Chapter 11 : Lives Balancing on the Scales of Fate
Arni, home world, 1020 A.D.
The sky was still dark when Serge was woken up by some rummaging. Groggily, he sat up in bed and tried to speak but only managed to let out a moan of tiredness.
"Did I wake you?" Serge recognized Guile's voice.
"In that case I'm really not sorry at all, because it's more than time you got up, boy."
Guile picked up Serge's shirt and tossed it to him. Unable to open his eyes yet, Serge took the garment right in the face and let out another moan. He got out of bed lazily and got dressed. Serge's mind finally accepted the idea that he wouldn't be returning to bed before the end of this end and he opened his eyes. He then spotted Leena who was getting a heavy backpack up to her frail shoulders.
"So, what are we having for breakfast?" Serge said as he was putting on his shoes.
"Sorry to tell you this, but we've had breakfast half an hour ago and it seems Guile won't give you another chance." Leena managed to give him a weak smile.
"Don't worry, boy I'm not so mean, here, you can chew on this while we're on our way." Guile threw Serge an apple.
Serge took a moment to observe the fruit, comparing its small size to that of his empty stomach that seemed to be as big as that of a Denadoro goblin at this very moment.
"C'mon, it' time." Guile headed out followed by Leena.
Serge quickly placed the apple in his mouth and ran back to his bedroom to get his swallow before catching up with the others.
Viper manor, another world, 1020 A.D.
Like every morning, Glenn had risen before sunrise. However, in the dark basement of the manor where dragoons slept, it didn't make much difference since the only light available was that provided by the numerous torches that hung from the walls. It had been hard as a boy for Glenn to take the habit of waking up before sunrise, but now he really enjoyed it: no waiting in line to take a shower or to shave, no hearing the grouchy mumblings of other dragoons who had a hard time getting up early on duty.
Standing alone in front of a small mirror that hung right above a sink, Glenn was carefully manipulating the sharp-bladed razor. This routine always brought up memories in his mind. He remembered so well his brother doing this while he waited, sitting alone next to him and wondering why men had to shave when they grew up. He also remembered the first time he had shaved. He was holding the sharp metal object through shaking wet fingers, trying only to brush his skin when the blade slipped and cut open his flesh. The scar he had acquired a year prior while training and the new one had now formed a cross. Ever since, people he crossed in the streets stared at him, wondering how one could show such a strangely-shaped scar.
With the skin of his face as smooth as a polished stone, Glenn placed his towel under the water jet and then brought it to his face. He turned off the water and headed for the showers. A large towel on his forearm, Glenn was walking alone in the hallway when he suddenly heard footsteps. Out of the darkness came the two figures Glenn was sure he would never meet at such an early hour.
"Morning, comrade." Peppor shaker was walking past Glenn in nothing but a white towel wrapped around his large waist, a proud smile on his lips, his hair still wet.
"Uh, morning." Glenn couldn't believe what he was seeing.
…The shaker brothers…? What are they doing up at this time…? They're always among the last to get up on duty days, and now they're out of bed before me… What are they up to…?
After a short shower, Glenn was standing right outside the manor gates and the way was open for him wherever he wanted to go… of course he had to be back in two days. Not sure exactly where to spend these two days off, Glenn decided he would simply go wherever his feet would take him to.
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Alone in the darkness the curtains cast over her room, Riddel Viper was putting on a dressing gown. It wasn't exactly morning yet, not the exactly the time for the lady of the manor to wake up, but she couldn't sleep anymore, so she figured she'd just get up and wait for breakfast.
Quietly, she went to the door and pressed her ear against it to listen… not a sound came from the other side.
…Everyone must be asleep…
She swiftly sneaked out and walked past her father's bedroom and reached the stairs that led to the balcony. She silently climbed them and reached what had been her private sanctuary for years. The large wooden structure gave an incredible view over the clear waters of the archipelago. In the center was a small pool filled with warm water that had turned cool over the night. On the walls, trailing plants were blooming with white and purple flowers.
Riddel shivered as a strong gust of cold wind swept over. The young woman then went to the edge and placed her hands on it. She couldn't help but imagine what her father would say if he saw her here alone after what happened the other night. She closed her eyes and raised her chin to feel the breeze of the ocean. For a moment, she could have sworn she was the only master of her own destiny, imagining herself diving below like those who took her hostage.
There were indeed days were Riddel just couldn't endure being a noble. Sure it seemed that everybody would always smile and be nice to her… too nice. They would call her insane if she said anything about leaving this place to explore this world, so she had to put this dream to sleep and only bring it awake when she was all alone.
Riddel turned around and walked over to the walls covered with flowers. She gently caressed the delicate petals, brushing away the drops of dew that were laid on them. She plucked three of them and placed them in her dark hair, behind her right ear. Sounds of footsteps then reached her. She was dying to see who was, besides her, the only person awake in the manor at this time. However, the noise was coming from the other side of the manor and there was no way to reach it… or was there…
Riddel thought she was really going crazy for a moment, but pushed the idea aside and made her way to the eastern wall. Last time she had done this, she was still a little girl. She grabbed the edge of the roof and extended a foot to reach the ledge of the nearest window. She sure hoped she wouldn't see the curtains that covered the window be pulled apart to be seen doing this by whoever was in there.
If her father would have been angry at seeing her alone on the balcony, there was no doubt he would have had an attack to see trying to reach the southern balcony from the outside in nothing but a dressing gown and slippers.
Window after window, Riddel was slowly making her way to the other side of the manor, but on the second to last window, a strong gust of wind blew. Instinctively, Riddel held on to the roof as tightly as she could. She was really scared she would be falling, but eventually the wind calmed down and was able to reach the southern balcony.
…Wow… that sure was close…
Riddel placed her left foot on the balcony and let out a sigh of relief. Of course, she could have probably reached the balcony from the inside without meeting anyone on her way, but as far as she could imagine, the door that led to the room behind this balcony had always been locked and she had never been able to find a way to open it. She still remembered ten years ago when Dario, Karsh, Glenn and she had sneaked out one night to come to the room to try to open it. Luckily, the one to find them first had been Radius and he had only told them to go back to bed. Sure he had scolded them a bit, but he hadn't been too harsh on them.
She reached the edge and took a look below. She then spotted the only person she expected to find awake so early on a day off, Glenn. For a moment, she was tempted to call for him. The idea made her smile, but she decided against it. A few years ago, Glenn would have probably been the one to climb up to the balcony to meet her, a viper churro in one hand, but he had changed. Glenn now seemed like everybody else: over-protective of her, obedient of the conveniences and likely to do what would please her father. Maybe it was the memory of his brother and the weight of the expectations on his shoulders that were simply too much to bear.
Now she could only imagine the look on his face should she decide to scale down the trellis that had been set on the wall to allow the plants to grow to reach Glenn. Riddel's smile faded as she remembered the servants would soon be getting up and it was time for her to go back to her room if she didn't want to be caught here.
Right after entering her room, Riddel pulled the sheets and lied down on the soft mattress again. Soon a maid knocked on the door and entered. She went to the window and opened the red curtains.
"Good morning, miss Riddel, I hope you had a good night of rest."
"Oh, yes, thank you." Riddel lied as she stepped out of bed once more.
When the maid turned around she looked surprised.
"Is something wrong, Atiana?"
"Uh, have you slept with your dressing gown on, miss Riddel?"
Riddel brought her hand to her abdomen to feel the white tissue, having completely forgot to take it off.
"Uh, yes, I was very tired last night and I must have forgotten to take it off before going to sleep."
Path of the one-eyed nugget, home world, 1020 A.D.
Serge, Guile and Leena had been walking for two hours on a path of sand that followed a small river. Tall trees of a magnificent green were growing on the other side of the river. Boulders glimmering in the sunlight were spread on both sides of the rapid waters. The air was now warm as the temperature had increased rapidly after sunrise.
"So, why is it called the golden river, exactly?" It appeared that Guile was rather interested in the history of the archipelago.
"Radius says the first to come to the archipelago were treasure hunters. Our ancestors found their diaries that reported they had found gold nuggets in this river."
"And?"
"Well, mom says grandpa and some of his friends sometimes came here to look for some but never found any."
"So there's no treasure in here at all."
"Well, the first prospectors probably found all the gold there was to find in this river, but the real treasures are in the deeper waters."
"Really" Guile showed some scepticism at Serge's word.
"Yeah, sometimes I go diving, It's incredible all the animals there are out there and I'm not even talking about those that must live deep in the trench that runs through the whole archipelago… Oh, yeah, once I also found this." Serge threw Guile a small object without turning around to look at him.
Guile caught it before it hit the ground and brought it closer to examine it. It was a ring, an old ring on which was a small sapphire. Two creatures with long arms were carved in the gold, supporting the gem. Guile's eyes narrowed as he placed his ringed index next to the ring. The shapes were identical, except for the fact that the gem on Guile's ring was a ruby. For a moment he seemed completely mesmerized by this. Suddenly he snapped out of his thoughts to take a look at serge and was relieved as he saw the teenager still had his back turned to him.
"So, you, found this in the ocean?" Guile's tone was very serious.
"Yeah, you like it?" Serge didn't seem to care much about the ring at all.
"Uh, here have it back." Serge finally turned around so Guile could give the ring back to him.
"I just have one piece of advice, if you don't mind. Just don't sell this, alright, there may be more to that ring than it appears."
"Hey, I'm not that dumb." Serge placed the ring back in a pocket on the inside of his shirt.
"Who'd believe I found this in the ocean. I'd have been called a thief everywhere I step foot."
Guile looked at Serge in a way that meant what he had just told him was not to take lightly.
"There are also elements down there."
"Really? Strong elements?" Serge turned to see Leena walked, arms crossed below her chest.
"Well, well, well, look who's a power-driven tyrant." Serge's tone wasn't harmful at all, only teasing.
"Oh, c'mon, I'm just curious, that's all."
"No, not really, most are weak elements, but my dad once found an ice blast. It just sucked that it couldn't be used anymore."
"How come?"
"The element had been pierced through. Its energies had dissipated in the water, it was trapped in an ice block. My dad tied a rope to it and pulled it to the surface. I think mom still has it somewhere."
"Pierced through? Whoa, it takes quite a shock to bust an element open. Once I tried to bust one open by heating it up, I had assumed the pressure that would build inside would burst the solid casing, but I was never able to reach a temperature high enough."
"And what about your old master, mister the great scholar of elements, was he able to do it?"
"Yes, by crushing it with his bare hands… kidding, no actually he has never been able to do it either."
"Then what could have triggered this?"
"Hmm, I don't know, but maybe that Serge, here knows."
Serge immediately turned around to face Guile.
"How would I know this?"
"Well, you seem to know the waters around here. Are there thermal sources on the bottom of the ocean?"
"Uh, yeah, the water gets really hot near those, even when you're a several feet away from you can feel the heat radiating toward the surface."
"There, you probably got your answer. This element must have been caught in a magma pool beneath the ocean bed and the boiling lava must have provided the needed heat."
As they were walking Guile noticed another path branching from the one they were following that seemed to lead toward the center of the island.
"Say, where does this path lead to?"
"Divine waterfalls." Serge answered without hesitation."
"Divine? Why such a name? Any gods been reported around it?" Guile's voice showed amusement at the name."
"Oh, Sam reported to have had divine sights there."
Guile raised an eyebrow after taking a moment to remember who that Sam was.
"He was spying on women bathing in the lake below the falls."
"So that bloke is also a perv here?"
"Why, does he also hang around at his wife's restaurant all day while staring at other women's assets?"
"Wife? I wonder who would ever marry that jerk. Actually, he doesn't live in Arni anymore. He runs a strip-club in Termina I think…Oh, I mean, a place for gentlemen to enjoy themselves, that's how he calls it.
"Ya, gotta use the real words now, we're not kids anymore." Serge smirked teasingly at Leena."
"Laugh all you want, one day he even had the nerve to come back to Arni to ask me to work for him."
Serge's eyes widened at the idea and he took a few steps at a much slower pace as he was tempted to imagine what Leena would look like working in that kind of place. Snapping back to reality, he quickly pushed the thought aside and tried to jump back in the conversation as if no such image had formed in his mind.
"Uh, don't you have to be eighteen or something to work in a strip-club?"
"Do you seriously think that Mr. I-want-your-sweet-ass-to-be-shown-in-my-place would care about something like that?"
"Let's say that, here, his wife would be quick to remind him with her pan. Actually, she also reminded him that he wouldn't be running a strip-club for as long as she lived. Now the old fool's ambition is to make sure he checks in after her."
"Alright, kids, I think Serge's young mind has been tempted enough for today, we'll be taking some rest while we eat."
"And what if my young mind was tempted to tell you to mind your own business?"
"I'd give you detention for inappropriate behaviour with your elder." All three chuckled at this.
Guile and Leena sat on warm sand, feeling a well deserved relief in their legs. Guile began taking out of his backpack the fruit he had brought for lunch. Seeing this, Serge began walking toward the river.
"Where you goin' boy?"
"Getting a real lunch. You two make a fire."
"Not the type who enjoys fruit I see." Guile turned to Leena, expecting her to agree with him.
"Uh, you see, Serge grew up in a fishing village just like I did. We're kinda used to eat lots of fish….And tell you what, I'll go get some wood for that fire so I can enjoy that fish too."
Leena got up and went near the sea to gather pieces of wood brought by Poseidon's kingdom. Guile raised his eyebrows and sighed as he sat alone with a large apple in his right hand.
When he came to the large rocks Serge removed his shoes and socks and climbed on them with his swallow in hand. Carefully placing his feet so that he would be sure not to slip he began looking for some prey. Serge's eyes were like lasers as he was holding his swallow over and behind his head with his right hand. Then came an opportunity. Serge immediately threw the dual-blade weapon like a harpoon and hit a bull's eye. He descended in the river to claim his prize and got on the rock to get another fish.
A few minutes later they were all gathered around the fire and Leena was cooking the fish in her pan.
"No offense, man, but a meal without fish isn't a meal. You sure you don't want some." Serge said as Leena handed him a plate containing one of the two fish.
"No thanks, I was raised under the saying that eating light meals will keep your mind sharp so you can make optimal use of elements."
"Alright Mr. Guru, I won't bother you."
"Yeah, guru…" Guile nodded to himself, staring at the open sea as memories began flooding his mind. He couldn't understand why these images were besieging him at this moment, but he surrendered and let himself be taken to far away times.
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Sunlight was pouring through the large glass windows of a room in which four people were engaged in a conversation. Judging by its appearance it was clear that the owner of this building knew the meaning of the word prosperity. Three massive marble gargoyles were aligned on each wall. Two more statues representing angels were guarding the entrance, threatening anyone who would be foolish enough to enter with their huge bastard swords.
A magnificent red carpet led from the entrance to the center of the room where stairs led to a golden throne. On this throne sat a woman whose features were as cold as ice. Her long blue hair was tied with a silk headband and two spherical earrings hung from her ears. Her body was covered with a long orange dress and a cape of the same color covered her delicate shoulders. Her long but feminine fingers were resting on the armrests as she listened to the three men facing her cross-legged and without much enthusiasm.
"What do you mean not very skilled?" She demanded.
The old man standing in the middle took a step forward.
"Ahem, the young prince has a lot of potential like every member of the royal family but doesn't seem to be responding to any of the training methods we have developed, your highness." He said, brushing a hand against his white beard.
"Well then you will simply have to develop another training method my dear icons of wisdom." It was quite clear that the woman didn't hold much respect for the three men standing in front of her.
"But, with all due respect, your majesty, it took us decades to develop these methods, we can't simply pull one out of a hat like this." The shortest man said, bringing his small round glasses closer to his face with his left index.
The queen let out a brash laughter that sent a chill running down the spine of a little boy listening hidden behind a gargoyle.
"And you call yourselves the three gurus… It is clear that you are all facing a major problem here. Well, why don't you let me help? Now, now, I know I'm not one of the three great instructors of magic, but maybe I could lend a hand here." She brought an index up to rest her chin on it, totally mocking her interlocutors.
The three men looked at each other before letting the one on the right answer for the group.
"And what are you suggesting your majesty? Rest assured that we will truly consider a piece of advice coming from you."
"Oh, my idea is so simple a child could execute it." The woman closed her eyes for a moment before continuing.
"A heir who can't use magic would shame this family and discredit the ruler of this kingdom, aren't I right?"
"Hmm, I suppose, your majesty." The man on the right answered.
"In this case, if we can't make him a real heir, then we will simply have to make him disappear."
"Disappear?" The three men seemed horrified by the idea.
"Oh, but don't you think I would be foolish enough to make it appear like a sordid murder, I would disguise it as a sad accident, you know, these can happen… You never know when it will strike down on you." The woman's word showed absolutely no consideration for the one she deemed not worthy of being her successor.
"I, I believe there's no reason to resort to this your majesty, we-we will find a way to develop his spiritual force, we will get to work right away… Rest assured that we, the three gurus, will success, your highness."
"Excellent, I knew that we would find a solution to this knotty problem." A self-satisfied smile appeared on the queen's lips.
"We will now be leaving, your majesty." The three men bowed and left.
Once she was alone the queen's eyes wandered to the right for a moment before gazing at the massive doors again. She brought her fingertips together, her smile not vanishing.
"And rest assured that, should you fail, I will not fail to preserve my grasp on the destiny of Zeal… And do not think that your little toys will keep me from getting rid of anyone standing in my way…And why not also getting rid of these three peddlers…" The queen brought her index up in the air and a spark appeared on the tip of her finger and blue words formed in the air.
"So many things to take care up, I must not forget to write this down in my schedule."
The queen then waved her hand through the words, making them disappear as if she had closed a book. She let out a hysterical laughter and got up to leave.
Once the room was silent the little boy timidly showed his face to take a look around. He was alone at last. He pulled from behind the gargoyle without making a sound a made a run for the exit…But it would be no salvation, so he kept running. As he was running the world around him seemed nothing but a painting. Statues, tables, bookshelves, armours, walls, stairs and the people…of all they were without a doubt the most likely to be lifeless.
They were sleeping, even the ones who standing upright or seating reading a book or chatting. Their minds were being used, but none of them could see what was going on. Their eyes, their ears and their brain had been turned off. After all, they would certainly not need those anymore once the queen would be feeding them with the pure energy of the ocean palace like a giant insect queen pouring slime in the mouths of an army of larva.
The boy was running as fast as he could, at first with for only goal but to flee. But then it caught up with up him, he was trapped, there was no way he could escape…or was there. There was still one person he suspected was still able to escape the painting and live like him. He was running as fast as he could but wasn't scared at all of these people. What could they possibly do to stop him? Surely they weren't even seeing him as they weren't seeing anything at all.
He then stopped abruptly as he came to a closed door. He slowly opened it and walked inside. He was alone, where was she? She had to be near, she would be coming soon he was sure of this. He looked around and spotted a comfortable bed and went to sit on it. He then felt very tired and curled up in a ball before falling asleep.
Later that day, a bookshelf was sliding on the floor to reveal a secret room from which came a young woman wearing a long purple dress. Her long abundant blue hair was tied above her head with an orange headband. She looked a lot like the queen, only much younger and with much softer features. Her frail shoulders were curved down in an odd way that made her seem to carry an extremely heavy burden.
Her eyes immediately went to the boy sleeping on her bed. She walked over to him, careful not to wake him and sat next to him. Slowly she brought her hand to the boy's forehead and brushed a strand of hair aside. Not wanting to wake up her young guest, she simply decided to wait there for him to open his eyes and provide an explanation as to his presence in her room.
Several minutes later the boy's head turned to her and his eyes opened.
"Uh, sis…" He grabbed the pillow with one hand and raised his head to look at his sister.
"Janus… for how long have you been there." She smiled at him softly.
" I, uh, I don't know…" He looked around to get a hint from the sunlight, but then remembered that his sister's room bore no window.
"So, why are you here, anyway?" The young woman's voice was soft and understanding.
The boy rolled on himself so he was facing away from his sister.
"What's wrong Janus, you look terrified."
"It's-it's her again. She-she said that…" She cut him off.
"I told you not to say this, Janus. I don't like you calling mother her."
"But-but it's not mother, she has changed." The boy clenched his small fists in anger.
"I… know she may appear a little distant, but it's because she is very busy and very tired. You know, ruling a kingdom is no simple task. Of course rulers will appear happy all the time and surrounded by those who will do everything to please them, but their smile is often fake Janus. They are chained, kept prisoner by golden chains, but chains anyway…"
"Her smile is not faked, it's…evil. She really scares me."
"Janus, she is our mother after all, and I'm sure that deep within her she loves you very much."
The boy turned to his sister, his eyes filled with dread.
"She said she wanted to make me disappear… and the gurus too."
This time the young woman narrowed her eyes, having trouble understanding this as she knew her brother was no liar.
The door to the room opened again and a young female servant entered.
"Miss Schala, the queen asks for presence."
Schala looked at the maiden and then at her brother.
"Look, Janus, I know odd things are going on in palace, but do not fear. As long as I'll be there, I won't let anything bad happen to you, okay?" She laid her hand on her brother's cheek for a moment before getting up to follow the servant outside.
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"Alright, time to move on if we want to reach the marsh in time." Serge's tone was calm but still reflected the need to hurry.
Time then fast-forwarded from a distant ice age to the present and the magician was sitting on the golden sand again.
"So what? You're coming? We still have an hour of walking before we reach the marsh and last time I checked, daydreaming on a beach didn't count as walking." Serge picked up his swallow and his backpack and braced himself for another hour of walking under the burning sun.
It took a moment for Guile to pull himself together, but eventually he was able to put his memories aside once more and the group left the dining spot.
They were able to keep up the pace and an hour later the three had reached the sulphurous grounds known as the hydra marshes. It was an uneven ground made of huge rocks covered with red kelp separated by pools of greenish water filled with gross seaweed. Tall trees that resembled more to a mutant octopus than a vegetal were growing here and there. Putrid yellow fumes were emanating from the water like the breath of a dragon that would have swallowed a plantation of garlic. Eventually, Guile's worst fear became real, he had found a place were the air was more humid than on the main island itself.
To the east of the marshes stood the strangest thing Guile had ever seen. It looked like a gargantuan tree without any leaves that had grown out of the rocks of Mount Pyre. Guile took a moment to observe the place silently.
"I officially announce that we are in hell, my fellow travelers." Guile said before walking in the marsh.
"Don't worry, I assure you it could be worse."
"What?" Guile let out an incredulous chuckled, refusing to believe Leena.
"Remember what was said about my world, that the hydras are extinct there? Well, soon after the hydra became extinct, the marsh died…"
"And so, what happened?"
"Nature lost it. Plants began mutating and human-eating carnivorous traps began sprouting everywhere. Giant scorpions conquered the place and the fumes emanating from the water became toxic, thus killing all the life forms that inhabit this marsh, and strangely enough those new destructive dwellers were able to survive this."
"I see…"
"But it's not all. A few months ago some sort of explorer, Toma, I think was his name, stopped by our village with a couple of men before heading into the marshes. He said he was going to go through the marshes, to re-conquer it for humans again, that there was no place on earth too wild for him to explore… We never saw them again."
Then a sound that seemed out of place came to Guile's ear. It was a buzzing sound, a very strong buzzing noise. Probably some sort of insect.
…But to produce such a sound… It's way too big to be an insect…
Guile barely had the time to side-step in order to avoid a collision with a flying creature with a wing-span of about six feet. After missing its target by a hair, the creature simply zoomed past the group, its large globular eyes taking aim on another prey.
"What the hell was that?"
"A mosquito." Serge answered casually.
"Mosquito? I could have sworn it was a bald eagle."
"Oh, yeah, I should have warned you. It's a very important element of the archipelago's culture. Here, when a mosquito stings you, you don't slap it to death, you say thank you sir, can I have another one, sir?"
Guile grimaced in silence at the thought and followed the teenagers further in the first place of the archipelago that had really scared him so far.
Half an hour ago, Serge and Guile had taken off their shirts, unable to withstand the humidity anymore.
"Gee, man, and she is still wearing that dress without complaining. How does she manage to support this?" Guile told Serge while gesturing to Leena.
"Don't ask me how the mechanism that make a woman take off her clothes work, 'cause I really have no idea." Serge answered.
"Hey, don't mind us, eh, you don't have to support this anymore. We are now freeing you of the chains that have so far made it unacceptable for a woman to reveal her body." Guile tried to laugh at his own statement, but he was so out of breath because of the heat and humidity that it actually sounded like coughing.
"Sorry, I'm too worried about you two guys." Leena answered without looking back.
"I think we'll both survive this, but if you really think I should worry, then I'll make sure Serge's immature eyes do not look. Wouldn't want his head to explode at such a young age."
"Actually, it's more about you that I'm worried Mr. rod, because should I notice only one of those eyes on me, my frypan would immediately take the shape of your head."
Guile wanted to laugh but decided that it was better not since it could dry up the little saliva he had left in his mouth.
"So it means I can look?" Serge said in a fake hopeful tone.
"Don't worry, bandana boy, the shape of your head wouldn't fit that badly on my pan either."
The group then reached a very steep cliff that lead to a large but shallow pool of green water. Unsure of how to reach the lower level, the group stood there for a moment, gazing below.
"There's no way the water down there is deep enough for us to jump." But Serge and Leena were paying no attention to Guile's statement as they appeared to have found something much more interesting.
They were standing next to plant that resembled a long green whip that was growing just next to the cliff. Serge and Leena then both grabbed the plant and tried to pull it out of the ground with all their might but the vegetal gave no sign of giving out.
"Looks strong. The roots must reach deep in the ground. Let's see if it's long enough."
With this Serge began to reel in the plant as if there was a huge gem tied to the other extremity. Lengths of the plant kept appearing from the bushes as the plant's body began gathering next to the cliff like a huge coiled snake. When Serge finally held the other extremity which consisted of a large yellow flower he threw it over the cliff so the plant could by used like a rope. Now understanding what the two teenagers were trying to do, Guile approached them.
"Alright, I'll go first." Serge said as he placed his hands on the plant and began the decent.
"Uh, to tell you the truth, I'm not the best of climbers, so why don't go first."
"My knight in his shining armor. Don't worry, should you fall off I'll be there to catch you." Leena said, rolling her eyes.
"Alright, alright, it's not that hard, just place your feet firmly against the cliff and whatever you do don't hold onto this thing too tightly or you'll be in for an unpleasant surprise, okay?" Guile nodded and Leena placed her hands on the plant.
As soon as Leena had reached the pool below Guile took one last look down and immediately forgot all about the girl's advice.
…And I had to look…Damn… Alright, let's do this…
Guile took a deep breath and threw his body against the largest part of the stem, wrapping arms and legs for support. At first the wizard wasn't even able to open his eyes, but the adrenaline slowly dropped low enough for him to come to his senses. Beginning to feel his hands again he realized there was no way he would be falling off.
…This has got to be the stickiest thing I've come across…
Reassured, Guile then remembered Leena's words and was able to reach the ground without too much trouble. Upon placing his feet on the ground, Guile was quite proud of himself but the look on his friends wasn't exactly the one he was expecting.
"So that's what you call not too tightly, uh?" Leena raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms.
Guile had a puzzled look on his face and looked at Serge for an answer, but the teenager only chuckled. He then looked at himself and realized he was covered in greenish resin.
"But…" Unfortunately for him, Leena had already turned her back to Guile, taking little interest in his apology.
"Don't worry, it just takes water and soap…" Serge said.
…but just like that, when your decade of chastity finally ends, just don't cling to a woman like that, I don't think it would be good for her lungs."
"Don't worry, I'll always remember the advice of Sam's pupil." Guile playfully pushed Serge away from him.
"HEY HOOOOO, HO HEYYYYYY, HOOOOOO"
The three immediately began looking around to spot the source of the chant. A rustling came from the bushed and out of them came six dwarves. All were wearing a steel breastplate decorated with a dragon and wore a sturdy helmet made of the same material that seemed way too big for them. They merely stood three feet high but the large nose that planted in the middle of each one's face could have belonged to a giant. The lower part of their face was covered with a thick grey beard and moustache. Their eyes were partly hidden under thick bushy eyebrows. As for weapons they were wielding shovels and picks.
One of the dwarves stepped toward them and looked at them with the utmost despise.
"How dare you come here, filthy apes? For the blood of a hydra, I suppose. Only bringing destruction and hatred everywhere you step foot. For millennia you've been harnessing our mother earth's resources without ever giving it back a parcel of what you've earned. And as a result the planet is dying…only because of your selfishness. Kill the hydras and you will kill this marsh. Thousands of living beings will die or find themselves without anywhere to live…But why would you care? The only thing you care is yourself. Always considering your own life the most important on the planet, what a foolish illusion. You're nothing more than hairless apes with a planet-sized ego. Leave now and come here again or you will see your own precious blood spilled."
"Uh, actually, it must be a mistake, we just want to…" Leena was brutally cut off by the dwarf leader.
"You, the ape skivvy, stay out of this, or I'll have to make abstraction of the dwarves' legendary attentiveness."
Leena just stood there, unable to utter a word.
…Did he really call me an ape…? An ape skivvy…?
"You hairy shiitake!"
The dwarf leader barely had time to turn his head back to Serge before his nose came in contact with what he thought was a charging rhinoceros. The dwarf barrel-rolled back a few feet back to land on his butt with flow of blood coming from his nose. He grunted in pain as he brought a hand to the ruptured bone. Leena looked at him, her face red with anger, holding her now deformed pan as tightly as she could.
Two dwarves rushed to their injured leaders while the three others split so each of them would be facing one of the travelers in a one-on-one fight.
Still burning with anger, Leena brought her pan down in another wild swing. However, the dwarf side-stepped with much grace and agility, leaving the girl open.
"Not as easy as stabbing your opponent in the back, eh, skivvy?" The dwarf bellowed as he brought his shovel behind himself for a swing at Leena's right knee. The shovel connected with the back of Leena's leg and brought her down on one knee as she let out a yell of pain. Her leg was aching and she was now in an unsteady position, but the dwarf now appeared a much bigger target.
Her rotund opponent kept bashing at her with his shovel but from this height the blows were much easier to deflect with her pan and, mostly, there was no way the dwarf could mow down her legs like tall wheat grains. Getting angrier with every unsuccessful strike, the dwarf was starting to take only wild swings, missing by wide most of the time.
From afar, the leader gestured with his hand to dwarf on his left to bring his ear close to him so he could pass on his battle orders. The dwarf listened to his superior and then returned his eyes to the battle while bringing his hands to his face before shouting.
"Dogun, you idiot, stop messing around and use your head!"
The dwarf paused for a second, trying to figure what his leader meant by that and then grinned as if he had come up with the greatest idea of all times. He placed both hands on his helmet to hold it tightly and bent forward. He then ran to Leena at full speed. Unfortunately for him, Leena had time to roll and dodge the move. Being unable to see where he was going, the dwarf tripped on a large root and fell to the ground. The leader began fulminating at this sight and it wasn't long before more battle orders were passed on.
"Dogun, get your ass up or I'll shove my pick in it before cutting your beard to wipe mine with it!"
Leena used this time to get up again to test her injured leg. She was relieved that she was still able to walk but she brought the leader's face to an even deeper red when she kneeled again to meet her opponent when he would be on his feet again.
Next to Leena, Serge was also having trouble. He was using his swallow like a pole-arm to keep his opponent at a safe distance, but the problem with this strategy was that he wasn't able to take a strong swing to deal some real damage.
At first confident that this fight would be a piece of cake, Guile was now getting desperate as dwarves were showing a formidable and most unexpected resistance to all types of elements. After using three bushbashers the dwarf barely had a few scratches. The fourth attempt wasn't anymore successful as the dwarf only had to kneel to avoid being blown away by Guile's aeroblaster.
…Damn, these things must possess roots like a tree…
"Is that all you can do, pathetic ape? I'll make a pleasure to slice you in fine sausages before feeding you to the great hydra."
"Don't think that your height is only an advantage, ground peg. Let's see how you deal with this." Guile brought his hand inside his shirt and produced several black beads.
The magician threw the beads to the ground and a thick cloud of black smoke began forming. Guile grinned as the cloud lingered over on the ground, covering the dwarves' heads but exposing their helmets, giving Serge, Guile and Leena a target. Serge was the quickest to react to the advantage the cloud was giving him and seized his swallow with both hands. He brought the blade down in a brutal oblique slash, making a helmet and the head that was under it fall to the ground. The leader was now about to explode with anger.
"Take off your helmets, your bearded piles of puke!" The leader's right-hand dwarf shouted.
But once more the dwarves were swindled. The cloud rapidly dissipated, leaving them open with no protective gears on their heads. Leena took no time to consider which was the dwarf's better side and knocked him out cold with one powerful blow to the temple.
"Bolun, Dolun, get your fat asses away from me and start fighting." The dwarf shouted before running up to Serge.
Seeing how the fight was turning out, the leader sneaked fled through the bushes once he had given his last battle orders. Soon Serge, Guile and Leena were each facing a dwarf again. However, it seemed that the two that had replaced the opponents of Serge and Leena were much more skilled warriors than their predecessors.
Bolun's first move came as a strong swing at Leena's leg, but this time she was prepared for it and took a step back to avoid the blow. Unfortunately, the dwarf's agility surprised Leena once more as he continued the motion to spin on his feet before jumping to attempt an oblique blow to Leena's arm which connected. The pick cut through the girl's flesh, staining her left sleeve red.
Leena grasped her injured arm. This was her first real combat injury and she her confidence had dropped a little. The gash wasn't too deep but she would still need some time for the pain to diminish enough for her to resume fighting.
"What's the matter, skivvy, nobody told you playing with weapons was dangerous. You could end up wounded or served as lunch to a hydra." The dwarf ran his thumb along the sharp blade of his weapon.
Bolun then faked a mood swing, re-gripping his pick with both hands and bringing toward the ground in an arc, trying to pierce through Leena's foot. The girls barely had the time to move her feet, but this time the dwarf's weapon got stuck in the ground for a second and Leena took the opportunity to kick some dirt in Bolun's eyes. Her opponent's reaction was much quicker than she had expected. Having dug his weapon out, Bolun rapidly took a step back to brush the dirt off of his face.
"Fighting dirty, eh, sivvy? Don't worry, no dirty trick of yours will ever supplant the noble warrior spirit of a dwarf. For the great hydra!" The dwarf shouted these last words before going berserk.
Dolun's weapon was moving at an insane speed as he took swing after swing. They were all wild swing, but with the accuracy of a surgeon's hand. Unable to find an opening to counter-attack, Leena was left with no option but to retreat one step further with each blow. After avoiding nine attacks by half a hair her back came in contact with something solid. She moved her eyes to the side to see that she was standing against a massive tree. The dwarf had paused his frenzy and was immobile in front of her and was showing absolutely no hint of fatigue.
"Stuck between the tree and the dwarf, eh skivvy? And now, I'm sure you'll enjoy being the next meal of the great hydra." The dwarf let out a roar of fury and charged forward.
Leena could feel bloodlust flooding her opponent's body as he raised his pick behind his left shoulder for a brutal horizontal slash when he came within range. Leena brought her hand behind the tree and pulled herself with all her might to find herself protected by the massive vegetal. Dolun's wild swing gave no possibility of mercy for both opponents. Unfortunately for him, Leena was faster and his weapon entered the large trunk.
"Damn, it, by the great kalun's beard." The dwarf began pulling at his weapon to get it out.
Right in front of him Leena held a shining red bead between her index and thumb so that her opponent could clearly see what she would be doing.
"Bwah, ha, ha, you chump, hasn't your primal brain allowed you to understand that we dwarves are extremely resistant to elements?" The dwarf didn't even bother with her and simply resumed his pulling at his weapon.
"Who said anything about using an element in battle?" Leena brought her pan in front of her and dropped the element bead in it.
She then began moving her pan as if she was cooking a pancake. The dwarf frowned, his mind totally consumed trying to understand what his opponent was up to.
"You dwarves really seem to enjoy cooking don't you, so, here, why don't you taste one of our traditional dish, the roastdwarf." With this, Leena brought her now burning pan against the dwarf's face with one lightning-fast thrust.
The dwarf let out a scream of pain and panic as his flesh was burned. He tried to moved back, but the pain was so intense that the part of his brain controlling reason was shut off, resulting in miscalculated steps that allowed Leena to walk toward him pressing her pan against his face to further assault the dwarf's skin.
Once she felt satisfied with the amount of pain she had inflicted upon her opponent Leena pulled her pan back. The dwarf then began running wild through the marsh, his flesh melting like iron in a volcano and flames consuming his beard.
When a second opponent approached him, Serge felt a surge of recklessness flooding his mind. He couldn't explain why exactly, but it started as a simple impulse and rapidly grew to take control of his body. When he actually came back to his senses, he felt his hands empty and looked ahead in hope of finding it not too far or he'd be in real trouble. However, his eyes went wide as he found both his swallow and his opponent. One of the sharp blades was socketed in the dwarf's face and a river of blood was gushing from the large wound.
The dwarf was on his knees and was breathing heavily. Serge carefully approached to grab his swallow and pulled it out. The dwarf fell in the dirt and lay motionless. Serge then spotted Leena who had a look of horror on her face.
"Serge…why did you…? That was awfully reckless, what if he had dodged?"
…Show no fear, arbiter, the road to your destiny is blessed by the dragon gods…only you shall prevail…
"Serge, hey, are you listening?"
"Uh, what did you say?"
"I…have to admit that was quite a throw, but what if you had missed? They're like immune to elements. You'd have been defenceless."
"I-I know…"
"But why did you do it?"
"I-I'm not sure, but I sorta lost control of my arm for a moment." Serge was now feeling very tired and leaned on his swallow.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." Serge shook his head and looked around for Guile.
"Ha, is that the best you can do, you over-sized chimp? It would take three of you banana peelers to defeat me."
The dwarf then felt something poking on his shoulder.
"How ironical. There are now three of us to hammer you back into the ground, peggy."
As he looked around the dwarf realized he was surrounded and decided to flee through the only opening between Serge and Leena, the legendary courage of the dwarves shredded with his decision.
"Look like we've gotten rid of the hey-ho chorus. Better get moving if we want to bring the humor back in time." With this Serge turned his back to his comrades to head toward the center of the marsh once more.
Guile immediately followed, but Leena lingered for a moment before following him.
"Something wrong? You look concerned."
"Well, I was wondering… Maybe they were right."
Guile raised an eyebrow, asking for some clarifications.
"About the dwarves when they said we take everything from earth and we'll eventually end up destroying it."
"I guess life is simply unfair. The winner takes it all sometimes… pretty much all the time." Guile's word clearly indicated that what happened to the marsh in Leena's world was obviously horrible, but as a human, there was way he would deny that his destiny could be less important than that of thousands of other beings.
Serge and his friends eventually reached a pool of green water that was much larger than all of the others. Step cautiously stepped in the pool and gestured for his friends to do the same.
"That's the center of the marsh. If there's a hydra it must be here." Serge kept his voice low.
The three began walking with the utmost caution while looking at the darkening water for any sign of the multi-headed beast. The air was eerily dry and it seemed that the hydra had ordered nature to die for a day. All was silent, no birds, no mosquitoes, not even the sound of goblins arguing what to do of their latest capture. Birds and mosquitoes surely obeyed the hydra but as for the goblins, the hydra probably had to engulf a few of them to convince the rest of the pack that a moment of silence was required of it.
Spotting a fast moving spot in the water Leena let out a strangled yelp. Serge and Guile turned their heads to look at her in one swift motion.
"What is it?" Serge's breathing accelerated.
"I-I saw something. Do you think it was…?"
"It was the hydra." Serge's word didn't exactly reassure Leena.
The water was almost shoulder deep and Serge gestured for his comrades to start moving back as a fight in shallow water would greatly increase their chances of survival. Once they had retreated to a place where the water only reached Serge's knees a wave formed on the water and reached the shore. Serge gripped his swallow tightly in front of himself and braced himself.
A massive brown head covered in strong scales appeared several feet ahead of them. The hydra was still for a moment, observing the three through its bright yellow eyes. It opened its large mouth, revealing two rows of sharp teeth dripping with putrid yellow slime. Soon after two more heads emerged from the water and the hydra extended all three necks to full height. Serge, Guile and Leena were struck with awe for a moment.
"Did I mention this thing stands thirty feet tall and weights about forty tons?"
"Thanks for warning us, boy." Guile slowly grasped his rod.
The monster began approaching them. First swimming as graciously as any fish, but then walking on the bed of the pool, splashing water everywhere with its huge palmate limbs. The monster stopped a few feet short of Serge, considering its ant-sized opponents once more. The hydra let out a fierce roar and coiled its middle head. Bringing the head forth the monster spewed a vast cloud of suffocating yellow smoke. Serge was left coughing, unable to keep his eyes open so much they were stinging.
"Quick, back off, back off!" Guile yelled.
Seeing this as an opportunity to toy with its prey before enjoying a meat much tender than that of goblins the hydra followed them, taking its time to feast on the fear inspired in the humans' hearts.
"Don't bother attacking the heads, they're covered in scales, the only vulnerable part is the abdomen."
"Then we need to get the heads out of the way first. I think I can do that. As soon as the element erupts you run for it, understood?" Guile gripped his rod tightly.
Serge nodded even though he didn't have any idea as to what element Guile was going to use. He pointed his weapon forward, slightly bent his legs, ready to take off. Green light erupted from the magician's rod and the three necks were blown away by a powerful gust of wind. All heads were roaring in madness as they were brutalised by the aeroblaster like small trees struck by a hurricane. The beast's massive body remained rooted to the ground but was now exposed with no jaws to reduce any potential danger for the fragile abdomen to dust. Serge's legs were carrying him to the hydra as fast as he could. He was going to make it, only a few feet away from his goal. Serge brought his swallow behind him so he take a strong stab and pierce the monster's flesh and hopefully strike the heart. But he didn't see the fourth head coming from his left, the monster's tail, the most powerful head. Built like a maul from hell, the tail's end consisted of twelve sturdy bones protruding from the flesh spread all around the limb. The hydra's tail wiped off Serge's body like a swatter.
Serge's frail body was sent flying several meters away and landed in the shallow water. His face wasn't immersed so he could still breathe but he wasn't getting up. The effect of the element had worn off and the heads were ready for a vengeance against the pathetic human who had foolishly tried to defy them.
"Serge!" Leena yelled at the top of her lungs, but the boy's body remained still.
Seeing the heads advancing toward him, Guile focused on his rod again and a wall of thick brambles grew between him and the hydra. Blinded by rage the heads blitzed at the wall but were left with other option than retreating as the strong brambles would surely injure their precious eyes. But the monster was far from helpless against a mere plant. The hydra rotated its immense body to bring its tail against the wall. Like a bulldozer trampling fragile twigs, the tail mauled away the brambles and Guile was a valid target for the heads once more.
Adrenaline was rushing through Leena's body and merging with the anger of helplessness. Normally she would have smashed the jerk's head with her pan, but the jerk was a forty-ton hydra. Guile would soon be in trouble if she didn't do something soon. This creature would barely be tickled by those ice lances, unless…
Leena grasped all her cold elements and focused as hard as she could on them before throwing them at the monster. One of the heads barely turned its sharp eyes at the beads, literally mocking those little stones. The monster forced its heavy body forward but let out a grunt as it realized one its front legs wouldn't move. The water around the hydra had begun to freeze and soon all four legs were trapped. Guile was now within safe and would have time to come up with another plan to kill the beast… or simply survive a little longer.
Leena wanted to run to Serge but the beast's tail was still denying her access to her friend's lifeless body. Another problem arose as the ice began crackling. Soon it would give out and the hydra would be free again. The hydra was putting all its might to work, pulling with one leg at a time to set it free. A loud noise echoed as shards of ice were hurled everywhere around the beast. One leg was free but the monster now found itself in an odd position. One leg on the block, the others still rooted to the ground, heads trying to reach at Guile.
The monster let out a ferocious roar and another leg was free. Guile brought a hand inside his pocket, his fingers moving at a fast pace, there had to be one left. They found it and grasped it. Guile was holding a shiny black bead in his right hand.
"Here, triple-half-brained worm, have a taste of your own medicine." Guile threw the element at the hydra and it was soon engulfed in black smoke.
The cloud grew to the size of several hydras and two more sounds of shattering were heard. Guile began regretting his move: the hydra was free and had a great opportunity of ambush. And he was right. The back side of the hydra's front left leg smashed against Guile's body, sending him to the ground.
Leena desperately wanted to run up to help Guile, but she was merely standing on her knees, completely exhausted from having used so many elements at a time. She took a last glance at Serge and was horrified to see that the boy's body wasn't there anymore. She didn't have the strength to get up to look for him and outstretched her arm in a hopeless attempt to call for him only to collapse forward under the weight of her own limb.
Looking up Guile saw the hydra's left head diving to him at full speed. He quickly rolled on his side but once he was on his feet he looked at his opponent once more only to see it standing still. The head had stopped dead in its track half-way to him as if the monster's nervous system had been short-circuited. The monster let out a low grunt of pain and jerked its other heads. Guile looked at the water around the hydra and noticed that it was stained black. Instinctively he looked around to see which of his comrades had dealt the blow but saw that Leena wasn't standing up anymore and failing to find Serge.
The monster jerked its heads toward the sky in pain and grunted some more. The stained water was encircling the hydra and the monster was showing signs of weakness. It was breathing with difficulty in jerks. The heads lowered to the surface of the water and the colossal body collapsed in the water with a loud splashing sound.
Guile stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do and eventually decided to slowly venture closer to the hydra. He was completely taken aback when he saw Serge emerge from the dark water. His body was covered in blood, both his and the hydra's. He was holding on to his swallow to catch his breath. Guile ran to him to check if he was okay.
"Whoa, boy, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I think so." Serge said, coughing to expulse water from his lungs.
"I have to admit, that was quite a move you did there, swimming underneath this thing to stab it from below."
"No time for congratulations…Where's Leena?"
"Damn it, boy, quick." They both ran to Leena as fast as they could.
"Her heart is still beating." Guile said, having placed to fingers on the girl's neck.
"She is just exhausted from having used several elements at a time. You hurry and get the humour, I'll take care of her." Serge nodded and went to the hydra's dead body.
Serge raised his weapon and placed it against the beast's vulnerable flesh to pierce it and extract the panacea but for a reason he couldn't find he stopped a few inches short of his goal.
…What are you waiting for, arbiter…? You've won, this blood is rightfully yours…
Serge looked around to see where the voice was coming but only saw Guile nursing Leena several feet away from him. He returned his gaze to the hydra.
…You want this blood right…? You need it to prove that the destiny of humans is greater than that of any other being do not you…?
Serge pressed his index and thumb against the inner corners of his eyes as if asking his conscience to simply shut up. He was feeling guilt at first, but it was being replaced by bloodlust, he wanted the hydra's life to save that of a human, he wanted the blood of every being to save that of a human.
…So you finally admit it…Why hesitate…? You are the chosen one…Your way shall prevail…You have the power to reshape the face of mother earth…Take it…Use it to fulfill your wishes…
Burning with an unexplainable anger, Serge drove his swallow through the hydra's neck. The thick vessels burst open and spilled the remedy to Kid's illness. Serge took a vial from his pocket and poured some humour in it. After replacing the cap he went back to Guile.
"So, how is she?"
"She'll be okay, the healing elements should eliminate all damage to the nervous tissues. She'll only need some rest to recover. Gather our stuff, it's more than time we head back to Guldove."
Serge did as Guile instructed and they were ready to depart. Luckily for them the luggage was much lighter than when they left in the morning. Serge was able to fit everything in a single backpack and placed it on his shoulders.
"Alright, boy, you carry our stuff and I'll carry Leena."
They left the hydra's body to rot for the delight of scavengers and headed back for Arni where Korcha was supposed to be waiting for them. Serge was walking behind Guile, head bowed to look at the ground. Looking up he caught the magician's rod floating to his side, following him wherever he would go, his hands free and wished he swallow could do the same for him as his legs barely had enough strength left to carry him.
The sun was starting to descend toward the horizon as they stepped out of the marshes. They began walking on the very road they took a few hours ago when they still had the energy to go the distance. Staring at the sea Serge spotted something glimmering over the waves. Placing his hand above his eyes to protect them from the blinding sun he narrowed his lids to try to identify the object.
"It's…Korcha!"
"What?" Guile immediately turned to Serge.
"Yeah, it's him." Serge waved back at Korcha from afar.
Blessing the Guldovian teenager for his arms' relief, Guile laid Leena's sleeping body on the ground and waited for the boat to reach them.
"Not disappointed at all to see you, but why are you here. Weren't be supposed to meet in Arni?" Serge asked as he placed his luggage on the boat.
"The wind's withCHA, pal, so I thought I'd give CHA a break. CHA just relax and let me take care of things from now on. We should reach Guldove during the night."
Guile let out a grunt of relief as he sat down on the wooden board and began massaging his sore arms.
"Man, she's heavier than she looks…"
"Luckily for you she's sleeping 'cause we don't have a buoy, right Korcha?"
"He's right CHA know, making a comment about a woman's weight on board isn't smart."
Termina, another world, 1020 A.D.
Night had fallen over the town of Termina. Normally, most streets would have been rather quiet at this time of the day, but during the festival, the city didn't get much sleep. Torches were lit everywhere and noises from people celebrating were resonating in the ears of Solt and Peppor. Musicians, poets, clowns, all kinds of street performers were doing their best to attract people.
A man smelling nothing but alcohol then took hold of Peppor's shoulder to prevent himself from falling to the ground.
"Uh, hey, thanks buddy, you-you look like a good buddy… I'd offer you something to drink, you and your little boyfriend here, but, they, like, kicked me out, cause, I, I was drunk…" The man then burst into laughter, showing a grotesque smile.
Peppor seized the man's hand and threw him against a wall like a sand bag. The sound of glass bottle shattering was heard and the man lied on the ground motionless.
"Shaking drunkards, someone should really be cleaning up that shit." Anger was raising in Peppor's voice, but his face rapidly reverted to a grin as he remembered why he was there tonight.
"Uh, Peppor, isn't it the dragoons' job to keep the streets safely safe for everybody?"
The shorter soldier stopped abruptly and turned to face his brother.
"Then you won't be saying that I didn't do my job to the best of my shaking capacities." Peppor turned again and resumed walking.
As the two dragoons were advancing, it was clear that the streets they were taking were getting less and less clean. Garbage was scattered here and there and most trash cans had been knocked over by roaming animals and those with a will to destroy what others had built. The houses were also showing signs of degradation. Cracked walls, windows covered with wood boards and bricks that had fallen from the roofs were increasing. Wicked-looking individuals were observing them, hiding in every shadow cast on the ground. Next to a bonfire was a man whose mind was obviously suffering. He was insulting the nearest wall with all his might.
"You fucking bastard, how dare you stand in my way." The man kicked violently at the structure, screaming from the pain the kick caused in his feet.
"What? I'm gonna show you, you whore, come here, I'll have no mercy." He then threw an empty bottle of whisky at the wall and continued to insult it.
A sad-looking woman then approached them. She seemed extremely troubled by something and her hands were shaking a little.
"Oh, pardon me, dear sirs, have you seen my cat, I have been looking for him."
"Uh, no, sorry." Peppor was slightly saddened by this story but was then filled with discouragement as he saw the woman ask a tree the same question and standing there, waiting for an answer.
"Gee, Peppor, this place is scarily scary, we should turn back, you know, there are no patrols here anymore."
"And do you shaking want to know why there are no shaking patrols here anymore, my coward of a little brother? Because it's the dragoons' duty to patrol the streets and they all wet their pants and turn around when they come to the slums you shaking idiot."
After Peppor's last surge of anger, both brothers walked without a word to their destination.
"Ah, shake it, finally, the lone wolf." Peppor sais as he looked up to read the sign.
They entered and took a look around. The room was pretty dark, only a few torches were burning and a thick cloud of smoke was floating near the ceiling. Peppor's head stopped moving when he spotted an old man sitting alone to a table in the back. His skin was of a sick yellow and his head was bald except for two long white braids of hair that fell behind his ear. His long gnarled fingers rested on the table, completely still. His eyes, two narrow slits, were focused on the burning candle.
"Alright, now, I'll be doing the talk, okay, you just try not to wet your pants." Peppor was obviously still frustrated by his brother's earlier behaviour that he judged completely pueril.
"Uh, I think I'll just wait for you." The taller brother headed his own way and Peppor was left alone next to the entrance.
...Better off without him for this kind of business talk anyway…
Solt sat on a wooden stool and placed his hands on the counter. The barmaid, a young woman with long brown hair and clad in a rather indecent outfit walked to him.
"Hmm, you look depressed, sweetheart, I'm sure one of my girls could take care of that." Solt looked up to see her face but couldn't get past her chest.
When he finally managed to look at her eyes, he was ashamed to see that she had been waiting for an answer for several seconds now.
"Uh, no thanks, I'll just have a fiery cobra."
It was clear to the woman that the soldier hadn't been close to a member of the opposite sex for too long. However, she simply turned and bent to grab some bottles. Solt wasn't sure if she was doing it to get the bottles or to have him reconsider her first offer. He couldn't resist the opportunity to stare for a second, but then remembered about his brother. Solt spun around to look at the large room and saw his brother sitting with something he wasn't sure was a man or a senile snake.
"You know, I don't usually leave my sanctuary and even less to come to such crowded places." The man rested his elbows on the table and crossed his long bony fingers.
…Shake it, and he even speaks like a rattlesnake…
Peppor reached inside his clothes and produced a pouch the size of a cantaloupe and placed it in the center of the table. The snake's lips curled in a devilish smile, the light of the candle exposing his bony cheeks. He reached inside the pouch with a hand and withdrew a gold coins. Bringing it to his face, he bit in the metal and replaced it with the others, resting assured that it was gold.
"So, what can an old sorcerer like me do to please the noble acacia dragoons?"
Bringing his face across the table, Peppor whispered something in the man's ear. The man's eyes were shining with a dreaded lust as he listened to Peppor's request.
"…Simply, purely, absolutely, impossibly… evil. I know how to crystallize such a dark desire."
It was the serpent's turn to reach inside his clothes. He then placed a skull-shaped medallion. It had a shining white bead for a left eye, a black one for the right eye and one last black bead held between its teeth.
"Three? But I thought…"
"I see… Skilled with a sword, or rather an axe as I can see, but not much knowledge about spiritual forces… I will have to do something about such a gap."
The man took the medallion and held it between his thumb and index so that the eyes and mouth were facing Peppor. He then slid his index to the right eye.
"Turn black… This power only receives command from those with an aura that radiates the color of Belzebuth."
The finger then went to the left eye.
"Magnify… because this power only receives command from those with an aura that could blind the dark one himself."
The finger finally went to the mouth.
"And… black hole, a force of destruction, an idol to non-existence… This one is not to be taken lightly…" Peppor's forehead was wrinkled and his eyes narrowed to mere slits as he pretty much didn't have a clue as to what this meant.
"It is an object of infinite density that sucks everything with a mass… careful now, it doesn't only affect living matter, it will also reduce rocks, trees and water to nothingness." The snake's tone clearly indicated to the dragoon that this element wasn't to be toyed with.
"The pulling strength of the void is inversely proportional to the distance that separates it from the target. With the magnify you should be standing to at least a hundred feet from the point of implosion, and make sure the target is within a hundred feet. The closer the better…. And lastly, always use the magnify first, its power will grant the necessary spiritual stamina needed to use the other two within a short time. And I now entrust you with the product of the dark one's might. May destruction help your case." The snake placed the medallion on the table once more, grabbed the gold and left.
Peppor stayed immobile for a moment, gazing at the relic, its smile reflecting the dreaded power contained in its twisted features. After several seconds, Peppor slowly took the medallion and went to find Solt.