“At least,” Cindra continued, “that’s my best guess. Otherwise, there’s something wrong with me that you and Vix will realize soon too. And then you’ll leave me somewhere in the forest or shut me back up in that cave.”
“Cindra,” I said, “I know something about being left behind. My parents left me at an orphanage when I was a week old. That means they kept me, fed me, held me for a whole week and still didn’t want me. I always wondered why I didn’t deserve the same love other children got. In some ways, I still wonder that.
“I’ll make you a promise. I’ll never leave you behind. You’re free to set out on your own, or travel with Vix, but as long as I run Nola’s temple, there will always be a home for you there.”
Cindra reached over and hugged me. My skin molded to hers in a warm and tight embrace. “You’re a good man, Arden Hochbright.”
As I held her, I saw something move over her shoulder. The leaves rustled in a slight, secretive way entirely different from the way gi-ants moved. Those insects were hulking, indelicate fiends. Whatever this was, it was lithe and careful.
Cindra pulled away from my embrace. “What was your home before the temple?”
“Meadowdale was a small, quiet town,” I said. I glanced over my shoulder, nervous at the sounds of wind slithering through leaves. “Things only got interesting when one of two things happened. First, when adventurers showed up.
“They would strut through the town gates, cheerful and proud. Their armor gleaming, their leathers revealing the strong, able bodies beneath. Sacks of gold coins, ancient relics, and rare foods hung from their horses’ sides. They would start to sell off their goods, and then our economy would pick up again.
“They also, invariably, came to the temple. I don’t know what they paid Head Priest Cahn for their skills, but it was a lot. He lusted after it. I’d watch as he scrutinized their faces and helped hone their bodies and minds for their next adventure.
“And the other thing?” Cindra asked.
“Laranj’s feast day,” I said. Something shook in the bushes and I lifted my spear, squinting at the leaves. Maybe something had fallen from the tree.
“Laranj was the goddess of harmonic sound. On her feast day, everyone gathered in her temple to give alms and listen to her sing. It was the only day of the year she sang for us like that, and it brought us all together.”
“Laranj sounds lovely,” Cindra said.
“She was,” I said. “Duul took her away from us.”
Something suddenly bit my neck. I reached behind me and curled my fingers around a viper, yanking it from my body and throwing it twenty feet from me. More snakes emerged from the bushes now. They had followed and waited until there were enough of them to attack.
“Dammit,” I said. “You’re not even armed yet. Let me handle this.”
A snake whipped its body along the ground toward me, then sprang up. Its body was black and white like marble, unlike any snake I had ever seen. I wasn’t sure if it was magically enhanced, and if so, what types of properties it had. Would it poison me? Stun me? Turn me into a mouse and eat me? There were many classes of magic, and so many skills in the world, I just couldn’t be sure.
I swiped my spear at the snake, hoping to knock it away, but it curled around my pole and started to slither up. I turned the weapon on its head, stabbing into the dirt and leaving it there while the snake crawled its way up the wooden shaft.
More snakes emerged on tree branches and from under bushes. I kicked the snake that wound around my spear, forcing its body to recoil and drop from the weapon. With my spear back in my hand, I started stabbing downward at the creepy animals. I hadn’t stabbed a single one.
Snakes are hard to stab.
One curled up my leg while another leapt from a low tree branch and landed on me. I had no idea how much damage they were doing as they sank their fangs into my skin, but the pain was awful.
So far, I wasn’t turning to stone or anything, so at least there was that.
I realized I could look at my skillmeister menu to see my skills and attributes, which would tell me how much HP I had left. It was a rare benefit of my class, to see with numeric specificity how much life was left in me, or any other person, so I might as well make the most of it.
I was already down to 253 of my 500 HP. Yikes.
I thrashed and whipped my spear around like a lunatic, but I was helpless against these slithery monsters. I looked back at Cindra, and she was faring no better. She had a snake in her hands, peering into its ophidian eyes, while other snakes traveled around her torso and neck.
Then she hissed. Cindra closed her eyes and tilted her head back, erupting in a loud, high-pitched sound like a snake being squished under a massive boot.
When she finished, she stuck her tongue out as far as she could. The instant she did that the other snakes fell from her body and mine, retreating to the bushes and the shadows.
“What the hell did you do?” I asked.
“I didn’t Flirt, I’ll tell you that,” she said. “I gave my new negotiatrix skill a shot. Thirty seconds is a long time to sustain snake wounds, but I did learn a thing or two. They respond to power, and the way to show your power is to hiss louder and longer than they can. I convinced them that I was a snake queen and you were my slave. It really is amazing what one can accomplish with the flick of a tongue.”
“Slave, huh?” I asked. “Was that part really necessary?”
“Perhaps not,” she said. “But it was fun.”
The feeling of snakes against my skin took a long time to wear off. Even though the forest’s strange infestation kept its distance from us, the snakes continued to follow. Maybe they wanted an audience with their queen. Or maybe we were headed toward their source.
We kept an eye out as we traveled, just in case any other creatures wanted to ambush us. Before long, we heard humming. It took some extra care to creep toward that melody without making much noise, but then we saw her. A woman, covered from head to toe in snakes.
+10
“Don’t move!” I said to the woman. Nonetheless, she continued to move. She rolled her hips in slow gyration while she waved outstretched arms at her sides. Her bare arms were the only part of her not crawling with snakes.
Each time one of the creatures started to slither away, her fingers flicked toward it and the snake would climb back up her leg. It was mystifying.
I took a step closer. It would be easy to run, and the gods knew that’s what I wanted to do, but I felt guilty not at least trying to help.
Then the woman stopped dancing. The snakes fell to the ground and dispersed, sliding under bushes and up trees. In a matter of seconds they had all hidden themselves from view.
“I thought I heard someone,” she said. “But mostly when I think that I’m wrong. I’m Mamba.”
“I’m Arden, and this is Cindra,” I said. “Why were those snakes attacking you?”
“What snakes?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” I said. “You were just covered in snakes.”
“Yes, but those weren’t attacking me. We were dancing. I’m a snake charmer, they wouldn’t hurt me.”
Now that she wasn’t covered in snakes, the woman before us was visible. Very visible. As in, almost not wearing clothing. A small piece of cloth wrapped around her small, firm breasts. Her flat stomach was completely exposed, with a short wrap tied across her hip where a skirt should be. Where the wrap tied into a knot at one side, her leg was bare all the way up to her hip.
Long black hair fell in waves down her back, with two pointy ears poking through. Her skin was reddish brown, and her eyes the color of dark chocolate.
“So those snakes were what, your pets?” I asked.
“I summoned them from the earth to come dance with me,” she said. “The problem is, I always summon more than I can charm, so they eventually try to slide away into the forest.”