Sisters of Sodom

Looking around the room, the strange young girl noted the busted sac and dead worms, the blood, and in a moment she seemed to deduct what had happened. "Oh..." she said, her look of concern turning more grave.

She dropped her axe and knelt next to Eudora, then clasped her hands together and began singing some kind of odd, monotone hymn.

Samtalen av gudene høres overalt,

Menneskeheten hører det i Midgard's luft,

Gnister er sprøyting med gledelig makt

Og tenne hjertene til branner lyse...

Although the girl's voice was hardly angelic, even Eudora's cold heart felt the tiniest brush of emotion as the words hovered over her, repeated solemnly and with apparent purpose. As the singing continued, the punk pythoness's vision began to focus.

She could see the girl clearly now; a girl in her late teens or early 20's, with heavy eyebrows and large, searching pale blue eyes. Her skin was nearly the color of snow itself, and Eudora was reminded of arctic creatures whose furs and hides took on the stark shade of their surroundings. Her hair was similarly light, a long muddled mess of flaxen braids and tangled quasi-dreadlocks. Only the grayish-green smudges of earth smeared across the girl's cheeks and arms suggested any contrary shade.

Atop her head sat the large cranium of some kind of horned bovine, its thick bone chipped and cracked in places. Her outfit suggested something hobbled together from whatever had been left here ages ago, or had drifted ashore—a heavy brown animal pelt was strung around her shoulders to form a hooded cape, under which a leather tunic lined with rusted chain mail could be seen.

Her bosom was pronounced to the point of being somewhat unwieldy for a warrior of any sort, easily an F-cup by Eudora's estimation. Surprisingly, the girl wore no footwear, her relatively large feet deeply grayed with dense callouses and topped with craggy, untrimmed toenails.

"Shh," the girl said when Eudora groaned impulsively. She held her hands over Eudora's slightly bloated stomach, feeling the worms which had settled within her.

"Oh..." the girl sighed, a sombre expression appearing on her face. "Svært uheldig..." To Eudora's surprise, a soft golden glow began to emanate from the girl's hands. She placed her fingertips directly over Eudora's bellybutton, closed her eyes, and fell into silent concentration.

"Wha..." Eudora finally managed to blurt. She could feel the movement within her begin to slow, followed by a gradual easing of pain. Soon the effect of the toxins began to recede. Within a few minutes, the ability to move drifted back to her, however feebly; attempting to sit up, she merely twitched like a beetle on its back.

The girl shushed her again when she attempted to speak, cradling her head in her still-glowing hands. Her glacial young eyes slowly crept back open, and then she gently released Eudora, grabbing her axe as she slowly stood back up.

"Du må hvile..." the girl said. She quickly dashed out of sight, down one of the cavern's many leafy vaults, and returned with a heavy blanket made of interwoven animal skins.

She wrapped Eudora in it, and then, displaying even more strength than her robust stature indicated, she hoisted Eudora over her shoulder with apparent ease and started off up the stairs, into the darkness....

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

THE MORNING AFTER

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Needles of white light poured in from between the many cracks in the high vault. This strange dome-shaped enclosure almost reminded Eudora of an igloo, only much vaster, and made of rough-hewn stone. Dark moss topped with layers of hoarfrost ran up and down its high walls, as well as several hanging tapestries.

Eudora weakly squinted at these weathered pieces of cloth, unable to make total sense of the intricate imagery woven into them—images of serpent-headed kings or gods of some sort, others with lupine bodies, holding strangely phallic batons of some sort.

"What the hell..." she grumbled, struggling to sit up. Despite the distant whistle of arctic wind, the room was extremely well-insulated, which was all the more unusual given that she could not spot any source of heat. No torches; no fire pit; and when she put her palms to the floor, there was no sign of heat from below.

She quickly remembered that large cavern where she last saw Hailey and Ayaka, remembering how hot it was, and realized she must not be far from there.

How long had she been sleeping? She couldn't recall.

Her head throbbed, and an ever-present, oppressive fullness remained in her stomach. Her senses and memory rapidly returning, she shoved the thick hide blanket off of her.

Pulling herself up, she struggled to her knees. She glanced at the doorway, noticing that several of her items lay in a pile there, including her shovel, coat and broken utility belt. She felt around herself, confirming that her sacred armor and jewelry—the objects a witch treasures most—were still on her person. With a small sigh of relief, she mustered up the energy to crawl slowly across the room to retrieve her things.

As she laid hands on the handle of her shovel, she felt a restless grinding start up in her stomach, followed by a sharp sting. She groaned loudly, crumpling into a ball by the doorway. WHACK! The shovel, which had been leaning against the wall, came crashing to the floor noisily.

"Hva er det?!" she heard from somewhere nearby, and then the sound of fast footsteps.

When she looked up, she saw that strange forest girl again, hovering concernedly by the doorway. "Går det bra?" the girl said, her heavy eyebrows raised in an expression of genuine worry.

"God damn it!" Eudora yelled, clutching her grinding stomach. The girl swiftly crouched next to her, grabbing Eudora's shoulders and pushing her flat to the floor.

"Shhh..." the young girl said, then she placed her hands back at the punk pythoness's midsection and began singing that now-familiar intonation: Samtalen av gudene høres overalt...

"Get off me, you smelly cave bitch!" Eudora growled, but the girl seemed either unable to understand her, or otherwise remained unaffected by her words. She just continued to sing in her untrained, monotone fashion, using the considerable strength of her thick arms to pin Eudora whenever she weakly attempted to wriggle free.

"Shhh..." the girl said again, her hands glowing again. When finished her mantra, Eudora felt quietude befall her tortured guts, and the pain once again melted away.

"Who...are you?" Eudora said, searching the girl's face.

"Jeg forstår ikke..." the girl responded, blinking.

"God damn it..." Eudora sighed to herself. Was this girl a pythoness? Her powers seemed to indicate so, but never had she heard of one wielding healing powers before. Pythoness witchcraft, she thought, was inherently destructive. But this girl's energy was different...

"Bli med meg!" the girl suddenly said, releasing the pressure on Eudora's shoulders and standing up. She motioned for Eudora to follow her with the nod of her head, but she paused to give the weakened pythoness a moment to stand on her own two feet. With some struggle, Eudora managed, making sure to pick up her shovel in case killing this girl became a prudent option.

The girl led her down a hallway and up a curved flight of stairs to a large parapet. The bare arctic sky opened up in front of Eudora's eyes as she stepped out onto this ancient vantage point.

The air out here was frigid and dry, the winds strong. This, Eudora immediately knew, was the only view of the heavens this young girl had ever known; an endless fog of white, maybe with a sliver of celeste on rare days.

She could get used to this, if she had to. Eudora always hated sunny, warm days. They reminded her of people, freely walking about with their exposed flesh—all the varicose veins and cellulite, beer guts and awful tattoos, pimples and stretch marks...ugh.

At least in this impenetrable, ethereal haze, she could imagine nobody else on earth existed. Nobody, at least, besides this strange girl standing next to her, who despite her bizarre getup and questionable hygiene, was admittedly not hard on the eyes.

The girl patted her shoulder, which made her bristle, and then ran to the turrets running along the edge of the space and pointed to the sky. Eudora's eyes trained upwards, and there she spotted a fairly sizable bird drawing near. In surprise, she lifted her shovel.

The bird made a slow descent. In a gesture of greeting, the strange girl extended her arm, which Eudora noticed had a heavy leather band wrapped around it. The bird flew to the girl's arm, resting its talons there and settling its broad wings.

"Hei, vennen min!" the girl said cheerily, stroking the bird's expansive gray plumage with her other hand. The bird, which Eudora figured to be some kind of falcon, let out an unexpectedly affectionate coo when the girl touched it, and the two of them silently regarded one another for a moment. Eudora just stared, simultaneously impatient yet intrigued.

The girl turned to her, and the falcon's large golden eyes fell on Eudora. It's wings raised slightly, as if to communicate a defensive and distrustful nature, but the girl merely stroked its feathers again until it calmed.

The girl pointed to herself. "Sølvi," she said, proudly tapping her chain mail-covered breast. "Jeg er víkingr!"

She then pointed to the falcon. "Lysvinge!"

Eudora run her fingers through her thick dark hair and struggled to understand. "Sølvi?" she repeated, pointing at the girl.

"Ja!" the girl replied, nodding enthusiastically. "Du?" she added, pointing at the punk pythoness curiously.

"Uh..." Eudora paused, wondering if she should lie. If this girl is another pythoness, then it would be unwise to let her know her true identity, regardless of how out of touch she appears to be. She thought it best to test the girl.

"Giyǣda Ēquoi..." Eudora whispered. The girl blinked in sudden surprise. "Giyǣda...Ēquoi?!" she repeated, starting at the mere word. "Oh...!"

The falcon's wings rose again, and its sharp feet began to dance on the girl's arm as if to warn Eudora not to get too close.

"I'd cast the fucking spell myself if I had any power left," the punk pythoness mumbled. "It would certainly help me know what the hell you're talking about. Feel free to help out." The girl shook her head, reading Eudora's tone of voice, and then with a circular wave of her hands she suddenly cast the spell: "Giyǣda Ēquoi!"

A momentary warmth shot through both of their bodies. When the chill of the open air finally returned, an invisible sensory bridge between their minds formed. "Was that so hard?" Eudora asked with a roll of her eyes. For the first time, her words were intelligible to the girl, and vice versa.

"Oh. I am sorry," the girl said. "I did not know you were a Heks..."

"A what?" Eudora said, shaking her head in frustration.

"Oh. Sorry. You speak English, yes. I almost forgot the English name. Witch, yes? I am a witch, a viking witch. You are a witch, too?"

"Well, I suppose I blew my cover," Eudora said, exhaling loudly.

"Blew your...cover. Oh! You mean it blew away with the wind? I have many covers you can borrow...they are strong, animal skin..."

"Jesus. Never mind," Eudora said. "I guess this spell doesn't account for colloquial expressions. Look, I need to get off this island. Just give me a place to rest for a while, and I'll teleport out of here. I have no business with you."

"I see," the girl said with a disappointed look on her face. "But, why did you come here? I do not understand who that other woman was...she had a strange face..."

"It's a long story," Eudora said. "And to tell you the truth, if I told it to you, I would just be including you in a dangerous game. If you value your life, it's best if you mind your own damn business."

"But...you have visited my home!" the girl said stubbornly, smiling through Eudora's bitter words. "Surely I can gain your trust. And you are not yet healed. I am a good cook! I will make us a big meal, and then you can tell your story. Do not worry, I keep secrets, always—"

"The last thing I need to do is fill my stomach," Eudora said. "If you haven't noticed, it appears to be occupied with some of your local wildlife. And once I get out of here, I'm going to figure out how to take care of that. I don't need your help. Just let me rest and leave me the fuck alone."

"Oh. Yes. I understand..." the girl said. "But. Those creatures inside of you, they are deadly. My magic can only put them to rest for so long. The food I will prepare has strong medicine in it, to free your body of the Gravenders..."

"The what? I thought they were called Vermis something-or-other..."

"Oh. They have many names to outsiders, perhaps. But the vikings of this island called them Gravenders. They burrow into your body, lay their eggs, and within two moons, they hatch. It is the hatching process that is fatal...it is too much for a human body to take. I have seen even the strongest beasts of this island perish from it. So please, even if you don't want to tell me your name, you must take the medicine!"

"What the fuck are you, my caretaker? Why do you..." Eudora started. She looked the girl up and down, then paused. Thoughts raced through her mind.

What kind of respectable pythoness just helps people out without any obvious benefit? No, the girl must be hatching some kind of plan. Or maybe she's just another illusion, planted by Ayaka or some other kind of force...she simply did not believe this girl could be as innocent as she seems.

"Please," the girl said, taking a step closer. "I saw many in my family killed in this way. I cannot bear to know one more person could die in such an awful way..."

Against all of her rationalizations, Eudora could not deny that this girl seemed very genuine. But she needed to know more before. "Wait. How old are you?"

"Oh..." the girl paused. "I am not sure how you would put it. Before I fell asleep, I counted nearly 7,000 moons. But I do not know how many more passed while I was away; it felt like such a quick dream. Since I have awoken, I have counted..." She paused, then looked at the bird on her arm. "How long has it been, Lysvinge?"

The falcon let out a hearty squawk, and the girl nodded. "Oh yes, you're right! I have been alone for so long, I began to stop counting. It has been 883 moons since then."

"Huh. I get the feeling you have some long stories of your own," Eudora said. "That bird of yours...you really speak to it? Or are you just batshit crazy?"

"Bat...shit?" the girl responded. "I do not understand. There are some bats in a cave to the east, and their guano fertilizes—"

"Forget it, forget it. I don't even want to know. So you fall asleep for uh, 'many moons,' and now your family's dead. Gotcha. Whatever, I don't actually care. If you have medicine, I'll take it. But I promise you, if it's not actually medicine, or if you try any funny stuff, you will regret it."

The girl nodded. "I do not expect you to mourn my family. You are a strong woman, like me. I sense this even though your body is weak for now. I will make you healthy! This I can do, to honor my family. To help others, so that they do not suffer as my ancestors did."

"Whatever kumbaya mojo you're running on, fine. Just get these worms out of me."

"Lysvinge! Fetch ten bluecurrants from the northern embankment, seven stalks of Åtteroot from the western quarry, three strips of fir, five stinkhorns from the eastern bush, and at least ten rat's hearts. Quickly!" the girl commanded.

Without delay, the large falcon flapped its mighty wings and took off, the momentum of its ascent blowing both women's hair back.

- - - - - - - - - -

THE PURGE

- - - - - - - - - -

"This is putrid," Eudora said with a sneer, bringing the steaming concoction up to her pierced lips. She held the big stone bowl wobbled in her hands, its heft difficult for her weakened arms to sustain. She took another gulp of the strange soup, its flavor approximating raw sewage in her mind. It sizzled on her palate and burned her throat as it went down.

"I tried to sweeten it with a bit of sap, but I know it's not pleasant," the girl said with a humble smile. "You will feel better, I promise you! If I had known this recipe when I was younger, I could have saved so many people..."

"Uh huh. What did you say your name was again? Soviet or something?"

"Sølvi," the girl said with a nod of her head. "And you will still not tell me your name?" She continued, her crystalline eyes snapping with curiosity.

"Call me God for all I care, I'll be out of your life soon enough," Eudora said, taking another pained gulp of the soup.

"God?" Sølvi said with a laugh. "You are funny! I admit, you do look a bit like a goddess of some sort..." she said in platonic admiration of Eudora's "exotic" looks. Even in her reduced and battered state, with a bloated stomach no less, the punk pythoness still retained an incredible magnetism.

"But...I think I will still call you 'pretty heks' for now," Sølvi retorted with a playful grin. She stood up and walked over to the bubbling cauldron resting in the corner. "Ah, I see your bowl is almost done, yes? You must have at least one more, to ensure that it kills every Gravender within you. Do not worry, it is harmless to humans, even though I know the taste is not ideal."

"Ugh. Fine," Eudora said, slamming the bowl down. She nudged it across the floor with the heel of her boot, towards Sølvi. "Fill 'er up."

"I see you are also demanding like a goddess! Maybe you are Freyja in disguise," Sølvi said with a little laugh. She dutifully lifted up the bowl, and then, grabbing a large wooden ladle, poured more soup into it. Eudora lacked the interest to inquire about whatever Norse mythological reference the girl had just made. She did, however, have a few more questions.

"So tell me, Sølvi. Do you know anything about the artifact that woman stole?" She asked as the girl handed her a second helping of the odorous soup.

"Oh," the girl said, pausing. Her eyes rolled upwards as if trying to recall something, then she smiled again. "Haha, yes. Whoever she is, she will be disappointed. What she took was a fake, a trick. This fortress has many of them. My people were not so foolish as to make such an important treasure so easy to find!"

Hearing this, Eudora felt a surge of excitement. "Wait, really? So you mean the treasure is still here?" she said, her eyes suddenly gazing up at the viking girl exactingly.

She thought back to her studies. The treasure she sought was supposedly something worn around the waist, but the lore around it was particularly obscure, even for witchcraft. She was unsure what powers were contained within it, but what she knew for sure was that it was essential to completing her ultimate goal.

"Yes," Sølvi said softly. "It is safe here. I vowed to the ancients that it shall remain here on Signekjerringøyathe, just as I will. I know it is unlikely I will be able to continue my bloodline...so its secrets may perish here with me..."

"Tell me where it is," Eudora demanded.

"It is perhaps closer than you think," Sølvi replied cryptically. "But please, pretty heks. Rest, drink your medicine, and then I can tell you more when you are ready."

Eudora knew she still lacked the ability overpower this girl, at least not without the element of surprise. She decided to bide her time, content in knowing that Ayaka had fallen for a red herring. The punk pythoness nodded slowly and tool another gulp of the acrid brew. Suddenly, she winced. Something massive moved inside of her, and a volcanic pain suddenly gripped her guts.

"Oh! It is working," Sølvi exclaimed, rushing to Eudora's side. "Come, quickly. I have already dug a hole for you to use."