“Despite your whole evil name that kills people thing, I have to say the contract is too ambiguous. It says a choice of offspring, but it doesn’t say who makes that choice, or what the choices will include,” I argued, trying to find an out for the people here.
There was a good chance the king was a dirtbag, anyone trying to offer up their child to an evil creature as payment for advancement probably deserved what he was going to get. I had no idea if the guards were complicit or not, though I did give them credit for their loyalty in the face of almost certain death. My summoner and the people with him were the ones I really wanted to see make it.
I had no way to gauge how they were doing in their quest to escape, but I figured if they made it far enough away, my summoning would end. A similar thing had happened a while back when being summoned by Sharnlynn. The imp stared at me and the king, enjoying the tension as he made us wait for his next response.
“Did you think I didn’t have that covered. Here, this should put the final nail in the coffin for His Majesty,” the imp offered, conjuring another bit of flaming contract for me to examine.
Appendix ix: In the event of a dispute or disagreement on the verbiage or intent of this contract, *********** ******* ***** ********* will make the final decision as to how the contract is to be interpreted.
“You really signed this without reading it? How did you become a lord, let alone a king, if you’re that stupid,” I chastised.
“Who are you to insult me, commoner. If I wasn’t in this predicament, my guards would throw you in the deepest part of my dungeon,” the king blustered. He was a bit braver now that the imp had released him. He had finally managed to slink his way behind his remaining guards, enjoying their dubious protection.
“I’m the commoner that’s trying to save your worthless hide. Okay, you, well, what do I call you?” I asked the imp, not sure how to address him.
“You may address me as Lord of the Pit, if you must have a title,” the imp offered, he was beginning to look impatient.
“So, is everyone in here a lord or king or whatever? If everyone’s special, then nobody is,” I argued, trying to delay again.
“Call me whatever you wish, it won’t change the outcome of this little trial,” the imp said, waiving me to continue.
“Okay if I call you Gary? You look like a Gary,” I said, threading the line between annoying the imp and getting him to drag out this conversation.
“If that is what you desire, so be it. You know, speaking of desire, I can grant you just about anything you desire. It’s obvious you are sharper than His Majesty here, maybe we can work something out to benefit us both,” the imp suggested.
“Sorry, Gary, I don’t want to end up like him, about to be condemned and sent to wherever it is you plan to send him,” I replied.
“You can’t blame a Lord of the Pit for trying, can you. Now, enough banter and delay, you can see from that portion of the contract that I’m the one who decides how any language inside the agreement is to be interpreted,” Gary growled. I think I had pushed him about as far as I could with frivolous conversations, now I had to focus on the document and finding some way out of it.
“I have one thing to ask,” I said, using my best TV lawyer voice.
“What,” Gary replied.
“Did you know that the king here was an idiot before you entered into a contract with him?” I asked.
“That should be obvious,” Gary said flatly.
“In that case, I believe there is a problem with this document,” I argued.
“I know you’re stalling for time, and I understand, you mortals have so little of it, even a few more moments must seem like an eternity. You’re not going to get me on a mental capacity technicality. The agreement was signed in blood, and it cannot be broken or annulled. I just need you to confirm, remember that the appendix I showed you grants me permission to read the contract verbiage as I see fit,” Gary growled, his voice rumbling across the room.
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“Sorry, I’m not trying to stall, I just like to do a good job, that’s how I’m rewarded for these summonings. As far as dying, that’s not possible for me. When I die here, I reappear somewhere else. Oh, and don’t think the whole torture me thing will work, I have ways out of that as well,” I warned. Using another Notice of Cessation would stink, but if I had to, I would if it prevented me being tortured by some demon thing.
“Don’t count on that young man, you see, there are things my kind can do, even to a summoned being. There are many things that don’t require a contract. For your own edification, you should realize what a pile of scum this king is. To secure his throne, he first tried to offer the soul of his wife. Of course, I had no need for such a corrupt thing as her soul, did I mention she poisoned a rival when she was vying for the affection of Lord Hamlin?
“The king here was quick to offer up the soul of his offspring since at least it would be young enough to be free of any major corruption. Once he agreed, the king went on a rampage, trying to father as many children as possible before our agreement came due. Now, it’s time to pay and since I’ve selected his heir as my prize, the king decided to make his foolish attempt to break his agreement,” Gary argued.
“Is that true, can he even do that, bargain away someone else’s soul. Don’t they have control over their own soul?” I asked, genuinely confused, but even more convinced that the king probably deserved this.
“That is not something for mortals to know. Now, for the final time, you see that the agreement is worded as I explained,” Gary demanded. He had me, the king had signed his whatever away, and it was time to face the music.
“I agree, he’s an idiot to have signed, but it’s worded as you explained,” I relented. I was out of angles to argue with the monster, but I was ready to fight. My team and I might buy a few more precious seconds for my summoner and the people with him.
“Finally, now you have a treat, something most people don’t get to witness and walk away from. I’ll slay you in a moment, don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten that bit. But before you go, you’ll get to watch the good king’s demise,” Gary said, sounding much more chipper now that the dispute was over.
The king screamed and his remaining guards attacked. Gary did nothing to defend himself, instead choosing to let them stab and slash him for a few seconds before swiping his claw several times. Each swipe ended with another dead guard. When the last one had fallen, he looked over to me, as if he half expected me to jump into the fight.
I was fine with battling with the fiend, but if he wanted to let me watch some spectacle and waste time, my hopeless last stand could wait. Muttering words my brain couldn’t comprehend, words that made me feel sick to my very core, Gary opened a glowing red portal on the floor near the cowering king. King Hamlin had been reduced to a blubbering, pathetic thing as he waited for his end, lacking even the fortitude to stand and meet his fate as a man.
Out from the portal, a pair of hands on impossibly long arms reached into the throne room. The red flesh of the limbs sizzled with burning energy as they grasped onto the legs of the king and began to slowly drag him away. Gary laughed, enjoying the terror and suffering that the king was going through.
The horrible arms took their time, extending the king’s torment for as long as they could. As he reached the edge of the pit, the king tried to hold on. I could see the look of abject terror in his eyes when a final tug sent him to his fate.
“With that, my business on this plane is done, at least for now. Perhaps we shall meet again sometime Rico Kline,” Gary said. He knew my name, despite me not giving away the information. I wondered what else he knew, and if he planned to do anything with that knowledge. Maybe that was part of his scheme, to use my fear of him appearing again to torment me.
Thoughts of Gary showing up back in my apartment fled my mind, replaced by terror as the tiny imp began to change. His body grew nearly to the ceiling and his scrawny form was replaced by a body that seemed to finally fit his voice and power. Bat-like wings unfolded behind the monster and his face turned from that of an imp, into a bestial and predatory thing that sported a mouth filled with teeth that would give a great white shark a run for its money.
Gary gave me one final sneer before sweeping his arm in a lazy slashing motion. My mind didn’t register my death immediately, and for a moment, I could see my body separate into three pieces that flopped onto the ground. Gary laughed and jumped into the portal he had opened as my summoning ended.
You have been killed by the Rend and Slash ability cast by the being known to you as Gary. This summoning session is now complete.
Your performance rating is calculated as Very Good.
Your rewards will reflect the summoning tier of 1, rank 3, and your performance rating of Very Good.
You have earned 11 experience points.
You have earned 8 summoning points.
Congratulations, you have reached Tier 1, Rank 4.
Congratulations, you have gained 1 point in Mind.
You will now be returned to your personal space.