‘Why?’ asked Pug quietly.
It was Gulamendis who answered. ‘They grow intoxicated on our food, even water, and then become bold. We only usually feed them as a reward, after we’re done with their service. It’s why he banished him.’ He nodded approval to Amirantha.
Amirantha said, ‘He was of no further use as he would become fractious and start to lie; he needs to regain his sobriety in his own realm.’
‘I have had similar difficulty with imps,’ said the elf.
‘We need more information,’ said Tomas quietly.
Gulamendis inclined his head respectfully and said, ‘Yes, Ancient One, and I have seen the error of my lack of curiosity.’
‘As have I,’ added Amirantha. ‘But in your case, I wonder,’ he said to Gulamendis. ‘When your people ran afoul of demons, did it not occur to you to seek information?’
Gulamendis said, ‘How reliable are your sources among the demons?’
Amirantha shrugged, ‘I have not had the need to establish that.’
‘Precisely,’ said Gulamendis.
Pug observed the star elf and thought he detected a slight bridling at the implication that he should have done more, ‘I’m certain Gulamendis had his own pressing concerns.’
Showing the self-restraint Pug had observed with Aglaranna’s people, Gulamendis merely nodded slightly, indeed. My standing with my people has never been high, and once the nature of the Demon Legion was established, let’s just say we were not given opportunity to help.
‘Some were executed outright—’
‘Executed?’ interrupted Tomas. ‘How is that possible?’
Gulamendis seemed thrown off balance by the question. ‘By order of the Regent Lord. Some of us were imprisoned, questioned and tortured, while others were summarily executed. The Regent’s Meeting, or at least the majority of it, believed that we were responsible for this invasion.’
Tomas’s expression was a mix of disbelief and outrage. ‘Executed,’ he whispered. ‘Elf killing elf.’ He lowered his eyes as if overcome by sadness for a moment. Then he looked at the taredhel Demon Master. ‘I think that in days to come I may have to speak to your rulers, to this Regent Lord.’
Gulamendis did not like the direction that remark was taking them in, so he said, ‘I did try to ascertain what I could of the Demon Legion from my summoned demons, but time was not my ally. I was imprisoned and confined under guard. The best I could do was summon Choyal, one of my imps, for a brief time at night, and send him to the kitchen to steal food and drink so I wouldn’t perish in my cage.’
Pug asked, ‘Why were you spared?’
‘To guarantee my brother’s good behaviour.’
‘Explain, please,’ asked Pug.
‘As the Demon Legions pressed us, the search for a safe haven became more pressing. Our primary world, Andcardia, would eventually fall; the Regent Lord and the Regent’s Meet knew this long before it was apparent to the rest of the population.
‘Great meetings were held in the squares of our cities and glorious banners were unfurled and flowers rained down on the warriors marching off to fight the demons. Every type of elven magic was unleashed - we have spell-shattering weapons that cause demon magicians to falter so our armoured fighters can close in and kill them; we have death towers that unleash massive bolts of foul energy that destroys demon flesh on contact. Terrible war machines were erected and unleashed on them.
‘And still the demons came.’
Pug said, ‘Let us go back to that world your people discovered, the one devoid of life. If that wasn’t where you first encountered the demons, where did you?’
‘Our translocation portals work with a tiny degree of imprecision. I do not understand the problem, as its magic is alien to me.’ He inclined his head towards Pug. ‘You would most certainly understand what the portal masters speak of; I can not.
‘I only know that in years past, it was decided that a hub would be constructed, one that all worlds would connect to, a centralized hall of magic through which anyone wishing to travel between the worlds of the Clans of the Seven Stars could easily find passage.
‘So, one need only step through a gate to the hub world, called Komilis, and from there reach any destination.’
Pug nodded slightly as he mused, it would forestall the need for dozens of rifts, for each world would only need one, and only the magicians on Komilis would need to tend to multiple gates.’
‘Precisely,’ said Gulamendis. ‘But when our exploration team found the world of the demons . . .’
‘They overran the gate and gained access to your hub world,’ said Sandreena. Her tone left no doubt she thought this was a military blunder of unforgivable proportion.
Gulamendis said nothing, but his expression showed that he agreed with her. Then he said, ‘The struggle over the central city of Komilis lasted years.
‘The demons took control of the hub long enough to find their way to all our worlds.’