Garden of the Hungry

The ring of the bell

The wind had ceased, but a curtain of dust took the scene up to where the eyes could reach and made him cough. Around him, figures wandered over the rubble and stumbled in an attempt to move away from the central courtyard.

"Where is the Great Bird? We were abandoned!" Lamentations echoed in different voices.

Lizard opened and closed his hands, feeling a nuisance on his fingers.

"Are you okay, stranger?" Approached the Akhilonian who prevented him from being swallowed by the rift.

"I'm in one piece," Lizard replied and immediately removed the mask. He could already feel the effects of its prolonged use: the muscles contracting, the reasoning ability dissipating, the anger igniting in his core. "Still whole. But... why did you help me, sir?"

"Why wouldn't I help you?"

"I'm just an outsider." He brushed the dust over his clothes. "A stranger in your land."

"A new face will always be a mystery. It could mean a knife in the throat, as well as an outstretched hand to save you from death," the man said, his face stark.

"Wow!" The brute grinned as he rarely did. "Lesson learned!"

They shook hands, though Lizard did not seem to be comfortable with that sort of kindness.

"I have to look for my wife and friends," the inhabitant pointed north. "I hope you find yours!" And he set out among the wreckage with quick strides.

Exhausted, Lizard walked across the courtyard in search of Luka, Bendes, and Amiel.

The pyramid became a huge and desolate grave. Almost the entire population had left the Nest, denying some individuals who perished or were injured in the incident. The fear of the blood spell was absolute. Children abandoned their parents, husbands abandoned their wives, and loved ones ignored powerful fraternal bonds.

The delectable odor of the tragedy was noticeable, and that made Lizard put the mask back on his head to protect himself.

The remaining guards, with their faces covered, smeared the dead with black oil and set them on fire. Some were still alive as they were consumed by the flames and their screams could not go unnoticed.

"May the Great Bird forgive us!" A lancer cried.

Great Bird? A dead bird concedes no mercy, the reflection almost leaped through Lizard's mouth, but he preferred to keep it in his thoughts.

He walked sullenly between charred and unrecognizable bodies. "Some of these children may be Luka," he said with some anguish. He identified Bendes in the distance, wearing his exotic insect mask and carrying a body in his arms.

"Spider!" Shouted the big man, exuding relief.

Immediately, the black man walked toward his friend, bringing with him a weakened Luka. The girl seemed to have no blood on her body. Her skin was pale and dry as the leather of the decomposed animals that they rarely saw on the roads. The blond in her hair was silvery and her blue eyes were set in dark circles. There were two seeds of melinone in her nasal cavities, shielding her from the odor.

"Luka had disappeared since a creature crossed the wall of our bedroom," Bendes began, "and only reappeared later, in this deplorable state, carrying my mask and the key to the dungeon where I was imprisoned."

"Dungeon?" Lizard looked surprised. "What happened?"

"Long story, my friend," he shrugged. "But it must not be as long as yours, for there is a gap between Amiel going to look for you in the Murmuring Forest, Kael Onin's disappearance, and the unexplained destruction of a portion of the pyramid!" He swept the place with his eyes. "Hey! Where is Black Bird?"