And the Darkling Reefs Abide

First order of business was distracting the red guard. I looked at him, at the mirthful swell seemingly always in his bell, and I decided I didn’t want him to harmed, not truly.

We marched onward to the Arid Canyon Reef. This country was a land scratched east to west with canyons. You could look to the horizons and see clear to where mesas rose up in the north, or the forests grew thick in the south. The ocean was to the west, but I forgot what was between us and that.

Corals rose up gnarled and reaching. They appeared in bursts across the land, breaking the flatness. Hardy plants clung to life in even more sparse arrangements. Where the water might pool, moss flourished, but altogether any break from the palette of grays and browns was reserved for medusae themselves.

I had three obstacles. The green‍-​bell floated behind me, sunshield held up in one tentacle and a spear gripped in the other. Several eyestalks were reserved for staring right at me, and it seemed many sensors were awrithe, sifting the air for any hint to be suspicious of.

The medusa of shifting colors floated far beyond me, as if keeping distance from the filthy ratslayer. She had gone full pink right now, and I wasn’t sure at all what these colors meant. She had a small knife near her sunshield, held as if concealed but not very effectively.

And the red guard floated just in front of me, bell inflating, and a few waving eyestalks looking at me. He was significantly more useful than any of the other obstacles. This fool thought we were friends. He would stand by me‍ ‍—‍ at least once. That would be enough.

This sort foolishness‍ ‍—‍ no, I didn’t want to punish it too harshly. I decided I would see him steered blissfully away from harm.

Still, not taking a entirely violent stance towards the lot of them makes this job so much more interminable.

(As if I stood a chance, outnumbered and outskilled, if I did want to kill them. My line of thought is funny sometimes.)

We floated onward, toward Avelt. The sun above us embarked upon its return journey, and from the other side, clouds were travelling in to warn of rain. They were dark.

I looked at the red guard, the shifting guard, the green guard. I felt the coldness stinging my tentacles. It would endlessly even the playing field‍ ‍—‍ of that I was assured. But was it ready? It was said I would know when it was. Did I know, now? Had He factored in my ubiquitous uncertainty?

(No, of course He did. He was a god.)

I had to assess the danger of the three guards. Colored jellies had godstingers carried on down their lines from when the gods had first anointed them. They all had some strange kind of magic I didn’t, beyond the telekinesis which endowed all medusa. Red was a ubiquitous strobilation‍ ‍—‍ firestinging. He could spray bright flame from his tresses, just a few feet. He’d shown me once, so I’d know even if my F hadn’t told me all about them.

That left green and she of mercurial rutiliance. I couldn’t pin them to any gift F had explained to me, and guessing would be useless. Green couldn’t be utterly rare‍ ‍—‍ there’d been one more guard like it. The ever‍-​shifting jelly could commune with the gods, somehow. Was that part of their stinger? It seemed to be their capacity alone.

“You’ve gone all silent, Ru.”

Nothing saying.

“You know, a little friendly chatter and you would been less menacing. Less suspicious. You want that.”

“Hi,” said I.

“There you go. That’s a start.”

“How are you?”

“Oh, I’m doin’ fine. Been tiring myself out working long shifts this week. Was just hoping to relax after this one‍ ‍—‍ didn’t expect nothing to actually happen. But you know what they say of expects.”

“Okay,” said I.

The red guard drifted closer to me, his melody dropping to subtle vibrations of his bell. He said, “You know, ol’ Yera over there is really spooked by you. You can’t tell by her act‍ ‍—‍ or maybe you can, deathly clever bastar’ you are‍ ‍—‍ but in her book you are all sorts of bad news.”

“Okay,” said I.

“These ’okay’s ain’t much better than silence, y’know.”

I waved my eyestalks silently. I glanced back to the green jelly behind us. The pair had been all silent as well. Made me wonder. Quite hard to get a real sense of jellies without them speaking.

I was used to pulling together images from as little as I could get‍ ‍—‍ but just the word choice, just the way they conducted themselves in chatter‍ ‍—‍ it all counted for so much, building a good image.

I needed to know if they would go down easily, or not.

“Why do you expect this ratslayer to even be capable of pleasantry?” It was the shifter who finally spoke, but you could predict that.

“’Cause I know them personally. He’s got a certain dignity in how he carries himself.”

“A certain dignity,” came the response. “Of a jelly who’s covered in mud like they slept in a pit.”

I rose to say, “Better than cowering as many meters away as you can manage?”

The shifter’s bell scrunched up.

The red guard was speaking up almost as soon as I finished, replying properly, “Extenuating circumstances,” he said. “You’d be in a mess too, I imagine, after a run‍-​in with the god of death.”

The shifter looked suddenly at me. Bell squeezed tight and angular. Her tone was raw. “What is the name of the death god?” she asked me

I stopped in my floating. Fell down to my stalk. The voice‍ ‍—‍ it hadn’t been a jelly voice, and theirs was not a jelly name. If it could even be reproduced by my membrane‍ ‍—‍ I didn’t have to heart to do so.

I said, “A terrible name that starts with M.”

She paused too, at that. “Forget everything he’s told you.” That un‍-​medusan voice had taken on a certain tightness, a surety of purpose. “You don’t have to follow this path. There’s no prize at the end waiting for you. It only ends in annihilation. You lose.”

I picked up on something‍ ‍—‍ higher, in her voice. I latched on, and said, “Thought you wouldn’t share prophecies with the ugly ratslayer.”

“No prophecy. Consider it a symbol or pretense. Merely divine commentary.”

The word choice confirmed it, even if the voice wasn’t familiary. His name started with E.

I twisted my bell at that, made a low wordless, vibrating sound.

It was her voice, speaking now, scoffing and saying, “Truth is, Aveltane knew you would not swayed. Knew you were hopeless.”

“Determined, is the word I’d prefer,” I said. “I’ve decided what I would do.”

To the red guard, she then spoke. “Why then, are we humoring this? Why escort him, hearing everything he’s said?”

“I don’t see the issue?”

“Kill him! Right now, right where he floats!”

I forced crackling power into my tresses, and bounced high, high above them.

Then I found myself right back at the ground, as if I’d never rose, as if all my momentum was gobbled up in a second.

I threw myself upward once more, to escape—

And found myself right back on the ground, again, as if I’d never rose at all.

The guards were still talking. They weren’t trying to kill me. It’d only been a suggestion. One that the red guard had vehemently rejected.

“No. Why would we ever do that? What has he done?”

“He has all but admitted to being a servant of the death god. Keeping him here is a mistake.”

“It’s common sense.”

Multicolored lips squeezing skeptical over eyes. “It’s allowing whatever he’s decided to take place.”

“If this is the work of some god… who’s to say us trying to kill him is part of whatever plan there is?”

“Stupid, stupid objection,” she said, as if that were an argument. I suppressed a laugh.

“I’m not going to kill a jelly for no reason.”

“Even if it could save many more? Even if it was the right, ordained thing to do?”

“Even then.”

I looked around till I say the green‍-​belled medusa. It had to be their godstinger that kept me from escaping. Teleportation? A green tress pointed right at me.

Still, not all bad. I’d gained another piece to slot into my puzzle‍-​reckoning. Two more pieces, actually‍ ‍—‍ the green jelly could prevent me from escaping, easily, and the color‍-​shifting jelly does indeed have a power for easily talking to the gods.

Not all bad, and yet, distinctly and frustratingly bad. This was so, so, much harder than it could have been. I miss dealing with colorless jellies.

“He tried to escape, and I don’t like the way his eyes are searching about. Just tell us: what are you really planning?”

I was thrown off, just a bit, from how she went from talking about me to talking to me , but I responded, “I just want to run. You are talking about killing me.”

“We won’t kill you,” the red guard said. He drifted over and threw a tentacle affectionately around me. I flinched away, so hard and quick that the green jelly had to teleported me backc again.

“Can we get moving again?” My bell was expanded and deflating, as each breaths was absorbed. What a dreadful exchange that was.

Nothing in the ever‍-​shifting medusa’s gaze lightened or relaxed. But she said, “Yes, let’s.”

“I haven’t had lunch,” I said as we entered town.

The Arid Canyon Reef was a forest of coral, rising up, spreading out, growing intertwined and interleaving. Jellyfish floated about, and octopuses and snails danced around as well, some on leashes, some carried, some wandering about on their own with the snapping energy of ferals. They all pressed themselves on through the maze of coral, finding their own way through the abundance of paths and spaces that were the definition of a reef.

Some paths lead to dark holes dug in the ground or carved into sandstone buttes. Many jellies perched inside of these structures, like fruit poised on the boughs of a tree.

“Do you expect us to escort you to dinner? Have you forgotten your lie already? You wanted to get cleansed at the sun spire. I’d expect more urgency.”

I absorbed a breath, and measured by my words. “I think I might be waiting there a while. After all, I‍ ‍—‍ I intend to see the high priestess.”

They did pause at that, but it seemed like they were growing used to these revelations‍ ‍—‍ the notion wouldn’t surprised them for an instant.

Then it was the shifter who spoke up, and said, “No.”

“I stated a fact.”

“Here’s another: You will not, regardless of your intentions.

“You underestimate me.”

“Is that a threat?”

“I think,” the red guard interrupted, “Letting you two talk to each other is entirely a mistake.”

He looked to me, and curled his tresses friendly. “Ru, we can drop by an eatery on the way to the spire.”

“Of course you side with him.” Before he could respond, she continued, “Are you in league with the god of death and chaos too, I wonder. Might as well be.” She spat‍-​scoffed.

The red guard audibly expelled breath, but the color‍-​shifter continued speaking.

“Stupid to do his bidding and not get rewarded, you know.”

“Here’s a last fact,” I said, “you should shut up.”

“Spare yourself, Ru. I’m used this. I’m a full‍-​grown medusa. I can take it.”

I waved my eyestalks, and started impetuously toward my favorite‍ ‍—‍ it was the cheapest‍ ‍—‍ dinner.

Then I was prompt teleported back by the green jelly.

My rhopalia snapped straight to glared at him, my bell all squeezed and angular.

I thought I saw a hint of swelling to that green exumbrella them, as once more we started moving, all together this time.

…Rgiht now, I really should be thinking about my immediate next step in my plan. But my thoughts keep getting repeatedly stuck on the sharp corals of distractions.

It felt safe, knowing that I had a right proper ally in the red guard. It took dangerous edge off this situation, made my thinking soft and squishy.

But when it came down to it, he was an obstacle like any other. I needed to see the high priestess alone, and I knew he would stand in way of that, when the time came.

The green‍-​belled medusa. My eyestalks kept pointing back toward them, following their every motion. At least two eyestalks were always on each of their eight tresses. They were the bars of my prison, truly.

I imagined taking my knife, and hacking them off one by one.