Medusa: Fate's Game Ch. 10

Medusa slithered over to them, and set herself behind Darian, bow out and arrow ready. Not looking at Chimera though, or the mess; she had her eyes on the forest line, scanning for more manticore.

"What... what's going on?" she said.

"I can't let him risk everything, Otrera." He tried his best to not look at Medusa. Time for some resolve.

"He won't risk everything."

"He—"

"Do you remember when you captured me? Chimera had been in a frenzy of a fight — fighting the remains of his friends I might add — and was covered head to toe in cuts and gashes. And when you helped him, he not only managed to save you, he captured me, and didn't even injure me in the process. In the middle of all that chaos and blood, he kept his head and controlled the situation. If there's anyone out here I'm worried about going nuts when they shouldn't, it's you, Darian. So you can just rightly back the fuck off and shove it. You're not touching him."

Darian grit his teeth and started to pace side to side. With each turn, he looked back to Otrera and Chimera, and tried to ignore the sinking weight in his chest. Otrera was stroking the huge creature's shoulder, and Chimera was letting her. How easy it'd be to mention Chimera's temping beast, and maybe shatter the Amazon's faith in the giant.

How easy it'd have been for Medusa to not trust him, considering how they first met. Women, with a capacity for understanding and acceptance he'd never be able to fathom.

Sighing, he lowered his sword and sheathed the weapon. "I—"

"For the love of gods, help!"

Fuck's sake what now? The group of them turned toward the new noise, and drew weapons. Medusa knocked an arrow, Darian and Otrera readied their swords, and Chimera stood up.

Gallea burst from the tree line into the clearing, arms up in the air, waving madly. Even in the dark, the moon light could be seen on the sweat of his skin.

And behind him came a manticore.

Gallea was fast. Very fast. Hopping and jumping, the satyr was by them in a moment, but so too was the manticore. It came at them in a full sprint, at a speed Darian never guessed them possible. With trees and canyons everywhere, they'd yet to deal with them in the open. But in the clearing, the cat had no trouble running Gallea down.

Before Darian could run in, Chimera was already in the air. The giant leapt forward, landed beside Gallea, and with one hand, pushed the tiny satyr aside. Small as Gallea was, the little man went flying from mid hop, and landed into a roll along the grass. The cat, on the other hand, pounced forward, but Chimera greeted it with a raised palm.

The manticore's neck landed onto Chimera's fingers, and the giant ducked underneath with the momentum of it. He flipped the large cat over, slammed its roaring body onto the grass, got down onto a knee to pin the creature, and started to punch it. And punch it. And punch it more.

Gallea got up, and dragged himself over to the rest of them, but no one was talking, no one said a thing. Everyone stared, eyes wide at the sight of Chimera over top the cat. It tried to sting him, but the giant caught the creature's tail and with brutal efficiency, ripped the stinger from its tip. Gallea reached up to cover his ears as the cat's cries filled the night air. Medusa covered her eyes when the splatter of blood started to splash over Chimera's chest with each punch.

So this is what it's like to beat something into a pulp. Darian had heard of giants doing such things, but he'd never mentally pictured it, never actually imagined what it was like to see someone crush someone else into paste. Bones turned into powder, organs and muscle melded under the impact, and skin split apart like layers of onion over the corpse of the creature's growing mess.

"Chimera, that's enough!" Otrera ran over the beast, and grabbed onto one of his arms. "It's dead, you can stop!"

But he didn't stop. He continued to destroy the thing, until each punch made the earth underneath them quake with the impact. Until he was punching rock. Otrera didn't let up, and between punches, she got in front of him.

Darian readied his sword and sprinted toward them, but stopped himself when Chimera brought his fist down against Otrera's head. Images of the Amazon splitting in half like a log against the ax flooded him, but the queen did no such thing. Unmoved, Otrera looked up at the beast, shaking but standing. His bloodied, dripping hand came to rest against her shoulder and neck, and the other opened to rest his weight against the grass he knelt upon.

"I... am in control," he said.

"You're in control." Nodding, Otrera raised her free hand to his, and held the crimson thing against her. "A bit crazy, but in control. Right?"

"... correct."

Otrera nodded again, and turned her head enough to look Darian's way. She was breathing fast, and her eyes were wide; and yet, there was a smile there too. Blood dripped down her chest as she glanced between Darian and Medusa, and gave Darian a wink.

"Right, in control. And hey, once we get into the city, I'll keep a close eye on him. If he needs to let out some of... whatever lead to that, we'll go hunting." She gestured toward the two piles of dead cat. "Besides, two less of those things around."

Medusa, already tending to the terrified Gallea, pat the satyr on his head a few times and gave him a hug. "Yes, two less, but based on what you told me Otrera, Andromeda might know she's down five manticore."

"I've seen others," Gallea said, "out in the land. Pinna's fine, they can smell her a little but can't see her. Me on the other hand, I guess I look tasty."

"They know no fear." Getting up with a deep rumble, Chimera let go of Otrera's shoulder, and walked over to rejoin the rest of them. "We should join your group in hiding, Darian, before our presence out here becomes unmistakable."

Fingers to chin and pacing, Darian nodded and looked upward to the sky. "Alright... I just hope we can all get along. They're devout worshipers of Athena, and the gods in general. We'll need to cooperate with them, and they know they need to cooperate with us. Hostilities should be avoided, but we can't hide out here with the amount of manticore hunting around. And if we join the rebellion, and launch our attack from underneath the city in the night when least expected due to the curse, it's our best bet. Can you deal with a group of people?"

"I... I think I can," Medusa said. "Are... are you sure they'll cooperate? What if they attack? What if they—"

"I will stand guard." The giant knelt down beside the approaching Amazon, and scooped up some dirt into his hands, only to rub it off and some of the blood along with it. "Wherever we lay our heads while working with the city, I will make sure you sleep well."

"It wasn't our safety I was concerned with." Darian, sword sheathed but finger pointed, walked up to Chimera and poked him in the waist — the only part he could reach. "But if you say you're in control, and Otrera's willing to help you, well... I'd be a hypocrite if I told you to leave."

"We all have our demons," Medusa said. "Even Gallea here has had some problems with people before, I'm sure."

"What, you kidding? I am the definition of agreeable. Everyone loves me." Such a bastard, the satyr, but no doubt the man was good at what he did. Laughing, Gallea winked at Darian, and stepped over to look down at the mess of death as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. "Gods damn, Chimera, thanks for that. I thought I was good, but the bastards are out here in large numbers. I'm going to need a better place to hide; I had to run a mile with that cat on my ass."

"... you know," Otrera said, "he should come with us anyway. Leave it to the satyr to calm people's tempers and whatnot."

"I am a master politician, after all."

Everyone groaned.

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~~Medusa~~

The journey to the city was uneventful, thank the gods. They'd underestimated how dangerous the city outskirts would be, as the manticore continued to grow in number while roaming the cliffs and forests. It made their movements difficult.

But more difficult was the curse. Darian and Otrera had described what it felt like to enter the city: death standing on your shoulders. She didn't really understand the description, but now that she was in it, with her skin tingling cold, breath hard and shallow, and body weighed down until she was practically on her hands, she understood. No wonder the residents had not attempted to rebel, how could they? In the day, their movements would be obvious and easily squashed by the manticore or sorceress. Come night, the residents could not move.

At least until Patrius had showed up. She smiled bright at the thought; Darian had spared him because he wanted to make her happy, and now it was paying off. Karma, she'd heard some people describe it as. It'd be nice to have a little help from the outside for once.

As they sneaked around the city and toward the animal pen, the heavy illusion of cold cut into her bones until it slowed her down. She was a snake, and the larger half of her body did not appreciate being weighed down with the ice in the air. Every so often, she managed to catch a glimpse of Chimera's own exhaustion through his stone gaze; the curse was strong enough to affect even him. Once they had a moment, Darian gave them the jar, and they all smelled the odorless thing within. Like throwing off a heavy blanket of ice.

It wasn't just the curse though. It was the worry cutting into her. People, more people, more people than she'd ever talked to in a hundred years. Could she talk to two dozen people? Could she look them in the eye without frightening them? Without them frightening her? They served Athena, but Athena was the one who cursed her, and it was her champions who attacked her! They were going to be helping these people, sleeping near them, working with them. It all had Medusa shivering more than the city curse did.

The manticore were not near. Perhaps more had gone out into the outskirts? Or they were near, but with the heavy fog that buried the city, no one could see anyone, only hear. So they went slowly, quietly, and came upon the animal pen.

Otrera and Darian were leading, but once they arrived, they stopped, looked at each other, and each smacked themselves in the forehead.

"We... don't know where the door is."

Gallea raised his hands and gestured knocking their two heads together. Medusa choked on a chuckle as quietly as she could, and Chimera did the same with a rumble. But the giant crept forward, crouched into a squat and moved more silently than they could. Shrugging, they followed after him, and they all sighed with relief when Chimera reached down underneath a mess of animal feces and dirt. A smelly moment later, the flat door was opened upward, and with swords drawn, Darian and Otrera dropped in. Medusa slithered in after them into the darkness with Gallea, and Chimera slipped in after her.

But all that greeted them was more black. When Chimera closed the door in behind them, the little bit of light from the night sky went with it.

"... well, fuck," Otrera said.

"Shh." Darian, Medusa guessed. A few seconds later, she heard a knocking sound from within the room. And then somewhere else in the room, and then somewhere else again. "Looking for... wood door...."

A creak announced the light, blinding after the minute of pure black. Candles in the dark of the large basement entered, held by a man and several others behind him.

"Otrera, Bellerophon," he said. "Glad you managed to find the door."

The Amazon shrugged, and stepped forward to walk into the room beyond while sheathing her sword. "Chimera found it. And... yeah, this room should be big enough for our friends."

"I'm still not sure why we need the taller room for your companions. There was plenty of room for... for...."

Trembling ripples danced up Medusa's spine. Time for introductions.

Patrius, she guessed, stepped into the room, and held the candle high. Medusa and Chimera were in the back, but in the utter blackness, a candle did much.

Chimera stepped forward. Even in the underground basement — no doubt meant for storing supplies and wine — he had to bend over slightly to keep his head from hitting the ceiling above. But hunched over or not, his size dwarfed the few men before him, and they stepped back with a gasp.

"Chimera, this is Patrius," Darian said with a gesture to the others. He kept his voice soft and quiet, but there was no mistaking the smile on his face. Diplomatic, or was he relishing a fight?

Much as Medusa knew Darian would try and keep everything going smoothly, and keep everyone calm, she doubted either he or Chimera would do either if things went badly. And judging from the dropped jaws and furrowed brows of the humans, bad was fast approaching.

"Right, so here's the deal." Everyone turned to look at the satyr hopping out from the corner. "Name's Gallea, here keeping an eye on these four while things go crazy. Writing a story, right? The fallen Amazon, the fallen idol, and the great monsters of legend. Chimera, giant. And Medusa, serpent."

She put her face in her palm, and sighed. It'd have been less painful ripping out an arrow. The men raised their candles high, and more gasps came as they recognized her through the dark.

"M-M-Medusa!?" one of them said. "You brought the snake woman here!?"

With a chuckle and a hop, Gallea made his way to the group and reached out for a candle. When they didn't give it to him, he swiped it anyway, and hopped over to stand between Chimera and Medusa.

"I know none of you are particularly happy about sharing your basement with us, and especially these two. But rest assured, these two here are not only perfectly trust worthy, they are how we are going to win this fight. See this man?" Gallea reached out for Chimera's leg, and kicked it with his hoof. The giant did not blink. "Made of muscle and stone. Leave him alone, and he'll leave you alone. And Medusa?" He hopped over to her, and smiled up at her.

"W... what are you doing?" she said. "You're... going to—"

"Come on." With a smile to compete with Darian's, the sly satyr took her hand, and lead her toward the group, until she was only six feet from the onlookers. "Medusa is... well you know the story as well as anyone, I'm sure. But know she's the sweetest thing next to berries. You leave her alone, and she'll leave you alone too. Say hi, and she'll say hi. Sound reasonable?"

Oh Gallea. The poor little satyr was supposed to be staying out of the story, but here he was, playing diplomat, risking his life and even Pinna's.

"It is not reasonable!" One of the men pushed past Patrius, a younger fellow in a dirty tunic and ruined sandals. "A giant is an enemy of the gods and a man eater. Medusa herself is cursed by Athena, our goddess! You cannot expect us to—"

Patrius brought up a hand and yanked the man back by his tunic. "Quiet. All of you, let us go into the next room where we can speak more freely."

"But the—"

"All of us. And you will shut up if you want to save your city." The older soldier grabbed the man by the ear, and pulled him into the room beyond them.

Medusa took a deep breath. So far so good, no one was trying to kill her in a mad rush of venom and anger. Not happy about her being there, sure, but considering what she was used to, this was great. Deep breath, big gulp, you can handle this.

"Thank you Gallea," she said as the others started to move into the next room. "I was... thank you."

"Girl I got you covered. We're in for some rough times, least I can do is get everyone comfortable with each other. Pinna and I are writing the story after all, we can just cut out this bit and say Otrera or Bellero — Darian, got everyone to communicate. Now come on." Her hand in his, Gallea pulled her toward the door.

The next room was as tall as the first, but longer. Clearly the city had a booming business of trade at some point, as amphora jars were everywhere along the walls. But they were dusty, many broken, and the wood crates next to them were in just as much disrepair. At least there was a table in the center, with several candles unlit next to ones that were.

"So this is the Chimera?" Patrius said. "I expected a lion with a goat head and snake head. I... oh." With candle raised, the old soldier looked the giant up and down from only a few feet away. A fearless man, Darian's old friend. "The tattoo, the animal pelt, I can see where people got confused."

Chimera rumbled, and Patrius stepped back with the deep noise.

"I don't understand how he's alive though."

Darian chuckled, closed the door behind them all, and moved over to sit at the table. "He's hard to kill."

Medusa chuckled too. The scars on the giant's body were testament to that.

"Not sure why you brought a satyr." Patrius walked over to Gallea and looked the man up and down. "You know how to use a sword?"

"Nope."

"... a bow?"

"Not really."

"What can you do?"

"Play a flute and sing a tune. Wanna hear?"

Gallea reached into his tunic and brought out his pan flute, but Patrius raised a hand.

"Another time." The old soldier nodded, and walked over to Medusa.

Face to face with a normal man. The first normal man ever that wasn't trying to kill her. He looked her up and down with his candle, and peeked around her to look at her snake length that she had slithered up close into a tight S behind her.

Medusa raised a hand up to her snake hair and combed it with her fingers. Elbows against her chest and eyes down, she leaned away from him as he came closer.

"... Medusa," he said.

"H... hello."

"The story says you are a monster."

Frowning, she looked down and brought her snake hair over one of her cheeks. "I...."

"But you can talk."

"I can! I can...."

Patrius turned to his three companions, and stomped a single foot once. "She can talk and reason. So you'll keep your swords to yourself."

"But she—"

"She's Medusa, I know. But she is not our enemy. So you'll listen to me if you want my help." The three men didn't seem too convinced, but the old soldier walked up to them and poked one of them in the chest. "Think of it like this. Athena sent me; you think the woman she cursed would just be here by accident?" With a smirk, Patrius looked over his shoulder, and nodded to Medusa. "Maybe it's her chance at redemption."

Redemption. The word sent fire and ice up her spine until she was torn between a smile and a scowl. Redemption would be wonderful, but why did she need it? She'd done nothing wrong. But the gods were fickle things, and if this was how she got her legs back, helping others, she was more than happy to do so.

"She's with me." Darian walked over to her, and set a hand on some of her scaled length beneath her hip. Just a touch from his fingers settled her, and as he stroked her scales, she put a hand on his further shoulder and kept him close to her.

"... with you?" Patrius said.

"It's a great love story, Patrius. I tell you, the stuff of legend. I'll sing the tale for you another time." Gallea hopped up onto the table to sit his butt on the edge, and he played a few quiet notes on his pan flute. "How loud can we be down here?"

Patrius squinted at Darian. Medusa did not like the look. But a few seconds later, the old soldier walked over to sit beside Gallea.

"In this second room, you can be fairly loud. It is entirely beneath the Tritus's house." The old soldier motioned to one of the young men nearby. "Don't scream or yell, or anything like that, and you should be fine to talk normally."

Sighing, Gallea put the flute away. Probably for the best.

"Thank you." Medusa slithered over to the table, slowly. Each sway of her body to grip the floor with her scales and push her weight forward drew the eyes of the strangers. She knew their thoughts: she was a really big snake, a monster. But as much as they were staring at her, they were also staring at Chimera. He'd sat himself down cross legged knees out, feet in, in one of the room corners. Being at eye level with a sitting giant put his strength and size into perspective for them, no doubt.