“Fine,” Jillian dispassionately sighed with a shrug, shifting her gaze back to the Grand Master who confirmed Gerald’s assumption. If he knew everything already, why did they bother talking at all? He might as well just spit out his answer and be gone, saving them the trouble. However, he would not be a demon if he so easily cooperated with puny mortals such as the witch and the necromancer, and in an exemplary display of fiendishness, he chose to openly reveal rather sensitive information about both of them, in a way forcing the two to get to know one another better in an unexpected way.

“I didn’t!” Jillian hissed in protest, stomping her foot in the cold grass. [i]It wasn’t my fault![/i] her mind’s voice rang in her head. [i]I had no choice! I couldn’t control it! Vincent was dying before I even cast the damn thing! I did not kill him![/i]

The mere thought of Vincent and the accusations that came with it was enough to force a handful of small tears into her scornful, poison-colored eyes. Not satisfied with only spiting Jillian, however, the Grand Master continued with unveiling similarly unwanted knowledge about Gerald and his own past, forcing a similar reaction in the necromancer – Jillian had not seen him this angry thus far. Being the person that she was, the little witch could not help but listen with great interest to all the things that the demon had to share about her newfound companion. She felt conflicted between her own curiosity and a feeling of guilt for acquiring all of this information without Gerald’s consent. While perhaps not relevant at the moment, she could easily foresee awkward moments later on when they had only each other to talk to, knowing what the other knew about them. At the very least, however, this knowledge gave her a more definitive picture of who Gerald was, and would allow her to better understand him in the future.

Having observed the two magicians for a while, the Grand Master then changed the subject to the more relevant matters at hand, guessing at why he had been called here. Clearly, he underestimated their efforts, for when Gerald explained the state of their quest, the old demon almost appeared surprised – though, with his kind of behavior it was difficult to tell if it was fake or not. After a brief back and forth the latter then admitted that he in fact knew who was causing the Withering and even where they were, in turn surprising the Zerulic outcasts. Only now the Grand Master began asking for something in return if they wanted to know more, old serpent that he was. As a witch, Jillian felt perhaps more kinship with the denizens of the lower realms than most, yet even she knew very well that any kind of trade with a demon, especially one such as he, was seldom a good idea, and she was not willing to make that kind of exchange. Pushed by the remnants of her spite from before and this bit of wisdom, she stepped forward and confidently exclaimed:

“Nothing at all of course! You’re as much as a winner as we are if we manage to banish the Withering. Your minions are already trying to do the same, and I’m sure you are aware of how miserable they are at it.”

“Let’s be honest,” she continued, a sly grin creeping up on her thin lips, “this world would be terribly boring even for one such as yourself if humans ceased to exist, wouldn’t it? The only thing stopping that from happening is us. You want to help us, and you don’t need a special reward for doing so.”