Rigor Mortis
Chapter Thirteen: The Sowing of the Seeds
Gleefully, Lunassah led us to her home, the village of Meridian. We had only a short walk there so she regaled us with stories as we traversed through the dusty plains. Moebius lagged behind us, wary of the enormous bear that lumbered at her side. He seemed completely drained of the manic, zealous energy that he always possessed and it saddened me to see its absence. I suppose I too was tired because about halfway through the hike, extreme weakness and fatigue hit me and I nearly stumbled.
"Morty, are you alright?" the little girl asked, holding my hand.
"Yes, I'm fine. I am merely tired," I said and tried to smile. She frowned and I could tell that she didn't believe me.
"Well, don't worry. My dad will let you stay the night. And I've made enough food for everyone!" she exclaimed. She turned to face the Timestreamer and hollered, "Bet you're hungry too, huh Moe?"
"He doesn't like it when you call him that," I said, dusting off my hands.
"Ha ha! Moe Moe Moe Moe Moe!" she giggled, dancing around him. "Hey, are you listening, Moe? I'm calling you Moe, Moe!" She poked him in the chest repeatedly but he continued to ignore her. He was staring out at the southwest again. After another second of this, he seemed to return to himself and continued walking without another word.
"You don't gotta be afraid of the spooky castle, you know," Lunassah said stoutly, "It's too far away to do anything,"
"Spooky castle?" Moebius asked, rubbing his temples.
"Yep! It's to the southwest, on a tiny island out in the ocean. Nothing lives in there and the sky is always really strange. Sometimes if you look at it from the shore, you can see the sun setting when it's nowhere near nighttime! Then when you look away, it's normal again," she explained. "Weird, huh? Once I saw someone go in it. He had a pointy hood and a great big scythe."
"What do the villagers say about it?" he asked, his eyes brightening.
"They only say that it's been there since before anyone can remember...and that I shouldn't go near it," she said embarrassedly.
"Let's keep going," he said dismissively. "So you made some food, eh? You can cook already?"
"No, but I make food all the same!" she said proudly, "You'll see when we get home. The farmers of my village can't grow enough food for everyone since it's so dry and dusty here. So I help them!"
I opened my mouth to ask more but my friend threw me a searing glare and I remained silent. I could tell already that he was planning something and subconsciously I held Lunassah's hand more tightly. I felt uneasy and I was ashamed of it. Moebius was my friend! Why was my heart twisting as though in warning? I shook my head and continued onwards. Perhaps I was just being overly sensitive. It had always been that way, ever since I was a child. It is strange how things change...and how some things never do.
We soon came upon the village as the moon was beginning to rise. It lay in a sort of slight valley and was really just a collection of miserable huts arranged haphazardly along a sad excuse for a road. A few youngish people were clustered around an ancient well and they leered menacingly at us as we passed. They all looked so cadaverous and wilted, like the crops in the fields beyond. I watched as a hungry mangy dog came sniffing around the little crowd and was promptly kicked. One of the men said something reprimanding to the one who had done it, though what language he spoke I could not tell. Then he said something to the dog. When the mutt wouldn't respond, he cursed and dragged it by the scruff of its neck into a nearby house. I cringed when I heard the short, agonized yelp of the dog and I shuddered when I heard nothing more.
"Why did they do that?" Lunassah asked quietly beside me. "They shouldn't have to do that. I made enough food for everyone..." I wished she had not seen that. Even more, I wished she hadn't understood. Only starving desperate men trap and eat dogs.
We followed her through the little town until we reached her house, which was just the same as any of the other huts, though there were lights on in this one and I could hear raucous laughter. She smiled sweetly and threw open the door. The stench of stale liquor and acrid smoke met us as we entered. At a table sat three men, one of which was very fat. They seemed to be playing dice, or some form of dice and paid us no heed until Lunassah called out.
"Dad! I'm home!" she announced brightly. The greasy, unwashed fat man turned to her and fury contorted his flabby face. His two friends immediately stopped talking and were silent as he began to bellow.
"Where the hell were you, you little whore?" he demanded with an angry slur.
"I was out in my secret cave and I met my new friends. Can they stay the night?" Lunassah replied, seemingly unaffected by his harsh words.
"Isn't she a bit young for you?" he growled at Moebius. I tensed, fully expecting to see him leap at the man with his characteristic but uncanny speed. Instead, he bowed at the waist and smiled. I knew that smile. It was like the moment of stillness before a coiled viper strikes and it crackled the air around us.
"Good sir, you have me mistaken," he said in cordial tone that was remarkable given the situation. "We are envoys from the Citadel. Master Audron himself summons your daughter. He was here a few months ago inquiring about the same thing. Do you remember, sir?" The man only sneered, as though Moebius' polite demeanor offended him.
"Yeah, I remember," he said, slouching back down in his chair, "An' my answer remains the same. I ain't giving her over, no way, no how."
"You think Carlov here would give away his cash cow, eh you fop?" another at the table leered.
"Fop?" Moebius gave out a short laugh. "I've not heard that one before."
"It means you're a dandy," the man explained, "A sissy. A pansy. A...queer."
"I see I've been wasting your time," Moebius said, not letting the smile leave his face, "Is there a place where travelers may rest? We've come a long way,"
"Bet you have!" the rude man laughed nonsensically.
"But Dad!" Lunassah cried and I was hurt to see tears in her eyes, "They're my friends! Can we at least give them something to eat?"
"And you!" the fat man turned to her, "Bringing in strays! What have I told you? You don't listen, you little brat!" I saw him rear his hand back, as though to strike her.
"Don't you dare," Moebius growled.
"What did you say?" Carlov snarled, "What did you say, queerboy?"
"You heard me, sirrah," he replied, still smiling, "Don't you do it."
He reeled back onto the floor when Carlov's fist collided with his jaw. I was shocked, not so much at the actual punch, but at the fact that it had managed to connect. I had seen Moebius dodge faster things than him. As I stood, goggling in amazement, the other men stood up and proceeded to kick him while he was crumpled on the floor.
"This's what we do to your kind, boy!" one shouted.
"You want some more? Keep trying to get up, then!" the other shouted.
"Alright boys, that's enough," Carlov said amicably. "I think the dandy gets it,"
"What about him?" one pointed at me.
"He's not gonna do shit," Carlov said, "Right?" I nodded and only then realized that Lunassah was still clutching my hand.
"You get away from him!" he shouted, "Get your ass to bed! We've got a busy day tomorrow!"
She looked up at me with a mournful expression and dashed away. I helped Moebius to his feet and without another word, we left that place while Carlov and his cronies laughed at their sordid victory.
When we had hobbled to the street, I tried to wipe away the blood on his face with the hem of my robe. I was ashamed. Why had I just stood there? I should have done something but I was afraid. I, who had seen abominations that would send a regular man screaming in madness, was afraid of being struck by another man.
"You let him hit you," I stated after a time.
"Better me than her," he replied and turned to spit some more blood, "He was determined to hit something tonight. Hopefully he's too tired to get her now. We need rest."
"I don't want to leave her in there," I growled.
"Just for one night more..."
"What do you plan to do? He's not going to give her over," I said.
"Let me handle that. For now, we need to sleep," he said darkly.
We walked towards the largest building, what we assumed was an inn and we entered. Like Lunassah's house, it was lighted and full of pungent acrid smoke. As with many of the taverns we visited, there were many tables arranged on the hardwood floor, occupied by people who were either much too jovial or extremely depressed. There were a few noisy card games going on, and barmaids were kept busy with orders for more. As soon as we entered, everyone in the pub turned and glared at us. Moebius simply strode in and sat at the mostly empty bar. And as usual...I followed him.
"What can I get you two?" the sodden barkeep asked with a dour face.
"Two plates of whatever meat you have," Moebius replied.
"We don't have meat. We don't have much of anything, as you can see," the barkeep smirked.
"You seem to have booze," he said.
"We've always got booze," the barkeep shrugged, "Ain't hard to get. So I'll ask you again. What do you want?"
"A room and two of whatever you have on tap," Moebius relented.
Soon enough, we were served two mugs full of something frothy and foul-smelling. I took none of it but was alarmed to see how easily my friend chugged it down. He noticed my expression and frowned.
"Things seem pretty damn dire around these parts," he said to the barkeep and I noticed how he adopted the tone and dialect of the villagers, "How long has this been going on?"
"For about a year now," the barkeep replied, glad to have someone to listen to his complaints, "It's been pretty bad and now with Carlov being a greedy bastard, it's nigh unbearable,"
"Carlov?" Moebius asked, as though he didn't know.
"Yeah, he's the fat cretin who lives near here. Has a daughter. At least she's his daughter simply because her mother died before he could prove otherwise. Guess he's stuck with her," the barkeep explained and laughed, "He never did much of nothing really...until now. Somehow he's come across a big store of grain, the lucky bastard. He could feed the entire village but what's he do? He charges everyone! O'course, not too many can pay. But there are those that do and now he's living high on the hog while we're starvin'!"
"Sounds downright unfair," Moebius agreed, "You have no idea how he got his hands on all that grain?"
"No idea, that's the hell of it!" the barkeep said and pounded his meaty fist onto the table, "I'd kill to find out how and I don't think I'm the only one who feels the same way,"
"Is that a fact?" Moebius asked. Though he said it nonchalantly, I felt a deep portent to his words and I shivered. There was the viper again...
"You're not going to drink that?" he asked me and I shook my head.
"You should," he sighed, "It'll help you sleep,"
"I think I can sleep just fine," I replied.
"Let's go to sleep then," he relented. He gave my drink to a haggard looking wench, payed our bill and walked up the stairs. The room was small, dingy and unlighted. I sat experimentally on one of the beds and wrinkled my nose at the mustiness. Without any hesitance, Moebius flopped onto the other bed.
"Good night...Morty," he laughed and with that, he fell into a deep, carefree sleep. I took off my boots and lay back, feeling how every joint in my body ached. My stomach still growled fiercely and I could not remember if I had ever been this hungry before. I wondered if I would ever get to sleep with such an ailment and in such conditions...but I did. Soon, wonderful blackness overtook me...
...And when I awoke, everything was in flames...