The body of a man slid to the ground to join the blood pooling on the stone floor as a woman pulled her blade from his body. Behind her, flames licked the night sky as the town burned and bodies lay dead in the street. She smiled as the entrance to the vault was finally in front of her. She had spent over a year looking for the relic that resided within these ancient halls and now, finally, it was within her grasp.
She raised her arm out towards the door and began speaking an infernal incantation. As she did so, crackling energy swirled around her arm before arching out towards the door. Just before contact, the energy struck an invisible barrier that had been cast by some long forgotten mage ages ago. The barrier rippled from the onslaught for just a moment before shattering like glass from the onslaught of demonic power. The door cracked and crumbled, leaving a hallway that ventured into the darkness. Just as she was taking her first step towards the opening, her attention was drawn back behind her by the sound of a heavy creature landing on cracked stone.
Before her stood the large demon Tez'rith. His red skin glistened by the light of the flames. He would be quite the intimidating demon if she hadn't grown up with him always around. Her family had made a pact with the demon a few generations ago. He sought the relic and they sought power. Together, the Frostmoore's were his eyes and ears in the material world while he provided unfathomable power. The demon's deep, gravelly voice rumbled through the temple as he narrowed his eyes, focusing on the woman before him "Julia, this had better be the right one this time. My patience grows thin. Especially with the Frostmoore family. Do not follow your father's footsteps"
Julia gestured towards the new opening, "Yes, Lord Tez'rith. The Grimoire of Divinity you seek is just beyond this door." As the demon smiled, she began making her way towards the opening "Please, my lord, allow me to retrieve the relic for you"
The chuckle that rumbled through the temple sent a chill down Julia's spine and her blood ran cold "Yes, I do sense the power of the Grimoire. The Frostmoore's have served me well." She swore under her breath and began to draw her sword but it was too late as the demon's blade burst forth from her chest. She coughed up blood as he lifted her body into the air while his booming laugh echoed through the temple. "Your family did well, but now your services are no longer needed"
Julia gripped the blade and coughed up more blood. She grimaced and tears filled her eyes as she struggled and kicked wildly "You Bastard, after all we did. You would have never found the Grimoire without our help."
Tez'rith tapped his chin with his free claw as Julia continued to struggle. "Hmm... you do have a point, don't you Julia. You in particular, of all the Frostmoore family, served me with the utmost loyalty. Perhaps I shall spare your life after all" his smile faded to a frown as he narrowed his eyes "though not without a price." In a blur, his clawed hand shot up and grabbed Julia by her head, keeping her suspended in the air while yanking the blade from her body. A dark energy swirled around his claw, quickly enveloping Julia's head. He smiled as she screamed a blood curdling scream. All of the magical power he had provided ripped out of every wound she had as it swirled back into the demon while her blood spilled and dripped to the stone floor below.
Her screams of pain were music to his ears that mixed harmoniously with his bellowing laugh, filling the temple with an otherworldly sound. As he took back his power, an idea crossed his mind. Using the power he was taking, the word Tez'rith flashed onto her forehead before catching on fire and sinking into her skin to vanish, burning until the word was fully gone. Julia's skin began to ripple and change to a pale, gray. Her eyes changed to a golden color while horns ripped from her skull as they curved back. Her hands elongated and became claws while a thin, black tail pierced through her skin at the base of her spine ripping out to flail madly about. All of her teeth sharpened to fangs while her ears sharpened to points as they grew to stick out from the face.
Once the transformation was complete and the last of the magic had been pulled from her body, Tez'rith then spoke a few words in the infernal tongue from which a swirling green portal opened within the closest wall. Julia's screams had become quiet stuttering gasps and her eyes had a distant glaze as her whole body twitched from the pain. "Julia, your undying loyalty has spared your life and the pact your family once made is now complete. Go now with neither my power nor your family name to a new life" and with those words, he tossed her now limp body into the portal.
With a single strike of his claw, the portal cut in half and dissipated. His chuckle rumbled through the temple as he made his way into the darkened hallway to a spiraling staircase that led deep into the earth. As he strode onto the staircase, a glowing spear shot out of the wall, slicing his leg before returning back to the wall. Tez'rith stepped back and winced as the wound sizzled and burned. "An imbued trap? Who imbues trap?" He quickly moved his claw in and out of the opening causing the imbued spear to trigger again. This time, he grabbed the handle of the spear before it could retract. His clawed hand sizzled and burned from the holy magic, but he ignored the pain as he used all of his strength to snap the magical handle in two. He tossed the remains of the spear to the side and shook his claw from the pain. With a sigh, he then made his way more carefully down into the depths of the earth.
On the far side of the country sat an unassuming hill with a large round door set into the bottom of the hill. Painted on the door was a cornucopia filled with fruit and vegetables. The words "Peace" and "Comfort" were written above and below. Set into the ground, large stones etched a path from the door to a wide cobbled road. A smaller stone path branched off, leading to a small fenced-in chicken coop. Across from the coop, on the other side of the main path, was a large field with rows of corn that swayed gently in the wind on this tranquil night. The bravest of the chickens strode around the perimeter of the pin, glancing every which way as she patrolled the pin. She had taken up a guardian role to protect the others for the foolish master had left the coop's door open.
Suddenly, the wind picked up and began whipping through the corn field, tossing several stalks to the ground while violently shaking the fence. The guard chicken's feathers ruffled as she squawked loudly. The other chickens, awakened from both the alarm and the noise, clucked and squawked as they all rushed out the open door and ran in a panic around the fenced area. Thunder rumbled through the now cloudless sky as a green portal swirled open above the small farm, spitting out the now limp and transfigured body of Julia before closing behind her.
Julia fell and crashed through the roof of the chicken coop to lay in a crumpled heap on the straw covered floor. The wind had died down as did the chickens as they explored the night time version of the pin. The guard chicken peaked inside the now caved coop to see the mangled body of a creature with horns, claws and sharp teeth. The chicken bolted upright, let out a single loud cluck, then ran to the far side of the pin. The other chickens, seeing her reaction, panicked in unison and joined her in their own squawking.
The door in the hill creaked opened and a small lamp bobbed out, held by a diminutive yet stout man. He wore nothing but a pair of trousers and a necklace with a small metal cornucopia attached which bounced on his chest as he jogged to the coop. As he reached the fence, without slowing down, he dropped to a crouch then leapt and soared right over the fence where he landed gracefully on the other side. With Flynton's presence, all of the chickens immediately calmed down with several running over to swarm around him as he stood up. At his full height, the chickens were as tall as his chest. He absentmindedly scratched the back of the head of the closest chicken as he stared at what remained of the coop. After a moment of taking in the damage, he let out a low whistle "You ladies be partying a bit too hard tonight, aye?"
As he strode towards the coop, the hens all gathered behind him. They were curious yet tensed and ready to bolt at a moment's notice. At the entrance, he raised his lamp up to shine light on the mess that was the inside of the coop. Before him, within the rubble of the roof, was the body of a woman who had horns, claws, gray skin and a tail. He gasped as he gripped his necklace and took a step back. The hens squawked with a couple of them taking off to the far fence. Flynton held his now glowing necklace in the air and, as he finished his chant, ghostly blue flames pulsed from his necklace in all directions in a ring "Oh great Yondalla, expose what is hidden of those who do not belong." Flynton sighed in relief and chuckled when nothing happened once the blue flames washed harmlessly over the body. "Silly hens, the lass is a Tiefling, not a demon." He couldn't hide his frown though as he looked her over "she's badly hurt. Had you gals not woken me up, she would've died for sure"
As he approached her, he set the lantern down as he knelt beside her. Flynton gripped his necklace again as he placed his hand on her shoulder "Oh great Yondalla, please, save this child of life before her fate is ended before her time." His hand began to glow a sky blue as the energy flowed like water throughout Julia's body. The large wound from the sword began to slowly knit itself closed while countless scratches and cuts vanished from her body. Her left arm magically set itself back into its place from its twisted angle and he could hear the popping of her bones as they all set themselves. Just as the last of the glow left his hand to etch its way through her body, the wounds from the blade finally finished sealing up, though they still left a scar. Her erratic breathing had stabilized and the pain that had been etched in her face was gone. He couldn't help but notice how peaceful she now looked. Despite his small stature, he easily lifted her up and carried the Tiefling back to his home "Well lass, you'll still be sporting that scar but at least you still have your life. Come on lass, let's get you in a bed that's a bit more comfy than a roof"