>>5189273And so you tell him all of it: Chika’s destruction, the Dragonborn’s discovery and liberation, Henzler’s and Felman’s enthrallment, your further bargaining with The Incubus, your battles with the forces of The Tower and with the Inquisition as you acquire the promised demons, Bianchi’s demise. All of it except…
‘We tell him about Edwin, an’ Roth’ll gank him,’ Irinnile notes, neither with great enthusiasm or (you note) evidence displeasure.
“This alliance with The Incubus… Your methods in rounding up these demons… Leaving a DIRECT DESCENDANT of a Great Dragon in the clutches of a demon…”
Roth’s usual disapproving harrumph rears its ugly head, as he glwoers at you.
“As ever, you leave far too much of our destiny in the hands of lesser spirits, rather than trusting in the Dark Gods… Or in yourself. It is a shameful waste of time. This ‘dragonborn’ should be among our people already. You say you’ve left him there for DAYS, with only… A surface-ape, mutants, and a DEGENERATE for company?”
“The Fleshweaver, Henzler, made the Dragonborn as well,” you note. “I suspect it is a hybrid—a ‘chimera’—as well.”
The notion fills Roth with obvious shock and disgust.
“But still,” he says, with great resignation, “A being that close to a true dragon… He cannot be used as a bargaining chip, let alone when the Paladins or The inquisition could so easily render your new ‘pact’ untenable by destroying the final demon before you acquire it. And this Incubus has the dwarven relic as well! You’ve given this pathetic spirit FAR too much leverage.”
“What would you have me do?” you ask, trying to keep the defensiveness from your tone. “What’s done is done—I must now ensure the pact is completed. That is all there is to this matter.”
“Stage a coup—a betrayal.”
You blink, first your nictitating membrane and then your outer eyelids. Such is your surprise and confusion. You take a sip of your drink, thus far untouched.
“I… Cannot.”
“You CAN,” Roth presses. “You engineered your initial pacts to favour us—the only bright spot in your dealings with this DEMON. Use your human puppets to steer the Inquisition against that bastard’s nest of weak-willed human slaves. Destroy its hosts, its base of power! Then, we eliminate a rival, and an obligation, and offer up to the humans a sacrificial lamb!”
It is… Clever, in Roth’s own direct and brutal way.
‘Lispy,’ Irnnile quails, ‘if we fuck this up, Inky’s gonna’ be PISSED. We’ll be fucked, and NOT, I repeat NOT, in any a’ the fun ways.’
