Last Updated: 12-02-03

Demon's Blood

This is the sneak preview only and has been cut.

Demon's Blood is another idea that I had for an RPG. I like the story less than Lost Souls, but I actually had a good deal of it already outlined (except the very end). It has a very traditional RPG format, I think. That's one of the reasons I like it less than LS, yet I still think it's a good story, so I've started writing some of it already.

Demon's Blood follows the story of a young Special-Class Timberwolf named Derek Astenal. The Timberwolves are an elite fighting force created by the wealthy country of Wald, and can be hired like mercenaries. Currently, however, the Timberwolves are being "loaned" to the country of Varrol, which is at war with its neighbor, Durgal. Wald has a trading agreement with Varrol, so they have an interest in making sure the country wins the war.

It's a pretty typical war for the Timberwolves when the Durgalians launch a surprise counter: they have summoned "demon" creatures to fight on their side. During a mission, Derek gets infected with the demon's poison, but miraculously survives the initial fever. His commander and childhood friend, Bestel Taberin, also is infected and survives the fever, but then quickly degenerates into a mysterious illness. Knowing his fate, when the Durgalians launch an attack at the Timberwolves' base camp, Bestel sacrifices himself to save Derek's life in battle. Derek lives, but perhaps not for long; he's showing the same signs of illness as Bestel.

Meanwhile, Derek gets involved in a political dispute when Wald's ambassadors wish to withdraw the Timberwolves and cut their loses after hearing about the "demons." Derek is ordered to escort Wald's ambassador, the disagreeable Lady Ketlan Jancis, back to Veste and then to Wald, where he'll hopefully find a cure for his illness. On the way, however, Varrol's leaders panic and turn against Wald, forcing Derek and Ketlan to flee Veste and find a new way to Wald.

What's in store for them? More political intrigue, narrow escapes, and saving the world, of course! There's a also a Biblical theme, since I based this story as a 'what-if' scenario on a Bible Story, even though it's to tell hard to which it is from this description. I assure you that there is a theme.

Excerpt from "Chapter One: Demon"

Lt. Bestel Taberin is leading his unit on a secret mission behind enemy lines to destroy a bridge to prevent the Durgalian army from retreating. They split into two groups: Bestel, Mac, and Derek are in the group making the bridge. They set the bomb and proceeded to fight their way into safety, an easy job for Special-Class soldiers. They are in for a surprise.

Derek dove back into serious battle with the soldier, which consisting mostly of him dodging. Every few dodges, he managed to make a strike of his own, but few hit, and none pierced more that the Durgalian’s tough leather armor.

It was then that Derek noticed the odd look on his enemy’s face, a look that wasn’t quite human, but his mind was preoccupied with other matters.

Too long, too long, Derek’s mind raced. How much time did they have left?

He had actually only been fighting for a couple of minutes when his opponent suddenly collapsed, one of Mac’s throwing knives embedded in his throat. Derek spun around to see Mac wheezing, and with a darkly stained sleeve, but alive.

“What’s with these guys?” Derek asked. “They’re stronger than any Durgalians have a right to be!”

“I don’t know,” Mac answered, “but we have to help the Lieutenant! I only set the timer on ten minutes.”

A moment later they spotted Bestel, now only fighting one Durgalian; the other lay dead with an energy-slash across his guts. Bestel was in better shape than Mac; he dodged and parried with an ease that was strikingly levels beyond Derek’s stumbling. Before they could even reach the two, Bestel’s energy sword put an end to the battle.

“Lieutenant! We must leave now!” Mac called.

“Coming!” Bestel answered and deactivated his energy sword.

“STOP RIGHT THERE!”

The Durgalian captain’s voice boomed. The three turned to face the Captain and the four men he left with, plus two more, probably scouts from the woods who heard the commotion. One of the guards in the tower was still up there, flashing signal messages to other outposts in the distance; Derek didn’t know what happened to the second.

The faces of the Durgalians were curiously dark. There were several torchbearers, but they stood in the back, so all Derek could see were little more than silhouettes.

“I’m impressed you made it here,” the Durgalian said to Bestel, whom he quickly identified as the leader. “I didn’t think the Varrolians were that skilled. But of course, I see by your uniforms that you must be those mercenaries Wald sent. What were you called? Timbercats?”

“That’s Timberwolves,” Bestel replied coolly.

Derek licked his lips, keeping his eyes on the soldiers. It was a pretty good bet that they wouldn’t be leaving before Mac’s timer went off, but it was possible they could distract the captain into forgetting to check the bridge for explosives until it was too late.

“I found it, sir!” a voice called from the direction of the river. A waterlogged Durgalian soldier marched up the bank. “The timer is disabled, sir.”

“So,” the captain drawled, “you thought you could destroy our bridge, did you? How very foolish.”

“Not so foolish,” Bestel replied. “That bridge is the only feasible method of retreat left to Durgal. Without it, Varrol could destroy your army.”

“Ha!” the captain laughed. “That’s a good one! Why should we retreat when we are winning?”

“Because your forces are outnumbered and outclassed!” Bestel said defiantly. “You have no chance of winning.”

“I’ll admit that the mighty Timberwolves has turned the war in Varrol’s favor,” the captain said, “but if Varrol can recruit some new friends, why can’t we?”

Bestel’s expression didn’t flinch. “You’re bluffing. There’s not a company out there that can defeat the Timberwolves, and we would have heard if you hired another merc unit.”

“Do you think we would hire a simple ‘merc company’ to demolish our enemies?” The captain laughed again. “We’re beyond that, wolf-boy. Or perhaps you would like to see some of this new force for yourself? Torches!”

At the last command, the Durgalians in the back marched forward. What were they planning to do? Burn something?

Derek didn’t wonder long because as the torches came forward, for the first time he had a good look at whom he was fighting. The torches’ reddish-orange glow revealed their faces; there was no doubt in Derek’s mind that he never would have mistaken these creatures for humans in broad daylight.

They look more like… more like…like demons. Derek’s mind fought for another term, but there was no mistaking it. Their skin was a dark brown-red color, and their hair was dark and ragged around their face. Their eyes were slanted, and more like slits. Their pig noses were flat and turned-up, and their thin mouths were open into wide grins at the Timberwolves’ stares, showing their pointed teeth. The dark hands holding the torches had digits resembling talons rather than fingers.

Even pointed ears, one part of Derek’s brain noticed with a touch of morbid humor.

“Do you like our new recruits?” the Durgalian captain asked. “I’m surprised you managed to take out four of them. But perhaps you would like to try more of a challenge? Let’s see how well you fare against a Slayer.”

Derek heard a door opening and risked a glance behind him. A massive object had opened the door of the guardhouse. It filled the entire doorway as it lumbered out to meet them, metal armor clinking. “Slayer’s” narrow eyes glinted with the light of torches. It raised his long talons menacingly. It had no sword.

A flash of light told him that Bestel had re-activated his energy sword; the new white light attracted Slayer’s attention and he moved in his direction. Bestel firmly held his ground.