Souls Apart

by GnollReader

Chapter 30: Calling a demon

"Alright, lets see now..." Zhergons went over the list, "That's five barrels of ale, three crates of dried meat, two barrels of cider and six crates of esterian pipe weed." he looked up at the necromancer, "Did I miss anything?"

"Did you get the rum?" the necromancer asked with an anxious voice.

The demon tapped a crate next to him, "Finest Ruby Coast rum for you, I'll even throw in a bottle of Athron Blood Eye free of charge for my favorite customer."

"Great. I think that's about everything... so how much do I owe you?"

"Lets see now..." the demon brought forth a slide rule, "Considering that these aren't standard commodities for me... adding the fees for the summoning and general trade taxes..."

"Can't believe the plain lords actually introduced those." the necromancer commented with a chuckle.

"Don't I know it..." Zhergons sighed, "And they're still looking for you, by the way."

"I know, I know..." he waved a dismissive hand.

"You should take it a bit more seriously." the demon raised an eyebrow, "I hear that the Succubi Sisters even issued a warrant for your capture. Alive and unharmed, nonetheless." he chuckled, "I actually envy you for that one."

"Don't. You can't even begin to imagine how relentless that clan is. I swear, I almost died of fatigue after I summoned the first one... couldn't feel my hips for days."

"And they've been looking for you ever since, not to mention that episode with the Pain Lord... if I hear correctly he wants you alive as well... for one of his little diner parties."

The necromancer shivered, "That insufferable oaf always did have a taste I couldn't appreciate. So how high is the bounty?"

"High enough that you should worry." Zhergons replied with a serious voice, "The lesser demons are jumping for a chance to be on your tail. What ever did you do to make him that furious anyway? He's threatened to cut off the tongues of anyone that dares to even speak about what you did."

Aergad laughed, "I turned his favorite hell dogs into ducks." Zhergons paled, "And then I set fire to them..." the demon paled even more, "You can not imagine the fun I had listening to all of those frantic quacks!"

The demon rubbed his temples, "Sometimes, I wonder if you're not just looking for a painful way to get yourself killed... not that the pain lord would make it quick though." he sighed.

"Fun times." the necromancer chuckled, "So how much do I owe you?"

"Well..." Zhergons continued his calculations, "I'd say about one hundred and twenty vials."

"That's just cruel." Aergad replied, "I'd say about forty should be fine."

The demon put on a mortified expression, "Forty? I'd be the laughing stock of all seven planes! I charge twenty alone for the summon!"

"Let me sweeten the deal for you a bit then." the necromancer grinned as he pulled out a small gem from his robes, it was giving off a soft blue glow from the inside.

The moment the demon saw it his eyes got wide, "Is that what I think it is?" he could barely hide his hunger.

"Grade A pixie soul..." the necromancer turned the gem between his fingers with a small sigh, "Poor thing died a violent death too, got eaten by a badger."

Zhergons swallowed hard and started to stammer as his gaze never left the small gem, "Rose... or sunflower pixie?" sweat started to form on his brow, "Or maybe... maybe even daffodil?!"

A small, wicked smile appeared on the necromancer's lips, "Snow flower." If the demon's jaw could have dropped any further they would have, "Sounds interesting? I hear they have a very unique taste to them..." he let the gem dance over his fingers, chuckling as the demon started to shiver, "Though I can't help feeling it would be a little too much for..." he started to put it back into his robes.

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Zhergons held up a frantic hand, "I'll throw in two more crates of finest Lesthar demon wine!" the necromancer raised an eyebrow and the demon cringed, "Alright! Alright! I'll even add a flask of pit demon brandy from my personal reserves! Just please... don't put it away!"

Aergad smiled, "Well now, sounds like we have a deal."

The demon held his head low in defeat, "My wife is going to kill me if she ever finds out."

The necromancer chuckled, "Which one? The one with the two heads or the one with three arms?"

"Both, I'm afraid."

"Send them my regards when they do... Those curtains they made me were absolutely lovely."

Zhergons groaned, "They'll be delighted to hear it."

---

Having returned from a full day of hard labor in the necromancer's tower, Twilight gave a sigh as she flopped down in her basement. She hadn't seen the necromancer during her day of work, but at least that had spared her a small bit of the embarassment. It still served to make her feel absolutely undignified. The imps had told her she could keep the uniform, seeing as it fit her so nicely... she had stuffed it into her trash the moment she got home.

Now though, all of her attention rested on the small book lying in front of her and she realized, that there was a problem she had not thought of before... She couldn't read it. The whole book was written in a language Twilight was completely unfamiliar with.

Strangely enough though, and much to Twilight's dismay... her translation spells weren't working as she had expected. Only small parts of the book had been transformed successfully, the broken portions of text telling her that the book was actually written in four different languages... not to mention the countless runes which she couldn't even begin to identify.

Twilight pouted as she flipped through the pages, but after a while she managed to pick out a few spells she actually thought she could perform with the little information given. She picked up a piece of chalk, and got to work. It took her half an hour to put down what she had identified as the circle required for the summoning. There was another circle mentioned at the beginning of the book, but seeing as it wasn't translated and that it was only at the beginning of the book she skipped it.

Unknown to her, the second circle was the enchantment required for containment.

As she finished drawing the last runes onto the floor, Twilight flipped through the pages once more and chose a spell. Concentrating her magic into the circle, she started to chant words of an unknown language in the dark of her basement.

Slowly, the runes started to glow in a soft red, and before Twilight's startled eyes something started to rise out of the glowing circle. At first, she could see horns, then a huge head with too many eyes and flames dancing from a mouth with sharp teeth turned to her as it poked out of the ground, "AHrkas Shrarska arARa?" a deep voice rumbled at her.

Twilight's jaw dropped, her concentration broke and the head disappeared from view as the summoning was interrupted before it had even truly started. A small drop of sweat ran down her brow, "Okay... lets not do that one again..."

She flipped through the pages again, determined to give the summon another shot. When she had selected one she thought more promising, she started to chant again.

Once more, the runes started to glow... but with a much deeper red this time. A small, tiny form started to grow from the glowing cycle, a head smaller than the imps. Spurred by the promise of success, Twilight continued to chant.

When she finally finished her chants, the Lord of Pain had arrived.

"Hahaha!" a small voice laughed maniacally, "Tremble in fear and despair! The lord of pain has arrived! Bow before me puny mort..." he stopped to look down at his form, "What in the name of the eight gates is this?!" he turned to Twilight, "Did you summon me?!" she put on a sheepish look.

The little demon fumed, "Insolent brat! Return me to my plane this instant! I refuse to appear in such a ridiculous and weak form! I shall eat your soul for this..." he stopped, and looked down at the circle. A sneer appeared on his little face, "The necromancer! I'd recognize those designs anywhere!" he turned to Twilight, "Where is he?!"

"Uhmm..." Twilight frowned, "I don't think I should..."

"Wait a second!" the demon studied the circle, "You didn't put down the second circle?" a sinister laugh escaped the demon's mouth, "Now, finally I shall have my vengeance! This world shall burn for my entertainment!" he gave her a smirk, "Goodbye." and with a snap of his tiny fingers, he disappeared... leaving behind an absolutely shocked Twilight Sparkle.

---

In his rage and hunger for vengeance, the Lord of Pain never paused to actually consider that in effect of Twilight's faulty summon, his current form held no real power... and the problem would not become apparant to him until he actually found the necromancer.

Comments

[Mr101]

Oh good lord....

And why does the Lord of Pain remind me of Hctib Elttil from Looking for Group?

images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100401091222/lookingforgroup/images/9/90/Chtib_elltil.png

Either way I can't stop loving this!

[MeTaLGuArD]

Twilight apparently has a side of her that's too dumb to live... and that's so lucky even Pinkie Pie would be surprised.

[Naduran]

Ok, so Twi found a way to summon powerful demons in weak and squeezable shapes.
I do believe our Necromancer would like to know how she did it

[bocaj518]

wow, she got LUCKY!

[LuluTia]

THIS STORY HAS SO MUCH

WIN
WIN
WIN
WIN
WIN!!!

[The Valeyard]

I feel sorry for what the necromancer will do to twilight when he finds out she broke the deal and stole his book.

[Xomniac]

The Lord of Pain...who wants to have his revenge on the Necromancer...is free...but powerless...
.
.
.
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHA! Oh well played sir, well played indeed!

[KingOfTheMuffins]

Unknown to her, the second circle was the enchantment required for containment.

Rule 1 of summoning: don't forget the containment circle.

The little demon fumed, "Insolent brat! Return me to my plane this instant! I refuse to appear in such a ridiculous and weak form! I shall eat your soul for this..."

Rule 2 of summoning: if you're going to summon a lethal demon, do it right.

Rule 3 of summoning: disregard rules 1 and 2 if you're a pony.

[Florida]

It's a good thing Twilight sucks at advanced summoning
And can't translate

[Morphy]

2697567

Heck, Twilight did him a favor... and provided the Necromancer with some much needed entertainment (not to mention a way to make the Lord of Pain squirm until he lifts the bounty so our favorite necromancer can live in retaliative peace). I don't think he could have done it any better than Twilight. Sure, there's that whole stealing situation but it can be swept under the rug, bygones be bygones.

What Twilight should really be afraid of is Celestia's impending disappointment. Something far far worse than anything the Necromancer's wraith could cause. The summoning of a demon is forgivable, she had no idea what it would really do in her zeal to discover new things, and magic in of itself is neither good or bad, it's just a tool. Twilight stole a book. The look on Celestia's face will be hell for Twilight.

[More Dakka]

I cant help but picture the fear demon from Buffy the vampire slayer.

[the monkey ninja]

Actually, although there should be two circles, the second circle would not be a containment circle. Only the most powerful daemons and evil spirits should have a circle entirely dedicated to containment (like the Lord of Pain). The first circle would be a self-protection circle with runes dedicated to focusing magic strength and sending the signal into wherever daemons live. The second circle would be the summoning circle. The summoning circle often has a pentacle inside of it with a special candle at each of the points of the star, and the circle would have runes of summoning, containment, binding, weakening, and/or several others. For VERY special commands, you might need a third circle. The creation of a third circle is mainly for those who run out of room to put runes in the second circle. The third circle is by far the most difficult to make correctly, and even a slight error in the creation of any of the circles or runes would disrupt the entire thing. Also, the first circle (the self-protection circle) must have a rune in it that connects circles one and two. If the summoner leaves their circle (circle one) then the whole thing is broken. At that point the daemon will kill you far faster then any mortal could blink, devour which ever parts of the summoner they wish, and then return back to whatever they were doing before they were summoned.

[dustor7689]

Is every 'Evil' person actually good and funny? If so I need to go to his world!

[someone else]

My only thought when I heard that the lord of pain was absolutely puny. static.fjcdn.com/pictures/Fluffy_31d891_2031398.jpg

[Dragon Dred]

3313446 I'll chew upon your belongings, and leave my strands of hair in your clothing causing you to itch uncontrollably, ITCH I SAY ITCH

[The Crimson Reaper]

3313446 oh god that thing is terrifying to no end.

[Cobalt Comet]

Wonder who is in more trouble Twilight or The Lord of Pain.