Chapter 20: Chapter 20 – Always read the fine print

"A real one?" Kat asked incredulously, staring at the strange lamp in Scarlett's hands. "Like from the story of the Nine Samaritan Thieves?"

Scarlett glanced at Kat. Her companions in the game had had dialogue that made it seem like they knew of magic lamps too, so the concept clearly wasn't too foreign in this world. "Something like that, yes," she said and looked back at the lamp. It had been buried in this cave for a long time. Thick grime coated it, but the gold beneath shimmered through on some spots.

"Are you gonna use it?"

"That was my intention."

The lamp felt strangely hot to the touch. Scarlett turned it around and lightly shook it. There was no sound. "Step back," she told Kat, placing the lamp on the pile of rocks in front of them.

"Wait, you're using it now?!"

"Indeed," she said and took a step up to the Shielder. She reached towards the woman's hip and put her hand into the black pouch hanging there, pulling out a large bottle filled with a thick, dark-red liquid.

"Hold this," she said and handed it to Kat, who stared at it with a confused expression.

"Is this blood?"

"Yes. But there is no need for worry. It is hogs' blood." That seemed to assuage the woman's confusion somewhat. Maybe. Scarlett hadn't been sure that she would have enough time to visit this place before having to return to Freybrook, but she had asked Garside to procure a flask of blood from the butchers just to be safe. Bless that man for not even raising an eyebrow at the request.

Stepping back to the pile of rocks, she eyed the lamp for a moment. "After I use this, it is vital that you do not speak a word until I say you can. Is that understood?" she asked Kat.

"Sure...But why?"

Scarlett looked back to see the Shielder looking down at the bottle of blood in her hands.

"Because you might inadvertently agree to something that is not within your best interests," she said. "It is important to not be deceived by appearances." She'd made that mistake in her first playthrough.

"Aren't djinns supposed to grant wishes?"

"This one is...unique. Now, be quiet." She leaned forward to wipe away the years of dirt, running her fingers against the lamp's surface. As she did, the lamp began to tremble against the stone. Raising herself, she stepped back just as heavy blue smoke started spilling out of the spout of the lamp. The vapor arched into the air where it began to take shape before them. The upper part of the smoke took the form of a muscular man with dark purple skin and flowing black hair that was tied into a knot that floated beside him. His bare body was bedecked with golden jewellery, and his ears—which were long and pointed—had a long pair of gold chains hanging from them.

"Who summons me?" he declared as he peered around the cavern. His gaze quickly found Scarlett and he looked down at her with a sneer. "Human...It was you?"

She found herself meeting his sneer with a sneer of her own. "It was."

The djinn observed her quietly for several seconds before crossing his large arms across his chest. "It has been a long time since I last saw the light of day. You have my gratitude, human."

"Your gratitude is not what we are here for."

He eyed her for several more seconds, then the edges of his lips rose into a small smile. "The nature of humans never changes, it seems," he said with a short laugh. "You know what I am. What is it that you wish for? Power? Money? Immortality?"

Scarlett smiled. "You claim it is within your power to gift these things?"

"Of course." The djinn waved his hand. Blue smoke trailed behind it, turning into gold coins that fell into the water beneath. "I can give you whatever it is that you want...for a price."

She raised an eyebrow. "I do not recall hearing that djinns ask a price for their gifts."

"Then perhaps you've heard incorrectly," he said and floated closer to the ground. "Nothing is free. And I have been in that lamp for a very long time. My power is...weakened. Depleted. If I am to grant you your boon, I will need to replenish it. So." He moved closer to Scarlett so that he was right in front of her. "Do you agree to the deal?"

Scarlett frowned as she almost breathed in some of the blue smoke that whirled around him, trying to wave it away with her hand. It seemed to ignore her movements. "I believe it is best if you specify the price before any arrangements are made."

"Certainly." He smiled and leaned back in the air. "I simply need the beating heart of a human."

Scarlett heard Kat flinch behind her as the woman's feet moved in the water, but thankfully the Shielder kept quiet. Scarlett stared at the grinning djinn. "That is a very macabre request, for a being such as you."

The djinn gave a non-committal shrug. "I am merely telling you what I require to regain my power and grant you your wish. Humans are a valuable source of mana."

"That may be, but I am afraid I cannot fulfill your request."

He looked at her. "A shame. You did seem the type for a moment," he said, rising up into the air again. "But very well. Then I need something else."

"Speak."

He froze, staring down at her. It appeared he did not like her ordering him around.

"...Blood," he eventually said. "I need blood to regain my strength."

Scarlett examined him for a moment. Then she turned around and took the flask in Kat's hands before looking back at him, holding the blood up. He stared at her as if he hadn't even noticed the object before, then slowly floated down to receive it. He tore the cap off and smelled the contents, then narrowed his eyes at her. "This is blood."

"Astute observation," she stated. When the djinn didn't immediately give a response she tilted her head ever-so-slightly to the side. "Is there a problem? I believe that is what you asked for, is it not?"

He stared at her, occasionally glancing at the bottle in his hands. He even sniffed it one more time.

"Do you perhaps think I am attempting to poison you?" Scarlett asked. "There would not be much point to such an action. Then you would be unable to give me what I wish for. Nor do I know of a poison that could harm a djinn."

He eyed her for a moment longer. "...Crafty woman," he muttered. Then he downed the whole flask before throwing it to the ground. His body suddenly began taking on a deeper hue and the smoke around him shifted into a darker violet. A smile played on his lips as he moved his body with the energy. "Ahh, it's been so long. To think such a measly amount would give so much."

Scarlett watched the djinn rejoice in its refound strength until he finally turned his attention back to her. "As agreed, I'll grant you one wish within my power. What is it that you want? Power? Money?"

"Power is what I need," she answered with confidence.

He sneered. "Of course it is...Then you agree to our deal?"

"Yes," Scarlett nodded her head.

"Then say the words," he said. He moved down to her level again. "Say that you agree to the terms."

"I agree to the terms of the deal." The moment the words left her lips a sharp burning sensation shot out from her left hand. The pain surprised her, but she clenched her teeth and forced herself to endure it. Smoke billowed out from her skin as a dark crest formed at the top of her hand. A steadily rising laugh resounded throughout the cave as the djinn's skin had suddenly begun growing darker and darker. Cackling like a madman, any sense of stature that he'd previously had was completely gone as his entire appearance started turning sharper and scaled. Scarlett heard Kat move behind her but held out her arm to stop the woman from doing anything. All the while she kept her eyes on the transforming djinn in front of them.

Eventually, he stopped laughing and turned his attention back to Scarlett, completely ignoring Kat. His entire body was now covered in dark purple scales and his mouth was filled with rows of teeth. He was staring at her with bright red eyes. "It's been centuries since I last had my own little meatbag-slave to toy with. This is going to be marvelous."

Scarlett kept quiet as she watched him. His eyes went to her arm that was blocking Kat. "Ah, of course. Greedy little human. Your reward." He grinned and waved his hand in the air, a necklace forming out of dark smoke. A circular violet crystal that hung from a thin black band and shimmered in the air as he threw it towards Scarlett. She caught it and examined it.

[Depraved Solitude's Choker (Unique)]
{This necklace hungers for power and appears to suck in the mana around it, waiting for it to be unleashed. 1/3000}

"Precisely what I required." She smiled and looked up at the djinn—or rather—the demon in front of her. "A pleasure doing business with you."

The large and scaled man let out another cackling laugh. "Crazy woman. No, it was a pleasure doing business with you." His face morphed into a maniacal grin.

"I am sure it was." Scarlett turned to Kat. "We have all we need. It is time for us to leave."

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Kat met her eyes with a disbelieving look. "We're just going to leave? That's a demon!"

"Oh, you're not leaving yet." The demon's voice rang out behind Scarlett. "You're not leaving until I say so."

The pain started to grow on Scarlett's hand again and she felt an urge inside her pulling her back. It was mucky...Vile. If the traits that beheld her to the original Scarlett's personality were chains, then this was a tentacle. A barb that felt out and tried to drag her towards it.

But it was pitiful compared to the chains.

She looked back at the demon. "I think it is time we break this pact."

He smirked, revealing his rows of sharp teeth. "There is no breaking it. You are now mine, forever."

"I disagree." She held her left hand in front of her, looking at the dark crest imprinted on it. "Vezzeleth," she declared, the crest lighting up the moment she uttered the word.

The demon's eyes shot open. "Ho—"

"I demand this pact be broken." When her last word finished a blinding light radiated from the crest and filled the cavern they were in. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the light dissolved and the crest was gone from Scarlett's hand.

"You!" the demon screamed out. "My name...How!" He glared at her, his red eyes like molten lava. With a scream, he sprang towards her — but she was ready. She detonated a small Aqua Mine next to the magical lamp. The entire demon's body warped with an ear-piercing scream and pulled towards the lamp as it fell down into the water. A brief moment later he reformed above the lamp. "You littl—"

She had already pulled out her [Wand of Fireball] from Kat's pouch of holding and cast the spell at the lamp. The water around it instantly vaporized with the explosion and the demon cried out as its body twisted in the air above the lamp. Scarlett didn't hesitate for a second before casting the spell again, and then once more after that. After the third explosion, the demon had disappeared altogether and the lamp was just a half-molten lump of metal that was soon swallowed by the water that came flowing in around it.

[Quest Completed: Deal with the demon of The Isolated Hollow]
{Skill points awarded: 3}

Scarlett glanced at the window of text that appeared beside her as she kept her eyes on the lamp and waited for the ringing in her ears to stop. Fireball wasn't as ridiculously loud as some of the spells she'd seen Kat cast, but it was still a bit much for an enclosed space with a knack for amplifying sounds such as a cave. She should really be careful about things like this in the future.

After watching the lamp for long enough to feel sure that it was completely dealt with she finally turned to Kat. The woman was staring at her with a dumbfounded expression. "Now we leave."

 

 

The both of them quietly sat in the carriage as it moved across the road back towards Ambercrest. It had taken them some time to climb out of the cave and walk back to the resting spot because of Scarlett's relatively weak body, but with Kat's help, they'd eventually managed it. The Shielder had barely said a word the whole time, though. Kat wasn't one to often hold back her thoughts on matters so Scarlett felt a little uncomfortable with the silence.

Not that she'd show it. Showing any signs of discomfort was basically blasphemy to the original Scarlett. Her expressions essentially ranged from satisfied derision to contempt. A trait she'd found to be both a blessing and a pain. Mostly a pain, though.

"Did you know there would be a demon there before we entered the cave?"

Scarlett was pulled out of her thoughts as Kat finally decided to speak. She was now looking straight at her with an interrogating look.

"...Yes," Scarlett answered after a moment's deliberation. There did not seem to be much point in lying about it.

"Are you crazy?" Kat asked.

Scarlett paused, meeting her eyes. "I am quite sane."

"You struck a pact with a demon."

"And then broke that pact," Scarlett pointed out. "There was no real danger present." Even if her original plan hadn't worked she could have visited the Followers of Ittar's temple in the capital to get rid of the pact. It would be a lot more troublesome if that's what she had to do, but it was another solution nonetheless. That's what she'd been forced to do in her first playthrough when she'd fallen for the demon's tricks. She hadn't learned she could break the pact with the demon's name until her second playthrough. Although in that playthrough she had also given the demon a human heart, but the only difference that made was in the quality of the reward you received.

"And how did you do that?" Kat furrowed her forehead. "I didn't know pacts with demons could be broken that easily."

"I simply spoke his name." Scarlett looked out the carriage window. They were getting close to the city walls. "Their names hold a great deal of power to demons. Enough to weaken them. And definitely enough to break a pact."

"But how did you know his name?"

Scarlett observed some of the people on foot that they passed by. "I uncovered it in my research," she said as she spotted a brown-haired woman with a baby in her arms that reminded her of a friend back in her world. It wasn't the same person, but the resemblance was close enough to spark a few memories.

"So this was all part of your plan? From the start?"

"Yes."

"Then why didn't you tell me before? I was this close to bringing down the entire cave when I first saw that demon."

Scarlett shifted her head to look at Kat. The woman had a serious look on her face. "Would you have agreed to go if I told you we were looking for a demon?" she eventually asked. Demons were the stuff of nightmares in this world.

"I don't know. But it would have been better than not telling me," Kat said, meeting her eyes. "Technically I should cancel this whole escort request because of this. The Guild doesn't like endangering its members more than necessary."

Scarlett stared back at the woman, without saying anything. She looked out the window again and started tapping her fingers against its frame. "I..."

Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a breath. God damn it, this shouldn't be that hard. She'd apologized to Evelyne before!

"I...should have informed you beforehand," she eventually said, trying her best to avoid the wave of disgust that came with her actions. Damn it, that had barely been an apology! Why the hell was this worse than when she apologized to Evelyne.

Kat stayed quiet for a moment, and Scarlett glanced at her to see the woman also having turned her head to look out the window. "I didn't say I was going to. Just saying I probably should," she said. "Though I wouldn't mind some extra reward or something for all the dangerous things I'm always doing for you," she added in a light tone.

Scarlett's eyes widened somewhat, the edges of her mouth rising slightly. "I will ensure you are amply rewarded for the dangers you face. And I will keep you informed of such dangers in the future."

Kat shrugged her shoulders. "I won't object to that."

The carriage fell into silence again. Several minutes passed and the carriage passed into the city itself before Kat spoke again, in a lower tone. "All the dungeons, and those Zuverian ruins...Were they also something you found in your research?"

Scarlett looked at Kat. The blonde woman was absently fiddling with her braid.

"Yes."

"Huh." Kat kept her eyes fixed on the buildings they passed by.

"...You do not believe me," Scarlett stated in a neutral tone.

"No," Kat admitted. "But I don't think it's any of my business either. I would like for you to tell me, but I'm not going to force your hand about it."

Scarlett also turned her eyes outside. "I appreciate that."

They didn't say anything else after that.

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