Sokalis smiled as Skouda asked the question.  "One of the items you seek has recently come into my possession...the person carrying it swallowed by a dragon.  It will be very difficult for your subordinate to retrieve...but with my control over monsters, I can assure it's retrieval...so, do we have a deal?"  He asked, knowing that Kouki would never be able to take down the dragon without help and even then she'd still have to travel into the creature's bowels to retrieve the item her lord, Skouda, had requested her to do.