the children of Love. I'll take my time about it, build up my legion. I see no reason to hasten things at this point. The humans here provide no challenge thusfar. By the time I'm ready to march on the Sundancers, I should have a more decent sized army under my command to keep things interesting. And... Hopefully my Lady Blue." He grinned at Die. "She is shrewed and clever, my lady. It is why we have an understanding with one another. I could crush her--" he made a fist to emphasize the point "--with ease at any moment I desire, but she continues to make herself useful and her gestures in defiance are small and negligible. You should follow by her example if you wish to become high in my esteem. Now, are we clear on our plans?"

[Darastrix]

“Crystal, my lord,” Die replied with a bow. And if Lady Blue was half as shrewd as Karau implied, he sincerely doubted his hold over her was as complete as he thought. Karau was all brawn. It would be delightfully refreshing to meet the true brains of their little alliance, and perhaps make one of his own.

“We’ll pose as a band of freedom fighters seeking to strike a blow against Morilanta for what they’ve done here,” he said, waving a hand to indicate Linnod. “The bitter remnants of a Fire clan, physically warped, but still with their noble barbarian pride, or whatever it is these people have. We might even pick up some unwitting allies along the way. By the by, your blood made these people thralls, correct? Does it need to be taken willingly, or would vials slipped into the food of the unsuspecting work as well?”

[Kender Bard]

"It does not need to be taken willingly, but forcing it upon someone can have... unpredictable results," Karau answered. "Entertaining regardless. I used to chain souls and force my essence upon them and hold bets with my allies on the outcomes. Good times. If you want to try it, I have no qualms with parting with some of my blood. I'll need to draw it myself, however. No guarantee that they will be thralls, but the chaos it causes should brighten your trip. Is there anything else you need to procure before setting out?"

[Darastrix]

"Just provisions enough for those of us who need them for the trip there, my lord," Die replied. "We can take whatever we need from Ekaitz for the return, and then we can free your lady."

[Kender Bard]

"Ransack the city then," Karau replied. "Take whatever you want or desire and be on your way." He stood, stretching. "Zarhiel will be your second. He's good at being a second."

Zarhiel chuckled dryly at that. "Aye, my lord. I do enjoy getting very close to others."

[Darastrix]

Yay! He was getting Ekaitz as a present, and a potential ally-slash-backstabber, which was basically what most of his allies amounted to. How much he trusted any of them was just a matter of how easily he could ruin him, so for the moment, Zarhiel was more or less his guard and nursemaid. Die didn't doubt that he'd slit his throat and take over the operation if it looked like he was running contrary to Karau's wishes. Well, nothing new there.

"Excellent!" he said to Zarhiel. "You remind me of a man I didn't hate back in Morilanta. He liked getting close to people, too. They didn't always live long after that, but you couldn't fault his professionalism. Come, we can determine the best route to take south after we get the supplies squared away. I love a scenic bloodbath, don't you?"

[Kender Bard]

"Blood looks very nice on ice," Zarhiel agreed, following Die as Karau made his way out of his throne room, ducking through doorways and spreading his wings once he was outside. With no further goodbyes, he took to the sky and began winging north-east.