The passing mention – and appreciation – of her efforts alone were enough to send a revitalizing jolt of bliss through Jillian’s mind, even if she knew that someone like Crone had little need to praise a witch who was so far beneath her own power and wisdom. It didn’t matter; the fact alone that someone noticed and saw something good come out of her work was enough for her to feel good about herself. If it were up to her to give out praise, however, she would have to give it to Gerald, whose shadow image made it possible for her to deal such phenomenal damage in the first place and whose energy-transferring trick empowered her multiple times. When she thought about it, the idea seemed quite charming: her, laying destruction and flame upon whomever stood in their way and him, expanding her energy pool manifold and keeping her alive. A romantic little idea that she was sure Gerald would have no patience or approval for. She could hear him now, grumbling something along the lines of “I must use my power sparingly, Veldaine”, justifying it somehow.

Listening to their exchange, Jillian got the impression that no matter what approach they took, it would be really dangerous, to the point where calling a particular strategy dangerous was redundant. They were trying to defeat and imprison a powerful demon lord, after all. So far, it seemed like using the prison as bait and laying a trap was the smartest solution, as letting him reunite with reinforcements at his keep was pointless and stupid. What worried her the most, however, was this talk about possession. Just how vulnerable were they to this? How quickly could he do it? From what range? Was it telegraphed? Reversible? So many questions. Gerald, for his part, seemed unconcerned at least, most likely because he could use his necromancy and maybe the Withering to try and transfer Hazzergash into his crystal vessel or something along those lines, she figured.

“How does possession work? You make it sound like he could take over any one of us at a whim. If that’s true then we’ve got a bit of a problem, no? Can we see it coming somehow, stop it?” Jillian asked nobody in particular, putting her concerns into the round at large as she looked at each participant in turn and waiting for anyone to pick up the torch and answer.