Dawn broke through the trembling night as the barrier was penetrated by the bow of a long wooden ship. The triple-row triremes was a warship not often seen in these waters. Not even the Gorgon had sunken any of these before.
She stood atop the steps of the destroyed temple and looked on with an increased pulse. Her arms were crossed, yet she was certainly uneasy. Athena’s words had come true far sooner than expected. The humans had arrived.
“Your kin have come to slay me.” Medusa raised her voice ever so slightly. She knew that the girl would hear her.
“There is a ship?” She moved out from behind a pillar, showing a mixed expression. Partly saddened and a bit hopeful all the same.
“No.” She shook her head.
“What? Then what is there?” Her milky eyes could not perceive what approached on the horizon.
“Three battleships.” The Gorgon squinted her eyes with disdain at the approaching expedition.
This was a force to be reckoned with. Even if the slaves rowing the oars were going to be uninvolved, there was more than enough space for a small army on these ships. At the very least a hundred men. They would not have bothered with such a sizeable show of force if they were not equipped for combat. This was the first time Medusa had faced such numbers.
She peeked over her shoulder to muster the thin priestess. Eugenia was not rejoicing or running for the beach. Neither was she hiding or scowling. That expression was perhaps of someone who felt lost.
For Medusa this was routine, indeed, she sometimes viewed such expeditions as diversions. But the priestess had no such sentiments. To her this was bloodshed of her own blood, a massacre of the innocent. It would not have been strange if she had sided with these armed men that had come to deliver their ‘justice’.
Perhaps Medusa simply wanted it to be that way. She realized that a part of her would have felt relief if that was how it ended. Ever since that night where she had deeply hurt the girl’s heart they had not been able to reconnect properly. Eugenia functioned like she always did. Doing her daily chores, preparing food, taking care of the garden. She had not once complained to Medusa since then.
Yet she had also not smiled.
Medusa turned her head back to the ocean. This piercing pain in her chest was worse than any sword she would receive today.
“They will anchor soon. You should… that is…” Medusa did not find the words that could express her thoughts. What could she have said? ‘You can go to them’? ‘You should hide’? She had no right to give the human orders. In fact she had no right to say anything to her at all.
“Lady Medusa!” The girl’s loud voice made her flinch a little. “We should talk to them.”
“Excuse me?” She gave her a baffled look.
“There is no need for bloodshed today.” Eugenia put a hand to her chest and inhaled. “I will convince them not to attack you!”
This frail human girl had already made her choice. And it was not to side with either of them! To her the best solution was to avoid conflict altogether.
Medusa lowered her gaze and fell silent. That was a path not granted to her before. There had never been a chance to negotiate. Nor was there any need. They were intruders that came for her head, so she would not rest until she had severed theirs from their necks. The circle of statues along the edge of the temple grounds seemed to be staring at her mournfully with their blank grey eyes, ever suffering, ever regretful.
“What reason would they have to listen to your demands?” It was the obvious fault in her heartfelt approach.
“I believe that this is Typhos’ expedition.”
“The cowardly scholar?”
“He- he might have come back for me.” She said this with less certainty. There was a twinkle of hope in her white eyes.
“That would be a truly legendary tale. An entire army comes for the sake of a single priestess. You would have made a good poet.” She said sarcastically.
“Stop mocking me!” She balled her fists defiantly. “If it is Typhos then I am certain that I can convince him.”
“Just who is he to you?” The Gorgon asked quietly.
“I don’t know.” She replied truthfully. “But I want to believe in what he believes. He opened his ears to someone as worthless as me. He may do so again. Just give me this chance. Please.”
The Gorgon closed her petrifying eyes and pulled her head back to take in the breeze. The salty air was permeated by a strange smell of wood and fire. Her head was clearing up. No matter how much she worried, there was one thing she could always count on.
“Your foolishness is ever impressive.” She let slip out.
“Huh?”
“Do as you must. Of course you will have to see if fate has brought you the one you seek.”
“Thank you!” She lowered her head deeply.
“Should your negotiations fail, I shan’t be merciful however. Be aware of this.” She cracked her claw like hand which was just for a second covered in green scales.
Eugenia simply nodded.
----------------------------------------
“We’ve arrived once more, milord.” Captain Pelagios adjusted his bandana and scanned the old temple with his eyes. Then he flinched and turned away immediately. He must have just realized that he was in danger if he accidentally locked eyes with the monster. He was certainly easy to read.
“All ships have made it through the storm.” Typhos looked over the edge of the wooden rail with satisfaction. “I must admit I doubted the stories once.”
“What stories, milord?” The scruffy captain scratched his ear.
“About your crew, Pelagios. I have scoured many harbors to find a man brave enough to best these waters, but also skilled enough to survive them.” He played with one of his rings and then gave him a smile. “You exceeded my expectations. For that you have my thanks.”
“No need, sir! We’re all sailors who’ve lost our homeport. Ain’t any place for us to return to. The sea’s our home.” He coughed up some black slime and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “’Tis not too late for my men, though. Your payment’ll allow ‘em to build somethin’ I could never give them.”
“Very well. Then let us shake on the final terms. When you return from this expedition, your long Odyssey will finally end.” He extended his hand.
Pelagios widened his crusty eyes. Indeed, his entire body was dirty and worn, befitting of a man who called the sea his home. A ship would treat a man harshly, but it was honest and fair. Some old seamen would take the oar over a woman, for they could at least tell which way it pushed. Such a humble and musky man, who could never have dreamed of riding a prim and proper triremes in his life, was now treated as an equal by the one who could buy three of them without trouble.
It moved his old heart.
Although his hands were indeed dirty and covered in blisters he returned the handshake with his honest strength. They shook on it like men.
With that Typhos went down the plank that was set into the yellow-white sand. As if they were linked to his movements, two dozen men in armor marched down behind him and lined up in formation. Mercenaries of Sparta and independent groups that would do anything for coin. Their muscles were bulging out of the thick leather covering their arms and legs, giving them vase worthy physique and poise, but their stoic faces were aimed solely at their feet.
It was clear that the Gorgon awaited them. The distance yet was unclear, so whoever looked up would be in danger of petrification. The only one looking ahead doubtlessly was Typhos.
Soon the other two ships arrived with the same amount of armed men that also took position. With a flick of his fingers they raised their shields in front of them and knelt down. Behind them archers with short bows took aim. And they waited in that position. Nobody would dare loosen their fingers on the string until the young scholar gave the order.
Typhos looked upon the temple on the hill and mustered the two distant figures with his blue eyes. From this distance he could not make out their faces, which was the reason he was not affected by the cursed eyes.
He stretched his arm to the side and received something from a man behind him. He put the object to his lips and inhaled.
“Gorgon of Sarpedon!” He shouted into the cone shaped object. To everyone’s surprise his clear voice was enhanced significantly and carried all the way towards the temple! While at least one of the islanders could have heard him even if he spoke at a normal volume, this assured that he was heard loud and clear by all. It was also more theatrical, which he quite enjoyed. “I am Typhos of Athens! This is my second expedition to your domain and if the gods will it, the last as well.”
He noticed the two figures shifting around. They could hear him just fine.
“We have come to reclaim the life that you have so viciously enslaved in your incomprehensible wickedness. Return to us the priestess of Athena! Hand over Eugenia!”
His words rang through the old corners of the ruined temple and echoed back ever so slightly.
At first there was no reply, of course. The distance was great and they should not have perceived the Gorgon’s angered howling anyway. And yet.
“I have never claimed the girl for myself, insolent scholar.” Her deep and intimidating voice permeated the air and reached even the most stoic of soldier’s deeply hidden thoughts. It played with the uncertainty, the primal instinct of flight. She had not raised her voice, did not shout angrily, yet her response was clear. “If you have any desire to speak to her, then you shall have your opportunity.”
Typhos lowered the cone and analyzed the situation silently. Then he raised it for a response.
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“We should simply trust your word, monster?” He asked sardonically. “You will make us believe that you are capable of mercy? To engage in civilized conversation? Laughable!” He watched the smaller figure move around. That must have been Eugenia. She truly seemed unharmed, just as he was told.
“If you do not trust my word, you may go ahead and draw your swords and spears. Rush to your doom at my hands!” She growled. His provocation proved effective.
That was as good as a declaration of war. Finally. Typhos was elated. He raised his hand for all the archers to see. It was merely a soft motion, yet it had the fate of every single person in its grasp!
Then he picked up something he had not thought possible.
Silvery eyes from high above. On top of the temple a gaze so ancient and fair was focusing on the lines of men in the sand. An owl, smaller than a stray cat, was standing fatefully on the crumbling tiles of the temple. It was not just any owl, but the ones depicted on every Athenian coin. The symbol of their goddess herself.
There was no doubt in his mind. Those eyes… he had seen those eyes once before! At the temple of Athena on the Akropolis. The piercing eyes of an unforgiving goddess. Cold sweat flowed down his face and back and for the first time he felt uncertainty well up inside him. She could not be here. He was told that the gods could not look upon this island.
Athena was watching him.
He lowered his arm slowly, telling his men not to strike. In mere seconds he had refocused and put on a face like an unreadable mask.
“What is keeping you, human? Declare your attack or do you have no testicle- ouch.” The Gorgon’s angry taunting was suddenly cut off by her pained groan. “Stop biting! Will you let go already, foolish girl?”
Typhos and the mercenaries listened with rather stoic expressions.
“I granted you a chance to speak to him, but he clearly does not wish to- My tail is not for you to step on!”
The sailors back on the ships were too dumbfounded to keep hiding and just peeked over the barrels and rolled down sails.
“I had enough of your impertinence! If you throw a tantrum, I will throw you into the ocean alongside those cowards!”
Even the majestic silvery eyed owl was not looking so monumental anymore.
“Fine! Speak to him if you think you can! Do not cry to me if you have to crawl back skewered by arrows.” The Gorgon seemed to push the other figure ahead and then turned her back to them.
As unexpected as it was, the Gorgon had truly pushed the priestess towards the expedition. The young woman was a bit disoriented at first, but then pushed out her chest and walked towards them with what she no doubt thought to be a resolved pose. Typhos handed his cone to the man behind him and smiled widely.
“Sir?”
“What scholar would shirk the chance for a fine debate like this?” The young man said jovially and walked forward.
“Wait! This must be a trick! The Gorgon is using her to lure you in!” The captain of the mercenaries, Markos, was clamoring to hold his master back.
“You know what to do.” Typhos waved his hand calmly and ascended the steps. The mercenaries watched the events unfold from their defensive position.
After nearly an entire year the young scholar and the priestess finally reunited in the middle of the temple grounds. They stopped their advance halfway between the Gorgon and the ships. Typhos put one hand into his himation and below his leather cuirass and shifted his weight on his right leg. His relaxed stature was unbefitting of such a monumental moment, but it was still far more dignified than the fidgeting of the girl in front of him.
“I am relieved to find you well, Eugenia.” He said while focusing only on her. For if his gaze strayed to either side of her innocent face, he would run the risk of seeing the cursed eyes. “His words proved to be true.”
“Whose words?” She tilted her head in confusion.
“I fear that will have to wait. There are more urgent things to discuss, no?”
Eugenia nodded. “Thank you for, uhm, coming back after all.” She said bashfully. The confidence from before had evaporated already.
“It was the least I could do. I truly feel ashamed for my prior actions.” He put a hand to his heart and sighed deeply. “To leave you behind has weighed on my mind for countless nights. I do not even want to retell the nightmares that haunted me, let alone the guilt.” His regret was all too believable. “Can you find it in you to forgive me?”
The priestess couldn’t respond. Her face shifted through emotions faster than the scholar could pick up. There was mostly pain to be found, but also an ounce of resentment. Yet, despite all of these painful swirling emotions, she finally nodded. “I was so scared back then. I wanted to yell at you and make you apologize.”
Typhos nodded weakly.
“But I think, no, I believe that your words were not lies. That your ideals are burning just as brightly as back then.” Her hands had become steady and her mouth stopped shaking. “I can’t forgive you for abandoning me, but I am glad that you left that day.”
“Is that so?” He didn’t follow.
“When you left me alone with Lady Medusa I had time to think and realize many things that I could never have before. Because you didn’t succeed in your task I found out the truth about her.” She folded her hands and smiled a little. “I am happy that we failed.”
“I see. Then that is what has kept you strong in these long suffering months.” He said with sympathy.
“Pardon?”
“Let me predict your line of reasoning, if I may. Next you will tell me that the Gorgon is not the monster we believed it to be.”
“H-How-?” Eugenia jerked back in surprise.
“In fact you will appeal for us to spare her life and leave her be.” He tapped his finger against the back of his arm. “Am I right?” He closed one eye as he smiled boyishly.
Eugenia was flustered by the increased pace of the negotiations and hastily tried to regain her composure. She nodded frantically.
“Poor thing.” He looked upon the young woman with deep sorrow. “You do not need to continue this act any longer.”
“What act…?” She was frozen, utterly uncomprehending.
“You were captured and cursed. Treated like a servant and a fool.” Typhos raised his hands and his voice alike. It echoed well inside the ruined temple.
“No, that’s not-”
“Eugenia, your innocent soul was in the grasp of evil for far too long! It is the nature of a woman to empathize, to love and nurture. Therefore your acceptance of the Gorgon was inevitable.” He thought that he saw the slightest shift at the edge of his vision. The monster was moving in a half circle around them. Now he had to focus on the soft features in front of him all the more.
“But Lady Medusa really is not evil!”
“Listen to yourself. You are addressing a monster that has slain countless humans with respect. That snake is no Lady. She is nothing more than a blaspheming monstrosity with a heart of stone. She will abandon you just as swiftly as she has no use left for you.” His claims were like blows from a gauntlet into the young priestess’ face. “Eugenia, to survive humans will do many contradictory things. My mentor has taught me about the riddles of the mind. To avoid suffering we often change ourselves and our view on our oppressors. You have learned to accept the monster as someone you cherish for the sake of staying sane.”
“Wait, no, I didn’t… I mean…” She almost lost her footing and caught herself on her right heel. Then she quickly blurted out rejecting words. “That is not true! I would never trust someone I do not believe in!”
Typhos shook his head in sympathy.
“You have to believe me! Lady Medusa is just misunderstood!” Eugenia shouted.
“Misunderstood, you say?” His eyes shifted and he stretched his arms to the sides. “Pardon my crude words, but I am thankful that you do not have to see the world around you. Elsewise you would witness these horrific, eternal and voiceless cries.” His words were aimed at the dozens of human statues around them. Many were crouched with arms stretched in front of their fearful faces. Some were missing a limb or two from wear or had fallen over. Others were in the process of tearing out their eyes in a last desperate resistance to fate. “These people have no place in the Underworld. Their souls shan’t ever move on.”
His words pierced Eugenia’s heart. She could not even respond right away.
“Ah… but they attacked her first…” She muttered.
“Thus is the fate of a monster that is the enemy of the world.” He said coldly. “These people sought to fight for the glory of the gods and the peace of their families. But even as their spirits were broken and they fled for their lives, the Gorgon did not spare them. It did never even comprehend their suffering. Not just of their bodies, but also of their souls. To be turned into cowards and vermin, to be stomped out like crawling insects!”
“Stop, please. That’s not how Lady Medusa-”
“Have you ever asked it how it sees humans? The gods? The world we live in?” He questioned uncompromisingly.
Eugenia’s face went pale. Even Typhos could tell that the answers were far from favorable. Yet there was still a spark of resistance.
“But revenge won’t change anything! It won’t bring anyone back.” She said with tear filled eyes. The last defense of a child that could not grasp the reality of the world.
“It may not. But it shall at the very least soothe the souls of those who were lost.” He closed his eyes. “You serve Lady Athena with body and soul, is that not so?”
“Of course.” She replied steadily. The moment Athena was mentioned she had calmed down.
“Do you remember what I told you back in Lamia?”
“You said…” She gulped. “The great and wise Athena despises the Gorgon. As do most of the gods.”
“Indeed. For it is a blasphemer of the highest order. It was imprisoned here for that very reason.”
“What?” She didn’t know that apparently.
“The Gorgon offended the gods and rejects them eternally. That alone is reason enough to slay it, is it not?” He spread his arms again. “You serve Lady Athena, so you know which side you should be on! Join us Eugenia and be freed from your prison!” He exclaimed loud enough for everyone to hear.
They fell silent for a long moment. The priestess clasped her white garments and then turned away.
“Lady Medusa.” She talked to the shade that was standing still behind them. “Do the people you petrify not get to move on?”
The Gorgon had her back turned to them. For the first time Typhos could truly see her profile and witness the undulating snake hair. She was wearing clothes this time, unlike during their first ‘meeting’. Her arms were crossed and her proportions like a finely crafted statue, except for her long lower snake-like body half.
“Yes.” She replied emotionlessly.
Eugenia was shaken deeply by that revelation as her buckling legs showed.
“Most of what the coward said is true.” She did not even make any attempt to hide it. Truly, she must have had a heart of stone and a will of steel. “Someone out there still knows the truth of the tales from so long ago.” It was almost as if she reminisced about the past. But that would mean she cared at all for sentimental memories, which Typhos had a hard time believing.
“That’s so horrible.” Eugenia said with a saddened look.
“My curse is not kind. That much you should have known.” The Gorgon said mercilessly. “You will find it hard to defend a monster. These humans have every reason to attack me.”
“You are more pragmatic than expected.” Typhos addressed her without looking her way.
“Silence, fool. I have no reason to listen to your poisonous words.” Suddenly the Gorgon’s aura became so overpowering that Typhos felt his back turn cold as if during deepest winter. Her presence alone was making his nerves cry in fear and pain. The difference between the way she spoke to Eugenia and him was like the sky and the earth!
“True. Nonetheless I would express my satisfaction that we are on the same page.” He stretched forward his hand and gazed at Eugenia. “Come with me. There is no future for you with that thing.”
The stage was set. The second act could finally come to its conclusion. All that was left before the curtain would fall was the final line of the lead actress standing between the hero and the monster.
Her lips opened and she showed her white teeth.
“No!” She yelled.
Typhos and the Gorgon were stunned.
“No, I cannot accept that! You are always brushing me off, ignoring my serious questions and acting like I am stupid!” She pointed at - the Gorgon? “I know there is more to it than you tell me. You need to tell me what you really think!”
“Honestly.” The Gorgon sighed. “Will you stop your foolish meddling-”
Swish.
An arrow rushed between them and went straight for Eugenia’s heart. Blood splattered across the dirt and sand and left a red trail that immediately seeped into the depth of the island.
Eugenia’s eyes were opened wide. Typhos took a few steps back.
“The negotiations have failed.” Medusa said with a twisted glare so furious it cracked the rocks around her.
The blood was dripping from her pierced arm in front of Eugenia. The priestess could feel the presence of the tip right in front of her chest, could hear the dripping of the thick life force down the scaly arm.
“Let it be so.” The scholar said seriously and looked towards Eugenia one last time. “That arrow was not meant for you, but if you choose her side I cannot guarantee your safety any longer.” His words reached even the owl above them on the roof.
With that he spun around, waving his long cape and then returned to his men. Even without the arrow as the final push, it was clear that they would never have found common ground. For that yearning in the priestess’ voice was all too familiar. As long as she was in the monster’s reach she would not find reason.
As he stepped back into the rows of his men he finally stopped his sandaled feet.
Naturally the Gorgon should have rushed after him after this declaration of war, but she did not follow. A hail of arrows came her way and kept her on the defensive as she shielded the priestess and had to retreat a bit.
He patted the archer who had given off the ‘accidental shot’ on the shoulder and so calmed his failing nerves. The man was covered in sweat after hearing the Gorgon’s angered roar.
“Today we face one of the most ancient evils that plague our world.” He shouted. “Do not allow fear to overtake you. Do not move from your position no matter what. Follow my plan and we shall be victorious by tomorrow’s sunset! The Gorgon bleeds, the Gorgon feels pain like you and me! It can be harmed and it can be slain!”
Mercenaries and sailors alike cheered in response.
The battle had begun.
The ambitious scholar declared his imminent victory as the sun reflected off the several dozen bronze arrow heads traversing the sky. His target was a being that neither man nor hero could oppose. Until now.