Mogin Farn felt a tug on his awareness. He paused in his contemplation of the cosmos to wonder what the tug meant. Something was going on Downstairs. He had felt the pulling on his investiture by his representatives, but this had something different to it.

The god of knowledge felt the tug again. He pulled up his map of the material world. He used that to focus his search. A third tug pulled on him as he narrowed his search to a city on the plains of Bene.

His featureless face seemed to frown at the numerous demons running rampant. His clerics and the clerics of the other gods in the city were trying to beat the problem back, but they were losing. He concluded that the humans would be exterminated despite what his representatives did.

Then a surge wiped all the demons out in a section of the city. He focused on that as the demons regrouped. What was going on there?

Another gap opened in the demon coverage, but that cleric represented one of the other gods. He was forbidden from talking to the other god's humans unless he was granted permission. If the other representative kept using the power like he was, his brother god would take notice and ask what was going on.

Farn wanted to get an explanation from his own human before having to deal with one of his brothers, or sisters.

He made a guess at the explanation first before he reached down from his spot on the tiers of the Eternal Court and pulled the mind of his cleric up to him so they could talk.

The human looked down at the golden floor than up at his faceless bulk, clad in steel and cogs for machines not yet invented.

“Your name?,” asked Mogin Farn. The three fingers on one of his hundred hands tapped on the arm of his chair. He didn't want to pry information from his human, but he didn't want to waste time either.

“Constance Shellbert,” said the cleric. She didn't look up.

“Madam Shellbert, you have been using some kind of booster to your energy tapping from my reserve,” said Farn. “I was wondering where you got it.”

“The extra word?,” asked Shellbert. “A demon killer told it to me so I could hold my position against the horde. I should get back if I want to keep holding it.”

“This conversation is taking no time to do,” said Farn. “A demon killer told you a god word to help boost your power. Do you know who this demon killer is?”

“He didn't give me his name,” said Shellbert.

“Can you describe this demon killer to me?,” said Farn.

“A man, average height, average weight, brown hair, brown longcoat, brown breeches, brown boots with buckles, a white shirt, a strip of cloth tied around his neck,” said Shellbert.

A shape formed based on the cleric's words. Farn looked at it. He compared the general picture he had to the millions of mortals he had noticed over the years of his worship. He added in the cutter to the description. He examined the resulting image.

“Is this the man?,” asked Farn.

“It is close,” said Shellbert. “Do you know him?”

“Yes,” said Farn. “Did you tell anyone else this word?”

“I told another cleric the word so he could use it to stop the demons,” said Shellbert. “I'm protecting my position and two of his comrades until we are killed by the demons.”

“Hold on while I think,” said Farn. “This will only be a moment.”

“Yes, sir,” said Shellbert. She looked down at her feet. She doubted she would be allowed to remember meeting her god in person, but at least she didn't seem to be in trouble. And she hadn't exploded first. That made the experience more valuable to her.

It wasn't every day you met your god, and he needed something you knew.

Farn turned to the model of the city. The second cleric was giving the demons something to worry about. It was only a matter of time before they quit being worried about him because he had used himself up, or the demons fielded something that couldn't be stopped with the rite of banishment.

He checked Shellbert's position on the map. He realized she had seized a node of power. It was no wonder the demons wanted it, and were trying to push her out of the house. He looked the city over. Several other nodes were being fought over. He realized what could happen if the demons seized all the nodes.

He thought that was the point, and didn't like it.

It was time to give his clerics a hand. He didn't want to directly interfere with humans, but he didn't want to lose a whole city when he could stop it.

Farn sent messengers to the other gods. He asked them to think of a way to warn their clerics about what would happen if all the nodes were seized. He asked help to be sent to Shellbert if anyone could be spared.

Avri Noll said one of her followers was in the area. He could help hold the house until something more permanent could be done. Farn thanked her for the hand.

Farn turned his attention back to his representative. She still stood with her head down to avoid looking at him.

“Madam Shellbert, I have asked the gods to lend a hand and give their representatives the information you have given me,” said Farn. “You are to hold your position no matter what. Avri Noll is sending someone to help you. The demons cannot be allowed to possess the house you are using. If you call on too much of my power and die, so be it.”

“Can I ask a question, sir?,” said Shellbert.

“Always,” said Farn. He made a go ahead gesture with several of his hands.

“What is so important about this house that the demons are willing to lose so many to drive me away?,” asked Shellbert.

“The house sits on a node of power,” said Farn. “If the demons possess a number of the nodes, they can use them to sacrifice anything in the city. As long as you hold your ground, they can't do that.”

“So if I lose, the city is doomed,” said Shellbert.

“Yes,” said Farn. “Hold on until we can form a strategy to combat their numbers and drive them out of the city.”

“Thank you for the truth,” said Shellbert.

“Madam Shellbert,” said Farn. He turned his attention on her. “Don't despair. Your interference and that of the cutter has given the city a chance. All we have to do is fan it into a certainty.”

“Yes, sir,” said Shellbert.

“Use the god word sparingly,” said Farn. “It draws on my power strongly enough to wear your body out.”

“Yes, sir,” said Shellbert.

“I'm going to put you back and allow you to remember most of this so you won't doubt you have to defend your place as hard as you can until the menace is over,” said Farn.

Farn reached down and touched the spirit of his follower. He moved his hand over enough to carry the spirit to the model of the city. He found the marker that was Constance Shellbert and put the spirit back into it.

Farn tried not to let on he was worried. Seizing the nodes could also mean the summoner who had opened the gate for the demons meant to sacrifice them with the humans in the city.

It was a great plan. If the cutter was sacrificed with the rest, it might be enough to create another seat in the Eternal Court. Roland had been given a spark of their godly power with the other soldiers that had made up the Thousand. Killing him and using his energy could be enough to do the deed.

He didn't object to another sitting in the Court. He did object to losing a fraction of his work force in the human world. Humans made him what he was. He didn't want another trying to ascend with a scheme like this.

Every mad human would try to do the same thing and cause damage to the human world until the fabric of reality was ripped to shreds. It was better to help their clerics put this monster down first as an example to others wanting to destroy cities for personal gain.

A rainbow dropped into his work room. It pointed out where Avri Noll's cleric was in the city and the direction of travel. Farn admitted the man was fast. He nodded his head. They had a chance if their people could rally in the face of doom.

He hated to admit that Roland the Cutter might be their only chance to turn things around. He looked at the marker for the soldier. He nodded at the mass of demons trying to keep the former hero tied down.

How many more would jump into the meat grinder trying to stop the demigod from reaching his goal?

Farn settled in his throne, watching as the outcome of the struggle neared decision.