Medusa: Fate's Game Ch. 02

"So now he's in the same boat as his son-in-law, can't kill me himself." An edge was starting to rise in his voice. Sweet, delicious images of murder and bloodshed filled his mind, and he had to refocus on the stars above to ignore them. "Instead, he sends me to kill something, something he is sure will kill me, so he can avoid getting his hands bloody." He leaned his head back further with a twist, just enough to see the shocked look on Medusa's face. "Worst of all, me being both ignorant of the situation, and more than willing to show off my skills like an idiot, I agree to his request like a great gift.

"So I accept his quest, and go gallivanting across Greece with Pegasus, until I'm in the deadliest fight of my life." He sat back down again, folded his arms across his chest, and waited for the inevitable question.

"W-what did he send you to kill?"

"The Chimera."

She did gasp this time, and brought her hands up to her mouth.

She knew of the Chimera, he was sure. Who didn't? That was the reason he accepted the quest, after all. What a glorious opportunity it was to show off how strong he was, how fast, dexterous, and smart. The irony was like poison on his tongue.

"Y-you live though! Ssssso it couldn't have gone... too badly?" Medusa said. She reached out for him, her torso in the middle of her coils, and she laid her body across rows of her snake length so she could dangle her arms over his shoulders from behind. He could feel her snake hair nuzzle against his neck and ears, and even hug around his throat.

"Yeah, I lived. Barely." It was not a battle he wished to repeat.

"And kings... I... you sssurprise me, Darian."

"Bellerophontes," he said, and he couldn't avoid the sour note in his voice.

But Medusa shrugged it off and hugged him from behind. "You said you are Darian now, and I believe you."

He chuckled and nuzzled his head back into her neck, eyes still pointed at the sky. "Thank you for that." Maybe telling her all the dark, stupid shit from his past wouldn't be so bad.

"You said the Chimera. But from what the Fates said, it sounded like this thing we are to get help from is a person? I thought the Chimera was a massive beast, with the body of a lion, a goat head atop its back, and a snake for a tail!"

"Yeah. You'll see." No fun to ruin the surprise now.

The wind picked up. The cool breeze of the sea overtook the land warmth, and earned a chill from Darian and Medusa when it crept up the shore onto the dock. Heavy clouds loomed overhead, filled the sky, and like a blanket, the clouds covered the stars. It grew dark, very dark, so dark Darian couldn't even see the end of the dock anymore. The moon was buried, and the last traces of dusk were long gone.

"It... perhaps... maybe the aid the Fates spoke of will arrive tomorrow morning?" Medusa said.

Darian got up and stared out into the black water. The Fates, make a mistake? Not a chance. He walked further out onto the dock, each step growing a little more cautious as he lost the ability to see. But his ears demanded he go.

He strained his hearing against the wind. Something was out there. The stirred water was hitting something, and something was hitting the water. The telltale back and forth of rowing started to rise over the howl of the air, and the splashing of water against hull became clear.

But he still couldn't see anything.

Medusa slithered out across the dock to join him, and they both came to the edge. She must have heard it too, it was loud by then. The water was hitting something right in front of them, and the sound of oars hitting water didn't stop either.

Both of them almost screamed when some rope landed on the dock.

"Hey, boy! Pull her in would you?"

Darian and Medusa looked at each other, then the rope on the dock, and then back out into the blackness.

"S-show yourself!" the gorgon said.

"Of course! Of course of course. Sorry about, just had to make sure it was the right stop after all." A warm chuckle, bright and full carried across the waves. Whoever was talking had the voice of a singer.

A green light ten feet off the in the water appeared. A lantern, dangling from the bow of what looked to be a small boat, big enough for maybe ten or twenty men to sit comfortably. Someone was on it, and they had horns.

"... you can't be serious," Darian said. "A satyr?"

"Problem with satyrs?" the crewman said, and grinned a sly grin at Darian.

Darian rolled his eyes and started to pull the vessel closer by the rope. The green lantern was both subtle, and yet it provided enough light for him to work by. Soon, the boat was nested against the dock, and Darian stepped past Medusa to keep himself between the stranger and her.

"Not exactly, but I've never known a satyr to be able to focus on a single job without his dick running away with him." He gestured to the vessel. "Much less work as a servant of the Fates."

"Yes well, my dick is well taken care of." The Satyr chuckled, hopped out of the boat with the enthusiasm of a child, and chuckled again. Darian was already starting to hate him. "The name's Gallea."

Gallea looked like most satyrs, standing a bit shorter than the average man -- he was as tall as Darian -- and he had small horns protruding from the sides of his head that curled backward around pointy ears. He looked a bit older than Darian had ever seen in a satyr, maybe in his mid-forties, long brown hair pulled back between his horns, and he boasted a jolly smile with mischievous eyes.

Darian could already see a bit of himself in the satyr; probably why he didn't like him.

The satyr was human from the waist up except for the horns, and goat from the waist down. While a leather vest of some kind covered his chest, a brown sash dangled between the front and back of his legs against the fur of his body that reached his hooves.

Hooves, of course. Darian smacked his own forehead. Now all that was left was the death's hands, whatever those would be.

"So you're the mighty Bellerophontes, mmm?" The satyr approached him, eyed him up and down like a sculpture on display, and snickered at him. "Small thing aren't yeah?"

"You're one to talk."

"Yes but I'm no fighter. You won't see me fighting the Chimera, not in Tartarus or Elysium." He chuckled all the more, reached out to put a hand on Darian's shoulder, and walked past him. "Now, I heard I was also escorting a woman? Strange to be taking a lady on — whoa!"

Gallea jumped back so far he almost landed in the water, but his hooves slid on the wet wood right from under him. He landed on his ass, and then rolled backward into the black abyss with a splash.

Darian tried to help him, he really did, but the laughter stopped him like a punch to the gut. Medusa wasn't so amused. She frowned at him, slithered past him along the dock, and reached down over the edge.

"I'm sorry!" she said. "I... um...."

She lifted the shocked Satyr into the air like he weighed nothing, and put his soaked body back onto the dock.

"I'll be damned. Medusa the gorgon? That's who we're taking?" He held up a finger, coughed to the side, wiped some water from his face to the other side, and took Medusa's hand into his. Darian tensed, but Gallea started shaking her hand like a devoted fan. "Medusa! I must say, you are quite famous among us half beasts of the wood."

"I... I am?"

"Yes! Gods, such a horrible fate, and yet you still live after all these years, despite all those damned heroes like him" —he gestured Darian's way— "coming to kill you."

Darian stepped up to them, with every intention of getting between them and putting a fist into the satyr's face, but Medusa slid a part of her tail to block the path. On purpose or because she was bathing in the worship, he couldn't tell.

"Oh, I... well...."

"No need to be shy! Come on, Pinna will be so excited to meet you." Gallea kept one hand on hers, and guided her to the edge of the dock where the vessel remained.

"Pinna?"

"Shipmate, and my wife. She hasn't talked with another woman in ages. The ship really isn't much for company." Gallea jumped into the vessel, splashing water everywhere with his soaked clothes and fur, but he didn't seem to care anymore. Excited like a child, he turned around again and held out a hand for Medusa. "There should be enough room for you. Just pay no mind to the mindless oafs rowing the ship."

So this wasn't the main ship, good. Darian followed after Medusa, and wondered what sort of vessel they'd be on after this hopefully short trip with the smaller vessel. And who was rowing it? Mindless oafs?

Medusa screamed. Darian jumped into the vessel after her.

"What have — what in Tartarus."

Jumping onto the ship was like passing through an invisible barrier. Once on the ship, the green glow of the lantern, only a subtle shimmer in the black from outside, was quite bright, more than strong enough to light up the length of the vessel. And while the ship was long enough for Medusa's body, it had half-a-dozen men on each side of the ship, oar shafts in hand.

Skeletons.

Their eyes glowed with the same green of the lantern — how could he not see them when not on the ship? — and their mouths leaked green mist that glowed with the same light. Their wore tattered rags that weren't even enough to hide their arrays of ribs, and the grime of sea had built up on their bodies like rocks left in the water. They didn't move.

"Sorry about that. Charon's servants don't make for much chatter. But they're harmless." To prove his point, the satyr hopped down from the bow of the vessel, and punched one of the skeletons in the skull so hard, the skull fell off. The skeleton, with a slow and casual movement, twisted around, picked its skull up off the boards, and put it back on. "See? Dumb as clay."

Medusa stared at the dozen undead like a nightmare had come along and pricked her tongue with a needle.

"Charon," Darian said, and he groaned under his breath. "The Fates are working with Hades now?"

"The Fates have their hands in many jars, Bellero—"

"Darian."

"... Darian is it now? Alright, Darian, the Fates weave more threads than our simple mortal lives. You think a Fate's Child is their only concern?"

Medusa, pulled away from the horror by the conversation, looked at Darian and mouthed the word 'Fate's Child,' confused.

He sighed, surrendered, and nodded to her, before looking back to Gallea. "I was hoping they'd leave me be. I'd been left alone for some time."

"To rot in a quarry, from what I hear." The satyr pointed at Darian's forehead. "Was it worth it?"

He almost started yelling, maybe throw a fist or two, but a little voice in his head stopped him. He looked Medusa's way too, and she slithered closer to the bow of the ship to coil around him, what little she could with the room available.

"It was," he said, and he took Medusa's hand into his. She was shivering, and she kept glancing back over her shoulder at the undead. Worse, he could see her scaled length trying to find a way to grip the boat's boards and seats enough to settle, but without touching the legs of the skeletons, or letting the back and forth of waves unsettle her.

"Oh, a couple now are we, the gorgon and the hero?" Gallea said.

Medusa blinked, looked at Darian, back at Gallea, and back at Darian.

Darian supposed he could have said nothing. Hilarious thoughts ran through his mind. Were they a couple? Were they together? What would their parents think? What would their friends think? Or something equally as idiotic as saying 'no, it's too dangerous for us to be together.' For just a moment, he imagined the long, drawn out romantic tragedy that was the two of them trying to get over their personal fears and accept that they wanted to be together; it would of course end in the death of both of them, as such moronic stories did. He entertained the idea of such stupid responses for half a second.

"We are."

Medusa tilted her head at him, and her eyes opened wide, wider, and a little wider, until he was sure he could see around whole of the yellow in them. She squeezed his hand tighter, and leaned in against him to rest her forehead against his so her snake hair could nuzzle into his neck. Her smile was so huge, Darian couldn't help but smile back and nudge back against her.

Gallea chuckled. "Maybe I said something too soon? Ah, no matter. All's well that ends well. Boys! Back to Charon's ship!"

The undead all sat up straight in perfect synchronization, and just like a cog in some weird, Athenian invention, turned the ship. One side rowed forward, the other pushed against the dock with their oars, and then rowed backward. Once they were pointed out into the black nothingness, they went forward.

"H-how do you ssssssee?" Medusa said.

"The light works much better for showing what's on the ship, doesn't it?" Gallea raised the green lantern from the ship bow and waved it through the air in slow motions. "If you're not on the ship, this is barely more than a firefly. Still, it doesn't help me see me off the ship. For that, I have to trust these fools." Again the satyr punched one of the skeletons in the skull, but the skull only pulled back a ways before settling onto the undead thing's shoulders. Its rowing went uninterrupted.

"Scary," she said. "Death's hands."

Gallea chuckled. "Bah, death's hands? Sounds like Fates talk to me. These are just bones."

"Moving bones! Glowing, moving bones!" She pointed to the glowing eyes.

"They're Charon's leftovers, no soul, just mindless drones scooped up from the river Styx." Gallea stepped up closer to the bow, and held the lantern out over the water.

Darian could see Medusa was torn, afraid and excited. She was looking over the boat's side to look into the black; it was the first time she'd ever been on a boat since her curse. But, she had a youthful curiosity to her that made Darian jealous. She'd come so damn far in the small time he'd known her. Her slithering body reached out a little, just enough so she could lean up and over to gaze in the direction they were moving, and her eyes were wide with a happy grin on her parted lips.

And she also kept looking his way. The gorgon lowered her torso down to him again, and nudged her head into his before putting her lips right to his ear.

"A couple?"

"Sorry, just sort of came out."

"No, no... I like that." She squeezed around him with her coils in a slow and tender caress. "I like that a lot."

He breathed deep, relaxed, and nudged his head back into hers. "Good. Because I like you a lot." And this journey has me petrified you'll get hurt. He tried to hide the thought with another cocky smile, but Medusa put a hand on his face and held his jaw with her fingers.

"It'll be ok," she said. "I sssurvived a century alone, hero. I defended myself against the best Greece had to throw at me. I'm sstill here."

He blinked, looked down, and back up into her yellow eyes. That was true, wasn't it? She didn't know how to use a sword or a bow, and yet she'd taken down dozens of warriors in her life time. Hell, despite her almost childish enthusiasm, she was much older than he was. He was the youngster in this relationship. He really needed to get his head out of his ass and stop thinking she needed his protection.

"You're right, you're right. I—"

A loud splash stopped him, before a spray of cold sea water hit them.

"Ag, sorry about that. Bitch woman threw the ladder down without warning. Pinna! What in Tartarus crawled up your ass and died?"

"Your dick!" A woman's voice, with the same bright and full tone of a singer as Gallea.

"I wish," Gallea said to no one.

Medusa uncoiled from Darian, careful of her small space on the boat, and moved her human half toward the bow of the ship and Gallea. "Um... oh!"

Darian followed her, careful with his steps on the creaking boat, and looked out over the edge.

A ladder was in front of them, just barely lit up by the green lantern. Solid wood ladder, floating in the air. No, not the air. Darian leaned in closer, and strained his eyes against the black; he could see wood. A wall of wood rose high over them, the same color as the night sky, and with the same smell of the ancient sea.

This was a ship. A massive ship.

"Up you go, good woman. Pinna will help you," Gallea said.

"And just who am I helping?"

"You'll see when she's up there!"

The darkness whined with annoyance. "Course I will!"

Medusa looked back at Darian, anxiety on her face, but he shrugged at her and nodded. It was safe, the Fates wouldn't arrange this madness just to kill Medusa or himself there. There'd be no climax there, no story.

Medusa put her hands onto the ladder, and stopped. "I... uh... not sure if this will support me."

"Charon's goods are not of this world, my good woman. If he can drag a cyclops by a tooth across all the rivers of Greece with a splinter, this ladder will hold you." Gallea hopped closer, stood on the boat's side, hands braced against the larger ship — it looked like he was leaning against the night air — and helped motion Medusa up the ladder. "Just squeeze it on the way up."

Even in the night, Darian could see the woman blush. Monster or no monster, she was not happy about trying to heft her weight.

But that didn't stop her. She took a breath, spent a few moments wrapping her long snake length around and in between rungs of the ladder, and started to climb up. Darian watched after her, a bit panicked at the idea of her falling into the sea; he had no idea if she could swim with that body.

A few moments later, she was gone into the darkness above.

Darian approached the ladder, reached for it, but when Gallea moved up behind him, Darian snapped his hand out and grabbed the satyr's throat.

"Ack... wha..."

"Sshhh." Darian picked the satyr up, put his back against the black wood before him, and pinned him there. His grip tightened, enough to block the creature's breathing, and ride close to the edge of damaging flesh. "Listen closely." Darian leaned in further, and he let the anger in him build until bloodlust was on his tongue and his eyes started to blur white at the edges once more. The look in Gallea's face told him he recognized the white glow in Darian's eyes, the same as the Fates'. "If this is a plot to betray me, I will crush your nuts with clay bricks and feed you the pulp." Gallea's eyes widened all the more as he struggled with his grip around Darian's immovable forearm. "And if any harm comes to Medusa, I'll not only crush your bits, I'll kill your wife and feed you her entrails. Understood?"

Gallea nodded, eyes watering.

"Good." He let Gallea go, and tried his best to ignore the man's pained coughing. He didn't want to do that, but he couldn't trust this man, and the tough-guy routine was usually enough to put people in line.

Maybe not this time though, with the Fates as this guy's master. The worry ate at him. The Fates wouldn't betray him, at least not yet. They'd want a grand spectacle after all, with spectators and a true battle.

Darian climbed the ladder, hopped over the edge, and gasped.

The ship was gargantuan, but the shocking part was how empty it was. There was no mast, no crew, no anything. It was just a big, flat deck, and a very long one. A couple hundred men could have fit on the deck with no issue for space. A few lanterns and their deathly green flames hung from posts that lined the sides of the ship, invisible to anyone not on the ship itself. Charon's magic was frightening.

He took a step forward, and looked down. The vast, empty deck had many windows built into it that looked downward, all lined with wooden bars. When he looked down, he could see nothing except tiny green, glowing lights.

More eyes of undead. The ship's interior was filled with them, a mountain of bones fit for a tribute to Ares or Hades himself.