could not shriek, but its hazy essence rolled about in obvious torment.
Baannat could have pulled the darowk through the veil which separated Demonspawn from the dark realm, but he decided against it. He believed his call would be heard if he maintained an opening into Reiculf's realm.
Knowing the daokiln ruled all demons no matter where they prowled, the slink ghoul spoke through the dimensional ripple. He gave a blunt order directly to the darowk caught in his claw.
"Call for your master!" Baannat demanded.
The slink ghoul sensed hesitation in its prey. Baannat knew he could not threaten the creature with any torment greater than Reiculf could provide, so the ghoul made his intentions clear.
"I have a proposition for the daokiln... one which will satisfy his current ambitions. Fail to allow for the delivery of such a proposition and his retribution will be great."
Without recourse, the darowk reluctantly made a plea to its master.
Initially, there was no response. Not a surprise. Though a darowk calling for Reiculf was clearly unexpected, it did not necessarily follow that the daokiln would respond to such an insignificant appeal.
The slink ghoul understood that the cries of a single darowk would not immediately arouse the attention of the realm's lord and master. He needed to raise the severity of the request.
"Invoke my name," the ghoul demanded of the smoke demon, "Reveal to your master that Baannat calls upon him."
Once the message was communicated, there was an immediate response. The daokiln did not appear near the dimensional rift, but his voice thundered in the slink ghoul's mind.
"Not a wise decision... to intrude upon my realm."
"There was no other way to speak with you," Baannat responded respectfully.
"An insufficient excuse. You assume I wish to hear you. At the moment, I have no need for you or your domain of nonexistence."
"I do not wish to imply you had such a need, but I do have an offer."
"You wish to regain Ansas' essence," Reiculf growled with disgust, already aware of the slink ghoul's desires. "He is mine for as long as I want him. If I ever tire of him, I might toss him to you out of amusement, but that would be the extent of my concern for your wishes."
"You are correct. I do want Ansas back in my domain. I am also quite aware I could never demand him from you, or even simply make the request. He is yours now and his fate is completely within your discretion."
"Then why do you risk your existence... and nonexistence... to disturb me?"
"Because I believe I can offer you something of greater value."
"Value is irrelevant. What is valuable to you is nothing to me. Your desire to regain Ansas' essence might be of great importance to you, but he is less than a worm in my estimation. That does not mean I will simply turn him over to you. All that matters are my desires. I care little for what you might consider valuable."
"Quite right. I admit I am in an unenviable position. Any declaration of what you would consider valuable is obviously presumptuous on my part, but I must at least make the attempt."
"Then be warned ghoul, your careless reach into my domain allows me to seize you if I find your words insulting."
"Very well, and in order to avoid even the pretense of petty bargaining, allow me to reveal exactly what I require. I will need the services of a doppelganger and a dathit. I must have complete dominion over them. They must respond to my wishes as if they were responding to you. And they must be willing to travel through dimensional space."
The daokiln found the request absurd, yet significant enough to maintain his interest. He decided to question the slink ghoul, if for nothing else, to gauge the depth of Baannat's schemes.
"A doppelganger is pointless to one such as you," Reiculf asserted. "Even in your imbalanced state, you are a slink ghoul with sufficient magic to cast in light and illusion. You could create any shape shifting illusion you desire. Why do you risk my
Baannat could have pulled the darowk through the veil which separated Demonspawn from the dark realm, but he decided against it. He believed his call would be heard if he maintained an opening into Reiculf's realm.
Knowing the daokiln ruled all demons no matter where they prowled, the slink ghoul spoke through the dimensional ripple. He gave a blunt order directly to the darowk caught in his claw.
"Call for your master!" Baannat demanded.
The slink ghoul sensed hesitation in its prey. Baannat knew he could not threaten the creature with any torment greater than Reiculf could provide, so the ghoul made his intentions clear.
"I have a proposition for the daokiln... one which will satisfy his current ambitions. Fail to allow for the delivery of such a proposition and his retribution will be great."
Without recourse, the darowk reluctantly made a plea to its master.
Initially, there was no response. Not a surprise. Though a darowk calling for Reiculf was clearly unexpected, it did not necessarily follow that the daokiln would respond to such an insignificant appeal.
The slink ghoul understood that the cries of a single darowk would not immediately arouse the attention of the realm's lord and master. He needed to raise the severity of the request.
"Invoke my name," the ghoul demanded of the smoke demon, "Reveal to your master that Baannat calls upon him."
Once the message was communicated, there was an immediate response. The daokiln did not appear near the dimensional rift, but his voice thundered in the slink ghoul's mind.
"Not a wise decision... to intrude upon my realm."
"There was no other way to speak with you," Baannat responded respectfully.
"An insufficient excuse. You assume I wish to hear you. At the moment, I have no need for you or your domain of nonexistence."
"I do not wish to imply you had such a need, but I do have an offer."
"You wish to regain Ansas' essence," Reiculf growled with disgust, already aware of the slink ghoul's desires. "He is mine for as long as I want him. If I ever tire of him, I might toss him to you out of amusement, but that would be the extent of my concern for your wishes."
"You are correct. I do want Ansas back in my domain. I am also quite aware I could never demand him from you, or even simply make the request. He is yours now and his fate is completely within your discretion."
"Then why do you risk your existence... and nonexistence... to disturb me?"
"Because I believe I can offer you something of greater value."
"Value is irrelevant. What is valuable to you is nothing to me. Your desire to regain Ansas' essence might be of great importance to you, but he is less than a worm in my estimation. That does not mean I will simply turn him over to you. All that matters are my desires. I care little for what you might consider valuable."
"Quite right. I admit I am in an unenviable position. Any declaration of what you would consider valuable is obviously presumptuous on my part, but I must at least make the attempt."
"Then be warned ghoul, your careless reach into my domain allows me to seize you if I find your words insulting."
"Very well, and in order to avoid even the pretense of petty bargaining, allow me to reveal exactly what I require. I will need the services of a doppelganger and a dathit. I must have complete dominion over them. They must respond to my wishes as if they were responding to you. And they must be willing to travel through dimensional space."
The daokiln found the request absurd, yet significant enough to maintain his interest. He decided to question the slink ghoul, if for nothing else, to gauge the depth of Baannat's schemes.
"A doppelganger is pointless to one such as you," Reiculf asserted. "Even in your imbalanced state, you are a slink ghoul with sufficient magic to cast in light and illusion. You could create any shape shifting illusion you desire. Why do you risk my
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