He never did get a complete list. But one of the priests mentioned some Others that might be worth asking, so he's at least got instructions for a next stop.

So he goes to the edge of a certain isolated pool and looks around for the log of green wood he knows must be somewhere nearby... ah, there, and the sumac and rattle are there, too. He places the log parallel to the edge of the pool and hold the sumac out with one hand while shaking a rattle with the other.

The birds in the area start making noise and flutter away, as expected. Then it appears.

The most obvious feature is the dazzlingly bright crystal growing out of its forehead. The head itself looks like a deer's, but most deer don't have jeweled antlers. The neck, and the body below, looks like it could belong to an enormous snake if snakes had iridescent scales.

It rests its head on the log and accepts the stems of the staghorn sumac shrub. After eating all four, the horned serpent asks "why have you come to me?"

"I seek aid in finding a person."

"Human affairs are rarely my business. It may be I can help you, but why?"

"I suspect this person tried to set me up to take a fall for diabolism."

"Demons. Not just the chaos that precedes Creation but the nothingness that follows. I am as opposed to demons as everyone else is, but that doesn't involve me in your dispute. You ask me not to oppose any demon but to see through this diabolist's fraud."

"No, I'm pretty sure I know who it is, and—they did something, it appears, they called a demon or something here, and I want to figure out why and stop them."

"It's not surprising if the diabolist has already performed diabolism. Their goals are one thing. Are you promising that sending you would be a setback for the demons? That is another."

"I can promise that no demon will destroy this city, for at least the next half century, if you send me."

(Granted, that will also be true if the Other doesn't send him, but.)

"A safe gamble. Are there any aiming so high? And also a dangerous one. No matter what you do about this diabolist or how successfully, there could always be more."

"I can guarantee it anyway. In fact, I can guarantee no major diabolist event will happen here in the next half century, if you send me. I can also promise to do my best to stop this particular diabolist from causing any more harm here, but I don't expect this to be a lot more reassuring than the other part."

"You would promise the absolute about other diabolists, and promise only an effort about this one? Regardless, I accept. As an insurance against a small risk."

The horns shine brighter, and the head dives into the pool. The iridescent body starts writhing and forming patterns that look like nothing so much as an underwater fireworks display. Eventually the serpent resurfaces.

"You may find the person you seek at the mortals' next gathering. She will have disguised her identity, but you will recognize her by her similarity to when you last saw her. You can approach under your own terms because she will not know you..."  It trails off.

"My first promise did include her," he points out, "but I thank you for your aid. You have been most helpful."

"Good luck. I don't care how this turns out for her, but the world can use an extra line of defense against her servants."

"Thank you."

The Other plunges back into the pool. It's deep enough that it's hard to tell just how far it goes, despite the water being clear.

And so presumably Sadde will have to wait until the next council meeting, unless something interesting happens before then.

The next council meeting is fairly soon, but yes.

That night, he dreams a very vivid voice. "Sadde Woods? This is the Lord of Montreal." The rest of the dream's setting is perfectly ordinary bizarre dream stuff, which fades into irrelevance by dream logic as soon as the voice starts.

"—cheese and coffee tables what?"

Yeah, that's a surprisingly common reaction for first-timers.

"You had a suggestion earlier today. A good idea, even. There was, however, another obstacle I wanted to mention."

"—my Lord. Do tell."

"The problem is I'm a god. Gods work in miracles, granting favors in exchange for worship. I'm more likely to receive the idea of currency favorably, but would be ill-suited to a plan that relies on dispensing an amount of power on request. Even compared to the similar problem currency in general backed by some other sufficiently powerful being would have."

What a cool god. He likes this god.

"What exactly is the nature of that limitation?"

"Metaphorically, most of the effort is in affecting the world at all. A potentially large number of small transactions could be...problematic."