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Age of Men 807
"I need that potion," Sugriva pleaded.
"I will fetch the shaman to create the concoction. In payment, take the Ganaptu pit so we can pray at the temple once more and honor the fish in the river."
“What about balance?” Madhav grumbled.
“All things need to balance out, even purchases.”
Madhav thumped his chest. "So be it. It's our path. We'll do it with or without the potion."
The warriors rushed to the temple, the river leading there dark with corruption. Shed skins floated downstream, catching on the banks. A few serpent scouts bathed in the sun, lying on rocks. Archers picked them off, bodies writhing though the Fangs were already dead.
The team forded the river and reached the opposite bank, the temple an imposing stone figure staring down at them. There were no doors, though two fish statues framed where the opening would be underwater. Madhav said, "Water team, breach. Ikku, signal when it's clear."
A fish and three otters dove under. Serpent bodies surfaced shortly after. A red cloth floated out of the temple, the signal from Ikku that it was clear.
Sugriva dove under, the river weeds tickling at his belly. Then he reached stone stairs, the small entrance welcoming them in two at a time. Fighting clattered through the temple by the time Sugriva arrived. Pitch and crimson blood splattered the walls.
Sugriva went straight into the fight with his staff, cracking a Fang in the mouth and chipping its teeth. When it went to bite him, he caught the monster in the hinge of his jaw, and the snake went slack.
In the center was a corpulent queen. She wrapped her tail around eggs already delivered, each one large enough for a man to fit in. She struck out at anyone close enough, but her motions were slow, encumbered by the children growing inside her. Fang warriors remained close to her. They were formidable, but quickly fell to Madhav and the others. Sugriva remained away from the heart of battle, clearing out any snakes which slithered in late or fled. It was boring work, but it decreased the risk of rage taking him.
A Fang lunged at Sugriva and thumped into his chest with its head. The monkey was sent reeling, and the room took on a crimson hue.
Kill them. It's what they deserve. Not just the Fang. Kill the people forcing you to fight. The people keeping you from sanity.
Sugriva screamed, though he couldn't hear it, then jumped the Fang. He grabbed it by the head and body and pulled hard enough to rip the head off. Another Fang attacked, and Sugriva easily dodged to the side and came down with his staff hard enough the skin ruptured. Back broken, the snake flopped on the stone, slapping it like a fish. Sugriva crushed its skull with his heel.
In the center of the temple, like a distant dream, Madhav and his trusted fought the queen and her guard. Sugriva whirled around the temple's peripherals, entering rooms, going up and down levels, and the rest of the warriors got out of his way. When the fighting slowed, and Sugriva had to search for enemies, Zaina walked up to him, wrapped her arms around him, and whispered into his ear. The fight left him, and he dropped to his knees.
***
SUGRIVA WOKE UP TO the sound of birds chirping. His shoulder and head hurt, and he remembered what happened. Shame flooded into his chest, and he ached until he cried. "Ashtadash," he prayed, "please let this potion work. Please take away this corruption. If you can't take the demon out of me, then kill me and send me onto the next life."
Back on his feet, Sugriva struggled outside. When he opened the door, the light exploded and bloomed into blinding white. It took a few moments to see the green, and when he did, it was washed out by the sun. Not even dense canopy could save him from the overwhelming brilliance. In the distance there was a field, which made the light worse.
Zaina sat near the house in full lotus position. She hummed as she reached some form of enlightenment Sugriva didn't understand. It was something Bagheer had done, too. The memories tugged at Sugriva’s chest, and he bit back tears.
"Do you feel more yourself?" She didn't look up or even open her eyes. She steadily inhaled through her nostrils and out her mouth. It was unnerving.
"The trance drains me. I’m sore and my head’s killing me." Sugriva dropped into a heap next to Zaina.
She smiled and took Sugriva's hand into hers. "You're back to yourself. Good. The strange man should be back soon. You're sure about the potion? We don't know anything about it. It could hurt you."
"I already hurt every day. I'd do anything to clear my mind."
"Die?" Most would say death as a jest. Zaina's pained eyes, though, did not mean it as a jest.
"Almost anything." The monkey looked down to see he was only wearing a loin cloth. It would explain the nice breeze which cooled him. "I should dress."
When Sugriva came back out, the man on the bull returned to the village. The bull seemed to smile, stepping with a hop. When the man saw Sugriva, he waved and said, "I brought back the potions. Wrote down the recipe so you can make more. Come. I will show you."
Sugriva’s heart throbbed, and he felt like it would burst out of him. He shifted into a monkey and darted across the fields to the man and bull, then perched on the bull's head. The large beast lowed with satisfaction and took them to a small hut.
Cords of five branches were placed at each corner to hold up a thatch roof. One side of the hut had an actual wall, the side that would get hit the hardest by winds in monsoon season. A quickly made table rested under the roof. A trough was on the other side of the shanty, filled with rain water.
The man gave Sugriva a potion. The liquid shifted in the vial, shades of crimson, smoke, and turquoise. The turquoise glowed. "Drink this. The taste is strange, but it will clear your mind."
It was never good when someone explained the taste of medicine as strange, but it was better than the taint resting within Sugriva's soul. Metallic blood was the first flavor, followed by choking smoke that made Sugriva cough. He was careful not to spit anything up. Refreshing mint rinsed over his tongue and down his throat, washing away the pungent blood and smoke. It soothed, opened up his breathing, widened his eyes, and expanded his awareness of what was around him. Sugriva wasn't sure if his senses were actually heightened, or if he was clouded so long by chaos he forgot what normal meant.
A satchel flopped onto the table and the man opened it and spilled the contents. "Take the Chaos Flower's bulb and mash it up. Each bulb should make five vials." He produced four more. "You will need blood. Any blood will work, as long as it's clean of corruption. The girl seems to like you. Ask for hers. Put the blood in a pot, then get smoke to fill the pot and cover it for a night. Leaves are great for creating smoke. Capture it with the lid and put it in.
"Let turquoise sit out in the sun for a few hours. Crush it up and add it to the pot. Add the crushed bulb and stir thoroughly. Then pour all of that into the vial. Shake it and you're done."
The satchel had plenty of all the ingredients, though Sugriva made a note that he would need more. When he looked up to thank the man, the man and bull were gone.
***
TRAVELING QUEENS AND soldiers fell to Madhav and his soldiers. Emboldened, they assaulted pits. Ganaptu was their second. Months after Ganaptu they looked at assaulting their twentieth pit.
Zaina said, "Pride is the cliff the proud stand upon, waiting to fall over the precipice. I don't think this is what General Humbari commanded. One of these times, the pit will be too much for such a small group."
Madhav dismissed her warning with the wave of a hand, and he signaled the men to charge. Sugriva watched alongside Zaina as they slayed the nest.
"Third queen this week. Break the eggs." Madhav stood over the corpse of the queen shortly after the raid began. The raids were only considered successful if a queen died during them. Without queens, the Fangs would struggle to produce warriors.
When Sugriva went to help with cracking the eggs, he saw movement under a tree. A serpent was pretending to be a root. The monkey swung, striking the tail and coaxing a hiss. The snake coiled up, then sprung for Sugriva, jaw unhinged and venom dripping from fangs. It nearly bit his shoulder, but Sugriva was able to move to the side and crouch. He struck up into its skull, sending it flailing in the air. Another strike to the skull brought the snake down on the stone floor of the pit, killing the creature.
Sugriva took a vial and drank down the liquid. The surprise attack put the voice on edge, and he feared an outburst. Zaina clasped his shoulder. "Will you be okay?"
The monkey nodded. "I won't go into a rage today, priestess." He smirked and winked to hide his uncertainty. The vials weren't working as long as they used to. In a half year, he doubled the dose of elixir.
"You are not fighting alone. We are with you."
"We have a live one," someone shouted. Madhav pushed the crowd of warriors back and seized the injured Fang.
"Where are you coming from?" He lifted the serpent up by the throat. "Tell us and we will make your death quicker than you deserve."
The Fang spilled the information. He told them how many days, which paths to take, which paths were decoys, and where the traps were. There was some torture involved, including the loss of his fangs and cutting out his poison sacks, but all in all Sugriva was surprised at the ease of the interrogation.
"Do you believe it?" he whispered to Zaina. "That seemed easy."
"The Ashtadash award one by their dharma. We will see how well our leader walks his path."
Sugriva blurted out. "The potions aren't working as well."
Zaina gave a sidelong glance, then laughed. "I know. I do pay attention to you, Sugriva. You’re worth paying attention to."
"Why haven't you said anything?"
"Why should I? Madhav wants you dead, but you haven't finished serving this life."
Warmth spread through Sugriva, settling as a pleasant stirring in his guts. Tears flowed and he embraced his friend. "Thank you. Too bad when we get home we can't see each other."
"Dharma is not as strict as you think it is." She winked. "I'll make sure we still see each other from time to time."
***
THEY MARCHED FOR A month with little rest to reach the pit they were told about. The temperatures were frigid and the trees looked strange, shifting from the trees of the jungle to something more hardy. The winds were chilly and the humidity dropped.
Zaina watched the changes with wonderment. "We don't know of this place. They could be sending us north to freeze to death." All of the warriors shivered, fear setting in that the priestess could be right.
The warriors killed wolves with thick pelts, as well as other animals who were adjusted to the cold. The janaav often stayed in their animal forms to afford a little extra protection from the elements, as man had no protection to the cold. Off in the distance, when climbing the trees, Sugriva could make out a seemingly endless mountain to the north.
The party was only a mile or so south of where the supposed pit rested. Madhav shifted to a man and said, "Scouts, fly ahead and find the pit. Return before sunset." The scouts flew off into the air. Sugriva couldn't imagine the bitter cold with how high and fast they moved.
"Strategists, meet with me. Everyone else, start foraging in case we need to spend the night."
Nearby, the soldiers found a small cave to stay in. The sun set, but the scouts didn't return. Madhav spoke with his unit before they went to bed. "Assume the scouts are dead. The lead is good, whether intentionally or not. We will have half our men awake, and half asleep while camping. Do not let your guard down. Do not be afraid to sound the alarm. I would rather us all wake up in the middle of the night to deal with shadows, than to die in our sleep. Dismissed."
That night, while Sugriva slept, he had a dream. Something slithered up to him, but the Fang didn't consume him. Instead, he whispered, "You are mine. You will kill my forces, but I will claim your soul." Then a long nail dug into the flesh of Sugriva's forehead. It pierced the skin, and burrowed through his skull. When it touched inside his mind, Sugriva bolted up from his head, breathing heavily.
Fangs surrounded him, his comrades all dead.
This is it, the nearly forgotten voice said. The potion had kept the voice a distant nag until now. Your friends are dead, the demons rise up, kill them all.
Sugriva howled, pulled out his staff, and shed blood until his fur was matted with blood.