Title-- The Demon-God of Jubagh (book two, part twelve)
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.



Ju'jou stared in wide-eyed disbelief at the scene before him. At least half a dozen other Sivefi must have gotten involved, once the scuffle was taken outside, and a few of them were cut up as well as unconscious, but neither the lady nor the big man were more than lightly coated with dust. After a moment, the man stopped his barking laughter; behind him, the smaller man chuckled to himself.

Just what kind of off-worlders were these?!

The changer cringed, drawing into himself and nearly sinking back to four legs before he caught himself and stopped. No, these were his off-worlders. Even though they'd protected him and not the other way around, they were still his, and he would make sure they had food and a warm room like he'd promised. He didn't quite know what he'd do after that.

Stifling the urge to whimper, Ju'jou padded forward, head low, tail curled between his legs and dragging the ground. "They willmake food for youthree," he rasped, crouching at the lady's hooves and wrapping his tail around his ankles. "And they have aroom, too. You won'tneed tobe cold tonight." He peered up at them both.

The lady's face got the strange expression again. She gently laid a hand on the top of his head, not minding the prickling of his quill-like mane. He couldn't help but think of those hands bodily hurling the Sivefi through the door that he had struggled to merely open. "Thank you, Ju'jou," she said quietly. "Are you unharmed?"

"I'mfine," he answered, swallowing a whine. "Thefood willbeready soon. I canshow youthree to yourroom?" He noticed the big man speaking with the smaller man in that other language, but he watched the lady's face for clues. She nodded, and he forced himself to stand, staying on two legs. He really wanted to walk on four, but he would show them courtesy while in the town. Besides, he didn't want to be hailed and asked to pull a little carriage. "Thiswaythen."

The lady let her hand fall when he stood again, and she followed him as he went around to the main door of the inn, rather than taking the side entrance again. These doors were taller, made to accommodate off-worlders, and they were much easier to open, designed for people with less strength than the Sivefi. He opened them for the three off-worlders, and his Sivefi friend met them as they entered the inn. She smiled, bowed, and showed them up a wide flight of stairs to the top floor, then down the short hall to their room. With a few words promising food in short order, she left again.

Ju'jou stepped into the room first, inspecting it carefully. There were three beds, as he'd requested, and a thick rug covering most of the polished wooden floor. The room was a large one, so it had its own bathing area, the trough-like bathtub curtained off. He pointed at it. "Thekeepers willfill that with warmwater in themorning," he explained, "or you canask Guerna tofill it tonight." The sun was already setting when he glanced out the small, round window. In the cold-time, the days were very short. He disliked that.

"Guerna is the Sivefi who showed us up here?" the lady asked.

He headbobbed, dark ears dangling. "Guerna is myfriend. She runs theinn with herfamily." He ran clawed fingers along the windowsill, making sure it was sealed tightly, then took one last look around the room. It was clean and spacious and barren of decorations, like any good sivefan room. The hearth was already set up and beginning to blaze, and there was a stack of firewood neatly leaning against the mantle. "This is aniceroom," he decided, nodding to himself. He crouched in the center of the rug as the men wandered about and the lady stayed in the doorway. The men spoke to one another in the other language.

"We are talking about where to go from here," the lady murmured. She extended her hand, and the changer moved to her side instantly, wrapping a speckled arm around her leg and leaning against her. She patted his head. "How far are you willing to guide us?"

Ju'jou blinked in surprise. "Ididn'tthinkthatyou--..." He cough-growled. "I didn'tthink you wouldneed guidance fartherthan this," he replied, surprised. "This isnot yourdestination?"

"No," she said quietly. "We are trying to find people that he," she gestured towards the big man, "once knew. They are still many days away, probably north of here, from what we have heard."

The smaller man paused in his conversation and looked over, saying something that Ju'jou couldn't understand. The lady replied, and her mouth bent downwards. He knew that look. That was a frown. That wasn't a good sign. The man answered her, then resumed talking to the big man.

"Whatisit?" he half-whispered, a whine escaping his throat despite his best attempts to stifle it. He didn't like to see her unhappy. Tail wrapping about his ankles and knees as he crouched, he hugged her leg more tightly.

"Perhaps we should not ask you to go with us any farther," the lady sighed, her voice sad. "It will not be safe, and we do not want to see you harmed." She stroked his head, fingertips clicking once or twice against the backwards sweep of his horns.

"But..." Ju'jou leaned over just enough to swing the door shut. The latch clicked into place, and he felt better. Even Sivefi hearing couldn't really penetrate heavy wooden doors and walls. "Why? Whodoyouseek? Whyisit..." He paused, reminding himself again to speak slowly. "Why is it dangerous?"

She said something in the other language, and the big man replied shortly, shrugging. Then, she lowered herself into a crouch, and he released her leg so he could wrap an arm around her lean waist and rest his head on her chest. She circled her arm around his shoulders, and he again thanked the gods for letting him find an off-worlder who could touch.

When she spoke, her voice was even quieter than usual. "We go to find men who have been making a lot of trouble for the Sivefi," she explained. "Brandon once knew them, and we want to ... help restore peace, somehow. But these men do not know Rai or myself, and there may be fighting. We also don't know where they are, so we'll have to ask around and find them. Brandon," she lifted a hand to point at the big man, "has a pattern on his face that they also wear. Sivefi may mistake him for one of them, so they might fight us, too."

Ju'jou nodded slightly, absorbing this. It sounded very important, and very big, and very ... scary. And, since the lady knew the language, he wasn't really needed to help in asking people where these troublesome men were. He'd just get in the way. He didn't even know the lands north of here very well, and he couldn't even see the gods, and he didn't have friends in northern villages, and...

"...perhaps we should part ways here," the lady murmured, stroking his shoulders and back. Her hands were warm and soft.

The changer glanced down at his pawfeet, then back up at her. "I amnot afraidof danger," he said decisively. "I willkeepguiding you."