The Heavenly Host

He had not stopped to think about all the consequences, nor had the others. This seemed to be emblematic of many of Lenamare’s actions. Like blowing up his own school along with the besieging army. He wasn’t sure if Lenamare was all there. Perhaps he was more ego than wisdom. He wished he could talk this over with Antefalken, but the bard would have been expelled from the city, as would Tom/Edwyrd and Rupert. He had gotten quite used to strategizing with them in the last several days. He needed someone to vent to.

Well, better to find out what was going on, or had gone on, outside. He would go see Gandros about leading a team outside to see what had transpired and to reopen negotiations with the Rod and Oorstemoth. That was sufficiently unpleasant enough that he didn’t expect to get much opposition from Gandros.

Clerics, Priests, Monks, Nuns and Holy Warriors[5]

The Church of Tiernon[6]

Chapter 81

Not-Edwyrd changed into Tom as he closed the gateway above him. The human form he had been using had no wings and he was hurtling toward the ground like a rock from this high altitude. Assuming his true form (it still gave him twinges to think of it as such), he swooped down to make sure that someone had caught Talarius in his free fall.

Fortunately, Tizzy had the knight securely in all four of his hands. Clearly, there were times when it would be convenient to be an octopod like Tizzy. Talarius had put his helmet back on; probably a good idea, as the magical suit of armor apparently acted as some sort of environmental, or space suit. The knight had said it kept him safe from all hostile environments. Tom was not sure about vacuum, but fortunately one only had to worry about an air temperature near the boiling point of water, acid-like mist and spontaneously exploding giant balls of fire. Well, that and a rather extreme lack of humidity, if what the two humans he had talked to about it with were correct.

Tizzy brought the knight down onto a plateau jutting out from the side of one of the rather gravitationally impossible cylindrical stone pillars that rose a mile or more out of a seemingly barren plane. Tom really had to wonder who designed this place. Obviously it was some really demented science fiction writer or something.

The plateau was about twenty feet in diameter, just sufficiently big that they could all land on it: Tizzy with Talarius, Rupert, Tom and Antefalken the bard. Tom looked over at the bard, who was putting his harp away; he had been using it to bat away arrows when they had been banished from the city.

“How do you keep the wood from drying out?” Tom suddenly asked. “I’d think this place would literally be Hell on it.” Immediately, he bit his tongue. What exactly was it he had told Antefalken? Was he showing ignorance? Crap, these lies just kept piling up and now, he was so exhausted he couldn’t keep up with them.

The bard smiled mischievously. “It’s Denubian wyrmwood. It is quite at home in this environment. Takes a bit of Denubian worm slime now and then, but that’s it,” the demon said, either not noticing or purposefully ignoring the slip.

“Same place as the Choco-Coffee?” Rupert asked.

Antefalken shook his head. “You forgot the TM. Denubian Choco-Coffee^TM,” Antefalken corrected. “The Denubians get very picky about their trademarks.”

“Sorry,” Rupert said.

“No problem, it’s no biggie out here, but if you were in the city and one of their lawyers heard you...” Antefalken shook his head. “I think the Denubians must somehow be related to the Oorstemothians. They have similar perspectives when it comes to the law.” Antefalken stroked his beard in thought. “Although, come to think of it, most Denubians I’ve met have more than one mouth — so I’m sure they’re even better at double speak and triple speak than the Oorstemothians.” He frowned, thinking about it, and then grinned and winked at Rupert.

Talarius was swiveling his head, and thus his helmet, back and forth between the two demons, trying to follow their absurd conversation. Tom smiled; he was sure the knight didn’t expect demons to talk like normal people.

“How long are you planning on holding me hostage here?” the knight suddenly demanded.

“Until Fierd sets in the sky,” Tizzy replied.

“At the end of the day then? That soon?”

Antefalken grinned broadly at Tizzy and Rupert.

The knight made a gesture of frustration. “And when is that?”

Antefalken shook his head in mild surprise and looked at the knight. “It doesn’t; there is no Fierd here, so it never sets in the Abyss. I would have thought you knew that.”

The knight groaned. “You seriously can’t expect to keep me here forever!”

“Why not?” Tizzy asked, turning to more directly face the knight.

The knight simply stared at him. “Why would you? Either you will ransom me, or you will kill me.”

Tizzy shook his head as if not understanding. “Why couldn’t we just keep you here and torture you for eternity? It is kind of what we demons do, you know.”

The knight shuddered slightly, but had nothing to say.