For generations the demon queen Euraxia had dwelled in her fortress deep in the wilderness. Those who had the misfortune to live on the kingdom’s edge had long spoken of how she would send out her monstrous villains to terrorize the countryside, killing innocents or dragging them back to her lair for her own twisted amusements. When demons abducted the Princess Roxanne, however, it was a move far bolder than any yet before, and the king decreed that it was time an example be made. Five of the kingdom’s greatest warriors were dispatched with instructions to bring the princess home safe – and, preferably, to bring back the demon queen’s head as well.
The five warriors had journeyed for many days until they found the entrance to Euraxia’s fortress and made their way inside. Strangely, the fortress appeared deserted; no guards hindered their passage until they came to a large chamber from which a number of different passages lead.
“Which way do we go?” asked Alric, a strong, towering swordsman from the kingdom’s northern regions.
“This place is a maze,” replied Edmund, a young man whose skill had allowed him to rise quickly in the kingdom’s ranks despite his peasant birth. “The princess could be anywhere!”
“Or the demon who took her,” sniffed Sir Vican, a knight who had always been quick to express his contempt for demons or magic.
“Well, we can’t just stand around here talking about it all day,” said Ralthir, a duelist who was always well-groomed and fashionably dressed even on a dangerous quest. “Who knows what horrors the demon queen is cooking up?”
“Enough,” snapped Lord Milus, a gruff veteran and the leader of the group. “There’s nothing for it; we need to split up and search every passageway. If we don’t and guess wrong, Euraxia could get away, and take the princess with her. Understood?”
The other men grumbled but nodded; each of them picked a passageway and set off down it alone, prepared for anything.
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In her throne room high above, the demon queen looked up from her scrying bowl and grinned, baring her sharp teeth. Adjusting her leathery wings, she settled herself back on her throne, quite pleased with how things were progressing. These men were great warriors indeed, but they were in Euraxia’s home now, where her magic was at its strongest, and they were no match for her powers. The truth was, she’d never killed any of the captives her followers had taken; rather, it had always amused her to transform them, mind and body, into unrecognizable forms – sometimes as the antithesis of what they had been, sometimes as representations of secret buried desires. And now thanks to the king, she had five new toys to play with. They’d make lovely additions to her collection.
Of course, they weren’t the only new playthings she had. The princess had fought and struggled at first, but then Euraxia had turned her magic on her and, well, she now seemed to be enjoying her new life quite a lot.
Smiling to herself, the demon queen stretched out a hand over her scrying bowl and brought her magic to bear, deciding which of the five warriors she should remake first…