“Bear!” Tobian said as he entered the larger antechamber. The group focused on a creature with six tails, each ending in a six-pointed barb. Tristan knelt near Darius, who, while standing, was cupping a hand over a bleeding hole in his side. The Professor waved his hands like a musical conductor, and ghostly tentacles attached to the walls and floor waved around, mimicking his motions. Sirah was nowhere to be seen, but Tobian knew that usually meant she was near and working.
The Professor glanced at the packwick but maintained control of the spell. Tobian tried to mime a giant bear and pointed out the door but only got a shake of the Professor's head in reply.
Tristan stood up after a brief flash of light, and she ran toward the demon with a large hammer raised.
Darius glanced at the Professor and saw Tobian. He made a shooing motion to get him to leave. Tobian replied with his bear impression. Darius put two hands to his head as if sleeping briefly before his eyes widened. Darius grabbed his axe and ran toward Tobian.
As he reached Tobain, Darius pushed him out of the way. As if the packwick was a tumbleweed, Tobian flew several feet across the room, the pack softening the landing.
Like a turtle on its back, Tobain struggled to get back to his feet. Glancing toward the entry, he saw Darius struggling to swing his massive axe around. The warrior scraped and hit the stone walls more than he hit the bear. The creature alternated between standing on its hind legs and swiping at Darius’s face to lunging on all fours at his legs and midsection. Both were bleeding from hits, but the bear didn’t slow down.
“Professor, need help,” Darius called out. Tobian stepped back so he wasn’t in the way of the Professor.
The wizard glanced over to Darius and, with a sigh, stopped waving his hands around. The tentacles he was controlling slowly faded into nothing. The Professor pulled out a copper ring from within his robes and threw it up in the air. The ring floated in the air as the Professor quickly drew arcane runes and lines of power. A trail of blue light followed his finger as he etched magic into the air. With a swirl of his hand with the last bit, the Professor yelled, “Duck!”
The runes in the circle all glowed blue and white before the points, attaching them to the ring connected to a point in the center. With a crack of thunder, a bolt of lightning shot out down the hallway, blasting the bear right in the face as it was coming down to tackle a ducking warrior.
An explosion rocked the room. The bear exploded, and bits of flesh and bone splattered all over the entryway, giving everything a red tint. Where the bear stood, a mist hung in the air briefly before it evaporated.
Tobian glanced at the Professor to thank him and saw the barbed-tail demon was preparing to strike the wizard with a tail. Tobian pulled out his sword, took two giant steps, and dove to parry.
His sword missed the barbed tail, but his sudden intervention gave the demon pause. Tobian rolled onto his side and slashed with the sword. The creature pulled its tail up and swung another down at Tobian.
A dagger spun through the air above Tobian, the blade catching the tail and nearly severing the barbed end from it. The demon screeched in pain as it jerked back the cut tail. It tried with another to stab Tobian, swinging it down to hit him in the abdomen, but he managed to roll to the side, so the barb missed puncturing his skin.
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It instead pierced a magical bag.
A soft explosion appeared as items surrounded Tobian. Rocks, sticks, rope, an old bedroll, skulls of various monsters, dozens of empty glass bottles, and a couple of full ones shattered as they hit the stone floor. A three-foot-long ladder, a ten-foot pole, and some walking sticks clattered as they hit the stone. Spare clothing for men and women in various sizes covering the whole gamete of the color spectrum. Even a couple of wooden logs about a foot and a half long and as much broad. All appeared in the air around Tobian and fell to the ground.
The demon stumbled as it navigated the sudden appearance of rocks and clothing on the floor. Tobian kept rolling to the side, feeling glass shatter and, in some cases, a liquid soak into his clothing.
Struggling to not trip over the sudden yard sale appearance, the demon couldn’t dodge Darius’s axe. The massive blade connected with the neck of the demon, severing it. Like a marionette with its strings cut, the body fell to the floor, followed by the head. The creature screamed in pain as both parts turned into dust.
Tobian pushed aside a sizeable fuzzy something that had fallen near his nose. He slowly stood up, moving some items out of the way so he didn’t step on something.
“Sorry about the bag,” He scrambled to pick stuff up and put it in another bag.
“It's okay. Are you alright? Did the bear hurt you?” Tristan said as she stepped closer. She reached down, picked up a small three-foot-high ladder, and handed it toward Tobian.
“I’m fine; I managed to slow it down using a rock.” Tobian took a deep breath. He glanced at the short ladder. “Oh, that; I need the Professor to cast a spell to shrink it so it’ll fit through the opening,” Tobian said as he pointed toward the wizard.
Tristan opened her mouth to speak, closed it, and offered the short ladder to the Professor. With a brief word of magic, the ladder was now a tiny six inches.
“Can you shrink these as well?” Tobian pointed out a few of the larger rocks and the wooden logs.
“When the spell wears off, doesn’t it cause issues?” The Professor said as he shrank a few more items.
“So far, not yet, I’m not sure the exact capacities of the bags in my possession, so I spread them across the four,” Tobain paused and looked at the torn bits of cloth still hanging from his belt. “Er, three bags.”
“When we get the chance, we should figure it out. This time it was somewhat helpful, another time, a bag emptying its contents could be problematic.” The Professor said. The wizard turned and pointed at the two closed doors in the room. “Sirah, can you check if those are still sealed, usually this room is safe, and if the doors inside are all open, this could be a tough one.”
“Couldn’t we just use the Divine edict bell and banish them?” Tobian said as he looked at the bell being held by a marble statue along the back wall. Tristan looked at the Professor, who shook his head before looking directly at Tobian.
“The bell is a last resort; it banishes everyone whose heart isn’t good. There. " The Professor interrupted Tristan.
“It would only send the demons back to their realm; it wouldn’t inhibit them from coming back by tricking a wizard or finding another hole. By destroying their form here, they are banished for 1000 days. Preventing even the most weak-willed wizard from accidentally summoning them.” The Professor took a deep breath and closed his eyes briefly before continuing. “Not all demons are interested in bloodshed. Some gather knowledge, others are paying back a debt, and even those who, through a cruel twist of fate, were corrupted and are seeking their salvation.”
Tobian nodded as he looked at the shattered glass on the floor. “I’ll stay here and make sure not to interfere.”
“Oh, Toby,” Tristan said. “Er, Tobian, you are a valued member, but you're just not yet to the level of fighting these creatures. You show innovation and promise, especially when using your talent surprisingly. In a way, we do a disservice to you by preventing you from adventuring with peers, but we love you and value your presence.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about the mimic; we’ve all been bamboozled by such a creature. In fact, someday, ask Darius about the goblin Etf No-Toes.” Sirah said before she laughed and slapped Darius’s back.
Darius slowly lifted up his massive axe a few inches and rubbed a fingernail against the edge, watching the shaving fall before turning and heading over to the door on the right. He opened it and stepped forward.
“Back to work,” Darius said as he went into the dark hallway.