by Allan Joyal
"Not a single lie," the woman mused. "The comments about the dragon are opinion as you did not see what happened, but the rest is all true. What is your name?"
"I'm Steve," Steve stammered.
"Welcome to my home," the lady said. "I'd ask all your names, but I imagine you want to get someplace and rest. If you came from Lakverd today, you've already travelled for hours. Tomorrow, I send you on your way."
"How many more days?" I gasped out. "This morning was frightfully cold. We don't want to get caught outside a city when the snow flies."
"You sound bad," the woman said. "Allow me."
I felt the touch of a hand on my shoulder. Warmth spread from the touch. As it spread down my chest towards my legs, the pain I felt diminished. Without thinking about it, I rose to my feet, gently pressing the hand upward. I was standing straight when the hand left my shoulder.
"Thank you," I said.
The woman smiled. "You were only protecting your family and friends. The only crime committed by your group was falling into the swamp. And I get a feeling that the pig who did that failed to listen to instructions."
I nodded. "He did run so far ahead of the group that he left the light of our torches. We saw a light in the distance."
"Yes," the woman said. "The river that carved this swamp valley is wide enough that there is a break in the canopy."
"River?" Eddie moaned. I looked over, surprised that he was speaking again. "We have to cross a fucking river? With monsters like that in it?"
"Peace," the woman said. "I will help you cross safely. My home is on an island on the river. You shall rest in comfort tonight."
I bent down to pull my spear from the mouth of the now dead monster. Kariy came over and looked at the dead monster. She had a frown on her face.
"What is wrong?" I asked.
Kariy pointed at the corpse. "That's a lot of meat we could pack for tomorrow's meals. We could possibly even save the skin, but we don't have time if we are leaving for the lady's home."
"Is that all?" the woman said. She spoke several harsh sounds. A circle of light appeared under the corpse and lifted it up until it was floating at waist level. The disk then floated out over the water. As we all stared, an invisible knife and hands began gutting the creature, the offal flying into the water.
"Wow," Al said. "Now that's something you'd never see back home."
I heard Eddie snort. He was ignoring the disk and continued to stare at the woman, who was now walking down the road in the direction of the light.
We quickly followed. The woman's hips swayed almost hypnotically as she led us to the river.
Once we were at the river, the woman raised her hand and whispered a series of harsh words.
I heard Jennifer gasp. The instant the woman lowered her hand, a palatial boat rose from the water. It was large enough to comfortably host more than thirty people. At the front, a rope from the bow dropped into the water. Ripples and bubbles in the river hinted of some beast leashed to the rope, awaiting a command to pull the craft forward.
On the deck of the boat were two-dozen cushioned chairs. I stepped aboard and laid my hand against the fabric. It was soft and dry.
"So much magic," Lydia said in quiet awe. "Why do you stay in a swamp?"
"Because she's probably only able to do this," Eddie said angrily. "She's probably spurned some truly great wizard from the Academy and is hiding here."
His outburst was followed by a couple of grunts. I turned to discover that Kariy and Heather had both punched him hard in the stomach.
"Shut up, you pig," Heather hissed.
The sorceress looked at Eddie, a look of complete disdain on her face. "You are a fool," she sternly informed him.
Eddie ignored her, limped to the rear of the boat and leaned over the railing. The rest of the group sat down in the chairs. The woman stood in the middle of the boat. She was smiling gently.
"Aquis, could you take us home?" she called out sweetly.
The boat jumped forward, moving against the current. I glanced back to see that the boat's progress was generating a sizable wave, to mark our passage.
"Wow," Al whispered. "How?"
"Magic," the woman said. "I'm no wizard. They rely on formulaic enchantments and infernal beings. My magic is strictly based on nature spirits. You can call me a sorceress."
"I'm guessing that you and the wizards from the academy don't get along very well," I said.
The woman nodded. "I stay away from them, and they ignore my existence."
"It must get lonely," I said.
The woman stared over the bow of the boat. The bow was dipped towards the water as the still unseen magic servant pulled the ship upriver faster than a man could run. She seemed to be thinking deeply.
"The nature spirits can offer some companionship," she replied quietly. "But they do have their limits. But at the same time, they tolerate few humans, so if I lived among others I would not have much power."
"I hope our visit will not cause a problem," I said.
The woman shrugged. "One day will not bother them too much. I would not welcome a caravan, but the merchants avoid the swamp. The darkness discourages them."
I found myself nodding again. Then I thought of something. I smacked my forehead. "Damn, I just realized that I failed to give my name. Sorry about that. I'm Ron."
I began pointing to each member of our group, naming them as I introduced them. The sorceress smiled. "The people who know me call me the Sorceress Elmori."
"It's nice to meet you Elmori," I replied with a smile.
The sorceress returned my smile. We continued to move upriver. Our path followed a bend in the river. Initially trees blocked our view of the rest of the river, but as the boat advanced we could see a tower rising over the water. It was standing on an island in the middle of the river.
"My home," the sorceress said needlessly. "There will be a feast set up when we arrive."
"Finally," Eddie said with a moan. "This underdressed slut will be doing something for us."
The boat seemed to jump forward as the sorceress turned and looked directly at Eddie. "Eddie, you are such a pig," Lydia said with a moan as she covered her hands.
"A pig," Elmori said. She had a poisonous smile on her face. "A very astute observation. However, while that might be his soul, his exterior does not reflect what your friend truly is."
"I would hardly call him a friend," Heather said. "When we arrived on Jord, he was with us, and it hasn't felt right to abandon him."
"He won't help you when you arrive at the Wizard's Academy. Even if they can send you home. His attitude will anger them," Elmori observed.
"I know," I said sadly. "But I knew his father and considered his father a friend. Leaving him alone would most likely be condemning him to a slow death."
"Hey! You worked for me! I was your boss!" Eddie screamed out.
Steve snorted. "Damn, you still haven't accepted that you were simply a figurehead in a position of no power? Eddie, your father knew you were useless. Ron ran the department. The only authority you had was to call your stupid meetings."
"Those were important meetings!" Eddie screamed. "We conducted important reviews of policy!"
Lydia laughed. "Eddie, do you think we never noticed that you held the meetings at places where there would be lots of girls in bikinis. Your father even told us about the one meeting you tried to hold at that nudist colony."
"He tried to hold a meeting in a nudist colony?" Jennifer said with a squeak.
"One of his more sleazy ideas," I said. "Another was when he tried to get involved in sales. He heard rumors that some buyers would offer incentives to convince the salespeople to reduce the price."
The boat was pulling up to a dock. The ropes seemed to move on their own, tying the ship to a mooring. They slowly tightened down, pulling the ship close to the dock.
"Yes," Elmori said. "I think you are correct. This Eddie is most definitely a pig."
She raised her
hand. A flash of green light flared out, traveling from her hand to strike Eddie in the chest. Moments later as we watched as Eddie fell to the deck.
He moaned. His arms and legs grew shorter. The hair on his head fell out in clumps. The mouth that had spouted curses and orders for the last day morphed as the nose above it became longer.
The pitch of the moans increased until they sounded more like squeals. We watched him step forward. The pants he was wearing were left behind and we could finally see his legs more fully. They were now hoofed and a small curled tail grew from his rear.
"Oh my god! He's turning into a pig!" Natalie screamed.
Elmori snorted. "I can't do that to someone. Maybe a wizard could, if he had made the proper deals with the right infernal spirits. No, I can only bring out the true nature of a man. Like you all said, Eddie is a pig. He was a pig at heart. Now he has a body to match."
The transformation was completed. The pig that had been Eddie ran around the back of the boat in a panic. Then an invisible force lifted him up and carried him onto the island.
"What?" Al asked.
"My spirit friends are taking him to an enclosure. There he will have an opportunity to calm down. Perhaps he will take this as a lesson. Should he truly wish to change, the spirits will give him his human body again," Elmori stated evenly. "Meanwhile, for the rest of you, a feast awaits in my tower."
She walked off the boat. The rest of us looked at each other. All of the ladies were clearly frightened by the power Elmori had just demonstrated. Worse was the complete lack of emotion that had gone into the magic. Elmori seemed unfazed by the transformation as she glided across the dock and onto the shore.
I followed her. What had just happened to Eddie weighed heavily on my mind and I was now terrified of angering this beautiful woman. Behind me, I could hear the rest of the group following. There were a couple of frightened sobs from the ladies as we made our way onto the shore.
Elmori led us up a cobblestone path and to a wooden door in the base of the tower. She placed her hand against it and it opened. As it opened, she stepped aside and looked back at us.
She had a sad expression as I walked up. "Please," she said, "do not believe I undertook enchanting that man lightly. No man wants or deserves the fate I have given him. However, as I said, the change is not permanent. Someday, he will return to human form."
"Soon?" Lydia asked.
"I do not foresee it happening in less than a year," the sorceress replied. "It cannot happen until he looks into his heart and realizes that to be human, he must accept humility. It was his own pride that was the vehicle of his transformation. I will keep him here until that happens. He will be well fed and have shelter until that day comes."
As she spoke, the floating platform she had summoned to carry the monster floated up. I looked and realized that as we traveled the creature had been neatly filleted and skinned. The skin was lying in a bed of salt. It was clearly being dried. No bones were left, and the steaks were lying in their own beds of salt.
"Wow," Kariy said. "Thanks. It would have taken us hours to do that much."
"The spirits were quite pleased to assist. It's not often I ask them to perform such tasks," Elmori said.
She was clearly waiting for us to enter. I stepped through the door and walked inside the tower.
I found myself inside a large room shaped like a half circle. Several glowing balls lined the walls and lit the room. In the middle was a long table. Chairs surrounded the table. Some very appetizing smells wafted from the table.
"Do I smell hamburgers?" I heard Al ask.
The door swung closed with a groan. I spun back to realize we were all now standing inside the tower. Elmori stood next to the door a wry smile on her face.
"It might be hamburgers. The spirits can see between worlds, and I did ask them to prepare foods you might find familiar."
The coeds cheered and dashed for the table. I offered Elmori a bow and then turned, finding that the others were now halfway to the table. With a smile on my face I hurried to join them.
Chapter 21: A Welcome Night.
When I arrived at the table I discovered it filled with food from Earth. Plates of hamburgers shared space with pizza that was steaming hot as if fresh from an oven. There was even a huge platter of fresh sushi. I tried a piece and it was as if the fish was caught only an hour before.
"This is so good," Heather exclaimed. I looked up, and she was holding a double cheeseburger.
"That is so going to ruin your diet," I said in my terrible imitation of a valley girl accent.
Martha giggled. "Oh, but it's just so divine, like you know I haven't had a burger in just ages."
Jennifer, Heather, and Natalie burst out laughing. Kariy and Henck looked confused as we continued to eat.
"What is all this?" Kariy asked.
"The conversation or the food?" Steve asked.
"Both?" Henck replied.
"Well, the conversation is a joke. Martha and Ron are mocking a way that many young women from our homeland talk. As for the food, all of this is very popular where we come from."
"But how?" Kariy asked. "I can't imagine how you would cook something like this." She was holding a piece of pizza and examining it closely.
Victoria smiled. "I'm not sure we can explain the concept of a modern temperature controlled oven to you. Our cooks have the advantage of using devices you might consider magical."
Elmori giggled. "It's not exactly magic. The spirits have told me that much. But I know of no devices like yours on Jord."
"You know of our home?" Lydia asked.
Elmori shrugged. "Not exactly. Once you told me about how you came, I asked the spirits. They communicated a few things to me. The main one was that your world is no longer friendly to the spirits. They can open windows and look, but none visit there. I will say that I cannot send you home."
There was a collective sigh from the coeds. Steve was nodding his head. "Thank you for asking your spirits if they could help. I think we are all starting to believe that we have no way home."
"From what little we've heard, I'd be surprised if the wizards can send us home," Esme said. "The spell that brought us here was interrupted, and we were brought because of the backlash. I doubt any of the wizards would agree to die just to send us home, or if they could be sure it would work."
"That's if we are correct as to why we ended up here," Lisa said.
"You are," Elmori said. "My spirit friends asked some of the nature spirits of the mountains. You arrived just after a young wizard was killed by the dragon Luftwin. The wizard was in the middle of a great summoning. No demon appeared, but you did."
"So we're demons?" Victoria asked.
Elmori laughed. "The spirits claim you are as human as me. Your world is much different though. Sometime in the past your ancestors abandoned the spirits and adopted the power of science. The spirits are weak in your world, and few have the ear to hear their calls."
"I'm just glad they could generate this feast," Al said as he took a massive bite out of a hotdog.
The others continued to devour the feast. Elmori was sitting at the head of the table. She had an amused smile on her face as she tasted from the trays and sipped wine from a crystal chalice.
Hencktor had been much less eager to try the food, but after seeing Al wolfing down anything within reach had tried a burger. As I watched, he was reaching for his fourth burger while quaffing from a mug of cold root beer.
Kariy sat beside me. After asking about the pizza, she was much more willing to taste the various items. I noticed she looked closely at each item before she took her first bite.
"Studying to learn how to make these?" I asked her.
"It's food you're used to. From the way Al grabbed for the food, it must be something you like," Kariy said as she sampled some sushi. "I'd like to make food you enjoy eating."
"Anything you make tastes good," Heather replied. "Actually I miss it a bit tonight. This food is definit
ely comforting and familiar, but the food you make is wonderful."
"Hunger and the outdoors do make wonderful spices," Steve said.
Kariy ducked her head. Her ears turned red where they peeked out from her hair. She brought her hands up to cover her face.
"Hug her," Heather whispered to me.
I put my arms around the young lady. To my surprise, she was shaking. Before I could ask the problem, she whirled and threw her arms around me. Tears were pouring from her eyes, soaking my shirt as she buried her face into my chest.
"Kariy?" I asked.
She shivered again and then slowly sat up. I grabbed a cloth from the table and dabbed at the tears that streaked her face. To my surprise, she was smiling as I cleaned her face.
"I'm sorry," she said. "It's just ... no one ever told me that they loved my cooking. You keep offering me so much, and I owe you everything."
I hugged the young lady again. "Kariy, you have brightened our lives since you joined our group. You handle almost all the cooking. I've seen you packing up everyone's stuff in the morning. And don't think I don't know you are carrying more than any other girl. Honestly, I'm not sure how we would have done without you."
Kariy hiccupped and then threw herself into my chest again. This time I just held her as she cried into my chest.
Elmori looked concerned. "That poor girl has been very ill-used. What will you do with her?"
"Girl?" Heather said cheekily. "If I understand her history, she's a year older than I am."
"Heather, that's not helpful," Lydia chastised her. She turned to Elmori. "Ron's already promised to take care of her. If by some miracle we can go home, we'll try to take her with us."
"And if they can't send her, but can send you?" Elmori asked, looking at me.
"I'll stay," I said quietly. "Life here on Jord can be brutal, but for her, I'll stay here and help her become a confident and vibrant woman."
"Like me," Heather said, throwing her arms around me. "I'll stay as well; someone has to set an example for Kariy."
"If you stay, where will you live?" the sorceress asked.