Chapter 5
I flew east for about 20 minutes. Dragons can eat up the miles very quickly. I angled down, and landed about a ten-minute walk from the village of Slotfir. As soon as I changed into my human form, I could feel it.
The closer I got to the village, the worse it felt. At first it was just an uneasiness. Then it got worse. I finally came into the village proper, and made my way to the only inn.
I entered, and saw that while it was crowded, it was an unusually silent crowd. They quickly looked me over, and then went back to their... brooding. I walked to the bar, and asked for ale. My voice seemed unnaturally loud in my ears.
I was thinking that I had missed something, as my ale was served and I paid for it. I walked to the end of the bar, and leaned against it, sipping my ale in thought. First, flying in, I had not felt this uneasiness. It only happened after I relinquished my dragon form.
Then, while finishing my journey into the village, I had been increasingly nervous and depressed. I muttered a brief spell, and that vanished. Animals! That was it. I didn't see any cats or dogs. Nor had I heard any cows lowing, or sheep, or any roosters crowing.
I had seen horses, but these had been bunched together, as if for protection. I decided to go with a frontal attack all the way. First, I thought of the spell I wanted, and then I cast an eye around the inn, and then I cast it.
The reaction was remarkable! The tension and fear hanging in the very air, was gone. I had put up a shield around the inn, and it was free of the miasma that had been draining everyone here.
I heard startled exclamations from several people. Then silence returned, and all were looking at me. Well, I had not been silent with my spell. I raised my mug in salute, and drained it.
"Another mug my friend, and I will gladly buy a round for all here if they so desire it," I told the innkeeper.
There was a moment of silence, then a rush to the long bar. I was questioned. Everyone wanted to know who I was and what was happening. The innkeeper was busy for a few minutes filling mugs. Soon my few remaining brasses, and most of my coppers were gone. Still, I had a few silvers and several golds, to tide me over. I didn't think I would be broke, before I finished my task.
"In answer to your question, I am Paul Landkur, Duke De Landkur, and I have come to demand answers from my vassal, Baron Slotfir. He has much to answer for," I said in an angry tone of voice.
"Now then, how long has this feeling of dread and despair been going on?" I asked.
While the answers varied, it seemed to be a bit over a week, now. Some people on the outskirts of the village had just up and left. Soon, it seemed that no one else could. If someone wanted to leave, and started to leave, they found themselves wondering back to the village after a short time.
I nodded and thought about what I should do. The castle proper was still another two miles east, on a hill over looking the great inland sea, and everything for miles around.
I sent out my senses, and felt that the source of the miasma was at the castle. I nodded as people began a litany of complaints. I finally held up my hand.
"I swear to you as your Duke, that before this day is out, the source of this problem will be gone," I said, and drained my ale.
"You will all be safe, in here. I will firm the shield, and you can bring your wives and children here for protection," I said, and worked a spell of protection into the shield that I had cast around the inn. When I was finished, I walked out the door and took the east road towards the castle.
I cast several small spells of protection over myself. I decided that instead of one massive shield, I would go with smaller shields. They were designed to last so long, and collapse, only to reveal another shield of similar type behind the collapsed shield.
I did this as I marched towards the castle. I had gone about a mile and a half, when I was stopped by several of Baron Slotfir's soldiers. They had some ridiculous demands that I surrender myself, and they had a magic worker, who appeared to be under an external control or influence.
"I command you all to stand aside, and let me pass. I am The Duke De Landkur, and your lord's liege. Stop me at your peril," I said grimly.
"I am sorry your grace, but our orders are to take you and deliver you to our lord," a man who I guessed to be the senior guard present said.
I sighed, and pulled out a tried and true spell. I cast a sleep spell over the area, and soon all the guards, and the magic user, were asleep. I snorted. I was getting good mileage out of that spell.
I cast another spell binding them to sleep until I countered it, or a day went by. That should keep them firmly out of the way until everything was resolved. I counted 12 soldiers and 1 magic user. That had to be a pretty significant portion of the good Baron's men at arms that he would have available to him at the castle.
"Father?" a deep melodious voice said.
I jumped and spun around. There was my Arch Angel. I hadn't called him to me. Interesting.
"Yes? I am a little busy right now," I told it, him. Arch Angel was definitely a he.
"I want to help you. I have been gathering information on this type of demon," Arch Angel told me.
"All right, what can you tell me about it?" I asked curiously.
"It is a minor demon from one of the outer circles of the Hell Plain. Yes, I know, it is similar to the Hell of our world. There is a great probability that earth has had interaction in the past with this Hell, and the results are written into the myths of earth.
"It feeds on despair and hopelessness, and you putting up that shield around the inn, has warned it that someone with strong magical capabilities is in the area," Arch Angel told me in a matter of fact voice.
I nodded slowly. Ok, so I had sent it a warning. Well, it knew someone would be coming for it sooner or later. It had to. I thanked Arch Angel and started striding towards the castle. Arch Angel walked with me.
"Are you capable of defending yourself, in the event of an attack?" I asked him curiously.
"Yes. I have learned enough magic to counter anything that this demon can cast at me. I am more worried about you," he told me.
I stumbled to a halt. I looked at him with amazement.
"You're staying to protect me?" I asked, my voice full of incredulity.
"I have only just gotten you as my father. I would hate to loose you already. I would protect you, if you would allow it," he said to me.
I was touched. I was also pissed that he thought I could not protect myself. I told him he could observe and help out if I needed it, but other than that, to wait until I gave him a specific order. He agreed meekly.
A short time later, Arch Angel and I arrived at the gate of the castle. It was much smaller than Vostich's castle in Landkur. The thick wooden gates were closed. Sentries were on the wall, watching, as I approached. I stopped, and folded my arms, waiting.
I was about two hundred paces from the gate, well within bow range. No arrow came my way. I looked at the guard, and they looked at me. I sent out my senses, and felt a boil of hate, greed, lust, and despair; all the feelings one tries to stay away from, were centered here.
I firmed up my shields and waited some more. Still, no one questioned me. I just looked their way. Arch Angel was quiet by my side. I looked at Arch Angel and was about to ask him to do something, when it occurred to me; I had no idea if he had a name, yet.
I studied him a moment, and it came to me.
"You are Michael," I told him.
He stared at me a moment, then bowed to me.
"Thank you for the name, Father. I will treasure it as I do my life," he responded with a beautiful smile.
Great. Now I was noticing beautiful smiles from decidedly male persons. I rolled my eyes. I decided it was time to take matters into hand. I cast my loudspeaker spell, which would allow my voice to be heard everywhere for up to a quarter of a mile in every direction.
"Baron Slotfir, you will open your gates, and present yourself to me for judgment. To the demon present: if you go back to your own land, now, I will not destroy you," I said, then stopped and waited.
I did not have long to wait. I saw the Baron on his wall, and standing next to him was a dark robed and cowled person, who I knew instantly, was the demon. His dark robe shone with, well, evil.
Soldiers along the wall, were now loading arrows into bows and firing at me. It was interesting in that only a few actually would have hurt me if they had been allowed to hit me. My shield stopped them.
I was now in attack mode. I cast a spell that rocked the castle gate, and cracked it. It held though. A tribute to the spell that had been on it. While it had born the brunt of the force of my spell, it failed. The result was now a damaged gate.
I cast the same spell at the people along the top of the wall. A lot of people screamed, and disappeared from view. I felt sorry for them, but I was resolute. I noticed that the people closest to the demon and the Baron stayed on their feet, protected I guessed.
Arch Angel, Michael, took to the air. The demon looked at him, and held out a hand, and a beam of dark force struck at him as he flew. Michael came to a stop, and hovered, and I watched as the beam fell several feet short of actually striking him.
Michael started to glow, and beams of pure white erupted from the tips of his wings, and slammed into the demon. It took a step back, but I could discern no obvious damage or harm done it.
I spread my arms, and cast a spell I had learned from Svedra. I enclosed the demon in a sphere of force. It tried to escape, but I had it! I exerted my will, and levitated the demon from the wall, starting it towards me.
I could feel that I had also cut it off, totally, from its energy supply. Good. If worse came to worse, I could now wear it down.
"Michael, I will take care of this demon, you hold the Baron for me, and keep the others off my back, will you?" I asked my, um, son.
"It would be my pleasure, Father," Michael said to me.
I had the demon very close to me, when it started to shrink inside the globe. All of a sudden, I felt a counter force that went beyond my ability to control, and the sphere broke and the demon was free!
"Father!" Michael yelled in warning.
"I'm on it. Just carry out your instructions!" I yelled to him.
The demon changed form. It became a huge bat shaped creature, and started to fly away. I cast a light spear spell at it, and while it screamed in pain or rage, it kept going.
I changed into a smaller version of my dragon form, and launched myself into the air. I pumped my wings, slowly gaining hight. The bat creature had a head start, and was quickly dwindling into the distance.
I kept an eye on it. Slowly, ever so slowly, I gained on it. For an hour we flew, with me ever so slowly gaining on it. I wracked my brains for a spell to slow it, and one suggested itself to me.
Twin silver beams of light flew from my eyes, straight at the bat like creature that was the demon. It struck it, and oily smoke filled the air. It screamed in pain or rage, but started to glide, and was going down.
I strained myself, catching up to it finally. I followed it down. We landed almost at the same time. We both changed. I changed into my human form; and it into, well, what ever an eight-legged demon was.
I cast another light lance spell at it, and it jumped out of the way at the last minute. It spit something at me, but my shield turned it away from me, keeping me safe. I tried to enclose it again as I did while it was on the wall, but it countered that one.
We traded spells for a time. Finally, a spell I had just learned in Pejoru's library suggested itself, and I cast it. It screamed in pain. It started to collapse in on itself. I watched, fascinated, as a demon was being destroyed right before my eyes.
I poured in power, and cast another spell at it. Finally it, well, exploded into nothingness. It was done. One demon destroyed. It had taken me almost two hours to kill it. Not good. I had to learn to do this more efficiently.
I carefully scanned the area, but there was nothing left, but dissolving energy. It was definitely gone for good. I sighed. I reached out, and found Michael. He reported that the castle was now clean of the demons influence, and that he had the Baron captive, and was waiting for my orders. I told him to maintain the situation, and I would be there in a moment.
I took a moment to gather power, and I teleported myself back to the castle. I went through the now open gate and was confronted by a motionless Baron Slotfir, and Michael, as well as several people who were anxious to clear up this matter and throw themselves on my mercy. I sighed. This part was going to take more time.
Edited by TeNderLoin