Book of Revelations

Glig 3:2

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Glig and Mahani floated on the river, having breakfast.

Mahani looked again at the summoner’s things, flipping through the book of demon names, trying on the ring briefly, spreading the map out on her lap as a napkin.

“Her name was Sal,” Mahani said, using the cast iron key to spoon a dollop of jam out and add it to her porridge. “Pretty big deal in the magic scene, but reclusive, even for a summoner.”

She scraped the key off on the side of the jam jar.

“This,” she said, holding it up, “This opens Methren Skri, also known as the Apocalypse Vault.” She handed it to Glig, along with the jar. Glig smelled the jam, then added some to his porridge, too.

“That’s probably where Sal was heading, trying to tap into the powers of hell or something.” She tore a strip off the smoked fish, scooped it into her porridge, took a bite, then pointed to the skull on the map. “Five days.”

Glig looked at her and said, “Brrreep?”

Glig’s species had long tubular mouths, perfect for hunting in the warm mud for bellworms, or drinking nectar from the bottom of a clove-lotus, but unable to form the intricate fricatives, velars, and other consonants that Mahani spoke with. Instead, Glig’s people spoke like birds, with complex melodies made with their trumpet-like beaks. The trade language he and Mahani shared allowed for both these types of speech, and although Mahani’s more-primitive ears couldn’t hear all the tones he would want to use, she understood his question.

Mahani swallowed, “I said, it will take us about five days to get to the Vault.”

“Brrreeep?”

“Well, because,” she tore another piece of fish off, “Because it’s supposedly some kind of gatehouse, ya know, built here years and years ago by a group of demons and angels working together or something. ” She took another bite.

“Brrrrep?”

“So, there’s a probably a portal there somewhere you can use to get home.”

“Brreep.”

“Like, a portal to hell?”

Glig stared at her until she stopped chewing.

“Really?” she said, then picked up one of the name books and tossed it to him.

“Dude, you’re a demon.”

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