SOLO III
Demon World
Part 020
The eating hall is empty except for you and
Rebecca. "The boy was clearly possessed." She takes a step
back as though he is still in front of her spewing curses. "I
imagine everyone up there is."
You hang you head a bit. "I could see the kid
still trapped inside his own eyes." You look right at
Rebecca. "He did want to be rescued." You shake you
head. "But I imagine the demons can see what he sees. So
bringing him here would be a mistake."
Gail, Ada, and the girls haven't made it back
yet. They still have most of an hours walk along the underground
river. Rebecca makes a couple of cups of water and sits at one of
the tables. The two of you talk.
"Is there some way to de-possess him up there,
before bringing him down? Like cleansing."
Rebecca shakes her head. "There are a number
of spells missing from your library. Disolve enchantment is one
of them. We need a copy of the spell before any of us can learn
it."
She gives a sad kind of smile. "I asked you
that once. You also said that disolve takes almost three times as
much strength as cleansing." She sighs. "So even if we had
it, we would need a room full of people just to cast it once."
"How did I get here." Rebecca furrows her
eyebrows at this. So you rephrase "I mean this place, hidden on
the island. How could I set all this up without the demons
catching me?"
"Oooh." She smiles faintly. "The demons
were not always here. You don't look it because of all the
elixers of youth, but you are very old." She takes a deep
breath. "The demons arrived eleven years, three months, four days
ago. They quickly took over the island, and in the subsequent
years the oceans."
"You saw the road of fire that runs away from the
island over the sea. With those they cut up the sea so no ships
could pass without bursting into flames. Unless it was one of the
Demon's own iron ships."
"Cutting off the mainlands from each other, the
cities were next. Over the past ten years they have been
subjugating the larger cities on the different main lands. They
force rulers and kings to surrender their own children or the children
of their subjects, and ship them back here. Thats where you found
me."
"But you were here before all that started.
This island was a mining concern and you were an independant
consultant. One of many actually. You told me the day the
demons came up out of the mines, you lost many friends and some
family. But we are your family now, and one day you want to drive
all the demons.." Suddenly Rebecca's voice makes a decent
impersination of your own "back down into hell."
"So you see the demons have never known where you
were. But they would love to find out. And they all know
who you are."
Gail, Ada, and the girls come walking in. They
are carring candles and look resplendent in their formal evening
wear. You ask one last question.
"Why don't the run aways just lead them down here?"
Gail answers this one. "Because the labrynth
is confusing and it is easy to get lost. And there are
enchantment on many intersections to make people even more
confused. Many of the run aways don't even make it to the
surface. But none ever finds their way back once they leave."
There is a hard heavy feeling in the air. But
there is hope yet. The children are learning. And they are
growing stronger.
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