(Daemon POV)
“Who let that thing in here!” The pointed-ear one said, ready to draw and loose an arrow at any moment.
“Hold your fire!” The same person spoke out that had spoken every time something happened, and as he did, the scribes wrote frantically on their papers.
“So, I'm to be with them? I thought I'd be placed with competent party members, but I guess not.” They all snarled at me with hatred, except for the one who spoke in a spiritual voice.
“Now, now, let’s at least try to get along. We'll be together for a long time now, so we need to put the past behind us.” He said, causing the men to sigh in defeat.
“Agreed.” They said in unison, and they all limply walked over, while he walked proudly with them.
“Where to?” I said as I didn’t know anything of this world still, and I was just haphazardly thrown into a group of people I nearly killed.
“Sal’vae, a dungeon town, said to be infected by monsters from the dungeon.” The one with the spiritual voice spoke again.
We walked out of the room, which was quite large in itself, and down several long elegant hallways that made me want to burn the place down, as beauty and functionality were on two opposite ends of the same spectrum. We eventually made it outside, where I could see the last light of dusk twinkle into the nothingness, and night befalls the large busy town that sprawled out in front of us. We walked some way to a building of large stature before the pointed-eared one spoke aloud, trying to at least get a conversation going.
“So, if we are going to be a party from now on, even if temporarily, we should know each other's names.” Everyone shook their heads in agreement as we walked.
“I am Elendor, an elf from the far east.” The pointed-ear one said, finally leaving me with another thing to call him.
“I am Gran, a human from the Raingoth Queendom.” The spiritual voice person said, finally having names for these people was useful, as I didn’t have to refer to them as ‘this sounding voice’ anymore.
“Name’s Thrall, a human from the Raingoth Queendom.” The one that carried a sword on their back said, leaving only the covered one left.
“I am Vor’alus, from the Raingoth Queendom.” That was the last person, the one with black clothing, and now that I have heard queendom several times now, it explains a lot.
“And you?” The pointed-ear, no, Elendor said.
“Just call me Daemon, you wouldn’t have any knowledge from where I come from.” They looked questionably at me.
“The demon realms have been explored, most at least, and it became a general knowledge of how demon societies work. Just name the place you come from, a country if that is all you wish to give.” Well, let's just go with where I’m from then.
“Earth.” They looked more shocked, and we reached the building when I spoke, so we entered.
“Never heard of such a place,” Gran said, and he quickly asked the woman behind the counter for three rooms for the night.
“Why not continue this upstairs?” Vor’alus said, which was a good idea, as prying ears weren’t the best to have when you are spewing information on a place nobody has heard of before.
We walked up after collecting three keys, one for each room and had walked all together up the stairs and into one to continue our conversation, “I guess, not all of the demon realms have been thoroughly explored. Still, to believe that you hail from a country not seen or heard of by any other country or person, it sounds odd.” I guess it was fair for an entire country to never be mentioned, it was rather suspicious, but earth was many nations, an entirely separate planet.
“Trust me, just this once. But that is all I can say, for my knowledge is lost.” He shrugged, so I stopped trying to elaborate on my personal history.
“We should get roles established, yes?” Gran said, trying to bring the conversation to a new topic.
“Roles?” I asked confused, did he mean classes or something?
“Like our classes, I am a druid so I act as a healer, Elendor is our ranger, Thrall is our fighter, and Vor’alus is our thief. What are you most comfortable doing?” I honestly didn’t know, maybe a tank I guess, since I didn’t feel as much pain as I did before, and I could heal fairly quickly.
“I’m unsure of my abilities, but I could cover tanking.” I don’t know if my terminology was correct, but it would be the same classification.
“Tanking? You do seem rather tough, but you could be a martial artist with your physique alone.” He said slightly surprised and questioningly. “Before that, we should discuss something of greater importance for the moment,” Gran said with a less serious tone, and they all just nodded their heads and agreed.
“What is it? Don’t trust me in the group?” I said but knew I ought to not rid these men from me, as they would be useful for plans, and I swore to myself not to for a year.
“No, of course not!” Gran said trying to calm me, which I already was. “It is just the matter of, um.” He said tapering off with a small blush.
“What’s the matter?” I said, his words and actions didn’t seem to explain anything of what was happening.
“You’re naked.” Vor’alus said plainly, and I looked down and indeed I was.
Now thinking of it, I was naked the entire time, but my body had kept several pieces of foliage from the forest and some scraps of metal and the obelisk that barely obscured my lower regions. There was also a tattered cloth that loosely covered my dangling bits, I looked at them for a moment and wondered why they hadn’t brought it up before. It would have been nice to know that I was naked the entire time, and on top of that, I wasn’t even aware of it myself, and I could have checked at nearly any time since I got this body. Honestly, it should have been the first thing I did. I should have felt shame or embarrassment, which I did slightly but I just wasn’t that kind of guy, I also didn’t enjoy being naked in front of others, or enjoy being in front of others in general.
“What clothing can you lend me?” I just didn’t want to be naked if I could.
“We don’t have any spare armor, we would need to go get some.” I didn’t need armor right now, even just a pair of pants would do.
“I don’t need armor at the moment, any casual wear would do.” They looked fairly shocked with my words, like not wanting to be naked was a war crime.
“You are a strange demon…” Thrall said, tapering off his words.
“And you are a strange man, what of it?” I returned, Gran just held up a finger to signal me to wait while he searched his bags.
“We do have a spare set of clothing, though, it may be rather small for you.” I’d take anything at this point.
“Fine, just show me.” He held up a pair of brown pants I had seen a few men wear on the way to the inn, but it would do.
I grabbed it, and gave a slight nod to him in thanks, “I hope it will do until the morning.” He said, which made me regret treating him so harshly, as he had been the most accepting of me out of them all.
I gave a small point with my thumb to the room next door, my room, and went off to it, they nodded and all but Gran looked more pleased with my departure. After getting into the hall and closing the door, I was greeted by a peering maid by the looks of it. I gave a cold stare as I kept walking to my room, and she nearly fell over, she then quickly ran down the stairs and nearly fell twice doing so. I was slightly amused but continued to walk to my room, which I did in little time. After entering, I locked the door and attempted to put on the pants, which caused them to nearly rip but they fit, albeit very tightly.
After only a minute of flexing and trying to maneuver in them, I was almost ready to return but a knocking came on my door, one of a confident hand. “Who’s there?” I spoke to them, but without an answer, and they continued to knock until I went and opened the door.
Now in front of me was a large man who had upon him leather with bits of plate over it, “I knew it was a demon!” He snarled at me in disgust.
I didn’t want to start a scene, as it would be annoying to deal with a trial if it came down to it, “Go away.” I said as I pushed him out of the doorway and walked to the room next door with the others.
“Filthy parasite!” He shouted and drew a longsword from his back.
I ignored him and started to open the door, “I agree, humans are parasites.” He snarled at me, and I closed the door behind me.
“Daemon, we heard a voice outside.” Gran greeted me.
“Just another person overestimating their abilities and harboring false ideologies.” They looked at one another slightly confused, “But let’s get back to discussing our plans, shall we?” Gran was the most curious but also the one who didn’t seem disappointed with the change in the subject.
“Of course, with your, um, strength, we will be clearing a monster horde from the nearby forests before we go to the dungeon town, Sal’vae. It is on the smaller side but still very dangerous.” Gran said, and the others acted like they heard it so many times before.
“Yeah, and I am supposed to get armor, am I correct?” I said to clarify our plans for the morning.
“Yes, although getting a set of plate mail would be rather expensive, especially for someone of your stature.” Gran said, “But we also got a fair amount of compensation from the queen to give ourselves a head start on accommodations when it came to your needs.” Well, a rich girl giving money to the poor, and even to little old me.
“Of course she did, is it enough to cover standard tanking gear and armor at least?” I said, to forward the conversation without going off on a tangent.
“It is, but anything over sillsteel is too expensive, on top of that, what weapon are you going to use?” Never heard of sillsteel before, but that’s a fantasy world for you.
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“I ought to use a weapon that can utilize my raw physical strength right?” I asked and he nodded so I continued. “So a war hammer, mace or staff would work well, as bladed weapons would be too heavily damaged during physical overuse.” He seemed interested in my words, couldn’t know why though, as blunt weapons should be commonly known of.
“You have done quite a lot of research, haven’t you? And here I thought you were just an outcast, due to your obvious magical defectiveness. Ah- I mean no disrespect, it’s just-” He started to get worried so I had to interrupt him.
“It’s quite alright. I take no offense,” My words lingered in the air, and well, I did, but I still needed to play the part of a demon so it would be useful information to have. “Let’s just get on with the decisions, I think I will take a war hammer, and perhaps some partial plate armor, as I will need the movement capabilities.” I also didn’t want to look stupid wearing a full set of armor, as they could look both dumb and be useless from time to time.
“Well, we could try for a light plate, but it won’t do as good a job for protecting, and that is the purpose of a tank you know,” Thrall said, shaking his head like a disappointed father, I think I hated him…
I scoffed slightly, “In the morning, and if I'm not dead or gone by then.” I said, walking out of the room, my right hand held up as a quick wave goodbye.
Gran was too friendly to someone that nearly killed him and his friends while everyone else seemed to act normally, and by that I mean, they didn’t like me at all but had to cooperate with me for a specified time limit, so we would eventually part on even grounds. It sounded fine but tends to end poorly, as something unexpected happens and the entire set of plans gets thrown out the window. I just hoped this world had a year similar to earth’s, so it was just a measly 365 days, at least every day seemed normal, at least to my knowledge.
I decided to hit the hay, nothing better to do, as in the morning we were supposed to get equipped and head off to this forest or whatnot. And fighting monsters? That sounds awfully MMORPG-like, and I keep my mental word more than my actual words. For the sake of many, don’t make this a game! But I should specify, as long as it doesn’t have a console interface, I think I could manage. Those kinds of games tend to be completely unbalanced when a single player finds a way to power up at a rate that puts them above everyone else by a fair margin.
I laid my head against a pillow that was more akin to a small cloth over some kind of sand or grain, it was hard to tell, and I wasn’t that interested. There was no blanket, nor did I need one, so I just laid there, staring blankly at the ceiling. My eyes were shut for over an hour, and my mind fell into a lapse in memory, as I drifted off into the bitter embrace of slumber. I didn’t know if it were just the recent events or my new race as a demon, but my body only woke after an hour or two, when the night was dead.
I had nothing better to do, so I tried plucking the rest of the shards that were embedded into my back, and to my surprise, none were sticking out. Great, now it’s like splinters that were under the skin, I can’t remove them by myself nor would anyone aid me in doing such. Perhaps I could ask Gran, but I don’t want to ask favors this early in our ‘partnership’. If only I tried talking to them when I first came here, maybe then we wouldn’t have come to bad terms, but I did what any scared man would do in my position, fight for his life.
The world started to brighten, after a few hours of thought, and my life was marching onwards again. I decided to take a stand, as I’ve been sitting on the floor in thought for most of the night, and when I reached my feet a knock came from my door. The knock was not hard nor was it soft, and it sounded like it was meant to wake a sleeping person if there was one inside after all. I walked over, and turned the handle, outside was Gran standing there with a small smile on his face, he had a friendly exterior, but I could tell he didn’t think of me as such yet if he would ever.
“The rest are getting their equipment for the moment, care to talk in their wait?” He offered, and I needed to get more information on this world, so I would happily oblige.
“Sure, I could use the company.” I gestured for him to come in and sit at the small table that was in the room, one with only two chairs, as the other one had as well.
We sat down, and he started the conversation first, “So, Daemon, what experience do you have in combat?” He seemed to await the answer like it was going to be an absurd response.
“In truth, I’ve only fought you four in combat, I’ve kept my head out of trouble and my life was one that went unnoticed.” He seemed shocked, and his face replicated his true feelings exactly and showed both deep sorrow and what looked like amusement.
Before long, he burst out in laughter, “I, I can’t! Oh, to think you would best us in your first fight, oh it takes me back.” Had he experienced this before?
“Well, if you don’t mind me asking, what does it remind you of?” I should act nicer to those who will be with me for a year before they try to kill me in my sleep or something.
“Oh, back when we all met for the first time, we were so overconfident that we tried to take down a small thief that had stolen some medicinal herbs from a potion shop. He never stole them, and he never fought the man like the story said he did. He just bought some herbs to heal his sick grandmother, and he lashed out after we tried stopping him. He beat us good, much like you did, and we were more or less dead when a small patrolling part of the knight brigade came by. Led by the very man who aided us again in the forest with you.” So it came full circle, and the events in their lives repeated itself?
“That is one big coincidence. Almost too close, but forget about it, we still have breakfast to enjoy, right?” The mood seemed to lighten, and just in time too, as Thrall came by and motioned that they were all done.
Gran and I stood up, and we walked out, and down the stairs with all the rest, only stopping when we found a large man standing solemnly at the doorway. His stature matched mine, and he carried a large sword-like weapon with the design of a semicircle at the tip, which came to two sharpened points, one on either side. He stood with his arms crossed, and blocked the doorway perfectly, with scraps of light leaking into the room from around his figure. He also stood clad in a rather dull grey armor, that seemed to have more scratches and dents than a bucket that was thrown down a mountain, but it seemed to be fine like it was meant to take damage or get destroyed.
The man went unchanged, even after our arrival, but we only made a slight note of it. Gran gave the three keys to the woman behind the counter and asked for five meals. From the looks of every other patron in the building, I was fairly certain that demons were overwhelmingly hated, or at least, were slaves in this region. I gave a cold deathly glance to every man who gave one to me, and each returned to their meals. From the looks of things, the basic meals consisted of a small side of eggs, some fruits like apples and something that smelled sweeter, and a whole lot of bread. I should have figured that bread was going to be featured in the meal, as every fantasy story had bread with every meal.
“Why don’t we sit down while we wait for our food, she said it will be ready in a few minutes,” Gran said as he rejoined us over by the stairs.
Everyone nodded, and we all walked across the room to an empty table in the far corner. “Anything worth discussing while we wait?” I asked the group, and Vor’alus seemed to be the one to respond this time.
“Yes, we need to discuss several parts of our plan. Firstly, I did some scouting in the middle of the night, as I couldn’t sleep, and the forests near us have seen a surprising increase in monsters.” I could guess for hours about why he couldn’t sleep, but the answer was clearly me.
“What kinds.” I need to know if it were squirrels or bears, or whatever was in between.
“For starters, several packs of stone-fang wolves have been increasing their numbers, and in addition to that, I had spotted four iron-bears.” Iron bears? Great, this will be a fun-filled journey to beat up the local wildlife, I can just feel it.
“Damn, 4?” Thrall said, his voice indicated concern, but Gran seemed to be thinking hard about something.
“Yes, but they all appear to be young adults, as the bigger and stronger ones have all been hunted down whenever one pops up.” Well, at least this town does something to prevent a wildlife take-over.
“Daemon, do you think you can take one of those iron-bears on? Not alone, but just standing your ground?” Gran said, causing the group’s attention to be set on me.
“I am unsure, but if the need arises I should be able to.” I didn’t know how strong these things were, but if they were at least as strong as a bear, I would be somewhat comfortable taking one on, especially with four others.
“It won’t be easy, especially for someone of your nature. As iron-bears are known for their unusually thick and sturdy hides.” Elendor said, seemingly remembering something.
“Whatever the case may be, I should be able to take the damage, if nothing else.” Well, being the shield for others wasn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t be the first time, as I already did so for the obelisk.
“Speaking of, we know you took the brunt of that obelisk that exploded, truly impressive considering you being a-.” Thrall suddenly stopped when Elendor slapped the back of his head. “Hey, what was that for?”
“Look around. Does it seem like we need to say it every chance we get? I’m sure he feels out of place as it is, but constantly saying it will only make him feel worse.” Well, I didn’t mind too much, but I did feel out of place.
“Oh, I-I’m so sorry.” That was the first time he seemed to care about my feelings, but it was brief as the conversation continued quickly.
“But to follow up on what Thrall was saying, you did take an impressive amount of damage, and even now you look barely injured, and after only two days.” Vor’alus said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
“We all know that demons have regeneration powers, but most can only repair light wounds in that time, not nearly as much as you had. Perhaps it’s a trade-off for your lack of-.” Elendor smacked Thrall again.
“We don’t need to bring that up for plenty of reasons. Especially in public.” Thrall rubbed the back of his head, as it stung with a hot sensation and a slightly reddish spot in the shape of Elendor’s hand.
“Regardless of that, your regeneration is on par with a Jagernaught.” The hell was that? Did he mean a juggernaut? Why did he say it like ‘Yay-ger-not’?
“I’m afraid that I am unfamiliar with the term, what is a ‘Jagernaught’?” I couldn’t even guess but figured it was something tanky.
“Oh, forgive me. A Jagernaught is a very rare class, an upgrade from a Juggernaut. But unlike Juggernauts, they trade their magical prowess for an intense regeneration.” Vor’alus said, and everyone’s eyes seemed to ignite with realization.
“Daemon, are you?” Gran said, but I quickly interjected.
“Settle down, I don’t even know myself. Besides, I doubt I would be, it is a rare class is it not?” My answer was fair, and they all accepted that, but at the very least, they all hoped it to be true.
Two women brought out the food, and what a surprise, it was exactly what I figured it would be. “Thank you,” Gran said, handing them each a few pieces of copper coins before they bowed and left.
“Sweet, they got jor-berries.” Elendor was glad, and everyone else chuckled lightly.
“Bless this food,” Gran said, and I figured he was religious.
Everyone started eating, but my hunger was still not present, even after two days. “The bread is still warm, they must have started up their ovens early today,” Thrall said, being the first person to eat over half of the bread.
“Hey, you don’t need to eat it all in one go. Drink some water in between bites.” Gran said as he pushed a wooden cup towards him.
“You know how I feel towards bread!” Thrall said while taking another bite of his small loaf.
“What’s wrong Daemon? Not hungry?” Vor’alus asked as he was the only one that noticed my lack of interest in the food.
“Not really.” He seemed to have another thought enter his mind as he asked a follow-up question.
“Can you not eat it? I know certain races can’t have certain food restrictions, like Elendor over there. See how he has no eggs? Elves can’t eat meat, but eggs fall on the line for many. Some still eat it, but it gives them digestive issues. Are there foods you can’t eat? We should know.” I didn’t know, but I figured that I would know if I ate some.
“I don’t know, I haven’t eaten much.” They looked concerned and surprised at the reveal, but continued with their meals.
I had to bite the bullet eventually, so I started by taking a rather large bite of the eggs. They tasted alright but definitely needed some salt. I didn’t feel any issues with my stomach just yet, but then again it has only been a few seconds. I continued with the eggs until they were all gone. Next up was the apple, green and hard. I took a big bite, one that was nearly a third of the apple. It was sweet and juicy but overall tasted the same as one from earth. I finished the apple with little complications. The next thing I ate was a few of these, jor-berries. They were a bit too sweet for my tastes, so I moved onto the bread. The bread tasted like it should, but I didn’t feel like I could eat much more.
I ended up ripping off the part of the bread that I had bitten from and gave the rest to Thrall, and the remaining amount of jor-berries to Elendor. “I have had my fill,” I said as I downed the cup of water, which tasted rather repulsive, but I drank it anyway.
“Are you sure you can drink water?” Gran said concerned once again.
“Why?” Were demons allergic to water or something?
“It’s just, most demons can’t stand it for some reason. Much like how elves can’t bear the smell or taste of meat.” That would explain my natural disgust with its taste now, but I seem fine for the moment.
“I didn’t drink much of it, and besides, what doesn’t kill me, makes me stronger.” That wasn’t exactly true, but I didn’t care.
After another minute or two, everyone finished their meals and Gran left a hefty pile of coins on the table. “Alright, let’s get on our way.” He said as we all stood up.
We walked to the door, and the large man stared at us for a long and silent moment before stepping aside and letting us through. He even let me through without attempting anything, which I was slightly surprised by but didn’t mind. We walked slowly, breathing in the crisp and clean air of the town. We all stretched collectively and made our way down the long wide roads lined with countless buildings and people. It wasn’t impossible for me to notice all the people staring and talking about me but I paid those worthless people little acknowledgment. The first place we walked to was a shop with a sign that I couldn’t read. I guess I need to learn this world’s language after all.