Author: Kirk Straughen
Synopsis: Linis Adur finds herself stranded on a savage alien world after her spacecraft is wrecked beyond repair. Her sole companion, Caris Vay, wants to conquer a city-state with his advanced technology, and enjoy the luxuries of a king. Linis opposes Vay's scheme and is forced to flee into the alien wilderness when he attacks her, and is rescued by the deposed Lord of Etru. But can they stop Vay's evil scheme? How can swords prevail against modern weaponry? The only way you'll find the answer is to read this exciting adventure tale.
Edit History: Minor changes were made to this story on 22 June 2021.
Chapter 1: The Sea of Dadan
The setting sun cast its waning rays across the Sea of Dadan and painted its dancing waves with crimson light; while above the first stars twinkled in the darkening heavens and looked down with cool aloofness upon a slim vessel cleaving the heaving swells with her cruel bronze ram. One glittering point (another world, perhaps?) moved strangely in the heavens, but no mariner upon Laylia’s rolling deck discerned its unnatural path.
Men powered the ship, which resembled a dromon of Byzantium, but they were not the men of Earth, nor did their sweating forms strain at mighty oars. Instead, the weary slaves marched upon a treadmill that stretched the warship’s length and transmitted its motion, amplified by cunning gears, to the churning screw beneath the wooden keel.
One such slave was Zen, former Lord of Etru - one of many city-states that flourished along Mitharr’s wild coast. No pampered prince was he – rather, a man of iron: huge, powerful, overflowing with the vitality of healthful youth. But even so he was near to exhaustion, having endured since sunrise the crushing bondage of the mill; the endless climb of its creaking treads - for the fickle winds did not blow to fill the square sail of this pirate-hunting galley pursuing Kasar, the notorious Peshenti buccaneer.
Zen’s face, usually pleasant and carefree, was now a mask of anger as for the hundredth time he reflected on the circumstances that had laid him low: Only a day ago he had, upon the death of his father, Menur, ascended the golden throne of Ertu. It had been a grand ceremony, but one ruined in Zen's eyes by a bloody sacrifice to Mamax, Lord of Death, and tutelary divinity of his city.
Zen had always despised these grisly rituals - the pungent incense, the sinister throb of the mighty drums; the awful screams of the girls, slit open like so many gutted fish. Such monstrous acts sickened him to the very core, and the sight of the latest victim’s horrid end hardened his resolve to crush the priesthood now that he was Lord.
It was a daring ambition, for the idol of Mamax, built in an open temple at the southern corner of Etru’s mighty piazza, often spoke in thunderous rolling tones that the priests interpreted - a convincing miracle in the eyes of many, yes. But Zen, more skeptical than the rest, felt it was a trick of some kind – an artifice of cunning priests that frightened the populace into unquestioning obedience to the dictates of a cruel theology.
That evening, during the coronation feast, Zen was still brooding - his father's death weighed heavily upon him and the girl's pleas for mercy still rang shrilly in his ears. In a dark mood he had eaten too many petals of the saona flower and their potent intoxicants had loosened his tongue. Before the astonished audience he had blurted out his plans, which quickly reached the sharp ears of Sadur, High Priest of Mamax.
In the dark of night cloaked figures had come in stealthy silence. He had fought them, killing several. But in the end his drunken state weighed against him, and now he was just a slave among other chattels aboard this ship of far Runim. He had thought of revealing his identity, but of what value was a fallen Lord? The High Priest’s coup was complete - no ransom would be paid, of that he could be sure.
Sadur! How he hated the man, his audacity - selling him to the captain for 100 shetem*, and the cruelty of his parting barb: “Death is too swift for you. Better you suffer as a worthless slave and contemplate all you have lost...”
The burning stroke of the lash jerked the Eturan back to the present. He turned his head and glared incautiously at the slave master, but the man had moved on to torture some other pitiful soul.
Soon, the vessel would anchor shoreward for the night and the slaves, chained to the treadmill, would escape their torment for a time in exhausted sleep. A predatory smile curved Zen’s lips at that thought, for night favored what he planned to do. Looking up, he wondered what gods, if any, he could call upon.
**********
No gods looked down upon this alien world of Naxor, only Doctor Linis Adur. She gazed thoughtfully at the planet displayed via night vision in the command center’s master hologram cube. The girl studied the single equatorial continent that encircled three quarters of the globe,. She looked upon its jungle clad immensity, contemplating the towering snow capped mountains of its vast interior, the azure sea that lapped the unknown shore, and wondered what other mysteries lay hidden from her inquiring gaze. The girl’s musings were broken by the illuminants that flickered for a moment, reminding her of the state Daedalus, her ship, was in.
The Daedalus, a masterpiece of twenty-third century engineering and the first interstellar ship to cross the gulf between the stars, was now nothing more than drifting junk. The expedition had been en route to explore a planet circling Gliese 876*, an M4 dwarf star fifteen light years from Earth when an energy storm in hyperspace had wrecked the ship and hurled it into unknown regions of the stellar immensity. It was more by luck than skill that the Doctor (one of only two survivors) had found this Earth-like world around which they had now been orbiting for thirty days.
We’re lost in a wilderness of stars, she thought. The ship’s self-repair mechanisms can’t reconstruct our fused drive-coils. We can’t go home, can’t communicate with Earth. The Daedalus is slowly dying, and only this unknown world below offers any chance at life.
A door hissed open, reminding her she was not alone. Linis turned and tried not to grimace as Caris Vay, the Daedalus’ chief engineer stalked in. If only there had been some other survivors, she thought, glancing at the tall hawk-faced man. Well, better him than being alone, I suppose.
“Have you come to a decision, Doctor?” asked Vay with characteristic abruptness.
“Yes. We’re going down in the exploration module. I’ve chosen a remote area - an island to be precise. We should be able to survive, but even if we can't we must observe the Exploration Protocols and avoid all contact with the planet’s primitives.”
Vay raised his eyebrows in silent querulousness.
“You have a better idea, Mr. Vay?” was her sharp reply.
“As you know, Doctor,” he said in a tone nearing insubordination, “our microprobes have revealed this world harbors humanoid life and, with the aid of these and other devices, have even learnt the language of one particular city and something of its customs. I’d rather be Lord of a metropolis than king of some reeking wilderness.”
She looked at Vay, aghast. Where was his sense of wonder at what they had discovered? Rather, he was speaking of invasion - like some modern day conquistador. To a person of Linis’ era, war and violence were savagery from the past. Vay couldn’t have shocked her more if he’d said he planned to become a cannibal.
“I’ve used the ship’s fabricators,” he continued, ignoring her open mouthed stare, and proudly held up a small black sphere. “This is a grenade, one of a number of weapons I’ve manufactured. I’ve also made armor. Together we can rule a kingdom - those savages don’t stand a chance.”
The Doctor recovered her poise. “Mr. Vay, I’ll overlook your foolishness,” she said, revulsion tingeing her reply. “But if I hear any more of this madness, I’ll administer drugs that will curb your wild thoughts. Remember, I am the senior officer here.”
Vay’s eyes narrowed. “Not any more, you’re not,” he growled, lunging at her.
*Footnote: The monetary unit of Etru. Coins (there are no notes) come in denominations of 1, 10, 50 & 100. All coins are square with rounded corners whose sides measure approximately 1 inch, with color denoting their value – yellow = 1, blue = 10, red = 50 & purple = 100.
These coins are unique – they are made of molded opaque glass, intricately etched with geometrical designs, whose fluorescent quality (the secret of which is closely guarded) makes them impossible to counterfeit.
*Footnote: This world actually exists, but is unlikely to harbor life. For further information see the Guide to Extrasolar Planets – www.extrasolar.net/evmain.asp
Chapter 2: Descent into Savagery
The girl turned to flee as Vay fell upon her in a wild rush. His hands shot out. They caught the fabric of her formfit suit. She stumbled, and the material tore in the violent clasp of his clawing fingers, exposing her naked breasts that swung free from the sundered cloth.
In a blind panic Linis lashed out as her adversary again attacked her, his harsh features distorted further by a vicious mixture hate and lust. Her failing arm, more by luck than skill, struck Vay a heavy blow upon the nose and sent him reeling. The engineer crashed to the deck howling in pain and rage as blood spurted from his nostrils.
Leaping his writhing form, the girl sprinted for the launch bay, overcome by every woman’s blackest fear. For Linis Adur her safe and ordered world had suddenly become a dark nightmare. She wondered if it would ever be the same again.
**********
Warm night enfolded Naxor with its dusky embrace. Quietness lay heavily upon the anchored ship, disturbed occasionally by the fitful snoring of broken men. Zen looked cautiously about. The thick shadows, dark as clotted blood, were driven back here and there by Thurim’s pale moonbeams lancing through the grillwork of the ventilation ports.
Carefully, Zen began to work free the steel spike embedded horizontally within the thick sole of his leather sandal. He always carried at least one concealed weapon upon his person, and was particularly fond of this one as it was his own design.
Inserting the spike into the lock of his heavy collar that was chained to the deck, Zen began to work the point about in slow circles. Concentrating intensely on the task at hand, he failed to hear the soft footfalls of the night watch. The lock snapped open; the guard paused, his attention arrested by the faint sound.
Descending to the lower deck Kabis looked about. The rays of his lantern fell upon the sleeping chattels. Everything appears to be in order, he thought. Wait, that slave’s collar looks unlocked!
So swift was Zen’s strike that Kabis never felt the cold steel pierce his heart as he bent forward to investigate.
Zen made a desperate lunge. He caught the falling man and lantern as each tumbled to the deck. The body slid, sandals scraping as he lowered the corpse,. His own chain rattled alarmingly. A slave stirred; Zen froze, heart pounding. If the fool awoke no doubt he’d raise a warning cry in an attempt to curry favor.
Hunched over, the Etruan waited tensely for the man to settle. How long would it be before someone noticed the missing guard? Suddenly, a shout rang out, and shattered the stillness of the night. With an oath, Zen tore the collar from his throat, jerked free Kabis’ sword and raced up the ladder to the deck.
More shouts exploded in the night as he leapt from the hatch. Sailors charged towards him, drawn weapons glinting in the moonlight. The world became a blur of flashing steel. Coppery blood gushed upon the deck as Zen, in a whirlwind of fury, severed arms, legs, and heads with slashing blows.
Mariners fell back before his howling onslaught, stumbling in desperation over corpses strewn upon the deck. Three men had fallen beneath his murderous steel, and none were eager to meet that grisly fate. Seizing the advantage of this brief respite, Zen threw down his sword, unhooked a massive lantern from the rail and cast it among his startled foes. Men scattered, the lamp shattered, and splattered oil exploded into roaring flames.
That should keep them busy for a while, he thought as he vaulted the rail, plunged into the sea, and began swimming towards an island whose shore was perhaps one hundred yards away.
A bright light drew his eye. Glancing up he beheld a glowing ball descending - a shooting star? No, it was coming straight down and very slowly at that. Best I concentrate on swimming, he thought as he saw it vanish beneath the island’s soaring foliage.
**********
Early morning light slanted through tall tree-like growths surrounding the glade. Small sharp-eyed creatures stared from the underbrush at the strange thing whose midnight landing had disturbed the moonlit dell.
The huge white sphere rested quietly upon its tripod landing gear, the feet of which had sunk deeply into the loamy soil. The hatch stood open, and its ramp descended like a lolling tongue in the tropical heat. At its end a forlorn figure, dwarfed by the surrounding jungle sat, clad in nothing but skimpy underwear.
If only I hadn't panicked, thought Linis for the hundredth time. I could have subdued Vay when I had the chance, and stocked the exploration module with a dozen other things. So long as Vay is free he's a threat to this world, but how to deal with him? I just don’t know.
Putting aside these gloomy thoughts, she reviewed her situation. The genetically engineered bacteria she had ingested, a product of her craft’s sophisticated laboratory, would convert the alien foodstuffs of this world into forms her system could digest.
There is neither danger of starvation, nor infectious disease, she thought. My analysis has revealed terrestrial biochemistry differs from that of the indigenous life forms. No native microorganism can survive in the human body. But even so …
Linis knew she would survive, but for how long? The exploration module’s energy-cells would last several years with careful use, but without power all sophisticated technology was nothing more than inert metal – no med-lab to deal with injuries or degenerative diseases, no entertainment system to distract her from crushing boredom and loneliness, no air-conditioning. A descent into savagery was all she could foresee.
She sighed and looked at her discarded clothing. The heat and humidity were already intolerable, and it was still only early morning. Turning her gaze to the surrounding jungle she looked at its tangled growth with a mixture of awe and trepidation. The catastrophe of climate change had devastated Earth’s wilderness. Billions of modified trees, capable of thriving in the new conditions had been planted. But these forests were tame man-made things, nothing at all like the feral landscape that now surrounded her.
The huge growths towered above her. Their gray trunks were fluted like Grecian columns, and their triangular leaves were variegated in ebony and crimson. Strange creatures fluttered in the dark canopy, indistinct with shadows and distance. The steamy air, redolent with innumerable spicy scents from silver flowers, assaulted her nostrils. It seemed that all of nature conspired to overwhelm her senses with its vibrant fecundity.
It’s light enough to do a little more exploring, she thought, getting to her feet. Despite the dangers I’d best familiarize myself with my surroundings.
Linis checked the remote strapped upon her wrist. The craft’s sensors were in scanning mode and would voice an instant warning if any hidden danger approached. From her waistband hung two grenades and a shock-pistol – weapons from a stockpile Vay had secreted aboard the craft. Trying to look more confident than she felt, the girl moved out into the open glade unaware of the dormant thing concealed by tangled verdure, and undetected by her instruments.
Chapter 3: Something in the Shadows
Something in the shadows stirred. The creature, covered with a camouflage of scaly leaf-like growths that blended into the surrounding bushes, arose from its languid state, for the approach of warm flesh had awakened it to ravenous life. The prey drew near, the thing tensed. It sprang.
A piercing scream awoke Zen. Instantly he was on his feet, his sensitive ears pinpointing the source of the wild cry. Who was it? He didn’t know, only knew they needed help. Bursting through the undergrowth the man came upon a frightful scene:
In the creature’s four arms a writhing form struggled desperately, crushed against its serpentine torso. The thing’s flat triangular head, which narrowed to an envenomed proboscis, was now but inches from the victim's throat. Zen sprang upon the vampirish beast. With a wild cry he hauled it off its prey and hurled it against a tree. The abax rebounded with amazing rapidity. The thing ominously rattled its crest – a series of spines composed of overlapping bell shaped scales - then sprang upon him with undiminished ferocity.
Linis dragged herself clear and snatched up the fallen shock-pistol. She watched the unfolding drama with morbid fascination. Her hand flew to her breast as Zen struggled to keep the beast's stabbing beak from his jugular. Both his hands were locked about its throat in a bid to throttle it while the abax sought to crush him with its wiry limbs.
The two combatants staggered about the glade like drunken men. Linis fired her shock-pistol at the monster. She missed - the erratic movement of both beings made them difficult targets. Zen hooked one leg behind his adversary's limb. He tripped the thing and pinned it beneath his weight. The abax panicked. It sought to break free by pounding his back and head with mighty blows.
Again the girl fired. Again she missed as both fighters, oblivious to the lancing rays, rolled upon the ground wholly absorbed in their desperate struggle. Zen felt himself weakening under the savage onslaught. He called upon all his strength, and felt it flow like a mighty current through his constricting fingers. The thing’s eyes bulged, the thrusting proboscis stilled. It died with a final convulsive twitch.
Climbing unsteadily to his feet Zen turned and gazed in fascination at the strange creature he had rescued – a nature spirit, a goddess perhaps? No, the being was a mortal woman he was sure, but none like he had ever seen before. A ray of sunshine touched the tousled hair, burnishing it with golden light – those long tresses that flowed in aureate cascades over shoulders and full breasts. A rosy nipple, slightly darker than her other flesh, peeked through the curling strands. The girl’s face, pleasantly strange, would have been more so had it not been contorted buy utter fear.
Linis, her heart fluttering like a frightened bird, stared in awe. Her eyes darted from the abax’s carcass to its killer. He stood statue still, clad in only a ragged loincloth*, and looking every inch the fearsome savage he appeared to be. Mighty thews bulged beneath his slate-gray skin,. His torso was broad, and his arms and legs thick with muscle, giving him a stocky appearance despite his height. His strong features were not displeasing, though they held something of the beast – the dark amber eyes, the high cat-like ears, the black fur that covered his head and ran from nape to waist in a v-shaped pattern.
Zen, though enthralled by the girl’s alien beauty, was not blind to her terror. He squatted slowly, this beast-man, unconsciously adopting a pose so reminiscent of Rodin’s Thinker that its seeming contradictory nature made her laugh.
“Are you badly hurt?” he asked, fearing that terror had unhinged her mind.
Linis relaxed further; relieved she could understand his speech – he was obviously a native of Etru, the city-state she and Vay had studied. The girl re-holstered her weapon, realizing that if he meant to harm her he would have tried to do so by now.
By Reason’s light, came her reproachful thought. This is an historic moment, and I’m acting like a frightened schoolgirl. I must take command of the situation, and quickly.
Then aloud: “I’m unharmed,” she said, standing, only to fall back against a tree with a cry of pain. “My ankle”, she gasped. “I must have twisted it when I fell.”
Quickly stepping to Linis’ side, Zen caught her up in his strong arms. A thousand questions trembled upon his lips, but the girl was hurt - best he give thought to her injuries.
“Don’t struggle, girl,” he said, sternly, stilling her frightened thrashing. “You can’t walk. I’ll find a place where you can rest in comfort.”
Turning, Zen noticed something strange peeking between the mighty boles of the surrounding trees, and walked into the glade to better view this marvel.
“Ah, so this is what I saw last night descending from the heavens.”
She gave him a startled look. “Do you know what that is?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I can guess. Shall I carry you within?”
“I suppose so,” was her weak reply, realizing the situation had slipped completely out of her control. Well, she thought, there go the Exploration Protocols.
**********
At the controls of Daedalus’ remaining module sat Caris Vay, his mind intoxicated by a sense freedom, and vengeance burning brightly in his heart. All his life he had been constrained by the dictates of a society that held in check his darkest fantasies.
But on the world below him there would be an end to those restraints. No fear of any Analyst discovering his black thoughts; gone was the threat of drugs that would emasculate his mind, turning him into a dutiful sheep like the rest of over-civilized humanity.
We’ve achieved peace, he thought, contemptuously. But no empire was ever built by pacifism. Let the fools of Earth have their tranquility. I, by dint of strength and daring, shall carve my name upon this globe.
Adjusting the controls, Vay sent his craft plunging towards the pristine world below, eager to fulfill his desires whose fruition had been delayed by Linis’ hand. The sphere plummeted downwards like a blazing meteor, its glinting hull marred by clinging bombs that would soon fall upon the woman that had spurned him so.
**********
Zen watched Linis walk carefully about the cabin, testing her foot whose injury had been healed by strange medicines from a crimson chest. He had asked her bluntly if she was a dasan – a master of the occult arts from the Ancient Days, but she had emphatically denied this, saying she was just a mortal being albeit from another world, and all about him was not magic, but something she called science. Personally, he couldn’t see the difference.
“So,” she said. “Tell me more about these myths of yours, of mighty dasan and of magic ships that can fly?”
He tilted his head to one side - the equivalent of a nod. “The legends say in the Age of Sorcery all men were masters of the occult arts; that they had unlocked Nature’s secrets from the depths of the world to highest heaven; that they had become like gods. Then the Time of Fire came, and here the stories differ – some say the dasan warred among each other, causing fire to fall from heaven upon their enemies.
Others say (and they are mostly priests) that men had become arrogant, that they sought to challenge the very gods with their power and the gods, in their anger at petty Man, drenched the world in flames, destroying nearly all life upon this globe of Naxor. Whether the cause was the foolishness of men or the cruelty of gods I do not know. But I do know there are ancient ruins scattered across the land - broken cities that bear the marks of terrible conflagration.”
Linis paled. Nuclear war, she thought, a chill running up her spine. The poor fools, how far they’ve fallen. At least we avoided that catastrophe.
The alarm’s sudden clamor shattered her musings. The hologram cube flared to life – blue sky, a white sphere, black shapes dropping from it. Explosions rocked the craft, flinging its occupants to the deck.
“It’s Vay, cried Linis, with an oath. “He’s attacking us.”
Above, Vay watched the falling bombs – crude devices, but deadly nonetheless. He grinned maliciously as they exploded, throwing up fountains of dark earth, and polluting the air with their turgid smoke. He craned forward. What was that - figures running from the ship? With a curse, he released the final load.
Explosions rocked the world; a storm of flying debris filled the air. Mighty trees toppled, sundered by the fearsome blasts. A cloud of stinking vapors smothered the jungle with billowing veils of turgid darkness.
Could anyone survive such utter destruction? Vay laughed at the very thought – the scene was bereft of human life. The ship departed, gathering speed as it soared through the purity of the azure heavens, and leaving below the utter silence of death.
*Footnote. The loincloth is standard apparel of the city-states of the Mithaar coast. Elaborately embroidered and fringed by tassels, it is often worn with a kem – a rectangular cloth with a hole in the center that allows it to be placed over the head and fall to the waist at front and back.
Chapter 4: Flashing Blades
Two figures, covered by broken verdure, lay in an earthy depression. Zen had thrown himself upon Linis, shielding her with his body. His ears rang from the thunderous reports, and he was still partially stunned from their earth shaking power. If it hadn’t been for this dip in the land the full force of the blasts would have caught them, surely killing both.
Slowly, their buffeted bodies recovered. Linis felt Zen’s weight upon her. She smelt his strange but pleasant odor so reminiscent of cinnamon. The pressure of his body against her soft breasts and loins was disturbingly sensuous.
Linis knew he wasn’t a beast, yet also that he wasn’t human, either. But even so, she felt an undeniable desire that stirred her deeply. The girl was no blushing virgin, true, but in all of human history no woman of Earth had ever been in this position before.
“I think you can get off me now,” she said, somewhat breathlessly, realizing he was aroused and impressively so.
By reason’s light, she thought. He’s not human, yet I experience a strange attraction. Would the consummation of such desire count as bestiality? It was a troubling thought indeed.
Zen levered himself up and sent a cascade of concealing leaves and branches sliding off his broad back. He’d been utterly terrified, had thought the world was coming to an end, but would rather die first than admit to that. Indeed, if it hadn’t been for the distracting presence of Linis no doubt he’d still be in a panic.
“Don’t worry girl,’ he said gruffly to cover his embarrassment. “I like my women willing.” Then, pointing at the surrounding devastation: “Besides, we’ve more important matters to discuss – namely, this demon you call Vay.”
**********
Thanax, captain of the Laylia, hacked a path through the lush undergrowth as his men trailed behind him. They had been tracking the escaped slave since early light when, without warning, a series of thunderclaps had rocked the earth, sundering the steamy air with their rolling blasts.
Several sailors (ones who had glimpsed a glowing thing in the night) had become terrified, and began speaking wildly of demons, monsters and other terrors of the Dark. Fear spread like a contagion - men muttered, eyes wide with fright; mutiny reared its ugly head. Thanax had crushed that head - silenced those fools with his heavy blade, and threatened further death to any coward who dared turn back.
“This slave butchered your shipmates; tried to burn our vessel,” he had roared, glaring at them as he wiped his bloody sword. “Are you so unmanly that you will let these crimes go unavenged? Besides," he continued, holding up a golden amulet on the chain about his neck. "Each one of you has a hebara to guard your soul, so what is there to fear?"
They’d cast their eyes down at that rebuke and marched on with the odd grumble, but no further rebellious talk. What had caused the frightening sounds Thanax could not guess, but according to his tracking skills the thundering had come from the direction in which the slave had fled.
With unwavering purpose he forged ahead. I’ll follow the wretch into the underworld itself if need be, came his determined thought.
**********
“So you see,” concluded Linis after she and Zen had each given a full account of their origins. “Vay means to have your throne, to enjoy all the privileges of a Lord of Etru.”
Zen grunted. “First Sadur, now this Vay. No matter, I’ll pursue him; find a way to crush them both, but how? Your flying ship is ruined …”
A wild battle cry rang out. Men charged from the underbrush, their flashing blades sparkling in the sun. Zen pushed Linis within the shelter of some crimson bushes. He snatched up a weighty branch in preparation to defend her.
“Spread out, surround them,” cried Thanax as he rushed towards the pair, his face hard with the lines of vengeance.
Zen swung his makeshift club. The captain blocked the savage blow. The sword bit deeply into the branch and stuck fast. Thanax’s arm went numb from the jarring impact. Zen jerked back his club and tore the embedded sword from his foe’s deadened fingers. The weakened branch snapped with a mighty crack.
With lightning speed Thanax drew his dagger, lunged. Zen stepped aside, dropped his ruined club, caught his opponent’s arm, and savagely wrenched the thrusting limb. The captain howled as he was driven to the ground, his arm twisted painfully behind his back. The sailors closed in, swords swinging.
Linis leapt from concealment. She fired the shock-pistol. Now more familiar with the weapon she held the trigger down. Its hissing beam lashed the charging men. They convulsed with the agonized screams of electrocution, then collapsed and lay unmoving.
“They’re only stunned,” she cried. “Let us flee while we can.”
“No. I have a better idea,” replied Zen as he placed one foot upon Thanax’s neck, tore the hebara from its chain, and dangled the amulet before the frightened captain’s eyes.
Zen grinned viciously, then spoke to the captain in his native tongue: “As you can see, my companion is a powerful sorceress. I’m going to give her this. You know what that means …”
Thanax’s eyes darted to his stricken men, then back to Zen. A brave fellow, this captain, but like most Runimites, he was prey to superstitious fears that could unman the strongest warrior, for it was a common belief among his people that if a sorcerer gained possession of this amulet he gained possession of the wearer's soul as well.
“What do you want of me,” was his tremulous reply.
**********
Zen leaned against the crenelations of the galley’s stern castle. Linis stood by his side, her nudity concealed by an intricately embroidered sea-cloak wrapped sarong-like about her shapely form. He was glad of her presence, and not just because she had promised to aid him in defeating Vay. Shifting his gaze, he eyed Thanax moodily as the captain piloted the vessel. The man appeared subdued, broken by the thought his hebara was in the hands of a mighty dasan.
Was his seeming placidity an illusion? Zen thought so. No doubt beneath that submissive exterior boiled all manner of plots to regain his valued amulet. Their position was precarious – they controlled the captain and he controlled his crew, but if he for a moment suspected that Linis was an ordinary girl (which she claimed to be); well, that didn’t bear thinking about …
Time passed. The wind rose slightly, sending clouds scudding before its breath like airy galleons, their belly’s tinged with rosy light. Linis looked out to sea, lost in thought. Zen gazed upon her. A sudden gust of wind caught her hair, and he marveled at how its golden strands snared the light.
He desired to reach out, to touch her fluttering tresses, fine as silken threads, but held himself in check. They were strangers to each other still, and he was afraid unwanted contact would disturb the wondrous scene.
Linis stirred. She became conscious of his rapt attention. Their eyes met and she blushed, as if aware of his thoughts. The girl dropped her gaze and the jealous wind shifted, veiling her face with hair.
Zen opened his mouth to speak when, without warning, the sea erupted before them with volcanic force. Spray thundered upwards in a mighty rush, then cascaded from the fearsome shape the Stygian depths had vomited forth.
Chapter 5: Monster from the Depths
The monster from the depths towered skyward, mast high, spume bursting like a geyser from its blowhole. The serpentine body, jet black, swayed sinuously from side to side with silent menace. The head – a gaping saw toothed maw – was encircled by pallid tentacles that writhed like monstrous worms. It was the very essence of nightmare made flesh.
“It’s a neshrin,” cried Thanax in utter horror. “Only the gods can save us now.”
“Damn the gods, and man the ballista,” shouted Zen, as he and Linis ran towards the weapon. “I’ll not resign myself to death so readily.”
Valiant sentiments, true, but inwardly he knew he was just as fearful as the other men.
Two mariner’s ran to the forecastle and grasped the ballista’s windlass. Thus aided Zen and the girl began to draw back the cable of the massive bow. All strained mightily at the mechanism, their fear wide eyes divided between this task and the rushing leviathan.
Other sailors readied their composite bows as the beast surged towards them. A flight of arrows sped out to meet it – mere pinpricks upon its leathery hide. Then the neshrin was upon them - a mindless, ravenous thing of monstrous strength. Its tentacles, thick as hawsers, swept the deck like some dreadful broom. Men screamed as they were caught in the slimy coils, hauled aloft and tossed between its fetid jaws.
Linis paled as she gazed upon the thing of horror. Her eyes to darted to the straining frightened men.
Even my weapons won’t stop that monster, came the frightening thought. What chance have they? Then aloud: “Hurry, its head is swinging this way.”
The bow’s cable engaged its catch as the beast loomed above them, its cavern mouth gleaming wetly, its tentacles writhing with ghoulish eagerness. Zen slammed a barbed projectile on the ballista’s guide rail and swung the weapon upon its pivot. Linis screamed as one corpse-white member whipped towards her. Zen fired, then flung himself upon the frozen girl, and knocked her to one side.
The tentacle missed and splintered the deck with smashing force. Zen dragged the terrified girl clear. He glimpsed his companions being snatched up, devoured. Again the neshrin sought them with its ropy limbs. Zen hacked desperately at the slimy things. Linis crouched beside him, spraying the monster with the shock-pistol’s rays. Neither weapon had much effect.
A noisome tentacle coiled about Linis' waist. She cried in terror. Zen’s sword flashed. The girl fell free, and prepared herself for death as other limbs swarmed towards them with overwhelming force.
Suddenly, the neshrin arched backwards with a convulsive movement. The monster fell astern with a titanic splash that drenched the ship with spray. For a time it lay upon the surface of the sea, twitching feebly. Then the horror slowly sank from sight, returning to the lightless depths from whence it sprang.
“It’s all over,” said Zen as he supported the trembling girl. “The projectile was filled with a deadly poison - one specially brewed to kill those beasts. It took a little time to work, that’s all. The sailors are looking on,” he continued, gently. “Better stand tall and act the mighty dasan.”
“I don’t feel so mighty just now,” she replied, smiling weakly. “But you’re right, I’d better play the part.”
**********
The last rites had been given to the dead, and the ship restored to order. She rode serenely upon the ocean, wind and wave playing their songs upon her – the creak of timbers, the snap of sails, the subtle hum of cordage – a strange symphony all mariners know.
But beneath this seeming calm discord brewed – the battle with the neshrin had shaken Laylia's crew, and convinced many their voyage was cursed. Mariners cast wary glances at Zen and the girl, wanting to be rid of them, but afraid to act. Those sailors not on duty gathered below decks, and whispered darkly to each other of the strange fate that had overtaken them.
"I say we rush the girl," said Talos, Laylia's First Mate, his scarred visage a mask of livid anger. "Overpower her by weight of numbers, and then attack the man."
"Don't be a fool." said another, boldly. "I was with the party hunting that slave. We were cut down by the chit's magic like nur before the reaper's sickle. You'd never get within striking distance of her.
"Slave? Sorceress?" muttered a third. "If you ask me both are demons from the underworld. We're all sailing into the very jaws of Nofrim."
Someone wailed pitifully at that remark – superstitious men, these Ruminites.
"Silence, you fool," hissed Talos, clamping his meaty hand over the offender's mouth. "I still say we kill them, and throw the bloody corpses overboard. Their both mortal, I'm sure. But if we fail, then at least we'll have died like men."
"Shouldn't we consult the captain before we act?" queried another.
Talos grunted. "He's watched too well for that. The other officers are dead. We must decide for ourselves. Under these circumstances the Mariner's Articles permit such action."
Debate continued in hushed tones. Light rippled in, reflected from the sea. It danced upon the beams, sending shifting shadows crawling like dark spiders across the hard features of the murmuring men.
Time passed. Slowly, fists were raised in silent assent with the First Mate's plan. Talos stood, looked at his followers, and saw his own resolve reflected in their grim countenances.
"Follow me," was his quiet command.
**********
The ship was passing a spit – a narrow strip of land projecting into the sea – when Linis saw a flash like light reflected from a mirror among the trees.
“Over there”, she called, pointing, but when Zen looked it was gone.
Then, as they rounded the promontory, the lookout cried: “Pirate off the starboard bow,” just as Talos and his men swarmed out upon the deck.
Zen straightened. He ran forward and saw the black ship rushing down upon them, her gleaming ram ploughing through the wine dark sea. The flash had been a signal to the lurking vessel, and now the hunter had become the prey.
Talos cursed, realizing his plans were, for the moment, undone – all hands must now unite against the buccaneers. He said as much to the others.
Thanax cried commands. Sails were reefed*, men armed themselves for battle. The mill-salves were lashed to motion. A flight of arrows sleeted in. Marines fell, their blood obscenely bright in the harsh sunshine.
Grabbing a shield hanging from the rail, Zen sprinted to Linis. “Keep behind me,” he cried. “From the cover of my screen shoot down the helmsman of that cursed ship.”
“I can't. The distance is too great.”
With an oath Zen gazed at the attacking pirate, and by her colors knew that it was Kasar. The enemy was on a run-in, and had extended long claw-armed booms. The Etruan knew their tactic - they’d pass close, rip away the steering gear with these devices, then circle back and ram the disabled ship in the stern.
“Hard to port, damn you, captain,” shouted Zen as another storm of arrows swept the ship. But it was too late – Thanax, distracted by the loss of his hebara had gauged speed and distance poorly – the Laylia shuddered as her rudder was torn away. A victory cheer rang out from the attacking craft; it came about in preparation to ram the stricken galley.
*Footnote: Where ramming techniques are employed in naval warfare, sails are unsuitable as a source of motive power because they can’t provide the maneuverability that oars (or in the case of Naxorans, slave powered propellers) can.
Chapter 6: Cast the Grapnels
Zen turned to Thanax as the pirate came about, and surged towards them, a looming nemesis. “Bring up your men to our stern castle,” he cried. “We’ll board them via their forecastle when they hit.”
“Their forecastle is packed with archers. We’ll never make it across.”
“Do as I say, damn you!”
Thanax grunted, issued commands. Mariners raced up the ramp, crowded the stern castle. The enemy’s black shafts arched towards them;. Shields were raised, overlapping like tiles – a roof against the impending arrow storm beneath which the bowman crouched. The Long shafts fell – a rain of death that rattled ominously like deadly hail.
A slight pause ensued as the pirate’s archers readied another flight. Zen lowered his shield, and hurled the grenade as Linis had instructed. The death-laden sphere spanned the ever-narrowing gap. It fell among the foe, and exploded thunderously.
The ram struck, timbers splintered, slaves screamed, mariners stumbled under the terrific impact. Zen wrapped one massive arm about Linis’ slim waist, and leapt into the pirate’s forecastle – a charnel house of butchered corpses. The girl shuddered at the awful sight. She tried to ignore the carnage.
“Hurry, you fools,” shouted Zen. “Cast the grapnels, board now before they pull away.”
Archers leapt across the narrow gap. They began loosing shafts into the milling pirates below who had been thrown into confusion by the grenade’s roaring blast. Linis fired from behind Zen’s shield; men fell. An arrow sped up and struck her shock-pistol. She cried in pain and fear as it spun away,. The broken weapon struck the deck and its shattered mechanism was scattered across the bloody boards.
“Marines forward, phalanx formation,” came Thanax's bullfrog cry. A hedgehog of spears surged down the ramp, then across the waist - an unstoppable wave of heavy armor that swept the deck free of life.
Kasar stood on the stern castle - a great hulk of a man, his arms and naked torso crisscrossed with scars. He roared profanities at the Ruminites, wild with defiant fury. Zen and Thanax raced towards him followed by other men, their mutual enmity forgotten in the heat of battle.
Up the ramp they charged to collide with the knot of buccaneers before the pirate chief. Savagery erupted – the clash of blade on shield, the spray of blood, its sickening smell, and the screams of stricken men.
Thanax fell back, his shield split by Kasar's mighty blow. Zen stepped forward and furiously engaged the snarling pirate. Kasar retreated before his savage onslaught. The ferocious battle swirled around the fighting pair. With wild desperation the pirate captain leapt forward and rammed his shield against the Etruan, hurling him to the deck.
From the safety of the forecastle Linis watched in helpless horror as Kasar's blade swung down in a killing stroke. Zen interposed his shield just in time, laid open the buccaneer’s thigh with a crippling blow. Kasar screamed, fell. Zen got to a knee, finished him with a shearing stroke that clove his skull, then staggered upright and saw victory had been gained, for all about were strewn the dismembered corpses of the foe.
With worried eyes Zen looked about. He saw Linis leaning against the forecastle’s crenelations, sickened by the slaughter. Looking forward, she saw marines cutting away the grapnels, and felt the ship pull free. The Laylia was sinking, the slaves drowning; their pitiful cries knifed her heart. As a doctor Linis had dedicated herself to saving lives, but now she was involved in ending them. Turning her head away, she wept with grief and shame.
“Come,” said Zen as he drew near and placed a comforting arm about her shoulders, sensing something of what she felt, for he knew that only fools believe there’s glory in a bloody fray. “I’ll take you to the captain’s quarters, you can rest there.”
Thanax watched the couple depart with a thoughtful expression on his craggy face. The girl seemed strangely weak for a mighty sorceress. Walking up the sloping length of the forecastle ramp, he found the broken shock-pistol, picked up a piece and weighed it in his calloused hand. Her magic seemed bound up in the strange devices she carried; the black ball had been used; now this thing was ruined.
Thanax turned and saw the First Mate watching him. Both men knew each other well enough to guess what each was thinking. The captain walked passed Talos with an unfelt air of casualness. He mouthed a single word: “Soon.”
**********
It was late afternoon on the Sea of Dadan: Zen stood in the forecastle, gazing across the calm waters, deep in thought. By evening Etru should be in sight – her crescent harbor, a calm mirror reflecting the opal moon. The white stone dwellings on the purple hillsides would be warm with lamplight.
Such are the poignant memories of home, came his thought as a vision of the palace, a grander version of the other houses*, arose within his troubled mind.
His musings shifted to Linis, who was still resting within the captain’s cabin. I’m dragging her into danger, he thought. But what choice is there? Poor girl, she is all adrift upon uncharted waters.
A vision of her loveliness appeared before him in a moment of melting tenderness. If they could survive the dangers that lay ahead, then perhaps … Ah, but the future was uncertain - like something dimly seen through a clouded glass, a distorted shape; a wavering phantom.
The sound of footfalls: Instinctively, Zen grasped his daggers. He turned and watched cautiously as Thanax approached. The man bowed. “A word with you, if I may, Lord Zen.”
“You may speak.”
“Thank you, Lord Zen. I …”
Thanax gasped, a look of sudden alarm on his features. “Another neshrin,” he cried, pointing with a trembling hand.
Zen spun about; Thanax leapt, seized him and hurled the Etruan over the side in one swift and fluid motion that sent his enemy plunging to the hungry waves below. There was a tremendous splash; Zen disappeared from sight.
For a time Thanax watched the waves, but of the man there was no sign. Probably taken by a ranth*, thought the captain, gleefully.
And what of the wench? Was she truly a woman, or something else? I’ll soon discover that, came his lascivious thought. And if she is I’ll enjoy myself before tossing her to the other men.
**********
Linis ate slowly, savoring the strange victuals set before her – an array of preserved fruits and vegetables set in a narrow oval dish of reddish wood. The meal was rather spicy - very different from the familiar rations of spaceship life. So too the eating utensil – a bronze device resembling extremely long tweezers with which she transferred the diced food to her mouth.
Suddenly, the girl looked up from her meal with a start. Her eyes darted about the luxurious cabin - awash with the glittering wealth of many ravished ships . Some extra sense told her that something was amiss. Her gaze locked upon the door – the handle was slowly turning. Zen? No, he would never enter so stealthily.
Fighting down her rising dread, Linis rose lightly from the table, dagger drawn. Running to the portal on swift and silent feet, the girl pressed herself to the wall at one side, blade raised ready to strike. Could she kill if necessary? Fearing she must, Linis steeled herself for the deed, knowing she must adapt to this savage world or die.
Slowly the door swung open; the girl tensed, dagger poised. A man entered, the dying light catching his profile – Thanax. Linis leapt, dagger plunging. A flash of movement – Thanax spun. He caught her wrist in a crushing grip. She cried in pain, her blade clattered to the floor.
The captain barked a harsh triumphant laugh. “The fact that you attacked me not with magic but a common dagger is proof enough you’re no sorceress.”
Linis tried to claw his eyes as he pulled her close, but Thanax turned his head in time. He grabbed her hand, twisted both arms behind her back, snared both wrists within one encircling iron hand, and tore away her garment with the other.
She screamed, and struggled fiercely, but to no avail. “Let me go,” she cried.
“The top half looks like a woman,” came his oafish reply as he snatched the hebara from her neck and hung it about his own. “Now we’ll see about the rest.”
Again she screamed as his brutal fingers tugged at the waistband of her underwear.
*Footnote: A characteristic of all Etruan homes is their circular plan. The rooms lead off a colonnaded loggia surrounding the central circular courtyard. Each room is U-shaped in plan, the windows and doors of which are circular, and are surrounded by an outward facing border of stylized eyes. This magical symbol (called a mezra) is thought to prevent evil spirits and bad luck from entering the home.
*Footnote: Ranth: Another serpentine marine predator, gray-green in color. The head and jaws, somewhat resembling an alligator’s, are armed with venomous teeth.
Chapter 7: Dark Conspiracy
Linis’ wild cry drove Zen to frantic haste, and filled his mind with fearful thoughts. With mounting desperation he daggered the joins of the carvel-built hull. He hauled his sweating body upwards; drove the second blade higher still.
Come on, came his scornful thought. Where’s your vaunted strength? Heave!
He surged aloft, the blade bending dangerously. It was close to snapping. The open windows so near and yet so far – what fate, cruel or kind would play its hand? Again the girl’s scream rang out, spurring him to reckless haste. A dagger snapped and he swung dizzily for one eternal moment as the other blade began to bend. Then with a desperate clawing grasp, Zen clamped one sweating hand upon the ornate sill.
With a surge of strength he hauled himself through the window, and tumbled to the floor. Thanax turned, alerted by the sound. With a curse of disbelief he cast aside the weeping girl, drew his dagger, and pounced upon the fallen man.
Linis gave a warning cry. She saw Zen roll aside, and the plunging blade strike wood not flesh. Both men leapt to their feet, Thanax stabbed viciously. Zen caught his wrist, and sent his foe reeling with a smashing fist to the jaw.
The Etruan closed. Thanax regained his balance, and lashed out with a kick. The blow struck Zen’s groin, felling him instantly. With a shout of triumph Thanax snatched up his dagger and fell upon Zen intending to slit his throat.
Like a tigress, Linis sprang at Thanax and slammed her blade into his back. With a roar of pain he dropped his weapon,. Thanax reared up,. He threw her off and turned upon her with the desperate savagery of a wounded beast. Zen fought his way through a sea of pain,. He staggered upright and saw Thanax lunge at the girl, hot rage blinding him to all else. Both fall in a tangled heap and the captain's brutal hands locked about her throat.
Zen stumbled to the struggling pair. Thanax’s blade was in his hand and he rammed the dagger to its hilt in the brute's broad back. Thanax stiffened, died. The Etruan hauled off his corpse, then collapsed with a groan to hands and knees beside the gasping girl.
“You’re injured,” cried Linis, as she struggled to support his sagging body. The thought of him in pain sent strange emotions coursing through her. Her eyes widened in surprise. Could it be…?
Zen turned worried eyes upon the girl, fearing for the worst, and wondering if he dared ask such a thing.
"I'm unharmed," she said, sensing the unspoken question in his gaze.
The sound of tramping feet – men alerted by the clamor – jarred them back to awareness of their peril. The pair tensed; Talos burst in, marines in his wake, swords drawn. The seamen’s faces hardened at the sight of Thanax’s bloody corpse, and with angry cries they advanced upon the couple.
Both ran for the window. Linis flung the last grenade among the seamen. “A parting gift,” she cried, as they leapt through the casement in a desperate dive to the heaving sea below.
Pandemonium erupted. Men scrambled for the door, consumed by panic as they tore at one another in desperation. An explosion rocked the ship. The roaring blast shattered the stern windows to whirling fragments and peppered the sea with smoldering debris. Leaping flames engulfed the cabin,. They spread ravenously over tarry timbers. With appalling rapidity the vessel became a floating pyre.
From a safe distance Zen and Linis were treading water as they watched the burning ship. The man looked at his companion, questioningly.
“It was an incendiary grenade,” she explained, and then more simply: “One that contained pent up fire.”
“I see,” was all he could think to say.
“How came you through the window?” she queried, hoping to keep up conversation as distraction from the screams of burning men, and the knowledge she had caused their gruesome death.
Zen grunted. Falling for Thanax’s ruse had left him feeling like a fool, and he wasn’t eager to elaborate. Indeed, if it weren’t for sail-filling winds, the spinning screw would have slashed him to ribbons when he swam beneath the keel, grasped the rudder, and climbed aloft by dint of strength alone.
If I was as smart as I am strong, he thought, I’d never have fallen for that ploy. Then aloud: “The shore isn’t far,” he said, avoiding her question. “We’d best start swimming before other survivors, bent on vengeance, pursue us.”
They had escaped, but what other dark conspiracy lurked before them?
**********
Night crept in, drawing curtains of darkness across the sky, then lit lamps of stars, and laid his dusky body upon the couch of the world. Thurim rose in her robe of lunar glory. She sailed the tides of heaven, and cast her rays upon the globe to caress with gentle moonbeams her lover, Night.
Etru slept, enfolded by evening's warm duskiness. Night’s solitude was broken only by a lone figure pacing the temple’s courtyard, head bent and deep in thought.
Sadur, High Priest of Mamax, bore a sour grimace upon his vulpine countenance. Everything had gone so well – the disappearance of Lord Zen, swallowed up by Night Demons as punishment for his blasphemies (had not the god spoken so?).
The High Priest turned, looked at the hideous idol, and grinned. Who dared question a divine utterance? Who dared question the god’s chosen – the priests who interpreted such things?
But then everything had gone wrong, terribly wrong – before he could appoint a more compliant Lord (chosen by the will of Mamax, of course) whom he could manipulate, a sphere had floated down from the morning sky, throwing the city into wild tumult with its weird arrival as it landed in the palace grounds.
The Lord’s Council, who could act in the ruler’s absence during emergencies, moved quickly – the streets were flooded with militia, order was restored and the sphere surrounded. A tense wait ensued.
An age seemed to pass. Then, suddenly, the outlines of a circular door appeared upon the sphere. A ramp descended, the portal opened, and a weird figure stood in silhouette. The guards tensed, spears leveled, crossbows raised. A murmur ran through the councilors peering expectantly from behind the hedge of blades.
Into the light the figure stepped – a man-like thing of glittering silver. Rays of light sprang from its arms. Strong warriors fell before those pallid beams – flattened like reeds before the tempest’s fury. The Council was captured in one fell stroke, paralyzed by the thing’s occult radiance, and now it occupied the throne - an arrogant tyrant impervious to mortal weapons.
Sadur brought his mind to the present, and continued his angry pacing. He really didn’t care who ruled – man or monster – so long as the Lord was amenable to Temple influence, but all his attempts had been rebuffed by the being with insolence and mockery. And tomorrow at sunrise he must conduct the coronation ceremony that would bestow the title of Lord upon the thing.
The situation is intolerable, thought Sadur, vehemently. Already, some among the population are worshiping it as a god. If this continues the priesthood will lose its influence. I can’t allow that. I won’t allow that!
But what could be done? Was the thing a divinity? No, it had earthy tastes, especially for pretty slave girls (if the gossip of those silly chattels had any substance), and the weird skin was more like armor, albeit of a strange design, than the stuff of the spirit world.
Could the thing be a dasan of some kind? The High Priest grew thoughtful at that idea. Magic could overcome magic, and as chief hierophant he was privy to arcane knowledge from the Age of Sorcery. But dare he unleash the Forbidden Power?
Sadur pondered for a moment the frightful thing he planned, the risk of Heaven’s wrath for his audacity. But the lust for power banished all such considerations, and he thought: Let the world tremble before my sorcery, let these fools cry in terror. Before tomorrow’s end all will know that I am master and they but worthless slaves.
His resolve having hardened, the High Priest looked furtively about to ensure he was alone, then crept stealthily to the idol’s back, and depressed a hidden stud upon the thing. A seamless door swung open revealing stairs that fell away into yawning blackness. Sadur descended into the hidden crypt beneath his monstrous god, his soft laugh a paean of dark triumph.
**********
Midnight in the palace grounds: Zen and Linis crouched among thick shrubs, nostrils tingling from the scent of fomis blossoms. Their luck had changed, or so they thought, having discovered an abandoned hunter’s camp complete with sailing boat and other useful things. It had leaked appallingly, true, but Zen’s seamanship and tenacity had gotten them at last to Etru.
Through the city's noisome sewers they had crept, fighting off the slimy horrors of the tunnels with blazing flambeaux, to emerge at last from a manhole concealed within the bushes. Now, before them loomed the exploration module’s bulk – a dull white blob against the backdrop of the star strewn sky. Linis had been correct in her guess of where Vay would land; this and Zen's knowledge of the city seemed to have assured success.
"Do you think you can gain entrance?" whispered Zen.
Linis nodded. "Each craft's lock is keyed to all crew's voice patterns. The door will open at my command."
"Vay may be inside," replied Zen. "And I’ve only this extinguished torch for a weapon."
"It’s a risk we'll have to take. Without access to the equipment within, we have no chance of defeating him."
Suddenly, a sliver figure stood forth from the depths of shadow - hidden sensors had warned Vay of their presence. "And you'll not get that chance," he cried.
Chapter 8: You shall be the Sacrifice
Rays shot from the figure’s arms and stabbed the darkness with their brilliance. Zen threw himself beneath those lancing beams. He rolled into Vay’s legs, felling him to the earth.
Pouncing upon his foe, Zen clubbed him with the torch, but the vicious strike rang harmlessly upon Vay’s helmet. The Earthman threw a punch. Zen blocked the blow, but was sent sprawling by its force. The torch spun from his hand. He rolled to his feet, forearm numb from the smashing impact.
Vay advanced with arms raised. Moonlight glinted off his impregnable armor. He was a stalking figure of silvered menace. Linis threw herself upon his back. Vay staggered and his weapons discharged wildly. The hissing rays missing Zen by an inch. The Etruan rushed forward, and lent his strength to Linis. They both wrestled desperately with their opponent, amazed at his unnatural might.
“It’s no use,” cried Linis. “This armor must contain mechanisms that amplify his strength. We must …”
A sudden heave flung them off. Zen stumbled and fell. His head struck an ornamental column’s plinth. He sprawled unmoving upon the sward. Vay seized Linis by the throat as she struggled to rise. His gauntleted hands cruelly dug into her soft flesh and she sunk back to her knees, gasping in agony.
Behind the mirrored visor Vay’s lips twisted into a crooked smile. Initially, he had been shocked to find her alive, but now a wicked plan came to his twisted mind: “Tomorrow I will be crowned Lord of Etru, a ceremony accompanied by blood-letting. You could have been co-regent,” he sneered. “But now you shall be the sacrifice instead.”
The girl stared through a haze of pain at Vay. There was no mercy to be seen - only her own terror stricken features, distorted by the mirrored visor, looking back at her. She turned her eyes and glanced at Zen. He was motionless, inert. Was he dead? She desperately hoped he lived.
Linis opened her mouth to call his name. Vay squeezed harder. Darkness descended upon the girl, and she knew no more.
**********
Zen groaned, opened his eyes, and clasped his aching head. Darkness was all about, dimmed further by blurred vision. Something loomed over him,. The shape slowly resolved itself as he adjusted to the gloom - it was Sadur. His face was a study of gloating cruelty, thrown into shadowy relief by the dim light of luminescent fungi growing upon the gray stone of the chamber.
They glared at one another for a moment, neither bothering to hide their mutual hatred. Zen lunged, fell, the chain about his ankle dragging him down. Sadur laughed. The shackled man roared profanities at his tormentor, then calmed himself upon realizing his antics were a sweet pleasure to his enemy.
“Where is the girl?” He growled.
A loathsome grin curved Sadur’s thin lips. “Being prepared for the coronation sacrifice. Mean something to you, does she?”
With a great effort Zen maintained his self-control. “Not at all,” he lied calmly, not betraying the raging turmoil within, determined to deny this sadist further satisfaction.
The High Priest’s grin broadened. “It may interest you to know you’re in a secret crypt beneath the idol of Mamax. You see that pipe over there? It’s a speaking tube by which we give the god a voice. It also conveys sounds from outside. If you listen carefully, I’m sure you’ll hear her dying screams.”
“I suppose I will,” was his nonchalant reply.
Sadur scowled. “I’ve more fiendish tortures in mind for you,” he spat.
“I’m not surprised.”
The High Priest snorted, muttered darkly as he mounted the stairs, and slammed the secret door behind him. Zen waited a while; then gave vent to his stifled emotions, howling with mindless rage as he strained at his chain like a wild beast.
After a time he collapsed, mentally and physically exhausted; then fell into a fitful sleep haunted by dark nightmares.
**********
Mid morning light bathed the struggling girl bound lewdly to the hard stone alter. Linis gazed upon the hideous idol of bronze, revolted by its emaciated body, the four arms clutching grinning skulls of gold, and its twisted and hideous visage that seemed to leer at her with terrible malignancy.
Is this the end? came her tremulous thought. Can it be I’ve crossed innumerable light-years only to be butchered for the sake of base superstition, and one man’s burning ambition?
She thought of Zen, of her unspoken feelings, of what might have been; for too late she saw the noble soul that dwelt beneath the strangeness of his outward form.
The sound of drums broke the thread of thought – the barbaric ceremony was beginning. Sadur approached, face hidden by a golden skull mask,. The High Priest was a silent and menacing figure in his sable robe. His head was crowned with a strange device of whirling prisms and mirrors.
Linis screamed as he drew forth a wicked blade.
**********
For the hundredth time Zen hurled himself backwards. He heaved mightily upon the chain, throwing his full strength and weight against the weakened link he’d found, the faint sound of drums accelerating his frantic efforts.
Gathering his strength he lunged again, hauling savagely. The chain snapped. Zen stumbled, fell heavily and swore. Leaping to his feet he dashed madly up the steps and threw his shoulder to the portal. It shuddered, but stood fast.
Calm yourself, man, he thought as he slumped against the door. Use your reason and find the latch.
In but a moment the task was accomplished. Squinting, he stepped out into bright sunshine, peered cautiously around the idol’s base, and gasped in horror – the High Priest loomed above the struggling girl. She screamed again as the knife swept down in a gutting stroke.
Zen leapt forward He caught the descending arm in an iron grip, wrenched the limb with utmost violence and flung Sadur to the ground. The High Priest screamed in pain as he hit the stone. Then a flash of movement caught Zen’s eye. He leapt aside, barely avoiding Vay’s burning rays that flamed against the brazen idol.
The festive crowd began to stir. Someone shouted Zen’s name, others took up the startled cry. Tides of emotion swept the throng, chaos loomed. The High Priest struggled upright, hot with rage, his carefully laid plans in disarray.
Linis screamed a warning. Zen ducked; the sizzling beams slashing air as he rolled behind the massive alter. Vay advanced at a run, furious that his coronation was degenerating to a farce.
Sadur’s eyes flicked to the surging crowd. Things were rapidly slipping out of his control. I must act now, he thought as he pressed a button upon the weird device he wore.
Suddenly Mamax stood there - a towering figure of malevolence. Silence, like a smothering blanket, fell upon the startled throng. The god advanced, menacingly. Flaming skulls materializing in its hands. It hurled its macabre fires upon the crowd with explosive force.
Pandemonium erupted. People ran; others writhed beneath the leaping flames. A ring of fire arose, trapping the terrified throng. Men and women fell to their knees, wailing in utter fear. The titan gazed down upon the puny creatures, searching. Its eyes – pits of flame - alighted upon Vay. It reached for him, uttering a laugh that seemed to shake the very earth.
“This can’t be happening,” came Vay’s incredulous cry as he fired upon the thing without effect. With one mighty hand Mamax seized the man as he turned to flee. Vay screamed in fear as he was hauled aloft. The titan’s mouth gaped and Vay gave a final piercing shriek of utter terror as he was dropped within the fiery maw. The jaws clashed shut with a hollow boom. Silence.
Zen gazed in disbelief at the terrifying spectacle, not knowing what to think. The god was turning, looking about, searching – for him? Shaking himself free of horror’s paralysis, he snatched up the fallen knife, and began sawing frantically at Linis’ bonds.
The thing spotted him, laughed in mocking cruelty at his desperate efforts. It crouched beast-like, ready to pounce.
Chapter 9: Lying Sorcery
With a savage jerk Zen severed the final thong. Sweeping Linis into his arms, he turned to flee.
“Wait,” cried the girl, sudden insight coming upon her. “The thing’s an illusion – a projection created by the strange device upon Sadur’s head - its science, not sorcery. Kill him and you’ll end this terror. Fail and he’ll be unstoppable.”
The man hesitated. He gazed at the looming giant, frighteningly real as it gathered its immeasurable strength for the final lunge.
“Don’t look at it,” urged Linis. “See through it, find the man who hides within the image. Ignore all else.”
Zen fought down his rising terror, squinted. Ah yes, there was a shadowy figure between the god’s legs – Sadur!
“Stay here,” he said sternly as he lowered Linis, and then ran towards the titan, manly resolve firming the grip upon his knife.
Suddenly, Mamax reared up - a towering manifestation of evil incarnate. Fireballs rained down from the deity, and fell upon the puny man, drenching him in writhing flames. Zen felt their fearsome heat, frighteningly real. He staggered, screamed in agony, then called upon all his inner will, denying the illusion.
“Trickery,” he cried. “You hear me, priest? I’m not deceived by your lying sorcery.”
The world exploded into searing conflagration. The flames leapt up, writhing into nightmarish shapes – demons of unspeakable hideousness. Zen ignored them, forged through the raging inferno of fiery phantasms.
Sadur’s shadowy form loomed before him. The illusions intensified, assaulting his senses with horrendous stimuli. The world had become one vast nightmare. Again he staggered under the mental onslaught. Zen fell to fell to his knees. He heard heard the High Priest’s hateful, sardonic laugh.
Rage filled Zen, surging in like a boiling tide. He lunged forward slashing wildly, and felt his blade strike mortal flesh. A scream rang out, and the illusions began to disperse like windblown mist. He looked down, the madness slowly fading from his eyes. Sadur’s bloody corpse lay sprawled before him.
Turning, he gazed upon the crowd, still kneeling and wailing incoherently. Sadur was dead, but the priesthood had won. After experiencing such a terrifying spectacle Zen knew his people, fearful of the god's wrath, would forever be slaves to the hierophants who proclaimed its will, unless …
Quickly, Zen removed the strange device from Sadur’s head and placed it upon his own. If this was science as Linis claimed, then any man could use it. He concentrated, willing the mechanism to project what he desired.
Mamax again appeared – the monstrous quintessence of malevolence, but this time Zen stood next to it, equal in size and strength. The god uttered a shriek of fear. It turned to flee. Zen sprang upon the fiend and plunged his dagger into its back. Again and again he struck. Mamax howled. The devil-god sunk to its knees. Liquid flames, like demonic blood, gushed from its gaping wounds. It toppled, struck the earth, and crumbled to ash that dissolved in smoking wisps before the frozen crowd who were transfixed by the frightful scene.
“I, the rightful Lord of Etru, have returned,” cried Zen in a voice like peals of thunder. “I have slain Mamax with powers mightier than it’s own. No more shall my people be sacrificed to this dead god. My first decree is that all priests are to leave Etru by nightfall, never to return. If any are found within or without the city walls henceforth, they shall be slain without mercy. Members of the Council - to the palace and await my arrival, all others return to your homes and expect further announcements. Go!”
The crowd dispersed, many glancing with awe at the towering figure of their new Lord. Others, the priests and their lackeys, slunk away in tremulous haste, fearful cowering things who would not be missed by any.
Zen reduced the size of his appearance to normality. He breathed a sigh of relief, confidant his ruse had worked. Removing the device from his head, he gazed at it thoughtfully and realized that with such power came the responsibility to use it wisely. Turning, he saw Linis kneeling beside Vay, and approached the girl.
“Is he dead?”
She nodded, a gesture he had come to recognize as assent. “Yes, Vay’s amour was impregnable to weapons, but it couldn’t save him from his own fear. Heart failure - that’s what killed him in the end.”
Standing up she continued: “You’ve achieved a spectacular victory.”
“I couldn’t have done it without your help. Indeed, I still need you.”
“As a source of information?”
“Much more than that,” he replied, caressing her face.
Linis embraced him eagerly.
THE END