Damn, while we hadn't faced any other assassination attempts since the attack outside the library, the council of Electors weren't so lucky. The Keepers of Enma had made good on their threat to kill an elector a day until we were delivered to them. But with the sheer number of killings, the council's resolve was waning. Talking with Philip, it sounded like they weren't gonna turn us over (though there might've been a few who wanted to), but if the attacks continued, they might exile us and wash their hands of the situation.
Even worse, the Fossils were missing! Using my powers, I discovered the man in black showed up at the Occluded Rainbow Inn, acting like a normal customer, but then literally, with a snap of his fingers, he teleported them out of there for parts unknown. A quickly scryed for Liri, and she and her brother and father were tied to a large rock in the middle of an endless, nondescript, plain. I could tell that it was not on our plane of existence, and suspected they might've been in some infernal place.
My powers had increased recently, and I had learned to instantly teleport to places I'd been recently, as well as had more control over the gates I opened, being able to summon them quicker and keep them open longer. I was pretty sure I could get to Liri and free her and her family, but we had no idea what was waiting for us there. Surely they wouldn't just leave them there unguarded. Since I couldn't think straight, I deferred to the others for a plan. We dropped a note to the location of the Fossil's imprisonment, requesting a meeting in Endlebar.
We were expecting one of the three, but instead we were met by the two cuties who were working with Talpin. They offered to free the Fossils in exchange for our lives. Grey decided to make a counter-offer- he told them we and their masters need not be enemies. Sure, we'd been butting heads, but perhaps if we sat down and talked, we could mend fences and willingly join them once we knew their goals. They would have to let the Fossils go of course. Like I said, not having a plan of my own, I was willing to run with Grey's plan, though I could tell Cassie wasn't too keen on what Grey was selling. But I think she was also willing to run with it if it got us the Fossils back.
While the girls brought the counter-offer to their master, we came up with a plan. We would enlist Kaz's help. Moving the Kaz-gem cavern up closer to the surface, we would lead the two devil chicks there, and after I prevented them from being able to teleport out, Kaz would pull them into the gem and trap them, and we'd have hostages of our own to trade.
When next we met the erinyes, they told us their master was willing to hear our offer, and as a sign of good faith, we would take them to a “source of power” we had found and were tapping into. Curious, they followed us. They didn't come alone though. I blocked them from escaping, and we had to hold off a half dozen of those fiery, winged devil warriors as Kaz pulled the girls and us into the gem. Meanwhile, Trent worked on wresting control of the erinyes from whoever summoned them, which he managed to do. After we captured them but before Kaz could take us into the gem, some gates started to open up. I managed to block one from opening, but the hot one and the shadowy one showed up right as Kaz pulled us in.
Since they saw what happened, we knew they were starting to dig into the ground to find the gem and take it back. So, Grey, Cassie, and Trent went back out to tunnel out of the cavern and get away from our pursuers. Grey eventually got us to an underground river, and I teleported to Ward to open a gate big enough back to them to take the boat through.
After I did, we eventually dug our way out and flew away, managing to lose the three. Now that we were away and safe, the reality of the situation hit us. We had our own hostages, but they might not have been too pleased about the double cross. Fearing for Liri's life, I checked back up on them. Doak and Liri were still alive, but Bagram was missing. We suspected the worse. Cassie was pretty mad, and I was nervous.
We decided to interrogate the two chickies. They claimed they followed Veris' special lady friend, Anzja, because they were summoned and obligated to. We learned Anzja was the priestess of a unnamed deity, whom Cassie suspected was Kaz. Even though her control over them was broken by Trent, Anzja could just summon them back into her service, so we weren't letting them get out of the gem any time soon. we asked them what was up with the kidnapping of the redheads. They told a tale about a great and powerful devil who was slain in the past, and she bled into the rivers, her blood eventually making it was to the various ancestors of all those redheads. Apparently, the duchess and Anzja were planning a ritual to use their blood to summon that dead powerful devil and give her power to Veris. Given the fact that all these girls were red-heads, we suspected this devil was that Azranael chick Grey came across in his research when we were first looking into the kidnappings.
Given what happened to Bagram, we had to mount a rescue attempt. We sent another note through to where Doak and Liri were being held, requesting a meeting in Ume No Hama in three days. But this time we were only stalling. After I gated them to Ume No Hama, I took my leave. I told the others I was going to see Rego at his occult shop as there were resources there I could use to figure out how to get in and out of that hellish place Liri and her brother were being held. I was obtuse about it because time was getting short for Liri and I wasn't sure they'd be too pleased at what I was going to do and didn't want waste time arguing about it. In my studies in the occult shop, I had come across a summoning ritual for a named devil a while ago. What's good for the goose is good for the gander- Anzja wasn't the only ones who could put devils to use.
The problem was the cost. I'm sure the rest of the group would be concerned about what I had to pay. So after it was said and done and I got back to them, I told them I made a deal with Rego- he couldn't do the ritual since he wasn't devil blooded like me, but if I summoned the infernal creature, he would pay the cost and let me have one of the tasks. But even then it wasn't that simple. He had something he knew the creature would accept, but he didn't want to part with it without recompense. He wanted something more than the devil's task. There was an item in a warehouse in Endelbar he wanted. Rather than being protected by fancy wards or what have you, the security was in its obscurity. A jewel hidden amongst the mundane, as it were. Again, given the current progression of my abilities in space, it was no problem to quickly sneak in and teleport back with it.
So we did the ritual, and both he and I got something out of it. I didn't want to know we he got, but for me, they were able to determine the exact location were they were being held for me, and once I decided to go there (once we formulate a rescue plan) they would guide us safely through the plane to a location where I could open a gate back to Farne and escape.
So now all we need to do is formulate a plan, and we get in there quick, free them, and then get away from that area with utmost haste, and find a safe place to hole up while I gate us back.