The Keepers of Chaos: A Vault of Hell

Ammalia Cassalanter: CXXVI

Robbed: CXXVI

"They.. have the gold." Ammalia's body felt frozen. She stood in the center of her house, staring at the double doors in a mix of shock and horror. Everything. Everything had crumbled at once. Had they been so passive? So unwilling to act that they lost the money? They couldn't just attack these adventurers, not with the Harpers backing them. "Victoro.. They.."

"I know." He snapped. His hair was a mess, his face timultive. "Dlardrageth.. I should have had him watched.. I.. I believed him as my friend." Victoro muttered. Her stomach felt hollow, oh God's. "We could have intercepted the gold on its transport! If Dlardrageth had not interfered.. Perhaps we could have.." His voice routinely trailed off, every thought he spoke aloud was unfinished.

"Victoro!" She shouted. For once her husband snapped up, looking rather confused. "My love.. We cannot panic. We.. I-I know this is terrifying but.." She grit her teeth, rushing forward. Her husband turned on his heel moving to her. She held out her arms, taking him into her embrace. Warmth reached through her body. "We lost the gold.." She held back tears. Her children.. Her kids.. "The children, victoro the children. W-we can bankrupt ourselves and-"

"What?!" He pulled away. Victoro's face was covered in a disgusted expression. She.. couldn't understand it. "What would be the point of this? All of this! If we bankrupted ourselves for the million dragons? We.. can't. Ammalia we can't." She shivered. No no.

"Victoro!" She screeched. "The children, Terenzio, Elzerina. If we don't- then we are robbed of them both!" Damn those stupid Keepers! Damn them! She clenched a fist pledging a silent prayer, she wished to curse them for all eternity! His face, she held her breath in fear, his face did not change. "Terenzio?" she cried. "Elzerina? Victoro we have to save them. We placed their so-"

"No!" he screamed, he pulled away. "This is not our fault! T-this is the stupid noble hierarchy.. Their unwillingness to accept us at a depleted state!" Was.. was that true? "They pushed us to this deal! Ammalia. We have to keep going we can't-"

"How?!" She collapsed. Her knees giving out under her. She drifted gently onto the marble floor choking back tears. "Love.. how?" Victoro's role was to secure the gold, to get them the final five hundred thousand gold they needed. Trembling fingers gripped the floor feebly, she bit her lip trying desperately to think of a plan. Victoro rubbed his beard, pacing in the house furiously whilst his cape billowed in the cold air.

"The contract.. Clear states that at the hour of their ninth birthday, the payment must be delivered in full; one shy a hundred souls, one shy a million gold." She frowned in confusion, she already knew this! "Lord Asmodeus, wants a shy million gold. Yet he is also asking for a great number of souls.."

"Yes... and? Regardless we would give him the souls! What does this mean?" Did he intend to renegotiate the contract? Could that even work?" Ammalia pleaded for answers, she pulled herself off the ground storming to her husband. He stared off into the stair case muttering small phrases under his breathe.

"We.." His eyes widened. "Darling, we must try.. We will try to save our children. If Lord Asmodeus wishes for a hundred souls, then we shall give him two hundred." her jaw dropped, her stomach caved into itself, what? What on Toril had he said? "Ammalia! We double the sacrifice, and give him half a million of the dragons he wanted. Two hundred souls! Two hundred souls could spare his rapture of our children it-" She cupped her mouth holding back the vile which threatened to spill forth. Had he lost his mind? Twisted what little they could fathom? She had prepared it, the vials and vials of midnight tears. Yet, her stomach churned and she could no longer center herself. She turned away from her husband retching out a vile putrid concoction. Two hundred souls, was a hundred not yet enough? No.. no.. she had been thinking about it all wrong, her mind was warped. These were not people, they were lowly poor commoners with no hope for the future! Her children would live and she didn't care how many had to die.

"Two hundred." She confirmed. Knowing that the poison stocks had to be increased. "Than we shall sacrifice two hundred souls.. To his lord." something in her told her it was wrong, a tiny little voice begging her to see reason. She shook her head, telling it to be silent. "We shall save our children.. Regardless if they have the gold or not."

"Distract the harpers. I will task allies of ours in the Zhentarim and Xanathar guild, the ones in the guard, the little friends we have in other criminal groups. All of them shall make trouble for the Harpers on the day of the ceremony."

"Is Cersei ready?" she whispered, she knew how integrale the girl was to the plans, creating a ritual diviner that could pull forth the souls was essential.

"Yes.. she is." Victoro's gorgeous eyes swam to her, he stepped forth with a nervous tremble. She felt it as well. Ammalia swallowed what little fear she had and reached out to embrace him. "Ammalia, Terenzio will venture the world.. Elzerina will achieve all she wants.. I promise you.. This is our hope, our path to victory." He smelled like Lavender, she liked it. The house was so empty and quiet, the kids out playing. They would always be there with her. She nodded, only having a single regret on her mind.

"And.." Her voice was hoarse and scared. She clenched her eyes shut in mild terror, but some part of her believed that perhaps Victoro was even more terrified. "If the Keepers of Chaos interfere? Victoro.. What if your dreams are right?" His dreams.. The ones he'd told her so much about. The Keepers of Chaos would attack, she was sure of it! They had a vendetta now and there was no stopping it.

"Then.. my love." Her husband pulled away. "Then you shall gather your gauntlets, and I my own strength." he tossed his cane into the air, catching it by its foot. "And we will fight them.. End them, and sacrifice what little they hold dear. They robbed us of a chance.. We will steal from their lives."