Chapter 3: Flawed Jewel
In which motives are unclear.
As expected, the noise woke up the beast that ruled over the mountain.
The magnificent monster, with three pairs of feathered wings, scaled body of a serpent, claws and teeth of a lion, for sure remembered the old times. Enkidu thought that they could have fun slaying it with Gil, for the sake of a good fight alone. But they would never go this far into the wild to invade its lair. It was pointless, as long as it guarded no treasures and fed only on the weakest locals.
Maybe this weapon was just stupid? It should have known already that the human it seeked had no chance to survive this long. The best Rider could find in the monster's lair was a partially eaten corpse.
The fight itself was so short and one-sided, Enkidu felt disappointed. The creature turned out to be too big and ponderous, neither its wings nor thick scales could protect it from Rider's arrows. That beast could be challenging for a swordsman, but a talented bowman with this much firepower could use it only as a practice target.
When the dust fell down, Rider looked around to localize the beast's hideout. Then he carefully dived into darkness of the cave.
Enkidu winced, watching how this ridiculous weapon emerged from the beast's lair with a limp body wrapped in a cloth. Why go through such hardships just to retrieve a corpse?
Enkidu did not understand. A weapon's purpose should be to fight, free will was superfluous. Humans were those powered by desires and gods acted on a whim, but none of it made sense in Rider's case. A request from an old woman couldn't be interpreted as an order to fight. Enkidu did not sense personal goals or divine whims from this Servant, and they knew both of them well, just from spending time in Gilgamesh's company.
Maybe it was about a payment then?
Indeed, Rider was rewarded upon his return. The crying old lady insisted that he should get something and, almost forcefully, hung a pendant with a small blue stone around his neck. It was a shiny little thing, but flawed and utterly valueless.
It did not seem worth the effort anyway. Unless it was the universal principle of the gods, to demand offerings? Most unlikely. Enkidu thought about Gil, who wasn't bound by such rules, but still seemed very picky about his tasks. Asking him for something trivial would not end good for the requester, for sure. He would rather do something for entertainment, not because it had been expected from him.
So... what was the true gain in performing such unpleasant, mundane task for someone, who, like Gilgamesh used to say, belonged to Heavens?
Feeling that the answer was near, almost within their reach, Enkidu looked more closely, trying to uncover the deeper meaning of gestures, tears and expressions...
"I see." So it was about the reward then, but not the silly pendant. Such warmness... Enkidu remembered that kind of feeling. Siduri took them sometimes to share food with children during festivals. They cherished every moment of it - smiles on the faces of the kids, laughter, the pleasure of giving... Such unique calmness inside one's body, right after doing something considered good by most of humans.
Ah, this is the same, Enkidu concluded.
They shared that weird experience with their friends back then, seeking advice. Both Gil and Siduri stubbornly insisted that Enkidu weren't a weapon anymore, because they had gained a human heart.
So this Servant thing, too...?
If that was the case, why Gil, who usually knew or could predict more than anyone else, had summoned Rider in the fist place?
Enkidu shook their head at own thoughtlessness. Deep inside they felt they knew the answer from the very beginning.