a Demonathon Adventure
The Grand Hotel
Several weeks ago, a demon appeared in your dreams. You recognized the demon, as you had been researching about them for years. You have always wanted to make a bargain with them, win your contract and make a wish that they will grant. You also kind of wanted a friend, and you hoped that you'd be able to earn that kind of relationship with the demon. According to your books, other summoners throughout time had friendships with their demons. Why couldn't you?
"If you wish," the demon said, voice low and whispy, "we may attempt a contract at the Grand Hotel. Do you wish to summon me?"
Curious, you agreed, though you didn't really know what to expect. Every few nights, the demon would come back to your dreams and tell you all about the Grand Hotel: how it is a place for spirits of all kinds to vacation, how beautiful the art deco design is, how opulent the parties are! They recounted last year's adventure, and it sounded absolutely incredible!
Now, as you wake up from a dreamless sleep, you find yourself on the steps on a magnificent hotel. As you try to orient yourself, your demon sits down next to you and smiles wide. You aren't fully sure if you're still dreaming or not.
'I packed things you may need," they say, pointing to your luggage. "The Hotel can provide the rest."
You stand, a little wobbly, and stare in awe at the multi-story building. The alabaster stone steps are at least fifty feet wide with a great, lush lawn flanking each side. There are rows and rows of flowers, and bushes manicured to perfection. The outside of the building is trimmed in gold and seems to sparkle in the sunlight. It's like nothing you've ever seen before. Your demon takes your hand gently and guides you up to the entrance.
However, upon entering the hotel, you realize that this is NOT the hotel you had been promised. Not only does it seem like 1700's architecture, but it hardly seems like a hotel. The long hall with high-vaulted ceilings looks like something out of a museum: rows of shelves and cabinets of wonder on the one side and exquisite windows on the other. The archways to other rooms and halls are decorated with images of demons and celestial beings, sculpted out of stone and painted with gold, and are labeled with symbols you don't recognize. As you look closer, you can make out the extraordinary details of the walls and ceilings: the immaculate carvings, the runic work, the stories told through the paneling, the tiny mosaics that could only have been accomplished by the smallest of hands and the most focused of eyes. The craftsmanship is overwhelming!
You wonder if perhaps your demon made a wrong turn somewhere along the way...
You and your demon keep walking towards what appears to be the reception desk. Upon closer inspection, you see little furry goblins running around the desk. They have books, jars, keys, and pencil cups precariously piled in their arms and are running around, seeming to be rearranging it all. There's one that's squeaking orders and pointing around, seemingly in a panic.
"Hi," you say, and the little goblin looks up.
"Hello!" they say, then run up to you to give you a big hug. You can't say no to such a warm welcome, so you let the furry goblin attempt to strangle your arm with joy. "You looking for Alfie? Or Sagey? Or you need your room key?" Before you can answer, the goblin jumps off of you and shouts to the other little goblins. "Need Alfie and Sagey! Go get them!"
You smile and politely ask for your room key while you wait for them. The goblin nods vigorously and jumps behind the desk. You hear them shuffling around, then a large key is thrown onto the desk. The goblin grunts and struggles to move something else. You look over the counter and find that they're trying to hoist the big sign-in book onto the counter.
Your demon reaches over and pulls the book up for you, and the goblin says, "Thanks you, thanks you," breathlessly.
You open the book and reach for a pen, and sign the book.
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The Exhibition
After you sign in, the goblin scoots the book off the desk, the tome splitting loudly against the marble floors and scaring some of the other goblins.
"What're you all doing??" someone says as a door opens. You look up to find a dark-skinned man with round, gold-rimmed glasses and a thick ponytail coming out to the lobby. He has one goblin on his head, fixing his hair, and another on his shoulder asleep and snoring softly. He smiles when he sees you. "Hey! Glad you could make it. I'm Alfie, nice to meet you, and... Uh," he says, looking at the mess. "We're running a little behind, sorry for the fuss! Did you need something?"
You explain your confusion. Not only are you unsure about the hotel, but you don't really know where to begin!
Alfie nods. "Every year the Hotel changes, which is fun but also makes things a mess to sort out... like when an entire library decides to show up and rearrange the layout." He shakes his head. "Anyway, the Hotel decided that it wanted an exhibition this year. One of the more senior summoners, Sage? She says it's been feeling nostalgic, so it wanted to pull out things it's been keeping for years. Thus-" he says, making a sweeping gesture towards the room, "-we have utter chaos trying to make this work for us."
You and your demon look at each other, then your demon turns to Alfie. "Is there anything you'd like us to do?"
"Honestly?" he says. "I think we've got it covered for now. If you have any questions, we've got a ton of resources for you," he says, pulling out his phone. "I've got some contact information about who's coming... or possibly coming at any rate. Do you have Discord? That's the most active place to find your answers. Maybe make a few friends, too? But there's also Twitter and Instagram if you prefer those. Just, uh, Yumi runs those, and she's a scatterbrained mess, so don't be surprised if you don't get an answer right away."
You get the information just in case.
"Also," he says, "It would really help if you could spread the word on what's happening? Introduce yourself and your demon wherever you can."
Challenge
Number 1
Post a picture of your demon on Twitter or Instagram
@demonathon so we can promote you!
Alfie gently wakes up the goblin on his shoulder. Bleary-eyed, the goblin gets up, and Alfie asks the goblin to take your luggage. The little demon slides off Alfie and waddles to your luggage. You feel bad, and you almost offer to take it up yourself, when the goblin touches your luggage and vanishes into thin air.
Alfie shakes his head. "If you want to head to the exhibition, go down the hall and to your right. If you're looking to make the contract formal with your demon, Sage is trying to get that up and going in the basement. I'm not sure how that's going..." He looks hard at the desk. "Sage usually does this, so I'm not sure if I'm missing... oh yes!"
He hands you a card with the word "Return" on it.
"If you leave the Hotel," he says, "there's a passcode that will send you right to the exhibition. It saves you the walk through the lobby. And trust me, it's a long walk."
You pocket the card, knowing you'll probably need it for later.
Alfie waves you good-bye, and you turn to your demon. You can go to the exhibition, or perhaps you want to try your hand at another demon contract in the basement?
Which do you choose?
