The Gorgon Prologue Two figures walked through a corridor. The chill of the nightly air was blowing though both seemed too distracted to pay it much mind. They were talking in hushed tones, occasionally glancing back and around as if expecting to be surprised by an attack. No such attack came however, and gradually their caution gave way to ease. Their conversation reached its conclusion, and both reached into their coats. A purse laden with silver and a contract signed in blood exchanged hands. They walked into the night, the death warrant signed.
Chapter 1 For a courtier like Elias, the now dust-free halls of Tor Kaedron seemed oddly alien. He plied his living in and around these halls and to see them so clean foretold of important arrival. Elias didn't like that - the uncertainty of the new arrival made his own position in the court all the shakier. Even by his own admission, he was losing favour amongst the major players at court, and it would not be long before he found himself replaced or worse. He tried to put those thoughts behind him as he entered the Grand Reception Hall. It was unusually quiet. Only a few servants ran around, dusting some minor trinket here or there. He thought about looking around, perhaps even asking a servant, but his ego got the better of him. Rather than wait to find out, Elias walked from the Reception Hall with its great mouldering tapestries to one of the numerous alcoves behind them. At his usual haunt, to his relief, his contact Lady Alandra was seated, drinking her usual tincture of rejuvenating herbs. Feeling out of the loop, Elias resisted the urge to mock her intemperance.
"So, the cub finally rouses from his sleep?" she said, draining the tincture soon after.
"Only because the cow's moo woke him up," he retorted, taking a seat. Alandra could see the worry on his face. She knew it well. Luckily for her, those days were behind her. The nobles at court had far less use for a pretty face than they had for a master of the herbal arts. The irony of drinking of a rejuvenating potion was not lost on her though.
"How bad is it?"
"The war's over. Duke de Vance is dead and the king's in celebration. It's not a good time to be a dove around court, not with all the hawks around. You should see Jobel."
Elias snorted at the thought of seeing Jobel's snarling face happy, more so at the thought it looking down at him.
"What can I do? There must be something to keep me in good graces." Alandra leaned back into her arched chair. It was a rare moment that Elias was at her full mercy. She wanted to savour it, but time was not on her side. She reached into a fold of her dress and pulled out a slip of paper. Wordlessly, she handed it to Elias, who took it eagerly with anticipation. His heart sank as he read the note, the anxiety of court replaced with a more serious and primal fear. He looked at her expectantly, hoping this was a joke.
"You can't be serious right?"
Lady Alandra smiled at him. It was a cold and mirthless smile, like the one a snake would give a mouse.
Chapter 2 Elias strode carefully in the dark. One hand carried a torch, the orange flame offering scant reprieve from the dark. His other hand griped the hilt of his sword tightly. There had been no time to prepare to meet Alandra's request and so, he had come only barely prepared. A part of him still hoped Alandra sent him here in jest, but nonetheless he pressed on.
The map was clear. He had followed the cobbles as instructed and shortly came to the ancient door. So far, in his descent into the old prison complex, he had seen little to be frightened of. He knew the rumours of course, everyone did, but everyone also paid them little heed. Rumours were for the taproom, not for the court.
Yet, before him stood the door that by rights, ought not to exist. It was ancient, even by the standards of the prison and yet somehow, seemed impossibly strong. He felt it and despite the coldness and dampness of the prison, the door was slightly warm to the touch. Elias retrieved the simple key he had stowed in his purse. It was hardly a bejewelled token of power like the myths had claimed. In fact, to his sight, it was a simple iron key. He tried the key, and the lock clicked open. The lair of the Gorgon was now open.
Legends are a strange commodity in the world of intrigue. In some sense, a legend has the power to inveigle, or to dissuade. To instil a sense of wonder or dread in someone. In that sense, legends were of great value to Elias whose life revolved around plying every social currency in the market of influence. But he was not an adventurer. His lot was to speak and charm, not to delve into the dungeons deep. Yet, there he was, walking slowly and cautiously into the lair of a creature whose existence was only talked about in hushed conversations.
In his mind, Elias had imagined the Gorgon's lair to be richly bedecked with the countless treasures. The legends always presented the creature as deeply material, a myth which had come crashing into the spartan reality of the large cell he now stood in. "
Perhaps Alandra was joking after all
," thought Elias, spying no creature from the darkest pits. In fact, the cell seemed quite strange. There were no spots for candles, and yet a pale light came into the room from vents in the ceiling.
His paranoia faded and Elias relaxed his grip on his sword. Instead he snuffed out his torch and walked into the room. It was much bigger than he originally anticipated, easily rivalling the state rooms of a manor house. There were several doors built in which Elias imagined lead to separate chambers. The singular lock on the door was probably sufficient to hold whoever had been imprisoned here in the old days and so the other doors lacked for locks and, strangely, even handles.
Curious, Elias moved to enter one of the rooms, his nose detecting the faint scent of rose.
She was on him in a flash. Concealed from within the opposing room the Gorgon had spied Elias enter her chambers, unannounced and armed, and she had acted first. Within an instant she had uncoiled herself towards him, leaping like a knife in the dark. Elias had no time to react, let alone draw his sword, and found himself ensnared in the tail of the Gorgon, her powerful serpentine tail wrapped around his body, slowly crushing him. She could have killed him so suddenly but it was a rare day that she could even savour the feel of a kill, of prey squirming between her tail and savour she intended to.
Chapter 3 For Yharin, her banishment had been a difficult trial. Cast from her lands and thrown into a foreign jail, she had struggled to adapt. At first, she had raged and tried so desperately to escape. She would have cursed her lungs out for vengeance against her conspiring sister but the lock that held her contained powerful magic. Over time, the anger had given way to despair. A despair to never see the sun again, to feel its warmth on her scales and warm her blood. With the passing of time, even the despair went and was replaced with sullen acceptance. Now, however, as she held a struggling life within her hands, she felt alive again. It was a moment she intended to savour.
"Wa...i...t, pl...ea.se," gasped Elias as the Gorgon's tail wrapped tighter and tighter around him. His cries fell on deaf ears. To him, a monster from the darkest depths of hell had emerged and stood ready to kill him. He was moments away from passing into unconsciousness and did perhaps the only thing he could. He smashed his right hand into the scaly hide of the Gorgon and a great flash of light erupted, engulfing the room. The Gorgon hissed and recoiled, being so unused to the light, and released him, fleeing from the chamber. Elias fell to the floor, his expensive magic spent, and struggled for air.
Within moments the Gorgon had returned, now more wary of her prey. To his credit, Elias had unsheathed his sword and griped the rapier with a feeble hand. It would be little more than a nuisance against the tough scales of a Gorgon, but weakly gesturing it while gasping for air was all he could do. For her part, the Gorgon kept her distance and slowly paced about the room. The man's magic had surprised her, and she could not risk another trick just yet.
"Please, Madam Gorgon, I beg you to stop. I am no enemy."
"Then why do you come here, assassin? Bringing magic and steel to my prison if not to murder me?!"
Elias dropped the point of his sword, more from weakness than diplomacy, and tried to explain himself.
"I'm not a bloody assassin," he cried. "I was sent here as an emissary, on an errand. See?" He reached into a fold of his doublet and produced the now heavily crumpled paper. He motioned to toss it to her, but it fell from his limp hand. The Gorgon laughed at this and used her tail to pick it up and she slowly read it.
Almost instantly, Elias could see a change overtake her whole body at reading the letter. The script was foreign to him, part of the joke he had assumed, but now perhaps he realised the true nature of his mission. The Gorgon dropped the letter and sat back on her tail, in a much more relaxed pose. To Elias, she seemed almost happy in so much as her snake like features could signal.
"Human, what is your name?"
Between deep breaths, he managed to give it and to his surprise, the Gorgon reciprocated. Yharin, was a strange name to his ears, but she was a strange creature. He did not know what to do, and so his courtier instincts took over. When he was sufficiently recovered enough, Elias bowed before Yharin and stowed his sword to finally cement that he meant her no harm. In response, she let her tail finally relax on the floor.
In the light, and now far away, she seemed less monstrous than she had moments prior. Elias could see the gentle arc of her tail which lead to the supple body of a woman. Even though she wore rags on her torso, Elias could see the outline of a generous curve beneath them. It was nothing, however, compared to her face. The blending of snake and woman had been accomplished almost subtly. Her eyes were like lustrous emeralds and they stared at him with a captivating intensity. Elias found himself staring, even though only moments ago, this woman had nearly killed him.
"Forgive me please, I don't mean to stare. It's just that..."
"You've never seen a monster before."
