Ruben had shed first his coat and then his long tunic. In only a thin white shirt now, he picked his way through choking vegetation—supposedly a path—on into deeper jungle. The grasping branches and vines kept snagging his long hair, bound back though it was, and sweat poured down his back from the humid heat. Somewhere around two hours into the trek he'd lost even the will to complain.
They emerged beside a swift stream and a break in the relentless foliage. He called a halt here, their fourth, and his porters could shoot him all the disdainful looks they pleased. They traipsed through this forsaken heat every day. He was not built for this and he'd take as long as he needed getting to their destination.
His pack hit the ground and he slumped against a tree to catch his breath, too tired even to drink yet.
Their presence did not go unnoticed.
It was a happy circumstance that Charik had been out of his palace and in the thick of the jungle that day, exploring his domain and searching for signs of the snake beast. It had not troubled his people for some weeks now, but rather than reassure him it only made Charik more nervous. This could only mean one thing: it was trying to throw him off by biding its time and making itself more unpredictable! That, or perhaps it knew that Charik was onto it and had gone into hiding, desperate to wait Charik out. Either way, time was of the essence! He had to find it before it claimed its next victim--or before it moved to a new hiding spot.
When a trail was hot, Charik often took some of his men along with him, but when the trail was cold he often went out alone, the better to be stealthy. Today was one of those "cold" days and so he was alone--or so he'd thought.
There were others in the jungle that day.
And as Charik grew closer, attracted to the sounds, it all made sense.
He'd been brought a new tribute! Oh, dear, looked like he'd spoiled his own surprise yet again! No matter, though. They looked tired, so he would relieve them of their duties early, as any good god-king should when his subjects looked weary. Now which one was it...?
Peering through the thick foliage at the group, he found her: a pale-skinned beauty with luscious black hair and exotic eyes. That was the one! It had to be!
She was his!
For a creature so large, he could move quickly when he chose, and he chose that moment to burst from the bushes, scoop her up bridal-style, and give a happy wave to her retainers. "We accept your tribute! Please, return home and rest and your village shall be blessed!"
He didn't wait for a response. He quickly slipped back into the jungle and was fast on his way.
Ruben screamed. Outright, wordless, and loud. Not a fearful scream either, but one full of anger. Caught in the arms of some...some thing, he twisted about like an enraged cat and grabbed at every branch and vine that passed before him, trying to wrench himself out of the creature's grasp.
"Let me go!!"
Charik heard shouts from the retainers, but that was nothing unusual. Shouts of joy, no doubt, for their offering being so well received!
He was used to that.
The jungle was no obstacle for Charik, who knew it all like the scales of his tail. He wound through the underbrush, powerful muscles working, and for a creature so large he was surprisingly swift and nimble--he just preferred not to be, most days.
"Calm down, fair one," he said, arms shifting to grip her more tightly as she struggled. "You'll hurt yourself. We understand you're overwhelmed and awestruck; it is only natural when first you face your god! But you'll not be harmed. Your new life will be one of luxury and decadence, as is only fitting for our harem."
Beaming down at her, he nuzzled her hair lightly. "You are blessed!"
Ruben heard the words, but didn't grasp them. They were nonsense! Gibberish! The ravings of a creature gone mad! It shifted him in its arms so that he couldn't reach the branches anymore, but then it was stupid enough to get its face within arms length. Ruben clawed for its eyes. If he could blind the thing he could get away!
She got him. Her nails scratched his cheek and nose and Charik jerked his head back with an indignant yelp.
"Please, dear one, calm yourself!" he said, face stinging where she'd gotten him and an angry red welt rising. He hoped that wouldn't leave a mark! But it was understandable, sometimes they just couldn't control their spasms, so overwhelmed were they, like shamans and prophets in the throes of a divine experience. "You'll only hurt yourself!"
Fortunately, it wasn't much farther to the temple. Slipping through the foliage, the old ruins loomed before them, covered in vines and surrounded by lush flowering plants. Charik enjoyed natural beauty, and this temple had remained this way since long before his time. Hurrying, eager to deposit his struggling maiden, he made his way down the path leading into the temple without so much as a word to his servants.
They understood this was an urgent matter!
Ruben didn't let up the whole way. He tried everything he could think of, grabbed at everything that came within reach, kicked, screamed, and clawed. The thing was just so much bigger than he was! He was in the process of trying to climb over its shoulder when they passed into the ruins of some structure. A temple or shrine from the look of it.
A glimpse of faded carvings that looked like constellations drew his eye immediately. He stilled and squinted at them as they rushed past, but they were moving too quickly for him to get a good look.
Ah, finally! She'd begun to calm down. Charik breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps the mania had finally begun to ebb.
"That's it, darling. See? It's going to be alright," he murmured as he carried her into the temple. "You'll have a new life here. A better life. What could be better than serving your god--and being pampered and loved by him in turn?"
Though the outside of the temple looked ruined and crumbling and ancient, the inside was warm and lavish. Rugs made of animal skins carpeted the floor and rich paintings decorated the walls. It was cooler inside than out, as well, though they couldn't completely escape the jungle's humidity.
Charik wasted no time in making his way through the hall and to an room that had been recently vacated by the Snake Beast's latest victim. Finally it could be filled with life again! Even though there were many servants and his harem had many members, he could still feel the absence, a void waiting to be filled.
It was a lovely room, if Charik said so himself. A jaguar pelt covered the floor, along with an assortment of large cushions for sleeping on. Whisking the woman inside the room, Charik finally set her down onto the cushions. "Welcome home, lovely."
Whatever this thing was, it wasn't hurting him at the moment, just...carrying him. Trying to fight against it was like shoving a wall, so he settled down and let it take him into a bed chamber with such garish decor Ruben nearly gagged at the sight of it all.
As soon as he was down, he picked up the nearest object—a tasseled pillow—and threw it at the creature. "Why did you take me from there?! Who are you?!"
Whap! A pillow smacked him in the head and Charik let out a scandalized gasp, reaching up to rub his head, even though it hadn't hurt. Just surprised him! He blinked in confusion at the woman, coils shifting and curling so he wasn't taking up so much space in the room, and then he put on a smile. Patience. Any benevolent god needed to have patience, understanding, and empathy, for sometimes, people did foolish things in their presence--and that wasn't their fault. How overwhelming would it be to meet a god?
Well, Charik wouldn't know, all things considered, but he tried to imagine it! Tried to imagine himself as a mere mortal meeting himself. It hurt his head a little.
Reaching up to put his hair back into order, Charik picked up the pillow and set it aside. "We're your god, dear heart. You were our offering. Our sacrifice. Ah! Don't be afraid! It's not that kind of sacrifice," he said with a laugh and a wave of his hand.
"Earthly gods have more use of living sacrifices! It's an honor, darling. You should be overjoyed!" Only those gods who had ascended to a higher plane had use for sacrifices that ended in earthly death, for how else would their mortal consorts join them? But he could understand why someone might think the two were one and the same and be afraid. But Charik's people had long since crossed to the mortal plane to reign on earth.
Or so the old legends and paintings showed.
"I am not a sacrifice!"
Bloody lunatic naga didn't have a bed or even a chair in here Ruben could stand on. He hated having to look straight up while he straightened this idiot out.
"I am no offering of any kind, and how dare you think you can just take me away from the expedition and my porters! Do you have any idea how far you may have just set me back? Any idea how long it will take me to find that route again? The only reason I'm not making you carry me right back is because you may have inadvertently done some good in your madness. Now you get back out there this instant and go find my black trunk and bring it back here. Everything I need is in that trunk and it's your fault I don't have it so you're going to go get it for me."
...Oh dear. She was so confused. It was tragic, really.
"Oh, darling," Charik said, voice soothing and sympathetic. "We understand this can be...a lot to take in. There are certain pressures and expectations and a lot of build up to this moment, and we understand that you have been viewed as a representative of your village, that you carry your peoples' honor on your shoulders, and that that can take a lot out of you! But rest assured, dear, that we are benevolent and non-judgmental, and your courage--ah, it's positively touching! To be taken from everything you know to serve a god..."
Charik pressed a hand to his chest and sighed. "Darling, it'll be okay. Everything you could positively need is here, now, and all the finest riches and pleasures shall be yours! You need only ask!"
Moving forward, he tilted his head curiously. "Now, what is it our lady desires?" he asked, reaching out to touch her cheek.
Ruben batted the naga's hand away from him.
"I want my trunk! Which you left out there when you took me!" He stabbed a finger at the door.
"Go get it."
Charik followed the lady's finger to the door, and then glanced back at her face. Well, he supposed he had said "you need only ask". That wasn't quite a request but he could still work with it, if it would make this transition more comfortable for her. Of course she might want some trinket from home!
"Of course, sweetling. We shall have it brought here posthaste!"
Sliding toward the entrance, he reached up and tugged on a rope hanging down from the ceiling, and a bell chimed loudly in response. Not long after, a servant arrived and bowed deeply to him.
"We're afraid she has left her 'big black trunk' out in the jungle and she so desperately wants it back. If you would be so kind as to retrieve it for her? We are sure she will greatly appreciate that!" Now off you go!" he said, making a shooing motion with his hand. The servant stared at him with something bordering on exasperation and disbelief--that was all he got to go off of?!--but he schooled his face into one of quiet acceptance and bowed again before taking his leave.
Finally! They were getting somewhere. Ruben yelled after the servant. "And tell the porters where I am!"
He brushed past the naga into the corridor beyond. The place seemed huge—he didn't even remember where he'd seen the constellation carving, but where there was one there might be more. He chose a direction and wandered that way, eyes on the marching array of carved stone.
Ah, yes. She was very confused, indeed. Charik gave a long-suffering sigh. It had been a long day and he was feeling the weariness of it all, for while he could be swift when he needed to be, it expended a lot of energy. Now, he wanted nothing more than to curl up beneath one of the temple's many skylights, surrounded by food and servants, and bask after a hard day's work. However! Duty came before pleasure! He needed to see that this girl was properly settled; he couldn't just leave her to her distress!
Hauling himself after her, he followed, and the rest of his long body followed after.
"Where are you going, dear?" he asked. He knew where she was headed; if she kept going straight that way and took no other turns then eventually, at the end, she'd find the pool. And that could, potentially, be a little bad before he'd gotten a chance to properly warn the naiad. "Dear? Please stop. You don't know where you're going! And we don't yet know your name!"
"Ruben," he said, not pausing and not taking his eyes off the wall carvings. He turned at random and didn't try to remember what path he'd taken. He'd get the naga to lead him around wherever he needed to go.
"There!" Ruben jerked to a halt and pointed at a cluster of carved stars halfway up the wall. No mistaking it now that he had a good look—that was most definitely a constellation. "Those! I'll need to know where the rest are. Any that look like that or similar. Where is my—oh balls, that's right. The trunk is still out there. I need parchment! And ink. Tell me you have parchment and ink here!"
"Ruben? Ah, what a beautiful name, dear!" Charik said with a smile as he followed after her, pausing when she did. She seemed a little confused and excitable and perhaps not all there, but it was good to see her taking to her new home so well, and he found himself happy that she liked the carvings. Odd thing to be so thrilled about; Charik hardly paid attention to them. But everyone had their eccentricities.
"Mm, those? Ah, yes, they're all over." Charik waved his hand absently. "They tell our story, you see. The story of the gods made flesh, the great bridge between worlds, between life and death. They tell the history of our people. Ah, but you were asking for ink! Yes, yes, we have ink."
"They illustrate the exact degree angles and transference equations. That is what is impressive. If not for that detail they'd be fairly unimpressive."
He waited for the naga to continue, then when no more words were forthcoming he put his hands on his hips. "Well? Don't just stand there staring into space. Have it brought! Don't forget the parchment."
Charik had no idea what she was babbling about, but he smiled and nodded anyway and played along with her, because whatever it was, it seemed to have excited her and if a few paintings and carvings of stars were all it took to make her happy, he would arrange to have more added to the place! It could be a lovely surprise for her! Ah, he would have to meet with an artisan at once!
He smiled. "Darling, this is your home now," he said. "The servants here are at your beck and call. However, until you grow comfortable with that, we shall arrange to have it brought to you."
Sliding a little further into the hall, he reached up and tugged a cord, jingling a bell. A servant was quick to respond, kneeling before them. "Have writing materials brought at once, dear!" he said, and she scurried off, returning some moments later with a brush, pot of ink, and a roll of some soft cloth--which was the closest thing they had to parchment.
That gave Ruben pause. "Wait. They'll all do as I say?" He made a sweeping gesture that indicated the entirety of temple servants.
"That's splendid! Much better than waiting for you to comprehend what's going on." The naga slithered onward to ring a bell. Ah! So those bells would summon the servants. Good to know.
When the girl returned, Ruben took the parchment from her and set up the ink bottle on the floor. "You only brought one sheet? I'll need at least a half dozen, and some chalk or coal as well."
That sent her scurrying back off again, and Ruben went about scribbling in a messy hand on the parchment, glancing up at the carving every few seconds.
Well, she certainly got the hang of that fast! It was so good to see her becoming more comfortable with her new home. Though...he still didn't fully understand what was going on here.
Eyebrows raised, Charik moved closer to Ruben and leaned over her shoulder to watch what she was doing. A bunch of silly scribbling, from the looks of it, but she seemed so excited and he wanted in on that!
Leaning closer still, he jabbed a finger at the parchment. "What is that? What are you doing?"
This was a remarkable find, nearly enough to make Ruben believe in the intervention of gods. If that naga hadn't grabbed him, he'd never have found these carvings!
His flow of thought veered off as the naga leaned over him and started poking at the parchment. He suppressed a sigh and shifted over out of its reach. This was going to be like having a gigantic child hovering over him.
"Don't touch it, you'll smear the ink. I'm just taking notes for now. Once I get my equipment I'll be able to take precise measurements of the angles. Why don't you grab a piece of parchment and some coal and draw or something?"
Somewhere in all this, the servant had deposited the rest of the things he'd asked for, and like a good servant they made themselves disappear after they were no longer needed.
Charik blinked and tilted his head. "But what would we draw?" Ruben shifted the parchment away, and Charik only leaned over him more to compensate--and when you were a naga and could extend your body and contort in inhuman ways, you really could hover over another person. Entirely.
Now he was bent completely over Ruben, casting shadow over his work.
"We have no need of it when others create art for us. What kinds of notes are you taking? What angles?"
Subtlety, it seemed, would serve him little here. He suppressed a sigh as the naga leaned over even further. He shouldn't be exasperated—yet—with the behavior. He hadn't exactly explained it all using suitably small words.
"Move. You're blocking my light. I don't care what you draw, just give me some space and don't lean over me anymore."
"But we want to see what you're drawing," Charik said, head tilted. "We have no need to draw, ourselves! We don't even know how to. That's servant work, darling. That's what servants are for. Tell them what you need and they shall do it!"
Reaching down, he tugged lightly on her braid. Not hard, just a playful pull to get her attention. "Whatever your life was before here, it's different now, dear. You don't have to do the stuff of commoners anymore!"
Ruben ground his words out through a clenched jaw. "I can show you when I'm done and what about you are blocking my light do you not understand?"
Yes. Now he felt justified in becoming exasperated. "I know I don't have to do this, I am doing it because I want to."
"Oh! Well perhaps you need a better light source!" Charik beamed happily, the solution clear in his mind.
He reached for Ruben and scooped her up under the arms.
"We know the perfect place for you, where you can do your drawing! It's much better than here. Here is just so dim! No, this has a massive skylight and lets in plenty of sunshine! You'll love it!"
"You thick idiot!"
Ruben dropped everything and latched onto the curve of a relief carving in the wall with both hands. He hauled on it with all his weight to try and stop the naga's progress and kicked at the thing's waist with his feet. "Put me down now!"
"Now?" Charik repeated, eyebrows raised in confusion. One of Ruben's kicks got him in the gut then, and Charik grunted and adjusted his grip on her. "Oh, silly, we're not there yet! Be patient, love. It's just right down the hall!"
He started to slither along again, but stopped, because Ruben had a good grip on that relief. With a frown, Charik shifted Ruben's weight to one arm and reached out to lightly pry at Ruben's fingers with the other. "Let go, dear. We can't very well get there if you cling to everything like a cat, silly girl!"
"I don't want to go there, I want to stay here!"
Was he speaking gibberish? Or was this thing purposefully ignoring him? Ruben struggled with every bit of strength available to him—insignificant next to the bloody naga's power—and grabbed onto every door frame and pillar and relief carving he could.
Not because he thought it would get the naga to release him but just to make as huge an annoyance of himself as possible in retaliation.
"Of course you'll stay here!" Charik laughed and tugged at Ruben to pry her hands free, then tossed her over his shoulder so she couldn't so easily grab the reliefs as he began to slither down the hall, sticking to the dead center.
"The temple is your home now, dear. We wouldn't dream of tossing you out. Hush now, love, and don't struggle so much. We're strong, and we would never drop you, but you'll injure yourself. Just relax now. We're almost there."
Ruben madee one last cursory grab at a column they passed, but his fury outstripped his stamina. He'd struggled too hard and for too long to keep it up. His temper spiked again when the naga had the gall to sling Ruben over his shoulder, but all that came of it was a clenching of teeth and swift resignation. What was the point? The naga said one thing that made sense--he was strong. Ruben would just have to wait until the fool thing set him down.
In all the howling and fighting, he'd completely forgotten where they were going. "Hurry up then. Where are we going?"
"Just down the hall, dear. There's a chamber just ahead with a pool, and a large skylight. It lets in lots of light! You'll be able to do your little drawings there much better than back in that dark hall. Really, that isn't good for your eyes."
Thankfully, Ruben had stopped all her struggling and flailing. Poor thing was going to wear herself out before they even got there! It was only a few moments more before they finally reached the place, a large, open chamber that was as Charik had described. It was brightly lit, with sunlight filtering down through the canopy above, and in the center was a large, clear pool with a stone bottom. Fresh river water entered from a hole in the temple wall, and exited through a shallow channel built into the room's floor, keeping the area cool but humid.
They were not alone, either, for there was something blue and humanoid-shaped and sized swimming beneath the surface of the pool.
Once inside, Charik deposited Ruben on the ground and beamed proudly down at him. "See? Much better!"
"Finally, gods alive!"
Ruben sprang up, dusted himself off, and grabbed the naga by the shoulders and hauled him down so Ruben could talk directly at him.
"Listen to me," he said. He narrowed his eyes at the naga. "Are you listening?"
Charik's eyes went wide as he stared at Ruben, startled and utterly perplexed by his behavior.
"We're listening," he said, blinking slowly. "We can hear you."
Ruben highly doubted that.
"You can hear me," he said. "But are you listening?"
Charik's brow crinkled. Was there a difference?
"Yes?"
The question at the end of that yes did not inspire confidence. Ruben fought down a groan and soldiered on.
"I need," he said, speaking slowly for the simpleton's benefit, "rubbings of the pictographs down that hall."
He stabbed a finger at the hall in question. "Do you understand that?"
Charik's brow crinkled. "...Why do you need to rub on them?"
Ruben was going to put the naga's head through a wall. He ground his teeth together than tried again, still speaking slowly and clearly. "No. I need drawings that are exact replications of the...the pictures on the wall."
Pictographs was probably too big a word, he realized.
"Oh," Charik said, expression turning puzzled. "Why didn't you say so?"
With a laugh (for Ruben amused him so!), he waved a hand to catch the eye of a scurrying servant and he bowed as he approached.
"The lady here would like a drawn copy of the wall carvings back that way," he said, motioning lazily down the hall. "Arrange for that to be done posthaste!"
The man rushed off, and Charik turned back to Ruben with a pleased smile. "See? All you had to do was ask."
That was...progress he supposed. And it would go faster with multiple people working on it. But how accurate would this naga's servant's be?
"I'm going to oversee the work," he said, sliding past the naga.
"What? Why?" Charik said, and grabbed Ruben's arm. "That's menial servant work. You are now in a god's harem! You no longer have to worry about such labors. You can enjoy luxury instead!"
Ruben glared at Charik's grip on his arm. The grabbing and the carrying was going to have to stop. He had a go at pulling his arm free.
"Because I don't trust them to do it right."
"Of course they'll do it right. They're the royal artists! We only have the best serving us, for only the best are fit to serve a God."
"Even so..." He'd have to find who was truly in command here. This naga had the mind of a child, it couldn't actually be him.
Ruben wrenched at his arm. "Let go of me."
Charik let him go at that, but laid a hand on his back to help guide him along down the hall. "Now then, let's get you fed and cleaned up! These clothes are atrocious. Certainly not fitting for the consort of a God."
Ruben allowed himself to be propelled along, if only because it got him going in the direction he wanted.
At least the naga's servants were swift. The question remained as to their competence.
"Later," he said, "after I have proof they're going to do this right."
Charik let out a long-suffering sigh. "Of course they'll do it right. They want to serve us to the best of their ability, for we are their god! Now, as for your clothes..."
For Charik was starting to grow bored of this subject. He wanted to see what Ruben would look like in something that suited him better than all that awful cloth!
He had guided Ruben to his own chambers, which were large and exorbitantly elaborate. Gently pushing Ruben inside, he slithered toward his wardrobe and selected a colorful sarong.
He held it out to him. "Go on, put this on. You'll sweat to death in those awful clothes!"
The second the naga turned his back to rummage through that garish wardrobe, Ruben stalked right out of the room again.
That the servants would fulfill the naga's orders to the best of their ability, he did not doubt.
He just doubted that the best of their ability was worth anything.
Charik still had his back to Ruben as he shuffled through his wardrobe, his other hand extended out behind him, so when no one took the garment, he waved it impatiently. And when Ruben still didn't take it, he frowned and looked behind him--and saw his new pet was gone.
Ugh! Couldn't she stand still for five seconds?!
"Darling!" he called, coils twisting and sliding over themselves as he turned around and slithered from the room, already feeling exhausted! This girl was simply exhausting! She ran around so much! Whereas for Charik, it took a lot of effort to get himself moving and he was already ready for one of his several daily naps!
He frowned when he caught sight of her back as she headed down the hall, and he picked up his pace with a grunt.
"Darling, wait! We found you some gorgeous new clothes!"