NOVEL NEXT CCXXVII – A Town of Demons
The town named Landeboug was originally part of the Human Kingdom, lost to the demons in the previous war several decades ago. Unlike many larger cities that had importance as trade hubs or military bases, Landeboug was just one small town amongst myriad others, more an overgrown village than anything in truth, where the residents made their living primarily by farming or raising animals.
Not much had changed in Landeboug even after the demons took over.
After all, demons also needed to eat all the same, and they were not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. The fertile farmlands and pastures were immediately made use of, to raise the original crops and animals where those proved to be the best option, and to raise their own preferred crops and animals where that was a possibility.
Landeboug was situated in an area with temperate climate and adequate rainfall, not unlike Clearridge, and their main crop was maize. Most things edible to humans were also edible to demons, so the demons that moved in and took over the town continued growing maize on the same fields as the humans had done before them, with stalks higher than even some of the tallest demons covering the town from sight when it was nearing harvest season.
Rather than raise cattle like the humans used to, though, the demons that took over Landebough instead favored raising pigs, which were easier to feed given their predilection to eat anything and everything. Even so, they only raised them in limited quantities compared to the humans, as they had their own favored beasts that vied for the same resources.
Unlike the corn commonly grown in her previous world, the maize in Ephemera were fast-growing, hardy plants that could be harvested after a mere three months of growth. As such, it was common to plant and harvest them three times a year, allowing the land to rest during the winter. Esperanza’s group happened to approach Landeboug just shortly after one of the harvests, as row upon row of the stalks still filled the fields as far as the eye could see.
The stalks of the plant had no value other than perhaps as fuel for the fire, which was how the humans used them. The stalks – which were fibrous and tough, but not tough enough to be used like wood – would be chopped down and dried before they were used as a firewood alternative. On the other hand, the demons had a very different use for them.
A [Blemoid Crawler] was a domesticable breed of monster that demons liked to raise for their meat. The creatures sort of resembled what a giant pig-lizard would look like if it was stretched and had a dozen legs, its elongated body resembling an overweight centipede of some sort. The creature, much like its porcine lookalike, was not a picky eater and would eat anything it was given.
As such, the demons made use of them to clear the field of maize stalks in preparation for the next planting season while also fattening the [Crawlers] up at the same time.
Over a dozen such creatures – each of which were easily the size of a cargo truck with its container attached – were devouring large grooves into the field of maize stalks, each one with a couple of Ragah-Fiq demon standing or seated on top of its head. The demons seemed to be controlling the route taken by the [Crawlers], given how they always avoided people who were walking on the roads between the fields.
Landeboug itself stood beyond the field of empty, yellowing stalks. The town did not look much different from most human towns its size Esperanza had infiltrated to that point, other than how there were many tents pitched alongside the more permanent buildings. Many of the demons originated from tribes that had nomadic traditions, and as such they were not used to building permanent housing, or staying in one, for that matter.
Nobody accosted Esperanza and Isfrea as they made their way to Landeboug proper, carrying their wares in cloth sacks slung behind their backs. Clearly the sight of visiting strangers was no oddity amongst the demons that lived there, given their lack of reaction. The only demon that even interacted with them before they reached the town was an old Ragah-Fiq who shouted from atop his [Crawler] as it passed, asking if they had any dreamleaf – a sort of herb typically dried and smoked in pipes – with them.
When Esperanza replied that they had some, the old Ragah-Fiq yelled back to save him an ounce and that he would find them in town.
The inhabitants of Langeboug were mostly Ragah-Fiq demons, though there were others from the other demon races as well. Easily four out of every five inhabitants were Ragah-Fiq, though, so the other races were clearly a minority there. The town itself differed little from human towns, other than the different layout – the demons favored a multi-tiered circular layout that they fitted to the town as best they could – and how bartering was prominent over the use of currency.
Just shortly after their arrival in town, Esperanza and Isfrea met Nalihimatu and Ilavakide, who pretended to barter some of the local maize for some of the items Esperanza had. They likely got the maize by similarly bartering the wild game they caught on the way to town, and nobody would have blinked an eye at hunters like them going around bartering until they got what they actually wanted.
That allowed them to pass on what they had learned to Esperanza and Isfrea under the guise of some casual talk. They also noted that they already ran into Val-Kas’j’s group, who were making their own inquiries on the other side of town. An agreement was reached to meet at the inn later in the evening, as apparently there was only one building that served the function of an inn in town, and it was a particularly large tent set to the south of the town proper.
Since it was still a few hours until the time they agreed to meet at the inn-tent, Esperanza and Isfrea bartered with the locals a bit more before they temporarily closed up shop for a quick lunch. They handed over some of the maize they got from Nalihimatu and Ilavakide to an old Ragah-Fiq demon who was nursing a bed of charcoal over which a simple grill was set up.
The old demon happily grilled some of the maize for them, taking a couple cobs for his payment, and gently sprinkled some herbs and powdered seasoning as the maize grilled over the embers. Before ten minutes had passed, he was finished and the maize he cooked sported an even char over its surface while giving out a tempting fragrance.
Of course, it was nothing the corn on the cob Esperanza was familiar with.
Where a cob of corn would have hundreds of tiny yellow kernels stuck to it, the local maize had a slimmer central cob, and only around a couple dozen purplish-white kernels were present on each. Each of the kernels were large, though, easily as large or larger than a cherry fruit, and they gave off a sweet, savory fragrance after they were grilled by the old demon.
Given how large each kernel was, Esperanza just bit off a single one to give it a taste first, only for the kernel to gush out like a ripe fruit as she bit down. The sides and lower parts of the kernel still had some chewiness and firmness to them, but the upper half that was grilled was reduced to a consistency not unlike a thick cream of corn soup, just barely contained by the charred skin of the kernel itself.
Isfrea on the other hand likely tried to bite one of the kernels in half, and instead got a bit of a mess staining her lips and clothes, to the clear amusement of the old demon that cooked the maize for them. Of course, it was like he was mocking them, just amused as apparently most people made the same mistake when they tried to eat maize that had been cooked that way.
Esperanza and Isfrea ate the rest of their lunch – two cobs each – with enjoyment, while watching over the bustling town. Demons kept passing by them, headed to and from the fields, some finishing off the last of their harvest, yet others returning from “driving” their [Crawlers] to devour the harvested stalks so the land could be planted again next season.
The creatures were thorough eaters, and conveniently uprooted the stalks they were eating as well, whereas any droppings they left behind along the way just became natural fertilizer for the land. At the south-eastern side of town, Esperanza could also see the carcass of one such [Crawler] being butchered, having grown fat enough to be harvested for its meat.
With how the town felt almost like an idyllic place to live in, Esperanza found herself hoping that she wouldn’t have to do anything too bad before she left the place.
