The Empire of Zeth/Chapter 3 (Ero)

Ranth decided to let Evy sleep until dawn. When soft morning light began filtering its way through the dense tree tops, he crawled over to Evy's sleeping body and lightly shook her shoulder. "Evy... Evy. Wake up."

Evy's eyes flew open. Ranth found himself sailing into the wall of the hollow, his back hitting it with a thud of pain. Evy scrambled to her feet, her eyes wide. "Ranth! I'm s-so s-sorry!" She raced over to him and placed a yellow glowing hand on his back.

"I'm f-fine, I'm fine! Save your strength!" he wheezed, pushing her hand away as he rubbed his lower back. Looking up he saw there were tears in Evy's eyes, making a track through the dirt on her small ash-colored face. "Hey, it's okay! You didn't hurt me, don't cry! I should have known better than to shake you like that - I probably would have reacted the same after all we've been through."

Evy angrily wipes the tears away with the back of her hand. "Yeah, you should have known better. Don't do that!" she punches Ranth in the arm hard enough to hurt but not bruise. He flinches, but doesn't react. That was a pretty dumb thing he did, treating her like any other little girl instead of a fellow soldier... and also his superior in likely every way imaginable.

Evy closes her eyes and pauses, taking inventory of her condition. "H-Huh? I nearly have enough power restored for a single shadow step... How could tha.."

She whirls and peers out of the hollow. "W-Wait! How long was I out!? Is it dawn???" Evy rounds on Ranth. "You should have woken me! We can't afford to linger - the legion's detection aura would have started expanding the moment Carthidge's temple fell!"

Evy seizes Ranth by the forearm and drags him to his feet. "I thought you were better of resting to recover mor-" Evy cuts him off. "MOVE, YOU IDIOT! They will be here soo-"

And explosion shears off the top of the tree above them, sending the majority of the length of the gigantic redwood tree flying off into the distance and landing with a crash that shook the forest. Evy picks up Ranth and runs at a speed he could never manage, somehow carrying the man above her head. Despite her lightning speed, she only makes it a few hundred meters before something strikers her in the back. Ranth goes flying and slams into the ground a few meters away.

Ranth gets to his feet and draws his longsword. The runes on it shine, and he realizes just how foolish he was. The detector aura was one of the Infernal Legion's greatest weapons - they could never be invaded without immediately knowing exactly where and how many had set foot on their land. How had he not remembered that with the destruction of Carthidge's ley line amplifier that it would expand into their land!?

Evy gets to her feet and regroups with Ranth, getting in front of him. "Evy, here! Take my sword!" Ranth passes Evy his glowing longsword. She accepts it quickly and takes a guard posture. Ranth draws a dagger, trembling in fear. Two massive ogres covered in white war paint approach them slowly and stop, as if waiting for something... or someone.

"Evy, shadow step back to the capital! Leave me, you're too important! I'm not worth it - save yourself!"

"No! I won't abandon you!" Evy cries, and she charges the ogres. They swing their massive fists at her with a roar and clobber the space she was standing. "EVY!" Ranth cries out, but then he blinks. She was already behind the pair of ogres. He was sure she's been crushed... be he should have known better.

Evy scores the enchanted blade across the trolls' thick hide, but it barely cuts into them. The magic in the runes tries to eat away at their flesh, but Ranth knew that the trolls' unholy regeneration abilities would render the magic almost useless. The best it could do would be to slow the wound's closing, and even then not by very much.

Evy leaps into the air and stabs one of the trolls in the eye. It roars and swings at her, and this time she's too slow to react. Evy's small body flies into a tree, and the sword remains embedded in the troll's eye.

"EVY!" Ranth rushes towards the trolls with a bellow, raising his shield, though he knew it would do little good against their insane strength. Maybe he could at least buy her a little time to escape... it would be an honorable death, repaying his life debt to her. "Hey, ugly! over here!" he cries. The trolls turn and raise their fists, preparing to smash. 'I hope you make it, Evy...' Ranth thinks as he holds the shield over his head and closes his eyes.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The shout shakes the trees. Evy flies to Ranth and puts herself in front of the ogre's fist. She stops it before it can crush Ranth, her arm muscles screaming with the effort of halting such a powerful strike. The other troll prepares to punch her, and Evy knows she can't stop them both... but she would still rather die trying then run away save herself.

"My, my... what a show you've put on for me!" a voice says from behind the two high trolls. The second one's swing stops and both trolls freeze in place. The downward pressure halts and Evy quickly grabs Ranth and tries to flee again. They slam into a magic barrier that appears in front of them after taking only a few steps.

"Oh come now, I just want to talk. Is that any way for you to behave, little drow? You're a guest in my home, after all." the voice chides her.

Evy whirls, putting Ranth behind her small body and throwing her arms out to either side of her in a protective fashion. The trolls step aside and a well dressed... man walks past. His overcoat is made of some of the finest silks Evy has ever seen, and jeweled rings encrust the hems. Ranth notices his crown of liquid fire, all the color drains from his face.

"N-No way... the... demon king??" Ranth tries to shake Evy's shoulder. "Evy! Y... You can't beat him. That's Demon King Elron, leader of th-" she cuts him off. "I know who he is - shut up, and let me do the talking! That's an order!"

"Well now, I see my reputation proceeds me." Looking at Ranth, he addresses him directly. "You are right to be afraid, little human. You should already be dead." He points a finger at Ranth that drips a blood colored fire.

"No!" Evy cried out. "He is my subordinate - I am his commanding officer! Have you no honor??? I demand you deal with me!"

The fire drains from the demon kings finger. "Oh my, my... you are brave, little drow to give me orders in my own land! But very well... if you claim him as one of your minions, then he is under your protection it would be very uncivilized of me to obliterate him before we parlay."

He gestures and a table set for two people appears in front of their eyes. Set for a fine dinner, it was conjured complete with gilded goblets, pitchers of strange liquids, and a mouth-watering looking suckling pig.

"Now, would you be so kind as to join me for dinner, young Eveline Hallowmere of the Drowvian Federation?" He gestures for her to sit down. "H-How... h-ow do you know who I am..? Evy says in a shaky voice.

"Why, I know everything and everyone that enters my lands - you should know that! Now please, sit!" Evy glances at Ranth, and Elron notices. "I give you my word as Elron, Demon King of the Infernal Legion AND as a gentleman that young captain Ranthian Fireblade of the Imperial Scouts, son of the famed holy knight commander of the Zeth Empire.. will not be harmed during our parlay."

Evy eyes widen. "You... you're..." Ranth gives her a shove. "Do as he says, Evy! Don't worry about me!" Still eyeing him, Evy walks forward. After a pause she turns and warily takes a seat at the demon king's table. The two high ogres stare at Ranth as if daring him to try anything, but they do not move a muscle. A veil appears between Ranth and the table. The barrier blurs his vision and prevents him from hearing what they're saying.

Ranth longed to save the little drow girl, to grab HER and carry her off to safety.. but there was nothing he can do. Just one of those high trolls outmatched his strengths tenfold, even discounting the presence of Demon King Elron himself! He could only sit still and wait, as she'd ordered...

"Wonderful, wonderful!" The demon king muses. "I am so pleased to have the opportunity to meet one of the famed elite archons of the Drowvian Federation, and one from the royal family, no less! Wine?" Evy's gauntlet begins to fill with a deep blood colored wine at the demon king's gesture. Evy sniffs and timidly takes the gauntlet, sipping a tiny amount. "Th-this is drow blood wine! Where did you get this..?" she stammers.

Demon King Elron sits back in his high backed throne-like chair and folds his hands in his lap, chuckling. "Oh, I know you must be very surprised indeed that I'd have a delicacy like this, hmm? Very little survived your country's destruction, but I've made it my mission to collect as many artifacts as I can get my hands on. I find your people's history fascinating - to have gone from slaves of a god to overthrowing him and taking his power for their own! There's no tale of triumph more thrilling in all of recorded history!"

He leans in and stares at the young girl. "So tell me... How ever did you manage to escape the massacre? I've not been able to track down so much as a single drow, and believe me - I've really tried!~" Evy's eyes shift to the side. "I.. I d-don't..."

"Oh come now, I must know! Stop trying to hide your mind from me, little one! You are a guest in my home, and I expect you to comply!" she squints at Evy, tightening the power gripping her. Evy flinches and locks eyes with the demon king, her jaw set mulishly.

"You are very strong, even weakened as you are. I'll have to have a word with master Leg'than for beating you so badly! He can get carried away at times, but at least he didn't kill you. That would've made me... very angry." He grins wildly, his smile stretching much wider than looked natural on a human face.

Evy holds her hand to her temple and grimaces. "You can't fight me forever, little drow. Not in my own land. I will have the knowledge I seek. You could save yourself a lot of pain by giving it freely..." He stares at Evy intently. She states back defiantly, but his gaze in unflinching. The Demon King's disturbingly wide grin widens even further, his lips stretching nearly to his ears. "Hah, got you!" Evy's eyes fly open wide and she screams in pain, as she if forced to relive a piece of a memory she wanted to remain buried for the rest of her life...

"Ah.. I see... How very interesting..." The demon king sits back and rubs his chink with a white gloved hand, a thoughtful look on his face. "You may prove useful... very useful indeed!"

Evy sees the look in his eyes and it terrifies her, and she trembles in fear. "I'd like t-to... t-to r-request s-save passage b-back to m-my kingdom f-for m-me and m-my.. my 'm-minion'... P-Please, g-great lord..."

"Oh well, I suppose that's a very reasonable request. This was your land until very recently, after all, and you were already on your way out." He crosses his fingers. "I will of course allow you to return as you kindly asked, but I'm afraid I cannot allow the knight commander's son to leave her alive. He's seen too much, and his death would prove very useful to my plans."

The color drains from Evy's face. "N-No... please, Lord Elron. I b-beg of you - as h-his m-master I w-will you t-to s-spare his life! T-Take mine instead!"

Demon King Elron's face saddens. "I'm very sorry, my dear girl. As much as it pains me to break this contract, I cannot acquiesce to your request. I could never so callously destroy a priceless treasure such as yourself." He gestures to to the two trolls who advance on Ranth. "NOOO!" Evy cries out spinning to face towards Ranth. A dark energy flows from her body to envelop him. "EVY!" Ranth cries out. When the darkness clears, Ranth is nowhere to be seen.

A hand seizes Evy by the throat and lifts her into the air. "YOU SHOULDN'T... HAVE DONE THAT..!" The demon king's voice booms out. Wings of black fire expand from his back and his eyes turn a solid blood red. Thick horns sprout from his scalp and his face elongates. His skin turns black, lines of crackling red fire racing over his flesh, as cloven hooves replace feet. His visage is truly the stuff of nightmares.

Evy struggles to breath as she stares at the Demon King's true form. His grip tightens even harder, then his searing anger suddenly cuts off and he releases her. Evy drops to the ground with a cry, wheezing and coughing as her small body fights for air through her badly bruised throat. The demon king's form shimmers and he once again looks like the posh human man he first appeared to them as.

"Sorry my dear, I seem to have lost my temper. I could never kill you... even if you did just deprive me of a devastating moral blow towards the knight commander of the irritating Zeth Empire..." He walks over to her and picks her small body up in her arms, cradling her to his chest.

"You're going to be very useful to me, Eveline Hallowmere. I guess can't really be mad at you for protecting one of your minions, as I would have done the same. But you will pay for that, in time. I assure you..."

"N-No..." Evy wheezes. The demon king smiles sweetly at the girl as he places a hand over Evy's face. Far too weak to fight back, Evy's strength fails her at long last and her world goes black...

Chapter 4: The Capital

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