Crimson Coils (The Snake Men Book 2)

Chapter 11

"When I said fun, this is not what I meant."

Mari just barely glanced down at the now tiny village beneath them as Rezran scaled up the side of the cliffs around them. No sooner had the red snake broke into a grin that Mari found herself with her arms and legs wrapped around him on his back. In the blink of an eye, he was already about halfway off of the ground, and showed no signs of slowing down.

"Ease up princess, I promise I won't drop you."

Rezran peeked at her over his shoulder as he climbed, another sly grin on his face. Mari gave a pout but watched as his claws gripped onto the sides and holds of the cliffside, easing them up without any give. Glancing down again, she noticed his tail slithering back and forth from side to side as they climbed. With each movement, his scales seemed to hook onto the wall to keep him in place. When he reached up they would dig into the face and push him up slightly. It was fascinating. Or at least it would be if they weren't so high off the ground. Her grip tightened on him, not wanting to accidentally lose her grip on him. She swore she heard a chuckle from him as she did so.

After a few more minutes of climbing, they reached a platform which contained some sort of building cut into the cliff face again. He hauled both of them onto the platform, and once the entirety of his tail had also made it to the platform, he lowered himself so she could slide off of him.

Which she did, and she didn't care about his laugh when she slid off of him and onto the ground like a bowl of soup that had been turned over. She rolled onto her back looking up at the sky and taking a few breaths. Her view was blocked when Rezran leaned over her. "You okay?" he asked with a teasing grin.

She puffed out her cheeks as she gave her best glare. Then she slowly released her breath when he just grinned more, obviously holding back some laughter. "Fine." she ground out, then sat up and took in her surroundings. The building that stood in front of them was grand, even more so than the hall where the Chieftain and the Elder-Scales resided. Giant columns held the opening up, and in front of those were two large statues of a Naga man and a Naga woman; covered in battle armor and each holding a long spear at their sides. Mari stood wide-eyed as she approached them, her mouth forming an "O" shape in awe as she looked to them.

The detail was incredible, even the scales of their tails had been sculpted. She could see the individual hair on their heads, the muscles in their arms, and the tautness of the armor over their shoulders and waists. Their eyes seemed to bore into her, as if challenging her to a battle. Their gazes and stances alone were enough to make Mari feel empowered.

"What is this place?" She asked after finding her voice again and looking back at Rezran. He was slowly approaching her from behind, also seeming to admire the statues before coming up to her side. 

"It's our training grounds. Some call it the Coliseum." He explained. "New and old soldiers train here all the time. Besides that we also hold games here." He slithered in front of her, slipping between the columns towards an entryway. He glanced back at her. "Coming princess?" he called.

~/~

The inside of the Coliseum was just as grand as the outside. Rezran led Mari down a long hall, each with statues of other warriors, though these were life-size and made out of gold. In the walls around them were glass panels, and behind them on display were different weapons. Some were old, rusted, and broken; while others, though worn, were in great condition. There were swords, axes, daggers, spears, even whips that were counted among the many on display.

Seeing her look at all of these, Rezran spoke. "These were weapons that belonged to great warriors who died in battle or grew old and retired." he explained. "And the gold statues are the warriors that fell in different battles." He stopped at one statue of a male Naga who wore an impressive set of armor. Large pauldrons covered his shoulders, with chainmail that looked like dragon scales running down his arm. His chest was covered in the same heavy armor, embellished with icons of dragons and fire. 

Just looking at him made Mari feel the weight of the armor on her shoulders. He held a greatsword in his hands, brandished for battle. A large scar could be seen over his left eye, and the eye itself looked dull compared to his right. "Who is he?" she asked, finding herself curious of the story of the half-blind warrior.

Rezran smiled. "My uncle, Hessan." he said. "Or as some called him: Hessan the Cleaver." he grinned and chuckled at that. "He died when I was small to a dragon attack. But he fought in many skirmishes before that. Bandits, other Naga, dragons...it didn't matter what the trouble was. He always rose up to defend others." He looked to her, pride shining in his eyes. 

Mari smiled back. "That's amazing. You come from quite the lineage it seems." she said, looking back at the statue. When Rezran began to slither away, she followed after him. 

"Every Kraugest Naga is a descendant from some warrior or another. Battle and war are in our blood, and deep in our history. So we make it a point that everyone learns how to wield a weapon in our village." he explained. That was when the sound of fighting could be heard echoing down the hall, and Mari's stomach dropped. Now, she knew why he had brought her here.

As they walked the sounds got louder, and they soon came to an exit leading into a massive domed room. There were seats around them on every side, and stairs leading into a sort of high-walled pit with sand on the ground in it. There in the middle of it were four Naga warriors training in pairs. Mari watched as they dueled with ferocity, sparks flying off of their blades. She leaned over a railing to get a better view as they fought. I wish, she thought. I wish I could fight like them. 

Her mind flashed back to that dark day, in the tent, with that horrid man standing over her. She gulped, a feeling of ice washing over her like a wave. That is until she felt a warm comforting hand on her shoulder. 

"Are you okay?"

Rezrans eyes, filled with concern, warmed her and seemed to pull her out of that dark place. Mari let out another breath, not realizing she was holding it. "I'm okay."

And for once, those words didn't sound like a lie.