[h3][color=#2dbdfc]Lucifer of Phoenix[/color][/h3]
[color=#2dbdfc]Dark Lord's Castle[/color]

Out of all the people in all the castle, Lucifer was the one who was taken least seriously and treated with most distrust. In fairness, when everyone was either a grizzled half-demon mercenary whose only qualms were who to chop up next and with what instrument or a voluptuous succubus maid-stroke-tart, being a bright eyed, pretty-faced, all-too-human monk with a firmly anti-slaughter stance meant he hardly blended into his surroundings. Amongst these people, he fit in about as well as a piece of glass in the urinary tract.

[color=#2dbdfc]"Thank you, sir. It would certainly help me sleep easier"[/color] Lucifer said gratefully, more glad of the light of the fireplace than the heat. He hoped his Master would be kind enough to have a maid escort him back to his room when they were done here, or else he would end up wandering the castle in the dark - actually, scratch that, most maids were a demon of some form or another and he wasn't quite willing to put himself totally at their mercy.

[color=pink]"Look at you! I didn't know you had a silver tongue![/color]

[color=#2dbdfc][i]One of my many talents, it would seem...[/i][/color]

[color=pink]"With diplomacy like yours, you could probably sweet-talk your way into the Princess' bedchambers... and pacify her father in the morning."[/color]

[color=#2dbdfc][i]I wouldn't go that far[/i][/color]

He took a deep breath and was about to start talking when an aged warrior opened the door and greeted the Lord of the castle. He barely gave Lucifer a second glance. And indeed, why should he? This man was the Saint of Weapons, the Second of the Seven. And it didn't take a genius to work out that, like everyone else in this godsforsaken castle, he didn't trust Lucifer as far as he could throw him.

[color=#2dbdfc]"Evening, Jaunte."[/color] Lucifer was able to keep the annoyance out of his tone - just. He was sick of being looked down upon. Would it kill for someone to treat him as an equal? So far, the only person conducting himself with a modicum of politeness was Alastor himself.

[color=pink]"Pah! What a sycophant! Look your [i]master[/i] in the eyes when you talk to him, you geriatric undead knob!"[/color]

Not for the first time, Lucifer was glad he was the only one who could hear Empusa, though he had suspicions that Zenith could also pick up on her voice.
Moving swiftly on, the Holy Child decided to address his most pressing matter. [color=#2dbdfc]"If I may be so bold, sir. Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won by men. To me, it is important that the soldiers look up to the general. They must see him as a righteous and just figure, a father to his men. If they do that, they shall follow him to the depths of Pandemonium and back without hesitation"[/color]

[color=#2dbdfc]"However, most of our lads don't see you as that"[/color] Lucifer was treading thin ice here, but he was too honest to lie about such important issues. [color=#2dbdfc]"To them, you are a source of money and power. They are mercenaries, employed purely for the prospect of petty personal gain, with no consideration to the bigger picture. An army made up of mercenaries is one of the worst, for they are weak-willed and easily persuaded to double-cross if there is profit to be made. We need a retinue of people who are willing to fight for [i]us[/i], not our gold, our power or our whores."[/color] He was thinking of Blake and Lance here, but he still cast a look at Jaunte for good measure.

[color=#2dbdfc]"Look at Zenith. What are the odds he'd ever betray us? None. Because he serves [i]you[/i], not your treasury or your wine cellars. If we had an army of people like that, we would surely be victorious. We have better weapons, better armour - bar, of course, the things that the Royal Blacksmith makes, but as good as she is, she's just one girl - more powerful monsters and we know what the enemy is doing without them having the same advantage over us. But even amongst the people who despise Sir Lionfury, they see us as another tyrannical overlord. It's Grey and Gray, if you get my meaning. They don't see us as worthy of fighting for."[/color]

[color=#2dbdfc]"Which brings me neatly to the letter. I'm afraid I don't have it on me, but I can paraphrase for you - Khosh has been keeping close correspondence with a local in the Town of Krowsgard. All seemed to be going well, until a few weeks ago. Things started happening - locals girls would go missing, large groups of people moving about during the night, that kind of thing - and this caught the local's attention. They did a bit of research and... and..."[/color]

Lucifer stopped momentarily and took a deep breath. He didn't want to say this next line, partly because it was horrible to think of such things and partly because he feared the Dark Lord's and Jaunte's reactions.

[color=#2dbdfc]"It seems a group of slave traders have set up shop in Krowsgard. They've been kidnapping young girls and selling them as... concubines, shall we say? Everyone knows this is happening, but they don't know who is doing it, where it happens or how to stop it. Except our local. They sent a letter to Khosh informing them of the situation, who has sent one to me. With your permission, I would like to go with Khosh to Krowsgard and eliminate the slave-traders. I'm thinking, if we leave a few hints that it was one of your vassals that did it, not only will that earn us the respect of the locals for freeing them of these foul men, but it will also strike fear into Lionfury's supporters. How did they know what we didn't? How did they get so far into Trance without anyone noticing? You know, that kind of thing. Add a bit of paranoia into the mix and instil a bit of chaos, as well as recruit local men who would actually want to serve us, not our wallet."[/color]

He felt like taking a bow, or saying "ta-da". But instead, Lucifer listened politely to hear what Alastor had to say about his plan and hoped that he would agree with him. Krowsgard was not that far away from Lightkeep - if they had a base of operations there, they could keep an eye on the King and Capital with much more ease.