“Are you sure?”

Siora nodded to Vestele’s question. “Yes, I am. The journals were written in Abyssal. This Mother is a demon, I’m sure of it, and in the service of Grazzt, the demon prince of tyrants and despots.”

We had rejoined the others so that Siora wouldn’t have to repeat her revelation more than once. The news that the Mother was a demon was a demon was unsettling. Werewolves were one thing. They were simply stronger humans, really. If you killed them, then they remained dead.

Demons, however, were different. Not only were they more powerful than your typical werewolf by an order of magnitude, usually having some kind of magic that backed up their physical prowess, but they also had the nasty habit of not being able to get killed. That was why summoned creatures didn’t care about their own safety, and simply attacked again and again until their targets were destroyed. If you killed them, they simply went back to their native plane.

I sighed. “Well, is there any indication of what type of demon we are facing? And how powerful it might be? I would be lying if I said that the idea of facing down a fearsome balor didn’t fill me with dread. I am in no hurry to go back and see what my next life will be like, thanks.”

Siora chuckled, and shook her head. “No, most definitely not a balor. They are too proud and violent to have taken a route like this. Can you picture one of their kind playing the victim in order to insert themselves into a cult and take it over?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Yeah, the few stories I’ve heard paint them as being warriors and rulers more than anything. So, what kind is this Mother? A succubus? I mean, this kind of deception would be something a succubus would be perfect for.”

The Beguiler nodded. “Yes, I believe we are looking for a succubus, one that serves another master than the Queen. While the Queen commands the loyalty of most succubi, there are always those who find their place in other factions. Grazzt and Malcanthet have long been rivals, though the reasons for the feud are lost to the depths of time.”

Frostmane shook his head. “So, succubus. Those are the ones with mind powers, like you and your sister keep doing to all these wolves and cultists we come across, right? That’s just wonderful. Did the books say anything about why she was here?”

Vestele shook her head. “No, there were only references to ‘the Master’s design’ or ‘the Master’s plan’. I doubt that this is any alliance between Malar and Grazzt. The Beastlord and the Dark Prince are polar opposites, and their focus is on different realms. I have not studied the forces of the Abyss, but, according to the priestess who trained me, the Dark Prince is focused primarily on attempting to rule over the entire abyss, while the Beastlord cares only for the hunt.”

Looking over to Vestele, I asked, “Then, what should we do with this succubus?”

The priestess of Malcanthet considered for a moment, and then said, “Send her back to the Abyss, if we can. It doesn’t matter what plans she might have for this cult, or what the larger strategy might be. The ritual circles that conjured the Blood Moon are here, so, if we break them, we might be able to end the Blood Moon, which will make our fight against the rest of the cult all the easier.”

Frostmane nodded, before looking back to me. “While you were checking the rooms, our new ‘friends’ told us what we would find below. There are five more of their number there, as well as the Mother and her pet wolf, and the sacrifice that is powering the Blood Moon.”

“Sacrifice?”

Vestele nodded grimly. “Yes, the cult somehow managed to call and bind an angel, which they are using in an array like the ones we found in the wolf caves. It is likely that those arrays were, in fact, repurposed designs from the ones we are now facing.”

Oh, that didn’t sound good! Those abominations were sick and wrong on so many levels. They were just torture for torture’s sake. Looking the priestess in the eye, I asked, “Repurposed how?”

“The arrays in the caves were designed to constantly regrow flesh and keep their occupants alive, giving the wolves an inexhaustible source of food, allowing them to fit many more and larger wolves than could normally be supported in this area, drawing on the life force of the humans trapped in the array to power the regeneration effect. The arrays below apparently siphon the essence of the trapped angel, and use it to conjure the Blood Moon, forcing afflicted werewolves to take their hybrid forms, and making them more aggressive and easier for natural werewolves to control. It also is what has made the calling of all these fiendish dire wolves possible.”

I nodded slowly. “So, if we take out this array, we can greatly weaken the cultists, by removing their reinforcements of dire wolves?”

“Yes, though they will still have the wolves that they’ve already brought over. And our new friends don’t know what the Hunt Leader and his people have been up to. They stopped by the shrine to help summon and contain the angel for the Blood Moon, but they’ve been using the shrine as a contact point, and some travelers from outside have passed through the shrine as well, heading toward the temple.”

I took a breath. It would have been too simple to assume that just bringing down the Blood Moon would end the cult’s ambitions. Oh, it would have made things so much easier, but what could you do?

With a sigh, I said, “All right, then the only thing we can do is to weaken the cult however we can. Hopefully we can kill the demon and those who follow it, and not have to fight the angel alongside.” I turned to look at the rest of the group. “We have some idea of what we’ll find, but we don’t know everything. I expect that this is likely going to be one of our more difficult fights.”

With that in mind, we began walking along the stone path once more. The final switch was thrown, and, as before, a stone path rose in front of us. As we walked, I took a moment to make sure my breathing was under control. I was nervous. Damn straight, I was! This wasn’t going to be an easy fight. But if we could do this, then we had a chance to deal a heavy blow to the Malarites.

“Siora, make me invisible again. And hit me with Silence, as well, if you can. That way, I can sneak down, see what is up, and then come back up. Like with the wolf floor, we’ll have invisibility to surprise people.” I looked at everyone. “Sounds good?”

Everyone nodded, so Siora cast her spell, making me invisible. I knew that I wasn’t the stealthiest person in our group, but I could take hits that Siora couldn’t, so we couldn’t risk sending her first. It needed to be me.

Melinda’s Move Silently check: 1d20+6 = 25

Sneaking down the stairs as silently as I could, I crouched low and looked into the room. Just as the charmed Huntresses had said, there were eight individuals in the room. Five were Huntresses, dressed in identical vestments, with identical armor and weapons. I knew why they were like that, of course. Uniformity broke down ideas of individuality, which made it easier for the Huntcaller, or this Mother, to control them.

The five Huntresses were standing in five magic circles, focusing on… maintaining the array? When I used my ability to see magic, I could see that magic was flowing through the circles. The circles were arranged in a pentagram, and power flowed between them, strengthening as it went.

I paused, considering that. Perhaps that was part of why they had seven humans to power the arrays in the wolf den. They needed the extra power from multiple living sacrifices to make the effect something that didn’t require regular maintenance. But the Blood Moon was an order of difficulty different from just a regeneration effect.

Melinda’s Knowledge (Planes) check: 1d20+9 = 27 (Success)

The power was flowing out from an array in the middle of the room, where a female figure was trapped. It was not an angel, however, though it was easy to see how one could make that mistake. It was a Silver Celestial, one of those creatures who served the moon goddess, Selune. And she was in a bad, bad way.

The celestial had been stripped naked, and forced to kneel upon her knees and elbows. Iron spikes were driven through each of her arms and legs, as well as her wings, preventing her from escaping, or resisting. The blood on her body had dried, but the floor around her did not have even a bit of blood spatter on it, as though the array she was in had drank up the blood. If only that were the worst of it.

One of the fiendish dire wolves was atop of her, his bulk dwarfing hers. The wolf, most definitely a male, was raping the celestial, ignoring her cries. As I watched, I noted in horror that, with every thrust, power flowed into the series of arrays. The ritual was using the pain and rape of this woman to empower the Blood Moon!

My fingers twitched, just begging to unleash a blast and knock the wolf off of the celestial. Every fiber of my being wanted to rush in and start killing. But I couldn’t. Not yet. I needed the others to make sure that everyone here paid for what was happening.

The last figure was against the back wall, outside the arrays. Like the Huntresses, she was dressed in priestly vestments, but she did not wear any visible armor, and her clothes were like night and day different from the simple garments they wore. Even from this distance, I could see that they were made of silk, not just cotton, and they had been tailored especially for her, judging by how they clung to her curves.

That had to be the Mother. She looked like a normal human, with fiery red hair, but I knew that a succubus could change their appearance easily enough. While I couldn’t tell how powerful she was, I could see that pretty much everything she was wearing, from her boots to the veil hiding her face, was magical. Like, very magical. This was definitely not going to be easy.

And then I saw something that broke my heart. The celestial was looking at me. Right at me. She could see me, despite the invisibility. I felt like I could feel her eyes crying out to me, begging me to help.

It took everything I had not to rush in, then and there. But I couldn’t risk her giving away our chance at surprise. I placed one finger over my lips, begging that the celestial was lucid enough to understand me. Silently, I mouthed, I’ll be back. Then, I turned, and scurried up the stairs, still trying to be as quiet as I could be.

By the time I’d gotten upstairs, my rage had turned into icy hate. I wanted these cultists to die, in the worst way. Stepping up to the group, I said, with no little degree of venom, “Siora, make Frostmane and as many of the others invisible as you can. They’re focused on their ritual. We’ll use that surprise to our advantage. Frostmane and I will take the Mother. The rest of you, I don’t care what you do, take down the wolf and cultists.”

To her credit, Siora simply nodded, and cast two spells, one to turn Frostmane invisible as I had, and the other an invisibility sphere, which would allow her, her sister, and their two pet Huntresses to go unseen, so long as they stayed close to her. I took another breath, and said, “Everyone move as quietly as you can. Frostmane will lead the charge. Ready your attacks and spells to go as soon as he becomes visible. Frostmane, give us a second to get ready, once you are in position.”

“Right.”

“Then let’s move out.”