(Leif)

My body screams of pain. I ran and ran and ran and ran until I blacked out. Blacking out is the only thing around me that's familiar. That, and this annoying little thingy that appears in my vision every now and then. I have no idea what it means, or what it is. It's terrifying.

Lots of things are terrifying. Everything is new to me, and new is terrifying.

New means pain, and I'm in a lot of pain right now. My body hurts. It's so sore. I was gasping for air before I blacked out.

But I had to get away. The wall broke apart, and the chains on me broke, too. I ran. The bright thingy in the above hurt my eyes. It was so bright, much brighter than the torches did. Much, much brighter. Way brighter.

It was scary.

But I was free.

I hope they don't catch me again. That wasn't fun. That was all I knew. They just hurt me. Lots of times.

Sitting up, I look around me. There are lots of thingies around me. Tall thingies, small thingies, big thingies, wide thingies. Lots of thingies. Tall, brown thingies with green thingies on thingies sticking out of them. The ground is brown, and there are bits of green here and there.

It's so weird. So new.

So bright. Eyes hurt again.

I stumble my way through the strange space, hoping no one finds me and brings me back to them. The scary guy just looked at me when he broke my chains. I ran before he could grab me.

What is this annoying thingy that keeps appearing in my vision every now and then?

Name: Species: Elf Sex: Male Total Level: 0 Age: 18 Public Title: None Class: None Health: 6/6 STR: 2 AGI: 2 INT: 3 VIT: 1 Mana: 5/5 END: 1 DEX: 2 WIS: 1 LCK: 4 Rating: White CON: 1 FLX: 1 PER: 3 LIF: 389

I don't understand any of it. What's a name? What's an age? What's a species? What's a rating? What is any of this?

It's all so scary.

There's a giant stone thingy. I know stone thingies. I was surrounded by stone walls and roof and floor all my life. This one looks like what the outside of something like that would probably be.

I think. Not too sure. I be very, very stupid.

It's not on fire, though. I think the scary guy set everything on fire before he broke the wall down.

This big stone thingy is bigger than the one I ran out of. It's scary. I don't see people, though.

People are bad. People will hurt me.

Lots of the green thingies. And other thingies. Lots of thingies I don't know.

Something wet started falling down. I never got wet in the stone thingy. Not unless they made me wet. This thingy just seems to be wet. It's falling from the above.

So I'm scared. Do I enter the big scary stone thingy, or let the wet thingy keep falling down on me from the above?

Couldn't breathe last time. Not good. Better go inside. If people be there, try and hide until wet thingy stop falling.

I go inside, looking around. It be dark. Not much light. That's good, yes? Not much light? Eyes don't hurt as much, now. No people. I don't see people. That's good, too.

Still scary, though.

I keep walking, just in case. Find myself in stone room in the bigger stone room. It has more light than rest of place. Rest of place got dark. This one has glowing stones on wall. Also has stone thingy in center, with another thingy on it.

Thingy on the stone thingy scares me. It looks like skin. Not like my skin, my skin way too light for that. Not that kind of light, this kind of light. It look more like people kind of skin.

I poke it. Nothing happen. It have lots of squiggles and marks on it. Dark red, like blood. Lots like blood.

It's weird. It seem like it want me to do something. Say something. I can't figure it out. I don't know what the squiggles mean. I do know the words, though.

Maybe saying words make it stop bothering me? Do what want usually work for people leave me alone. It want me say words, so if I say words, it stop, right?

I say the words it wants me to, and the thingy starts making smoke. The big marks in the center smoke, and fire forms.

Scary!

Fire bad! Fire hurt!

"FREE!" Something yell.

Loud, deep, scary voice. Very scared.

Big person. Big person appeared while I was scared. I'm now on floor. What happened? Oh. I passed out. I made thing smoke, and then passed out. It probably beat me, soon.

"Sorry!" I squeak.

Another thingy in vision. This one different, though.

New Skill! Summon Demon Active At the cost of Mana, summon a demon to do your bidding – highly risky, but if the demon doesn't kill you, you have a powerful weapon!

I don't know what any of that means. Nor the other new thingy. I'm going to be hurt a lot.

New Class! Warlock A magician who has studied long and hard to learn the art of summoning not just a familiar, but a demon, a being from an otherworldly realm, to do his bidding. +3 INT +4 WIS

New person scary. Very large. Dark red skin. Big thingies on head. Red eyes. Lots of muscle, like the one beater. This one got more muscle. Lots of muscle. It's big. Huge. Much bigger than that beater.

This one also very naked, not like beater. Like me. I never allowed clothes before. Never had clothes. This one very naked. Also have bigger thingy than me. Much bigger.

So scared. It probably beat me. Throw me around. Hurt me bad. So scared.

"Mortal!" The big person looks down at me, and I scream, scrambling back. "Well, that's rude! I was going to offer you something, as a reward for freeing me, but that's just plain rude! No, no, no. You can't be the one that freed me. Too little Mana. Ha! As if a measly 25 Mana could free me from that cruel prison! Tell me where your master is, and I'll kill you quickly! Then, I'll grant his wish, and kill him, too!"

I scream and everything goes black again.

When I wake this time, big scary person crouch over me, glaring. He very, very angry. Lots of pain going to happen.

"WHERE IS THE ONE WHO SET ME FREE?" He yell in my face. My ears hurt bad. I no cover them, though. That probably make him madder. Always make people mad when I cover. "ANSWER ME, MORTAL! I MUST MEET HIM! THEN! I WILL GRANT HIM A REWARD FOR FREEING ME! THEN I WILL KILL HIM!"

"I no understand!" I cry. I no want to cry, but do. He scary and mad. "I no understand what you mean! I just say the words, and the thingy smoke, and then you here and screaming! I no know what you mean! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"That's not possible!" He yells. "You don't have anywhere near the Mana needed to set me free! Plus, you're so abysmally weak, there isn't a chance in the hells that you'd be able to cast that level of magic! What thingy was smoking?"

"The thingy on the stone thingy!"

"The thingy on the stone thingy?" He asks. "Can you please try to use actual terms? I may be an ancient Demon, but that doesn't mean I can understand gibberish! You're only making me madder!"

"The stone thingy!" I point at it. "The skin thingy on it!"

"Skin thingy?" The scary, angry person stands up and looks at the stone thingy, then walks over to it. He picks up the skin thingy and examines it. "Huh. I guess it's possible some stupid elf accidentally set me free. I would've thought something like this would've been guarded a lot better. Where are we, anyway?

"Anyway," the scary, angry person looks at me. "I'll grant you one wish, then I'll eat you. What do you want as your reward for freeing me?"

"Please don't hurt me!"

"I just said I'm going to eat you!" He snarls. "That involves a lot of pain! You'll still be alive when I get started – thought you won't be when I finish! You didn't even summon me with a binding ritual, so I can do whatever I want, until I run out of power in this realm, and I never will! Nothing here can kill me! They had to sacrifice quite a lot to create that bind, which is probably why it was so easy to break! Now tell me what you desire, or I'll just eat you up without giving you that reward!"

"I don't wanna be hurt! I just wanna be free!"

"Free?" The big, scary, angry person looks confused. "What do you mean, free? You are free, are you not?"

"Huh?"

"You're not understanding me well, are you?" He asks, then frowns. "Say 'Skills', then focus on me and say "Skills share'."

Obeying means less pain. I'll obey.

"Skills."

Summon Demon 1 Common Language 2

"Skills share."

The scary, angry person looks at something. Can it see that weird thing, too? What do those mean? The first one is the same thing as the other thing, right? The one that said demon might kill me?

What's a demon?

"You're eighteen, but only have Common Language Level 2?" He sounds confused. "No wonder you aren't understanding me."

He walks over to me and crouches down, looking into my eyes.

"How long have you been free?"

"I dunno!"

"What happened?" He asks. "From you getting free, to you seeing me?"

"Scary person broke my chains!" Being honest is best. Always be honest. "Wall was broken, so I ran! Scary person just stared at me! All confused, like, you look! He had thingies on his head, too! And thingies on his back! Red skin and orange eyes! The wall was broken, so I ran! I ran and ran, then everything went black! Not first time in life, but not in stone thingy! So bright when woke up! Then got wet from the above, and found here! Didn't want to come! Wet thingy make hard breathe last time! No come from the above! Find skin thingy on stone thingy in light room! Words want be said, so I say! No get hurt, do what told! Usually! Please don't hurt me!"

He reaches forward, and I scream, pressing myself back against the wall. So scared. He's going to hurt me. Touch means hurt. Always means hurt.

"How long were you chained?"

"Forever! No be free until scary person break chains!"

"I know what it's like," scary person looks sad. "To be enslaved and imprisoned. I changed my mind. I won't eat you. We are kin. Kin are people who are similar. You and I, we are similar. We were both prisoners. We were chained. You got free, then set me free."

"I… set you free?"

"Yes," he nods. "Those words you spoke set me free. They broke my chains. What is your name?"

"What is 'name'?"

"What are you called?"

"What am I called?"

"The people," he says. "What did they say, when they wanted to speak with you?"

"Wake up! Hey!" I say. "Or they just smack or kick me. Hit with whip."

"Such cruel masters," he sits down next to me, and I get real scared. What he going to do? "A name is something that you are called, to identify yourself. My name is not something mortals can easily pronounce, and most take to calling me Dan. Forcing a human name on me… how awful. I would much prefer something more powerful than 'Dan', if I had to go by a human's name. You may call me Tiol."

"Tiol?"

"My name is Tiolxravurnailialx."

"Huh?"

"Call me Tiol."

"Tiol?"

"Maybe you had a name before you were imprisoned?" He asks.

"Before?"

"Maybe you forgot?" He says. "Say 'Status'. Then, when the window appears in your vision, focus on me and say 'Status share'."

Obey is good. I do what the scary person says.

"No name at all?" He asks, then chokes. "389 LIF!" He exclaims. "I know elves live long lives, but that's just absurd!"

He looks at me, frowning. He's going to hurt me.

"Hrm," he says. "It's possible. You've got the black hair and emerald eyes of those kind, but I thought they were wiped out? They were in the habit of living nearly a thousand years. Well! You need a name! How about… Leif?"

"Lay-fuh?"

"Leif," he says. "I think that name suits you. Somewhat innocent."

So when is he going to hurt me?

"Yeah," he says. "Your name is Leif."

Congratulations! You now have a name! Your name is Leif!

"This again," he shakes his head, then looks at me. "The people you knew. What did they call themselves?"

"Call themselves?"

"Bob or Steve or Jeff or Frank," he says. "Something they used when talking to each other."

"Frank."

"No, that's just an example."

"Big mustache. Frank. Scary. Big. Like you. Not as big. Smaller. Not red skin. No thingies on head. Brown eyes. Frank. Abigail. Female person. Mean. Hurt me lots. Liked hurt me lots. Not as much as Frank. My Husband. Abigail liked. Always said My Husband good. My Husband real mean. Frank call My Husband 'Alan'. My Husband have two names."

"We have a lot to go over," the demon mutters, then looks at me. "You know what a deal is?"

"Deal?"

"Two people agree to something," he says. "Both do something for the other. I teach you what things are, and how to protect yourself, especially with your abysmal stats, and you help me get revenge and wreak havoc."

"Huh?"

"I make sure you stay free," he says. "You help me hurt others for hurting me and you."

"Hurting bad."

"I'm an Archdemon," he says. "Hurting people is in my nature. Besides, you got the Warlock Class somehow. Warlocks use demons, and demons are bad."

"So you bad?"

"Very."

"You a person?"

"Well, I guess," he seems confused. "Why?"

"You hurt me?"

He'll hurt me, right? That's what people do. He's a person, so he hurt me. All people hurt me.

"When I first saw you," he says. "I thought you were just another filthy person, covered in all that… stuff. You and I are kin, and you set me free. Not intentionally, but you did."

"Please don't hurt me!"

"We should get you cleaned up," he says. "I'm guessing we're in Nalbanar, so there should be a bath nearby. I can't hear anything else, so it's likely deserted."

"Huh?"

"Cleaned up," he says. "No thingies on your skin, that weren't on the peoples' skin."

"Oh," I say. "Clean hurt?"

"Hrm," he thinks for a moment. "Maybe? I'm not sure how it'd be to you, since you've probably never been clean before. Clean is good."

"Clean is good?"

"Very good," he nods. "Clean keeps you healthy. Healthy is good."

"You hurt me?"

"Not anymore," he says. "You and I are kin. Going to pick you up. Don't scream. Carry you to bath. Then we clean you."

I scream when he grabs me. He carries me out of room anyway. He's going to hurt me. Touch means hurt!

Fire appears in air in long room. Float in front of us. Scary. He do that?

We arrive in another room, this one with big stone thing in floor.

"No water," he mutters. "Of course not, this place is abandoned. I can fix that."

Wet stuff appear in stone thing. Small room in room in room, no stone above in small room in room in room.

"Demonic waters," big, scary guy says. "Might hurt. Get you clean. Hot. Get you clean. Clean is good. Healthy is good."

He steps into the wet stuff. Demonic waters. He steps into the demonic waters. It hurt. Hurt real bad. Real hot. He holds me down and touches me all over. Very rough. It hurts bad. I scream for him to stop. He don't stop. He keep going.

Blackness fills my vision again.

When I wake this time, I'm on a thingy that feels… something. No clue. Dunno word for it. Dunno lots of words. Thingy on me, too. Heavy.

Scary guy lying next to me. Wrapped arms around me. Keep me from running. So scared.

See hand. Skin no cover in muck. Real pale. Lots paler. What he do to me?

"Finally awake?" He asks, and I whimper. "Not going to hurt you."

"Already did!"

Ah! He gonna be mad and hurt me more!

"Sorry! Please no hurt me!"

"Well, I was cleaning you," he says. "Clean is good. Clean is healthy. Healthy is good. We are lying on a bed. Our heads are on a pillow. We are covered by a blanket. Bed is for sleeping."

"Bed?"

"Yes," he says, and I turn over to look at him. "The bed is for sleeping. I finished cleaning you, then brought you here, after you passed out."

"Passed out?"

"Hm," he thinks for a moment. "You know how your vision went black, but you didn't go to sleep?"

"I think?" I say. "Everything go black. Me no sleep?"

"That was you passing out," he says. "I'm sorry I hurt you, Leif. Had to get you clean. Clean is good."

Stomach rumble. No feel good.

"You sound hungry," he says. "Stay here."

He leaves. I stay. Stay is good. Stay is obedient. Obedient is no hurt. He gone long time. Eventually return. Food in hands. Not food me allowed to eat. Only know some. He holds out shiny red thing. Weird-shaped ball.

"Ever had one of these before?" He asks, and I shake my head. "Ever seen one before?" I shake my head. "This is an apple. Sit up and eat it."

I do as he says. It's got lots of juice. It's sticky. Gets all over hands. So thingy, too.

"It's sweet, right?" He asks.

"Sweet?"

"Oh, dear," he sighs. "It's a type of sense for food. Way food tastes. Apples are sweet. Sugar is sweet."

"Food no sweet."

"The food you had wasn't sweet?" He asks, and I nod. "I'm not surprised, from what you did say, earlier."

"Huh?"

"Have another apple," he says. "Let stomach settle. Once stomach stops hurting, eat more. Build up strength. Get healthy."

"Me no healthy?"

"Nowhere near it."

"But me clean," I tell him. "Well. Other than sticky stuff. Hand and mouth. From apple."

How did he know stomach hurt? Just little bit, but hurt?

"Clean helps you be healthy," he says. "So does good food. So does exercise."

"Exercise?"

"We'll work on that later," he says. "Eat the apple."

I obey, and stomach hurt more. He use wet cloth to clean sticky stuff off me, then tell me to get some sleep, so I lie back down and try to sleep. He puts stuff down on stone thingy, then get onto bed and pull me against him.

So scary. Feel so safe. So weird. Why he no want hurt me? All people want hurt me. So confused.

When wake again, scary red person give me more food. Fruit. Not remember name. It taste good. 'Sweet'. Like apple. Stomach only hurt little.

"As a Warlock," the scary person tells me after I finish eating. "You have the power to summon Demons to do your bidding. Without the appropriate binding rituals, they can do whatever they want to you, and even disobey you, to a degree. In addition to that, with your minimal stats, you wouldn't be able to summon a particularly strong Demon.

"So there are two things you can do," he says. "Summon an incredibly-weak Demon, which you'll be able to do without issue, or learn another magical Class, to boost your INT and WIS."

"Huh?"

"Even at 1 INT, you should still have a normal person's intellect," he sighs, shaking his head. "It only boosts what you can handle, not increases your actual intellect. You had 3 INT. Wow is this going to be difficult."

"Huh?" I ask. "Me stupid."

"No, I wasn't saying that."

"Me stupid."

"Oh," he stares at me. "You're saying that you are."

"Yes."

"Well, it's the fault of the people who treated you bad," he says. "Why don't we summon a weak Demon? We can do it without the binding ritual."

"Huh?"

"We do something good," he says. "Help you. Make you stronger."

"Oh! Okay!"

Why didn't he say that? I want to be stronger!