Adventures in Sigil - IC - Part III [4E]

[Nai_Calus]

(OOC: Two of Eltain's worst checks, woo! Well, OK, no, that'd be Athletics and Acrobatics, but.

Insight: (1d20+13)[30]
History: (1d20+16)[28]

Let's see if the forum roller still hates Eltain.)

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick scoffs at the oracle. "You have no interest in helping us win our war. Then you haven't thought things through very well. I would think as a seer you'd be able to see your own future a little more plainly. We will be acting on the information you've given us. Your people are not as stupid as I would like them to be. They will eventually figure out how we got it. We covered your disappearance, but I don't expect that to hold forever. Sooner or later they'll figure it all out. And then you'll have gone from a captive of the church to the top of their kill list. While we're escorting you to somewhere we believe is safe, once the matriarchs realize that you've turned coat, they'll send so many assassins after you that no one will be able to protect you."

He takes her hand, his voice becoming more kind, "I can understand that you wouldn't care who wins the war amongst the courts. By all means, leave that to us, but for your own safety you should give us as much help as you can in stopping the drow invasion of the surface. If they are weakened from loosing a battle they've obviously invested so much in, we'll be able to ensure your safety much more easily. While they take the time to rebuild, you'll have time to use your own extensive abilities to build defenses of your own as well."

Spoiler

Show

May as well try to pump her for anything else that I can. Diplomacy - (1d20+19)[30]

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As Eltain speaks of rallying the Winter Fey behind him, it strikes him that this would be easy. Very easy, in fact. If there's one thing that would stop the Eladrin from battling one another, it'd be a drow invasion. However, the drow should know this too. Something doesn't seem right about this.

While Eltain thinks, Cerzei looks at Pavick for a long moment. "You're right, they may kill me. But I don't think they will. Besides, what were my choices? If the drow are victorious, they would have no use for me and I'd only be a political pawn, traded from one church to another as a bargaining chip. If they lose, then they'll need me more than ever to keep the watch that their shattered armies cannot. I'm too valuable to kill, and I'd like to make sure they remember how precious and needed my services are, and treat me appropriately. I didn't come to you to secure my life or my freedom, I came to secure my occupation." She gives Pavick a condescending pat on the head. "I don't care about who wins your war, I'm just here to make sure that the drow don't."

She reaches over to the paper, and scribbles a sigil sequence. "There, as he requested." She motions towards Aramil. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go find a room to sleep in that isn't a dank cottage in some forgotten side-cavern." She gives another smile, before exiting out into the common room, and fumbling her way over to the stairs to the rest of the rooms in the inn.

[Nai_Calus]

"In fact, that would almost certainly work. If anything would the fey to stop this senseless war and band together, it would be the drow attacking. Hells, it would be easy..." He trails off, something itching at the back of his mind.

"...You know, almost too easy. The drow are going to know that, it's not exactly a secret that most people really don't like them. It's almost like it's a setup, or someone is working with someone else... I've got a bad feeling about this." He stands and goes over to the map, tapping the location of the Fortress of Frozen Tears.

"Regardless, that still brings us to why I came. Obviously you know as well as I do that the Fortress of Frozen Tears is protected by a barrier of some point that's prevented a direct assault. But the Prince of Frost has made a critical error and the time for attack may soon come. The data brought to us by our Pixie spies pinpoints the source of the barrier's power. With the Winter and Green Court forces spread throughout the Feywild in a vain effort to get around the Spring and Summer Courts' blocade and stop the siege, the Fortress is relatively unprotected. But most important of all, the Prince of Frost himself is there." He pauses, a look of sadness crossing his face. "Many pixies... Died... to bring us this information."

"The barrier, whatever it's made of, is being powered by energy channeled directly from the Elemental Chaos. In order to get past it, we'll need to sever the source, at which point a direct assault would finally be possible." He pauses again, frowning.

"Though given what I've learned of his past, I want to help him, not kill him. There's been too much killing already. Some of it at my own hands..." He trails off.

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

A foul look crosses Pavick's face once the oracle has left. "I'm beginning to regret working with her. I trust the information she's provided so far, but I'd be shocked if she's giving the whole story. And I really don't want to see her rejoining her people once this is all done."

He turns to look at Eltain, wearing a sorrowful expression. "I'm not really certain that can be done. After one commits this much evil, it gets into the blood. Whatever good might once have been there has been buried under so much bad, I don't know if anyone can find it again."

"We can make use of your information though. A trip to the plane below to cut off the source of his power would be a good plan..." Pavick looses himself in thought for a moment. "Well, it would be the plane below if we were at home, but from Sigil the planar cosmology gets a little more complicated. I guess the best way to describe it is the plane six and a half rotations widdershins then diagonally behind you at a slight downward slope. I'd have to consult my charts to calculate the precise angle of declension."

He pauses, refocusing. "Anyway, we should go to the elemental chaos, when we have the chance. But then there is also our original mission of rescuing Tiandra and getting a weapon that can be used against the cold, and this new information on the drow attack to contemplate things. I'm still in favor of continuing our previous mission, at least for now, but this has suddenly gotten a lot more complicated. What do you think, General?" Pavick turns to Aramil, addressing him formally.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil nods as he continues to look at the map. "If we can break the fortress defenses, the Prince's allies and their morale may be broken, even if he himself is not. Or, even more promising, the source of his elemental power may also be sustaining the ice holding Tiandra. The Harp of Sharaea has been lost in the Underdark for centuries now, it can wait a while longer."

He turns. "Eltain, see if you can get the church to send some guards over. If Cerzei will not turn, I'd rather have them kill her than let her escape back to the Underdark. Lucan, Pavick, we'll need one of you to relay the information on the attack back to the Feywild."

"However, if we are to strike at this point in the Elemental Chaos, we'll need someone with more experience in that realm. Probably a demon-hunter, given the recent events."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain sighs gently and smiles warmly at Pavick.

"Would you truly give up so quickly without even considering an attempt? When we first met Zyrr, it seemed unlikely he would ever turn from his ways." He sits at the table and folds his hands under his chin.

"But he has turned from the evil that once enveloped him. People aren't like devils or demons, Pavick, and even the Archfey are people. No person is totally evil, not even the Prince of Frost. There is good in him yet, I'm sure of it, and if we can find it and save him, isn't it at least worth an attempt?"

Eltain chuckles at Pavick's descriptions, though he raises his eyebrow at the formality, frowning.

"Rescuing Tiandra...? That's a lovely thing to think of! I'm not sure how much good it would do though... I hate to say this, but she wasn't much use before. Still, a lovely idea." He smiles before turning serious again, listening to Aramil's comments.

"Sharea? Wonderful! Then the four of you have been able to find out some of that too, and even find some leads! I knew I could count on you." He grins.

"I'd say for now the best thing to do for Tiandra is to leave her frozen where she's safe and try to take care of the Prince of Frost. The first step in that is the barrier. I agree, someone with experience in hunting demons would be useful here, though be careful, a lot of the ones who do that work for devils." He frowns.

"Before that, though, I want to find out more detail about the timeline for what the drow are doing. That has me the most worried of anything, honestly."

He snorts. "Orders already, General? I haven't even enlisted!" He smirks and winks to show he's joking. "Hah, this can only end badly. Both of us are accustomed to giving orders now. I don't know if you've heard anything about my little rebellion, but I'm the damned fool who started it and leads it." He grins, then frowns.

"I don't know how much influence I'll have with the church here, Aramil. Half of the church wants to declare me a saint for my work with the restoration of the corrupted churches in the Winter Lands, the other half has branded me a dangerous heretic for openly spreading and supporting the Order of the Azure Star." He frowns. "Well, Eilistraee and I have been keeping in touch via letters this last year. At the very least she might be able to spare someone."

"Hmm... Well, now. Speaking of church ties and the drow. I'll see if I can get in touch with both Eilistraee and some of my contacts within the Order. Get some drow spies in motion to get more information. No offense, but from Zyrr's death and everything else I've heard, it doesn't sound like you all did very well trying to infiltrate drow society. And Corellon knows I'm not exactly the one to go about doing that either." He grins.

"So, Zyrr and I should probably see to that. Pavick and Lucan can definitely relay messages and look up information. Aramil, see if you can find us a demon hu-" He cuts off, laughing. "And look at me, just barely back and I'm already barking orders like you're part of the rebellion!" He grins. "Sorry, guys. I will get right on that, though." He quietly sings a quick hymn, and with a shimmer of light a majestic brown mule with a white eight-pointed star on his forehead and elegant silver wings folded against his sides steps from the ether into the room. Eltain lovingly strokes Frank's mane and waits for the go-ahead.

[Hzurr]

DM Post

As you speak, Edgren enters the room with a handful of drinks, but pauses with the door halfway closed. "Ah....sorry, don't want to interrupt, but did you say a demon hunter?."

He pinches the bridge of his nose, "By the Lady, I can't believe I forgot to tell you. There was a tiefling that's been stopping by for the last few days looking for you. Not sure why, but he didn't seem like he wanted to kill you. I didn't catch his name, but apparently he's got quite the reputation as a demon hunter around here. He usually stops by around this time. Do you want me to send him in if he comes?

[Nai_Calus]

"Sure, send him in. Perfect timing, I can meet him before I go see Eilistraee."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth walks over to a free table and plops down wondering whether this day will bring any news of the "Heroes of Fallcrest" or just another round of demon-hunting tales to the more inebriated regulars. Let's out a languid breath of air and surveys the tavern. Searching, listening for any hint of news...

He spies the bartender coming from a back room and calls to him, "Edgren, any info on those "Heroes of Fallcrest" yet?" He is surprised when Edgren's eye's get wide...

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

"Wait, he doesn't want to kill us? That doesn't sound right. How have we managed to go this long without offending him somehow? It's what we seem to do! But yes, send him in."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

Edgren stops, looks out at Asheroth who just walked in, and looks back at the group that just walked in. "Huh. That was creepy."

Edgren motions Asheroth over, and gestures into the open door. "You're in luck, they just got here."

Stepping inside, the room, Asheroth finds a large table with five figures seated around it. Well, five figures and a mule. Five figures, a mule, and a coure attendant fluttering nearby. And a small unicorn sleeping under the table. And a snake curled around the wizards arm. The room was getting surprisingly crowded.

Around the table, Asheroth sees a tall, golden haired Eladrin looking over a map on the middle of the table. The eladrin's face is hard, and the ruby-scabbard quickly identifies this fey as Aramil Printempest, noble of the Spring Court and one of the most promising generals in the Feywild.

Continuing around the table, the next creature seated is a gnome with a half-grin on his face, legs swinging under the table. The lose robes around the gnome hinted as to a magical occupation, but the small fingers that seemed to be constantly twitching and summon small illusory butterflies, sheeps, and fine silverware (oddly enough) brought the name Pavick Roslow to mind, a name that had grown synonymous daring rescues and brilliant magics.

Next is a smirking drow in a sparkling black and white crescent mask. The mask alone was enough to identify Zyrr'dellin Morvandis, a "pirate" of the Astral sea whose exploits seemed more impossible and incredible with each retelling. He, more than any of the others, was the topic of much conversation in Sigil; as merchants debated whether or not the drow pirate would mistake them for agents of the Winter Courts.

It takes a much longer moment to identify the next creature. Stroking a...mule with wings? This silver-haired human..? No, not with those features. A Half Eladrin perhaps? Unusual, but not unheard of. At any rate, this Silver haired figure with a tattoo of Corellon on his cheek watched Asheroth closely as he entered. Suddenly, the rumors of a rebellion within the Winter Court sprang to mind, and stories of a paladin with a blade of frost swooping into the heat of battles to rescue the fallen from all sides of the war seemed significantly more probable. More importantly, that would also make this paladin Eltain Sharma, who killed the incubus demon Dellarin'ak'nithor.

Finally, the tiefling's gaze falls on a half-elf, listening (and arguing) with the small fluttering Coure attendant on his shoulder. Asheroth had little trouble identifying Lucan Thoene. The patrons of the Inn of Our Lady's Favor spoke of him regularly, and fondly. Some had claimed there was some prophesy about him, while others insisted that he rode on the backs of silver dragons into war. Regardless, he was both well known, and well liked in the city, and reputedly a deadly shot with the bow strung across his back.

Edgren nods respectively. "I'll leave you all alone."

[Orsik Vondal]

"You guys", Asheroth says with a quizzical look and rubbing the back of his head, "are the famed Heroes of Fallcrest, I suppose?" I had no idea you entertained such interests..." as he motions to all the companions. He pulls up a vacant chair and sets himself down propping his boots on the table leaning back. "I've been looking for you..."

"Word is around town that you guys had a run in with a sticky-fingered incubus who favors magical artifacts. Word also is that you slew him. Congratulations. Though my profession has led me to dispatch many foul demons, this one has eluded me. It seems you five did my job for me. I'd like to thank you." He nods to the group and places his feet on the floor and his elbows on the table lacing his fingers in front of his face.

"I also hear that you started a war in Feywild..." He looks around for the tell-tale expressions that tell him he's hit the mark. "How's that going so far?

[Nai_Calus]

"Ahh, Dell'arin. I remember him well. Foul thing. I quite enjoyed ending his life. His dying words after I ran him through were 'I hate Paladins.'" He purses his lips. "That was some time ago, however. What brings you to us now?"

[Orsik Vondal]

"Again, I want to thank you for destroying that creature, Dell'arin. He killed my father, and I needed revenge. Though, in a way you did rob me of that vengeance.

"My contacts in the Court say it's a right mess in the Feywild. The 'Ice Queen' has his panties in a twist, and that's not all. The drow are stirring again. Add to that the sudden disappearance of all the demons and you have yourself a recipe for disaster. Being a demon-hunter doesn't really work when there are no demons to hunt. So I went looking for trouble, you could say. Seems like you guys are the biggest trouble-makers in Sigil.

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain narrows his eyes.

"You're welcome. Sorry to deprive you, but creatures like that are utterly lacking in beauty and need to be removed from the worlds. Though... You seem to have quite a lot of information, some of which we've just now found out ourselves. It's... More than a little suspicious. Who are your contacts, and what is this 'court' of which you speak?"

[dariathalon]

Pavick - Gnome Wizard

Pavick stands up on his chair and offers a hand to the tiefling. "Pavick Roslow, Grandmaster of the Septarch's tower. Very pleased to meet you." A tiny snake peeks its head out from the sleeve of Pavick's outstretched hand. It's serpentine features show an unmistakable mixture of annoyance and curiousity.

Pavick sits back down, scooting impatiently back into place. "We didn't exactly start the war in the feywild. Well, we did, but it was going to start itself anyway. Actually, we were trying to prevent it, but only ended up speeding things along." He looks down sheepishly, and suddenly feels the need for something to do with his fingers. He pulls a coin from his pouch and begins rolling it back and forth across the tabletop.

"We were actually just discussing what we might do to try to bring it to an end. Unfortunately, things just seem to keep getting more and more problematic."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain looks embarrassed at having failed to introduce himself, suspicion or no.

"Arkerynsuoress Eltain Sharma, high priest and paladin of Corellon Larethian, leader of the Snowflower Order and member of the Order of the Azure Star," he says, rattling off his titles as if he were used to this sort of thing before giving an ironic smirk. "Proud of all of it, but it's a bit ridiculous to say all at once, isn't it? Just call me Eltain. Do forgive me for not introducing myself, but your arrival and knowledge is a bit suspicious." He sighs.

"And no, we didn't start the war, we all spoke out against it and tried to prevent it, myself in particular, but we might as well have." He looks sad, tired and guilty; the face of a man who has seen far too many die.

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth leans back in his chair, feeling confident his informants' intelligence was good. Fingers still laced, "A while back I took a job in the Feywild. A satyr thought his grove was being "haunted" by a ghost. I don't usually take crack jobs like that, but something was odd about the descriptions he was giving me. Turns out a mezzodemon was trying to worm his way through the Planar Veil. The Rifts that breach other planes from the Elemental Chaos wreak havok when they appear. I destroyed the mezzodemon and helped close the Rift. Ever since he's been eternally grateful. His name is Bronson Prizehorn. A minor noble in the Summer Court. He helps me keep tabs on the Feywild and any happenings of interest."

Asheroth eyes the gnome standing on the table with curious amusement; then takes the small hand and gives it a firm shake. "Asheroth Durant from Fallcrest, Demon-Hunter of Wherever-I-Can-Find-A-Demon. More problematic, you say?" Asheroth notices the half-eladrin giving him the "I know what you're doing" look. Sorry, force of habit. I have this compulsion to gather information. I didn't mean to intrude on your battle plans..." He surveys the faces of each in a moment; gnome, drow, eladrin, half-elf, half-eladrin. But if you fill me in...I might be able to lend you some information. And maybe some expertise."

[Nai_Calus]

Eltain arches a platinum eyebrow and idly moves his left hand from Frank's mane to the hilt of the sword strapped to his right hip, a strange blade formed seemingly of ice with a crossguard shaped like the eight-pointed star that serves as Corellon's holy symbol. To anyone with any familiarity with the ways of a Hexblade, it's unmistakably a pact weapon. The gesture is too relaxed to be a threat, and seems mostly intended to draw attention to the blade itself.

"And what sort of expertise and information would that be?" Eltain asks, though he looks like he's already got a fairly good idea of at least the nature of the expertise. Oddly enough, despite his obvious suspicion of Asheroth's profession and motives, there's a sympathetic glint in his odd, glowing eyes.

"You'll forgive me if I'm a little mistrusting, I hope. Quite a large number of people want everyone in this room dead. Probably even Frank here," he indicates the mule, who snorts and flicks an ear as if in mockery of the idea of someone wanting him dead, "although they'd have a hell of a time with that; he has this tendency to not stay dead." He gets an odd look on his face. "Still, what proof do we have that you're not an assassin sent by the Winter Court? Pavick, Lucan, perhaps one of you can attempt to contact this Bronson Prizehorn?"

"Sorry, I realize how rude this is. Unfortunately, it's also a wise precaution."

Frank, meanwhile, in lieu of Eltain's attention, has turned his own elsewhere, and has discovered Yuri under the table. He lowers himself to the floor and looks disdainfully at the small unicorn before breaking the serious mood entirely with a loud sound somewhere between a horse's neigh and a donkey's bray.

(OOC: Rather like this.)

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth pretends not to notice the innocuous threat of Eltain's hand moving to his sword. Hmph! He wouldn't jeopardize the success of the Fey War by hurting me. But let's just see how he likes this.

Asheroth turns to the map and the eladrin standing over it. General Printempest, I have heard much of your exploits in the Feywild and beyond. It is an honor to be in your company."He stands nods and offers his hand to the General. "I would not presume to take over your command of this important task. I only offer information that may help you in your endeavors. The Prince of Frost has erected an impenetrable glacial wall to shield himself from the enemy. Here. He points to a spot on the map.This you know. Its source is somewhere in the Elemental Chaos. This you also know. If you destroy that source, the wall shall cease, and the Prince will be vulnerable...for a time. From what I have been told the Prince of Frost is no fool, and as soon as his magical defense falls, he will recall most of his force to help repel any strike that is sure to come thereafter.

He pauses and looks straight at Aramil. I assume you five will be the ones to face the Prince once his barrier is destroyed. An attack at that point would be tantamount to suicide, General. Might I suggest a different tack? A contingency plan, if you will? They say his wall is impenetrable. But have you ever heard of...hellfire?

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

At Frank's brayed greeting, Yuri neighs his own response.

Lucan, distracted by this interplay, hasn't been paying much attention to the conversation going on around him.

[Mando Knight]

Aramil raises an eyebrow. "So you have taken an interest in our situation... what are you offering? If you mean we should ally ourselves with devils, that will serve mostly to cause division within our own ranks."

[Orsik Vondal]

Asheroth bolts upright and clenches his fists at his sides. "Ally!? With devils!? Surely not! Though, I do slay demons and have the appearance",-he motions to his horns-"of a devil, that is the closest I shall ever come to calling myself an ally of devils!" Asheroth's voice sounds slightly more of desperation than anger. His eyes flash fear for a moment, but it quickly vanishes as he shakes his head and lets out a slow breath. "Forgive me. There are some demons which can't be slain."

Asheroth clears his throat and continues, "I may have a way to procure hellfire. It is risky, to say the least, but if we obtain it, the Prince of Frost will not have time to recall a strong defense to his side. He will be even more vulnerable. A surprise attack using hellfire to break through his wall will catch him off guard. Then we would be on better grounds to accept terms of surrender and end the war right then and there." He looks around expectantly at the others, and a frown crosses his brow.

"But there is only one being rumored to know the secret of hellfire...Mephistopholes." Asheroth throws his hands out defensively, knowing what they are all thinking. "But we wouldn't be his ally! Devils rarely, if ever, have 'allies'. They make deals. And I think this whole situation you have here would be of great interest to the Lord of Cania." His speech slows as he rolls through the sequence of arguments he has traced before.

Mephistopholes has ever been at war with Asmodeus, though not openly. In addition, he always has an ear attuned to the delicate power balances throughout the cosmos. He would never want one faction or another to gain total power over its adversaries; that would make it harder for him to 'control' them. So he would like nothing better than for good to battle evil and vice versa until the end of time. The War in the Feywild is one of those situations. We offer Mephistopholes 'peace' in the Feywild, a restoration of the balance, for hellfire. He gets what he wants: an end to this war. And we get what we want: an end to this war.

I hope they go for this. Help me, Heroes of Fallcrest. You're my only hope..., Asheroth thought, and it probably showed.

[Nai_Calus]

Frank snorts at Yuri's neigh, clearly unimpressed by the much smaller unicorn.

"I thought unicorns were supposed to be more impressive than this."

-

Eltain eyes the Tiefling with suspicion, but decides that it's probably just a lucky guess. Disappointing, really, he'd almost hoped the Winter Court had had the sense to send an assassin who didn't use cold magic this time. Well, even if he was, this was the worst assassination attempt ever. He curls his lip at the mention of devils and moves to protest, but is silenced by Asheroth's speech.

"The bargains we make in desperation can be so awkward, can't they?" he says cryptically.

"I... Greatly oppose involving such creatures in our affairs. We have... Other leads that would be sensible to pursue first." He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose.

"But I think I can guess what you're getting at behind what you're getting at. You were seeking revenge for your father, I assume?" He stands and lays a comforting hand on the Tiefling's shoulder.

"I don't give up on anyone without a fight. Getting out of what you've gotten into, if that's what it is and what you seek, isn't going to be easy. But you have my aid in it." He smiles, then notices Frank's newfound distaste for a certain small unicorn.

"Frank, behave yourself." The mule snorts, stands, and trots over to Eltain, nosing at the Tiefling on the way. "Don't worry, he's friendly," Eltain says, grinning as he leaves Frank with Asheroth and goes to pet Yuri.

"Zyrr, I should go to the temple and see about getting someone to watch Cerzei and getting people to work spying on the drow. Want to come?"

[Toric]

Zyrr stands back and listens, as is his custom, while the group greets the new ally/resource. Only direct prompting from Eltain provokes a significant response.

"Absolutely. There should be quite a few of my brethren we can work back into a mustering drow army. And I could use a good infusion of any religious symbol that's not a spider right now."

He turns to the tiefling, smiles beneath his mask, and extends a gloved hand. "The name's Zyrr. You've probably heard of me. If you haven't, we'll get along just fine."

[Hzurr]

DM Post

OOC: Anything in particular that everyone else going to do while Zyrr/Eltain talk to Eilestraee? Or is anyone else going with them?

[Orsik Vondal]

"Asheroth. Ash for short. He shakes the drow's hand. I think we will understand each other very well, seeing as how we both hail from ancestry deemed 'treacherous' by the...'nobler' races." He darts a glance at Eltain and smirks.

[DSCrankshaw]

Lucan - Half-elf bard

Yuri snorts. "We'll both show how impressive we are on the battlefield, comrade."

[Nai_Calus]

Frank returns the snort and stamps a hoof.

"I've been fighting with Eltain since before you were born, and I'm willing to bet I've seen far more battlefields than you have in our fight to bring freedom to the Winter Lands, and I've carried hundreds of wounded soldiers to safety. Can you even bear your companion's weight?" He walks back over to the Paladin and bumps him with his head.

-

Eltain sighs and shrugs. Well, he'd offered his help, if the tiefling didn't want it he couldn't force him to accept it.

"I offered to help," he notes idly. "That hardly counts as deeming you treacherous. If I did I'd already have tried to kill you." He spreads his hands in a 'there you have it' gesture.

"We'll need a guide in the Elemental Chaos regardless, if you want to come along when we go I've no objections to that." He pauses. "But I absolutely will not make any sort of bargain with devils. Nothing good ever comes out of that, I can assure you, that couldn't have been accomplished some other, better way. I'm sure Mephistopholes is interested in this conflict, but we've got plenty of far less distasteful and more concrete leads on how to take care of the Prince of Frost and his barrier without resorting to consorting with beings as foul and lacking in beauty as that." His tone and the snow that swirls around him make it clear that this is a subject on which he stands utterly firm. "Whatever your problem you need help with is, and it's clear to me there is one, the offer still stands to help you with it in any way that isn't that. There's always another way. Don't ever let anyone tell you there isn't."

He turns to Zyrr, his expression softening.

"Well, you've got plenty of non-Lolthite symbols to look at with me around," he says, grinning. "And I've got some contacts of my own." He crosses to the table, pulling out some parchment and a pen and quickly writing something in a code nobody recognizes before freezing it dry and and folding it up, upon which he pulls out a small azure pouch with an eight-pointed star on it and attaches it loosely to his belt.

"Let's go. We can talk on the way, if you want to." He clasps Zyrr's hand gently, looking into the drow's eyes with sympathy. "...And take that ridiculous mask off, at least for a while. I haven't seen your face in over a year, and I technically still haven't." He looks nostalgic. "I miss it. I've missed all of you, really." He looks around at his companions fondly.

"Now come on, I need to go get pickpocketed and you need a few relaxing hours of being around anything but Lolth." He nods to Frank, who with a final disdainful snort at Yuri, turns to follow his companion, and assuming nobody objects, heads out of the inn, mounting Frank once outside and offering his hand to Zyrr to pull the drow up as well.

"So... Do you want to talk about it? I understand if you don't, but I'd like to know what's going on. I'm worried about you. Usually am, honestly."