While human Rupert could crawl out the window, he doubted demon Rupert would fit. Rupert decided he’d just do it. He turned away from the window and extinguished the candles in the room. Quickly he stripped off his clothes so he wouldn’t have to get another set. Standing naked in the moonlight that was just starting to come through the open window as the first moon, Uropia, rose above the horizon; Rupert flexed his muscles in anticipation. Quickly he climbed up and out the window. He perched carefully on the outside of the windowsill. He looked around to make sure no one watching him, allowing his eyes to go demonic so he could see in the dark. Assured that no one was watching, he relaxed.
Once again the change came over him, swiftly and with only a mild tingling sensation. Taking one’s clothes off in advance was really a good idea, Rupert decided as he flexed his wings. He wobbled a bit, catching his balance as his toes and the ball of his feet had turned into hooves, but by that point his wings had been able to help.
Without further thought, Rupert turned and dove down and out over the city, his wings spreading to catch the wind as Tom had shown him. This was the life, thought Rupert as he swooped over the city like a giant bird of prey. As he reached about twenty feet above the courtyard near the palace, Rupert began to climb. He climbed high up into the sky. While he reveled in being himself and flying, he did not particularly like the idea of scaring the life out of the town’s people. Well, to be honest with himself, Rupert actually did want to scare the townspeople a bit. However, he figured it would end up causing more problems than the momentary fun would be worth.
Rupert circled the city, peering down at the goings on. Unlike most of the towns Rupert had ever been in. Freehold didn’t seem to go to sleep right after dark. There were several large torch lit streets as well as several major boulevards with some form of magical globe lighting. On the lighted streets, people milled and streamed, going from tavern to tavern, or to some shops that were still open. With his demon sight, Rupert could also see that there were people on the dark, unlit streets. These weren’t so many, and those that there were, tended to move more cautiously, or stealthily.
Rupert circled the city from high above for about half an hour before he decided to venture further. In his circling near the outer walls, Rupert had noticed campfires on the plain around the city. He was pretty sure they hadn’t been there when they’d entered the city. Rupert cruised over and above the campfires. Even in the dark, from several hundred feet up, Rupert had no trouble identifying the uniforms of the soldiers in the camp. He didn’t recognize the uniforms of course, but there could be little doubt this was the Rod of Tiernon.
Given that these soldiers were out hunting Rupert and his friends, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to be flying above them. On the other hand, Rupert thought, what could they do to him? He wasn’t little Rupert any more. He was a powerful... some order... demon. He didn’t know where he ranked in the demonic hierarchy. He knew everyone said Tom was fourth, so since his mother was human did that make Rupert the average of the two? Zero plus fourth, second? Rupert didn’t know. He really wasn’t sure what exactly determined who was a greater demon and who was an imp or whatever. Obviously, it was power, but how did one rank one’s self. Rupert frowned, that was a good question. It was pretty clear however that he’d been a lot stronger than the little guy he’d rendered today.
He’d have to ask his father. He would know, actually, Tizzy probably would too. He’d ask whichever one he saw next. It was pretty obvious though, that if Tom was fourth, Rupert had to be less, and if the guy this afternoon was first, then Rupert was more powerful than that. Maybe second order was right, or third. Rupert glanced down at the ground he was flying over. He’d unconsciously moved to hover over the best-lighted part of the camp. It appeared that people were digging or something. He’d also been so busy thinking about what order demon he was that he’d failed to note that he’d been spotted.
Apparently, it had just happened, because people were just starting to point up into the sky at him. Probably time for a hasty retreat Rupert decided. While they couldn’t hurt him, he didn’t want to give them any more reason to hate demons. As he was taking a last look before leaving, Rupert noticed a big guy in what appeared to be glow-in-the-dark armor leaving a tent. His armor was literally glowing of its own accord. Glowing to normal sight and not just demon sight.
