The Crew's Book of Hermitcraft Season Six Oneshots

Once Upon A Time: The Demon

You are quite the bard, aren't you? You have traveled far, collecting many a story of this world. But now you seek some of the rarer tales. The tales of elusive hermits, who live in the hidden reaches of the world. But you found their homeland. The loud dragon noises gave things away, a bit.

Ren had finished helping you settle in when a man with red eyes came to visit, asking to borrow some TNT. You happen to have some on you, for whatever godforsaken reason, and you give it to him. He smiles, introducing himself as Tango. You wince, having heard the name elsewhere. Recognising his presence is likely unwanted in this moment, Ren takes his leave.

You tell Tango you have heard of him, some of the things he has done. You tell him you are a storyteller, and the ones you have collected that feature him are quite unfavourable. He turns to you, asking if you've ever heard how it all began. You shake your head, mildly curious. And so he tells you his tale.

......

Once upon a time, there was a thief.

He was, in his opinion, the greatest thief in all the land. He wasn't quite that good, but people still thought considerably highly of him. Or lowly, if they were the victims of his crimes. He racked up counties that had prices on his head like trophies, and at the time of our story he had three active bounties on him.

So when a cloaked stranger approached him at the inn where he was staying, his hand went to the ruby-jewelled sword under his cloak. The stranger chuckled at the gesture, before removing her hood. She introduced herself as the leader of the Demon Eradication Front. Curious, the thief asked her what her business was, to which she pulled out a drawing of a phylactery of some sort.

It was a legendary artefact, known as the crown of demons. It was in the possession of a local landowner. It was explained that the crown held an unimaginable power, and it must be destroyed if the DEF's war on demonkind was to ever be won. She offered the thief a great sum of moneyto steal it and help destroy it.

Eager for a change of pace, the thief agreed. In that moment, unbeknownst to him, his fate was sealed. In the moment where he signed the contract, he had sold more than his skills as a thief, but his very soul and human nature.

Getting into the house of Uthmor was surprisingly easy. The thief had no trouble sneaking past the guards, and nobody seemed to be awake in the household at the time. He slipped down to the basement, and saw a door, which he confirmed was locked. Taking out a skeleton key, he managed to get past it.

He entered a room covered wall-to-wall in strange artefacts, from odd whispering orbs, to books of the occult. But in the center of the room stood two things that attracted the attention the thief. One was a large crossbow, inlaid with glimmering amethyst, and the other was a mannequin with the crown he sought.

He picked up the crown, twirling it around his hand. It was so tempting to try it on. And the their could not resist. He lowered it onto his head, grinning at himself in a polished silver shield by the door. He went to take it off, and found he couldn't. And that was when the horrible, wracking pain started.

It felt as if boiling oil was pumping through his veins, sizzling and burning. His eye sockets ached as they bent, twisted, his vision going dark as his eyes transformed. He felt a horrible ripping pain as dragon-like wings burst from his back, falling weakly to his sides. His hands twisted into deformed red claws, and he felt his teeth grow sharp, forcing his mouth into a grimace. That was the point where he passed out.

He woke up to a pair of old purple eyes making contact with his own. He groaned, as he recognised the landowner. He tried to make a break for it, but his bones ached too much. He turned to his 'gracious host' and opened his mouth to beg for forgiveness. The man laughed, and explained what had happened.

He had once been a powerful demon, ruling over the abyss with his friend, Kelgi. But one day, some sixty years ago, he had renounced his powers and nature, casting them into a vessel and becoming human. But what did this have to do with the situation? Said vessel was the crown now fused to the thief's skull. And with that, he allowed the thief to go, on the condition that he never would come back.

......

In that moment, you notice the large red wings unfurled behind him, how his eyes had gone a full crimson. He too notices this, and hides them away. You apologise profusely, unaware of his side of the story. He offers to introduce you to his friends Zedaph and Impulse, to which you eagerly agree. He seems like a good person after all.

Part 2 of at least 20.

Hm. Missed italics. I wonder what that W is up to. Maybe one of y'all can translate it for me? I'm too lazy to do it myself.

Autocorrect, signing off from the past!