Old favorites of mine.
Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu
Calabim of the Game
Mr. Alpu
Corporeal Forces: 6 Strength: 12 Agility: 12
Ethereal Forces: 4 Intelligence: 6 Precision: 10
Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12
Vessel: large man/6
Mr. Beytu
Corporeal Forces: 4 Strength: 6 Agility: 10
Ethereal Forces: 6 Intelligence: 12 Precision: 12
Celestial Forces: 6 Will: 12 Perception: 12
Vessel: Small man/6
Skills, Songs, Attunements, Discord: No one has ever reported seeing Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu performing any Songs, demonstrating any Attunements, or using any Skills besides Artistry (Origami) (Mr. Alpu) or Singing (Mr. Beytu). Distinctions are apparently irrelevant for them. Freakishly, both demons seem to have the Selfless/6 Discord. No one has ever reported receiving an answer as to why Asmodeus tolerates this Discord in Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu.
Roles: No one has ever reported seeing Mr. Alpu or Mr. Beytu do any other task than the one assigned to them by their Prince.
Artifacts: Mr. Beytu always carries with him a small carpet bag. No one has ever reported seeing the contents, or even seeing him open it.
…Do you really want to know what is capable of scaring a Gamester?
The answer to that question is ‘no’, by the way: you really, really don’t want to know. If you ever do know, then it’s probably already too late. No one ever meets Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu unless it’s probably already too late. That’s why the pair is there in the first place.
Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu have been serving Asmodeus for a long, long time. If the Prince of the Game were ever so insane as to promulgate an organizational chart, there would be the usual hierarchy of Distinction, modified by Word. But at the very top, right next to the main trunk, would be a neat little box with the neat little words ‘Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu’ inscribed into it. They report directly to the Prince; the rest of Asmodeus’ organization is irrelevant to them. All Servitors of the Game would dearly love it if the reverse was true, as well.
So, what do they do?
Well, every so often a Servitor of the Game will be tapped on the shoulder; when he turns around, there the two demons are, identically dressed in neat suits with neat clipboards and neat, merciless smiles. When that happens, that Servitor of the Game goes with them. It doesn’t matter what he’s doing, or what his rank is; Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu preempt all missions and tasks short of Armageddon. The Servitor will not look around for help, beg, whine, bluster, flee, and/or (most assuredly) attack. He will just go.
Sometimes the Servitor comes back.
Assessing the personality of this pair is fairly difficult, as nobody wishes to spend any time with them. This is probably wise, as it’s a furtive rumor among the Game that Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu can only be seen when they want to be — and that the mere act of perceiving them is an indication that Asmodeus is personally displeased with everyone doing the seeing. Not as displeased as he would be with the Servitor being led away, of course, but still…
Demons not of the Game (and angels of the Host) seem to be immune to the attentions of Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu. The demons seem to be utterly indifferent to the War, or indeed anything except the Servitor of the Game that they are currently approaching. They tend not to be interfered with, anyway, given that they make demons quite understandably nervous (after all, sometimes your Prince will trade you to another Prince, and forget to tell you first). As for the Host… well, if accounts are true, there’s a very good chance that Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu are going to do things to the target that you would never, ever be allowed to do. If they don’t, well, the demons will put him right back where he was when they’re done with him. Why not wait, and see?
Those who do return do not talk about their experiences much, but some things are known about a ‘session’ with Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu — mostly in terms of negatives. No one has ever reported seeing Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu raise their voice. No one has ever reported seeing Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu stop smiling. No one has ever reported seeing Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu commit an act of overt violence, or even make a threat. Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu are even reputed to have a certain sense of humor, idly joking with each other as they cheerfully ask questions of the Servitor of the Game sitting in front of them. Indeed, sometimes they do not even ask questions. Some Servitors come back from a session with Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu with news of a reward, or a promotion. The Game has collectively noted that such lucky individuals rarely live for very long afterwards, for some reason.
Of course, the fact that no one has ever seen Mr. Alpu and Mr. Beytu do any of the above things does not mean that they do not do any of the above things: it merely means that no one (on either side) has ever reported differently.
Ever.
(Note: the answer to the question “Is this based on those guys ‘X’ and ‘Y’?” is probably going to be “Yes.” No matter who X and Y actually are.)
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