`No.' she says dismissively. `They are for my use alone. Why should I let anyone into my place anyway? Especially now that there's all that fighting going on.'
`So, the place is in Ess'yer?'
`Yes, in Delamar. Among all those fools.'
Ah, she hates humans. I like her more and more each minute...
`I see Kurt didn't exaggerate about your prejudices.' I tell her, jokingly.
`Prejudices?' she asks. `As if you felt any different. Ah, you are joking aren't you?'
I smile at her in response. She returns my smile.
`Truth is, humans are an affront to nature. They are the most despicable species of the Multiverse. The things they do... Humans are filth. I prefer to avoid them as far as possible.'
`Well, when it comes to Arghard I'll agree with you. You might know the history of those assholes in Delamar. But, I gotta say, I had surprisingly good experience with humans from outside of Arghard. Kurt for example is not Arghardian, and he's a great guy. Now, in Arghard, all my life I met only one human that wasn't an asshole. Thing is, the motherfucker is my best friend.'
`Is he? You are fortunate then. I have never met a single Arghardian human whom I liked!'
`Haha! Not even me?' I ask, laughing.
`Not yet.' she says, with a mischievous smile.
I laugh, and she leads me around and shows me a couple more interesting corners of her palace. Time passes by and I slowly realize that I should leave. Grenshaur needs to be dealt with.
`Well, thanks for the tour, but I really gotta go. I'm in a real hurry.' I tell her.
`I know. You already told me. But it seems to me you are not in such a big hurry. I wish to ask a favor before you go.' she replies.
`I'll gladly help you out some other time, but right now I'm really in a hurry.'
`I must insist. Kurt told me that I should not hesitate to ask a favor in return for my help, should I need it. He spoke very highly of your magical and fighting skills. As it happens, I could use your help with something.'
Oh boy... I don't have time for this fucking bullshit...
`Look... I am grateful. Really... But, I need to go. I can come back at a later time, and then I can help you out.'
`No, it must be now. I must insist. You must understand, this is an important matter. Important for me. Therefore I have made certain that you would not be able to refuse my request. Can you not tell?'
`Tell what?'
`That the blindness curse has not been lifted.'
I blink.
`What?' I ask, and feel that anger is building up inside...
`The curse is still active. I have not dispelled it. For the time being, I merely countered the blindness, and did not dispel the curse itself. I however know how to do so, and I shall do it. If you help me. If you don't help and decide to leave, well, then the curse will take effect once more in a few hours. I believe that will be most... inconvenient for you. Isn't that right, Zack?'
She tells me all this smiling. She planned this all along... The scheming little...
I like her more every minute... Such deceit! Such masterful planning...
However, I have no intention of dancing to her tune...
`Are you fucking kidding me?!'
`You tell me. Am I lying?'
`You little blackmailer! I demand that you dispel the curse... Now!'
`You demand?' she asks, faking surprise with her voice. `Why, you cannot demand something if you have not paid for it, can you?'
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuck! I don't have time for this shit!
But she's not lying. The curse is there, I can sense it now. I don't think I can force her to dispel it...
I sigh.
`Very well... but this had better be quick, or I'll be pissed.'
She smiles.
`See? Now you are being reasonable. Good! Come along.' she says, and she starts walking.
I follow her and she leads me through the maze-like corridors until we reach some strange contraption. She touches it, and it vanishes and a familiar vertical silvery surface appears in its place. So, that ugly thing is a Gateway.
She puts her ferret down on the ground.
`Charlotte, you're staying! This task requires guile, not your appetite for destruction!' she says, and the ferret runs into a small hole in the wall.
Appetite for destruction? A ferret? She's fucking nuts...
`Let's go!' she says, and she steps through the Portal. After a bit of hesitation and a deep sigh, I follow her.
We arrive in a similar place as before, except that the walls are not blue, but black.
`Where are we?' I ask.
`This is another of my palaces. It's in a world called Ergha.'
`How many palaces do you have?' I ask, shaking my head.
`As many as I need.'
`Why need more than one?'
`Variety.' she says, smiling at me.
Bah...
Women...
Eh, whatever. What did she say, what world was this? Ah, yes.
`Ergha, is it?' I ask. `I heard of the place. Never been here though. Do you like it here? I hear it's a fucking primitive world.'
`No, I hate it here. Primitive is not a severe enough word to describe Ergha.'
`Then why the fuck do you have a palace here?'
`I built this place for a specific reason. Ergha is a harsh and primitive world. I wish to change that. As much as I am able to.'
`Why?'
`I'll explain along the way.' she says, and she dons a cloak and leads me outside. Again, we pass through countless corridors until we reach the outside world. A largely barren landscape greets me here. Nothing like her own little world. It's like an autumn landscape. There are a few trees around with dry leaves, but that's about it. Is it just the season, or is it always like this? Eh, fuck do I care, let's just get the job done so I can get out of here...
She leads me to a circular dais at the side of her palace. She kneels and touches it, and not much later a vertical, watery surface appears on the dais. A Teleport Gate. These things are just like Portals, except that instead of enabling travel between two worlds, they enable travel between two points of the same world. Most people would not even be able to tell the difference between a Portal and a Teleport Gate, but the patterns running along the surface are largely different for these two things, and an experienced eye can tell them apart. Conjuring Teleport Gates is easier than planar travel. Just like Portals can be conjured with less trouble with the help of Gateways, the creation of Teleport Gates can also be made easier by using a Teleportation Gateway, like this dais here. Personally, I never use Teleport Gates. Simple teleportation is more convenient in my opinion than conjuring the damn things...
`Follow me!' she says, and she steps through. Her cat follows her without hesitation, and a while later, so do I.
*
We arrive in a forest area, with lots of dry fallen leaves covering the ground. She looks around and starts walking among the trees. As I follow her, she begins to talk.
`Do you remember all that I told you while I showed you around in my home? About my pets? About what I do?'
She told me many things. She has a lot of pets, and thinks of them as her companions, not as her property, which is admirable. She cares a lot for them, and animals in general are clearly dear to her. She sounds to have spent much of her life aiding animals in some way.
`Yes. I remember.' I tell her.
`I told you all that so you would understand how important animals are to me. So you would understand why I will do what I am about to do. I believe in the so-called law of the jungle. That the deer eats the grass, and the lion eats the deer. And that the deer can sometimes outrun the lion.'
`Self-preservation? Yeah. That's the way to go. That's the way Arghardian society should have gone, too. They just didn't have the brains for it...'
`So, you understand. Now, you may then wonder why I bother aiding animals. Am I not just disrupting the way of things? Well, no. I'm not. You se
e, I care about animals because they often can't protect themselves against those that exist outside the law of the jungle. Humans, for example. Humans who don't respect the law of the jungle and disrupt the balance for their selfish goals.'
`Poachers?'
`Not exactly. But here we are. Take a look at the village beyond. Careful, don't let them spot you.'
She stops behind a tree and motions to its far side. I glance in that direction from the cover of the tree and see houses not too far away. Irea's cat appears to be nervous.
`Easy, Lowitz. Keep calm. Everything will be fine.' she tells him.
`What's wrong with your cat?'
`He's not a cat, actually. Well, not the sort that live in Arghard at least.'
`He sure looks like one, even if a touch big.'
`In Ergha, there exists a species of white furred tigers.' she explains as I observe the village. `They are predators, one of the species on top of the natural food chain. They are magical beings that have the power to change their shape. A kind of shapeshifting tigers, if you will. Their stronger shape is the one you may know as a tiger from Arghard if you've ever seen one. Their normal form is much weaker. It is a form similar to that of an ordinary household cat. Lowitz, here, is such a creature.'
I look away from the village and observe the cat. He looks like a normal cat to me, but looks can be deceiving. However, if he's a shapeshifting tiger, one thing does not make sense to me...
`Why is he so nervous then? He almost looks scared.'
`He's angry. I will tell you why in a minute. Did you observe the village?'
`Yeah. I see nothing special.'
`Nothing special?! Didn't you see the skulls and bones?'
`I did. What's the big deal?'
`The primary source of game around these parts for the white tigers is a kind of deer with a very nutritious meat. The most valued source of game around. The humans of Ergha hunt these deer as well. In certain areas, such as this forest, they are... How shall I say this? They are competing with the tigers. Around here, those deer are very rare. Therefore, every time the humans kill a deer, they take food away from the tigers.
Now, the white tigers of Ergha are fiercely territorial. They guard their hunting grounds. When the humans hunt deer, the tigers attack them to protect their food.'
`So, the humans and the tigers are killing each other over their common game. Looks like survival of the fittest to me. Where is the problem?'
`The problem is, that the humans are greedy!' she says angrily. `They were not natives to this area. Originally, only animals lived here, and the white tigers were on top of the natural food chain. The only prey that satisfies their needs is the deer. You should understand this, you can't expect tigers to survive on let's say small rodents or birds. However, when the humans settled into the area, they didn't give a damn. They could easily survive on the meat of other animals around here, animals the tigers don't care about. Not to mention that, as omnivores, they don't even need as much meat as they claim they do, and especially not as much as the tigers do. But no. They won't settle for small animals and vegetables, they want the best meat. Sometimes they even hunt just for sport. This leads to an imbalance in the natural order of things. They know that the tigers are strong. So they are striking the tigers at their weakest. They attack their lairs.'
`Attack the tigers at their own breeding ground? Sounds pretty foolish to me.'
`They don't attack when the mature tigers are there. They attack when the mature tigers are away hunting, and only a few of them stay behind with the young ones. And the young ones cannot protect themselves.'
`Why?'
`The white tigers only develop their shapeshifting powers after they reach the age of a year or so. The young ones are like defenseless house cats.'
Now I understand... Those sons of bitches...
`Do you see? They attack the lairs when only a few mature tigers are around and slaughter the defenseless young cats. It is despicable! They might as well murder the kittens at this rate. As for Lowitz...
He is angry because he was one such young tiger that was almost killed in this manner. He only survived by chance. I intervened as a group of humans attacked the young tigers, but could only save one of them. that's why he's with me. He chose to stay with me after I saved him. And he remembers. He knows what kind of creatures killed his siblings.'
I turn back towards the village and examine the bones again. Many cultures use the bones of creatures as decoration to their houses for a variety of reasons. The bones didn't catch my eye before, they seemed natural. Now that she mentions it... Some of the bones and skulls are pretty small. Like those of a cat...
Now they're pissing me off!
`Why are we here? What's your plan?'
`Simple. I intend to weed out the garden!'
*
She says that with such hate in her voice that it's impossible to misunderstand what she means. I nod to her.
`Alright. Let's get down to the killing then.'
`No! You don't understand!' she says hurriedly.
`What? You said weed out the garden. I assume you wanna kill them all. Perhaps it's a bit harsh but I sure won't stop you.'
`No. Killing them is unfair.'
`Unfair?'
`Unfair towards the tigers. Death is too easy. Too simple. These bastards deserve worse. A more cruel punishment. They have bad karma. They deserve to suffer that in the most horrible manner imaginable.'
Huh?
`Bad what?'
`Karma. It is what we call it when we sum up all the things we've done in our lives. If we have done good things in life, we have a good karma. If we have done bad things, we have a bad karma.'
`Well, that sounds pretty pointless to me. Good and bad are totally relative, after all.'
`No they're not.'
`Yes they are!'
`No they're not!'
`Yes they are!'
`No they are not!'
`Okay, have it your way. Just tell me what you want to do. The sooner we are done, the better.'
`Yes. The black palace I have built here contains an area in the underground levels called the karma chambers. They are designed specifically for this purpose. I can lock these people in there and they will suffer for a very, very long time.'
Somebody please wake me up...
`You have... torture chambers?'
`No. This is different. Their bodies do not suffer. Their minds do.'
`Huh?'
`In the chamber, they fall asleep and a terrible nightmare falls upon their minds. A nightmare which looks into their very soul and sees the things they've done and makes them live through those things, but as the ones suffering those actions. If they burnt someone alive, they will live through being burnt alive themselves. If they disemboweled a young tiger, they live through being disemboweled themselves. They live like this in the nightmare for a very long time, suffering, until they slowly fade away.'
Uh-huh. I see. She tells me all this perfectly calmly. Like the most natural thing in the world... She's got a couple of screws loose up there...
`Listen. There's a name for what you plan to do to them. It's called torture. Those things you speak of are torture chambers, plain and simple. So call them what they are!'
`You think this is wrong? You think it's wrong to give them a taste of their own medicine? You think they don't deserve it?!'
`Perhaps they deserve even worse, but I don't give a shit. The point is, it's a fucking waste of time. Of yours, and mine. You want them punished, fine, then slaughter the lot of them. Problem solved!'
`No. They must suffer for what they've done. They must be given the punishment they deserve!'
`You want to capture them, don't you?'
`Yes. That's why you're here. With your help I can take them all at once. None will get away. Not even the children.'
My, she's extreme... but what the fuck do I care? All that matters is that it's a waste of my motherfucking time!
`Look. All the time you'll spend torturing these fuckers could be spent a million times better. Why don't we just...'
`I said no!'
Oh you stubborn little bitch...
`What did you just call me?!' she asks.
`What? I didn't say a fucking word.'
`Don't you ever do that again. Ever! You hear me?!' she asks with such anger that it seems like she's about to attack me.
`Okay, okay, whatever you say.' I tell her, and I sigh. `How do you want to do this?'
`Use your magic to make them pass out. Or paralyze them. Or whatever you can do to incapacitate them. Just make sure it lasts long. I need you because I could only paralyze them for a short time. When you're done, I will open a Teleport Gate and we will transport them all to the karma chambers.'
Fuck this, it'll take hours... Wait. I have an idea.
`Listen. Let me show you something.' I tell her. I pull the SMG 11000 out of my belt.
`What's that?'
`It's a magical artifact. Very handy. It can take different shapes. Like... Like a shape that can knock everyone in the village... unconscious. Let me show you.'
I turn the SMG 11000 into its rocket launcher shape and show it to her.
`This thing fires a slow moving projectile, like a crossbow bolt. Now, after the impact... there will be... a lot of smoke. Yes. Then people will be knocked out. Yes! So, if we aim this at the window of a house and fire a... projectile through it, then it will put everyone inside... asleep... for a long time. A very long time.'
She looks at me suspiciously.
`You're not lying, but why are you so hesitant?'
`It's difficult to explain how it works, that's all.' I tell her, smiling.
`Very well. Show me!'
I nod, and aim the rocket launcher at one of the houses. I press the button.
The rocket flies out of the weapon and strikes into the house wall. Then the rocket explodes and the house is engulfed in flames. The flames begin to produce smoke, and everyone inside the house is knocked unconscious. Permanently... Which is a very long time, just as I told her! Ha ha ha!
`See, this is what happens when you let a complete idiot do your job for you.' she says to herself silently, as she slaps her forehead with her right palm and shakes her head.
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