Beneath The Mantle

by Ahimsa Kerp

  Nala, he was called. And soon he had Doctor Gomez laughing at every little comment he whispered to her. He told loud tales of his prowess; it had been he who had wounded the aspect of Ra known as Mind.

  Stuart watched them; the mushrooms tasted like acid in his stomach.

  “It is hard to see, is it not?” Keshav said softly. “If it helps, she is not for you. You know this somewhere, I think.”

  “Yes, that really does help. Thanks so much,” Stuart said, sarcasm not hidden one bit.

  Keshav ignored his tone. “This is why I married. I did not know Baruna beforehand, but the problems of marriage are better than the alienation of being single.”

  Stuart was surprised enough that he forgot his clenching jealousy. “You were an arranged marriage?” The Selvagian next to him passed him a pitcher full of blue liquid and Stuart filled his cup. It tasted of fennel and rosemary. He couldn’t say if it was alcoholic or not.

  “Of course,” Keshav laughed. He nodded to Baruna, but like most of the others, she was absorbed by Nala’s story of the battle. “It still happens today. It’s as good or better a system as love, believe it or not.”

  “I don’t believe it,” Stuart said.

  “That’s what you’ve been trained to believe,” Keshav countered. “Think about it. My parents know me better than anyone. They have searched for someone suitable for me for all of my life. Oh they may very well be wrong, but we’re talking about an informed decision.” Here he emphasized the word decision. “One made by two people who love me and understand me. How does that compare with some chemical reaction in your body that you yourself don’t even understand?”

  “Love is more than a chemical reaction,” Stuart protested.

  Keshav cocked an eyebrow at him.

  “It is,” Stuart repeated. He didn’t know how he knew this, but know it he did. “Though I admit you and Baruna are well-matched.”

  “We are well along the road to love,” Keshav agreed. “But it takes work. Though I am a Sikh, and all that that entails, I am also an Englishmen. I have never lived in India.”

  “Have you been there?”

  “Once,” Keshav said. “I found it a challenging place. They tell you to expect the unexpected, but though I was not troubled by touts, and I grew use to the starving animals and shit in the streets, I could not accept the starving children and old men. Death is held away from us in the west. In India, you see it every day. Death is life there.”

  Stuart wondered idly about interviewing Keshav for his blog. The man was eloquent.

  “But that’s not the point. I am Indian, and I am English. Two men in one. It is similar with Baruna. I am me, Keshav. But I am also Keshav and Baruna. Do you see?”

  Stuart was not able to reply. Nala stood then, his eyes meeting everyone there. “And the only way I survived,” he said, raising his voice so that all could hear him. “Is because I train every morning, running to the valley of the moose and back without rest. There is no greatness without fitness.” His ponytail flounced as he proclaimed this.

  It was oddly encouraging to Stuart that even here, in a city of gods at the center of the Earth, there were still douchebags.

  ***

  After the dinner, when most everyone had left, Stuart was mulling over Keshav’s words. Two men in one. How many men was Stuart? Just one, surely. Was that his problem?

  Stuart rose and walked through a portal to an empty tree-home. Once inside, however, he didn’t feel like sleeping. He slipped out the front entrance and walked around the city. A few people were out, but it appeared most were sleeping, though it remained as light as ever. He didn’t see Acan until he bumped into him.

  Acan smiled. “Great thoughts for great minds?”

  Stuart smiled. “Something like that.”

  “The battle today was unlike any we have had for some time. We here at Selvage are something like a collective. None of us have power over the others, apart from the power of persuasion. Not even Ninkasi can command us against our will. But Omphalos is different. He of two horizons is the lord of the city. He holds absolute power. For all of that, he rarely intervenes personally. Sending his aspect to us today was a marked message.” He paused for a moment. “You saw the battle today? Your inner eye was clear?”

  “Yes,” Stuart said. “What was in that beverage?”

  “Mushrooms and fungus of a powerful nature, ones that free your consciousness. You have something like it on the crust, but those are merely a fraction the potency, a campfire compared to a sunset, and the crop has been twisted so that many see evil and wrongness.”

  “You gave us magic mushrooms?” Stuart asked. He had never done drugs before.

  “There was nothing magic about them, though it is an amusing name. You should get some sleep. The next few days may be taxing.”

  “I’m not tired,” Stuart said. “And why taxing?”

  “We need something of you,” Acan said.

  The evasion bothered Stuart. “Listen, there are sick and dying people waiting for us. Dozens of them. If you can help us get back, it needs to be soon.”

  Acan looked mournful. “We lost twelve men today, eight women, and two score of our animal friends. And that was against just a finger of strength from Omphalos. We drained most of the power from half of our armor. If we fight them for the power of the sun, their forces will be far stronger, and we will be weaker. And you should know this. Those golems today. They came for you.”

  “How does Ra even know we are here?” Stuart asked.

  “Those men who almost killed me served him. They will have informed upon your arrival. Besides, though he of two horizons may not be omniscient in the strictest sense of the word, he has a good idea of what happens in his realm.”

  “What does he want with us?” Stuart asked.

  Acan held his hands up. “I cannot guess. He is very interested in those from the above realms. Those of the below as well.”

  Below? Stuart thought, but before he could ask, Acan continued.

  “They were not here solely for you, of course. Twenty Selvagians would not have died if that were the case. He also seeks to protect the sun disc.”

  “I’m sorry for your losses,” Stuart said, feeling helpless. “We didn’t ask for any of them to fight.”

  Acan shrugged. “I know. The falcon lord has the sun disc. With its power, we are poorly matched.”

  “How can we help?”

  “We need an ally. Selvage is a great city, Ompahlos, for all the flaws of autocracy, is an even greater. There are other, smaller communities. Ek Chuaj lives in one such place. But there is a third great city: Graben. You can help by traveling there and enlisting their aid.”

  “You have portals in your homes. Why don’t you just teleport there?”

  “It’s not that easy. The Grabens are aloof, they do not take sides, and they do not approve us or of Omphalos. They cut off communication with us long ago.”

  “So we are to be your intermediary?” Stuart asked.

  Acan nodded. “It will be dangerous. Many are the perils of our world for those of your weaknesses. Even if you do make it to their stone city, there is no telling what you may find. They may not let you into their city at all. It has been a long time since an outsider has visited Graben. But the fact remains. If you want to return to your home world, you’ll need the sun disc. If we are to free it from Omphalos, you’ll need the help of the greatest of cities.”

  “And we have to do this?”

  “Not at all. It only becomes necessary if you ever want to return to the surface world.”

  Stuart rubbed his hair in frustration. “I see. Thank you for explaining.”

  Acan bid him farewell soon after. Stuart walked around for some time more. His head was full of questions and problems, but it felt good to have a direction. He started humming something that only after a while did he realize was a White Stripes tune. But something like an hour later, when he finally returned to the tree-home assigned to him, he saw Docto
r Gomez and Nala entering her home together.

  Chapter 14

  It wasn’t really the next day, but everyone had slept, or otherwise been occupied, for seven or so hours when they met again. There was no way to tell how much time had passed, but if felt like more than five hours and less than ten. Acan gathered them together and brought them into the large public tree-home. They entered a room they had not seen before, a leafy green chamber with red flowers sprouting along the walls like wallpaper. Acan explained to them all what he and Stuart had discussed the previous night. This time he went into more detail, explaining that with the sun disc they could achieve any number of great things.

  “It can certainly create a portal between our world and yours,” he said. “That will be the easy part, once we have the sun disc.”

  “How did we get here?” Doctor Gomez asked. “A cave just appeared in front of us.”

  “This happens,” Acan said. “More so in places like Antarctica, the Bermuda Triangle, Siberia, Göbekli Tepe. The fabric of reality is stretched there, and natural laws don’t always flow the way they do elsewhere.”

  Stuart thought of the different stars, of his floating body. He wondered if that also explained things like alien sightings, ghosts recorded on film, and other inexplicable phenomena.

  “Now,” Acan said, gesturing to a stump piled up with clothing and supplies. “I have provided you with food, and some of the pistols you saw the day you rescued me. What’s more, I have cloaks here, cool in the heat, but will warm you in frigid conditions. Best of all, I have a pair of wandering boots for each of you.”

  “Why can’t we just teleport through one of the portals?” Keshav asked.

  Stuart loaded his backpack up with food and a pistol. It made it heavier than he would like, but he’d prefer a little inconvenience if it meant being better prepared.

  Acan looked at him blankly and then laughed. “Of course, you don’t know. The portals are Selvagian technology. They need to be linked, connected, grown. The people of Graben would never consent to our building a portal into their city. I’m afraid it will be a long journey, but one my gifts will help.”

  He had the proprietary manner of a lecturer, and it reminded Stuart of his dream, back on the cruise ship. These gods were dinosaurs, in a certain sense.

  “What do the boots do?” Stuart asked. From where he sat, they looked like any old pair of hiking boots.

  “They will carry you thrice as fast as your natural speed. Your feet will never tire. Your toes will never blister. When pointed at a target the wandering boots will carry you there, and you cannot get lost.”

  “What are they made of?” Keshav asked. “We cannot wear leather,” his voice was apologetic, but steady.

  “Haven’t you guessed?” Acan asked. “I have not made this so much as grown them. The primary substance, is of course, fungus. They will help greatly on your journey.”

  “You speak as though you’re not going to be there. Aren’t you coming with us?” Stuart asked.

  Acan’s face fell. “Alas, I cannot. After our losses yesterday, we need all of us here to defend Selvage. I am no fighter, but my healing is necessary. Should the Falcon Lord attack again, we need to be ready.”

  “We, we will not be alone,” Doctor Gomez said. “Nala said he would accompany us.”

  Acan’s eyes flashed. “That is most unwise of him,” he said. “Though it is ultimately his decision to do as he wishes.”

  “What is Nala the god of?” Keshav asked.

  All eyes turned to Doctor Gomez. “I actually have no idea,” she said, but a little smile on her lips suggested this was a restrained answer.

  “He was not known by one name in your realm,” Acan said. “He is a minor aspect of speed, a Hermes-light.”

  “They won’t let him into the city either, right?” Stuart asked.

  “That is not for me to say,” Acan said. “Though his aid in the first leg of your journey will be helpful.”

  “Helpful why?” Stuart asked.

  “What is the first leg of our journey?” Keshav asked.

  “I don’t think the two Aspects will be looking for you. I do suspect they wanted to capture you during the battle, but I don’t think that was their primary purpose. Nala will provide you some protection in case I am wrong. As to the other,” Acan hesitated, a little reluctant to answer, “it isn’t as bad as it sounds.”

  “Where are we going?” Stuart asked.

  “You must sail across the Sea of Monsters,” Acan said.

  ***

  Their boat was a simple craft, powered by the wind, and technologies they could only guess at. Nala sat at the helm, his hands alternately touching a series of four crystals. The Sea of Monsters was glittering blue and stunningly beautiful. If there were monsters, none had shown themselves yet. It felt like they were sailing on the Aegean, or through the South Pacific.

  They had traveled through a tangled mangrove swamp to reach the sea. The wandering boots really were wonderful, shedding sucking mud, and giving them the pace of a run with only the effort a casual stroll. They had seen large animals prowling the swamp; a Volkswagen sized armadillo with a spiked club tail that looked like it could shatter through a castle wall. These had been peaceful, grazing animals. Worse were the cats; lanky, sneaking creatures that had stalked them until Nala had shot one with his laser pistol. The one he killed did not have long fangs, but Stuart suspected he had seen a few saber-toothed cats in the bushes. Watching them with the infinite patience of the hunter. Some preternatural sense warned him that he was being hunted, but they had made it to the boat without further violence.

  “Are there any deserts in this land?” Doctor Gomez asked. She was sitting next to Nala, who was dressed in a red vest tunic, leaving most of his legs, arms, and hairy chest visible.

  “There are,” he said. His voice was high and belied his muscular frame. “Omphalos squats in a wasteland, a dry rotting desert of rolling dunes. South of Selvage is another, a high desert, with scrub brush, cold nights, and lurking scavengers. Why do you ask?”

  “Well,” she said, musing. “I’m thinking about those armadillos we saw. They were massive.

  “What does that have to do with deserts?” Baruna asked.

  “As continents get drier, forests disappear. The open plains spread and, over time, that gives animals room to grow larger. It explains some of the creatures we’ve seen here.”

  Nala laughed heartily. “Those things may be true in your world. I assure you they are not here. With the power of the sun disc, Ra could boil an ocean away, creating overnight a wasteland that he could populate with terrifying creatures.”

  “Is that supposed to make us feel better?” Keshav asked.

  “The truth rarely does, especially for lesser life forms.”

  “Hey,” Keshav said, his tone light.

  Nala shrugged. “We are gods. You are not. Do you expect rabbits or ants to understand the world around you?”

  Keshav scowled, and Baruna stroked his arm. “It’s not worth it, jaanu.” she said.

  “I’ve had the misfortune of dealing with some right wankers,” he said, loud enough that it was clear he wasn’t only addressing Baruna. “But this guy is well up there.”

  “What’s that?” Stuart asked. He had been watching the sea, lost in thoughts. Now, however, on the horizon he could see … something.

  The others looked two, eyes squinted in concentration.

  “Well,” Nala said. “This is ill luck indeed.”

  “What is it?” Doctor Gomez asked. “They look like clouds.”

  “They’re sails,” Nala answered. “Two of them. Unless I miss my guess, and I never do, they are the boats Mandjet and Mesektet.”

  “That sounds familiar,” Doctor Gomez said.

  “It should,” Nala said. “They are the boats of the two aspects of the Falcon Lord. He must be angry for the blow I struck against him. They are coming for me, surely as leeches after a rain.”

  “Inconceiv
able,” Stuart said. No one laughed. No one ever laughed at his jokes.

  There was silence for some time. “Turds! We can turn around,” Baruna said. “We are not too far from the shore.”

  “We could,” Nala said. “They would catch us. Their ships are as fast as a winter sunrise, as steady as a twinkling star. Even if not, we would have to report home as failures. The next attack, or the one after that, could utterly destroy us forever.”

  “So we push on?” Doctor Gomez said. “Can we get this ship to go any faster?”

  “Can you make the wind blow harder?” Nala asked sarcastically. His ponytail bounced a little as he scowled. “I shouldn’t have come. I’ve endangered you all, and simply because I underestimated just how badly the Sun Lord would want to revenge himself.”

  “You almost killed one of them yesterday,” Doctor Gomez said.

  “Yesterday I had my armor. Yesterday we had our mighty steeds, and I had the companionship of my peers. Today I am babysitting lesser creatures.” His eyes fell on them as the tirade trailed out. He put his arm around Doctor Gomez’s shoulder. Stuart half expected her to shake it off, but instead, she snuggled more closely into his body.

  “It’s worth it, of course,” Nala said to her. “To be with you. And someone has to look out for these puny humans.”

  “We were doing fine before you came along,” Stuart said, feeling acid in his stomach again. Why was he so bothered? He had no claim on Doctor Gomez, and having Nala along gave them a great sense of security.

  Nala looked at him the way you look at a child who tells you he can fly or turn invisible. His silent reproach was more eloquent than any words.

  But Stuart had had enough. “You can go home now, for all we care!”

  “Stuart,” Doctor Gomez admonished.

  “Acan said it was foolish for him to come along,” Stuart said.

  “Acan,” Nala said. “That bent potion brewer? He prefers the company of men to women. How can you take anything that pervert says seriously?”

  “Sorry to interrupt,” Baruna said. “I think we might have even bigger problems.” She pointed into the water.