Cornucopia

by Debra Dunbar

  Rutter wasn’t in his blanket, and about twenty feet away was a loud rustling and rumbling noise. We were still lying down in the grass. Andor put a hand on my shoulder when I tried to rise and once again put his finger to his lips.

  The rustling came closer, and now I heard a voice – voices actually. I couldn’t understand what they were saying but they spoke in low guttural tones. The wind shifted and my eyes watered. Whoever it was they hadn’t bathed in…well in forever. The closer they got, the harder it was to breathe. These things stank so badly that I was considering suffocation as a better alternative to their smell.

  One came close and I froze, understanding why Andor had wanted us to remain undetected. They weren’t human, and they didn’t look friendly. The three creatures were close to seven feet tall with huge bulging muscles in yellowish skin. They were naked, and my eyes involuntarily drifted downward. I winced. Big. Like, rip-me-in-half big. And their sexual organs had jagged protuberances that didn’t bode well for the survival of anyone on the receiving end. How the heck did they procreate? Were their women lined with iron? I might be a succubus, but even if they hadn’t stunk, there’s no way I’d be jumping in to fulfill their fantasies.

  Each one carried a club with spikes imbedded at the end. They talked loudly between themselves, but must have had poor eyesight because they didn’t once look our way. Hopefully their own powerful smell masked our own, and if we held very still, they wouldn’t see us.

  I didn’t want to think what would happen if they did see us. Rutter was nowhere to be found and I wasn’t sure what good he’d be against these things. I got the feeling Andor was handy to have around in a fight, but there were three of them and two of us, plus they had to have outweighed us by close to two thousand pounds.

  I waited until I could no longer hear them, until their horrid smell had died to a more tolerable level before turning to Andor and raising my eyebrows.

  “Ogres.” He stood and walked back to his blanket. “Sunup is in an hour. Go back to sleep.”

  Right. Like I could sleep after that. “What would they have done if they’d seen us?” I whispered.

  “Roasted us on a spit for dinner.” The dwarf wrapped the blanket around himself and lay down. The conversation was obviously over.

  My mind wouldn’t give it a rest, though. Ogres. Like from the role-playing games I’d participated in? I imagined a fight between us – Andor with his axe, me able to not do much beyond shoot lightning bolts and grow the grass around us into a jungle. Normally I’d run, pretty sure I could easily outpace those big oafs, but my legs were sore and even as well as I saw in the dark, I’d probably trip within the first ten feet on these rocks hidden in the grasses.

  Roasted on a spit. One more thing in Hel I needed to fear. Why the humans wanted to stay here was beyond me.

  Rutter came back at sunup with a handful of squirming lizards. He kindly offered to share them, but I declined. Then he proceeded to sit down on his blanket and eat them one by one. They made a horrible crunching noise, their tails twitching until he slurped them down. It made me not want breakfast.

  In the daylight, I clearly saw why I’d tripped and why I felt like the Princess and the Pea this morning. The mountains loomed before us, and the rocky ground sloped upward from the grassy plains. In less than a mile we’d be negotiating rocks and boulders, winding along switchbacks as we climbed. I wasn’t sure if there was a mountain pass, or a tunnel from a cave that cut through, but either way the trip ahead was daunting.

  “We made good time yesterday,” Andor said. I hadn’t heard him rise, but he already had his blanket packed and was munching on something that looked like a pear.

  “Are we going to keep running?” I was pretty agile, and didn’t think I’d suffer another fall with the light of day to guide me, but my legs were still killing me from yesterday’s exercise.

  The dwarf shook his head, tossing the pear core into the grasses. “There’s a cave and an entrance to the pass-through about a mile from here at the foot of the mountains. Those caves interlock and connect with passages all through the mountains, some of them made by us, others naturally occurring. We should be in Vetil by late afternoon.”

  I did the math figuring a few hours to speak to the dwarves and collect some plants, then we could teleport to Patchine via elf button before nightfall. If we hurried, I could be back in Libertytown tonight. The thought put a spring in my step and I jumped up, packing my and Rutter’s blankets and grabbing a piece of the fruit for the road. The little demon had finished his lizard breakfast and was doing an odd set of calisthenics. Andor slung his bag over his shoulder, and we were on our way.

  The rocks were larger the closer we got to the mountains until they were well above the tall grass and we were forced to weave around them. The cave entrance was massive, and once inside I counted eight different tunnels. Andor took a gem from his pack and scraped it across the cave wall. It lit up like a lantern, casting a golden light. The tunnel was narrow with several branches to the right and left. Every so often we came into a larger underground room. Andor walked briskly, confidently through the labyrinth, so I was surprised when he came to an abrupt stop at the entrance to one of the large ‘rooms’.

  “Stay here.” He dropped the stone onto the floor and with far more speed and stealth than I’d ever imagined a dwarf could have he was gone, leaving Rutter and me in the narrow tunnel. Ahead was darkness the like of which I’d never seen before. The little stone’s faint light only illuminated the first few feet of what I assumed was a giant room. Rutter and I waited for what seemed like hours, until I began to fear our dwarven escort had ditched us.

  We’d never get out of here. I had no idea which way would take us back outside and I was sure Rutter was equally clueless. We’d wander around these caves until we died of dehydration or starvation. Or until something ate us.

  A memory of last night’s ogres sprang to my mind just as I heard a noise in the room before us. It was a soft noise, like the brush of a hand against the stone walls. Rutter edged close to me and I held my breath.

  Idiot. Andor had just told us to stay put, no doubt so we wouldn’t get lost while he…I don’t know, scouted ahead or something. He’d even left us the light. There was nothing wrong, and the dwarf wouldn’t abandon us. He’d promised Kirby, and I got the feeling he was a man of his word.

  Again the soft brush of something against the stone, this time closer.

  “Andor?” I whispered. There was no response so I edged my way into the room, staying within the light and squinting to get an idea of my surroundings.

  I thought I could make out three tunnel entrances to my right, but straight ahead stretched beyond what my eyes could see in the darkness. I turned to step back and something grabbed me.

  I shouted. Twisting to get free I felt long claws scratch down my arm, and the snap of teeth close to my ear.

  “Get off Miss Amber, you lizard!” Rutter kicked the thing, then jumped on its back, punching with one fist. He was holding the light in the other hand, so I got a good look at what was trying to chew the side of my head. It was a giant lizard, up on two legs with slimy skin and bulging white eyes. Again it snapped at my face, ignoring the demon to focus its attentions on me.

  I didn’t know what to do, so I shot a lightning bolt at the thing. I felt the sizzle of the electricity run through the lizard, jolting me in the process since I was in contact with the creature. Rutter flew backwards. The lizard squealed and let go of me to drop onto all fours.

  I was free, but this monster was between me and Rutter. I couldn’t leave the Low and run blind and lost through the tunnels. My only option was to stay and fight it.

  So that’s what I did, crouching like a wrestler as I sized the thing up. Rutter had dropped the light, so I had a clear view. The lizard was gray with black spots and a skin that appeared wet and slippery. He was skinny, with long limbs. If I could stay free of the teeth and the claws, I might be able to push enough electricity through it
to kill it. Or I could just stay here and continue to shoot lightning at a safe distance. Yeah, that was the better choice.

  Another lightning bolt hit it square in the chest, knocking it to the ground. With another squeal, it got up and charged.

  “Bally-mea!” There was a sharp whistle followed by a few shouted words and the giant lizard pivoted mid run, dropping to all fours and running to greet Andor and two other dwarves. The female dwarf patted it on the head, then glared at me accusingly.

  “Did you have to nearly cook our watch-lizard?” Andor asked.

  Was he angry? Amused? It was so hard to tell with this dwarf.

  “Yes. When I’m attacked by a giant lizard that scratches me and tries to bite my head, I tend to defend myself.”

  The dwarf lifted an eyebrow. “You came out of the tunnel. This room is his boundary. If you’d stayed in the tunnel like I told you, then you would have been fine.”

  I folded my arms across my chest. “I heard something moving around and literally took one step out of the tunnel. If you had told me a giant lizard would try to eat me, if you had told me how long you were going to be gone, maybe I would have heeded your instructions. Maybe next time introduce me to the watch-lizard so it doesn’t attack me?”

  The female dwarf was still glaring at me, caressing the slimy thing on the head. The other dwarf was gawking at me as if were an exotic zoo creature. Andor looked as if he was ambivalent to my nearly being eaten by a lizard. Rutter was against the wall in a heap.

  Rutter! I raced over and gathered the Low up in my arms, trying to check his pulse. Did demons have pulses? Where was I supposed to check? His wrists? His neck? His snout? Just as I put my fingers on the springy thing, Rutter’s eyes flew open. He pushed the snout into my hand with a grin and I hastily dropped it.

  “I thought you were dead. Or at the very least hurt,” I exclaimed.

  He turned to rub his snout against the side of my breast. “Only playing dead, Miss Amber. You had the situation under control. I would have helped if you’d needed it.” Again he rubbed his snout on my breast, the fleshy tip stretching to do a reach-around to the front. “Can you do that with your fingers again? That was nice.”

  His fantasies flooded my mind and I resisted the urge to drop him on the floor and go find a shower. The demon side of me was intrigued, especially given our anatomical differences. The rest of me was thinking there’s no way that’s going to happen.

  “Um, maybe another time Rutter. Okay?”

  He sighed and got to his feet, dusting himself off. “No problem, Miss Amber. Succubi are picky. I know they’d never do the boinky-boink with a Low.”

  That broke my heart. Why wouldn’t sex demons do the boinky-boink with Lows? Yes, the demon form and particularly that weird snout were off-putting to someone who’d grown up thinking she was a human, but the succubi and incubi here should be used to this sort of thing. Why not a Low? Rutter was sweet, and he’d jumped right on that lizard to save me. He might not be top of the stack when it came to the demon hierarchy here in Hel, but I’d bet the energy he’d transfer to me would be just as strong as any other demon. Maybe stronger. In my experience, it was the ones no one else wanted who gave me five times what the players did.

  “I’m not like other succubi, Rutter. I don’t care if you’re a Low, it’s just that I’ve got a lot I need to do in a short amount of time. And we do have an audience.”

  We did. The female was still petting the lizard, murmuring soothing words to it. The male still stared at me. Andor was watching the pair of us, a surprised expression on his face. Out of the three he was probably the only one who had understood my words. I felt my face heat up to realize he’d just heard me basically give a rain-check to the Low. One more reason for him to despise me, I guess.

  “I’m sorry I hurt your lizard,” I said, rising to my feet. “I’m assuming this is the entrance to your underground city?”

  I’d expected him to lead us through the mountains to the other side where their farming most likely took place. Although they could have farming deep within the mountain using magical light sources and hydroponics, I didn’t think those plant strains would be adaptable to the intense light, heat, and arid conditions of Libertytown. Hopefully this trip wouldn’t be a complete waste of my time.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d be allowed inside, so I brought Mellok and Svetek to meet with you here. They can provide you with plant samples without needing to continue through the mountain for another day. I’m assuming harvested samples would be sufficient?”

  Crap. Mellok and Svetek didn’t look predisposed to help me out after I’d zapped their lizard. “Yes, samples will help as long as Libertytown can purchase clippings, seeds, or rootstock if needed.”

  He nodded. “Of course. Any plant that doesn’t need your modifications is available for them to purchase, or for trade.”

  The woman turned to Andor and spoke. He replied, and after a moment of conversation, turned to me.

  “Svetek said you can step inside the city gates. She has her staff preparing boxes of grains, fruits, vegetables, and leafy greens that might be suitable for Libertytown with slight modifications.”

  Rutter and I followed Andor and Svetek into the back shadows of the cavern while Mellok remained behind with their guard lizard. The thing snarled at me as I passed, making me glad that the dwarves had it well trained. In the back of the cavern there was a giant set of metal doors with ornate embellishments across the lower half. I eyed them, wondering how much they weighed.

  With a sweep of Andor’s hand, the doors swung open revealing something out of a fairy tale. This cavern was huge, stretching hundreds of feet upward. Houses jutted from the walls, impossibly suspended into mid-air. There had to have been a thousand homes lining the walls, no doubt extending far back into the rock. Narrow stone paths connected them all. A woman with a metal-tipped staff was climbing the path toward us, a cart full of crates pulled by two small lizard creatures behind her.

  “Here are your samples.”

  A cart. Full of crates. “How am I supposed to get this back to Libertytown? Does the elf button transport a cart and two lizards?”

  “You touch the cart when you transport and it will go with you. Anything living requires a second button, which is why I’m providing one to your demon companion.”

  So no lizards. How the heck was I supposed to transport a cart once I got to Patchine? I envisioned Rutter and I hauling it through the desert. I guess that was my problem, though. Andor had gone out of his way to escort me here, provide me with samples and return transportation, protect me from ogres and watch-lizards. I’d just have to make do somehow. Maybe this Patchine place had horses? Or lizards? Or demons willing to haul a cart for a twenty?

  Instead of pestering Andor for additional transportation help, I went to meet the cart, being careful to avoid the lizards with their sharp teeth. Carefully I examined the contents of each crate. The fruits were hearty, thick-skinned figs and pomegranates. There were cuttings for almonds and olives that would thrive with very little modification. There was even a variety of apple that I thought might yield a decent crop given the conditions. What really surprised me was the grain – thick, saw-edged grasses that had wheat-like seeds. I could tell the moment I lay my hands on them that they took very little water and were able to survive brutal temperature swings.

  There were roughly a hundred samples of each – enough to get the humans started. I’d need to come back in a few months, maybe at the end of my internship at the vineyard, to adjust anything that wasn’t at maximum output and to modify enough that they’d have a solid base planting stock. Roots from the swamps, wild cacti from the desert, fruit and grain from the mountains. The humans could trade for anything else. All I needed now was an irrigation system.

  And for that I’d need to go to the elves.

  Chapter 7

  We arrived in the desert, a city about a mile off. Libertytown was a speck in the distance. The sun was golden-pink on th
e horizon, and I had a cart with no lizards. Or horses.

  “Can we leave it here?” I asked Rutter. “We can send someone from Libertytown to retrieve it up in the morning.”

  He shook his head. “It will be picked clean. Or burned. If the sand wyrms don’t get into it, a roving group of demons will.”

  I didn’t go all the way to the mountains to have my supplies stolen, so I picked up one end of the wagon shaft, braced myself against the yoke, and pulled. Rutter did the same on the other side and slowly we moved the wagon forward. It was only a quarter mile to Patchine. Once there I could bribe some demons to help haul it to Libertytown in the dark. If they didn’t take my cash, then hopefully Kirby could step in to compensate them.

  We were moving at a painfully slow pace, due to the soft, sandy dirt, the weight of the wagon, and the fact that neither Rutter nor I were experienced at team pulling. I was sweaty and exhausted after we’d gone only thirty feet. The city seemed even farther away, and I caught sight of something moving closer – something that looked like a group of…creatures.

  “Rutter? Who’s coming towards us?”

  Rutter looked up. “Demons. Three of them.”

  Should I run and hide and abandon my cart to potential looters? And hide where? There was nothing bigger than a tumbleweed nearby. Maybe I could crawl in the cart with the crates, although if the demons looted the wagon, I’d surely be found.

  “What do I do?” I hissed. They were moving fast, no doubt running.

  Rutter dropped the yoke leaving me with all the weight, and walked forward, standing partially in front of me. I appreciated the effort, but a small Low wasn’t going to block me from view. What to do? How could I explain my presence here without making me more of an interesting object to haul home as a demon-toy?

  “Tell them I’m an elf,” I told Rutter. “A mute elf in human clothing, one who has taken a vow of silence in honor of the Goddess, and that you’re escorting me somewhere.”