“It’s your fault we got ourselves in this mess you know.” Terra chastised him from the far corner of his small prison.
Eimose rolled his eyes.
“I know, you’ve told me that repeatedly. I get it. All my fault. What you fail to tell me are any ideas you have of escaping.” He responded snidely. He didn’t remember Terra being so annoying, but then again she was eleven or twelve according to his memory. Was it possible to strangle a robot?
“You’re the one that got us in this mess, you think of something! I can’t keep constantly being the muscle in your plans. Learn to live with your consequences. Don’t expect people to bail you out or rescue you.”
“I realize that, but that still gives me no clue how to formulate a plan. I’m just saying that you could easily punch through that door and free us both and all our problems will be solved.” Eimose countered, hoping Terra would succumb to his pleas.
“I can’t bail you out of this one and you know that it’s your fault I can’t.”
Groaning, Eimose slunk into a dirty corner of the room he was locked in and sank to the floor, tired from his constant pacing. Why wasn’t Terra helping him? Granted, it certainly was his fault for jumping the gun and allowing them to both be captured, but she could at least give him a hand with their escape.
After being battered, Eimose had been dragged down the length of the subaqua very unceremoniously and dumped in a vacant dormitory. Clearly this subaqua wasn’t meant to house prisoners since his current cell was equipped with a toilet and cot, which was quite a luxury in itself, much less in a ‘prison’. The first day consisted of him lying on the floor and trying not to move his facial muscles in an attempt to jump-start the healing process. He’d fallen asleep a few times from boredom, so he had no idea what day it was, but judging by the waves of recurring hunger pangs, he was most likely on his fourth day without food. On the positive side, the right side of his face was recovering nicely and he could finally open his eye that had been swollen shut. The fourth day was also the day Terra had suddenly appeared in his cell without warning.
He’d bombarded her with questions but the only things that came out of her mouth were accusations about how everything was his fault, starting with the bunker, which at that point he’d already forgotten. Terra continued upturning his heavy memories, even about murdering the Scout Head, which he didn’t realize she’d known about. Her appearance was odd, indeed, but he was glad to have the company since he thought he was about to go insane from boredom and silence.
The subaqua shuttered and Eimose smacked his head against the metal wall as it came to a sudden stop.
“What was that?” he exclaimed, lurching clumsily to his feet.
“How the hell am I supposed to know?” Terra snapped. “I’m in the same exact cell as you.”
The ship went quiet. Eimose didn’t realize that he’d been hearing the sound of the engine hum until it was gone, and this silence was much more foreboding than the one he’d gotten used to. Footsteps clanged against the metal grated floor and he couldn’t tell how many there were but he knew one thing; he was ready this time and was going to fight them with everything he had the instant they opened his door. He posed himself at the ready at the frame of the door, counting down the seconds until he would launch himself at his attackers.
A small panel popped open and a hand whipped out and before Eimose could react, a trigger was pulled and there was a dart poking out of his chest. He quickly ripped it out as his knees dropped to the ground. Within seconds, he was completely immobile lying on the cold metal ground, eyes drooping shut.
Feet appeared within sight of his increasingly blurry vision and get could see the ground begin to pass him by although he couldn’t feel his body being picked up.
“Do you think we broke him?” Eimose could hear through the garbled sound his blood made in his ears as it pounded through his skull.
“Probably. Hallucinating is a symptom of drugs, tumor, or mental disorder, and we’ve already ruled out the first two.”
What were they talking about? Eimose tried to form coherent thoughts through the fog of the drug but as soon as he reached for an idea, it flew off into the distant corners of his mind.
He never quite succumbed to the full effects of the drug, but there was a lot of fading in and out of reality. There would be periods he’d be on the ship, then he’d suddenly be outdoors, then he’d be rocking on a cart. It was all very disorienting and the drug didn’t seem to be fading anytime soon.
When he opened his eyes again, the world around him was pitch black. Fearing he’d gone blind, he fumbled around, only to find that his arms had been bound behind his back while his legs were bound with his knees still bent, preventing him from even standing, and in his mouth was a very sour-tasting rag that muffled his cries for help. He struggled with his bindings but they only seemed to dig into his skin even further.
“My gods, calm down, will you? I was in the middle of a very pleasant dream.”
Eimose tried to turn to face the voice, but his entire world was dark and all he could muster was a weak scream dampened by the dirty cloth in his mouth. He heard the other person groan and was certain there had been an exasperated eye-rolling that followed.
“Scoot toward my voice and I’ll help you.” A multitude of incoherent expletives was said shortly after but Eimose was too busy struggling to move across the floor to let it affect him.
A flood of relief hit him as he could feel the stranger’s nimble fingers undo the bindings on his arms and soon he was feeling the uncomfortable prickles of blood rushing back into his fingers. Within he was minutes he was completely freed from the rope binding him as well as the sack that had been covering his head and the nasty gag in his mouth, but his heart sank when he saw he was still in a small confined space. What did he expect would happen to him? That they would simply deposit him in some market somewhere after they’d taken him captive? Besides the information regarding some strange liquid in vials and their hidden location on the subaqua, he had nothing to offer them, and he highly doubted these...whoever they were...would care for such data. Which meant that there was no way out for him.
“Wow, so you don’t even thank the person who just freed you. Typical.”
He turned and apologized to the cross-armed male--no female--that stood behind a set of pars equivalent to his. Her head was completely shaved, and he was embarrassed for a moment he’d thought she was male simply because of that feature, but her voice clearly indicated that she was, indeed, of the female gender. Black ink ran across every square inch of exposed skin in intricate patterns, leaving very little color of her original tan skin unaffected. Her eyes were a reddish brown and seemed to change with the lighting. She was wearing some sort of steel armor from her neck down, complete with gauntlets and foot guards.
“You going to stare all day or what? I take it you don’t get out much since your people skills need major work.” She scoffed, leaning back with a smirk on her face.
Eimose fumbled for words.
“Uh, where am I?” He managed to spit out, seeing no windows or doors in sight. How was he even in this cage if there were no doors to deposit him in?
“You’re not getting the usual welcoming party, so I’ll have to do. Welcome to Oasis, the shining light of prosperity in this wretched world!” She extended her arm dramatically, staring off into the distance. “Where those who have been forgotten have a home and those who are shunned can thrive! But only if you’re female. I think you may be the setting a record for staying alive in Oasis for so long. You are a male, right?”
“Last I checked, yes,” Eimose responded, a new set of worries weighing on his shoulders. “Why is it that only females are allowed?”
“Do I look like a history instructor to you? It doesn’t matter if I tell you or not since you’re going to die anyway. Why waste my breath?” The girl slid down the length of the wall to sit on the cold stone ground. “It’s almost time.”
“Almost time for what?” He asked, but as soon as the words left his mouth the walls shook around him and he could feel his stomach sink as if he were on an elevator moving upwards. The ceiling slid open and the bars were lowered as he reached the surface, exposing him to the brightest light he’d witnessed. When his eyes adjusted, he couldn’t help but gasp.
The sky was blue. Two suns hung separated in the blueness, brightening the entire world around him. There was no red fog in sight and he could breathe freely despite not wearing a respirator.
“Duck!”
Eimose felt himself being pushed down, leaving only inches between his eye and the spear that had appeared out of nowhere. Reality rushed back to him and he noticed that was in in a circular arena with spectators surrounding him. The height between the ground and the first row of spectators was much taller than him, so he wouldn’t be able to escape that way. He tucked and rolled out of the way just as a large boulder came barrelling toward him. Where were these things coming from? Looking for answers, he searched for the girl who’d just saved him and saw that she was already on the other side of the field, with a sword and shield in hand (he had no idea where she’d gotten those) fighting a large monster. Monster?
The boulder that he’d just avoided unfurled and an arm shot out, catching him in his side and sending him careening towards the center of the arena. Instincts kicking in, he managed to get his footing in time to avoid a very large arm coming down on him, feeling small bits of rock splatter against his face as the very ground beneath the fist splintered and flung debris in all directions. He sprinted toward the edge of the arena to where the spear that had been first launched at his head was lodged.
An odd sensation filled his body the instant his hand made contact with the cool black metal. It felt as if electricity was coursing through his body, granting him power beyond his wildest imagination. He felt as if everything that had happened in his life was insignificant, that this spear had been the answer to all his problems. What happened next he couldn’t quite understand, as the spear took control of his body and dodged an incoming attack, quickly slicing the monster’s arm clean from its body. He could hear its roar of anger and pain reverberate in his bones, and it filled him with joy. He needed more. More. MORE!
The spear was ripped from his hands and Eimose’s mind came back to the foreground.
“Are you insane!” The girl from the cage cried out, chucking the spear at the monster she had run from.
“What did you do that for?” Eimose cried out just as the crowd around him booed.
“Look around you.” She cried out as she ran towards the black creature.
The frustrated Eimose wanted to run after her and take back the spear that was rightfully his, but his curiosity won the best of him and he looked down. He was standing in a grotesque puddle of the remains of the monster he’d been fighting. His clothes were soaked in black ooze and he could feel something warm and sticky run down his face. Eimose reached up to wipe it away and reeled back when he saw that his arm was covered in a black rock, resembling the monster he’d been fighting. He tried his best to tear away at the oddity on his arm but to no avail. The crowd booed in dissatisfaction and he looked up to see the girl behead the monster she’d been fighting with the spear he’d used.
“You wanted to know why no men can survive here!” She hollered over the sound of the ambient crowd. “This is why no men can survive here!” The girl flung the spear down into the remains of the creature.
For an instant, Eimose thought she’d been insulting him for being so weak, but then he made the correlation between his arm and the creature. Holding on to the spear had changed his arm into...that. Perhaps others before him hadn’t been so lucky and those monsters were what they became. But why were females immune to the spear and the power it possessed? Did it target only men, or what he just weak to its promise of power? What exactly made them--him change like that? What it a virus? Would his arm revert back to normal or would it continue spreading? Would he turn into one of those monsters?
The roar of a new monster filled the stadium and the cheering from the stands reached to a painful decibel. Eimose searched around in a panic, searching for the origin of the cry and saw nothing around him besides the two remains of the two previous monsters and the girl who still remained nameless. He was surprised to see her by his side considering he’d seen her across the field just a moment ago.
“Big one’s coming. I suggest you run around and try not to get hit.” She smirked, smile growing wider at the thought of her challenge. Eimose nearly jumped back when he saw that her eyes had turned totally red. “Just stay out of the way and you’ll live.”
She sprinted away to the center of the arena despite there not being a monster anywhere near. Suddenly the ground burst open and Eimose had to shield his eyes from getting blinded by the dust and rocks, noticing that the girl had somehow predicted where the monster would emerge and had proceeded to cut off three of its fingers already. He sprinted away to the edge of the arena and took a moment to examine the creature engaged in battle.
It was covered from head to toe in some strange black substance that seemed to be both a liquid and a solid simultaneously. Easily twice Eimose’s height, it had no identifiable facial features except for two holes that were sunken into its skull, which he assumed were its eyes, and a mouth that seemed to unhinge itself from the rest of its jaw, revealing a set of unnaturally sharp teeth. Horns created a ridge down the creature’s spine, preventing any sort of sneak assault from the back. A tail swung around with a life of its own, further deterring any thought of an attack to the monster’s blind spot. As if sensing Eimose’s eyes on it, the creature’s head snapped to face him and it began galloping in his direction.
Eimose ran along the side of the arena but because the monster had come from the center, it all it had to do was make a quick adjustment in its path and it would still be heading straight for him. Its clawed hand lunged at him and he narrowly missed being impaled by ducking underneath it. The creature stumbled backward as the girl sliced at one of its back legs while it was distracted with Eimose, giving Eimose enough time to get out from the monster’s range of motion.
The monster roared in anger and Eimose turned around to get a better scope of where his adversary was, tripping on his own feet in the process, but also avoiding the sharp edges of some sort of projectiles coming from the monster’s open jaws. Great, now the thing could shoot him, as if the large claws and barbed tail weren’t enough.
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He launched himself forward just as another onslaught of projectiles sprayed the ground behind him. Looking around, the only sort of protection that would allow him to catch his breath while not meeting instant death via deadly monster vomit was the corpse of the creature the girl dispatched. Although macabre, he would have to take a chance and hope the corpse would be enough to grant him a few moments of reprieve as his legs were already getting heavy and his lungs burning. If he lived past this experience, he would be sure to get in better shape; not even his physical training at the Academy prepared him for this.
Jumping behind the dead body, he winced when he landed on the jagged rocks that lay around the creature. He could hear the thumping of the bullets against the body of the dead creature, gulping down as much air as he could before the creature decided to charge at him again. Eimose heard it roar again and it stopped its constant berating of projectiles, so he risked peeking over his barrier to see what was going on.
The girl had hacked off its tail and left a great gash on its back right leg, causing the monster to stumble. When the creature tried grabbing her, she nimbly skirted away, slicing off two more of its clawed fingers. Eimose silently cheered her on from a safe distance away, feeling useless but knowing that nothing he would do could possibly harm that beast. Unless…
He looked around him until he spotting the odd black metal sticking out of the dead monster’s body. The spear. Eimose didn’t grab it because he knew he was risking turning into one of those things, but at least now he had the option of aiding the girl with the fight. As long as the girl remained hacking away at the large creature, then he wouldn’t have to join the battle and chance whatever was going to happen to him. If it did come down to him fighting with that weapon, would he be able to muster up the willpower to drop it before he became a monster? Just exactly how had he ended up in a situation like this? A few minutes ago he didn’t even think creatures like that existed and now he was debating whether or not to risk becoming one!
He looked down at his arm, disgusted at its sudden appearance. From his shoulder down his clothes had been shredded by whatever black substance surrounded it. His hand had become clawed and was three times larger than his human one, although it did react properly when he moved it, so at least it didn’t have a monstrous agenda to bring about his death. Wait, if his arm was made of the same material as his barrier, wouldn’t it be able to stop the projectiles as well? Perhaps even block an attack? If he was going to be stuck with this thing, he was going to use it.
An overwhelming ‘ooh’ sound emanated from the audience and Eimose stuck his head above his barrier, cringing when he saw the girl struggling to pick herself up from a heavy blow to the torso. The monster reared up and roared in triumph and Eimose could see its arm preparing to deal a final blow to the girl below it. Figuring now was as best of a time as ever, Eimose summoned as much willpower as he could and grabbed the spear with his monstrous hand.
It coaxed him with the promise of power and laying to waste all his enemies, but Eimose was having none of it. For all he knew it could have already started spreading--he had no timetable of knowing how fast the thing would spread. Instead, he chucked it at the monster. He had no time to revel in the roar his mark produced as it forgot all about the girl and turned its attention to him.
“Shit, bad idea,” he muttered as the reality sunk in.
He started running away from the monster, but the only weapon he’d had he’d thrown away and there was no way he would be able to run away from this lumbering being. Despite the multiple deep cuts on its limbs, it ran as if it were uninjured, so it caught up to him within the minute.
Eimose slammed to the ground as the beast’s hand heavily swung down on him, knocking the air out of his lungs. After all, this, after he’d finally found a place that could answer his questions about the blue sky, his death would be by the hands of this thing. As he struggled to breathe while being crushed, the monster’s head lowered and he could feel the hot air of its mouth on the back of its neck. Was he going to be eaten?
“H-help me,” a gravelly voice whispered in his ear.
Eimose heard metal sing through the air and suddenly the monster’s head had fallen beside his. Its eyes were wide with fear, it’s neck dripping with black blood. The weight of the beast relieved itself from his back and he was able to take a full breath of air.
“Seems like today’s your lucky day.” The girl said after she’d pushed the dead carcass off of him, offering a hand up.
“Yeah, real lucky.” He looked down at the monster’s head. Had that thing really spoken? Chalking it up to delusions of fear and lack of oxygen, he pushed the thought aside until he had a better understanding of what was going on. “So, what happens now? Can I go?”
The girl snorted in amusement.
“Let you go, are you serious? You’re the first man to have ever survived a trial, and you want to leave? Are you insane? Look at this place, who’d want to leave this?” She gestured toward the sky and to the surrounding crowd, who were now throwing confetti. “Glory, riches, and an atmosphere you can actually live in. I’ve seen the outside world and it’s a pile of shit compared to this.”
Eimose had to agree, but he still had a promise to fulfill; his mission was now to find Terra and the bag and get to Onto.
The girl’s shield and sword somehow snapped to her forearms and formed her gauntlets as she walked towards the edge of the arena where a door had magically appeared.
“There was a robot with me on the subaqua. Where did they put her?” he urged, chasing after her.
“I don’t know anything about a robot, but you might want to speak to the merchant crew. They’re the ones that deal with the outside world matters. They’re the ones that brought you in.” She walked through the doorway and into a dark corridor embedded in the arena’s wall. “I suppose I do owe you for saving my life, so I’ll take you to them. I hate owing people. Name’s Yismin by the way.”
“Eimose.”
It was a short stroll through the hallway and they were met with sunlight and a group of cheering fans at the exit. The fans parted when they came through only because large females wearing black suits pushed them away.
“Yismin, I love you!”
“Can I have your autograph!”
“Take a picture with me!”
“I waited ten hours to see you!”
Eimose could tell Yismin loved the attention as her smile split her face in two and she took a ridiculous amount of time signing posters and skin and taking photos. He couldn’t leave without her since he was still oblivious to the area and needed his guide. After what seemed like eons, Yismin took him across the square and ushered him into a vehicle he was unfamiliar with.
“So that’s why you love this place.”
“Awww, is the man jealous?” Yismin said as he leaned back in her seat and began unassembling her armor. “I’m the number one champion in the arena. Here, strength is key.”
“What exactly were those things?” Eimose asked, recalling the cry for help the monster had whispered. “I’m guessing they were men at one point,” he raised his blackened arm, “but what I don’t understand is why.”
“Why what?” she said after a second, thinking he would continuing his sentence.
“Why does it only target men? What is this black stuff? Can we remove it? Why were the people who took me so interested in Terra’s mask? Why is the sky blue? Why have I never heard of this place before?” The questions were pouring out now and Eimose was feeling more confused than ever. At Greenhouse, he’d never learned about any place like this.
“My goddess, does your mind ever get tired?” Yismin cocked her head, thinking. “I guess it’s inevitable I give you a short history lesson. Alright, listen up.
Oasis was founded before the great war that destroyed the world. A group of female slaves killed their masters in their sleep and escaped out into a desert with nothing more than the respirators in their mouths and the clothes on their back. After three days, half of them had died and the other half was losing hope of finding food and water. That was when the Priestess found them and guided them to this anomaly, where the air was pure and the water untainted. She taught them how to protect themselves against anyone who would wish to harm them. Messengers were chosen to gather more women to Oasis, particularly those adept at the sciences and mechanisms. Within a few years, we’d established a solid foundation for reproduction without the need of men as well as a fast way to build the city.
It was after Oasis was flourishing that the Priestess told everyone that the borders needed to be sealed as she’d been told of the war by the Goddess. That was when she showed us how marking our skin would infuse the Goddesses' power with us.” Yismin raised her arm and lifted her sleeve to emphasize her point. “Since then we’ve been closed off from the rest of the world to enjoy our paradise. If others discovered of this location, I’m sure we’ll have to fight to keep what is rightfully ours.”
“But how do the markings make you powerful? They’re just tattoos,” asked Eimose as he tried to wrap his mind around this civilization that had remained untouched by the war. Do they even know about Greenhouse?
“Our Priestess created a special ink from the stone touched by the Goddess that lives in the center of the city.” Yismin pushed a button and the door became transparent, revealing the buildings and life passing by. She pointed at a large spire that rose above all the other buildings. “That is the temple of the Goddess. Because we won, we get to go there and get blessed by the Goddess. Not sure I have much room for another blessing though.”
“Why doesn’t everyone have tattoos then?” Eimose questions while staring at the people they passed by.
“Blessings have become scarce, granted only to the best. It’s a yearly occasion to have the best fighter, mathematician, biologist, physicist, you name it, compete to be the best in their field so they can be granted a blessing. I doubt they’re going to give you one since you just appeared. You were supposed to be a liability so I would lose, but you showed them. I’m glad I didn’t leave you to die.”
“Are you running out of blessing? Is that why only the top can receive blessings?” he inquired, becoming more curious about this Goddess being the more it got mentioned. He’d been taught of the gods of old during the Academy, but never about this Goddess. Eimose didn’t consider himself religious in the slightest, yet this new being had piqued his interest.
“Our Priestess was the only one who could make the formula for blessings, and she left a long time ago. She said she was going on a quest of discovery. That was shortly after the war. No word has been heard since, but there have been rumors that she is still alive.”
“That doesn’t make sense. If she’s still alive then she’s got to be at least…” Eimose quickly calculated some numbers, “sixty years old! People don’t live that long, at least not anymore!”
“And exactly how old do you think I am?” Yismin asked with a coy smile on her face.
“Uhh, twenty?” Eimose guessed, rounding up.
“Really?” Yismin’s eyebrows rose in question. “Wow. I look good for a forty-year-old then.”
“Excuse me?” Eimose’s jaw hung open.
“Now you see why we still believe our Priestess is alive. We’re here. Save your questions until after the ceremony as you are still a slightly unwelcome guest in the temple. I will guide you to the merchant in charge of subaqua travel but that is where our paths split.”
Yismin smoothly got out of the vehicle and Eimose stumbled out of the car trying to keep up with her. Hoards of people surrounded the path to a brightly lit temple, calling out to Yismin, and Eimose was afraid that she would spend hours signing autographs and taking photos again, but she swiftly continued walking down the pathway with her head held high. He had to admit, even without her armor she was a sign of power and confidence and he was tempted to kneel for some reason, but he stopped before he made a fool of himself.
Females dressed in ornate clothes were standing near the doorway of the temple’s entrance trying to hide their rapid glances toward Eimose and failing. He looked down at his own attire and grimaced. He was still covered in dirt and monster blood and his arm had torn apart the sleeve of his left arm and the tatters hung like limp rags against his body.
“You coming or what?” Yismin called out from ahead of him, already entering the temple.
Eimose wordlessly put his head down and passed by the women staring at him, trying to ignore the eyes that judged him. Yismin must have picked up on his uncomfortableness as she playfully punched him in the shoulder to break him out of his stupor.
“Calm down, it’s their first time here and they’ve never seen a man before. They’re just curious.”
He cleared his throat in embarrassment for being so transparent and straightened up.
“So where is the merchant?”
“It seems they haven’t made their appearance yet. I will let you know when they do, so until then let’s enjoy ourselves.” Yismin pushed him through the crowd of females until they reached a table filled with an assortment of colorful things he didn’t recognize. Yismin grabbed a plate and started piling things on her plate, so Eimose imitated her, wondering exactly what the purpose of the things was. His eyes widened when she saw her grab something from her plate and take a large bite from it. Was this stuff edible? He curiously sniffed at the items on his plate, cautiously grabbing something yellow and plopping it into his mouth. The flavor was exquisite! Within minutes he had cleaned off his plate and was going in for more. The blaring of trumpets nearly made him drop his plate of food and he looked at Yismin for an explanation.
“Our leader is here. Follow my lead.” Yismin whispered as she moved to the edge of the temple. Soon there was a pathway cut through the crowd of females. When a female wearing a black crown entered the room, the entirety of the crowd lowered their heads in unison so that she was the tallest figure in the room. Eimose did as he was told and followed Yismin’s lead. Sweet relief cut through his stiff neck when the woman crossed the room and sat on an ornately decorated marble throne and he saw others raising their heads.
“Greetings chosen few. You are here because you have shown competence and innovation in your fields, giving us a brighter hope for the future and guaranteeing that Oasis will be a shining beacon for our kind for many more generations to come. We will be presenting blessings in a moment, but first, there is a word from the merchants, who have made a remarkable discovery.”
A group of females entered and Eimose recognized the woman leading the charge; it was the one from the subaqua that had beaten him to a pulp. One of the females in the back was carrying something swaddled in cloth. His first thought was that it was Terra’s head, but he’d spoken with Terra in his prison room, so it couldn’t be her. A sharp pain ran through his head as if someone had driven a nail in his brain and it took all of his willpower to remain standing. Terra wasn’t dead, her head wasn’t in that cloth. Terra was fine. Terra was fine.
“We come across this relic by coincidence, but we all know the Goddess works in mysterious ways.” The female holding the bundle gave the package to the lead merchant, who dramatically unveiled it and lifted it so everyone in the crowd could see.
The crowd gasped in surprise. Eimose wanted to puke. Terra’s head was being displayed like a trophy. She deserved better than this!
Eimose pushed past the females, lunging at the merchant holding Terra’s head. His clawed hand was a mere inch away from the merchant’s smug face when he was knocked to the ground from behind.
“Are you an idiot!” He heard Yismin cry from his back.
“This man was the one who had the Goddesses' relic in his possession.” The merchant stated, pointing an accusing finger to him. “His mind is carefully guarded, however, as even with our methods of interrogation we were not able to get in pertinent information as to where he received the item.”
“You’re the ones that killed Terra you assholes!” He cried out. His brain hurt and his mind was rejecting the fact that Terra was, in fact, dead. Who had he spoken to in his cell?
“This...man...had a Goddess artifact?” the woman atop the throne summarized.
“Yes. And if I may be so bold as to suggest a swift execution to this heathen as he refuses to cooperate with us.” The merchant offered. “We attempted to make his death a spectacle earlier, but our champion Yismin is clearly much too powerful to let even this man die in battle.”
Yismin’s grip on Eimose’s shoulder tightened in response, eliciting a cry of pain. The Leader pondered the thought for a moment before opening her mouth again.
“The options are this my blessed ones. We let this man live amongst us as we cannot let him spill his secrets outside our realm, or we kill him now and rid ourselves of an impure being.”
A cry for blood and death rose from the audience and Eimose could see the merchant stand up straighter. With a single nod from the Leader, one of the guards by her side unsheathed her sword and tossed it to the merchant, who expertly caught in with one hand. Eimose could see the joy that sparked behind those cold eyes and struggled to get out from underneath Yismin, but even with his larger stature, he couldn’t wriggle away from the champion’s grasp. The cool feel of metal stopped his struggling as even a swallow could result in a cut.
“I have been waiting seven days to do this.” The merchant said with a grin, lifting her arm above her head and bringing it down with all her force.
Eimose braced himself, wishing he could wipe away the tears that were dripping down his face. He couldn’t even have a dignified death.
Something whistled through the air, knocking the sword out of the merchant’s hand and across the room.
“Who did that!” The merchant cried out in fury, but her face paled when she saw who it was.
The crowd gasped again, including the leader. Eimose turned to see who it was and was shocked to see a familiar face walking toward him.
“Henar--” he started to call out, looking behind her to see if perhaps she’d brought Brit and the crew as the backup, but his voice was overpowered by the sound of everyone falling to their knees.
“The Priestess, she’s returned!”