Medusa: Fate's Game Ch. 02

In the center of the empty deck, Medusa was staring down through one of the square holes, her hands on the bars and her face and snake hair pressed to it. "So many!"

"I thought those undead scared you?" Darian said.

"They do, but... there's so many. They look like an army."

She had better eyes than him if she could see details. He could only see green lights and shadowy movements. He recognized the movement at least: rowing.

"Charon is most generous." Another satyr walked up to them, a woman, dressed in the same leather vest and waist sash as her husband. "You must be Bellerophontes. I've heard much about you."

Darian winced. "Call me Darian now, please. The less people that know who I am, the better."

"Darian then? Alright." She shrugged, and hopped over to Medusa. "And you're going on this journey with the mighty Medusa? You know she's going to be hunted everywhere she goes!"

This Pinna was a handsome woman, someone with some strength in her face and a bite to her eyes. She seemed about the same age as Gallea, long blond hair combed behind smaller horns, and tanned skin.

"Where's Gall—"

"Here, here." Gallea climbed up over the side of the boat and rubbed at his throat, but otherwise gave no signs of what Darian did to him. He waved lightly Darian's way, and walked up to his fellow satyr.

"What happens to the smaller boat?" Medusa said.

"Back under the water. It'll come when we need it. Same for this here ship." Gallea tapped his hoof on the deck a couple times. "Right from the bowls of the underworld."

Medusa looked terrified at the prospect. Even Darian shuddered. If it wasn't for the happy-go-lucky attitude of the two satyrs, the whole trip would have seemed like a horrible nightmare into Tartarus.

Pinna walked over to Darian. "We have instructions to take you to the coast of Laconia. It will take some days to travel that far, but we will settle on shorelines when we can."

"T-thank you," Medusa said. "I... I'm already... feeling nauseous."

Darian smiled at her, and reached up to pat the small of her back. After a hundred years on land, she had no sea legs. Or legs. He tried not to chuckle.

"What if we're seen in the day? This ship isn't exactly normal," Darian said.

Pinna shook her head. "In the day, we'll be nothing but an unusual fog to outside eyes. In the meantime, there are cabins you can sleep in. I... don't know if they'll work for you, Medusa, but I'm sure we can work something out." The woman held out a hand for gorgon.

Medusa looked at Pinna, then Darian, then back and forth a few times. It wasn't until Darian gave her a nod that she took Pinna's hand, and let the satyr escort her to the back of the ship. While the ship's deck was vast and empty, there was a raised section in the back with a door. At least they'd have a place to sleep.

Once they were out of earshot, Gallea wandered up to him, and he had a frown on his face. So the happy man was capable of anger. Good to know.

"You have some nerve to accuse me, Fate's Child."

It was Darian's turn to frown. "You telling me you wouldn't be suspicious in my circumstances?"

"I would, but I wouldn't attack everyone and anything at the drop of a hat because of that suspicion."

Darian stepped toward the satyr. Gallea took a small step back. That slight hint of fear in his movements was all Darian needed to see, so he dismissed the man with a tiny wave of his fingers, and walked toward the bow of the ship.

Gallea was not so easily dismissed though. "From what the messengers told me, we would be taking you, a companion, and probably others across much of Greece, Bellerophontes." Now he was sure the satyr was testing his patience on purpose. "Charon lent us one of his great ships. The Fates have personally requested your aid. Aid! Something horrible must have happened to cause such a ruckus."

Oh, the satyr didn't know? Darian nodded, and leaned over the front of the ship with his hands on the railing. He could barely see a thing, with the weird barrier the ship kept between his eyes and outside, but he could feel the ship had started moving, guided by the whim of the undead. He shivered.

"One of the Moirai masks has been stolen."

"Ah, that." Gallea nodded and pulled himself to sit up on the railing. Despite his slip on the dock, the satyr had good balance. Darian was sure he probably played as a performer for crowds in the past. "I knew that was bad, but I didn't expect it to cause this trouble."

"Do you know what those masks are capable of?" Darian said.

Gallea shrugged. "We're not all as privileged to be the Fates' favorite, 'Darian.'"

Darian rolled his eyes. Favorite? Cast aside like food scraps when they were done with him? Not exactly how you treat a favorite.

"There is power in those masks. The Fates wield the thread of people's lives, but the masks give them that power. If someone has one of the masks, then they've gained a dangerous—"

"Weapon. Then why would they trust you to fetch it?"

Darian squinted at him. Perhaps the satyr didn't know about Pegasus then, or the deal Darian made with the Fates to meet with Athena.

"Ask them," he said. "And for that matter, why do the Fates trust you to aid me?"

"Because my wife and I are aedos of course. We're going to record and sing this tale! The Fates would accept nothing less than a grand epic."

Darian glared at the satyr with eyes hard enough to kill. "Fuck you."

"You are a hard man to deal with, Bellerophontes," Gallea said, and hopped back down off the railing.

Darian chuckled again, and looked back into the black water. "Wait until you meet the next recruit."

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~~Medusa~~

Medusa slithered around in the cabin. No room, no room at all. The vast ship had plenty of deck space, but the cabin rooms — which she admitted were an amazing luxury to have on a ship — were small. She could only just barely fit into one when she coiled on the floor of the room. She kept herself off the bed, since Darian would need a place to sleep. A bed on a boat. The idea made her laugh, and also nauseous. The sea did not treat her stomach kindly.

Pinna poked her head in through the doorway. "I know I know. Tiny. I'm sorry, I had no idea the famous Medusa would be a guest on Charon's ship."

"Gallea said that too. Famousss? I don't understand... Athena cursed me."

"That she did." Pinna stepped into the cabin enough to lean against the door frame, and pulled some of her long blond hair in front of her to twist its length around her fingers. "But we both know the gods are fickle things. You'll find no ire toward you from beast folk."

Medusa nodded, and made another attempt at settling into a coil she could find comfortable.

"I had thought maybe... if you serve the Fates, or Charon, or Hades, or... if you serve the gods, then maybe you would be bound by their rulings." She danced on the subject with as graceful words she could find, but there was no getting around it; she was afraid to be in the presence of those who served the gods. It wouldn't take much for someone to come into her room at night and chop off her head.

"We serve the Fates, Medusa, not Athena or Poseidon. And besides, I think you'll find the gods do not agree on much, and where you may offend one, you befriend another."

"Oh?"

"Indeed. I've seen much, traveling the world under the eye of the Fates. I've seen kingdoms squabble over women, and gods squabble over kingdoms. And Athena, in all her so-called wisdom, is just as fickle as any woman."

Medusa laughed. "That does make me feel better." She slithered further along the edge of the walls around the room, and looked out a porthole into the endless black. The sea was out there, cold waves, a cool breeze, salt on the air. Never, ever had she considered she'd be here, on a ship, setting sail and going on an adventure.

Adventure. If she kept thinking of it like an adventure, she was going to get killed, or get Darian killed.

"You and Bellerophontes. You seem awfully close."

"We are!" Finally, a woman to gossip with! Forgive me the indulgence, Darian. "He showed up on the island, and I was fighting off some warriors from Athens. He saved my life, for no reason at all."

Pinna swooned. "That is terribly romantic."

Medusa nodded, big smile on her face. But, the memory of the fight crept on the edges of her mind, images of Darian brutalizing those two warriors like they were nothing. Like they were sacks of meat. It chilled her.

"Bellerophontes is a dangerous man, Medusa."

Medusa blinked at the satyr. The other woman could read either read her mind, or Medusa was just too damn easy to read. The snake hair, now drooping at the thought of Darian's brutality, didn't help.

"He is." She nodded. No use denying it.

"If we ever travel to Tiryns or Lycia, we'll have to be extra careful."

Opportunity knocked. Medusa looked Pinna's way, then slithered her top half closer to the satyr, and peeked out the doorway. The hallway ended in a door that lead out onto the deck, and with the door closed, they had some privacy. She leaned in closer to Pinna, and spoke in a whisper.

"Darian doesn't like to talk about what happened to him."

"I can imagine he doesn't."

"He told me about what King Iobates and Proetus did to him, sending him away to be killed."

"... did he tell you why?"

"No, no he didn't."

Pinna nodded. "I imagine he doesn't want to talk about it."

Medusa could already feel the guilt working up her tail like needles, but she just had to know.

"Can you tell me a little?"

Pinna snickered and leaned in closer. "No one knows this except the wind and the Fates, so don't tell a soul."

Medusa nodded, but could not hide her massive grin. This was fun.

"Proetus's wife tried to seduce Bellerophontes — Darian. He turned her down."

Medusa gasped. "Is she an attractive woman?"

"Oh yes, very. Beautiful as the sun, and just as searing. When Darian declined her, she told Proetus that he'd tried to rape her."

Medusa gasped again. Her poor Darian; the hapless man suffered betrayal at every turn! No wonder he had such an angry soul.

Pinna continued. "But he'd treated Darian as a guest before then, so he couldn't kill him himself, lest those damn Erinyes come to haunt him. You know the rest of the story if Darian already talked to you."

"I do," Medusa said. She could feel the grin on her lips, but she couldn't push it away. Darian had denied a queen, a beautiful one at that, but had bathed in Medusa for a week. Pride and joy flowed out into her snake hair until the infuriating limbs were dancing on her head.

But why was Darian in Tiryns in the first place? How did he know the king? The questions itched inside her skull, but she pushed them down. She had to respect his privacy, and he said he'd tell her sooner or later.

"And you, Medusa? Where did you hail from before those horrible things happened to you?"

Gods, her life before? So long ago, a century, the memories were hazy and blurred with imagination; she could barely tell what was a memory anymore and what was just her self-told stories.

"It's hard to remember. I was just a woman. I lived in Athens. I served the gods. Athena, Aphrodite, and Eleos were my idols. I had a normal father, a normal mother... I think my mother was a baker, and my father worked with trade goods. I...." She frowned and lowered her torso onto some of her coiled snake length. Her snake hair drooped down along her shoulders, nuzzled into her neck and jaw, before coming to a stop between her shoulders. "I was no one."

"Beller — Darian doesn't seem to think so. I saw the look in his eye. That man cares a lot for you."

A grin forced its way onto her cheeks again. "I care a lot for him too."

"Then I hope this journey goes well for you, Medusa. We're sailing to Peloponnese, and a century has not wained their god-fearing ways. People know your name, and they know Athena is the one who cursed you."

"I know. But I won't let Darian do this journey alone, for me."

"For you?" Pinna said, and tilted her head to the side.

"I... I should not speak of it. Darian may explain if you ask him, but it is private."

Pinna nodded, and patted the air with both her hands. "I understand. I—" Creaking wood turned Pinna's head. "Ah, Darian. Your companion is settling in... or trying. Sorry, there's only the two rooms, and neither are large." She gestured to the door behind her across the hall, where her own bed must have been.

"Thanks. I — oh." When Darian came into view, he snickered at the sight of Medusa and how she took up the whole room. "Comfy?"

"No." She frowned at him, but reached out, grabbed his hand, and pulled him into the center of the room. He was light enough she could drag him across her snake length to no worry, and plop him down in the center of her coils to sit against her snake body. "You have a bed though," she said, and gestured to the bed in the side of the room.

"Hmmm. Help me with this." Darian climbed across her coils, grabbed one end of the bed, and lifted.

"Um, ok." She took the other side of the bed, and helped him lift it.

The whole situation was a horrible mess of awkward body movements, but eventually Darian got the bed out the door and tossed the furniture frame out onto the deck. Once the bed was gone, Medusa had enough room to coil comfortably.

"This will be fine," he said when he came back. He climbed over her coils again, got back into the center spot where she had put him, and sat down. He leaned back against her scales, rested his head against her, netted his fingers on his stomach, and closed his eyes.

She giggled, laid her torso along the scaled length behind him, and put a hand on his chest. The others could be scared of Darian if they wanted, she knew he had a soft side.

"As you wish," Pinna said. Medusa could see a bit of surprise on her face though. "We'll be stop near Hydra in a couple days for supplies, and then it'll be a short trip to Laconia. The Fates said you would need the help of someone in Laconia, near Sparta?"

Darian nodded I will. "It seems I will, to track down whoever stole from the Fates. He's the only one who can find something the Fates can't."

Pinna tapped her fingers on her chin and quirked a brow. "How's he going to do that?"

"No idea."

Pinna frowned, then shrugged and bowed. "Rest easy. No one will find this ship, night or day." With that, the satyr left. The cabin room had no door to close, but she closed to door to the deck behind her, leaving Darian and Medusa alone.

"You should be nicer to them," Medusa said, and she slipped her fingers into Darian's hair. With him sitting against her snake body and relaxed, he was like her little doll she could play with. There was something satisfying about running her fingers through his hair, something she had not done in a century; snake hair was not the same.

Darian sighed, relaxed under her touch. "They work for the Fates."

"Did you not, in the past?"

"I was tricked. I didn't know I was working for them, I...." He shook his head, but when she thought he was about to get up, he eased back into her fingers and relaxed once more. "You're right. I'll try and be nicer."

"Good.

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When they landed on Hydra, they kept to the shore in secret, and only stayed long enough to gather provisions. Medusa could feel the pull of the unknown demand she explore — how much she had changed in so little time — but it wasn't worth the danger. She wanted to explore, to genuinely slither across those new and unknown cliffs and fields, but she made herself stay by the mist-hidden ship, where it was safe.

It was a different story when they finally arrived on the shores of Laconia, part of the mainland of Greece. This time, they didn't land to get provisions, they landed to set out on a journey. A real, honest to gods journey. Her enthusiasm had her slithering on the beach in circles, but every time she looked further out toward the mainland, she froze.

"It's... been so long, since I've seen different trees," she said.

Darian had stepped further up the shore, and Medusa watched him from the distance. He was no longer wearing robes, but instead was dressed in the armor of a hoplite, a rich one who could afford only the best; a gift from the Fates Darian was loath to accept. He looked dashing though, she admitted, with his tall sandals that connected into obsidian greaves. His armor was a beautiful breastplate, ebony, with many black straps hanging from its waist to protect his thighs. It contrasted nicely against the white tunic he wore underneath it all, and the silver engravings along his armor that highlighted muscle with embellishment.

He carried a sword on his left hip, sheathed in its black scabbard, and round shield of ebony on his back. The shield had a drawing of silver on its face as well: a circle of thread. In his left hand he carried a spear, and under his right arm he carried his helmet, a Corinthian ebony helmet with all the same embellishments as the rest of his new equipment. The helmet was even topped with a crest of beautiful white horse hair.

"The Fates are going to get me killed," he called out to her from his perch up the beach, "wearing this garbage. Fancy, silver and black? I look like a... a...."

"A hero sent from the Fates?" she said, and slithered up to join him. Slow, Medusa, go slow. The feel of new rocks, new sand, new dirt underneath her bronze belly scales was making her shake with excitement and anxiety.

"Yes! Wearing this, I might as well be wearing a sign that says 'notice me.' We'll never get anywhere without being noticed in this garbage."

"Did you expect to get anywhere with me and not get noticed?"

A little further, a little further. With a deep breath, she pulled herself up the small cliff face, off the shore, and onto a new land. Before her, rolling plains of green grass went as far as the eye could see, disappearing into forests and mountains that rolled and rolled on to the horizon. It was all so much bigger than her island. Breathe, Medusa, breathe.

While Darian was dressed in obsidian and silver armor, Medusa received no such gifts. She wore the same wraps around her hips and chest as before — now wrapped in an extra band to her annoyance — and she also carried a quiver and bow from her island. The Fates did not care about her, and that was to be expected. Still, she felt naked compared to her companion.

Darian groaned, look at her, and after taking a moment to look her up and down, managed a chuckle. "No, I guess I didn't."

"You both take care of yourselves." Gallea jumped up the beach with a goat's hopping grace, and leapt up onto the low cliff edge to join them. "Pinna and I will be here on the shore. Come find us, we'll summon the ship, and we'll be off to our next destination in no time. Wherever that is."

"Thanks for everything Gallea, Pinna," Medusa said, and she reached down to shake Gallea's hand, and Pinna's too when the other satyr jumped up to join them.

Pinna put down two large carrying sacks, and shook Medusa's hand with both of hers. "Here, this should be enough food and water for a few day's journey at least. I trust you both to fend for yourselves, what with living on that island for so long."

Medusa nodded. "We can. Again, thank you."

She flicked the tip of her tail at Darian's back.

"Ah, I... thanks." Darian made no effort to hide his loud sigh, but even he reached out to shake their hands. And they returned it too, though Medusa could see Gallea and Darian eying each other like angry dogs. "And if we come running needing a quick escape?"

"Ah well then you're fucked," Gallea said, and he put an arm around Pinna with a smile. "You saw the boneheads. Slow as balls. So either come in secret or don't come at all."