A small area had been cleared of grass and flattened, a complex rune drawn with blood on it. It subtly glowed with a vermillion hue, giving testament of the amount of energy it had received.
Eulisses was in deep concentration, channeling his arcane powers as he tried to briefly pry open the planar barriers and form a gateway between two worlds. The realms are not really physically present in the chaotic void, as islands are in the sea. Establishing a connection between two realms is not a matter of spatial proximity, but metaphysical similarity. This world has already proven to mirror the physical and magical laws of my old world. It should thus make no difference if I was here or there when trying to connect to yet another realm. Heck, if I really wanted to, I could probably find my way ‘home’. If Addia is unknown to this world though, that would defeat the purpose, for the time being.
The ritual neared its completion, announced by a form of spiritual vibration that was felt by everyone present, even the Royal Guards that stopped digging the graves a little off when they experienced it. The phenomenon intensified and a small tear opened above the blood drawings. It wasn’t pitch black or blindingly bright but instead of an even deeper, more crimson toned red than the rune. That confirms it then, I should be able to use all my magic in its full capacity here. Eulisses thought, as he happily announced “It worked!”
As quickly as the miniature rift had formed, it vanished again, in its place - dead centre of the circle - now stood a figure with their back held straight, curiously eying their surroundings, before focusing their gaze on Eulisses.
“What is that?” whispered Felicity under her breath, but neither Eulisses nor the figure had missed it. They focused their gaze on the princess instead, the red skinned mouth twisted to a sinister smile, a frightening visage altogether, as it held no nose or hair, the head ending in a horny protrusion that made them look like they wore a pointy hat instead.
In impeccable manner, they gave a flourishing bow that looked grotesque with their oversized arms and clawed hands. As if on instinct, the guards, who in their entirety had been focused on the figure ever since their arrival, shivered and took one step back. Only Eulisses and Felicity remained where they had been, the latter now considerably more pale, as she commented “What a sinister aura,” before she seemingly gathered herself and continued “I apologize if my earlier exclaim has been taken as an insult.”
“Stop playing around Drernoth and tone down your presence. I doubt they have ever seen a devil before.” Eulisses remarked half grumbling and half chuckling. The pressure that Felicity and the guards had felt vanished instantly, as the figure - the devil Drernoth - replied, similarly betraying in an instant the imposingness he had given off before. “Eu, as always, you are such a spoilsport. And here I thought you wanted to play, when you summoned me to a world I didn’t know of.”
“We shall get to business right away then, but maybe a short introduction is in order here first.” Eulisses turned to Felicity and continued. “This is Felicity Esaburg, princess of the Esaburg kingdom of this realm and my … employer, so to speak. Felicity, this is Drernoth, a ‘devil’ from the ‘Demonic Realm’ I’ve had dealings with in the past.”
Felicity lowered her head in greeting. “It’s nice to meet you, Drernoth” but was ignored by the devil, who was focused on Eulisses instead. “Eu, you know that normally I wouldn’t work without an upfront payment. Since it’s you, I can connive at this transgression, but recompense will be required nonetheless.”
Now it was Eulisses who ignored the words aimed at him. To Felicity, he said. “In my world, some ambitious wizards and priests summon beings from the Demonic Realm from time to time. It rarely ends well, most won’t even answer without sufficient sacrificial offerings. If they do, they usually are vastly more powerful than their summoners and won’t let themselves be used as a tool to further someone else’s ambitions. Many a catastrophe has been the result of some disgruntled demonic being throwing a tantrum as they kill their summoners.”
While gesturing towards Drernoth, he continued. “Devils are the notable exception among them. As long as the summoner is prepared to offer sufficient payment - most often in the form of their soul - a devil will enter into a contract with them. And they really stick to it too, it becomes like a play to see how airtight the summoner managed to formulate the contract or whether they left the devil enough wiggle room to fulfill the conditions but still go against their intentions.”
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The devil interjected at that, his earlier playful tone replaced by professional sobriety. “Eulisses hints at devils usually not requiring offerings to accept being summoned. He hopes to use that angle to gain an advantage in the negotiations. What he failed to mention is that I’m not just any devil and as a high-profile contractor might not just take up any job without further … incentives.”
“The moment a devil answers the summoner’s call, the negotiations start. If you don’t want to be taken advantage of, you have to be sufficiently prepared. Most people aren’t, but I’m not most people. Felicity, how do you want the bandit’s to be taken care of?”
--
Felicity was a bit taken aback at the situation. She felt like she watched two old friends acting out a play or carrying on with an old game, only that the stakes sounded ominous. “Why are you explaining all of this to me?” she asked Eulisses. The undead wizard answered seriously. “You want those bandits to be taken care of. Maybe find out about their intentions. Attacking a royal carriage accompanied by some of the kingdom’s best fighters? That’s not the behaviour of a highwayman. Drernoth can scour the woods and kill them, interrogate them or whatever else it is that you could want, while we resume our journey. It’s an easy solution to our problems, if a bit overkill. You have to understand what it is that you are offered, and what price there is to pay.”
Am I that easy to read? I have to work on it, then. But he is right, I want to find out who is behind the bandits, destabilizing the region. Or, I want my suspicions confirmed or disproved. A deal with the devil sounds ominous though, and the guards will be witnesses …
“I want to get to the bottom of this attack, that’s true. But not if it requires the sacrifice of my people, such dealings are out of the question!”
The devil focused their gaze at her, their piercing glare seemed to see through her every thought. “Not to worry, princess, I won’t be requiring your soul or the souls of your men. I’m guessing you’re less … protective of the ones belonging to your attackers? I shall make do with theirs, then.”
Drernoth slowly and deliberately raised his hand, with one finger held up and spoke further in a formal voice. “That is, if you agree to one other matter, seeing as you lead the negotiation in Eulisses Malinor’s stead.”
She threw a glance at the undead wizard in question, who nodded and remarked. “I can guess what it is, seeing as you’ve proposed quite the bargain up to now and I’m even less in a position to make that decision”
“Your keen insight hasn’t dulled, I see. This world is new to me and my kind and we would very much like to offer our services to its inhabitants.” The devil put a hand on his chin, almost covering the lower half of its face with its huge hand. “But right now, Eulisses Malinor is the only one to know how to call us, so they would miss out on us as it stands. The other matter I require is to distribute our pamphlets, a catalogue of sorts, outlining the different variants of our kind, what services we specialize in and finally, how to establish contact with us. That requires time beyond what is needed to fulfill your commission, time in which Eulisses Malinor will have to uphold his connection with me, as I would be brought back to my home plane otherwise. It’s one of the laws of my world.”
“Not that I want to rain on you parade, Drernoth, but extending your stay here won’t inconvenience me that much, the magical strain is negligible. You’re trying to divert our attention, the important thing is the nature of your extended stay. After fulfilling the primary objective of your contract, you are to not use any magic other than for moving around, and are to finish as quickly as possible. No other resident of this world shall be harmed or influenced by you, it is on them to stumble on and spread knowledge of your scriptures,” Eulisses specified, and to Felicity, he said next. “A contract with the devil needs to be as detailed as possible. This should prevent him from directly influencing the people. The call is yours, whether you want this type of knowledge in your world from now on. I can’t guess how long it would take for someone to accidentally establish a connection to the Demonic Realm and spread summoning techniques otherwise. It depends on how important this incident is to you, they seemed to have it out for you - or me in my capacity as ‘Hero’ - specifically. But know this: Demon summoning is a tool that, when misused, can wreak havoc. But it is no different in that matter to any other higher-level ritual magic and similarly isn’t accessible to the broad populace. And it can become a potent weapon to use against the Convergences, if you can keep yourself out of its blast radius.”
Felicity thought long and hard on the matter. A weapon to use against the Convergences. But if you give everyone access to it … I feel like I’m selling our world short here, as what this devil asks for is essentially their kind getting a foothold.
“The perpetrators behind these ‘bandits’, they need to be dealt with as well. Ensure that their machinations are laid bare, you can ‘influence’ the ‘bandits’ to that end but the clause that you do not do so with any other people stands. If you can do that, we have a deal.”
Eulisses repeated her words and the summoning circle lit up brightly in response before darkening completely. The devil smiled and stepped out of the boundaries of the rune for the first time. “With this, the contract has been established. I shall set out to fulfill my end at once. As my task does not need us to meet again, I bid you farewell, princess Felicity Esaburg. I look forward to eventual future dealings you might have with my kind.” With a more playful tone, they added. “Eu, you continue to surprise me with the things you do or get mixed up in. May Bol’gathos be with you.” With these words, Drernoth teleported away, leaving those present in silence.
After a few seconds, Eulisses spoke up. “So … that takes care of that, then. Shall we finish up with the burials then, I will help out too.” That woke the Royal Guards out of their stupor, and they slowly continued digging the last graves, while they wondered what the hell they had just witnessed. Eulisses aided them with his magic and they soon had buried the fallen, with the Second Lieutenant and Felicity giving a funeral speech, though the latter seemed to still be absent-minded.
She continued to be in contemplation, as they resumed their journey to the town of Baycall.