by J. J. Pavlov
But thinking so and seeing it for himself is a whole different matter. Ammon and his family live just like any human peasants, and Demon Queen Pelomyx is their pillar of support just as Emperor Lucianus V is for the people of the empire. In a sense, she does more with her very existence than any human does for their people.
However, as long as that corruption spills across the ocean and reaches human territories, there can never be peace. Its volatile and varying effect is what separates the two people decisively. And it will continue to do so until a definitive solution can be found.
Ammon's lifespan and that of many other demons depend on this, so Rolan doesn't know what to do. If only he had a way to contact Runa, who's now studying in Alkupera's sanctum. Surely, she could either research the problem or maybe even ask the Lord Creator himself. If there's a way to either contain the demon queen's corruption or make it beneficial to humans as well, then he would know.
"Rolan?" The big man's voice calls him back to the present.
"Ah, sorry. What were you saying?" Turning to Gram, he asks with an embarrassed smile. It's rare for him to fall deep into thoughts like this, and even rarer to do it while in the middle of a conversation.
"That we all feel like it's a bad idea to ask for help from this Chandra." Hreidunn repeats the statement and brings everybody else into the conversation. Leif and Vigdis consider themselves junior members and don't dare to speak their minds, but their aunt is one of the oldest by age. Seniority gives her allowances that those two don't have, and she gives voice to their concerns.
"What is wrong? You have been lost in thought since we left the nightmare breeders." Sigurd asks Rolan when the latter falls quiet after the ranger brought across her point. The leader looks around to see that Gram shares that sentiment. Even Kamii is looking at him with a vaguely questioning gaze, although she rarely shows interest in other people's feelings. Seeing her, he realizes that he must have been acting uncharacteristically glum.
"We may have been lucky to meet friendly demons, but the fact of the matter is that we're still far from home. The next demons we encounter on these steppes may be a band of centaurs, not out to play with us." Rolan pulls himself together and begins to explain the issues they face once again. "Ammon told us about this city of Ajurai, so he must believe that we will not be ripped apart upon approach. We'll have to take this risk to find a way back to human lands."
"And perhaps it is not risky at all, my friend." The bard comes to his help and gives him an understanding smile. Lately, he has witnessed many times how hard the group leader works to keep his comrades safe. "If the places in the Dominion untouched by past invasions are filled with people like Urial and her family, then we may yet make it through without spilling another drop of blood."
When he hears these words, Rolan turns to the big man and Kamii standing next to him. They are the ones who lost the most among the group due to demonic corruption, but neither is thinking about it now. Both nod in agreement with the bard's argument. He had considered the possibility of going to the capital of Arkaim and attempting to kill Demon Queen Pelomyx for the betterment of the world before. And if he thought that, the same idea couldn't have been entirely foreign to these two.
"Maybe we can find out more about this blessing through corruption while we're here." Gram speaks the word in a skeptical tone, but Rolan can see that he can't deny it outright. It would be all too easy to dismiss Ammon's words for propaganda or indoctrination. But that would be only so that the humans can maintain their preconceived notion that demonkind is harmful to the rest of the world. After having seen that they are just a different-looking kind of people, living their lives as humans do, they can no longer believe the information that the Empire of Terminus spreads.
After all, they have yet to see the creatures steeped in darkness that crawl along the ground and devour the living and the dead. At least that's what the empire reports all demons to appear like. The real Dominion is not a wasteland filled with marauding monsters, active volcanoes, and rivers of blood.
"Who better to ask than a personal friend of the demon queen then?" Sigurd immediately jumps on the idea provided by Gram. Instead of passively hoping for help in finding a harbor where a demon ship is willing to sail them across the sea, they can play an active role in investigating the truth about the corruption.
However, this is all conjecture, and they're relying on the goodwill of this Chandra person. Considering they're heading toward a city where she's the chief, once she declares them an enemy, they would be beset from all sides by its entire population.
In the worst-case scenario, Rolan would have to use Roshanee to its full potential and most likely faint from using all of his strength just to make their escape. At that time, the only one who can carry him out would be the big man. He wouldn't be able to protect the others then.
However, there's one other method - a true last resort.
The leader glances at Sigurd, who seems to be aware of the potential scenarios that lay before them. The bard winks at him with a carefree expression, eliciting a wry smile from Rolan. He would like to avoid using it here.
In fact, he prays that they would never have to rely on it at all.
On the fourth day since separating from Ammon and his family, the plains make a noticeable shift from green toward yellow as the climate becomes much drier. In the distance, the landscape rises into mighty mesas interspersed with small buttes.
The only landmark they can follow is supposed to be a mesa that appears to be cleft in two, through artificial means rather than natural erosion. In the late afternoon, they spot it from afar and know that they're on the right track.
According to Ammon, just below that mesa is a creek which could also be a dry riverbed depending on the recent weather. Following it, they will reach Ajurai in one more day. Even with only a general direction and such sparse information, Sigurd accurately led them to the right place. And he will undoubtedly bring them to their destination.
They're lucky to have Vigdis with them, as water is nowhere to be found. She can summon spheres of water with just an incantation to refill their leather canteens. If not for her, they would have died from thirst already.
Out of the group, the only one who doesn't seem too concerned with their present situation is Kamii. Her expressionless face is hard to read, but her mind appears to wander toward things in the far-off distance rather than focus on the here and now. Surely, she must be thinking about her sister Daica, who should be worried sick about her disappearance by now.
They were meant to be back from their last delve into the Lost Tombs several days ago. The guild may have marked them as dead, too. Typically, groups return within the timeframe they give before their exploration run, sometimes a day or two later. But they are over half a fortnight past their schedule, and they won't be getting back anytime soon.
When they make camp for the night, the stars above look quite different compared to those seen from the Kingdom of Lares. Now that their path has become clearer, the members of the group have time to stop and take a better look at their surroundings - including the night sky.
Leif uses his fire magic to regulate the heat of the stew, while Gram throws in the herbs and spices he always carries in his backpack. At this point, everybody has resigned to eating meat that may very well be tainted with corruption. Unless they get spontaneously transported back to Kongenssoevn - or any human settlement at all for that matter - they'll have to keep doing this for a while to survive. After all, they're in the Dominion, and everything here should be steeped with the demon queen's corruption.
Hreidunn has taken a share of dried meat and bread to her lookout even before everybody settles down. She's overlooking the area from atop a large boulder, though they haven't encountered any dangers during the previous nights.
But Kamii knows that peace breeds complacency even in vigilant people like the ranger. So far, the little dark elf has been keeping watch alongside the others each night without lettin
g them know. Even now, she and Vigdis aren't given watch duty, not out of a lack of trust, but because they're perceived to be the youngest members.
Her sleep is light enough that she can wake up from any noise that isn't part of their surrounding soundscape. That includes the crunching of sand, the breaking of twigs, or even loud breathing that doesn't originate from Gram or Leif. She has gotten used to those two.
Rolan and Sigurd discuss scenarios while Vigdis listens from the sidelines. Her contribution to the meal ended when she provided the water. She also doesn't feel confident not to fall off the boulder Hreidunn is keeping watch from, so all she can do is observe what the others are doing.
She has been the one person who felt most uncertain about their situation. While Leif voices it the most whenever he thinks he can get away with it, it appears that he's doing it to cover for his sister. The others have noticed as well but pretend that they haven't whenever he calls for a break by acting tired, while in reality, Vigdis is the one lagging behind. He's a caring older brother.
When the group gathers to have their meal, Gram calls out to Hreidunn to have her come down and partake as he has the previous three nights. She always refused, but this time, she relents and leaves her belongings on the boulder to hop down with nimble steps. It causes Kamii's eyebrow to twitch.
This is the complacency she has been expecting. The little dark elf would never let down her guard while in potentially hostile territory. Even if demons might consider her one of them, being in the presence of a group of humans still puts a target on her back.
Eating her bowl of stew without letting down her guard, she keeps her long ears trained on her surroundings.
They're surrounded.
It's moments before sunrise, which makes it Leif's shift to keep watch, but he has fallen asleep with a content expression on his face. Although Kamii has woken up before any of the others, she realizes that it's already too late. The footsteps are approaching from all sides.
"Wake up." Sigurd whispers while lightly shaking Rolan, who's lying next to him. It would seem that the bard's ears have picked up on the sounds as well. "We are surrounded."
Whoever is approaching clearly isn't trying to hide their presence, though. Leather soles are moving across the sand as if walking normally, and there's plenty of metallic jingling. Only the wind that picked up during the night has hidden those sounds from the two pairs of sensitive ears until it was this late.
Judging by the heavy footfalls and their number, there are eight big individuals, each potentially possessing a physique similar to Gram's. None of them appear to be wearing armor, as the jingling noises are too light for it to originate from armor pieces. But even if they were in full plate, Roshanee can easily cut through that.
"How many?" After hearing that there may be enemies nearby, the leader is immediately wide-awake. But he possesses the discipline to remain on the ground while slowly reaching for his weapon while at the same time glancing over to Gram lying on the other side of the now cold campfire.
"Eight. Judging by their sure steps, trained warriors." Sigurd explains in a whisper, surprising Kamii. She could only hear the number of people and their approximate weight but could have never been able to glean their mastery from just the sound of their footsteps. In that regard, the bard is indeed a dependable member of the group.
Leif stirs in his sleep and then turns over, upon which Rolan stretches his arm toward him and covers his mouth. It startles the youth, who very nearly screams but stops himself just in time when he notices that it's the leader.
"We're surrounded, most likely hostile." The leader mutters to the fire mage, who immediately grabs hold of his staff. Luckily, he keeps it right next to him when he sleeps; even as young and foolish as he is, Leif is still a capable delver who survived all kinds of encounters.
The fire mage then goes on to use his staff to lightly poke Vigdis, who has been making a point of sleeping as near to Gram as she feels she can allow herself to. Her infatuation with him is already evident to everybody else, but she still tries to hide it. But it's lucky that her brother can reach her, as she's the only one close enough to then go on to wake up the big man without having to get up.
The footsteps are slowly coming closer, but they're still far enough away that the owners are hidden by the morning mist. Despite the dry climate, it formed overnight and is reducing visibility sufficiently that neither side knows what they're dealing with. Surely, they only heard Gram's loud snoring and may think that it's some big animal rather than a group of humans and a dark elf.
Finally, Vigdis awakens and gets the message to poke the big man with her staff. With this, only Hreidunn is out of the loop. They can only hope that she has picked up on the situation on her own by now. Just as the water mage motions her staff to wake up Gram, the other members of the group nod to each other to confirm the timing.
"H-huh, wha?" Startled by the thin object poking his broad back, Gram mutters half-asleep. But it should be loud enough for the approaching demons to hear, which means that they need to spring to action.
Everybody jumps up at the same time, weapons ready, causing the big man to realize the situation and scramble up as well. They form a tight circle, with Leif and Vigdis on the inside as they keep their staves ready for casting magic. The boy looks up at the boulder and feels relief when he sees that their aunt has gotten up into a crouching position and has an arrow nocked on the bow but not yet drawn.
"Who goes there?" Rolan calls out into the fog, his hand on the hilt of Roshanee. Sigurd has his crossbow readied as well, training it on a shadowy figure a few dozen paces away.
"Mukasura of Ajurai. And who are ya?" A deep male voice calls out to them. While the tone is casual, the sound itself seems strangely aggressive.
"We are travelers on our way to Ajurai." The leader doesn't relax his grip on his weapon, knowing that only because the other person is from the city they're heading toward doesn't make them friendly.
"And where ya comin' from?" Mukasura asks, breaking through the fog to reveal a blue-skinned man with red hair and pointy ears who towers over even Gram. His muscular frame can easily challenge the big man's, but his most striking features are his six arms.
The lowermost pair is holding a bunch of fur-covered animals that were most likely killed only recently in a hunt. The uppermost pair is carrying the ropes wrapped around a large cloth bundle on his back. And the pair between them is carrying a bladed trident. His bare chest is adorned with a gold necklace with inlaid animal fangs and claws, and he wears baggy white pants that are wrapped with the leather strings of his sandals.
As if his appearance was the signal, other six-armed and blue-skinned men and women appear from the fog all around them, eight in total. They're also carrying quarry and luggage, each wielding different kinds of weapons, including dual scimitars, maces, axes, and spears. Each one of them has a physique that can match Gram's, though the women are overall shorter and lean rather than muscular.
"Ajura." Sigurd mutters with a rare expression of terror in his eyes.
All humans have heard of the Ajura clan, just as nightmares, and especially the Ghost Riders have entered common knowledge even in remote towns in the Kingdom of Lares. The blue-skinned and six-armed demons are a warlike clan of which all members train for combat until their mastery exceeds the realm of humans.
They're the undisputed masters of the battlefield, each one as powerful as a hundred Electi - the elite backbone of the empire's legions. A saying in the Alliance armies has it that a rear cavalry charge by the Ghost Riders will give the survivors nightmares. Facing the Petsobek on an open field is suicide. But hearing that the Ajura clan is coming can make even the most battle-hardened men cry in terror.
The ajura warriors are reportedly responsible for killing the most champions of the gods even though there have been no accounts of them ever wielding magic. In other words, what they lack in magical abilities, they make up for with sheer martial prowess.
Even one would be too much for the group of humans to handle, but eight of their kind surround them now. Rolan doubts that Roshanee can balance that difference by itself, as these demons will surely not be taken down by arrows or crossbow bolts. Even if Gram could match one in pure strength, the others would never give the two mages among them time to finish a single incantation.
"Ya look human." Scratching his hairless chin with his one free hand, Mukasura scrutinizes them with one eyebrow raised above his violet eyes. Even after making this observation, he doesn't sound hostile, and neither do the others change their stances into ones ready for battle. "Except for you. A dark elf, but cursed, huh?"
"Yes, we are humans." Rolan straightens his stance and lets go of Roshanee's hilt. He now gambles his life on the mercy of these demons. Trusting Ammon and his family was one thing, but these are trained soldiers of the Dominion. Each one of them most likely killed many humans before.
Still, fighting would mean certain death. So hoping that they would be taken prisoner in the worst case is better than throwing everybody's lives away in a gross overestimation of the group's abilities. They may work well together in a team, but they aren't battle-hardened soldiers.
"Deserters from that last war?" Glancing at the woman closest to him, Mukasura wonders. Then he looks up at Hreidunn, who's still on one knee with an arrow nocked on her bow, aiming at him from above the boulder. "Ya don't look like soldiers."
"We aren't. We're from the Kingdom of Lares." The leader explains, hoping that this ajura understands politics. The kingdom left the Alliance after the previous war since it had sustained too many losses among its youths and saw no point in repeatedly fighting fruitless wars. That was three decades ago, so there were no soldiers from the kingdom present in the invasion last summer. While no peace treaty was signed between the two parties, the kingdom is currently not engaged in open war with the Dominion. "Somehow, we were teleported to the Degar steppes in our sleep. There, we met a nice family who pointed us the way to Ajurai and told us to talk to Lady Chandra."