The Questing Game

"What?" Dar asked.

"I say, he's been carrying around something alien," Phandebrass answered. "Demons can't be hurt by anything from this world. If Tarrin's staff hurt one, then it must be from somewhere else, it does."

"I guess that means that Ironwood's not native to Se

"I say, now that I heard," Phandebrass grunted. "Woke me in a cold sweat, it did. That's why I'm up so early."

Dola

"They seem to be interested in all of us," Camara Tal said. "That's the only reason I can think of that would bring a pack of them to me and Dar. There would be no way they could follow the bug, since she can fly. Have you seen any of them, Allia?"

She shook her head. "Not yet. But Dola

"Or they concentrate on one at a time," Sarraya pointed out. "First Camara, then Tarrin. One sighting is an oddity, but in this city, two is much more than a coincidence. You may be next."

"We will keep our eyes open," Allia replied.

"Do more than that," Tarrin said. "You can't hurt them with Sorcery, but they do have weaknesses. The ones I fought breathe. I tried smothering them, but they managed to get clear of the weave's effect before it killed them. They're also affected by physical force, but it can't hurt them."

"Yes, I remember that part of your tale," Dola

"I think I can pray for a spell that will do that," Camara Tal assured the small Sorceress. "That should be no problem for you, Allia, Dar, or Sarraya."

"It still does not answer my question," Dola

"I think that's your answer," Camara Tal said, pointing at Tarrin. "If Jula's old troupe knows who he is, then it's a good bet that whoever sent those Demons knows who he is too."

"Someone not willing to let Tarrin have a chance to find the book first," Phandebrass added.

"Perhaps," Dola

"Maybe they're borrowing a page from the ki'zadun," Jula offered. "Alot of their strategy concerning Tarrin wasn't aimed at killing him, it was aimed at pushing him," she told them. "Kravon figured that if he piled enough bodies around Tarrin's feet, the endless fighting and killing would drive him insane. That was if someone didn't get lucky and kill him first. It had the opposite effect, though," she chuckled. "It only made him stronger."

"It almost worked," Tarrin admitted in an emotionless voice.

"Then you're a good actor," Jula replied. "From what I remember, Kravon's reports all said that you didn't show any signs of losing your sanity."

"Tarrin is a good actor," Dola

Tarrin put the bowl aside. "I know who sent them," he said quietly. The ramifications of it were mind-boggling. If the Empress of Arak really was a Demon, then he foresaw a serious problem. She was in a political position to have them all killed, and do it legally. Why she would send other Demons to harass him when she could just send the army was quite beyond him, but there had to be some kind of a reason. Dola

Dola

"Why not?" Camara Tal grunted. "Demons have powerful magic. It would be child's play for one to eliminate the old Empress and replace her. And if you were a power-hungry creature with that kind of power, how better to go about it?"

"It fits," Sarraya agreed with the Amazon. "Why build an empire, when you can just take one that's already laying around?"

"I can't see how they couldn't be co

"There are many types of Demons, lad," Phandebrass told him. "They range from the Demon Lords to the cambisi, the half-breeds. Human-Demon crossbreeds."

Dar shuddered. "That sounds horrible. Who would do that with a monster?"

"They probably had no idea it was a monster, my boy," Phandebrass said. "Many Demons have the power to shapeshift, and it's a much broader ability than Tarrin's. Demon Lords are equivalent to a god, where cambisi have only minor powers, as far as Demons rate things. Against a mortal, they would be virtually invincible. I say, you probably fought cambisi, Tarrin. Cambions, if they were male, and Alu if they were female."

"If they were the weakest of the Demons, I'd hate to see the strong ones," Jula said quietly.

"They used no magic against you," Phandebrass told her. "A Demon of greater status would never bother attacking you with a weapon. They do not need weapons."

"If the Empress did send them after us, we have to take some major precautions," Tarrin continued. "We're talking about the ruler of this empire. I seriously doubt that the Emperor runs things. Not with a Demon at his side. She probably owns him."

"What kind of precautions?" Dar asked.

"We disappear," Allia answered. "We vanish from Dala Yar Arak, and we stay missing. If she ca

"Agreed. Phandebrass, you and I are going to go find an i

"Right now, it doesn't make much sense," Tarrin agreed. "But she's a Demon. We have no idea how she thinks. Let's just protect ourselves without worrying too much about her motives, until we see more and can draw some conclusions."

"True enough," Dola

"I might be able to turn one of those cambisi, but I don't have the strength to turn a stronger Demon," she answered.

"What do you mean, turn?" Dar asked curiously.

"On this world, the only thing that can affect a Demon anymore is the gods," Dola