"Devil infiltrated the Wasp Nest. Came with us from the livery. Been here ever since. We have the contract binding it. Now..."
Didiana didn't want to be rude to Laria, despite the extremely curt summary of the situation, but neither did she want to leave Rexus alone with the imp any longer than necessary. Any discussion the group needed to have should be done quick. And something Evander said had seemed to her deceptively important.
"Evander, how did you guess that its previous owner was a Sarini?"
"Manthai went to the Sarini estate...?" the sorcerer pondered after hearing the results of the guys' tailing mission. Surely this couldn't be a coincidence, could it? Didiana's knowledge on the nobility was shaky at best, but to find a devil bound by a purportedly long dead Sarini within their HQ at the same time a traitor in their midst visited the same noble family's home? There had to be some connection between the two.
"We should question the imp on whether it knows anything of Manthai."
"And then we should kill it," she added resolutely.
"Listen," she continued, adamant that the group understood her position, "we cannot work with devils. That thing is a literal embodiment of evil. We would never be able to trust it, not truly. If we had full control over it through a contract, perhaps things would be different but as things are now it will betray us at the first opportunity. It has no regard for our cause. It has no cause except manipulation and misery. Even allowing it to return to Hell would be wrong. Disregarding the, admittedly small, chance that it could pass along any information about us through Hell's hierarchy, we would still be freeing a... a despoiler unto the world. It won't simply stay in Hell; it is in its nature to corrupt mortals. It will do great harm, perhaps not here, perhaps not even on our world, but wherever it goes will be the worse for it and that will be on us."
Evander thinks a moment. ”Can we kill it? Does it require special means to do so? We are not on its native plane - would that have an effect?”
Didiana knows that there is a difference between a summoned devil and a called devil. A summoned devil would just return to Hell if it were slain. A called devil, normally one bound to the material plane through a contract, would be permanently slain were it to be killed on the material plane. Without looking at the actual contract, it's impossible to say for sure whether or not Blosodriette was summoned or called. Given the length of time she claims to have been on the material plane, though, being called is far more likely (assuming she's telling the truth).
Evander thinks a moment. ”Can we kill it? Does it require special means to do so? We are not on its native plane - would that have an effect?”
"Yes," Didiana replied. "It would die for good."
She took heart in the fact that the writer did not immediately contest the devil termination, despite the earlier suggestion of utilizing the imp.
"With the silver weaponry, I believe we have the means of ending it."
”I confess to be of two minds on this. On the one hand, this is a devil and cannot be trusted - indeed, merely destroying the contract in no way guarantees it leaves us be, or protects it from being summoned again and betraying us. On the other hand, it has done nothing to hinder or harm us, and has merely requested the destruction of its contract. Killing it out of hand just because it’s a devil seems...cruel.”
Evander was unsure of the moral implications they were facing here. He didn’t want them to become what they were fighting against, but by the same token, this was a devil. It was a creature born of pure evil. This was difficult for him.
Gilda's eyes searched Didiana's for hints at the origin of the armiger's swift judgement of the imp.
The rebels were sure to get plenty of blood on their hands in the coming months, but quickly terminating the imp just because they spotted it was certainly the hardest moral dilemma they faced yet.
"Are you sure the imp's the embodiment of evil? Now wait.."
Gilda held up a hand as she knew Didiana's enthusiastic agreement wouldn't even wait for her to complete the question.
"The same certainty that all the half-devils in The Nursery were also embodiments of evil?"
Gilda eyed Evander.
"Look Red, we're gonna hafta make some calls here... cuz it might just be everything we think's the emobidment of evil may not be the case. Lotta folks I know think all hellknights are the embodiment of evil, and I'm hopin' ta prove 'em wrong if we're gonna be gettin' the city behind us in topplin' Beetlebarge."
Gilda held up her hands.
"That imp coulda slit anyone's throat in the night any day this week and got away with it. It could'a picked one'a our rebels and whispered sweet nothins' in their ear, workin' a deal ta tear up the contract. But it didn't..."
Gilda shook her head.
"I find that funny.. somethins' workin' behind the scenes here to put this decision in our hands this week."
Gilda knew Ol' Kintargo worked in mysterious ways, like the night it introduced her to Sprinkles Too and thrust her into the rebellion. And the way it picked all these rebels, Red included, to work together.
Laria remains quiet throughout most of the conversation, but after Gilda speaks the halfling finally says, "Deep thoughts from all of you. And sound points from all of you, too. I don't know how I feel about letting an imp hang out here. We've already got Vendalfek and he's enough trouble as it is.
"Whatever you decide, you need to decide soon. The others will eventually ask more questions than I can deflect. When that time comes, you'll need to have dealt with the imp, one way or the other. I'm afraid that time may be sooner that you'd like, but you would have to deal with them sooner or later anyway.
"As for this Manthai you spoke of, what's his connection to all this? He seems like a solid enough member of his team. But you say he's a traitor? What led you to that conclusion?"
"I suppose we ought to look past the devil's mortal coil and consider what it truly is: evil incarnate. If we got use for her right away, I'd consider the option of not ending her, but barring that, we should do what's right: remove this evil from this world."
Matiscio then moves out of a sense of unease, not liking what he had just said. To differentiate this would-be person from mortals, to consider it as something irredeemable evil, was the sort of verbal absolutism he disliked greatly. "And no, I don't like that one bit."
Gilda's shoulders slumped and she tried another angle, acting as the obstinate juror in deliberation on its second day.
"I'm gonna go back and ask it some more questions.. particularly what it knows about the Sarinis.."
"Alright Blossy, we're still deliberatin' what to do with ya. I can guarantee ya this, there's no tearin' up yer contract 'til ya spill some more beans..."
Like a grandmother questioning a grandchild when she's discovered something unpleasant about her progeny, she leaned forward.
"Yer gonna need to tell us everything ya know about the Sarinis, and since ya can't go too far from yer contract, I expect ya know exactly how it came to be in this stash of Silver Raven papers, so ya might as well tell us what ya know about them too."
Gilda glances over her shoulder at the door.
"If yer answers are good, maybe we tear up this contract.. it'd only be fair right?"
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Didiana was not without emotions, despite her best attempts. Discipline could only do so much as the goodly Gilda Grabapple could attest. The older woman had managed to provoke not so few responses out of the seemingly stoic armiger in the short time they had known each other, albeit responses without much range. Bewilderment and exasperation would top the list without many contenders. But Gilda's case for keeping the imp alive marked the first time Didiana came close to genuinely losing her temper with the eccentric shaman.
We were at the saltwork together. We killed nine people together. Yet now you would hold your hand over a devil?!
Yet the sorcerer caught herself before she raised her voice at anyone, barely. Instead she ran a hand over her face and took a deep breath. She didn't want to domineer Gilda (if that was even possible) or any of the others. She respected them too much for that. But that was exactly why she could not let this go, because she truly believed that the older woman and even Evander were acting out of ignorance.
"... Evil is not an outlook. It is not a matter of perspective. It is not philosophy. Evil is a tangible, measurable force that exerts itself upon the world just like light or wind. It is even visible to a trained few, such as paladins. Ask one, if you ever get the chance. They will tell you that evil is not a mere word we ascribe to a given act, but a presence - a boil that festers on your soul and something you carry with you, always. It builds throughout one's life, like the scars of a soldier, with every callous act. And when we waste away, the evil remains. For although the body may perish, the soul remains and evil's hold is more than skin-deep. We are defined by our actions. And evil acts make an evil soul."
The sorcerer paused before continuing in the same, grave, voice.
"Upon death that presence, that evil, within will weigh down the soul, just as water will weigh down a breached ship. Wickedness has a tangible weight to it, and the evil soul will be weighed down to the lower planes, the lower planes such as Hell. They are so named because all evil sinks. There the soul will be tortured. It will be tortured by fiendish taskmasters to breaking and beyond, but not out of malice, perhaps ironically so, but instead with purpose, for Hell is nothing if not practical. The soul is so tortured to exorcise it of any trace of the mortal it used to be. Like flesh stripped from the bone by a whip, Hell will dole out such unimaginable pain that the person is rent from the soul. And then what remains, you may ask. Evil. Pure Evil. Hell takes that evil and from it shapes its champions: beings very literally created from malice. Can you imagine it? To have murder running through your veins? For your bones to be built from hatred? The tongue being crafted out of lies and your hold being nothing more than depravity given form? Can you imagine? No, you can't, because no mortal can imagine either the process nor the product. But that, that is a devil."
Didiana spoke very seriously, giving the subject every bit of the reverence as her instructors at the Torrent.
"And that is what you would show mercy."
"That, and their progeny who carry that same blood," she added, looking at Gilda, referring to the older woman's comment on the sorcerer's view of tieflings.
”Killing it out of hand just because it’s a devil seems...cruel.”
"Then let me be cruel."
It was important to her that the group agreed on the fate of the imp, even if some might not actually contribute to the devil's demise. That was perfectly fine to her. That was precisely what hellknights did; solve problems others found ethically distasteful.
Gilda and Didiana return to the devil after engaging in a lively debate about what should be done with it.
After Gilda speaks, Blosodriette says, “The Sarinis? Nothing particularly special about them for a noble family in Cheliax. As you’ve probably surmised yourself, they’re devil-worshippers. They’re quite close with the Thrunes and are in good standing with Queen Abrogail herself last I heard. Beyond that, I'm sure my information is outdated.
“My original master was a man named Merindius Sarini. He died in a failed attempt to ambush someone named Jackdaw. The pointy ears and her friends covered up Merindius’s death by making it look like an accident. In the process, they confiscated several documents he had been carrying. My contract was one of them.
“I intended to persuade this Jackdaw and her allies to destroy my contract or to give it away, but my plan backfired. They assumed their hideout was haunted and so abandoned it entirely. My contract and some other documents got left behind in the process.”
When Didiana asks her question to the imp, Blosodriette says, “I’ve interacted with others, of course, via my pipes and the bumps in the night I’m sure most of you have heard. Actually spoken with anyone? No. Not before today when you so rudely covered me with flower and pelted me with your missiles.”
You know that the imp spoke truthfully about the Sarinis and how her contract ended up in the stash of Silver Ravens papers. You also know that she was lying about not having spoken with anyone else since coming to the Wasp Nest. It's clear that she has indeed spoken to someone before today.
Evander easily sees through the imp's feeble bluff, as he tries to conceal that he spoke with anyone. Evander smiles at the thing and says, "Let's try again, shall we? Who have you spoken with before today? Don't try to lie again - it isn't going to end well for you."
Didiana was fortunate to have Evander on hand as she, perhaps too occupied with ruminations on the nature of evil, did not see through the imp's feeble bluff.
"You may heal fast, imp, but judging by that broken horn of yours, you can't regrow lost appendages. I said I'd make you curse your immortality. One more lie out of you and that forked tongue goes. Speak the truth or speak nothing at all."
"Jackdaw!"
Gilda almost slapped her knee, except she was standing.
"So yer master was lookin' for the famed rebel! I'm sure he has all sorts of notes.. maybe a journal with all the details he collected on the Ravens!"
Gilda glanced sideways at Didiana, almost as if to say - I told ya this imp still had stuff we needed, even if it's a rat-bastard evil sonnab!@%*.
Gilda almost chuckled to herself as Didiana set to the role of intimidating hellknight, threatening to remove appendages from the imp. She still couldn't decide how much of the former armiger was bark and how much was bite, but she opted to believe in a lot of barking and the occasional bite.
"Yeah, Blossy. Don't make us get magical compulsion involved here, cuz I'm sure ya can guess, we'll go the budget route first to find out what we wanna find out!"
If it were possible, Blosodriette’s face would have reddened further from the combined intimidation of Evander and Didiana. The imp looks quite flustered for a few moments before she composes herself.
“You caught me. Congratulations! I was trying to do your little lizard a favor, but helping him won’t help me, so whatever. I’ve been speaking with that faerie dragon of yours. He’s quite mischievous, you know. How do you think all those bumps in the night happened? I can’t get that far away from my contract. A little conversation with Vendalfek and he was more than happy to oblige me.
“So there. I’ve spoken with your faerie dragon. No need to cut off my limbs or worse. Just destroy my contract and we’ll go our separate ways.
"As for Merindius, he did have journals, but they were back at the Sarini residence when he was killed. If they still exist, the current Sarinis would have possession of them."
Gilda, happy to have extracted more from the imp, looks at the others before something dawns on her.
"Venny! Where ya at? You knew we had an imp hiding here and didn't say anything?!?!"
Gilda completely ignores the imp's latest plea to destroy the contract. After all, her plan was to study it in more detail once her head was clear. One thing was certain - they'd be visiting the Sarini's house sooner than later.
Vendalfek flies over and looks put out at Gilda. He says, "Venny? Really? Really? And what's this business about an imp. I had nothing to do with that thing. We dragons are quite respectable creatures, unlike devils. I didn't know anything about it, thus why I didn't say anything about it.
"I figured y'all would know not to trust devils, but I guess someone has to be the intelligent one around here. Never trust a devil. There, I said it. I may be mischievous, but I'm not that kind of mischievous. And frankly I resent you for thinking such."
Vendalfek begins flying away before turning back and saying, "I'll be in my usual corner should you feel the need to bother me further. Please make sure it's important if you do."
Gilda recognizes instinctively that the faerie dragon is telling the truth. As mischievous as he most certainly is, consorting with devils isn't on his list of mischievous deeds.
Blosodriette shakes her head once Vendalfek leaves before saying, "Do you really expect me to tell you who I actually spoke with? Torture me if you'd like, but that person is my only leverage, so I'm not just going to give them up. Maybe if we made a contract about the situation, we could begin to discuss matters a bit more frankly."
"And I'm guessing that contract would be something along the lines of 'We tear up your contract with the Sarinis, you tell us what we want to know'." Evander takes a blank piece of paper and writes something on it, then holds it up for the Imp to see. "Is that the name of the person you spoke with?"
Manthai.
Gregor is furious to learn that the little dragonling had known the whole time and said nothing. When the dragonling refuted the imp's claims, he was almost just as mad to learn just how much he and Vendalfek agreed on the nature of devils, and to some degree how much they dislike Gilda's nicknames. The latter he figured would be right up the mischief-maker's lane.
"Leverage?"
"How stupid are you, imp? How can you still not understand the situation? Hand me that knife."
The armiger snapped back towards Matiscio and demanded his silver dagger. Before he could answer, however, Didiana was looming over the devil again, speaking in the level and insistent tone she had threatened the fiend with before. The voice revealed no anger, only promise. Of course, it was all still theater to the woman. She hadn't given the brawler a chance to respond because his refusal, or even just his hesitation, would make her look weak in front of the subject. Intimidation was all about what you could make your target believe. But this was the last bit of theater she would afford the imp. Intimidation could only go so far without demonstration.
"Did you think I was bluffing? Do you have any idea what I am? You must have some idea having been down here so long. I know your kind and there is no leverage. You still think the worst possible outcome here is not returning to Hell. You still don't understand that your worst possible outcome is me. I'm not going to torture you. I know devils too well for that. I said I was going to make you regret your immortality. So understand this: you, limbless, mute, in a silver coffer on the bottom of the ocean for eternity."
Gilda shuddered at Didiana's latest threat. She still wasn't sure how much was theatrics and how much was an actual threat the woman would carry out, but as with most things that serious in Gilda's life, she tried to not give it too much thought.
While she allowed her fellow rebels to work the imp further, she turned her attention towards Vendalfek.
"Venny, hon. Who's this imp been talkin' to? I'm sure you haven't let that escape ya observation?"
Blosodriette tries to hide her reaction to the name on the piece of paper Evander holds up, but she does a terrible job of it. It’s clear to Evander that Manthai is who she spoke with.
Rather than redden, the imp’s face pales at Didiana’s latest spiel. Blosodriette actually seems to shake a bit as well.
“No, no. Please, no! Not silver. I mean, not any of that. That would be terrible. You’re in control. That’s obvious to me now. Just, just… don’t do what you just said. Please. Anything but that…”
The imp trails off and remains silent before realizing the implications of her words. She quickly adds, “Just destroy my contract, okay? I’m sure some of your allies don’t want to be involved in any of that nastiness. They know about it now. You can’t hide it from them. Just destroy my contract and you won’t have to deal with me anymore.”
Blosodriette almost seems to dance from her nervousness. The imp looks quite awkward as it does so with its hands tied behind its back.
-----
Meanwhile, Vendalfek begrudgingly halts his retreat and flies back to answer Gilda’s questions.
The faerie dragon shakes its head and says, “Nothing can get by my eyes, that’s true. The problem is that those little devils can go invisible at will. I couldn’t see her no matter how hard I try.
"They tend to be quite… manipulative… so she could have tried talking to someone while invisible.”
Vendalfek does the faerie dragon equivalent of a shrug before continuing, “Not sure what else I can tell you. Get rid of her already? I guess that’s something I can tell you. And don’t call me, Venny. That’s another thing. Now if there’s nothing else?”
The faerie dragon waits somewhat impatiently for Gilda to let him retreat to his loot corner.
Evander's grip tightens on the hilt of his silver dagger. "Continue trying to cast that spell, and we'll start cutting."
"Now, what did you and this person talk about?"
Gilda nods and waves Vendalfek off to his pile of shinies, not wanting to tend to two capricious problems at the same time.
She seems satisfied she has extracted all she can from the imp at this point as well, crossing her arms and standing a few feet back as Didiana and Evander approach the devil.
Gregor is a little surprised by the cruelty that Didiana is so ready to perform. He hopes it's all talk. He would really rather just simply kill the thing and be done with it. As Evander mentions it trying to cast, he steps up and brandishes his silver morningstar once more, hoping for them to soon reach the last straw where they will eliminate the menace once and for all.
The imp was cracking under the group's pressure and the truth was plain to see on its panicking face: there was some connection between the fiend and the traitor Manthai. With this new fact gleaned, Didiana turned from the captive, threats unfulfilled and all, and faced the group.
"I think it's time we hear Manthai's side of this."
The imp could lie til it turned from red to blue, but secrets only survived in isolation. The sorcerer was very curious to hear what parts of whose story corroborated between the two, if at all.
-----
When the halfling brought Manthai, the armiger did not give the man any chance to gather his thoughts at the sight of the bound imp.
"Manthai, have you ever seen this creature before?"
At Evander’s words, Blosodriette ceases trying to cast a spell. She freezes in place.
“It was a personal matter. I was getting him to help me out. Nothing more.”
The imp pauses and looks over at Evander and his brandished silver dagger and at Gregor and his brandished silver morningstar. She decides to add, “Sometimes people require a little encouragement to aid me, you see, so I sometimes gave him the encouragement he needed as well.”
Morgar wrings his hands as he slowly walks over at Didiana’s request made through Laria.
After the armiger’s question, Manthai glances over at the bound imp. His eyes widen as he does so.
“What… what is that? I’ve never seen that thing before. What’s this about?”
Morgar continues to wring his hands and looks at each of you of briefly. He says, “Why… why have you brought me here? What’s going on?”
“What… what is that? I’ve never seen that thing before.”
"No? But it claims to know you."
Didiana's words were not an accusation. The armiger thought that she might finally have some inkling of what was plaguing the Wasp Nest and her eyes actually held a near-invisible glimmer of sympathy for Morgar at the idea.
"It's a devil, Manthai. A devil that has been down here some time. Does that surprise you? Have you not experienced some things odd whilst down here? Heard things, perhaps? A voice, even?"
The sorcerer couldn't help but feel sympathy for the man, although she tried to hide it. After all, she had a sordid relationship herself with devils and their manipulative ways. That was what she suspected had happened here. Morgar might well be less mastermind and more pawn, used and maneuvered by the fiend to its own ends. He might even have been charmed. Didiana's thoughts on devils were complicated, given her background, but there was one, just one, aspect to them that she well and truly detested: their joyful beguiling and manipulation. It was that same power she had been gifted with (cursed, in her own eyes), and had abused so heavily in the past. She had to feel sympathy for Morgar. Her guilt did not allow otherwise.
If, indeed, her suspicion was true. The fiend had lost her interest. It was now time to see why and what, if anything, Morgar had done at its behest. Hellknigths taught that guilt came in degrees. She wanted to know just how guilty the man was.
Gregor warily eyes the man that they have been watching. A skilled liar would obviously deny any collusion with a devil if he thought he was on the hook for it. All the same, the devil has been lying to them steadily, as could be expected as well. He was at a loss of who could be less trusted at this point.
Evander tilts his head to the side thoughtfully, still idly toying with the silver dagger. "So you've been casting magic designed to manipulate his mind on him. What did you have him do?"
Morgar shakes his head at Didiana and says, “Well, I don’t know it. I don’t know any devils, either. Devils down here are bad, right? I don’t think devils would rebel against Chellish rulers.”
The man’s eyes light up a bit when Didiana mentions hearing things and even more when she mentions a voice. He looks over at Blosodriette again and says, “I… I…” The man trails off and shakes his head once more.
Meanwhile, Blosodriette laughs at Evander’s attempt to intimidate her again. “I told you. I gave him encouragement. I didn’t say anything about magic. He ran a few errands for me, that’s all.”
Evander thinks Blosodriette is telling the truth.
Manthai’s eyes light up again after Blosodriette speaks. He points excitedly at her and says, “That’s… that’s the voice I heard. Er, have heard. Have been hearing. I thought I was going crazy, but it was that little thing talking to me. She acted like she was a rat the last time she spoke to me. Has she… has she been influencing me?”
Blosodriette glares at Morgar and says, “Shut your mouth, Morgar. You don’t want to get in trouble.”
“I remember you, now,” Morgar continues. “You had me write a note to the dottari. I thought it was a bit strange at the time. But you…”
Morgar looks over at Evander before saying, “You said she used magic on me? There’s no way I would have written that letter on my own. No way. I swear. She must have made me. And, come to think of it, why would I go to the Sarinis to see which of them were still alive? Does that make any sense? Why would I do that?”
It’s hard for Gregor to get a good read on Morgar as the man seems to be jumping all over the place. Still, the man seems to be telling the truth.
Blosodriette shakes her head and says in a loud voice, “You can’t trust anything he says. He’s clearly crazy. Talking rats? Who in their right mind would believe that story? He just wants to pin everything on me.”
“She’s the one you can’t trust,” Morgar says. “She’d say anything to make you trust her and make you do what she wants.”
Blosodriette and Morgar both stop talking for a few moments. They both seem to be waiting to see how you’ll respond. Laria and Rexus are nearby, but they seem to be differing to you.
Evander thinks for a moment. It was possible that Morgar was telling the truth - this neatly explained his actions against the Ravens - and they had followed Morgar to the Sarini manor and found no evidence he'd done anything. But then, they had watched him taking notes while they discussed the fake operation for the Opera House. He would perhaps bear watching - perhaps they could have his team do it, saying they were looking for lingering effects of the imp's magic.
Evander looks towards the others to see what they think. At this point, he was in favor of killing the imp, and giving Manthai the benefit of the doubt. "Can imps shapeshift, and if so, can they become rats?"
Gregor tries to think of what he'd been studying to know his enemies, but he hadn't gotten much further than the basics of devil norms. "I'm not sure, but there is one thing we know. Devils lie for their own ends, always. That means we at least know we can't trust this imp's story." He looks at Manthai with an eye of scrutiny, not giving an opinion on what that means for the man, however.
"Shut up, imp."
If ice could speak, it would not have sounded colder. Didiana was quite done listening to the fiend, even without her sudden realization. The woman had spent years as a crime fighter and semi-official officer of the law. The time hadn't been wasted. The sorcerer didn't consider herself the sharpest crayon in the shed, but one couldn't solve crimes for so long without getting a certain capacity for deductive reasoning. And while Morgar's innocence was still up in the air, the fiend's guilt was now near certain in her mind.
"The devil dies," she stated flatly. She didn't even look at the imp in saying this for the simple reason that she wasn't speaking to it. She was speaking to the group.
"For aggravated murder. Remember Bix. We determined that the collapse that killed him was not accidental, but sabotage. We just couldn't find a culprit at the time. Now the imp admits to interacting with people down here; manipulating them, we can assume. The Wasp Nest is too small for multiple saboteurs. Whoever sent that note to the dottari also murdered Bix."
If the imp saw this as a fresh opportunity to accuse Morgar of both crimes, Didiana was quick to cut her off.
"And we know that Manthai can't have killed Bix. The wall was brought down with hammer and chisel, actively. And we know exactly where Manthai was at the time of the murder. Geoni told us. He was working with the rest of the team, in plain sight, at the soon to be collapsed area. Manthai did not have the opportunity to somehow time the cave-in to target Bix. And if he merely weakened the wall beforehand, he stood just as good a chance of killing himself, never mind anyone else. But the imp: not only can it fly, it can turn invisible at will. It had the means and opportunity."
The armiger was now looking at the fiend, reading its face to see whether or not she had hit the mark.
"The only thing missing is motive. Will your last words sate my curiosity, imp? Why did you do it? Did you initially target Bix to be your puppet down here? Did he not prove as receptive as Manthai? Did he hear or see something that made him a threat to you? Or was it just your perverse heart that drove you to kill, slave to your nature as you are?"
Gregor isn’t quite sure if imps can shapeshift, but Didiana is aware of their ability to do so. Imps can change shape into a boar, giant spider, raven… or rat.
Didiana can’t get a read on whether or not she had hit the mark. The imp continues to prove adept at keeping a straight face.
“What are you talking about, lady? There was a Bix here. I remember him. I was initially going to approach him but Manthai was so eager to assist me, he felt the need to prove it by killing Bix. I told him it was a terrible idea and would draw too much attention to him, but he did it anyway. Bix was already dead when the wall fell on him, so Morgar was never at risk himself.”
Morgar looks speechless at the imp's words and merely shakes his head in stunned silence.
Blosodriette looks away from Didiana and looks at the rest of you in turn before saying, "Are you all really going to just stand here and let her kill me? In cold-blood? I thought you were supposed to be the good guys? You're not setting a good precedent, that's for sure. Just destroy my contract and we can all forget this bit of nastiness. No need for you to witness your supposed friend commit a murder before your eyes."
Evander hears something in the imp's tone that betrays the lie. "Ah, so you did kill Bix. See, if you'd just come out and admitted it, this whole mess likely could have been avoided."
Evander smiles at the imp, now gripping the hilt of the sliver dagger instead of idly toying with it.
Gregor scoffs, "Let her kill you? No, not since I pretty much tried calling dibs on the honor since I learned of your existence. You're right, we are the good guys, and that's why getting rid of a lying murdering devil is the right thing to do. It's no more murder that exterminating a nest of plague-infested rats in the sewers. Everyone is better off as a community for it." Gregor starts two-hand tightening his grip on the morningstar.
Gregor scoffs, "Let her kill you? No, not since I pretty much tried calling dibs on the honor since I learned of your existence."
Didiana looked towards Gregor at his words. And then kept staring at him as she raised her hand towards the imp and let magical death rain down upon it. She was up for a challenge.
"Well?" she said, sounding almost mischievous.
Of course, turning an execution into into a friendly competition bordered on grotesque, even with the victim being a fiend. It was certainly in poor taste. But that was what the sorcerer wanted. She wanted the imp to see her make light of it, to mock it even in death. The fiend deserved to die. For killing one of their own, however? For that she wanted it to suffer.
As the full details of the imp's treachery become known, Gilda throws up a hand and turns away.
"Ehh, now ya've done in imp. Now we know who tipped the dottari and who's been nearly unravelin' our whole balla' yarn!"
Shaking her head, Gilda frowns.
"And who said we were the good guys? I'm just makin' it right in the City's eyes, and the City's neutral when it comes to dese matters!"
Gilda looks around at the rest of the rebels.
"Any of you guys a Paladin of Shelyn or somethin' and keepin' it a secret? No...?"
Gilda glances at Didiana before she leaves the room, certain the imp's fate is nigh.
"Party's yers, Red. Try notta enjoy it too much..."
As she exits, she wipes her brow and rummages through her pocket before pulling Sprinkles Too out and gazing into his... her... its eyes?
"Say, yer not a devil are ya?"
As the rat squeaks she nods before tucking it away again.
"Thought so."
Matiscio had withdrawn from the interrogation-turned-realization-one-cannot-trust-devils a while ago, knowing well that the most likely outcome was this: the imp must die. Like a mad dog, one is supposed to put it down. And Didiana was about to do just that.
It is Morgar's involvement in all of this that bothered him. The man had implicated himself in ways that could not be forgiven and, given the fact they were instigating a rebellion and the man could expose all of them, yet one more hapless soul would have to be removed from its mortal coil soon enough. He saw no other way.
"Just make it quick, Didiana."
Gregor, ever the pragmatist and nothing more, doesn't understand the show of making a display of the imp. To him it was a task that needed to be performed. His eagerness was not out of excitement, but seeing something that needed to be done, and wanting to get it done as quickly and effectively as possible. It was this level of volunteerism that saw him stand out as a Dottari recruit. There was no point in grousing about tasks needing doing, no matter how distasteful. Necessary is necessary.
Didiana's features had returned to their usual business-like self by the time she was looking at the devil's remains. She had done her part in sending the imp to its ignoble end and her only regret in doing so was dirtying Gilda's scarf in the process. She'd be damned if any fiend got away with killing one of their own. That said, there was actually one thing still nipping at her thoughts. It was regrettable that they hadn't managed to confirm Morgar's complicity in the sabotage, but the sorcerer was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. This wasn't exactly in keeping with hellknight tenets, but fiendish manipulations were an issue near to her heart, so to speak. She held a certain sympathy for the man. Besides, if Morgar truly had worked with the imp willingly then he would surely have indicted it as the mastermind immediately, in order to save his own skin, rather than start shouting about talking rats. It was only happenstance that Didiana had been able to see the connection to the devil's abilities.
"Manthai, are you alright?"
The question was entirely benign but came out a bit harsher than she had intended. The armiger had trouble speaking with the rebels as anything other than a commanding officer. Probably something impressed upon her in the Torrent.
"Come on," she said, taking him by the shoulder. "You get five minutes to pull yourself together. Then we two are going to tell the rest of the team what happened to Bix."
If Morgar showed any sign of alarm at this prospect, Didiana stood firm.
"Yes, you too. You experienced the devil first-hand. Bix was their comrade too. They deserve to know what happened. They deserve to hear it from you."
Despite the stern words, the infernal sorcerer was trying to help the man. Assuming his innocence, she couldn't imagine how confused and conflicted he was feeling right now. Presumably as confused as those she had used her own charms on, on a near daily basis, as a child. He had admitted to thinking he was going crazy earlier. Well, Didiana wasn't going to allow him to wallow in guilt. The best possible thing for him to do right now was to own up to everything.
She had some experience with guilt-induced neurosis driving one crazy.
"Manthai," she said, pinning the man down with her steely grey eyes. Her voice was considerably softer than her gaze. "It's alright. No one here thinks less of you. Greater men than you have succumbed before a devil's guile."
Whether her own great-grandfather had been all that great she couldn't say, but she knew the sentiment to be true. Didiana and Morgar walked aside to give the man his alloted five minutes to collect himself. Didiana also wanted to be on hand should he have any questions about what the imp had done to him. She was no expert but she would answer as best she could.
Laria sees to disposing of the imp's body the next morning. She's quite ready for the nasty business to be done with as she doesn't want you to be distracted from continuing the rebellion's efforts.
At Didiana's words, Morgar is at first speechless. As she continues to speak, he seems to relax a bit.
He takes a deep breath and says, "You're right. Blasted devils could get to any of us if they tried hard enough. I'm just glad... I'm just glad it didn't manage to do more damage."
He stops speaking for a few moments. He's likely thinking of Bix, his fallen comrade.
Morgar recovers and accompanies Didiana to explain what happened to the rest of those in the Wasp Nest.
Afterwards, he says to Didiana, "Thank you. It was good to get that off my chest. I... I know you may never fully trust me again, but thank you for giving me another chance. I'll do my best to make amends for what happened."
-----
Once Didiana and Manthai's conversation is finished, Laria gathers all of you along with Rexus into the side room for a bit of privacy. She seems to have already disposed of the late Blosodriette's body.
"Now, then," Laria begins. "What's your next order of business? A rebellion requires a bit of rebelling, I would say. Any specific plans?"
Gregor nods somewhat disapprovingly, agreeing, but with reluctance. "Yes, removing the threat of a street gang is important, but now that we've removed the spy and saboteur, we can safely begin to look for another base of operations. Remember, this one has been exposed, and even though I managed to redirect them, we are now in the line of sight." He ponders for a bit, "That's not saying we can't do both simultaneously. We can always be on the lookout for a new hidden location, while dealing with this upstart gang."
"Call me crazy, but perhaps we can route them from theirs and repurpose it. It's just an idea. The notion of finding another location with this much space with our financial means .."
Matiscio needs not finish that thought.
"Hmm. The so called Humbright House didn't seem nearly as discreet as the Wasp Nest, but it's certainly something to consider..."
Though the imp was now gone, it had surely done its damage. Certainly, keeping their collective eyes open for a new hideout was in their interest, if nothing else than to supplement rather than replace the Wasp Nest. There was no such thing as too many hideouts in their profession.
"Meh.. blasted imp! Shows we oughtta be more attentive each night as we wrap things up."
Gilda scans the area, eyes narrowed as if she were working her magic that usually causes its victims to step into an open manhole cover and plummet into the waiting embrace of an otyugh. In this case, she's just seeing if any new magical observers have arrived in the past five minutes since her last such scan.
"Alright, let's follow up on these Jills. If they're like Red and I, they hopefully got good taste."
She gives Didiana a knowing nod.