Cursed Odyssey

The Northeast Rert District

The stench hit me first.

Woodsmoke mixed with waste, clinging to the air like a curse. The Northeast Rert District sprawled before us—mud buildings with sagging roofs, crooked walls that looked ready to collapse at the first strong wind.

Home sweet home for my Zott brothers and sisters.

The moment Joseph stepped into their territory, everything changed.

*Click.*

Like a switch had been flipped. Every eye turned toward us. Squinting suspicion. Open hostility. Cold, calculating curiosity.

Even I felt the pressure, and I wasn't their target.

Joseph kept his usual mask of calm, but I caught the tells—hands trembling slightly, smile stretched just a fraction too wide. His eyes darted left and right, scanning faces.

Looking for something. Or someone.

Then he stopped dead.

A deep breath in. Long exhale. Something shifted in his expression—subtle, but I'd been watching him long enough to notice.

He turned toward an old Zott woman slumped against a crumbling wall. Purple horn gnarled with age, green scales patchy and dry. Her milky eyes struggled to focus as she wrestled with a tangled ball of twine.

When she noticed Joseph approaching, a soft smile curved her lips.

This might actually go well—

"Excuse me, miss. Is everything okay? Maybe I can help."

The kindness vanished from her face like smoke.

"I don't need your filthy help, outsider!" Her voice rasped like dried leaves. "Why are you here? You're a curse that should have been executed long ago! This help of yours is poison! You'll lead us all to ruin!"

She gathered spit and launched it straight at Joseph's face.

*Splat.*

The saliva dripped down his nose, bright against his pale skin. He didn't flinch. Didn't move. Just stood there with his shoulders shaking slightly.

"Just give me a second and—"

*Splat.*

Right between his eyebrows this time.

"You think you can undo our fate, you little monster? You have no idea what you've awakened!" She coughed, voice breaking into a shriek. "You're a harbinger of doom, a blight on our world! Get out and leave me be!"

Another glob of spit hit his cheek.

I watched it all unfold with detached interest. Not surprising. No life-threatening violence, so no reason to intervene. If anything, this might help my fellow Zotts blow off some steam.

But Joseph's persistence caught me off guard.

"Looking at that twine, I can see the issue. It's a simple knot—if you'd used a slip knot, you wouldn't be facing such troubles."

*Splat.* Right in his eye this time.

She cackled between coughs. "So what if I did, you little freak? Why does that matter?"

"It just—"

*Splat.*

"I said I don't need your filthy help! Monster knowledge is worthless trash! You're a curse, a stain, an abomination!" Her breathing grew labored. "I'd rather die than have you solve anything! Why are you still here? I told you to leave!"

Joseph's body language screamed defeat, but his voice stayed steady.

"You're very right, miss. It's no matter of mine. Sorry for disturbing you."

Finally. I expected him to turn away.

"But—"

She spat again. And again. Her face turned red and swollen with rage, voice breaking as she unleashed everything she had.

Joseph stood motionless through it all. A statue weathering a storm.

When she finally exhausted herself and retreated into her hut, Joseph calmly wiped his face with his sleeve.

"Let's keep going, shall we?"

No slumped shoulders. No darkened eyes. No drooping smile.

For a moment, I was speechless.

I simply nodded.

---

The scene repeated itself over and over.

Rocks pelted his frame. Sticks cracked against his legs. Mud stained his tattered shirt. His ash-white hair became a target for spiteful hands that yanked and pulled. Purple bruises bloomed across his pale skin.

"Cursed!" "Monster!" "Outsider!"

The same words, hurled endlessly.

I've seen him fight. I've seen him dodge. But not once did he raise a hand to defend himself. Not once did he even try.

Natural. This is to be expected, That's what this was. The rule of the land.

The sun sank lower as we moved through the district. Different buildings, same sentiment. Anywhere Joseph went, he'd be abused and shunned for being an outsider.

The more I think about it, the more I share their feelings.

I looked at him—battered, bruised, spit-stained—still wearing that twitchy smile and bright eyes.

He understands this sentiment too.

He probably knew he couldn't change years of rooted tradition. So why persevere? He'd be executed anyway. What was the point? Did he want the same warm welcome some humans gave him? Did he think it unfair that he only helped humans?

What does any of that matter when you're dead?

"Let's keep going, shall we?" Joseph smiled through the dirt coating his face.

I nodded again. Then he stopped suddenly.

"Hey... Mr. Guard... Do... Do you hate me too?"

My eyes widened under my helmet. A tug pulled at something deep in my chest. Of all the questions I'd expected, this wasn't one of them.

But I'd made up my mind long ago.

"Yes. Of course I do."

Joseph is nothing more than a filthy cur that should be expunged from this land. He'd be better off dead.

"I... I see... I figured." He laughed softly, taking a few steps forward to stare at the sky. "But what sin have I committed?"

Something twisted in my chest. I opened my mouth to speak, but all I could do was shake my head.

I can't understand him. Yet I can't ignore his existence.

The more he continued, the more I felt my mind slipping, wavering like leaves in heavy wind.

And it was then—

Suddenly—

That it happened…

The air shifted. My senses vanished. I'd never felt anything like it—as if I'd simply forgotten to blink.

No footsteps. No wind. Nothing.

Until I saw the blade.

It plunged through Joseph's back, straight and true, punching out through his chest. A cackling Zott gripped the handle.

"DIE! DIEEEE DIEEEEE! You filthy outsider!"

The attacker's face twisted with pure hatred. Wide eyes, bared teeth, red skin contorted with rage. He didn't look human anymore.

Animal.

My sword flew to my hands on pure instinct. Before conscious thought could catch up, my blade had already swung.

The Zott's arm separated from his body in a spray of blood.

The knife clattered to the ground. Joseph's limp body began to fall.

Blood sprayed across the dirt. Joseph's face crumpled as he gagged red, eyes rolling white and lifeless.

"AHHHHHH—MY ARM! MY ARM!" The Zott writhed on the ground.

My fist tightened around my bloodied sword. Heart hammering. Hands quivering.

What do I do?

I yanked the knife from Joseph's chest without thinking. Blood sprayed like a broken fountain. His breathing became sporadic, desperate.

This time it's real. This time he's going to die.

But was this what I wanted? It was my mission to protect him! But—

The crowd behind me erupted.

"HOW DARE YOU! HOW DARE YOU CHOP OFF MY BROTHER'S ARM!"

"YOU SIDE WITH THE OUTSIDER? HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN EXECUTED!"

"DOES THE HUMAN LEADER THINK HIS OUTSIDER HELP WILL BRING US GOOD? THAT TRAITOR!"

"HE WAS DOING US ALL A FAVOR! DEATH TO THE OUTSIDER!"

Nearly incoherent screams, but I understood every word.

My mind raced. Heart pounded. I'd made my choice—I couldn't let him die. Not now.

"It's not my decision," I tried to keep my voice low, but their yelling drowned me out. "We need them healthy... They'll be sacrificed to ancient Lagos soon, so why worry? Killing them now would forsake us all!"

Their vitriol didn't end. Rocks flew at me. Hands pushed and shoved, trying to reach Joseph behind me.

I stood my ground.

My fist tightened around my sword hilt.

"ENOUGH OF THIS!"

My voice echoed across the district as I unsheathed my blade.

But it didn't stop them. Their hatred only intensified.

"He.. HE PULLED OUT HIS WEAPON AGAINST US!!"

"Traitor charmed by the devil!! Attacking his own people!?"

"DEATH TO THE TRAITOR!!!"

I realized then—nothing I could say or do would change their minds.

This is what Joseph must have felt. No... a mere fraction...

They weren't people anymore. They were ravenous beasts desperate for blood. And like any beast, their actions were unpredictable, irrational, driven by pure instinct.

Why can't they think? They knew he'd be sacrificed, yet they did this anyway. Where was the common sense?

Joseph had done nothing to provoke them. He'd tried to help at every turn. They'd seen his assistance work, heard how it improved human farming and crafting. Some were even jealous of the results.

What sin had he committed? The sin of existing?

My heart felt like it was tearing apart. I looked down at the dying boy on the ground, teeth clenched.

That was the last coherent thought I had before everything changed.

A voice rumbled through the air—so deep it seemed to emanate from the earth itself.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

A figure emerged from the crowd. Short frame casting a long shadow over us all.

Yrrell. The Zott leader. His eyes burned with fury I'd never witnessed before.

The crowd transformed instantly. Ravenous beasts became timid lambs. Faces went pale. Breathing stilled. Everyone froze as if time itself had stopped.

"Sir! We did nothing wrong! We—"

"SHUT IT!" Yrrell's voice sliced through the silence like a blade. "I've already been informed of everything! How dare you attempt to kill the boy? Do you want to forsake our village to Lagos?"

His voice carried a dangerous edge—cold, commanding, heavy with disdain. The way he looked at his fellow Zotts suggested he despised every one of them.

"You!" He pointed at me. "Leave and find him help! I pray to the ancestors he yet lives!"

For a fleeting moment, genuine concern flickered in his eyes before hardening again.

I didn't need to be told twice. Drawing a deep breath, I leaped into the air, clearing the crowd with Joseph clasped tightly in my arms.

"You have to live... Joseph," I muttered as we soared.

Behind us, Yrrell's voice boomed across the square.

"I'm disappointed in all of you! You give us Zotts a bad name. I don't expect you to respect or seek advice from that cum stain like those humans do, but at least have the rationality not to kill him!" He glared at the one-armed attacker being carried away by his sister. "You all make me sick."

Shame painted their faces. Heavy silence descended—nearly unbearable in its tension.

Finally, one voice broke the stillness.

"It's... it's just our beliefs. We understand, but we know what must be done. How could they be let free to roam in the first place? It's blasphemous... Lock them away somewhere far. How could anyone expect us to keep calm... to just sit by and do nothing? Would the ancestors truly approve?"

The speaker's voice trembled, courage clearly faltering.

Yrrell sighed deeply—a sound heavy with exasperation. He turned away, brow furrowing in thought.

"I understand," he said softly, catching them by surprise. The contrast to his earlier tone hung in the air like a blade.

"Trust me, I understand... and I agree. It was all Adrian's idea to let them roam free. I opposed it, but ended up agreeing, thinking they'd be forced to stay inside after all the abuse. Never could I have predicted some humans would take a liking to him... nor the wealth of information he possessed to fool and charm the masses."

Pain flickered in his eyes. "Don't worry. I'll speak to Adrian about this tonight. I pray he hasn't fallen under that devil's charm either. This cannot stand."