"I wouldn't! I was going to report him! I just wanted to see where he was going with it!"

"Reeeeaaaallllyyyy?"

" - nope, it was totally sincere. If he'd been for real, I'd have fled the country this very minute. I'd have come back afterwards, probably, but you dragged me to this party and deserve to have to execute some Security about my escape from it, if I really did see an opening."

"Dear.  Need I remind you that we're fighting somebody who's actually aware of us, now, and very nearly as clever as you?  This could've been a layered plan by Keltham.  When you think you've deceived somebody else is a very important time to worry about whether they've deceived you."

"It did occur to me, your Majesty, that this might be a plan by Keltham, and it seemed to me that in that case I ought to let it succeed. I know you didn't want me running off with him before, but that was before I was soulsold and had compacted with Asmodeus to own the souls of - oh, I think Aspexia wanted me to not bandy that part around publicly - anyway, I got a very good deal, and no longer fear that Keltham could talk me Lawful Neutral, and it seems entirely possible that my unknown plan to seduce him starts with his rescuing me."

Abrogail sends out an emergency order through Telepathic Bond, receives an acknowledgment, coldly says "Fail your Will saves and I'll see if I can save your lives," and Deep Slumbers all four of the other people present.

"That's the death, or indefinite statueing and loss to Cheliax at the cost of two sixth-level spell slots each, of anyone here whose memories we can't successfully erase with one sixth-level Modify Memory.  I am taking the cost of it out of your pay."

She didn't, actually, say the part that's the important secret. 

"Your majesty."

"You still don't understand what just happened.  I am going to have words with Aspexia about this."

She takes Carissa's arm, steers her away from where the fallen Securities and informants will be saved, if that's possible, or statued if they cannot be, or executed if their lives aren't deemed worth it.

"Tell me of this compact with Asmodeus," Abrogail demands once they're away and a silence is about them.  She looks scary by the standards of anything in Golarion, now, if perhaps not Hell.

"Do you, Carissa Sevar, conquer territories or hearts in Hell's name, be you fairly judged by Hell's Prince to be the most prime mover in such conquests, such unsold and unclericed souls from those lands and peoples as enter into Hell calling your name, in death as they called it in life and did you and Hell more service than disservice, shall pass into your custody or the custody of those in Hell you name your slaves or allies; and when you have conquered three-quarters of Avistan all such souls out of Avistan shall be yours as well; when three-quarters of Golarion is yours, all such souls out of Golarion; when three-quarters of this plane is yours, all such souls out of this plane; when three-quarters of Pharasma's Creation is yours, all such souls out of Creation; while Hell's dominions of those lands and peoples last; and all this be annulled should you fail finally after death in being acknowledged by Hell as a Hellish Power, or should the yield in strength and wealth from those souls granted you be less than He accounts as ordinary from His subservient Powers of Hell; or should the Prince of Hell fairly judge you to have entered His despite in death or life," she recites from memory.

She stared at the precise wording for a long time not long ago. 

Unholy fucking Pharasma.

"You received - nothing else directly from Him?  No circles of wizardry, no rights of command over deviltry, no artifacts -"

"The rest from Dispater."

"Was this compact your idea or His?"

"Mine."

"Then He is probably, probably going along with it only as speculation, humoring you perhaps, as it costs Him no investment if you cannot do it, and He gains much if you do.  But Asmodeus does not humor many supplicants personally, Carissa Sevar.  I suppose that Aspexia was so horrified by the potential implications of the compact's contents, did they become known, that she forgot to mention to you the implications of the compact itself."

"There are probably some number of old ninth-circles, ancient dragons, beings of the underground and its layered vaults, who've executed a compact with Asmodeus Himself.  Of those mortals walking Golarion I do know of only two such.  They are you and I."

"Your majesty, you know I don't want your job and couldn't do it."

"Does everybody else in Cheliax know that?  Believe that?"

"Do you realize how dangerous it is to have an obvious successor?  Anybody who'd rather you sit on the throne than I, might try for a soul-trap, and rely on you reluctantly taking the job after none of the Thrunes succeeded in executing their own compact with Asmodeus."

" - no, your Majesty, I hadn't thought of that." But probably half the people in this room would have; it was available to think, just down a path she's not used to thinking down.

"I accept some part of this blame, for dragging you here exhausted from Dis, and Aspexia must accept some portion of it, for she should've made it clear to you at once if she is not playing her own fucking games -"

"What else happened in Hell, can you summarize it all to me?"

"Dispater was amused, as I assume I'd calculated He would be. He was entertaining offering me the thirty Wishes and two headbands, for the girls except Peranza and Asmodia, who he claimed Hell has, and who he accused me rightly of not wanting broken forever. He offered me one headband and fifteen Wishes, to throw the two of them in and make it so they've been in safety in the gardens of Erecura. I refused, obviously. Snack Service showed up and said that the half-deal served Asmodeus better than the first one, at which point Dispater refused me the first one. I thought about what else I could ask, in light of how he'd been apparently willing to go for the thirty Wishes before Cayden intervened, and asked that the devils at the gates of Abaddon tell people they could go to Carissa Sevar, and that I get anyone who accepted, if I succeeded at becoming a Power in Hell. Dispater said He couldn't do that, because of the incentive against Law, but would compact with Asmodeus on my behalf for souls that cry my name in lands I conquer.

He did that and returned with a response.  He presented the compact for one 6/6/4, 15 Wishes offered through three round-way Gates, Permanent Tongues and Arcane Sight to me, I made some revisions, I renounced Irori and got a vision from Him, I signed. Snack Service bargained with Dispater, after that, I don't know what for except apparently both the timing of my return to Golarion, and the fleshshaping, were part of it.

I repurchased the souls of everyone on Project Lawful and arranged cheap options on Security and Maillol, exercisable only with your approval and Aspexia's. Dispater says Peranza and Asmodia have always been in the Gardens. Everyone else who I claim is going to be nonconsciously petrified until it becomes obvious I'm not in fact going to turn into a Power in Hell capable of using them. - oh, and Dispater declared me his favored possession so that none in Dis or Avernus will impede me."

"No obvious explosive runes there, but I'll need to review all of this in much more detail after this party is over.  I'll tell Aspexia that I require of her that report, if she was there for all of it..."

Abrogail Thrune sighs, leans against one wall, and hits her head against it hard enough to crack the stone.  Not so hard a Mending wouldn't do, or Make Whole at worst.

"As regards the timing of your return from Dis.  There was a plot to detonate a Helm of Brilliance in the ballroom, at least, I assume that's what the plot was.  Pilar shut it down by slaying the spy.  No cake, just death.  Pilar said she could do that because her friend was at the party and having fun."

"She said that in Hell, too. That she can use her pseudoprophecy powers for her friends. I am very worried Cayden's pushing her to break with us but I don't see anything obvious to do about it."

"Has she shown any signs of - disloyalty, slippage?  Overt or subtle?"

"Nothing I'm sure is that? In Dis, she - seemed slightly bothered, I guess, But I would've been too, six months ago."

"Well, that's either dreadful foreshadowing, or it's somebody being slightly bothered inside of Hell, as I hear sometimes happens.  I'm going to check with Aspexia if she considers herself to be monitoring Pilar's character arc, and if she's not or doesn't have the time then I'm going to assign you to the task."

"And do you know what we're going to do now, Carissa, after all this upset?"