Rupert shrugged. He’d never rendered anyone limb from limb before. He wasn’t sure how it was supposed to be done, but he could use his imagination. Rupert waded in. It was all rather messy he’d decided afterward. The demon had wailed in pain most annoyingly. Rupert had been afraid someone would hear, so he stuffed a hoof he’d torn off earlier in the demon’s mouth to shut him up as he went about the job. Eventually he had the demon down to pieces no smaller than the demon’s hand. Except for the head. He held that in one hand, looking at it and trying to decide what he could do with it. Not knowing how to tear that apart he decided to just stomped on it. As he set the head on the ground, the demon’s eyes looked up at him in fearful expectation. Having no body and thus no lungs, it couldn’t speak, Rupert was just as glad. Amazing to still be conscious after all of that, Rupert thought.
The demon’s head exploded under his hooves. Much like a melon dropped off a tall building, or smashed beneath a very large rock dropped off a building. As the last of the demon bits splattered to the ground, all the bits began to fade. Rupert looked around in surprised. All the gore, all the goo, all simply vanished from the walls where it had splattered. The blood and junk also seemed to fade and vanish from his hands. That was certainly convenient, Rupert decided. Actually he supposed that he should have been shocked by what he’d just done, but actually, it had been kind of fun.
Unfortunately, Rupert frowned to himself twenty minutes later; the whole thing had been for nothing. The inner door had been magically locked, and he couldn’t get through it. He’d gone through the whole thing for nothing. Well not completely, it had been kind of fun to be himself for a change. It was also nice to be able to see what he could do. He also now knew how to rend someone limb from limb, he’d also come up with a few ideas for improvement the next time he got to do it. At last he’d gotten to be a demon for real. That was good.
What was not so good, Rupert reflected about half an hour later, was the price he was even now having to pay. Unfortunately, he’d shredded his clothes in the change. Now he had to sneak around the castle naked, with only the few scraps of cloth he’d salvaged to cover himself. Not that they stayed in one piece even, he had to hold the stuff in place. For about the twentieth time in the last half hour he wished for an invisibility spell.
Invisibility spells were just out of his reach though. Actually, a long way out of his reach, but nevertheless, it would still have been convenient for times like these. He ducked around another corridor to avoid some more people. He wasn’t sure this part was worth the fun he’d had earlier. Eventually however, he did manage to make it back to his room. Only a handful of servants scattered throughout the palace had seen him.
Exador cursed. Someone had set off a Ward of Warning in his workplace under the palace. He’d gone to investigate, found the first door to have been unlocked, Yrbling to be missing, but the inner door still secure. This was not good. Someone had found this work room. He’d put his most potent illusion on the damned door, but someone had still seen it. They had not managed to break in though. They did seem to have taken out his second order guard.
Admittedly, a rather weak second order, but it should have been sufficient for anything normal. If nothing else, it should have summoned him if it had been something it couldn’t handle. He’d have to find out what had happened. No one was supposed to know about this area. Now someone did, even if they hadn’t gone inside.
“Yrbling Hrastada Norendle, I summon thee from the depths of the Abyss. Come and show thy lowly face before thy true master!” Exador shouted extemporaneously. He’d shut the door to the corridor, so no one should hear him, even if someone was down in this part of the palace. “Yrbling Hrastada Norendle, get your lard belly into this room before I vaporize you off the face of the Abyss!” Exador commanded.
A small mist formed in the center of the room. “Sire,” a voice whimpered from the mist. “I need assistance; I am too weak to form a new body so soon.” Exador shook his head. At least the cretin had gone out fighting. He’d give it that much. He waved his hands in the required gestures, mumbling the spell needed to provide the energy for the demon to form. He hated having to resort to such crude means; unfortunately, sometimes it was the only way. People like Lenamare should have to do this to get their demons, not him.
At last the cringing Yrbling cowered before him. Looking a little anemic Exador thought. “What happened, Yrbling? Make it quick or you’re gone for good.” Exador commanded.
“Sire, I beg you, I didn’t stand a chance.” Yrbling begged.
“Spit it out, before I rip it out of you.”
“Lord and master, please,” Yrbling bubbled, “The room was discovered by another demon. A powerful one. He bested me in combat.”
