[Leela] Chapter 4: Borders of Xalaster Orthodoxy

[Ella]

Leela Steading

As Leela got to work on disguising the nightmares, she also gave Zavan a quick explanation of movies.

"So, a movie is like... moving pictures, but the pictures are not actually moving. Instead, there are just a lot of pictures with small changes, each leading into another so that when you view them all really fast, it looks like people and things are moving. Actually, I can show you later. I think I have a movie on my phone. A phone, by the way, is a device for talking to people far away, but newer models have a lot more extra features, such as taking pictures and videos or holding music. It requires electricity to keep powered, so I don't want to rely on it too much."

With that said, Leela continued her explanation of the Elves of Middle Earth, throwing in what she could remember from the Silmarillion as well as other tidbits of knowledge she hard learned from various other sources, including Dungeons and Dragons and the Drow from the Drizzt book series.

"Actually, you look a lot like a Drow in this form, Zavan." She commented when she finished sharing her knowledge of Elves as viewed by people of her world.

When she finished working out disguises for the demon horses, she eyed them warily. This would definitely not pass inspection if they got too close to other people. They were even more suspicious than Zavan was.

"Well, I was going to say that maybe we should make camp for the night, but now I'm wondering if it would be better if we travel in the dark so as to better hide that we are trying to hide something about our horses. What do you guys think? Is it safe to do that? I'm sure humans would be suspicious of travelers moving in the dark, but it would be easier to avoid being spotted, right? We can use the sneaky imps to scout around us and teleport back to inform us if they see anyone and we need to change paths or hide."

[Throndir]

"That is... fascinating. Much like a theatre's performance, but with pictures? In that sense, perhaps it's closer to think of it as a book?"

When you mentioned 'Drow', Zavan nodded, but then corrected you.

"I was once a Dark Elf, 'Drow' is an unfamiliar term... but how you explain does seem similar. This... Drizzt? A strange name indeed. But his world did not seem as chaotic as mine."

"The world I was from was barren, though, we lived on the surface. The skies were ever dark, darker than the Domain of Roshandan. It was always night, and though we had a concept of 'day', where there was a bit of glow from the clouded-skies, our nights were of pitch darkness."

"The glow from the horses eyes, and light shining through the cloth would give it away though, would it not? But the idea of using imps as scouts is sound. They can move far and fast... Have you formed a contract with them? They are usually Zavan's thing, but I figured I'd ask." Efrit said.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"Uh... Yeah. A lot of movies are based off of stories people write in books. But just imagine that someone somehow made it so that a theatrical performance could be viewed over and over - as many times as the viewers wanted - but the actors only had to do the performance once because images of their performance and the set were recorded using a lot of pictures."

She listened intently to Zavan's confession of having been a Dark Elf, unsure as to what he meant by "was once" instead of saying "am" but not wanting to interrupt as he finally seemed to open up about it. So this was why Roadmarech had said that she had been like Zavan in that they both did not seem human! As much as she wanted to ask Zavan more about his world and people, "was once" continued to nag at her until he finished talking. Not only was he talking about not being what he had been born and raised as, he was also talking about having come from a different world from the Domain of Roshandan.

"What do you mean 'was once'? Why are you now a demon instead of a Dark Elf? Why do you make it sound like your home world is not the same as the world Roshandan came from?" Leela was not sure she liked where her thoughts were leading her with the conclusions her mind was coming to.

[spoiler]Everything above happens before Leela finished with the disguises for the horses.[/spoiler]

~~~~~

"... I guess that's true." Leela agreed with Efrit's comment about the horses glowing in the darkness. That would be spotted much easier from a distance than their poor disguises would. "Well, I guess we can still do the scouting method in daylight and go ahead and make camp for tonight. I would prefer that we all be rested and have recovered more mana, including our Azure Nightmare companions, in case we end up needing to defend ourselves while traveling. I also want to fully discuss my plans to make sure everyone knows what to do before we set out, so we can talk about that before we sleep tonight. And to answer your question, I have only had time to make a contract with Abi. Which is one of the reasons why I would still like to risk bringing Zavan with us even though there is a higher chance he could be recognized."

[Throndir]

Changed order for dramatic effect.

"That suits me just fine. Since you're the 'demon hero', you should think about forming a contract with at least the head of each army. I take it you nominated Abi as yours for the imps. I could come up with a few suggestions for the goblins." Efrit commented off-handedly.

"This is a secret that only one other has ever known." Zavan said as he lowered his voice. He ensured both Efrit and the imps were preoccupied before continuing.

And then he spoke words that you never expected.

"Status. Display."

In your view was a familiar translucent green window.

[okay]Zavan Dara
Demon Butler
Level 71

Condition: Uninjured, Refreshed

HP: 229/229
MP: 285/299
KP: 37/37
STR: 30
DEX: 37
CON: 34
INT: 23
WIS: 16
CHA: 18
MAG: 44

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, Mosaic, Summoned as a Demon General[/okay]

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela's nose scrunched up at the thought of making a contract with one of the goblins. It made sense to make a contract with one of the goblins at least, but... ugh.

"I guess I should..." She agreed grudgingly. "I would prefer a female who is smart and capable so that I can use her as a personal assistant." She added, definitely not wanting to have to form a contract with either of the two who had introduced themselves to her that afternoon.

"Well, since we're camping out for tonight, why don't you and the imps set up camp while Zavan and I work on preparing disguises for the rest of the horses that will be joining us tomorrow?"

~~~~~

Satisfied enough with the disguises of both Zavan and the nightmares, Leela continued talking to Zavan as they got to work on removing the disguises from the nightmares who had let them test the disguises so that they could return back to the ethereal plane until they were needed in the morning.

When she moved closer and whispered about a secret before showing her a status screen much like her own, she stared in shock at it.

"What?!" Her shocked whisper came out a little louder than she had meant it to. Zavan having a status screen and having been summoned from another world as well meant so many things. Thoughts swirled around in her head as she tried to process them. Some made her feel relief, but others made her anxious, making it all the more overwhelming for her to process.

She was not alone in being unwillingly summoned to work for a demon lord. She now had someone to talk to about the stuff in her status screen. Since none of them had mentioned the status screen or anything before, she had thought that they either did not know of it or it was a common thing. But surely they would have mentioned it to her or wanted to see hers upon summoning if they knew. So why had Zavan not mentioned it to her before? Was it because he preferred to keep it a secret? She assumed Ghorat also knew, since Zavan was working for Ghorat. That was probably why Zavan had stayed when all the other's left. Because he was summoned by Ghorat. But if Zavan was summoned, and Leela was summoned, did that mean there was a chance they could summon more people? The way they had talked, she had assumed that there could only be one summoned hero per land. But Zavan wasn't a summoned hero, he was a summoned general... And if Zavan was still here, that must mean he either liked it better here or he could not return to his own world.

The thoughts and questions continued to swirl around in her head. The only way to make stop was to spill it out for confirmation and answers. And so she did, starting with the information on the status screen so that Zavan could hide it once again in case one of the others came over.

"What is KP? That doesn't show on my status screen. Or it hasn't every time I checked so far. Status. Display." She called up her own status screen to show to him. "What are all your titles and how did you get them? You probably have most of the ones I've gotten already, but maybe we can share! I noticed I get extra stats every time I get a new title, so the more the better, and preferable more for intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. Are you stuck here because you were summoned? Does that mean there is no way back home for me? Is it possible for us to summon more people from other worlds? And how are you a demon now if you used to be a Dark Elf? Am I going to turn into a demon? How long have you been here?"

[Throndir]

Efrit and the imps agree to setup camp.



[okay]Leela Steading
Teacher of Demons
Level 25

Condition: Healthy

HP: 69/69
MP: 46/89
STR: 24
DEX: 29
CON: 29
INT: 12
WIS: 16
CHA: 17
MAG: 37

Blessings: Quick Learner, Mana Sensitivity, Translate All, Personal Status, Summoned as Demon Hero, Mimicry[/okay]"I've noticed that the Status screen changes at times whenever you unlock or learn something new. KP is one example of that. I believe it stands for 'Ki Points'. It appeared many years ago when I first learned the technique."

"What are all your titles and how did you get them? You probably have most of the ones I've gotten already, but maybe we can share! I noticed I get extra stats every time I get a new title, so the more the better, and preferable more for intelligence, wisdom, and charisma."

Zavan began to list his titles. He explains that he can't remember how he got some of the titles, especially the ones with a more not-as-obvious name.

[info]From Another World
Demon Butler
Summoned as a Demon General
Teacher of Demons
He Who Knows of Status
Spellcaster
Cartographer
Metalsmith
Goldsmith
Fisherman
Chef
Tailor
Reviver
The Bloodied
Mass Killer
Covert Ops
Cold-Blooded One
One Slash, Four Kills
Elemental Fusion Caster
Human Slayer
Vermin Slayer
Construct Slayer
Dragon Slayer
Slime Slayer
Beast Slayer
Monster Slayer
Undead Slayer
Has Seen It All
The Graceful
Wielder of Darkness
The Namer
Contract Holder
<List of Titles based off of Mosaic and Summoned as a Demon General>[/info]

"Are you stuck here because you were summoned? Does that mean there is no way back home for me?"

"Yes, I haven't heard of ways to go back to my own world... But life as a demon general is... preferable than how my life was back in my own world."

"Is it possible for us to summon more people from other worlds?"

"No. the ritual that Lord Ghorat initiated was one that would have taken a couple hundred years to do again."

"And how are you a demon now if you used to be a Dark Elf? Am I going to turn into a demon? How long have you been here?"

Zavan nods.

"The claws, and the transformation? That isn't a power that I've gained through magic, or is natural for Dark Elves. It developed slowly, but that is my demonic form. I've been summoned... Perhaps over a hundred years ago. It was early on in this war with the humans of this world."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Once Zavan had the chance to look over her screen, Leela dismissed it.

"I am guessing the Ki related techniques are like martial arts?" She asked, remembering hearing a little about Ki in her own world.

Most of Zavan's titles seemed to be related to killing, which Leela guessed she should not be surprised at. But he did have many that she felt she could strive for and made mental notes on how she thought she could get them if he could not explain how he got them. She blushed a little when he listed "Has Seen It All", remembering how she had received that title herself and knowing she would not have been able to guess how to get that sort of title had she not already gotten it and Zavan forgotten how he got it. When he finished his list, Leela realized that he already had all of the ones she had obtained that were not related to her blessing, with the exception of "Princess". She told him so, a little sad that she could not offer any new titles to him.

"I see..." She said, disappointment in her tone and on her face when Zavan told her that he had not heard of any ways to go back home. She had let her hopes get the better of her in that she could ask Ghorat to return her back to her own world once she completed the mission. Of course, she had suspected that she might not be able to go back, but it still hit her harder than she had anticipated. Zavan might prefer his life as a demon general in Roshandan over life in his home world, but Leela was not sure she could ever say the same. At least, to make this place comfortable enough for her to consider it home, a lot of changes would have to be made. Changes that she was not sure she had the power to do. It left her feeling trapped, with her life out of her control, even though she had more power here than she could have ever hoped to have back on Earth.

And to make matters worse, it would be a hundred years before they could possibly attempt to summon again. Unless Leela somehow gained immortality or some way to live longer than humans normally did, she would most likely not even live that long.

"So... would you say you became a demon because you were summoned as a demon general? Or because you have been here for so long? How long had you been here before you started noticing the changes?"

"Do you still have the abilities of a Dark Elf, as well?" The idea randomly popped into her mind. If he did, then she could probably copy them, too. Like dark vision!

[Throndir]

"Yes, Ki can be thought of as martial arts."

"I suspect that is the case. Within the first year, I've started to notice the changes. Things were easier for me, and it didn't take long for me to realize that I can grow claws, scales, and become like dark miasma." He nodded at your comments of a Dark Elf.

"Yes. I can see just fine in pitch darkness, though, still at a limited range."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

From the sounds of it, Leela might be able to copy Zavan's ability to see in the dark, too. That, however, was not what she cared more about at that point in time. She simply could not let go of the fact that Zavan had noticed himself changing to be a demon within his first year of living in this place. That meant that not only was she most likely stuck in this strange world where portions of other worlds were being suddenly taken and plopped down here, but she also might end up becoming a demon the longer she stayed there. She wondered if she would turn the longer she stayed in Roshandan and other demon lands. Perhaps if she decided to live where humans lived, she might not change. Most likely not, since she had the suspicion that it was her "blessing" to be a demon hero that would cause it. Up until now, it had seemed like the only "blessing" that did not give her some sort of useful ability or skill. But now... now it might not just be that she had merely been summoned to be a hero for demons like she had originally translated it as. She could only imagine what her parents would say about her situation.

~~~~~

When Leela and Zavan finished preparing the rest of the disguises for the nightmares who would be joining them in the morning, Leela joined Efrit and the others where they had set up camp.

"Now that I know for sure what I have to work with, here is my plan." She told them once she had gained everyone's attention. "Roadmarech, tomorrow we will part. I do not know for sure how long we will be gone, it depends on how the humans react. As such, I do not expect you to wait for us here at the border unless you want to. If you do decide to leave, please return in four days and every day after that until we return. If we are not back after a week has passed, then something most likely went wrong and it is up to you and Ghorat to decide what to do from there."

"As for your nightmares, I am assuming they will send replacements as needed and each day so that we can get there as quickly as possible?" She asked him. After he answered, she turned to the rest of her party. As she did so, she took a stick and started to draw in the dirt.

"When we set out tomorrow, this circle represents the main group of us. These circles represent those of you in the sneaky group and some of you from the fighting group." She indicated the imps who were the most sneaky. "I need you imps to go in pairs at these points, do not go farther away from the main group than you can teleport. Your role is to scout around us. The moment you see another person or a human settlement, one of you is to teleport back to the main group and report what you saw. The one of you who stays behind is to hide until your partner returns with my orders. You must decide who will be the messenger and who will stay in position before we leave each day. It is extremely important that you remember to be quiet when you are scouting so that you are not caught."

"Zavan, I am sure you already know, but even with the imps acting as scouts, we must still be on the lookout so that you can do whatever is needed to make sure that no one notices that you are not human or Elven. If a human manages to get past our scouts without notice, let me handle any conversations. I do not want any of you to accidentally say something that might upset them or make them suspicious."

"I am sure that humans will get suspicious of a group like ours entering villages to stay at an inn each night, and I do not want to risk them sending a messenger to their hero that suspicious strangers are there, so we will be camping out away from human homes and roads."

"When we finally reach the settlement where we believe Ashaki is being kept, we will split up. Efrit, Abi, and I will enter the town. The rest of you imps will take orders from Zavan outside of the town. If they attack us or are willing to work with us, I will send Abi to you with instructions." She turned to Efrit and Abi as she continued to explain the rest of her plan. "I have a couple of options as for what I will tell them. With the first option, I would tell them the full truth and hope that they will listen to it all rather than attacking upon hearing that I am the demon hero. With the second option, I would provide a partial and say that my kingdom found itself in the middle of demon country, but one of my demon neighbors has not attacked and is even willing to become allies if I can retrieve their own, Ashaki. I will tell them that my kingdom and the demons of the Domain of Roshandan would also like to enter into trade with them, and perhaps even an alliance with them."

"Regardless of which option I end up going with, you," Leela pointed at Efrit, "will be my knight. And you," she pointed at Abi, "will be my maid servant while we are there."

"Aside from your roles, Efrit and Abi, I am open to suggestions and discussion of the rest of my plan." She finished, looking at Efrit and Zavan to see if they had anything to input.

[Throndir]

Roadmarech confirmed that each of his nightmares are able to call for another one to take its place. Effectively, this would mean that you could have a nightmare around the clock for as long as you wish.

Each of the imps nodded and listened closely to your instructions. They all had begun chirping at once of course, each one telling you that that would do their best in being quiet.

Zavan nodded at your suggestion, and he even stated that he could use his abilities to attempt to hide away if it came to it.

When it came to your two suggestions, Zavan spoke up.

"Lady Leelasama, knowing how the humans are like, I would advise on the second course of action. Any mention of demons would call forth hostility. As for Abi... Her size makes her more akin to a young human child, not to mention that imps are rather... carefree without much grace when it comes to being sneaky."

Abi puffed her cheeks.

"Master Zavan! I'm graceful! Leelasama, I'm graceful right, Leelasama? Leelasama!"

"Me? A knight?" He grinned. "A knight for my beautiful princess then." Efrit declared. "It's a pity we didn't take a few of my goblins, they would have made cute squires."

[Ella]

Leela Steading

"I will most likely only provide the full truth to the humans if the partial truth will not work, then."

"Princesses can have children for maid servants. We can do Abi's hair into pigtails or buns to hide her horns and if they ask about her, I will say that I wanted a young maid servant that I could dress up as a doll." Leela figured that would work, since Abi did have an adorable outfit.

Ignoring Abi's question, Leela grinned at Efrit. "I'm glad you like the idea of being my knight. You know that knights swear fealty to the one they serve, right?"

With their plans settled, Leela decided to learn more of ethereal magic from Zavan before going to sleep.

[spoiler]Spending the remaining 4 hours of training in Ethereal Knowledge using MAG modifier.
[blockquote]Rolled 1d20+13 : 12 + 13, total 25[/blockquote][/spoiler]

[Throndir]

Zavan nodded.

"Yes, that would work."

"I swear fealty to the Princess of The Great Country of America."

You couldn't tell if he was being serious.



For the rest of the evening, Zavan teaches you more of what he knows about the ethereal.



The evening consisted of the group around a campfire that Efrit had created. Efrit had hunted as well, and he brought back with him a couple of rabbits and deers. They were all scorched, but it didn't seem noticeable when the efreet prepared and barbecued the rest of them for everyone. During this time Efrit had begun telling some of his stories, eventually, storytelling was passed on to Zavan, and he began into his own tales which the imps listened to, enraptured by some of Zavan's past deeds.

Efrit's stories about his life before a demon general back in Lord Ghorat's world, along with stories of his cute goblins. Apparently, back in his own world, he was one of the more powerful ifrits of his village. And he told of stories of wars between the demonkind, and how Lord Ghorat eventually took him in. As for Zavan, he focused on telling stories about the war between the humans and demons. Apparently, before this human country, it was a different one. One that was called 'Kingdom of Felothia'.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

Leela had thought that telling Efrit that knights swear fealty to the ones they serve might get a rise out of him. She had not expected him to just say it. Still, she could not tell if he was joking around or serious. He had not knelt down or bowed, so she could not even guess from his body language if he was being over dramatic or serious. She wondered briefly if he knew what fealty meant.

~~~~~

Leela had never had rabbit or venison before, but she was so thankful to have real food that actually had flavor that she was not bothered by the gamey flavor and texture at all. She listened with interest to Efrit's and Zavan's stories, getting a better idea of both of their characters from the things they shared about themselves and the way the described things. It was also important for her to listen to Zavan's stories about the war against the humans, as it gave her better insight on the issues that she would have to deal with. She made sure to ask questions for more details on the parts of their stories that were of more interest to her or that she deemed important knowledge.

When it was time to sleep, Leela found a private place that she could change and had Abi stand watch. She did not want to sleep in her lolita dress again and she also wanted something more comfortable for traveling. The dress she had picked out was longer than her original with less frills and no buttons to catch on things. She did not like the low neckline, but it was something she could live with. There was still one other outfit she had packed for herself for the trip, which she would change into before arriving in the town.

Once she was changed into her new outfit and she had repacked her gear, Leela decided to sleep in the carriage for the night. She let the others know before asking Abi to join her. She figured the other imps and the two demon generals would find places for themselves to sleep.

As she lay on the carriage seat and waited for sleep to come to her, the conversations she had had with Zavan earlier in the day popped back into her mind and she once again found herself feeling overwhelmed. She had not only been kidnapped, she had been stolen away from the world that contained everything she knew and loved with no hope of returning back. She would most likely never see her parents, her friends, her cat, or anything from her world for the rest of her life. Even if other summoned heroes came from her world or one similar to hers, if things did not work out with retrieving Ashaki peacefully, she had little hope of even finding companionship with someone she could relate to. Sure, Zavan had also been summoned from another world, but he was not human and Leela could not reminisce with him about movies and music and other things common to her world that would be out of place here.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as she could not help but to think these thoughts. She had kept herself so busy since she had been summoned that she had not even really had time to dwell on her situation before. Now, she knew even more than she did the day before and she knew it only made her feel worse than it would have if she had not known. Not only was she stuck in this strange world where parts of other worlds seem to be replacing various parts of the world that had originally been there, but there was also a chance that she would become a demon.

Leela let the tears that had been welling up fall before blinking her eyes a few times to try to hold back more tears. She did not want to start crying now and Abi notice and ask what was wrong. She still did not want to show weakness to the demons, and she certainly did not want to show weakness to the humans, either. Once she felt her tears were under control, she wiped the wetness from her face with one of her sleeves and forced herself to stop thinking about her situation. Taking some deep breaths, she tried to calm down and clear her mind as if meditating in the hopes that she would fall asleep.

~~~~~

Leela woke as the sun came up; yet another day where she woke up unnaturally early for her normal sleep schedule. She found herself cuddling Abi to her, much like how she did with her pet cat back in her own world. It was kind of nice... If only Abi were not drooling in her sleep. The young woman chose to focus on her disgust at the drool rather than allowing herself to wish she had actually been cuddling with her cat.

Carefully, she removed herself from the imp and rose to prepare herself for the day.

[Throndir]

When you woke up, you found the imps sleeping at the bottom of the carriage as well, though you noticed that not all of them were there. When you went outside, that was when you noticed Zavan was sitting down. He seemed to have a sewing kit out and was working on something. You also saw a couple of the other imps sleeping around him at various intervals - some, on top of the others. They slept very messily.

Efrit on the other hand, was just starting to wake up.

Zavan didn't look up from his sewing project.

"Good morning, lady Leela-sama."

"Princess. Zavan, it's Princess." Efrit corrected as he looked over to you. "New clothing?"

"Burned the other set in your sleep? I do that sometimes too." He grinned.

[Ella]

Leela Steading

With her hair brushed out, her clothes straightened up, water drank, and her things gathered, Leela left the carriage to find a private place to relieve herself and then to check on the two generals. As she passed through the lower portion of the carriage, she noticed that more of the imps were drooling. 'It must be an imp thing...'

"Good morning. You're up early." She commented, noticing that Zavan was sewing and wondering how long he had been awake. Being a dark elf, he probably did not need the light to see what he was sewing. That aside, unless he had been up earlier to keep watch, she wondered about his sleep schedule. Some fantasy settings from her own world theorized that elves did not need to sleep, or if they did, they only needed a few hours. Other settings seemed to show elves needing only slightly less sleep than humans.

Leela blinked when Efrit corrected Zavan. While she did appreciate his correction, she had not expected it to come from him at all. Even though she had told Zavan before that he did not need to add 'lady' before Leela-sama, he seemed to have either forgotten or found it difficult to refrain due to habit. The imps spouting it out all the time certainly did not help.

"I changed so that my other clothes would not get dirty from travel. In my world, nearly everyone changes into fresh, clean clothes every day for hygienic purposes, not because they accidentally burned them all away." She frowned at his comment about himself burning clothes off in his sleep sometimes. "Zavan, we really need to look into making fire-proof clothes for Efrit." She did not want to wake up on one of the mornings that they had to camp out and see a naked Efrit sleeping in eyesight.

"Is there anything leftover from last night's dinner that we can eat for breakfast? I'm sure the imps will want to eat before we head out... Though I'm sure they would be happy with eating the grass again..." She eyed one of the drooling creatures sleeping in the grass near Zavan. She did not usually eat breakfast herself, but knew that they would have a long day of travel ahead of them. If traveling on horseback for long hours was anything like long car rides or flights, she would most likely not eat much during the day and she needed all the strength she could get.

"Roadmarech, would please call for the nightmares who will be joining us?" Leela asked the Lord of Nightmares, intending to get to work setting up their disguises and getting them ready for transporting the group. While she waited for them to arrive, she woke one of the sleeping imps and sent him to wake up Abi and the others who were still in the carriage so that they could all start getting ready to depart.