Oasis (2)

--Gatix--

The scenery changed instantaneously, but it took longer to recognize the type of terrain. First impressions were we had returned to the Bazaar - the amount of sand seemed to suggest so - but too few buildings and too much shrubbery disproved the hypothesis. No desert featured a collection of trees, each taller than thirty meters. The biggest surprise was the large pool of crystal-clear water in the middle of the grove.

“An oasis?”

“It's called Palmi's Tear.” I matched Ms. Queen's speed as she started walking. “Neither skin-walkers nor void-born like walking through the desert, so few know about this place.”

“How'd you find it?”

“By accident. The skin-walkers managed to corner me in a fight many years ago. I tried to teleport, but their attacks disturbed my concentration enough to disrupt the spell. I emerged here. Since I was alone, I could recuperate before returning to my stronghold, and it left an impression. It took a while to learn of its location, but it's become akin to a sanctuary since then. A place to get away from it all, you know?”

“I don't really have one of those.”

Ms. Queen stopped at that. “One who participates in constant warfare does not have a place for mental recuperation?”

“I don't get the time. The best I can do is shack up with a book somewhere.”

“Then allow me to introduce you to a haven outside the realms of fantasy.” She smiled while taking a step backward. A shimmering over her body caught my eye: looking closer revealed many of her scales sinking into her body, a diamond-patterned membrane forming behind it.

“What's going on- whoa!” I turned my head as scales close to her more sensitive areas disappeared, but I only heard a laugh. “You've never seen an unclothed woman before?”

“Looking in this situation rarely ends well for the one looking.”

`Then you've only looked at the wrong people.” The laugh turned to a chuckle. “Do not fear; no misfortune will come your way,” Inviting said misfortune by one eye at a time, I slowly turned my head, finding Ms. Queen up to her knees in the water. Diamond-patterned skin make her significantly paler than before, like a human's. If it wasn't for the pattern, the tail, and the horns, she could pass one.

Except for the more intimate areas, which were covered by the regular amount of scales. “See?” The grin turned mischievous.

“A built-in bikini, neat.”

“Another term I've never heard before.”

“A piece of clothing worn by the women-folk in my country with the goal of covering as little as possible while adhering to public decency standards. It both fascinates and frustrates men everywhere.”

“Teasing of the opposite sex is not limited to this country, it seems.”

“Another built-in trait, I would assume.” I unclipped Scythe as I sat down, laying it on the ground next to me.

Ms. Queen raised an eyebrow at that. “You're not going to enter the water as well?”

I shook my head in response. “Would if I could take the armor off, and I don't think the suit is waterproof after that fight. Would rather not risk the damage.”

“Then I'll bring you here when you're not wearing it.” She splashed some water onto her arms.

“Sadly, I suspect that's going to be a while.”

“How so?”

“I'll have to ask the mage who does the teleporting.” I could already picture Dax raising his eyebrow if he ever read the logs of this conversation. “But I think the armor protects me from the spell itself.”

“Your mage must be inexperienced if teleportation risks the life of his target.”

You hear that, Dax?

“But I can't fault him entirely.” Ms. Queen hair flowed free as she loosened whatever straps she used to keep it tied together. “There is a reason not many can cast it.”

“He is constantly researching, so I'm sure he'll figure it out.”

“As any good mage should.” A shiver passed through her body, splashing water up to her belly. It made me smile.

“You're not going to go in?”

“Almost.” Having built up the courage, she took a deep breath and sunk beneath the water, staying there for a few seconds before popping back up in a geyser. Her black hair, normally tied in low twin-tails, now stuck to her head and shoulders as the diamond-patterned skin shimmered in the sunlight.

Not a bad view. “Feeling better?”

“I'm not used to cold water.”

“Being the Queen of flame, I'd expect so.”

She chuckled, lowering herself until the water came up to her neck. “You've heard that one?”

`No, but it's not hard to figure it out.”

“Fair enough. I've been called many things during my years. You've undoubtedly heard some of the phrases.”

“Only “evil incarnate” and “she who sucks the life out of everything she touches.”

“Those seem new. The Knight?”

“Got it in one.”

“He's made a considerable donation to the list, admittedly.”

“Seems like he really hates your guts. Pissed him off in any particular way?”

“Hmm...” She splashed the water a little bit. “Nothing comes to mind, but no two knights are the same. There are always those more enthusiastic about their job.”

“I'm guessing he's close to the top.”

“Top five, easily. Third, if I had to put a number to it.”

“Who takes the other two spots?”

“Second place belongs to a knight about two hundred years ago. I remember his face, but his name eludes me. It might have been Pentit - I remember mocking him. He managed to unite three of the eight skin-walker kingdoms before laying siege to my stronghold, in which he personally slew three of my royal guards. His accursed weapon landed a blow that left a permanent mark.” She parted the hair around her left ear to reveal a circular scar.

“Looks nasty. What happened to him?”

“My forces distracted him long enough for me to teleport him away. With their linchpin gone, the skin-walker armies lost morale and we drove them out. I have no idea where I teleported him, but half a year passed before I saw him again. His morale had been broken by then. The journey back had been unforgiving, and none of the skin-walker kings wanted to help after his failure. He gave up after that and joined the monastery, where he lived the rest of his days.”

“Must have been some journey. And the first?”

“Sabak the Unhinged, six hundred years ago.” Ms. Queens' face distorted into a scowl. “The only thing that matched Sabak's sheer ferocity was his craziness. I can't remember his trade before he was anointed as a knight, but he took his mission to slay me feverously. He started off like many others by appealing to a local duke for some men, but when the duke laughed, he unsheathed his axe and slew everybody in sight. Still needing men, he slew his way to jail and gave the prisoners a simple question: join him or die. Fifty men join his side that day, with seventy perishing. Needing more, he carved a path of destruction toward my territory, offering the towns he came across the same question. His number had swollen to seven hundred when he arrived, with over four thousand slain behind him.

“The skin-walker kings were so afraid of his rampage they didn't try to stop him, but instead told the villagers along his way to evacuate. His assault on my territory was as brutal as it was quick. He did not care for a war of attrition. Neither did he lay claim to my territory nor tried to ransom hostages. His goal was my head, and he slaughtered his way through the quickest route to get there. It took him a month to reach my castle, during which his forces decimated several of my legions. That was the only time the royal behemoths suggested I run while they buy me some time.”

“How did you stop him?”

“So easy, I did not think the plan would work. My mages cast an illusion spell to make him see hallucinations of me inside his own forces. He slew over thirty of his men before he was calmed down. Fearing they might be next, his men poisoned him during his next meal and beheaded him afterward. With their leader gone, my forces had no trouble mopping up or scattering the rest.”

“Remind me never to upset you or your mages. But you're letting your age slip there a bit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You encountered Sabat six hundred years ago, by which you were already the queen. Makes me wonder about the years before that.”

I chuckled when Ms. Queen made a pouty face and sunk deeper into the water, letting her glaring eyes stay above the waterline. A series of bubbles distorted whatever she might have tried to say.

“Excuse me?”

She rose a tiny bit. “Don't think of me as some irritable old lady.”

“Says the lady who annihilated the bazaar in a pillar of fire.”

“That was not the focus.”

“But I'm making it the focus.” I laughed.

“I'm more spry than those a quarter of my age, you know?”

“A quarter? That means people more than a hundred and fifty are considered mature. You must be ancient-” I dodged the fireball flying past my head, but the laughter did not abate.

“I'll remind you that while you carry my favor, I am a queen, after all.”

“Pulling rank now, are we?”

“Just putting you in your place.” She grinned back.

“Which seems to be on my ass, just waiting for you to reveal all your secrets.”

“Guess that means you'll stick around then?”

“Depends on whether the company is worth it.”

“In more ways than you might think.” She chuckled, splashing some water over her head. “Now you.”