[h3]Duchy of Pelgaid, secluded pond[/h3]
[IMG]http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u79/SharpshooterJack/markerGerald_zps253683a8.png[/IMG]
“No, I didn't,” the Grand Master shrugged. “And my fixer did not make a deal with me for power, nor did Eliza. The dear girl was actually quite powerless when she went out in the world to make use of her new ability; it has taken her, oh, how long has it been? Three thousand years? Quite a few lifetimes to obtain her power. And before you ask, no, she did not buy longevity from me either. Her deal was for her to be able to master every school of magic she ever dabbled in.”
“Speak no more,” Crone uttered angrily, and somehow Gerald could not help but to smile with vicious pleasure at her anger. “You possess no right nor need to divulge -”
“I have every right to say as much about your deal as I want,” the demon broke her off. “Your contract didn't include a clause for my silence. But you're right, there's no need to explain.” He turned his attention back to Jillian. “As for my fixer, the reason I don't know the extent of his abilities is simply that I, despite appearances, am not omnescient; I just have a lot of ears and eyes in a lot of useful places. None of those have ever observed this agent unleash his full potential, however... indeed, I'm not certain that he himself even knows his limits.
As for how he has come to wield such power, part of it is simply due to innate proficiency. Talent. Extraordinary natural ability. Part of it is from his past as the Grim Tool, shaped into a human weapon by the Corpse Forge. And part of it may also be because he killed several Shards of Sin once. It all adds up to make him very valuable to me.”

When the witch asked for an explanation as to why they were being sent to end the Withering rather than the supposedly much more capable Fixer, however, the Grand Master seemed to lose interest in the conversation. Indeed, he even turned his head and looked off to their right, looking at the rocks over there as though they were the most unusual and interesting thing he had ever seen.
“You should really come and visit me in the Skull Tower someday,” he said, blatantly changing the subject. “There are many things here I imagine both of you would be quite interested in seeing; unusual things unlike anything you'll find anywhere else in the planes.”