<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/d/d0/Sullen_succubus.jpeg)<br/><div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Quick stats</div><div class="spoiler_body"><strong>HP:</strong> 304/304; <strong>AC:</strong> 40; <strong>Ini:</strong> +36<br/><strong>Spot/Listen:</strong> +35; <strong>Hide/Move Silently:</strong> +36<br/>Darkstalker, Mindsight 300 ft., Blindsight 30 ft.</div></div></div>Torahime listened patiently to Vholdran's statements, looking around the room as she did so.  His explanation was quite simple, his offer intriguing, and from what she could tell, none of the various fiends gathered here were in any way disposed to be violent towards one another, in spite of the fact that many of them should have been natural enemies...  And it was for that reason that her hand had almost casually strayed to the hilt of her sword by the time he was finished speaking.  This was all far too convenient, the very situation itself a seemingly impossible one, and so for that reason, she didn't trust it.  However...<br/><br/><em>I think he's telling us the truth, Princess.</em>Muramasa's telepathic voice soon touched her mind, and she allowed herself a brief, questioning glance at the sword.<em>I can't say for sure how or when, but I've been here before.  I'm absolutely certain of that fact.  There's something to be gained here, or maybe regained...  And if I get powered up, that'll make us both stronger, right?</em><br/><br/>She glanced back around the room, weighing her options carefully... and after a few more tense moments, she let her hand fall from Muramasa's hilt and walked forward, making her way around the table.  There was chair after chair after chair, many empty, some occupied, and each time, that feeling, that internal pull, bade her to move on, to keep walking.<br/><br/>"Hmm.  Too tall... too fat... too many chains... too spiky... not enough spikes..."  And of course, Muramasa was more than happy to chime in with commentary of his own, even as they kept walking along.  Until, eventually...  "Aha!  Now this one seems familiar!"<br/><br/>Compared to some of the more ornate thrones sitting around the table, this one was rather plane.  A high-backed stone chair, once padded with leather cushions, though those seemed to have mostly rotted away, the chair was also covered in various slots and grooves and racks, extra accessories that Torahime's trained eye could tell had originally been meant to hold a truly staggering variety of weapons.  They were all empty now, but strapped across the back of the chair was a massive, ornate sheath, an empty scabbard originally designed to hold a greatsword.  As she reached out to touch it, the sheath shifted, cracked and flowed before her very eyes, shrinking down and gaining a distinct curvature, until it eventually became the perfect size and shape to fit a katana within its confines.<br/><br/>"Well now, how convenient."  And once again, the succubus frowned, and looked around warily.  "I can tell, Princess, this is definitely where I'm supposed to go.  That sheath was made for me."<br/><br/>With some trepidation, she drew Muramasa forth and, with a slight flourish, slid him into the offered sheath.  Then, almost immediately, she attempted to pull him out again as he began to scream, not merely with his 'voice', but with the tortured scream and scrape of twisting, warping metal.  However, he was stuck, and no matter how hard she pulled, he wouldn't come free.  And then there came a bright flash of light...<br/><br/>(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/a/a6/Siegfried.jpg)<br/><br/>...And when that subsided, a transparent, clearly illusory figure, a man with gray-blonde hair and a very distinctive set of dark armor covering his body, sat in the chair, shaking his head a little.<br/><br/>"Ugh...  Damn, if I still had a head, I get the feeling I'd have a splitting headache right now..."  And Sar'resh, Cosmic Swordsman and great villain of the Sublime Way, twisted around in his chair to look back up at Torahime, offering her a smile.  "So, how do I look, Princess?  It looks like you and I can finally have our wonderful conversations face to face, from now on."<br/><br/><em>...Muramasa?</em>Needless to say, the succubus was both confused and still quite wary of the entire situation, wary enough to stick purely to telepathic communication, for now.<br/><br/><em>Yup, it's me, Princess.  This chair is actually connected to an artifact I encountered once, an artifact that's helped me recover my memories from back before I was made into a sword.  And I'm not just talking about back when I was a Quasit, either, I mean even further back than that.  It turns out I used to be a mortal human, a swordsman...  And it also turns out I was a total badass!<br/><br/>We all were, in fact.  Everyone here.  That's what this little gathering is about, the artifact built into this room is what called us all here, and sitting down in these chairs let us remember out previous lives.</em>The explanation went a long way towards placating the succubus, who relaxed far enough to at least carry out the rest of the conversation by speaking aloud.<br/><br/>"So these are... old friends of yours?"<br/><br/>"Oh yeah, they're the best!  Well, or they used to be, at least."<br/><br/><em>I mean, I don't want to be rude, but it kinda looks like Sharalal and Barnabas have put on a few pounds, plus Alexander looks like he's developing a few back problems in his old age...</em>