Chapter 0
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Faerun: Town of Daggerford: Farmers’ Gate Tower.
Impromptu War council. Two members in attendance.
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“Are you sure this is a good idea Wendel?”
“Yes, he’s never let me down before.”
“But…. why would he send a demon to help us? Aren’t they at war with each other?”
“Well, Devils have been known to enslave Demons from time to time and use them to fight against other Demons from the abyss. It helps even the odds.”
“How so?”
“Well Demons are incredibly strong. Some can fly, some can teleport, but they are especially deadly up close, with or without a weapon. Some can even cast basic spells. Devils, on the other hand, are physically weaker but have more magic. A lot more magic. In fact, Maldeval can even cast plane shift. But even so, the devils tend to run out of magical energy just like I can. So they enslave demonic foot soldiers to help them in battle.”
“And you are sure you want him to send a Demon here to fight for us, when we already have a demon in the keep? Where did this idea even come from?”
“What better way to fight a Demon than with another Demon?”
“Fine fine, ok, Call him. But if he asks for another toe no one is going to feel sorry for you.”
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Chapter 1
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Dirt: Orlando, FL Somewhere just west of I-4.
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Jason was cooking lunch. That is, if you can call putting a TV dinner in the microwave cooking. In any case it would be done in about 3 minutes so his focus switched back to his TV show.
While the microwave hummed, he pulled up a browser window for a popular streaming service on his computer and began loading the next episode. Jason skipped the cursor ahead of the opening theme song and began watching. From his left Jason heard the familiar ding of his microwave causing him to get up and retrieve his pasta bowl. As he reached towards the microwave something he didn’t expect happened. There a glow of some sort covering his hand. Pulling it back, he saw a magical circle form around his fingers. It was circular, had intricate runes and was larger than the widest part of his arm. Holding up both his hands he saw they were both covered by the same type of phenomenon. Looking past them, in the reflection of the microwave, he could see a third circle form over his head. They were red in color and began descending down his hands to his palms.
As they moved down, his fingers were paralyzed and frozen in place. In an instant he couldn’t move a muscle, as his whole body went numb. Unable to turn his head away from the reflective microwave, he watched as the circle above his head began moving down at a steady pace.
Jason tried to yell but no sound came out as a thin line went across his vision reducing it to darkness. He could hear nothing he could see nothing. It was total sensory deprivation. No heartbeat, no breathing, just nothingness.
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Jason felt completely detached from his body. If he had an inner ear at this moment he would have detected immense speed as his soul moved through the ethereal plane departing one dimension and entering another. But instead he felt nothing as panic began to set in. For a moment he considered reaching for his cell phone but he remembered he left it on his desk. He then tried to move his legs but felt nothing. As his mind raced he considered his options but only made it through a few more before something changed.
Suddenly there was light. His eyes came into focus and he saw a strange person in an unfamiliar room. He was dressed like a medieval knight. To his left there were three footmen holding spears pointed at Jason about chest level with their spear tips only about 2’ away.
Looking back at the first man he was holding a longsword and had a fancy hat with some frill on top.
To his right Jason saw what could only be described as a wizard, complete with robes and a staff topped with a glowing orb.
The light soon faded from said orb and there they stood 4 weapons, 5 if you counted the staff, all pointed at 30 year old mechanical designer named Jason Whitaker who just wanted to eat his lunch.
“Demon, tell me your true name!” the wizard spoke as if it was a command directed at him.
Jason stood motionless as he didn’t know what to do. Was there a demon here too? Thinking his life was in danger Jason began looking around the room more. But all he saw were the 5 men before him a staircase, two long hallways and a sturdy looking wooden door.
“Can she understand us? The guard captain asked while gesturing his sword in Jason’s direction.
“Of course she can. Most planes traveling races can understand every language. It helps them when they get summoned to god knows where. It is like an innate spell.” The wizard explained calmly.
“I-I .can understand you.” Jason said in a distinctly feminine voice that he did not recognize nor expect. Surprised Jason quickly began to look at his hands and at what he was wearing. His gauntleted hands were covered in a type of dark metal armor. Looking down at the rest of his body it was a set of intricate plate armor with a boob window. Yep he was in the body of a woman, a well endowed woman at that. With a sudden surge of adrenaline he began to assess the situation. The wizard in front of him seemed to be calm but the other men pointing weapons seemed to be sweating bullets. According to the wizard and what his eyes could see Jason wasn’t in his own body any more and he needed to come up with a name, fast.
“Now, tell me your true name demon.” The wizard repeated at the newly summoned creature standing before him.
True name? Demon? Well he had obviously just been summoned by some spell but he wasn’t a demon. Jason realized he needed to make a decision quickly. He had taken a self defense class and knew never to draw on a drawn weapon. He was looking at five weapons, four of which were pointed at him, so a fight was clearly out of the question. Also aside from the provocation of having weapons drawn on him, he had no reason to fight them. So he decided it would be best to play along and wait for an opening. ‘Now whats a good demon name?’ he asked himself.
“Lilith” the demon said. It was the only female demon name he could remember under such pressure.
“Lilith, you are to follow my orders and harm neither me nor any of my country men.” the wizard commanded giving the demon a serious look.
“As you wish.” Lilith replied while looking at more of her armor. Aside from the boob window, the rest of of it seemed pretty practical. Armored boots and greaves, an armored skirt and shoulder pads, all in a polished dark silvery metal with red trim. On her right shoulder she spotted the pommel of a sword slung over her back and a lock of bright red hair.
With her words the guards seem to relax resting their spears on the ground while the captain lowered his sword but kept it at the ready.
“I have brought you here to Faerun in dire circumstances and time is of the essence.” The wizard said in a calm voice but at a much quicker pace than before. “You are in the city of Daggerford and there is an army of orcs outside the walls.”
An army of orcs? The demon had a million questions but the only constructive one she could think of was soon blurted out interrupting the wizard. “How... How many?” Lilith stuttered still not used to her voice nor her body.
“We count about 600 orc regulars arrayed against us. We have about 100 militiamen and 40 armored cavalry. We also have about 40 city watch but they are no match for armed orcs.” The guard captain explained.
“The orc chief has offered us battle by champion though so we are going to try that option first. You see we are going to cheat. We want you to be our champion, just pretend like you are a human and yell ‘For Daggerford’ after you win. Don’t worry about the eyes, some barbarian’s eyes glow red too when they are in battle.” The wizard gave all this information to Lilith at amazing speed. He was obviously nervous but trying to stay calm and in control.
‘Perhaps he learned to stay calm like that through years of study.’ she wondered before the next obvious question popped into her head.
“Ok, why use a demon why not use your own champion?” Lilith was not going to tip them off that she wasn’t a demon and wasn’t under their control. She was going to play the part but wanted a bit more information. Some of this still didn’t make sense.
“Well, our whole town is on the line so we kinda need a sure thing. Most demons are resistant to mundane weapons and I don’t think those orcs have a magical weapon among them. So they can barely scratch you even if they do land a blow. Also that demon plate is practically indestructible. You should be fine. Return through the gate after your battle and we will have a big banquet in your honor. You know before you return to Avernus at midnight. Standard stuff.” The wizard explained rather matter-of-factually, as if it was all common knowledge.
Jason began thinking. ‘Did they just say that I was functionally invincible to normal weapons? If I can’t be hurt then there really isn’t much risk in playing along with this a bit longer.’ With an internal laugh, Jason realized that the wizard may be the only real threat to him in the room. He certainly was more confident than the guards to his left judging by the death grip they each hand on their spears. Looking back at the wizard he was motioning to the door with one hand.
Lilith nodded her head in agreement and looked at the wooden door and turned to face it. The captain opened the door and proceeded out while sheathing his sword. The wizard motioned for Lilith to go ahead of him while the three spearmen followed behind.