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Hall of Graves: This large, cathedral-like chamber is split into two areas—a lower region where supplicants await Nocticula’s pleasure, and an upper area that overlooks the lower one. The upper area features a shrine to Nocticula, as well as two 60-foot-tall bookshelves. These shelves are filled with tomes and tablets that contain information about the lives and deaths of the demon lords slain by Nocticula. Extensive entries for all of the isles can be found here. A shimmering pool of unholy water flows faintly catching your eyes.
Standing in all her demonic glory is the object of your pursuit’s, Nocticula. She smiles as you enter through the doorway. Welcome Champions of Purity. I have been expecting you. Please come in and make yourselves comfortable. She waves her hand in front of her as a long table appears laden with food and drink.
Now, to what do I owe this pleasure as I know you have working relentlessly to meet with me?
Ansha's gaze takes in the books and the molten-hoofed, ebon-tressed succubus in a moment. Utterly taken aback by Nocticula's beauty, she murmurs in awe, eyes wide.
Nasira is dumbstruck in the presence of the Queen of the Isles.
The archer stands from opening the lock, obviously quite satisfied with himself. Waving the others in with a flourish, he follows them in and stops, stunned and mouth agape, when his eyes fall upon Nocticula herself.
Morgrym stops in his tracks and stares blankly at the demon lord, wondering why he finds himself not wanting to kill her... like at all.
Nocticula seems to enjoy the silence and awe that all of you express as you enter the room. Yet the most perceptive and emotionally attuned get the sense that some small part of her is disappointed in the fact that no one was able to resist her charms. She takes the opportunity to speak to each of you privately telepathically.
Damiel, frozen as he is, still somehow looks very uncomfortable and sweat beads on his brow.
Nasira’s jaw is set as she enters, but somehow firms up even more as she gazes back at the ascended demoness.
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[ooc]In game benefits include bonuses to ability scores, see in darkness always
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Arigoder blinks, then sighs strangely contentedly.
"Well, to be fair, I don't believe I've ever accepted an offer of hospitality from a demon... though, I admit, your experience and knowledge in this domain would be far superior to mine."
Arigoder blinks a second time, the strange power crackling through him somehow pushing back and clearing his mind.
Nocticula nods her head at Arigoder as she acknowledges his ability to resist her charms. She actually treats with you verbally rather than telepathically. Impressive. It has been a long time since one was not smitten immediately with me. I will have to work on my seduction techniques for future visits with you. Or perhaps I could interest you in a more private encounter where I could show you all my charms first hand?
Not all demon lords are the same. Take my realm for example. Here I am open to all manner of creatures living together as long as they follow my rules. That is to say that it is not dangerous for some like yourself to openly walk the streets but there is nothing prohibiting you from doing so. Some demon lords would put a price on your heads and send their very generals out to slay you. Has that happened here with my subjects...no? You have been attacked but that was not on my orders.
So, may I ask again what brings you to seek an audience with me?
Arigoder smiles, "I can't say that the offer isn't extremely tempting, but I have to think that Iomedae wouldn't approve... and, for that matter, I'm having enough trouble resisting you now, I'd hate to think what you could do to a man's mind with a touch or kiss." He stops, shakes his head, then adds, "Actually, honestly, part of me will probably be thinking about that for a very long time, though that doesn't change my reply."
He nods and says, "We have tried our best to follow those rules, and only drawn steel to defend ourselves." He chuckles, "I do understand that hospitality cuts both ways."
Arigoder pauses then replies, "We're here to seek your aid in dealing with the demons of the Worldwound... And, ideally, to close the blasted thing, if it can be done."
He looks to the others, a little surprised, then chuckles at himself, "You're having this conversation with each of us in turn, aren't you?"
Why would she not approve? We would both be consenting adults unless you have taken a vow of chastity there is nothing wrong in spending some 1 on 1 time together. waving her hand in feigned scorn she shakes her head and waits to here you answer.
As to Arigoder’s question about her other conversations, A woman, and especially a succubus never kisses and tells unless she has something to gain from it.
sense motive check to get even an idea of what is going on.
To answer Nasira and Arigoder, I am not used to answers so forth coming. When dealing with demons you always have to parse out the 10 lies amongst the single truth. In this case I knew the truth already that you have come because of the Worldwound. I have no personal interest in the Worldwound, and in fact think that Deskari and Baphomet are stirring up something of a hornet’s nest in attempting to subjugate a portion of the Material Plane. There is a delicate balance of power preventing the enemies of the Abyss from attacking. While any attack by the forces of law and good would ultimately fail, such an attack could do a lot of damage. Therefore it’s in my best interests if Deskari and Baphomet fail in their endeavor, but the pain and horror their efforts inflict on Golarion in the meantime are an amusing distraction.
The cult of Baphomet is mining Nahyndrian crystals from my islands. I have deliberately avoided acting against them for two main reasons: their actions are, in the grand scheme of things, minor, and I have
been waiting for “champions of purity” to come to my realm to stop them so
that I might provide aid to them.
She kept telling herself that she wouldn't swear to serve the Lady in Shadow 'heart and soul'--maybe she could weasel her way out of the swearing-her-fealty part. Then again, a large part of her wondered just how the night of passion with the Queen of Succubi would change her. And another part was strangely excited by the prospect, all the same.
Profane Ascension (Su) As a swift action while in an act of passion with a willing mortal, Nocticula may grant a profane ascension. The target’s name appears in glowing Abyssal runes on Nocticula’s wings, and a crimson mark manifests somewhere on the target’s body. The target immediately gains a +6 profane bonus to any one ability score of its choice, a +4 profane bonus to any other ability score of its choice, and the see in darkness ability. A single creature may have only one profane ascension in effect at any one time. As long as the effect persists, Nocticula can communicate telepathically with the target across any distance and may use any of her spell-like abilities through the target, manifesting them as if the target were using them. A profane ascension may
be removed by a miracle or wish. Nocticula can remove it as a free action, dealing 4d6 points of Charisma drain and imparting 1d10+10 permanent negative levels to the victim.
This would be more than a dalliance my luscious one. It would be just the beginning of our lustful perversions.
Arigoder nods, "And if you were a mortal woman who didn't have the ability to feed on and warp my soul -- and, let's be honest, given your incredible power and unequaled beauty, have me begging you to do it -- I don't think she'd have an issue. But, you are not, which only makes you that much more dangerous and alluring, and so, here we are, with me needing a frigid bath and knowing that I'll be dreaming of what could have been until the day I die, really."
He then nods, and chuckles, "I saw no point in lying to someone who could read me so easily. And while I won't speak for my fellow, what did you say, 'champions of purity', I do think any aid you could provide would be most welcome."
Nasira blushes as the paralysis leaves, but responds mentally.
Out loud, she says, ”As he says, your aid would be most welcome, Lady.”
But Ari, can I call you Ari? Just because I could feed on your soul does not mean that I would. Why dream when for one night you could have your dreams become reality.
To all of you after the verbal wordplay and sparring are over, I know everything that happens in my corner of the demonic planes and have the power to travel there as well. I could send you to the exact location that they are harvesting the Nahyndrian Crystals, but if you won't trust me privately why would you trust me publicly or accept my help at all?
Grinning at the Demon lord's mental response, Morgrym blurts out, "I trust ya," without even thinking about it. He then pauses a moment, looking mighty confused at himself as that just didn't sound right for some reason. Mentally working to try to understand why he said what he just said as he scratches his head, he finds himself unable to comprehend it. So he decides to let it go, figuring it must be the Abyss getting to him.
Anyone curious why a demon lord is even offering to help you ‘champion is purity’ against another demon lord and not send her own minions to handle this?
Arigoder says, "You may, indeed. And, as I said, Lady, I would not trust myself in such an encounter."
He shakes his head, then blinks at Morgrym's statement, adding, "It seems, Lady, your other conversations have been somewhat more successful..."
The paladin then shrugs, "Why would I trust you? Well, it's because I would assume, Lady, that you would be helping us as part of a complex power play that I'd never understand. Whether it's because you see us as expendable, or you expect that we'll owe you a debt to be collected later, or you like the idea of being able to threaten your other enemies with a group of 'champions of purity' at your beck and call.... or, as I said, a host of things I probably simply cannot conceive of.... However, still, I have to believe that you see it as being in your best interests, and so, my trust is more or less based on that."
Nasira nods, "I am under no illusions that such assistance would be granted if it did not benefit one as eternal as yourself. I believe the phrase is that you are able to play a far longer game than any of us."
"As for trust, that is not why I demur. I trust it would be everything you say and probably more. Please forgive me if I gave you any other impression."
"I think the answer to that question, Lady in Shadow, is that we need your help. You have some use for us, or else you'd not even entertain a visit from us. As long as it's a mutually beneficial arrangement, I don't see what the problem is. Though, perhaps you'll indulge me a bit and tell me exactly what reason the Queen of Succubi could have for sending 'champions of purity' against another demonlord, rather than taking care of matters in-house, so to speak. Many minions are at your command who could deal with this matter without involving mortals, no doubt," Ansha says, tearing her gaze away from the demonlord with great difficulty long enough to formulate her thoughts, though her eyes wander back to the ebon-tressed succubus soon enough. Though some of us, I think, are more 'pure' than others.
”Ansha, who was the assassin threatening? The shadow demon? You seemed to get its implications, but I just tried to play along.”
"Hm? Oh, I think that was that lilitu that was impersonating the paladin. I don't think I ever heard her name," she says. After a short pause, she corrects herself, "No, I take that back. I think the paladin called the lilitu 'Minagho.'"
"...Why do you ask?"
”Just wondering if such strife, even in a land of chaos, is a concern for our hostess.”
Minagho is a minor nuisance at best and not one that I am overly concerned of myself. She might pose a problem for all of you but that is not really my concern at the moment.
Nocticula laughs a bit at the reverence Ansha pays her by calling her the Lady in Shadows and Queen of Succubi. Well my dear, and the rest of you that are as inquisitive, there are a few reasons for letting the 'Champions of Purity' do the work for me. As already mentioned, I find you all expendable and see no reason to waste my own resources on a trivial task. Secondly, I like to watch the 'pure' among you squirm as I turn temptations into reality, thoughts into words, dreams into deeds, and fantasies into daily dalliances. Already, Ari is not as pure as he once was by simply placing words into his mind of what could be. At this she licks her lips sinfully as the corners of her eyes crinkle into a smile as the rest of her eyes roam over Arigoder.
Lastly there is an edict among the gods, demon lords, and other beings of power and immortality. We do not involve ourselves directly in each others realms. To do so would be tantamount of a full scale invasion and risk full frontal assaults by everyone. While I am confident that any such attack by the forces of heaven would fail, the loss of minions and power would set me back in my plans. As such we use mortals to do our work for us. There is nothing against me sending mortals or lesser creatures to heaven and attacking angels or to different realms of hell to attack devils. By helping you here I will possibly gain a favor from your patron deities to use at a later time. It may be that in an upcoming engagement I may ask Iomadae to refrain from sending aid in a minor skirmish against Abadar. Such favors are very powerful if used correctly.
So it seems that a few are willing to trust my words that we have a similar goal for now. IF that is enough for the rest of you then I would suggest that you relax here for the night and when you are ready you just need to step through the portal to arrive at your next destination.
Arigoder nods, "Thanks for the generous offer of rest and aid - though I don't need to sleep, I'll be more than pleased to have a room to commune with the Inheritor in peace."
Nocticula points to one of the side rooms as the door opens revealing a simple room with nothing but her exploits, sexual and mundane, written on the walls.