Luna pushed against the bright blue door, and stepped out onto the top stair leading from the landing to the base of the lighthouse. She looked down and saw her dark doppelgänger looming over Reaper’s fallen body, blood dripping from her horn.
“Why art thou here, Harbinger?”
“I--I don’t know.”
“Thou art powerless now,” Nightmare Moon observed, “except for…”
“Except for what?”
Nightmare Moon looked back over her shoulder: “Except for her…”
Luna furrowed her brow.
Nightmare Moon planted a foot on Reaper’s chest and turned to face Luna: “She is now the vessel of thy power. But who is she?”
Luna raised an eyebrow and began to descend the stairs: “I am Luna, and now that this is my dream, I can master it.”
Suddenly she felt Reaper’s ribs beneath her foot, and looked up to see Nightmare Moon descending the stairs, dragging a bloody, broken spear behind her.
“Is it your dream then, True Sister? I ask again: who is she?”
Reaper moaned and answered in a low, pained voice: “She is my curse and my salvation.”
Nightmare Moon grinned: “Spoken like a true dream creature.”
Luna folded her arms over her bare breasts: “But in whose dream now, Nightmare? I surely do not see myself reflected in those words.”
“No--you believe yourself to be companion and co-adventurer. But you know how he oft perceives you, and you try to obscure the raw, carnal reality of it with bland platitudes.”
“This “raw, carnal being” is not who he should be. You spoke truly when you said that blood is his prison.”
“Or his blessing! Perhaps you are his salvation--your own as well!”
Luna bit her lip and frowned: “Summon a new beginning…”
Nightmare Moon’s eyes blazed: “Yes! Think of it--free to eat and drink and fight and fuck and rule!”
Luna took a step back: “No! I cannot!”
Nightmare Moon grinned wickedly: “I did not say you! Interesting how you drew that conclusion.”
Luna chewed her lip as she looked down at Reaper’s dying form: “I cannot stay...we must return...we both have duties…”
“To whom?”
“Our world, Equestria, Celestia!”
“Look at your body now, True Sister, look at Gerrar’s! This is your world, now! You have given your blood to it!”
“No! This is but a form!”
Luna shook her head and arched her back as a tail, mane, wings and horn appeared, accenting her now-indigo body.
“Lovely, but even now, you find yourself caught between two shapes, two visions of yourself.”
“You are attempting to force that false dichotomy on me! I freed myself from you! The Tantabus, our encounter during Grey Thorn’s dream--”
“Were but trifles, True Sister. The Elements of Harmony are indeed powerful, but they are not all-powerful. I cannot be destroyed.”
Luna took a sudden lunging step forward, snatched the broken spear shaft from her counterpart’s hand, and drove it up underneath Nightmare Moon’s jaw and into her skull, killing her instantly. The body fell nerveless to the sand, as blood gushed out over Luna’s feet.
Luna dropped to her knees and breathed heavily: “Perhaps, perhaps not--but that will not stop me from trying!”
She turned her head to look down at Reaper’s face, when she heard the creak of a door hinge. Her head snapped around and up as she focused on the now-shut blue door in the landing of the lighthouse above her.
“Damn.”
Luna’s eyes fluttered open: “How long was I asleep this time?”
Reaper spit out a wad of zaka: “Not sure--I couldn’t really tell if you were asleep much of the time. It looked more like a fugue state. I guess you were out of it for about two hours, no matter what you call it.”
Luna peered blearily at the lengthening shadows: “It will be night soon, yes? How much further do we have to go, do you think?”
“I’m starting to see evidence of settlements and civilization, such as it is. We passed a small farm about fifteen minutes ago, and there’s a standing stone up ahead.”
They approached the cracked, lichen-covered, five-foot-tall stone. Reaper put his face close and peered at the inscription: “Koa babess…”
Luna shifted on Bitch’s back and put another leaf of zaka in her mouth: “God protects?”
“Close, but not exactly. “Koa” references one of the Lost Gods, but without more of the inscription I can’t really nail it down better than that. Names shifted over the centuries, and often depended on the region.”
Luna nodded and tightened the blanket around her shoulders: “Be that as it may, I assume this implies we are not far from our destination.”
Reaper stood back from the stone and pulled out his flask: “Probably. The sun’s setting, but I really don’t want to stop again until we get to Rixk’a. We both need food and proper clothing.”
He took up Bitch’s lead and began leading the dalzi south again: “In addition, ironically the closer we get to some kind of town, the more at-risk we become.”
Luna furrowed her brow: “Risk?”
“Bandits. Normally I wouldn’t lose too much sleep over that, but with you injured and ill-equipped, and only one decent weapon between the two of us…”
Reaper shrugged.
Luna nodded: “Then we should press on. Can you ride Nag? Would we go any faster?”
“Unlikely. She’s past her rider-bearing years. She could do light duty for children, or pulling a cart, maybe carrying a set of bags, but her heavy-duty days are behind her.”
Reaper stopped and adjusted his cloak, then secured his pack around Nag’s neck and shoulders: “However your point is well-taken. Let’s take this up a notch.”
He took a swig from his flask and popped the last of his zaka into his mouth. He tugged Bitch’s lead and started to jog.
Luna chuckled: “This was not quite what I was implying!”
“Regardless, it’s the right thing to do. I should have enough left in reserve to push through the last bit.”
“What kind of reception are we likely to receive, straggling in in the dark of night like two refugees?”
“When we flash gold at them, I suspect all our troubles will evaporate!”
“True, but will that not attract attention as well?”
Reaper tugged at the edge of his mustache for a moment: “Yeah, that’s true. We’ll have to walk a fine line, especially if Sagu and Sumi got into town first.”
“In that case, I presume I should continue to feign ignorance of the local dialect.”
“We’ll have to play it by ear. As we actually get into town, it would be best if you looked like you were asleep. Then I can get us some kind of lodging without anyone trying to directly interact with you.”
Luna nodded, then tipped her head pensively: “Did I happen to speak in my sleep?”
“Not that I recall. Why? Were you dreaming?”
Luna chewed her lip: “Yes. It was a variation of the dream where you lay dying at the base of the lighthouse.”
“Interesting. That whole sequence continues to confuse me--there’s no structure like that on the Zuri River. I mean there’s Fort Torlek, but it doesn’t look like that at all. And the whole thing had more of a beach feel to it.”
“Yes. There are many details that are, shall we say, out-of-place.”
“I have to say, though, the runes were spot-on.”
Luna frowned. “Yes they were. The Zuri River discharges into the Sasol Sea, does it not?”
“That sounds right. I’ve never followed it all the way down to its mouth. I didn’t scout too far south of Fort Torlek before the battle where I met my end.”
“I wonder what lies there?”
Reaper shrugged: “Don’t know, and won’t know. We don’t have to go that far. So how’d the dream end?”
“Hmm?”
“The dream you just came out of.”
Luna looked away: “Blood in the sand…”
Reaper grinned: “I die in these dreams a lot, don’t I? Seems fitting, somehow.”
“Yes. I wonder what it would be like if you did not die?”
“Ha! Tell you what: next time I fall asleep, share a dream where I don’t die, and we’ll see where it goes!”
Luna furrowed her brow: “Do not joke like that! We know how it must be!”
“Relax, Princess! We’re locked-in here--I’m fated to die. We just have to get to Fort Torlek on time.”
Luna chewed on a strand of hair as she stared forward into the dark.
“Geldi!”
Reaper stopped and stepped in front of Bitch, bringing her and Nag to a halt.
An armed, torch-bearing guard, a bit shorter than Reaper stepped out from a niche inside the wall surrounding a small portcullis.
Reaper put up his hands and approached slowly, bowing slightly: “Greetings, good Nightwatchman! I am called Reaper, and my companion is Luna, a T'zesa of the Zaldun. We have ridden far these last two days after a vicious hartz attack, and are in sore need of lodgings and food.”
The guard eyed Reaper and the dalzi warily, then stared at Luna, who appeared to doze on the back of her mount.
He stepped closer and peered at Luna’s dark skin and glossy black hair, shimmering faintly in the torchlight: “Is she really Zaldun?”
“Indeed. I assure you you have never seen her like before, and I will put in a good word with your Captain if you would point us to the nearest inn or roadhouse. Her Highness was injured in the attack and needs attention.”
The guard tipped his head sideways: “She don’t look bad to me.”
Reaper stepped beside Bitch and gently shook Luna’s leg: “We need to show him your back. He’s the doubting type.”
Luna cracked an eye open: “More likely he just wants a better look at this exotic T’zesa of yours!”
Reaper hid his grin as he gingerly pulled aside the blanket enough to allow the guard to peer at the blood-stained rags bound across Luna’s bare back.
“Satisfied?”
“Hmm. Well, I guess so. But I’m s’posed to get the Captain anytime sumthin’ odd happens.”
Reaper nodded and reached into his pocket. He brought out a bit: “I understand completely, and I assure you I will check in with your Captain at first light. We will be at--where did you say the nearest lodging was?”
The guard glanced at the gold, gleaming a dull yellowish-red: “Uh, down on yer left about two hundred paces. A place called “Tal’ar’s Inn.”
Reaper pressed the coin into the guard’s hand as Luna flashed him a weary smile and pulled the blanket loosely over her shoulder.
He turned to Luna: “Thank him, but do it haltingly, like you don’t know the language.”
“Eskerr on...on gi'zon!”
Reaper’s eyebrows jumped and he bowed to the guard: “What an honor! Her Highness hardly knows any of our tongue, and has chosen to thank you directly instead of through her servant!”
The guard blushed and stepped to the portcullis and waved over his partner: “Oy, Zain! Get over here and open this thing. We’re bein’ visited by a Princess!”
Zain shuffled over, released the catch holding the counterweight, and turned a wheel to raise the gate. He stared at Luna as she and the dalzi passed beneath the low arch into Rixk’a.
Luna smiled at Zain, and Reaper suddenly reached into his pocket and tossed the startled guard a bit of his own: “For your troubles!”
The guards watched as Reaper led the dalzi away down the narrow, slush-covered cobblestone road, into the heart of Rixk’a. They turned away reluctantly, pocketed their gold, and closed the portcullis.
Reaper and Luna passed by a variety of two-story shops and buildings crammed cheek-to-jowl. They were largely constructed of half-timbered wattle and daub, though some were partially brick, and they leaned over slightly at the top, making the street below feel claustrophobic and hemmed in. Most were dark behind closed shutters.
They approached one building that was not entirely dark. A sign hung out front: “Tal’ar’s Inn.”
“I think we found it,” Reaper said as he scanned up and across the street. “Need to locate the stables and get these beasts quartered as well.”
He slung Bitch and Nag’s leads around a post: “Hang tight a second--I’m going to stick my head in.”
Luna nodded wearily as Reaper stepped through the inn’s door, and peered into its dim, smoky interior: “Is anyone awake in here?”
A small, grizzled woman with an eye patch suddenly appeared in front of Reaper holding a dagger defensively: “Whatd’ya want?”
Reaper took a step back and held his hands out to his sides, palms up: “I am called Reaper, and my companion and I, the T’zesa Luna of Zaldun, seek accommodations. I apologize for the lateness of our arrival, but we were sent here on the recommendation of your most excellent Nightwatchman.”
The innkeeper rolled her eyes: “Excellent Nightwatchman! So did you wake him, take him away from his bottle, or from diddling one of the whores?”
“Well, he emerged from his hidey-hole next to the gate, so I suppose any of the three might be correct!”
The innkeeper stared at Reaper for a moment, then broke into a broad smile: “Or all three, knowing that sack ‘o shit!”
She turned away and stepped to the fireplace, stoking the fire and retrieving a lantern: “The name’s Tal’ar, in case you can’t read.”
“I can, though I never like to assume names until properly introduced.”
Tal’ar grinned: “Oh, a smooth one! Let’s go see this Princess of your’n.”
They walked out of the entrance, and Reaper stepped up to Bitch and bowed toward Tal’ar: “May I introduce T’zesa Luna of Zaldun.”
Reaper helped Luna down off her mount, and stood aside as Luna drew herself up to her full height and pulled her hood back, allowing her hair to flow free in the wind.
The old innkeeper’s eyebrows jumped: “Well there’s a sight!”
“She speaks only a little of our tongue, but I can assure you she will be most grateful if you can rent us lodgings for a day or two.”
Reaper reached into his pocket and pulled out an almond-sized sapphire: “Very grateful…”
Tal’ar’s eye grew wide: “The finest merchant’s suite was due to be occupied tomorrow, but it just opened up!”
She took the gem in her hand: “That is, if’n this bauble of yers checks out in the morning.”
“I have no doubt it will, but I do have some gold, as well, if you feel the risk too great.”
Reaper held out two bits, and the old innkeeper licked her lips and looked back and forth between the gem and Reaper’s hand.
“Yer Princess seems pretty roughed-up. I ‘spect you ain’t goin’ anywhere first thing. I kin trust you that long, at any rate.”
“Excellent! Would you see to our mounts as well? I saw a stable across the road.”
“Yeah, that’s mine, too--well, my brother’s I guess, but I run the damn thing, so it might as well be mine.”
Tal’ar turned and opened a door revealing a narrow staircase: “Oy, Regel! Git yer ass down here and take these dalzi across t’the stable!”
A large, pale, heavyset young man shuffled through the doorway a minute later, pulling a cloak on over his nightshirt. He goggled at Luna.
The innkeeper cuffed him across the back of his head: “Don’t stare--it’s rude, and you got a job to do!”
Regel grunted and stuck his feet in a pair of wooden clogs next to the door before heading out toward the street.
Tal’ar rolled her eyes: “My apologies--he’s hard-of-hearing and slow, but he’s good with the animals, so he’s worth the trouble.”
Reaper smiled: “No offense taken. Her Highness is aware that she stands out, and takes a measure of pride in her beauty.”
The innkeeper nodded as she led her guests past the common room to a broad staircase at the back of the inn: “We sure ain’t seen nuthin’ like her in these parts in, well, ever!”
“I’m sure! If you would be so kind as to bring some bread and fruit and gardo, we would greatly appreciate it!”
“Will do. Looks like you could use some sleep clothes for the Princess too, unless that there’s a magic bag!”
“It is not, and we will gladly pay extra for any nightclothes or undergarments you may have--and a good towel or two.”
Tal’ar opened the heavy, ornately-carved door at the end of the landing and led Luna and Reaper into a low, warm, dimly-lit set of three rooms, with a copper bath, a large bed, and a fireplace of expertly-set stone.
“Will you want a bath now, or just a basin and some hot water?”
Reaper nodded: “Just something so we can clean-up a bit and re-dress Her Highness’ wounds. We will see to a better bath in the morning.”
They heard a door slam down below: “Alright--sounds like Regel’s back. I’ll send him ‘round to Dux’a in the morning. He owns the bathhouse, an’ I’m sure he’d be more’n happy to give you folks some proper attention tomorrow!”
Reaper bowed: “Most appreciated! Please send your man up with the food and whatnot as soon as you can. We are weary and sore and in great need of sleep!”
“Right away! If’n there’s anything else you need, just shout and Regel’ll come a-runnin’!”
Luna smiled as the innkeeper left the room: “Eskerr a'mon ugarr!”
Tal’ar laughed: “‘Honored grandmother?’ Sure’n I had enough stuck up in there to spawn a whole village, but nuthin’ ever came back out--not that lived, anyway.”
She smiled sadly as she pulled the door shut: “But I try to make up fer it by treatin’ my guests like family!”
Luna sat down heavily on a chair at the edge of the fireplace and shuddered violently: “Truer--and more-understated--words were never spoken! I am beyond weary and sore!”
Reaper tossed his bag beside the bed and stoked the low fire, adding fuel and blowing on it: “I know. We’ll get you cleaned and fed enough to get to sleep, and do a proper job in the morning.”
Luna grinned: “And the feeding apparently includes beer, I take it? I am more of a wine drinker!”
Reaper smiled: “Really playing the Princess card, aren’t you? Wine up north can be tough to come by in the winter, but I assume their stock of gardo is first-rate. Old Tal’ar probably brews it herself!”
They heard a knock at the door, and Reaper stood and walked across the room to let in Regel, bearing a tray of food and drink, and basins of hot and cold water, as well as a basket full of clothes and linens.
“All my thanks, and that of the T’zesa, too!”
He pressed a bit into the stable boy's hand, and walked him out of the room, closing the door as Regel gawked over his shoulder.
They ate and drank in silence, speaking only briefly when Reaper helped Luna shed her clothes, and cleaned and rebound her wounds.
He peered closely at the scabbed and crusted gashes: “Well, they seem to be closing up OK. This ointment really does the trick.”
Luna nodded: “Would that we still had some zaka…”
“Try the beer. It’s potent stuff, and should dull the pain about as well as zaka.”
Luna took a mug from Reaper and tried a tentative sip. She raised an eyebrow: “Not as good as wine, but better than cider. I am pleased!”
Reaper grinned as he helped slip a linen shift over Luna’s head: “Words of praise from Her Highness! I can sleep well, now!”
Luna chuckled, downed her mug, stood wearily and shuffled to the bed: “I think we can both sleep well this night!”
Reaper watched as she bundled beneath the blankets and quilts, and fell asleep almost at once.
He sat for some time finishing his gardo, and studying Luna’s face in the flickering firelight, before he slumped back in the chair and passed into an uneasy slumber.