Everyone raced towards the stones. Hazelmere ran first, then the mages followed her, which gave Heartwell and Vukasin no other choice but to join them. The messenger followed them slowly, maintaining a respectful distance.
Hazelmere touched the stones as soon as she had reached them, closing her eyes. In a few moments she saw the portal.
And something standing in the middle of it.
It had the silhouette of a person. The last few moons interacting with the demons got her used to seeing them as people in a way, so it didn’t surprise her. What did surprise her, was the way this demon was dressed.
The demon was covered completely. Contrary to what you’d expect of sex demons, these demons were always dressed in an extremely modest way (when not in naughty books at least). Which made sense, since they live in a frozen hell, so they’re always wearing a lot of clothes to keep themselves warm.
But this was on a completely different level. Everything was covered this time, including the face. The demon resembled a fully-armored knight, but took it to the extreme where not even his eyes were visible.
“Oh, gods!” Hazelmere exclaimed.
“What?”
“They have crossed the portal!”
“How many of them?” Heartwell asked.
“Just one. But it looks like he is completely armored.”
“Is he carrying any weapons?”
“He is carrying something, but I have no idea if that is a weapon.”
“No need to scare,” the messenger said once it caught up with them, “just want to talk. Like with me. But in person now.”
“Why in person? I mean, you are here with us in person, aren’t you?” Cybil said.
“No, me no person. No mind. Me vessel. Person speaks through me not in person. Now person arrive.”
“Are you telling us you are possessed?”
“No good word. But, you own no better. Me controlled by person.”
“That is what being possessed is all about!”
“Wait! Wait!” Wyvernshield jumped in, “Are you telling us you were controlled all this time? Someone was telling you how to move and what to say?”
“Yes. This construct have no mind. Not good enough.”
“How is that even possible? Do you have any idea how many …” he stopped in the middle of the sentence, remembering something.
“So … the demons can possess you … who would have thought …” Galizur commented.
“No can control peoples. Only constructs. Peoples and constructs different,” the messenger responded.
“Oh yes, I will certainly believe everything you have to say.”
“Knock it off, featherhead! If you don’t like it, you’re free to fly away at any time!” Wyvernshield would have none of it.
“It is great that you came Galizur!” Hazelmere said excitedly, “If anyone can protect us from demonic influence, it is you! I am so glad the heavens have sent you!”
“Me too.”
---
It took a lot of time for the demon to reach them. He walked slowly and clumsily, the exact opposite of what you’d expect for a feral demon.
“Does he have a glass bucket over his head?” Cybil wondered out loud as he came closer to them.
“I thought you said he was armored,” Heartwell.
“Is he not?”
“That doesn’t look like armor to me. It looks more like some weird, bright clothes.”
“Agreed,” Wyvernshield nodded his head vigorously, “they’ve sent us their armor, this ain’t it.”
“That guy is really tall! It looks like he is a head taller than the tallest solder I saw!” Cybil pointed out.
“And what is wrong with his nose? Why are only his eyes visible?”
“Well, let us find out,” Hazelmere said as she started walking towards the demon. The others followed her closely behind.
Seeing them walk towards him, the demon started waving his hand, while holding some big, round shape in the other. Hazelmere responded in kind.
“Ahoy!” He greeted them, bowing slightly. His voice was muffled and sounded distorted a bit, “I come with peace!”
“Welcome!” Hazelmere responded, while returning the gesture. Everyone but Galizur did the same thing.
“I name Tom,” the demon pointed his index finger at himself.
“Oh! Nice to meet you … Tom. Did I get it right?”
“Yes.”
“My name is Hazelmere,” she put her hand below her collarbone.
“Hazzmee.”
“Hazelmere.”
“Hazlmre.”
“That is not quite it, but it is good enough.”
“Wow! Angel!” The demon commented, raising his voice slightly.
“You sound excited.”
“Yes! See angel first time. But no dead here.”
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“What do you mean?”
“Do angels pick up dead? Take them to heaven?” The demon gesticulated with his hand.
“Uhh, no.”
“I hear we see angel do it. Pick up freeze girl. She try give us gifts, but freeze. We try help, but angel come. Take her.”
“Oh, that!” Hazelmere started laughing, “No, no, you got it wrong! The angels don’t take dead people to heavens, we burry them! He got me because no one else can approach the coldness of your world.”
“That you?”
“Yes, that was me. I am not dead yet, as you can see.”
“I see … not as we think. Good to know.”
“Why did you come here,” Galizur joined the conversation, but his face was missing its usual smile.
“Come to see you in live. Eye to eye, like friends should. And give you this gift.”
He extended his hands towards Hazelmere, who took the gift carefully.
“That’s a lotta gold!” Wyvernshield commented.
“Is this … some golden disc?” She asked.
“Record. Have information about us and us world. Enchanted. Curious to see if you’re magic can read that.”
“If you are coming as a friend, then why is your face covered completely and only your eyes are visible?” Galizur asked.
“So not to hurt or get hurt. Not sure can breathe. Should can breathe, but take no chance. Not first time. And not sure if my breath hurt you. So seal me in clothes. Breathe store air with mask,” the demon tapped the glass in front of his head, where his mouth were supposed to be, “can look scary, but no need to scare.”
“Is that glass on your hamlet lad?” Wyvernshield asked as he approached the demon.
“No touch!” The demon complained while extending the palm of his hand towards the dwarf, “Not sure if safe! No hurt!”
The dwarf obliged, but continued staring at the strange, bright clothes while walking around the demon, “You look very silly in that, you know? Not really a display of power, money or nobility,” he commented.
“But is safe.”
“Is it armor?”
“No not armor. Weak. But seals I from world. Keep my world air with me.”
“I see. Now I understand,” Natle said.
“What?”
“I was wondering what was going on. Why my magic can’t reach him. I thought it was because they are soulless, but the clothes he is wearing are interfering with my magic.”
“Oh, yes. I agree,” Cybil confirmed.
“So, you don’t trust us? Is that why you are wearing those clothes? Or are you hiding something you don’t want us to sense?” Galizur asked.
“These clothes protect and me and you. Not want spread curses. May not happen but not want risk that.”
“You spread curses? Not that I am surprised.”
“Curse not good word. Everything is curse to you. No difference in nature of that. Not risk that until find cure. Hope you can help. May be magic can cure.”
“Are your people cursed?” Hazelmere asked.
“Curse no good word. Too strong. Too evil sound for nature of that. That is natural thing.”
“Of course, curses are natural in hell. No surprise there,” Galizur pressed his point further.
“Hell? Unfamiliar word.”
Hazelmere’s lip skewed to one side, as the leaned towards the angel to whisper in his ear: “We didn’t talk about hell, or tell them anything we think of their world. We didn’t want to enrage them, or make them realize we can see through the façade. We didn’t mention demons either.”
“Oh, I see. I agree with that. That is a good decision.”
“Hell? What is that?”
“A world alien to ours,” Galizur said.
“Curses no natural here?”
“That depends on how you define them. Curses are magical in nature. And, while some races think that magic is natural, others think the magic is above the nature,” Hazelmere explained.
“No one definition?” The demon sounded confused.
“No. It all depends on how you interpret it.”
“I see.”
“Anyway, why have you come here?” Galizur asked.
“Come see you live. Eye to eye. Want to see friends like that. Show no need to scare and show we trust you. Not to hurt me.”
“Why in the rocks would we ever want to hurt our trade partners?” Wyvernshield said with a big smile on his face.
“Want build trust with partners. Be friends.”
“And why do you want to be friends?”
“Be friends is good. Understand better. Learn. Grow. Question our ways. Be better.”
“Question your ways?”
“Yes. Not perfect. Want learn.”
“What do you want to learn?”
“Everything. And can teach everything we know. If you want. But need to be sure not curse first. And be sure can breathe. How you cure curses?”
“You can’t cure a curse.”
“But you can dispel it!” Hazelmere pointed out?”
“Dispell?”
“Make the magic disappear,” she clarified, “just how your weird clothes are dispelling it.”
“My clothes dispel magic?”
Galizur gave Hazelmere a scornful glare, making her cover a bit.
Realizing Hazelmere won’t respond, the demon continued: “Can try. Not know if work. Will find some one want to try.”
“If curses are an integral part of your race, there is a good chance that lifting them will kill you,” Galizur pointed out.
“I see. Can try still. Not know unless try. Worth risk.”
“You think so?”
“Yes. Then I can arrive with no clothes.”
“Now, that’s an interesting proposal,” Mizette said.
---
They chatted for a long time about all kinds of things. Even though Hazelmere and her companions were chatting in a similar way with the messenger before, having a living, breathing creature in front of them had an impact. It made them much more open for the conversation, gave them a lot of ideas, and helped them come up with questions they never considered before.
It also helped that Galizur was constantly steering the conversation in different directions, always having some additional questions for the unexpected guest. The demon proved to be very open about any subject the angel asked him about, although sometimes giving convoluted answers to some very simple questions.
Then, the demon ended the conversation abruptly.
“I must go. Low with breath. But come again. We talk like this instead with construct in future. If you have no thing against?”
“No, absolutely not!” Hazelmere’s said in a friendly voice.
“Have us agreed to try magic? To remove curse?”
“I don’t think anyone has anything against it,” She looked at Galizur and Moana, “I mean, that is an extremely considerate gesture on your part. Especially since it can hurt you.”
“Will find some one brave. But not now. Other things to check. First if we can breathe. We start moving more people close to portal. Try things.”
“And we are to believe you have no ill intentions?” Galizur said with a voice filled with sarcasm.
“I here alone. No weapons. If we have ill intentions, come much of us, with weapons.”
“Anyway, we would appreciate if you would let us know beforehand, whenever you try something.”
“Sure. I here for that. Let you know. Must go now. Low on breath. Good buy and peace with you.”
“Safe travels!”
The demon left as clumsily as he came.
“I must say, that is very encouraging,” Hazelme said as soon as he had left.
“How so?” Galizur asked.
“I mean, they are offering us to remove their curses. We didn’t ask for any of it, they have offered it themselves! They wouldn’t do that if they wanted to do any harm.”
“If they truly do spread curses, all they had to do was give us some cursed items. None have been so far,” Wyvernshield pointed out.
“There is always some trickery involved with the demons. But I can’t deny that this offer is unprecedented. They are offering to hurt themselves instead of spreading their corruption all over the world. Or, maybe they know we can dispel their curses, so they realize they have no other options.”
“Whatever the case, these supposed demons were friendly once again. You’re too paranoid for your own good,” Wyvernshield said.
“That is because we are responsible for the wellbeing of all the creatures in this word! I know you dwarves don’t care if the demons corrupt, enslave and murder half of Greadinall, as long as you get some gold out of it!”
“Speaking of gold, what is that thing?” Mizette said, pointing at the golden disc in Hazelmere’s hands.
“I have no idea. There are some scribbles all over it, some random lines. None of it makes sense.”
“He said it is enchanted with the knowledge of his people. And that we can access it with magic, if we figure out how to do it.”
“I strongly advise you not to touch it! It can easily be cursed.” Galizur complained.
“Ah yes, like all the other items they’ve cursed so far,” Wyvernshield spat back.
“I strongly advise you to give it to me, so I can take it to the heavens. We will guard it well there, and ensure it causes no harm. If what the demon said is true, the heavens certainly have the best chances of understanding the enchantment and uncovering its secrets.”
“Ha! And you say we dwarves covet the gold!”
“I …” Hazelmere hesitated for some time, “I would really appreciate your help in examining it.”
“As a mage, you know how dangerous the enchantments can be. You can put not only this town, but all of Greadinall in danger.”
“I …”
“It is not our decision to make,” Mizette stepped in, “The Emperor should decide it. If he learns you gave a disc of pure gold to the heavens, he will have your head.”
“This is bigger than one person, or one race. It may be dangerous to all of us,” Galizur pushed his point further.
But Wyvernshield shut him down right away, “Then you can examine it with us! Come, let’s go. No point in standing here any longer! The golden disc filled with knowledge awaits!”
Everyone turned around and walked away, leaving Galizur no other choice but to follow after them.