“That’s …”

“That’s a bit too much …”

“Is that even possible?”

“Clearly, the artist took way too much freedom when he was painting those!” Hazelmere pointed her index finger accusingly at the ‘book’ in Mizette’s hands, “There’s no way those are real!”

“I’m as confused as you are,” Heartwell said, “but aren’t they supposed to be sex demons?”

“There’s no way anyone could walk with those blobs on their chest!”

Mizette held the book with the thin cover opened with both hands, showing its contents to everybody: “Hmm, that is a good point. Gods only know how heavy those are. Maybe that is what this harness is all about, “she pointed with her thumb at the shoulders of a demonic female painted on the page, “see this black harness?”

“The one that’s so conveniently semi-transparent in the chest area?”

“Yes. See how its straps go around the shoulders? I guess the harness lifts some of the weight up.”

“That is actually very useful,” Cybil gave small nods of appreciation.

“Aye, our females use somethin’ similar,” Wyvernshield agreed, “it’s a real pain to take it off though.”

“No, no, no!” Hazelmere protested intensely, “Sex demons or not, I don’t care! There’s no way that’s an accurate portrait of a real person!”

“Why not?”

“Just … just look at her! There’s no way a mortal could have those proportions! There’s no way a real person could have both those gigantic tits and a thin waist!”

“And those well-defined hips,” Heartwell added.

“This is clearly the artist’s idea of an ideal female! And, as an idea, it’s great, I’ll give him that. But there’s no way that’s a real person!”

“It looks very real to me, though.”

“And that is not the only one,” Mizette said as she started flipping the pages. Each page contained a different female with unique physical traits. Even their poses and the emotions they showed were different, ranging from the impression of pure elegance to maximum sluttiness.

“Not all of them are over the top. Some of them are quite modest,” Mizette pointed out.

“I can’t help but think this is what the elves would look like if they weren’t such pansies,” Wyvernshield said, “and if they had some meat on their bones.”

“You’ve seen an elf before?” Vukasin asked.

To which the dwarf responded with a grunt: “Aye. I had the … displeasure of meetin’ a few of them. For all their many flaws, the wood elves are the best carpenters.”

“Are they as beautiful as everyone says?”

“They are pretty … if you like the skinny ones, with no cheeks. If you like them skeleton-like. But any allure they might have is gone as soon as they start talkin’. This though,” he pointed at the book in Mizette’s hands, “this is more to my likin’.”

“These are the demons!” Hazelmere protested, “Besides, why are we still looking at it! Put that … thing down! There are so many other, interesting things to look at in this pile!”

“I am very disappointed there are no males in this book,” Mizette said as she flipped the book one more time before putting it down, “it isn’t fair to have only the females in it.”

“Do you think they are as big as their females?” Cybil asked playfully.

“Now, that is an idea worth considering! Can their males walk in a straight line, due to constant swinging?”

“Are you out of your minds? I keep telling you, those are the demons! Exaggerated fantasies of sex demons, taken to the extreme! Moana! Tell them that lusting after sex demons is sinful! We’re supposed to fight them, not …”

“What is the pause for?” Cybil teased with a grin on her face.

“And besides, aren’t we trying to delay the invasion while learning as much as we can about them?” Mizette developed the same grin on her face, “If that means taking one for the team, or a few of them, I wouldn’t mind doing my part to protect Greadinall from these exaggerated demons.”

“Anyway, back to business!”

“Before we move on, there is one thing that confuses me.”

“What is it, Cybil?”

“I get it that the people on the other side are supposed to be demons. In a way, it would make sense for them to send us something like this if that is the case. But, I thought the cubus demons are supposed to be clever tricksters?”

“Galizur says they are.”

“Then, why would they blow their cover like this? Don’t you think they are revealing their nature too soon? Wouldn’t it make more sense for them to wait some time before revealing they are the sex demons? If they are as clever as Galizur says, wouldn’t they try to deceive us somehow, give us a false lead?”

“Yes, that is a good point,” Mizette agreed, “they threw their massive tits on us without any provocation. So far, we have been trading the same kind of goods. We send them books, and they send us their own books back. We send them a sword, and they give us their own sword. This is the first time they gave us something we didn’t send. Unless … dwarf! Was there anything sexual in those gadgets you have sent?”

Wyvernshield’s big mustaches twitched in annoyance: “Of course not! Proper people keep such business private!”

“Could they have misunderstood it somehow?” Cybil offered.

“We didn’t send them any books this last time, though.”

“Oh, no!”

“What is wrong, Hazelmere?”

“Oh, no!”

“What is it!”

“Something tells me you know why they have sent us the naughty book,” Cybil said.

“I … I … but, there’s no way! It’s too soon! There’s no way they’d understand …”

“What did you do!” Cybil’s voice turned impatient.

“I’ve … Galizur told me …”

“What did you do!”

“When we were selecting the books I’ll give to the demons, Galizur said I should also include my favorite book. He said the gods would look favorably upon me if I give up something I appreciate.”

Cybil facepalmed tiredly: “And I bet your favorite book is an erotic one.”

Hazelmere hung her head low, looking at her own feet.

“I am starting to understand why the two of you are such good friends. You are truly made for each other,” Cybil commented while looking at Mizette disapprovingly.

“But … that makes no sense,” Mizette responded, with confusion painted all over her face.

“What makes no sense? They have been sending us the same things we would give them ever since we started our little trade!”

“What makes no sense is for them to understand what is in the book!”

“Exactly!” Hazelmere lifted her head, “I thought there’d be no harm in it since they don’t know our language! We have no idea what is in their books so, how can they know what’s written in ours?”

“Were there some illustrations in that book?” Cybil asked.

“No! There was nothing but text! Galizur was the one to point that out! He said its contents are unimportant because they won’t understand it anyway!”

“But … but …” Now the Cybil was the one to lose her composure.

“Now, that is worrisome,” Natle said as she stroked her chin, “especially since we didn’t give them anything to learn our language with. Now we know that the book Mizette thought was about magic was actually describing their language. After all, their books are written with those symbols. And yet, we still haven’t figured out what is written in any of their books. How would they have any chance of understanding our books without such a tool?”

Cybil composed herself quickly: “First of all, are we seriously considering these demons are capable of deciphering our language in such a short time?”

“That sounds impossible.”

“Then, could this be nothing but a coincidence?”

“That is always a possibility, but it would be way too convenient.”

There was a short pause as everyone considered what was said so far. Moana used that chance to give her input finally.

“Umm … what if … the demons have … the devils … on their side?”

The mages looked at her suspiciously.

“I mean … we have the angels … they help us sometimes … the demons have the devils … they help them too … maybe the devils have … helped them … understand …”

“The devils?”

“Yes … what the angels are to us … the devils are to demons … although … they are too few … in numbers … but far more capable …”

“Correct me if I am wrong, but a devil is something between a mortal and a god? They are some sort of demi-gods, right?” Cybil asked.

Moana nodded her head shyly.

“I thought the devils are just evil gods?” Hazelmere said.

“No … the devils are lesser than the gods … not as strong or capable … but far more capable than the mortals … far smarter … far more cunning …”

“And, these devils are helping the demons?”

“They can … if they feel like it … if it suits them …”

“I think we’re gettin’ sidetracked here,” Wyvernshield raised his voice, “you’re all talkin’ about the things you can’t prove! Maybe they have a devil on their side, maybe they don’t. What matters is that they’ve sent us the gifts back.”

“That is … that is a valid point,” Hazelmere agreed.

“What matters is that these people, whatever they are, are interested in trade. And it doesn’t look like they’re cheapskates. Meanin’, there’s a lot of profit to be made! Look at this! Look at this beauty!” Wyvernshield started yelling as he swung the strange, black bow around, “Look at the rollers on this thing! Look at how easy it is to knock an arrow with it! A toddler could do it! Do you have any idea how much coin you could sell this thing for?”

“I think the nobles would pay much more for those painted females,” Heartwell said.

“Aye, the nobles would spare no money to get their hands on that kind of book! Maybe we should ask those demons for some more! It would make all of us so rich, we’d swim in the gold!”

That got Hazelmere furious.

“That’s …”

However, she froze in place before letting a second word out. Her furious look slowly started diminishing, eventually morphing into a satisfied one.

“Oh, no,” Cybil commented, “she has something on her mind. And that is never a good thing.”

“No, I’ve just … the dwarf is right. We could profit greatly out of it. They would always give us much more value than what we would send.”

“Aye!” Wyvernshield smiled from ear to ear.

“Are you … are you implying we should trade with these demons?” Mizette asked, “It makes some sense to get a few things from them, to understand them better, but a full-on trade …”

“I’m … I am considering it. I haven’t reached a definitive conclusion yet, but it is worth considering. After all, our empire is struggling at the moment. The war has drained our coffers dry.”

Hazelmere’s face brightened up in an instant.

“Not only that,” she lifted her index finger up to accentuate the point, “but we could fulfill our original role that way! Think about it! We have summoned this portal to get the cattle and resources from the other world! And, although we can’t cross to the other side, we can achieve that same goal through trade! That way, we would turn this portal from a failure into a majestic success!”

“Isn’t that how the demons get you?” Cybil pointed out, “Besides, just a few moments ago, you were the one saying we should fight them!”

“No, that is not what I was saying …”

“That is literally what you said!”

“Now, now, Cybil, calm down,” Mizette said while getting in between them, “that was something completely different. Back then, we were talking about sex demons with abnormally huge tits. And, looking at poor Hazelmere here, it is easy to understand why she felt threatened by them.”

Hazelmere looked like a fish out of the water, unsure if she should feel grateful or offended.

“You worry too much, lass. A little trade hurt nobody. And it’s not like those demons can cross the portal. Besides, tradin’ with them makes it far less likely for them to invade. You don’t start wars with your trade partners. Trade has always brought the people together, since the dawn of time!”

Hazelmere cleared her throat: “Anyway, that is not my choice to make. This requires an authority much higher than mine.“

“That is true.”

“So, I will send some of these gifts to the palace, together with the letter explaining what our options are. The Emperor should make the decision. It is up to his majesty to decide, not us.”

“You should also ask him for some more stuff to send to the other side. There’s only so much we can give up in this camp,” Wyvernshield pointed out.

“That is a good idea! I will do that.”