Chapter 18
The Mysteries of the Flesh
Kartzet, Kingdom of Hannibal
It was late the second day from when they departed the Pit of Athirat that they arrived in Kartzet. According to Tellus, their destination was a temple beyond the sea, which meant that they needed to seek passage at the nearest port. While it would have been faster to make for Jbeil, Tobias reasoned that that was exactly where his pursuers would expect him to go, so instead they would take the southern route toward Kartbyrsa and get a ship either there or in Zareh. None of the others had any objections, but then again, Tobias was the only one with much knowledge of the kingdom.
Kartzet was much like Nakum, a city on the crossroads with little to offer of its own. To the south were some good pasture lands and before the Mad King ordered it destroyed, the road south to Dhamnak ran through the city. Still some Dhamnak merchants would come to ply their trade, but once the city was a far more bustling merchant hub.
"We should find lodgings for the night," Tobias said, "buy provisions and then move on in the morning."
"How about a bath?" Tellus asked. "We haven't had a bath in days."
Tobias still had not gotten used to Tellus being able to talk. Apparently the kiss she gave him to wake him from his enchanted sleep allowed her to absorb a measure of his knowledge and memories, to include the ability to speak the tongue of Hannibal. She could even speak Tym'r's snarling, bestial tongue, or at least as well as a human could.
"I suppose it wouldn't cost much to go to the baths," Tobias said, "but..."
"I will take care of her, Tobiyah ben Yishak," Shoshanna said, "though I must admit it has been years since I have been to the baths." She touched the side of her head. "Once my ears grew more prominent and people could tell what I was, I was never allowed back in. I had to sneak out to the well in the middle of the night to bathe ever since."
"Will you be okay?"
"We will not stay for long," Shoshanna said. "And should anyone notice, I can make them forget easily enough."
That was as much assurance as Tobias could hope for. Here in Kartzet there was a public house connected to the baths. It made for cheap lodgings for travelers passing through like themselves. After hitching his horse outside, he went inside to inquire of the proprietor.
"Welcome, Sir Knight, welcome," the proprietor said as he walked in. "Lookin' fer lodgin's fer the night?"
"That's right," Tobias replied.
"Jus' yerself?"
"No. Myself and three servants, and a place in the stable for my mount."
"Well, it's an ass a head. Ha! That's fer man an' beast an' it includes free use a' the baths. Don't brin' yer horse inta the baths, Sir Knight. Ha ha ha! Oh, an' provender'll be an extra ass apiece."
"Man and beast alike?"
"Of course!" the proprietor said jovially. "We're all equal here! Hope ye don' mine bathin' with the servants an' other common folk."
"No, it's not a problem."
Tobias reached into his coin purse and put down three sestertii.
"I trust you can have our clothes laundered by morning," he said.
"An ass a head, Sir Knight."
Tobias took out two asses and added them to the sestertii. The proprietor grinned.
"Pleasure doin' business with ye. Yer on the secon' floor, fourth door on the leff. One a' my boys'll take yer mount 'roun' te the stable."
Tobias went back outside to get the others, telling them, "Well, we've got a room, meals and all the bathing you could want."
Tellus was bouncing excitedly. Tobias had never seen her this happy, almost like an ordinary girl. He was glad for it, that she could be like this. If only the rest of their journey could continue so peacefully, she would not need to know fear and want as she had before.
"Let's put away our things in the room and then look into that bath," Tobias said.
"Surely they do not mean for me as well," Tym'r said.
"The proprietor said we're all equal here, so who knows? Do you even bathe as humans do, Tym'r?"
"Not exactly, but I would not begrudge a dip in the water."
When they went into the inn, there was a sudden change that came over the proprietor. Panicked, he rushed over to Tobias and exclaimed, "Sir Knight! What's the meanin' a' this!? Bringin' a beast inta my inn!"
"He's my servant," Tobias replied. "Where else would he be but by my side?"
"Beasts go in the stable, Sir Knight," the proprietor said.
"I thought we were all equal here."
"Don't be jestin', Sir Knight. I wouldn't let ye brin' yer horse in here an' I sure ain't lettin' this beast in either. He goes in the stable or I calls the watchmen."
Tobias was about to demand his money back, but Shoshanna subtly touched his hand and spoke to his mind.
Accept it. Tym'r understands that it is necessary. We must not draw unwanted attention to ourselves.
Grudgingly, Tobias said, "Very well."
"An' he's ta be chained up," the proprietor said. "I'll not have him maulin' the other beasts."
Tobias was about to object, but again Shoshanna spoke to him.
Accept it.
Tobias sighed.
"I will tend to him then. I wouldn't want one of your boys getting hurt."
"I appreciate that, Sir Knight."
"You'll see that he gets a proper serving of meat, a lamb shank or something of the sort."
"That's a little more than an ass' worth of food."
"A sated tiger is a peaceful tiger."
Tym'r gave a little snarl to emphasize the point. The proprietor was sweating visibly.
"I see yer point, Sir Knight. A fair trade."
"A pleasure doing business with you," Tobias said. He then told Shoshanna and Tellus, "We're on the second floor, fourth door on the left. Go ahead and drop off anything you don't plan on taking with you and you can go ahead to the baths."
"The attendant'll take the maids' clothes ta get 'em laundered an' they'll have tunics waitin' for 'em when they get out. Same fer ye, a' course, Sir Knight, once ye've dealt with this bea—er, yer servant here."
The proprietor called one of his boys to guide Tobias to the stables. Tym'r would be stabled in the same stall as Tobias' horse. The boy took a length of heavy chain and fixed it to an iron ring on the wall. Keeping his distance from Tym'r, he gave Tobias the collar, pantomiming for it to go around the neck.
"I'm sorry, Tym'r," Tobias said in a low voice.
"It is necessary," Tym'r replied. "If I did not play the part of your slave, I would be hunted like an animal. I have borne worse."
Tobias locked the collar, feeling around inside to ensure that it was not too tight.
"Is it alright?" he asked.
"As I said, I have borne worse."
"If they don't bring you that shank of lamb, I'll have them slaughter a whole one for you."
Tym'r chuckled.
"I would not be fit to walk in the morning if I had such a feast."
"I'll come back to check on you before we go to sleep."
"You are more considerate than a human ought to be, Tobias."
"Call it a flaw in my character."
"Even so. Now go, enjoy your bath as the females are."
"Alright," Tobias said. "Surely this is the worst of it."
* * *
When Shoshanna awoke, her mind was in a haze. Someone must have drugged her, but how? No one could do such a thing without their intentions screaming at her. It was one thing when she allowed the mob in Utica to take her. She did not resist them in a bid to protect the Yehudi Quarter from their wrath, but she would not have allowed herself to be taken now, so how did it happen?
There was thick incense in the air that stung her nose. The only light was coming from her right, just out of view. When she tried turning her head, she could not. Something was holding her head in place. It was not just her head. She was gagged with a leather strap and her wrists and ankles were bound as well. Perhaps she should have realized sooner that she was also completely naked.
"Oh, you're awake," a man's voice said.
How was there a man in here? She could not hear his mind. She could not feel his presence. As she tried to focus, the only evidence of his existence was his absence, like there was a hole in space. How could this be?
The man came around so that she could see him. He appeared entirely unremarkable. You would likely never pick out his face in a crowd. His face was inscrutable. Given her situation, you would expect his face to be twisted by cruelty, lust, something. but instead his expression was entirely peaceful and benign.
"I'm sure you're wondering why you're here," the man said. "You should consider yourself blessed. You are going to contribute so much to the knowledge of Man. I'm a physician, you see. Saving lives is difficult work. There is so much we don't know. We have the works of the ancient masters, but too few are willing to go deeper and uncover the secrets of the flesh."
It was then that Shoshanna began to catch glimpses of her surroundings. She was on some sort of table, one among six. Two of the other tables had bodies on them that were... deconstructed for lack of a better word, with the skin peeled back in places and the innards removed. The walls were lined with shelves of glass jars with all manner of viscera suspended in some liquid, or bones not only of humans of all sizes but also other creatures as well. What nightmare was this?
The man stepped forward and reached under the table, loosening the strap that was gagging her.
"Don't bother to scream," he said. "No one will hear you. I would like you to help me."
Shoshanna decided that if she kept him talking, it would delay whatever he intended to do.
"And what do you want me to help you with?" she asked. "I can't do much like this."
"On the contrary," the man said, "you can be of great help. If you could answer my questions, I would be most grateful."
"What do you want to know?"
"I appreciate that you are being so reasonable about this. Too many of my... patients... are unwilling to be calm under the circumstances. It really doesn't help anyone.
"I am going to do a series of procedures and so long as you are capable of answering my questions, I would appreciate you doing so."
"What kind of procedures?" Shoshanna asked warily.
"I starts simply enough, a basic physical examination, and after that, I will begin to explore your inner workings. I have done this quite a few times, so I am quite confident that I can keep you alive for most of it, barring any unforeseen mishaps. You are a particularly rare specimen, so I intend to treat you with the utmost care."
The way he said all that without the slightest change in his voice was truly terrifying. This was nothing to him. Not even a seasoned hunter had so little pause. However, she could not give in to fear. Twisted as he was, he still seemed to have some sense of reason to him. Perhaps she could appeal to that.
"My companions will be looking for me," she said. "Let me go and I will say nothing of this."
"I wouldn't worry about them," the man replied. "When they wake up, they won't have any chance of finding you. This incense not only masks the stench of my work but it will confound the Catman's sense of smell. As I said before, no one will be able to hear you and we are in a different corner of the city, so it is quite unlikely that they can search you out. As I said, you are a rare specimen and far too valuable for me to give up."
Shoshanna did not bother pleading for mercy or bargaining for her life. Even if she could not read his mind as she could other people, she could see that for this man, his work was everything. Nothing else mattered to him.
"If I am such a rare specimen, wouldn't it be more useful to keep me alive for longer?"
"You're a clever one," the man said, "and I like that. I certainly don't intend for you to die anytime soon. The longer I can keep you alive, the better, but a lot of that will depend on you and on how well you cooperate. Shall we get started?"
He dragged over a stand with a quill and some parchment and a little stool for him to sit down on. He scribbled down something and then said, "I have already finished part of the examination and made some sketches while you were still unconscious, but now that you are awake, I can get more response from you. We will start with the head and work our way down. Now, of course the most striking feature of your head are these ears."
He ran his finger along the ridge of her ear and in spite of herself, her toes stretched and flexed in reaction as she drew in a sharp breath. This did not escape the man's notice.
"Oh? Your ears seem to be more sensitive than the average humans."
He touched her ear again. Shoshanna gritted her teeth to suppress her reaction, but she could not control her breath as she would.
"Is it painful?" the man asked, touching her ear again. As he watched her reaction more closely, he said, "No, not pain. This is... arousal. Amorous arousal. Is this common among the Children of the Forest?"
"I don't know," Shoshanna said, trying desperately to control herself. "I am only half-blooded. I was raised among humans."
"Fascinating."
He went over to jot down some notes, then came back to do other things like tap on her forehead and cheekbones with his fingers, pull back her eyelids to get a better look at her eyeballs, and examine her teeth and the inside of her mouth. He then began feeling around under her chin and along her neck. She grew increasingly uncomfortable the further he worked his way down, but he was not acting lecherously toward her. She was just an object to him, no more stimulating than a lump of dough to a baker.
As he was pressing down under her arm, he said, "I was surprised to see that you are still entirely covered in vellus hair despite clearly being a mature adult. Is this a common trait among your kind?"
"I told you that I've never met a Child of the Forest before."
"Hmm... Well, you would be the envy of many a fashionable lady. A less honorable but nevertheless lucrative trade of mine is beauty treatments for the sake of women's vanity. I am better regarded for that than for my skills as a leech."
Shoshanna knew that she could not just continue to lie there. While the man's work so far was rather innocuous, it would not be long before he started looking into her inner workings as he said. If she could not touch his mind, perhaps she could reach out to another's.
Her growing fear, the incense and the man's hands on her body made it difficult to concentrate, but she reached out to whoever was near. She found a servant of the man's going about his chores upstairs. She could not take control of his body at that distance, but she could make suggestions to him and fortunately for her, he had a very pliable mind.
She encouraged him to come down to where his master was, seeing through his eyes as he made his way down to the door to the basement. Only the door was locked. She told him to knock and was gratified to hear the sound of the door with her own ears.
"Philip, what is it?" the man asked. "I thought I told you I am not to be disturbed."
Speaking through Philip the servant, Shoshanna said, "Master, you have a visitor."
"I said I was not to be disturbed."
"It is quite urgent. You must come, master."
"Fascinating," the man said.
Shoshanna's concentration was broken by the man touching her ear again. Her eyes snapped open.
"You were not responding," the man said. "So you were using some manner of witchery to control Philip, yet you do not attempt it on me. Why?"
"What are you talking about?" Shoshanna asked, trying to deflect. How had he seen through it?
"I saw your mouth move with the words Philip was saying, or perhaps I should say the words you were saying through Philip's mouth. I fear I know of nothing of sorcery, but it would seem the stories of the Children of the Forest being a race of witches is true. Fascinating indeed."
As the man returned to his examination, Shoshanna reached out to the servant again, trying to guide him out of the house in search of the inn. It may well be that the others were already out in the streets searching for her, but the inn would be the best place to start.
As she was getting him out the door, a shock of sharp pain broke her hold. This time the man was actually pinching her ear. When she opened her eyes, the man let go and sighed.
"Please stop," he said. "I don't think you have much chance of succeeding, but I really must not be disturbed. I need you to cooperate."
Shoshanna had to rethink her approach. Though it was difficult, she had to divide her consciousness between the here and now and reaching out for some way to save herself. If only she could reach out to one of her companions. While there was a particular bond she had formed with Tobias, it was Tellus' mind she had the most contact with, It was the only way they could communicate until a few days ago, after all.
According to the man, he had drugged Tobias and Tellus, but conscious or unconscious, she should still be able to reach them. Using only half of her mind's power made it all the more difficult, but so long as a part of her was answering the man's questions to his satisfaction, he would not take notice of what she was doing.
She called out into the void, sending the images of what she had seen with her own eyes and what she had seen through the eyes of the servant. Would Tellus receive her message? Would she be able to find Shoshanna?
The man had just finished pricking the tips of her toes with a pin to test their sensitivity. He straightened himself up and said, "Well, that will do it for the physical examination. I would like to check your back as well for completion's sake, but I fear you might do something uncooperative if I unstrapped you, so I guess it's time to dig deeper."
He went over to don a blood-soaked apron. There was so much dried blood that it could probably stand on its own. Who could say how many victims had come before her?
The man also pulled up a stand with an array of tools with purposes she could not even begin to imagine. His first choice was a small, thin knife.
"I am going to begin with an incision from collar to pubis," the man explained, motioning with the knife over her body. "I will then peel back the outer layers to begin my exploration of your internal organs. I fear you may find this quite painful, so I am going to reattach the strap on your mouth so that you might bite down on it.
"I will then have to do the rather crude work of cutting away your ribs, as they obscure my view of the interior of the chest cavity. I have yet to devise a way of doing this with the clean precision of the first step. It is my sincere hope that you are still conscious and your reaction to the pain subsides after this point because if you have the presence of mind to answer my questions, it will be most helpful."
He set down the knife so that he could gag her once more. She tried clenching her teeth, but he was able to force her jaw open with little effort and soon had the strap back in place.
As he went to retrieve his knife, Shoshanna could feel her heart racing. She struggled against her restraints, but it did her no good.
"Please hold still," the man said. "This is delicate work."
As he brought the knife down to her collar, she focused all her energy on the knife, on pushing it back. The knife stopped, resisting the man's efforts to bring it down.
"Hm?"
The knife started shaking in his hand before breaking free and flying off somewhere in the room. She heard it clinking on the floor.
The man looked at her and sighed. He went back to his tools and pulled out some sort of small clamp. He then put the clamp on her ear and locked it in place. The pain was indescribable.
"I asked you to cooperate," the man said. "No more witchery or I will have to clamp the other one. Now where did that scalpel go? I knew I should have had a spare made."
The man took a candle and went searching for the missing knife. Shoshanna tried to take hold of something else, maybe drop one of those glass jars on his head, but the ability to move objects with her powers was weak compared to her other abilities. It was almost all she could do just to move that one tiny knife, but now with the clamp on her ear, it hurt too much for her to concentrate. She was going to have to fight through the pain, though. It was her only choice.
All of the sudden, the door to the basement was knocked off its hinges, tumbling down the stairs, and an armored figure nearly went tumbling down after it. Tobias.
"SHOSHANNA!" he cried.
"What are you doing here!?" the man demanded. "You can't be here! You're disturbing my work! Get out of here!"
This was the most excitable Shoshanna had ever seen him. As Tobias took in his surroundings, he recoiled in horror.
"You... You monster..."
"Monster!?" the man balked. "You're the monster! Barging in here, disturbing my work! Get out!"
Tobias' mind flashed with anger and aggression and he might have attacked the man if he had not realized that Shoshanna was the one on the table.
"Shoshanna!"
He ran down the stairs and drew his knife, quickly cutting away the leather straps that bound her.
"What are you doing!? That's my specimen! That's a rare—!"
Tym'r snarled and pounced on the man, springing from the top of the stairs, knocking over a couple skeletons that were on display, sending bones scattering everywhere. Tym'r may well have torn the man's throat out in that moment, but Tobias called out to him, "No! Wait!"
"Why!?" Tym'r demanded, snarling loudly at man.
"He must face justice!" Tobias insisted.
"I will give him justice," Tym'r growled.
"Just wait."
Tym'r relented but kept the man pinned to the floor while Tobias finished cutting away Shoshanna's restraints. He helped her up off the table and wrapped her in his cloak.
"Shoshanna, are you alright? Are you hurt?"
Shoshanna reached up and undid the clamp on her ear. The pain lingered but was steadily fading away.
"I am still in one piece, Tobiyah ben Yishak," she said, "though I would not be if you had not come when you did."
"What is this place?"
"So much death..."
It was Tellus, still standing up in the doorway. She started slowly walking down the steps.
"So much pain... So much fear... Why?"
Straining from Tym'r's weight pressing down on him, the man said, "I was only doing what was necessary. A few small sacrifices now and with the knowledge I have gained, countless lives can be saved now and in the generations to come."
Tellus' whole body started trembling as she reached up to hold her head. Her mind was a whirlpool overwhelmed by the lingering ill will of all the lives sacrificed here. The glass jars and the bones on the shelves started rattling as ground itself began to shake. Tellus absorbed all the ill will and it condensed into a single result: wrath.
When Tellus lowered her hands, she was glowering with a fearful expression unlike anything she had ever shown before.
"Death. Brings. Death."
With those words, the walls burst into flames. The jars started to explode one after another.
"NO!" the man howled.
Somehow the man was able to wrench himself free and scramble to his feet. He immediately began gathering up parchment by the armful.
"My work! All my work!"
In spite of everything, Tobias tried to save the man from his own madness.
"You can't save it! Come on!"
"No! Get away from me!"
"Come, Tobias!" Tym'r shouted. "We must go!"
He snatched up Tellus and bounded up the steps. Shoshanna was still unsteady on her feet, but Tobias scooped her up and carried her out of the basement.
When Tym'r picked up Tellus, she started screaming, reaching out with her hand as she continued to spill out the wrath that was welling inside her. As they emerged from the basement, the rest of the house became engulfed in flames as well. If she were not so singularly focused on the man's house, she may well have burned down the entire city.
Only when they were out in the streets did Tobias set Shoshanna down and go over to take Tellus from Tym'r. He shook her roughly, shouting, "Tellus! Enough! It's over!"
As he shook her, the grip of the vengeful shades on her was broken, leaving a yawning emptiness behind. Tellus just stared glassy-eyed until she returned to her senses. It was all too much for her. She burst into tears, wailing as she clung to Tobias. Tobias awkwardly embraced her, stroking her head to comfort her as the overflowing emotions spilled out. Shoshanna might have been able to do something to calm those surging emotions, but she decided that Tobias was doing enough. Tellus would appreciate it more anyway.
As she was watching the two of them, Tym'r approached her and asked, "You are unhurt?"
"In body at least," she replied, "but that man... I could not touch his mind. There has never been a mind I could not touch. I... I have never been so frightened..."
"Fear is a mighty hunter," Tym'r replied. "We expect him to prey on the weak, but when he comes for the strong, that is when he is most terrible."
"Which am I?"
"You are strong, spirit-caller, stronger than you know. If Fear does not kill the strong, perhaps he will have a more difficult hunt the next time."
"Perhaps so," Shoshanna replied. "Thank you, Tym'r."
"We ought not linger here," he said. "We will be left wanting for the rest, but I will not miss that stinking stable."
With a bitter smile, Shoshanna told him, "There are worse place to find yourself than a stable, Tym'r na Ty'ha."