Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Meris quirked a smile at the mention of May-December relationships, thinking of her own. "Quite true. And even when there is a seemingly vast stretch in age, it becomes less relevant as you age together. The private moments will become the most special," she observed.

*~*~*

His request surprised her slightly, but it left her smiling fondly. "Sure," Abdiel answered, allowing him to wrap his arms around her and then returning the embrace. The angel smelled faintly of spices and bonfire smoke.

She let him hug her as much as he wanted, as she explained more of her reasoning, "When Heathcliff requested asylum for you and himself in return for your help, I knew that there would still be a while before the Vienna Accords happened. That leaves you both vulnerable, and I think you've already proven yourself to be more trustworthy than you might believe, Melmoth. I think, like Magnus, you're standing as an example that salvation isn't always linear or fits into some little box. I have to say that I admire that quality in you."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Melmoth kept his embrace short, just on the slightly more effusive side of respect, going for a vice grip-like initial contact and then immediately relaxing off into the kind of clasp you'd expect coworkers to exchange. If he could've blushed, he obviously would have.

"Shucks," he said, "all of that coming from a Throne?! Don't overdo it, I might start thinking you angels are sensible folk!" he joked, the plume of smoke that left his mouth looking uncharacteristically lighter in tone. He then sighed gratefully, his impotent little wings betraying his relief with a few useless air-circulating flaps.

"Honestly, it all just makes me sorry that I'm not representing something more positive than crony capitalism. I just - I love math, the way Heathcliff does. I love seeing probabilities line up into data streams, I love seeing chaotic forces like yours percolate through thousands of years of engineering and evolution - and then you end up with cute little gas-powered fireplaces, butane lighters, electric starters or big geothermal rigs. I love taking something that's impetuous and unpredictable and even dangerous, and then lining it up so I can look at a chart and say This bit here? We can make it work for us, for the average Joe. In the early days, that's what my first banks were. I didn't care about damning people, I cared about figuring things out and wrangling them productively. Even way back when, back when I had a head of hair, a prettier nose and better wings, I'd look at old Paleolithic oracle bones and think Why aren't the humans bartering with these yet? They're small, portable, easily recognizable... All they need is some kinda market value, right?"

He shook his head. "The Goat and the rest of the Pit made me lose track of the essentials, honestly. Money shouldn't have been implanted in the name of power or control - it should've been put in place for efficiency's sake. Heck, I started by wanting to recycle the unsalvageables in the Pit, then Belial up and suggests that I oughta turn everything and everyone in the Pit into a commodity! With the Goat nodding yes in my general direction, how was I supposed to say no?!"

He then looked at Aislinn. "Honestly, McConmara - you mortals can do so much better than what I'm a walking parody of. I've seen economists pull America out of the Great Depression by the skin of their teeth, to the point where I tried to railroad a couple off into Heaven! There's better out there than what I'm damning greedy young tykes with, and if only this country understood it doesn't mean veering off into a Stalinist dystopia, I guarantee you selkies wouldn't be having as much trouble with their shorelines' quality as they currently are. A lot of Theriomorphs take to natural sciences or oceanography and all that stuff I'm not an expert on - and it all deserves to be funded twice over!"

The Broker shrugged. "All I ever wanted to do was make the chips fall in people's favor. Game the odds for the cause."

* * *

"Oh, they already are," quietly mused Eirean, which left Titania to smirk knowingly and Oberon to smile more reservedly. He almost seemed to be envying the Lady, but had enough tact not to admit it. Still, he was pulled out of his tiny stab at melancholy by Vernon asking him if Frosthall had been seen to, whatever that meant. He blinked in response, and forced himself to return to more ordered thoughts. A brief look of focus lined his features and then relaxed.

"There," he said, "it's done. I needed to shift a few blocks around the Shivering Quarter, but I've brought Frosthall back in line with Hope's section of Faerie. I'd stop by Holden Hall and at least give a heads-up to the old Clank and his colleagues: chances are you'll want to be sharing the same delivery or moving address in the immediate. You'll also both need to help them chart out which broom closets or office doors turned into Gates they can toggle. The last time a Winter Lord occupied the premises, Zebediah Buck disappeared from the mortal plane for two months Earth-time and two weeks Faerie-time. One drunken bender too many and a visit at what was a museum back then was all we needed to need to separate both manors to avoid more serious incidents."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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"Your heart's been in the right place most of the time, but the likes of Belial and the Goat saw fit to take advantage of your abilities for their own purposes," Abdiel said. "The Princes have felt so slighted by humans they want to use them rather than seeing they're just like them. Granted, we angels have the same dilemma. After the Fall, I've seen my brethren overuse and abuse Celestial fire in some self-deluded vision of what they think the Creator wants. It likely sounds like a cliche to you, but we're all Their creation. It's just that we've stopped listening much and end up doing our own thing to point of tuning Them out. It seems sappy, but God's only wanted for us to care for each other. However, if They're not acting like some hovering parent, we act like we've been neglected in favor of the mortals. However, God's tried to value our independence as much as They have the mortals', and that's where all of this strife and confusion started from.."

Aislinn considered Melmoth's words and replied, "Once this whole mess blows over, why don't you divert some of your funds toward such causes? It looks like Heaven and Hell are going to be in for an enormous transition, and some of your previous jobs are going to be changing or shifting somehow. With the planar merger, we're going to need as much help as we can get to keep things balanced."

Abdiel nodded approvingly and smiled, "I think she has a point. Your days of kowtowing to the Goat, Belial, and Mammon are coming to a close, and your focus can be geared more toward what you've wanted to deal with this whole time."

*~*~*

At the mention of Zebediah Buck, Meris shook her head and sighed. "Having the access points to Faerie be more secure is also important, especially in the Bucks' case. Even with Tom Magnus curtailing Eliphas Buck's curse, his brother's still a vulnerability. We don't need someone like Mab dipping her fingers into what's already a tangled mess, with him traipsing about Faerie. What with their blasted cultist of an ancestor, Nikolaas Buck is enough of a risk to cause trouble."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Melmoth's look made his approval of Abdiel's posture rather obvious. "I get that!" he said, "I Fell because the Host rejected my early research into bartering systems, all because a few nitwits figured people like her," he said, gesturing at Aislinn, "would end up corrupted if they learned to attach monetary values to things! They thought Greed had never been a concept before Mammon and I came along, but animals dick themselves over for the sake of survival all the time! The Fiends and Princes never did invent those sins we carry; we took 'em from the mortals 'cause they'd be useful material for us! Worship fuel, more or less!"

He shook his head. "Even then, I only ever thought of worship as the Deluxe package for summons; I never actually needed followers to futz around with the world's burgeoning market bases! It was the Goat who pushed me into bastardizing Economics with the Dark Arts - or vice versa, it's one heck of a shit-show - the only mistake I didn't consciously make and needed time to regret was teaming up with the asshat for the sake of surviving, down there!"

The Broker pulled on his cigar. "If being John Maynard Keynes before Keynes had been enough to not eat Brimstone for lunch, I wouldn't have corrupted a single soul. Ever. If anything, ol' Bleatface made a mistake in depowering me whenever I'd mess up - being stuck up here taught me empathy! How the Hell am I supposed to put some convictions in my evil laughs now, huh?!"

Melmoth then considered Aislinn's words. "Honestly, if Abbie's gift here really does give me a leg-up, I'll need to use most of that power just to keep you and as many others as I can, safe. Economics might be my thing, but I know what happens when greater systems fall. The planar merger might actually only last a coupla seconds, but we'll be in for months, if not years of looting, infighting, raids and social unrest in those regions where planes do directly overlap. The National Guard here is officially fucked and they don't know it; the Army's officially fucked and they don't know it - even your friends at the Hall won't be enough. It won't just be Pitspawn horsing around, either - you're gonna have to deal with every two-bit Cherub, every two-faced Fae, every yellow-bellied mundane opportunist out there, all trying to tear a piece of the world that'll have just been cracked open like a walnut. Regular doomsday cultists from here to frickin' Montana, the tentacly kind adjusting their soapbox for the most recent calamity, the Dixie Fae tossing their hat in..."

He then shrugged. "I mean, I dunno about you, but shoreline conservation can kinda wait. I got mortal friends for once in a long time and by gum, I'm not letting you bite the big one!"

That seemed to cheer up Tom to some degree. "So how does the infusion go? I'm guessing it's a lot less involved than Hieros Gamos."

Melmoth snorted and rolled his eyes. "Thank fuck, too. I'm not quite so freed from my past misdeeds that I can just pick Hugh Jackman or Chris Hemsworth as my body of choice. That, and my stupid mojo tends to attract the exact wrong type of girl, when it does get going. I'm supposed to milk it for all it's worth, you know - be a demonic degenerate and whatnot. I gave it a fair shot for a century or two, but shallow is as shallow gets, you know?"

The Broker smirked. "My personal Hell is a room packed with pretty faces that all tune out whenever I start discussing microeconomics. I mean, the way some societies are run in the next galactic arm over? You wouldn't believe, honestly."

* * *

"Him," flatly noted Titania. "That maniac almost derailed our entire colonization plans for the area of Faerie that coincides with Rhode Island. We had to isolate ourselves from the mortals, instigate a culture of Exceptionalism that only ended up hurting Evergloam in the long-term, and consign the best of our Crones to the Anomaly; if only to keep it contained! It's a miracle Sophia's seed so much as took!"

Eir grimaced lightly. "I missed the worst of it all. The struggle years were cruel, from what I've heard. A single man's madness and another one's all-consuming spite, both of them being more than enough to almost completely damn an entire town. Even after official reparations were offered to the Wampanoag - a lot earlier than with New York and its own native pop - Samoset's curse just wouldn't let go."

Haskill nodded. "Yes, I've heard that the curse is one of the odder reasons as to why Hope's Native families are so thoroughly integrated. With both the villagers and colonists suffering from the shaman's killing blow to Nikolaas Buck's efforts as a cultist of the Void Weavers, there was no other choice for Green Island's villages but to thrive and join together into a single community."

George smirked grimly at that. "The Bucks have a saying. It isn't unique to their family in the least, but it uniquely coincided with their family's burdens as well as the community's, for several generations. Misery loves company. Without it, Crystal Lowell becoming Deputy Chief could very well have been a racial issue."

Benson shrugged. "Elysium kinda helped, too. S'hard to be a bigot to someone who maybe saved your ass. There's about a dozen small reasons as to why the Dixie Fae have to stick to guerilla tactics to gain any traction - riding the airwaves hasn't earned them any favors on the East Coast. Tolerance is hardcoded into Hope's DNA, now."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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At the mention of the Heiros Gamos and Mel's own past with shallow women, Abdiel's dark complexion thankfully hid a faint blush. "The ritual I have in mind doesn't have a precedent, as there's not many angels technically linking themselves to a demon. With what I have mind, it's essentially a blood oath. I'll use a lancet to cut on the palm of my hand and on Melmoth's. I'd then focus on giving him a bit of my power and allow my blood to merge with his. There may be some side effects, slightly similar to how you're already picking up some of Aislinn's mannerisms," she explained, pointing to Tom with her chin.

The Throne shrugged as she looked over at Melmoth. "I can only surmise that I might be able to sense your general vicinity or your state of being, as what I have in mind has the same logic behind how angels are assigned to certain mortals. You'd obviously have your independence, but you might get similar feelings or sensations from me."

*~*~*

Meris couldn't find it in herself to be light-hearted, as she knew the truth behind the vanished cultist. Her features had become weary as she eyed Titania. "That was a silver lining of the curse, yes. However, I'm afraid to say that Nikolaas Buck still lives, albeit not as a human. He's currently in my son's body, acting as one of Dalarath's Oracles. I don't know his current whereabouts, but you wouldn't recognize him if you saw his tentacled face. My actual son's soul was ousted by the Chamberlain and could be anywhere. As for the Anomaly, it's actually a brine pit that leads to Dalarath on the Buck property, while it mirrors what you call the Hole in Faerie."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Abdiel's observations made Tom look down on himself with a vaguely puzzled expression, which he also gave Aislinn, along with a shrug. He obviously hadn't noticed his borrowing a few tics here and there, but wasn't particularly worried, either.

"So long as I don't end up outclassing your own snark," he told her, "I'm fine with the rest of it all."

Still, Melmoth had understandably mundane reservations about what effectively was a blood pact. "Isn't that, y'know, kinda high school? You're a Throne, I'm one step removed from Mammon - I mean, I guess we could borrow a page from diabetics and just settle with pricking our thumbs or something. There's a mess of connotations associated to deeper self-inflicted wounds, and I'm not sure the Big Boss is too keen on his fire gal cutting herself up for some Infernal schmuck's benefit."

Tom clicked his tongue. 'Come on, Mel - Abdiel isn't talking about cutting a longitudinal slash along her forearm! Even if she were, Fire Incarnate can't just be snuffed out because of a self-inflicted slash. If it's the dramatics of it all that worry you, look at my right hand."

Tom extended both his palms, both of them showing the faded scars of Quint's earlier attempts at ritualized exsanguination. "These scars are close to a year old now, for the more recent ones, and I've cut myself for the sake of the portal downstairs, a few days ago. No fresh scars here - my controlling this body means I control every ounce of it; including cellular division. I get that big slashes wouldn't make for nice entrepreneurial handshakes, but you've got options mortal practitioners don't."

Melmoth sniffed. "Never had to do that before, Magnus. I've never been summoned for anything that'd require anyone to use some of my blood."

The warthog shrugged. "Doesn't matter. Get this done, and if the resulting scar ends up looking too grody for you even with Abdiel's skill with sterilization and cauterization, I'll show you how to put that obese hock of meat of yours to good use."

The Broker gave the Infernalist a look. "Y'ever had to go Wolverine or, y'know, Deadpool or something?"

That, however, got the warthog to scoff. "Any piece of hardware comes with a warranty, Melmoth. Blow it and you're risking severe damage to your vessel of choice, or at least to your social respectability. The world still doesn't look kindly on zombies like you or me, even if we don't stink and even if we keep basic homeostasis going. Sometimes, however, overclocking a few things can come in handy. You've probably done it before without realizing it."

Melmoth blinked. "I thought my bodies being night owls was just part of my lucky mojo...
- Probably not, no," replied the anthro with a chuckle. "Aislinn hasn't been saddled with that yet, but we sometimes have the same problems as Clanks. Iram seriously got to me, I could forget basic upkeep for weeks at a time. We can forget to eat, forget to sleep, basically shut off anything that's not immediately crucial - and the next thing you know, your fingertips are going necrotic and your significant other says something smells rank. Going on without sleep is risky, even for us - but healing faster is a definite plus as long as you keep your cellular differentiations clean. You want new muscles, tendons, bones, skin or nerves; not cancerous growths."

The Broker blinked. "Sounds complex.
- It sort of is," admitted the warthog, "but that's for later. Abdiel's thingy somes first. The other Fiends just don't use that because they never need to. Possessed bodies are usually worn out, broken. Even the Goat doesn't give enough of a damn to figure out how to manage basic upkeep on Ephesian's body. I've had to figure that out for myself, seeing as changing bodies isn't always a possibility."

Melmoth gave Abdiel a side-eye. "Did he just seriously refer to a rule-changing and precedent-setting procedure as a thingy, Abdiel? I think success is getting to him."

* * *

Concern gave way to dismayed empathy on Titania's side, and to a colder, more calculating posture in Oberon.

"Honestly," said the Queen, "we've yet to start a royal bloodline of our own, but this startling admission hits me at my core. To lose one's child in such circumstances, and to keep going as you have..."

The Queen channelled her pain and leaned forward, placing a hand on Meris' knee as they sat. "You have offered a boon to the Lord and Lady; now I would offer one in return. Think long and hard, my friend," she told the Archmage, "then name your price. This would be an Oath without reparation, a debt freed of all obligations of repayment. If you will not allow me to help you as such, then allow me to help your family, once you will have recovered poor Nereus."

Oberon frowned slightly. "Dearest, Meris' loss occurred centuries ago and she's made progress of her own. I highly doubt-
- Husband," replied the Queen, her tone as glacial as if Winter had been hers. An actual cold chill traversed the room, Eir slightly pressing closer to Vernon in response.

Seeing that, Oberon lifted his hand in allowance. "Fair is fair - I was just trying to be the conscientious objector, here. Our friend is standing on the brink of severe sociopolitical changes that could affect the entire globe; I'm just trying to keep the rest of the world in mind - including our holdings. Any place that houses both one of these blasted brine pools and one of our Crones' shacks would naturally shape out to be of some significance. The Buck property is proof enough."
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Meris' eyes widened slightly at Titania's offered, and she appeared rather uncertain and shook her head. "Thank you for the offer, I don't know what I could ask for, Jane. We've made enough strides lately that gives us something of an edge. It doesn't make us invincible, but we've got a fighting chance, at least. However, when we are able to free Nereus from Chambers, we may be in need then."

*~*~*

"Or more like the tendency of practitioners to not be overly dramatic with serious matters but slightly cheeky. It makes rough times easier to handle if you approach it with humor," Abdiel answered.

"As for its seeming juvenile nature, there are only so many methods of forging bonds. Sex is the most intimate, but a blood oath is distinctively primal. After all, I'm giving you just a bit of the Primordial Fires; blood serves as a good conduit, due to its own primal nature. It'll be a small incision along the palm, not a gash. I can clean it easily enough, so it won't become infected."

Abdiel glanced at the warthog. "I don't typically carry lancets on me. Do you have any I could use?" she inquired.
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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"I'll be waiting," opined the Queen. "Beyond my duties, I've always looked for means to better the lives of those I associate with. Langdon usually is the more confrontational of the both of us."

That left Miles to shrug. "What can I say? I love a good scrap from time to time, and there's been instances where being intentionally obtuse or negative allowed me to see past someone else's rhetorical armor. It's a prudent measure, especially considering what the Shadow Wars put us through. I wasn't distant or glacial because I didn't trust you, Meris, I was distant because I didn't know your measure. With what you've told us about your son, I'm fairly confident your own operation isn't compromised.
- It does lead to occasional instances of courtroom tension," amended the Queen, as though the King's more tactical mindset had occasionally soured a few events.

Titania then frowned slightly. "On another level, we've noticed that several of our subjects in the mortal plane are receiving some sort of bulk pirated signal in place of their usual televised advertisement content. Something regarding a Marius Vlastos..."

Nybbas shrugged. "The issue seems to have resolved itself on our end of things; the Alexandrian's been rather quiet, of late. Our archivist would have alerted us to any severe developments - the latest one seems to involve his Norwegian geothermal assets being taken out of commission by the Goat's forces, approximatively two weeks from now. It isn't often that a mutual enemy manages to do something to keep the peace, but Vlastos' endeavors are likely to become untenable in short order."

The Queen frowned. "Why would the Goat ally with you?
- He wouldn't," corrected Naberius, "Vlastos' planned events are simply one Armageddon too many. Just as the Goat intends to turn the Earth into an advance post for Hell, Heaven intends to station garrisons here once the planar barriers will have shifted. A lone Egyptian vampire's suicidal ideations would simply stand in the way. If the Knights of Pride don't overrun the power plant, then Gabriel's men will."

* * *

Tom grimaced lightly. "I've got these old chestnuts," he said, lifting one hand and shaking his lithe fingers and elongated fingernails. "All I've ever needed is a manicure every week and a decent hand-washing routine. Past that, erm..."

He started rummaging around. "Raguel left a few things, said he'd pick them up after his first shift - I was about to use them to inaugurate the club's own Lost and Found bin..."

Followed a few clattering noises as Tom ducked below the bar, grumbling at the sight of a few other glasses and bottles he hadn't realized had shattered. Another grunt came, in response to Quint's neglected back popping, and Tom then lifted a gray plastic bin onto the bar. Inside were what angels might consider to be knickknacks, but that would've passed for minor artifacts here on Earth.

"Let's see," he said. "There's a Swiss Army knife; never seen one radiating with Celestial power before - and I've got a ring that slipped off of Raguel's finger while he tried the club's uniform on for size. There's Amenadiel's big dagger - that's far too much compared to what you're looking to do... Huh. There's what looks like an angelic MP3 player - Raguel's still in the early 2000s, looks like..."

He stopped and selected a small object. "Right, Neasa probably accidentally transfigured this from Pride without noticing, it stuck to the underside of her shoe or something - the Goat's archives are surprisingly messy..."

What he briefly held up looked like your average staple, the kind of which you would've found in any stapler on Earth, but was made out of Hell's blackened steel and radiated with a fairly comical amount of malevolence. "The Staple of Doom," joked Tom, who then dropped it in the trash.
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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Meris nodded. "It's not so much "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" as it is you have similar obstacles to remove, as Naberius pointed out. However, life has a funny way of changing things up, such as the case of Horatio Grimley. He's a former Prelate the Freaks in Hope turned, one that originally wanted to kill me. As daft or irritating as he might seem, he's an efficient ally," she noted.

*~*~*

Abdiel pouted thoughtfully. "While the Swiss Army knife would work, I don't want to make a cut with it because of the amount of Celestial power tied to it. It'd cause you pain that I don't want you to feel," she said to Melmoth, then interrupted by her train of thought by Aislinn.

"I don't have a lancet, but I do have a metal nail file upstairs. I'll go get it," Aislinn stated, disappearing quickly up a flight of stairs that was tucked away in a corner of the room. She returned some minutes later with it in hand.

"Thank you," the Throne responded, as she inspected it. "It'll do for what we need," she stated, sterilizing it with a heated wave of her hand.

She looked over at the Broker. "Do you have any questions or concerns, before we do this?"
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Re: Chapter IV - Earthly Delights

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"I'm not much of a fighter," noted the Broker, "so blood kinda freaks me out a little. I dunno if you have to pronounce certain words for this or not, but if you don't, just stick to small talk, alright?"

He lightly rolled his eyes. "I had to give in and get a GP for the body, a few weeks after first popping in here. I ended up giving the nurse a rundown of Wall Street's dynamics while looking out the window. Think she said something about my blood looking like congealed pork grease - I thought No shit, Sherlock, I'm dead!"

The Broker stood up, removed his jacket and rolled up his right sleeve, more to avoid blood spilling onto it than to facilitate things for Abdiel, since only his palm would be cut open. The process allowed him to display how, for his unmistakable belly, he still had somewhat reasonably toned arms - a bit like a boxer who would've turned to day trading without entirely hanging up the punching bag. Granted, if he hadn't been pushing his real appearance over his posessed mortal shell, he would've looked noticeably older - and flabbier.

* * *

That description made Oberon quirk an eyebrow. "That reminds me of Mister Kramp, to a degree. He's noisy, impossible to miss in a crowd, but he's the best shock trooper Brightest Winter's ever had."

This was apparently news to Nybbas. "The Krampus is real? I thought he was a purely folkloric invention.
- He's as real as can be," noted Langdon. "One of my predecessors was targeted by an Infernalist who sent a non-corporeal demon after him, to avenge some slight even our annals don't keep a record of. That older Oberon fought him off, then grabbed Herne's helmet and corporeally transitioned into the Pit. He supposedly yanked the demon back into Faerie and into the flesh. Add a few years of persistent taming efforts followed by the demon being thrown into the Hearth, and you end up with Kramp."

Oberon shrugged. "He still loves dispensing pain - he relishes in it, actually - but only if it's deserved. The rest of the time, his constant efforts to aggravate those people who are unfortunate enough to work with him are doled out to expose their real tempers. Or so he tells me."

Something then made him think. "Your boon's proven inspirational to me, love. I'd like to put the Krampus in Meris' care, to integrate the Warlock's efforts."

That left Titania scoffing. "After his last drunken binge in Auckland? You know he's still barred from entry into New Zealand, do you?
- I'm the King," lightly replied Oberon. "Extranational policies don't have to affect my judgment.
- But we do have a standing to maintain," the Queen retorted. "We can't simply send your Black Ops fixer wherever you please."

Oberon gave his wife a wry smile. "If only you knew, love... The fact is, yes, we can. We will, in fact. The Lord and Lady will welcome someone of his fierceness on the battlefield, once the first Hell portals open."

Eirean looked dubious. "With all due respect, Your Highness, Kramp is a high-functioning sociopath who sticks to social expectations as long as he isn't given a target or a plaything. Past that, he's the Terminator with bad jokes.
- We might actually need that sort of attitude," amended Vernon. "We don't know what sort of men these Knights of Pride are, or their size or capabilities."

Spector gave Meris an amused smirk. "Care to break the tie?"
Locked