Marcus, Carlmer, Toman.
Raed counted the three demons. Their weak purple auras blinked across their skin, or what was left of their skin.
Fordy and Bleck. Those were the two humans.
Once Raed saw the timer he placed in the lead boxes expire, he confirmed as well that the toxic cloud had condensed and fallen into the ground. The modifications he made to the quicksilver would result in a much faster decay, so there would be no long-term damage to the environment.
He signaled that it was safe to get out of their hiding spot under the large oak tree. He and Leif stepped into the clearing. They both wore masks over their noses and mouths.
Raed went forward first to assess the carnage.
Fordy and Toman had burns across their hands and faces, the angry red welts seared like hot irons and even the soft blades of grass cut their flesh like razors. They were on their backs to avoid touching anything with their sensitive faces.
Bleck, the one who bit a coin, had nine of his teeth fall out. His gums bled streams of unending bright red blood as he strained for air through his nose. He was prone on the ground.
Carlmer, the one who gave himself a shower of gold coins, lay lifeless on the side. Much of his skin had peeled away, leaving drying adipose and muscle exposed to the elements.
Raed callously checked his quest log.
[Quest: Marauding Demon Threat]
[Expires in 4 days]
[Objectives: Slay the demons: (0/3)]
He needed to make a posthumous scan of at least one of the demons to confirm he had the correct targets. A pity that in ten years the guild still hadn't made much progress in the way of precision objective tracking. Then again, maybe the philosophy was that any dead or captured demon would satisfy at least someone's objective, even if it wasn't the right adventurer's. And if left unclaimed, at least it was another demon gone from this world.
A strange feeling washed over Raed. He remembered the foolish but brave young demon boy who tried to protect his mother. Had Raed prioritized completing his quests no matter what, would the boy have progressed completion of the objectives?
He pushed those thoughts aside. There was more pressing work to do first.
Leif joined Raed in the clearing. His eyes burned with rage and he clenched his fists so tight that he made imprints in his palms. But he restrained himself. He waited for Raed to finish.
Marcus was the least affected of the group, but he still writhed on the ground, clutching his belly with one hand. His insides felt like he had swallowed hot coals that continued to burn all the way down his digestive tract. His eyes were still shut tight and his other hand still covered his nose and mouth. He breathed very shallow tentative breaths.
"Which one did you say was Marcus, Leif?" Raed asked.
Leif pointed at the curled up demon.
"Thanks. Can you go stand over by the tree where we were?"
Leif walked back to the large oak tree without a word.
"Now, back to you," Raed said.
Making sure to kick one of his thick leather shoes into Marcus's back, Raed stood over the demon shrieking in pain.
"Are you Marcus?" Raed said with a dispassionate voice.
The fallen demon stopped yelping long enough to gasp out a weak raspy "Who are you?"
"I'm someone who wants to know answers that you can give me."
"Hah, go to hell," Marcus spat a bloody mass of saliva and phlegm on Raed's shoe.
"Funny," Raed remarked, "some humans believe that demons come from hell."
He stuck his shoe under Marcus's back, digging it in and wiping off the demon's spit. The demon roared.
Raed felt an odd surge of adrenaline. His heart pumped faster and a thrilling rush passed through his mind like a sudden wave.
"You should know, Marcus, that you're still alive because I want you to stay alive..
He took his foot off Marcus's back, checked the top of the shoe if it was clean of spit, and then stomped on the demon's chest. Raed stood with one foot planted on Marcus's sternum.
"Right now, you feel like your insides are burning, aren't you? I can make that pain go away. You tell me what I want to know, and I give you the cure."
The demon grimaced in pain but didn't speak. He considered Raed's words.
"But keep in mind that there is a limit to my offer. Past a certain point, your insides will melt, just like what happened to your fellow demons. I'm sure you could hear them even if you didn't see it."
The demon kept his nose and mouth covered and his eyes shut.
"No? Then let's try your comrades."
Raed removed his foot from Marcus's back. He made his way in purposeful fashion to the three other survivors.
"Now, which one of you three is the other demon?"
"Wait," Marcus called out.
Raed left the three whimpering bandits and returned to Marcus.
"I assume you want to talk now? Let's try this again. Are you Marcus?"
"Yes," Marcus replied.
"Two nights ago you attacked a female demon and her boy. You killed the kid and captured the woman. Does this sound familiar?"
Marcus struggled to answer, "Yes."
"Where did you take her?" Raed asked.
Silence, other than the involuntary groans Marcus made.
"Open your eyes, Marcus," Raed said with growing impatience. "You should take a look at what will happen to you if you don't work with me."
The demon cracked open his eyelids and saw the gruesome scene. He vomited. The regurgitated acid burned his mouth even more.
"No," he croaked in a weak voice. Marcus rolled away, turning his back on the four other bandits.
"Again," Raed said from above the fallen demon, "I can make sure you don't end up like them. Just tell me where you took the female demon from two nights ago, and the pain will all be gone."
Marcus remained silent for several moments. The only indication of his life was the shallow breathing that still passed through his chest.
When Raed thought he needed to give more convincing, Marcus at last spoke up, avoiding or at least delaying Raed's approaching kick.
"Northwest," Marcus wheezed. "Ten minutes," he wheezed again. "And a clearing. Then west, five minutes." He inhaled shallow breaths. "Now, cure."
Raed signaled for Leif. The apprentice smith, who had quietly remained alert through the whole exchange, walked up to Raed.
"Help me tie him up," Raed said.
The two of them wrapped tough rope around Marcus's wrists and bound them behind his back. All the while the demon screamed in pain. When they finished restraining the demon, Raed took out a bottle containing two orange pills and held it over Marcus's mouth.
"Open your mouth," he said.
Raed dropped the pills into Marcus's open mouth. The demon kept them in his mouth, neither spitting them out nor swallowing them.
"Swallow," Raed ordered.
The demon gave him a questioning glare.
"It's a painkiller. Not poison. I told you already, if you work with me then I'll cure you."
Marcus gulped down the pills.
After a few seconds the burning pain became dull and Marcus stopped wriggling and groaning against his restraints. He felt a sense of euphoria replace his previous suffering condition. But his limbs felt heavy and he felt little desire to move, much less escape.
"How many are at the location?" Raed demanded from Marcus.
"The camp?" Marcus did not say.
Raed sighed on the inside. He expected that the demon would only volunteer the minimal information.
"Help me get him up," Raed requested of Leif.
The two of them pulled Marcus upright, who stood on weak and unsteady legs.
"What I gave you was a temporary painkiller. As long as you cooperate, I will continue to provide you with doses. If you do not, then you have at most one hour before the pain returns."
Marcus held his mouth shut.
"You're a smart demon, I can tell," Raed said, close to Marcus's right ear. "That's why you probably figured out by now that this isn't a permanent cure. You'll get that if you lead us to your camp and free your captive."
The demon bared his sharp yellow teeth at Raed, but he twitched a muscle on the left corner of his mouth.
"One," Marcus let out through clenched teeth. "Just one."
"Good. For that, you get an extra pill." Raed removed another bottle, took out an orange pill, and stuck it in Marcus's mouth.
"I take it I don't have to remind you that if you do anything that I would disapprove of, then this deal's off?" Raed said.
The reply was a stone-faced leer.
"Fine, let's get on the move then. Sun's setting and I have some pork ribs and cheese fries to eat, don't we, Leif?"
"Wait, Raed, can I ask this demon some questions?" Leif asked.
"Something you want from him?"
Leif nodded.
"Well, just don't kill him or leave him in too bad a state to walk. You go ahead and ask away, I have to do some cleaning anyway."
Raed walked to the edge of the clearing and picked up a long tree branch. With his dagger he whittled it to a meter-and-a-half length stick. He sharpened one end to a point and with one touch he increased the parallel strands of cellulose in the wood, strengthening it beyond the normal hardness of wood.
He stepped toward the four other bandits who were sprawled around the now-empty lead boxes. Of the two humans, Bleck had stopped breathing. Fordy was still making small groans.
A quick strike through the chest stopped Fordy from making any further sounds.
Raed also gave one to Bleck through the back.
He crouched down next to their fresh corpses and pulled out his guild card. He held it up to scan their remains and two confirmatory pings sounded after a small delay.
[Common Bandit Bounties Collected: 2]
[Rewards: 10 lei]
A pittance. But they were nameless brigands in anyway so there was no surprise. At least it was some extra cash for the trouble. Still not enough to pay for the lead boxes and vat of mercury, Raed thought.
He then proceeded to the two demons in the vicinity. Carlmer was deceased and some insects were already claiming his exposed flesh.
Raed scanned Carlmer's corpse.
[Objectives: Slay the demons: (1/3)]
Good, so these were the correct demons after all.
He moved on to the last remaining of the four. Toman, who in health looked like Carlmer's twin. Raed wondered if they were brothers as he plunged down with his spear.
After the hardened wood penetrated through Toman's chest, a confirmatory ping vibrated through Raed's crystal guild card.
[Objectives: Slay the demons: (2/3)]
Progress. The last one must be Marcus then.
He returned to Leif and Marcus, sharpened stick in right hand and two lead boxes cradled under his left arm. The young apprentice smith stood with arms crossed beside the restrained, swaying and unsteady demon.
"You're done with what you had to ask?" Raed asked.
"Yes," Leif replied.
"Let's go then." Raed handed the stick and boxes to Leif, who packed away the boxes and held the weapon in his left hand.
"Walk," Raed ordered the demon. Marcus began to walk with unsteady gait to the northwest. Leif walked ahead with hatchet in one hand, spear in the other. Raed followed behind Marcus, keeping an eye on the demon.
While they moved, an idea crossed Raed's mind. If he was not mistaken, then a demon like Marcus was unlikely to be strong enough to resist a certain demon's charms. Raed was curious after all about some inconsistencies in the bandits' behavior.
With a quick message on his phone, Raed send out the coordinates that Marcus described along with a short message.
{see coordinates}
{might be cultists be prepared}