Servitude: The Hydrangea Chapters

Chp 7: The Showdown in the Dunes - Part 1

Marlina decides to explore a little more, still avoiding the outdoors, and finds another tunnel-like entrance leading to an underground chamber. Noticing the dim, greenish light glowing in the distance, she cautiously descends. 

Unlike the infirmary, this larger room is more circular in shape. Marlina discovers what appear to be training mannequins made from chopped palm wood and cacti placed almost randomly throughout the space. Some mannequins are riddled with deep slashes and crossbow bolts, some seeming to be newly created replacements for those that have sustained too much damage. There is also an area equipped with tools for maintaining and sharpening weapons. 

Several doors line the circular edges, and she peeks into one. The room is dark and empty, with no furniture, and quite spacious. In another room, there are many stacks of supply crates with narrow passageways between them. Looking at the ground near the doors, where the stone appears more worn from foot traffic, she approaches one of those doors and looks inside. 

This room is illuminated by lanterns filled with glowing stones, indicating that someone lives there. With two hammocks secured at opposite corners, it felt as if the space is split in half. One side features various drawings of landscapes posted on the wall and clothing scattered about, while the other side displays numerous sewing and leatherworking projects. Perhaps this is where the warriors stayed and trained. Of the three individuals Marlina speculates are the outpost's security, this is most likely the room where the 'twins' lived. Not wanting to invade anyone's privacy, she leaves through the tunnel.

As the rich orange hues began to cast across the walls, the sunset approached, reminding her of Mordecai's proposal. Despite her fear of just one of those beasts, she disliked the idea of making things difficult for her rescuers by remaining in the outpost and putting their home at risk. Retracing her steps back to the infirmary and then along the path she and Elek had taken from the gate, she found Mordecai with a sled and a lizard steed being harnessed to it, a large crossbow slung across his back. Hearing the sound of her metal footsteps and catching the scent of hekoska blood, Mordecai looked at her and nodded in respect. 

"I'm glad to see you here. And don't worry, I'll smooth things over with Aurea and Elek afterward." There is something a bit different about his sled than the one she had seen before: armored with metal plates and had a narrow shape. He had a dome-like wooden cage he fastened to the sled with rope, likely where he intended for her to stay protected while he drove. Lifting it enough for her to crawl inside, he then secures it. "The scent on you is going to attract the scouts to us. And with some luck, if enough are taken down, they'll tell the hunters to back off."

Marlina glances around but doesn't see anyone else nearby. "Are... we doing this by ourselves?"

Mordecai pats the cage reassuringly and steps onto the driver's perch of the sled, shaking his head. "We all have our duty when it comes to defending this place; I'm just one for the front lines." Letting out a loud whistle to the lizard, it takes off forward, causing Marlina to tumble backward, not expecting to propel forward so suddenly. Right through the front gate and onto the sands, Mordecai leads them between the spires and out toward the wastes. He pulls the reins to bring them to a stop several yards away from the ring of spires that mark the perimeter. With his stance steady and gaze fixed on the sand in the distance, Marlina looked up to see seven spikes of stone soaring high across the sky before diving toward the ground farther out in the wastes. "Seven to start, huh? Smaller than usual."

As the lizard took off again, it seemed Mordecai was chasing the spires, making Marlina more anxious as they descended closer to the ground. When they were near the ground, Marlina covered her eyes with her forearms, unable to bear watching them collide as they landed. As the stones sink into the sand, large shifting mounds retreat from the spikes, with several hekoska, significantly smaller than the one Marlina had encountered before, leaping from the ground and letting out their roars. One jumps toward Mordecai with its maw wide open; he draws his scimitar and slices through half of the creature's jaw, its blood splattering over him and Marlina as it roared and lands on the sand.

Marlina looks up from her arms at the roar, shocked at how much smaller this one was. This one was about the size of a human, and its jaws were only large enough to swallow a person's limb. When it tries to dig back underground, a thin spike of ice pierces through it, rendering it motionless. Marlina turns to see where the ice had come from and notices Aurea at the outpost, standing atop a towering pillar of ice that enabled her to attack from above the outpost walls. From her vantage point, Aurea had formed the column using water from the fountain in the square. Marlina also spots Tessa and Elek on a high balcony of the central building of the outpost. From Marlina's distance, she could only discern Elek pointing in various directions towards the horde of hekoska and a stone wall in front of Tessa from which the soaring spires were forming.

With each stone spire launched under Elek's guidance, more hekoska leap from the dunes, which Mordecai slices through while Aurea delivers the finishing blow. Mordecai maneuvered the sled in circles, keeping the horde chasing him and Marlina, drawn by the scent of blood. As long as Mordecai maintained his course, the others could predict where he would be, ensuring they wouldn't accidentally strike them with the stones and ice. How the others can pinpoint the beasts hidden beneath the sand wasn't clear. Perhaps they could see them from a higher vantage point than she and Mordecai could. Although Marlina struggles to keep track of all the chaos and Mordecai's quick, erratic movements with the sled, he remains aware of every hekoska slain. By his count, seven had fallen. Looking back toward the direction the hekoska came from, both notice larger mounts shifting beneath the sand, heading straight for them. "Time to back up a little."