The forest was cool and dark. The trees standing strong all about her as she allowed herself to take a break from her self imposed studies. She didn’t really like to study as much as she had to in order to learn Summoning, but she was not about to let anyone do it for her again. That had not turned out at all… simply thinking about it made her angry, so she shoved the entire thing out of her mind. No work, not now. She was taking a… vacation. Yes, a vacation. That thought was funny, as it was imposable to take a vacation when you really had no place to call home. Still, it was nice to get away.

She followed no path through the woods, simply drifted along through the trees for some time before coming to a shallow stream. There, she paused. She didn’t know it, but she looked even more elven in the garb she had chosen for her ‘vacation’. She wore what could be called a simple peasant dress, two large peaces of soft doeskin, cut to fit and sewn across the shoulders and down each side with leather lacing. About her waist was a woven leather belt with a small bag on left hip and a single green handled elven dagger on her right. Her hair in it’s many braids was not tied back at all and reached almost to mid-back. It was a bit red for a wood elf’s though. The silver necklace about her neck with a deceptively simple silver ring on it would make her out of place among the wood elves though. The fact that it was inscribed with demonic script and had a sense of evil all it’s own for those perceptive to it would make it only more so. On her feet were black winged boots, but upon reaching the stream she removed these and stepped into the cold water. With the tops of her boots gripped in her right hand she smiled to herself and walked upstream for a time.

The water splashed across her feet as she walked and to her it seemed that the stream was happy. It was too close to winter though, and the cold was making her feet feel a bit numb too. So she stepped out and cut back into the woods, now walking barefoot through the trees. She noticed some poison ivy then, and slowed to make her way around the patch. Keeping an eye on where she was walking she didn’t yet notice she was not alone in these woods.

Aether Draka may have been on somewhat of a vacation, but Rith had no need of such a frivolous thing and was within the forest for much different reasons. He was here to sever one more of the threads that had frayed since the war for Istan. The thread in question was bound, gagged, and hanging from a good portion of his shirt that was in the maw of a large Cerberus. He knew death was coming and now was inevitable, yet he wished so much to live on. He didn’t squirm, he didn’t attempt to cry out for help, nor did he attempt to spew forth curses. He merely looked out with wide eyes frozen with fear; lovely fear, that put a grin on Rith’s carved face on his pumpkin head. It held Rith from killing him. Rith was still had not decided how to kill the man yet.

Thanks to his good job playing along and in light of the company headed this way Rith decided deny Torment’s plead for painful death, but it wouldn’t be a painless one either. A green-gloved hand raised and briefly lit with a purple light before a dark bolt of energy streaked from Rith’s hand with a soft crack that sounded as it might have been caused by someone stepping on a twig. The man released a muffled howl that didn’t make it far past the cloth blocking his mouth. The human wasn’t killed but he was not far from death’s doorstep. The man silently whimpered as he trembled with fear, he was left with barely enough strength for even that. The man’s heart raced wildly and erratically. The fear terribly was delightful, even intoxicating. Rith’s grin broadened even more than before as wide frightened eyes pleaded for life, pleaded for mercy. Death was the only mercy the man would get, yet then again that would only make matters worse when one considered what torture the man would endure after he died. Rith came to his senses as he heard the rustling of leaves in the distance. It was a remote part of the forest, but that certainly didn’t mean that Rith was not ready for visitors. Rith’s broad jagged tooth grin shrunk as he pulled a small light blue translucent gem from his pocket. It was time for this man’s death.

Rith spun around and turned his attention towards the sound of the noise, as he wave dismissively to Torment. Torment finished the man off and amongst the three heads devoured the man. As the man’s life left him the small lit up with an eerie light and Rith placed it within his pocket. The guest was guarded from view by dense shrubbery, but that was a simple matter for Rith to handle. Rith wave his hand and the leaves seemed to fade into nothing. The image of Aether Draka could be seen in the distance, but Rith couldn’t get a good focus on her. He’d need a better medium to see him on for that. Still he could not that it was a humanoid, possible elven in nature and clearly female. Displeased with the results, Rith dismissed the illusion which covered the shrubbery and walked around it taking care not to get his blue robe tangled in anything. He would either try to study the target a little more from the shadows or he could get up close and get what he wanted directly from her mind. The former was optimal. Torment came to his side, not in cerberus form he had previously held, but in his normal form.

The black cat that she had seen on and off for about a year now sundunly walked out of the shadows in the path in front of her. She paused to look at it. The creature was black on black, with no shine to it’s fur. It was thin, but she had pet it before and it wasn’t just skin and bone. The creature was all muscle. It looked at her with liquid black eyes with what looked to be mirrors behind them, reflecting a green tinted light back at her.

She knelt down and held out a hand to it. The cat took a few steps forward, then shifted it’s attention to behind her. Worried that it saw something she should know about, she rose and turned. Nothing… The cat brushed against her leg and paused to listen. It started a low growling sound. It was deep and full of warning. She glanced at the cat and saw the fur along her back was raised. AD didn’t see what was bothering the cat, so she crouched down next to it and scanned the area it was facing. There was something… another animal no doubt. She didn’t hear the sound of metal hitting anything so she didn’t think it was human. She shoved her boots in her bag then, wanting her hands free just in case. After a moment, when nothing appeared, she stroked the cat’s back and it let her pick it up.

“Shhh, it’s alright.” She spoke softly into the cat’s soft fur. She turned about again, turning her back to the poison ivy, and started walking again. If the wind had shifted her way she might have smelled the blood, but she didn’t know that the cat was warning her about the death. As she walked the cat started to struggle. AD loosened her hold on it and it lept from her arms to the ground. Once more she paused, annoyed with the cat. Why didn’t it just talk to her like Turin could? But Turin was a magical creature, a tiny dragon. She shook her head, realizing she couldn’t expect a cat to speak a language she knew.

Rith as and Torment slowly made their way to the target. After navigating through the forst while avoiding noisy underbrush, Rith finally got sight of his target. I was indeed a female, apparently elven, though clearly not fully so, her ears weren’t long enough. Rith thought little of the cat with her until he could taste the creature’s fear. Apparently the smell of Worg did not sit well with the creature, which was completely understandable. Rith took advantage of the Cat’s distraction to weave his way into Aether Draka’s mind. He pried into her mind seeing what he could learn of the woman.

The first thing that came to his mind was her name, one he had stolen from another. If Xion’s mind had merit to it AD was also in the guild with him. What luck he was having nowadays? Using what he had filtered out of Xion’s mind as a reference Rith was able to confirm what Xion knew and learn more of the guild. It was indeed Divschatten and not the Apocalypse Alliance as Rith had thought, he was sure he had heard of the end of that short-lived guild. Chaotic creatures seldom made something structured enough to last, this was doubtlessly the case.

He couldn't confirm that the enigmatic Choronzon Gebäude was their location nor find out it's where abouts. That ultimately was only a small hindrance. He did not need to enter their secret hiding to take advantage of their guild. He didn’t even need a hand on the leader though eventually he would accomplish that as well. He just needed to worm his way into the guilds more pliable members. He couldn't exactly draw a list of names from her mind, yet he settled for a list of her freinds and would sort through those till he had only those in the guild. After pulling the names to learn more of Rith decided it was time to see how pliable AD was and if she could prove useful for his plans as more than just a source of information.

After discerning that she was not a threat, Rith stepped forward from the shadows in front of AD and not to far from her. He still was in the strange child-like form with a curious pumpkin. If not for the way the pumpkin’s mouth moved when he spoke he’d likely seem an over eager trick-or-treater. “I do apologize if my pet has frightened your cat,” Rith said in a voice fitting of a child as his carved mouth moved about like a mouth and not a carving. Torment came to Rith's side shortly after his introduction.

((OOC: Please read my PM before posting…))

The strange figure came out of the shadows not far in front of her. She didn’t know what to make of it, or if it was a he or a she. Her gaze had left the cat when it spoke though. The cat ran toward the shadows and promptly vanished. AD shrugged. “It’s not my cat.” She said and waved her hand dismissively. She didn’t have pets as far as she was concerned, not really knowing the meaning of the word besides being an animal that hung around someone because that person fed it. That not being something she cared about, she dismissed it after noting the dog near by the figure.

She tipped her head slightly to the left as she looked at him, not quite sure what to make of the meeting. She couldn’t really relate him to anything, perhaps some sort of aberration? He had emerged from the shadows though, even though he wore a rather bright blue robe. She considered herself a shadow, so he wasn’t something she felt she had to worry about. She nodded to herself and took a deep breath.

“I’m going this way now. You can come if you want.” She said with a smile, pointing to her right by lifting her entire arm that way. The cat forgotten once more, the promptly turned that way and started walking again, her bare feet make no sound on the forest floor. As she walked she tried to remember the last time she ate and if the was starting to hallucinate again. Perhaps she should look for something to eat just in case. She didn’t have any food on her after all. Hunting it was then. She nodded to herself once more as she looked around the undergrowth for some sign of food. There had to rabbits around here somewhere, right? She hoped so, rabbits are really good meat.

((OOC... again...: Congratulations, this is almost exactly what I posted for her very first post! :P Though it was a demonic ferret with her and a shifted scout talking to her…))

Not her cat? She had a view of animals far different form most. She claimed no ownership of the creature, despite the fact that the cat seemed to carry some tie to her. The details of this were superfluous as there was no real use of the extra information.

Taking his time in researching AD’s small list of friends, Rith pulled his attention to her surface thoughts. It always helped to know how a person thought when determining how malleable the person was. Rith knew too well that ones actions and words were not enough for a good assessment of the person. Telling lies was easy, many learned to use misguiding actions and movements to further disguise their lies and bluffs, but few could hold with hold the truth from their minds.

“I do not mind joining you, but if you don’t mind my asking where are you heading?” Rith replied as he walked beside her. Torment followed, keeping to Rith’s side opposite of AD. Rith's light steps and Torment's padded feet aslo made no noise against the forest floor, denoting of how the pair could have managed to come so close to AD without her seeming to notice. He had been so busy thinking of other things that he had managed to forget to find out why she was out here in the first place. It did not appear to be a matter of stealth. It could be some task for the guild, yet she didn’t entirely seem ready for any given task and certainly not a task for a guild of chaotic demon kin seeking to spread chaos.

Rith had noticed many strange distracting inconsistent surface thoughts and had thought that Ad’s pondering of the last time she ate was one of them, at least until she wondered if she was hallucinating. Still, Rith didn’t know the full story behind the details of what happened when she didn’t get enough to eat. It seemed however that she had eaten or at least was not hallucinating, and that was good. Though later he might look into this matter seeing if there was indeed some tie to food and her sanity, though doubted it was different the functions of most humanoids. When dehydrated the mind was mind was prone to illusions of its desires, which was why many died in the desert chasing phantom oasises. It appeared that her current goal was about to move to finding food, yet that still said nothing of why she was out in the forest in the forest.

“Heading?” The question stopped her again. “I’m not heading anywhere. I’m…” She trailed off and looked behind her. “I’m heading away.” AD finished her sentence quietly. She looked at him and smiled brightly, “But I doubt it will do any good, as there isn’t really any way for me to get away from myself, now is there?”

It wasn’t until that point that she actually registered that there was a dog, or was it a wolf, along side this Other. She looked at it for a bit before saying, “I have some hounds. They don’t look much like yours do though. Do you want to meet them?”

Without waiting for an answer she pulled a wand out of it’s nitch in her blade’s sheath and drew a quick summoning circle in the air. As she did so, shadows from the forest gathered and drew the exact same design on the ground before her. Once she finished she knelt down, causing her bare heels to rise as she balanced on her toes and rested on her heels. After slipping the wand behind one slightly pointed ear, she shifted her weight forward to place her hands on the edge of the shadow image. She didn’t focus or say anything, but did just as Seele had taught her to, and let the magic flow through the spell.

Shadows gathered in the summoning circle and she leaned back, lifting her hands off it. Two four-legged shapes became molded from the shadows. Then four red eyes began to glow and the beasts seemed to catch fire as the spell ended. Two hellhounds stood before her and she rose back to her feet. Leaves and other debris under their feet began to smolder slightly.

“Gral, Nasha, this is…” She turned to Rith. “I’m sorry, I don’t know your name.” She blinked, wondering if that was enough of a question for him to give her his name or if she needed to ask a true question. Meanwhile the pair of hellhounds waited for her word to, they hoped, attack something. The eagerness to hunt was glowing in their eyes.

(Faust is not the only one who can 'save' her soul :| )
Curious indeed, not the fact that she was not sure of where she was heading, but the fact that she was trying to head away from herself meant that there was some weakness within AD that he could take advantage of. Helping her and gaining her trust would only be part one of his plans. Her notice of torment brought her thoughts to a train of thought that while possibly came no where close to the weak point he sought, seemed quite useful. She learned to summon the dogs from Seele himself, yet that wasn’t the end of the train and certainly not the best part. She had hoped to find some way of summoning her grandmother through training as a summoner, the same grandmother that had sealed her fate to the abyss. What luck to have such diverting thoughts award him with something he could notably use! The elf would be grateful to have the soul as her own, and would be more than pliable in Rith’s hand. Undoing the bond was easily enough done, but he would have to make sure he was at a stage where she was without a doubt within his hands. After all purifying her soul, to taint it himself was a rather difficult task that would take resources Rith could not stand to waste.

“My apologies, I am Rith. Your hounds are indeed remarkable creatures. You are such a skilled summoner to bring them forth with seemingly so little effort. I too am a summoner, wanna see?” Rith replied before mimicking AD and not waiting for the answer. Rith didn’t reach for any wand, instead purple lines hung in the air as Rith’s gloved hand traced through the air. When Rith was done, a sigil of a staring eye was left. It hung along for a few moments before Rith pressed his hand against the sigil and seemingly caused a mass of black feathers storm through the eye. The black feathers gathered in a tall whirlwind centered on the ground in front of Rith and AD, but not in the way of the dogs. Soon, the black feathers began to vanish as they join black wings, revealing slowly a figure within the eye of the whirlwind of feathers.

When all the feathers had fitted into the ebon wings a Fallen angel stood before them. She was not demonic like AD’s grandmother, but rather devilish and bound to hell. Rith doubted AD would be able to tell the difference though devilish types tended to hold them self in a more dignified manner than demonic creatures.
“Iaris, This is Gral, Nasha, and…” Rith began speaking to the fallen angel, pointing at Gral, Nasha, and AD respectively. “While I recall the name of your hounds, I don’t remember you giving your name,” Rith said to AD.

((OOC: Oh good! Please do! :| That means I get to bring Chel into AD’s life again! AD doesn’t know how she is bound, but she did accept it willingly. If he has a way of figuring it out beyond her, I don’t mind explaining it. There are hints about though...))

She wondered if perhaps she wasn’t hallucinating then. It was not a creature he summoned but it was… She clinched her right hand into a fist and then automatically, and quite forcefully, shoved all her thoughts deep into her mind. The dark side of her stirred in question and she felt it start to form an unholy aura around her. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth and her fist. Her nails dug into her skin and she felt the skin under them break and a comforting warm feeling spread across her palm. The feeling blurred the sense of the scar on that palm. The summoning had started to remind her of something and someone… the name Gregory Faust and someone she called Raven. Raven was a black winged angel. Red anger and resentment filled her for a moment before she quite literally had rejected the thought, the memory, and banished it back deep within her mind. She smelled her blood then and opened her eyes to look at everyone. She noted that this little patch of forest was getting rather crowded.

As if nothing had caused any chaos in her mind and there hadn’t been a pause between his inquiry and her reply, she smiled slightly. “AD is fine, for now.” She replied to the question weakly. AD then felt a tug on her hand and glanced down to see Turin nosing his way to the injuries and quickly healing them. His tail was wrapped around her wrist like a living bracelet.

‘You alright?’ He asked her in her mind. She lifted her hand and opened it for the tiny fly dragon to finish weaving his healing spells. She regarded him for a moment. Then, without even thinking about it, she slipped into draconic to answer her tiny friend in a whisper.

“I don’t know.” She told him honestly. Her gaze flickered to Rith. Turin had been with her long enough to understand the unasked question.

‘You are fine. He said his name is Rith, right?’ He finished closing the last of the four puncture wounds on her palm. ‘All better. Just be careful.’ He grinned at her mentally and she nodded. Looking back to Rith she held out her hand and the dragon.

“Nice to meet everyone then. And this is Turin.” The tiny dragon looked around at the odd assortment and brought himself up in a very draconic pose on the edge of AD's fingers.

(He would and easily if it was a procedure used on more than just AD to tie souls to the abyss, otherwise it would take a good bit of time from researching Raven and then the demon queen responsible for the keep's fall.)

AD’s reaction to the summon both surprised and intrigued Rith. Dark thoughts were called to her mind and a welling hatred boiled summoning an unholy aura about her. Her thoughts manifested physically as her eyes closed, her teeth tightly clamped together, and hands turned into fists so tight that her nails cut into her palms. The pain of the action was not fully felt and was quite distorted. Two names were brought to mind, Gregory Faust and Raven. Within the torrent of her mind it was difficult to find anything, even something so simple as AD’s name or the names of the Hellhounds she had recently introduced, but these names and the powerful emotions evoked by them. Their correlation was not readily found, though they were both notably angels. Faust of course was not a fallen angel and was now the infamous god of Light, though there was a possibility that Raven was not a fallen angel either. What was Gregory’s connection with AD, a tiefling? He had to certainly do something bad in her mind’s eye to conjure such hatred. Perhaps both Gregory and Raven were both hated by her greatly. Rith did find out that Raven was a he and not her grandmother who tied her soul to the abyss as he dug deeper in her mind. There was also a greater tie between Raven and Gregory than just a fueled anger, but Rith could not easily recover more as she shunted thoughts of the two back within the depths of her mind and restored the chaotic normalcy of her mind.

Iaris’ hand instinctively moved to hover over her blade when AD’s mind focused on anger and the two names, but Rith assured the fallen angel that AD would cause no harm. AD chose to act as if nothing had happened, despite the small wounds that her fly dragon moved to mend. The dragon appeared to also have telepathic powers, though minor in comparison. AD confided to the dragon that she was unsure of what had just happened, which came a little surprise to Rith from what he had seen. He could tell now that it wasn’t something that normally happened with her.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Turin” Rith replied while nodding to the dragon after AD introduced her small dragon.

“You look pretty hunger and I have a good cure for that! I bet Torment can get more food for us than Gral and Nasha. I haven't got much, but if I lose I’ll give you,” Rith said as he reached into his pocket. His had clasped a gem, one with a soul already trapped inside. He shook it lightly absorbing it into his hand and pulled out the ebony gem. It was cut by dwarven hands and looked rather exquisite. “This,” Rith said holding out the gem for her to see. There was nothing like a good game get a freindly bond growing.

Turin nodded his head to the greeting, keeping his own judgment reserved until he knew more about what was going on and if this Rith meant his AD any harm. He took to the wing for a moment before perching on her shoulder. AD let her hand drop back to her side.

Then Rith has a suggestion, of sorts… Food? A bet? She was a bit surprised by the suggestion. She had just started to sort the thing out in her mind when Rith held up something… Aether Draka’s eye got wide when she saw the gem. Shinny… Mine? She wanted to touch it, but suppressed the urge… almost. She half reached for the gem, before she could suppress it and then she only paused. She adored shinny things and she had never seen a stone that seemed to shine but was also so black. So pretty, shinny… I want. Not mine, but I want. How do I get the shinny?

It took her a moment to tear her gaze away from the gem and think back to what she could do to get the ‘shinny’. A bet? He didn’t ask for anything in return, but as a bet works…. She should offer something in return. She could skip that part, but if she did and lost… he could demand practically anything from her. There were too many things she would not part with. There were the gifts she had been given; Raven’s feather, the ring around her neck, her earrings, and her first blade… She wouldn’t give up any of her blades anyway though. They were much better shinnies then his, and much more useful. Still… She wanted the gem. She thought back to what she had. Her wand, book, and potion were all needed for summoning Chel. She would not let anyone else do that for her.

Then she knew! She had some candy! AD shrugged off her backpack and opened it. She reached in a smaller bag tucked beside her book of summoning. She pulled out an item and she saw it wasn’t the one she was looking for. She had been looking for the colorful hard candy. This was chocolate… She hadn’t even had any of them yet… but she also hadn’t paid for it. She hesitated, wondering if she should still try and find the hard candy.

The sheer desire that came from her was remarkable. Sure the diamond was exquisite and of dwarven craft, but that wasn’t enough to warrant this kind of response. She acted as if the item had mesmerized her with some sort of spell and of course now that there was no soul inside there was no magical feature on the gem. Her desire was golden and delicious, the power it gave over her only made things better from there. It seemed to be just enough for her to resist attempting to touch or take it, but enough to make her deeply want it. Things went even better as her thoughts went over things she had and needed. Summoning Chel was not something she would let him do for her, nor could he have such power over the abyss to bring Chel to the material plane to begin with, but he did know enough to help her learn to do so. But he would have to try and bring that up later.

Rith found it most ironic that he would be accepting candy for a gem when looking like a child aptly dressed for Halloween in the month of October. It mattered little to Rith what he would be winning. His main incentive too winning was as making the gem a gift rather than a reward. “Candy will do nicely,” Rith said as his carved mouth spread into a wide grin. He squatted down and drew a large rectangle on the ground with a finger. Just as when he was summoning a purple line traced behind his finger. After finishing the figure the inside of the rectangle was quickly filled with a shadowy darkness. He then split the rectangle into two perfect squares with a careful stroke of his finger. The shadowy darkness seemed to be a liquid of some sort and rippled as Rith ran his finger through it. Rith mad an archaic motion with his hands and pointed at Iaris, causing the right side filled with what the fallen angel saw, which included the two Hellhounds. Rith’s hands then when through a less complicated pattern and pointed at Torment, causing the remaining patch of darkness to fill with what the Worg saw. “We can watch them all from here. Are your Gral and Nasha going to be traveling together or a part. If they will be traveling together Iaris can watch them both, if not, then it is easy for me to make adjustments. The right side shows what Iaris sees and the left side shows what Torment sees. When you are ready we can begin, we can have them begin on your mark,” Rith explained as he laid the gem on the edge of the boundaries of the left square.

((OOC: Can Rith read Demonic?))

AD looked up, for a moment unsure about if she had heard him or not. She stood, leaving her backpack where it was. Which was laying open on the ground. Without any incentive or direction, Turin immediately landed on the edge of the backpack and sat down in a watchful stance. He apparently thought of her backpack as his also. He viewed it as his hoard, a dragon's hoard, with AD being the only exception to the rules governing a dragon's hoard. Some things though, and he knew which, were never, ever, to be given away or traded. The tiny dragon thought himself quite formidable a foe for anything that my threaten AD's 'stuffs'.

AD smiles slightly when she was sure he had said the candy would do. She didn't even think on why it would, but came over to see what he was doing. She didn't understand it at all, but found what he was doing very interesting. Ironically both her body and her mind became still and focused and she simply watched until his question about her summoned hell hounds drew her attention back up to him. Then for a moment the chaos stirred and thoughts followed. She didn't have an immediate answer, but they were hounds, like hunting hounds sort of, and they traveled in packs. Then hell hounds must travel in packs too, right?

“I'm sure they'll stick together. They are pack hunters after all.” She said after a moment, then sat down and set the box of chocolate down next to her. There was no real certainty in the statement, just a guess. It was close enough to the truth though for it to work. What he was doing was interesting, but she didn't understand one statement and after it surfaced once or twice, she finally asked it on the third time. “What do you mean by on my mark?”

(Answered already but yes. Also if you like we can have the seven posts for your summons start in your next post.)

Rith found it interesting that he was capable of calming the chaotic storms within her mind. It was a sign that with a bit of work he might be able to remove the chaos and possibly make her an even more useful for his plans. But, her fascination with shiny things would probably keep her from joining his guild should it ever be safe to resurrect. Pliable souls were useful, but they were not the sort to share secrets with. Though it might be possibly he could remedy that too, but doubtful.

Rith wasn’t surprised by her answer as he knew a bit about hellhounds as well as Hell it self for that matter. His dealings with Hell however weren’t quite so much as he would like, but he had forgone a lot of his activities when he was trying to fix his wondrous invention. His contacts in Hell at least had behaved much better than most of his contacts on Imythess within his absence. A few of his contacts had gotten to the point where they needed to be terminated and one such contact was the reason why Rith was out in the woods in the first place.

“My apologies, by that I mean when you start off this match of sorts. It doesn’t have to be an elaborate or formal manner unless you choose so. If it’s as simple as saying go, it will suffice. The match will end when your summoned hounds run out of time and return from whence they came,” Rith explained. Rith could have started the bout himself, but decided to give AD the honors in doing so. Perhaps it might even please her to start off, though he was certain it wouldn’t please her as much as the possession of the new ‘shiny’.

((OOC: I would rather not... I don't feel up to having them around that long. I would like for this is four then. They will vanish in three more posts.))

“Oh…” She trailed off, letting his words sink in, but like many other thoughts in her mind she couldn’t quite grasp it as a whole. It didn’t seem to matter to her though. She hadn’t know much different so why should it? She looked to the hounds and then back at Rith. “Go?” It was more of a question then on her mark, but for her she was trying out a new idea.

The hellhounds hesitated, sensing AD’s uncertainty, but as soon as Torment moved, they would be off. They knew what they wanted to do after all. They lived for the hunt, killing for the joy of it alone.

She did have control of a stillness inside her, the ability to simply stop and wait. It was something she found hard to harness sometimes, but when she felt the need to focus, it was always there. It was how she had met the shadows after all. She had fallen still again only moments after the hellhounds took off, fascinated by the magic that she couldn’t understand. There wasn’t any jealousy there though. Just a feeling of inadequacy stirring under the stillness. Like she wasn’t as powerful as… as she actually was. She didn’t think of herself as powerful at all really. In that same stillness she felt the shadows whispering. They weren’t words, just feelings.

The silver ring hung loosely about her neck as she leaned forward to see the images Rith had provided. Though it was made of bright silver, it was dark all on its own and evil on its own too. The side Rith could see translated roughly to, “… but don’t expect Irucher to be true to you. ~ A Gift (or Trap) to bind The Demon…”

Torment also sensed the uncertainty in her words, but unlike the summoned hounds he paid it little heed and awarded it only a moment’s hesitation before taking off for the hunt and the hellhounds sprinted off in the same second with Iaris flying behind them.

Besting two hounds would be a difficult feat without transformation or a pre-made cheat, and Rith had decided to use neither; however, Rith had guessed that the Hell hounds would destroy most of the food before they could bring it back through either the violent meant of their attack or the burning flames about them. Torment slowed down as he tested the air for the smell of something edible with his nose. He had good experience in hunting, though normally it was humanoids not animals; however, Rith had often given Torment little critters to use as chew toys for his own enjoyment. Bigger game would certainly pull the win, but that was only if it could be found and dragged back in time which was quite a bit of ifs.

It took quite a few seconds, but finally Torment homed in on a scent and picked up his speed as turned his run in the right direction. It didn’t seem to be far off. He wasn’t quite so sure what it was, but was sure he could catch it even if a little magic was needed.

Rith looked up from the hunt in progress, turning his head in AD’s direction. He had a few important questions he had to ask her, but allowed himself to be distracted as he studied her silver ring which gave off a familiar energy. There were abyssal runes around the ring. He knew the language well. The chances of him having to deal with demons was terribly high, so learning their language was must even for one who could read minds. He preferred to leave no openings for important information to be missed.

“Irucher? Who is that?,” Rith asked as he gestured to the ring with his hand. He probed around her thoughts for the answer as well. If the demon had anything to do with her past or the guild, then he could be of particular importance. There was also a chance that it was just a demon trapped in a trinket AD randomly chanced upon. It was also possible that she didn’t know the answer herself. She might not have ever read the ring or have been able to speak with the demon bound to it.

The path the hell hounds took would be very easy for anyone to follow as they left smoldering footsteps and the things they brushed against all had singe marks on them. That didn't bother the animals one bit though, they here the hunters, not the pray. They could hunt though, and it didn't take them long to catch the scent of something they weren't familiar with exactly, but it smelled like it was something big... It smelled of earth and beast and forest. The pair split up for a moment, one heading up the scent trail one way as the other followed it the other way. After just a moment one of the hell hounds was bounding back to join the other, the scent it had followed had grown weaker as it moved along it, not stronger. The two fiery beasts jostled each other upon meeting up again, but one quickly took charge of the task. The sent grew closer as they came upon a group of berry bushes and they once more split up, one circling around one way as the other circled around the other way. There was something there, hidden by the brush... The hounds brushed against the bushes as they went, until they met and passed each other. Then they brushed against the bushes where the other hound had, starting them on fire. The pair of hounds then met at the only place there wasn't fire and waited for what ever it was they were burning out of the bushes to show.

AD had been watching this in the little box Rith had made when he had asked her a question. The name didn't even ring a bell. The word had no meaning and she tried to find one. The attempt failed and she wondered if it was someone that Rith knew or some other name. She didn't know why he had even asked her, so she studied him for a moment. It didn't get her anywhere though. "I'm sorry. I don't know any Irucher."

As soon as the name passed her lips, the inscriptions on the ring turned black, then began to burn with a black fire... then there was something that could possibly be a demon, no doubt released from the ring. It was a rather sad looking beast, it’s skin pitch black and it’s eyes hollow looking. It looked like it had once been a rather formable creature due to it’s size, but it was practically all covered by it’s thick black hide. It used to have wings able to carry it also, but the membrane was long gone, giving it more of the impression that it had large white spikes protruding from it’s back. It was crouched down on all four just across from the images Rith had provided for them to look through Torment’s and Iaris’ eyes. Aether Draka stood up in shock, stumbling back a few steps before getting her feet under her. Not removing her eyes from the demon she asked, “Rith?” as if she expected him to explain why the demon had appeared, which was exactly what she was expecting.

Torment's approach had altered his prey as his speed had compromised his stealth. So long as this didn’t keep Torment from losing time or his prey it would be fine. He could hear the creature moving through the forest in front of him, doing it’s best to make its escape. It wasn’t a small creature like the various chew toys he had had in the past and sounded larger than his present form. Torment’s pace outmatched that of his prey and the distance between them quickly closed. He had to weave his way through a lot of brush, managed to do so without losing too much of his speed. It was possible that the same was not entirely true of his prey ahead of him from the sounds the beast was making.

Soon Torment was close enough to see his prey; it was a young adult stag. It was of decent size, though not enough for a sure fire win, particularly if he couldn’t bring back the beast in time. Torment was close enough to use magic against his prey, but want the beast to only be a leap away before doing so. When he was ready released a burst of arcana that came crashing down upon the deer, assaulting the creature’s nervous system with horrid pain. Torment leapt at the deer’s neck, catching its back as the creature shrill cry to the world in response to the dreadful sensation that was ailing it. Torment brought the creature down to the ground with his weight and the slid to a halt. The deer was still alive, but it’s legs were flailing about in a manner that was not going to help it get back on it’s hooves any time soon. Torment relished the creature’s pain before clamping his jaws swiftly upon the creature’s neck. The scream was immediately muffled and faded into nonexistence and the wildly moving legs similarly came to a stop. Torment would have rather brought the thing in kicking and screaming, but that would not only be less time effective but could also be a notable turn off for AD. Now all that was left was to get the deer back.

She had no idea, but as she uttered his name the fell demon appeared before them. When it appeared suddenly AD was caught quite off guard, as Rith to a far lesser extent. Usually summoning names had to be said trice not once. Rith stood as AD did and kept to her side, intending to prevent her from having a rather unfortunate fall backwards. He had expected a powerful demon to appear based upon the strength of the ring’s enchantment, but instead a pitiable creature appeared. It had once been a strong demon, and then experienced a fall from his greatness as was common amongst the lawless demons. This Irucher seemed living proof that the larger they were the harder they fell. Looks still had the capacity to be deceiving and he couldn’t let AD let down her guard or show weakness. Demons turned on summoners that showed weakness and Rith did not know exactly the nature that the demon has bound to her orders. Presently knowing about the demon was more important than making progress within AD’s mind and brought himself to linger upon her surfacing thoughts while extending psychic tendrils to the demon’s mind. The demon’s mind would at least be easier to deal with when compared to the complex chaos that was AD’s mind.

“Calm yourself; that is Irucher. You summoned him by saying his name while wearing that ring. You must be very careful when dealing with summoned demons and other creatures of the abyss. If the summoner shows weakness, they will lose respect for the summoner and will not follow the summoner’s orders. In most cases they also seek to overpower the summoner. You must remember that well to become a great summoner, as you seem well on your way to becoming,” Rith whispered, ensuring his words reached only AD’s ears.

“Ask him who it was that bound him to the ring. Avoid using his name as that might also be the key to unsummoning him,” Rith suggested hoping to find out useful information on the Demon. With Rith’s psychic insight even a lie would grant Rith great volumes of truth.

When Rith’s hush words reached her, the uncertainty left and that strange silence fell in her mind once more. She was focused on his words, not just remembering them, but committing them to memory. Her eyes never left Irucher, never blinked… Her hand clasped around the ring and for a moment she was silent.

Her mind seemed to go into high gear in that moment AD was silent. Her thoughts hopped and skipped back words, skimming past the demons she knew here in Imythess with nothing more then a flash of an image. Then her thoughts went back to before she had been in Imythess. There, the skipping slowed and AD was in a full sized castle. She was lingering by a window looking out onto the courtyard. Undead beasts walked around and many portals glowing with a power she now knew lead to the Abyss. Alex was someone she had known and the man was out there. A half-fiend born of two half-fiends who actually looked a bit like a paladin and not evil. A large white wolf was at his side. Her thoughts skipped back once more. She was in a forest found nowhere in Imythess, a graveyard behind yet another portal. Alex was there, holding out the ring to her.

“Take it, it will keep you safe. I promise.” There was something in his gaze she didn’t know how to read, but most would understand that he meant if she didn’t take the ring, she was going to die right there. The threat was lost to her though. She did take the ring though and for a moment she felt dizzy and it felt hot in her hand. The ring’s own evil aura started to feed her own. If she had actually placed the ring on her finger, the demon would have possessed her… though she didn’t know enough about magic yet to understand that. By pure luck she had decided to wear it about her neck, keeping the demon just far enough away that it hadn’t been able to possess her, but it had made her own evil aura bloom.

AD blinked then and asked her question, “Who bound you to this ring?”

“Where is that sorry excuse for a half-fiend?” Irucher hissed in demonic, half crouching down, “I would like to drain off his blood so I can kill him!” The words sounded like acid dripping off his long black tongue. When AD didn’t reply right away it gave a hacking sound meant to be a laugh. “What’s wrong, don’t you understand me?”

AD’s face went hard. She slipped into the demonic tongue also. She might only be able to read a little bit of that language, but she could speak it. “I was waiting for you to answer my question. Shall I ask it again for you then? Who bound you to this ring?” She took a step forward.

“Treachery, lies!” It hissed at her, lowering his upper body just a bit more. The bone white reminisces of wings twitched. “I was to own a host, return to RaChel with it, gain in rank among Chel’s forces. If Chel has lost the title of Demon Prince while I was gone…” He licked his lips and grinned. This odd little pair might make a good snack. Should he kill her first or the child? But wait… where was the ring… he needed it back in order to gain his host. If his agreement still held he might still get the power he wanted. Access to the Citadel of Gateways, the keys to every portal that ever opened either to or from Hell or the Abyss.

Rith was pleased her mind flashed back into the past, back most likely to when she got the ring. He was only given small puzzle pieces and was tempted to investigate them further; however, diverting his attention greatly from Irucher was unwise. AD’s naivety prevented her from seeing what was plainly written in his face, there was something ill about this ring and it was not its ability to summon Irucher. It was very doubtable that his words held any merit and quite likely that it was intended to bring her trouble instead. The small puzzle pieces weren’t enough to bring answers, but stirred a large number of questions. Most notably was if Alex was tied to her grandmother. More puzzle pieces came from Irucher and his curse towards some half-fiend in annoying tongue of demons. This was likely Alex. It quickly became painfully obvious that Irucher was not bound to the ringbearer, ironically it was meant to be the other way around and would have been as such should AD have properly worn the ring. He would have to warn AD of this after dealing with the demon. First, AD needed to establish control as Irucher was bound only to come at his name, what he did when he came was completely up to him.

“He is not bound to your commands and requests. In fact, he will act soon if you can not show yourself as a viable threat. Call to the shadows. Let them show your annoyance, let them show your fury, let them show this demon what fear truly is. If he still proves unmanageable after that, threaten to destroy the ring,” Rith’s whispered voice advised. He had seen in her mind that she was a capable shadowdancer much like himself, though the extent of her power and her creativity with illusions were unknown to him. He could aid her, but it was better that she did this herself. She might decide to keep the ring for its new found use as well as its former use as a lucky charm. It was of no use to Rith, though Rith could always find a use for the demon’s soul.

Having warned AD any suggested her next course of action, now it was time to get enough fitting puzzle pieces to see a good portion of the picture. The Chel Irucher spoke of was doubtlessly AD’s grandmother, though Irucher obviously didn’t know of the woman before him. He could have made a deal with Alex for her to be the host and for him to play as AD to get along well with Chel, but this was not the case as he was contemplating killing her. He just wanted a formidable host that would let him carry on his own goals. Alex ,with his ties to the abyss, may have known of AD and her grandmother, though if that were the case there was the question of what he had done after giving AD the ring and if his intentions had been to foil Irucher or make AD the host. He could look into AD’s minds for answers later, for now he wanted to know what was the agreement, most likely made with Alex, that Irucher had made. He knew what Irucher’s ultimate goal was and what the demon was supposed to be getting. He didn’t know what Irucher had given up or what or the specifics of the deal which may have held loopholes, though those were far more favored among those of hell than the abyss. Those of the abyss were more likely to simply not honor the agreement. Preparing himself to smother any resistance, Rith dispelled both the illusionary screen and Iaris. The strange box shriveled swiftly, seeming almost as an evaporating puddle. With that deed done he began to burrow deeper in the demon’s mind in search the answers he wanted. Should AD fail to properly hold off the demon, once Rith was deep enough he could very easily disable Irucher in a number of delightfully painful manners, though Rith hoped that AD could handle the matter on her own.

AD made a mental note as Rith continued to speak. Irucher is not like her summoned creatures. The shadows? Illusions… lies… and fear? Yes. She could do that easily. First she let her unholy aura loose to fill the air. Then, she beckoned to the shadows and began to shape them with but a thought into the forms she wished them to be. The shadows from under the trees streamed through the air in ribbons of pure black, wrapping about her and giving her large bat-like wings, claws over her own hands and then the shadows also garbed her with what was something more like a horned mask made of shadows. She was making herself look more like she remembered KiChel, the demon who said AD’s soul belonged to Chel... The shadows stayed as ribbons in the air too, stretching out from where she was to the shadows beyond. Then words came forth from the very air itself, echoing among the ribbons of shadow so that they were both words and whispers. She spoke demonic sharply and clearly though, making the words almost seem like blades themselves, almost. “Are you both deaf and dumb demon spawn? How dare you speak of my kin like that! Perhaps I shall have to call upon my own to teach you a lesson, or perhaps…” AD reached into the small pouch on her hip and pulled out a blade, it also a creator of illusions. She reinforced her own shadow illusions with it, making them appear even more solid and making it seem as if they too held her unholy aura. She let the blade rise easily from the bag as if she were drawing it and let the tip point down toward the ground between them as she remembered more powerful beings doing while weaker ones often held the blade up like a barrier between them and their foe or foes. She held it easily in her left hand. “… perhaps I should just take care of this impudence myself.” AD then felt Turin shift and crouch down on her right shoulder, his small breath whispering across her ear. A small bit of a smile crossed her lips then, mostly because Turin was tickling her.

“You? You think you can face me? Me?” Irucher laughed, but it was not a true laugh. He had to force it as now, now he wasn’t so sure. So much of his power had been sapped away by something while he had been trapped in that ring, and this unholy-ness… was that the same one? He wasn’t sure now and his mind was quickly working though his choices. Perhaps this girl could provide him with some answers first, like where she had found the ring. If what she was saying was true, then she had only said his name to release him. But who was this one? New perhaps, as Chel always kept a close eye on her creations. There was rumor of an errant child though, one not half of Chel’s blood but lesser. He had overheard Alexander speaking to that damned shadow cat about it… Pondering this over for a bit, Irucher sat back on his haunches and picked his hands off of the ground. Again his wings, only white bone now, flexed and they lay flat along his back. “You’re too indecisive Child of Chel. How am I to know what it is you want? We should talk of more interesting things, like how this ring I’m bound to came into your possession. That would be a most interesting topic. Are you so well versed in magic?”

Meanwhile, her summoned hellhounds were still set on the task she had given them. The pair had managed to scare out a bear, which they decided would be more fun to chase back to where AD and the others had been. One fiery hound on one side and one on the other, they went after the singed bear, hearding it back through the forest so they wouldn’t have to bother with figuring out how to get the thing back to her. The poor bear didn’t realize that the fire that was following it were hounds so it fled in panic from the burning flames, right to where AD, Rith, and Irucher were.

She drew the shadows to her well. Her illusion was good, frightening and convincing. It was surprising such a hectic mind could create such a detailed illusion. Irucher did not recognize her at first, but he did recall this disguise, which was little surprise given that he had dealing with RaChel who was most likely another of the offspring of a very conceited Demon named Chel. Her voice and tone were also good, reeking of a hostile air that made her menacing form even more discomforting. To further her intimidating performance she drew her blade with ease an grace showing that it was in no stranger to her hand. The blade itself caught Rith’s attention. It had a powerful magic all of its own, granting it great power over illusions. It could be no less than a relic of some sort, but it was far more likely an artifact. Rith could put it to good use, but it was probably better in AD’s hands as she could use it to its fullest and not just for it’s magical power of power over illusions.

AD’s hard work did not go unrewarded, as Irucher’s confidence in himself took a notable stumble. It seemed to have helped that Irucher noticed a great gaping hole in his own power. He felt it’s drain and he also seemed to sense the drained power than now served the female before him. He recognized her as of Chel, but did not take her for Kichel as the disguise was meant to resemble. Oddly enough the demon’s mind drifted to a rumor that was not only true, but exactly what he was dealing with. That meant that Alex did know or at least was speculating that AD was Chel’s granddaughter. That clearly meant that Alex had some plot in mind for the girl or perhaps that someone above him was forcing his hand. He didn’t mean for Irucher’s fall as he had not told her not to wear the ring on her finger. If Alex had something to gain from Irucher taking AD’s body, then he probably would have made a greater effort to have her wear the ring. Most likely Alex’s hand was forced and he either knew he was being watched or honestly did not care whether or not she wore the ring, only that she take it without quarrel. This placed much more interest on RaChel and her goals, though it was possible that the hand that forced Alex knew nothing of AD being the granddaughter of Chel.

Despite AD’s good attempt at intimidation, the demon still had the audacity to ignore her question and even insult her judgment. She had done well, but not well enough. She would need to put him in his place and make the demon fear for his life, delicious paralyzing fear. Rith could sense scrumptious panic, but it came from neither AD nor Irucher. It was further away, but coming quickly towards them. It was the quarry of AD’s hounds, they would be coming in about now. They were coming from behind Irucher. Torment was coming from behind them. Torment had opted to look into catching more than just a deer and was now returning with another deer, larger this time, but not by much. He managed to easily carry both in his larger, three-headed form. The two deer were dangled from their necks which were held onto firmly by the jaws of either the side heads. The middle head carried a squealing rabbit held only by its profusely bleeding foot. Of the three animals the rabbit was the only one alive.

“He seems to be a slow learner and will need a lesson on where his place is. Make sure he will no longer dodge your questions with inane questions of his own making. Your hounds are returning and may desire to assist you, but be wary of their quarry, they bring with then a panicked bear,” Rith informed AD secretly after taking a moment to divine what the terrified creature was. Hopefully the sight of Torment would be enough to deter the bear from trying to plow through AD and Rith, but if not and if the hell hounds failed to protect their master from the prey, Rith had his own means of swiftly stopping the beast himself, though it was an unwanted distraction from Irucher’s and AD’s mind.

AD paused for a moment, not sure what to do with the information Rith had given her. He hadn't actually given her anything to go off of. Nothing but general information. She was confused with this lack of direction as she had been expecting it from him. The illusions would have failed then if it wasn't for the blade, which would have wavered if she hadn't had it down.

While she hesitated, the hell hounds smelled a demon up ahead. They had not been expecting that and both looked at each other. They then looked to the bear, and attacked it. It wasn't long before the bear's head was no longer attacked to it's body, a few snaps of their teeth and it was still. They didn't wait there but came forward to where the demon was facing AD and Rith. Both hellhounds lowered their heads and opened their jowls. A unearthly growl issued forth and AD blinked, noticing they were there. She smiled then, a real smile.

"If that's your choice Irucher, then you are no use to me." She said and turned away, a ring of fire formed on the ground where she had been and a fire elemental rose from the summoning circle. The Hellhounds split and the three summoned beings circled Irucher as AD walked away, gesturing to Rith to come with her.

Irucher snarled, "What is this? Have you gone mad Child of Chel? What makes you think..." the next sound was a howl of pain as a hellhound lept upon the demon's back. He roared and tossed it off as the fire elemental and the other hound attacked.

AD paused and looked back, it wasn't enough... "Turin, bring your little friend with you and finish him off." The fly dragon zipped off, a small black ball of fluff following it with tiny bat-like wings. Missiles of magic rained down on Irucher as the small ball of fluff cast a succession of Inflict Minor wound. The demon didn't know what to attack first. It swung one way, then another, the two tiny attackers getting in his face. He then looked at AD, who was simply standing there, waiting. She wanted him to give up? No, no. He would rather risk waiting for another chance. He curled himself down and willed himself back to his safety, his ring.

AD blinked, not knowing where the demon had gone to. The hellhounds howled in triumph and bounded over to her, then off into the woods where the bear was, then back to her until she realized they were trying to lead her somewhere. She followed and found, just out of sight from where they had been, a very dead bear.

Rith was quite surprised with what came next. She was left confused by his vagueness. She floundered and quavered and only by chance managed to hold on to her frightening image. She was a good puppet yes, but too much of a puppet. Rith would have to work on that later to get use out of her. Her hell hounds did well to regain her attention and bring her to her decision. It had taken her a moment of gracelessness, but she had at least managed to make her own conclusion. Death was more than Rith was expecting, but it mattered not. Rith followed AD and watched her summoned creatures and pets to be well more than the drained demon could deal with. He doubted the Demon would allow himself to die so soon and was not surprised when the Demon retreated to the partial safety of the ring. AD was lost as to where the creature had escaped to, but her excited hell hounds did not let her mind dwell on that for long and were quite eager to direct her attention to their catch. Rith had noted the exact moment of the bear’s death, it had been the moment fear and pain had fled the beast and left Rith to only taste the Demon’s fear. Rith followed and was not entirely surprised by what he saw as the bear had not been immediately killed by their fierce offensive.

“He has returned from whence he came, the ring that hangs from your neck. You must never wear that ring on your finger or let any of your friends do so, as he will take over their body. Should you possibly find use for him you may call him with his name. I’m sure he will learn to respect your authority even if it does take a several more beatings,” Rith said gesturing to the ring.

“You did well with him and have taught him an important lesson, but you faltered when I gave only options, not instructions. You must try not to let that or something similar happen again, particularly when you are dealing with demons and other such creatures of the Abyss.”

“Other than that you have done quite well. Your hell hounds have proven to be both skilled and powerful. They have caught and killed a powerful beast twice their size together and they did well against the demon, for that alone I think you have won our little bout,” Rith said as he open his palm as if in an offering manner. The black gem rose form the ground and drifted smoothly to his hand where it floated awaiting AD to take her prize. Torrent sat down behind his own two deer, once again in his worgish form. He had done away with the rabbit and now he awaited the small picnic that would soon ensue.

AD looked down at the ring around her neck when Rith said he hadn't died but had returned. So he was like a summoned creature. When they should have died they are sent back, but while her summoned creatures have a plane to return to, all Irucher could return to was the ring... She tightened her fist around the ring. So what did that promise of safety mean? Why was there a demon in the ring? Was Irucher her enemy?

She seemed to droop at his warning about faltering. she looked down. "I'm sorry, I slipped back in to the habit I had when working with Raven. He always knew exactly what to do and always told me what to do. I got in big trouble if I didn't do what he said. He told me over and over I had to follow his directions or I would end up dead. I'll be more careful next time."

She looked at Rith when he mentioned how well her hell hounds had done and she found herself grinning, proud of them. Then he opened his hand and she paused. The gem rose from where it had been left on the ground and hovered lightly over Rith's palm. Her eyes followed the shinny stone and when it was offered she reached out to accept it. It was very shinny but as black as night, no... darker. It was cold to her touch, but she didn't mind. She had a new shinny and shinnies made her very happy. She sat down on the ground where she was and looked it over, turning it this way and that, memorizing it with both sight and touch. Turin peeked down at it too, trying to see what had drawn her attention. The tiny fly dragon walked down her arm and wrapped his tail about her wrist. She giggled and held the gem in that palm and opened her hand do the tiny dragon could look at their newest treasure too. Turin started his own very serious inspection of the gem as AD watched him curiously.