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”I’m leaving. But thank you for hand delivering your line to me. Or have you forgotten how rebellious young humans can be towards their parents. Warn them against me, and you simply push them into my waiting arms. But if you don’t...then they won’t be prepared, will they? Oh the dilemma,” he says with a fang-filled smile before vanishing in a puff of crimson, sulphurous smoke...the contract along with him...
Valeroth snarls. ”I am what I am! But know this, Queen Cladissa. You may refuse this offer now, but will your children? Your grandchildren? Or theirs? Somewhere down your line, someone will be swayed. So...you either die alone, and your line with you, thus sending the kingdom into anarchy again as pretenders fight for your crown, or you DO bear children, then spend your life in worry that they will take my offer. Because I will never stop!” He smiles a twisted, malevolent smile. ”Or, you spare yourself the gnawing of uncertainty and doubt, and make the deal now. Then only YOUR soul is condemned. And I assure you, my offer to them will NOT be so generous, but it will be enough for the heirs of a queen to be tempted...”
The magical document does not so much wad up as it does crumple briefly before unfolding itself back into a pristine state. It hovered beside Valeroth as the devil glared at Cladissa with frustration in his eyes laced with venom. ”Damnit, Cladissa!” he says as he holds the quill towards her forcefully. ”You have always been too damned self-righteous for your own good! Always having to meddle in things you don’t understand, and always messing them up! Look at what a mess you’ve made of Galt! Your people have had their lives turned upside down since you took the throne, and you have no idea how to fix it or keep it! Even back in Absalom you couldn’t leave well enough alone! You ruined a good thing there, and you are about to do it to me again here!” He forcefully grasps her wrist and twists it around, causing her fingers to open and he shoves the quill back into her hand! ”Now stop thinking with your damned heart and think with your head! You know there is no guarantee in this life that you can make that you won’t fail at! You have always failed at what you’ve endeavored, in time! But this? This is a way for you to finally, truly, unequivocally win, Cladissa! Prove to the world that you aren’t what your step-sister says you are!”
"Heaven?" Valeroth spits contemptuously. "Don't talk about Heaven! Heaven was silent for decades while Galt tore itself to pieces! Heaven couldn't care less when innocent people -- like your father -- lost their heads to soul-trapping devices!" He walks around Cladissa to be face-to-face and leans over her. "Yes. Hell will install order. Discipline. Peace through lawful obedience. Everything that you failed to do. Everything your weak and mewling heart couldn't bring yourself to do. What was necessary." He picks up the quill, still with a dab of Cladissa's blood on it, and waves it in front of her face. "This will save you from doing it yourself. From becoming what you fear to become: a tyrant." He straightens, and glares down his nose at her. "Or, you can try it yourself. Maybe, maybe you'll learn to be ruthless enough to save your country before it collapses. Maybe you'll demonstrate the proper retribution that will properly cow the dissidents. You've already bloodied your hands -- nice trick with the baleful polymorph, by the way. "But if you do what's necessary, your soul will be consigned to Hell regardless. That's your fate, Cladissa. Hell's getting your soul one way or the other. It just depends on which route you want to take. The long, steady march to become the tyrant you've feared you would become? Or a simple stroke of the pen, and live in peace?"
Valeroth's lip curls slightly but his smile doesn't fade. He waves his hand dismissively. "Trade secrets. Rest assured, your country's upheaval will become a thing of the past. You've given too much of yourself to Galt just to see it fall into another civil war. Give up this one, last, tiny thing and your legacy will be secure. Yours, your father's... Queen Cladissa will never be considered a failure."
The devil offers her a sympathetic smile. "Why trouble yourself with such concerns? You will be busy enough ruling over a peaceful populace, bringing about the beauty and art your country so richly deserves. And while you're doing that, you'll need to find an appropriate husband, and shortly after that you'll be nurturing your very own children! Would you truly wish to raise your babies in this current tumult?"
The smell of brimstone is the only introduction as quiet footsteps approach from behind Cladissa. ”My Queen,” Valeroth’s voice calls out seductively polite. ”It has been some time. How are things in your glorious kingdom?” he asks rhetorically, already knowing all too well the state of affairs in Galt.
Valeroth shrugs. ”Do you truly believe those self-platitudes, Your Highness? You think your enemies will give up so easily? The Revolution lasted for too long. You think those generations of hate will relent so easily? They will stoop to violence. The last revolution they went so far as to steal the victims souls for all time within their guillotines. What measures will they take this time? When you insist on peaceful resolutions, you know you will stop short and only relent to use half-measures of violence to stop your foes in hopes that you can persuade them of your, respectfully, more noble intentions. But they won’t offer that same token in return. And when your people grow to fear them more than they respect you...” He takes the gilded scroll and steps away towards her bedside table. He rests it there and materializes an elegant quill and lays it atop the contract. ”If you change your mind, the offer is here, Your Highness. Think about it. Your soul for the long term prosperity and safety of your people. Or your soul trapped for all eternity within a chunk of metal alongside thousands of others who are denied their rightful place in the Great Beyond.” And with a flash...he is gone.
Valeroth appears in a fiery demesne. Millions and millions of wrathful devils and wailing souls of the damned surround him as he makes his way up a set of vile looking obsidian stairs. He enters the fortress that rests at the top of the mountain and makes his way before a massive throne, upon which sits a horned devil the size of a giant, which he kneels before. ”So...phistophilus...were you successful in your bargain?” the mighty devil asked. ”Not immediately, Sire. But she will relent. The seed has been planted...” Valeroth replies. The pit fiend growled a low, soul crushing snarl. ”Very well. We will bide our time and see if this gambit is fruitful. Be gone.” Valeroth rose and walked away quickly. It better. She will pay for what she did. I had worked so hard to sway that damned wizard’s soul...and her and her Freaks ruined everything in one f&%+ing evening. But...if it doesn’t...there are other ways to get revenge...perhaps on one of their children. Maybe one of them will be more open to my interventions...
”Is there a price too great? Consider it, Your Highness...peace, prosperity, security for Galt, insured for so long as your royal line remains unbroken. Even then, should the line break, the prosperity of the nation will fall to the responsibility of the new ruler. And by then, how many generations of Galtans will have lived happy, prosperous lives?” Valeroth stepped in front of Cladissa and took the scroll in hand, steadying it for the first time since it appeared. ”The price is steep for an individual...for you, I will not lie. But the prize it purchases...I think it is more than a fair deal. The soul of a Queen for the security of her people, her children, her children’s children, and all their subjects for ages to come...”
”Indeed,” Valeroth said as he looked over his shoulder. ”But those small things, those small details, when overlooked, neglected, forgotten, can often grow and fester into problems beyond ones control. It is to that end, that I am here to treat with you, Your Majesty. That I come to offer your nation serenity, peace, and protection for it’s people.” He reaches into his cloak and produces a scroll made of what seems to be a sheet of pure gold. It floats lazily in the air and unfurls itself in front of Cladissa, with words written in flowing, beautiful Taldane. It rolls and turns in the air a few feet in front of her as Valeroth speaks ”This contract is a simple but elegant offer, for you. In simple terms, though you of course have every right to read it, it will insure that your nation will always live in harmony, peace, serenity, and safety for the duration of your reign, as well as those of your line, so long as the line is maintained. Should you ever find yourself overwhelmed and unable to solve a problem yourself, assistance will be provided to make certain the peace and safety of this nations people will be maintained. Tell me, Your Majesty,” he pauses as he steps away from the window and begins circling around her as he speaks ”after all you have fought for, on behalf of this people, after all you have given of yourself, what is it worth to make sure the Revolution does not rise up and strike again? Who is to say it won’t be worse than before? Bloodier? Even spilling out beyond the Galtan border? You offer your people a peaceful resolution to the revolt. A noble offer, on which I commend your efforts. But are there not still hold outs among the revolutionaries? Small sects of devout Grey Gardeners who still wish to see you and your supporters put to the Final Blade? You wish to avoid being ruthless and hunting them down to the man. Sometimes that option is impossible, Your Highness. There are very few means to drive out fanaticism without reaching to such ends. Unless...” he gestures to the contract, ”unless there was one willing to give whatever was necessary to make certain her subjects were safe for generations to come...”
He folds his arms behind his back as he steps over to her window and looks out through the curtain at the city below and countryside in the distance. ”It is truly a beautiful land here that you reign over. Always has been. Many people think that our kind prefer fire and brimstone, but that is not always the case. Some of us enjoy the beauty of thriving forests and lush gardens. They truly are small miracles in their own right, wouldn’t you agree?”
Valeroth arches an eyebrow. ”My apologies, Your Highness, but what ever gave you the impression that the plane of Hell had any interest in the nation of Galt? That is not my purpose here,” he sighs before adding ”but if it is my departure you desire, so be it, I shall leave your Throne Room forthwith.” Then, in a flash of smoke that reeks of brimstone, he is gone.
Once Cladissa entered her private quarters and closed the door, Valeroth’s voice speaks up once again. ”This should serve far better for private negotiations. A wise move, young queen. Very clever, I must say.”
Valeroth smiled back at the queen. Using his name was a step in the right direction. ”I would not dare impugn your honor by offering you anything that would even come close to those storied times. Particularly after all you have done to accomplish it. But,” he pauses, giving the guards a cautious look, ”as I have heard them say in the Shackles...’Loose lips sink ships.’ Perhaps it would be best if we talked in private, Your Highness? If your men here do not understand the intricate matters I would discuss with you, they could get the wrong idea and spread misinformation through the populace, and I do not think that would bode well for your new reign. Particularly given your nations storied and troubled legacy...”
The devil rises to it’s full height, holding it’s hands out to its sides in a placating manner as it’s facial expression feigns as if it were hurt. ”Your Majesty! Surely you would not be so rude as to judge someone based on their appearance or lineage, would you? Why, your own storied legacy spans a wide range of forms, and demeanors, does it not? I assure you that I bear you no ill will, and simply request a moment of your time to discuss the matters of your newfound responsibilities and perhaps offer my own humble insight and assistance, if you would be so considerate as to grant me your legendary hospitality.”
A few moments after that thought, the gemstone begins to glow with an inner radiance. The light intensifies until a crack appears on the surface, followed by another, and another! The gem splits into a multitude of fragments that begins to dissolve into a red and black smoke that swirls about the room! Eventually it seems as if the entire throne room is filled with the foul smelling cloud until it eventually coalesces into a humanoid form with rust-colored skin and a jutting crown of ridge-like horns. Rolls of parchment are draped across its shoulders and about its arms. As the guards move to defend the queen, the figure offers a deep bow and says ”Your Highness! My name is Valeroth, and I do believe it to be true that you have promised all the right to an audience with you, if they do so peaceably?” |
