He finished the summons and waited for Estrebrius to appear. His stomach twisted slightly, as it seemed to be taking the demon an unusually long time to appear. Finally the fire began to glow very brightly, higher and higher, and the familiar form of Estrebrius appeared.
“Master, I have come at your summons.” Estrebrius bowed.
“Thank goodness! I was a bit worried. I realized after I sent you on your task that it was unrealistic of me to expect you to succeed, and I was putting you at great risk. I’m so sorry.” Vaselle shook his head in apology.
Estrebrius coughed, and Vaselle looked at him oddly. “Well, I have to admit, I agreed with that assessment when you sent me off, but, well... I’ve had some luck.”
“Luck?” Vaselle asked, shocked. “You’ve found out something about the demon lord? A trail to follow?”
“Uhm, well, a bit more than that, master.” Estrebrius grinned.
Suddenly Vaselle could feel a disturbance in his spell and the fire that had summoned Estrebrius suddenly burst higher, rising far over the short demon’s head. The small brazier fire was now a giant bonfire and Vaselle could feel the link expanding on its own. It should not do that — that was not possible! There wasn’t fuel for a fire that big!
“To your left, Estrebrius,” a thunderous voice ordered from the fire. Vaselle felt his stomach drop. Estrebrius stepped to his left and a monstrously huge, gigantic hoof came through fire. Vaselle backed up hurriedly. A huge, scaly digitigrade leg followed the hoof, and then the largest set of male genitalia Vaselle had ever seen! The testicles were nearly the size of his own skull; the male member a one-eyed serpent of terror! Vaselle made a croaking noise and fell to his knees, unable even to think.
Next he saw individual abdominal muscles larger than his entire abdominal region, clawed hands capable of engulfing his entire body, forearms larger than his thighs, and biceps and triceps the size of his waist. Vaselle was simultaneously in awe and terror. He gasped as huge slabs of pectoral muscle came through the flames, with giant spiked nipples on giant aureoles.
And then the maw... the fangs, the jaws of death, above which were fiercely penetrating black eyes that were already staring into the depths of his soul to render and encompass his entire being. Humongous ebony horns rose above those life-stealing eyes, suitable for disemboweling him with a simple head shake of “no.”
Vaselle was hyperventilating by the time the entire magnificent demon emerged from the flames in its most awe-inspiring, dark glory. He was in the presence of a god among demons! Clearly a demon prince; Vaselle was sure of this. Coming to his senses somewhat, he prostrated himself before the one he had inadvertently called into this glade.
“Wizard!” The voice of Lassalle’s personal god thundered. “Your servant claims you have a proposition for me?”
“My... aghhk!” Vaselle choked on the saliva swarming down his throat in his terror. “Master, Lord High Prince of the Abyss! Forgive this foolish mortal’s temerity! It is not so much a proposition as an offer, a gift!”
There was silence for a moment and Vaselle feared he had angered the mighty demon.
“A gift?” The demon lord sounded puzzled, or maybe it was intrigued? Could it be?
“Yes, My Lord. The only gift I have worthy of your eminence!” Vaselle wailed. He was nearing panic at this point.
“And what would that be?” the demon asked.
“My Lord, as insignificant as it is, as unworthy as it is, I humbly offer you my immortal soul and would beg to be your agent in this world, to be taken and possessed by you, to do your bidding in Astlan! To be your slave, your puppet, your plaything, your devoted sycophant!”
There was complete silence. Vaselle felt his bowels begin to loosen. Had he angered the demon? Was he about to be rendered limb from limb in ecstatic agony and suffering?
After what seemed to be an eternity, he dared to glance up towards his prospective master to see the demon lord peering down at him, apparently lost in thought. He was not sure.
“Uhm, yes, well, I need to think about this,” the demon lord stated. “I’ll get back to you.” He suddenly backed up into the flames, disappearing.
Estrebrius was staring at Vaselle in shock.
“Estrebrius, get your butt through the gateway!” A new voice hollered through the flames. Was the demon’s entourage on the other side of the gateway?
Estrebrius shook his head and hurriedly entered the flames, disappearing into the nether regions. The flames then suddenly shrank down to nothing, leaving only a few burning embers and finally only cold ash. Birds chirped in the forest around him as if nothing had happened. Vaselle planted his face in the grass and wept with a mixture of fear, relief and frustration.
“Thank you for joining me for breakfast, Archimage,” Damien said, gesturing to a seat at his patio breakfast table. Damien’s third-year apprentice, Gemma, had shown the Archimage of Turelane to the patio where Damien was waiting for him.
As the archimage sat, Damien sat as well. “Well, thank you for this most unexpected invitation, Inquisitor.” His use of Damien’s alternate title indicated that he knew full well why he’d been invited for breakfast. Randolf looked around the balcony. “ I do not believe I have ever been to your quarters before. What a magnificent view of the city!”
“Thank you. To be fully honest, the fact that I had no idea that you had an archdemon in your employ may have contributed to my tardiness in entertaining you,” Damien said drily.
Randolf chuckled softly. “Surely you flatter me, Inquisitor. I myself had no idea I had an archdemon as an employee. While I appreciate the thought that I might be capable of commanding the service of an archdemon, I fear that, assuming Exador actually is an archdemon, I am but a dupe of his; as is, of course, the Council for admitting him as a member.”
“Obviously, although was it not you who recommended him?” Damien smiled and lifted a cup of tea to his lips.
Randolf chuckled again. “Not precisely. As I recall, this was about ten years before your tenure began and Lenamare was nominated, and given their rather high-pressure rivalry, it was almost obligatory that Exador also be nominated. There were many on the Council who thought it best to elevate both of them at the same time,” Randolf reminisced as he poured himself a cup of tea.
Damien nodded in concession. “Yes, I can certainly understand that logic.” He set his tea down and took a bite of sweet cake before continuing. “Yet, two years later you chose Exador to be Mage of Turelane over Lenamare. No thought of having co-mages?”
Randolf sighed. “It was a difficult choice. As we’ve seen, Lenamare is a truly exceptional wizard. However, there is no legal precedent for co-mages, and there is historical precedent for an Exador holding the title.”
“Your great-grandfather, I believe, created the title for him?” Damien enquired.
Randolf shrugged. “Well, this was not that long after the rather destructive events in Abancia. He felt that a solid alliance with the Exadors would be advantageous to Turelane.”
“Yes, that seems reasonable, given that it was that Exador’s father who toppled Abancia,” Damien noted taking another sip of tea.
“Exactly.”
“Or perhaps the same Exador, if he is an archdemon?” Damien asked.
Randolf nodded in acceptance of Damien’s point. “Of course, a rather convoluted ruse, since I can assure you that according to my own observance of the current Exador, and the accounts of others whom I trust, he does age and die, and he does produce heirs to succeed him.”