Jorn Darkmane
The spectral figure listens to Jorn's story with great attentiveness, as well as what seems like great amusement...
Once the Chosen One is done recounting his paranormal troubles to the figure, it gazes off for a moment, placidly reflecting on the events described by its guest, before snapping back to attention.
"...Tricky stuff, that ritual magic." The spectral figure utters knowingly.
"Good news is, you were indeed totally, 100% successful in expelling the ghost from the home. The bad news, and reason behind your banishment circle's current unusual behavior is, you may have inadvertently agitated some of the lower planes' more powerful denizens in the process...
As you well know, the Underworld is a truly vast place, divided and ruled over by the ruthless and complex hierarchy of infernal generals, lords, princes, and so forth collectively known as ArchDemons. Now, what you may or may not know is that, when a practitioner of black magic such as yourself creates a ritual circle with which to banish an entity to the Underworld, what they are essentially doing is forming an agreement between themselves and the members of this demonic hierarchy; a promise to offer unto them a specific being to do with as they please, so long as they in turn ensure that the being offered never again returns to the plane from which it was banished. Pretty simple deal.
In your case, however, the improvised, mismatched, and—no offense—all-around substandard execution of this particular ritual made it less than perfectly clear to the demons what exactly it was you were offering, creating a situation of easy misunderstanding...and even easier exploitation.
As far as they're concerned, the agreement may not have been for a human soul at all; it could have been for demon, an animal, or any other type of entity one could possibly think of. And right now, they are using this ambiguity as an excuse to ask from you whatever kind of being their damnable hearts desire. The most unscrupulous part of this little kerfuffle, though, is that most of what they are asking for isn't anywhere near as valuable as what you've already delivered to them!
Even if you really hadn't upheld your end of the agreement, It is common knowledge to practically everyone who's ever so much as dabbled in the dark arts that human souls are a highly sought-after commodity in the lower planes. For them to try and coax more offerings out of you by acting as if you owe them something else is like expecting to be paid in silver and complaining when you receive gold instead." The spectral figure scoffs.
"Then again, I suppose it would be foolish to expect any better from beings who make their homes within the darkest realms of unending hatred and despair...
Anyhow, I'm sure I don't need to tell you that there's little hope of you being able to come up with an offering that will satisfy the wishes of each and every ArchDemon. Or that even if you did, there's a more than likely chance that they'd simply continue to act as if it weren't the right offering in order to get as much out of you as they possibly can. So, with that in mind, let's go over your options...
the most obvious thing to do would be to wait it out, and hope the ArchDemons eventually just give up & accept what they've been given. Unfortunately, demons can be very persistent creatures, so there's no telling how long that could take...and no guarantee their efforts won't become more aggressive the longer their demands are ignored.
Alternatively, if you wanted to be less passive about things, you could always go ahead and close their window of communication by breaking the ritual circle. Be warned though, with your banishment circle being as unstable as it is right now, such an action has just as much potential to make the whole situation catastrophically worse as it does to fix it without any further incident.
Finally, if you feel your negotiation skills are up to par, there is the option of privately contacting a single member of the hierarchy, in order to settle the terms of the agreement with them personally. That way, you would only have to worry about appeasing a single ArchDemon, as opposed to the whole horde of greedy helldwellers that now vex you and the family. If you'd like, I could even give you the true names of a couple of 'em, which should make getting in touch far less of a chore than they normally require it to be."
Sir Havel the Unyielding
The elder cannot help but briefly stare puzzled at the knight of stone; he appears almost as taken aback by the Chosen One's strange and sorrowful asseverations as he is by the unexpected show of remorse for the dead. Yet even so, the old bandit makes no attempt to resist Sir Havel, and in a fleeting moment of solemn fellowship, the two are able to share a small prayer for the encampment's lost & vanquished souls.
Pitifully, not a few seconds later, the elderly brigand suddenly succumbs to another bout of violent coughing and, no longer possessing the strength to stand on his own, falls helplessly to his knees. The two younger bandits rush to the elder's side to try and assist him back onto his feet, but he sternly refuses their aid, having already accepted the grim inevitability of his impending demise.
"If it is your wish to kill me for my sins, you are free to do so. But please, spare my sons..." the elder quietly utters, glancing to each of the young outlaws. "They will have already lost enough today...if nothing else, they should at least be allowed to keep their lives..."
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Topic: Slaves to DZA: God of Everything: Chapter I: The Chosen Ones: Day 2 (Read 93511 times)