KEEL THE DEMONSLAYER

15 - Midrakus' Tower

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Book 3

Worms

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Some great experiences and the oddest things that ever happened to me...

I spent some time away from battles and suffering, comfortably installed in Midrakus' haven. Upon reaching the tower, I felt something very different, as if air seemed lighter and imbued with subtle fragrances that provoked a fierce cold that began in my nostrils and went down to my chest. I followed the clean corridors surrounded by white polished walls and floors and almost no ornamentation—no paintings, furniture or carpets. The interior lighting was intriguing. There were no candles, chandeliers, lamps, windows, but everything seemed perfectly illuminated.

My room was very bright and simply decorated. There was a comfortable bed, a wooden table that showed clear and glossy mirror images of water pitchers, basins and towels on its surface. A chair that matched the table and a red armchair that seemed quite comfortable. Beside the bed, a nightstand of the same wood with three stacks of books perfectly aligned.

Further, a ladder of three steps leading to a wooden boardwalk where a huge bathtub filled with warm water was waiting for me. Before the bath, I decided to open the window out of curiosity. The light that came was so intense that it bothered me. I had a hard time getting used to it and then I noticed an extensive garden below, with hundreds of species of trees, shrubs, vines, ferns, plants with red leaves, white, blue, purple, yellow and hundreds of shades of green. All this was arranged and grouped in geometric patterns of great beauty. In a large lake, big orange-billed birds swam gracefully, smoothly. I felt very well. So well that I cared little for the fact that Balcatemi was not with me. Midrakus' assistants took it from me and led me to that place full of peace across the portal. For sure, it was not a natural home, but a magic one. The next thing I remember was having slept for a long time. In fact, it was a long dreamless sleep state.

When I awoke, I was very, very hungry. When I left my room, I realized that I was wearing comfortable clothes made of white skin, finely stitched and tailored to my measurements. I was guided by a wonderful smell of food that went through the white corridors until I reached the cafeteria. There, a collection of strange creatures dinned around an oval table. It was the most spectacular banquet of my whole life.

A blueish-skinned man, with tiny black eyes like buttons, smiled at me. On the other side, a man-sized monkey with burnt orange fur that resembled Helmut's beard, stretched his huge lips to drink the soup with a big silver spoon. He raised his friendly eyes that hid behind strange glassware attached to his nose and with stems that lie on the ears. It was a dreamlike and absurd situation. What would I have been drinking? Hunger wouldn't let me think much. A lady with the snout of a dog, extremely ugly, wrinkled and ill-faced, wearing aprons and gloves brought a tray of odd food and asked me with a horrible elvish accent "It is to your liking, Mr. Keel?"

"Sure!" my mouth was watery "But what is it?"

"Taiwanese vegetarian food".

With such hunger, I suppose if she had offered me pigwash I would have loved it. I took a seat and started to eat that delicious meal. I never found out what it really was, but it was a wonderful experience.

In perfect Elvish spoken in the manner of Nelfária's court, the orange simian said "Midrakus has one of the best cooks in the universe. As they say, she has a nose of gold".

I was shocked and unable to respond.

The ape insisted "You come from Nelfária, is not it? Or am I mistaken?"