Game Thread, Chapter 2: Down the Rabbit Hole

[PhaedrusXY]

"I'm afraid that there is no corpse left behind after someone is consumed by a demilich. It dissolves into a puddle of goo. After several hundred years, I'm sure the goo is gone, too. He is also beyond all hopes of raising, as his soul was devoured."

[Bozwevial]

"Then it would appear our only options are bartering with or stealing from the general, mmm? Though I doubt we'll be so lucky that we avoid a confrontation. We can't expect that all of our foes will be so willing to talk as the aboleth."

[Kuroimaken]

"We also can't expect to best a Balor in combat. But then again, we don't NEED his corpse to prove he's dead. We just need a means to assure him we come from the future. So we need someone who's even more unlikely to be bested to provide this proof. Something we cannot forge. Sammael." Raoul turns to the imp.

"We need an affidavit from your master, or failing that, someone with greater authority than the general, to prove that we come from the future. It must bear an unimitable mark or signature, one that we cannot possibly duplicate." With this, Raoul got a positively wicked smirk on his face. "We shall leave no doubt that if he does not hand us the artifact, he will perish in two years with no hope of ressurrection!"

[PhaedrusXY]

"Well... since my Master is a devil... I doubt El General is going to take an affidavit from him very seriously...

At best he'll think we're trying to double cross him somehow, and balors are contrary enough to not go along with whatever we propose out of spite just because it is from a devil...

I can do this for you, if you insist, but I don't think it is a very good idea.

If you could get one from someone else, though... maybe a demon lord, if you can find out which one if any he was allied with... Or a commanding officer of his, if any exist in this time frame."

[VennDygrem]

"Wait... it may be a terrible idea... but perhaps it is not all for naught... Is there some way we could use such a letter of marque, with the right words of course, to trick the Demon General? It need not even be addressed to him, but someone else, and thus get him to think he is being double-crossed. Or, something else. We could use this mistrust to our advantage, is what I'm saying..."

[Kuroimaken]

"...We could do both. We shouldn't overestimate our own ability to lie shamelessly through our teeth. The most important thing is getting him to understand that without our help, he dies in two years."

[Bozwevial]

"And more importantly, convincing him that giving the package to us is preferable to simply using the package himself."

[Kuroimaken]

"Which begs the question, how does one in possession of such an artifact end up killed the way he was? Clearly his murderer would have more uses for him than mere sustenance, even taking into account that the general didn't have what it asked for. And they would not have battled uselessly. Too smart for that. Unless--" The color visibly drains from Raoul's face. "...damnit. If the general had hidden the package after the battle, and obviously wouldn't tell his summoner, then that means the bastard consumed his soul to learn the location of the artifact."

[HeadofVecna]

Xuuvosic shrugs, the human gesture contrasting oddly with the choker's alien mannerisms. "That's probably how that shit went down. Maybe we can bargain with skullfuck now. Find out what it knows. Maybe we won't have to try to convince the motherfucking Balor of anything. Cause there ain't no gods damned way we're gonna be able to convince him of shit."

[Kuroimaken]

"What makes you think we got something the skull wants?"

[HeadofVecna]

"Who fucking knows. But its worth sending it a Stone or something so we can ask the motherfucker. That's assuming we can find Skullfuck remotely."

[Kuroimaken]

"Here's to hoping the guy won't send us a bomb back. But assuming we even manage to contact it, how would we be able to negotiate for the package without naming it directly?"

[Bozwevial]

"I think that given the options, I'd rather take my chances with the balor than the demilich, wouldn't you? At any rate, we should make a decision soon. Every second we delay is a second for our adversary to discover our plans."

[VennDygrem]

"Agreed. We need a plan yesterday."

[HeadofVecna]

Xuuvosic gives Marlowe a hard look, "Motherfucker you did not just say that. You'd rather count on a Balor's fucking mercy, convince it to pony up something serious like the package. That, or try to put shit together long distance, asking for outdated intel. We clear? Ready to get Sammy on this?"

[Kuroimaken]

"I suppose we've dwelled long enough on this. We know what the consequences for each problem is already. Problem is, we only have one shot at going through the portal - we miss it and that's it. We should make damn sure we're ready."

[Bozwevial]

Marlowe raises an eyebrow. "Although I hardly plan to prostrate myself before the demon, yes, I do think that in the event of a fight, I would rather face a balor than what might be said to be the paragon of undeath. I agree wholeheartedly that we can and should use Sammael to gather information, but standing here debating endlessly about what might be and wavering between two courses of action will get us nowhere. Some of us aren't immortal, after all."

[PhaedrusXY]

Sammael speaks up at Marlowe's last comment "Well, you know... we could fix that... if you wanted."

[Bozwevial]

Marlowe turns to look at Sammael, a peculiar look in his eyes. "Oh? Why so hesitant, Sammael?"

[PhaedrusXY]

"Well, I don't know why I'm offering to give you stuff you didn't even ask for, when I get nothing in return. That's all. A proper devil should be getting at least a promise of your immortal soul if you're ever killed, or something like that. I get sent out to just give away like candy what everyone else spends years working up contracts for... " The devil looks abashed.