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Ash waited until the other two left before speaking to Arqden, "They are interesting, I'll give you that. And even more loyal than a perfectly trained hound," he used a comparison that he knew she'd understand since the Elves were pretty famous for their hunting hounds.

Then he gave a soft sigh and turned to look at her with his hands resting on the railing of the spiral staircase, one foot resting on the next step, "As for another threat to the island... Well, there's always been two primary threats: Goh, who is dead and no longer a threat; and the Church. My guess is that the Church has found another way to attack the island. They'll lose in the end, but the cost is what matters to me..." he explained to her then gave another soft sigh as he remembered the last time the island had been attacked by the Church.

Dancer and Wind were still heavily scarred and traumatized, Dev was actively looking for death, and Desha....

"We lost too much last time they attacked... Last time, they killed a very good friend. They killed others, but Desha was... Desha was special... He was the island's resident healer, one of Sebastet's oldest friends, and the father to one of the three that they'd tortured... It was beyond bad last time... And what they'd done to Dancer and Wind?" he shook his head as he tried to shake away the mental image of what they'd looked like when they got them out...

He put a hand through his hair with a deep intake of breath, "We'll put them down again, I'm certain. I just can't help but wonder about the cost this time..." he finished with that and moved on up the stairs towards his bedroom, then on up to the ramparts that were his private access to look out over the island and the ocean.

Since he wasn't at his home in the demon realm, this was his 'soothing spot' away from home. He usually came up here when he needed to clear his head from the things he'd seen in the past. The last thing he wanted to remember right now was what Dancer had looked like when they'd rescued him... He didn't want the nightmares to start up again...

Ash said nothing as she followed him up to the top of the tower and continued to speak. He knew that some part of her had to see the positive side of things, it was in her nature to do so. But...

Then she said that last line and he gave her one of his wry half-grins that usually had some poor maid swooning over him.

"Ahh... Yes... Things that need doing... Like me needing to renew my oath to the new monarch of the demon realm before I die. That one is rather important. Figuring out whether or not I even want to stay alive to see more death and destruction... Figuring out how to free you from being bound to me... Figuring out how to help you return to your estates without any more issues... And finding out who I have to kill to free the island before I die due to unneeded delays..." he said in his most charming tone.

He gave a nod and turned to look out over the ocean with her behind him, "Yes, all of those are important things that need doing... But right this moment, I can only feel the need to get roaring drunk and mourn both my friend and my king..." he finished without looking at her.

He shifted enough to lean one arm on the stone as the ocean breeze moved through his hair, the scent trying to soothe him for the moment.

He hadn't lied. If he didn't renew his oath, he would die. That part of things was such an old thing that even Lareth hadn't known about it. He thought Gypsy might, maybe Al'gaan... Zosne didn't know about it, that much he knew. It was an ancient type of oath. Only the oldest of the demons knew about it. He'd sworn that oath when he was still rather young. It had to be renewed with each new monarch or he would, literally, die. He estimated that he had about a month from the moment of Lareth's death. He'd served so many monarchs... Kings and queens, some he'd feared and some he'd loved... But Lareth was his friend as well as his king... His death hurt probably more than it should have...

Right now, he was feeling his age and it hurt. He'd vainly hoped that Lareth would outlive him, that he would die in the service of his beloved king...

For now... All he could do was picture those that had been lost in this endless war against a foe he couldn't fight... Death was the only one that wouldn't come for him... Just everyone he cared about...

Lareth's grandfather and father, Hal, Lareth, Rebecca, Desha, Aeriolous, Borias.... So many more over the centuries... But never him....