If Bjorn had to choose a vacation spot, it would not be in the dilapidated underground ruins of an ancient civilization which were now freeloaded by murderous and savage Scorpion People.
Who for some reason hated the Reiszer with a passion.
“Shield Wall! Don’t let them get the better of you!” Bjorn took charge and blocked the pincers’ of a Scorpion Man with a stone wall he broke off. His biceps were on fire and his chest hurt but Bjorn let out a thunderous cry and pushed the Scorpion Man back to its other brethren.
“You, shall, NOT PASS!” Bjorn thundered and threw the wall above the Scorpion People’s heads, causing the ceiling to collapse on top of them. “I always wanted to say that! Lovis, show them our claws!”
The small and nimble footsteps of Lovis—the fiercest and most unhinged one of their group—filled the hallway. He jumped over Bjorn’s back and leapt at the Scorpion People with his two axes and a crazed smile behind his sloppy-cropped blond hair.
Lovis cut the joints of a Scorpion Man and Bjorn picked up one torn-off pincer and impaled him.
The rest of the Reiszer swarmed in and took care of the rest until none of them were left.
“We won!” the slave warriors let out a winning cry and advanced to the other hallway where they were separated by Hessian, Nertha and the others. “Hessian…”
Bjorn knew Hessian since the first day he had entered the slave camp of Macnaught. His eyes were like that of a wolf and always kept to himself.
There was this aura around him, an unapproachable wall no one would or should dare to approach. Yet there was Bjorn, a leader of a slave group who thought about bringing Hessian in line.
It failed utterly, no one could bring him in line.
Bjorn was the strongest among the slaves but Hessian was the most relentless. A good trait to survive but not in those days when Hessian was losing himself more and more.
“This is insane…” they gawked at the corpses of half a dozen Scorpion People. Nertha and her remaining girls were panting over one of them. Her sword was stuck in the chest of an enemy while around them their allies were long gone.
They lost one-third at the very least and it was only getting worse.
Their numbers were dwindling fast but the enemy remained numerous, no matter how many they defeat.
“Where’s Hessian?” Bjorn inquired and they gave him a knowing glare that suggested ‘Don’t mention his name, it’s his fault.’.
Nertha pulled out her rust-crusted sword from the Scorpion Person and pointed further into the dimly lit hallway where Hessian was surrounded by even more bodies.
Reiszer and Scorpion People alike lay limp around his feet.
Hessian was equally drenched in poison and blood, his face pale and haggard while gasping for air. His hands were equipped with a chipped axe and a bronze sickle sword which he held so tightly his fists turned black.
“Make camp,” Bjorn directed his comrades, “gather the survivors and check the spoils. Whatever you can get.”
“Bring me the venom gland of a Scorpion Woman,” Tomoe’s snarling fox mask resurfaced in his memories. She had sent them out into the desert for an impossible quest. Bjorn repeated her words whenever they killed an enemy or went to sleep. He needed to remain with a clear head.
So far they have killed over a dozen Scorpion People and lost just as many friends and comrades but they had yet to find a venom gland.
“Nope, not even close, that’s a man,” Nertha oversaw the inspection while Bjorn was resting and sharpening his new sickle sword.
Finding herself a new bow and quiver Nertha slung them over her shoulder while discarding one of her broken axes.
Thankfully they were able to replenish their weaponry on this battlefield.
“I wonder how long it will take to find a Scorpion Woman.” Bjorn stood next to Nertha, helping in the expectation though he didn’t know how. “We seem unable to find one, how should we discern them?”
“Just look for a large rack and wide hips. Shouldn’t be too hard,” suggested Nertha and earned a surprised look from Bjorn. “What? That’s simple biology. Women have naturally larger hips and prominent chests while men tend to have broader shoulders. The same goes for those Scorpion People.”
“I will not argue, you are the expert here,” Bjorn chuckled and looked over to Lovis who was talking to him in sign language. “Lovis wonders if Scorpion People have only one gender and if the women look like men or if they exist only 1 to 100…”
Lovis made another suggestion and Bjorn chided him for that. “Don’t say that about dwarves, that’s inappropriate!”
“I doubt that’s the case, look at that,” Nertha called Bjorn over and the Reiszer gathered over the corpses of two Scorpion People. Primally at those that fit Nertha’s previously mentioned characteristics.
“Wow, these are indeed, very big and–” Bjorn had to slap himself to regain focus “What about their tails? Do they fit our task?”
Two Reiszer hoisted up the stingers of the fallen enemies and Nertha continued the inspection. “One was destroyed during the battle but the other… it’s still intact.”
Everyone’s eyes lit up. “Does that mean–”
“Sadly no, this one is underdeveloped or… sterilized? Hard to tell but my guess is they have a matriarch who counts as the true Scorpion Woman we are looking for. Those are fledgelings or wenches if you want to call them that. The matriarch might be even bigger than either of them and her poison even more potent.”
Bjorn scratched his head with the butt end of his axe. “So we have to find a Scorpion Woman who is higher up in the hierarchy and who is much more dangerous than the rest? Talk about a handful.”
Breaking up the camp Bjorn and the rest returned to where they left Hessian. He was still standing in a daze and clinging to his weapons. Dried blood hung on him like a new layer of dirt.
Nertha couldn’t help but drench a piece of cloth in precious water and start cleaning his face—to the aversion of her followers.
“Why is she still infatuated with him?”
“He is leading us to our death.”
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The girls whispered among each other. Nertha’s position as their leader crumbled the more she sided with Hessian. It hurt Bjorn how little he could do about it.
“Hessian, wake up,” Nertha whipped the blood off of his eyes and they slowly opened.
“How long was I out?” he asked her with a rough and dry tone. His tiredness took away the edge he usually held.
“A few hours, take a sip and let’s get going.” Bjorn threw the waterskin over to him and they ventured forth.
Hessian emptied the entire bottle but his stomach grumbled still, sadly they didn’t just have a shortage of water but also food.
They had yet to resolve to eat the Scorpion People simply because Lovis asked the philosophical and ethical question of whether they were more like humans or monsters.
Bjorn needed an answer asap because he was so close to eating Lovis as an emergency ration.
“I wonder what those murals mean.” Nertha’s darkened hand went over the ancient walls that lined up the hallway. With a torch at hand, Bjorn expected one of them as well.
They had inscriptions on them that were far too old and foreign to read. The murals, however, were easier to decipher.
People of an unknown race wandered the streets of a city. Monsters led by a giant feminine creature fought an army of large glowing men and women, possibly gods.
In one such depiction, they identified the figures of the Scorpion People who went into battle and in another how they became servants to a god who had the sun depicted behind him.
Even in the mural, the sun god looked divine but Bjorn didn’t know what to think of him. He knew that his people believed in a pantheon of pagan gods but they were erased from history a long time ago.
Not many remember them nowadays.
“If one of you studied ancient history feel free to share suggestions that might make us succeed in this quest,” Hessian grimaced at the group. “Otherwise, ignore the pictures, we have more pressing matters.”
Bjorn let out a sigh. He knew these murals wouldn’t help them but he couldn’t help wondering what the full story was. Especially when the next mural he spotted had depictions of boats with raven and dragon figureheads like the old Reiszer once had.
Was this where they once originated from? Was this a place they had once visited?
So much was lost in history and went unsaid after the enslavement of their lands.
“One day, when I am free, I would like to hear our history.” Bjorn nodded and placed his hand on one bearded man’s mural who wielded a spear and was missing an eye as two ravens were perched on his shoulders. “I want to know so much more about ourselves. Not just the warrior part but also about our beliefs… our gods.”
Bjorn removed himself from the mural and they carried on to the darkness.
The picture of the bearded one-eyed man remained on the mural. His remaining eye glinted and a shadow passed before the picture disappeared from the mural and the squawking of ravens was heard.
—✶—
“You know, I was not just known as a hero or king in my time,” Gilgamesh tried not to brag but Lotte didn’t miss the beat in his tone. “I was a warrior and a philosopher as well.”
“Aha?” Lotte’s mind was too preoccupied to pay attention to him.
They wandered in the streets of Irkalla where the dead gave them passing glances before vanishing into a shroud. Lotte followed closely behind Gilgamesh because this place still unnerved her.
So many dead people—and she was one of them.
“You’re not listening,” Gilgamesh pointed out and startled Lotte.
“No, it’s not that– I–”
He gave her an apologetic smile. “Don’t, it’s alright. You have a lot on your mind and just as much time to mull over it. Don’t fret for now about making a decision. Let’s go and take in the underworld, shall we?”
“Yay… let’s…”
Gilgamesh was a far cry from what she had imagined him to be like.
Granted, he was over 5000 years old and a lot of things were misinterpreted from his original story but still, he was far too different from the tale.
Vastly so. She knew his story and how he was once a terrible person and leader but she also knew how he came around and changed—especially after the encounter and loss of his soul mate.
Lotte loved that tale but now Gilgamesh was a shadow of his former self. Not a king or warrior but a melancholic judge of the Underworld Queen. “Maybe death changed him.”
Lowering her head Lotte stared at the ground and followed her judge.
The souls of the deceased went by them. Sometimes slowly, sometimes in a blur and other times, they would stop and give Lotte a side glance. At one instance she could have sworn to have seen a former classmate among their ranks.
It was hard to meet anyone’s eyes.
“I don’t belong here, do I? Why am I here, I want to return, right?”
Lotte’s head hurt and her heart was beating faster again. The souls stirred from her emotions and came to a halt to stare at her again.
“You don’t belong, return to the living.”
“Accept your end, stay with us.”
“Leave.”
“Stay.”
“LEAVE!”
“STAY!”
Their contradictory voices hammered against her brain. Lotte felt nauseous and the souls went on with their lives, disappearing into a blueish blur as if nothing had happened.
From the corner of her eye and past the blur of souls she saw the long and lanky dark figures of demons lurking in the alleys.
“The Alu,” Lotte recognised them since they have chased after her not long ago and the souls tried to stop them from reaching her. “What are they doing here again?”
One of the Alu raised its long and sharp-fingered hand, and Lotte instinctively flinched. The Alu were a startling race of demons with their lack of mouths, noses and ears while their bodies were shrouded in darkness.
She was afraid of them and wanted nothing more than to hide away.
Then the Alu did something unexpected—it started to wave at Lotte as if it wanted to greet her like a friend.
The other Alu joined in on this gesture which startled her even more.
“‘If your heart is fearful, throw away fear,” Gilgamesh brought Lotte's attention back on him and the tall deity looked at her with downcast eyes. ‘“If there is terror in it, throw away terror.’”
Gilgamesh manifested in his hand a two-metre tall and heavy golden axe with an elongated blade.
“‘Take your axe in your hand and attack. He who leaves the fight unfinished is not at peace.’” He twirled the axe once in his hand and it then vanished, leaving the sage king more serene than he previously was. “I told you I am quite the philosopher, didn’t I?”
“Yeah” Lotte stammered and forgot the fear she previously felt. “But what are you trying to say?”
Gilgamesh’s remained smiling and nodded. “You are a smart girl, I think you can figure it out.”
“Oh for heaven’s sake, don’t play this card with me–”
“I am serious.” Gilgamesh furrowed his brow. “You’re smart enough to understand those words. If you let your heart drive with fear and terror then your worst worries will manifest, didn’t they?”
Lotte glanced back to the Alu demons in the back alley. They stopped waving and stared at her mindlessly with their dim blue eyes. She felt all that Gilgamesh described to her, fear and terror, and much more.
“Are you trying to tell me I should take a weapon and run in headfirst at them or else I will regret things?”
Gilgamesh shrugged. “I’m your judge but the decision is for you to take. Dead or alive, will you leave life unfinished or die trying?”
Lotte dared another glance back and the Alu demons were gone, except for one that lurked in the shadow—waiting and stalking her.
“Choose your weapon and your battlefield. Discard all fear and terror, after all, we’re both alike and this place has much to teach you and me.” Gilgamesh beckoned for Lotte to follow him into the wasteland of the underworld—where not even souls dared to walk back into because this is where they had come from.
This wasn’t a place to wander in for the inhabitants of the underworld.
“Oh, before I forget, keep your distance with the Alu. They want for nothing but they are still dangerous for your soul, especially at night when you sleep.”
Gilgamesh suppressed a chuckle and Lotte reluctantly followed her judge.
“Where are we going?” she asked, nervous about what the desert would bring her.
“Where tho? Why, we have all the time in the world until you have to make a decision. Let’s introduce you to the others on who the special guest of the queen is. Also, don’t forget your axe or whatever weapon you prefer, you will need it.”