"And that's how you summon forth the felhound." finished Hal, sitting cross-legged in front of Vague, an open book in her lap and various papers scattered around her, littered with runes. She shifted on the floor slightly as Vague scribbled down in a similar, if not exactly duplicate, book. The room's light source came from one of Vague's glowing orbs near the ceiling. The room also had two beds and a dresser, though the dresser was untouched.
"Although they hunt the arcane and could just eat the runes that bind them, they'll obey the summoner. We're not sure why, but the best equivalent is your 'dog.' A sort of loyalty that isn't really called for, but enjoyed nonetheless."
She shrugged and rested her hand on her chin, looking at Vague. Vague had removed his robes and wore a red linen shirt and long black pants. At Hal's behest he had shaved off the hair on his face- it made him look evil, apparently. Now he looked his age again, in his early twenties, maybe late nineteen.
"Uh huh.. This is rather complicated, though. How do I do it in the midst of combat as I do the imp, void walker and others?" He said quietly, looking up at her as he spoke. Hal shrugged slightly.
"Same principle as the others. The runes will appear on the ground and by funneling your mana through them the demon will be called."
"And to prevent the felhound from eating said runes?"
"They can't do that unless they're right there in front of you. Mormodor's Law prevents them from disrupting a casting they're part of anyways."
"That makes things easier." He scribbled a little bit more, then leaned back and sighed. "That's all the easy ones. Imp, Voidwalker, Succubus, and Felhound." He put the book down and rubbed the back of his head, looking out the window. They were in a log cabin of sorts they'd found abandoned. With a few cleaning spells it made a good spot to rest before the travel into town. It was night, with the waning moon waxing in the sky.
Hal nodded and stretched out herself, stifling a yawn. "Correct. Most of my kind know how to summon them, but it's usually easier to just find one and coerce them into servitude." She shrugged slightly. "When you have armies of demons at your beck and call, you don't need a reason for summoning them."
"Speaking of which," Vague began, "Why can I not summon more then one at once? I mean, it'd be far more useful to have all four out then try interchanging them constantly."
"Probably. But the effort to maintain the bond between summoned and summoner becomes exponentially hard. Keeping one requires no effort. Two would require your constant concentration, and three would require an iron will. Losing control would result in said demons breaking loose and probably trying to devour your soul or flesh, whichever they liked more and whoever got to you first." She chuckled dryly. She began to pick up the papers, putting them back together.
"Right.." Vague murmured softly. "Unless…" He began muttering to himself softly.
Hal watched him for a moment. The words runes and binding were mentioned a few times, she could hear, but she didn't know what he was planning. Vague had little practical knowledge, but his skill as a mage was not to be underestimated, she had discovered, and he had a near perfect understanding of runes. His desire to learn more runes was startling; while passing by Kaldorei ruins, he had stopped to go investigate and look for possible runes.
The Kaldorei were the first to use magic, after all. While they didn't invent it per say, their use of it caused the introduction of it into their world. It also caused their general destruction and alienation; and after the war, so few remained. Ruins of the Kaldorei were rife with artifacts and magic, but also usually were swarmed by beasts or demons eager to lay claim. She'd been forced to tend with the Dark Strand, a sect of warlocks, while Vague explored inside a temple.
He'd been grievously wounded when he returned, carrying a few books. His wounded state had elicited a strange sense of sympathy in her; she had healed him and cared for him over the night as he fought off a strange illness the wound had brought with it. Afterwards, Vague treated her with much more kindness and equality then he had before; and she had begun to act and by actions feel the same towards him.
"Hal?" Vague's word brought her out of her thoughts. She shook her head and looked up.
"Yeah?"
"You can't really go into town looking like that, you know." Vague gestured at her. She looked down at her demonic self and raised an eyebrow.
"I could if I wanted to. What would they do about it?"
"Well, for one, they'd probably call for guards and have me hanged or shot and you killed."
"..true. Well, it's easy enough.." She gestured over her body and murmured an enchantment. Her horns shimmered and vanished, along with her wings. Her skin gained color and became fleshy pink, and her clothing became an acceptable black blouse and red pants made out of silk. Her red hair she let remain the same. She looked up at Vague and made a small pose from her sitting position. "Acceptable?"
Vague stared at her for a moment in a way that didn't feel too uncomfortable before answering. "Er, yeah. Wow. You look good, Hal."
"..thanks."
"Anytime."
"Do you want to get some practice in or should we make time for your body's need for sleep?" Hal questioned with some measure of condescension in her voice. Vague looked at the ceiling, apparently unbothered.
"I'm too tired to practice summoning yet. We should just get some sleep." With that Vague packed up his own books and lifted himself off the ground. Tossing his own book onto a bed, he leaned down and scooped up a few of Hal's papers as well, helping her up. He smiled at her and moved to the bed, sitting down on it. He grasped the book again and lightly pushed it off the bed, letting it thunk on the floor.
Hal herself simply slid into the other bed in the room. Vague snapped his fingers, and the orb vanished, and took with it the light in the room. The room went dark, moonlight streaming in through the windows and settling in a squared shape upon the floor where they had sat. Hal looked at the circle for a while, her senses taking in Vague's movements. He wasn't sleeping yet.
"Vague?" She said aloud, but quietly.
"Yes, Hal?"
"Teach me your own magic."
"…you don't know how to use the arcane?"
"I know the principles and I know fel magic… but not the discipline."
"Figures.." Vague yawned in the dark. "You didn't know how to return home.. You don't want to learn just so you can do that, do you?"
"No. I want to learn because.. Well, I have my reasons. Will you?"
"Of course, Hal. You need only ask."
"…thank you, Vague."
"Good night, Hal."
Hal paused for a long moment before replying. "Good night, Vague." She shifted under the covers and closed her eyes.

Hal awoke with a start to the sound of bird wings overhead. She sat upright and felt behind her for her wings in a momentary panic before remembering her enchantment, and calmed down quickly. She exhaled softly and looked around the room. Vague's bed was empty, and it was morning- the sun was on the rise and shining into her bed from the window. She slipped out of the bed and walked to the door frame, leaning against it as she looked out.

Vague was outside. With the sun shining down brightly, he had eschewed his robes again. For a user of the arcane, he wasn't too frail under his robes. Hal had always wondered why all the human males seemed to be naturally built in this world, but she had no complaints.
She did, however, question the existence of an imp, succubus, void walker and felhound standing around him..