Page 5 of Tethered Thrones
“Ryota,” Hadi suddenly spoke from the doorway. I spun in my chair to see him resting on it, his upper arms on the topframe and the lower set parting the curtain and holding the wood.
“Yes?” he responded while prepping what had to be Bracken’s tenth drink, the glutton.
Clem, for his part, looked buzzed off of one, and Kiar still refused, his eyes never leaving Uncle’s face.
“Why do I smell naga venom on you? Were you recently attacked?”
I froze. What the hell kind of question was that? Kiar and Clem perked up while Bracken just sighed, muttering under his breath. “Always starting shit, my inflexible lord.”
“Ah yes,” Uncle chuckled as if it were all a joke, but I knew he knew Hadi was asking a serious question.
“It might seem strange to you city folks, but we rub their venom on us for a reason,” he continued, motioning to his eyes next, horrifically scarred even now. “We are alone here, left defenseless for the most part. And so, we must forage in the forest and mountains when supplies run low like now. Even in the winter, I am careful to conceal my smell. If not for Sun here, I would not even be breathing, let alone blind.”
I stiffened, this conversation heading to familiar territory I was desperate to avoid. Damn old men and their need to repeat the same old tales.
“If you’re wondering about a naga pit nearby, don’t worry. Sun eradicated most of them around this area. Did he not tell you that he destroyed the largest nest in Naran at fifteen? Beheaded dozens, burned the rest. They hung them from spikes and paraded them down the streets in Kari. What a joyous day.”
I flinched hard as our companionable drinking shifted into something heavy and unforgiving.
“I remember this day clearly, you know. Sun isn’t one to brag, but I’ll brag on our champion’s behalf. It’s been so long, this war,some children don’t even remember the fullness of his legend, the radiance of his sword slashing through those monsters.”
With a shaky hand, Uncle went to serve Bracken another drink, but Kiar snatched it from his hand and drowned it. Slamming the porcelain cup down, he grunted, wiping his lips as his fangs forced their way out.
I shuddered. He was angry. He had every right to be.
“Uncle, let’s—” Before I could stop him, he’d already prepared two more drinks and was babbling on, excited.
“The nagas found our town when he was around fifteen. Sun, I mean. They decimated this village.” Uncle shrugged. “Unfortunately for me, one got to me before Sun could. But know I would be dead if not for him. Did I already say that? No matter. Our holy emperor had to triage this village afterward, you see. Most soldiers had abandoned this outpost, but Sun would not leave us to our fate. He found their nests and set fire to them while they slept. The ones that woke, wham! Slash! Hack! Sun ran through them with his deerhorn daggers like a beast. He took some down with his bare hands.”
His face shifted, beaming as he said, “Sun and General Hideyoshi always made it a point to protect us when they could, when military campaigns crossed our borders. Most have left us now. I guess we’re mostly a ghost town. But this would have been a mass grave if not for Sun.”
He pointed in my general direction and smiled with nothing but endearment. But my legend only filled me with unease now, purposely avoiding Kiar’s heated gaze on my face, I turned away from him, shrinking behind Clem and Bracken.
I hung my head lower, feeling shame when I shouldn’t. It was kill or be killed back then, and there was nothing wrong with righteous retribution. An eye for an eye.
But that didn’t change the fact that I felt horrible, allowing Kiar to hear how bodies of his kind had been paraded like prizes back then.
“…You didn’t answer my question, old man. You smell like venom now. I’m asking if there are nocs nearby.”
I couldn’t find it in me to reprimand Hadi at that awful moment.
“I see you’ve gotten to know some ill-mannered men, boy. But that’s good. You’ve always been strung a little too tight,” Uncle said with a snort.
Uncle chose his next words carefully.
“Sometimes, I can still feel that monster’s venom and smell the decay of my flesh. No self-respecting human should want to smell like this, but I rub it on me for deterrence now. We stored it in jugs, wringing the dead naga’s venom from them and diluting it. We still have old passageways and abandoned nests of other nocs nearby. Nightwings mostly, but the villagers kill enough that they don’t attack much these days. And they hate the smell of naga venom.”
He coughed and spoke in a weak, wheezing voice, “When you go out foraging if you smell like them, those monsters tend to pass you over. It’s the least I can do, seeing as Sun here has worked so hard to save me and us. The least I can do is try and stay alive. So, no, you have nothing to fear other than a real snake’s bite for now. However, that doesn’t mean a noc may not come out tonight. So, stick close.”
“I must add,” Uncle said, smiling at Clem, who was shifting between green and blue at a rapid pace, “I’m happy I went foraging today. I was out of dried bellflower. Maybe the gods knew you’d be here, and that’s why these old bones found the courage to gather what was left in the fields before it was all consumed by snow.”
The silence wasn’t just deafening, it snatched our collective breaths away. We all seemed to be waiting for hell to break loose as Uncle cleaned our spent glasses, unaware of who he was talking to.
“Um, Uncle?” I asked, wetting my dry lips, trying desperately to find a way to leave what used to be a place of refuge for me. “Is the innkeeper still here? We’d love somewhere to rest.”
I hoped he wasn’t, but it was worth asking. Otherwise we’d have to make camp in the freezing cold again.
“The innkeeper has left to get provisions from Jade Moon, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind you and your friends resting there for the night free of charge. Now might be good since the night is still young, and you all can enjoy the hot springs alone.”