His Emerald Eyes

The Rings

'Thoughts'

"Speech"

Recap

Locking eyes with Malchom's amber orbs he answers. "If you can get me back to Master Clauneck so I can sell my soul to him then I will make sure to convince him to put you in the fourth ring or higher if I can." He sticks out his hand to the demon before him.

Malchom grasps his hand in his own. "It is a deal then; I will carry your mortal soul through the Netherworld to Sir Clauneck."

The red scorch marks on the floor come to life, slithering across the floor until both Tom and Malchom stand in the center of the circle. This time the flames take on a dark jade color. The fire once again roars up to the ceiling before falling again, Tom and Malchom nowhere in sight.

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Tom peeks his eyes open, having closed them when the green flames jumped to life around them. He looks around excitedly, happy to be back in the Netherworld. What he sees does little to impress him. The once beautiful dark orange sky is taken over by a grisly brown, not even a speck of its true beauty shining through. The ground is nearly entirely covered in suspicious patches of dried liquids. The rare specks of the actual ground are no longer the calming mucky purple he admires, instead, it is replaced by an unsettling coal black. Taking a deep breath in Tom nearly pukes. The air, a mix of sulfur and a bonfire that Tom has grown to love, is now replaced with the horrendous stench of a rotting whale carcass that has been left out in the desert sun for three days. Ripping his hand out of Malchom's Tom covers his nose and mouth in an attempt to block out the stench.

"Where..." *hurrg* Tom pauses to fend off another vomit attack. "Where are we?"

Malchom smirks down at him with a knowing glint in his amber eyes. "Welcome to the shit pool that is the second ring." He says as he holds his arms up like magician. "What? Did you expect all the rings to be the same?" Dropping his arms back to his side Malchom turns and walks to his hovel. They were lucky enough that the summoning circle deposited them right where it had taken Malchom from.

Tom waste no time following Malchom, his hands still covering his face. Spotting their destination Tom is taken aback by the structure. It is nothing more than skinny logs stuck into the ground, the logs are all leaning against a slightly thicker log that has been propped up by a bolder. A raggedy old tarp filled with holes drapes over most of the structure but a good chunk of it is still visible. Overall the whole thing looks like a strong wind will knock it over.

'Is this where Malchom lives?' Tom wonders as he watches Malchom duck inside.

Before Tom can follow Malchom comes back out carrying a bundle of clothes which he promptly throws in the human's face.

"Put these on over your clothes. Your outfit is going to attract unwanted attention. Attention that will most likely get us both killed if we are not careful."

Not needing to be told twice Tom quickly puts on Malchom's filthy and ragged cloths over his own expensive attire. The clothes are way too big for him, but they succeed in hiding his original outfit. Next Malchom bends down to scoop up some dirt, he begins rubbing it all over Tom's shoes to makes them less fancy looking. Grabbing another fist full of dirt Malchom stands up and starts rubbing it all over Tom's face and hair. Tom squirms and tries to turn away when this happens, earning an annoyed glare from Malchom.

'Hey just because I know why you have to do this doesn't mean I have to like it' Tom thinks as he glares right back.

Finally, Malchom pulls a dirty rag out of his pocket and wraps it around Tom's neck to hide the collar and leash, which is also wrapped around Tom's neck. Taking a step back Malchom looks Tom over.