The Summoning

"W-why are we doing this again?" Norm stuttered, looking extremely uncomfortable. The idea of performing a demon summoning was absolutely ridiculous, and probably nothing would happen, but a sixth sense still sent a chill down his spine. Because, after all - What if…

"Because it's weird, and crazy, and makes a great opener for two weeks of offline, old school role play fun." Claire cheerfully announced as she rolled up the carpet, tail bobbing behind her with glee.

"Indeed. I found some chalk and markers, and an old compass. It's a bit small, but if we draw a circle on a page and hold it under the lamp we should be able to trace a decent shape on the floor." Tom said calmly, his blue shirt pulled out into a bowl full of miscellaneous stationery.

"I still don't like the idea, guys. It just feels wrong to mess with this stuff." Genifer complained. As protest to the coming event, she had draped herself over an armchair in the middle of the room.

"The vote was 4 yes, and 3 no, so we're doing it Gen. Besides, demons aren't real - nothing is actually going to happen." Lisa said calmly, rolling up her dress and kneeling on the floor with the Book.

"I found the sacrifices for Lord Malcolm - or near enough, anyway. Fresh flowers from the garden, ice cubes from the freezer, some old incense sticks and a stand to burn it on, and a small bowl of meat juice." Harry skipped over with a bag on his wrist.

"That's really nothing like what's written here, Harry." Lisa chided, looking amused.

"What was it supposed to be again?" Keith asked, sitting next to Norm and never looking away.

"Pure Snow, Fresh Blood, Rare Flowers, Frankincense, Bone Dice or Strong Liquor." Lisa read out lyrically, and Harry snorted.

"Yeah, we got none of that. Cola Icecubes, Lavender and Rose flowers, whatever scent this lump of granular pine sap is supposed to be, plastic dice, liquid from old meat I found in the freezer, and beer. These were the nearest approximations I could find. But since we're using the dice, and drinking the beer, we'll just have to hope the other items can turn quantity into quality." Harry gleefully arranged his lack lustre treasures on a table.

"Did you really bring the Cola icecubes? Norm made those specially for our drinks tomorrow! Wasn't there frozen tomato paste or something?" Keith complained, but Norm quickly shook his head that he didn't mind.

A glance passed between Claire, Lisa and Harry. Keith was getting worse at hiding his soft spot for Norm lately, the three could see it miles away, but they said nothing.

"Urgh, let's just get this nonsense over with so we can get on with the game!" Gen yelled in frustrated boredom.

A circle was drawn on paper, held up to the light, and traced on the floor in chalk. Tom and Harry crawled around the floor, drawing a pentagon with another circle inside it. Finally two triangles were aligned within the inner circle to make a 6 point star.

According to the Book, the points on the star indicate the rank of the demon summoned. A triangle can summon a Page, a four point star calls a Knight, a five point star calls a lord, and six means a high lord.

Then, Lisa carefully copied out the runes and symbols from the Book, one ring at the outer circle, more in the gaps around the pentagon, and the last ones marking the points of the star.

Finally, all the low budget sacrifices were piled on a plate in the middle of the star, and the seven friends gathered around the circle to begin the event.

"Now, remember - do not enter the circle during the ritual. Do not enter the circle after the ritual is done. Do not attempt to touch or modify the runes. In fact, don't do anything to the ritual arrangement until the un-summoning ceremony has sent the demon back." Lisa read out the cautions in a firm voice.

"That's some strict guidelines, Lisa. I-is it okay that some of the lines and runes are kinda crooked?" Norm asked in worry.

"Indeed. I think we could do better." Tom declared, the others rolled their eyes.

"Tom, you need to stop it with that cheap Spock impression. 'Indeed' is too boring, and you over used it way too much. Learn some better lines, or go cold turkey." Gen complained loudly. She had never been a fan of sci-fi programs, and Tom's fanboying tended to drive her crazy.

In answer, Tom raised an eyebrow elegantly and gave Gen a Spock Stare. Harry and Claire spluttered into laughter, and the solemn atmosphere that had crept over the room lightened swiftly.

"Come on, be serious! This might just be for kicks and giggles, but we should still approach this summoning with the right attitude." Lisa reprimanded them, and they settled down slowly.

"Do we really have to do this? R-really?" Norm asked in growing fear, holding his arms tightly around himself for comfort.

"We drew the picture, placed the sacrifices, and memorised the chant. If we wait any longer to get started then the ice will melt." Claire said coaxingly, but Norm wasn't comforted.

"Please, guys, can we just stop? I really don't want to do this - woah, cold!" Norm grumbled, and Harry rolled his eyes as he stuck a beer against his arm suddenly.

"Malcolm is the patron of drunks, fools and gamblers - I don't think we're fools, so let's get drunk!" Harry declared as he passes beers out to the others gleefully.

As beer cans piled up in the corners of the room, the friends lost their last reservations, and resolved to go through with the summoning.