Hunter Or Huntress

'No no, can't have it like that. It winches upwards, like a reverse drawbridge or the gunport on an old sailing ship,' Tom's sleeping mind thought to itself as the human drifted through the night's sleep, body aching with every movement as he shifted under the covers. He was sore from the day's exertions and minor accidents. His mind's eye was busy with imagining just how to make the outer door of his wooden LEGO keep come to life. Hidden shafts and sprockets, thin line to connect to the pulleys.

'No no it doesn't slide either. It opens up and out… no… No I said up and out it isn't a supermarket, it isn't a sliding do-... oh.'

A brief moment of lucidity washed over him as he felt the chill, fingers and feet stiffening in a moment. The tip of his tail grew numb as he huddled for warmth inside the thick winter coat, nothing but a thin strip exposed to the elements for him to see through into the raging arctic wind. His only respite was the warm gentle glow of the waterskins pressed against his sides.

Then he winced at the metallic shriek of cold steel on steel. The bearings had long since frozen solid, but the door still slid open. Joelina gazed up for just long enough to grasp the size of the structure before them. It was a castle, wrought from ice-cold steel. Ashen gray and inhospitable as the depths of the Bering Sea.

They all stood for a moment staring in awe. Save Harvik, who strode forward with purpose and excitement, sparing them but a hurried glance. "What are you waiting for! You will not last long in the wind."

They shook themselves from their stupor and followed the deranged inquisitor. Joelina, the two other cadets, Harvik's personal retainers, and, of course, Glazz.

The imposing woman stood right behind Joelina, like a mother dragon over an egg. Or perhaps someone not wanted in the nest. Joelina was still in doubt.

Quickly their steps turned to a jog, then to a run as they hurried for the shelter cold steel could provide. Passing over the threshold the howling wind finally subsided, and with purpose Harvik threw a lever. The cadets turned as one to watch as with a hiss of steam exhausted from the cylinders the doors slid shut behind them. With it came pitch darkness, until Glazz lit a lantern, soon followed by Harvik. Then more of his entourage. Glazz thrust the source of golden light into the hands of one of the other cadets without saying a word.

They were all frozen, gazing around, lights wandering over the walls of this strange place. They were covered in pipework, valves, and fittings, with the odd gauge or control box. The whole castle was like a machine. A wonder beyond compare even to Joelina's meager knowledge. And it was working. Even in the far flung frigid north, the castle was alive. There had been no magic to open the door, it had simply done as ordered by an inquisitor who clearly knew where they were.

"Have you had enough gawking? Or shall I let you revel a while longer?" Harvik questioned with evident amusement. He was giddy, like a child almost. Though Joelina feared his jubilation might not be a good omen for the rest of them. Least of all her.

'What is this place? Why did he bring us here? Why did he bring me here? He wants me to see something, to be here, but why?'

That was all she could think as the aging inquisitor let the moment linger a little longer. "There, no longer. We must hurry. Follow me and stay close. There are more corridors than I care to count, you will not survive being lost in here."

They all nodded, some to him and some to themselves, but they set off, Harvik leading them through the maze. Glazz remained in the rear to keep them in line.

Joelina made no effort to avert her eyes. With every meter of corridor they traveled, more machinery emerged. Things she had no idea what might even be, although some things Tom recognized as he watched it all unfold. Pumps, regulators, pressure gauges… Whatever this was, it ran on steam, gauges still reading even with ice clinging to the pipes, not a sign of insulation to be seen.

'Cold steam, very cold. Just like Edita talked about. Water and frostpowder can make this work?... I am gonna have to start playing with that stuff as soon as I get the chance.'

Joelina soon lost track of where they were, or how far they had gone. It was no warmer inside the ancient structure, or who was to say? It might only have been here for years, or decades. The insides were fastidiously clean. Not a stain or body in sight. Nothing broken, only covered with ice from frost.

Her feet grew colder and colder, fingers and tail tip soon going so numb she dared not try to move them.

"Sir, we- we won't make it back out, it is too cold," one of the other cadets spoke up, fear cracking their voice.

"You will if you turn back now," Harvik retorted. "Have faith or falter, your choice."

The young cadet glanced back the way they came, shining his lantern down the foreboding hallway. He had no chance to find his way back out. He knew it. His step faltered for a moment and he stopped, staring into the darkness.

Glazz saw to it that he kept moving with a harsh shove to the shoulder that had him stumbling before he regained his balance and carried on walking. There would be no stopping.

They kept walking for what felt like an eternity, the dark gray corridors all the same, but they went through rooms and sanctums lit by nothing save their dim lanterns. Joelina's half frozen mind could discern nothing. Tom noted crew quarters, hammocks and bunks for sleeping, a mess hall for eating. Lockers and storage rooms. One smaller room they passed through held what must be some sort of mechanical computer, larger than a pool table and with many stations around it for operators.

Harvik spared a moment to run a wrapped hand across its surface of glass and polished brass, since faded. But they carried on. With darkness creeping into the corners of her vision and feet dragging on the floor finally she felt something. A breath of warmth through the slit her poor eyes peeked through.

It was far from true warmth, but it was something. It wasn't the biting cold she had come to know, her only respite being the fires of the machine which had brought them here.

"Ahr, we are getting close. Quickly, before you freeze to the floor." Harvik beckoned. For once they followed orders with enthusiasm rather than fear, as much as could be mustered in their half-frozen state.

Hurrying onwards and downwards, the warmth grew, though slowly. Far, far too slowly for Joelina's liking.

And to her horror it never rose to anything she might consider livable as they passed through a final doorway into an inner sanctum. One not wholly devoid of light.

"Behold, our destination," Harvik proclaimed like a triumphant general marching through city gates, arms spread wide as if to take in the magnitude of his achievement.

They all stopped and stared, lanterns lowering as they gazed up at the central feature of the large tall room: A massive glass cylinder with something inside.

"What in the name of the gods…" Joelina muttered as she was the first to raise her lantern again, the pathetic light doing little by the glare off the old glass.

"Above and below…" the other female cadet added as Harvik made for a control console by the side of the tank. With the flick of a switch it came to life, glowing a faint ghostly blue as he adjusted two dials and threw three switches.

A slow whine followed by mechanical clattering and whirring gears filled the room as more lights turned on, more consoles coming to life, lining the wall like well-mannered noble guards. And with a final throw of a small lever, all attention turned to the central cylinder once more as lights at the bottom illuminated what was inside, causing it to stir.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the only known doetna still twitching. That we know the whereabouts of, at least."

There was silence as they all gawked. The massive, grotesque larva-like form hung suspended in liquid, cables and wires attached all over its form. There was not an eyeball to be seen or a feature to be discerned. It more closely resembled a freshly hatched bird crossed with a worm. Only it was easily the size of a young dragon.

"T-that is. It really is…" the male cadet stammered out, taking a step back. "Why have you let it live? You have been here before, you knew it was here!"

"Because it is our duty to hoard knowledge, whelp. Now keep your terrors in check. You are a member of the Inquisition, not some tavern guard. Yes, this truly is a living doetna. Kept so by this most wonderful place. Now I have been a little rude. This is no castle as some of you have muttered. It is a ship. A ship of ancient design, not wrought by our hands, but by those dwelling beneath the sea. And I want to know how it got here, I want to know what it," he turned and pointed to the doetna for emphasis, "knows."

They all stood frozen, trying their best to cope with what they were witnessing. Any cleric or Paladin would have Harvik's head in a moment for this followed by a suicidal charge to end the great corruptor for good. A living doetna was a threat so great entire islands had been abandoned out of fear that one was near. Nothing stood in their path, not armies or cities. The gods themselves were known to struggle in taming such monsters, and supposedly some of the darker ones had met their final fates at the hand of such creatures.

"Y-you cannot be serious, we must destroy it. At once. It is our dut-" Glazz silenced the young cadet with a strike to the back of the head, a metallic thunk sending him into a heap upon the floor.

"Insubordination is not tolerated in the Inquisition. But this time I must sadly appeal to your senses. This creature knows every dark secret our enemy has ever hidden. Uncovering its knowledge is more important than any of us could ever be. Now, Glazz, show him to his station. And Joelina, come here."

Tom could feel the fear running through her. She knew what Harvik meant to ask of her, what he wanted to do. It was impossible. She knew it. She also knew he would not take no for an answer, and she knew he told the truth. There was no telling what a creature like this might know, but surely even making the attempt would be the death of her.

Without her willing it, she stepped forward. The rigors of discipline carrying her step, mindless and aimless she walked to the inquisitor's side as he turned away to behold the cursed creature spawned from the depths of hell.

"I trust you have deduced what I want of you, yes? Why I have brought you here?"

"Yes sir, I believe I have," she replied, hollowly. "But I cannot see how I could ever succeed."

"You will succeed because you must. It is your duty, your very purpose in life. It is why you were given your gifts." he went, in an almost caring tone. It fit him as well as a jester's hood might. There was no weight behind a single word he said, but she simply nodded. It was an order, and she would comply or die trying. Thus were the expectations in the Inquisition.

She simply nodded dumbly, mind still racing to catch up with it all.

"Very good, now. The creature sleeps, it has for gods know how long. You shall probe its unconscious mind. And we shall pray the cold and the starvation is enough to keep it from waking. It is weak, weaker than any doetna has likely ever been. But you know the risks."

"You want me to battle a god of evil and expect me to be able to speak once we are finished," she stated dumbly, the absurdity of his plan still struggling to set in.

"That I do. If you fail, I shall find another. If it wakes, then this was all for naught."

"You are toying with the fate of our entire people sir. What if it wakes fully? What if it learns instead?"

"It has been stuck here for an eternity; if it could ever leave, it would have done so long ago," he reassured her. His words rang hollow as Joelina stared at the monster and for all the world, it felt like it was staring back.

"But rest assured, it is not a request. It is very much an order, Hashaw. And good soldiers follow orders."

"That may be so, but how? I cannot just put my palm against the glass," Joelina questioned, still standing in a daze.

"Simple. You just need this. It took many an attempt, but I had this specially developed for you," the inquisitor replied, voice dripping with smug, almost gleeful satisfaction as he produced a small plump bottle containing a clear blue liquid. "It shall allow you to breathe underwater, or so I am told."

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"The testing was quite gruesome," Glazz added with all the emotion of a fortress wall. "But it does work now."

"You want me to go in there?" Joelina questioned dumbly, glancing from the inquisitor to the tank in question.

"I do, there is no other way," the inquisitor clarified in a manner which did not make Tom think he found that especially tragic. "And you will do it."

There was silence for a while as Joelina stared at the monster. It was near enough certain death. If she disobeyed, it was absolutely certain death. Harvik would never let anyone walk out of here who did not keep his secret. If anyone found out he would most likely be branded a traitor… and Joelina had best brand herself a loyal subject, at the very least for now to avoid his wrath.

She took a breath and nodded. "Of course, sir, it must be done."

"That it must. I would recommend leaving that here or you shall freeze before we make it back out, should you succeed," he remarked, gesturing at her as a whole.

Joelina nodded obediently and set about doffing her clothes, piece by piece as Glazz brought out a length of fine rope from under her pack. "Glazz shall be responsible for pulling you back out when you are done. Best of luck, Hashaw."

With that he went to instruct the other two cadets on their parts to play. Joelina paid them no mind as Glazz tied the rope fast. This was what they had been trained for. She would show no fear. Fear was the mind killer. She would dominate, her will unyielding and unbreakable.

Not a thought of home or of family passed through her mind. Only the task, the risks, and guesses at the rewards.

'This could lead to the end of darklings as we know it. The doetna made them; it is worth it to try,' she went to herself, repeating the last part again and again as she ascended the ladder to the top of the tank. Her heart pounded in her chest as she tried to focus. "It is worth it to try… It is worth it to try."

With a hiss of icy steam, the lid swung open, revealing the awful pool below. Glazz stepped up beside her, holding out not one but two glass vials. The potion, with its vivid blue, and a smaller tube of white powder.

"Good luck cadet, may the strength of the land be with you."

Joelina could only guess as to what the powder might be, but if she was to have any hope of success she hoped she was right to think it was the powdered horn of a unicorn. The most potent of magical boosters one could find.

And perhaps just enough to save her soul from the ravages it was to endure. Doetna were the darkest of creatures, and the horn would not only give her strength but it would also ward her from the tentacles of corruption. Or so she hoped.

Tilting her head back, she emptied the powder vial down her gullet and swallowed once, chasing with the foul-tasting potion. She felt her heart quicken as the feeling of cold and fatigue vanished from her body. She felt strong... no, she felt invincible as she took a step forward and plunged.

She braced for the icy embrace of hell, but she got a warm, thick, sticky liquid. A feeling that would make any dragonette or even mighty dragon panic. Her limbs struggled to move, her wings stiff as if set in stone, but soon she felt her feet on the bottom of the tank and her eyes shot open.

The monster was Right there, wretched blistered skin in arm's reach. She had no idea if it was the head or the tail, but she had a task to do. With unflinching stillness of mind she extended her hand and sank it into the soft squishy creature, its fat and thin skin flowing between her fingers as she closed her eyes once more and willed it to reveal its secrets.

"Show. Me. Everything."

"About time someone came for me."

And Tom's world flashed white.

---

Tom had woken with a start, shooting up straight on the roll out camping mattress he was using to sleep down in the kitchens, Rachuck snoring reassuringly off in a dark corner somewhere. Elsara was presumably sleeping alongside Nik unless she had decided on some midnight spelunking.

As he sat, the memories of the dream started to materialize again and his pulse slowly came down once more. It hadn't been someone rustling around that had woken him. It was the flash of pain at the end.

"It is a ship, they were on a ship. In the far off frozen north," Tom muttered to himself, getting out his phone and starting to type away on a note. He could store it properly some time later.

'Cold steam powered, somehow still functioning, ancient, possibly powered by the creature.'

"Doetna, that was a doetna. The creature they were so hysterical about, even out here… That cannot be good, no way."

Tom wrote down 'powered by root of all evil' and moved to the next line.

'Big glass tank, filled with some sort of gooey liquid. Looked like a bio lab from a movie or something. Creature definitely hooked into the machinery somehow. Gods know how that's all working. Designs looked very advanced, at least on par with the stuff from the vault below. Consoles looked to have some sort of very, very early computing. Might be the thinking machines Edita talked about… I wonder if they were fully mechanical or electromechanical… or it might be magic circuitry of course, who's to say at the end of the day?'

As he tapped away, staring into the small screen, he couldn't help but feel cheated. He needed to know what happened, what the final result was, not just the preamble. And he needed to know it before spring came. It could very much decide if Joelina was someone they wanted to work with.

'What if she is a traitor? How do you even accuse an inquisitor of heresy? The bullet to the head works, but that's not gonna send the best of messages. And Glazz is in on whatever it is too. I wonder if Harvik is still kicking around? He looked quite old, and Judging by Joelina's age-ish this was decades ago…'

"Wait." Tom stopped his ramblings for a moment as he took time to think. "She wants to go back there, or send someone back there. This is what she wants Nik and Elsara for. That can't be good… should I tell them?"

"Tell them what?" the not particularly sleepy voice of Rachuck questioned from the darkness.

"Oh uuuuhm."

"I heard your mumblings Tom… Did you have a vision?"

"I uhm… Yeah, I did," Tom admitted, not sure he wanted to share what he had learned with the captain. He very much doubted Rachuck would be pleased to learn that their patron had been inside a tank of goo with what could more or less equate to Beelzebub.

"I take it you do not have good news."

"It could be worse, but… I still haven't gotten everything, I just keep waking up."

"And for that you should be thankful…"

Tom sat and stared into the dark for a little while as silence reigned.

"Anything you wish to share?" the captain questioned. He wasn't being harsh, or making a demand, just a simple polite question. Though Tom knew full well he definitely wanted to know if he could.

"They… found a ship, the fortress castle, whatever. Wasn't actually a castle at all. It was a massive ship. And I do mean massive. I don't know how long they walked the halls, time gets a little weird, but must have been nearly an hour. It was through a bunch of winding corridors though, so I don't know how big, just that it was big."

"I see… And was it still working?"

"In a sense I think so, yeah. Though I cannot fathom why or how. It should have corroded centuries ago. I guess the cold does help in some aspects, but even so. It doesn't make any sense."

"There I can be little help to you," the captain replied with a sigh. "I only know that the wards which guard the runes and magics of our items are known to preserve the item themselves. For a time at least."

"I mean… I guess that could help. But there was no way that entire thing was enchanted. Impossible. Didn't see many runes either," Tom dismissed, feeling fairly confident in his assessment, though it did not solve the mystery of just how the ship had survived. 'Though it certainly did have a power source which could keep such enchants working if they really are that magically potent. Who knows… Maybe it could be true…'

"I see," The captain finally replied after Tom had sat quietly, thinking for a bit.

"Well let us hope that you get your conclusion soon then. It would be nice to know just who we are dealing with. Though I must emphasize, please keep any private matters to yourself Tom. In the name of her dignity."

"Oh uhm. Yeah I will, don't you worry."

---

The following day Tom decided to try and busy his mind with something other than an incomplete puzzle to which he would not be gaining the final piece for gods knew how long. Worryingly it did seem that the more stressed or otherwise messed up he was the greater the chance of a vision happening. He was still sore all over from his time playing human hotwheels snow edition. In all it had been an exhausting but excellent day. Now he had to take to busy projects like usual to keep his mind at peace.

Luckily there was plenty to do. And today he had decided to start tackling the Christmas feast. It wouldn't be particularly Christmasy, it must be said. Instead he was going to spend the day attempting to make something he missed very much: Pasta.

His labours had been interrupted by the sound of claws on wood as Elsara descended the stairs with a curious look on her face. Likely eager to learn just what he was cooking up. "So uuuhm… We finished painting the red ones, and uhm… I'm sorry what the fuck's that?" she exclaimed, coming to a stop, staring at his work table, everything covered in flour and bits of egg.

"It is pasta. You dug out the chickens and they laid a few eggs, not many but enough to try this."

"You made one of those dying noises again."

"Paaaaastaaaa," Tom reiterated with a dumb smile on his face, Elsara wrinkling her snout in annoyance.

"That did not help one bit. What is it? Some sort of, I don't know, shitty glue? Ceramic? Are you making pots?" she questioned, sticking her claw into one of the doughy balls.

"No, it's food," Tom said proudly, leading Elsara to furrow her brow quite extensively.

"I doubt that."

"Oh, come now, it's just flour and eggs mostly. I'm rolling it out and cutting it into strips. I guess that would make this fettuccine." He picked up one of the finished strips which he was twisting into little nests, just like the picture in the article. It looked absolutely nothing like said picture of course, but he could dream.

Elsara stared at him for a moment before shaking her head. "You definitely need to work on the name. Also, no meat?"

"You serve it with meats and stuff. Most importantly sauce. I think I can put something together with some cheese and the sausages we have. Tomatoes are going to be a challenge this time of year. Next summer though, there shall be bolognese for all."

"Duuude, language."

"What? I'm quite sure that doesn't mean anything in draconic. It's got lip sounds and everything."

"Yeah, but if my kid sounded like that at the table, I'd slap them. No shitting at the table."

Tom had to catch a snicker at that one as he shook his head. "Come now, if it sounds like that you might need a healer rather than table manners."

"'When there is mold on the jerky, expect to suffer twice.' The life of adventure ain't all sunshine and rainbows."

"I am quite familiar, yes. But you are right, we will need to come up with some names for this stuff. Got any ideas?" Tom questioned, feeling hopeful she might have some excotic yet recognizable ideas that would make sense to a dragonette.

"What about… prison strips?"

"Huh?"

"It's got no meat, and it ain't bread. Looks like something they would serve a prisoner. But like, not at the nice prisons either. Oh, what about miner's jerky? If you close your eyes you can almost imagine something better," she carried on, gesturing towards an imaginary sky. "It doesn't even soak up the broth like bread would, so you use less of the precious meat water. Truly genius."

"Dude… not cool," Tom protested, a little let down she thought that little of his creation. It had been quite a lot of work to make after all.

"I ain't a dude, and being cool is my whole deal," Elsara retorted, standing back up straight, having finished her inspection of the pasta. "But what do you want us to do now? We're done with the painting."

"Next batch of course. They'll be blue. We don't have so many different colors to work with."

"Riiiight, sweet, more painting. Please tell me we don't have to make the paint first, right?"

"I honestly don't know. Ask Rachuck, wouldn't you? He should know. I'll be busy with dinner," Tom replied gesturing to his workspace

"We're having that for dinner?" Eslara questioned, the horror evident on her face.

"I need some test subjects. You lot will do nicely."

"Fuuuucking hell. I did not sign up for this."

"As a matter of fact you did. But relaaax. There'll be something else too, don't worry about it. But yes, this is dinner today. Fresh handmade pasta. Back home people would pay out the nose to have this for dinner I tell you."

"That's fucking depressing. You do you, I'm sure Nik will slurp up what's left over. I have to go find the most boring man alive and ask where he keeps his blood paint. Seeyah."

"He's not that bad!" Tom said in a raised voice as Elsara started to make for the door. "He's just a bit boring compared to me!"

"Sure thing, prison chef!"

"Prison chef, I'll show you who is the chef around here. I got a recipe and everything, I just need to work out what to replace milk with," Tom muttered to himself as he returned to the work. He should be able to make the pasta in advance for the big day. Perhaps he could even take advantage of the temperature and freeze it fresh rather than attempting to dry it in a barely above ambient room.

'It'll be fine I'm sure, but tonight it'll be fresh. Just gotta work out the sauce too… I could add some of the pocket soup they have to make it taste a bit more meaty'

---

"It is uhm… It smells delightful," Rachuck said in mock delight as Tom set down the bowl in front of the captain. If he was being entirely honest, it hadn't gone great. The sauce had split, the sausages burned a little, and he wasn't sure but he had probably overcooked the pasta.

"Yeah, it wasn't a runaway success, but I'm sure I'll get the kinks worked out. For now just tell me what you think."

"You need to work on your presentation," Elsara said as she poked a little at her bowl with the wrought iron fork. "It looks worse now, like gruel with strands in it."

"Well I don't have much on hand to give color. Normally you'd put some basil leaves on it or something to make it look appetizing."

"I don't think a pair of leaves is fixing it… some slices of steak though. Then you might be fooled into thinking it was just a… strange way to present steak."

"There is sausage in there actually."

"But you can't see it, it's covered in that thick grey sauce. What even is that?"

"It's a cheese sauce… It split a little. Got it too hot."

"Ahr, lovely" Elsara replied, not hiding her opinion in the slightest, which was what Tom had asked for to be fair.

"Perhaps if the sausage was added while plating? It would create a little contrast," Rachuck added far more respectfully. "Perhaps another variant of meat alongside the sausages? I think some jerky would be much improved by a rich sauce."

"Not a bad idea." Tom had to concur. The dragonettes needed far more meat that he was used to, so might as well stick it wherever it could be hidden. "I'll give that a go tomorrow."

"Damn, not even a break? Fuuuu, I'll have to ask Nik if we got rations to spare."

"Come now Elsara, we should at least taste it," Rachuck pleaded, leading by example and poking one of the fettuccine strips with his fork and pulling it clear, looking a touch confused at what to do now.

Before Tom could explain he put it in his mouth and just bit off the end, having managed at most 2 or 3 grams of pasta in the effort and the rest of the strip sorta slopped back into the bowl.

"You are supposed to twist it onto the fork, like this," Tom elected to try to demonstrate, though it was quite tricky to do with a two pronged fork as was the norm at the keep. After some struggling, he did succeed, though, and got a good mouthful.

Chewing, he tried to contemplate the flavor. The texture wasn't great, the split sauce accounting for that. The actual pasta wasn't too bad though. It was too soft; he had cooked it too much. But the base flavor was quite good, at least he thought so.

Elsara was the first one to get a proper mouthful, perhaps looking to get it over with. And as she chewed she rocked her head side to side like she was reconsidering.

When she swallowed Tom anxiously awaited the news.

"I take it back, it ain't prison food…" She took a drink of water. "There is too much cheese in it for that. And some broth too, right?"

Tom nodded. "Pocket soup since winter, you know?"

"Smart man… yeah no, if you don't fuck up the cooking the sauce tastes fine… The strands just feel like a strange porridge though."

"Yes, they are supposed to have more of a chew, give some mouth feel. I overcooked them I think."

"Right…" Eslara looked down at the plate with skepticism then much to Tom's relief, started rolling up a second forkful, as Rachuck finished chewing to deliver his verdict.

"I think the children will love it." He nodded severely like that was a high compliment. Tom took his real meaning though.

'I got some learning to do… Where is a Giuseppe when you need one?'