A Space Oddity

by J. J. Pavlov

  Now that he speaks the name of the city out loud again, he realizes that they should have noticed sooner what kind of demons may be living there. It would appear that the Ajura clan is the predominant people living in the not so creatively named city of Ajurai.

  "Lady Chandra, huh? So what are ya? Ya got a cursed dark elf and two mages, and each of ya got weapons." Mukasura points out with a wholly unconcerned expression about any of those things. Neither two people capable of magic nor any of their weapons seem to make him feel at all threatened.

  "We are... something like mercenaries." Rolan admits. He remembers that Chloe pointed that fact out to him during their travels when she asked what they usually call themselves. He was stumped on how to answer at the time, as whenever he announced they were a group from the Guild, even people in remote villages understood immediately.

  But back then, he still believed she was from the Mineva Republic, and people there never heard of the guild he and his group belonged to. While her being from the republic turned out to be a lie, the truth of the matter still remains that people not familiar with the guild wouldn't know what his group represents. And the truth is that they're mostly hired swords that work exclusively for either their own gain or to help those who can't afford to hire mercenaries specialized in war.

  "So ya didn't fight in the last war, huh?" Mukasura's eyes narrow as he awaits the answer.

  "We didn't." The leader speaks with firm determination, realizing that their lives depend on whether or not the ajura warrior believes him. After all, if they fought in the war last summer, they would be enemies of demons.

  "Then we're good." The towering man's expression brightens into a smile at Rolan's reply, and he states in an amicable tone. It causes the human group to blink in surprise, none of them expecting his suspecting face to change into one filled with such friendliness. "Come with us. We're headin' back to Ajurai."

  It would have sounded like a warm invitation if not for the fact that the others surrounding them don't seem to change their stances. Rather than a suggestion, it was an order; Rolan and the others are prisoners of the ajura now.

  Chapter 81 - The Lion's Den

  Noon of the next day, after having been led about for the entire previous day and camping in the shadow of a mesa for the night, they reach Ajurai. The city of the Ajura clan is protected by stone walls and holds about ten thousand souls. The majority of buildings are made from sandstone, arranged around a mountain fortress carved into the side of a lone butte. It would appear that there's only one gate, guarded by bored-looking ajura.

  Unlike human settlements, there's no steady coming and going of merchants. Even though there are no fields in the surroundings, the denizens don't seem to rely on trade to sustain their food supplies. The river flowing in the broad riverbed next to the city is very shallow and most likely completely dries up during the hottest summer days. That also rules out trade by ship.

  Rolan is quite interested in learning the logistics of this place, but not enough to ask and risk being suspected for a spy. He tries to curb his curiosity and looks around as little as possible when they descend the hill toward the city gate. But Hreidunn and Kamii turn their heads left and right unabashedly, though for different reasons.

  "Hey Mukasura, what ya got there?" One of the gate guards greets the leader of the small warrior troop surrounding the humans, looking quite interested in the big catch he made.

  "They were campin' near the road from Majuuri." Mukasura replies with a shrug. "Mercenaries of some sort. Ammon told him the way here, I guess."

  Rolan's jaw drops when he hears the name of the elderly bheda. He deliberately avoided naming the nightmare breeders so that they won't be accused of treason for showing humans the way. But it seems that Ammon is known to the ajura despite being nomadic and living quite a distance away from their city.

  "Said they came to meet the boss." Nodding his head toward the group of humans following behind him, the leader of the ajura band points at Rolan.

  "She's topside, as always. Goin' for a round of sparrin'." The gate guard says with a grin while throwing a thumb over his shoulder.

  "What?! I can't miss this!" Mukasura drops his belongings unceremoniously before storming off inside the city. While running, he turns to wave at his troop. "Take care of this, Darika."

  "Ugh." The woman named Darika rolls her eyes. She walks forward and casually picks up the bundles and animal bodies that had been dropped carelessly even while still carrying her own, not insignificant load. "Come."

  Once securely in her hands, she gestures for the humans to follow her with a tilt of her head. Their destination lies in the direction Mukasura left for moments ago, but they go at a more leisurely pace.

  Inside the city, Rolan can't help but look around after all. The citizens don't solely consist of ajura, but also feature other demon races, including a family of bheda tending to a small store. In fact, it would appear that the majority of Ajurai's inhabitants aren't even members of the Ajura clan. Very few of the six-armed warriors can be seen walking the streets.

  Demon children stare in curiosity, more eyes on the humans than on Kamii with her cursed arm. They have seen plenty of unique-looking demons among which the little dark elf might be counted in lack of better knowledge, but humans should be a rare sight indeed.

  Along the way, their guards disappear into alleys one by one, most likely to deliver the goods they're carrying. At one point, Darika hands her luggage to another woman before continuing to guide the humans as their sole guard. It speaks of her confidence in being able to deal with the seven prisoners alone.

  As they draw closer to the bottom of the butte, regular stores and homes are replaced by a district filled with workshops of blacksmiths and artisans. Those working inside are exclusively ajura, their six arms often performing multiple tasks at the same time. Their primary work consists of forging weapons, though some toolmakers are among them too. Maybe those are their export goods with which they procure food.

  The group is led through a gate into a courtyard with three wooden gondolas on pulley mechanisms. There's room for five more, for a total of eight. One of them is in the process of being lowered again, doubtlessly having delivered Mukasura to the top moments ago. There's a staircase carved into the stone, winding upward and providing an alternate route toward the top, but is most likely only utilized when the gondolas can't be used.

  Rolan spots a big ajura with bulging muscles operating a crank. When the gondola reaches the bottom, he stops and peers over toward the captive group with a curious gaze. The mechanism by which they travel up and down is hand-powered, it seems.

  The entire group fits into one gondola, along with Darika, who gestures at the operator to raise them up. He pulls a lever to switch the direction before beginning to turn the crank. It would appear that the rope system doesn't use many pulleys to lessen the load, as the man grunts under the physical exertion with a grin on his face.

  It would appear that the ajura consider all physical activities as opportunities to train their bodies.

  They quickly reach the fortress floor, but instead of stopping, the gondola continues upward. Several ajura warriors sitting around in front of the gate and playing a game using small stones cut into various shapes wave at Darika as she passes. It would appear that everybody knows each other around here.

  Rolan takes the opportunity to take in the sights. Although he expected the Ajura clan to be oriented toward pragmatism and uninterested in ornaments, the building cut from the very rock of the butte is covered in reliefs of faces. Those were most likely made in honor of prominent persons or the deceased.

  Moments later, bare rock blocks their view of the fortress again before they approach the flat top of the butte. When they rise above the ground, and the view opens up before them, they come to a shaky halt. The gondola then moves horizontally and glides across the stone floor toward the exit zone, where another female ajura wielding two spears is waiting.

  "Come."
Darika steps off the gondola first and orders the group curtly. The moment they get off, their ride leaves once again. They aren't trapped on here per se as there's a crank mechanism up here as well, which is operated by a similarly burly ajura. But if they wanted to go down, they would have to leave somebody behind.

  The top of the butte itself has a single-story longhouse shaped like a horseshoe. In the center of that half-circle is a raised platform around which a group of ajura is cheering. Two warriors are standing on the ring, fighting in hand to hand combat.

  "Hey, boss, ya good to talk?" Calling out toward the platform, Darika asks casually. It doesn't sound like she's addressing a superior, but her use of the word 'boss' suggests that the other person is one. Rolan can't tell who it was directed at, as nobody answers right away.

  One of the two on top of the platform is Mukasura. He has taken off his gold necklace and is covered in sweat as well as dust sticking to his arms and chest. It seems that his opponent is winning despite being slightly shorter and less muscular. This equally topless ajura has bushy orange hair tied into a spiky ponytail, which barely hides the impressive back muscles that support the four additional arms.

  As if Darika's voice was a signal, the two fighters clash again. Despite being taller, Mukasura is pushed back instead, his expression revealing the physical strain he's experiencing while bringing all of his muscles to bear.

  With a twist of his back and waist, his opponent sweeps Mukasura's legs away from under him, then spins him around and puts his neck in a sleeper hold. One pair of arms lock four of his in place, while the lowermost pair twists his around so that he can't use the elbows to attack.

  A few moments pass before he stomps his heel on the ground to tap out. His opponent instantly lets go of him unceremoniously before getting up from the floor and turning around to face Darika.

  Rolan's eyes widen in surprise when he sees the pair of gigantic bare breasts covered in beads of sweat from the physical exertion. They prove that this powerful individual who has the muscles to match any male ajura is, in fact, a woman.

  "Yeah, I'm good to talk." The boss of the Ajura clan states with a grin that reveals her sharp canines. Her piercing green eyes stare at each of the group of captives in succession. While her face exudes the firmness of a battle-hardened warrior through a hard jawline and toned cheeks, she's unexpectedly beautiful.

  As she jumps off the platform, a member of the audience hands her a towel with which she begins to wipe herself down. Even now, she doesn't look at all concerned about covering herself up and walks toward the group of humans with curiosity in her eyes.

  "Oh yeah, forgot to tell ya, boss." Mukasura gets back up on his feet, not at all resentful about his loss. He quickly joins her side while looking around with an arm raised to get people's attention. "Hey, somebody fetch me one too."

  "Get one yaself, loser." One of the ajura warriors remarks and slaps Mukasura's hand away with a gleeful grin. When the latter turns to him with a flabbergasted glare, a towel flies into his face, which he quickly catches before it can fall.

  "Oy, Rambha! Ya got some guts!" With these words, he chases after the mischievous and disrespectful ajura who just played that prank on him. He instantly forgot what he wanted to tell the boss.

  "So, what ya got for me here?" The orange-haired woman comes over and glances at Gram, who makes a point of averting his gaze from her bare chest. Unexpectedly, Sigurd is looking up into the ajura's green eyes despite having a reputation for possessing a flirty nature. Hreidunn has been busy worrying about everybody's safety since reaching Ajurai to take much note of the fact that Leif isn't as gentlemanly as the big man or the bard. He's staring unabashedly, but Vigdis elbows him in the ribs.

  "We want to leave the Dominion." Unexpectedly, Kamii is the one who steps forward and responds before Darika can. Her tone is level, sounding not in the least afraid in this situation that regular humans would be terrified in.

  "Oh, a feisty one." Bending down and putting the left hand of her lowermost pair of arms on the little dark elf's head, the giant woman makes the difference between their heights sufficiently clear with that gesture. "Who are ya?"

  "I'm Kamii." She uses her crab pincer to pinch the hand on her head and push it away while stating with a dauntless expression. If not for the presence of the humans behind her, she would have revealed her relationship with Mahkotoh, who she knows is the daughter of Demon Queen Pelomyx.

  "And strong, too." The boss looks at the cursed arm in surprise, then her face breaks out into a radiant grin.

  She straightens her back and spreads her arms to gesture at the ajura warriors that have gathered behind her. "I'm Chandra, chief of this unruly mob."

  To the Alliance, the Ajura clan is the elite of the elite, but she only considers them a mob, speaking as a mercenary leader would when feigning humility before a noble.

  "What about these? Yer followers?" The giant woman tilts her head to regard the group of humans behind the little dark elf. At these words, Gram can't help himself and snorts from suppressed laughter. The actual leader of the group shoots him a sour look but then steps forward with a wry smile.

  "I'm Rolan, these are Gram, Sigurd, Hreidunn, Leif and Vigdis. I'm actually the leader of this band, but recently I'm not so sure anymore." Rolan introduces himself, then puts a hand on Kamii's head, who doesn't pry it away as she did with Chandra's. In a sense, she's like a cat that tolerates certain people's touch while denying that of others. "In our sleep, we were transported to the Degar steppes somehow and would like to get back to our homeland."

  Although the Kingdom of Lares is currently not at war with the Dominion, he doesn't mention the name. It's best if he appears as insignificant as possible, making it sound like they hail from a backwater town far from politics. Which is somewhat the truth.

  "Did ya sleep on a transportation circle?" Shrugging with the top pair of her arms, crossing the middle pair, and putting the hands of the bottom pair on her hips, Chandra asks with a grin. Six arms make her seem even more expressive than she already is.

  "We were woken up when we appeared in the middle of nowhere." A part of Rolan is relieved that the chief of the Ajura clan is a reasonable woman who can be talked to. "But we were sleeping in a room that definitely had no circle anywhere."

  "So, what is it ya want from me?" Finally, Chandra gestures for somebody to hand her clothes. They're simple linen wrappings which she pulls across her chest and ties on her back with one pair of arms while fixing the folds with her other hands. Extra arms may seem quite useful in everyday life, but it apparently comes with its own set of drawbacks. None of the ajura wears clothes with sleeves, for example.

  "We wanted to ask you what the fastest way off Ceogath is." The leader of the humans gets to the main topic. They came here for that very purpose, although the manner by which they arrived was different from how they had envisioned it. To Ammon, knowing that Ajurai is the city of the Ajura clan may be common knowledge and not worth mentioning. But if this fierce warrior clan had been as savage as the Alliance reports, they would have been killed already.

  "I've never left the Dominion, so I wouldn't know." Shrugging, Chandra turns to a bald ajura with a dark red beard. He's the only member of her clan who stands with his back straightened like a proper soldier, wearing an expressionless look on his face as he regards the newcomers. "Ya know something, Shugra?"

  "You can always travel east until you reach the coast." The man named Shugra replies, delivering what is essentially sass with a deadpan face.

  "I knew that much." Rolling her eyes, Chandra motions to elbow him but stops as he continues to speak.

  "You could ask Court Magician Mithra the next time he accompanies her majesty here to use his magic." Shugra goes on to suggest, causing the humans to listen up. They can't let anything slip as it may let the demons know that the court magician's relationship with the academy has been found out.

  Kamii learned the truth about Mahkotoh from Senka, so she knows th
at the situation surrounding Mithra isn't confirmed yet. The doll girl thinks that the likelihood of the court magician being a traitor to the demon queen is lower than him acting on her behalf without Mahkotoh knowing. In either case, it's what caused everything that led to her being here with the human group.

  "Nah, Pelomyx would kill and eat 'em." Chandra remarks in response to Shugra's suggestion before turning back to the humans. "Tough luck. The only way's to keep going east until ya reach the sea."

  "Thank you for the advice." Rolan has to consciously hold himself back from sounding sarcastic. "We shall take our leave, then."

  "Hm? Who said ya could leave?" Crossing all three pairs of her arms, Chandra towers before him, the grin on her face replaced by a glare. At her words, the other members of her clan seem to glower intimidatingly as they fan out.

  None of their weapons were confiscated despite being brought before the chief of the city, so Rolan's hand inadvertently motions to the hilt of Roshanee. The others in his group are doubtlessly preparing themselves for a massacre. Even though only a few of the ajura have weapons at their hips, Chandra alone is most likely enough to deal with all of them on her own.

  "That was a joke. Ya free to leave." She suddenly says and breaks out in laughter, joined by everybody but Shugra, who sighs while rolling his eyes. But just as the humans are about to relax, she continues. "If ya can make me tap out."

  It seems that they simply laughed before the punchline was delivered, though Rolan doesn't find any part of it funny. Glancing back nervously, he signals the others to keep calm; maybe there's a way to talk it out yet.