I lifted my head from the table. The first thing I saw was the Brass Eye in front of me. I yelped like a dog and pushed it away reflexively. It fell to the floor and rolled, bouncing off the wall and coming to rest in the middle of the room.
But I'm in there!
I looked around. It was my sanctuary. But it was not burned �
I jumped to my feet as the door opened, so suddenly as to knock the chair I was sitting on backwards. Matron Kim stood in the doorway, who gasped when she saw me. I gaped at her, unsure of what to say, not knowing if this was a dream...
Then, in a fearful voice, "Jerik!"
Kim's voice shocked me to my senses. I looked down at myself. Even though the room was cool from the morning wind blowing through the open window, I was soaked in sweat. The candle had burnt all the way down during the night and overflowed the depression in its stand, leaving small, milky rivulets of wax on the table. It was Kim that called me, not the demon. I was in my room at the church, not trapped in the Brass Eye.
I looked up, mustered the best smile I could, and croaked, "Yes?"
Kim approached me nervously. "Jerik, are you well? You... you look dreadful. Did you sleep here last night?"
I swallowed with effort and nodded my head. Her expression was one of concern, tinged with something else � fear, possibly.
"Why don't you go home and get some rest, Jerik?" I started to argue with her, but I was tired, so I nodded wearily in agreement. As I got up to go home, I noticed the Brass Eye lying on the floor, the wretched item that had disrupted life in Ellestia so much since its discovery, especially my own.
It did not seem right to just leave the thing there, so I decided to take it with me to my house. I did not really want the thing with me (or so I told myself), but I could not think of anywhere else to put it.

So I went home and slept. I had only planned to nap a few hours, but I managed to sleep most of the day away. My slumber was dead and dreamless, and when I was roused by incessant knocking right before sunset, I felt drained instead of refreshed. I lumbered into my den and opened the door (not bothering to dress, as I had not even bothered changing into my bed clothes before I collapsed into sleep today). It was Kim Abeal. I gave her that tired smile that had become etched upon my face lately. "Hello, Kim. It's nice to see you."
"Thank you." Her lips smiled, but her eyes did not. "May I come in?�
I nodded, and opened the door for her. I escorted her into my den, where I offered her my cedar guest chair to her. She sat, and I took a seat facing her on an oak stool. I worried that Kim came to visit me, alone. It was not common for unmarried women to visit unmarried men without chaperones. This was especially true of ranking clergy, who set the moral example for the rest of the community. I assumed the issue must be important, and it was easy enough to guess what the subject matter was concerning.
Kim cleared her throat, and said, "Jerik... you've been worrying me lately. All of us." She started to say something else, paused, then managed, "Are you well?"
"Yes, I'm okay. It's been a few days since I've had some good rest, and the last week has weighed heavily on me. But don't worry, all this will pass soon enough."
She nodded, but I knew she was not finished with me. She paused again before speaking, choosing her words carefully. To deflect any further questions, I interjected, "I'm sorry for neglecting my church duties today."
Kim shook her head disarmingly and said, "Johans and the rest filled in for you, so don't worry." She made eye contact with me, and said bluntly, "I know you feel that understanding this Brass Eye thing is important. But your other duties are, too, and you've spent so much time and energy with this... this thing. It might be a good idea to just set it aside and let Minister Christov deal with it when he returns."
Kim�s lack of faith in my competence annoyed me. I had done a good job at overseeing the church in the Minister's absence, and had led the services almost every day of the two weeks and five days that he was absent. I had channeled Haleon and restored a dead comrade to life. When everyone had thought the demon escaped from the Brass Eye, I had directed the efforts to return the town to normalcy. But simply questioning a demon trapped inside a magical device from which it could not escape was, in Kim's opinion, beyond me.
I asked Kim, "Do you consider knowledge a worthwhile pursuit?"
She paused for a second, and answered, "Yes. As long as it's good knowledge."
I shook my head. "I believe knowledge is, in and of itself, neither good or evil. However, what one does with knowledge can be good or evil, depending on how it's used and the intent of the one using it. Using the Brass Eye," I said, nodding toward the pantry two rooms away where I had stored the thing, "I'm learning about that demon and her ilk. The information I'm gaining will benefit us all. We can use knowledge of the demons' strengths and weaknesses against them. And we can't well do that unless we know our enemies."
With a condescending half-smile, "I'm curious, Jerik. What have you learned about devils that we don't know already?"
"Demons," I corrected, "more specifically, tanar'ri. And the type of demon within the Brass Eye in known as a 'glabrezu'." I admit to having felt some satisfaction in seeing the smirk fade from her face. I continued. "First, Kim, there is a difference between devils and demons. Demons don't seem to like devils very much, and it's safe to assume the grievance is mutual. It appears that devils are more inclined towards order and control than demons, which suggests tanar'ri are chaotic � or at least, not lawful. And this information isn't detailed in any of the texts on fiends that I've read over the last week or so. However, I wrestled it from the demon within the device." I know I didn't wrestle anything from the glabrezu, but I figured a little embellishment would do no harm.
"Thanks to you," Kim said, her tone and expression (if not her words) accusing me of arrogance.
I leaned forward. "Well, somebody must search for this sort of knowledge, as unpleasant as it is. But, you have a good point. So when I write my book on the information this demon provides, I'll do so anonymously and distribute it freely. This way, no one will question my motives."
Kim looked down, apparently uncomfortable at my confronting her on that point. She got up and started to walk away, then turned and asked, "One more thing, Jerik. You're getting all this information from this demon, correct?"
I knew where this was leading. If I told Kim that I trusted the demon to be honest with me, at least on the information she provided so far, she would think me mad and I would only confirm her fears. So I did the only thing I could do to assuage her fears, and to prevent any further harm to my already tarnished reputation. I lied.
"I have means to confirm what she tells me."
She nodded, apparently satisfied with my answer. Kim asked, "Will you be attending services tomorrow?"
After some thought, I responded, "Give me another day to rest, and to continue my studies. This way, this Brass Eye business will be behind us." She frowned and nodded, and then opened the door to go.
To keep her from leaving on that note, I walked over to her. She turned to me. Suddenly, though I did not know what I was going to say, words started pouring from my mouth. "Thank you for checking on me, Kim. I do appreciate your concern. I know all this is confusing. I'm worried too, and it's hard for me to know if I'm doing the right thing. But with guidance from Haleon, and from Asanna, I'm confident we have little to fear." I felt disconnected from what I was saying, but I continued, letting the words flow. "I need everyone to have confidence in me, especially you. Can I count on your support, Sister Kim?"
She nodded, replying with a nod and an easy smile, the first I had seen from her tonight. I walked her outside, and closed the door behind me. I walked back in and sat down in my reading chair, trying to justify my glib dishonesty to myself.
I nearly jumped from my chair as I heard a low murmur behind me, from the direction of the pantry. It was just loud enough for me to hear. "That was handled expertly, Jerik. Well done!"

I did not speak to the glabrezu that night. I was ashamed for having lied to Kim, and my rationalizations for it sounded empty to me. I knew the demon would see and exploit my weakness, or at the least mock me. I would not allow her to compromise me any further.
So I had begun to formulate a plan to rid this world of the fiend. If she wanted to go back to the Abyss so badly, then fine, I would make sure she got there. That way, the unnatural monster would no longer dwell on this plane, even in a diminished capacity, and the threat of her ever escaping would be eliminated. And, assuming that the demon was telling the truth, that she was an unwilling prisoner in Terbias' magical device, I would be righting a wrong inflicted upon her.
But I had to step carefully. I had to make certain to not simply release the glabrezu, but banish her from this world. I also could not afford to compromise my principles any more than I already had; any moral weakness or lack of faith on my part might cause me to lose Haleon's favor, and I would be left powerless at a time that I could least afford it.
I prayed for guidance, for forgiveness for deceiving Kim, and for the spells I would need the next day. Haleon, always an affirming presence in my heart and mind, seemed somewhat distant that night. But my spells were granted, and I assumed that was all the affirmation I needed.

Early the next morning, I was already packed and ready to go. By the time the bottom of the sun had risen above the horizon, my horse had carried me to the fort where my company and I had fought Terbias the necromancer. I did not bring the Brass Eye; it remained in my closed and locked pantry, in the cupboard.
I entered the structure, not fearing any undead spirits or warding spells Terbias might have cast � the sisters had spiritually purified the structure. I walked over to the pile of ashes that was once Terbias' library. I felt a brief pang of sadness at the thoughtless destruction of his books, a wealth of knowledge burned to ash in only a few minutes; yes, many of them contained foul lore and were unfit to read, but how many of them would have helped us? How much trouble would sparing the books, but locking them away, had saved me?
After casting a spell upon myself to ward off magical effects, I sifted through the ashes and lifted the remains of a charred book from it, pieces of it crumbling in my fingers. Because the magical fire which destroyed it was enhanced with divine energy, very little of the book remained � only part of the spine and the very center of the book survived. I laid it back in the ash, not removing my hand from it, and recited the words of a spell. The book began to draw ashes into itself, and the ashes formed the edges of the book. The charred gray-black color faded, replaced by deep green. Within a few seconds the book was whole again, as if it has been bound only yesterday. The title stamped into the book, highlighted with black ink, was Means of Preserving Cadavers for Animation, and Extending the Functionality of Undead Minions. I set the book down, and began restoring another.
I spent the better part of an hour restoring books, scrolls and papers. I had spent nearly all the spell energy granted me by Haleon, and I had not recovered not even half the material in the pile, when I restored a thin tome that caught my interest: Summoning and Binding Demons, Volume IV, Edition II. When I opened the book, I unwittingly triggered a sudden, fiery explosion. The fiery blast destroyed most of the other books and papers I had just restored, and would probably have wounded me greatly had I not been magically protected. The book was written in Draconic, which I had learned early in my clerical career. The beginning of the book detailed several arcane spells used to summon, bind, control, banish, and even destroy demons; while most of the concepts were alien to me, I recognized some of the spells that had priestly equivalents. I flipped through the book until I came across a chapter on the symbols used to bind and restrain demons. Each circle was meticulously reproduced in black ink and dried blood. A race of demon was written under each set of wards. I finally found those symbols specifically designed for glabrezu. Even looking at these symbols and names of evil caused my head to ache and ears to buzz. Regardless, I read the relevant material, committing it to memory and repeating it aloud until I understood it. The book stated that the glabrezu was one of the most powerful, cunning and dangerous of all demons. This was not encouraging, but my mind was already set on performing the banishment.
I left the fortress with Summoning and Binding Demons, and made it back to Ellestia right after noon. I left instructions with my neighbor Jesse Abeal, my childhood friend and Kim's cousin, to wake me right before sunset. Mentally exhausted, I went to bed immediately thereafter. I would need my mental strength that night.

Go to Chapter Four