barsoomcore
Unattainable Ideal
Day Trips
Stark terror, Ilonka discovered, can only maintain itself for so long.
She lowered the gun and sighed.
"I'm tired. If she shows up, let me know."
Trazik followed suit. Eventually, all the others did as well. They dragged all the chairs together around one table and everyone sat quietly for a while. Boyce spoke up.
"I hate kids."
*****
"Long ago, in the time of legends, the People fought for the Queen of Serpents against the legions of the dead."
Mallinallin spoke slow, halting Imperial Kishak, but he was so ridiculously handsome and heroic in stature that even Elena couldn't help liking him. The old man, Chipucuaro, kept whispering in the warrior's ear, adding notes for the translation.
"The dead were no longer content with their lands beneath the surface and sought to create an empire under the sun. They were very angry and the People fought them for many years. At last the Queen of Serpents cast them down. The chipactli were defeated."
Arrafin was scribbling furiously in her notebook. Aubrey put up his hand.
"And this... Dark Water...? This keeps the... chipactli away?"
"Yes. This water rises up from the Buried Sea, which calls to the souls of the dead, weakening them. They will not approach Dark Water."
Philip looked across the pool, surrounded by Yshakans busily filling waterskins.
"Right. And that little girl, she's one of these chipactli? Excellent."
He began filling his waterskin. The others hurriedly followed his example.
Arrafin stopped her writing for a second and looked up at the distant, arching ceiling. She frowned.
"Is that thunder?"
Everyone paused, listening.
Aubrey sighed.
"I think those are footsteps."
From the darkness something huge roared, sending echoes crashing about them, bouncing around the cavern. Philip drew a pistol. Elena loaded her crossbow. Aubrey pulled out his rapier. Nevid sat down.
White and ghostly and massive, the beast rushed out of the gloom at the far end of the chamber into the circle of light provided by their torches. It flexed four arms and lifted its head in deafening challenge.
Philip had had enough. He shouldered his way to the front of the press of Yshakans and threw up his arms, bellowing at the gigantic creature.
It cocked its head and looked down at the mouthful-sized Saijadani. One huge, clawed foot lifted up and swept forward.
And stopped cold. The thing jerked its foot back as though having suddenly dipped its toe in searing acid. A cavern-shaking roar burst from its throat as it took several quick steps backward. Philip shouted after it.
"Yeah, you run, you freaky big... white thing!"
He chuckled as the beast disappeared into the darkness.
"Now we've got something to fight with. Bring on the dead."
His companions eyed each other worriedly. Aubrey leaned forward.
"Philip, last time you said something like that, I got shot."
He winced at the memory.
"I hate getting shot. I'm always getting shot around you."
Philip laughed.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just get out of here."
The Yshakans were already filing out of the cavern, back up the narrow tunnel they'd entered by, each clutching their precious waterskins filled with Dark Water.
Nevid bounced a full skin in his hands.
"How long does this stuff... stay fresh?"
Mallinallin patted him on the shoulder as he went by.
"A few days at least."
"But... it's at least a two-week walk out of this place, back to the highway. What are we going to do if those things come after us?"
Mallinallin smiled.
"We will die. Walk quickly."
*****
She knew her name was Mara. She knew she craved the flesh of the weak ones. Her memories were confusing to her and most of the time she shut them from her mind. She fed or she sat still until she was hungry.
The memory of the black wall, however, would not stay shut from her mind. Her lord, sealed in behind the wall, beyond her reach.
The little girl loved her lord. She would do anything to free him.
She remembered magic. Sorcerers. Priests. Ones with power. They could free her lord.
A frown crossed Mara's face. Images of weak ones, smiling at her. Smell of old leather and sawdust.
She closed her eyes and drove the strange thoughts from her mind. Her lord, entombed, with only her and the large one to save him.
She would find magic. She would find ones with power, bring them here to free her lord.
The little girl smiled to herself.
*****
Nevid had been through dangerous times before. He'd even gotten shot once, by accident, at an inn called the Four Towers.
It's possible, however, that he'd never come quite so near death as when he stumbled into the coffee shop that afternoon.
Half-a-dozen guns were snatched up and pointed in his direction. Karel even fired, though that was by accident and he was holding the pistol upside-down and just blew a hole in the ceiling.
There a few seconds' silence as plaster and wood chips settled on Karel's head, then Boyce burst out laughing. The hysteria spread. As the rest of Nevid's companions filed in, tired and wet and confused, Boyce, his companions and the four coffee-shop workers sprawled in their chairs, giggling and wheezing at each other.
"We're leaving."
They stopped laughing and looked over at Aubrey. He offered a lop-sided grin and shrugged.
"The Yshakans said so. This water keeps the bad guys away, so we're off. You lot coming with us?"
Trazik squinted and looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't know... I've gotten kinda used to this place..."
Ilonka smacked him across the back of the head.
"What do we do?"
"Round up everyone in town. Everyone alive. We'll meet on the road, just out of town. Be quick."
Boyce chuckled.
"Well, that's great, but my friends and I, we got something we need to do first. Anyone want to come with us to check out old Speaker's house?"
*****
"I can't believe you guys were going to rob us. We trusted you."
Arrafin managed to remain indignant even as she staggered through the ankle-deep mud alongside Boyce. Elena looked disgusted, but she always looked that way.
"We weren't going to rob YOU, sweetheart. We were going to rob the del Maraviez family. You're not even working for them, what do you care? You got some use for a few tons of silver?"
Philip interrupted the ongoing debate.
"Well, there won't be any silver for anyone, this time. What are you hoping to find?"
Boyce pointed down the road. The dark two-story mass of the Speaker's house loomed before them through the grey threads of driving rain. The others paused.
"You didn't hear? Those miners, the ones who found whatever it is they found down there, brought a whole passel of gold and jewelry and such things up with them. They're all stored in there."
"Yeah, but..."
*****
"You guys have done stuff like this before, right? Getting out of tough situations? This is probably no big deal for you, right?"
Ilonka watched as Aubrey stuffed another sack with biscuits, waiting for the swordsman to answer. He tied the sack shut and put it with the others. His usually confident smile twisted with unease as he turned to Ilonka.
"Yeah, we got a caravan through the Wadi Shir a few weeks ago. We were attacked by... well... by weird stuff. Walking corpses and so on. It was pretty scary."
"But you got away, right?"
"Sure. We got away."
"And the caravan was okay?"
Aubrey recalled the torn bodies and blood-soaked sand after the battle. The attack of the lions the next night, their pitiful band trying to defend against the savage beasts. The screams of those dragged away to be devoured.
"Yeah, the caravan was fine. Big party in the Fort once we got there."
He grabbed another sack and threw in handfuls of biscuits.
Across the room, Vlad watched the conversation with a mild glower burning in his eyes. Trazik nudged him.
"Forget about it. She's frightened, he's got a sword. You know how she is, Vlad."
Vlad turned to him.
"Don't tell me how she is. You love her so much, you ask her to marry you. Till then, shut up, okay?"
They continued working in silence.
*****
"See? I told you. Nervaine, Michel, start packing."
The house was filled with an indefinable sense of dread that just screamed "creepy" at everyone. Even Arrafin had fallen silent. Elena looked like she was ready to beat children to death, which is how she looked when she was frightened. Usually she looked like she was ready to beat adults to death.
The parlour had an empty, gaping fireplace that gazed sightlessly over a stack of bags and trunks overflowing with riches. Clatters and rattles echoed through the house as Boyce's men got to work gathering up the shiny goodies.
"Faster."
Philip pulled a pistol out of his belt. Overhead, the rain pummeled the tiles of the roof. Gold chains and strings of pearls crashed into backpacks.
"Come on. I want to get out of here."
Elena swore and drew her sword. Arrafin, eyes wide, clutched a heavy notebook to her chest. Michel stood up, bags and sacks jingling with packed wealth. Nervaine did the same.
"Let's go."
Philip put up a hand.
"Or not."
The little Kishak girl, her black hair neatly arranged over her shoulders, her eyes filled with curiousity and hunger, stood in the doorway.
Stark terror, Ilonka discovered, can only maintain itself for so long.
She lowered the gun and sighed.
"I'm tired. If she shows up, let me know."
Trazik followed suit. Eventually, all the others did as well. They dragged all the chairs together around one table and everyone sat quietly for a while. Boyce spoke up.
"I hate kids."
*****
"Long ago, in the time of legends, the People fought for the Queen of Serpents against the legions of the dead."
Mallinallin spoke slow, halting Imperial Kishak, but he was so ridiculously handsome and heroic in stature that even Elena couldn't help liking him. The old man, Chipucuaro, kept whispering in the warrior's ear, adding notes for the translation.
"The dead were no longer content with their lands beneath the surface and sought to create an empire under the sun. They were very angry and the People fought them for many years. At last the Queen of Serpents cast them down. The chipactli were defeated."
Arrafin was scribbling furiously in her notebook. Aubrey put up his hand.
"And this... Dark Water...? This keeps the... chipactli away?"
"Yes. This water rises up from the Buried Sea, which calls to the souls of the dead, weakening them. They will not approach Dark Water."
Philip looked across the pool, surrounded by Yshakans busily filling waterskins.
"Right. And that little girl, she's one of these chipactli? Excellent."
He began filling his waterskin. The others hurriedly followed his example.
Arrafin stopped her writing for a second and looked up at the distant, arching ceiling. She frowned.
"Is that thunder?"
Everyone paused, listening.
Aubrey sighed.
"I think those are footsteps."
From the darkness something huge roared, sending echoes crashing about them, bouncing around the cavern. Philip drew a pistol. Elena loaded her crossbow. Aubrey pulled out his rapier. Nevid sat down.
White and ghostly and massive, the beast rushed out of the gloom at the far end of the chamber into the circle of light provided by their torches. It flexed four arms and lifted its head in deafening challenge.
Philip had had enough. He shouldered his way to the front of the press of Yshakans and threw up his arms, bellowing at the gigantic creature.
It cocked its head and looked down at the mouthful-sized Saijadani. One huge, clawed foot lifted up and swept forward.
And stopped cold. The thing jerked its foot back as though having suddenly dipped its toe in searing acid. A cavern-shaking roar burst from its throat as it took several quick steps backward. Philip shouted after it.
"Yeah, you run, you freaky big... white thing!"
He chuckled as the beast disappeared into the darkness.
"Now we've got something to fight with. Bring on the dead."
His companions eyed each other worriedly. Aubrey leaned forward.
"Philip, last time you said something like that, I got shot."
He winced at the memory.
"I hate getting shot. I'm always getting shot around you."
Philip laughed.
"Don't worry about it. Let's just get out of here."
The Yshakans were already filing out of the cavern, back up the narrow tunnel they'd entered by, each clutching their precious waterskins filled with Dark Water.
Nevid bounced a full skin in his hands.
"How long does this stuff... stay fresh?"
Mallinallin patted him on the shoulder as he went by.
"A few days at least."
"But... it's at least a two-week walk out of this place, back to the highway. What are we going to do if those things come after us?"
Mallinallin smiled.
"We will die. Walk quickly."
*****
She knew her name was Mara. She knew she craved the flesh of the weak ones. Her memories were confusing to her and most of the time she shut them from her mind. She fed or she sat still until she was hungry.
The memory of the black wall, however, would not stay shut from her mind. Her lord, sealed in behind the wall, beyond her reach.
The little girl loved her lord. She would do anything to free him.
She remembered magic. Sorcerers. Priests. Ones with power. They could free her lord.
A frown crossed Mara's face. Images of weak ones, smiling at her. Smell of old leather and sawdust.
She closed her eyes and drove the strange thoughts from her mind. Her lord, entombed, with only her and the large one to save him.
She would find magic. She would find ones with power, bring them here to free her lord.
The little girl smiled to herself.
*****
Nevid had been through dangerous times before. He'd even gotten shot once, by accident, at an inn called the Four Towers.
It's possible, however, that he'd never come quite so near death as when he stumbled into the coffee shop that afternoon.
Half-a-dozen guns were snatched up and pointed in his direction. Karel even fired, though that was by accident and he was holding the pistol upside-down and just blew a hole in the ceiling.
There a few seconds' silence as plaster and wood chips settled on Karel's head, then Boyce burst out laughing. The hysteria spread. As the rest of Nevid's companions filed in, tired and wet and confused, Boyce, his companions and the four coffee-shop workers sprawled in their chairs, giggling and wheezing at each other.
"We're leaving."
They stopped laughing and looked over at Aubrey. He offered a lop-sided grin and shrugged.
"The Yshakans said so. This water keeps the bad guys away, so we're off. You lot coming with us?"
Trazik squinted and looked up at the ceiling.
"I don't know... I've gotten kinda used to this place..."
Ilonka smacked him across the back of the head.
"What do we do?"
"Round up everyone in town. Everyone alive. We'll meet on the road, just out of town. Be quick."
Boyce chuckled.
"Well, that's great, but my friends and I, we got something we need to do first. Anyone want to come with us to check out old Speaker's house?"
*****
"I can't believe you guys were going to rob us. We trusted you."
Arrafin managed to remain indignant even as she staggered through the ankle-deep mud alongside Boyce. Elena looked disgusted, but she always looked that way.
"We weren't going to rob YOU, sweetheart. We were going to rob the del Maraviez family. You're not even working for them, what do you care? You got some use for a few tons of silver?"
Philip interrupted the ongoing debate.
"Well, there won't be any silver for anyone, this time. What are you hoping to find?"
Boyce pointed down the road. The dark two-story mass of the Speaker's house loomed before them through the grey threads of driving rain. The others paused.
"You didn't hear? Those miners, the ones who found whatever it is they found down there, brought a whole passel of gold and jewelry and such things up with them. They're all stored in there."
"Yeah, but..."
*****
"You guys have done stuff like this before, right? Getting out of tough situations? This is probably no big deal for you, right?"
Ilonka watched as Aubrey stuffed another sack with biscuits, waiting for the swordsman to answer. He tied the sack shut and put it with the others. His usually confident smile twisted with unease as he turned to Ilonka.
"Yeah, we got a caravan through the Wadi Shir a few weeks ago. We were attacked by... well... by weird stuff. Walking corpses and so on. It was pretty scary."
"But you got away, right?"
"Sure. We got away."
"And the caravan was okay?"
Aubrey recalled the torn bodies and blood-soaked sand after the battle. The attack of the lions the next night, their pitiful band trying to defend against the savage beasts. The screams of those dragged away to be devoured.
"Yeah, the caravan was fine. Big party in the Fort once we got there."
He grabbed another sack and threw in handfuls of biscuits.
Across the room, Vlad watched the conversation with a mild glower burning in his eyes. Trazik nudged him.
"Forget about it. She's frightened, he's got a sword. You know how she is, Vlad."
Vlad turned to him.
"Don't tell me how she is. You love her so much, you ask her to marry you. Till then, shut up, okay?"
They continued working in silence.
*****
"See? I told you. Nervaine, Michel, start packing."
The house was filled with an indefinable sense of dread that just screamed "creepy" at everyone. Even Arrafin had fallen silent. Elena looked like she was ready to beat children to death, which is how she looked when she was frightened. Usually she looked like she was ready to beat adults to death.
The parlour had an empty, gaping fireplace that gazed sightlessly over a stack of bags and trunks overflowing with riches. Clatters and rattles echoed through the house as Boyce's men got to work gathering up the shiny goodies.
"Faster."
Philip pulled a pistol out of his belt. Overhead, the rain pummeled the tiles of the roof. Gold chains and strings of pearls crashed into backpacks.
"Come on. I want to get out of here."
Elena swore and drew her sword. Arrafin, eyes wide, clutched a heavy notebook to her chest. Michel stood up, bags and sacks jingling with packed wealth. Nervaine did the same.
"Let's go."
Philip put up a hand.
"Or not."
The little Kishak girl, her black hair neatly arranged over her shoulders, her eyes filled with curiousity and hunger, stood in the doorway.
Last edited:
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