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As she moved and caught the light shining on his face, she realized he wasn’t a man but an Incubus like herself, well a male Succubus anyway. He hadn’t been wearing a horned helmet, but they were his own horns sprouting from his head, although they were far longer than hers and curled like ram’s horns. He must be very old.
“Are you sure you don’t know your own name?” she asked.
He shook his head. “I have trouble remembering lots of things these days.”
“How long have you been down here?” asked Ghul Lykos.
“Oh, I don’t know, maybe a few days. But why so many questions, let me get you folks fixed right up.” He rubbed his hands together rapidly and a blue light sparked into existence and grew to the size of a grapefruit. It was a brilliant turquoise that sparkled like diamonds. It flew from his hands and touched Ivy first. She was startled and jerked back, but then the worry and fear fled from her face.
“I feel much better,” she said with a bright smile.
The glowing orb touched Ghul Lykos and his cuts vanished too. Then it spun about and examined Daemona. She was wary but allowed it to brush up against her forehead; a warm sensation surrounded her, and all the little aches and pains were gone.
“Thank you. I wish I knew your name.”
“I wish I did too,” he said, with a chuckle.
They moved up and away from the river to a small enclave. There were many furs draped here and there for comfort, a pile of cooking implements, and a scattered array of books. The old wizard had clearly been here for more than a few days, perhaps years.
“You all must be hungry, let me get you something to eat,” he said as he rummaged through some sacks. “I have rice, some tasty fungus stew.” He swung around abruptly, “None of you are opposed to eating cave snake, are you? I’m afraid they are the best meat I can catch down here.”
Daemona looked to Ghul Lykos who shrugged. “What’s it like?”
“Well, it’s like a snake but bigger and blind.”
“I guess that’s all right,” answered Daemona as she looked to the others for reassurance.
“Have you helped many travelers down here?” Ivy asked.
“A few. Mostly I have monsters to keep off, but once in a while folk come down and I do what I can. I like to be helpful.”
Daemona wondered aloud, “Why do you call this a dungeon? Are you sure there is no way out? After all, there is a way in.”
“By the goddess, you’re right,” he proclaimed loudly. “Why didn’t I think of that. If there is a way in, there must be a way out. But I can’t find it you see, because every time I start something, I forget what I thought I was doing and then, here we are. What are your names again?”
“I am Ghul Lykos, this is Ivy of Tall Town.”
“And I am Daemona.”
“You’ll have to excuse me, I forget everything in a very short span of time. I just remember some sporadic things from before the Drowning, don’t you know?”
“The Drowning?” asked Ghul Lykos, very interested now.
“Yes, the Drowning. I seem to remember trying to work out a method and then everything went crashing down. I nearly drowned.”
“He is quite mad,” said Ghul Lykos. “It was too much to hope for that we could find Malkieth.”
“Malkieth!” shouted the old Incubus. “That’s it! That was my name!”
Daemona was dubious and tested her hypothesis, “Are you sure you’re not Sordnal the Magnificent?”
“That’s it! I’m Sordnal the magnificent! Now I remember.”
Daemona snorted, “Well, you’re right, he is mad. At least he was able to heal us of our bumps and bruises but now we ought to get going.” She paused, suddenly remembering Harlin in her satchel, yanking it open and fearing the worst. But there he was, rather unharmed.
“Ribbit.”
“What’s that?” asked the crazy old Incubus. “A frog? Can we put him in a stew?” He licked his lips in anticipation.
