“Probably just too lazy,” said Gulamendis. “They tend to take the path of least resistance.”

Laromendis picked up a paper and said, “Whoever penned this left in a hurry. It’s unfinished.”

“But he expected to return,” said Gulamendis. “He locked the door behind him.”

“A mystery,” said his brother. Pointing to the window, he said, “Let’s take a look outside.”

The window was a vaulted affair, with a large cushioned window seat. They both could stand on it and peer through the dirty glass. “Can we open this? I can’t see a thing,” said Laromendis.

“It has a latch,” answered his brother.

Gulamendis jumped down and his brother followed suit. The Demon Master tried the latch and found it reluctant, but it slowly released. He pulled on the window and found the hinges as reluctant as the latch. “No one has used this in a very long time.”

Laromendis said, “Does any of that look familiar to you?”

Gulamendis looked and saw a dark and foreboding mountain range in the distance. The low light in the loft told him he was looking southward as the sun set behind the dark clouds. After a moment, Gulamendis said, “No, nothing.”

“Can you see the fire peaks?” he asked, indicating the distant volcanoes.

“Of course,” said Gulamendis. “Why?”

“See how that one massive one rises up on the right, while those other two look like smaller twins to the left?”

“Yes,” said the Demon Master. “Does it mean something to you?”

“The Fire Twins.”

“Could it be?”

“If you were miles to the south, looking northward…” said Laromendis.

“From the battlements of Can-ducar!”

“The twins would be on the right and the Fire Queen on the left!”

“How did we not know about this ancient fortress?” asked Gulamendis.

“We never got this far,” answered the Conjurer. “Can-ducar was the northernmost fortification on Telesan when the demons appeared. We never occupied much of the world because of this foul smoke and ash. The only reason we had anyone here was for mining metals.”

“Do you think that’s why the demons have dwarven prisoners?”

“Possible,” said Laromendis.

“Well,” said his brother. “We have some idea where they came from, at least.”

“Do we?”

Feeling defeat, the Demon Master said, “No. I mean, we know that portal in the wall by the gate leads to the world where we saw the demon battle, but we don’t know where they came from originally.”

Laromendis sat down in the gloom of the fading afternoon light. “We dare not light anything…assuming we can find tinder and flint, lest a light be seen, so we must wait until tomorrow to see if anything here is useful.”

Gulamendis stood. “Help me get the door back on the hinges, just in case this is the one day they decide to investigate the top of the tower. Then one of us should go back to the storage shed and fill up a sack.”