Tour guide to a higher power

You pace back and forth in the summoning room, watching the bar fill one percent at a time as the abishai hammer away. Every now and then, you part your hands and stare at the fiery ruby, as if looking into its shifting depths will somehow make the construction go faster. After hours that feel like days, the room is finally complete and you designate it as the new home of your main summoning circle. The moment you've done so, you channel mana from the tower into the ruby, which in turn fills the room in roiling flames. The flames clear to reveal bone after bone materializing from dust around the circle and stacking on top of one other, until after thirty seconds they've begun to form what's now recognizable as an arch. After another minute of the two sides growing gradually closer, a skull raises up and sets itself as the keystone, and with a spine-chilling scream the entire structure lights ablaze. The air in the middle of the gate shimmers, the back of the room slowly fading out of view until it's replaced entirely by lava floes and dark sheets of obsidian and basalt.

"Who calls the duke of magma, the first pyromancer, lord of the lake of fire, Zoxxzzixxaith the Everburning?

Each syllable shakes the tower as a massive bull's head pokes through the middle. Two jets of fire erupt from his nostrils and wash across the room.

"Oh, imp, it's you, excellent! I was hoping to have a chance you look around. Now, if you don't mind, this form is awfully inconvenient for such things. Just give me one moment..." the head pulls back through the gate, and a moment later a tiny imp flies through and lands on your shoulder, only the bull's head betraying its uncommon origin. "Ah, that's much better. Now, I can see that something has got you worked up, but what say you give me a tour of your operation first, and then we can discuss it once you've had a chance to calm down?"

You restrain the urge to shout and insist that this can't wait, but such words would be at best useless against the being perched on your shoulder, minute though he may currently be. "Fine." He snaps his fingers and the air in the gate shimmers again, revealing the other side of the room just before the bones crumble into dust and the flames abate.

"Oh, don't be such a spoilsport. How often do you get to escort a daemonic prince through your domain? You should be honoured." His jovial tone belies his imperious words, and you manage to resist the urge to roll your eyes. "Now, my chariot, onward to greener pastures!" The bull-headed imp sticks an arm out ahead, and you can't help but crack a smile at his antics. You step through the portal behind you and find yourself elsewhere in the tower. "Ooh, not bad, not bad indeed! If only my cultists had this much style!"

"Right, so first off, these are the enchanting and alchemy areas of the tower. To be honest, I haven't used them as much as I'd like, between losing my gear whenever I die and not being able to make much of value. The new plan is for them to start providing my underlings with basic, expendable enchanted gear." The imp snorts his approval, two puffs of smoke emerging from his bovine nostrils.

"This is the library. It seems to contain all sorts of books on magic: we aren't sure how much." A small flickering crown and two red wings betray a fallen angel nestled in a chair with a book. She peeks over her shoulder in curiosity as you approach. "Who's this, my lord?"

"I am Zix, adorable mascot of the Lair!" The minute daemon lord summons a tiny, flaming pitchfork and holds it high. Mariel shuts her book and places it on a table before standing up and scratching the imp under his bullish chin. "Aww, he's adorable. Can we keep him?"

You laugh at the display for a moment before speaking up. "Don't let this brat fool you. This is Zoxxzzixxaith."

The angel gasps and prostrates herself. "My lord of magma! I'm so honoured!" Another snort from the daemon lord produces a small plume of flame, causing a few black strands on the angel's head to grow bright red.

"Rise, little angel. One of Enileve's, right? You were the one who called me during some ritual a few days ago, yes? I remember hearing your voice for an instant."

"Eep!" The angel squeaks, delighted at the recognition.

"Now, why don't you join us. Your master has kindly agreed to give me a tour of this dungeon, and hells know we could use some company." She takes one of your hands and the two of you walk through the portal into the main hall of the tower before stepping outside.

"What, just a village, a gate, and almost no defences at all? No, no, no, Azazel, this won't do at all." The imp emphatically shakes his head, swinging it back and forth at an incredible rate to compensate for his diminutive stature.

"Yes, my lord. I'm afraid I've only just acquired the means to fix it, but it seems I need to accumulate more of a name for myself before I do."

"Oh, fame is it? Such a trifling thing. Done! I've spread the word to some of my cultists. Now do something about this at the next opportunity: it's frankly embarrassing the rest of your kind." Confused, you notice a popup in the corner of your vision.

Fame: 18541
People are talking about you: 17403

Your eyes widen at what the daemon lord is seemingly able to do with a whim. You've felt like you were on top of the world recently, but this is a reminder that you still have a long ways to go before you're even the most powerful monster of Imporne, let alone the realm.

"Now, let's see the underground. Hopefully it isn't all so appalling." The three of you descend the stairs in the tower and find Tlax curled on the throne, curiously joining you and swirling around your feet as you continue to walk. "Hmm, not bad, not bad. I have to admit, you do have some taste. That altar is suitably impressive for a daemon of your stature, and the angelic statues are perfect for the room. One of our friend here wasn't enough? Oho, indeed it wasn't!" Seramiel turns to see the commotion, panting as she holds her blade down to her side. Rishukan and Lilia, two of your lieutenants, sit opposite her. "Sisters if I'm not mistaken! Excellent!"

"Who's this, lord?" Sera walks over and curiously inspects the tiny bull-headed trickster perched on your shoulder. "New pet? A friend for Baelzann?"

"Yes! I am Zix, mascot extrordinare!" Mary can't help but giggle at the ridiculous display.

"He's a daemon lord, sis, the duke of magma! And he remembered me!"

"Whatever, just remember that you aren't the lord of this dungeon. Someone here doesn't seem to understand that." The miniscule daemon lord gives a chuckle and shoots you a quizzical look. "Later." You wave off his implied question, not wanting to raise that sore spot just yet. Sera turns back to her training, crossing blades with Rishu once again as you move on.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad," Zoxxzzixxaith nods as he effortlessly spots each trap you pass. After a half hour or so of hiking and banter between your companion and visitor, you find yourself at the entrance.

"Now, you have a decent operation going here after all! Although I must say, this layout is dreadfully haphazard. Rooms just slapped together, no theme at all, and so much walking! Why not simply use some of those lovely portals to travel around?"

"Well, you see," you fill him in on your recent transition to boss and the dungeon level system.

"Oh, recently promoted, eh? I remember when I was first promoted to boss. A capital time! Capital! Well, jolly good then! Just remember to put that fame to good use. I'd hate to see it all gone to waste the next time I visit. Say, didn't I meet a delicious little elf with you last time? Ari, if I remember? Where's she off to?"

"She must be over in the baths. Let's head back there now, and then we can discuss why I called you here." The imp signals his approval with another enthusiastic gesture forward, and your party heads off towards the entrance. You arrive outside the baths just as Ari steps out.

"Oh, who's this?"

"Remember that massive daemon lord we met back in Broadbridge?" She nods, a puzzled expression across her face suddenly shifting to recognition.

"Wait a minute, is that... him?"

"In the flesh!" Fire spurts from the tiny regent's nostrils at his enthusiastic exclamation.

"Now Ari, could you get Sera and meet us in the library? We're going to discuss some strategy with Zoxxzzixxaith while we have his time." She walks off the way you came, and a few minutes later all of your champions surround you in the library, the tiny imp lounging in a much-too-large chair of his own. A puff of thick smoke fills the room, eliciting a few coughs from Ari, and when it clears a human-sized version of the daemon lord fills the armchair.

"Ah, much better. Now that you've humoured me, what was it you were in such a tizzy about before?"

"Right. So you see, a powerful adventurer has taken up residence here. She's **** me into a contract and insists on lording over the place, and I'm quite frankly sick of it, but she's consistently outleveled us and our group is no match for her." You feel some of your anger from earlier today resurfacing as you speak.

"Hmm, that won't do, that won't do at all. The dungeon system assumes adventurers have the good humour to leave us alone after a raid, not to mention the day-long ban from the dungeon whenever one of them dies. It sounds as if this witch has no interest in the balance. But I'm afraid I can't intervene directly..." The bullish daemon strokes his chin as loose sheets of paper burn to ash each time he breathes.

"Now you see, this cannot be allowed to continue, it's frankly an embarrassment for the whole system. Frankly, if she killed you more often than she has, the gods would no doubt intervene. But no doubt you don't want to spend a few weeks dying repeatedly? No, I imagine not. Aha! I've got it!" Your whole group perks up at his announcement.

"You see, an old acquaintance of mine, a most lovely woman, has a necklace capable of completely sealing the wearer's magic. It is cursed, and can't be removed except by a powerful spell. I'm afraid we've lost touch over the millennia, but I believe she lives on a mountain not far to the south of here." He snaps his fingers and fire crisscrosses a loose page in front of you, burning a crude map into the parchment.

"Now, I'd love to speak to her again, so I'd appreciate it if you could deliver a message for me when you visit." Another snap of his fingers and an envelope sealed with red ribbon appears from a cloud of smoke. "The message should be indestructible, but don't be so rude as to read it or I shall be very unhappy with you. Other than that, feel free to loot the place. Of course, Niriossa won't appreciate that, but she always did have a hoarding problem, so you'd be doing her a favour really. How you retrieve the necklace and anything else you seek is up to you."

"Oh, and one final thing." He stands up as if to emphasize his point. "I'd appreciate it if you could deliver my cult's teachings to Broadbridge. I've found I miss the place. Just leave it under a bench somewhere, the rest should sort itself out. While you're there, you may want to meet some strong and trustworthy adventurers. Tell them... it's a quest. You two are to compete for the spoils but not to fight under any circumstances."

The list of requirements is long and convoluted, but it's more of a plan than anything you've seen so far. "Thank you, oh duke of magma," you genuflect, taking a page out of Mariel's book.

"Zoxxzzixxaith is fine—I despise formality. Now, I'm a busy duke. It was fun, but I assume you have no more need of me?" You nod, and the daemon lord is consumed by a raging inferno which leaves everything else untouched. After a moment a small pile of ash is all that remains.

You're still a little dazed from the last few hours until Seramiel waves her hand in front of your eyes. "Right, let's all go get some rest. We head for Broadbridge first thing tomorrow." With that, you head to Mariel's room, while the other two women head to her twin's. The bed is much smaller than your own, but between your exhaustion and excitement tomorrow you fall asleep with your angelic lover in your arms.