■■■ EVIDENCE OF THINGS NOT SEEN ■■■ The arcane room appeared to be quite a departure from the rest of the sleepy town. Through a mix of bartering and begging, Zoroastres Aurora had managed to get an entire wing of Timeus’ house for rather cheap. The wizard had created a peaceful life for himself as an alchemist for the past several years. In fact the sole reason he had decided to relocate to Navale was to escape the hustle and bustle of the Arcanum in Terminus. However, it was much to his chagrin that a swarm of demons had decided to pull him back into the lifestyle he had previously abandoned. While his skill was proficient enough to prevent the swarm from doing too much damage to the township, he was nowhere near divining the cause of the calamity. The laicar mage stepped back, sitting down on a simple wooden chair. The room contained little furniture, just a set of three wooden chairs and a long wooden table covered in his alchemical tools. The room had been painted completely black with a rather peculiar type of paint that transformed the walls into ones similar to a blackboard. Esoteric markings in multicolored chalk decorated the walls, conduits for his magic that few in the town understood. For his part the mage was still in the outfit he had used to fight the demons previously. His desire to determine the truth behind the events had prevented him from taking any bit of time off to even change. He wore a long crimson overcoat that extended to the floor. A pair of white cotton pants and knee-high black boots could be seen underneath. A black-vest peeked out between the buttons of the overcoat. A pointed, black hat accentuated his average height, causing him to appear much taller than he actually was. In the center of the room, on the floor, was an ornate glyph created in white chalk. It was a set of concentric circles with polygonal shapes in between each ring. Odd ruins were scrawled on the ground surrounding it with opened bags of Terra Regia next to it. He sighed for a moment, spinning the gold ring on his right hand. Standing up once more he approached the glyph, kneeling before it and placing both of his hands on the ground. With a sudden surge of magical energy, a portal erupted open in the circle. It revealed a black void with a crimson energies radiating outwards. A figure crawled out, clinking sets of chains appearing out of thin air to bind the supernatural being. The cacophonic sounds appeared to herald a devastating supernatural force but expectations were not quite met by reality. As the sound and lightshow from the summoning faded, the true nature of the conjured demon was revealed. It was a simple black cat with golden eyes. The tiny chains shackled its paws and a fifth chain shackled its neck as a collar. A scowl appeared on Zoroastres’ face, disappointed with the outcome once again. He could have sworn that when he bound the demon in the first place, it was quite different. Did something go wrong in the binding process? Was fatigue affecting his recollection of the event? “A pleasure to see you again Zoroastres,” the cat said in a surprisingly deep voice. “Round… fourteen?” Before the summoner could reply, a loud knock on the door cut him off. Still disgruntled, he got up and angrily stormed to the door. With sudden force he ripped the door open to see who dared to bother him while working. On the other-side, stuffed awkwardly in the cramped hallway waited four individuals. In the front was the flamboyant Kincaid, who appeared to be suppressing the urge to introduce himself in his usual dramatic manner. Behind him was Aeria, who seemed to be having doubts on what she had gotten herself into, given the present company. Nearby was the demvir Speedy, who seemed a bit lost but carried an excitable gusto to resolve the whole demonic mess. Finally, in sharp contrast, was Cassius at the back of the group. With an infectious, lethargic demeanor, it was obvious that he wished he had taken off work when the day the demons attacked. “If Timeus sent you, tell the tin can that I can take care of this myself!” he shouted, before loudly slamming the door shut again. [727] |
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