“We shouldn’t trust him!” Snickers told Max when they left the swamp.

“Why? He didn’t harm us, he just scared us really bad!”

“Because he is a demon! And you were summoned here to kill the Demon Lord!” Snickers almost yelled, but he tried to keep his voice down, Lett was just ahead of them leading the way.

“Really?” Max looked puzzled. “I didn’t know that he was a demon.”

“I’m not surprised!” Snickers was losing his cool.

“Do you know anything else about them?” Max asked.

“No,” Snickers admitted. “I just know that they are creatures of hellfire, demonic magic, and trickery. They are not that tough to deal with when they’re alone, but together, they can be a pain in the ass. You probably don’t want him to know about you being a hero and all that stuff.”

That was everything Max knew about Imps, thanks to Snickers. But after a while of talking to Lett, he didn’t seem like a bad guy.

“And that’s more or less how Snickers and I met, and now we are going to Kingsport, I have something to do there,” Max finished talking. He didn’t mention some important things just like Snickers warned him, about his mission in this world and such. Now, it was time to learn more about Lett the Imp. “What can you tell me about yourself? If we’re traveling together, we should know a thing or two, right?”

Lett turned around and floated closer to Max, his small wings flapping almost soundlessly. He looked a little bit scarier now that Max knew he is a demon.

“I’ve always been alone, as far back as I can remember. No family, no friends, just me. I was wandering through this Kingdom, scavenging for food and trying to stay out of trouble, out of view. People here weren’t too friendly if they knew I had some connections to the Demons that were attacking them, even though I never did that! I swear! One day, I stumbled upon a dark mage’s lair. He was an odd fellow, but he didn’t chase me away. Instead, he saw something in me, something special,” his eyes lit up, “and he decided to teach me a few tricks.”

Max could see Lett’s eyes how they twinkled with pride. “He taught me the art of illusions, making me quite good at deceiving the eyes and minds of others. We traveled together for a while, and I learned a lot from him. But one day, he simply disappeared. No warning, no goodbyes. I searched for him, but it was like he vanished into thin air. So, I went back to being alone.”

Max listened carefully, intrigued by Lett’s tale. Snickers, on the other hand, still seemed skeptical but didn’t interrupt.

“After that,” Lett continued, “I found my place in The Dead Marshes. I stayed there, scaring adventurers and stealing their food and belongings. It was lonely, but it was better than nothing. Then you two came along, and you know the rest. I’ve been in that swamp for too long, why not join you? That’s what I thought. I want to see the world again, maybe find some purpose.”

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“That’s quite a story, Lett,” Max said.

“If any of it is true!” Snickers didn’t like him one bit.

Lett grinned, his sharp teeth glinting in the light. “Everything is true my friend! And just so you know, there are a few quirks about imps you might find amusing. For instance, we’re all afraid of rainbows. Can’t stand the sight of them! Some of us speak exclusively in rhyme, though I managed to break that habit.”

Max chuckled, trying to imagine Lett running away from a rainbow. “Anything else we should know?”

“Well,” Lett said with a smirk, pulling out of thin air a cup of ale. “Many imps prefer to bring their own cup with them. You never know when you might need a good drink!”

Max laughed, impressed. “That’s good to know! Can you teach me that spell? That was a spell right?”

“Yes,” Imp admitted. “The old mage guy was an alcoholic, this was the first spell he taught me.”

“You want to know a fun fact about me?” Snickers jumped in.

“Sure thing!” Lett said.

“I can fart rainbows, so stay the fuck away from me little demon!”

“You don’t have to say that twice!” Lett laughed while Snickers didn’t look friendly at all.

“This is going to be fun!” Max said to himself.

“And…” Lett continued. “I almost forgot! I can also read minds of some people, not all. For example not of you Max, because you are a mage and your intellect is really high, but Snickers would be very easy!”

“Stay away from my mind demon!” Snickers pulled out his dagger.

“Calm down Snickers. Lett, there will be a rule then, there are no mind-reading things in our party, you can’t use it on us. Deal?” Max looked at Lett.

“Deal! No problem, but just so you know, I could even teach you that!” Lett grinned.

“We’ll talk about it later on, for now, I think we should find a nice place to rest. I am hungry, what about you Snickers?” Max asked his best friend.

“Whatever,” he didn’t like Lett at all.

“Your hand movement is completely wrong!” Lett couldn’t handle it anymore, he became very nervous.

“What do you mean wrong? How wrong is it?!” Max shared the same nervousness as Lett, only Snickers enjoyed this, relaxing under a shade, eating a juicy apple, and laughing every time Max made a mistake and Lett started yelling at him.

“Your tempo is off, you’re not moving the hand fast enough at the start and you’re finishing off too quickly!” Lett explained, making a hand motion to show how it’s done. A small illusion of him spawned next to Lett, it looked very realistic, Max really wanted to learn this spell. “Just like this, see?” Lett showed him once again.

“Why are you laughing there?” Max looked at Snickers. “Try not to choke on that apple!”

“Don’t worry, you keep practicing and I’ll keep eating.”

“I didn’t even know until today that you can cast spells without a wand!” Max admitted.

“Yes, you can. And just like I told you this is the way I learned it so it is the only way I can teach you. If we used wands, the spell would be even more powerful,” Lett flew around Max.

“Okay, let me try again!”

Error

Error

Error

Just a pale slime spawned next to Max every single time. “It’s like a pile of dog shit!” Max tried to kick it in anger, but his foot flew right through it, making him fall to the floor. Snickers started laughing even more.

“Dog shit isn’t white, and it doesn’t look that bad!” At first, Max was glad that Snickers was laughing and joking around a little bit after a long night of nothing, but now he would give all his gold to learn a spell to shut him up.

“Try again,” Lett said, he too was under the shade now, he didn’t see any point in flying next to Max.

“No mana,” Max said, approaching the cool shade. “Can you try and write the spell in a scroll?” Max sat on the soft grass.

“No can’t do! This is the way I learned it, and the only way I know how to teach it.”

“What if humans and imps aren’t alike when it comes to… this?”

“Then, we’re wasting our time if that was the case. But it isn’t, you’re just bad!”

“Show the cast once again,” Max came close to Lett. “I’m gonna figure it out somehow!” And that’s what they did the entire day, but with no success.