26…Bitter Regrets
Confusion.
Solaufein was down on one knee and couldn't remember falling. His head whirled. He blinked and tried to make sense of what was before him. Flames, very bright. A figure stood in the flames. Large. Formidable. Could it be the pit fiend he had fought earlier? Or…
He leapt backwards.
"Hells," he said.
Behind him, a woman laughed. The Valsharess.
"Finally," she said, her voice steely. "You took your time, Mephistopheles. We would have avoided a lot of problems if you'd brought him to me earlier. Like I asked."
"The time had to be right," the devil said. "Now it is." His voice was deep, smooth. It rolled down Solaufein's spine and he shivered. He turned. The Valsharess looked subtly different from his dreams but he couldn't quite tell where those differences lay. He felt the geas clench around his heart, causing a crushing agony that made him gasp. I have to kill her, he thought, and then told himself: wait. The geas was impatient; he flinched with the pain.
There were three other women in the room, drow, of course. One had a flail on her belt. The other two had knives and possibly magic.
"Your troops are routed," Solaufein said. "Your attack has failed."
"Shall we kill this male, Valsharess?" asked the drow with the flail. "Quickly or slowly?"
The Valsharess signed for silence. She took a step towards him and he noticed the coiled whip at her side. It was not a serpent whip like some of Lolth's priestesses carried but the tails were barbed and would flay flesh easily. Every fiber revolted at the thought of being whipped by another woman. No. I will not.
"I have enslaved a Duke of the Nine Hells," she said. "My power is limitless. No one can stand against me. No one." She smiled. "Mephistopheles, kill this rebellious male."
"I cannot."
The Valsharess frowned. "Kill him, I say! He is right here. Rip his soul from his body." Everyone stared at the devil. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Kill him, or I will!" She signed at one of the women and held out her hand. "Your blade," she said. She's going to pit her blade against my sword? At that moment, he realized that she thought him bound in place, as he had been once before.
Mephistopheles laughed and the sound rolled over them like distant thunder. Even the Valsharess took a step back.
"To harm my brother is to harm myself," Mephistopheles said. "Three times you have given me an unlawful order." He smirked.
"Your brother!" The Valsharess cried. "This male is no devil. How dare you lie to me? How dare you defy me? Again! Red Sisters, to me!" The door behind her opened and several drow ran lightly in. Solaufein heard other footsteps in the outer hall. His scimitar was in his hand.
"I will break you," the Valsharess told the devil.
"I think not," he replied. He raised his hands and all the Red Sisters exploded with flames. He heard screams echoing from the hall behind him. "Brother," Mephistopheles said. "Kill that stupid bitch."
It didn't feel right to obey a devil, but what choice did he have? The geas was roaring through his blood. His body was shaking but his hands were steady. She was still staring at the devil in shock when he swung with all his strength. Blood fountained and her head flew toward the devil. With one hand, Mephistopheles snatched it by the streaming hair. Her crown clattered onto the stone floor, the sound almost lost amongst the roar of the flames.
Solaufein felt the geas crumble away. Gods, the relief.
The devil held up the head and glanced at the Valsharess' open sightless eyes.
"With luck, she bound me," he said. "With greed, she held me far too long. Greedy and foolish, like most mortals." He tossed the dripping head away. "Sheathe your blade, my brother. I have no need of it." Solaufein just stared. "Quickly now," Mephistopheles said. He snapped his fingers and Solaufein found himself sheathing the scimitar. "It is time to gather my army. We have much to do. Come."
Mephistopheles began to mutter in a language Solaufein assumed was Infernal and slowly the burnt bodies of the Red Sisters assembled themselves into skeletons, reeking of charred flesh and smoldering hair. Solaufein shuddered. With no will of his own, he followed the devil into the corridor and out toward the main gate of the fortress. He tried to stop but his feet kept moving. What fortress was this? He had no idea where he was.
More and more undead staggered behind them.
"Later I will animate the mountain of corpses you gathered for me," Mephistopheles said. "But first I must get you settled in your new home." Solaufein opened his mouth but before he could ask any questions, the devil's hand closed over his shoulder. Numbness spread from the firm grasp and suddenly he was teleported.
The devil released him. There was a blinding glare of whiteness all around and cold like he had never felt before. He staggered and his foot sunk into a powdery white substance. He had never seen snow but guessed that was what it must be. He shook the snow off his boot. They stood in a large open plaza and he saw buildings not far away.
"Where are we?" Solaufein asked.
"You are in Cania, the Eighth Hell of Baator. Welcome, brother, to the City of Lost Souls."
"Why do you call me brother?" His eyes are red like mine, Solaufein thought. But I am drow.
"When you accepted my relic, you accepted our kinship," Mephistopheles said.
"Your relic? Do you mean…my luck charm?" He felt the shape of it in his belt pouch and pulled it out. "This?" The devil gave him a knowing look. "But I made no bargain with you. I won this in a game of chance. You weren't even there. Your name was not mentioned."
"You accepted my relic. It is my proxy, my flesh. You accepted my luck. Do you think you would have gotten as far as you have on your own?"
"I made no bargain with you!"
"Do you believe ignorance is an excuse? Foolish. You accepted it, used it, bound yourself to me. And you have freed me from the Valsharess' control. Now you will free me from Cania. This has been my frozen prison for more years than you can number. Now it is yours."
"I don't understand."
"We exchange places, brother. Where once I was bound here, now I am free to walk the Material Plane. You will remain here, the new Lord of Cania. Asmodeus, Lord of all the Nine Hells, bound me here in an attempt to curb my ambitions." He laughed. "As if that could ever be possible. Now I am free to gain power. I will make a hell of your world, the first of many for me to rule and the necessary stepping stone to my rise."
Shining figures drifted along the icy ground. Mephistopheles raised his voice and it boomed against the ice, rebounding in a dull echo that seemed to shake the very ground.
"Come, petitioners. Hear my words."
The shining figures came closer. Spirits, Solaufein realized. These must be the spirits of the dead, who were brought to this place in judgment for their sins. What must one have done in life to earn a place here in the coldest of the hells? He could not imagine.
"Change has come upon Cania," the devil cried. He put his hot hand on Solaufein's shoulder. "My brother Solaufein rules here now and I move on. Our ancient bargain has ended and a new bargain begins. You will not waste away to be reborn as lemures or fade away into the walls of ice."
The spirits murmured, confused.
"I announce the Devouring. Your souls will be brought to the Prime Material plane to form my great army, a great conquering army. I will draw upon you as my power grows. I will empty the City of Lost Souls and you will be lost no longer. You will serve me. You all will serve me. Go now. When I have need of you, you will be called."
Souls milled about, staring at Mephistopheles in fear, at Solaufein in curiosity. A few voices rose in anger but no one stepped forward.
"Eilistraee save me," Solaufein said.
"Eilistraee?" Mephistopheles let out a deep rolling laugh. "You deluded fool. Your goddess never came to you. I sent the dreams that brought you to the Underdark. I caused the Valsharess to seek you out. This has been my plan all along, ever since you won my token from that wretched cambion. Return it to me now."
In anger, Solaufein threw the relic away but its path twisted in midair and it glided to the devil's outstretched hand. The devil caught it effortlessly. It sat on his palm for a moment and then sunk into his flesh and disappeared.
"Your power here will dwindle as mine grows," Mephistopheles said. "But that is the way it must be. I wish you well in your reign. You have been of great use to me."
"And I regret that bitterly."
"You have come to the very place for bitter regrets, brother. Farewell."
With that, Mephistopheles was gone.
There was no night, no day, so Solaufein had no way to judge how long he wandered in the cold, directionless glare. He felt no hunger and no thirst. Am I a spirit like these poor souls who shrink from my approach? Am I alive or dead? Or do these words even have meaning here?
There were buildings. There were doors. He half expected his hand to pass through the doors but they felt solid. All doors opened at the touch of his hand. Where spirits gathered, they flocked away from him like skittish birds. If I am master here, are these my servants? Why then do they avoid me?
Sometimes, with a shriek or just a sigh, spirits disappeared. Taken by the Devouring as fuel for Mephistopheles. The spirits were afraid. How can there be fear without a body, a life? But he could see their fear and feel it as if it were his own. Is there justice in this? Now these souls can never atone.
In addition to spirits, there were devils, mostly gelugons like he had defeated in the courtyard a world away. He flinched away from their avid stares. He walked. It was cold but the cold didn't bite. I will make your world a hell, Mephistopheles had said. I killed the Valsharess and gave my entire world to Mephistopheles. Why had this happened? Why had this been allowed to happen? Surely the Seer couldn't have foreseen this. Eilistraee could not have intended for me to destroy the world. She could not. And yet I did what She asked me to do-
Solaufein's heart clenched within his chest. Did I? He said he tricked me. I dreamed of Eilistraee but if those dreams were sent by Mephistopheles-then I was wrong all along. I deluded myself and I deluded everyone who followed me. I loosed Mephistopheles upon my world and where is the hero who will stop him now?
I am trapped here. Forever. There is nothing I can do.
"That's not exactly true, you know."
Solaufein whirled. A small devil, not much larger than an imp, bobbed beside him, flapping his leathery wings to stay at eye level.
"What do you want?" Solaufein asked.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that a private conversation?" The little devil gave a lopsided grin.
Had he been speaking out loud? Surely not.
"Loud enough," the devil said. "I got good ears."
Solaufein glared. "Who are you?"
"You can call me Likrot." Likrot waited but Solaufein said nothing. "Listen, pal," he said. "I'm your new best friend."
Haer'Dalis had taught him a planar expression that seemed perfectly appropriate. "Pike off."
The devil grinned. "That's no way to act," he said. "Now I know you're having a bad day…"
"A bad day!"
"Yeah, but that's no call to brush off your friends. Especially now. You're going to need some help, pal."
"From you? Ha. What's the price? I may have a copper on me."
"Now that's one cynical attitude, pal." Likrot snickered. "Glad to see it. I was worried you were one of those broody angsty elves, all depression and guilt and 'woe, woe is me'. Bleah. Come on now. Let's find somewhere out of this wind." Likrot bobbed up and down. "Of all the hells, I'm thinking this one has the worst weather. No wonder Big M always holed up in that fortress of his. Anyway, let's find some place warm. We need to talk."
Likrot continued to chatter. Not exactly sure why, Solaufein followed.
"Here's the pub," Likrot said. "Not a great place but what can you do? Big M never worried much about the little guys. Long as he's comfy up in Mephistar, the rest of us can drink drek and freeze our balls off."
Warmth blasted Solaufein like he'd stepped inside a furnace. After the bitter cold outside, the heat was painful.
Likrot flapped his wings at the barkeep. The barkeep was a big blue dragon. On any other day, Solaufein would have found that strange and surprising. "Send us drinks to the back room," Likrot said.
"Room's occupied," said the barkeep
Likrot grinned. His mouth was filled with needle sharp teeth. "Not for long, it ain't."
Who is this devil, Solaufein wondered. With a jerk of his head, Likrot got the gigantic pit fiend and the two slit-eyed erinyes to leave the back room with nothing more from them than a growl of annoyance.
"You've got questions," Likrot said, once the drinks had arrived and the door closed. "You're in luck. I've got answers."
"Big M is Mephistopheles, I take it."
"Mouthful, ain't it? Big name for a big guy. You're a big guy now, though. Right? I mean you don't look like much but looks ain't everything. Whatcha want me to call you?"
Solaufein's lips pulled back. "Big S," he said. The devil cocked his head. "But everyone else calls me Solaufein."
"Solaufein. Right. Being a Prime and all, I'm thinking you don't know a whole lot about how things work down here."
"And you're going to be kind enough to explain it."
"Now, there's no need to be nasty. Drink up. Told Old Smoky to pour out elven wine for you. Don't know where he gets it. Best not to ask." He tilted his head. He had a smaller glass in his hand. The contents let off a pungent green vapor. "You are an elf, right?"
"So they say."
"First trip to the hells?"
Solaufein gave a gloomy nod. "I've been to the Abyss a time or two."
"I'll try not to hold it against you. So, Solaufein. Big S. What are your plans?"
"Plans?"
"Yeah, plans. Like, what are you going to do next? You know? Plans?"
"What's the point of making plans?"
"What's the point? What's the matter, did Big M knock out your brains? Or have you always been this stupid?"
Solaufein snorted. "I've always been this stupid."
"Yeah, well, it's great that you know. Most stupids have no clue. Awkward for the rest of us. Well, fine then, pal. It's good for you that I'm here. I've got enough plans for both of us."
"Of course you do."
"Look. You didn't plan to come here? Right? Moment I saw that stupefied look on your kisser, I said to myself, Likrot, this elf ain't wanting to be here. This elf has things he wants to be doing." The devil leaned closer. "Things on another plane." His wings slowed a beat and then sped back up, making him bob in the air. "Am I right? You want to be doing things on another plane?"
Solaufein sat up straighter and gave the devil a sharp look. "Mephistopheles said I am bound here forever."
"Yeah. That Big M. What a card. He needs to be dealt with. Heh heh." Likrot rolled his eyes. "Big M sounds so confident, you know? He stands up there with that smooth voice and those glowing eyes and you know, you just know, that every word he says is as true as could be. It's a gift, I tell you."
"Are you saying there is a way I can escape?"
"Am I saying that? Would I say that?" Likrot grinned. "Well, here's the thing. Asmodeus-you do know who Asmodeus is, right? I mean, even some stupid elf from a hole in the ground has heard of the Lord of Nessus. Right? The Big Big Guy. Supreme Master of the Hells. All that jazz. Well, Asmodeus bound Big M to Cania for all time. All time."
"Just like me."
"Just like you. But now Big M is off the chain." Likrot bobbed in place and gave an expectant look.
What he expected, Solaufein wasn't sure. "What do you want?" Even to himself, his voice sounded tired.
"What do I want?" Likrot tilted his head again. "What do any of us want? I want to get bigger, of course. Bigger job. Bigger slice of the pie. You know, bigger all over. You get big friends, that bigness rubs off on you. You do what you're told, you do a good job, you get ahead. You get bigger. That's how it works on the Prime, too, right? You scratch my ass, I'll scratch yours."
Solaufein felt a dreadful suspicion start to grow. "You're not a resident here, are you?"
"Of Cania? Nope." Likrot grinned. "Some of that stupid wearing off? About time. Likrot gets around, yes."
"Got a big, big boss, do you?"
"Maybe," Likrot said. "Maybe not. Maybe I'm not saying. Here's the thing. Big M running around loose-now that's not good for you, right? He's a big guy, a pushy guy, doing all kinds of nasty things on the Prime. Heh heh. But listen up-you guys on the Prime aren't the only ones concerned, see? Better for everyone if Big M comes back here."
"Better for Asmodeus."
"Yeah, well, Big M's a loose trebuchet. No telling what he's going to bang next, you know? Besides, Cania's a big place. Needs to be run properly or there's problems all around. No offense and all but see here. Cania needs a proper lord. You're just not cut out for the job. Wrong race, wrong attitude, just wrong all over. You know? I'm looking out for you here."
"You're going to help me escape?"
"You scratch my ass, I'll scratch yours. There's things I can do to help, maybe. But you can't just sit around with all that doom and despair on your pretty face. You need to get off your ass, shake a leg, and show a little of that oomph you Prime heroes are known for. Use your resources."
"What resources?"
"Solaufein! Pal! Ain't you been listening? You're the freaking Lord of Cania! Big M gave it to you, glaciers, devils and all, in front of a horde of witnesses. 'Course all this power doesn't get you out the gate but here's the thing. There's more to Cania than ice and souls and devils."
"What does that even mean?"
"Oh, heavens, I have to spell it all out? Dumb-ass Primes. Cania is old. Cania was old before the Blood Wars, Cania was old before Big M came. There's all kinds of things under the ice. Secret things. Powerful things." He flapped his wings until he was standing on the table and he leaned into Solaufein's face. "And there were people here once, a whole race of them. The ancient Baatorians. A few of them are still around. Big M knew about them. Banged one, too, or so they say. And they made him nervous. And anything that makes Big M nervous might be a good thing for you. You see?"
"Ancient Baatorians. What are they like?" Solaufein asked.
"I'm thinking maybe you should ask around. I'm thinking you might learn something to your advantage. Is that clear enough? 'Cause listen, if I have to hold your hand and spell out every little thing, well, that don't look too good to the folks back home. You know? There's only so much I'm allowed to do here. I'm an advisor. A little voice in your ear. You can listen or not. That's totally up to you." Likrot snickered. "But I'm thinking you ought to listen. 'Cause you know what, pal? The way things are right now? You're really screwed."