"The clan leader of the Ajura may know where you can find an access point to the ancient transportation network. Her fortress lies two days from here, in the direction of where the sun sets, as the Nightmare rides." Ammon told us after the meal, when I asked for means to get off the Demon Continent without walking its entire length to find a harbor. "But beware, Chandra is a fickle woman and has a strange grasp on morals and authority. The demon queen killed her father at the Gathering of Clans, but she not only didn't seek revenge, but instead became a heartfelt friend with her over the years."
"Are you sure we want to ask someone who's friends with the demon queen for help?" Gram asks and turns to me. He has a fair point in regards of seeking out this Chandra, who may very well try to kill us on sight. And we are going to meet her in her own fortress no less.
I have been giving everything I know so far much thought, ever since hearing that the corruption spread by the demon lords throughout history had always been considered a blessing by demonkind. While Chloe did betray the goodwill of humans with her actions at the academy, Runa told me that there were other demons living peacefully among the students. I always understood that the world is not a black and white place, and that humans are not absolute good or the demons absolute evil.
The fact of the matter is that Ammon and his family live just like any human villagers, which has come to show me that demonkind is simply another culture, rather than this complete other which we could never reconcile our way of life with. Still, this aura coming from the demon lords of every generation is what separates our two people decisively, and will continue to do so until a solution can be found. After all, it may very well be propaganda spread by the demon queen herself...
No, Ammon clearly said that his people had a much shorter lifespan than they do under the influence of this new demon queen. Denying that aspect of his words would mean to completely disregard everything he said, which I cannot do in good conscience. Not after seeing how open-minded and friendly he was in giving us humans, whom demons should be considering enemies, so much hospitality, which is rarely seen even among our own kind.
"Leader?" The big man's voice calls me back to the present.
"Ah, sorry... what were you saying?"
"That I feel like it's a bad idea to ask for help from this Chandra... what's come over you lately? You've been lost in thought since we left the Nightmare breeders." Gram seems to be concerned. I look around to see that Sigurd shares that sentiment, and even Kamii is looking at me questioningly, even though she rarely shows interest in other people's feelings. Seeing her, I realize that I have been acting uncharacteristically glum.
"No, we have to get back to the kingdom, or at least to human territories. We may have been lucky in meeting Ammon and his family, but we have neither money nor large amounts of rations for a prolonged journey." I pull myself together and begin to explain. "To avoid staying on the Demon Continent for too long under these conditions, we have to take this risk."
"Do not be hasty, my friend." Sigurd cuts in and gives me an understanding smile. He knows that I am worried about Runa, and I believe Gram knows, too. "If the Demon Continent is filled with people like Ammon and Arkali, then it may not be such a bad place." I turn to the big man at these words, the one who lost the most among us due to the corruption spread by the demon queen, but it appears that he agrees.
"Maybe we can learn something about this blessing while we're here." He uses the word in a skeptical way, but I can see that he has put some thought into the matter as well. It would be all too easy to dismiss Ammon's words for indoctrination or even malicious lies, to maintain our preconception that demonkind is harmful to the rest of the world. But having seen that they are just people, living their own lives, he can no longer believe what common knowledge in the human territories teaches about demons.
"Then someone who is close to the demon queen should know more." Yet, I still believe that being able to use the transportation network to return to human territories quickly is worth the risk of meeting this fickle character named Chandra. "I'll be counting on you, when things get tough..."
"Got it, leader." Gram responds and shows a resigning smile.
In the worst case scenario I will have to use Roshanee to its full potential and most likely faint at the end of my strength. At that time, the only one who can carry me away from danger will be the big man. There is one other method, but it would be a last resort. I glance at Sigurd, who seems to be aware of my thoughts. He shrugs with a carefree expression, but it is clear that he would also like to avoid using it here.
I pray that he will never have to use it at all.
The fortress of Chandra is little more than a wooden building on top of a small lone butte. The surrounding landscape is still mostly a dry steppe, although there are other, similar rock formations in the distance, and gnarled trees grow sporadically throughout the area. At the foot of the butte, surrounding the fortress, is a walled town of maybe a thousand souls, and it is the first problem we may have to face. Aside from Kamii, none of us could pass for a demon in appearance. And haphazardly disguising ourselves may instead lead to troublesome consequences, if we are discovered.
"The gates are guarded by men in lamellar armor, and there are archers on the walls." Sigurd acts as our scout, since he possesses the best eyesight in our group. "The town looks to be inhabited by people with light purple and blue skin."
"Then Kamii would blend right in." Gram comments half-jokingly.
"No, they all have two or three pairs of arms."
"As expected of demons, they just look different from humans." The big man says with a shrug and scratches his head. "What's the plan?"
"Considering the gates are open, I would say that there is peace in this area. The guards look relaxed and the archers don't even have their bowstrings braced." With a questioning look, Sigurd turns to me for the final verdict. I turn to look at Kamii, who does not seem to understand the importance of this situation, as she absentmindedly watches a purple butterfly that has settled on her cursed arm.
Now that we have come this far and I know that Kamii seems to be very talented in combat, I find it easier to take risks with her around. However, this is the moment of truth; according to the empire's past expeditions, it is a known fact that there are demons that eat humans. If this is one such tribe, we would be presenting ourselves to them on a silver platter. So I have to make a decision here.
"Let's go for broke." I finally say and the others smile in resignation. "We'll go in naturally, as if we are demons that just happen to look like humans. Avoid a confrontation as best as possible." This may be a very stupid decision, but I think that ship already sailed when we stepped into that underground arena, instead of choosing a different path through the Lost Tombs.
Descending the hill from where we overlooked the fortress town, our group walks in a straight path towards the gates without a care in the world, despite the fact that we're potentially heading straight for a fight to the death. The closer we get, the more attentive the guards become, and I can see the archers on top of the walls brace their bows, as they keep their eyes on us. I can see that the guards are all at least around my height or taller, and that the muscles on their bare arms are quite impressive.
"Halt, who goes thar?" One of them speaks in a distinct accent. I could hear something in Ammon and the others, but this one's is much more obvious.
"We are simple wanderers and would presume to ask for an audience with Lady Chandra." Sigurd speaks in a respectful tone. Through the still open gates I can see that there are women wearing armor and carrying several weapons, one for each hand I presume. Several are watching us with relaxed expressions, making it obvious that they do not perceive us as a potential threat.
"Lady Chandra... huh?" One of the guards scrutinizes our appearance and his eyes stop on Gram, before he lifts an eyebrow. Another one looks at Kamii curiously, but apparently cares less about her and the cursed arm she possesses, than the fact that we look very human. At least I think that is what they seem to be contemplating. "A'ight, come on in."
Unexpectedly, we are led inside, under the vigilant eyes of the archers and other guards, before we walk through the gate and enter the town. Now that I see it from up close, I can tell that the architecture only looks primitive from afar, but seems to be deliberate due to these people's culture and traditions. The wooden houses with straw roofs would appear to be the equivalent of abodes of poor villagers in the kingdom, but the dark frames and beams are richly carved with tribal symbols.
I look around in curiosity, but soon something dawns on me when we approach the butte on which Chandra's fortress stands: There are no children and elderly. This town is populated by warriors, male and female alike, and there seem to be no stores other than workshops of blacksmiths, and tailors that display gambesons and padded vests rather than fashionable clothes. It would appear that rather than a village settling around the foot of a liege's fortress, this entire town is part of the fortress in itself.
We are led into a wooden gondola, which appears to be on a pulley mechanism. The purple-skinned demon inside is about half a head smaller than Gram, but each one of his six arms are as impressive as the big man's. The guards do not follow us in and wave towards the top, as we are lifted upwards in the elevator using the pulley. The platform of the butte soon comes into view and we are welcomed by four guards, who seem to have been informed of our arrival.
"Come." The female warrior in front, who is as tall as I am, speaks curtly and gestures for us to follow her. I look back and find that the gondola has descended again, meaning that we are practically trapped here; the butte is tall enough that jumping down would result in instant death. Preparing myself for an impending battle, I exchange glances with Sigurd and Kamii, who both seem to understand. Gram is always vigilant, so I trust that he has realized the situation we are in.
The fortress itself is a large, single-story house in a horseshoe layout. The courtyard is simple dirt and there are a group of demons surrounding and cheering on two of them fighting each other in hand to hand combat in their center. The relaxed atmosphere shows that these lands are in a period of peace and stability, but the militaristic nature of this town makes it clear that they are a people deeply steeped in warrior tradition.
"Boss, thar be some humans lookin' for ya." Our guide announces us and my heart drops. So they knew all along, but did not let it show until we were deep within their encirclement. I hope this is not the worst-case scenario that we have been considering.
The female warrior walks towards the ring, but does not say any more to not interrupt the fight. One of the two locked in the battle is a blue-skinned topless male with long orange hair tied into a ponytail and six arms, standing at about the same height as the big man. His back is turned to us and reveals the impressive musculature that supports his arms. The purple-skinned woman is wearing armor, but it seems that she is being pressured by the larger one and appears to be losing.
In a quick motion, the larger one, who has two arms bound on his back to make the fight fair, sweeps the woman's legs away, spins her around and puts her neck in a sleeper hold, while the other two arms are used to hold hers down. Within moments, she loses consciousness and is let go of carelessly, her body hitting the floor hard. I stare in confusion. Then, the one I had thought was a male turns around to show me the truth of the matter; six shapely bare breasts prove that this large and powerful individual is a woman.
"Humans?" Her piercing green eyes stare at each of us in succession, as a grin revealing sharp canines fills her face. One of the warriors hands her a towel with which she begins to wipe herself down, while two others carry the unconscious woman away. "I am Chandra, clan leader of the Ajura. Ya be deep in our territory, what're ya doin' here?" She has not a single care for being half naked in front of strangers while undoing the bonds on the pair of arms on her back. It seems that her gaze is locked onto Gram all the while, who shows a hint of discomfort at being in the center of her attention.
"My name is Rolan, these are Gram, Sigurd and Kamii. A demon used transportation magic and brought us to the Demon Continent a few days ago. We are looking for a way to return to the human territories." I feel that a warrior like her may be easier to talk to than a scheming aristocrat, so I go with the simple truth. "We heard that you have information on the ancient transportation network, so we came to seek your guidance." It is quite hard for me to concentrate on her unexpectedly beautiful face, because the otherness of her body keeps drawing me in.
"The ancient transportation network?" Chandra scratches her chin with one hand, crosses two of her arms before her chests, and puts two more hands on her waist, while handing the towel to someone with her free hand. "You know something about that, Shugra?" She turns to a six-armed bald male with blue skin and a dark red beard, who stares at his leader in slight disbelief for a moment, before sighing.
"Ya used it last win'er to visit the queen." Shugra speaks with a hint of irritation. It would appear that Chandra is a forgetful person, too.
"Ah, that. Yeah, thar be one 'round here." Her eyes light up in realization and she looks at us in curiosity. "Then let's have a match. If ya can make me give up, I'll show ya the way." Chandra smiles brightly and stands before us in a challenging stance. I watch Shugra bring a palm to his face, while the others cheer for the prospect of seeing their leader fight again.
I turn to the others, but they are waiting for my decision. Well, that has been made when we first set foot into this fortress. There is no backing down at this point, and I look up to Chandra with a determined expression.
"Ah, 'fore ya accept, I got terms of my own." The Ajura leader looks at Gram with a mischievous smile. "If I win, I'll have ya become mine."
