Sun shines down over the land.

In the woods, a kobold goes over the loot obtained from robbing adventurers, as a bear sneaks up on the unsuspecting morsel.

Close behind, three adventurers similarly sneak up on the unsuspecting thief, far less willing to let bygones be bygones now that they had encountered the kobold for a second time, and this time with a much more personal stake in the crime. The third time would not end so well for the sneak, they were sure.

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Meanwhile, further north, deep within a dungeon unseen by adventurers, a goblin finishes extracting the second full set of body parts from its newest acquisition. So far, he had determined that the demon’s regeneration allowed for the regrowth of limbs, similarly to a troll, but significantly slower. Fire had no impact on stymying the regenerative effect, nor did acid. Fortunately, that test had only taken one spell, as it showed that this outsider was immune to damage resulting from having its blood converted into boiling acid. The goblin would try holy water next, but that substance was difficult to come by, and tended to set off his minion’s festering anger, though such outbursts were easily contained once they were made aware if it.

What the diabolist hadn’t determined, however, was a method of control. The demon was trapped in an evil attuned magical circle, but the diabolist was well aware that more powerful demons were capable of resisting magical effects. He was fairly powerful, in that he had a vast array of magics he could utilize, but the raw magical strength of the spells was somewhat lacking relative to his experience. That was the purpose of the grand experiment, of course, to overcome that weakness, but as yet there was every possibility of such a creature breaking free of his control.

Eventually, his minion would have to sleep, and the demon’s fiendish regeneration would allow it to wake.

If all else failed, the goblin had a final option to… remove the demon as a threat, but it would be quite a waste to do so without getting a full use from the creature.

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Similarly, even further north, wizards were deciding what to do with the human that had stumbled his way into their brand new hidden research facility. A brand new dungeon, with nothing dangerous in it at all, was perfect for surreptitious research into the secrets of magic which, while not forbidden or any such nonsense, were very expensive to buy lessons for.

“Well, we need to get rid of him somehow,” argues one of them, “the homunculus venom is due to wear off any moment now.”

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Taking a deep breath, and letting it out slowly, the archer draws his bow silently. He aims carefully at the tiny lizard, making sure not to let even the slightest noise break the illusion of solitude built up around the lootsite. Next to him, the elf’s armor creaks, causing him to freeze up, in case the sudden breaking of the peace alerted their quarry.

Fortunately, it appears that the kobold is unobservant enough to not notice the unnatural noise. For a species that is prey for almost every predator in the entire world, this particular example was surprisingly lacking in preservation instincts.

Breathing again to reset the entire process, the archer draws his bow again. Kobolds weren’t hardy monsters at the best of times, and this one was no kobold warrior. One carefully placed arrow should be more than enough to dispatch the thief.

As he releases the arrow, a bear charges forward toward the kobold, directly into the arrow’s path.

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Imbuing his devil familiar, an imp, with a necromantic spell, the goblin commands it to hide invisibly behind the demon. Most demons would be immune to the poison inherent within an imp’s claws, and would not be as wary about a strike from a lurking ‘low-tier’ devil as they would from a mage that had managed to invoke or bind them. This spell, however, would paralyze any humanoid creature touched. It had worked on humans, elves, goblins, dwarves, and a statue one time. The goblin hadn’t actually tried the spell on a demon yet, but he was trying all sorts of new things today.

While it would be insanity to actually trust a devil, even one bound as a familiar, to work on its own, the goblin had confirmed that the demon was not secretly a celestial being through the imp’s ability to detect inherent goodness, and that it had no current magical effects running. What the goblin was not willing to do, was waste three of his own spells on determining the exact ethical alignment of this captive outsider. He would hate to have to resort to a simple banishment, but if all else failed he had that spell prepared for this exact type of situation. Unfortunately, that would likely lead to him never being able to find one of these again, as generally summoning required knowledge about whatever it was you were trying to summon.

It was too bad he wasn’t smart enough to wrap his head around the higher levels of magic.

Regardless, these were the preparations the goblin could make. It was better to face the demon early, rather than when they were completely exhausted.

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“He’s probably an initiate who had the same idea as we did,” hypothesizes one of the wizards, “and tried to clear out the entire dungeon first, due to his being a far less powerful mage than any of us. There were traces of magic all over the entrance, and no signs of any other people.”

“A wizard going solo for a dungeon is very risky. I found blood on one of the scythe traps, which either means that he used it to deal with some of the dungeon spawns, or managed to only take a shallow, easily healed injury. Based on the fabric, the second option is more likely, which indicates an impressive amount of dexterity or luck, given the lack of magical items,” adds another, “I would suggest distraction along with a re-enforcement of the standard inflated ego. It’s doubtful that this particular initiate is an exception to the general personalities that make it into the tower.”

“Proposal,” begins the third member of the cabal, “direct the child to the castle on a ‘quest’. Projected result; interception by royal guards, redirection to tower.”

“Acceptable,” agrees the first wizard.

“I propose an amendment,” declares the second wizard. “We direct the child to the royal dungeon, which decreases likelihood of failure.”

“Second,” states the third member.

“I’ll set the scene with a wall of fire,” says the first.

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Roaring in pain, the bear forgets about the helpless lizard in front of it, and turns toward the source of the sudden pain in its backside. It immediately charges toward the three adventurers.

The ranger swears, backing up behind the, generally, far more armored individuals.

Leaving a clear path to the ranger, the dwarf and elf keep hidden to either side, allowing the bear to bring itself between them. Cleric going low, fighter going high, they each swing simultaneously toward the bear with their respective weapons. Unfortunately for both of them, the rampaging beast was far stronger than either of them anticipated, and the steel weapons bounced off its fur without even scratching the flesh beneath. Stopping short of the archer, the bear turns to face the new ambushers. It rises to two legs, and roars threateningly at the new challengers attempting to discredit its dominance over the entire forest.

Taking the opportunity, the human fires two arrows straight toward the animal, one after the other. Both collide with the bear’s chest, burying themselves deep within the fur. This served only to make the bear angry, it seemed. It decides to take out its frustrations on the dwarf, seeing as he was lacking the type of metal coating surrounding the elf.

Slashing out with one claw, then the other, it carves deep gouges into the smaller creature’s flesh. It holds the cleric still as it bites down onto the dwarf’s face, only to meet a steel hammer with its teeth. The cleric had managed to interpose his weapon between himself and certain death.

Unfortunately, as the pain forced the bear to release its grip, the dwarf falls unconscious with a slight case of grievous wounds and blood loss. While the beast is distracted, the elf slashes at its turned back, scoring a slash down its hide with her two-handed blade. Blood flows from the cut, and it starts to look like they would be able to get through this battle without any casualties.

That was, of course, when the Kobold started casting magic.

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The demon wakes.

Rising up to his full height, the goblin attempts to strike an imposing figure.

“Being from outside this reality, I have you trapped within my magic circle. There is no escape. Heed my commands, and your bindings shall be released!”

It just stares at the green menace for a moment, then starts to expand, growing larger by the second. The goblin isn’t worried for the first second, as it grows from the size of a bugbear to that of a hill giant, but then it doesn’t stop. Another second, and it was the size of a tyrannosaurus, and the silver runes enclosing the demon shatter as though there was never any magic within it to begin with. Slashing into the demon’s leg, the imp delivers its spell payload along with a dose of paralytic venom, to no effect. Rather, it continues to grow, doubling over as it doubles in height to press its back against the dungeon’s ceiling, and with one swift motion bursts through the ruin’s roof, ruining the weatherproofing.

“This has not gone to plan,” states the goblin.

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Crackling flames greet Ham as he wakes up in a circle drawn in chalk, weird symbols etched throughout the perimeter. Three cloaked figures stand before the wall of flames, their features hidden by the light shining behind them.

“Prophesied hero, you have arrived exactly as was foretold,” says the one in the center.

“Long have we slumbered in this dungeon, awaiting the return of the legendary champion,” adds the one to the right.

“To save the realm, you must brave the Royal Dungeon, and retrieve the artifact buried deep within,” continues the central figure.

“Good luck,” states the leftmost person.

A light shines throughout the room, and Ham is teleported.