“So, how is this going to work?” Oak asked. He was excited and overwhelmed by equal measure. This was probably the most important moment of his life.

“I will install the infernal engine to your soul and provide a tiny drop of my essence to serve as fuel. This will allow me to grant you some power, but your body can not handle too much at first,” Ashmedai said, and grinned devilishly. “It needs time to adapt and attune to the engine, or you will literally melt yourself.

“If you wish to grow in strength, your path is straightforward. You need souls to fuel your engine. In all the ways that matter, a Warlock keeps what he kills,” Ashmedai explained. “It should come as no surprise, though, that all souls are not made equal. A single human soul, for example, is worth the same amount as quite a lot of those flying centipedes you encountered, since they are meager creatures and they only have a nefesh, the lowest, animalistic part of a soul.

“Besides the nefesh, sentient beings also have a ruach, the middle soul which contains their moral virtues, and a neshamah, the higher soul which makes true intellect possible.”

“This might be a dumb question and I will accept your offer either way, but I must know. Will the infernal engine hurt the souls placed inside it?” Oak asked.

“That is not a foolish question. A less curious man would not bother himself with such details. It is to your credit that you do,” Ashmedai said and spent a moment gathering his thoughts. “Do not fear. A soul without a body can experience neither pain nor consciousness inside creation. There are some edge cases, but this is not one of them.”

Ashmedai produced a pipe, filled it with something that Oak did not recognize, lit it with the snap of his fingers, and continued speaking. “Just installing the engine will make you slightly faster, stronger, and tougher than you would otherwise be. The changes will happen gradually in the span of a week or two. In addition, I estimate that in their current condition, your body and soul can handle at most two or three boons before you melt into primordial goo.”

Oak nodded and leaned forward. “That seems simple enough, though I imagine it is, in truth, enormously complicated. What boons can you grant me? And what do you think I should pick?” he asked. “This probably does not come as a surprise, but I need something to either kill those centipedes or sneak myself and Geezer past them. I assume you have some suggestions?”

“As a matter of fact, I do,” Ashmadei replied and waved his hand. An image of a vast night sky filled to the brim with a tapestry of cosmic foliage was brought into being. Knotted branches glowing with sparks of power twisted around each other as they vanished into infinity. And right at the heart of the vision, stood a young tree without a single branch on its trunk. It was waiting for a boon to be grafted onto it. The vision kept expanding until it filled Oak’s sight completely.

“This is just a representation, but it works well enough for our purposes. Every spark you see is a boon or an addition to one,” Ashmedai said. A particular branch floated before Oak. “You can’t go wrong with the classics. The Branch of Flauros would give you an intuitive understanding of fire and the ability to cast it. More importantly, it is the first stepping stone you will need to cast hellfire in the future. That is not relevant at the moment, of course. If you attempted to cast hellfire at your current strength, you would burn your own soul into a crisp.”

“Definitely don’t want to do that,” Oak said.

“As your demon, I don’t recommend it,” Ashmedai said in a dry voice. “If you choose this branch, it will allow us to do a little trick, which will make dealing with the centipedes easier. When I insert the infernal engine and my essence, you will, for a brief time, be absolutely filled with demonic potential. If you act with haste, you could cast extremely impressive flames without burning yourself up. Just once, though.”

“And if I want to do something like that again, I would need to grow in strength and work myself up to it, I imagine?” Oak asked.

“Exactly. This would give you an offensive option and be an investment towards the future. The rest you should choose mostly by yourself. Experience has shown me that warlocks should choose boons that suit them, and who better to make that choice than yourself,” Ashmedai said and settled down to give Oak time to think.

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Oak pondered for a bit before voicing his thoughts. “Ma'aseh Merkavah is full of things that could kill me without breaking a sweat, isn't it?” he asked. “I am going to need something that lets me see or hear things coming before I stumble upon them. Especially since I definitely want to avoid using theurgy and entering the Waking Dream as much as possible. The Dream here must be filled with horrors.”

“It would be wise to leave theurgy as an absolute last resort, yes,” Ashmedai said. He tapped his chin with his fingers as he thought out loud: “What about the Branch of Amdusias? It would grant you sharp hearing and magical echolocation.” Seeing Oak’s look of incomprehension, he continued: “You know how bats fly in the woods in the dead of night and don’t run into trees or each other? It is kind of like seeing your environment through sound. Very useful, if unconventional.”

Oak shrugged his shoulders. “If you say so. It sounds like it could fit my needs. Is it going to be a problem if I run into really loud noises?” he asked.

Ashmedai waved him off. “Oh, I’m no third rate devil. You will be able to control the intensity so your eardrums don’t explode.”

“In that case, I will give it a try,” Oak said and leaned back in his chair. He still had a single power to choose. While he pondered, Ashmedai smoked his pipe and started showing off, blowing rings of smoke from his mouth. They circled the table and sometimes passed through each other.

Oak’s thoughts went back to what he knew best, and he thought of the war. Marching, raiding and waiting around for something to happen. One battle after another, sliding around in fields turned into mud, hacking men apart and holding the line. A memory rose to the forefront of him lying on a bedroll in his tent after a battle, twisting and turning with a fever, limbs weak and the spear wound in his thigh throbbing with pain. Maybe I have some wits after all, he thought.

Oak brought his focus back to the present. “I have made a decision. I am humble enough to admit that I won’t get through this without getting hurt. It only takes one mistake and I, for sure, will make a couple of those. I need something to keep me going or heal my injuries so my first blunder doesn't kill me,” he said.

Ahmedai shook his head and laughed. “A staggeringly mature choice, my boy. I approve. Healing is a very potent ability so you will not get far with a single boon, but it is a start which you can expand upon later,” he said. “I would recommend we choose a boon from the Branch of Buer then, since it is a multipurpose branch.

“You will heal a lot faster than a normal man, but sadly, the regeneration won’t be fast enough to be of any use in a fight. Not that any healing you could afford right now would be of use in battle. A broken bone that would take six to eight weeks of rest to heal will now heal in a single week. In addition, you will also recover from physical activity faster and you won’t tire as easily.”

Oak thought about it for a bit, but in all honesty, it just felt like the right decision to make. “I am going to listen to my gut here and take it,” he said.

“Marvelous,” Ashmedai said. He took one last drag from his pipe and then put it out. With a snap of his fingers, the pipe vanished. “So, three branches: Flauros, Amdusias and Buer. Fine choices, and a good foundation to build upon in the future,”

The demon clapped his hands together and stood up. “I am going to make you unconscious for the duration of the installation and grafting process,” he said. “Can you believe that when I was doing this for the first time millennia ago, I did it while my prospective warlock was wide awake?” Ashmedai shuddered. “Some screams just stay with you, you know? The mess was unbelievable. Nowadays, I don’t operate on anyone's soul without putting them out like a light.”

“That genuinely makes me feel a lot better,” Oak lied. He stood up as well. “One last thing, though.”

The fire in the cabin’s oven had wilted to mere cinders, and the light provided by the candles was dimming. They were almost out of time. Ashmedai lifted an eyebrow.

“It's about Geezer. I know I have no right to ask and you have done a lot for me already, but this does not sound like the type of mission he is going to survive as he is now. Can you give him a fighting chance?” Oak asked. “He is a big coward, but I love him.”

Ashmedai seemed to consider it. “There were boons you could have taken to empower another person or an animal, but I did not and do not recommend them for you,” the demon said. “You are a man who wants to be in the middle of the fight, not hiding somewhere leading your legion of animal companions. Personal power is also a vastly safer bet in your current situation. But, I understand your concern. What the hell, I will do my best.”

“From the bottom of my heart, thank you,” Oak said and bowed low.

“Now, it’s time for us to say goodbye for the moment. See you on the other side, Oak, if you survive and give Geezer a scratch for me when you wake up,” Ashmedai said, and snapped his fingers.

That was the last thing Oak saw, before darkness took him and he drifted beyond thought and time.