Venture Prologue ---------- Winters sat in the cracked leather chair, staring at the figure sat across from him. He was in an office, devoid of all personality. It was a grey, lifeless, cold and depressing room. This, however, suited the figure's taste perfectly, as he was as cold and lifeless as they come. The figure's name was Death, and he was not in the best of moods. Winters shuffled around in his chair. Gazing into the shadow of death's black hood set him on edge, and this time, although Winters couldn't see it, the reaper's scowl was aimed right at him. Death coughed, rearranged some of the documents that lay strewn across his desk, and spoke: "You idiot." Death began. Not a good start. "You're a summoner, not a god. There are some things you mortals can't handle." The reaper pinched the area of shadow under his hood where his nose should have been. "Do you even know what you did?" Winters shook his head meekly. Truth was, he was trying to conjure up an imp to settle a bet, in which a slightly drunk knight had wagered that he could not summon anything more impressive then a potted plant. The knight was wrong, but what Winters summoned was a little bigger than an imp... Death looked at Winters in a way that could only be described as pity. Death sighed, "The world you live in is a middle ground. A no-man's-land, stuck between two larger, more permanent worlds: what you call heaven and hell. Originally, only heaven and hell existed. The boundary between the two was nothing more then a border, crossable by angel and demon alike. However, a group of seven demons began to stir up conflict between the two worlds. Eventually, war broke out. The angels were no match for the demons, as they had no knowledge of cruelty. So they created another, crude, unstable world that would wedge itself between the two, stopping the conflict. You are a summoner. You deal with minor demons that slip through the net. But, Winters, all by your little self, you have screwed it all up." Winters stared. Screwed what up? Five minutes ago he was spending what was left of his gold on wine and bread, and then he was here. He may have remembered-- an explosion after that summoning? No. It was more then that. It was as if a pressure that had built up over millennia had been released.... Oh, gods. He started to see where this was going. Death, as if sensing the recognition in Winters' eyes, began again. "Winters, you have re-linked the two worlds. I don't know how, but you've done it. And you're going to fix it."
Chapter 1 Dust and rubble was still hanging in the air when Winters came to. He was lying underneath what had obviously once served as a card table, and was covered in dirt and debris. He coughed loudly, and shifted the heavy weight of the tabletop off of his chest. Sitting up, he began to take in his surroundings. The entire inn had collapsed outwards, as if blown apart by a sort of explosion. As he stood, Winters began to see the bodies that were strewn about at the far corners of the building. They had been propelled in all directions, but unlike Winters, they hadn't survived the detonation. The Summoner suddenly felt weak. He had killed these people. And now he'd endangered countless more buy opening that rift. The rift that he now needed to seal. Winters sat down on a nearby rafter and let out a little sniffle. He didn't even know where to start. "Oh Gods, don't cry. You'll just embarrass yourself." Winters fell off his improvised bench and hit he ground hard. He hoisted himself back up only to see the tall, cloaked figure of Death, leaning casually on his scythe in front of him. "Damn it!" Shouted Winters "That was an emotional moment I was having there. I was mourning!" Death shrugged, "You call it mourning, I call it feeling sorry for yourself. You really don't have time for that sort of thing, you know." Winters avoided commenting on that last one, "What are you even doing here anyway? I thought this was my heroic quest to save all mankind." Death just shifted more of his weight onto his scythe, "Quest? Yes. Heroic? No. You did this, remember? Besides, you just ripped a hole in the side of a universe. I wasn't about to let you go gallivanting off hunting demons unchecked, now was I?" Winters groaned, and let his face fall into his hands. Death just waited until he had his little moment, and then said, "So, we'll start by getting you some help. There's a small village about an evening's walk away from here. Head there. You'll find someone to travel with you soon enough." Winters stared in annoyance, but nodded. Death produced a long pipe from the folds of his cloak, stuck it into the shadows of his hood, and walked through a crumbling doorway. Winters watched him go, and soon stood up himself. "How helpful" He thought "Nothing whatsoever about the rift. He may as well have--" Winters' train of thought was suddenly interrupted by a low groan coming from his left. He swivelled, and saw a man wrapped in a black robe. At first he mistook it for Death, but then he noticed the strange symbol on the man's chest. A flaming arrow. Winters looked around. He really didn't want to have to drag around a half-mangled mystery man around with him on his travels, and he certainly didn't like the look of the cloak he was wearing. But this guy was obviously going to die if he left him there, so Winters hooked the man's arm around his neck, pulled him to his feet, and walked through a hole in the wall. The sky was quite clear, discounting the sparse rubble motes that still hung in the air, and the sun was warm. Winters looked at the man he was carrying and sighed. It was going to be a long couple of days.
Chapter 2 The young woman behind the bar stared as the two men burst through the door. She watched as the one wearing the dirty white coat hauled the other, obviously injured man in the black cloak up to the counter and asked: "You wouldn't have a room anywhere, would you?" The woman merely pointed to the stairs, and gazed bemusedly at the two figures stumbling up the staircase. It had been a quiet week. There had been no need for drinks, or for that matter, her medicinal skills. It had been, quite frankly, dull. But this afternoon, she heard the crack. It was like lightning. Then the sky changed colour, the clouds turned scarlet, and she could have sworn that she saw wings in the sky. Soon after, these two showed up covered in dust and soot. She decided then and there not to trust them, but money was money, and they were willing to pay for a room. Winters muttered curses under his breath as he looked for a room to lay the man in black down in. "She could have at least offered to help," he thought. Spotting a nice enough single bedroom, Winters lay the hooded man down onto the mattress and began to look for an injury. He saw no obvious cuts, but his chest was heavily bruised; the man must have broken a rib. "Can I help?" Winters turned around and saw the woman who had been behind the bar a minute ago. He nodded, and watched her move over to the hooded body and begin pressing different points on the man's chest. Winters began,"I think he has--" "A cracked rib, yeah, I saw." The woman interrupted. She pulled a vial out from a small pouch she was wearing around her waist, and poured the contents onto the hooded man's chest. She stepped back as if to admire her handiwork, gave a little satisfied sigh, and turned to Winters: "My name's Elaine. If you want this room, I can give you a reasonable price, but the medicine will be extra." --- "Then it tripped and fell into the river!" Winters laughed and finished off his glass. He and Elaine had gone back down to the bar where she had offered him a drink, on the house, in exchange for his story. She was all smiles once he had clarified that he wasn't a bandit or a highwayman. Good drink, warm hearth, nice bartender, Winters was amazed that this place was empty. As Elaine was filling Winter's glass up once more, a small girl came down the stairs from the bedrooms. She couldn't have been more than 10, and was unremarkable in most respects, save for the dark, emberish tone to her skin. She called over: "El, the man upstairs is waking up. Do you want me to tell him where he is?" "No, you get yourself to bed Klei," replied Elaine, "it's way past your bedtime." Winters and Elaine both waited until the girl walked back up the stairs, and Winters asked, "Is she your sister?" "No, no," Elaine replied, "I just picked her up off the streets when she was six. Her parents must have passed away. I've raised her ever since." Winters smiled. In his line of work, it wasn't often one would see kindness or gratitude. It made him happy to see that the world wasn't simply full of monsters who would rip your guts out before they even said "Good morning". Not that he encountered that many who could articulate that well... Elaine poured herself a glass. "So, what did you say you do again?" She asked. "I'm a summoner. I deal with monsters and demons that are a nuisance to the local population." Winters replied "You haven't been having any demon problems here by any chance?" It was just a joke, but he could distinctly see her face darken at the mention of demons. She quickly reasserted herself, however, and said, "Can I offer you another drink?" Winters accepted her offer, but wondered, what would make her become so solemn all of a sudden? Maybe they had a demon problem in this small town. But then Winters would have heard of it, surely. If they did, why would she try to cover it up? A small voice came down from the top of the stairs: "El, the man's muttering. I can't sleep." Elaine looked suddenly, inexplicably flustered. "Just go to bed Kleimon." Then it clicked. The small child with the dark red skin. Kleimon. She was-- The realisation must have shown in Winters' eyes, because suddenly he felt himself being pulled over the counter, and the cold sting of steel against his neck. "You have to leave, summoner." Elaine hissed. Winters coughed, "The child. She's a demon?!" As if in reply, Elaine pressed her dagger closer to his neck. Winters' face was pressed down into the counter, but he managed to catch a glimpse of wings by Elaine's shoulder. Kleimon's voice reached Winters' ears, but it was layered with something much older. Far, far wiser than any ten year old. "I know why you're here, Winters, and I know that you don't come to hurt us." The blade relaxed a little, but never straying too far from Winters' artery. Elaine pulled the summoner up, and asked him; "So why are you here, Winters?" The summoner then recounted the events of this morning, of how he had accidentally ripped a hole in this world, and how he had a literal brush with Death, who told him to find help here. When he was done, he took a long drink from his glass, and looked tentatively at the two standing across from him. "And so you want us to go with you?" Elaine asked. Winters really had no idea who he wanted to have with him. He hadn't given it any thought since this morning, but if it would get rid of the dagger, then these two were as good as any. "Yes, that's exactly what I was here for." Winters replied, confidently. Elaine stared at the man in the tattered white coat for a second, and the burst out into laughter. "I'll pack my things!" She called out as she ran up the stairs to the bedrooms. "El! Where are you going? We cant leave until tomorrow!" The demon called back. Klei flew past Winters as she chased the over-enthusiastic woman up the staircase. Winters, watching them both dash up to the upper floors, slipped behind the bar and poured himself a generous glass of something strong. "I'm surrounded by madness"