Into The Abyss (Demons of Astlan) (59 page)

"Oh...." Rupert moaned as Tom set him back down on the ground gently, before landing himself.  He looked down into the boy
’s eyes.  "You know, of course, that Jenn went into hysterics when she found you missing?"

"I'm sorry." Rupert said sincerely.  "I just went out for a look again, and--well, I couldn't help myself.  I had to try."  He bowed his head.  Tom sighed, he understood.

"Well, they've gone back to Astlan," he pulled the boy forward, "we'll follow in a few hours when Tizzy summons me again.  I'm just glad you're all right."  He gave Rupert a hug.  Once again, proportion was balanced between them, and Rupert's horns only came up to Tom's ribcage.  He hugged the boy tightly, patting him between the wings.  Rupert smiled fondly upward at him.  "OK, boy.  No son of mine is going to go around putting holes in my front lawn.  We'll have to teach you what to do with those wings, aside from cooling yourself!"  Tom shook his head and smiled as Rupert grinned back.  Rupert's smile didn't look anything but what it was now, in no way was it frightening.  Interesting, Tom thought.

Like most young kids, Rupert was a fast learner.  Within a half hour, Tom had Rupert soaring over the valley with him.  Showing him some of the finer points he himself had mastered just recently.  After one extremely high dive, in which they nearly scraped the bottom of the valley, they pulled up to near the same height as the top of the mountain.  There they rested for a moment, just hovering in the air.

"Wow!" Rupert exclaimed.  "This is so excellent.  I can't believe how much fun it is."  Tom had to smile, flying was fun.  It was even more fun when you had someone to enjoy it with.  It was also fun to watch the boy's enthusiasm.

"Ah-hem," a voice said behind and below them.  Tom started slightly.  He looked down and over to the voice.  About twenty feet away, standing in a respectful pose, was another demon.  This was not a demon Tom had seen before.  Instantly he was on guard.

The demon was actually quite small.  Perhaps a little bigger than human Rupert, but thinner.  Almost like one of the smaller Sidhe he'd seen in Hoggensforth.  However, this demon had cat-like eyes, a small beard and mustache and rather small bat-wings.  He was also dressed.  The little demon was wearing some sort of leather vest and pants.  How very strange.

"Yes?"  Tom asked, "
Can I help you."

"Sorry to interrupt.  However, I've been trying to meet you for some time now, with little success."

"Really? And who might you be?" Tom asked, Rupert looking on.

"Antefalken's the name.  Barding's the game."  The small demon smiled
with a  slight bow, "Actually, I at least think you're who I've been trying to meet.  You are," he glanced between Rupert and Tom, "the demon called Tom?"

Tom nodded, "That's me?  I might ask how you know me, not to be rude, but paranoia does not seem completely out of the question at the moment."

"Certainly true!  Especially with all the individuals involved in the situation, right now.  However, let me assure you, I mean you no harm.  I'm a friend of Boggy's and he told me all about you."

"Boggy?  I haven't seen him in a while either.  Not since he parted ways with his master."

"And parted his master," Antefalken added, "at least as I heard it from him."   Tom just nodded.

"So then? Now I know why you know me.  Mind if I ask why you want to find me?" Tom hated to sound so suspicious, but he was a little leery anymore of strange demons.

"My understanding is that you work for Lenamare?"

"Work, may not be the correct term.  However we do seem to have a one-way binding contract that seems to benefit him more than me."  Antefalken smiled
at Tom’s joke. 

"Ah then I heard right.  You see, I am involved, indirectly
, with resolving a dispute between Lenamare and Exador and was trying to gather independent evidence to help in the ruling."

"Like an independent counsel?
Investigator?"

Antefalken nodded, "
Precisely, in fact I work for a member of the Wizard's Council in Freehold." 

"Really?  Lenamare and Exador are there to fight their battle in court then?"

"Yes."

"I'd suggest your court put up concrete shielding
in that case."

Antefalken looked alarmed.  "Why?
Are they planning something?"

"No," Tom shook his head, "nothing like that.  It's just that whenever those two get together, lots of violent and explosive things occur."

"Like the explosion that took out the school?"

"Yeah, like that.  Seems to have been a nuclear blast of some sort.  Severe radiation and all.  Not exactly a safe place to be these days.  However, Exador's people seem to want to stick around.  For their sake
, I hope Exador understands what he's dealing with."

"Why?"  Antefalken asked.  "Is there some delayed effect spell in progress?"

"No, not a spell really.  It's just that when you set off a nuclear blast, you release a lot of radiation, gamma rays and such.  This does a lot of damage to people immediately, but it also makes things nearby radioactive.  If you stay around them too long, you get sick and can die from it.  It also makes people sterile."

"Hmm," Antefalken rubbed his chin.  "I wasn't aware of this."

"Yeah, well if Exador's not doing something to protect them, he should evacuate from the area.  When I was last there, they were sitting in the middle of the crater on a peninsula.  Not a good idea."

"That was certainly a nasty spell that Lenamare got off."

"Lenamare seems to like overkill from what I can see."  Tom stated, "Doing anything small is not his idea of doing something."

"From your tone of voice, I take you don't care for the man?"  Antefalken asked.

Tom just grimaced at the demon as if he were crazy.  "To use the popular expression, he's my accursed master.  By definition, I hate him.  Besides that even, I don't particularly care for his attitude."  Tom laughed internally at his use of ‘by definition’ thinking of his argument with Jenn.

Antefalken nodded, "
So you think Exador's in the right then?"

Tom shook his head.  "I didn't say that at all.  I've never
actually met the man, but as far as I can tell he's at least as crazy and probably a lot more unpleasant than Lenamare.  After all, he drug an army through the Abyss to make a sneak attack on Lenamare.  Further he rules his army through fear and intimidation."  Tom said, thinking of what Gastropé had said about Exador.  "He's got all the makings of a classic fantasy villain.  Lenamare's just an asshole, with a really snotty bitch."

"Drug an army through the Abyss?"  Antefalken was taken aback.  "How did he do that?"

Tom shrugged, he didn't want to sound ignorant, all he knew was what Gastropé had told them, so he spoke with more authority than he really felt.  "Abyssal Switch spell; it interchanges Astlanian real-estate for Abyss land, and anything on that real-estate.  Do a couple cycles, get everyone here, cycle them back in reverse to someplace else in Astlan.  Highway through Hell rather than Highway to Hell."  He tried to make it sound common place and simple.

Antefalken just shook his head.  "The question is why?  Why would he go to so much trouble?"

Tom shrugged, "I don't know.  I still haven't figured out why wizards can't tell the difference between people from outer planes and demons.  Given that I'm in that boat, how would I even begin to understand how wizards view each other."

"OK, you have a point there."  He looked at Rupert again.  "You know, you two look mighty similar."  Tom smiled, Rupert spoke up.

"He's my father."  Tom tried not to grimace.  He'd been going along with the boy's fantasy but didn't want to get too many people wrapped up in it.  The more people that started to believe this, the more work he'd have to straighten things out later.

Antefalken raised his eyebrows.  "Father.  But I thought Boggy told me that..." he was looking at Tom.  Tom shook his head.

"Boggy sometimes is confused on some things but not others.  Things aren't always as they may appear."  Tom hoped that the demon would get the hint that he didn't want to discuss it at the moment, and hopefully the demon would understand that it was because Rupert was around.  He felt Rupert looking at him, clearly not understanding.

"Hmm," Antefalken said. "Well, anyway.  I shouldn't keep you.  Father and son at play," he smiled. 
“I've got to get back to the courts.  If you happen to get in town, look me up."

Tom nodded, "Will do.  Nice to meet you."  Tom had no idea where these courts were.  Tizzy kept mentioning them too, as did Rupert.  Sounded like
somewhere out of a Zelazny novel.  Antefalken nodded and waved as he flew off.

Rupert and Tom watched him fly off.  When he was out of sight, Rupert asked him, "What did you mean by things aren't always as they se
em?"  Tom wasn't sure how to answer this one, without a full confession at this time.  They had such a good time together so far, he hated to ruin it now.

"Well, first off.  Boggy is Tizzy's partner.  Thus I think you understand what I mean by telling him not to trust Boggy on everything he hears.   But most importantly, until you know someone, especially a demon, it really isn't a good idea
to reveal too much information to them.  If they're really working for someone else, even if under duress by some wizard, they might be able to use that information against you.  Thus the more I can keep him off balance the better.  I think, Antefalken is on the up and up, but if he isn't, I'd hate to see him try to use you or harm you to get at me."  While technically all true, that really wasn't the whole story, but he just seemed to keep digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole.

Rupert looked down at his hooves.  "Oh.  I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything."  He sounded pretty down about it.

Tom shook his head, he hadn't meant to shift the defensive to Rupert.  "Don't be.  I'm not sorry you said anything."  He grabbed the kid for another hug, this one in midair.  "Those are just good rules to live by in general.  They don't always apply, and I'm sure you didn't hurt anything.  I suspect this Antefalken's legit.  He did know Boggy, and Boggy trusted him enough to tell him about me.  So don't you worry."

Rupert looked up at him. "You sure?"

"Positive."

The hole in reality had opened onto a grassy plain.  This was not, Gastrop
é thought, what he would have pictured Freehold to look like.  It did not, however, take him long to realize that the demon had not deceived them.  To the not too distant north was a large number of lights.  These lights appeared to be coming from a very large city.  It was hard to make out, but the city appeared to have a wall around it, and the lights were from a few large structures that were higher than the walls.  It must be most impressive in the daylight Gastropé decided.

He turned around as Jenn eventually came through the hole.  The hole itself was a ring of fire in midair which gave off a not inconsiderable amount of light.  In this light, Jenn appeared extremely hesitant about being there.  "What's the matter Jenn?" Gastrop
é asked.

"Rupert.  He wasn't in the cave.  He'd wandered off and we couldn't find him to bring him through."  Gastrop
é cursed softly to himself.  That was all they needed. 

"What are we going to do?" he asked the group.

"Edwyrd said he'd stay and search for him.  I wanted too, but he insisted I wouldn't be able to go outside, but that he could.  I hope I did the right thing by agreeing."  Jenn said, almost to tears.

"You did
, child," Maelen came and put an arm around her.  "The heat of the Abyss would be too much for any cantrip.  However, what Edwyrd and Rupert were using would be strong enough."

"You
’re sure?" she asked looking up into his eyes.

"Very sure.  Edwyrd is a first class animage and young Rupert is not completely unskilled."  Maelen assured her.  "They're using the same discipline I did.  Works like a charm."  He smiled reassuringly at Jenn.

"Edwyrd definitely is a good animage then?"  Jenn's mind seemed to be wandering; she was obviously distracted with fear for Rupert.  "But wait!  Rupert's not an animage!  He's a novitiate wizard!  He wouldn't know any animage stuff."

Maelen blinked in the dark, surprise showing in his voice.  "You're sure?  I wouldn't have guessed that.  I read him when I met him.  His aura was similar to Edwyrd's.  Edwyrd's is unmistakably that of an animage, and while Rupert's is not clearly that of an animage, it was similar enough in other ways to Edwyrd
’s that I assumed he was a student of Edwyrd's. Despite what they'd claimed.  I suppose he could have been a novitiate wizard.  It's really hard to tell when a person is just starting to control mana, how they do it."  He scratched his head.

"I'm very certain.  He was at Lenamare's school
.  We mentioned that in our story.  I even taught him many of his lessons."  Jenn said.

Maelen shrugged, "Fine, I could certainly have been confused by other parts of their auras.  They definitely have something in common.  I'm just not sure what then."  Gastrop
é noticed Tizzy hopping up and down on his four feet as if he were bursting with some secret he couldn't tell. His cheeks were bulging around his pipe that had somehow reappeared in his mouth with smoke puffing out of it.  Gastropé just shook his head at the crazy demon.

Gastrop
é broke in at this point.  "Anyway, it doesn't matter.  Remember how Edwyrd said he'd maintain Rupert's protection in the Abyss?  Rupert therefore has the same protection as Edwyrd."

"Even better!"  Maelen exclaimed to Jenn.  "In order to protect Rupert, Edwyrd has to have a link to the boy.  That link will allow him to trace the boy's whereabouts with no problem." 

At this point Jenn noticed the hopping demon. She glared at him and snapped, "What is it?"

"Can't tell."  The demon blurted
as he pulled his pipe from his mouth releasing a huge cloud of smoke, which quickly engulfed them.  Maelen wrinkled his nose, sniffed a few times and got a thoughtful look on his face. 

"What do you mean you can't tell?"  Jenn demanded
, waving her hand to get rid of the funny smelling smoke.

"I mean I can't tell."

"Demon," Jenn warned, "don't try my patience.  What can't you tell?"

"Nothing, forget it.  I can't tell."

"Tizzy."  This time Maelen was looking the demon straight in the eyes.  "If you know something that will affect the boy, you'd better tell us."

"Can't.  They wouldn't like me telling you."

"Who wouldn't like you telling us?"  Gastropé asked.

"Edwyrd and Rupert."  Tizzy hopped in a circle around them.

"Are you telling me you know what's so similar about their auras?"  Maelen demanded.  Tizzy just smiled and nodded. 

"Then tell us!"  Jenn shouted.

"Nope.  Shouldn't have said anything.  Sorry, forget it."  The demon kept prancing.

"Demon," Gastrop
é said in his most persuasive voice. "If you want us to keep liking you, you'll tell us."

That stopped Tizzy in his tracks.  He looked quizzically at Gastrop
é.  "You telling me you like me?"

"Yes he is
, Tizzy," Maelen said, picking up on Gastrope's idea.  "We do.  You’re really one of the nicest demons we've ever met.  You’re good company, fun to be with."

"Really?"  Tizzy asked, trying to decide if they were teasing him.

"Certainly." Gastropé said.  "Further, if it hadn't been for you flying all the way here, we'd have never escaped from the Rod.  You've really helped us.  So why wouldn't we like you?"  Jenn was staring back and forth between the two men as if she thought they'd both completely gone off a mental cliff together.

Tizzy smiled and looked down at the ground.  "Well, that is true.  I didn't have to do that."

"No you didn't, and we really appreciate your doing so."  Maelen told Tizzy.

"Would you say you're my friends?"  Tizzy asked.

"We'd like to be."  Gastropé said carefully, "but friends don't keep important secrets from each other.  Especially if not telling those secrets could hurt other friends."

Tizzy shrugged slightly, "I've never had no friends
except Boggy and Tom, and Antefalken, oh and Rupert of course."

"We'd like to think of you as our friends." Maelen said very seriously.

"Well," Tizzy admitted, "I suppose I could tell you the big thing."

"Please Tizzy, it's very important."  Gastrope' said.

"Well, OK then!"  Tizzy said brightly, "but if you’re my friends and I do this for you, you've got to promise to help me someday if I need it!"

"Certainly."  Gastrop
é assured the demon.  "You have my word on it."

"Mine too."  Maelen said.  Tizzy looked at Jenn, twisting his head to see what her answer would be.  Maelen nudged her in the back.

"Ugghhh.  You people.  If that's how it's got to be...then you have mine as well, demon."  Jenn finally said.

"Good!"  Tizzy shouted, dancing again.  "Edwyrd..." Tizzy drawled.

"Yes?" Gastropé urged.

"Is Rupert's father!" Tizzy announced loudly.

"What!" Jenn screeched.  "All that nonsense for that garbage!"  She sounded mad.  "How do you expect us to believe that!  Edwyrd is Rupert's cousin.  There is no way Edwyrd could be old enough to be Rupert's father.  You're crazy, demon!"

Gastrop
é felt almost the same way.  Maelen on the other hand was looking thoughtful, stroking his chin.  Tizzy just looked at Jenn, smiling, not caring what she believed.  "Hold off, Jenn."  Maelen admonished her.  "It may not be impossible.  I'd really been wondering how anyone so young could be as well trained and skilled as Edwyrd.  Now it makes more sense. "

"How can it make more sense?"  Jenn demanded, incredulously.

"Well, simple.  He's a lot older than he looks."  Maelen stated as if were the most natural thing in the world. 

"Well obviously!  That explains it!"  Jenn said sarcastically, "nobody looks that much younger!"

"Really Jenn?  It's not that hard for a powerful wizard or animage to slow the aging process, or even reverse it.  How old do you think I am?"  Maelen asked.

Jenn just shook her head.  "I don't know!  Sixty, sixty five."

"I started healing people over seventy-five years ago.  When I was only a little younger than you."

Gastrop
é and Jenn both looked at him in surprise.  "You're saying you are like ninety?"  Gastrope' asked.  He couldn't believe that. 

"Ninety-two
next quarter month to be exact."  Maelen declared.  "So you see, it's not impossible that Edwyrd could be in his thirties or forties, or even older.  He's just good enough that either he doesn't age, or he can make himself younger.  It would certainly not be inconsistent with the other things I've seen him do.  Worse come to worst, he's just shape changed himself younger."

"I guess," Gastrop
é admitted, "that you could be right.  After all, I know of a lot of wizards that are over a hundred.  Human ones.  Elves or dwarves would certainly be that old.”

Jenn looked rather defeated.  "Yeah, I just find it hard to believe.  You just don't think of people that powerful, tramping around in the woods being hunted by religious fanatics.  That's for us little people to do.  People like that are
the Lenamares, or Jehennas.  Always in charge, always in control, running things from a comfortable position."

"Well, whatever the case, they'll have some explaining to do when they get back."  Gastrop
é stated.  "By the way, how are they getting back?"

"Tizzy is supposed to reopen the link at dawn."  Jenn told him.  She looked up at the night sky.  "I'd guess that will be in about three hours."

"Well, since we aren't going to get into the city before dawn anyway, we might as well camp here and try to get some rest for those hours."  Maelen suggested.

~

The morning sun shone brightly down into the private garden in which Damien was eating his breakfast.  He broke an orange in two absently as he listened to Antefalken recount his encounter with the demon Tom.  As he was preparing to pop a slice in his mouth, Antefalken finished.  "So," Damien said holding the orange slice before his mouth, "your opinion is that this Tom is neutral?  Not in either camp?"  He bit down on the orange slice.

"Yes.  I truth read him the entire time and didn't really catch him in anything.  Some of the stuff towards the end was suspicious but not any outright lie.  I'd have to say that as fourth order demons go, he's a pretty decent fellow. " Damien finished off another couple orange slices.

"On the other hand," Antefalken continued, "the existence of a demon son pretty much precludes him being new.  He didn't come in from the outer depths just recently.  Not if he has a son."

"Well," Damien said with a smile, "you are the expert on demonic children."  Antefalken smirked at him.  "I'll trust you on that one."

"Well, it stands to reason.  He would have had to sire the child since the time he was first captured.  The probability of a father and son demon captured from the outer regions simultaneously is just too remote to conceive of.  Thus, he's been around for several years.  I have no idea how old the child was, with demons age is very hard to tell.  Even physical size can be deceiving."  Antefalken bit into an apple.

"What's your guess?"

"I really don't know," Antefalken said as he swallowed his mouthful of apple.  "Given that the kid looks identical except for size, and rather acted like a young boy, I'd have to judge by appearances and what I know of similar circumstances.  First, the kid is probably no more than a decade, maybe two old.  Second the kid is either pure bred demon, or if a half breed, then Tom is extremely powerful.  Most demonic children split somewhere between the power of their parents.  Thus, a fourth order demon and a human will usually produce second or third order children.  Occasionally a completely normal human child or one with nonphysical demonic attributes will appear.  Only extremely rarely would you get another fourth order.

“If Tom had mated with another fourth, his son would, of course be a fourth; however pure bred demons are extremely rare and always intentional.  Very few demoness want to have a baby; and both parties have to supply animus.  With half-breeds, the mother can supply the majority of the animus.” Antefalken continued.

"Appearance is also a puzzle, normally demonic children resemble their children about as much as human children.  For the child to be a virtual clone...well, also if we go by appearances and this child grows up to be nearly identical in looks and power...In that case this Tom must be extremely powerful.  Of course this all depends on whether Tom has any nonstandard demonic abilities, and whether the child will also."

"Non-standard demonic abilities?"  Damien asked.

"Well, not really nonstandard.  No more than being a wizard, priest or any other mana wielder is nonstandard for humans.  Essentially, I mean if the demon has any conscious mana wielding abilities.  Many demons have certain talents, if you will.  Lightning bolts, shoot fire from their eyes, etc., in general however, these are limited and one trick options.  As you are aware, most of the truly powerful demons have conscious control of mana.  Similar to a wizard or other human."

"All the archdemons are essentially wizards, aren't they?  I mean they study magic like any human mage." Damien asked.