It has been roughly two weeks since Jake and his ente re-ehe capital, the adventurer party that had accosted them at the start showed up quickly after arrival again, but they mostly seem to be vigintly for now... as well as participating in the magic academy. In that two week time, the paranormal division has beeablishing like only insane madmen could. Esstrey is no exception, even if her only following is a vilge worth of kobolds currently in hiding. However, a following matters little to Esstrey if she 't be absolutely certain of their loyalty, the kobolds may seem loyal, but she knows that illusion will end if they ever find out she is not actually draic, her methods are just draian.

  "Esstrey, what in Mortimer's name have you doo my room? Why here?" Naturally, the person that got the paranormal division here is incredibly stressed as he believes they will be found out any moment now, that and he isn't very happy with Esstrey appropriating his room for a ritual.

  "Your room is the safest location I think of, furthest away from... prying eyes. Here, hold my shovel." Esstrey throws her shovel zily toward Jake, who fumbles with it slightly but mao get a good grip on it anyway.

  "What kind of ritual are you even doing? And what's with the helmet?" Jake has already given up on actually stopping anything the paranormal divisiohese people only ever sided with his Eliana for the resources, they didly sign up to follow orders like some sword-wielding schmuck. She's also wearing some kind of metal helmet with a bolted on visor made of thick gss, there's a special spot at the sides where her ears stick out, but the clearly incredibly thick faceshield covers for this weakness.

  "Demon-summoning ritual, I need something most easily acquired by a demon. The helmet is for prote, an orichalium Alty, how does it look?" For some reason Jake still had better expectations tharey treating a new helmet as a more important matter than a demon summoning ritual in his room.

  "I-what... you know what? You look like a fug juggernaut." Even Jake has his limits it seems, but that won't make him go up against the mermaid who is currently pointing a crossbow at the ter of the summoning circle.

  The circle begins to light up as it gathers power from its surroundings, and a form begins to take shape in the ter. The form of a busty woman that wouldn't be found out of p a brother if it wasn't for her red skin horns and tail. She isn't clothed stily opposite to Jake's expectations (and a little his hopes) like the demons he heard of from Ronald's eirades that should really get him written up for sexual harassment for talking about it alone. No, she is instead clothed in a bck business suit with a tie aangur gsses, she holds a folder of sorts, but it's clearly all decorative sidering her smile.

  "Why if it isn't my favorite er, pointing a crossbow at me again it seems. Tell me dear Esstrey, what kind of juicy deal do you have for the Infernal Host this time?" Zha'klos takes a quiote of the kid holding the shovel, sizing him up, and quickly identifying him as the child of the woman who's bag a cult on this pypical. She just as quickly as appearing turns her eyes back to the proverbial monster in the room.

  "I heard demons are experts at energy and matter version, I would like you to transform this wooden figurio something that is more receptive to spatial magic." Esstrey puts down a figurine of... herself. Specifically, her full equipment of the time she fought Magnus. Despite the eldritch armor, fming bde and ornate buckler, ahat has met Esstrey still see how that's her beh the armor.

  "That request is surprisingly on, but...well, let's say that normally there are rather rge restris on spatial material versions because of hly petitive market. However, sidering it's a figurine of yourself and..." Zha'klos trails off as she is the figurine in ear.

  There's something Zha'klos is familiar with within the figurine, a pulsing of power with exactly the same signature as those buckets of royal's blood she gave her. A figuri to represerey, full of blood that Zha'klos knows es from a royal being.

  "You motherfucker..." The helmet makes sense now, a minor security measure in the eyes of most, but if she so freely uses her own blood... she must be a blood mage as well. She had actually tricked a millennia old being, if even only for a while, by blinding the demon with desire for something. A tactic demonkind is all too familiar with. Usually, the blood of royals from the 'civilized races' loses its royalty factor once said royal is no longer reized as such, but Zha'klos knows for certain that no one on this p reizes her as royalty from information bought from the local cult cell. Either someone somewhere else still reizes her as such, or the definition of monster is much more literal, is she even a mermaid?

  "You fuckeeerrr." Zha'klos rubs her forehead, which is it? Hidden following or monster? She doesn't know, the millennia old being doesn't know. The thing stu her baswers a few of her questiorey is clearly not of this world, probably not even from [The Veil]. She's not immortal, doesn't aough like ohat means somewhere out there, there is a civilization both foolish enough and advanced enough to produce a mind like Esstrey's.

  "I-I want a copy of that helmet, or the blueprint. I also want to copy your clothes." The shovel is too simple in design, and the crossbow doesn't seem ton, but the helmet has some overly fn quirks. Getting the design would get the Infernal Host insight on this interdimensional traveler, and more importantly, the civilization that produced her. The same goes for the clothes, now that she looks closer the material seems too... precise. A demon's senses are excellent, but the clothes have no marks on them from faulty tailorwork, the only marks on the clothes is overly crudely patched up damage.

  "Deal." Esstrey slowly backs up to a et and starts rummaging through it while keeping her crossbow aimed at Zha'klos, she finds the blueprint she gave that bcksmith, and throws it towards the demo, she is herself a bit, before stabbing herself and using her blood to hold the crossbow while she strips. Jake looks away red-faced at the dispy, arey throws her clothes along with the wooden figuri Zha'klos. The demon uses some sort of magic to turn the figurine from wood to some kind of burning rock, and creates a spectral image of Esstrey's jacket which solidifies after a small bit, afterward she gives a small bow, and leaves with the blueprint and the copy of the jacket.

  Esstrey picks up the jacket, and puts it ba while Jake stares sck-jawed.

  "Where were the protective entments in that circle? And why didn't you sign a tract with the demon to make sure she would hold up her end of the bargain?" Jake doesn't know much about demons, but even he knows that much.

  "Protective entments? tract? You do that stuff?" Esstrey however, never learned how to enforce her will by using magic. She's just been applying her social manipution capabilities as much as possible.

  Prickly