“Demon wars?” Rupert was looking very curious. “But if demons fight in the Abyss, and they die, they die permanently, right?”
Tizzy grinned and nodded. “If you kill them bad enough! If you chop up a demon or a knight” — he glanced pointedly at Talarius — “beyond what they can regenerate and they die here; there is nowhere else to go.”
“So what happens to their animus and mana?” Tom asked as he tested the portcullis to see if he could lift it.
Tizzy shrugged. “Well, if you’re lucky, you just sort of dissipate or evaporate and it’s like going to sleep, I’m told. Less fortunately, something powerful nearby eats your soul and consumes your mana.”
“Eats your soul?” Reggie asked with a tremor in his voice.
“Like Lilith or Sammael,” Antefalken stated.
“Or any demon prince, and some archdemons,” Boggy added.
“Ick,” Rupert said.
“Yeah, from the screams of the consumed souls, I’d have to say it isn’t pleasant,” Tizzy remarked as Tom grunted and lifted with his legs. There was a huge and painful screech and the portcullis lifted.
“Don’t let him freak you out, Rupert,” Boggy interjected. “That is a worst case scenario. Remember, we regenerate quickly and efficiently. In order to kill someone permanently, you have to halt the regeneration process somehow.”
“How do you do that?” Rupert asked.
“Well, there are several ways,” Boggy said.
“The simplest is to make regeneration so difficult and time consuming that they just give up and stop trying,” Tizzy said rather somberly all of a sudden.
“Okay, everyone through.” They all scurried through and Tom gently lowered the portcullis back down. “I have no idea how to keep it up.”
Tizzy pointed to a nearby alcove. “That was, or is, the wheelhouse for it. There would be a hook for the chains, but it’s not important.” He motioned and they continued down the corridor.
At this point, Tom was able to note that the corridors were a bit more even, as if the tighter spots had been carved out to be wider and more uniform.
“So did a lot of demons die permanently in these wars?” Rupert called up to Tizzy.
“Often. That is why so many demons you meet today are not that old, generally not much more than three thousand years, give or take. While many did die, an equal number of battle-scarred demons tired of the demon princes’ games and high-tailed it out to places unknown in the Abyss. Off to the Hinterlands.”
“So there are other demon societies? Ones not tied to the Courts?” Tom asked.
Tizzy shrugged. “I suppose. I’m sure some of them set up other demon villages or cities. At the time, it was mainly greater demons and below who left, a few archdemons as well. Obviously almost no princes.”
Antefalken shook his head. “I really should be taking notes. Lilith and friends never mention any of this.”
“Why?” Reggie asked.
Antefalken shrugged. “I am sure they want everyone to believe that they are the only option. Either submit to them or you are on your own versus everyone else in the Abyss. Standard power consolidation. Start with us versus them, and then make sure everyone believes the ‘them’ are solitary hermits with no resources, luxuries or hope.”
They wandered on for another half period or so, taking seemingly random openings that Tizzy chose, with Tom marking each turn or branch. As they moved along, going through two more portcullises, the evidence of human, or rather demon masonry and construction became more obvious. There were now sections with carved stone bricks, and areas where the floor had been flattened out with stone masonry, presumably for wheeled vehicles.
In short, Tom realized at one point, they were now in a dungeon. The only difference between this and a video game or an RPG was that, technically, as demons they were the wandering monsters. Of course, they did have a Paladin with them. Sorry — Knight Rampant, Tom corrected himself.
“Did you hear something?” Estrebrius asked suddenly. They had all been quiet, lost in their own thoughts for some time when Estrebrius spoke up.
“Only the sound of us clunking down the corridor,” Boggy replied.
Estrebrius shook his head. “No, it sounded like nails scraping on stone.”
“Like hooves? All but one of us has hooves.” Antefalken was shaking his head.
“No, more like scratching.” Estrebrius said.
“Where did you hear it?” Talarius asked; they had all paused. Tizzy was in front, Tom behind him, filling the entire passage. Talarius and Rupert were next. Boggy and Reggie were following them, and Antefalken and Estrebrius were in the rear.
Estrebrius pointed behind him.
“Grrrrrr...” A rumbling came from the dark to which Estrebrius was pointing. A second growl almost immediately joined the first. Staring down the corridor, Tom could see four red orbs reflecting the light of Talarius’s armor back at them.
“I know this goes without saying, but didn’t you say this place was abandoned?” Reggie called back to Tizzy, who was scrambling to see around Tom.
“It should be,” Tizzy replied, puzzled.
Rupert was looking nervous. “What is it? Or are they?”
“Apparently something terribly spunky, if they’re willing to attack a party of demons,” Boggy noted. “Estrebrius, let’s switch places.” Boggy moved to swap with the smaller demon and took a crouching position.
Antefalken pulled a short sword from his belt. Tom blinked; he did not recall ever noticing the bard carrying a short sword. It was rather more like a full-length sword for his childlike size.
Talarius motioned for Reggie to trade places with him and began dimming his armor. “I am thinking I might want to turn off my light, as that seems to be what is attracting them.”
“How are you going to be able to see?” Rupert asked, looking at the knight.
Talarius turned his head to Rupert and the boy could see what looked like a grin through the vertical air slit in the knight’s helm. The knight reached up and flipped down the crystalline visor that covered the cross-shaped slits in his helm to protect him from arrows.
“My visor has infrared, ultraviolet and several other night vision options,” The knight said.
“So you’ve been walking around like a giant moth magnet all this time for nothing?” Tizzy complained.
Talarius shrugged in his armor. “I work on a need-to-know basis.” The knight crouched in a combat position. His right hand slid down his thigh and suddenly there was a short rod his hand. He gave the bottom end a twist with his other hand, and the head of the rod suddenly popped wide with flanges, creating a mace. The mace began to glow at the same brightness as the knight’s dimming armor.
“Is that a Rod of Smiting?” Antefalken asked quickly, taking his eyes off the red orbs to glance back at the knight.
“Yes,” Talarius replied tersely.
“Is it even possible to disarm you?” Tom asked in exasperation.
“No,” the knight replied, pointedly fixing his gaze on the growling red orbs. Suddenly another set of red orbs appeared with the first two.
As the light level from the armor dropped, Tom’s demon sight was able to make out the bodies containing the orbs. “Large, heavily muscled dogs,” he noted aloud.
“Of course,” Talarius stated.
“What are they?” Rupert asked nervously.
“One of two, maybe three things. I would advise blunt trauma,” Talarius said tersely.
Suddenly one of the dogs leaped at Antefalken, choosing the smallest front line target. The dog moved amazingly fast, its giant jaws reaching to try to engulf the bard’s entire head. Antefalken’s sword lunged forward, squarely hitting the dog’s throat. Boggy roared and his right slashed out, his black claws ripping through the dog’s neck, jerking a bit as the demon severed the dog’s spine. The dog fell to the floor writhing.