"Acceptable risk.  Writing materials for the message, please, and somewhere secure to write it.  Expected time to Gorthoklek?"

"I can send someone with the message as soon as you write it, and wouldn't expect them to take more than ten minutes to deliver it unless there's some unexpected mess at the front."

"Hm.  Additional time cost and privacy gain if it only goes the next time a Teleport to Egorian would otherwise be expected?"

"It'd be less interesting and less likely to be intercepted. Next expected Teleport would be...this evening, probably, to deliver daily reports by hand. If Gorthoklek is there to receive it, there might be a return reply immediately, otherwise I would expect a reply tomorrow morning or at latest evening."

The tricky part is not knowing what resources, such as Teleports, she is allowed to expend in the name of keeping her seal secret.

She thinks that so long as the message is on the way, she can probably manage.

"That seems better.  I have family members in the process of being relocated by Security," since maybe somebody interesting will try to kidnap them, "and I believe that should serve as a good cover for you to notify me that a message is waiting for me, when a return message arrives.  Affirm or deny."

"Affirm." Why is he taking orders from her? Well, if he wasn't supposed to do that, she'll presumably be in more trouble than he will.

"Are there any obvious flaws to you in this arrangement?  Do not assume that I am fully familiar with all the details of these workings; if I was, I wouldn't have needed to ask this much."

Something about the way she's phrasing that feels like dath ilani influence... well, that's not necessarily a bad thing.

"I don't see obvious flaws or risks other than the ones I have mentioned."

"Very well."

Asmodia writes a message to Gorthoklek.

Due to her mortal imperfection, the Project Lawful girl whom Gorthoklek should recently have been told about as having returned with a secret, has not been able to conceal all signs of having a secret from people who could potentially inquire into it, including particularly the project leader.

This Project Lawful girl now requests an authorization from Gorthoklek she can show to such people telling them to not inquire further and not talk about her or about the existence of that instruction, with literally anyone; and an authorization she can show to somebody to instruct them to not further propagate any information that she has leaked or will leak; and/or such other authorizations as Gorthoklek may deem good for her to have.

She doesn't sign it, folds it into a blank-looking rectangle of paper, and hands it to the cleric.  "Seal as appropriate.  Please make sure the person doing the Teleport understands that a new rumor about Project Lawful sending secret messages to Gorthoklek is not an outcome that would be desirable.  To Gorthoklek."

"....I will make that understood."

It is starting to make slightly more sense why someone bothered to tell him that you cannot escape this assignment by suicide.

"Good.  If you meet me under other circumstances I'm no different from any other Project Lawful girl.  We're done."

Asmodia turns around and walks out of the office.

She's got to hold it together at least until she reaches her bedroom, but, weirdly enough, she feels like she probably can.

"Security should leave," Carissa says to the High Priestess once they're outside the Forbiddance. "The conversation might touch on topics they're not cleared for."

Security doesn't object to this order but doesn't leave either; you're not supposed to leave someone alone once they've been told they're selling their soul, which is....apparently what's going on here?

"Do it."

Right, then. Selling her soul. She feels quite different than she did three days ago when she was last going to sell her soul. Not less scared, but - 

- she's going to serve Asmodeus well. And she's not scared of random devils; they're nothing next to her, after all.

Planar Ally is one of the spells Subirachs keeps prepped daily; there are many emergencies that could potentially require a devil's aid.

1250gp offerings, 10 minute casting time.

Rumor has it that Project Lawful girls' souls are selling for exorbitant prices, in the markets of Dis. She'd be proud of that, but maybe only a tiny chance of successfully turning them into dath ilani is enough to justify the absurd prices; it's not a bet on her competence at the task ahead of her, just yet another indication of the stakes. 

It does mean she should be able to get a devil on board with this deal even though it's not as good a deal for them as usual, though. 

She's not actually sure what the fair price of a Chelish soul is, now that she thinks about it. Arguably it's not much, since they'll almost definitely go to Hell anyway. Though that's less true of the Project Lawful girls, who other gods keep stealing. How expensive is the cheapest way to corrupt souls to Evil, how much is a soul worth to Asmodeus in the sense of how much it costs him to get one? It might vary a lot by the soul. 

What would happen if you demanded a Wish? 

What would happen if you were Carissa Sevar, the name known to every contract devil who deals with Cheliax, and you demanded a Wish and Arcane Sight and a hundred pounds of spellsilver just for the rights to your soul if Keltham chooses not to exercise his option.

Probably the answer is that you'd get laughed at and then tortured but she almost wants to try it just to see. 

She means to name the mightiest contract devil whose name she knows, one to whom other devils answer; the thought has occurred to Subirachs as well that Carissa Sevar is perhaps worth more than ordinary souls in their Lord's sight.  It is not clear that Hell's profit should be protected at the expense of Sevar's pride.  On the other hand, if that thought hasn't occurred to Sevar herself, she may deserve no better.  But she will at least bring forth a devil worthy of negotiation.

"Glosialabolas, come forth and bargain."  So speaks the High Priestess of Asmodeus, Jacint Subirachs.

He doesn't trouble with ceremony until he knows this is even worth his time.  Anybody worth his time to bargain with won't be impressed by a little extra fire on arrival.  He's also busy and trying to impress mortals is mostly beneath him.

"Who has the temerity and why should I bother?" he says, not troubling himself to add any threats.

"I am Carissa Sevar." She doesn't bother explaining; he ought to know, or at least she intends to give the impression he ought to know. "There is a mortal who desires to possess an option on my soul, sold otherwise to Hell, and if you are permitted to bargain for my soul at all you will have it until or unless he claims that option. Are you so permitted?"

Glosialabolas thinks the Infernal equivalent of "HOLY SHIT".

He knows by now, of course, as does most of Dis, that Carissa Sevar already got her first reply, the one telling her not to sell her soul that day, which has invited a lot of speculation about possible other days.  It's obvious that she would be the prize to own if you could.  But they haven't received any clarification from their superiors about whether -

Is she an unfinished cleric?

Is she an unfinished cleric of Irori?

...and yet apparently, as seen from other spiritual angles, she looks more truly pledged to Asmodeus than most soul-sellers usually arrive to him, and is sincere in her intent to bargain?

What was that about a mortal wanting an option on her soul?

First things first.  "Then you may, possibly, be worth my time.  What price would you seek for yourself?"

If she doesn't know, if he can get an agreement from her on that point before he returns to Hell to see if this can be authorized -