With the plundered goods secured, Amdirlain recalled the approach to Qcppxtýpcd glimpsed in the Hymadan’s memory. When a scrying spell confirmed its accuracy, Greater Teleport delivered her easily. Teleport placed her at a small archway near the cavern’s ceiling with Ternòx’s tunnels behind her and a massive open space ahead. The weeks she had expected to spend travelling bypassed with the right information. A glimpse of the city showed its origin as a cavern turned into an open pit mine. Each descending terrace showed a distinct style of construction, growing more elaborate as they descended towards the central pit.p
In the pit’s centre stood an irregular, windowless skyscraper. Its walls were carved in the semblance of humanoids packed tight together, hands grasping each other as they desperately fought to support those above. The nearest side of its irregular formation was over a dozen kilometres away. That side a few hundred metres long and rising nearly to the roof. The roof arched to it then back down kilometres beyond in a natural curve. Close examination with True Sight showed Amdirlain where Mana had changed the stone to ensure it stayed in place. Bindings that held them in place were empowered with links to the Plane’s energy. The staircase linked with the main trade passage before it turned into the city’s docks.
Even from this distance, the platforms showed wear and tear from masses of cargo having crossed them. Only at docks far around the city’s outer ring were any caravans present. The undead behemoths she’d travelled on before weren’t the only transports in sight, they mixed in with equally massive multi-wheeled metallic constructs that were a steampunk wet dream; pistons and drive shafts gleamed among giant spurs of enchanted bone. Their shielded cores were burning with arcane flames that she recognised as originating from Efreetis’ hearts.
As her first sweep over the city had confirmed, no spatial paths were present. Amdirlain carefully re-checked the city’s tiers, memorising paths, wards, and buildings. Buildings barely more than stacks of rough stone blocks made up the city’s outer ring, but the roughness of construction didn’t last long beyond the edge of the first tier. The wards that sat around the city began blending in with those set into individual buildings as stone became decorated in precious metals and gemstones alike.
In the deeper tiers a treasure trove of materials precious to Mortals were being used as commonly as some might use paint. True Demonic opulence showed its face in the inner depths, with imprisoned Souls screaming their distress as their forms pressed against barriers of transparent Enchantment. They didn’t earn her sympathy though as True Sight showed their nature. Souls naturally drawn to the Abyss were caught like flies in amber by Enchantment before the Abyss could begin their transformation.
A mockery of a playground among the richer districts held impaled, doomed Souls birthing fragments into a blood-soaked muddy pit that formed into Dretch. Around the edges, Demonic offspring looked on and threw rocks. The sight of a group of young hags hexing a birthing Dretch into destruction earned a raised eyebrow, and Amdirlain had seen enough.
Two mutated Hyenadons on steroids near the closest trade gate seemed simple guard animals at first glance. However, the sharpness of their reactions, when she began her deliberately slow descent betrayed them. Analysis quickly provided her the full details on the strangely mutated beings making the intelligence in their gaze make a lot more sense.
[Species: Least Shoosuvas
Class: Fighter
Level: 4 / 27
Health: 3,042
Defence: 131
Melee Attack Power: 86
Combat Skills: Bite [Ad] (50), Claw [Ad] (50), Sting [Ad](50) - Various Innate Powers
Details: A member of a pack bonded to Lobuqili, they follow his orders without question. Shoosuva were first created by the Demon Lord Yeenoghu, prior to his destruction in the War of the Four. After his destruction, the Abyss’ 422nd plane, previously called Yeenoghu’s Realm was renamed Fool’s Paradise. All attempts by other Demon Lords to change that name have met with failure. Even without their original creator’s influence, Shoosuva continued to spawn from the Souls drawn to that Plane.
]
The Shoosuvas were each nearly two metres high at the shoulder and five from their chests to haunches; their long tail straightened would more than double that. The barb at its end by itself was longer than her forearm and dripped a murky fluid as they shifted to face her direction.
“Succubus, you were a long time watching.”
The Shoosuva’s growling words bit off the Abyssal tongue, but before she could reply the other spoke up.
“Halt there. You have familiar scents and blood on you.”
As the second growled out its instruction, the first focused intently on her and its nostrils twitched. A few snapped growls calling for the Commander caused hyena-faced Hymadan guards to appear at the parapets. It was only when a lightly armoured Hümsi called down for her to explain herself that she spoke again. Instead of the heavy armour that Hümsi always seemed to wear, he wore only dark brown leather armour. Despite its light look, True Sight showed the solid enchantments woven within the armour that made it far more protective than even chain mail and greaves. His red features were almost human but possessed an unhealthy cadaver hollowness about them. His human-like irises were a cold blue set in yellow orbs. While his mouth at first appeared his best feature, when he spoke, generous lips parted to show a nest of sharp points.
“I found a dead patrol with ichor on their weapons and gear. It matched what I’d seen from spider things I’ve fought before. I believe they’re called Nox Hunters or something close,” stated Amdirlain, as Analysis provided her details on their Commander.
[Name: Lobuqili
Species: Hümsi
Class: Spellblade / Scout Preceptor
Level: 3 / 23 / 23
Health: 9,944
Magic: 154
Mana: 55,800
Defence: 934
Melee Attack Power: 597
Combat Skills: Crossbow [M] (12), Long Blade [M] (72), Short Blades [M] (23) - Various Spells Lists - Affinities: All Tier 1, 2, 3, Abyssal, & Destruction.
Details: The ruling council of Qcppxtýpcd pays Lobuqili a good retainer to ensure he doesn’t cause trouble and is available for lucrative bounties. He left Lord Qjiadlóv’s service after being skipped for promotion due to defeating battalions of Set’s forces. Knowing his superiors had become wary of his ambitions he brought his command with him into the city’s service. Spellblade Prestige Class is gained from combining Fighter and Wizard at level 70. Scout Preceptor Prestige Class is gained from combining Scout and Commander at level 70.
]
“The whole patrol is dead?” asked Lobuqili.
“I thought your patrols would be larger. I only saw twenty-four bodies, including a big Skëll,” offered Amdirlain, her tone casually factual.
The next question didn’t follow quickly, and as Lobuqili’s hand stroked across his chin, the other guards glanced between themselves.
“Where were the Patrol’s remains?” Lobuqili asked, the guards relaxing as he spoke.
“Only a few cycles in from Hrz’Styrn’s Portal. A Teleport past dangerous roads is safer, but I wasn’t sure how accurately I could Teleport here. After examining their bodies, I risked a Teleport based on an image I’d seen,” Amdirlain said, and as the guards exchanged wary glances continued on. “They looked like they’d barely readied weapons before being ripped apart.”
“Its words smell true, Commander. Your decision?”
At the growling words from the first Shoosuva, the guards relaxed further but still kept a sharp eye on her.
“Reason for coming to Qcppxtýpcd?” enquired Lobuqili, not responding to the question.
“Trade, of course, Commander,” purred Amdirlain, as she began trailing fingertips from her throat to waist in a blatantly alluring gesture.
“You will provide an imprint,” declared Lobuqili, his gaze following her motion.
“Normally, I don’t show all my tricks at once, but very well, since I understand your concerns,” Amdirlain said, nodding respectfully.
“Come to the door’s grill; you’ll provide an imprint before you get in the door,” Lobuqili ordered, gesturing to a Quasit hovering further back before disappearing from the gate’s ramparts.
As she made adjustments to her Profile’s defaults, she followed their instruction and moved to the grill in the postern gate. The Quasit was there with a familiar-looking gem clutched in its paw. They held their Empowered Dusk Emerald so she could only touch it with a finger through the grill. With no glow of Mana present, Amdirlain had no hesitation in providing her adjusted imprint. It reacted as easily to Abyssal Mana in her control as the other had to the heat her previous form possessed. As soon as the gem was glowing sullenly, the grill’s hatch snapped shut.
The door opened after a few minutes, to reveal a fortified room requiring her to ease between spikes to cross it. A Dretch guard there looked over her lustfully before waving her through, barking orders in stumbling words.
”Commander’s door, first on left, err right… door with the city’s symbol thing. Just find it. Any trouble, we get you.”
At its first mistake, the sound of laughter echoed down from an area above. As the braying noises sounded clearly through the murder holes, its last words came out in an angry snarl. The burly Demon clenched its fist in barely suppressed rage as its glare flicked between the holed ceiling and her. As the sound of laughter grew louder Amdirlain moved past the Dretch before it could blow her attempt at a peaceful entry.
The Commander’s door hadn’t even really needed directions. After passing a ladder leading up, she only found two doors, one of which had dangerous energies visible to any Demon coating it. The Commander’s room took up most of the gatehouse’s bottom floor and wasn’t Lobuqili’s room alone. Rows of desks sat empty before the upper dais, where he lounged behind a fancy desk with the Quasit perched on its surface. The Quasit sat on a parchment scroll, wielding a quill longer than its barbed tail, carved from a stone spine.
“Name: Jade. Lesser Succubus. Classes: Fighter, Dominator, Wizard, and Scout. A small collection of Powers, Skills, and Spells; level thirty-one in Dominator, level thirty in the others,” Lobuqili stated, with the Quasit quickly making notes. “Interesting you risk travelling this Plane alone and yet decided to Teleport based on a description.”
“Not a description, an image, though I didn’t know its accuracy or age. I’d seen no caravan coming this way near the Portal, nor the initial stretch of passage I travelled. I could have caught a lift otherwise. This isn’t my Home Plane, and when I examined the dead patrol, it was clear their deaths were recent,” responded Amdirlain, keeping a composed expression. “Isn’t it better to have some chance than none?”
“Did you pick up any gear from them?” asked Lobuqili, his curious tone at odds with an enquiry about pillaging a patrol.
“My Teleport only lets you carry so much. Though I’ll admit I grabbed some coins - they certainly had no need for them,” Amdirlain said, bouncing the full pouch she’d belted at her waist. “Besides them, the only thing of obvious value was a Siege Axe. No Lesser Succubus I know could lift, let alone Teleport it, unaided.”
Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.
“You said a patrol size of twenty-four. How many of those were Hümsi?”
“Three, most were Hymadan,” Amdirlain offered, keeping a professionally sharp smile firmly in place.
“The Siege Axe, anything unusual about it?” Lobuqili asked curiously, and the Quasit glanced between them before returning its focus to the scroll. The old man features on its tiny reptilian body, almost caricature-like with the size far out of portion to its bat-size form. Its tiny fingers seemed too small to control the spine that it was nimbly using as a quill. As she regarded it, the Quasit fluttered its wings and glared at her before returning to the scroll.
“Besides one blade alone being bigger than my torso,” said Amdirlain, and paused in apparent consideration. “It had a smell of lightning beneath the ichor, and someone enchanted it from the runes. I didn’t take the time to investigate its nature fully.”
“That’s enough to confirm which patrol it was,” stated Lobuqili. A nod to the Quasit had it scratch some final notations before placing the quill in a holder.
“Your imprint shows you’ve only recently Ascended; I’d suggest the establishments in the third-tier district, a quarter cycle left from this gate.”
“Are those the ones you prefer to visit, Commander?” purred Amdirlain, tilting her head as she leant ever so slightly towards the desk.
“Perhaps,” Lobuqili replied, as subtle tic appeared along his jaw.
“Well, if it’s only perhaps, then perhaps I’ll keep that in mind,” replied Amdirlain, pausing before adding a final purred word. “Perhaps.”
“This shows your Home Plane as Culerzic,” stated Lobuqili, though she caught the same tic again.
“That’s odd, Commander. While I came from the cliff in Culerzic, I thought it would show Hrz’Styrn. I’ve spent some time in Ùeqräkas, and when I Ascended, that was where I emerged,” Amdirlain countered, wondering what his game was now.
“How did you escape the city’s destruction?” Lobuqili quickly asked before Amdirlain had time to investigate his thoughts.
“It’s destroyed?” blinked Amdirlain, genuine surprise slipping her control before quickly restoring her professional persona. “I’ve not been in its walls in over four thousand cycles. I’ve been on other Planes. When did this happen? How complete was the destruction?”
“They’ll be some time rebuilding; its crippled trade along that route. You may leave,” declared Lobuqili, motioning for her to leave the room. True Sight showing a reaction from the wards at his words.
The shock wave demolished it? Well fuck! Did the System claim experience for any Demons that died? It certainly didn’t give me any, bloody cheapskate thing. I’ve caused two massive explosions and it gave me nothing for either of them.
Pizda!
[Achievement: Used a new swear!
Reward: Expanding your vocabulary is a reward in itself! ]
Next time I talk to Laodice, I’m going to have a little chat with her about Titan’s system!
Bloody smart arse rounding down experience thief!
As she paused, Lobuqili gestured again for her to leave.
[Acting [M] (1 ->2)]
The warded door let her out directly behind the secured trade gate. Amdirlain quickly set out towards the closest ramp into the city depths with an eye on the landmarks she noted from outside. Aware of the pouch at her waist, but with no way to explain its disappearance if the Commander had someone following, she continued on. The only precaution she could take was to remove the pouch from her belt and loop its ties around her neck. There might well be thieves that could take it from her without her even noticing. She could only hope it swaying between her breasts didn’t provide some sign she was looking for customers.
Labourers, mostly weaker Demons such as Dretch, moving along the road with her paid her little heed. When she reached the ramp’s base she turned right instead of left. The ramp down to the next tier was further that way, but best to avoid getting near the entertainment district Lobuqili had recommended. As she moved along, she kept a sharp eye out for various shops of interest and noted the restrictive flight paths of Demons airborne over the city. The way every flyer kept themselves exceptionally close to the rooftops inclined her to learn more before risking flight here. Snippets of intent caught from their minds showed no reason for the pattern other than staying low. The bloated fly like Chasme made up the greatest number, but there were Quasit, light armoured Succubi, and some Alu-Demons among them as well. While the Alu-Demon were beautiful compared to their male counterparts: seeing Mortal Souls stuck in the bodies of half-Demons wasn’t pleasant.
----------------------------------------
The purse around her neck vanished on the city’s third tier; when quickly ducking through a marketplace, she drew it into Inventory while concealed among the crowds. Exploring the city provided her with a few locations she needed, including mercenary halls and bounty hunter notice boards. Given what her plans needed, the loot she had was unlikely to be enough.
Telepathy nudging thoughts within minds got her surer answers than risking questions. Glimpses of memories invoked amid the emotion-inflamed minds guided her to a fifth-tier region where the buildings gradually gained elaborate trimmings. After a loop along some of the main roads, she found a shop of particular interest, Abyssal runes showing that Wizard, Alchemist, and Artificer services were available. However, its range of services wasn’t what attracted Amdirlain the most, rather it was the structure of the wards so unlike any others she’d seen in the city.
Instead of brute force resistance, they set the wards to redirect energy into the street—with the security measures attuned to specific individuals rather than the weakness of any key. After watching the shop, it was clear the wards included anti-theft measures, with the way their energy ran through the belongings of those exiting. As the gazes of locals lingered on her more frequently while she continued to monitor the store, Amdirlain headed for the door.
The U-shaped counter started at the front wall and looped around without a break. Their maker had anchored the wards inside it, using its physical shape to provide conceptual reinforcement to the redirection. Inside precisely set layers of spell formations entwined with the physical construction, the interaction between concept and reality set up a continual feedback loop that shone with accumulated power.
Behind the counter, a scantily clad red-headed and amber-skinned Succubus wore dental floss shaped into a bikini-like outfit similar to what she’d first seen Klipyl wearing. Overtop, she wore a shop apron made of thin leather straps set to emphasis rather than cover anything. The pockets that generally sat at mid-thigh were against her midsection and digging a hand into any would be an act of erotic contortion, especially with the apron’s neckline folded down to act as a shelf showcasing her breasts to customers. Fortunately for her, a Demon’s flesh didn’t need back support for her generous E-cup.
It seemed sex didn’t just sell, instead it screamed buy! The outfit wasn’t as surprising as what Analysis revealed.
[Name: Lorrella
Species: Noble Succubus
Class: Wizard / Artificer / Arcane Smith / Alchemist
Level: 75 / 68 / 68 / 72 / 69
Health: 9,700
Magic: 447
Mana: 354,228
Defence: 534
Melee Attack Power: 210
Combat Skills: Bite [M] (1), Claws [M] (2), Tail Strike [Ad] (3). Multiple Spell Lists - Affinities: Fire, Earth, Magma, Light, Metal, Spatial, Infernal & Order.
Details: The offspring of a noble from the Feywild and a Succubus of Lillith’s lineage. Lorrella is too wild for Hell and too unnatural for her father’s people. She ventured to the Abyss as an act of rebellion against Hell’s regulations, and though able to draw on Order, prefers the freedoms the Abyss offers.
]
Seventy-Fifth level, so she remains a Devil rather than a Demon?
Even as the information presented itself, Amdirlain took in the contours of her black wings, sporting only a single clawed thumb. Vivid red hair styled up taller than a beehive, but the end of it spilled down past her shoulders. As the door opened, she looked up in greeting, vibrant green eyes grabbed for attention in her fey features. Her eyes, an ocean of green irises dotted by multiple pupils, had only a sliver of white surrounding them. The eyes themselves were already four or five times larger than a Human’s, making her small, delicate nose appear positively tiny in comparison. Her broad mouth stretched out in a smile that showed too many fine small teeth, gleaming white in the shop’s light. At once exotically Human and alien, she was unlike any Succubus Amdirlain had seen.
“Like what you see? You’re all dressed up, no fair, we should fix that later,” pouted Lorrella sulkily, though her pause didn’t last long before a flood of excited words spilled forth. “Come in and close the door. What can I help you with today? Potions? Spells? Golems? Something else? Foot massages? Ear rubs? Wild primal sex? Once you go fey, you don’t… well, can’t go back.”
The rush of words came with a pressure that Amdirlain let ebb past and stayed unaffected.
“You are very different,” Amdirlain stated cautiously.
“Indeed, but so are you. You’ll be fun, I’m sure,” squealed Lorrella, her eyes widened even as lips curled in a smile. “You really should close the door. There are lots of ears, eyes, and claws around here, plus more than a few teeth and odd appendages.”
At her last words, Lorrella gave a delighted shudder and squeaked.
“I have some things I’d like to sell and potentially buy,” Amdirlain offered warily.
“Customer it is then,” Lorrella said, nodding happily and almost bounced in place. “Good that you declared your purpose, so much better manners than many. Again close the door; we don’t need our business heard on the street. Well, I don’t! You might enjoy spreading things in public for all I know.”
Though True Sight revealed nothing further concealed on the door Amdirlain still closed it gingerly.
“That will keep the gossips at bay, though I’ve said enough to let them run their mouths,” Lorrella said, her words picking up pace as she continued. Moving along the counter, she waved at the front wall, and a table appeared in the middle of the U shape even as the door locked.
“I think that’s why Demons have mouths so big - so they can talk your ear off when biting doesn’t work. Place the goods for sale on the table please, and I’ll assess them. I’ll give a price for the lot. I do not haggle, attempt haggling, and I’ll never speak to you again. That’s your only warning.” Lorrella’s words rattled across Amdirlain, as she pulled the first minor item from Inventory. “Well, don’t just stand there, spread ‘em for me.”
As Amdirlain set items on the table, the space expanded to provide more room to work. Having set all the minor items out on the table, she added the Siege Axe and Lorrella sighed ecstatically.
“Oh, goodie, so much yumminess in that alone,” Lorrella squealed and clapped excitedly before she reached beneath the counter and set stacks of coins on top. With a second glance at the axe, she added some more stacks of obsidian coins.
“I need thirty-five large ingots of alchemical silver,” Amdirlain stated, and Lorrella’s gaze widened with interest.
“That would take at least twelve cycles. You won’t have much leftover, and possibly be looking at a lot more. Certain materials, especially for construction, have gone way up.” cautioned Lorrella, waving her hands upwards dramatically.
“Do you have a list of materials most in demand?” enquired Amdirlain, keeping a careful watch on Lorrella’s every motion as she stepped around the table.
“Only if you sell them through me,” retorted Lorrella, her open-mouthed smile revealing a glimpse of a second row of teeth. This close, it was clear the rows of small incisors lacked eye teeth, and though they looked sized for a toddler, were razor sharp.
“Depends on what sort of percentage you want. I’m sure I can find others that need things gathered,” countered Amdirlain flatly.
“Oh yes, yes, but they’re all ugly. I’m sure you’d rather come and ogle me as you are now,” Lorrella said with a bright laugh. “I’ll give you thirty per cent of the item’s market value, and you cover processing costs.”
“That’s not worth my time and you said no haggling,” declared Amdirlain, turning to go.
“That’s haggling on a price for product, we’re arranging terms for a Deal,” Lorrella corrected, and Amdirlain glanced back. “The price I pay will depend on that day’s market price. Never tell me what things are worth, you hear?”
“In that case I’d need eighty per cent, and you cover the processing.” countered Amdirlain firmly, folding her arms and not budging as Lorrella leaned forward on the counter, gaze gleaming as her smile unsheathed its edge.
----------------------------------------
Much later in the cycle, Amdirlain finally left the shop with: an agreement, coins, a rough map, a list of items, and details regarding grottos to avoid. The names the locals used were enough to get Planar Sense pointing her in the right direction. When she moved along an empty alley between streets, hair grew out to past her shoulder blades, braided and changed to a rich auburn hue. Likewise, deep brown hide armour replaced Dominator leathers in the style the local Succubi mercenaries favoured. The precautions taken as the shortest paths out of the city were via the docks and through that sector’s entertainment district.
Her precautions proved unnecessary as she didn’t glimpse the Commander or any troops from the trade gate. No one checked those exiting the docks’ entrance, but every crate coming into the city was magically, and occasionally, even physically searched. The docks were busy but not as hectic as the ones that used to exist in Ùeqräkas. A Demon in the shape of a flame shrouded man nearly five metres tall directed the workforce. Every motion from it making something scurry away from the shadows cast by its flames.
[Name: Thunela
Species: Narauk
Class: Juggernaut / Demonic Overseer
Level: 12 / 43 / 48
Health: 12,644
Mana: 1,728
Magic: 327
Defence: 594
Melee Attack Power: 674
Combat Skills: Great Sword [M](3), Claws [M] (5) - Various Innate Powers, Innate Fire Law Spell List - Affinities: Fire & Abyssal
Details: Spawned from the volcanic pits on Furnace, the 373rd layer of the Abyss, named by the imaginative locals. Thunela was recruited by the miner’s faction of Hrz’Styrn for extra combat support in Ternòx and other planes. He spends idle time bossing around weaker Demons for amusement. The Narauk are among the most powerful of the Fire Demon species.
]
Demons aren’t all spawned equally.
Analysis
[Juggernaut:
This base class is the epitome of raw physical destructive might and endurance. Usually unlocked by powerful creatures of a ruthless and violent nature, the physically strongest species from the lower planes, Dragons, and young cataclysmic rated entities on various planets. Such individuals have it during their earliest growth cycles before learning the value of other powers beyond might.]
The odour on the docks told of the rot she’d encountered previously from the undead transports, but it intermingled with heated steel and steam. While the energy from the Efreeti Heart’s inferno had been visible for kilometres, the pressure boilers tied to water Mana spells hadn’t been apparent till now. Despite the constructs being stationary at the docks, their pressure engines stayed in motion. Giant flywheels spun, pistons moving inside their superstructure, and only disengaged gears kept the multi-axle constructs stationary.
Patrols of Armanite circled the outer perimeter of the busy docks. The Demonic centaur-like species carried massive spears grasped in both hands, axes riding high on their backs. Instead of possessing Human torsos, theirs reminded her of grubs while their legs were reptilian with long claws, their natural armoured hide and shell protected further by Abyssal steel plates. The outermost patrols focused on the tunnels approaching the docks, while those that looped close watched the workers scurrying around the transports. When Amdirlain passed near a group, she kept a clear focus on a tunnel ahead, and they ignored her presence.
It was only once past the ward’s boundary that Teleport carried her inside the closest tunnel, and guided by Planar Sense’s song, she picked out a course. Once Telepathy was clear of minds, she removed her wings and ran, the memory of the Grotto’s Song lifting her mood after wading in Demonic minds. While going to the Grotto itself could be dangerous depending on the Coven’s plans, valuable materials could apparently be found close to it amid its outer reaches.