Small Beginnings (6)
"I know. The letter had the address on it."
"Perfect. We need to find a gagabur, and Ammugar should know where one is."
Pelle stared at me blankly for a moment before speaking.
"Probably. He's the monster expert, after all."
"Good. Give me the address. I'll go meet him real quick."
Ukun, who had been listening, tapped the table with his finger and asked,
"Hey, did I hear that right? You're going to look for a gagabur? And you know someone who knows where it is?"
"We'll find out when we meet him. But yeah, he probably does."
Ukun looked like he'd been smacked in the head with his own hammer. Shock and suspicion darkened his pitch-black eyes.
"Gagaburs were already rare as hell. After those horned demon bitches scraped 'em all up to build their legions, you couldn't even catch one in the wild anymore."
Ukun pointed straight at Pelle, spittle flying from his mouth. Pelle ignored him completely and headed into the kitchen without a care.
"And then last year, that blue dragon Lurtjog wiped out the Demon King's army, and they went totally extinct! Those things don't exist anymore!"
"Do dwarves even have throats, or do you gotta yell just to make words come out?! Shut it! Come on if you're coming!"
"You gotta say something that makes sense for me to buy it!"
Even as he grumbled, Ukun downed his entire mug of beer, wiped his mouth with a handkerchief, and hopped off his chair.
"I was gonna hit the bath since I'm here at the inn. Guess that's off the table."
"Pay up. I'll wait."
"For real?"
Ukun hurriedly pulled a silver coin from his pocket. I took it and gave him change in coppers.
The dwarf grinned ear to ear and followed me up to the second floor. There was an empty room with a tub already filled, so I told Idi to heat the water. Black magic steamed up the tub in seconds, and the dwarf's jaw dropped.
"Soap, towels, sponge—all here. Need a toothbrush too?"
"What? A toothbrush? This is the first inn I've seen with those. You got baking soda powder too?"
I brought him a toothbrush and a jar of baking soda powder, and Ukun flashed a hugely satisfied smile.
"Ahh, feels great."
I was waiting downstairs when Ukun came down the stairs, humming happily. A strong soap scent wafted off him. What the hell kind of dwarf is this guy? A slime doing the books or a vampire sunbathing would be more believable.
"Damn, it's nice and cool in here. Did that mage cast some ice spell earlier?"
"Something like that. Let's go."
Out in the yard, the hell horse Idi had summoned ahead of time was waiting. The moment Ukun saw it, he let out a roar and hurled his hammer like lightning.
"Monster!"
Before I could grab it, the hammer hit the hell horse and bounced off harmlessly. It cratered the yard grass where it landed.
"How'd it block my hammer?! Back off, human! I'll handle it!"
"That's the horse we're riding. Go pick up your hammer."
"Wha... what?!"
I explained the hell horse to him, and the dwarf reluctantly nodded, though he didn't look thrilled.
"Hold on a sec."
I'd just hoisted the ridiculously heavy Ukun onto the hell horse when Pelle came out. She dragged a huge sack into the yard.
"Take this."
"What's this? I'll be back soon. Isn't that a bit much for a lunchbox?"
"It's not lunch. It's ingredients."
I opened the sack: ham, cheese, bacon, cabbage, potatoes—stuff that keeps well and cooks simply.
"Wait... this is for Ammugar and Orkog, isn't it?"
"Yes. Deduct the cost from my pay after I pay off my debt."
Those three are tight-knit. Like family. They must've leaned on each other through the tough times after the Demon King's castle fell—stronger bonds than most blood relatives.
No point going empty-handed anyway, so I decided to take it as a gift, no strings to her pay. I strapped the sack to the saddle and turned to Pelle.
"Wanna come?"
"I have work."
"I'll be quick. Back before lunch."
Pelle's eyes wavered a bit. She stood silent for a moment, then walked over.
"Fine. Just for a bit."
I grabbed her waist and seated her behind Ukun. She used to hate even being helped on, but now she just lets me handle her without a fuss.
I told Francois in the hall we'd be back before lunch and mounted the hell horse. We headed for the directly ruled city where Ammugar and Orkog were staying.
The demons had settled in Emard, a directly ruled city southwest of Bue. Smaller than Bue, but populous enough for a lively local economy.
We rushed into the city to escape the blazing summer sun. Like Rosens, the midday streets were deserted. The cobblestones scorched like heated iron, and heat haze made the buildings shimmer and waver.
"Fucking hot as balls out here."
Ukun grumbled nonstop, wiping his brow. Pelle strolled along barely sweating, and I followed with the sack over my shoulder.
"You mean the big guys with horns? Head that way. That lady's got horns too."
Some grannies on a bench under a big roadside tree pointed with their canes. We kept going that direction.
In a commercial district lined with old, worn buildings, we found Ammugar's workshop. The sign was straightforward:
Demon Clan's Monster Model Workshop
A minotaur model scaled to human height stood out front—impressively lifelike. Realistic enough to mistake for the real thing at night, with top-tier paintwork.
"Gah! Monster!"
This time, I stopped Ukun from drawing his hammer just in time. He'd have smashed a masterpiece.
"Calm down. It's a model. You don't see minotaurs that small."
"Those things? But who the hell makes monster models? For what—target practice?"
"They sell 'em. Plenty of folks love monsters but can't get close, so they buy models."
Ukun snorted, genuinely baffled.
"What kinda lunatics are out there!"
We stepped through the open door. The front room brimmed with monster models, from palm-sized miniatures to near life-size. One display even had a mini forest and hills with monsters posed naturally in their habitats.*
"Not bad craftsmanship. Still not dwarf-level, though."
Ukun appraised as he looked around. Pelle stood before one case, staring silently at models of various demons shrunk to hand-sized scale. Her long fingers gently brushed their heads. She looked sad.
Then the door to the back opened, and a hulking figure ducked through—red-skinned like a tomato, massive horns: Orkog, former shock trooper captain of Ammugar's legion.
"Huh...?"
Orkog blinked at me, Pelle, and the dwarf Ukun in turn. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his saw hand.
"What...? Am I seeing things...?"
I greeted him while pinning Ukun's shoulder to keep his hammer sheathed.
"How've you been?"
"H-hero...? Pelle...?"
Orkog quickly caught on, grinned wide, and lumbered over with heavy thuds. I smiled and offered my hand.
But he blew past me, grabbed Pelle's shoulders.
"Pelle! What brings you here? No word you were coming! You okay? The hero exploiting you? Making you do filthy work...?"
"Ow. Let go."
Pelle smacked his shoulders with an annoyed look. Orkog released her, then cupped her cheeks and turned her face side to side.
"Face looks good, though. Horns in fine shape. Good thing the hero isn't treating you too harsh."
As he retracted his wandering hands, I snapped at him.
"Hey, asshole. What the hell you implying? Where's Ammugar?"
"Ah, right. One moment, please."
Orkog hurried out the back door. Ukun, still glued to my shoulder, gawked.
"That a demon? Demons running a shop in a human city? Am I dreaming?"
"What's the problem? Dwarves bathe at my inn. We've known 'em forever."
"He called you hero. What's that about?"
"Don't worry. Just a nickname."
"Huh. You guys must be close."
True to dwarf nature—straightforward, no suspicion—Ukun bought my flimsy excuse. We weren't that close, but no need to correct him.
But when Ammugar appeared, Ukun shot me a deeply suspicious, puzzled look.
"Aigoo... Heee-rooo..."
The back door opened, revealing Ammugar. I couldn't help but slap my forehead.