EXPEDITION: An Unmatched Fanfiction

Chapter Sixteen: Hiss And Slither

Sinbad, Little Red, and the Huntsman left the dead bodies of the harpies to rot on the forest floor, their matter soon to become a part of nature itself. Indeed, their deaths would create more life than their living selves ever did.

Sinbad was rattled. His mind was disconcerted, many times over the turmoil he felt after seeing Robin's calcified outlaw. Witnessing the stone statue, he could at least convince himself that it was some coincidence, one whose direct source he would not have to face. Now that they were attacked by the harpies--who invoked Medusa's name--he knew they were in danger of facing an evil far greater than he had ever encountered before.

"Huntsman," Little Red said, breaking the dreadful silence of the trio's trekking, "tell me more about Medusa."

"What do you want to know?" the Huntsman questioned, not giving her a glance as he busied himself with cutting an intrusive brush.

"Um...are we going to see her?"

"I don't know. I hope not."

"Well," Sinbad jumped in, "if we are to come across this creature, which seems like a greater possibility the further we traverse these woods, it would be in our best interest to all know what we might face."

The Huntsman sighed, a twinge of annoyance hidden in his breath. "The myths say she is a Gorgon."

"What's a Gorgon?" Little Red asked.

"She can turn you to stone with one look," the Huntsman continued, skimming over Little Red's question. "Even when she's dead, her eyes still hold power."

"So she could be dead?" Little Red said.

"Unlikely. Those harpies said different."

"Well, we've got to find her and take her out!"

The Huntsman chuckled darkly. "We couldn't kill her. Especially not you."

Little Red's face contorted, taking offense to the Huntsman's words. "What does that mean?"

The Huntsman cut another tree branch with one nimble chop. "You don't have the battle skills. You fight immaturely, your age shows too much." A gelid silence covered the heroes. Little Red's cheeks flared with a deep maroon hue, and she stared sheepishly at the forest floor. Sinbad clenched his jaw. He looked down at Little Red, and though she knew he was eyeing her, she refused to meet his gaze. After what felt like an hour of silence, the Huntsman finally spoke again. "You know I need to protect you. I'm looking out for your safety."

With that, he turned and kept walking, continuing their exhausting journey. Little Red, head hung low, followed, swinging her daggers with less passion when coming across troublesome shrubbery than before. Sinbad had the urge to comfort her, but he knew there was nothing he could do now, so he followed the pack.

The trio continued on their way, plodding through the ceaseless flow of foliage. Sinbad's arms grew weary with each leaf and branch he had to slice away from the path. Never before had he been so disgusted by the attributes of nature. He was stuck in many deserted areas before, places where only the landscape of the earth surrounded him with no safety in sight. However, none of his previous voyages were as mentally taxing as this. Seeing the same few variety of plants over and over, repeating the same patterns everywhere he looked. For all he knew, they could have been travelling in circles and he would not be able to tell the difference. They were trapped in some sort of organic labyrinth.

He pondered back on Doctor Strange, the man who sent him through the portal which landed him here in the first place. He thought he was a trustworthy figure at first, since he saved him from the attack at sea. Now, he wondered if the supposed doctor's intentions were as noble as they appeared. He pontificated on this theory before when his ship first crashed in the forest by Doctor Strange's portal, but now that he was seemingly trapped out here for an interminable length of time, evidence towards Strange's antagonism was growing. On the other side of the coin, Sinbad thought that maybe this was, in fact, some sort of protection. If whatever attacked him on the sea had powers to find him—which he would not doubt due to how powerful the flying vessel was—it is possible that Doctor Strange threw him in this remote location to protect him. At this point, though, he perceived it to be more of a curse than a blessing.