//------------------------------// // Trial One: Preparation (R) // Story: Born In Light, Forged In Darkness // by Jest //------------------------------// Tirek placed a weary hand on the wall, leaning on the stonework as he massaged his temples, in long, slow movements. “Stick to the plan, Tirek, we can still make this work,” Tirek muttered to himself. The centaur breathed deeply and stood up straight, forcing his body to appear more confident than he felt. With well-planned movements he trotted into the war room, only this time there was no air of joviality. The centaur had a plan to enact, pieces to put into place, and ultimately, a pride demon to kill. Even when everything around him seemed to go wrong, the stubborn centaur would never give up, especially now with his own pride on the line, and the potential for many gains to be had. “Pear Butter, what is the status of our communications with that worthless pile of flesh?” Tirek snapped suddenly. The wrath demon recoiled slightly, surprised by the anger in her master’s tone. “Not good sir, he keeps denying our attempts to establish a link with his ‘palace’,” she answered, adding air quotes around the word palace as the castle he resided in was nothing compared to a true palace. Rather than be annoyed by this turn of events, Tirek merely nodded, as if he had foreseen this outcome. “Contact him again and tell him that I have his toy. Use those exact words and we will have our audience.” Pear Butter nodded, her horns alighting with power as she cast a rudimentary conversation spell. After several seconds of the demon sitting quietly with her muscles tense with anticipation, her eyes suddenly shot open. She smirked before nodding slowly and dismissing the power from her horns. She shook her head and looked over at Tirek, a smile on her lips. “I don't know how you did it, but he's willing to set up an emergency meeting. Though he wants it to happen at his fortress within the next forty-eight hours with only a single representative and two guards," Pear Butter remarked. Tirek smiled a wide, cruel smile. “I knew he would say that," Tirek declared. "Though I was hoping he would allow a larger security detail. The fool is too paranoid for his own good. Little does he know this will play perfectly into our hand.” The wrath demon nodded eagerly, wanting to speak, but knowing better than to interrupt her master when he got into one of his moods. “Good. I want you to put together a security detail that will be able to deal with this threat if things go sideways,” Tirek began, his visage darkening as he looked at Pear Butter with steel in his eyes. “I am sick and tired of this fool, when it hits the fan I want you ready to not escape, but rather to put this sorry sack of demon meat out of commission permanently. If not, do as much damage as possible, steal everything that isn't nailed down, and get out of there with your life. Your top priority will be whatever it is that allows him to make that shield of his, how you do it and the specifics are up to you. Do you understand?” The wrath demon’s grin grew to disturbing proportions, the promise of shedding blood and possibly destroying an opponent that had messed with her master was like music to her ears. “You got it boss. Anything else I should know?” Pear Butter asked. Tirek smirked. “Yes. You will be my emissary," Tirek stated. “Err, what?” Pear Butter muttered, scratching her head awkwardly. “You sure about that boss? Even when I was mortal I wasn't exactly known for mah diction if you catch mah drift.” The centaur laughed heartily at the overplayed accent. “I know, but this deal is going to require a rather... blunt touch," Tirek exclaimed. Pear Butter snorted. “Well, I can certainly do that. Any tips before ya send me out there?” Pear Butter asked. “This demon is a creature of desire and habit, be cagey about giving up this ‘toy’. Seem interested at first, then uninterested once he starts talking details. He tends to overcommit if you pull back your initial deal,” Tirek began, the centaur steepled his hands and smiled. “I want to get as much as possible out of this fool before I destroy him and you will be my agent in this endeavor.” The wrath demon grinned in unrestrained joy. “You got it, boss. That everything?” Pear Butter inquired. “That is all," Tirek answered. "Oh and before you set up the team, make sure to stop in with Dog at the gym and ensure Cervantes has followed your lesson plan.” “Absolutely,” Pear Butter declared. The wrath demon then stood and quickly trotted away, slipping out the door and down the hall with a little more speed than normal. Tirek smiled a wide, crooked smile and began to drum his fingers together. “All according to plan," he muttered to himself. Dog waved her hoof enthusiastically, hopping up and down as she did. “Bye, Miss Pear Butter! Good luck on your mission!” Dog shouted. The wrath demon smiled back, her mind awhirl with emotions she had not felt in years. “See ya later, squirt! Oh and make sure to watch that left flank of yours, don't want ol’ Cervy there kicking yer sorry hide again, now do we?” Dog pouted dramatically, sitting on her butt and crossing her hooves over her chest. “It was one time!” She whined. Pear Butter chuckled and walked out the door. She gave the filly one last wave over the shoulder before leaving the gym, embarking on her goal that lay on the other side of the tower and after that, into the wastes beyond. Dog spun back around and looked up at Cervantes. The armored demon nodded slowly, striking a pose that saw his body and posture become much, much lower to the ground. It was awkward, but he was nothing if not flexible and easily adapted to the lower stance. Dog struck a similar pose, lowering her body slightly and coiling her muscles, readying herself for the opening move. Her mind spun with possibilities that her new teacher had given her, techniques and ideas that had at long last made the armored demon feel like a true opponent. The filly leaped backward, her lightning-fast movements barely enough to keep up with her only slightly slower opponent. An armored first shot down to where she had been standing a moment earlier and narrowly missed her head. Due to Cervantes having to compensate for Dog’s diminutive height, the imp had a potent window of vulnerability to exploit and only milliseconds to do just that. Using her powerful equine legs, she launched herself forward, landing on the armored demon’s arm and sprinting up toward his head. Cervantes was no slouch and even the unconventional tactic wasn't enough to make him flinch. Rather than shake his arm like he assumed the filly wanted, he pulled it forward, bringing his head down to meet the filly’s charge. So intent on delivering a spar-ending headbutt, Cervantes was left utterly unprepared when his attack once more met nothing but air. The filly had used the fact that the demon’s vision was imperfect, with a trio of spikes on his brow making it hard for him to see up. Exploiting that opening, she had launched up over his helmet. Once airborne and behind her target she lashed out with a kick directly to the back of the armored demon’s neck. The attack didn't carry a lot of weight behind it due to the odd angle, but it didn't have to, as the armor creaked under the comparatively light blow. Now off balance and overcommitted, Cervantes was forced to move forward and spin around, hoping to protect his more vulnerable back. A move Dog saw coming and when she landed, she quickly spun and sprung off the ground, once more using her powerful back legs to launch her like a bullet. The tiny combatant slammed into the back of the other demon’s knee, making his already perilous balance ever more off-kilter. When the filly landed once more, she turned and hoped to see the armored demon wildly off balance, exposing some manner of vulnerability to exploit. Only for the demon to have rolled to the side and sprung back to his feet. “Oh come on!” she whined, her advantage once more snuffed away by the biped’s more fluid movement. Cervantes moved to lash out with a fist, only to stop unexpectedly and bow to someone behind Dog. Dog quickly spun around, her eyes going wide. “Father!” The filly proclaimed, grappling his leg in a tight hug while beaming up at him. Tirek chuckled, reaching down and patting the filly on the head. “That's quite enough of that, I have something important to tell you," Tirek exclaimed. The filly hopped backward, her wide eyes beaming up at her father. “Yes, father? Oh, is it about a mission? Do I get to help Miss Pear Butter?” Dog asked, her voice full of hope. The centaur smirked. Clever girl, he thought. “In a way you will," Tirek exclaimed, kneeling down and getting to about the same level as the filly. “Tell me, Dog, how went your secret training with our resident spymaster?” Dog frowned suddenly, scowling at the thought. “Okay,” she muttered. Tirek lifted an eyebrow at the less-than-enthusiastic remark. “What did you learn?” Tirek prompted. Dog snorted angrily. “How to sneak properly, stay out of sight, utilize line of sight and stuff like that. Why?” Dog retorted. “Good, because you are going to need those skills tomorrow," Tirek answered. Dog’s grumpy expression suddenly washed away as realization dawned on her. “You mean I get to help Miss Pear Butter after all?” Dog inquired. “That's correct, in fact, I have a very special mission in mind for you,” Tirek answered, reaching down and ruffling the filly’s mane. “How’s that sound?” The filly beamed, leaning into the centaur’s hand and grinning madly. “Sounds great father, what do you want me to do?” Dog inquired. “I will tell you more soon, for now, you must finish today’s training, after which we will review the stealth training, as well as some other aspects of your knowledge base,” Tirek exclaimed. The centaur stood, tapping his chin thoughtfully. The filly nodded eagerly, turning back to Cervantes and striking another low combat pose. Cervantes glanced at Tirek, and after receiving a nod of affirmation, struck a similar pose. “Begin!” Tirek proclaimed. Dog groaned, rubbing her temples as she tried to get her brain working once more. It was bad enough that her father had tested her extensively the night before, but he had also done so after one of the most rigorous training sessions Dog had ever gone through. Evidently, he wanted her to be ready for something, but what? He had been relatively quiet on what exactly her mission was, and how it would help Miss Pear Butter on hers, but Dog remained optimistic that she would be useful. Even if her father seemed hell-bent on giving her jobs that would put her as far away as possible from any potential action, she was still hopeful that she could do something of use, even if he hadn't said much about her mission. All he had shared with her so far was the fact that she would be in the front, but not allowed to engage anyone, doing what her father called ‘reconnaissance’. The filly had never heard that word before, but she had been excited as it sounded big and important, only to discover that it just meant sneaking around and reporting on what she saw. This realization made her rather disillusioned with the whole thing. The filly wiped the last of the sleep from her eyes and looked out over the library, wondering where to start. Her father had been vague on when they were going to meet, at which point she would presumably be filled in on her mission and more specifics, so in the meantime she had chosen to wander the stacks as she waited. Her eyes glanced over hundreds of titles, and though wandering through her father’s section of the library had always intrigued her, today it just felt boring. She was going on a mission soon and though she wasn't going to help as directly as she liked, she was still being trusted with something important to her father. Her excitement was palpable, but it was because of just that excitement that she found it hard to focus on something as mundane as reading. Compared to the excitement of leaving the tower and going out into some unknown area of Tartarus, even the secret books her father didn't let her read were uninteresting. After glancing past the section on blood magic and necromancy, the filly let out an anguished cry of absolute boredom. She wanted to get out there already! She continued to pace the stacks, glancing at titles only to turn away at the last second, uninterested in anything that wasn't the mission she was about to go on. So consumed was the filly that she hadn't even noticed someone else in the library until she nearly ran into the individual’s legs. Dog took a step back and looked up, a grin growing on her face. “Pythias!” the filly squealed, reaching her hooves up towards the thin seer. Pythias was clad in her regular hooded robes, the book she had in her hand put aside the moment she saw the filly. The skinny bipedal humanoid grinned despite her stitched lips, crouching down and running a hand through the filly’s mane and down her back. Dog couldn't help but shudder in delight, loving every second of the delicate attention she was the recipient thereof. The seer stood suddenly after only a few pats, a contemplative look on her face. “Huh, what's wrong?” Dog asked, looking up at the female. The seer walked away, waving a hand to the filly in an attempt to get her to follow, which Dog eagerly did, keeping close behind the robed female as she walked deeper into the library. “Where are we going?” The seer ignored her entirely, merely slipping through the stacks and towards some unseen goal further in. Finally, after what felt like forever, she suddenly stopped in front of a set of bookshelves in Tirek’s section of the library. At the top of the shelf was a small marker indicating the section they were in, and it had but two simple words upon it. Memory Spells. The shelf itself was slightly smaller than the others and had only a few tomes resting on it, which was intriguing in its own way as Tirek’s collection was quite expansive. The seer scanned the titles and quickly found what she was looking for, a smile spreading across her face once more. Reaching out a hand, she put a little of her own power into the appendage, gripping the tome tightly and yanking it from the shelf as though it had been nailed in place. The seer breathed hard through her nose, her hand clutched tightly against her chest, a thin waft of smoke coming from the injured appendage. “Why did you do that?” Dog asked innocently, confused by the strange turn of events. The seer leaned down a strangely serious expression crossing her scarred and deformed features. In her haste her hood fell, revealing a scarred head that had been wiped clean of hair save for a few errant threads of gold and red that poked out randomly. Pushing the book into the filly’s chest, the seer nodded, trying to get the filly to take it. Dog blinked but reluctantly took the book, trusting the seer. The imp was surprised when suddenly the seer’s hand began to glow before gently laying over Dog’s head. When the thin humanoid’s hand connected, a bridge was formed, and Dog was instantly assaulted by visions of a great castle, and a large mirror nearly twice the size of her. Then the visions were gone and a single thought was placed into the filly’s mind. Study the book in secret, it will make your father proud. Dog recoiled, falling onto her rump and staring up at the seer with fear and confusion. The burst of magic seemed to have had an effect on the seer as well and two thin trickles of blood dripped from beneath the blind she always wore, emanating from where her eyes should be. Before she could ask any questions, the emancipated seer stood suddenly, put a finger over her stitched lips, and walked away, tossing her hood back up. “Hey wait, I have so many questions!” Dog yelled after her, clutching the book to her chest with a hoof and running with the other three. The distinct clank of the seer’s iron collar and heavy iron chains could be heard from just around the corner and Dog was hot on her trail. With a triumphant smile she leapt around the corner, only for her jaw to hang open when there was no seer in sight. “But what am I supposed to do with this?” she asked the empty library, holding up the strange book. The filly frowned, and for a second she considered simply telling her father, but then the seer’s words flashed through her mind once more and she felt a grin slip onto her face. If studying this book in secret would impress her father, then why shouldn't she do just that? Surely there was nothing wrong with that, right? The filly shrugged, figuring that Pythias wouldn't have shown her the book if she wasn't supposed to have it. Her father must have just forgotten to tell her how to remove the book without hurting herself. Realization quickly dawned on her, and she remembered that her father was supposed to be here soon. Pythias had been quite insistent on it being a secret though so, thinking quickly, she sprinted over to her comparatively small section of the library and slipped the memory book behind a set of atlases of foreign planes. The smaller spell book easily fit behind them and with a confident nod, Dog turned back around just in time to see Tirek walk into the room, a small smile on his face. Dog breathed a sigh of relief and eagerly trotted up to the centaur. “Hello father!” she greeted warmly, beaming up at the larger being. The centaur nodded, ruffling the filly’s mane with a hand. “Good morning, Dog. How have your studies been?” Tirek inquired. The filly pawed the floor nervously. “I’m a little too excited for reading, can't concentrate," Dog admitted. The centaur smirked. “That's to be expected. I suppose you are ahead enough of your studies that you can afford a few days off," Tirek declared. Dog grinned wide, her eyes sparkling. “Thank you, father!” She shouted in delight. “Don't thank me yet, little one, I have more news about your mission," Tirek warned. The filly nodded, quickly scampering off and returning the atlas she had first pulled out to its proper spot before sitting down on a pile of cushions. Tirek slumped into a similar pile of pillows across from the filly, his expression a little more serious than Dog’s wide-eyed look. “I told you before how you will be on reconnaissance, yes?” Tirek began. The filly nodded. “You are going to meet with Sisyphus near the enemy’s base. Once there, he is going to brief you on your mission and the possible dangers, after that, you will use this information to sneak into the base, disable a shield that protects the fortress, and then sneak back out. Understood?” Tirek explained. The filly’s already wide eyes grew even larger and she nodded eagerly. “Yes, father!” She replied. “This is going to be dangerous," Tirek warned. "So I want you to remember everything you learned and don't ever forget that these demons won't hesitate to kill you.” Dog nodded obediently. “And I am not allowed to die,” she repeated. “Right,” Tirek muttered. The centaur grinned and trotted over to the filly, resting a hand on her head. “You are important, little one, do not waste what I have given you," Tirek exclaimed. “Of course not, father!” Dog proclaimed. The filly grinned a wide, fang-filled smile, pressing her head up against her father’s hand. “Good. For we have much work to be done," Tirek concluded.