"?I don't want to set the world on fire...?" Esstrey floats through the camp full of her enemies. Zealots, opportunists, nobles and the gullible, all gathered in one camp. Even the avatar of a god is here, and he already doesn't like her. The golem is exactly like all the stories, but the stories old of his ing. She knows he tell there's something wrong, but without solid evidence, he won't turn the Malen delegation into ash over a hunch.

  "?I just want to start a fme in your heart?" Esstrey is busily making herself known to the camp to make sure this stays that way, she hardly believes politics to stand in the way of the war god too long. She's currently aplishing this by cheg up oroops and equipment who all set out on this expedition while humming a tune.

  "?In my heart, I have but one desire?" Plenty of demons have been spotted as of te, every sed that passes it bees clearer that the adveeam dubbed 'the hero's party' wasn't just talking out of their asses. Even more impressively is the force they had effectively mobilized against this threat, Esstrey's colleagues of The Infernal Host would most likely not appreciate their pn being foiled this quickly.

  "?And that one is you, no other will do?" Esstrey has eyes for something other than some adventurers who seem to know everything, and that's a literal avatar of something prog to be a god being involved. A being that from up close has firmed Esstrey's suspis, there is roughly a liter of blood within that golem, god-blood would be the natural clusion.

  The opportunity that lies in such a rge amount of god-blood is great, almost as great as the ce of getting annihited by the golem surrounding it. Six arms, each wielding a bde of adamantine imitating fire, the bastard is almost as big as Esstrey, and many times more armored. Or at least he would be, currently he's posing for some camp whores. It seems that the war god isn't some being beyond the temptations of the flesh, despite the 'rock' in 'rock hard abs' being quite literal.

  The whores catch Esstrey staring, quite hard not to when her gaze is locked on the avatar, when his eai flees Belluzoar looks back to Esstrey. For a moment the two share what some could loosely describe as an intimate moment, they do all the things intimate couples could do in that situation. Both also realize what the other really wants, aher is scared of it.

  The plete and utter annihition of the one opposing them. Both will get what they waually, time has a way hting all wrongs. For now, the two split ways, both aware of a fellow predator having spotted them. However, uual predators in nature, her of these individuals is as fiving. There will be no deliion here.

  Esstrey finishes her rounds of the camp, the expedition force sists hly two-hundred Faerues from the capital anded by a few royal guards, with various levels of auxiliary support from nobles either signifit or close enough to provide it. Captain dell is among the auxiliary forces, but his allegiance lies with Malencia, not the kingdom. Various churches of the gods have also provided padins, holy knights numbering a few dozen that apparently rival the royal guard in skill. The entire force is supplemented by roughly fifty adventurers, it's hard to get solid numbers on them even with some clever talking as they tend to act much less anized. None of these groups e close to the skill of the Hero's party, but they are a step above the standard elites. Belluzoar is also with these figures, and is bound to be a source of trouble for any opposition.

  Fag this camp is an unknown and ever-growing number of demons of various degrees, Esstrey requested dell to capture one of the more se figures, and he obeyed without too much fuss. She nning to interrogate said demon, and didn't want ao know she was. Demons are from an immaterial realm, and no threat make them talk. Or at least, no threat jured by the priests and soldiers of the kingdom. Everyone has fears, everyone bleeds, everyone dies.

  Moving out of the camp, Esstrey heads for the dead drop she agreed upon with dell, sure enough at the dead drop is a hulking, winged fiend ed to the ground with various objects radiating light magiearby. How the hell dell mao capture this thing is a small miracle, Esstrey will have to write a letter of endation for him. Approag the thing, she already tell its breath stinks to high hell, and interrogating it will require a very advaeique.

  "I hope my boys didn't treat you too harshly, sir...?" Esstrey emerge from beh the trees, but if the fiend is surprised, it isn't showing it.

  "Bar'kof, and what kind of cursed being are you?" The demon is still a curious being by nature, arey is a curiosity all on her own.

  "I'm Esstrey, I was hoping to get a chat with one of the Infernal Host officers currently active in the region. I was curious as to what you guys are doing here." Esstrey sits herself across from the fiend, just outside its reach.

  "And oh tell me, why should I tell you anything? Who knows who could be listening? I'll whisper it to you if you get closer." The demon smiles at the mermaid, whether the attempt to get her within arms reach is a genuinely pathetic attempt of manipution or if it's just mog her, only the creature knows.

  "Because we are allies? Are you in any way familiar with Zha'klos? Or the cult in Malencia? I frequently make deals with Zha'klos and work as a form of overseer for said cult, hence why I'm w why I wasn't informed of su operation like this." The fiend thinks for a bit while staring at Esstrey, giving the words a thought.

  "Probably because the one wha doesn't get along very well with Zha'klos. To me, as long as she gets results, she's fine in my tome." The fiend said it as an afterthought, but Esstrey now knows about some interservice-rivalry going on.

  "Really? I'm assuming their does vary wildly and are also incredibly restricted as a result." The fiend rexes somewhat, no longer seeirey as a threat.

  "That would be a correct assumption, Zha'klos heavily prefers a slow and ing approach like at [Hyldra]. That was a great victory for demonkind where the mortals practically tore each other apart with minimal cost, while Kly'zar prefers a quid brutal approach, [Zanbar] and [Fujinra fell as a result of the portal invasion doe, a more costly but guaranteed method of success, because of the costs incurred the tter was recimed by zealots from a neighb p. From a practical standpoint, I prefer Zha'klos's method, but ended up joining Kly'zar because it's more fun. Speaking of fun, release me. There are many more mortals out there that require destru." Bar'kof sees no reason not to tell the mortal any of this, what is she even pnning to do with that kind of info?

  "Alright, be a dear and inform Kly'zar of my presence, I care little for the internal politics when it es to the bes." Esstrey cuts the s on Bar'kof, who sizes Esstrey up for a moment before deg that delivering said message is better than trying to kill her for now.

  Prickly