She looked down at the priest. He was still out cold. She sympathized with him; it had probably been a pretty big shock. Nonetheless, they’d probably better tie him up and gag him before he alerted the local populace to the presence of demons. She looked around for something to tie him up with. All she found was a wardrobe with some clothes in it. She went over and found a robe that she started ripping into strips. She asked Gastropé to help her, and pretty soon they had the priest bound and gagged in case he came to.
While Jenn was doing this, Tom went exploring. He had to duck a lot, due to the wooden ceiling beams. Besides the exit, there was only one other door in the room. This led into what appeared to be a small kitchen. Or at least a room with a large fireplace with a spit, a table and chairs and some cupboards. No running water or sink apparently. There were some large bowls though, that could presumably be used as wash basins. Rather weird for a church Tom thought, but who was he to judge. These days he seemed to be a member of the opposition as far as religions went.
He looked through the cupboards, but found nothing of interest. He went back into the main room. Jenn and Gastropé had finished tying up the unconscious priest. They’d also gagged him. Tom hoped the man’s screaming hadn’t alerted anyone. He really didn’t see how it could have failed to do so. Of course, if this had been New York, he’d have nothing to worry about. From the looks of the outside though, they appeared to be in an ally in some sort of decrepit ghetto in a large Dark-Age city, probably crawling with thieves, assassins and other lowlifes. He thus had no reason not to expect the people in this place to be as indifferent to screams in the night as those back home.
“I think we should get some sleep,” Jenn suggested. She and Gastropé were certainly looking beat. “We can figure out what to do in the morning. We can also figure out where we are.” Hearing no disagreement, she cleaned a spot on the floor and laid down. She glanced at Tom, apparently deciding whether or not she needed to admonish him not to kill them in their sleep.
Gastropé apparently was still not so convinced. While he too cleared a spot and laid down, he couldn’t keep his eyes off Tom. Tom noticed his stare, and figured out the reason. While Gastropé seemed pretty useless, he figured the guy would be even more useless if he didn’t get any sleep. So Tom decided to go back into the kitchen. He really didn’t need any sleep, but he could at least sit and rest in there.
He went in and hunched down by the fire place. It still wasn’t easy, given his form, but he was getting more adept at sitting on the floor. About ten minutes went by, Tom just squatting there thinking, when Rupert came in and sat down beside him. Tom smiled at the kid, it was kind of nice to have some company. He didn’t feel quite so alone in this world when he had Rupert around.
“Thanks for taking us to the Abyss, Tom,” Rupert said quietly. “I really enjoyed seeing it and meeting Tizzy. Will you take me back sometime and introduce me to more of your friends?”
“Yeah, that will be a bit of a problem,” Rupert admitted. “We’re obviously in a city. Getting out with you is going to prove difficult. Further, if it is a city, then even if we get out, we may be in an area more populated, and with fewer wizards running around. You’re going to attract a lot of attention.”
“I know,” Tom admitted. “I was thinking about that as Tizzy ran out the door. I’m not exactly easy to hide. On the other hand, I don’t dare leave you guys alone if Exador is still after you.”
“Uh huh.” Rupert was silent after that. They both sat there in silence thinking. After what seemed like another ten minutes Rupert said, “Tom?”
“Yes,” Tom answered, breaking out of his reverie.
“If you don’t mind my asking... why don’t you just shape change into a human form?”
Tom thought about this for a moment. Boggy had said some demons could do it, but only the most powerful. He had no idea how to go about it. “To be honest, Rupert, I don’t know if I can. I’ve never done it. Not all demons can.”
Rupert was surprised. “Never? How can that be?”
To Tom, Rupert sounded genuinely shocked. “I just haven’t had the need.” He really didn’t feel like admitting to this kid who practically worshipped the ground he walked on, that he’d only been a demon for maybe two weeks at most.
“Well... well, I’m sure you can. You’ve just got to try. You can open Demonic Gateways, that’s a lot harder than shape changing. Or at least, as hard.” Rupert amended.
“I suppose. But how do I start? Just will it?”
