Curses! She’d completely forgotten about the demon. How could she be so careless? No wonder people were in a hurry to get out of there way. The multi-limbed nightmare was flying slowly down the dock behind her, Gastropé and Rupert. Behind the demon walked Edwyrd, and behind him, Maelen. The thing was certainly frightening enough. It was bigger than an average sized man, and had those humming bird wings, and four arms and four legs, but other than that, looked somewhat, vaguely, human. Splotchy greenish but, humanoid. Well, and it had two large sets of male equipment dangling below it, between each set of legs.
In her cobwebbed mind she had to laugh. If people thought that little thing was scary, they should just be glad she wasn’t still toting that fourth order demon around. The whole city would be empty by this point if it were here. Actually, Jenn knew she had to be getting numb. The little demon, first or second order, didn’t even bother her anymore. She’d been getting used to it, if annoyed by its rather crazy prattle. Finally, after living in constant fear with that fourth order for so many days, this demon was an ember compared to that bonfire of terror. All other terrors seemed inconsequential. She’d seen the Abyss itself, and lived.
Fiernon watched as the party with the wizards and the demon departed the smuggler’s ship. He memorized their faces. Memorized them so he could accurately give their description to his superiors. Memorized them so that justice might be served. There was no question in Fiernon’s mind that it had been this party of maleficious sodomizers and vile reprobates that had heinously and most foully murdered 34 officers of Oorstemothian Constabulary along with a Protectator and his very own beloved mentor, the Vice-Constable Pyromancer Trelgon. No question that these maggots of corruption and putrificence had been responsible for the destruction of sacred public Oorstemothian property in the form of the consecrated Protectorate Vessel Dielsmoth.
No, there was no question in Fiernon’s mind. He remembered their faces well enough from the vessel. Remembered well the unlawful transgressions they’d performed upon his personage with their foul spells. Remembered well their unlawful and unjustifiable defiance of Oorstemothian law, their very refusal to submit to the due process of law. While true, Asmeth and his crew of smugglers would pay dearly for their transgressions. He’d see to that tonight when he put flame to their vessel while they slept. It was undeniably true, that the full might of the Oorstemoth Constabulary would be brought to bear against these vile, murdering, demon worshipping scumdregs from the pits of depravious lust and degradation, who even now surely deceived themselves into believing that they were escaping the hand of justice unscathed.
Fiernon shivered slightly as he stared after the transgressors. He seemed to have caught a cold in his long trek from the burning ship. All that cold saltwater had done him little good. Exposing a Constabulary Officer to Life Threatening Conditions, however, was a relatively minor capital offense these pusillanimous, philandering sadist exiles from the Abyss would have to deal with, compared to their other crimes. A clipped smile of chilled enjoyment played across Fiernon’s face as he contemplated the justice these reprobationary microcephalic miscreants would receive. Yes, justice would be served, he would see to that.
Finally, they’d reached land; it had been a bizarre, cramped slow trip after the battle. If he wandered around the ship too much, Maelen would want to talk shop. He could stay in the cabin, Tizzy and Rupert spent the day on top talking; but it was cramped. Given that he didn’t sleep, all he could do was lay there. He did go up on deck a bit at night, but Tizzy would then start babbling along.
He settled for lying in his bunk for long periods day and night trying to analyze what he’d done during the battle, turning to flame and then back. He tried practicing summoning flames and controlling their nature so they either did or did not burn things as he willed. He’d had to figure that out ad hoc during battle; now he needed to figure out what he’d done and how to control it.
He did have to get out and wander around some, but he tried to keep to himself; fortunately, the crew was quite amenable to that. He really wanted some privacy so he could do the living flame thing again. If he could get that down, along without burning things, it would be a great way to change form without having to buy new clothes all the time.
Once they were off the ship, Edwyrd followed Tizzy down the wharf. He watched as people hurriedly scurried out of their way. Burly dock workers staring in fearful concern at Tizzy. On the one hand, it bothered him that people should look upon demons in so much fear; on the other, he was simply relieved that it was someone else who was the object of that fear, rather than himself.
