See first chapter for disclaimers.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks to Storyseeker for beta-reading this. As usual, if you have any comments or preferences, please don't be shy. RandR.
PREVIOUSLY: How Not to Summon A Demon Lord
Comparative Magic
Xander took careful aim, then drew back his arm and threw. The hard-pressed man and his equally harried students needed help, but missing would likely get them all killed.
The axe he'd acquired on one of their previous stops flew straight and true, burying itself in the red-eyed, snarling beast looming over the downed wizard. Whatever the thing was, it was so focused on the prey in front of it that it didn't notice Xander till the axe head was buried in its neck.
The creature snarled one last time before the red faded from its eyes, and the almost visible corona of power around it vanished. A quite ordinary looking, if rather large, wolf toppled over, dead. The white-haired wizard scrambled to his feet, glancing at Xander and nodding his thanks before rushing to help his comrades. There was no time for proper introductions.
Faith was busy, Xander noted as he retrieved his axe, but didn't seem to need any help. She was fighting a pack of wolves or wild dogs, thankfully normal sized, that seemed to be afflicted with whatever had changed the giant wolf he had just killed.
A couple of the teenagers in armor did need help, though. They were struggling with the creatures that seemed determined to use them as chew toys. Xander made quick work of the distracted beasts, and organized the young warriors as best he could. They clearly didn't have much experience fighting monsters.
It took a little time, but they managed to deal with the pack of bizarre creatures. When the last had been killed, the locals gathered around. Some were curious, some awed, and some were openly resentful.
The wizard, who was clearly in charge, introduced himself as Siegfried and told them he was a court magician, guiding a training hunt for the young men with aspirations to knighthood. "That was remarkable. Taking down such a powerful demon with a single blow is no small accomplishment."
Faith and Xander traded looks. "Those weren't demons," Faith said, confused. "Looked like ordinary creatures twisted by runaway magic."
"That's what a demon is," the wizard answered, a bit confused.
"If those are what you call demons, you've been damn lucky." Faith scoffed as she shot Xander a questioning glance when she saw the thoughtful look on his face.
"You know things are different almost everywhere we go." He shook his head. "Most places don't have vampires and the like."
"Lucky them." Faith snorted.
"What are vampires?" One of the knights-in-training, as Siegfried called them, asked. "That some special class of demonoid?"
"If you don't have 'em here, you'll really be happier not knowing," Faith assured him. That statement garnered her curious and skeptical looks, which she ignored. Of course, some of the young men the two had rescued couldn't get over the fact that they'd been rescued.
"Looked to me like the only reason he managed it is that the demon dire wolf didn't notice him." One of the young knights-in-training said rather huffily,
"I suppose you'll announce yourself with a fanfare if you ever have to fight one," Faith mocked. "I'll send flowers for the funeral."
Some of his comrades hid smiles at the look on the young man's face, but Siegfried stepped in before anyone could say something they'd regret. "This situation caught everyone by surprise. This was to be a training hunt to drive home the need for magicians and knights to cooperate. No one was expecting a demonized dire wolf to be leading a pack of lesser beasts, especially not this close to the capitol. This is a development that will need to be reported to the king." He turned to Xander and Faith. "Will you come with us? I suspect his majesty will wish to thank you for intervening."
"Sure." Xander shrugged. "Why not?" It wasn't as if they had anything else to do till the next portal opened. Apparently, rescuing this bunch wasn't what they were there for. Maybe, they'd find someone who could help them get home.
"Say," Faith asked Siegfried, echoing his thoughts. "We've got a magical problem that one of your people might be able to help us with."
"If we can," Siegfried promised, "we will."
"Might be a good idea," Xander said, after a moment's thought, "if you told us the basics of how magic works around here, first."
OOOOOOOOOO
Explaining that request had taken a bit of time, and the knight-wanabes had openly scoffed at their claims, but Siegfried had seemed intrigued, saying that he had heard stories of people from other worlds, and that he knew of one mage that might be able to help them. Then, he told them the basics of the rules of magic and asked what magic was like in other worlds.
"It varies pretty widely," Xander said. "Some places, its close to wish fulfillment. Fairly straight-forward to use and very powerful. In other places, casting even a simple spell requires something like a complex math formula. Some types require you to call on a patron god or a true demon to beg a favor or borrow power." He grimaced. "In worlds like that, you need to remember that magic always has a price."
"True demon?" One of the knights-in-training asked.
"Creatures from another plane of existence, a lot of 'em with strong magical abilities. They come in all shapes and sizes, and none of them were ever human or animal like the things you were fighting here." He paused for a second. "Well, except for vamps."
"Calling on demons is always a bad idea, no matter what kind of power they offer," Faith said. "Calling on gods isn't much better from what I've heard, actually."
"You've called on demons?" One of the knights-to-be asked.
"No, but I've had to kill summoned demons and clean up the messes left behind. The mess usually includes the summoner." Several of her audience shuddered.
"Some places," Xander continued, addressing Siegfried, "it involves knowing the words for things in a long dead language." He shrugged. "Really, there doesn't seem to be any end to the variations. Some things you probably call impossible are common place in other worlds, but in others, what you do and think simple would be seen like miracles to the locals."
"Your travels must be…frustrating at times," Siegfried offered.
"Good word for it." Faith laughed. "Just one of the reasons we want to go home."
"We'll see what we can do." Siegfried promised.
OOOOOOOOOO
The king had been worried over the reports about the demons, and grateful to Xander and Faith for coming to the rescue of his people. Although curious about their odd story, he had little time for such mysteries, and as one of his most trusted mages vouched for the pair, he felt no undue concern over their intentions. He offered to have his son introduce them to the mage that Siegfried had spoken of, and sent the three of them off with two attendants for the prince.
Xander could tell that Prince August was brimming with questions, and was relieved that he had enough self-control to wait till they reached the home of the mage they were to meet. The mansion he led them to was fairly impressive inside and out. The servant there led them to the study where a group of people waited. An old man and woman sat on one couch and three teenagers occupied another.
Prince August made the introductions, and Xander and Faith were surprised that it was the teenage boy they were there to talk to and not the old man. Both took the misunderstanding in stride, and the prince urged the two travelers to tell their story.
It took a little time, and a few questions that neither of them knew how to answer, but finally, the tale was done.
"That's…. quite a story," the boy allowed.
"You can see why I brought them to you," Prince August said. "You made that gate spell. I thought you might be able to come up with something to help them."
"They're from another universe, Aug. That's completely different. I… I suppose I've never even thought along those lines." He considered for a moment. "Its obviously possible, but I wouldn't know where to begin."
"Then, its probably best not to try," Xander said with a sigh. "After all, it would be way too dangerous to experiment with. You could find yourself worse off than us. Lost on another world, and some of them don't have magic at all."
The old woman fixed her grandson with a determined look, but the boy raised his hands. "No need, granny. I won't be trying to open doors to other worlds. Like he said, too dangerous."
"I'm glad to see you showing some sense," the old woman sighed. "I think that's the first intriguing and stupidly dangerous idea you've ever willingly backed away from."
"Not nice, granny." The boy winced. "And not true."
"There's probably a whole list of things he's not dumb enough to try." The old man offered, somewhat unhelpfully. The other teenagers did their best not to laugh at their friend's offended expression.
"Given what Siegfried told us about the magic here," Xander frowned, "the list of what's possible seems nearly endless, and that is something to worry about. There are definitely things you shouldn't try."
"Oh?" The old woman perked up. "I'd like to hear some, if it will help keep my impetuous grandson alive."
"Okay." Xander thought for a moment. "Raising the dead." There were shocked looks at the idea. "Seriously. I've seen it done, and it never ends well."
"Never doing that." The dark-haired teenage boy said, sounding somewhat nauseous. "Not even an issue."
"Love spells." Faith offered, smirking. Xander winced, really wishing she'd stop bringing that up.
"There are such things?" The old man asked, sounding surprised.
"No." Xander said, firmly. "There aren't, and please don't ask how I know that." He mock glared at Faith who grinned unrepentantly. Then he grew thoughtful. "Time travel."
"Huh?" The old man looked startled. "Time travel?"
"As in traveling to the past or future," Xander explained. "Going back to save someone who died or to retrieve something lost. Going forward to see who will win a sports match you want to bet on. For example. Seriously. Don't."
"No worries," the boy assured them. "I gave up on that." A worried look circulated around the room.
"You tried?" His grandfather asked hesitantly.
"I thought it might be useful to be able to push an object through time. There are all sorts of potential applications. I'd actually made a little progress working out how to do it, but I got interrupted by a knock on the door."
"Who was it?" One of the girls asked, after a moment, when everyone else seemed to be too stunned to speak.
"Me. I told myself that time travel was a really, really bad idea, and I should give it up. I figured I knew what I was talking about, so I promised not to work on it, and the other me vanished."
Everyone gaped at him for a moment. Finally, Faith looked at the boy's grandparents. "I can't tell if he's joking."
"Neither can I," the old man admitted. "And that's terrifying."
