//------------------------------// // 646 - Getting Down to Business // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “No, I will not agree to a cure period in the event of asset forfeiture due to force majeure,” stated Lex flatly. “That’s grounds for an exclusionary clause, at the very least.” “I can agree to that, if you’ll stipulate that such a circumstance warrants an indemnity,” offered Prevarius, scribbling on the parchment as he spoke. “With the requisite compensation being held in escrow, pro tempore.” “In that case,” retorted Lex without missing a beat, “I want the remittance to be itemized in full, rather than inter alia…” Watching from halfway across the clearing, Solvei lowered her head toward Thermal Draft. “Do you know what tongue they’re speaking?” she murmured, keeping her voice low so as not to interrupt the bickering duo. Thermal Draft shrugged. “Legalese, I guess.” “Lee-gull-eez,” repeated Solvei quietly, looking back at where Lex was continuing to hold his own against the Red Man using nothing more than strange words. “Is that the language of the spirits? The rest of my family only spoke to the Red Man for a moment or two before they pressed their paw against his softwood runes, and the pact was made. But Lex has been contending with the Red Man for…how long has it been?” Sighing, Thermal Draft glanced upward, but the heavy cloud cover was still blocking the majority of the light, meaning that there were few clues as to how much time had passed since Lex and Prevarius had begun haggling over their contract. “An hour, I guess?” “Oh.” Solvei paused to consider that, still not taking her eyes off of the unicorn and the devil as she spoke again. “How long is an ‘hour’?” The question made Thermal Draft’s brow furrow in confusion, before realizing that Solvei hadn’t grown up with clocks or watches the way she had. “It’s, um…it’s how long it takes for the shadows on the ground to move a little bit.” Solvei tilted her head at that, glancing around. With how diffuse the daylight was, there were no visible shadows to speak of…save for Lex’s, which had been trailing out behind him ever since he’d entered the clearing. Still, that he’d been confronting the Red Man for that long was impressive. “Lex must love you very much,” murmured the white wolf quietly. But not so quietly that Thermal Draft didn’t hear her, her cheeks turning red at the unexpected comment. “Wh-what?!” Solvei gestured toward the stallion in question. “He’s selling his soul to the Red Man so that you can have yours back, right? And that’s why it’s taking so long, so that he won’t be tricked the way you and Bolverk and my pack all were?” She couldn’t help the wistful sigh that escaped her then. “He’s really devoted to you, to want to protect you so badly.” Drafty managed a wan smile at that, but shook her head. “No. Lex would do that for anypony. Not just ponies, either. He’s also trying to get the rest of your family out of their contracts too, remember?” Her expression turned melancholy as she gazed across the clearing. “And now it’s on him to save the rest of us. Again.” Her ears turned down as she slumped in place. “I wanted to be a Siren because I thought I’d be able to help him out, but instead I only made things worse.” Solvei cocked her head again. “You mentioned that word before. What’s a Siren?” “It’s a bit hard to explain,” grunted Drafty, “but basically, it’s a mare – a female pony – who’s incredibly beautiful, has a captivating singing voice, and can use powerful magic. Those are the qualities that Lex finds attractive, and I admit I wanted to be more appealing to him, but I also wanted to stop being such a burden to him all the time.” “You’re being too hard on yourself,” protested Solvei. “When I first met you two, he had all those wounds, and you were the one taking care of him.” She paused then, realizing something. “Come to think of it, why was he hurt so badly then? And why were the two of you in that cave, so far away from any other ponies?” Drafty gave a wry laugh at that, recalling the crisis they’d been in before the current one. “That’s kind of a long story. Basically, we-” But she was cut off as a loud yell tore across the clearing, making her and Solvei jump in surprise. Except it wasn’t just the sudden shout – which had come from Lex – that caused both of their eyes to widen. It was what had precipitated it. Across from them, Lex had lunged forward, his hoof colliding heavily with Prevarius’ face. Imbued by the magic of the robes he was wearing, as well as his new amulet, Lex’s strike carried a great deal more weight that it would have otherwise. The impact against the devil’s face was forceful enough that the sound of it seemed to fill the clearing, following in the wake of his battle cry as he finally released all of the pent-up frustration he’d been holding back. It was with a great deal of spiteful satisfaction that he watched the devil recoil… By exactly one step, his infuriating smirk still in place. “Dear me,” laughed Prevarius, “does this mean that negotiations have broken down?” “I was never negotiating with you,” spat Lex as he withdrew his foreleg, falling into a crouch. Physical combat had never been his forte, but with the magic items now in his possession it was a credible option for him. Although the lack of so much as a bruise on the devil’s cheek indicated that it might not be as credible as he’d hoped. “I just wanted you to think that.” A contract, at its simplest, was simply an agreement between two or more parties. But agreements unto themselves meant little, since they were voluntarily entered into; and anything voluntarily agreed to could be voluntarily broken. That meant that the most important aspect of any contract was how it was enforced. Lex had picked up on that immediately upon realizing what he was looking at, back when Kaja had turned the winter wolves’ contracts over to him back at their cave. But at the time, he hadn’t had enough information; with the contracts being written in the language of the devils, he’d only been able to review them due to the translation magic in the potion he’d drank. Even if he had done more than briefly skim it – locating Thermal Draft having been the priority at the time – Lex hadn’t been about to trust his understanding of what he’d read to such a spell. Without having examined the potion’s effects in greater detail, there was no way for him to be certain if its translation accounted for nuance, variable interpretation, or other shades of meaning. And after confirming that Thermal Draft had fallen prey to the schemes of the devil she’d been brought before, Lex had known for certain that studying a version of the contract in his native language was absolutely necessary. That was the only way to figure out precisely how its soul-taking provision was enacted. Fortunately for him, the creature that wrote those contracts was right there. To that end, Lex had known that subterfuge – never his strong suit, but something which was imperative now – was called for. After all, it was highly unlikely that Prevarius would produce a contract purely so that he could figure out how to undermine it. But with the devil admitting that Thermal Draft had told it about him, a blunt offer to sell his soul would likely have put the creature on guard. The answer, then, had been to signal that he was open to making a deal by offering to buy out the contracts it had made with Thermal Draft and Solvei’s kin. And just as he’d hoped, the devil had refused, but parleyed that refusal into an offer to buy his own soul in exchange for the others. It had been as eager to buy his soul as the Night Mare had been upset at the prospect that he’d sell it. And now, having reviewed the contract – but not having signed it – Lex finally knew how it operated. And how to void it. Which meant the only thing left to do now- “So we’re finally done playing games, are we?” chuckled Prevarius, straightening up without so much as a hint that he’d felt Lex’s punch. Lex narrowed his eyes at that. “What?” “Oh please,” snickered the devil. “I’ve been doing this for over six hundred years. You really think I don’t know when someone’s dealing in bad faith?” He pointed at the ring around Lex’s right foreleg then, a magic item which prevented low-level mental intrusions. “I might not be able to read your thoughts, thanks to that trinket you’re wearing, but I hardly need to. You have the worst poker face I’ve seen in a very long time.” The devil raised a brow, his expression bemused. “It was clear from the moment you tried to buy back the souls of your little girlfriend and your pet’s family that you were looking for a way to investigate how infernal contracts functioned.” He casually waved the scroll they’d spent the last hour going over, before adding it to the collection of paper draped over his body-horns. “I trust the lesson was instructive?” Lex grit his teeth, refusing to rise to the taunt. “The writing on those documents isn’t just a collection of clauses and provisions. They also diagram a ritual, one which alters the trajectory of the soul upon death.” Prevarius’ smile widened. “It’s a thing of beauty, isn’t it? The recipient signs their name in blood, and as soon as they do, it forms two effects; the first is to grant them whatever wishes they were looking for, but the second is a contingent effect. The body and the soul retain a connection even after death, you see; that’s why it’s resurrection magic which depends on having an intact corpse is easier to use than resurrecting someone who’s body has been completely destroyed. Of course, once a soul goes to Hell, we don’t let it go so easily.” He reached a hand out then, caressing the hanging papers. “These contracts exploit that connection, so that when the soul tries to journey to its afterlife, the blood tie activates the secondary outcome, causing the soul’s aura – its numinous gradient, as an arcanist like you would say – to be altered while in transit, so that it naturally gravitates toward Perdition instead of its intended destination. And since the ritual effect is outlined ahead of time on the paper, there’s no chance of error or chaotic side effects.” “But only so long as the contract itself is intact,” retorted Lex coldly. “If it’s destroyed before the recipient dies, all of its effects are null and void. And based on what you outlined during our discussion, I know that there are two copies of each contract you’ve made: one given to the individuals whom you’ve cut deals with-” “-And the other is kept by me personally,” agreed Prevarius. “And it was quite obvious that once you figured that out, you’d forego signing and instead try to destroy the contracts in my possession. Since I obviously have no intention of letting you do so, that necessitates you to kill me before you can get to them.” “A requirement that I intend to fulfill immediately,” hissed Lex, his eyes glowing brighter. “Solvei! To my side!” he roared, sparing only the briefest glance back at where the winter wolf and the pegasus had been watching the exchange, alarmed. “Thermal Draft, fall back!” But despite the announcement of imminent violence, Prevarius seemed wholly unconcerned, his smug expression not faltering in the slightest. “Do you know why I went along with your little scheme, despite it being so transparently obvious?” “The motivations of someone who’s about to die are irrelevant,” dismissed Lex as the winter wolf bounded toward him. “On the contrary,” tsked Prevarius. “I’ve been in more than a few fights since I was promoted to the rank of phistophilus – an occupational hazard, you see; there are more than a few people out there who object to what I do on principle – and my still being here is a testament to how hard I am to kill.” The devil tilted his head to the side then, cracking his neck as he rolled his shoulders, loosening up. “No, the reason I humored you is because, despite what you think, you’re going to sign that contract we drew up.” That earned a dark chuckle from Lex. “And how do you intend on making me do that?” Prevarius put a hand to his cheek, as though scandalized by the question. “Perish the thought! I never make anyone sign a contract. They do it of their own free will, just like you’re about to.” For the first time in their discussion, the devil’s smile took on a sharper edge. “You see, once you realize that you can’t kill me, that’s the only way you’ll be able to save your dear Thermal Draft and poor little Solvei’s family. Oh, you’ll struggle and you’ll rage and you’ll curse your own powerlessness, but it will all come to nothing. And when it does, the only way you’ll be able to hold on to that precious pride of yours will be to sign your soul away, saving them at the cost of yourself.” In an instant, the phistophilus’ wolfish smirk was gone, his convivial expression back in place. “And so, everyone gets what they want. Your companions get out of their contracts, you get to feel like a big strong protector, and I get a highly profitable pony soul.” Taking a deep breath, Prevarius let out a happy sigh. “I must admit, deals like these are the reason I enjoy my work so much.”