[WP] Arthur C Clarke said "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." Apply this to our current level of technology
...
The wolf that had been hunting Sola screamed in agony, as it flew dozens of paces from a heavy tackle to land with a solid crack against the thick trunk of an elder willow beside the road. Those howls which had haunted her passage for miles found themselves abruptly stopped after the impact, thickly furred body sprawled limp and static before the blinding eyes of the demon which had brought down such violence upon it.
Stunned, Sola lowered her shovel from the defensive stance, arms still shaking from the adrenaline and violence, the likes of which not moments ago had been a brutal fight between life and death. With horror, she watched on exhausted. The looming threat of almost certain-death had suddenly been ended in a heart-beat, but thankful as she was, Sola wasn't entirely positive it hadn't just been replaced by another danger.
Metal of strange color lingered in the moonless night, encrusted by glass planes of reflective darkness: Each with a tint like that of volcanic stone, which seemed impossible to stare through- even for her eyes and blessings. Before her the monstrosity's glare beamed out more powerful light than any ordinary Mage might hope to summon even in a small quantity. After crushing such a powerful opponent, the strange demon still seemed to radiate strength, purring with a low and never-ceasing growl. For all her years spent serving in the western territories, Sola had never seen a demon like this one.
She could only imagine its source.
If her absence had already been noticed, perhaps the Dark Lord had sent it to bring her back: Back to digging graves, back to a slave's life. This thought in the forefront of her mind, Sola watched in horror as the glass piece closest to her began to lower, unfamiliar voices chanting with alien melody's shrieking out beneath their words.
"I see a little silhouetto of a man!"
The glass lowered further- far beyond what Sola would have imagined possible.
"Scaramouch, scaramouch will you do the fandango?"
What unholy spell was this? The voices defied logic- as if the souls of the dead themselves were existing deep within the demon's flesh.
"Thunderbolt and lightning very very frightening me!"
She flinched back, feet stepping back towards the darkened woods along the roadside, ready to flee.
" Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo, Gallileo Figaro- MagnificooooooooooOoOoOo-""
Suddenly, the voices stopped. The strange and powerful hum of chorus ceased, and a regular voice (of a much more ordinary sort) reached out from the depths of the monster before her.
"Hello... So, uh... There's a lot of weird shit out here at night. If you'd rather not get eaten, I can give you a lift." Sola stepped back, almost slipping along the incline of the road that lead back into the forest behind her. The voice seemed hesitant as it continued. "Or I guess you could run off and get eaten by wolves. I mean, that's technically still an option."
The hollow demon growled slightly as it opened a thick metal wing in Sola's direction. The innards glowed with strange light, yellowish and tinted by some uninterpreted weaves of magic. Much to her surprise, a human man was seated with a patient expression; apparently aloof to the fact that he had been swallowed by such a beast. She stared in slack-jawed wonder: Was this an illusion?
"Do you want a ride or not?" The man asked, waving at her in a effort to draw her focus away from the rest of the demon's strange stomach. "Look, I only have so much gas in this thing before I have to start buying up Dwarven booze to pour into it, and I'm not nearly wealthy enough for that right now. If you're coming, get in already."
"Are you-" Sola tried to come up with a proper question, watching the human with uncertainty. He seemed real, and try as her eyes might to find magics at work, there seemed hardly a single trace: It defied logic. "Are you a messenger for the Dark Lord Gillian?"
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
"The Dark what?" The man's face slipped from patient to confused. "Who the heck is that?"
"Dark Lord Gillian: Blackened Mage and conqueror of the Western Continent! Ruler of both the Living and the Dead: Drinker of Souls!" Sola recited the titles to perfection. How many times had she been forced to repeat them for her father's approval before he passed? She could only imagine the number was far greater than it rightfully should be, but somehow the human seated inside the demon of metal and glass seemed far from impressed from her delivery. In fact, he seemed perplexed by the rendition.
"Uh... No." One of his hands went to scratched idly at the beard on his face, slowly massaging his chin. "No, I've never heard of that person." He looked down at his other hand, staring intently at the glowing bits of intricate runes beneath the strange curved protrusion of skin and bone resting there. "And I don't work for anyone at the moment." His lips turned towards a frown as he muttered. "Already a quarter tank..."
"You've never heard of the Dark Lord?" Sola felt her jaw going slack again. Even in the lands of Doterra- not yet crushed by the Blackened Armies of the West, she was certain people knew of the Dark Master's power. "How...?"
"Listen, are you coming or going? I've got a schedule to keep, and the map I bought it absolutely terrible." The human cut back in, gesturing with his free hand as if to push away her questions. Sola's legs still couldn't decide if this was an illusion: If she was already about to be eaten- presently being pulled towards the monster's open maw by demonic magics. Her foot slowly stepped back. "Fine. Suit yourself, I guess."
The man reached forward, hand grabbing at the inside of the Demon's wing to pull it closed with a heavy slam before the beast began to move forward yet again, carrying on down the road. In the distance, as the rumbling of the monster began to drift away, the call of wolves filtered into the quiet forest air. Many wolves: Much closer than she'd anticipated.
"WAIT!" Sola shouted before she knew it, sprinting with her bag and shovel over-shoulder, as fast as she could towards the strange lights of the demon of metal. Those same lights glowed brightly in response, as the creature again came to a stop and the wing opened once more. In her panic, a single swallow of fear was all it took before Sola slipped inside, finding herself face to face with the strange human as the odd texture of the demon's stomach settled beneath her legs: Leathery and worn, with not the slightest hint of burning stomach acid.
"Nice to meet you stranger, my name's Jake." The man brought his hand out, catching hers with an earnest grip and shake. "You?"
"Sola" She replied nervously, eyeing the insides of the monster with uncertainty. "Sola GraveKeeper."
"Nice to meet you Sola, now close that door would you? Last thing we need is a Goblin coming through the window. I hate Goblins." The demon began to rumble, as the strange glass began to rise- curiously far more transparent on the inside than the out. The man named Jake continued, unperturbed. "I heard the next town over hires Adventurers without prying for too many details or background checks. Rumor has it, bounty hunting brings in some decent coin."
"You're an... Adventurer?" She asked, hesitantly. The man was watching the strange and glowing parts of the demon intently, unfamiliar runes scripted beneath the rounded bone gripped in his hands.
"I guess so, aren't you?" He looked over at her, eyeing her shovel. The broken shaft have been sharpened to a rough spear tip, and it still had some blood on it. She opened her mouth in an effort to explain.
"This is just-"
"I've got one of those too," He said with a sudden grin, throwing a thumb over his shoulder towards the back of the metal and glass demon. To Sola's surprise it seemed that was also hollow. "It's in the camper. People seriously underestimate the value of a good shovel and a decent vantage point."
"I, ah..." Sola wasn't exactly certain what to say to that. She decided to simply answer the first question. "Yes, I'm an Adventurer." It wasn't really a lie, but then it wasn't exactly the truth either. Sola ignored the guilt; there was no point in feeling guilt over such an absurd situation.
"Well, I guess we're partied up then." The man smiled, teeth glowing in the strange light overhead, turning back towards the front of the demon- which Sola realized was also glass. Perfect and visible through and through, warm breath seemed to rise up from the bottom edge of it, keeping the temperature comfortable compared to the chill outside. His hand reached up and the light overhead flicked out at once, leaving only the glowing eyes piercing through the darkness in front of them as they moved on down the road. "I don't suppose you're any good at killing undead, are you? I heard there's a bunch of zombies wandering around, twenty copper a piece. Good deal."
"Zombies? You mean Ghouls"
"Oh, yeah ghouls. Ton of 'em."
For the first time, in a long time- long than she could honestly remember: Sola smiled as her hand traced along the sharpened edge of the shovel and she stared out of the clear glass plane of the hollow demon with a vicious grin. A smile all but hidden in the darkness as she replied. "I fucking hate Ghouls."
"Oh! Perfect, we'll see if we can nail a couple of those on our way into town." The man's laughter rumbled in the space, as his hand flicked a glowing set of runs between them- and the strange voices began anew. "You like music?"
Oh mama mia, mama mia! Mama mia let me go!
Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me! For me- For MEEEEEEEE!
Sola couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling that this was the start of a beautiful friendship.