The apparition smirked at the comments.<br/><br/><strong>"Indeed there is a good reason why I am not appearing in person. It would be... wasteful to have a fight, as I know many of you are already tensing for. No, fighting would not achieve anything for any of us. My goals are far more selfish than that - and this is why I feel I can trust you to help me."</strong><br/><br/>The image started to pace as he explained his goal, almost delighting in the opportunity to listen to the sound of his own voice.<br/><br/><strong>"As you all know, I rule over one layer of Hell, and I have done so for quite some time now. I have been ruling alongside my beloved daughter, Fierna, and training her in the ways so that she too can exert influence... and perhaps be used as a puppet, to some extent. I cannot pretend to have ever had full control over her, but still, we saw eye to eye.<br/><br/>"...And then that Asmodeus decided to place his brat, Glasya, in charge of a layer, and Fierna has elected to spend a great deal of time with her, learning her ways... that bitch has been poisoning my Fierna's mind, turning my daughter slowly against me. She is distancing herself, exerting more control over her forces, beginning to keep secrets, and I know it is only a matter of time before we must fight one another in some way, if this is not stopped."</strong><br/><br/>He paused, watching to see if his audience was listening.<br/><br/><strong>"And so, I have a large army formed. A legion of devils, all too ready to be sent directly against one of the material planes, to ravage and destroy and murder and rape and burn... and they will succeed, and enjoy it. It was something I generally intended on doing, to increase my own standing, however!<br/><br/>If you agree to assist me, I will instead direct this army to the Blood War, where they will inevitably die in combat against Demons. Their sacrifices will ultimately be for nought, and yet I will still be praised for my contributions. So there is the basic thrust of the offer: by performing a task, you will cause me to be obligated to uphold my end and waste this legion, keeping a material plane free of harm."</strong><br/><br/>He then turned to the others, those who seemed more interested in monetary rewards.<br/><br/><strong>"I have a few kilograms of pure Hope, sitting there with nothing to do. I will also pay each of you half a kilo of Hope - and provide access to someone who can turn it into something you want - if you successfully complete the testing and agree to the mission. I can pay you more after completion.<br/><br/>Do I have your interest so far?"<br/></strong><br/>(Note: to him, "Do this or I'll kill X" is a deal and not a threat, and for the record, 1kg of Hope ~= 100,000 gold pieces. It can indeed be used to get expensive items.)