Unknown date, Hell
Brennan - There I was, tied to a post awaiting a fate literally worse than death. From my semiconscious slumber I became aware of uninvited guest to this annex of hell, aside from myself of course. Marching into the cloudy mist of my conscious mind came six brazened souls. I had used up all my hell oriented puns in the weeks prior to my capture so I'll spare you as many as possible while I spin a little yarn for you.

I was give a choice by my liberators. Join us for an equal spit of the risk and the rewards or go on your way. I read the latter option as die sooner or later, but die in hell. Being a man of limited wisdom and bucket loads of street smarts I chose the former.

In hindsight, I was unaware of the perils in our near future. After facing the prospect of slaying a living god in the form of a hellish wyrm, and living to tell about it I was emboldened for our next encounter.

We had crossed through the lions share of the Brimstone Forest unmolested if you don't count the hormonal ragings in my head. Did I mention that among my liberators reside three of the most delicious visual meals known to mankind. One is a Paladin, another an ex-succubus and the third a half-elf who falls squarely into my less than secret fetish penchant. Now that I think about it, only in hell would this degree of comeliness hover so close to me without prospect.

By nature and profession I consider myself a cautious man. I treasure many things and will work tirelessly to acquire items of value. The rarest of all the precious commodities in my line of work is trust. I am as reluctant to give it as I am to accept it.

Circumstance has over-ridden many of my protections since I met my present company. That said I get a good sense from them and have discarded perhaps too many of my customs in favor of expedience.

That was how I found myself in my current predicament. Lord Hellebore, the Imperial Marshal, had issued commands to the others in the group when we came across the guarded gate to Minarous. I think he was testing me when he gave me cart blanche to make myself useful in the coming melee. Here was another case where I was trying to impress someone who I would normally have never come within a city block of encountering. The plan, as I understood it, was to strike hard and fast and get to the gate before they could respond to our infiltration. Looking at the demonic forces entrenched before us would normally have inspired the opposite reaction than I was contemplating.

From the outset it looked as if all was proceeding according to plan. The paladin commander Celeste took off at a dead run to a position deep in their midsts. The half-el ranger followed suit to a lesser degree before drawing her bow and providing cover. I was the fair haired barbarian cleric move up and enchant the front ranks with some spell that stole their eyesight and threatened to do worse but failed in that aspect. Here was where I noticed the majority of the group following the paladin up the left side. From the right flank an enormous barbed devil was moving up on their flan unchecked. Opportunity plus motive equals profit. Using the natural cover of the toothlike terrain I moved in behind the creature. As I closed in behind him he seemed to grow in size. Goddess these things were big. Eyeing his anatomy at length for the first time I looked for a weakness in his infernal defenses. For the most part his body conformed to that of a mans excepting the pony natural armor that was his skin. It looked to me that the general comb of the spies was downward and that if I were to strike a blow in an upward pattern against the grain his defenses might channel my strike up into some vital organ. I chanced a quick survey of the others. Their progress had slowed as they stopped to engage the helpless demons on the front lines. Hardly in keeping with the plan, but I suppose this group operated mush like the others I had traveled with. Chaos syphoning off the directives into moments of personal choice. The paladin was true to her intent fully engaged with a trio of hellish brutes. Even through the laced metal barrier I could see her brutal prowess. Pray that I never find reason to stand at the business end of that woman’s swords in opposition. The bald shaman was closing in her position to render assistance. They had an unspoken bond on the battlefield that defied definition. Perhaps in time I would come to understand their link. The two rangers had bunch up near some cover and were now punishing anything that entered their visual arc. Had I journeyed here with this crew to begin with a may not have required a rescue party.

In front of me the demon dropped his shoulders in preparation for a charge into the exposed flank of the barbarian cleric and company. The time to strike was now or stand and watch helplessly from afar as he reaped human flesh as coin for his purse.

Using all my training and instincts I closed the ground between us like a fog on a breeze. I angled the tip upward and braced the pommel against the underside of my forearm and braced it from the bottom with my other hand. My narrowed gaze excluded all the world to a patch of gnarled skin at the base of his spine. The tip of the bade entered just as planned. The blade slid smoothly up into softer muscle tissues. The satisfaction of the blow curled my mouth up at the edges in a smirk. He was going to die without ever knowing what hit him. Then just as I was finishing my strike the blade diverted sharply at an angle nearly wresting the blade from my hand. I had his a bony section of this creatures anatomy that does not exist in humans. What would have felled any human had only served to injure. Now the chaos was closing in on me. My options swimming like a school of fish. Too many probabilities. I had to narrow the field and quickly. Logical thinking in stressful situation was my forte. The demon would turn on me in an instant. I was no match for him toe to toe. I could retreat to the cover from which I struck and reverse my course to my point of origin and elude him on the way. If I managed to give him a parting view of my retreat he may purse me and by some time for the others. I didn’t need to defeat him now. I just needed to keep him from interacting with the others. That was now the plan. I wheeled on my heel and was about to move to cove when my muscles froze. I was teetering, half turned from the demon. I could see enough of him to watch him turn his attention to me. It seemed the only active portion of my anatomy was my eyes and my lungs. Despite my efforts I was helpless to move. Then I caught sight of my unseen assailant. closing in from the back of the camp was a horned devil hand extended in a gesture of control. How foolish I had been. I had not calculated the element of their spells into my plan. Now I was going to die on a fools errand in the one place where no person in their right mind sets foot willingly.

I could only breath through the hollow opening of my mouth as the tyrant turned his malicious intent on me. The first blow rocked me and I was still unable to move as the second connected. I felt my skin flush with stinging fire as his claws tore at my flesh through my thin armor. He had not realized my helplessness until after his attacks. I could see the smug satisfaction etch into his face when he realized I was defenseless. I wanted to close my eyes so that I didn’t have to watch it happen, but some morbid side of me could not surrender even my last moments of life to oblivion.

"No you don't!" I heard shouted in the thick northlander accent as warm black blood splattered over me from the demons wrecked body. Where the demon stood a moment before the barbarian cleric now held ground. He looked at me with the curiosity of a cat testing to see if the mouse was really dead or just pretending. I was unable to signal him with anything more than darting eye movement. It was enough to satisfy whatever questions still lingered in his head. Them he motion toward the on that had placed me in this helpless condition. I could not see what the barbarian did to him, but the threat was removed.

He didn't have to risk himself to save me, but he did not hesitate. Would I have done the same. I would like to think so, but I couldn't guarantee it. Perhaps the most precious coin of the realm was still being minted even here in hell. Trust.