Title-- The Demon-God of Jubagh (book two, part nine)
Rating and Warnings-- G; mild language.
Cast-- Rai Gerring, defected black magician (human man); Brandon Styhan, exiled paladin-warrior (human man); Lhafa Softstep, blind voodoo warrior (baghan woman); Jujinkajou, native guide (shapechanger Sivefi man).
Previously-- Book One: Jubagh. Earlier parts of Book Two: Sivef.



Rai was the first to stir the next morning, easing open his eyes slowly and blinking until the sunlight seemed less blinding. A giant paw was inches from his face; the leg to which it was attached was stretched over his chest and left shoulder. He studied the curving claws protruding from the three toes until the rest of his body woke, then slid a hand from his sleeve to grasp the Sivefi's ankle and displace the leg. The shapechanger gave a soft huff as Rai sat up, working the cold-stiffened kinks from his spine. Jubagh's ground had been so much softer.

The magician turned, prodding Brandon in the shoulder, then climbed to his feet as the Sivefi nudged Lhafa awake. He stretched, then offered a hand to Brandon, who ignored it as he also stood. "I don't like the sivefan language," the exile grumbled, already grouchy.

"Best to get used to it," Rai shrugged, adjusting his robes. "We'll need to keep using it if we want to hit fluency with it. I don't know how Lhafa learned it so quickly," he added, smiling faintly when she glanced blindly up at him. They'd been speaking in baghan out of habit. "With practice, it'll be just as easy as baghan, I'm sure."

Lhafa reached down a hand and lightly patted the Sivefi's back. "How far is this town from here?" she asked, speaking sivefan with extra care so that the men could understand her. She ran her hooved fingertips along his spine, and he leaned against her leg.

"Notfar!" Ju'jou replied. He was either eternally cheerful, or they hadn't yet figured out how to differentiate his tones of voice. Rai was beginning to suspect the former. "We willbe there bysunhigh."

Brandon glanced up and eyed the rising sun, rolling his shoulders back until his joints popped. "Good," he muttered, gamely attempting sivefan again. "Lots traders there?" He glanced at the Sivefi impassively.

"Notmany." The shapechanger tossed his muzzle in a gesture neither of the humans could interpret. "Maybe onegroup, maybe none." It was getting easier to understand him, despite his tendency to speak more rapidly when excited. Maybe they were assimilating the language more than they realized. "This bad?" he asked, tilting his head at Rai.

"No. Just..." The black magician couldn't remember the word for 'curious'. "...wonder." That would have to do. Too bad they couldn't have brought one of the language books off the Light's Hammer.

Ju'jou nodded energetically, then pushed off in a brisk stride to the northeast. Now accustomed to the routine, the three followed him quietly. Lhafa still had no problem navigating the forest floor, even when there were clumps of debris and fallen branches in her way.

The town was an actual town, which was a pleasant surprise; Rai had half-expected to see a baghan-esque cluster of huts, perhaps with a dirt path stretching away into the cold forest. The road was, indeed, only dirt, but it was wide and well-kept, snaking through a considerable number of fairly large buildings. A few four-wheeled carriages rattled into and out of town, most pulled by burly equines, but a smaller cart with only one passenger was pulled by a shapechanger in its animal-body. Clothing hung out on ropes, drying in the surprisingly strong sunlight, and simply-dressed townsfolk went about on their daily tasks.

"I get the impression," Brandon muttered to Rai in baghan, "that these Sivefi won't be as over-the-top friendly as ours." He eyed the stocky villagers skeptically. "They look tough."

"One's temperament is not determined by one's physical capabilities, Brandon," the magician chided, though he looked slightly worried as he watched the other Sivefi. Other than the shapechanger pulling the small carriage, he had yet to see any of more tribal Sivefi - all the inhabitants here were the architectural ones, the traders and builders. The illustrations had portrayed them well; they were thick-bodied, easily as broad-shouldered as Brandon, and squat, the tallest barely coming up to Rai's shoulders and the shortest barely topping Lhafa's hips. They looked to have dense fur, or so he presumed - they wore thin, unlayered clothing, despite the chill air.

"Ju'jou," Lhafa murmured, reaching out a hand until the Sivefi trotted to her side and nosed her palm. "We will be welcome here, yes?"

"Ofcourse!" he said, headbobbing. Rai kept himself from laughing at the comical movement; if it weren't for their long, floppy ears, animal-bodied Sivefi would look like competent predators... but the ears just made them amusing. "I havebeen here before. I willtake you tosee myfriends!"

"Do they speak as quickly as you do?" the blind woman asked, walking forward when the shapechanger began to move.

He nodded again. "But they know toslowdown with off-worlders." Tail swishing side to side and lightly thumping against Lhafa's thigh, the changer brought them past the first outlying building. It was made of stone and wood, far more sturdy than the small baghan huts of hides and sticks.

One of the Sivefi spotted them and lifted up a thick arm to wave them over. Ju'jou hesitated only a moment before trotting up, tilting his head at the grey-furred Sivefi. "You looking for work, pup?" the Sivefi grunted, ignoring the off-worlders. Ju'jou recoiled like he'd been slapped.

"No! Ihavework! Iamguidingthesethree--" he paused for a split second, glancing over at them wide-eyed, "--andwemustbegoingnowthankyou." He darted back to them, tail tucked low, and bumped against Lhafa's legs with a whine.

Rai and Brandon exchanged looks. "There something should tell us?" Brandon asked, mangling the language. To compensate for his lack of fluency, he folded his arms across his chest and loomed over the shapechanger with a severe look. "If we're harboring some sort of fugitive..." he grumbled in baghan.

Ju'jou ducked his head with another whine. "Nothing! OtherSivefi expect all towork. Ihavework! Hedidnotknow." He paused, glancing around. Other Sivefi were watching them, some curious and some expressionless. A few made to wave, but Ju'jou looked away quickly. "I willtake you to myfriends. Theywillhavefood!" He nodded to himself, settling to his haunches.

When he stood again, it was on two legs. In the span of a second, his stocky body had slimmed and lengthened, forepaws becoming slightly more handlike and muzzle half-shrinking into his face. He stood just barely taller than Rai, and he gave them all a wide, fanged grin. "Comewithme!" Unfortunately, his voice hadn't changed from the raspy, croaking growl. "Myfriends willfeed you."

Heedless of his own nudity, Ju'jou led the three off-worlders through the town at a fast clip, avoiding any Sivefi who tried to wave them down.