The Devine Demon {Chapter 41}

Now properly dressed in her armor Lilith went to her closet and put on her Holy Symbol and Signet Ring. She then drew in a deep breath to calm herself before opening the door and dealing with the Dwarf beyond.

There standing with most of his weight on one leg was Gonald, wearing a sharp looking vest and coat. “Come on Come on, we are on the clock here sister. They need you down at the forges we have all the metal for the spear heads smelted and it is waiting for you.”

“That's good news did you bring a cart to pick me up?” Lilith thought not wanting to slog around in the muddy streets.

“As a matter of fact I did. The Duchess has loaned us out her coach for the day so don’t break it.”

“That is the best news I have heard so far today Gonald.” Lilith said as she patted Gonald on the back with her left hand as they walked to the castle entrance.

Exiting the castle the coach was stopped only a few feet from the archway. The door was being held open by the driver, who was wearing coveralls and a fancy hat. He made a slight grimace as Lilith reached for the door frame and pulled herself inside. The coach tilted and lurched as her feminine body and massive tail found a place inside the coach. Gonald boarded a few seconds later and the driver began to climb up to his perch on the front of the coach after he closed and secured the door.

Lilith could hear the slap of the rains as the horses began moving, taking them down the Duke’s Way and across the market to the Guild hall and the forges. Gonald looked a little nervous and didn’t quite know where to put his eyes as most the cab was filled with Lilith in one form or an other.

Soon they stopped again and the door opened onto the solid stone pavers that went into the Blacksmith Guild house and the many smoke stacks from the forges could be seen overhead. As she stepped out he coach tilted once again. Lilith went down the included step and down to the entry path moving her tail only after she was on solid ground.

Gonald took her directly to one of the forges where the Steel had been stockpiled. Lilith had never seen that many steel bars all the same color and quality stacked as if they were pieces of gold bullion. “Well are you ready to get started?” Gonald asked looking at both Lilith and the pile of bars.

“Sure can you bring over one of the spear heads I created yesterday?”

“Oh… ahhh they are already affixed to spears.. I will go get one.” Gonald said looking a bit foolish as he looked around for a set of pliers, a hammer, and hole punch. Leaving with the tools in hand he said. “They are on a cart already I will be right back.”

The forges were still running and Lilith played with the fire running her right hand threw it. Her other hand had the ring. As she pulled her hand out she noticed the thumbnail on her right hand was black. Looking closer it was very dark and had a scale like texture reminding her of Noodle One. Shaking her head she wondered what to do with her creation. Was he capable of growing mentally or physically? Was he making a joke when he said he could keep his mouth shut because he could speak with telepathy? Did demons make jokes? Lilith began to try and construct a demonic comedy routine in her mind when Gonald returned with a spear head and a cross pin in hand.

“I figured you could save us some time and make the cross pins too.” Gonald said as he stepped over Lilith's tail and moved to stand next to the pile of steel bars.

“Sure put it down on the work bench. Hey ,hear me out for a second Gonald I want your opinion on this. Two demons walk into a bar. They watch and listen as a man walks up to the bar keep and says ‘I’ll have a tall Amber’. Then one of the demons says ‘Amber? I didn’t know they served humans here?’” Lilith said this to Gonald expecting a response but he just stared at her and threw the parts onto the table.

With all the materials and the example present Lilith cast Fabricate and began converting the Steel ingots into steel spear heads and cross pins. The magic worked quickly making a new spear head every two seconds. After about two minutes Lilith had them stacked in five groups of ten and there were still 7 bars of steel left. She deactivated the spell and turned to Gonald. “It seems you have a fair bit of extra steel to play with.”

“Hey don’t start to tease me with words about playing with steel.” Gonald said pointing a defiant finger at Lilith.

Lilith decided based on yesterdays misunderstanding she would have to avoid using the word steel around Dwarves. “Well they are done. Can I help with the shields or is there anything else that needs my attention?”

“This is just what we needed Lilith. We already have the counterweights made and the spears are just needing these sharp bits at the end. We have a few more shields to make and then we need to fit the metal skin to about 50 of them later today.” he said giving Lilith a firm pat on the back.

Lilith then offered to use pact magic to finish the shields before lunch that way the men could get an afternoon practicing with them. Gonald jumped at the offer and mentioned something about a bonus for early delivery. “So how does this work?” Gonald asked.

Taking a step back so the smell of Bar-B-Q brisket didn’t overwhelm her Lilith said “Just bring me one of the finished shields and as much leather as you have.”

Gonald instead showed Lilith to another workshop across the way it had many craftsmen pounding away at different work stations making shields and leather straps. He pointed to the pile of finished shields and said that the supply closet had enough leather for 300 of them.

“So I am going to open a pact and you just have to say how many shields you want and where to get the resources. So point at this completed shield then specify that the steel comes from the mountains the wood comes from the forest and the leather comes from the supply closet that way no ones cows end up missing their skin.” Lilith said pointing at the various objects as she spoke of them.

“Ok I think I’m ready.” Gonald said as he swallowed with a thunk.

“The pact is open state what you desire mortal” Lilith said as her eyes flared with a red flame.

“I want 50 shields exactly like this one, made with steel from the mountains, oak from the forest and leather from the supply closet.” Gonald said pointing at the shield, the mountains, the forest and then the closet.

“And what will you give?” Lilith asked looking at Gonald

“50 gold.” He said with a little hesitation

“And I will contribute 40% of my pact energy” she said in a flat tone.

“Agreed.” Gonald said as he swallowed a lump in his throat.

“The pact is complete, your shields shall be made.” Lilith said as she lowered her hands and focused them on the empty floor space to her right. In a flash of light and mist 50 shields appeared stacked in ten piles of five. As soon as the shields were complete Lilith felt a heavy weight on the left side of her chest.

Turning to Gonald Lilith could see an expression of amazement on his face. Several of the craftsman stopped what they were doing and came to check the shields in the middle of the room. They were man sized and made Gonald look a bit small covering him from head to toe as he held one in his hands to examine it.

“Well that turned out well. Did you know you have a talent for speaking Gonald.” Lilith said with a smile.

“Ya some times we can’t get him to shut up.” one of the workers said.

“Hey now get back to work and finish what you have already started. Then load everything onto the carts, we need to get them delivered to the Barracks. I am sure Sharl won’t mind having a few spares.” Gonald said while pointing a hammer at his craftsmen. “Now for your payment.” Gonald began patting himself down, looking for something. Then spun in a circle and checked his jacket.

Seeing his confusion Lilith let out a loud cough and began to reach into her bust line inside of her armor and pulled out a leather pouch that seemed to have fifty gold.

“Well how did you get that already?” he asked pointing a finger at the coin pouch.

“Magic!” Lilith said with a smile. She then messed up Gonalds hair as his head was at hand level for her and she then walked and snaked her way out of the workshop not looking back.

Standing in front of the coach Lilith paused and thought about what to do next. She had to tell Sir Tanel and Sharl of their success so they could begin performing drills but she also wanted to talk to Wendel and Celeste about making a plan for the next day. Lilith hoped she could find at least one of them with Sir Tanel but would go look for them if she needed to. Finally deciding on a course of action as the driver opened the door for her, Lilith put the coin purse back into her chest and crawled her way into the coach. The ride was comfortable as the coach had an actual suspension made of steel leaf springs. Having the cabin to herself was also nice as she stretched out fully and her thoughts began to wander. Lilith took the time to look at the scales on her thumb and started to think about Noodle One sitting alone in her closet.

Arriving at the castle Lilith fist dropped off the purse of gold in her closet and gave Noodle One a pat on the head. He seemed to be hiding in the closet blending in well with her black dress. Then wasted no more time, she went to see Sir Tanel in the master study. Approaching the door Lilith found both Sir Tanel and Wendel looking at the scrying orb along with Lady Morwen and Kevin. They were looking at various villages and farms making sure that each had been notified and were making some preparations to enter the city by nightfall.

“Sir Tanel I have finished all that I can at the Blacksmith Guild for today.”

“What already? What about the shields?” he asked

“They are all done. Everything is being loaded onto carts as we speak. But before you ask the answer is ‘magic!’.” Lilith said with a big grin on her face as she shook her hands rhythmically with her fingers extended.

“Um.. Yes that is just what we have come to expect from you Lilith. Now if you have time would you mind helping us with something that has just come up?” Sir Tanel said with a bit of hesitation in his voice.

“Sure But I would like to have breakfast at some point I am actually a bit hungry come to think of it.” Lilith declared placing a hand on her armored hip.

“Oh I am sure Wendel could summon up a few, what did you call them, cheeseburgers if you give him a description.” Kevin said while raising an eyebrow at Lilith.

“Well for now we need help with a bandit situation. With all the food and supplies being moved into the town today a few people have gotten the bright idea to start charging a toll on the road.” Sir Tanel said with a grim expression.

“Yes and when they see the size of some people’s coin purses they are just demanding the whole thing.” Kevin said sounding a bit outraged.

“Well I can head out there if you like but what do you want me to do with the bandits?” Lilith asked as she gestured with one hand.

“We can’t be lenient on them during times like these. If you witness them levying any tolls or taking any money you may kill them to the man. But we really just want this robbery to stop and for you to recover any gold they have on them. We have been recording a list of victims as they enter town and any recovered funds can be returned to the citizens. So far 50 citizens have reported being taxed or robbed. They are about Five miles north of here on the main road. You can’t miss the line of people and carts that they are stopping on the road.” Sir Tanel said in a serious tone.

“We would normally send the cavalry but we don’t want any of the horses or men getting injured right before they are to fight a battle. And the bandits would run from fully armored cavalry in any case and we would never recover the money.” Lady Morwen said seeming a bit embarrassed at the whole situation.

“Its fine I can leave immediately. Kevin would you like to join me?”

“Yes let me go get some manacles and ready some horses. I will meet you out front.”

“Sounds good. By the way Wendel where is Celeste?”

“She is in the Library copying out more spells from my spellbook and from some of the spell scrolls we have in storage.” he said while pointing a finger over his shoulder

“Well I am glad she is having fun. But before I go there is this delicacy from my homeland I want you to conjure up.” Lilith said licking her lips subconsciously.

Lilith quickly explained the ingredients and cooking methods involved in making the perfect bacon cheeseburger. Soon Wendel had conjured up a large platter of them covering one of the desks with that and a few goblets of water. Lilith quickly ate four of them and carried a fifth out front, where Kevin was waiting for her.

Out in front of the castle entrance Lilith found Kevin securing something inside the saddlebags on a horse. She walked up to and nudged him with her elbow before offering him the round confection. “Now this is a cheeseburger.” Lilith said as she handed it to Kevin with a big grin on her face.

“Hmm. Its like a sandwich but it smells a lot better. This if from your world?” he asked pointing a finger at the thick sandwich.

“Yep I had Wendel make these, and they even smell better than you.” she said as she nodded towards the burger.

“I am glad to hear that.” Kevin takes a bite and his eyes go wide “That's really good Lilith.” Kevin took two more bites before handing off the burger to a steward and mounting a horse. He then looked at Lilith expecting her to mount the next horse over but instead Lilith began walking down the path toward the Marketplace. Realizing his mistake Kevin brought his horse around and began to follow her.

“How fast can you move now? Can you run?” Kevin asked

“Its not so much how fast I can run, but rather how far I can jump.” Lilith said before jumping 150’ into the distance and looking back at Kevin.

He quickly smacked the reigns on both sides of the horse and began moving at a gallop. Soon he had caught up to Lilith and was going past her.

Now halfway to the Marketplace, Lilith stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes met with a strange man. He was dressed in brown robes that were lined with gold and carried a staff made from the branch of a cedar tree. A type of tree Lilith had not seen in this area. But what she was sure no one else could see was that he was walking around town in a fabricated body. A construction of magic. The sheer size and splendor of his real body only apparent to Lilith as a ghostly form hanging behind him. The old man with white hair and blue eyes seemed to be looking directly at her with a sense of curiosity as if he wanted to start a conversation.

Lilith walked up to him leaving a path of smoothed road behind her. Kevin stopping his horse as he passed the two of them, slowing and then turning around once he realized she had stopped. Lilith looked at the spectral form of a Golden Dragon hanging behind the man and decided to speak with him.

“I am sorry I don’t have time for a long conversation sir. Our citizens are being accosted by bandits as we speak.”

“That is fine but tell me what do you plan to do to those bandits when you find them?” The golden dragon asked.

“If they draw weapons I will most likely kill them. But if they don’t resist I may just chain them up and bring them back to town. My orders were to make an example of them but I don’t think I can slaughter people even if they are criminals.”

“So you are chaotic, willing to disobey your orders to preserve life even if it is unworthy of your mercy.” he said as he tilted his head trying to get a better look at her.

“I suppose you could say that. But I try not to cause trouble on my own.” Lilith said feeling a bit defensive. She had never thought of herself as chaotic but instead as a free thinker. Pondering on that thought a little longer, she realized that a free thinker is exactly how a chaotic good person would describe themselves.

“Then what about that demon you have in your closet?” he asked looking over he shoulder at the castle on the hill.

“He is no more a demon than I am. You can go talk to him too if you like.” Lilith said glibly.

“Very well I will do that but first tell me who is ruling this land currently. I am having trouble keeping up.” The dragon asked politely as Kevin drew near on his horse.

“Sir Tanel is currently serving as regent but my mother will resume her reign at the end of the month. Now whats this you say about a demon?” Kevin asks as he stops and dismounts his horse.

“Oh, the knight from Waterdeep. I am glad things are working out for him. So sad what happened to his brother. And don’t worry about the demon. I will take care of it soon enough, one way, or another.” The old man then walked around Lilith and Kevin and continued up the Ducal way towards the castle never looking back.

“Who was that? And what was that about a demon in your closet?”

“Kevin why do you like me? Why don’t you look at me and see a demon?”

“I don’t know Lilith I have been to many places I have seen creatures that look like nightmares. And I have killed men that were just as horrible on the inside. Twisted things that would pit neighbor against neighbor for their own amusement. But you aren’t like them you treat people the way they treat you. Sometimes you treat them even better. Just like with that old man you treated him with kindness and respect even though we don’t have the time for it. I see a noble heart in you, not just a tail or red eyes.”

“And what if it is more than just a tail what if I get more grotesque and snake like?”

“As long as you are still you I don’t think it will matter.”

“I can’t accept that there has to be some other reason you are after me I am not worthy of such affection.”

“Ok maybe there is one more thing I am afraid to admit.” Kevin said giving Lilith a slightly dejected look.

“Hah I knew it. Come on tell me.” she said pointing a single finger at him.

“Well when Wendel told me about you he mentioned how I should be careful because you were as strong as 10 men. I was excited and pursued you because I was desperate to find a partner I wouldn’t have to worry about accidentally hurting in a fit of passion. You see doors aren’t the only things I nearly broke.” Kevin said, his face begging to blush as he spoke.

Lilith begins laughing at the sight of him and his ‘difficulties’. It was a problem she could relate to but that made it all the more hilarious to her.

“Don’t worry the girl was ok.” Kevin said in a mocking tone before he too started laughing.

“Ok Ok Ok.” Lilith said trying to steady herself and stop laughing. “Now I at least know where we stand Kevin.”

“Is that good?” he asked sheepishly

“Yes very good. You think there is something noble in me. Well I think there is something divine in all of us even that old man or that stupid Dwarf, Gonald.

“So my sweet are you going to tell me about this demon in your closet?” Kevin asked in a playful tone.

“There is no demon only a telepathic snake. And I am sure that dragon will sort it out. He seemed like the calm and rational type. I don’t know what Sir Tanel was all worried about, honestly.” Lilith said at a rapid pace.

“Dragon?” Kevin asked in a hushed tone as if she had spoken some forbidden word.

“Ya, now come on, we have bandits to stop.” Lilith said as she smacked Kevin on the butt and teleported ahead closer to the Caravan gate.

Soon they exited the gate and started heading north on the main road. They passed a steady stream of carts and citizens, some with horses and some on foot with only a backpack or satchel. Many of them cheered for Kevin as they saw him ride past at full speed. Lilith had given up trying to move forward using her legs and her tail. They just didn’t work well together. Instead she teleported 150’ at a time on the grass at the side of the road.

After a half hours ride they saw it. A traffic jam of carts and horses and desperate people. And at the head of that line there were ten men most with weapons slung on their hips or their backs. Two men had crossbows ready pointed at the cart that was currently at the head of the line.

Lilith and Kevin stopped short and started to talk about 200’ away from the road block. Off to the side of the road Lilith said “Do you want me to go in first and talk to them maybe get them to surround me?”

“Why do you want them to surround you Lilith?” Kevin asked sounding surprised.

“Easier to get them all with a spell.” she said with a smirk.

“Well I don’t want to take any of those cross bow bolts so I will let you go in first. I can chase down any that try to flee.”

“How chivalrous of you.” Lilith said with a sly smile.

“Oh then, how about we go in together.” Kevin suggested

“Fine!”

“Fine!” Kevin brought his horse back up to a trot as Lilith jumped just 30’ at a time to keep up with him.

As they approached the bandits, they turned around seeming surprised by traffic coming the other way. Two of the men came over to stand in front of Lilith and Kevin, one of them brandishing a sword while the other held a crossbow at the low ready. “Stop there, we are charging a toll today to pay for security on this road.” The bandit with the crossbow said in a loud voice directed at Kevin.

“Well we are the security on this road so I will have to ask the lot of you to stop your operation and form a line over here.” Lilith said in her most confident and commanding voice.

“Hey Boss we got a couple from town here they want us to stop our ‘operation’.” the Bandit with the sword said while the one with the crossbow brought it up to his shoulder and leveled it at her.

“Who said we were a couple?” Lilith asked with as tone of incredulity as the group of ten men began to draw weapons and surround them. Kevin got off his horse and drew his sword prompting the first action by one of the bandits. The man began to attack Kevin, raising his sword high and bringing it down aiming for his shoulder.

Faster than she believed was humanly possible Lilith saw Kevin parry the blow and slice the bandit at the waist and neck only to turn and bring his guard up facing the next closest man.

Lilith began casting a spell as most of the eyes were off her and instead looking at their compatriot who was now spurting an unhealthy amount of blood from many places as he lie dying.

[Ho] [Ba] [Va] [Hold person] sounded out as 5 of the bandits were frozen in place unable to move a muscle. Three of the men continued their attack on Kevin while one turned to fire a crossbow bolt at Lilith.

Lilith jumped directly behind the bandit as he fired and struck him on the side of the head with her gauntleted hand, knocking him out cold. Next she cast fire bolt on one of the men who leveled a crossbow at Kevin but was looking for an opportunity to fire as the other two engage him. Her target dropped the crossbow as he fell forward, a smoldering hole in his back.

Kevin blocked the first attack by the closest bandit then kicked him in the stomach sending him reeling. Next he turned to the last man facing him knocked his longsword aside and cut his head in half at the nose. Turning back to the man recovering from the kick Kevin heard the sound of fire strike a man behind him. So he said “Drop your weapon or suffer the same fate.” as he pointed his glowing sword at the mans head from 10’ away.

The bandit dropped his sword and Lilith started looking at the carnage Kevin had left behind. It was at this moment she realized that swords were not a very forgiving weapon. They were far messier than guns or spells and they never ran out of ammo. Kevin placed manacles on the surrendering man with his hands behind his back and quickly searched him for weapons. He pulled a dagger out from his boot and then looked at Lilith for a plan of action.

“Put him against the tree.” Lilith said. Apparently the bandits had chosen this spot because of the large shade tree near the road. ‘After all, who wants to rob people while standing in the hot sun’ she thought.

“What about the others?” Kevin asked looking at the five men who were still frozen with pained expressions. Their eyes tracking Kevin and Lilith as they moved.

“Oh I can move them. Bring the manacles” Lilith said as she picked up the first bandit and brought him closer to the tree. She then pulled his arms back behind him and Kevin began slapping the manacles on. This continued for a few minutes as the onlookers began to cheer and start traveling again. As each cart went by there was another shout of praise as Lilith kept moving the still living bandits and Kevin kept searching them and putting the manacles on.

After about two minutes the spell wore off and the bandits began talking and moving again, all except for the one Lilith had knocked out. Now that each bandit was manacled and sitting down near the tree Lilith decided to address them.

“Now listen up, don’t try to escape or you will just die with a spell in you back. Which one of you is the leader I heard someone called boss a minute ago?” Lilith said pointing a finger at each one of the bandits.

“That one.. with the missing head. That's Gavin.” One of the bandits said.

“Gee and I bet he thought ‘I am going to make a killing today’ when he woke up this morning. Huh? What a bright idea you lot had robbing people on the main road.” She said in a mocking tone.

“Ya it was a dumb idea, but we thought the militia would be too busy with the orcs coming and all.”

“Well I finished my work early. Now where is the gold you have been taking?” Lilith barked.

“Its in this chest here.” another bandit said tilting his head towards the tree.

Sure enough behind the tree was a wooden strongbox with brass fittings on the hinges and the corners. Inside Lilith saw about 300 gold. She picked it up and walked over to the horse and placed it in one of the large saddle bags. She then looked at Kevin and said. “Do you have any rope?”

“No I just brought my armor, weapons, and the manacles how about you fair lady?” he admitted.

“And you call yourself and adventurer. Fine I will have to make some.” Lilith then began casting Fabricate and moved the gray box through the field of grass near by gathering and constructing hempen rope. When she had 50’ of it she brought it back over to her and canceled the spell.

Noticing that they were distracted three of the men decided to run in two different directions.

Lilith dropped the rope near Kevin and jumped to the first bandit and lifted him off the ground by grabbing and twisting his clothing in her left fist. She then jumped to the second one and did the same. The third bandit however got special treatment. She jumped in front of him and grabbed the bandit with her tail wrapping him around the waist. All of them were still wearing manacles and couldn’t put up any kind of a fight as Lilith slowly walked back to the tree carrying two and dragging one.

“Now don’t do that again or I am going to start breaking your ankles. Starting with you stinky.”

Lilith noticed that this man had a particularly unappetizing smell to him. She then thought that his soul was unclaimed by any god and he would surely be going to Hell. Lilith didn’t know where this knowledge came from it was somehow intrinsic to her nose.

Lilith picked up the rope as Kevin stood watch sword at the ready. She then ran one end threw each of the men’s linked arms and then tied the ends behind the tree in a series of knots.

“Now y'all are going to spend the night here. If you are lucky we will send a group of guards out to get you after we are done fighting the orcs. If you are unlucky you will be out her two nights.”

Kevin then gathered up the weapons and lashed what he could to the side of his horse. The crossbows were handed off to the next cart that went by.

“What do you want to do with the bodies.”

“I can’t be bothered to bury such men. Lets stack em over there on that patch of dirt and I will cremate them.” Lilith said pointing to a patch of gravel that had no vegetation. She then helped Kevin bring the bodies over jumping with a corpse in hand. It seemed weird to her she had never handled a dead body. And one of these was her doing. Searching the bodies they found more coin and a few scraps of paper. They had names mostly. Perhaps the names of people that would take bribes or could be used as fences.

Lilith put both the paper and the coins into the strongbox and closed it again. Then she cast [Flaming Sphere] and began reducing the corpses to ash. As parts of the deceased began to blow away on the wind Lilith muttered something to herself. “Ashes to Ashes Dust to Dust.” She then drew the sign of the cross on her person and mourned for them just the slightest bit.

Then both her and Kevin began the trek back to town arriving back at around 2 o’clock and utterly exhausted. They couldn’t really talk along the way because of the way Lilith was moving in jumps. As they traveled Lilith longed for the ability to ride a horse again. Now inside the castle they could stop moving, order some food from the kitchen and finally talk about what happened.

“I have never seen a blade move that fast how did you do that?” Lilith began as she sat on the bench at a table.

“Well I have had a bit of practice. Mother hired the best swordsman in the land, he called himself a sword saint in fact, and he taught me for 8 years.” Kevin said taking a drink of water directly from a pitcher on the table.

“And what did he teach you that seemed a little bit more than just a technique.” she said extending a hand for the same pitcher when he was done.

“He taught me to have faith in my abilities because they were given to me by my god and that as long as I have faith in my god my skill will never fail me. It is kind of one step short of being a paladin. My faith powers my attacks and defense rather than my god directly giving me power.”

“And what god do you believe in?” Lilith asked as she rested her chin on her hand.

“Tempus the god of war.” Kevin noticed the odd expression from Lilith and began to explain further. “He doesn’t advocate for war at all times just that it be honorable and fought with strength and cunning when it does happen.” Kevin said tripping over a few words as he went.

“Does your mother also pray to him.” Lilith asked thinking that that would fit her to a T.

“Yes, but that’s neither here nor there. The point is, I have studied the teachings of Tempus and those of my mentor and they have served me well.”

“So that's why you didn’t like the idea of being surrounded.”

“Yes it goes against the teachings of Tempus and everyday common sense.” Kevin waved over the server as they came out of the kitchen with their plates. “But what did you do to stop half those bandits in their tracks?”

“Magic!” Lilith said as she raised both eye brows at him.

“Oh haha but it seemed like you planned that.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t want to be surrounded unless it gave me an advantage.” Lilith decided not to use the Chesty Puller quote and simply began to eat her late lunch. “And you drawing your sword and filleting that bandit was a good distraction.” Lilith then went back to eating the lamb chop.

“Well it worked. I just hope you have something flashier ready for the orcs tomorrow.” Kevin said as he tilted his head towards Lilith.

“Oh baby, you have no idea.” she said with a wicked grin.

They soon finished their lunch and headed to the Master Study to report back. Inside they found Sir Tanel and Lady Morwen sitting on the sofa wine glasses in hand. Kevin knocked on the door to announce their presence. They both put down their wine and stood to greet their returning charges.

“Kevin dear you were magnificent I saw the whole thing on the orb.” Lady Morwen said as she went over to hug him.

Lilith took a half step to the side as Kevin stood still almost at attention. Soon she let go of him and instead grasp at both his hands. This finally brought a smile to his face as if some kind of spell had been lifted.

“I missed this.. the real you… It was hard thinking that you had sent me away.”

“I’m sorry to hear that but you remember no one is more proud of you than I am and I always will be.”

“Lilith we got the strangest visitor shortly after you left he claimed to be a cleric of Torm.” Sir Tanel said as he took a step forward.

“Oh I hope he was polite.” Lilith said with just the faintest hint of a smile at one corner of her mouth.

“He was but he was strange. He said that we had a demon staying in our third guest room. So I explained that you weren’t a demon and that you had in fact taken up the task of defending this town.” Sir Tanel explained walking over to where she was standing next to Kevin.

“Ok then what?” Lilith asked seeming to give Sir Tanel her full attention.

“Then he said that he had already talked to you a ‘lovely lady with red eyes’ but that he still needed to talk to the demon in your closet.” Sir Tanel paused for dramatic effect. And Lilith swallowed a lump in her throat. “So Lady Morwen let him in while I stood in the hall watching. He opened you closet and then had a very one sided conversation with one of your dresses.” Sir Tanel said in a deadpan fashion.

Lilith began laughing at this point placing an arm on Kevin’s shoulder to help steady herself. Kevin just stood firm and looked on with a smile. “Then he wished blessings upon us and left the room but that's not all. He then asked us about the demon that had sat on the throne and who had been in league with her so we told him about Lady Cromm and the necromancer that you saw leaving her hold just yesterday. He seemed to get upset and left in a huff.” Sir Tanel said trying to figure out why Lilith was laughing so hard.

Lilith kept laughing at this point and Lady Morwen began to laugh too out of sympathy. She then stood up strait and wiped the tears from her eyes and put a firm hand on Sir Tanel’s shoulder and said “Well I am glad your conversation with the gold dragon went so well. See there was nothing to worry about after all.”

“That was a….” Lady Morwen didn’t finish her thought she just placed a hand on her face.

“Your eyes you could see him just like you saw Pencheska.” Sir Tanel stated while holding a hand to his mouth as well.

“Yep!” Lilith said with another laugh.

“But what was he doing talking to your dress?” Lady Morwen asked, starting to laugh herself at the absurdity she had witnessed.

“Who knows?” Lilith said trying not to sound nervous.

“Well if you two had a talk already then I guess things are settled. That is one less thing I have to worry about this day. Oh I almost forgot what did you do with the bandits?”

“We tied them to a tree they all have manacles but they were tied to the tree with rope.” Kevin said sounding a bit proud of himself.

“And I burned the corpses.” Lilith added.

“Oh should we pick them up for trial some time tomorrow.”

“Meh maybe?” Lilith said shaking a hand in the air.

Lilith then asked about Wendel and Celeste and learned that they were both in the tower making preparations for tomorrow. Specifically they were making scrolls of fireball. She soon excused herself and went to go join them but made sure to give Kevin a gentle hug first.

Leaving the castle she cut across the grassy area that her and Celeste had been using as a landing strip. The grassy field felt nice under her tail, it was way better than the dirt and gravel roads. Lilith pushed herself forward 20’ at a time her legs working quickly to keep up sometimes lifting off the ground completely. Once within range she jumped to the door and greeted the two guards. As she was a regular now, they let her in right away. Lilith stopped on the first floor entering the laboratory and stairing at the black cylinder in the middle of the room. She then said a new curse at Pencheska “You lascivious bitch, how could you taint the love between a mother and her son. Some day, I will be your end.”

Having said her fill Lilith then proceeded up to the library on the second floor looking for her friends but dreading the hard conversation that was ahead.

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PS: I made a Fighter subclass to represent Kevin’s skills. I called it the Sword Saint. And it can be found at the link below. Sword Saint

Yes I know its not an original name but it isn’t used in any official source book yet as far as I can tell.

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