by Langland, J.
Tom nodded, "Will do. Nice to meet you." Tom had no idea where these courts were. Tizzy kept mentioning them too, as did Rupert. Sounded like somewhere out of a Zelazny novel. Antefalken nodded and waved as he flew off.
Rupert and Tom watched him fly off. When he was out of sight, Rupert asked him, "What did you mean by things aren't always as they seem?" Tom wasn't sure how to answer this one, without a full confession at this time. They had such a good time together so far, he hated to ruin it now.
"Well, first off. Boggy is Tizzy's partner. Thus I think you understand what I mean by telling him not to trust Boggy on everything he hears. But most importantly, until you know someone, especially a demon, it really isn't a good idea to reveal too much information to them. If they're really working for someone else, even if under duress by some wizard, they might be able to use that information against you. Thus the more I can keep him off balance the better. I think, Antefalken is on the up and up, but if he isn't, I'd hate to see him try to use you or harm you to get at me." While technically all true, that really wasn't the whole story, but he just seemed to keep digging himself into a deeper and deeper hole.
Rupert looked down at his hooves. "Oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said anything." He sounded pretty down about it.
Tom shook his head, he hadn't meant to shift the defensive to Rupert. "Don't be. I'm not sorry you said anything." He grabbed the kid for another hug, this one in midair. "Those are just good rules to live by in general. They don't always apply, and I'm sure you didn't hurt anything. I suspect this Antefalken's legit. He did know Boggy, and Boggy trusted him enough to tell him about me. So don't you worry."
Rupert looked up at him. "You sure?"
"Positive."
Chapter 63
The hole in reality had opened onto a grassy plain. This was not, Gastropé thought, what he would have pictured Freehold to look like. It did not, however, take him long to realize that the demon had not deceived them. To the not too distant north was a large number of lights. These lights appeared to be coming from a very large city. It was hard to make out, but the city appeared to have a wall around it, and the lights were from a few large structures that were higher than the walls. It must be most impressive in the daylight Gastropé decided.
He turned around as Jenn eventually came through the hole. The hole itself was a ring of fire in midair which gave off a not inconsiderable amount of light. In this light, Jenn appeared extremely hesitant about being there. "What's the matter Jenn?" Gastropé asked.
"Rupert. He wasn't in the cave. He'd wandered off and we couldn't find him to bring him through." Gastropé cursed softly to himself. That was all they needed.
"What are we going to do?" he asked the group.
"Edwyrd said he'd stay and search for him. I wanted too, but he insisted I wouldn't be able to go outside, but that he could. I hope I did the right thing by agreeing." Jenn said, almost to tears.
"You did, child," Maelen came and put an arm around her. "The heat of the Abyss would be too much for any cantrip. However, what Edwyrd and Rupert were using would be strong enough."
"You’re sure?" she asked looking up into his eyes.
"Very sure. Edwyrd is a first class animage and young Rupert is not completely unskilled." Maelen assured her. "They're using the same discipline I did. Works like a charm." He smiled reassuringly at Jenn.
"Edwyrd definitely is a good animage then?" Jenn's mind seemed to be wandering; she was obviously distracted with fear for Rupert. "But wait! Rupert's not an animage! He's a novitiate wizard! He wouldn't know any animage stuff."
Maelen blinked in the dark, surprise showing in his voice. "You're sure? I wouldn't have guessed that. I read him when I met him. His aura was similar to Edwyrd's. Edwyrd's is unmistakably that of an animage, and while Rupert's is not clearly that of an animage, it was similar enough in other ways to Edwyrd’s that I assumed he was a student of Edwyrd's. Despite what they'd claimed. I suppose he could have been a novitiate wizard. It's really hard to tell when a person is just starting to control mana, how they do it." He scratched his head.
"I'm very certain. He was at Lenamare's school. We mentioned that in our story. I even taught him many of his lessons." Jenn said.
Maelen shrugged, "Fine, I could certainly have been confused by other parts of their auras. They definitely have something in common. I'm just not sure what then." Gastropé noticed Tizzy hopping up and down on his four feet as if he were bursting with some secret he couldn't tell. His cheeks were bulging around his pipe that had somehow reappeared in his mouth with smoke puffing out of it. Gastropé just shook his head at the crazy demon.
Gastropé broke in at this point. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. Remember how Edwyrd said he'd maintain Rupert's protection in the Abyss? Rupert therefore has the same protection as Edwyrd."
"Even better!" Maelen exclaimed to Jenn. "In order to protect Rupert, Edwyrd has to have a link to the boy. That link will allow him to trace the boy's whereabouts with no problem."
At this point Jenn noticed the hopping demon. She glared at him and snapped, "What is it?"
"Can't tell." The demon blurted as he pulled his pipe from his mouth releasing a huge cloud of smoke, which quickly engulfed them. Maelen wrinkled his nose, sniffed a few times and got a thoughtful look on his face.
"What do you mean you can't tell?" Jenn demanded, waving her hand to get rid of the funny smelling smoke.
"I mean I can't tell."
"Demon," Jenn warned, "don't try my patience. What can't you tell?"
"Nothing, forget it. I can't tell."
"Tizzy." This time Maelen was looking the demon straight in the eyes. "If you know something that will affect the boy, you'd better tell us."
"Can't. They wouldn't like me telling you."
"Who wouldn't like you telling us?" Gastropé asked.
"Edwyrd and Rupert." Tizzy hopped in a circle around them.
"Are you telling me you know what's so similar about their auras?" Maelen demanded. Tizzy just smiled and nodded.
"Then tell us!" Jenn shouted.
"Nope. Shouldn't have said anything. Sorry, forget it." The demon kept prancing.
"Demon," Gastropé said in his most persuasive voice. "If you want us to keep liking you, you'll tell us."
That stopped Tizzy in his tracks. He looked quizzically at Gastropé. "You telling me you like me?"
"Yes he is, Tizzy," Maelen said, picking up on Gastrope's idea. "We do. You’re really one of the nicest demons we've ever met. You’re good company, fun to be with."
"Really?" Tizzy asked, trying to decide if they were teasing him.
"Certainly." Gastropé said. "Further, if it hadn't been for you flying all the way here, we'd have never escaped from the Rod. You've really helped us. So why wouldn't we like you?" Jenn was staring back and forth between the two men as if she thought they'd both completely gone off a mental cliff together.
Tizzy smiled and looked down at the ground. "Well, that is true. I didn't have to do that."
"No you didn't, and we really appreciate your doing so." Maelen told Tizzy.
"Would you say you're my friends?" Tizzy asked.
"We'd like to be." Gastropé said carefully, "but friends don't keep important secrets from each other. Especially if not telling those secrets could hurt other friends."
Tizzy shrugged slightly, "I've never had no friends except Boggy and Tom, and Antefalken, oh and Rupert of course."
"We'd like to think of you as our friends." Maelen said very seriously.
"Well," Tizzy admitted, "I suppose I could tell you the big thing."
"Please Tizzy, it's very important." Gastrope' said.
"Well, OK then!" Tizzy said brightly, "but if you’re my friends and I do this for you, you've got to promise to help me someday if I need it!"
"Certainly." Gastropé assured the demon. "You have my word on it."
"Mine too." Maelen said. Tizzy looked at Jenn, twisting his head to see what her answer would be. M
aelen nudged her in the back.
"Ugghhh. You people. If that's how it's got to be...then you have mine as well, demon." Jenn finally said.
"Good!" Tizzy shouted, dancing again. "Edwyrd..." Tizzy drawled.
"Yes?" Gastropé urged.
"Is Rupert's father!" Tizzy announced loudly.
"What!" Jenn screeched. "All that nonsense for that garbage!" She sounded mad. "How do you expect us to believe that! Edwyrd is Rupert's cousin. There is no way Edwyrd could be old enough to be Rupert's father. You're crazy, demon!"
Gastropé felt almost the same way. Maelen on the other hand was looking thoughtful, stroking his chin. Tizzy just looked at Jenn, smiling, not caring what she believed. "Hold off, Jenn." Maelen admonished her. "It may not be impossible. I'd really been wondering how anyone so young could be as well trained and skilled as Edwyrd. Now it makes more sense. "
"How can it make more sense?" Jenn demanded, incredulously.
"Well, simple. He's a lot older than he looks." Maelen stated as if were the most natural thing in the world.
"Well obviously! That explains it!" Jenn said sarcastically, "nobody looks that much younger!"
"Really Jenn? It's not that hard for a powerful wizard or animage to slow the aging process, or even reverse it. How old do you think I am?" Maelen asked.
Jenn just shook her head. "I don't know! Sixty, sixty five."
"I started healing people over seventy-five years ago. When I was only a little younger than you."
Gastropé and Jenn both looked at him in surprise. "You're saying you are like ninety?" Gastrope' asked. He couldn't believe that.
"Ninety-two next quarter month to be exact." Maelen declared. "So you see, it's not impossible that Edwyrd could be in his thirties or forties, or even older. He's just good enough that either he doesn't age, or he can make himself younger. It would certainly not be inconsistent with the other things I've seen him do. Worse come to worst, he's just shape changed himself younger."
"I guess," Gastropé admitted, "that you could be right. After all, I know of a lot of wizards that are over a hundred. Human ones. Elves or dwarves would certainly be that old.”
Jenn looked rather defeated. "Yeah, I just find it hard to believe. You just don't think of people that powerful, tramping around in the woods being hunted by religious fanatics. That's for us little people to do. People like that are the Lenamares, or Jehennas. Always in charge, always in control, running things from a comfortable position."
"Well, whatever the case, they'll have some explaining to do when they get back." Gastropé stated. "By the way, how are they getting back?"
"Tizzy is supposed to reopen the link at dawn." Jenn told him. She looked up at the night sky. "I'd guess that will be in about three hours."
"Well, since we aren't going to get into the city before dawn anyway, we might as well camp here and try to get some rest for those hours." Maelen suggested.
~
The morning sun shone brightly down into the private garden in which Damien was eating his breakfast. He broke an orange in two absently as he listened to Antefalken recount his encounter with the demon Tom. As he was preparing to pop a slice in his mouth, Antefalken finished. "So," Damien said holding the orange slice before his mouth, "your opinion is that this Tom is neutral? Not in either camp?" He bit down on the orange slice.
"Yes. I truth read him the entire time and didn't really catch him in anything. Some of the stuff towards the end was suspicious but not any outright lie. I'd have to say that as fourth order demons go, he's a pretty decent fellow. " Damien finished off another couple orange slices.
"On the other hand," Antefalken continued, "the existence of a demon son pretty much precludes him being new. He didn't come in from the outer depths just recently. Not if he has a son."
"Well," Damien said with a smile, "you are the expert on demonic children." Antefalken smirked at him. "I'll trust you on that one."
"Well, it stands to reason. He would have had to sire the child since the time he was first captured. The probability of a father and son demon captured from the outer regions simultaneously is just too remote to conceive of. Thus, he's been around for several years. I have no idea how old the child was, with demons age is very hard to tell. Even physical size can be deceiving." Antefalken bit into an apple.
"What's your guess?"
"I really don't know," Antefalken said as he swallowed his mouthful of apple. "Given that the kid looks identical except for size, and rather acted like a young boy, I'd have to judge by appearances and what I know of similar circumstances. First, the kid is probably no more than a decade, maybe two old. Second the kid is either pure bred demon, or if a half breed, then Tom is extremely powerful. Most demonic children split somewhere between the power of their parents. Thus, a fourth order demon and a human will usually produce second or third order children. Occasionally a completely normal human child or one with nonphysical demonic attributes will appear. Only extremely rarely would you get another fourth order.
“If Tom had mated with another fourth, his son would, of course be a fourth; however pure bred demons are extremely rare and always intentional. Very few demoness want to have a baby; and both parties have to supply animus. With half-breeds, the mother can supply the majority of the animus.” Antefalken continued.
"Appearance is also a puzzle, normally demonic children resemble their children about as much as human children. For the child to be a virtual clone...well, also if we go by appearances and this child grows up to be nearly identical in looks and power...In that case this Tom must be extremely powerful. Of course this all depends on whether Tom has any nonstandard demonic abilities, and whether the child will also."
"Non-standard demonic abilities?" Damien asked.
"Well, not really nonstandard. No more than being a wizard, priest or any other mana wielder is nonstandard for humans. Essentially, I mean if the demon has any conscious mana wielding abilities. Many demons have certain talents, if you will. Lightning bolts, shoot fire from their eyes, etc., in general however, these are limited and one trick options. As you are aware, most of the truly powerful demons have conscious control of mana. Similar to a wizard or other human."
"All the archdemons are essentially wizards, aren't they? I mean they study magic like any human mage." Damien asked.
"Wizards, priests, druids, animage you name it. Anything a human can do in terms of mana wielding, some demons can too. Not as many demons as humans, elves or dwarves or such, but some few are. The strongest ones are almost always mana wielders. Everything fifth order and above does something, and most of the more powerful fourth orders as well. Remember, this ordering thing is all a made up classification scheme anyway. Demons run in a continuum of power." Antefalken sipped on a glass of wine that had been on a small table beside him. As usual, he was perched on the back of a chair.
Damien knew most of this. He just liked to periodically have it confirmed by someone on the inside. The demonic children, though, he knew little about.
"Actually," Antefalken continued after a moment, "about any profession you see in Astlan, and some you don't, are done by some demon or the other. When you're immortal, you tend to pick up hobbies, and you become very good at them."
"So, to get back to the matter at hand. What do you think about this Tom, his power? How much of what he seems is he?"
"Again hard to say. If I guessed by his friendly nature, I'd guess Lenamare's claims to be correct. He's a new fourth order demon. If I guessed by the kid...overall and assuming the kid is going to grow to be a fourth order...then most likely this Tom is really an archdemon. A fourth having a fourth order child is not totally out of the question, it does happen. A fourth having a fourth order child that is nearly identical stretches the imagination. For an archdemon such a thing is certainly possible. In this event, the lowest case scenario is a fourth so close to being a fifth that it doesn't matter."
“This assumes a pure bred. What about as a half-breed?” Damien a
sked, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.
“I’m not aware of any half-breed greater than a three.” Antefalken said. “That would be about as powerful as archdemon would likely produce.” Antefalken made a sucking noise on his teeth. “I don’t want to think what it would mean to have a fourth order half-breed.”
“Particularly if it’s running around anywhere near us.” Damien observed. Antefalken simply nodded.
Damien shook his head, not sure what to think. "And naturally," Damien looked back at the demon, "if he really is a powerful archdemon...or...more...then he could make himself appear to be a new fourth order demon with no problem." Damien frowned at this one. He really didn't like where this line of thought was going.
After eating a muffin, Damien asked, "What about this story about Exador and the Abyssal Switch?"
"Tom seemed to know all about it. Acted as if such things were common knowledge. I'm not aware of such a thing." Antefalken told him.
Damien nodded. "I am, though. I've seen it mentioned in some really old texts. If Exador really did this, then he's upped the power ante in this game. It's at least as hard or harder spell than Lenamare's little explosion. I find him doing it hard to believe. It's one of those spells of legend. You know, supposed to exist but no one knows of anyone doing it. Used to be used, supposedly, for switching a piece of land into the Abyss and leaving it until the occupants were dead. So casual and frequent, yet well thought out, use by Exador for transporting so many men...well that indicates a lot more powerful a mage than Exador pretends to be."
"None of what I learned from Tom seemed exactly comforting." Antefalken commented.
"Nor the fact that your friend Tom knew so much about the Abyssal Switch spell. That would indicate he is a very powerful spell user." Damien stated as he poured himself some hot tea.
"Really sounds like your friend Lenamare has bitten off more than he can chew. On all fronts." Antefalken commented with a grin.