Again annoyed at Vheod's unresponsiveness, Orrag asked, 'What's your story, Vheod?'
'It's a long one,' Vheod retorted, 'but perhaps some of it might be of interest to you.'
'I doubt it,' Orrag lied, 'but I must admit there's something intriguing about you. You're not from around here, are you?' Before Vheod could answer, the half-orc continued. 'I'll tell you what. Let's make this interesting. You tell me a tale, and if I find it interesting, I’ll listen to whatever business you're supposed to have with me. Sound fair?'
Vheod had expected Orrag to be less than reputable from Ponter's brief comments earlier that day. His disgusting appearance and mannerisms were almost unnoticeable to someone who had spent his entire life among the fiends of the Lower Planes. However, something about Orrag puzzled him. The half-orc's manner suggested an unspoken agenda- almost as if he recognized who Vheod was, or what he was.
'Perhaps I can come up with something that might pique your curiosity,' Vheod said slowly. 'I can tell you of the place from which I hail. My homeland holds many tales, let me tell you.'
Orrag simply nodded and took a small, noisy sip from his flagon.
Vheod cleared his throat and began his tale. 'Many centuries ago, so I was told, the Abyssal Lord Demogorgon commissioned a ship to be built.' 'A ship?' Orrag asked. Vheod scowled. 'Yes.'
Orrag said nothing, but sipped his drink once again.
'This ship wasn't just a normal craft, meant to sail the seas. No, wnind and oarsmen were not to propel this craft. This was a ship that would sail the River Styx itself. On the Styx, a craft can travel between any of the Lower Planes-the Abyss, Gehenna, Pandemonium, even Baator. Furthermore, this ship would ply the waters between all the planes and travel to any world that its captain might choose to visit. Its enchanted rudder would direct the ship on a sorcerous journey anywhere in the multiverse.'
Orrag raised his brow and took another sip, his eyes never leaving Vheod.
'A tanar'ri shipwright by the name of Reyniss had garnered a reputation among important circles deep within the Abyss. His skills were well known.' Vheod paused for a moment, considering his words. 'There are more malignant seas and fetid rivers flowing through the Abyss than you might think.'
Orrag continued to stare silently.
'Demogorgon contacted Reyniss,' Vheod continued, 'by means of a mephit, a tiny, dark servitor of the Lower Planar lords. It flitted through the brooding caverns and dismal swamps of the Abyss to bring him this message: ‘I, Demogorgon, Tanar'ri Prince and Lord of All that Swims in Darkness, wish to commission you to undertake your greatest achievement,' it said. 'Come to me, and I will tell you of the glories and riches that will be yours should you craft the ship that I desire.'
'Reyniss knew better than to trust Demogorgon for even the greatest of fiends can know treachery at the hands of an Abyssal Lord. Thus the shipwright gathered together all of the sorcerous protections he could muster and filled his own dark lair with defenses and traps to ward away intruders. Cautiously, he made his way to Ungorth Reddik, Demogorgons fortress.
'Ungorth Reddik rose from a grotesque bog deep in the Abyss. Swarming about it were Demogorgon's fiendish servants and all sorts of scaly monstrosities that worshiped him. Reyniss ignored them, and entered the fortress through gargoyle-protected gates.
'Demogorgon greeted the shipwright with caliginous smiles across both his houndlike faces. Within dark Ungorth Reddik, the two fiends forged their agreement. Reyniss agreed to build the ship that would sail the Styx and throughout the planes of existence. Demogorgon agreed to pay him in. gold, jewels and the lorn currency common to the Lower Planes.'
Vheod paused to see if Orrag understood his reference. The fat man widened his bulging eyes ever so slightly and shook his face just enough to make his jowls wobble.
'Souls, my friend. The spirits of evil mortals. On the dire planes, these souls are traded among the powerful fiends the way mortals might exchange a gem or a trinket.' Vheod wondered if these statements would have any effect on Orrag. Did the man worry about his own eternal fate? Orrag, however, showed no sign that Vheod's words had any meaning for him. Vheod wasn't surprised. He smiled inwardly. The fate of evil souls wasn't something he relished dwelling on himself. Vheod had no idea if he truly had a mortal soul, and if so, what fate awaited it. Was damnation a foregone conclusion for a cambion? Was he already so damned? Was he, because of the tanar'ri blood in his veins, not a true mortal at all? He didn't know, and most of the time, he kept himself too busy to contemplate it. Purpose.
Of course, it might be that Orrag was too dim to understand the implications of this portion of the tale, but Vheod perceived a good deal of cunning- quite likely malicious cunning-in Orrag's dark, small, bulging eyes. Orrag wasn't stupid. In any event, the half-orc grew visibly anxious for the tale to continue. Vheod obliged.
'So Reyniss returned to his own lair near the strange, arcane shipyards in which he plied his craft. Utilizing more sorcery than mundane labor, Reyniss began building the ship, which he'd already in his designs named Demonwing. He employed tanar'ri of all types to help in the construction of the huge craft to hold the correct enchantments, Reyniss's plans tailed for the ship's hull to be made of stone rather than wood. This strange stone would still allow the ship to float on the waves, but it would also withstand she journey between the planes.
'Sails of flesh and a rudder of bone completed the grisly, fiendish Demonwing. When construction was complete, Reyniss sent a mephit to relate the news to Demogorgon. When the demon prince heard the news, he appeared almost immediately in the shipyards, standing before Reyniss's creation. The fiendish prince was well pleased. Reyniss felt sure that his reward would put him in a position to advance in the tanar'ri ranks, making him a ruler over many lesser fiends.
'Demogorgon instead made Reyniss a further offer. He told the shipwright he would grant him twice the agreed-upon payment. Reyniss eyed the monstrous Demogorgon, with his two heads, tall, narrow reptilian body, and tentacles rather than arms, with suspicion… as I'm sure you can understand.'
Vheod paused and looked at Orrag, who said nothing. 'Reyniss,' he continued, 'heart full of suspicion, asked Demogorgon what he would need to do to gain this double reward.
“Think of it as a wager,' Demogorgon said with a voice like wet velvet.
'What sort of wager, oh prince?' Reyniss asked. ' 'Just this,' Demogorgon replied. 'If you can use this ship to travel to the plane of ultimate chaos, Limbo, and back again in less than three days' time, I shall grant you the increased reward.' ' 'And if I cannot?' Reyniss asked. — Then you get nothing, and I get the ship.' 'Now Reyniss knew full well that he could get the ship to the chaotic morass of Limbo and back in three days. The question was, did Demogorgon have some trick or treachery here? Did the fiendish prince plan on sending minions out to attack Reyniss as he sailed to stop him on his journey? Why would Demogorgon risk damaging or destroying the ship in that way? Surely he wouldn't do such a thing.
'Perhaps,” Reyniss thought to himself, “Demogorgon merely wanted Reyniss to show him he was actually getting all he’d asked for.
'So Reyniss agreed. He gathered together a crew of tanar'ri and they left immediately. Reyniss set sail for Limbo, steering the craft along the River Styx and through the howling caverns of Pandemonium. He made his way across the Sea of Madness and through the Straits of Insanity, plunging headlong in the miasma of churning matter and energy in the plane of Limbo. Gathering some of the chaos-stuff that fills that plane as proof, he turned the craft around and sailed back toward the Abyss.
'Nothing attacked Demonwing. Demogorgon played no tricks and cast no betrayals. Reyniss arrived back in his own shipyards sooner than even he thought possible. His toothy tanar'ri smile was almost as broad as his pride-filled chest.
'When Reyniss disembarked, Prince Demogorgon waited for him, stony-faced. Reyniss expected his reward would come to him at any moment, and he leered at the Abyssal Lord in anticipation and greed.*You took me up on my wager,' Demogorgon said. 'Did you not expect treachery?'
'Reyniss, his mind still filled with the thoughts of his riches, replied, 'Oh, I thought about it, but then I realized you would never endanger the ship you wanted so badly just to get out of your obligation. And I was right!'
'Demogorgon spoke, his voice like iron against tone, “You were wrong. Oh, I took no action against your journey-that is true enough-but the fact that you believed I might not shows your utter stupidity. I lad thought to make you my personal lieutenant and chief builder, but anyone who so completely fails to romprehend the ways of the Abyss shouldn't be suffered to live. Of course I would have endangered the ship if I thought it might keep me from paying. However, when you accepted the wager, I knew I didn't have to.' And with that, Demogorgon
