"Denying him his minions was both. I tried to subvert the Eye of the Storm. Influence over elementals is the kind of thing that can be twisted, but it was stronger than I expected. And when some of his allies were defeated, it did not weaken him. We had hoped the loss would work against his nature as conquest, but he just had to recast it as them serving him until they couldn't."

"So conversely defeating him even with his minions around would be a pretty sound victory."

"Yes, but harder. Make no mistake, you are the underdog at best."

"Mm," she says noncommittally. "Anyway, how will your family stand if Jeremy does become Lord?"

"That would be a best-case scenario for them. Before you ask, though, it wouldn't be the first time the family has gambled on Jeremy and lost. I doubt either of us could convince Nicole to commit to any serious risks."

"I didn't expect you to. Well. I think that was all I had."

"Then good luck. And– keep in mind Conquest is weaker than he appears. Barely formidable; not unassailable."

Interesting thing to say when they lost. Off she goes to tell her allies of all of this.

It's not really to anyone's surprise. Powerful families tend to be conservative with risks, Johannes says.

Other people to talk to are mostly in Toronto. Diana and Doug are in favor of making overtures to more people first, while Johannes recommends firing their opening salvo with as much surprise as they can muster. If it works they'll be in a better position to talk practitioners into doing what the Duchamps wouldn't.

Does Johannes have a suggestion about what the opening salvo should actually be?

What they talked about, basically. Make sure he has a back and stab him in it. Figuratively speaking.

Does he have a plan about how to get to this metaphorical back?

By making Conquest an offer he can't refuse, and letting him accept.

The more people the better, but they do have a minimum already.

Mmm... Well, at least talking to Fell should happen first.

"Fair enough. I can get you back into Toronto, but eventually Conquest will spot it happening and cut me off. Do you think your hideouts will hold until you're ready to move?"

"At least for long enough for us to contact Fell, I'm pretty sure."

Nod.

"Then I'll get the three of you in whenever you're ready. And you can contact me if you need a quick exit— she might have to call in Conquest herself, or you might run into her husband."

"I'll try to be inconspicuous," she says.

And soon enough they're ready.

He gates them back to Conquest's city. The three of them reappear at the same location they came from, in the middle of an alley in nowhere in particular. (Following Sadde's lead, neither Doug nor Diana mentioned the diabolists' address as a safe house.)

Most of the city is snowed in. Subways not running, few cars on the roads. Salt trucks and road ploughs have been by recently, so at least the streets are walkable. No sign of Others or practitioners from this corner.

Do they know where Fell lives?

Doug does. And he can fly around to check that her husband isn't present at the time.

Can he also check for other (at least magical) forms of surveillance?

Only enough to say that there's none that isn't hidden.

Diana argues pessimistically that they probably don't need to worry about surveillance. If the house is watched then Fell would have noticed, and if she's enslaved or loyal then she can already just phone her husband as soon as they knock.

She does actually have a point.

Knock knock?

Diana and Doug stay out of sight again. Not for fugitive safety reasons—now that Sadde is openly at war that wouldn't make much difference— but just because Conquest doesn't know about the familiar bond yet and an enchantress could spot that.

The door opens. A woman, practictioner, maybe forties or fifties. If she tripped any silent alarms they were silent ones.

"Hello. Can I help you?"