It was a young man, perhaps twenty years of age, with slightly pale skin that was unusual on this island, and fairly long, very curly black hair. He was wearing a very fancy set of layered robes with all sorts of magical runes and symbols woven into the fabric.
Talarius nodded. “They are indeed; I would not want to face them in battle,” he said, looking at the young man. He seemed vaguely familiar.
“Nor would I,” the young man said with a chuckle. “Fortunately, that is not a problem I will have.”
“No,” Talarius agreed. “I’m sorry, have we met? You look vaguely familiar.”
The young man grinned broadly and then chuckled again. “It’s me, Tom — or rather Edwyrd, as I call this form.”
Talarius did a double take and blinked. “Tom? Lord Tommus?” the knight asked in shock.
“The same,” the young man said. “Also the mysterious Lord Edwyrd that the Oorstemothians pursued to Freehold.”
Talarius shook his head. “Ah, yes. I remember you mentioning him back in the cave. So this is the form that your human friends saw?”
“Indeed.” Tom — or Edwyrd — turned, smiling, to look out once more at the wargames.
“Yet this is not the form you used after my defeat?” Talarius said.
Edwyrd nodded. “I did not want anyone to recognize Edwyrd as being me, so I improvised.”
“So you were in Freehold in this form while we were camped outside?” Talarius asked.
“Yes, as you know. My demon form tends to freak people out,” Edwyrd said.
“I would agree,” Talarius said. “So which is the real you?”
“Now? Ever since I was summoned, the big demon form is my true, default form. This”—he gestured down at himself—“is close to what I looked like as a human in New Jersey. I just made the form a little older to get more respect from the people I was traveling with.”
“Can you take any form?” Talarius asked.
“In theory; in practice, it is much more difficult. I have to work hard to keep a consistent form and appearance — you know, keep a mole from moving from cheek to cheek?” Edwyrd grinned. “So as a result, I, and others who can do this, establish a set of defined, memorized forms that we reinforce with paintings or statues to help us remember finer details.”
“How many forms do you have memorized?” Talarius asked.
“Not many. I have only just added an orc form; still working on that one. Other than that, just the demon form and this one,” Edwyrd said.
“So why are you using this form again all of a sudden? There should be no need for a disguise in a place where you rule in your demon form,” Talarius said.
“Practice,” Edwyrd said. He ran his hands down the robes. “Up until now, I’ve always worn normal clothes in this form; however, I recently learned that most demons create their clothes as part of their form. And so I’ve been practicing that. This is my first public test run with these rather complicated clothes.”
Talarius frowned, puzzled, and looked more closely at the robes. “You are telling me that these robes and your boots — they are actually you?”
“Indeed. However, I am wearing real underclothes. At the moment, if I get startled, I’m likely to end up naked. So the undergarments are a safety net.”
“Modesty?” Talarius shook his head. “As I recall, you were completely naked when we first met. You only got the loincloth at Hellsprings Eternal.”
“I know,” Edwyrd said and then shook his head. “It is the weirdest thing, and I’ve found no one who can explain it, but as a demon, being naked doesn’t bother me in the least. The loincloth is for pockets, and so I don’t distract others, as Reggie does quite a bit. The funny thing is that when I am in this form, or my new orc form, I have a sense of modesty.”
“Hmm.” Talarius took that weirdness in and then had a thought. “I think I know the answer.”
“Really?” Edwyrd asked in surprise, and his robes seemed to flicker a little bit.
“For mortal creatures, the genitals are a weakness, a location that an opponent will seek to use against you. Thus the instinctive reaction to shield one’s privates with one’s hands when exposed. It is to protect them. Demons do not need to do so.”
“Wow. That’s an interesting idea. I can assure you, though, that it does hurt to be attacked there.” Edwyrd gave Talarius a pointed stare, referencing the knight’s attack at Tom’s privates during their battle. “However, probably not as much as it would for a human, and certainly it would have no evolutionary benefit, which is where instinctive behavior would come from.”
“Evolutionary benefit?” Talarius asked.
Edwyrd shook his head and grinned. “Good point. For the moment I forgot where I was. I doubt there even is evolution in magical worlds. Certainly there isn’t any in the Abyss.”
Talarius entered the tavern in Agnothnon. It was less busy than in the evening, as one would expect, but there were people in the room drinking. The Isle of Doom was always vigilant, so there were people working around the clock; naturally, some would be relaxing at midday after their shifts.
It is a bit early for you, isn’t it? Ruiden asked.
It is, but I find myself deeply unsettled by this morning, Talarius told his sword. He sat down at the bar.
It seemed like a perfectly normal conversation to me, Ruiden replied. However, I have been informed that I am not much of a conversationalist.
That is precisely the problem, Talarius thought back emphatically.
“Light ale,” he told the barkeep that had come over; she nodded and moved to get his drink.
How is it a problem? Ruiden asked.
I just spent much of this morning having a completely normal conversation with a demon prince, Talarius explained as if the problem was obvious.
Yes, I was there. I observed and listened to the conversation, Ruiden said patiently. I do not understand what you are saying.
Talarius sighed out loud. This morning, I felt like I was speaking with Edwyrd, a completely normal young man! At times, I even forgot that I was talking to a demon, let alone a demon prince!
So you are upset because a demon prince, your captor, seemed like just another human being? Ruiden asked.
Exactly! Talarius thought back.
However, did we not just learn, and verified as far as we could, that he actually was a human from a distant world that had been summoned and turned into a demon? Ruiden asked.
Yes, but there is a big difference between knowing something theoretical, or distant, and it is another to have to face that uncomfortable fact directly, Talarius complained.
Edwyrd — and I prefer to think of him as Edwyrd rather than as Tom the demon, it’s easier to compartmentalize — just seemed like a completely normal person, and yet he is the Lord of Doom, a Prince of the Abyss? I just can’t reconcile the two, Talarius said.
The barkeep set the ale down and Talarius slid the coins across the counter. After the heavy drinking of Thrinarv, he knew exactly what the ale cost without being told.
I see. Well, as you know, I do not have a lot of experience with humans in a social context, Ruiden said. If it is any comfort, the saint and archon of Tiernon that I met in Astlan seemed no different than the humans they were working with.