Demons

“Alright, that’s enough,” chuckled his master, “off him now – c’mon.”

As Oddleigh felt the enormous weight lift itself off his prone body, he risked opening his eyes, peering through the layer of tingling slime that coated his face.

The thing that had launched itself upon him was circling his master’s legs, tail wagging and huge dripping tongue lolling from it’s fanged chops. Thaddeus slipped the beast’s leash to a protruding stone, still clearly amused.

“I think she likes you boy.”

They had discovered ‘her’ shortly after setting up camp in the old villa – one of several that lay scattered around the outskirts of the city. Once they were the country residences of the rich and powerful, but now, having been abandoned and looted decades ago, were simply the last (relatively) safe resting place before entering Frostgrave proper.

Poking around they had chanced upon a hidden chamber – a menagerie of sorts with shattered glass cages still housing the dusty bones of their occupants. Yet one still held life – just – a sack of dark red fur that barely breathed.

By way of an experiment his master was preparing a healing spell, when Oddleigh had casually tossed the thing his apple core, and thus made a friend for life.

“What is it?” he asked, regaining his composure and wiping away the slobber.

“A hound of sorts – possibly a demonic hybrid - seems friendly enough though. I think we’ll keep her – many seekers keep warhounds I’m led to believe.”

“Well she can stay away from me! What will you call her?”

“Well, I-“

“Ayyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee”

The scream came from another chamber – once a laboratory judging by the collapsed benches and smashed apparatus.

The spellcasters rushed to the scene, joining the rest of the band. One of the thugs lay prone, clutching a badly burned hand, while another pointed, slack-jawed, to a corner – a corner throbbing with pitch black shadow.

“H-he found a b-bottle, but it moved in his hand and h-he dropped it…”

Two yellow eyes glowed in the darkness, and a lithe form stepped, or rather, slunk, out of the shadows.

“Hello boys…”

These two words alone were enough to turn the men’s knees to jelly and make their hearts pound out of their chests.

“Wh-? Bl-?” Oddleigh gibbered.

The divine creature turned to look at him, wings stretching back and tail writhing around her thighs. Oddleigh had always considered himself a man of the world, (and certainly no milksop when it came to the opposite sex - on the eve of many a hiring fair he had roistered with the best of them, and there was always an accommodating innkeeper’s daughter), but as he met the demon’s gaze, he felt like that gangling pimply youth of yesteryear, caught with his father’s collection of ‘special’ woodcarvings.

“Tavern wenches and silly pictures?” purred the demon, “Oh we can do much better than that...”

“Madam I must ask you to desist!” Thaddeus strode forward, his voice thick with effort. “Go back from whence you came foul temptress!”

His staff glowed an eerie green, causing the demon to shrink back.

“Foul!? Me!?” she spat. “For that alone you shall pay… Husband! Attend to me!”

Suddenly she retreated into the unnatural shadows, her form shifting and changing.

“She’s transposing – fascinating!” gasped Thaddeus. ”Boy, fetch my notebook!”

“Er…”

Oddleigh nodded toward the shadows, where the demon’s wings had stretched wider and higher.

“’ERE! ARE YOU LOOKIN’ AT MY BIRD?”

A new voice boomed around the chamber, as a larger, more intense set of fiery eyes peered out of the dark. The ground shook as a huge clawed foot thumped forward.

Thaddeus gulped. “Boy, be so kind as to fetch my banishing gloves while you’re at it – and Fluffy… Yes, I think we’ll call her Fluffy…”

Every summoner has to have some demons to call upon! The two infernals here are Reaper Bones demons, while the warhound is a plastic toy hyena, generously donated by my eldest and made to look (hopefully) more demonic with some Greenstuff.