Chapter 3

Sir Tanel was still standing in the corner and hadn’t drawn his sword. Instead his arms were crossed and his eyes were focused on one of his rings. He then looked up at Wendel and said “I believe her. I think she is human and she isn’t from Avernus and she was happy that she killed that orc. At least according to my ring. Everything she said was true except for her name.”

“So what is your true name Lilith?” Wendel asked out of desperation.

“I, don’t, have, one!” She said while tilting her head with every word.

Sir Tanel held out his hand the ring clearly still green. “Yep its true” he said matter-of-factly.

Wendel set his staff on the table and dropped his head onto his arms. He kept his head down for a good minute and then lifted it up with a snap. “You are wearing demon plate. That is a poisoned great sword forged in the hellfires of Avernus. I summoned you. You are a demon.” All three of them looked at the ring it was still green. The two men looked at Lilith with a start.

“I am human”. She said carefully the ring was still green. She waited a good ten seconds and said “I am not a demon” The ring turned red. They all looked at each other with confusion. “Wait wait.” Lilith said holding up a single hand. “I am a human mind trapped inside a demon’s body.” The ring stayed green.

“By Lathander’s beard its true. How can this be?” Wendel asked before his face scrunched up as if he was deep in though. A few moments passed none of them saying a word before he spoke up again. “But if you are here then who is in your body?” In a panic Wendel reached into his robes and pulled out a sending stone with demonic runes on it. “Maldeval!!! …. Maldeval… answer me this is no time for games.” There was no answer from the stone even after a considerable wait. Wendel put it back into his pocket slowly. Sir Tanel looked at Wendel nervously

“So somewhere in Faerun, the devil Maldeval is loose in a human body, and its your fault!” Sir Tanel said while pointing a finger at Wendel. Nervously, the wizard ran his hands through his hair and leaned back in his chair. “We have to alert the Lords Alliance.” Sir Tanel said with a resigned tone.

And with that it all clicked. In Jason’s head it all came together. This was the world of Dungeons and Dragons that fictional world he had heard about and played online games in. So many of the names were the same ‘Faerun’ ‘Avernus’ ‘Daggerford’ ‘Lords Alliance’. Nothing had been wrong or out of place yet. He knew that Daggerford was south of Waterdeep. If this proved true then he at least knew where he was. So he asked.

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“Is Waterdeep North of here?” Lilith asked with a bit of hesitation.

“Well northwest but yeah. Its up the coast.” Sir Tanel answered while still looking to Wendel for some kind of counter argument or alternative.

“Ha ha ha, that's perfect ha ha ha.” Lilith cackled letting out a maniacal laugh. “I know where I am… and furthermore I know where Maldeval is.” She said with a bit of certainty, now having the full attention of both the men in the room. “He’s in my body right where I left it.”

“Ok, where is he Lilith?” Wendel asked a bit of desperation in his voice.

“On a completely different plane of existence.” she exclaimed. Sir Tanel still holding his ring up.

“Its still green” he confirmed not sounding the least bit surprised.

“Well that sucks for your world. What is it called?” Wendel said softly

“Its called Earth. …. no it sucks for Maldeval I think he is trapped.” Lilith posited.

“What” They both asked at the same time.

“The Universe I come from has an infinite size and the small world I come from is called Earth” Lilith explained.

“Your world is called dirt?” That’s not a very imaginative name.” Wendel said as an odd expression played out on both his and Sir Tanel’s face.

“Well I think it is not your word for dirt but some kind of translation is going on. It is our word for dirt. Anyways, there is no magic in our universe. None. He can’t cast a spell he can’t do anything more than what one of your city guards could do. I bet he gets hit by the first car he walks in front of.” she said followed by single laugh.

“No magic?” Wendel asked sounding a bit sceptical.

“Nope, none.” she replied

“No wonder the sending stone wouldn’t work then. It crosses multiple planes just to get to Avernus so the distance should be an issue. But if there is no magic where he is, then there is nothing for the stone to run off of.” Sir Tanel suggested.

“No no, I bet that sending stone is still sitting in his pocket on his original body in Avernus. But currently his mind is empty, he sent it to ... dirt.” Wendel explained sounding a bit excited. “He must have prepared an empty demoness body for you to travel to and sent himself to your body. So he’s stuck there with no power.” Wendel let out a good laugh.

“Are there any evil gods who might assist Maldeval in your world” Sir Tanel asked, his expression brightening for the first time.

“No, there is only one god and he seems to be good and just, and seems to be pretty hands off as of late.”

“So he’s screwed!! Ha!” Wendel lets out another laugh getting rid of the last bits of stress that had been eating him up inside, thinking he had just set a devil loose on the world.

Now sitting up straight, Wendel ran his fingers through his dark black hair again and regained his composure. With a wry smile he looked at Lilith for the first time as a person. “Just a few things then, before we go to your guest room. I am Wendel the court wizard for Lady Morwen. Sir Tanel here has been granted title over several farms in the outlying area and is the defender of our keep. You are wearing demon plate it will burn anyone else who tries to put it on. That blade is magical and quite deadly. So keep it sheathed at all times. That body of yours belonged to a demoness who most likely had her mind eaten by an intellect devourer. You are probably five times stronger than any man or orc currently alive so be careful when you interact with people. Now, thank you for saving our city champion and is it alright if we call you Lilith?” Wendel explained in a calm and controlled voice that seemed natural for him.

“If it pleases you, master Wendel” she said with a polite smile.