Roskar shrugs, having gotten the answer to his question and allows them to have some of his blood.
The devil produces an auto-syringe, sticking it into the presented arms and extracting some blood. It hurts, which is strange since medical syringes are nearly always enchanted to reduce to pain to nearly nothing. Such is the way of Hell, after all. Once Soundbyte has contributed his machine oil, the devil produces a silvery dagger from among his many parchments, slicing it along his palm. The substance that comes out looks like no blood anyone in the party has seen. Thick and black and sludgy, it drips into the bowl.
Skundrobastan's wound heals quickly as he begins reciting a chant in Infernal. It's long and tedious, but after about ten minutes of chanting a glowing pentagram bursts into being on the surface of the bowl before slowly fading as the devil begins to talk.
"Very good. The ritual is done, the pact is sealed, this transaction will be done in good faith by the writ of Asmodeus Unconquered. So, you represent the Starfinder Society. Tell me then, why do they beseech the forces of the nine Hells?"
"There is a currently pending transaction between our organization and the Ninefold Directorate of Hell. We're here to complete the ratification process," Bravo replies.
In good faith, huh? he thinks to himself. Not gonna jeopardize our standing by makin' side-deals, then.
Skundrobastan studies his datapad, "Ah, yes, you're here for the datacrystal. Now, there are some preliminary matters that must be attended to before the transaction can be completed. The first matter is form 18-A-9134, which must be read in it's entirety, signed by each representative, and then appended and ratified with a trial by combat against an appropriate champion of the Embassy's choosing. It's all quite standard, really. The form is 97 pages long."
He reaches beneath the many parchments and produces an imposing stack of papers which he places on the table. "If you'll begin, we don't have all day."
Sounbyte was in possession of over 1000 hours of audio recordings, many several hundred copies of text regarding holy scriptures, monster manuals, item catalogs, and even research papers. Now he was about to have the dreadful misfortune of valuable storage spage being assigned to 97 pages worth of a single form.
He subtly turn off his speakers before he lost control of himself in the face of the devil. Wouldnt do to loose his temper.
"Hmm...Trial by combat, huh? Looks like I'll be useful to this delegation after all," Bravo comments as he takes the stack. Clearly this was a stalling tactic to tire them out so they either missed something important or weren't at peak performance for the coming fight. Skundrobastan may have said they don't have all day, but Bravo knew devils didn't tire the way mortals did, and were nothing if not patient when souls were on the line.
|
"'Scuse me, I think I got dis," Alanna pipes up, yanking the papers away from Bravo. "I kinda took an elective in something like this," she says, cryptically, by way of explanation.
She takes in a biiiig breath that seems to go on forever. It's as if she's filling lungs in places that most people don't have places. After a full minute of of just breath-intake, she begins.
"Whereas the Party of the First Part heretofore known as PFP shall render unto the Party of the Second Part heretofore known as The Party shall henceforth be subject to all the Rights, Regulations and Statues written herein.
Inability to Comply Due to Statute or Regulation. If it is used interactively. Unless explicitly specified when applying the license grants set forth in this license. General Provisions (10) Any use, reproduction or distribution of the Work, you should contact the Copyright Holder explicitly and prominently states near the copyright or copyrights for the licensee to freely copy, modify and redistribute the Modified Version available to Licensee on an 'AS IS' basis, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY REMEDY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE COVERED CODE PROVE DEFECTIVE IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE PROGRAM "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE COVERED CODE IS PROVIDED BY THE PHP DEVELOPMENT TEAM ``AS IS'' AND ANY EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF USE, DATA, OR PROFITS; OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) HOWEVER CAUSED AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE OR OTHERWISE) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. EXPORT CONTROL Recipient agrees that maintenance of the source code must retain and reproduce in all copies of Original Code under the terms of Sections 1 and 2 shall be deemed to create any relationship of agency, partnership, joint venture between BeOpen and Licensee. This License does not grant permission to modify or distribute the Program if, at the time of receipt of notice You either: (i) agree in writing of such damages. Accepting Warranty or Additional Liability...."
She goes on like that for forty-five minutes, without a break or pause, reading the the whole of the form.
Skundrobastan's smile grows ever wider as Alanna reads off the entirety of the form, "Wonderful. If only all mortals showed as much diligence as you. Now, if all of you have reviewed the form to your pleasure, we will proceed to the trial."
Bravo nudges Soundbyte.
"You got all that, right?"
The SRO's head jittered slightly, before cocking to the side with a hiss of steam. His voice stilted out in perfect imitation of Wraith's own. "The PFP hearby accepts all responsibilities therein received upon full review of form 18-A-9134, including but not limited to; Despair, Anguish, Rage, Boredom, Loathing, Suicidal Thoughts, and Homicidal Thoughts."
He was deleting all forty-five minutes of this audio log the exact moment it was no longer relevant.
"I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Bravo replies, before straightening up and mentally cussing himself out for bringing fire-based grenades to a devil-fight.
|
|
Wraith beams under the devil's praise, giving him a great toothy smile.
However, anyone who's known her for any amount of time knows that a smile of _that_ size is completely condescending. It's more of an acknowledgment that someone thought she couldn't do a thing, but then she did it, and is rubbing it in their face without "looking" like she's rubbing it in their face. She's subtle like that.
"You forgot slurred speech, temporary blindness, profuse sweating, or heart palpitations," she tosses back at Soundbyte.
"Also, do not taunt Happy Fun Ball."
"Accept no substitutes!" He promptly replies, to seemingly no will of his own. Soundbyte clicked his head back into a normal position, and shook his head absently. This place may soon be the death of him, depending on how this trial by combat played out.
This... this is one of the reasons I left my people. Ugh.
A small, but long groan is heard from Roskar as Alanna begins reading the document and despite himself Roskar seems to loose focus several times. However once finished he looks around confused.
Is it just me, or did that make 0 sense to anyone else? It was a load of poppycock!
"Don't let our hosts hear you: they take this **** seriously," Bravo cautions.
Skundrobastan grins, "Excellent, excellent, excellent. If you'll follow me, then."
The devil leads the party out of the same door, which this time seems to lead to an entirely different hallway. It's a few minutes through the most boring, nondescript hallways imaginable, though peppered with large buildings full of cubicles and, rather humorously, two massive, powerful-looking devils standing at a water cooler together, discussing something in Infernal.
Eventually, the party reaches a bare-bones metal room with what looks like a service elevator in the center. "Stand there, and you'll be conveyed to the trial by combat."
The elevator ascends upwards, the dark metal surrounding them abruptly transitioning into chiseled stone as the party rises into an arena that seems straight out of some cheap holo-vid about pre-Gap barbarians. Somehow, the party is outside, standing under a sky the color of old blood, heat from it baking down onto the party. A large stone structure in the center is surrounded by sandy soil, pits filled with boiling water and monstrous infernal aquatic life scattered throughout. At the opposite end is a burly, glaive-wielding devil with a beard of spiny tendrils, a much smaller devil wielding a pistol perched on it's shoulder.
The stands are filled with devils of all sorts as an announcer bombastically blares, "Aaaaaaand the mortal petitioners, representatives of the Starfinder Society, facing off against the resident challengers, Okulzund and Bargabash!"
There's a lull in the crowd for a moment.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Soundbyte slams his staff into the ground, and all at once his body begins to emit light at a startling rate. Within moments his corporeal form of gears and bolts has been shed in favour if one of starlight. The sound emitted from him now comes out as a strange humm, "Sarenrae, witness me."
The glaive-wielder is a bearded devil, and the small one is an imp.
The wounds from bearded devil's weapons are notoriously difficult to heal, and they can lash out with their barbed "beards" to inflict an infernal disease on their victims.
Imps are among the least of devilkind, able to shapeshift and inflict poison with a barbed stinger, but this one seems slightly larger and far more confident than most. Some are known to possess spellcasting abilities, while others have skill in combat or technology.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
At the announcement of trial by combat a rare smile creases the normally impassive face of Morimoto Masaharu, First Disciple of Tempered Fear, Last of the Settled Clan Haru, End of the Noble Line of Hito.
He takes a long moment to bathe in the reddened arena, the heat and blood sky an echo of the endless desert of Kasath beneath its red giant sun. He feels a stirring vitality from the heat and a rush of excitement for the years of meditation of discipline to finally bear fruit on a field of battle.
Wielding his curve blade in all four hands, he stands at first position and waits. Morimoto had arrived in Hell, and it suited him.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Why do they have a water cooler, devils don't need hydration? Bravo wonders to himself as they pass by on the way to the elevator. When they emerge into the arena and he sees the setup, he can't help but roll his eyes.
"And I just said they'd take this seriously. We've gone from solemn metaphysical terror to bureaucratic tedium all the way to pay-per-view absurdity," he says dryly as he readies his new gun.
He notices Morimoto's enthusiasm.
"Looks like you're ready to rip and tear until it's done?"
Morimoto calmly tilts his head toward Bravo. "Ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight?"
The imp is a quick little bastard, flitting above the sandy ground as it chants some arcane intonation in Infernal before throwing a glob of grease at the walkway leading from the party's side of the arena. The hulking devil isn't as fast as the party and, minus Roskar, the party is able to take advantage of that.
|
|
"Huh, he just gave us a defense against his meat-brick guy. Well that's nice of him," Wraith quips as she stalks forward and unshoulders her sniper rifle. "If you guys wanna defend this side of the grease-trap while I kill them both from far-away death, I think that might be nice."
She zeroes in on the flittering imp and sends a package of a high-grade sniper round.
Morimoto, understanding the virtue of patience as well as any living creature, sizes up the tactical situation and decides that there is no rush. Better to let the enemy come to him, and face Alanna's wrath.
Total Defense action.
"Beware of the devil's infernal blades, it's beard unkept. Trust not your eyes in the face of an imp, tarry not lest it closes in with poisonous sting. In the face of such cleverness, one must watch for it's dark incantations." Within this form, the words Sounbtyte spoke seemed to flow seamlessly with a voice that felt distinctly masculine. Perhaps this was what he actually sounded like beneath the limitations of wires and steel, lest it instead be an oddly specific quote.
A ball of light seemed to ooze from his energic form as he wove his hands with mesmerizing precision. Once free of him, it quickly zipped forward and began to harry the small shoulder-bound imp, impairing it's ability to aim.
Bravo advances and lets loose a small burst at the imp, hoping to take it down quickly before its big friend charged like an angry stroxha.
Alanna's round slams into the imp, followed by Bravo's railgun. The creature is sturdier than it looks, however, and stays flying.
The bearded devil slams the butt of it's glaive into the ground and briefly disappears, coming back into being right behind Bravo.
Morimoto smiles at the developments. The enemy has come to them!
"Hold, Bravo! The demon offers itself as a sacrifice. Let us accept his gift!"
Roskar grins. Combat was something he understood, something he felt at home in. As the devil appears among their group, he turns and charges towards it, his skin shifting in color to a more golden red hue. The mote of starlight resting behind his head flickers before shaping around his arm and hand. Upon reaching the Devil he launches a punch aimed at its face.
I wield the power of the stars, through them nothing is beyond me.
Bravo looks back in surprise when the beardy one teleports.
"Skôr...didn't think those ones could pull that trick," he mutters.
Roskar lands a solid blow on the barbed devil as the crowd jeers in frustration and anger. The imp yells, ”No! You will never certify your paperwork!” It’s a profoundly absurd threat.
The imp follows it up, howver, by firing it’s pistol at Roskar. A bolt of crackling, dark flame hits the vesk warrior, dealing 4 damage!
|
|
Alanna first giggles at the odd bearucratic threat, and then gafaws, and finally starts a full-throat laughter.
"And YOU'LL never qualify for low-equity mortgage with little or no down and an APR that a modern-day family can afford! Rue your credit score! Rue it!!"
She's still laughing as she tries to take another shot at the little guy and has to admit that it may have thrown her aim off.
With a soft mental verification that yes, the wisp is still harrasing the imp, Soundbyte makes to capitalize on whatever indignation the imp might feel. "By the power Sarenrae has invested in me, I Command you to drop your weapon!"
Now is the time to strike!
Morimoto explodes from his stance and rushes to engage the enemy. Now flanking the demon facing Bravo, he brings his massive, four-handed curve steel blade down on the villain with all his strength.
S
"From hell's heart, I stab at thee!"
Seeing the frontliners now on the new frontline, Bravo disengages, slowly crossing the greased floor to put some distance between him and the bearded devil.
Then, once on solid footing again, he fires another burst at the enemy.
The imp cackles as it holds onto its pistol.
Meanwhile, Alanna and Bravo miss their shots while Morimoto slices into the bearded devil with brutal precision.
The glaive-wielding devil snarls in frustration as it's both attacked and surrounded, and it lashes out at Morimoto with it's glaive, slashing into the kasatha warrior for 10 damage!
Roskar turns towards the devil and gives a nod towards Morimoto. The golden energy around his fist morphs into a blade before he lashes out with it twice.
He grunts as both are ineffective.
Roskar’s blows go wide as the imp cackles with glee. It points its clawed fingers at Roskar and Bravo and fires a bolt of magical force at each of them, dealing 2 damage to Roskar and 5 to Bravo.
Bravo grunts as he takes the imp's shot on the chin, but maintains shooting at the barbed devil. It was always easier to hit a target pinned down by allies.
Morimoto smiles. "I wonder, if you a creature of a plane inhabited by the non-living, what happens when you die? Let's find out."
Total 34 Damage
Roskar grunts as the magic hits him, he quickly shrugs it off however and launches into more attacks at the larger threat.
The party's attacks strike true, for the mostpart, and between Morimoto's overwhelming assault, Roskar's mystic power, and the fire support from Alanna and Bravo, the bearded devil falls to it's knees, clearly out of the fight.
The imp stops laughing as Soundbyte shoots 3 magic missiles at it. Though badly wounded, the little bugger persists.
It sneers at Morimoto, worming a suggestion of pure madness into the warrior's mind.
Bravo turns his attention to the wounded imp, wheeling about and opening fire!