The next two days had passed by without a hitch. Despite Millikan having to keep a tark from going overboard and another from chasing Varanus tail. Rain taught Millikan quite few moves that would benefit him in the long run. Millikan learning to dodge and counter more efficiently, plus his stamina had improved as well. It had always been tarks learning from their own kind but Millikan knew that he would become a better fighter when he learns from others who aren't tarkatan. And Rain was great teacher, a bit persistent but great.
Today was the last day out on the sea. Varanus expected they arrive to the docks around midnight or dawn. Though he was used to being on his own with little to no socialization for months. The albino zatterran silently admits to himself that he enjoyed the company. And since this was going to be the latest day, he decided that he should share a bit of ancient zatterran knowledge. Besides, it's been centuries since he got to teach.
Millikan, Rain and the rest of the tarks stood out on the deck of the ship waiting for Varanus to return. He basically told them all to come up to the deck because he wanted to show them something. But once they went outside he was nowhere to be seen and that just puzzled everyone.
"Got any idea what he wants to show us?" Millikan asked Rain who shrugs, he was just as clueless as the rest of them. Finally Varanus comes out to the deck dressed in what looked like a black leather vest and loose grey pants. This was the first time they saw Varanus in his entirety. 6"1 tall, lean humanoid lizard man with white scale skin and a 4 foot long tail. Old scars littered his arms, most of them small and nearly invisible. The left corner of his mouth had a bit of missing flesh on both the upper and lower lips, showing small jagged but sharp teeth within.
"Watching you ssspar for the passst week got me thinking. Outworld hasn't changed much over the pass millennia I been here." Varanus clasped his hands together, resting his chain agonist the knuckle. "Before the takeover, I use to be a general of krockusss."
"Army of the sea?" Millikan spoke up. Everyone just looked at him curiously. "I read a lot on my spare time ok."
"Yesss, I led that army for a good century in zettara and then it wasss all dessstroyed in a matter of daysss. Shao feared my army was to much of a threat so he executed my men …But thisss isn't a hissstory lesson. Thought I teach you young ones a few things before we part waysss."
"Excuse me." Rain wasn't sure if he was offended or flattered by the young line.
"And you will be the firssst to help me demonstrate Edenian." Varanus walked over to the mat and waits for Rain to follow. Rain rolled his eyes but walks onto the mat and stands opposite of Varanus who quickly takes a fighting stance that even Rain was unfamiliar with. Millikan grinned, this was going to be good. Before Rain could even close the distance, Varanus shoved his left arm forward causing rain to block. Leaving him open to sharp kick to the liver, followed by two strikes to the solar plexus immobilizing Rain. .
"That was fast." Chuma blinks, the zatterran moved to fast. Rain was on shaky legs, trying to catch his breath as he glared at Varanus who just stood there with his arms crossed.
"That isss usually done with claws but that isss just as effective." Varanus tail swayed behind him. "People tend to forget it'sss better to immobilize your opponent first." His tail slammed to the floor then whips accross the floor and wraps around Rain ankles before he could get away.
"Yes laugh while you still can." Rain gritted his teeth as he was hung upside down by Varanus tail. Millikan snickered while the other tarks laughed at him.
By nightfall, everyone was sore from training with the zatterran. There was no surprise that zatterans were skilled in kombat and Varanus having to be one of the best. As a reward, Varanus cooked up an old zatteran recipe, some seafood gumbo that actually tasted better then it looked. Enjoying one last meal together in the captain quarters.
"Why are you a trader instead of being an instructor, you can make a lot more koin that way." Rain asked, having already finished his bowl.
"My fighting daysss are over. And I enjoy my life traveling over the sea." Varanus replied. "I lossst my will to fight when shao ordered the execution of my men."
"And you were spared?" Millikan asked and ignores the glare from Rain.
"I essscaped just minutes before my execution. Went into hiding for 2 centuries and then I decided to go back out to sea, back to my element. Ssseeing as everything had died down and there wasss no longer a bounty over my head." Looking out the small window of his quarters, Varanus could see the lit torches of the docks up ahead. "We are nearing the docks so get your stuff together."
"Thank you Varanus." Rain bows his head towards Varanus who nods in return. Millikan and the rest of the tarkata thanked him as well before leaving the quarters. It didn't take long for them to pack up since they didn't have much to begin with. Going up to the deck of the ship to see the ship had just reached the dock and Varanus pushing the anchor over the side of the ship.
"Oh wait." Varanus approached rain and Millikan, reaching inside of his robes he takes out a small scroll and small pouch. "I own a small estate at the north end of the golden city, if you all need a place to rest for the night." He hands rain the scroll and pouch. "Give the scroll and pouch to the quartermaster Kaveh and he should provide you all with mounts and other necessities, on me."
"You don't have to do that." Rain takes the scroll and pouch anyway, placing it inside his satchel.
"It gets really cold at night around this time of year and seeing you had wrapped yourssself in three blankets back at the sea of ice, do you really want to travel through the desert at night?"
"Thank you Varanus." Rain huffed and turned around, heading towards the ramp. Millikan cackled and follows after Rain. The rest of the tarks following behind him as they walked down the ramp and onto the bridge.
"Wait, did he say golden city?" Millikan looked at his surroundings. All he saw was pier with various sized ships, and beyond that was nothing but sand, no walls or city in sight. Rain smirked behind his mask as he continued walking, heading into a small stone building with a strange sign over head. Millikan was confused when they entered the small building to see nothing but a large staircase leading downwards to a giant stone door. "What is this?" he asked as the approached the door.
"You never been to the golden city?" Rain asked. He says something in language Millikan thought to be some ancient tongue. The large stone door made sliding sound before it opened up revealing a whole underground city that was right beneath the golden desert itself. Due to it being underground, the air was always warm and a bit humid. Why most of the populace here dressed in warm loose clothing and barely little clothing that covered the major extremities. The city had everything from a bazaar to homes made of stone and clay. One long sand covered pathway leading from the large door behind them led to directly to the middle of the city and separated into a network of tunnels.
"I never heard of this place." Millikan looked up at the high ceiling. How did they manage to build a whole city under the desert was a complete shock to him. "Jabari, did my father ever mention a place like this?" he asked and got a no in response.
"That's because Shao Kahn never knew the place existed. This use to be a small cave for refugees 128 years ago, the sand people decided to build a new life here and well as you can see. The only way in is through that door we just entered, it's sort of like a portal because it leads those who don't know the words of passage to the middle of the desert instead. They kept this place hidden from shao and his adversaries all this time."
"So how did you find this place?" Millikan tilted his head in question.
"I have my ways. Come on, let's go find this estate Varanus mentioned." Rain opens the small scroll that was given to him, a small map with directions to the estate. "Not that far from here, let's get moving." He placed the scroll back in his satchel and to one of the right pathways. While Rain took the lead, obviously knowing which way to go. Millikan and the others were looking around, taking in the sights and sound of the city. Millikan concluded that they were passing through the residential section, seeing nothing. The residents themselves were either getting ready for bed or finishing up some late night errands. So far all they was were humans and few saurian here and there.
"Are we the first ones to ever get into this city?" walked alongside rain and whispered just enough for him to hear.
"What do you…oh?" Rain looked over at Millikan. "Come to think of it, yes. You are the first tarkatan to ever enter the city. But don't worry, if the people deemed you all a threat well we all would have ended up in the desert instead" He stops walking and looks around. His amber eyes landing on a brown door with a sign over head, old zatterran letters scrolled over it. He pulls open the door and steps inside the home. Lanterns hanging from the ceiling lit up with a green flame all on their own. The inside had the bare essentials. A small table with a single half barrel used as a stool. A regular sized bed in the corner of the room with stacks of fur covers and pillows on it. A small corner of the home was cut off by a large grey drape, most likely restroom. There was a large wooden chest with lock next to the bed.
"Nobody goes near the chest, especially you Jabari." Millikan walks over to the bed and grabs one of the furs covers folded on it. "I…"
"Sleep on the floor." Rain spat out, walking over to the other side of the bed. "Im sure the floor is comfortable." He looked at Millikan waiting for him to react. The other tarks stood in silence, staring at their leader.
"You know tarkatans have a way of dealing with petty disputes like this." Millikan looks at the tarks who shook their heads yes in agreement. Rain glanced at the other before looking back at Millikan.
"Do I even want to know?" Rain asked.
"Since you are not a tarkatan, I will let you chose one to take your place." Millikan points out.
"What…look as much as I like to see what it is? I need to find this Kaveh first so if you want the bed, take it." Rain waved him off, walking toward the door.
"Wait, I'll go with you." Millikan placed his satchel on the floor by the bed. He takes his mask out of his back pocket and puts it on. "Chuma is in charge while im gone, no one leaves fahamu?"
"Ndio." All the tarks replied in unison. Rain walks outside and waits for Millikan to join him a minute later.
"The quartermaster should be to the west, pass the bazaar." Rain started walking, heading back the way they came. Millikan walked alongside him, adjusting his mask along the way.
"How long do you think this will take?" Millikan asked.
Rain glanced at Millikan with a raised brow "It all depends on how long it takes to find him. If you are worried about leaving your men alone for too long then why did you come along?"
"Eventually you get tired of being around your own for too long." Millikan replied with sigh. His mask finally staying in place. They reached the intersection and stops. Millikan looking at rain since he was the one leading the way. Rain was looking at a wall with a map of the city on it, he points to the tunnel right ahead of them and continues walking. As they walked through the tunnel, Millikan could hear the faint sounds of strings, drums and lutes ahead, like some sort of festival taking place. The music was rhythmic, like the music Millikan would hear during one shao khan parties with those scantily women belly dancing for the guest entertainment. Tarkatans music was similar to it but it only consisted of drums and xylophones, sometimes a kalimba. Still the music reminded Millikan of home, or what he called home back the compound near the fortress.
"Something on your mind?" Rain noticed Millikan was being eerily quiet as they walked through the tunnel. Now he was starting to hear the music as they got closer to the bazaar, nothing special there since they played music all the time. Reaching up to scratching his chin underneath his mask, rain looks around as they reached the end of the tunnel. The bazaar was always a crowded area with stands selling all sorts of things ranging from food to highly valuable treasures. Traders from all the realms would bring their stuff here and sell it. Sure there were other places in Outworld to sell your stuff, but here you can sell without the risk of getting in trouble. The sand people literally had their eyes on everything, and if anyone got out of line...those sand statues weren't there for display.
Millikan was starting to feel a bit giddy, his eyes wide as he looked at the stands they walked pass. Clutching his hands behind him to resist the urge to grab at stuff. This was a sensory overload and Millikan was regretting joining Rain in the first place. 'Is this what my men go through in a new public area?' He thought to himself. This was testing his limits, a limit that he thought was gone during his teen years.
"You ok?" Rain touched Millikan arm, feeling how tense he was. "You not going to go in a rage on me. Thought you had better self-control." He smirked behind mask.
"It's my first time being in a marketplace like this, this is a lot to take in." Millikan took a deep breath and gagged, catching a whiff of something foul. He looked to his left to see a small exotic pet stand, the owner needs to do a better job cleaning up after the animals there.
"I guess we better move quick then. Last thing I want to do if knock you out." Rain approaches one of the shop owner and ask him the location of the quartermaster. Once again it was in a language Millikan was not familiar with. He will have to ask Rain about it later, when he wasn't struggling with self-control. "He should be at the end of this section here." He continues down the path, making sure Millikan was right beside him. "Try to focus on one thing, like the music."
"Yeah, I can do that." Millikan folded his arms as he followed Rain. Keeping his eyes forwards as he tried to block out everything around him except the music. It was starting to work until a man carrying a basket of black feathered chicks bumps into him. The basket hit the ground and the little chicks started to chirp and run about the place. The man grumbled as he frantically gathered up the chicks in a hurry, one of them was sitting on Mill right foot and seemed content sitting there. "Umm."
"Seem's like you made a friend." Rain joked as Millikan tried to wiggle the chick off his foot. The man grabs the chick and placed it in the basket with the other and bows, apologizing to Millikan.
"It's fine." Millikan nodded as the man walks off. He sighed deeply and looks at Rain who was giving him a strange look. "What?"
"Nothing, let's go." Rain looks always and continues walking. They reached the end of the bazaar and enter another tunnel. This tunnel was a bit shorter and led to small clay house with a large open field in the back.
"How do they survive down here?" Millikan noticed a small herd of Outworld donkeys running around. These donkeys were 3 times the size of an earth realm donkey and came in strange colors like blue and green. Rain ignored Millikan question as he walks up the door of the home and knocks twice. The door opens as short man wearing a long white tunic and turban steps out. He looks at rain and Millikan curiously.
"Kaveh, Varanus told me to give you this." Rain hands the man the scroll and pouch.
"Varanus, ok." Kaveh nods as he opens the scroll and looks it over. "Is it just you two?"
"11 others." Rain replied.
"Alright, I will meet you at the stone door at dawn then." Kaveh turns around and heads back his home and shuts the door. Rain looks back at Millikan who shrugs.
"Let's go back." Millikan says, dreading the fact that they had to walk through the bazaar.
"Grab my hand." Rain holds out his right hand toward Millikan hand. Millikan squinted at Rain, wanting to make a joke but could think of a good one right off the top of his head. He uncrossed his arms and grabs Rain hand. "Hmm."
"Nini?" Millikan huffed as rain held up his hand, rubbing his thumb over the palm of his larger hand. Millikan didn't mind the fact that rain was holding his hand, it was just that he was observing it.
"I thought your hands would be more calloused." Rain places his other hand on Millikan shoulder. They both disappeared in a splash of water and reappear in front Varanus estate. Millikan looks around then glares at Rain. "Before you even ask why I didn't do that in the first place is because I didn't know the exact location and I can't teleport all the time." Rain answered before Millikan could get a word out.
Millikan shrugs and goes inside the estate to see everyone had fallen asleep. He looked at the bed to see Chuma and another tark had taken over the bed. "Not like I need to sleep anyway." Millikan walks over the sleeping tarks laying across the floor and over to the small table in the corner. He sits down on the small barrel and leans back against the wall. Rain looks around trying to find a spot on the floor to sleep, that wasn't taken up by tarks. Deciding to just sleep right in front of the door, at least he had a blanket to lay on.
Author Note: Thank you for the reviews. I'm happy everyone is enjoying the story so far