Into the Abyss полностью

The demons had grabbed her and pulled her through some sort of gateway before Tom could get to her. At first she’d been scared they’d take her to the Abyss and do vile unspeakable acts of violence upon her person. After the nerve-shattering transition however, she’d found herself and the demons in the middle of an army camp. An army camp that had lots of wounded. From the insignias on the soldiers’ uniforms she was pretty sure it was Exador’s army, but it was a lot smaller than before and she didn’t see Lenamare’s castle over the tents surrounding her and the demons. Surely Lenamare couldn’t have destroyed the entire castle as well as this many men. Exactly how powerful was that spell of his?

One of the demons held her tightly as the other explained to a guy in a uniform with lots of medals exactly what had happened. The officer, or so Jenn assumed he was, looked her over a couple times as the demon accurately described her kidnapping. Finally the demon finished and the officer stood lost in thought for a moment. At last he looked up to where the hovering demon was holding her and addressed Jenn directly. “So, you were wandering the countryside in the company of a greater demon? Amusing. You don’t look old enough or powerful enough to control such a being, but maybe you had some control device?

“In either case, I am sure Lord Exador will wish to speak with you upon his return.”

Aha, her guess was confirmed. She was in Exador’s camp. Where, though, was the rest of his army? What exactly was that device of his that got so many soldiers wounded? Finally, where was Exador if he wasn’t here now?

“Remove her robe, and make sure she has no spell components or magical items in her clothes underneath the robe. Then bind her hands and feet and put her in the prisoner tent.” The officer instructed the demons.

Working together, the two demons quickly had Jenn trussed as directed. Despite her best efforts to struggle, they were just too strong. When they took her robe, Jenn became concerned. The mysterious book was in it, and she really didn’t want them getting a hold of it. While she didn’t know what it was, she was pretty sure Lenamare would be upset if it fell into Exador’s hands. The loss of her spell components was also annoying, but expected. She could make do without them, assuming she ever got her hands free. Fortunately the weather was warm enough that her blouse and riding breeches would be warm enough without the robe.

The two demons hauled her over to a large center pole tent that had two human guards at the entrance. At the demons’ approach, one guard raised the tent flap and stepped aside so the demon holding her could toss her in.

She fell hard on her face. The demons had tied her hands behind her back and her ankles were also tied together. As she rolled to her side, the light in the tent darkened as the tent flap closed behind her. The tent was basically empty except for a rather worn rug on the floor, and one other human inhabitant. The other prisoner was tied similar to herself and was leaning against the center pole of the tent. He was dressed in clothes that resembled a hodgepodge of Lenamare’s soldier’s uniforms and silk clothes. He was young, maybe slightly older than Jenn and his golden hair was disheveled, his face was red with white spotches. It appeared that he’d been crying a bit recently.

While he looked familiar, it took Jenn a little while to recognize him. It was one of the wizard’s who’d ambushed her party. The one the demon had let run off. “You!” She accused.

Gastropé looked up at her. Until she’d shouted at him, Gastropé had only been vaguely aware that she was there. He’d paid just enough attention to be sure they weren’t coming to get him when the tent flap had opened, and then sunk back into his misery. When he looked up at the shout, he recognized the caravan wizard who’d entangled him in weeds. He was momentarily startled. “What,” Gastropé said flatly.

“You’re one of the murdering scum that attacked my caravan. You’re one of Exador’s men! What are you doing in here?”

“I failed, your caravan won, thanks to that... that... demon thing of yours. Exador’s annoyed, now he’s going to punish me. Kill me; turn me into a toadstool; torture me; I don’t know. It is all your fault though.” Gastropé said, getting slightly angry towards the end.

Jenn was taken aback. “My fault! You attacked me? And it’s my fault you got your butt kicked?”

“Well, if you’d just surrendered, we would have taken you back here, and you’d be in the same place you are now, but I’d be in good standing. So, yes, it’s your fault.” Gastropé said, seeming to perk up a little as he thought about it. They did capture her, thanks to his information; maybe Exador would be lenient.