Into The Abyss (Demons of Astlan) (20 page)

~

As the wagons spread out into the valley, Trisfelt too felt the surge of magic.  Although many laughed at the pudgy wizard, and considered him to be perhaps the least of Masters of Lenamare's school, mainly because of his paunch, he was no slackard when it came to magic.  As quickly as Jehenna, he flung up a fire shield about his wagon., He only wished it could go farther, but the spell had its limits, especially when cast ad hoc.  He could only grimace as most of the other wagons went up in flames in the initial assault.  As soon as the flames died enough to release the shield, he tracked down his enemies and located them. 

Calling upon his vast supplies of energy, one reason he ate so much was to get the physical energy
that magic required of his body, he flung mighty bolts of lightning at the wizards.  They fought back, trying to resist his bolts, but he rained them down incessantly, and they did crack.  He managed to kill two of them, before he noticed the tower of flames from before Jehenna's wagon. 

"What is she doing?"  he asked rhetorically.  He knew
; he could feel the conjuration spell.  As the demon stepped from the flames, the wagon rocked, and he turned to see Rupert diving from the wagon.  He yelled to Rupert to get back in, but the boy ignored him  He couldn't leave the wagon, that would risk the other children, damn that boy.  As he frantically thought of what to do he suddenly heard what the demon was saying.

"Own free will?" puzzled Trisfelt, that wasn't good, demons didn't usually say that sort of thing unless it was true, and that tower of flame wasn't right either.  At this point he noticed enemy soldiers on horseback charging down the hill, and they had bows. "Fuck," said Master Trisfelt.

He jumped into the back of the wagon with the rest of the kids.  This wasn't good.,
Only one thing left
, he thought as he gathered the kids to him.  He raised his hands and shouted,
"Exodilium transportatum, cyrilius seat flux, Universum Solum, globum teraturam Astlan sig faltum.  Translatus por crealum, nos patrium siyenta."
  He focused his mind on his charges and their current surroundings while superimposing their destination in his mind.  He created the juxtaposition of temporal coordinates necessary for nontranslational motion.  As he brought his palms together above his head, bluish light flared from his chest, engulfing the four of them, and then they were gone.

~

The demon glared at Jehenna for a few moments more, it then slowly turned and began to move towards the oncoming soldiers.  Temporarily relieved, Jehenna breathed a sigh of relief.  Then she noticed the oncoming bowmen on horses, as they started to rain arrows upon her and the few remaining guards, who were charging them.  "Shit, this is not my day."  Jehenna swore as she quickly tore off the demon's ring, she dropped it on the floor of the wagon, there wasn't time to put it away, as she quickly put on her Porisiun’s Proven Personal Protection Ring, cursing the limitations of conflicting elemental affiliations in the rings. 

She hated to give up the demon ring, in case it changed its mind before she was ready, but she couldn't ditch the Lenamare's Locator Ring, and even though it might be useful in the future
.,
That will be then; this is now
, she thought.  Just as she slipped the new ring on, an arrow went by her throat, narrowly missing her.  "Damn good thing I switched," she muttered as she tossed stuff off the wagon trying to get under the seat.  Finally, the path was clear, and she reached under and grabbed her book.  "Wouldn't want to lose this.  Now bastards," she said as she turned, "Freehold here I come."  She raised her arms above her head, and repeated words similar to Trisfelt's and left in a flash of blue light.  Jenn, simply sat limply on the foot rail.

Originally, the storming troops had thought the demon an illusion summoned by their own wizards, thus they paid it no heed and simply finished butchering the last of Lenamare's soldiers, and tried unsuccessfully to nail the witch on the wagon.  They ignored it, that was, until it began ripping them to shreds.  It
moved with lightning speed.  Arms, legs, heads, it didn't matter, the demon ripped them all off the soldiers, indiscriminately.

~

Gastropé staggered up, finally freeing himself from the spot where he'd damn near been strangled to death by those weeds. 
Damn glad someone killed the turd of a wizard
, he thought as he stepped out from behind his boulder.  Now what was all the noise going on down there?  He'd seen Carlisle and Gleston under attack by lightning on the other side of the valley, he didn't have much hope for them, the attack had seemed fairly devastating.  The valley was quite red.  There seemed to be blood everywhere. 

"What the Abyss?" he asked as he gazed around at the destruction.  The far side of the valley, was the worst, of the twelve soldiers charging from that side, and their horses, there was no sign.  Just an awful lot of red, and an occasional small mound.  Commotion brought his attention around to his right.  Screams were coming from that direction, now. 

As he looked over, he saw a human head go flying over the boulder that blocked his view of the battle  This was not good.  "Demon, well, I'll take care of that."  Quickly he drew himself a protective pentagram, and warded it with the strongest spells he could manage in such a primitive situation.  When he finished, he called out, "Demon, attend!  I am the Wizard Gastropé, and I shall be thy master.  Ceasest this destruction at once, I command thee."  With that he sent out a mild enforcement spell that should make it heed his word. 

Something came over a boulder and rolled to a stop at his feet.  It was Martel's head. "Damn
,  that wasn't good”, he was probably the only wizard left, and the demon had axed Martel, that meant it was probably a third order demon.  "Bitch."  Gastrope cursed.  He’d never even seen anything above a second order.  A third would stretch his limits.  He hoped he was up to the challenge.

"Come
st now demon, I command thee!"

"OH DO YOU?"  thundered a remarkably bass voice from behind the boulder.

"Yes, shithead, I do!"  One had to be tough with these things or they'd walk all over you.

A hoof stepped out from behind the boulder, and then the rest of the demon followed.  "Oooh shit."
Gastropé's eyes grew wide as he took the creature in.  Biggest damn thing he'd ever seen.  "Did I say shithead?"  was all he could say.  The demon just grinned wickedly.  Gastropé licked his lips.

"
Gastropé is it?" asked the demon, in a much softer, but still very deep voice.

"Uh, yeah." 
Damn.
  He was only nineteen, just graduated from his journeymanship two months ago.  Why did it have to end so damn soon.  He knew he shouldn't have signed on with that asshole Exador.  "Uh, you know, I'm really sorry.  I really didn't mean to be so rude...you know...the exuberance of youth and all...heh, heh," he laughed sickly.  Gastropé did not feel good.

The demon took a step forward.  "By the way,"
Gastropé smiled, "I am warded, you can't get through." The demon took another step forward, its hooves were causing the grass it stepped on to smolder. "I don't think,"  he added as the demon stepped closer still.

"Hey, let's call it even.  My
...associates torched your...master's party, you shredded my associates!  Fair is fair, right?"  The Nightmare from Hell stepped another step closer.  It was within its own arm's reach.  Gastropé felt like throwing up, he was scared.  He'd even wet his pants.  Damn, he hadn't even done anything.  His fireball had fizzled on a shield.  He had all he could do to keep from crying.  He really didn't want to die horribly.

"You know,"
Gastropé almost sobbed with desperation, "these wards would be a real pain to try to break.  I won't bother you if you don't obliterate me."  The demon reached out and grabbed Gastropé by the collar.  His pitiful wards went pop.  Not even a hesitation on the demon's part.  Gastropé sobbed again. 

The demon lifted the wizardling off his feet, and held him up, face to face. 
Gastropé stared into the demon's eyes.  It was like staring into the very depths of the Abyss itself.  He saw himself, agonizing for eternity, imprisoned, tortured every waking second.  The demon opened its gaping maw, and ran its tongue along its sharp fangs.   Gastropé relieved his bowels in his silk pants.  The demon slowly began to bring Gastropé's head toward its fanged jaws of death.  Gastropé broke down.  He cried.  Tears streaked down his dirty face.  He was going to die, and he hadn't even gotten to live. 

The demon brought
Gastropé's nose right up to its horrible snout, but Gastropé could hardly see any more, the tears in his eyes practically blinded him.  "Get the fuck outta here," said the demon in a very tired, human sounding voice.  Suddenly Gastropé was flying through the air as the demon tossed him away like a doll.  He hit the ground hard.  The wind was knocked out of him.  It didn't matter, though, that he couldn't breathe; he struggled to his feet and began to flee as fast as he could.

~

Jenn raised her eyes as she heard the sound of footsteps approaching from behind.  Slowly she turned her head.  She began to shake; it was the demon.  It had finished off the enemy and had come back for her.   What could she do?  She couldn't handle a first order demon without wards, let alone a fourth order.  Desperately, she looked around for something to defend herself with.  Suddenly, her eyes lighted on the demon's ring, left by Jehenna.  Salvation!  Her only hope.  Quickly she grabbed it and slipped it on. 

As she heard the demon come up behind her, she spun, holding the ring on her right ring finger before her.  "Halt
...Halt, d.d.demon," she stuttered, as she shook.  "I...I have thy ring and I command thee to obey me!"  The demon stopped about a foot from the wagon.  It towered over her.  Its gleaming scaly red body glistened with the blood of soldiers.  Its ebon claws dripped with the rich satin red blood of its victims. 

Its malevolent eyes glared hatred down upon her.  If not for her faith in the ring, surely she would not have the courage to do this she thought.  "Thou art mine
..." she desperately tried to remember its name, "Tomasedwardperkinje!  Thou must obey my will.  The power of the Covenant of the Ring binds thee to my will, demon!"  The demon seemed to sigh, as if acknowledging her power.  She began to hope.

It reached out and grabbed her wrist.  She lost hope.  It didn't immediately snap her hand off, though.  Instead it almost gently pried her fist open like a small child's.  All she could do was stare in horror.  Almost casually its right claw came up and slid the ring off her finger.  How! How could it do such a thing
?  Then it did something it never should have been able to do.  It squished the ring between its fingers, like a clay ring.  Jenn then did something she'd never done before.  She fainted.

Thomas Edward Perkinje sat
on his throne of granite, bored.  True, it was nice not to be serving his accursed master Lenamare, but there wasn't exactly a whole lot to do here in the Abyss during one’s days off.  True, he could go exploring, but most of the place looked pretty much the same.  It might be nice to go out and make some friends in the demon world, but then a lot of demons didn't exactly seem like his kind of people.

Thus it was that he was thinking over his options, when he heard a voice calling his name.  He thought he recognized the voice of Lenamare's female friend, but he wasn't sure.  She was commanding him to come, as if summoning him, yet strangely felt no compulsion whatsoever to go to her.  She was shouting something about the ring, probably the one they'd made to bind him.  If he concentrated hard enough he could see her in his mind.

She was standing up in the front of a wooden wagon, pulled by two horses.  Beside her sat a young girl that looked familiar, although he couldn't place her; she seemed to be concentrating on something.  It was peculiar, Lenamare’s cohort was certainly acting like she was summoning him, however, there were none of the pentagrams and braziers only her ring; and he felt no compulsion, it was simply the fact that she was speaking his name that caused him to even notice her.

Normally, Tom would have ignored her.  If the damn Astlanians didn't force him
, there was no way he'd want to help them; however, she did appear to be in a bit of a pinch; there were flames all around her, and what looked to be soldiers on a mountainside beside her.  Exactly what was going on, he couldn't be sure, but considering his boredom, it was at least worth a look. 

Trying to achieve the feeling of dissolving that had accompanied all his other trips to Astlan, Tom could feel himself siphoning through, as if through a small hole.  To speed things up he pushed at the hole with his mind, and was rewarded with it growing to fit his size.  The growth was also accompanied by a roaring noise.  Quite strange really.
  He wasn’t fading so much as slipping through a hole.

As he felt himself emerging into Astlan, Tom decided it would save him a lot of grief if he played the demon role to the hilt
; let them know exactly why he was here, on his own terms.  Thus using his best demonic voice, he said, "What would you have of me?  This day I come of my own will.  Speakest quickly lest I destroy thee in my wrath!"   Overall, Tom thought, suitable enough, it seemed to have the desired effect, especially when coupled with the flexing of his muscles and his heroic pose.  The girl seemed to collapse in on herself, and even the wizard who called him was sweating.

The horses pulling the wagon were literally going wild at the sight of him.  The woman pulled something from her robe and shot them.  The fell straight to the ground and didn't move.  Then she started talking, in a typically obnoxious
wizardly manner about an ambush and destroying her enemies. 
Not really worth it
, reflected Tom.  He looked around at the scene around him, first at the horses., He wanted to reassure himself that the woman hadn't killed them; he could see them breathing, apparently she had just immobilized them somehow. 

There were several large fires going.  They seemed to be wagons that had been torched severely, with burnt horses in front of them.  Tom had to swallow when he noticed a pile of charred soldiers and horses.  Then his eyes swept across an unharmed wagon with a fat man and some little children.  The children were looking petrified.  Whether of him or the carnage, Tom couldn't tell.  Then he noticed some of the back wagons, where it appeared to his heightened vision that entire families had been roasted alive in their wagons.

Tom was getting quickly sickened at the thought of anyone who would so ambush women and children like this.  It was then that he noticed several bowmen on horses charging down the slope.  While his eyes were distracted, he noticed a flash of blue light from the children's wagon.  As he glanced back, they were gone.  Probably destroyed by the same bastards that did the rest of the damage.

Enough is enough,
thought Tom. 
I may not like the Astlanians, but I can't stand by and let helpless kids get murdered when I can stop it.
He turned to face a large group of soldiers, they ignored him, seeming intent on attacking some defending soldiers.  Moving quickly, so he wouldn't have to think about what he was doing, he ran up to the first of the ambushers and pulled him off his saddle.  As the man, suddenly frantic, tried to stab Tom in the eye, the red anger, with which he'd been having so much trouble lately, took over.  He moved almost within a trance, ripping the ambushers apart.  He didn't even really pay attention; he couldn't, otherwise he would have puked.  His body was on autopilot.  As soon as he finished off this group of ambushers, he roared at their horses, and charged the terrified beasts. 

Using only animal instincts, they fled.  Screaming in terror the horses galloped of
f up a mountain trail, out of the valley.  At this point, Tom noticed other soldiers on the other side of the valley.  Quickly, he flew over and proceeded to execute them. 

As he finished off the last one, an arcing pain shot between his wings.  Something had struck him full in the back, and unlike a soldier's dagger, this hurt like hell.  Spinning in anger, Tom saw a mustached man in his forties, dressed in green silk robes, calmly casting a spell at him.  With a single fluid leap, Tom hurtled a broken corpse to land in front of the wizard, who was backed up against a boulder.  Calmly Tom stuck his right claws into the man's chest and grabbed his back bone.  His left arm came up and squeezed the man's neck until his head popped off.  Tom's eyes widened in horror and surprise.  All of this had been sheerest reflex, he hadn't controlled any of it.  The shock sent a cold wave down his body.

As the wave passed Tom relaxed, leaving his trance-like state.  He was quickly being overcome by the horror of what he'd done.  It was then that he heard,  "Demon, attend!  I am the Wizard Gastropé, and I shall be thy master.  Cease this destruction at once, I command thee."
This is ridiculous,
thought Tom, even as he felt a mild itching in his head.  Annoyed, Tom tossed the head of his last victim over the boulder towards the voice.  He heard it thunk and roll and then his sharp hearing heard the voice say, "damn." The voice was a little more subdued as it soon said, "bitch."  At least these guys do have the appropriate human reactions.

"Come now demon, I command thee!"

What remarkably obnoxious people these wizards were, even when confronted by absolute horror.  "Oh do you?"  Tom thundered in his best demonic voice. 

"Yes, shithead I do!" said the voice with what Tom could tell was false bravado, this guy really didn't sound that old or confident. 
Tom stepped around the giant boulder to see who this pipsqueak was.

What Tom saw was a rather dirty looking youth with
spikey blonde hair stuffed under a turban wearing dirty yellow silk pantaloons and a vest.  As the youth took in Tom's towering form, his eyes widened and his mouth formed a round "o" as he said simply, "Oooh shit."

Tom thought maybe the kid had finally shut up for good, when he managed to croak, "Did I say shithead?"  Tom almost laughed at this, the expression on the young man's face was decidedly comic, and almost desperate. The guy licked his lips, apparently trying to think.

Deciding to play this for what it was worth, since he found that he enjoyed letting the wind out of these damned wizards, he said softly, in almost a 'Dirty Harry' style voice, "Gastropé is it?"

"Uh, yeah," at this point the kid was literally quaking in his boots, Tom noted with amusement that the front of his pants were wet.  The wizard couldn't seem to think of anything to say.  Finally he managed, "Uh, you know, I'm really sorry.  I really didn't mean to be so rude
...you know...the exuberance of youth and all...heh, heh," Tom was enjoying this but he could see that the thrill would be over soon and it would quickly just get pathetic. He started slowly towards the wizard.

"By the way," he gave Tom a sickly smile, "I am warded, you can't get through." Tom simply kept going forward "I don't think,"  he added, as Tom continued to advance.

"Hey, let's call it even.  My...associates torched your...master's party, you shredded my associates!  Fair is fair, right?"  The young wizard was really looking green now, apparently on the verge of a nervous breakdown, or severe nausea or both.

"You know," the young man almost cried, "these wards would be a real pain to try to break.  I won't bother you if you don't obliterate me." Tom didn't say anything, he simply stopped within arm's reach of the kid. 
Tom didn't, of course want to hurt him, simply make him leave.  He reached out and picked the young man up so that they were at eye level.  Tom opened his mouth to say something, but had to think, so he just ran his tongue over his teeth, trying to decide what would work best.  At this point, the guy broke down and cried, tears started rolling out of his eyes and down his dirty cheeks. Tom's nose also detected a certain odor that he recognized immediately.  He'd heard of people shitting their pants, but never actually seen it. 

Suddenly he was tired of the whole thing.  It had been cruel of him to frighten this guy so, even if he was an ambusher.  Wanting to end it, he just brought the fellow close to his face, and dropping his demonic voice and letting his weariness show, he simply said "Get the fuck
outta here."  He then tossed the little wizard a ways off, but gently, so as not to break any bones.

Tom turned back towards the wagons, to see if anyone was left
alive.  He noted that Lenamare's friend had vanished, in fact the only person he saw moving was the girl who had been by the older woman.  He walked down to the front wagon to see if she was O.K.  As he got close, she turned and saw him, and started looking around wildly.  Tom sighed, hoping he wouldn't have to put up with an hysterical woman.  She reached down and grabbed something, and just as he got within about a foot of the wagon, she spun around.   She stuck her fist practically in his face.

"Halt
...Halt, d.d.demon," she stuttered; she seemed to be shaking.  "I...I have thy ring and I command thee to obey me!"  Tom was weary from fighting and really didn't really feel like dealing with this.  "Thou art mine... Tomasedwardperkinje!  Thou must obey my will.  The power of the Covenant of the Ring binds thee to my will demon!"

Enough again
, thought Tom. 
Apparently, she too thinks this ring has some compulsion on me.
Time to disillusion her
.  He reached out and grabbed her hand.  Trying not to hurt her with his strength and sharp claws, he gently pried her fist open and removed the ring from her finger.  It was a little tricky, he really wasn't used to using his new fingers for such delicate work, but he got it off without too much pain.  In order that she get the point, he held it before her face, on which there was an expression of shock.  He then brought his finger and thumb together, and flattened the ring like it was made out of Styrofoam. 

What he had not expected was for her to faint.  Girls just didn't do that sort of thing anymore
, not where he came from.  Of course, he reminded himself, demons didn't pry rings off their fingers, either.  Not knowing what else to do, he carefully lifted her off the wagon and laid her down on the ground.  He then stepped back and looked down at her, trying to decide what to do next.

"You didn't kill her, did you?" asked a soft voice that seemed to becoming from under the wagon.

In order to see who spoke, Tom had to squat down and peer under the wagon.  Laying on the ground was a small boy, with brown hair and eyes, homespun breeches and shirt, about nine years old, who was staring at him intensely.

"No," Tom said softly trying not to frighten the kid.  "She seems to have fainted."

"Fainted?" the boy said curiously as he scrambled out from under the wagon, to gaze upon Jenn's face.  "That's not something I'd expect her to do.  Jenn's really not the fainting type.  Alvea yes, Jenn no.  Hmmm."  Rupert  looked down at Jenn's recumbent form, as puzzled as Tom about what to do.  "I don't know what you're supposed to do, gently slap her face maybe."

"I guess, I don't know either."  At this point Tom realized with a slight start that this boy didn't seem frightened of him at all.  "Excuse me?"

"Yes," said Rupert looking calmly up at Tom's eyes.

"Why aren't you running away in fear of me?"

"Oh, sorry.  Was I supposed to?" 

"Well that seems to be the general reaction to me.  I was simply puzzled why you're not."

"Oh, I don't know.  Demon's just don't frighten me, especially you.  I know you won't hurt me."

"Oh?"  Tom said, surprised by this statement.  True, he wouldn't, but how could this kid know that when every adult thought otherwise.  He arched his eyebrows in a mock serious fashion.  "You do, do you."

This at least got a reaction.  The boy suddenly looked troubled and doubtful.  He swallowed, stepped back a step, and licked his lips.  "W...Well, I don't think, you'll hurt me."  He amended.

Tom smiled at this
; he liked this kid.  At last, a rational Astlanian.  Unfortunately his smile exposed his fangs and caused the child even more distress.  Quickly, realizing his mistake, he said, "Very well, I suppose you're right, I won't."  The boy looked suddenly relieved.  "But, how do you know that?"  Now the boy looked really uncomfortable, but not frightened.