Rasmus could barely recognize Vetta. Her normally small black horns had grown triple in size, large black bat wings sprouted from her shoulders, her eyes had glowing thin pupils like that of a cat's, her short stubby tail weaved and bobbed like a serpents, and even fangs marred her normally demure smile. Instead of a prim and proper maid, hunched on the ground in front of him was something more bestial and savage. She did have her maid outfit, though it was in tatters and showed way too much of her thighs and cleavage.
Vetta's voice however was the same. Even this savage demonic creature wielding a ten foot spiked chain still had a soft almost nervous nature about her.
"Rasmus? Why are you here?" she asked confused and dropping from her combat stance. "This is terrible. You..you look so thin! Are you injured?"
Rasmus waved to himself, though he almost fell faint from the effort. Sylgja's theory of the draining curse was correct, every time he used magic, a part of him was drained to who knows what effect. "It's still me, but barely."
Despite almost killing Sylgja a few moments ago, the fiendish maid ran up to Rasmus and hugged him, her face was next to his and he expected her to kiss him, but she stopped at the last moment and turned away. "You have to get out of here. There's no time." Though Rasmus had always found Vetta pleasant to talk to, and even attractive in an exotic way, this was the first time she showed such concern and affection for him. He thought about pushing her back, and accusing her of her demonic appearance or even why she attacked them, but he was still too weak, and he kind of liked her embrace, especially the feel of her breasts on his body.
"Get your claws off him," hissed Sylgja as she forced herself up and advanced towards the pair.
"It's good, I know her, it's alright," assured Rasmus to no avail.
The paladin looked ready to charge into the fray once again, but Vetta stepped infront of Rasmus. The mage expected a second round of the brawl between them but the maid simply gave the paladin a deep and humble bow."Forgive me, but I thought you were part of the invaders of this castle. Please pardon my aggression."
Sylgja raised her blade, and Rasmus half expected to chop Vetta's head off. Instead the paladin lowered her weapon and mumbled a prayer to herself. Rasmus couldn't hear what she was saying but he caught something about 'Iomedae's forgiveness and restraint' and something else about how she actually was an invader of the castle.
Rasmus however wasn't about to let Vetta off the hook so easily. Boob hug or no, he had questions. "Wait a minute. You seem to know what's going on here Vetta. Out with it!"
Vetta stooped her head down. Her horns and teeth retracted, while her wings folded in the slender curve on her back. Her tail remained the same, but she easily looped it around her waist to make it seem shorter than it was. Even her eyes shimmered and changed from those that resembled a cat to sheepish more docile brown ones.
"I could've taken her, but you lead me to believe there was a simple tiefling here," grumbled Sylgja as she witnessed the transformation. "She's clearly a Half fiend, or Cambion of some sort."
"A Cambywhat? " asked Rasmus. Though he was well versed in magics, lower planar identification and geography was not his strong point.
"A Half fiend is as the name implies. One of the parents is a mortal the other is a fiend or fiendish influence," replied Sylgja.
"I thought that was a tiefling, and what do you mean by fiendish influence."
"In some cases that unholy union creates a tiefling, but that's normally reserved for those with one quarter, one eigth, or even less fiendish bloodlines. Most equal pairings create a half fiend. As for influence, you don't have to have sex with a fiend to produce fiendish children. Sometimes proximity to evil magic, an evil artifact, or an evil site is enough," explained Sylgja. "Which unfortunately happens in a place like Chelias more often than not."
"So what's a Cambyon?"
"A specific type of half fiend, normally associated with the offspring of major demons," said Vetta." Rest assured , I am not one of those, you can say I'm an Al…."
"Enough, of the biology lesson," interrupted Sylgja with blade raised once again. "Explain what you know."
Vetta bit her lip nervously; she glanced at Rasmus who nodded for her to continue." I do not know much, but I do know that Rasmus here has been under an enchantment…"
"A curse is more like it, we know this…" said Sylgja.
"Lord Leroung has tasked Vandia and myself to care for Rasmus. You can say we were more his guards than his guardians. We made sure he studied hard, trained his mind, and remained healthy. It sounds noble enough, but I always suspected something nefarious in his command. "
"You think," said Rasmus poking at his sunken cheeks.
"When the Holy Reclamation attacked the tower and the wards were unleashed, I saw my chance to aid Rasmus in his escape. I had hoped he would find his way out of the tower and away from Leroung's magic, but sadly the magic binding him here appears to be too strong."
Rasmus chuckled, but stopped when it hurt his chest. "Actually I returned for my money," he said as he tossed his money box in his hands. "I have a payment to settle and I needed this."
"So, if you were tasked by Leroung to see to Rasmus' needs and to take care of him, why did you aid him in escaping?" accused Sylgja.
"Technically, I escaped by myself," corrected Rasmus but was quickly silenced by an icy glare by the paladin.
"I clouded his mind, confused him, and then mentally suggested he escape the tower; if not for his own sake than for that of his 'friends' in the tower. As for my motives, I admit it. I grew to admire his caring heart, I do care for him and I've grown fond of him. I saw the effects of the magic on him, how it weakened and drained him, and it broke even my fiendish heart. I do not wish to see him suffer whatever fate Leroung intends for him. "
Rasmus considered her statement. She had always saw her like a sister, but clearly she was more than that. She obviously cared for him more than he did for her. In fact, he admitted to himself that he would rather prefer this show of affection from the beautiful Vandia than from poor fiend touched Vetta, which made him feel shame when he thought about it. He was a terrible human being for dismissing people's affections so easily.
"Why did you return? Why did you risk your life when you could have escaped?" pleaded Vetta who was near tears from her confession.
"Well, I returned because I couldn't escape the fog. Or at least not at the time. I used my opportunity to break into Leroung's laboratory and retrieved a Cacodaemon scroll which I then…"
"Cacodaemon? " gasped a surprised Vetta. "No, no. Don't use ancient magic like that , only ill fortune could come of it."
Sylgja nodded in agreement, which was the first time she showed any empathy for the fiend touched maid.
"No,no. It actually worked out really well. You see , I summoned a power Gelugon I called the Pale man, and he promised to aid me in …"
As Rasmus was about to explain to Vetta, the room shook as a storm of ice pummelled the main entry room. Sending the maid, the paladin, and the mage scurrying for cover.
