Minx Ep. 02: Return to Anima

Ship was silent for the rest of Minx's walk. Once the bounty hunter was on board, she found her vessel very officious. She shook her head, and wondered yet again if anyone else's Ship ever acted like this.

At her pilot's command, Ship launched herself into a parabolic trajectory. It was unlikely that anyone would see the small vessel unless they were looking for her, and that was very unlikely. Ship landed within a couple of kilometres of their target.

Minx studied the images of the home of the Prophet. It appeared to be more of a fortress than a church or temple. High walls formed a large rectangle that enclosed one large, fort-like building and several lesser structures. She could see no bright colours and no sign of statues.

"They're apparently not artists. Perhaps they're sworn to poverty. Did you spot any weapons?" Minx asked.

"None that we would consider weapons, if that's what you mean, boss. Are you sure you don't want me to drop you off by Rudy's farm? You could enjoy some time with him while I visited Hephaestus in orbit."

"First things first, Ship. I have to find out if this religion will be of any use in freeing the cat-girls. Hopefully, the current Prophet or Holy Man is willing to meet with an armed cat-girl. Otherwise there might be some trouble."

"I'm always around if you need me, boss. Just say the word, and I'll level the place."

With what, Minx wondered? Ship had no real weaponry that she had ever found. Had Dragon made some modifications to her vessel? She decided to ask Ship about that once she returned.

Minx left Ship hidden behind a small rocky outcrop and walked confidently toward the high walls of the fort. There didn't appear to be a door that she could see, so she turned to her right and followed the wall.

Her bare feet kicked up small clouds of dust. The sun beat down upon her. She stopped, shaded her eyes from the sun, and looked up to the top of the wall. She could see no-one looking down at her. Was there even anyone here?

Minx reached the corner, rounded it, and faced another unblemished wall. She sighed, and began following this wall. The lands around this building were barren of farms. Minx could see wild plants, including some colourful wildflowers, but there was no sign of cultivation. That suggested to her that very few people lived within these walls.

She reached the next corner, turned it, and stopped in surprise. She had expected to see another blank wall; instead she spotted a bear-man half way along that wall. He had set up camp near the base. Minx could see a small lean-to, an open fire, a very large lizard tethered to a pole, and a large basket. Beside the basket was a long length of rope, one end of which was tied to the basket and the other end of which went straight up to the top of the wall.

The brownish yellow lizard hissed at Minx, and it was large enough that she could hear the hiss clearly despite the distance between them. The bear-man turned to see what had caught the reptile's attention, and grinned when he saw Minx.

The bounty hunter shook her head in disgust. She approached the stranger, and hailed him once she was within a few metres. The lizard continued to hiss at her, and the rope keeping it tied to the pole was taut.

"Well, hello yourself, pretty little cat-girl. What are you doing here, and why do you carry a sword?"

"Can I share your fire?" Minx asked in response.

"And my bed, too, but that can wait for now." She sat cross-legged a short distance away. "Why don't you answer my questions?"

Minx's eyes flashed over the scene, and she spotted a sword partially hidden beside the bear-man. "I carry a sword for protection, my friend. You never know who's lying in wait for a helpless-looking cat-girl."

"Or for an honest traveller, cat-girl. Despite being a bear-man, there are those who wouldn't think twice about knocking me over the head so they could get a good, long look at any valuables I might have hidden."

"I'm Minx. I've come to seek an audience with the Prophet."

"And my name is Bjarn, cat-girl. I, too, have come to seek an audience with the Prophet. Although I think he'll be willing to see you first. I'm willing to wait the hour or so." He took his time with an appraising look at Minx. "He'll be in a good mood by the time he's ready to see me." He turned to the hissing lizard. "Pedro! Be quiet!" The Lizard fell silent, and relaxed.

"I haven't seen a pet like him before," said Minx, pointing at the lizard.

"Good for you. Haven't spent much time working on a farm, then?" Minx shook her head. "Well, I guess with a body like that your owner still has a use for..."

Minx put a hand to her throat, remembering that cat-girl's owners tagged their property. "I'm a free cat-girl."

"Never heard of such a thing. Who feeds you? Who takes care of you?"

"I take care of myself," she replied, indignantly.

"Well, I caught Pedro near a breeding farm a few years back. He was troubling the owners, and I was hired to get rid of him. I caught him, and we came to an understanding." The bear-man chuckled deep in his throat.

Minx stood, and tentatively approached the now quiet lizard. "What do you mean troubling the owners?"

"Go ahead, cat-girl, I've got him trained now." Minx reached out a hand. "He was troubling the owners by hunting their livestock. They had a lot of cat-girls working the farm, and he would sneak on to their property, grab one, run off, and eat her." Minx froze with her eyes opened wide.

The lizard's mouth opened slightly, and its tongue darted out. She pulled back, but too slowly. There was a prick on the back of her hand, and then she felt dizzy.

"Good boy, Pedro," said Bjarn.

Minx tried to turn to face the bear-man, but the lizard's tongue seemed stuck to the back of her hand, and it was now retracting back into its jaws. The creature opened its maw wider, and she saw row upon row of jagged teeth.

"No, this one's not for you, Pedro." There was an explosion of pain just behind her right ear, and the world went dark.

Minx's eyes flickered open, then closed again. She couldn't focus. Something was affecting her mind. She tried to stretch her legs, and turn over, but she found that she was curled up inside of something. She remembered the lizard's tongue. It must have been poisoned!

"Ship..." she murmured. There was no response. Her head throbbed with pain, focussed almost exactly on the spot where the transmitter was buried just beneath her skin. "Ship..." There was still no response.

There was a man's voice above her. "Yes. Excellent! For this offering you will be granted an audience..." Then rough hands pulled her from the basket, and dropped her on a cold stone floor. She tried to open her eyes again, but they would not obey her commands. Her body was almost entirely a dead weight.

Minx tried kicking out with both legs. There was a grunt, but she felt like she had kicked a down-filled pillow. She swung her arms, or tried to, but it felt like she was submerged in molasses. There was another grunt. Did that sound come from her? She couldn't tell.

And then unconsciousness took her again.

Minx woke with a start, flexed her muscles in case quick movement was needed, and then grimaced in pain. She could feel rough rope digging into her skin on both her arms and legs. Her arms were bound behind her, and she was lying on her side facing a simple wooden door.

Minx listened, but could hear no one else in the room despite the strong odours of sweat and urine. She looked around. A single lit candle in the centre of a small three-legged table gave her enough light to see that the walls were grey stone. She lay on a wool blanket atop a straw-filled mattress, on a simple wooden frame. The small room was a sleeping chamber, and the bed entirely filled one wall.

A sound beyond the door caught her attention, and she glared at the portal, ready with a scathing remark for whoever entered. She had deduced that Bjarn had traded her to these holy men for something, and she could guess what use theseholymen would have for a cat-girl. But she mentally swore to teach the bear-man a hard lesson. His pet lizard feeds upon cat-girls!

A small window opened high on the door, and Minx spied cold eyes staring at her. The window slammed shut.

"She's awake! Well, Julius, you're about to get your first taste of cat-girl pussy."

The door opened, and a dark-robed figure was roughly pushed in. Minx heard laughter outside the door, and then the slam as the entrance to the room was thrown shut.

"Make good use of her, Julius!" called out another voice. "There's something wrong with that one. The Prophet doesn't want her. But before we sell her off we want you to experience the 'pleasures of the flesh'."

Minx heard the laughter recede, possibly down a hall, but certainly away from the door. She kept her eyes on the stranger, whose face was concealed by his large cowl. The man was on all fours, mid-way between the door and the bed, and had not moved since his rough entrance.

Minx licked her lips. "Ship?" she whispered. There should have been some response, but there was only silence. The stranger had surely heard her speak, but he still had not moved.

Was he a simpleton, she wondered? Her eyes flashed around the room. If he was really a holy man of some sort wouldn't he have books or art in his room? She didn't see any, but she had known, really known, very few holy men.

"Uhm," she began in a soft voice, "these ropes are too tight — and they hurt. Can you untie me? Please?" He raised his head to look at her, and she saw the flickering candle reflected in his dark eyes. "I promise I'm not dangerous."

He slowly raised himself until he was kneeling. He reached up, and pulled back the folds of his cowl, revealing a simian face that seemed less protruding than a chimp's or monkey's.

"You're part chimp-man!" he exclaimed.

"Why, yes," Minx answered, thinking quickly. "Will you untie me? Please?"

"'Morovan made their forms pleasing, and their voices sweet that they may entice men,'" he quoted. He stared at Minx's face, but his eyes wandered and he examined her carefully right down to her feet. Then he looked away, whispering, "For he was a man, too."

"Look — if you untie me then maybe we could have some fun?" said Minx lifting an eyebrow. She tried to move suggestively, but her movements were restricted by her bindings, and the chimp-man now refused to look at her.

"These ropes hurt!" she pleaded. She didn't think the ropes had scraped through her skin, yet.

The holy man looked back at her with an effort. "'I implore you, my servants, to not bring harm to others, and to ease the suffering of those less fortunate than yourselves'".

The chimp-man stood, and walked over to the bed. Minx gave him one last look of fear, and then smiled as he bent over the ropes and began trying to untie the knots. Soon she was free. The chimp-man backed away slowly as she sat up on the edge of the bed.

"Thank you, Julius."

"I trust that you feel better, now?"

Minx nodded, and then cringed as her skull throbbed. She felt for an injury, and found a painful swelling just behind her right ear, right where the transmitter was hidden beneath her skin. She slouched, and then grimaced again as her fingers brushed the lump.

"Here, let me see to that, cat-girl," said the chimp-man. Before Minx could react he was standing directly in front of her, and examining the bump on her head. "That's a nasty bump, but it could have been much worse. How did it happen?"

"Bjarn!" cursed Minx. Julius stepped away again. "The bear-man ambushed me while that pet lizard of his was trying to pull me into its mouth."

"This Bjarn wasn't your owner, then?" he asked, with compassion showing in his eyes. These were the most human-looking eyes she'd seen on a native of this world.

"I have no owner," she said, watching his face for a reaction. His eyes opened wide, but he didn't seem upset by the idea. "My name is Minx. I came to this place to meet the prophet. I had hoped to convince him..." Based on what she had seen so far, her original plan seemed very naive.

"'No man is to have mastery over any other man.' I think The Creator meant us all to be free from ownership. Not just men, but women and even cat-girls." Julius sighed and sat down beside Minx. "Sometimes, I think..." and then he went silent, and stared at the door.

She found herself beginning to like this holy man. "How many others here feel the same way?"

The chimp-man sat up straight with a startled look on his face. "Forgive me if I've implied that I know more than my teachers, Minx. I am just a novice, despite my age." He turned to face her. "I just haven't been able to learn the lessons properly. Sometimes I feel like I'm in the wrong place; or the whole world is wrong, but no-one but me seems to notice it."

They stared at each other for a few seconds and then, embarrassed, they both looked at the floor.

"So what are we going to do now?" he asked.

"We're not going to have sex, Julius," Minx stated in a firm voice, recollecting why he'd been thrown into this small chamber.

"Ah, you think I'm too ugly. The other monks have often said..."

"What? No! It's just that..." She considered her options. The chimp-man certainly wouldn't believe she was from off-world, would he? "I'm not a normal cat-girl. I'm not a nymphomaniac." Too late she remembered that 'nymphomaniac' was a word that cat-girls were not expected to know.

Julius looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. "Now you're just lying to me."

"No, I really don't feel the need to have sex every minute of the day." She smiled, remembering the reactions of the cat-girls when she'd told them that.

Julius put his hand under her chin and turned her head towards him. "My child! There's nothing wrong with you! You are as Morovan designed. 'Each shall be different, but they shall all be alike in that they are my children.' I think he meant not only that chimp-man and cat-girl would be different, but that individual chimp-men and individual cat-girls could be unlike the others."

Minx stared at him in confusion.

"You've not learned any of the teachings? No-one has read to you from the Book of Morovan? It's no wonder you came here!" Julius clasped his hands together, and stood. "At last I have a purpose! I can teach you the Word. You clearly possess a remarkable intelligence for a cat-girl. I'm sure you could learn to spread the Word across Anima in a way that has never been done before. And to think that I will actually play a role in this!"

"But how will the other holy men react when you tell them of you're plan, Julius? Won't you be thrown out of this house of Morovan?"

He shook his head, misunderstanding. "This is the Temple of Morovan, not the House of Morovan. The two places are separate and distant. The House lies far to the south. It is written that there is a tower above it where Morovan was able to see the whole universe. I've been there on pilgrimage. It looks impressive even though it is just a ruin." He clapped his hands together in joy. "Your first lesson!"

"But how will the others react?" she prompted.

"Well, there will be some resistance. The Prophet did decide that you were to be sold, to bring in more funds for our work in the service of The Creator, but I'm sure I can make him see how this would be so much better. Just think of it, a female disciple!"

Minx crossed her legs, and leaned back on the bed. "It's not going to happen, Julius."

"Why not?"

"I have other things to do. I'm going to free the cat-girls."

Minx watched his reaction. First his mouth opened in shock. Then he stared at her as if she were the weirdest thing he had ever set eyes upon. Then those same eyes opened wide in realization.

"I'll help you!"

Minx's brow furrowed. She didn't think this novice was going to be anything but a nuisance.

"I'll help you," he repeated. "You need a man to stand beside you, and keep you from harm, and who better than a priest of Morovan?"

"You're a novice."

"I've experience in public speaking. I've completely memorized the writings of Morovan — something that no-one else here has done. I've long thought it was wrong that the cat-girls were owned, although until now I've never talked with one. Minx, I'm so glad that you cat-girls feel the same way I do."

"Many cat-girls like the situation they're in," she said, but he didn't seem to hear her.

"Come!" He reached down, took her hands, and pulled her to her feet. "We'll go and meet with the Prophet right now, and explain what we intend. He's a good man. He'll give us his blessing, and let us go in peace."

"I want my weapons back."

"Even if I had your weapons, I couldn't give them to you. This is the Temple of Morovan!" He walked to the door, and hit it several times with his fist.

"So we're going to walk up to this Prophet, a man who allows the rape of cat-girls, a man who profits from their enslavement, a man in a position of power who may not want someone upsetting the balance, and ask for his blessing as we set out in the world to change something that's been going on for centuries?"

Julius's hand froze in mid-air. "It's not like that, Minx."

"I want my weapons."

The chimp-man's eyes bounced around the room as he thought. They could hear the footsteps of someone approaching the door.

"I don't have them, and no-one mentioned to me that you had weapons. Could Bjarn have taken them?"

And he probably made sure to put his hands everywhere, thought Minx with a shiver.

The door opened suddenly, revealing a hallway and three robed figures.

"That was fast," said one.

"And she didn't even raise a sweat! It looks like you lost the bet Tiber," said a second.

The third growled. "Fine! Damn you Julius, you might as well be a neuter. Hand me the girl, and I'll lock her away in a storage room until the next supply caravan comes by."

"No!"

Three robed heads turned in silence to the chimp-man.

"We are going to the Prophet. You may come with us if you wish." Julius pushed past the robed men, and Minx hurried along behind him.

She followed him through tunnels of stone and past spartan chambers. The technology level was medieval, and there were few holy men about. She could hear the three figures behind them trying to catch up, and they did just as Julius pushed open a pair of surprisingly ornate double doors.

Beyond was a large room with a vaulted ceiling held up by rows of pillars. Minx spied murals on the walls. They depicted various scenes of the different types of animen. Some showed an elderly and smiling male human, who could only be Morovan.

Julius led Minx down the centre of the chamber, stopping to bow reverently three times. Another robed figure, a rat-man with his cowl down, quickly walked towards the group with a very concerned look on his face.

"I wish to see the Prophet. It is a most urgent matter concerning service to Morovan, The Creator," said Julius with a low bow.

Minx watched the rat-man's eyes focus on her, glance at the three others, and then return to Julius. The rat-man bowed in response, and then hurried out of the room. Julius stood and waited. The other three, a horse-man and two dog-men, removed their cowls, and began talking quietly amongst themselves.

Minx moved forward to stand beside Julius. He gave her a pleading look, and motioned for her to stand behind him, but she simply shook her head and waited. Julius' sigh was barely audible.

Only a few quiet minutes passed before a white robed rhino-man was led in, the rat-man still adjusting his superior's apparel. The rhino-man spied Minx and Julius staring at him, and suddenly stopped. He brushed away the rat-man, and then walked forward at a very leisurely pace.