Demon Scroll

by Tim Niederriter

  I’m too late.

  He approached them, circled and then landed.

  “Forgive my lateness.”

  The governor turned toward him.

  “Lord Hadrian,” she said, “I feared you’d been attacked as well.”

  “You worried about me?” Deckard said. “I was only misdirected."

  Tandace Lokoth bowed her head, then turned to her advisers.

  “Lord Tanlos,” she said, “please see to the defenses. I will show the healers to our wounded.”

  The knight of Geteren nodded.

  “Ariel,” said Lord Tanlos. “Please go with the governor. Protect her with your life.”

  The sword servant bowed to Lord Tanlos, then followed the governor inside. The healers went after them.

  Deckard turned toward Lord Tanlos. The knight drew a deep breath.

  “An attack. Agents of Nassio attacked us. They may have been mercenaries, from what we know now.”

  “The Nassini,” said Deckard. “They've tried before to kill the governor.”

  “I heard,” said Lord Tanlos. “It seems odd mercenaries would come second, given the more obvious first assassin.”

  “We must be wary of every stranger for now,” said Deckard.

  “Agreed, Lord Hadrian.:

  He and Deckard watched the stream of healers continue to flow into the palace.

  Deckard noticed no odd sprites or banes among them, no loud songs hidden in their movements.

  “These are safe,” he said.

  Lord Tanlos raised his eyebrows.

  “I’m glad you’re here, my lord.”

  “Odd you’d say that.” Deckard shook his head. “But I feel the same about you. Thanks for your heroism.”

  “I am a knight, even if I serve Bode as well.”

  “I hope that’s true, Lord Tanlos,” Deckard said.

  Elaine

  She forged her way through the dark streets, leaving Lakses behind near the docks.

  He was strange as he was magnetic but whatever they were they affected her too greatly to be sure of what exactly she felt. She returned along the road to the palace moving swiftly and cautiously through the citadel.

  Mostly unfamiliar with Soucot but as a woman alone in the night, she could be in danger moving through the city, just as in the north.

  She proceeded up the streets. Her footsteps sounded on stone as she neared the palace. She made her way to the gate, only to see a streak of color dash by. She glimpsed a man with glasses but he avoided her altogether. He charged out the citadel gates, then rushed toward the bridges and disappeared in shadows.

  She watched him go, noting his sprites in full-motion. A mage in a hurry, she thought, wrinkling her brow.

  Suddenly glad she had left Lakses to return to the palace, she hurried through the open gates. Whatever she might have done with him, it was not worth losing any of her new friends to some disaster. What happened at the feast?

  Fear quickened her pace. Until she entered the feast hall, she did not slow down.

  Melissa

  She woke among the wounded in the feasting hall. The debris had been cleared away to transform the room into a makeshift healer’s ward.

  Wounded knights and mages lay in rows, being treated by numerous different healers. Melissa herself appeared among the least severely injured and sat up at the end of the room closest to the high table, the only table left in the room.

  Melissa’s memory stirred. Many knights fell by that table. She hoped they all survived, but she couldn’t bear to look at the high table. Folt and his cleaver devastated with every swing. The woman with twin swords also moved with terrifying skill.

  They were in a hurry, Melissa thought, perhaps we were lucky.

  She looked at those nearby. Kelt, Suya, and Niu lay close to her, all of them alive and breathing. Hilos sat in a chair by the wall, watching them. Of all the members of the governor’s hand, only Hilos remained upright. He’d stopped the man called Folt with words and allowed the governor to get her bearings.

  “Are you all right?” asked Hilos.

  “I am,” said Melissa, “I just ran out of energy.”

  “I hope the others will recover well.”

  Melissa nodded.

  “I fear that Niu has been poisoned,” said Hilos.

  “I think she was,” said Melissa.

  “The healers can treat most of the local venoms,” said Hilos. “They can help her.”

  Melissa turned to Suya as the sword servant sat up and looked at her.

  “You knew the man in the mask?” Melissa said softly.

  “And you knew the other one,” said Suya. “The one with the sword.”

  Melissa shook her head.

  “I met Saben once,” she said. “What about you?”

  “Don't accuse me of anything,” said Suya. “I haven't seen him in years.”

  “But you knew him before that.”

  “As did I,” said Hilos. “Don’t misdirect your suspicions.”

  Melissa shrugged.

  “I'm sorry.”

  “You're right to question me,” said Suya.

  The sword servant’s eyes grew distant, gazing down the hall. Her eyes were dull with sorrow.

  Melissa turned to Hilos. Kelt and Niu remained unconscious. The old knight met Melissa’s eyes.

  “What is it?”

  “Is everyone else...”

  “I don't know,” said Hilos. “But so far we seem lucky.”

  “How many died,” said Melissa.

  “Three knights and two of the mage guard.”

  For all the devastation in the room, the toll could have been far worse. Five killed were still five less than could afford to lose. The assassins and their ruthless abandon also fought sloppily, sparing the fallen.

  “More could still pass,” said Hilos, “but for now that's where we stand.”

  Melissa gritted her teeth.

  “They attack us here,” she said. “How brazen can they get?”

  Hilos shook his head

  Elaine burst into the room from the entry hall, followed by Deckard Hadrian trailing with Lord Tanlos behind her.

  Deckard’s gaze swept over the room, somber. The furious Lord Tanlos marched after his daughter looking as tempestuous as Melissa had ever seen anyone.

  Melissa could not blame anyone but herself for helping Elaine sneak out.

  Lord Tanlos followed Elaine toward the governor’s hand. Elaine ran to them.

  “Are you alright?”

  “All still alive, for now,” said Melissa.

  Hilos nodded.

  “Thank you for the concern, my young lady.”

  “Niu? Kelt?” Elaine asked.

  “She’ll recover. He fell hard,” said the healer beside Kelt. “He should wake soon.”

  Elaine started to cry, tears running down her cheeks.

  “I'm so sorry,” she said, “I don't know what came over me.”

  Her father hung back a few paces, his expression shifting from fury to sympathy.

  “I am glad you're alright,” said Melissa. “I’m glad they didn't go after you out there.”

  Deckard Hadrian drew close.

  “What purpose did you have going out so late,” he asked. “And alone as well?”

  Elaine scowled at him.

  “Forgive me but that’s not your business Lord Hadrian,” she said. “I met someone.”

  “You met someone?” asked Lord Tanlos.

  “I just met him yesterday,” said Elaine.

  “Him?” Lord Tanlos frowned.

  “Yes.?” Elaine’s cheeks flushed. “I wish I hadn’t gone but I made it back, didn't I?”

  “You did,” said Deckard.

  “Don't try to make her feel better.”

  “It's not as though you could have done much here,” said Lord Tanlos.

  “I can fight using magic as well as anyone here, except for Lady Nasibron.” Elaine glowered at her father.

  “Where is Lady Nasi
bron?” asked Melissa.

  “She went to gather healers,” said Deckard.

  “Most likely she is seeing to our defenses, at the moment,” said Lord Tanlos. “She is a watchful and meticulous protector of the people.”

  Deckard nodded.

  ”That she is.”

  Melissa settled back onto the cot and bedroll where she had lain. Her head touched the thin pillow. Soon she slept once more.

  Saben

  Saben and Jaswei returned to the hovel by the waterfront where Rond was still hiding. He stepped outside to greet them. Saben nodded at him.

  “I think we better leave the city,” said Saben.

  “I agree,” said Rond. “At least for the moment.”

  “Then where?” asked Jaswei.

  “We could head upriver,” said Saben, “and find a place to study the scroll.”

  “You’re still on about that scroll,” said Jaswei.

  “Yes,” said Saben, “of course I am.”

  Deckard

  He knelt before the veil in the house of mercy.

  Mother Mercy's shadow moved behind the curtain. She rarely showed herself even to her immortals. She preferred to secrecy and he accepted that as a fact of nature. Mother Mercy ruled Tancuon with a steady hand. He protected people as he carried out his missions from above.

  “One of my governors is under assault,” she said.

  Deckard bowed low.

  “Indeed, mother, what would you have me do?”

  Her shadow shifted slowly behind the veil. She intoned in a deep feminine voice.

  “Deckard, you will return to Soucot. Your mission is there for now.”

  Deckard nodded.

  “I will find the truth of the matter.”

  “Remember, your lack of discretion could cost us if you stray again.”

  “I understand, mother,” said Deckard, “I will not fail.”

  He did not return to to the world immediately after he left the house. Instead, Deckard crept through the streets of the city, one of the only humans ever to do so in his form. Even the most lawful maladrites would strike a human who wandered into the city without a sacra form on their back. Deckard bore mercy's mark. He could come and go freely throughout the city.

  His footfalls were nearly drowned out by the hubbub of the crowd of creatures. The songs of countless essences filled the air. Humans needed to train their sprites and banes to become more powerful and more flexible. Most demons and maladrites accessed such skills instinctively, born with powers inherited from each immortal lineage before them.

  Deckard slipped into an alleyway under a gilded bridge. The skyway above him glittered with sunlight. He approached another enormous house, not a familiar place, home to a great maladrite.

  Members of the eighty-eight formed the backbone of the city's social structure. Around them, even Deckard needed to take care. Many lesser maladrites were more powerful than most human mages. Intermediate entities could be a threat to any human even an immortal.

  He entered an anteroom within the house and waited for the greater maladrite’s servants to meet him. Most maladroit did not agree with Mother Mercy often. Most of the greater maladrites could be called enemies. The rare house where Deckard stood, with its countless magical secrets and mystic points of contact with the world below was unusual to be certain. The place and its master were allies of Mother Mercy for the moment. Once, they had been enemies just like the others. As time moved alliances shifted.

  Deckard approached the clerk, a lesser maladrite of the common dominus form. Others took more monstrous shapes, but the dominus resembled humans. The clerk with his bluish skin and graying hair was a senior member of his kind. He watched Deckard warily. Deckard suspected the clerk hadn’t expected him.

  “Welcome,” said the clerk, “what brings you here, human?”

  “I greet you with Mother Mercy's blessing.”

  “You came from her house?”

  “I have,” said Deckard, “I'm here for a favor.”

  “On the behalf of Mother Mercy?”

  “On behalf of myself.”

  “Interesting. I'm sure my master will see you.”

  Deckard nodded.

  The clerk folded long fingers.

  “You came at the right moment. His greatness is bored with his bath.”

  “I can wait until he finishes,” said Deckard.

  “Nonsense,” said the clerk. “I know how humans wait. Last time, when Cyrus bode was here, he raised trouble when delayed.”

  “I am not my brother,” said Deckard.

  “Cyrus is a frightening human,” said the maladrite as the desk. “Now go speak with my master.”

  Deckard proceeded past the clerk and down the hallway of stone covered in gold leaf. Black curtains hung on either side. They muffled the sound of the street and dampened every other sense. He approached the bath chamber. The greater beings mostly remained homebound, each locked in an invisible battle with a distant foe. Mystic battles occupied such beings constantly.

  Deckard stepped out of the curtained passage and into a massive amphitheater of a room. At the bottom lay a bathing pool and in that pool, waited a greater maladrite called Ordoth. He looked up at Deckard with huge wet eyes. The expression on his vast face shifted and failed to hide his exuberance.

  Petitioners and other lesser maladrites reclined in seats around the room. Large flies and other even larger insects patrolled the air. Their buzzing sounds made Deckard sigh. He disliked Ordoth’s bath. The maladrite resembled nothing so much as a giant toad. Ordoth turned to Deckard.

  His tongue snapped out and caught one was huge insects circling his head.

  Ordoth loomed like a building. Deckard suspected he would have no trouble escaping even with the swarms of petitioners and servants surrounding the greater maladrite should their meeting take the wrong turn. Ordoth swallowed.

  Deckard descended the stairs. Metallic tangs in the air announced themselves as maladrite aura sprites offering a welcome and a threat.

  Ordoth blinked lazily with glassy eyes.

  Deckard wondered if the greater maladrite saw him at all. His mind could be on his mental struggle with his demon enemy in the pit.

  “Ordoth,” said Deckard. “Hail to you.”

  Ordoth merely blinked.

  Deckard approached the edge of the water, like a large pond in size and dark with depth. Ordoth’s bulk floated, mostly beneath the surface. Deckard stayed far enough back he could dart out of reach if the maladrite, turned against him.

  “It is Deckard Hadrian.”

  The eyes of the maladrite turned toward him, still glassy.

  Deckard watched the creature seethe inwardly, his form roiling with sprites.

  Ordoth spoke.

  “Deckard, I welcome you. As you can see, my servants are doing a poor job cleaning the water.” He raised a massive frog-like leg and motioned to his servant maladrites.

  “I have come to ask a favor,” said Deckard, “I will take it upon myself to bear the burden of debt.”

  “That’s intriguing,” said Ordoth. “What makes you think you must bear the debt if you should do this in on behalf of mercy?”

  Deckard bowed to the maladrite.

  “I came here alone. Mother Mercy does not always know the best way to execute her own will.”

  Ordoth rumbled with laughter.

  “Now that's an important servant, speaking of mother mercy in such a way to an ally of hers. You may be unwise, Hadrian.”

  “Great Ordoth,” said Deckard, “I understand your desire to serve an ally, so please leave my master aside for now.”

  “I need intelligence about a maladrite who could heal Zalklith Once Broken.”

  Ordoth’s frog-like face fell.

  “You speak of a king in Linien.”

  “King of Nassio in Linien, said Deckard.

  “Perhaps,” said Ordoth. “He now claims all the swamps north of the Bay of Charin.”

  “I have a question abo
ut him I need answered.”

  “Ask!”

  “If you are an ally of Mother Mercy, answer truthfully.”

  “I will answer how I wish. Now ask!”

  “Very well. Know I will look into this. I will find whatever truth there is whether you tell me or not.”

  “I like you, human,” said Ordoth. “But don't become too bold.”

  “Tell me,” said Deckard, “Who healed Zalklith?”

  “It wasn't me. And that's what you asked.”

  “I know healing is among your properties.”

  “I would not reach out to help a mere reptile, even if he bears some resemblance to my amphibious pride.”

  Deckard nodded.

  “Understood,” he said, “have you any idea who would heal a crippled, vakari.”

  “I take it you have already hunted for information upon the earth. I can say it was not a greater maladrite.”

  “Can you rule out a greater demon?” said Deckard.

  “Of the eighty-eight? I can say none of healed him.”

  “None of you?” Deckard frowned. “Such healing Zalklith received must be the work of a powerful entity.”

  “Powerful yes...” Ordoth’s titanic smugness returned. “...greater no.”

  “Thank you,” said Deckard.

  Deckard turned to go.

  “You owe me,” the maladrite thundered behind him.

  Deckard climbed the stairs of the amphitheater and set out to return to the world below.

  Melissa

  The mage hand began training again after three weeks spent recovering and honing the abilities of their existing sprites and banes. After the attack on the feast hall, Lady Nasibron decided they needed to gain more essence to wield, meaning more sprites and more banes.

  Pleased with her progress, Melisa still feared not gaining power fast enough. Hers allowed her to defend against most ordinary warriors, but what about another mage? What about a guild master Ricklon Kadatz? Or Saben? Or Folt?

  Melissa and Niu and the rest of the governor’s hand reported to the gate leading into the dungeon, joined by Elaine and Lady Nasibron

  Lady Nasibron greeted them

  “Today, you will take the first step in becoming true wizards.”

  “First steps?” Kelt frowned. “I thought we were already training?”

  “It takes more than training to become a mage. To wield the kind of powers we will require to defend the city and the governor you will need to triple the number of essences you can use.”