Curious at his teacher's words, Roland followed him and watched Ovesto leave the study for a nearby room.
The room was remarkably empty, with almost nothing along its four walls. On the floor, however, three steps led up to a small stone platform roughly four square meters in area.
Several stone slabs atop the platform formed something like an ancient altar, each slab deeply engraved with runes.
The runes were an ancient magical script. Resonating with the magic within the slabs themselves, they emitted a dark, bloodlike glow that felt faintly dangerous and evil.
Once he made out the many circles and inverted triangles in the script, with designs resembling goat horns and hooves engraved within them, the planar and religious knowledge he had studied came back to him.
"Is this Infernal Script?" Roland asked in surprise.
"Correct. The Nine Hells is a lawful evil plane controlled by devils. It lies beyond the Prime Material Plane, and each region has its own lords and archdukes.
"Though many people consider them dangerous and terrifying beings, we mages have never shied away from dealing with them."
Ovesto continued, "For mages like us, who have little time or energy to spend on personal wealth, protecting it through systems and magic is the wisest choice. A devil's Pact is one such form of magic."
"History is full of people who gained power and wealth with the help of devils. Nor has there ever been a shortage of those manipulated into ruin, corruption, and eternal damnation. But after thousands of years of conflict and contests, each side came to understand the other's strength and methods, and relations gradually grew peaceful.
"After all, we're both of the Lawful Alignment and can make use of one another."
As Ovesto spoke, he took several unusual offerings from the