Demon Scroll

by Tim Niederriter

  His food arrived from the kitchen. Two whole salmon, as large as he could get sat pink and shining on separate plates before him. Dishes of shrimp, vegetables, and rice soon joined the fish. He tucked into the massive meal with abandon.

  His true master, the demon that shared his stomach, appreciated his massive appetite. And added to it.

  Folt had once been a heavy boy before he made his deal with the demon. For the years now, he had profited in power by sharing his gluttony. He finished the first salmon in a few minutes. The fish alone would have fed a small family. Folt continued to eat. His knife and fork sang across the plated until he abandoned them to newly-arriving dishes out of his bare hands.

  Crab and salmon. Rice and water shoots. He ate everything the servers brought to him for almost an hour. The demon's stomach told him once he sated his master. He paid the bill in solid gold. A fine perk of working with the demon was the weight of gold in his purse. He left the restaurant, without so much as belching, already growing hungry.

  Folt had eaten enough fests over the years to know when he could ignore the hunger. He and the rest of his team were scheduled to meet, regardless.

  He made his way from the restaurant near the docks, moving inland. The town was one of the largest in southern Kanor, but it couldn’t compete with Soucot, especially when one wasn't currently trying to hide. Prying minds lurked around every corner in both places.

  He marched up the steps of the grand temple in the center of the city. He reached the top.

  Aduway was in her best mood. She wore her long yellow hair back. A smiled adorned her face.

  Dwarfed by Folt, Aduwe was as skilled a mage as he’d ever known and she understood him enough to know what would happen if they ever clashed. He tried not to linger on that thought.

  Aduwe motioned for him to follow her inside without a word.

  The temple room at the top of the steps was vast and populated by statues of the eighty-eight. Despite Mother Mercy's presence so close, the Kanori paid homage to all of them. Many of the statues were depictions more of ideas than of their subjects’ actual appearances. Most humans never saw even one of them in person. Only mages regularly interacted with maladrite city. Even so, Folt thought, the sculptors did their best.

  He and Aduwe walked among the statues of wildly varied shapes, both depicting entities alternately beautiful and savage. The rest of his team waited for them in the center of the temple sanctuary.

  Uigara and Deel talked softly to each other as Folt and Aduwe approached. Rina and Heen made up the other half of the equation, looking bored as they gazed at the massive temple. They’d met here before and Rina was never as curious about the religious element as of the young boys she saw in town.

  “You’re here!” said Heen.

  Folt smiled.

  “I just ate a good meal.”

  Heen laughed and let the sound echo in the cavernous temple.

  “That goes without saying,” said the boy.

  Rina smirked.

  “How much did you eat this time?”

  “You don't need to know that,” said Folt.

  Aduwe nodded.

  “I have a new mission for all of you,” she said.

  “I suppose it's time.” Said Folt. “We failed before.”

  Aduwe grimaced.

  “Don't remind me. Our employer is quite displeased.”

  Aduwe led their mercenary company and kept in direct contact with Zalklith Once Broken and his government in Nassio. The vakari easily became cross with mercenaries, for suspecting a lack of stake in the conflict. Aduwe spent most of her time lately soothing the lizard king’s worries.

  She folded her arms.

  “I see an opportunity for all of you.”

  Folt glanced at the at Deel. The man adjusted his glasses.

  Aduwe referred to their need for redemption as an opportunity because she planned to send them on a more dangerous mission for certain.

  Folt glanced at her.

  “Have something in mind?”

  She smiled at him beatifically.

  “You’re going back to Soucot.”

  “Why?” asked Uigara “Perhaps I need more chances to test my blades against unworthy the opponents?”

  “From what I understand you held up your end perfectly last time,” said Aduwe. “If you want out, you're free to come back to Nassio with me.”

  Uigara wrinkled her nose.

  “The king will be insufferable. Now he’s conquered half of Linien. I’ll pass.”

  Aduwe nodded.

  “I don't relish returning either.”

  Folt glanced at Rina. The young woman grimaced back.

  “It wasn't my fault either. I didn't get on opening.”

  Aduwe shrugged.

  “True, but the king doesn’t see things that way.”

  Rina crossed her arms.

  “I'll do better,” she said. “Just tell us the mission.”

  Aduwe beamed like the sun.

  Saben

  Saben, Jaswei, and Rond arrived at the farm north of Soucot by several miles from the inn where they deciphered the scroll.

  The place was overgrown. Tangles of branches and hedges blocked paths through weed-infested gardens as well as to the actual derelict fields. The house in the middle of the farmstead had holes in the roof as well as in the second level. Only the ground floor and the basement appeared intact. They made their way toward the rotting structure, wary of other outlaws potentially hiding in the ruins or the undergrowth.

  Trees surrounded the path, most sprouting from what could once have been cropland.

  Saben and the others climbed the steps to a small porch at the front of the house. Boards creaked under their weight.

  He and Jaswei went ahead to search the building. They found little left to note beyond old stores moldy food. The bags remained more or less intact and were large and well-made enough they could fetch a worthwhile trade.

  The three of them returned to the wagon.

  “You think we can stay here?” Rond asked.

  “The basement is dry,” said Jaswei. “More than I can say for most ruins.”

  Saben nodded.

  Jaswei smiled.

  “You found us a place, Rond.”

  The heavyset man creaked his way the steps and went inside with a load of supplies from the wagon. He returned, wiping his brow with his hand.

  “It’s creepy in there. I think it makes a good place to hide.”

  “That was the plan,” said Jaswei.

  Saben nodded to her, then began to unload more from the wagon.

  They did not take long to unpack. What remained of their food would last a few more days. In seclusion, Saben could begin to practice using the demon scroll without distraction.

  Melissa

  She trained her new sprites with excitement. The basics learned, she focused on crafting more powerful spells using the essences gathered within her. Melissa shaped sprites and banes around her forming a cage of singing bars. The cage responded by shaping itself to her every mental command. She would make the bars turn hard as steel when enemies struck them.

  Niu and Suya worked in the yard nearby. Hilos and Kelt were talking not far away. The old knight, despite his lack of training for most of his life, made the fastest student mage.

  The five of them had been training for weeks since they’d visited the well. Lady Nasibron demanded they practice even more than before. They began to master their new sprites and banes to become as powerful as full wizards. Soon we’ll be worthy of sacra scrolls. We’ll become the wizards we were recruited to be.

  The mage guard with Tal and their other officers reformed and learning their share of new magic. Each member of the mage guard appeared well on their way to becoming as skilled with their essences as Lady Nasibron and Elaine had raised the governor’s hand before the well.

  Soon, Melissa thought, soon I'll have my legs to stand on. We'll be safer than before.

  Folt’s attack had
shaken her confidence but through training, Melissa and the others gradually took it back.

  Late one afternoon, Deckard Hadrian returned to the palace.

  He met with Lady Nasibron near the training grounds. Melissa watched them from the corner of her eye. She wondered if the immortal had truly returned to stay.

  He always seemed so flighty, appearing and vanishing at will. Who knew where he went at night, while the rest of the nation slept. Melissa and Niu approached the elder witch and the immortal. He turned as they drew close.

  “I hear the training goes well,” Deckard said. “What say you, Melissa?”

  Melissa bowed her head.

  “Truly, things go well,” she said. “I’m finally gaining the power I need to protect the governor.”

  “From my understanding,” said Deckard, “you’ve done more than you thought possible many times before.”

  Melissa nodded, still slightly flushed from her training. She wondered if he would think her reddened face was because of him.

  “Maybe it is,” she thought. He is one of the most handsome men I've ever seen.

  Deckard turned to Niu.

  “And what of you Niu?” he asked.

  Niu, her cheeks turning pink, looked at her feet.

  “I'm doing all right, my lord. I'm trying to make my sprite react faster to my commands.”

  Deckard nodded.

  “A valuable trait though it’s also vital they perform precisely the tasks you require of them, and not one merely close to it.”

  Lady Nasibron arched an eyebrow.

  “So you’re a teacher now?”

  “I’ve been one before,” said Deckard. “Of course, you are their mentor.”

  “Their master,” said Lady Nasibron.

  Deckard nodded.

  “Of course. If you'll excuse me, I must speak with the governor.”

  He started across the field. Lady Nasibron watched him go. Niu turned to Melissa.

  “What was that about?”

  “He came to check on us,” said Melissa.

  ”Doesn't seem likely,” said Niu under her breath.

  “Of course he did,” said Lady Nasibron. “Deckard, Hadrian feels poorly about how the battle went in his absence. I think he's trying to take care of all of us, he just doesn't know how.”

  “I suppose it makes sense an immortal would see us all as children,” said Melissa.

  “Not precisely children.” Lady Nasibron turned and marched toward the other students.

  Niu and Melissa followed her. They squared off and began to spar.

  Elaine

  She and her intuition followed the lines of Lakses, looking for what he could be. Those strange sprites, those odd dissonant banes within his heart, what did they mean?

  She would not accept an invitation to meet him again until she knew.

  Elaine had to be more cautious, she told herself. If I'm not, more people could die.

  She dug into the books, looking for the source of a song like his.

  She looked a long while.

  Saben

  He unfurled the scroll before him and then dug into it. He read the scroll aloud in a voice loud enough, it threatened to shake the farmhouse despite being half a mile from the ruins. He stood in the overgrown field. Weeds growing over a decaying plow from days past sat one side, a row of trees on the other.

  He focused the intent of the demon within the scroll as he read it over again and again. Each time he delved deeper into the demon's mind. Little by little, Saben understood what Azel had been thinking, was thinking still.

  The scroll remained before him, now hanging from the tree by its wrappings.

  Lines secured the thick parchment so it would not blow, but fluttered slightly in the wind. Saben engaged with the symbols and scripts and quickly found the time he took to complete a reading diminished. He repeated the chant faster and faster.

  A chill blew from the north as the wind picked up. He stowed the scroll in its case. At last, he recited the scroll from memory.

  He saw the words in his mind, imagining every character, every syllable, and every breath.

  He controlled himself, speaking lower and lower until he whispered the names of importance to the demon. He witnessed the mythology of Azel’s life as if living it.

  Azel’s memory contained the legendary battle his father, Gorsheva, fought with Prince Geldingstar, a mortal mage. The two clashed when the demon loomed higher than clouds. When Gorsheva, stumbled from the Bay of Charin, his towering form collapsed into the land of Rei in the west. In that broken land, Gorsheva, one of the eighty-eight perished.

  Azel truly recalled the event despite it taking place before his birth. Gorsheva left behind streams of essence in the sea for Azel to the decipher as he swam in the ruins of Rei. Azel was no ordinary demon. Born of the blood of Gorsheva, he’d grown up believing himself a mortal.

  Within the scroll, Azel moved, responding to Saben’s thoughts. He spoke every line in his mind as the words issued from his mouth one by one.

  The demon responded to his final loud rasp. Saben released the power held within his every essence. The demon flared against him, still unwilling to emerge. He sensed Azel’s presence, another mind watching him, yet, his body did not change shape. He remained himself.

  Frustrated, Saben picked up the scroll case, feeling the warmth of a heartbeat within.

  Saben trudged back to the farmhouse where the others were making dinner. He would try again tomorrow. Sweat clung to every part of him. Nevertheless, he swore he would gain the power he sought from the demon.

  Melissa

  The messenger arrived at the palace shortly after noon. Melissa and the rest of the governor’s hand were tired from training all morning.

  The well-groomed and shaved man approached through the front gate. Two palace guard escorted him a short distance behind, two guards for one messenger. The security and defense of the palace had increased since the attack.

  Melissa and the others turned and watched the messenger approach. He walked straight to Melissa. She exchanged a glance with Niu.

  “Melissa Dorian?” said the messenger.

  He twisted a ring on one index finger. The ring indicated his status as a messenger. A professional courier prepared to carry any message across the land, made for an important position in any nobility circle. Merchants employed them as well. Melissa’s parents had retained a man and woman for the same purpose when she and Giles were children.

  The messenger bowed to her.

  “Melissa Dorian,” he said, “Pleased to make your acquaintance once more.”

  “Once more?”

  “I doubt you recognize me. My father once served your family as a messenger.”

  “Is your name Peter Nuvoni?”

  He smiled coolly.

  “Indeed it is. I bear a message from your brother.”

  “My brother?” said Melissa. “Are you a magister’s guild member?”

  “No,” said the messenger, I am retained by your, not the guild.” He swept a hand across his gray vest. “I am the chief messenger of your brother’s new household.”

  Melissa looked the man up and down. He appeared not much older than her, which matched with his story. He smiled.

  “Your brother sends his regards, and wishes to talk with you in person.”

  “In person,” said Melissa. “Is this some trick?”

  “Your brothers regrets the guild’s hostility,” said the messenger.

  “I bet that's true.” Niu smirked.

  “Given their regrets,” Melissa said, “what shall I say in return?”

  “May I suggest you meet with your brother?” said Peter gently.

  “Peter, what kind of meeting is going to be?” asked Melissa.

  Peter frowned.

  “My young master was not forthcoming with details.”

  “If that's the case...” Melissa frowned. “...I will need a neutral meeting place to ensure we speak on even footing.”
/>
  She drew a sprite from her temple with her finger and sent it zipping to the messenger. Peter stepped back in surprise before the sprite delivered the image of the meeting place Melissa sent him. The messenger nodded.

  “Of course,” he said, “I will tell Master Giles to meet at the restaurant. I remember the way there as well.”

  “We should each bring a second witness,” Melissa said. “Please tell him.”

  “I'm sure he will also prefer to have some accompaniment,” said Peter, “I will tell him to bring one witness.”

  “I'll bring one as well,” said Melissa.

  “Very well,” said Peter, “it was good to meet you again, Lady Dorian.”

  He turned and started across the yard. Melissa glanced at Niu.

  “Care to be my second?”

  Melissa

  Shea and Niu made their way to the restaurant in the city the next day. They moved among the crowds of people in the markets to reach the high-class restaurant many merchants and nobles frequented while in Soucot. Melissa recalled her parents visiting similar establishments when they had lived in the city.

  Melissa and Niu approached the doors leading into the restaurant. They made their way up the stairs to the balcony level where food was mostly served.

  Taking a table, Melissa ordered nothing yet. She would wait until Giles arrived with his second. Niu pored over the menu, staggered by the sheer variety of options and the opulence of the food.

  She pointed to one menu item, gasping.

  “They sell stuff like this here?”

  “What interests you?” asked Melissa.

  “It's a kind of seafood that isn't from the bay,” said Niu. “It’s from the south of Kanor.”

  “Something Kanori?”

  Niu nodded.

  “My family used to have it occasionally but my grandmother passed and the recipe went with her.”

  The knowledge that they were capable of serving such foreign dishes made Melissa wish she was there for a more comfortable purpose. The table was for meeting with a deadly enemy. Giles might be that enemy. Even if he isn't, his second is sure the hostile.

  The magister’s guild would never officially allow Melissa to practice magic without their opposition.

  Even the governor couldn’t change that.

  Melissa and Niu did not have to wait long before Giles arrived, followed by a dark-skinned woman in a yellow dress. The two approached the table. The woman, almost as tall as Giles, nodded to them.