ImagineTheStars
SkyeOfStars
Not a Sayan
redrootssss
ThatLostDudeSeveral minutes had passed since the half demon, Mary, had left Lily and Fenn, during which the two of them had explored more of the citadel. The time had been spent in silence, save for the clinking of the hellhound’s chains and manacles, and the dull thumps of his steps. The hallways and rooms they went through were mostly empty, save for the whatever remnants of furniture dotted the various rooms.
“You’d think the most powerful beings in existence would know how to keep a castle properly furnished and clean,” she muttered in obvious distaste. They passed through a chamber in, perhaps, the worst condition yet. It was supposed to be a statue chamber of sorts, showcasing the various important and powerful creatures that had, she suspected, lived here at one point. Most prominent were a quadret of statues depicting incredibly large, humanoid, creatures. That they were not human was obvious, for the way they were portrayed gave off a feeling of power all on its own.
“The Horsemen?” Lily pondered aloud, hovering up to eye-level with one wielding a massive sword.
Fenn grunted disinterestedly. His attention seemed to be elsewhere. One of his ears suddenly twitched, and the dog looked towards one of the entrances. Lily felt it a moment later, a pulse like a heartbeat that thrummed into the room, followed by a sudden glow as lava spread around the walls from within vein-like indentations.
“This place takes its first breath in a long time,” the dog remarked.
“The first of many, if I am to be of any judge.”
The old demon let out another wordless grunt in response. The thought did not elicit much glee in him, it seemed.
“Don’t approve, Old Boy?” The demoness quipped, falling down to hover just above the ground once again. “I can see why. The deal we—or rather, I—made is not a fair one. Too many uncertainties, pit holes, and the like.” She turned to face him, seeming thoughtful. “But what I could gain from it was too much to simply say no to, especially because they’d likely just kill me if I refused.”
“I do not need to know the excuses you offer yourself, Imp,” he said, moving one arm in dismissive gesture, “but something tells me you will come to regret this choice.”
Lily sighed, hanging her head in defeat for all but a second. “I suspect that you are right, but the rewards were what tipped the scales.” She turned her back on him, ending the discussion of that particular topic. Instead she glided towards the next door, pushing it open and peered into room. “Food store.” She shut the door again, hovering over to the one in the corner and stuck her head through that one as well.
It looked to have been the remainders of a shop, but aside from that she could garner nothing. Directly ahead was another door which she immediately headed towards. “Coming, Fenn?” She called over her shoulder.
He studied the opening before letting out an irritated breath and ducking under the frame. With some difficulty, some undignified shuffling that brought a smile to her face, and some alarming groaning from the stone at his sides, the dog’s upper body passed through and he followed her in. “Not a word,” the dog groused as he reached her.
The Demoness eyed the hellhound critically for a moment, having either not heard, or not acknowledged, his demand. She ran a hand through her ethereal hair as she spoke. “You need to get a bit smaller. Or learn how to take on a humanoid disguise, at least. It would make everything so much easier, you know.”
“No,” he said, irritated, “this place should have been larger. One may think housing beings from the other realms was never a concern in its construction.”
The room they were in now was, as she had noted earlier, something of a shop. Broken pieces of wood and stone littered the area, the only thing even marking it as something of a shop were rotten shelves and a stone desk that was near collapsing in on itself.
She didn’t pause to look around, instead going directly for the next door and into a much larger hall, this one what she assumed to have been a place of commune, or something of the like. “This place is in tatters. These Watchers, and Council, are really bad at making anything hospitable…”
Fenn approached an old table of an odd-looking wood and nudged it slightly with an outstretched claw. The thing’s legs snapped and collapsed with a sudden crack and clatter, lifting up a cloud of dust. “The task must fall to the occupants. This place has not been properly lived in in a long time.” The dog sniffed at the table’s remains. “Where do you suppose the watchers reside?”
“The gutter, if my theory proves to be true.” She passed another table, barely standing, her fingers leaving scorch marks where they touched. “It’s strange, I thought, how these Watchers seem to like lording over us, and yet they speak about ‘their services’. My guess is that they are servants, both to the council and, now, to us.” It was a feeling she’d had ever since she had first been given the Council’s demand, and Panoptos had elaborated upon it. They were intangible, seemingly capable of being touched only when they wanted, and had done nothing but exactly what they were ordered to do. Not only that, but they seemed more than happy to insult those they saw as lesser, which was usually a sign of inferiority.
She shot a glance at Fenn over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
“That is a dangerous assumption.”
“Ooh?” She turned around fully, hands behind her back. “How come? Are you afraid they’re watching us right now?”
“Afraid? Certain, Imp,” he stated. “They are no more beholden to you than I am beholden to the Council. If this lead Watcher is in any way competent, he will have instructed his servants to keep tabs on each of those brought here. I would assume every conversation in this castle will reach the ears of your keepers.” The dog huffed. “Even this one.”
Even before Fenn was finished with his small tirade, Lily was all but laughing, giggling. “Do you seriously think I had not expected them to be loyal to the Council above all else? They’re likely enslaved by them through some means or other. Of course they’ll run to their stone-faced lords if they think we’re going to betray them.” She pivoted in the air, a whimsical smile on her fiery lips. “Doesn’t mean they don’t have to wipe our asses if we tell them to.”
The dog rolled his shoulders. “Your optimism is astounding.”
“Maybe so, maybe not, but you should know that I don’t often show my true emotions, right?” Her eyes twinkled at that. “But that’s not for now. What say you we find a room? And maybe a new set of clothes. The Half-Demon’s were pretty enough, but they don’t really work too well for fighting, and I have few doubts that they’re going to send us towards a battlefield within the next few hours.”
“I don’t understand why you bother with garments. They won’t change to fit you.” The dog walked past her, squeezing past the next opening.
“You’re just envious because I actually look good in them,” she countered with a grin, following after him. Speaking of clothes, I should return the ones I borrowed to the Half-Demon.
“You’d think the most powerful beings in existence would know how to keep a castle properly furnished and clean,” she muttered in obvious distaste. They passed through a chamber in, perhaps, the worst condition yet. It was supposed to be a statue chamber of sorts, showcasing the various important and powerful creatures that had, she suspected, lived here at one point. Most prominent were a quadret of statues depicting incredibly large, humanoid, creatures. That they were not human was obvious, for the way they were portrayed gave off a feeling of power all on its own.
“The Horsemen?” Lily pondered aloud, hovering up to eye-level with one wielding a massive sword.
Fenn grunted disinterestedly. His attention seemed to be elsewhere. One of his ears suddenly twitched, and the dog looked towards one of the entrances. Lily felt it a moment later, a pulse like a heartbeat that thrummed into the room, followed by a sudden glow as lava spread around the walls from within vein-like indentations.
“This place takes its first breath in a long time,” the dog remarked.
“The first of many, if I am to be of any judge.”
The old demon let out another wordless grunt in response. The thought did not elicit much glee in him, it seemed.
“Don’t approve, Old Boy?” The demoness quipped, falling down to hover just above the ground once again. “I can see why. The deal we—or rather, I—made is not a fair one. Too many uncertainties, pit holes, and the like.” She turned to face him, seeming thoughtful. “But what I could gain from it was too much to simply say no to, especially because they’d likely just kill me if I refused.”
“I do not need to know the excuses you offer yourself, Imp,” he said, moving one arm in dismissive gesture, “but something tells me you will come to regret this choice.”
Lily sighed, hanging her head in defeat for all but a second. “I suspect that you are right, but the rewards were what tipped the scales.” She turned her back on him, ending the discussion of that particular topic. Instead she glided towards the next door, pushing it open and peered into room. “Food store.” She shut the door again, hovering over to the one in the corner and stuck her head through that one as well.
It looked to have been the remainders of a shop, but aside from that she could garner nothing. Directly ahead was another door which she immediately headed towards. “Coming, Fenn?” She called over her shoulder.
He studied the opening before letting out an irritated breath and ducking under the frame. With some difficulty, some undignified shuffling that brought a smile to her face, and some alarming groaning from the stone at his sides, the dog’s upper body passed through and he followed her in. “Not a word,” the dog groused as he reached her.
The Demoness eyed the hellhound critically for a moment, having either not heard, or not acknowledged, his demand. She ran a hand through her ethereal hair as she spoke. “You need to get a bit smaller. Or learn how to take on a humanoid disguise, at least. It would make everything so much easier, you know.”
“No,” he said, irritated, “this place should have been larger. One may think housing beings from the other realms was never a concern in its construction.”
The room they were in now was, as she had noted earlier, something of a shop. Broken pieces of wood and stone littered the area, the only thing even marking it as something of a shop were rotten shelves and a stone desk that was near collapsing in on itself.
She didn’t pause to look around, instead going directly for the next door and into a much larger hall, this one what she assumed to have been a place of commune, or something of the like. “This place is in tatters. These Watchers, and Council, are really bad at making anything hospitable…”
Fenn approached an old table of an odd-looking wood and nudged it slightly with an outstretched claw. The thing’s legs snapped and collapsed with a sudden crack and clatter, lifting up a cloud of dust. “The task must fall to the occupants. This place has not been properly lived in in a long time.” The dog sniffed at the table’s remains. “Where do you suppose the watchers reside?”
“The gutter, if my theory proves to be true.” She passed another table, barely standing, her fingers leaving scorch marks where they touched. “It’s strange, I thought, how these Watchers seem to like lording over us, and yet they speak about ‘their services’. My guess is that they are servants, both to the council and, now, to us.” It was a feeling she’d had ever since she had first been given the Council’s demand, and Panoptos had elaborated upon it. They were intangible, seemingly capable of being touched only when they wanted, and had done nothing but exactly what they were ordered to do. Not only that, but they seemed more than happy to insult those they saw as lesser, which was usually a sign of inferiority.
She shot a glance at Fenn over her shoulder. “What do you think?”
“That is a dangerous assumption.”
“Ooh?” She turned around fully, hands behind her back. “How come? Are you afraid they’re watching us right now?”
“Afraid? Certain, Imp,” he stated. “They are no more beholden to you than I am beholden to the Council. If this lead Watcher is in any way competent, he will have instructed his servants to keep tabs on each of those brought here. I would assume every conversation in this castle will reach the ears of your keepers.” The dog huffed. “Even this one.”
Even before Fenn was finished with his small tirade, Lily was all but laughing, giggling. “Do you seriously think I had not expected them to be loyal to the Council above all else? They’re likely enslaved by them through some means or other. Of course they’ll run to their stone-faced lords if they think we’re going to betray them.” She pivoted in the air, a whimsical smile on her fiery lips. “Doesn’t mean they don’t have to wipe our asses if we tell them to.”
The dog rolled his shoulders. “Your optimism is astounding.”
“Maybe so, maybe not, but you should know that I don’t often show my true emotions, right?” Her eyes twinkled at that. “But that’s not for now. What say you we find a room? And maybe a new set of clothes. The Half-Demon’s were pretty enough, but they don’t really work too well for fighting, and I have few doubts that they’re going to send us towards a battlefield within the next few hours.”
“I don’t understand why you bother with garments. They won’t change to fit you.” The dog walked past her, squeezing past the next opening.
“You’re just envious because I actually look good in them,” she countered with a grin, following after him. Speaking of clothes, I should return the ones I borrowed to the Half-Demon.
