Annan moved a little closer and stopped at the edge of the demons' patrol route.
The humans held in the dungeon were chained inside their cells. Annan could just make out that they were all young, beautiful women...
Why had the demons captured these women?
Annan pushed aside the dark thought when he spotted a familiar face.
Black Widow sat slumped in a corner of the dungeon. Her smooth calf, exposed beneath her robe, was bent at an unnatural angle, and her head hung as though she had passed out.
Could he sneak in? He did have several Transformation Spell Scrolls in his Magic Ring.
But the only phrase Annan knew in Demon Tongue was hardly suited to this situation.
After one long look at Black Widow, Annan retreated and told Brino Jana what he had found.
"Are we going to fight our way in?"
"No. I don't know how many demons are in the dungeon. If even one escapes to raise the alarm, we'll have trouble."
Annan took out a Transformation Spell Scroll. "I'm going to sneak in. Do you speak Demon Tongue?"
Brino Jana shook her head.
“Hasn't the Jana family fought demons at Snow Mountain Fortress for generations?”
"You've eaten plenty of meat. Does that mean you can speak livestock?"
Annan had no answer. He held up the Transformation Spell Scroll. "Then I'll turn into a Lemure, and you'll be my prisoner."
"Prisoner?"
"We'll pretend I'm a Lemure escorting a human woman inside."
The Transformation Spell required him to have touched the creature he wanted to become. Fortunately, Annan had touched the demon he had interrogated, Nalu. He took its form, tied a bow around Brino Jana's wrists with a length of rope, and pushed her toward the dungeon.
The sound of their footsteps drew the attention