I have no special gift for oratory. Look now, see my tongue - it has no fork in it. You have heard, and you will hear, much prettier words from the servants of prettier gods.

But the truth sometimes is ugly.

The church in Egorian would quail if they knew I dared to speak these truths simply - even brusquely -, but I have faith in your ability to hear and comprehend.

This is the truth:

Of the ancient gods, Asmodeus knows the human heart. Of the ancient gods, Asmodeus knows you.

Asmodeus was the first god, and His the first faith. 

No one in Creation needs to learn Asmodeanism. No one needs an Egorian catechism. Already you are His.

Even chickens establish a pecking order.

Even chickens find their level. 

Pluck the pecking chickens, declare them men and equals, go live in a barrel.

Please hold your comments for the end.

Even chickens have a pecking order and even Caydenites their primates and popes.

The liars sworn to gods called good pretend that they are better than you. It is a thin facade.

Where was Sarenrae's mercy and patience at Gormuz?

They judge you, and in the same breath reveal themselves as hypocrites. But do not judge them harshly, for the gods called good demand this. They demand of mortals we be other than we are - and when we are not, that we believe we are or believe ourselves dirt. You can hate Them, hate Them for the inhuman, the alien demands They place on you! 

There is another way. 

Let Asmodeus absolve you. Let Him lift the weight from your shoulders. Let Him raise you high in this world.

Asmodeus backs Korvosa. Let Him see you. Let Him work through you.

Asmodeus is King, and He will save us all.

There are people crying.

Is that a good sign? He hopes that it's a good sign.

...He doubts that it's a good sign.

Actually, Asmodeus just picked up a hundred and six new priests.

(Mostly inquisitors.)

Run that by him again, he must not have heard right.

Yeah. Pretty much everyone who was within an alignment step and open to it.

Disproportionately children and those without enough Wisdom to cast.

Is that... allowed.

Evidently.

One renounced Him immediately, and He'll probably be hemorrhaging priests all week before the decay levels off.

If, conditional on their survival, more than 75% of these people are still drawing power from Hell five years out, I'll eat my hat.

Reebs feels faint.

What must that have cost? 

Presumably it cost less than it would have cost to come in person, or to gate in a hundred devils?

Well.

Reebs did it.

Now Asmodeus has eyes in the Vault.

He's going to worry less about wasting Hell's power or intervention, apparently what happens in the Vault is of paramount importance to Hell.

...

Maybe we should try and avoid coming to the attention of... any of those clerics.

(Technically inquisitors.)

That plan seems at odds with rebutting Reebs.

Okay, but, and this is all speculative, but I have a theory: whoever talks to us for long enough, if they're smart enough, notices that we're going to radically transform the setting. Most people haven't spoken with us long enough to notice, or, uh, they aren't - I don't want to say that they aren't smart enough but they lack the prerequisites and they don't have enough chunked to compute it all in one sweep, so they think about little things like eradicating malaria and don't leap to the generalization that Earth technology opens new opportunities to start reactions which create their own reactants... um, backing up a step, let's just say "we know about Earth technology" because that's already a big thing on its own. Most people don't have enough chunked knowledge to understand what it means.

And, on this theory, the reason for all the divine interest in the Vault is - us. The four of us.

Maybe Otolmens noticed first... maybe because I was thinking things which put me in the right state of mind, like it says in the setting document can get a god's attention... though I'm not within an alignment step... or maybe Ragathiel gave her heads up, as part of an ancient commitment or something? Or maybe she's just good at noticing things or has ways unique to her among the gods. Anyway, the theory continues that other gods noticed her noticing, when she pulled the flashy miracles, but didn't necessarily notice what she noticed. So this is Asmodeus trying to figure out what weird thing is going on.

And we shouldn't make that easy for him.