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Samyah held the torch up, pushing back the suffocating darkness. The land was soaked in sickly moonlight with only the long shadows of jagged mountains breaking up the gloom. Their twisted peaks of gilded mountain tops scraped and clawed at the starless sky, looming over them as ageless monuments untouched by time.
Samyah marched on, an ant in the presence of these giants; even her beloved lumbering partner Eda was a spec of dust in comparison. The Triceratops pulled her robes over her chubby body, getting her horns caught on the tip of her hood. She tugged at it and when a cruel wind blew it away, she did not bother to pull the troublesome article back up.
“Honestly, Samyah, I do not see why we risk ourselves! The Tomblands are most treacherous. This is a place where my kind goes for their final rest.” They passed a pile of bones, bleached white with age. Samyah recognized a few raptor skulls, but failed to make any clear distinctions beyond what lay on the surface. The truth was buried beneath and she had no interest in disturbing the dead more than she already had to.
A loose pebble caused Eda to jump. The Saurian huddled close behind her small human companion. Her prodigious size left her little room for courage.
Samyah remained stoic. A single glance was all she was willing to afford her lover; a hard look, but one not without a flicker of compassion. Her hand rested on the pommel of her scimitar, ready to strike at a moment’s notice.
“I have never doubted your determination, beloved. Not once; and I will never make the claim that you are defenseless.” Eda looked over her shoulder, watching for movement within the shadows. “But these lands are not natural. Death hangs over this cursed place like a cloud, a pestilent mist that swallows all who enter it. There is no warrior, human or Saurian, that has ventured this deep and returned to tell of it. We should go back.”
A loud snap, the cracking of bone underfoot like a brittle branch shattered the stillness. Samyah unsheathed her saber to the direction of the noise and waited. A moment passed then another. Each second dragged with painful slowness. The deafening silence parted only by the pound of Samyah’s heart in her breast.
Slowly, she sheathed the blade and continued on their path.
“My darling, please! Listen to reason!” Eda pleaded. “Whatever lies in wait is not worth risking your life for! Samyah!” She reached out, grabbing Samyah’s arm. The Triceratop’s large, leathery mit stopped the little human in her tracks. Eda knelt down, staring deep into her lover’s soft eyes, beak trembling as she uttered, “Please. I beg of you. Let us go no further.”
Samyah clenched her jaw, her knuckles burned white gripping her sword. She turned away, unable to look at the tears welling up in Eda’s eyes.
“You may go.” Samyah whispered. “But I have sworn myself to this and must see it through.”
She caressed Eda’s cheek, brushing away a tear leaking down the side of her face.
“If I am not back at camp in the morning, assume I have perished. Live your life happy and gay without my burdens haunting you.” She gazed ahead of her, towards the strange rock formations shaped like hand chiseled tombstones. White broken skulls of Saurians of all shapes and sizes dotted the land in a heap of bones.
A single tombstone rose above the rest, a tower of black rock dripping with ichor, a grave of some forgotten leviathan left to weather the eons for time immemorial. At the foot of the structure was a staircase, a gaping maw with rusted iron teeth that plunged into the earth. Deep within did her target lie. She would not give up now, not when she was so close. Samyah gripped her saber and torch, and braved the yawning dark alone.
She descended down the stairs carefully, forced to leap down from one oversized step to another. Like with most Saurian architecture, this was built with little consideration for humans and Samyah made great effort not to drop her torch for once the light is gone she would be helpless to escape.
Shadows pooled in the corners of the stone staircase, stretching and shrinking like a mouth opening wide to devour them. Samyah kept close to the wall in order to catch herself in the event that her eyes deceived her and she tripped.
She thought of Eda, hoping that she had heeded her advice and returned to camp. The fear of her lover being on her own sat like a dense stone in Samyah’s chest. She cursed herself for not having the courage to look back and check. If anything were to happen, she’d never forgive herself. But she had given her word and a person is only as good as their word, even in death.
She descended deeper, determined to finish this quest as quickly as possible. After what seemed like ages, she had finally reached the bottom. The stone opened up to a large crypt of long sloped arches holding up a domed roof. The walls were lined with the coffins of the long deceased, left forgotten and collecting dust. Samyah drew her sword, her body tensed, ready to strike at anything lurking in the shadows.
Two towering statues stood side by side, eternal sentries guarding the dead. They stared down at Samyah with blank, empty eyes; each holding a large stone sword older than nations. Samyah held up her torch and the shadows flickered across their faces in a scornful look as if they were reprimanding her for trespassing in such an ancient place.
Samyah spotted her target between them. A stone casket, noticeably smaller than the ones surrounding it. The others were large, industrious slabs of stone large enough for even the mighty Saurians to spend their final rest. The casket in the middle, by comparison, was a tinder box, only useful for a Saurian that was still young.
Or a human.
Samyah approached the casket. She braced her shoulder against the lid and pushed with all her might. Dust spun and swirled as ancient stone grinded against itself. Samyah coughed, dropping her sword as she braced herself against the involuntary fit.
The blade rattled against the floor, sending a haunting echo through the cyclopian ruins. Samyah bent down to pick it up and nearly shrieked. Within the blade’s reflection were two eyes staring back at her.
She snatched the blade by its hilt, bracing herself for a sudden attack. She held her sword cross, ready to deflect the swipe of a claw or the bite of fangs, yet nothing came.
Samyah backed away, bumping into the half open casket. Something shifted from the domed ceiling, slithering between the ribs of arches far beyond the reach of torchlight. The crypt shook, the ground trembled. Samyah clutched her sword, her heart galloping in her chest. With each breath she tasted the foul miasma of the creature’s breath.
Its yellow eyes flickered in their sockets, hinting at the hellish burning hatred smoldering within. The large hunched beast was black as night, its very presence seemed to suffocate the light around it. It stepped forward on large, monstrous paws. Its claws raked the stone, slicing through them like a hot knife through butter. Its face, a mockery of horns and tusks breaking through matted fur, while its crooked snout overflowed with teeth that cut and sliced through its thin, colorless lips. Samyah swallowed a deep, primal instinct to vomit upon its visage, a facade of life worn by one alien to the concept.
Samyah dropped to the ground, narrowly avoiding the claws seeking to tear through her flesh. She sprung forward, slicing the side of its leg and curving around the back. The beast snarled, more agitated than angry at the attack. It spun around with impossible speed, wrapping its hidden, tentacle tail around Samyah’s neck and flinging the woman across the tomb.
She crashed into the statues, collapsing to the floor. A sharp, stabbing pain filled her chest. Samyah touched her ribs and felt them shift beneath her skin. She clung to her torch and sword knowing that losing either of them would spell her doom.
She spotted the embers of the creature’s eyes and stabbed at them with her sword. The beast curled around the saber, passing through it as though it were made of water. Samyah swung the blade around and saw the long rungs of the creature’s neck stretch and extend. It was no ordinary beast; it was a monstrous chimera.
The chimera swept its neck down, narrowly catching Samyah’s legs. She jumped over it, plunging her torch into the beast’s neck as it passed. The air filled with the taint of burning hair and the beast cried a deafening howl.
Samyah staggered back, covering her ears from the horrifying scream. She lashed out, swinging blindly in the direction of the noise, hoping to ward the beast away. The chimera lunged forward, snatching the blade in its crooked jaw and with one quick twist of its head, snapped the blade between its vile teeth. It quickly swung around, whipping Samyah with its tail and sending her sailing across the room once more.
The torch slipped from her grasp and darkness enveloped her.. All Samyah could do was close her eyes and pray as she braced herself for impact.
She crashed against the stone, blood raced up her throat and she spat it over herself. She blinked, trying to pierce the impenetrable darkness. There was no light in these hallowed halls, her eyes would never adjust leaving her blind.
Samyah fumbled in the dark, feeling her surroundings to gauge where she was. Her hand touched the corner of… something. It was too small to be a wall, there was a ledge she could reach over. She stretched her sore legs and felt a barrier against her foot. She tried to stand and felt something soft touch her side. Something soft and oddly pleasant to the touch. She traced her hand over it and grabbed something round at the end of a spindling column of aged wrappings. The wrapping gave way to two spots in the middle, two sockets long since emptied and Samyah realized where she was: she was in the casket.
Samyah’s fingers glided down the clothed face, feeling the familiar curves and bends of her features. She touched the edge of her chin, expecting to feel the plush lips she once knew so well, to hear the melody of her voice she fell asleep to so many times.
How long had it been since they spoke for the last time? How long ago when she last looked upon her face, red and full of life? Samyah cursed that she barely remembered what she looked like. So much had happened, so much time lay between them like a gorge in a canyon.
“It is you…” Samyah gasped, clutching her broken ribs. She scooped up the clothed carcass, cradling her head against her chest. “It is you…”
The darkness growled, heavy footfalls shook the crypt. Samyah scooped up the clothed carcass and threw herself out of the casket right before the chimera crushed it beneath its paw. Samyah scrambled to find a wall, resting the clothed carcass against it.
“I… I promised…” Samyah stood up, her voice raspy and wet with blood. She held the broken hilt of her saber at the darkness, only with the vaguest sense of where the chimera was. “I gave… my word…”
Battered, broken, back against the wall; Samyah made peace with her death. Looking back, she would change little on how her life unraveled. She had endured many hardships, yet through those hardships she had met her beloved Eda and together they stood firm against the evils of the world with sword and horn. Samyah wished she had asked Eda to stay by her side. She wished she was brave enough, strong enough to listen to her beloved’s words of wisdom. Now she was going to die for an oath only she remembered and leave the only soul she ever cared about alone in a cruel, callous world.
In the moment of what seemed like the eve of her demise, Samyah saw something. A halo of light shimmered from the entrance, casting the beast’s outline in the burning glow. It turned at the disturbance and was thrown against the wall with a bone crushing crunch.
Samyah stood there, frozen in awe as Eda stampeded into the crypt, the Triceratops wielding a monstrously large bone as a club.
“Get away from her!” She roared, slamming the femur on the horned beast’s skull.
The chimera stumbled, swaying side to side. Black blood oozed from its temple, dripping to the floor in thick puddles of ichor. It bubbled and festered, the viscous liquid squirmed with a life of its own. Eda stepped back, afraid to touch it.
“Saaaavaaaage…” The creature growled, twisting and contorting its fowl lips to speak. Its tongue was too short for its muzzle, looking uncomfortably human.
“And proud to be one.” Eda said. “Samyah! Are you hurt?”
“Won’t… slow me down…” Samyah coughed. She raced to Eda’s side.
“Any chance you are willing to run?” Eda asked.
Samyah shook her head. She was not certain she was able to even if she wished to try. Escape was impossible. Even if they could escape the crypt, the beast would hunt them down across the entire Tomblands and trap their souls in this cursed place carved out from the world.
If she was going to die, she’d die standing.
Eda’s expression hardened, knowing what was at stake. “Then let us face death together, my love. As we’ve always had!”
Eda dove forward, bashing her club against the chimera’s knee. The leg made a sickening crunch, bending at an unnatural angle. The beast slid to the side, spun around and smacked her with its large, unruly tail. Eda took the brunt of the blow, tumbling to the ground, nearly crushing Samyah beneath her bulk.
Samyah rolled back, slamming herself into the wall. The chimera drew near and the crypt’s walls seemed to close in all around her. She held out the severed hilt of her blade, wielding it like a dagger and sprang up, threading herself between the creature’s legs. The beast’s tail swept down at her and Samyah plunged her blade into the base of the fowl appendage.
The beast roared, leaping onto the walls and crawling up the ceiling, taking Samyah along with it. She held onto the hilt with all her might, dragging it down to the tip of the tail, gutting it as one guts a fish. Dark slime oozed from the wound, bringing forth a stench that burned Samyah’s nostrils. She had never smelled something so rancid, like a cloud of death itself sprung forth to suffocate her.
The beast flicked its tail, slamming Samyah into the head of the eternal statue. She let go, her body overwhelmed with pain. The stabbing in her chest flared, and Samyah’s grip slipped, sending her tumbling down.
Eda pushed herself to her feet just in time to catch Samyah in her arms. The little human wheezed, clutching at her broken ribs. Eda held her close and sprinted for the exit.
The chimera leapt from the ceiling as a living shadow, blocking the exit. The light of the torch dimmed, its deep black fur seemingly sucking the light around them. Eda shouldered Samyah, the little human hanging off her neck, freeing her hand for her club.
“Die monster!” Eda cried, she heaved her mighty club and the chimera caught it in its mouth, twisted its head, and crushed the bone between its teeth. Eda pulled back, but the beast would not relent, it held tight, refusing to let go. With a sudden burst of strength the chimera threw itself to the side, slamming Eda and sending the pair rolling on the cold stone.
The world blurred, Samyah clung to Eda with all her might. Her fingers dug into her scaled skin as the crypt spun all around her. They hit the wall with a sudden stop. The dim glow of the torch rolled on the floor, a small bubble of light shrinking away as the beast circled its prey.
Its fur was matted with blood, twisting the already horrifying visage into something pulled from a nightmare. A burned patch on its neck revealed its skin to be the color of rot; gray and sick, only the illusion of life, a puppet of dead flesh with congealed, otherworldly blood. The creature was death incarnate, a reaper of blood and souls and now it set its sightless eyes upon Samyah and Eda, seeking to add more bones to its collection.
The torch rolled across a puddle and the blood burst into flames. Fire erupted on the ground, bathing the crypt in its golden glow. The chimera hesitated, stepping away. Its fur singed when the tongues of fire lashed too close. Those furious eyes flickered into something softer, something weaker. A crack in the facade that only Samyah saw; the beast was afraid.
Samyah did not hesitate. She bolted forward against the whims of her broken body, snatching the torch up from the ground before its flames were snuffed out. Eda, sensing her intentions, jumped to action. She charged horns first, seeking to impale the chimera on them. The beast spun just in time to catch them. It yanked her head to the side, causing the triceratops to stumble and fall to the cold floor. Eda pushed back, forcing all of her weight onto the beast and pinning it to the wall.
“Samyah! Now! Slay it!”
Samyah wasted no time. She bellowed the war cry of her people, leaping onto Eda’s back and raised the torch above her head. She plunged the torch down, burying it deep into the beast’s exposed wound. Blood caught fire, flooding its veins with a wicked inferno. Its insides glowed, its dead skin glowed like the paper wrappings of a decorative lantern. The formless monster screamed in agony. Its sharp limbs failed in utter desperation to save itself as Eda held firm while black claws ripped and tore at her leathery skin.
With one last dying gasp it reached out to Samyah with knotted fingers. Knowing its life was short, the black beast sought to take its murderer along with it. Eda seized it by its wrists, pushing it away.
“I said: don’t touch her!” The Triceratops roared. She threw her head back, driving her two most prominent horns into the beast’s shoulders in a decisive blow.
The beast’s sickly eyes rolled into the back of its head. Its last, breathless gasp suffocated in its throat and it went limb, finally dead.
Eda pushed the creature away as its remains burned from the inside out. She slumped against a wall, struggling to stand as the adrenaline left her.
“Are you… hurt?” She panted. Samyah nodded her head then gestured at Eda’s tattered robes. Long, twisting scratches ran up and down her body, crimson pathways leaking onto the crypt’s floor. What little fabric remained was soaked red in blood.
“Think nothing of it… beloved.” Eda cracked a shy smile. “I have plenty of blood, I can afford to lose a little without worry.”
Samyah was overcome with guilt. If she had not asked her, Eda would not have come. She would have been back at camp, safe and sound by a warm fire, free from the pain and burden Samyah had brought onto her.
“Let us get one thing straight;” Eda snapped, reading the emotions on her lover’s face. “You have never been a burden to me. You will never be a burden to me. And I will never accept any claims otherwise! We only have each other in this world and how dare you conjure the idea that I would be better off without you! I am not a warrior, but I will gladly fight and die beside you so long as we go together.”
Eda seized the small of Samyah’s back and pulled her into a hug. Samyah rested her head on her voluptuous breasts, letting the song of Eda’s gigantic heart sing her worries to rest.
“You are mine, beloved. We have walked too far, endured too much to go alone. We only have each other.”
Samyah opened her mouth to speak, to explain herself where actions failed to, but Eda swiftly put a large finger to Samyah’s lips.
“Don’t contradict me, my love. Accept what I have spoken as the unbreakable truth and let us finish this mysterious quest of yours, we cannot be certain that we will be safe long-” Eda stopped when she felt soft lips against her scales.
Samyah held her hand to her face, refusing to let go as she kissed her finger. She kissed each finger, making her way to her palm in a trail of affection rising up her arm and to Eda’s face.
“Forgive me, I was foolish.” She whispered, planting her lips on Eda’s beak. In the dim glow of torchlight, the Triceratop’s cheeks burned red.
“Well… I’m glad you see reason.” Eda huffed. Slowly, she stood up, refusing to set Samyah down and end her flurry of affection. She hugged the wall, dragging them to the clothed carcass still slumped against the wall where Samyah had left it. “Who are they? A human you once knew?”
“More than that.” Samyah answered, struggling to say anything more.
“Are they the reason you came to this accursed place?” Eda asked.
Samyah nodded. She pointed to the mummified carcass, signaling its importance.
Eda picked it up, holding each human in one arm. Together, the trio climbed out, scaling the stairs with ease thanks to Eda’s great size. They marched out of the tomb and into the budding daytime. The sky was set ablaze with soft pinks and dull blues of the morning that made the pairs’ eyes burn at the sudden light. Eda let her torch drop and watched the flame linger on in bold defiance, refusing to die.
Samyah wriggled in Eda’s grip, forcing the Triceratops to drop her. She held out her arms, accepting the carcass as her responsibility. She laid them down on the ground with great care. Her hand held the spot where its cheek would be and Samyah felt a well of emotion surge through her.
Her eyes watered, her throat choked back a sob. Samyah threw herself onto the body, hugging it dearly, staining the aged wrappings with her tears.
“You will not suffocate in the dark any longer, Orla al’Shula.” She whispered in her mother tongue. She gently peeled away the wrappings, uncovering the skull underneath. It was small, the smooth definitions of youth etched in its features. Samyah grimaced at the open crack along its forehead; there would be no question on how they perished. She stood up, stepping back to allow the sun to grace the body.
Golden light draped over them like a blanket, soothing the sleeping soul in its eternal warmth. The cloth rose, as if the body took breath and the gentle winds sounded much like a long held sigh finally released out into the world.
The body dissolved to ash before their very eyes, catching the window and flying far, far away from this grim land; up into the heavens where the clouds dance and the sun shines forever.
Samyah gazed up, following the ashes until they were gone from her sight. She stood there, barely aware of the pain in her breast. She touched her rib and realized that was not the source afflicting her heart.
“Who was she?” Eda asked, posed to catch Samyah should she collapse again.
Samyah took her hand with hers, barely able to wrap her hand around Eda’s finger. She felt like a child, holding dearly to her mother, waiting for the words of comfort and assurance that everything was ago.
But she was not a child, she hadn’t been a child for a long time.
“I’ll tell you back at camp. It is… a long story.” She promised, surrendering herself to Eda’s grasp. Eda scooped her up, kissed her head and the two walked into the desert, following the shade of the twisted mountains, and out into the dawn of a new day.