Harriot’s lore for September.
The Gorgon’s Lair
Entry #107
Before we could even speak a pack of angry mutant boars descended on us. I managed to quickly shove Charlotte in the direction of the stone structure where she found a place to hide. With her out of the way, I could fight to my hearts content. They were fast, but I was much faster, dispatching them with little effort. When the last boar hit the ground, Charlotte emerged slowly.
“Is that all of them?” Charlotte had a sheepish look on her face.
“For now. We need to get moving, the other boars would have heard the commotion.”
Charlotte nodded her head readily as we made our way back to safety.
Back at the cave Charlotte was looking over her tattered map frowning at it as if it would magically show her the answers. A small smirk crossed my face. She must have noticed as her enquiry was now on me and not the map. Her steely look was at times intimidated; she was turning into a fine member of the Resa.
“You know something right? You seem too calm about this whole situation.”
“I have a feeling I found the right place while you were still fast asleep. But I didn’t travel beyond the cave entrance so what awaits us there, I have no clue. I’m not even sure if we are fully prepared for what’s waiting on the other side.”
Charlotte’s eyes were brighter than the night stars, she was almost jumping with excitement.
“Well, what are we waiting for! I’ve spent many years studying and researching for this moment. I can’t wait a second longer.”
This time round the cave was almost too easy to find. I almost didn’t even need the markers I had left to find the way. Charlotte was jotting things down and taking in the scenery. Stopping at every moment to examine things, I had never seen someone so excited over broken remains.
Once we reached the cave entrance, I didn’t have time to warn Charlotte of the strange effect it had. For a moment I hoped it was just a one-time thing, but once again that dizzy drunken feeling washed over both me and Charlotte. Sending us stumbling into the cave. I sat for a moment waiting for the dizzy spell to pass, Charlotte however, looked as bright and chipper as always.
“I guess you can’t handle a drink either then, someday I’ll take you out for a proper drink. But first, look at this place…” She was noting things down as if they would vanish into thin air. Her eyes grew wide when she turned around and saw the mosaic.
“Wait, that looks like a Teleporter. I wonder if it still works.” Before I could even get my bearings, she vanished before my eyes.
I sat staring at the empty space she left behind. A thought crossed my mind. I had gotten her this far; it didn’t mean I had to follow her into the unknown. I had no clue where that teleporter leaded to, or even if it were only a one-way system. But despite my better judgment, I couldn’t leave Charlotte alone. How she had lived this long was beyond me.
The Gorgon’s Lair
Entry #108
Charlotte was nowhere to be seen on the other side. I was in a cave, the Haruspex Elder seemed to glare at me and for a magical glowing ball I didn’t think that was even possible. Just as I was about to approach it, Charlotte came bounding into the cave.
“You have to see this, come on. There’s no time to waste.” She dragged me to the entrance of the cave. My eyes had to adjust to the sunlight as it beamed over the harbour. Ships that bore the Haruspex symbol laid wait at the harbour as if awaiting adventure. Perfect white buildings stood proudly across from us. For something named ‘Ancient’ this place looked as if everything had just been built.
“I can’t believe it, it’s actually real. I’m going to run ahead; I’ll meet you on the other side.” Before I could stop her, she sprinted off into the distance. This place was not on any map I had, I needed to be careful. Just in case, I started to mark trees as I went along so that I could find my way back.
Without warning, I was ambushed. A scary warrior-like woman came bounding down the hill. Myrinian. I had seen a few from a very far distance on Next Island but this was my first time seeing one up close and personal. I was about to ready myself to the imminent attack, but before I could draw my sword an arrow came flitting through the air, landing a devastating blow to the Myrinian.
“You’d better be careful around these parts.” Charlotte was trailing after the warrior that had just saved me. “Now who are you? I haven’t seen you around here before. You from the mainland? I mean you look like you are.”
“I’m Charlotte, this is my companion Harriot, she’s not much of a talker.”
“I’m Byron, you’re lucky my hunting party was passing by here. Ancient Greece is full of dangers. You’d best watch your step.” The man standing before us wore no symbols of any Next Island faction instead he wore strange armour that I had never seen before. In his hands he held the most magnificent bow which I had never seen anyone own such a weapon.
“Well, maybe you could help us Byron, have you heard of the Gorgon. I know in Ancient Greek mythology, she was known to be able to turn men to stone. I also recall there being 3 of them in total…” Charlotte took a moment to assess the strange glare Byron had given her. “Sorry I talk a lot, I haven’t spoken with many people for a long time.”
“Yeah, doesn’t show much… Anyways I know of the creature you speak of; you’d best go talk to Bat, he’ll give you the full story on that place.”
“Bat? Wait, you have talking bats here?” Charlotte’s naivety was almost endearing. Byron let out a hearty laugh.
“Batiatus, once you know what you’re letting yourselves in for, meet me by the sea near here. I can give you a lift over to the island.”
Batiatus had a lot to say on the matters involving the Gorgon and her Enslaved Daudaomurs. Charlotte listened with intense focus jotting down every word he spoke. I left her to it while I went back to the market place we had passed on our way here.
The Gorgon’s Lair
Entry #109
The Market was bustling with Ancient Greek residents bartering over unique goods. Spices wafted through the air; the scent was so strong it almost made me sneeze. One stall I came across held decorative pots, some looked like the ones I had seen buried around Next Island but there was one that looked practically modern. I found myself caught up hopping from stall to stall, it was nice walking around people that didn’t seem to care what faction I belonged to or where I came from.
I felt a tap on my shoulder, my natural instincts kicked it and I began to draw my sword.
“Woo, it’s just me. No need to cut my head off or anything.” Charlotte was smiling while still jotting down notes in her note pad. “So, this is the market place. Oh, this is pretty. I wonder how they trade for goods here.” Charlotte was holding a pendant that looked as if it were made from clay.
“We don’t have time for this did you get the information you needed.”
“Oh, right yes, got everything I need for my report. Shall we meet Byron now?”
Byron was waiting at the end of the dock. He had a small looking boat tethered to the dock.
“She might not be pretty, but she’ll make it to the Island that holds the Gorgon.”
It was a seemingly long boat trip across the sea, at one point I thought Byron was about to kill us and dump our bodies in the sea.
“There she is, though be careful up there. Lot of nasty things on that island.”
What looked like a spiked fortress came into view. It looked almost imposing, until it clicked that the ‘spikes’ were actually a rock formation. The distant roar of voices could be heard from where the boat came ashore.
“And here’s where I leave ya, I think you’re crazy for venturing up there. There’s a teleport at the top if you get too scared and want to run away.” Byron’s tone was light-hearted as if it were merely a joke but there was a hint of fear in his eyes.
At the entrance stood wounded soldiers from all sides and planets. We hid just before the row of armed guards. A Stel group had just arrived, they were laughing and joking together.
“Don’t worry lads, Perseus will save us. He’s a legend that defeated her once before right.” A roar of laughter could be heard. Perseus, Jerad’s brother. He looked sheepish but joked alongside them. If any warrior were to defeat the Gorgon, Perseus was not my first choice. He seemed to pause for a moment, as if trying to delay the inevitable.
“You guys go ahead; I’m just going to pick up some more supplies.” The Stel warriors gave him a knowing glance.
“Don’t worry we’ll kill her before you get back.”
Perseus seemed to pace outside the entrance for a moment as if trying to talk himself into facing what laid beyond the row of guards.
Before I could stop her Charlotte walked up to him. I planted my back firmly against the rock, one day she’d be the death of me.
The Gorgon’s Lair
Entry #110
“Hi, I’m Charlotte. So, this is her lair then?” She was staring wide-eyed up and the spiked mountains that seemed to reach around as far as the eye could see.
I took a deep breath, Perseus was the least of my worries, if it came to it, I could fend for both me and Charlotte. I found myself doing the thing I thought I would never do. I gave up my cover to try avoid Charlotte walk in on something she had no clue about.
“What did I tell you about talking to strangers?” Perseus looked on edge at my presence.
“I know but does he look like a blood-raging murderer to you?” Perseus looked mildly offended before almost bursting into laughter.
“We’ve met before, right? You were asking about Jerad.” My guard went up. Charlottes ears seemed to perk up.
“Well, that doesn’t matter now.” My words were barely a whisper.
“Wait he’s the one that you found those journals from. I must have read them a thousand time. Oh, don’t mind me, this is my friend Harriot. And assuming by all that teasing before that you are Perseus well not the Perseus of legend but… Sorry I talk too much.” Charlotte and her constant need to talk was a killer for my reputation.
“Harriot… Why does that name seem familiar?” Before he could speak screams came whaling from the Gorgon’s lair. About half a dozen people streamed out of the entrance, some of which were injured. One Stel officer seemed to indicate to Perseus.
“Call for back-up. Your new friends there seem like they came ready to fight, we need all the support we can get.”
The inky black water swished about our feet as we clambered over dead snake bodies and humans a like. Charlotte’s face showed no fear, she jotted down notes almost as if unaware of the battle we could hear raging in the background. Her pen almost fell from her hands when her eyes met the Gorgon’s. But before she could express her excitement, some kind of energy surged towards her, I only barely managed to save her from it.
The Gorgon herself was like nothing I had ever seen. 10 times bigger than the tallest man in her lair. Her body was coiled like a snake, yet there was something majestic about her. Before I could fully admire her more, I dragged Charlotte behind one of the stone statues. A stone statue that looked far too life-like. I hated to admit it but for my own preservation all I could see was a losing battle.
“I don’t know about you but this just seems like a death sentence. There’s no way we’ll get close enough to her let alone get one of those crazy… yup, crazy she has snakes as her hair!” Charlotte pouted at me like a sulking child.
“You have the brawn; I have the knowledge. Together we can win this.” Charlotte has a steely look of determination in her eyes.
“Tell me your idea and I’ll think about it.”
The Ancient One’s Trial
Entry #111
Her idea was maybe just crazy enough to work. While the Gorgon was distracted by a full-on attack, I managed to sneak around the back of her. I thought for sure those snakes in her hair would spot me, but just like Charlotte had told me, she had a blind spot. I readied my sword as I stood in wait to strike at the right moment. Our plan wasn’t to defeat the Gorgon but to cut a snake from her hair while she was distracted. Charlotte had fashioned a lasso onto my sword, all that was needed was the right angle and speed to throw it, then cut and run.
The Gorgon never saw me coming, my heart was beating faster than I ever dared possible. It was now or never. With the strongest highest throw, I could ever manage, the blade sored into the air like a kite. The deadly sharp blade glinted in the light just before the loudest scream could be heard. She had stopped and was now focused fully on me. Now’s the time to run! My mind went blank, I almost forgot to pick up the snake hair strand that was still wriggling on the ground. The moment it was in my hand my legs sprinted as fast as they would carry me. Though during her brief interest in me, the other warriors had taken the chance and attack her with everything they had left. Just as my foot hit the edge of her lair, a loud scream of excitement could be heard.
Perseus was standing shaking by the entrance.
“Don’t think that move got past me. It was stupid and brave and probably wasn’t even intended to give the others a chance to defeat her. Almost reminds me of my…” He grew quiet for a moment. “You’d best leave here before the other Stel find out who you really are. Harriot …”
Charlotte was waiting for me outside the lair. Her eye’s lit up when she saw the snake hair in my hands.
“You got it! I thought for sure that plan would fail… I mean, wow it really worked.”
“Now we need to get out of here before they decided the Gorgon isn’t their only enemy.”
Back at Morion Outpost the boars were on edge as if something had spooked them. Before we could even make one step towards the place we needed, they charged blindly into the awaiting turrets. We spent the entire journey fighting are way to the stagnant pond. The boars seem to have started to congregate here also. But as soon as the black smoke figure appeared once again, the boars seemed to squeal and shy away from the pond.
“I see you are back. By the fact you are still alive I believe you have failed the task I assigned.”
The black smoke almost seemed to grin. Before another word was said the snake hair landed with a loud thud on the ground.
“If you want to really test me, try something more challenging.” My words were strong and taunting, yet I knew I didn’t mean those words, the Gorgon was certainly a match far greater than I had imagined.
Ancient Ground’s
Entry #112
“Maybe I was wrong about you, maybe a ‘Resa’ will bring peace to this land once again. For the sake of this Island, I hope I’m not wrong in trusting you. But for you to truly succeed you must rely on others. The bone’s laid here will lead you to a place known to locals as the Ancient Ruins. We however, have a different name for it.”
Just as the smoke figure said the bones, that looked far smaller than any human bones, lead us straight to the Ancient Ruins. I had been here once or twice before. The place was crawling with Red Papoo’s, Charlottes eyes grew wide when she saw the beaten down building.
“So, this is the place. Somehow I was expecting more mystical stuff like dragons to be guarding such a place.”
“The drakes are more interested in the volcanoes and mountains.”
“Wait so there are dragon’s?”
“Dragon’s, drake’s same difference, right? Can we get this over with now? This place always has a weird feeling about it.”
The bones led us to a spot just behind the building. What looked like golden fireflies floating to the sky stood before us. It was somewhat beautiful and chilling at the same time.
“Now this is more like it.” Charlotte wasted no time at all laying to rest the bones of the Ancient One. A huge gust of wind picked up as the last bone was buried before dying down to a gentle breeze. “I guess that settles it then. So, what’s next?” Charlotte was looking at me as if ready for her next adventure.
“Now, you go home.” My words held nothing but sadness in them.
“Don’t you mean we ?” I turned away before Charlotte could interrogate me more on the matter.
We barely spoke all day in the cave. I had prearranged with my smuggler friend to set up her journey back to Calypso for after we had finished what needed to be done. Part of me regretted following through with the plan, but it was the right time. She had people waiting for her, people that probably worried about her and thought she were dead all these years. If she stayed with me, I couldn’t guarantee she would be alive by the end of the week, heck even I didn’t know what would happen next.
The morning of her departure she woke up early to talk with me.
“Harriot… I don’t know what to say, if you truly don’t want me here, I’ll leave in an instant. But I need to know why.” I let out the longest sigh ever.
“You’re my first ever, friend… Of course, I don’t want you to go, but there are people waiting, your research waiting… If you stay here there’s nothing but a life of hiding and fighting every day to survive. Maybe our paths will cross again, but you have your own path to walk. I can’t block that for you.”
“I understand, I’ll go but not to follow my path. I will work on finding a way for you to not have to fight for your life every day. And I will be back you can count on it. Maybe one day we can even get a proper house here and find a place for all these treasures in the cave.”