Journey to Yesod

Art drawn by: Bintang Hamal

Written by: Hunter Ake

Edited by: Lilliana Steele and Dee Dee Davis

Chapter 1 (Part 2)

               Evening gave way to night as Dulani rushed across the cliff’s edge, watching the line of torches in the dark like ants marching to tear apart a creature. She couldn’t believe how many settlers were willing to pick this fight, and with such haste. She cursed herself for not noticing anyone tailing them. Zenebe’s lie to the settlers was the last nail in the coffin. Thanks to the scout reporting back, the settlers already knew about Abbayona and being told to leave was the final straw for them; they wanted paradise for themselves.

                Dulani got behind the settlers and began hopping down the cliff face agile as a cat. She got on the trail in their wake and quietly slipped behind the last person. One hand snaked over his mouth, the other arm wrapped around his neck, her forearm and bicep on either side. Dulani grabbed her own shoulder and flexed her arm, the muscles applying pressure on both sides of the neck cut off the blood flow. After a few seconds, his body went limp in her arms. He wouldn’t be out for long, but the disorientation and being separated from the group would discourage him from continuing. 

                One down, just a few dozen more to go, surely, she could be more helpful. She could end this so much faster if she were to just kill them. These people were marching toward a town they intended to take, odds are they were going to kill anyone who refused to leave, which meant most of them. Dulani knew all too well how hard people will fight when they’re being forced from their homes. So, these would-be murderers deserved it. Dulani wrapped her arm around the next neck. Damn Sook and her bleeding heart.

                  Sook stood at the base of the walk-up plank on the south-east side of Abbayona. Luckily the terrain created a bottleneck, the settlers could only come at her in small groups. Zenebe was alerting the populace and preparing defenses for the community, until then, Sook had to be the defense.

                She stretched both arms wide, standing at her full height, towering over most of the settlers. “Leave these people alone and turn back! You can find a new place to live!” she boomed.

                She saw the expressions of the mob in the torchlight; unsettling in heavy shadows. She saw genuine bloodlust, but also saw conflict, fear, and regret. Many of them don’t want to do this, she reminded herself. They’re desperate people who are capable of anything. One of the foremost members of the mob rushed her with a pitchfork. She snapped out of her review and grabbed the prongs of the farming tool, stopping the thrust in its tracks. The settler gritted his teeth and struggled to push, then he struggled to pull. Sook’s iron grip was too much, but he wasn’t alone. Another assailant ran around him with a sickle and swung for Sook’s side.

               Sook didn’t want this. It would just complicate things further. The sickle cut through her hanbok, but not her. It glanced harmlessly off of her thick scales. The mob looked on in horror as the already imposing woman began to grow taller. Her skin discolored, becoming a dark gray-green, scales replaced skin as her nails grew longer and hooked into claws. Her nose and mouth elongated, forming a snout while her ears disappeared, leaving nothing but holes. Her long dark hair reconfigured into two massive, curved horns. Two members of the mob dropped their weapons when Sook opened her eyes, the color changing from dark brown to a bloody orange color with narrow slit pupils. They didn’t see the eyes of a defender; they saw the eyes of a predator.

             “Monster!!” someone screamed. The mob panicked, splitting between those who gave up, trying to push past and run away, and the others who needed to kill the abomination.

             “We took you in! We gave you a place to stay and rest! Were you just biding your time, sizing us up for your next meal?!”

              It was nothing Sook hadn’t heard before, but it never stopped hurting. She just prayed that the citizens of Abbayona wouldn’t see her like this. Three men rushed her with torches, if slashes and stabs didn’t work, maybe fire would. She easily ripped the pitchfork out of the man’s hands and threw it into the river. She grabbed his robe, claws ripping through fabric. He screamed, thinking she was seconds away from ripping his heart out. She swung him against the torch bearing assailants. The force of his body, propelled by her immense strength, knocked two of them off their feet and they dropped their torches as they collapsed. Their bodies cushioned the blow of the other assailant. He stumbled forward and jammed the torch into her gut. She hissed with pain as she let go of the man and stepped back, placing her hands over the burn. It stung badly but it wouldn’t do any lasting damage. The man tried to lunge again but this time he wouldn’t make contact. The whooshing sound of something massive swinging through the air and a large shadow was the last thing he saw before her massive tail slammed into his right shoulder, dislocating it and sending him flying into the river. The force was enough to knock him unconscious as he hit the water. Sook realized what she had just done.

               Dulani hid in a crevice in the cliff face, the darkness of the night masking her from view of the settlers as they screamed and ran back down the path. The half dozen members Dulani had choked out  were on their feet, but still lethargic. They caught their second wind as soon as they realized they were about to be trampled by the frightened mob of other settlers barreling down on them. They screamed of a monster ahead that had already killed four of them. Dulani knew immediately what they meant but didn’t believe that Sook would kill any of them. Once the settlers got far enough down the river, Dulani slipped out onto the path and ran up to see for herself. 

              Sook jumped into the torrent to save the man she hurt. Even if he woke up, the damage she did to his arm wouldn’t allow him to fight his way out of the rapid river. She realized belatedly her empathy was about to get her killed. She’d never been a great swimmer, but in her lizard form she sank like a stone. Her tail wasn’t designed for pushing water, but it helped. She managed to reach the unconscious man, but she could barely swim before; now with a man in her arms, she had no chance. She struggled to keep them both above the surface, trying to push him up over her head. She wouldn’t let his blood be on her hands.

               Suddenly, the water calmed as if it had reached a barrier and began pooling. She still struggled but now she could keep her head above water.

               “Hurry and get to the edge before this spills over! I can only hold it for so long!” Zenebe exclaimed from the southern-most rafters, channeling his magic to stop the water outlet to keep the pressure off.

               Sook strained against the pull of the outlet as she tried to hold the man above the surface and move toward the bank. She wasn’t going to make it in time. She could already see the edge of the water climbing up the bank. Abruptly, a hand clad in black gloves, stretched out before her. Dulani had wrapped her climbing rope around a rock and used it as a safety line to allow her to swim out to the pair. Sook took her hand, taking care not to harm Dulani with her claws. She held the man in her other arm and pushed with her tail and legs. Dulani held Sook’s grasp while grabbing the rope and pulling herself back to the bank.

              As soon as they were clear, Zenebe released the pressure gradually to avoid a flood, allowing the river to flow freely again. Sook laid the man down on the path as he began coughing up water and convulsing. She hunched over and her lungs burned as she tried to take in precious air. 

             Dulani collected her rope and began wringing out her clothes. “Ugh, why couldn’t you be some kind of aquatic lizard if you’re always going to pull stunts like that?”

Trinect 36^th, 1258

             Once again, Sook slept like the dead once she was finally able to settle. She had lost her temper and nearly killed a man, then she almost died trying to save him. If it wasn’t for Zenebe and Dulani, she’d have been washed away and battered against the jagged stones of the riverbed. 

             The aforementioned pair delivered supplies to the settlement to help them relocate. They had to assure the people that Sook wasn’t with them. The people of Abbayona were wary of the settlers and Zenebe couldn’t blame them. The man with his arm in a sling tenderly took some herbs to treat his wife and he met Dulani’s gaze as her eyes shot daggers through him. Some settlers apologized to the pair and thanked them for the supplies, some kept quiet due to wounded pride. They knew that they had misstepped. Many of them never thought they’d resort to such violence, and it wounded them to realize how easy it was to slip into a rage.

             Dulani and Zenebe returned to Abbayona. They planned to hang out for a little while longer until the settlers moved, to ensure there would be no retaliation. When they returned to the town, they found Sook carrying some crates of fish while kids hung off of her arms and back. “Don’t tell me that’s all for you,” teased Dulani. 

             “No, I’m carrying it for the market owner. I wanted to help.” 

             Dulani placed her hand on her hip and smirked, “I don’t think we need to worry about retaliation. They all look like they’ve lost their fire.” 

             Zenebe chimed in, “We did get the name of their benefactor though. They seemed terrified they’d need more funding to relocate. Doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you want to report bad news to.” 

             Sook’s expression remained unchanged, “Oh yeah? What’s the name?” 

             “Ji-Ho.” 

              Sook’s face darkened for just a moment, but it didn’t escape Zenebe’s notice. He could tell she knew the name, but he didn’t want to pry. The people of Abbayona didn’t have much but they threw a small celebration for the trio who had protected them. Zenebe shook hands and mingled. Dulani brushed off dance invitations. Sook enjoyed the delicious cuisine and shyly accepted the gratitude of those who knew she stood between them and the violence.

               Dulani watched with amusement as Zenebe walked over to Sook and asked her for a dance. Dulani had already told him no, but Sook was clearly nervous and excited. Dulani scoffed to herself as she watched their awkward but adorable attempt at dancing. Sook had been gloomy all day and it’s not like Dulani was going to be able to cheer her up. Maybe Zenebe is more useful than she gives him credit for. The nightly festivities came to a close and the adventurers enjoyed their well-earned rest. 

               As the group was leaving, Sook was grateful that none of the community seemed to fear her or see her as a monster. They must not have seen her transform. But then, a young child tugged on her loose chima to get her attention. The young girl looked up at Sook with big brown eyes and a carefree smile. In an excited hush the girl shared, “Your horns were really pretty! I want to have horns like you.”