The air in the room condensed, and the seven friends carefully avoided looking at each other, or the demon in the middle of the floor. Awkward smiles were restrained, but the efforts were not appreciated.
It wasn't their fault, however, but - it's hard to take a guy seriously when he's not going to win a height contest against a barbie doll.
Lord Malcolm pursed his lips, eyeing each person in turn, playing the dice between his hands slowly. Each one was nearly bigger than his head, which added a strangely comical element to tension.
"Greetings, children of men, I am the demon, Lord Malcolm. Patron of Fools, Drunks and Gamblers. I can't say I'm very impressed by your sacrifices, but I thought it amusing to answer your summons. So, would you care to make a Wager?" The demon asked in a sonerous voice, filled with dignity and hidden malice - but it lacked the intimidation a proper size would have granted.
"Actually, we haven't thought of one- we didn't think this would really work." Lisa, still holding the book, began awkwardly.
"I can feel from the air, this is a realm almost devoid of magic, so I suppose it's not too surprising you would be ignorant of such things - but, naturally, when a group of summoners have a tight connection to the authorities of a demon, the ritual will succeed. All seven of you are excellent representatives of Fools, Drunks and Gamblers." Malcolm commented with a wry smile, and grumbles of dissatisfaction filled the room.
"We're not fools/ I'm not drunk/ I don't gamble!" The seven complained together, and Malcolm chuckled.
"Drunks always deny how much they've been drinking, fools have no self knowledge, and gamblers will always take a chance - don't argue, children, the shoes fit perfectly."
Tom shakily pushed himself upright against the wall, and tried to tidy his ears. "Right, we summoned the demon, great, let's send it back now."
"Why the rush, child? Surely you had a purpose for trying a ritual you didn't think would work. Tell me about it~" Malcolm cajoled, pointed at the dragon girl, and after a moment Claire started talking.
"We're on holidays, so we set up this house for a no internet, old school gaming party. Two weeks away from all the stress and crazy of the modern world, with just us. We thought the demon summoning was just a bit of fun, to help set the tone." Claire slowly explained, and Malcolm nodded thoughtfully.
"I see. May I take a look at these games you're so keen on? It sounds quite intriguing."
The seven traded glances over the demon's head, which brought a shard of anger to the surface of his expression briefly. He smoothed it away by the time they looked back, still smirking with false amusement.
"Norm, would you do the honors?" Keith asked softly, and the smaller boy staggered up and left the room.
A weighty silence thickened in the room, and slowly the six friends found it getting harder to breathe. The demon had only one face with two eyes, but somehow it seemed to stare at all of them.
Norm's return with the gamemaster's guide brought deep relief to all of them. It had only been a few minutes, but they were tense like it had been hours. Carefully, Norm tossed the booklet into the diagram - he remembered the warnings said do not enter the circle until the demon is unsummoned.
Malcolm dropped the dice casually, and took the booklet more than half as tall as he was. As he opened it and read swiftly, the friends noticed that all the dice he had been holding fell with the number 7 face up - including the classic cube with only six sides. A shiver wound down their spines as they pressed themselves back against the walls.
"My, what a marvellous game! Yes, I can see many ways to have fun with this! Ah, but it must be awkward, always taking turns to be the game master and not the player. Swapping from friend to foe must make it hard to foster trust within your party~ Well, I have a proposition for you." Malcolm smiled widely, watching the friends over the booklet, and what should have been a friendly expression made the room even more tense.
"W-what are talking about? Half the fun's being the game master and changing the rules." Norm commented bravely, but a single glance from the demon silenced him.
"I will take your party of friends to another world, and act as the game master and final boss. No matter how long your adventure takes, only two days will pass before your return. And if you fail the final boss fight, you will become my slaves for eternity." Malcolm announced grandly.
After a long moment, Keith couldn't help but open his mouth to ask -
"So, what do we get if we win?"