Apostles of Doom

Tom shook his head as he reformed the outer robe. “Rupert somehow figured it out all on his own.”

“The determination of self-preservation, I should imagine. He, however, was just locking in what he thought of as his true form,” Antefalken said.

“True,” Tom agreed then his brow furrowed. “We don’t even know how old Rupert really is. As a human he looks like he’s about ten, but he’s probably at least thirteen. Heck, he may almost be my age.”

Antefalken chuckled. “Well, you are very mature for your age.”

“Unless the Phoenix Cycle is real and I actually am Orcus, in which case I am incredibly immature for someone who is hundreds of thousands of years old,” Tom said with a grin.

“I am betting that’s a big part of the Phoenix Cycle: giving yourself a fresh perspective, wiping away the cynicism and the baggage that holds you back after a very long life.”

“Perhaps,” Tom said.

“I know that when I was incarnated as a human for a lifespan, even though I was partially pretending to be a child at first, it did do wonders,” Antefalken said.

Tom looked at Antefalken in shock, losing both of his robes before pulling them back together. “You what?”

Antefalken grinned. “As payment for some exceptional service, one of my patrons gave me the use of an incubus, allowing me to incarnate as a human. So I lived out a roughly normal human life, starting as a baby.”

Tom shook his head in amazement. “That’s very cool!”

“Indeed it was. It was quite the experience, because even though I had my knowledge, I had to grow up and retrain myself in order to get my skills back. In particular, the first years as a baby were bad. The brain is still developing, and so you are feeling very fuzzy the entire time, like in a fog, and you have zero motor skills.” Antefalken shook his head, smiling at the memories.

“So what did you do in your second human life?” Tom asked.

“Old habits die hard. I was a bard,” the demon said with a sparkle in his eyes. “I even started a school on the northern tip of Norelon, at a place I named after myself: Antefalken’s Reach.”

“You are going to have to tell me your adventures sometime!” Tom said enthusiastically.

“Once you master your clothing,” Antefalken said, pointing to where Tom’s robes had parted again, exposing himself. “Might want to think about creating some underwear while you are at it.”

Citadel of Light, Dungeon: Third Period

“Good morning, Rede,” Hilda said, entering Rede’s cell with Teresa, a Priest Inquisitor of Torean. Hilda had never heard of such a title before. However, despite the ominous-sounding title, Teresa was actually a very convivial person with a much warmer demeanor than Diocate Aeris.

Rede looked up from where he was sitting on his stone bench. At least he was no longer crouched on the floor. It also appeared that he had washed himself a little bit — all good things. However, he remained silent as two guards brought chairs in for Hilda and Teresa.

“Rede, I am not sure if we have been properly introduced,” Hilda said with a smile, utilizing all of her charm. “I am Hilda of Rivenrock, which, interestingly enough, is in Astlan, rather than Nysegard. Now, as you may have gathered from our first meeting, I am a saint of Tiernon.”

Rede nodded, not meeting her gaze.

Hilda walked up and held out her hand in greeting. Rede stared at it in what appeared to be terror.

“It’s just my hand, Rede. I am offering you a handshake. I promise it will not hurt you in any way,” Hilda said.

Rede looked up at her as if she were crazy. Which probably made sense; saints did not normally shake hands in greeting with Unlife. Hilda smiled as gently as she knew how. Rede finally reached out and tentatively, timidly shook her hand.

“See? No shocks, zaps or lightning bolts.” Hilda grinned at him. She released his hand and gestured for Teresa to come over. “This is Teresa; she is a priestess of Torean, who happens to be good with conversations. She’s human — no strange heavenly business.” Hilda winked at him. “Teresa, may I introduce Rede Yondin, recently of a recon patrol for the Storm Lords.”

Teresa reached out a hand. “It is good to meet you, Rede. I know you are not happy to be here, but if you work with us, we will try to make your stay as tolerable as being in a dungeon can be.”

Rede shook her hand with a similar timidity.

“Now, we have a few questions for you,” Teresa said as she moved back to sit down in her chair. Hilda smiled and did the same.

“Hilda has told me a little bit about your situation,” Teresa said. “It sounds quite different from what we would have expected, and we would like to learn a bit more, if you don’t mind?”

Hilda stretched her neck. Teresa was very good at this. Certainly she was more thorough in her follow-up questions than Hilda was. Of course, Hilda did most of her questioning using alcohol; that would probably not be appropriate here. She suppressed a grin.