Daring Do and the Eyes of the Demon

by PegasusKlondike

Shores of Zebrica

Daring awoke to the smell of salt on the air, the gentle sway of the Storm Rider in the ocean breeze reminding her of a hammock bed in her treehouse in the Great Southern Jungle. She called it Paradise for a reason, among her several nests across the world, it was her absolute favorite. The one she wanted to retire to, if it weren't so close to the homeland of a certain monkey-dog thing. Reminded of her personal nirvana, the thought of being on a rickety sky tub was lessened.

"Attention all passengers, this is your captain speaking. If you will look off the starboard bow we have a very special treat for all of you sea creature enthusiasts."

Only curiosity drove Daring out of her bunk and up to the deck to peer off the starboard bow with many of the other passengers.

"Wow, what is that thing?"

A unicorn with very thick glasses and a freckled face pushed past Daring with a camera, "That miss, is a kraken!" The kraken was titanic, quite possibly the largest creature Daring had ever seen. Quite possibly larger than most towns she had ever seen. It had an appearance like a giant squid, with tentacles trailing literal hundreds of feet behind a body the size of a decent whale. Bright red in color, it basked in the warm waters at the ocean's surface. "These baby krakens are always so cute!"

Daring was stunned, "Did you just say that thing is a baby?"

The nerdy unicorn nodded his head frantically as he snapped photos of the behemoth, "Well of course! They get at least three times that big. But don't worry miss, krakens are docile unless provoked, they prefer to feed on drifting plant matter and carcasses rather than hunt for prey."

"Can they really make whirlpools?"

The unicorn rolled his eyes, "Well duh, but they usually do it in self defense against their natural predators."

"What in Tartarus could eat that?"

"Sea dragons that hunt in packs, sometimes naga will band together and go after one for food or to domesticate one. There are even reports of terrestrial dragons going after the littlest krakens."

Daring stared down at the titanic creature that this pony was saying was harmless. "Whelp, cycle of life and all that. Must be a bitch being a slave to the food chain." The mare trotted back towards the stairs down to the passenger quarters, determined to get back to sleep before airsickness settled in again. She bumped into Timur on the way to her bunk.

"Ms Do! I have been looking for you, some of the other passengers are getting together for a game of poker with some of the crew, do you wish to join us?"

"Not really. Hey, got any more of the good stuff?"

A striped eyebrow crept up the zebra's face? "'Good stuff', Ms Do?"

"That ginger potion, got any more?"

"I am sorry, you drank all six servings in one go."

The pegasus smacked her own face with a hoof, "D'oh! Well that's just great! Now I'm going to go back to dying here in a couple minutes."

Timur looked her over, "You seem fine right now. I think your sickness is more mental than anything."

"Gah, you and your zebra mumbo jumbo about 'being sick in your head'. I'm gonna go lay down."

"You do that, Ms Do." Timur shrugged at the odd mare, walking away to the galley.

********************************************

Daring skipped over lunch, and having not heard the call that morning for breakfast, she was driven out of her bunk by the primal urge to eat. Her stomach was rumbling enough to hear in the next compartment over, prompting her neighbor to knock on the wall.

Walking to the galley, Daring felt something different in the air, something not quite right. Like she was being watched. Glancing around, she didn't see anything spying on her, just a few doors, a pile of rope and maybe a ship rat or two. Shaking off the feeling, Daring made her way to the galley. Taking a seat next to Timur, she ate a bland bowl of cooked grains, easy on the stomach tonight.

That nerdy unicorn was still going on about the kraken, displaying all of his in depth knowledge and obvious lack of a social life by giving as much information to nopony in particular as he possibly could. Daring uneasily glanced around herself, checking for any stray eyes that might be on her. That feeling of being watched still permeated the pegasus, and it made her downright uncomfortable.

"Isn't that right Miss?" Daring snapped back to reality as the unicorn addressed her.

"Huh?"

"You are Daring Do aren't you? I said that there is archaeological evidence of a time when krakens were in a state of hyper-aggression, right around two millenia ago. Isn't that right?"

"Yeah, sure. Real aggressive....." Daring lowered her eyes and continued to look for the unseen watcher.

Timur's hoof lay on her shoulder, "Ms Do, are you alright?"

Daring nodded her head, "Yeah, I think I'm still a little sick is all." Timur looked closely at Daring.

"You do not appear to be ill in any fashion. Are you sure you are alright?"

"I'm fine. Just...not feeling so grand right now." Several of the other zebras seated at the table murmured to one another in their language, looking concerned for the pegasus. An elder zebra pulled Timur closer.

"Moja dhahabu inaonekana walaani, na wake kuvaa hii." The elder pushed a small trinket into Timur's hoof. The younger zebra nodded and turned back to Daring.

"He says you have the look of one who has been cursed, and that you should wear this." He offered the trinket in his hoof to Daring, a small amulet carved from ivory and inscribed with several runes.

Daring actually managed to smirk at the offered talisman. "I don't believe in curses, so you can keep your little talisman."

Timur withdrew his hoof, shaking his head, "Such arrogance has been the downfall of many a pony. If I were you Ms Do, I would take it as just a safety precaution."

"No such thing as curses Timur," Daring stood up from the table, turning back to walk to the living quarters.

**********************************************

Midnight over the open sea, all the passengers of Storm Rider had gone back to their quarters and gone to bed. Only a skeleton crew of a helmspony and a few crew members stayed up as a part of their watch shift. Little did they know, they were the ones being watched.

From atop a nearby cloud, an entire flight of vultures rested from their extremely quick departure from the heartland of Zebrica, bearing their heavy loads as the shaman had ordered them to. Their burdens had been their guides, drawing the vultures to this airship out over the middle of the ocean, straight to their target. All they needed to do was drop off the heavy wooden things and be on their merry way back to Zebrica.

The shamanic magic beckoned them to finish the job. One jet black raptor spread his wings and winged his way to the airship, his dozens of fellows following closely. Passing between the large space between the gas-bag and the deck of the ship, the vulture let go of his burden and was instantly released from his magical compulsion.

Down on the deck, a solitary watch pony did not notice the silent flight of the raptors above his head, focusing on staying awake after the quartermaster forgot to place an order for coffee beans back in Equestria. It was going to be a long night indeed. His eyelids felt heavier than the iron ballast weights in the keel of the ship, and he drifted off momentarily.

The clatter of something wooden nearby snapped him to. The watch pony shook his head, shaking off the feeling of sleepiness. Grabbing his lantern, he stood to investigate. All around him the clatter of falling wooden objects had him looking every which direction for the source of the noise. Only when one landed at his hooves did he manage to actually look at one of the objects. Reaching down, he scooped up the object with a hoof.

Turning it over revealed it to be a large wooden mask, with painted features and gem set eyes. The whitewash teeth were painted in a monstrous gaping smile, with long curved fangs carved onto the wicked grin. The eyes were rimmed with rings of red around flawless rubies. The watch pony pulled out a knife, grinning as he laid the edge of the blade next to the valuable gemstones.

"Heh, my lucky night." Just as he began to apply pressure, the wooden grin turned into a scowl. The watch pony's look of greed turned to horror as the mask leapt out of his hooves, growing a pair of long, wooden arms and legs as a spear materialized out of a splinter. The watch pony scrambled backwards, his back to a pile of crates as more of the masks rose to standing height and grew their spindly limbs and weapons from nothing. "ALL HANDS ON DEC-" the watch pony's cry was cut short as a short spear drove through his throat, a stream of blood washing down his blue furred chest.

The demon mask ripped his spear free, looking back to its brethren as they silently took out the other watch ponies. Hefting his spear, the demonic entity possessing the simple wooden mask hurled the weapon through the air, sinking the spear head into the chest of the pony working the helm. With two dozen of the demon entities searching the deck of the ship, a trio of them broke off to seek their quarry belowdecks.

*************************************

Daring rolled and tossed in her sleep, the feeling of watched now evolved into a full blown sense of paranoia. Sweating heavily, she dreamed of demons coming for her and devouring her soul. Waking with a start, Daring leaned up in her bed. Wiping the sweat off of her brow, she looked up to her doorway. She barely avoided screaming as a tall figure bearing a spear lunged at her. The shape slowed as he got close to Daring, setting aside the spear and going for her face.

A hoof covered her mouth, and in the dim moonlight that filtered in through the porthole Daring spied a familiar striped face, she calmed as Timur held a hoof to his lips. "Shh," he held out the amulet the older zebra had offered before. "Daring," he whispered, "It is worse than I thought. Put this on, hurry!"

"It's just a bad dream Timur, no amulet can fix a bit of paranoia."

"Ms Do, you are cursed! Somepony has sent something here to kill us, now put it on! It will make you blind to their sight."

Daring grimaced as she took the amulet and placed it around her neck, almost instantly the feeling of being watched faded away, leaving Daring feeling like she had just woken from a bad dream. She breathed a sigh of relief, and Timur stood back up.

Her ears perked as she heard something coming down the stairs to the passenger quarters. A light, creaking step, like the soft clatter of bones shifting. The zebra next to her stood on his hind legs, grabbing the spear he had brought with him. Timur glanced back at Daring, "Stay down, Ms Do." Holding the spear in his fetlocks, the zebra backed into the shadows behind the doorway. The creaking footsteps stopped at Daring's door, casting a slight shadow under the door.

The creature forced open the door, spear leveled and ruby eyes burning like fire. It chattered in some kind of spirit tongue, taking a step inward to skewer the pegasus. Timur stepped out from the shadows behind the demon mask, sweeping its wooden feet out from under it with the butt of his spear. The demonic entity fell clattering onto its stomach, lifting its broad wooden face to see this new foe. Timur lashed out again with the butt of his spear, shattering one of the eyes and flipping it over onto its back. Spinning the short spear in his hooves, the zebra destroyed the other eye with a jab of the spearhead. The spirit mask stopped struggling, the limbs turning to ash and a magical mist escaping from the destroyed gems.

Timur kicked the inert mask out into the hallway, then turned back to Daring. "Wake the other passengers and tell the ones who can fight to arm themselves! I'll hold them off!" The zebra charged back out into the hallway, twirling that spear like it was a part of his own body. Daring shook off the feeling of fear and flew down the hallway, hammering her hooves on every door, screaming that the ship had been boarded.

"EVERYPONY WAKE UP! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Just as she reached the end of the hallway, the door burst open to reveal Aelos and Kazin, both bearing huge war axes and a fire in their eyes that came with those who lusted for battle.

"Where's the trouble?"

The pegasus pointed down the hallway where Timur was now handling a pair of the demonic wooden creatures with the blurred twirling of his short spear. Both minotaurs charged down the hallway to assist the zebra. Timur noticed his comrades charging down the hallway and ducked into an open room. Kazin's war ax swept through both of the demonic creatures, cleaving the masks into splinters.

Laying the head of his ax on the floor, the minotaur grinned. "Ha, not so tough now are you." The pieces of the mask began to shiver, in a flurry of splinters it began to reform.

Timur leapt out of the darkness, spearing the reforming mask through the eyes. Instantly they shuddered and released their magical energy. "Destroy the gems, they hold the power!" The minotaur nodded and swung his ax expertly through the remaining demon mask's eyes. A similar puff of magical energy came out as the captive entity was released.

More doors in the passenger quarters opened, the various passengers who could fight armed to the teeth with whatever they had laying around. Most of the crew had maces, boarding axes and spears. Three Saddle Arabian traders stood veiled and ready; long, crescent swords shining in the dim light of the lanterns. The rest of the zebras aboard carried spears like Timur or held amulets and alchemical agents in their hooves. Even a few of the tourist ponies had spells charged and ready and table legs gripped in their teeth.

Timur nodded to his ragtag force, standing by the door, he held his spear at the ready. "Go for the eyes, and do not show mercy." Rearing back a hoof he kicked down the door to the deck, charging head on into the breach. Both minotaurs roared, running out with axes raised high. Daring flew out the door on wing to see two dozen wooden creatures tearing apart the deck, searching for something. Instantly all their ruby eyes were on the defenders, their stick-like arms raised and chanting in their spirit tongue.

Daring realized suddenly that she had charged into the middle of a battle with no weapon and no fighting skill other than a few brawls under her belt. One of the monstrosities leapt at her from the side, jabbing at her flank with its sharp wooden spear. Barely dodging it, Daring turned around and kicked the demon mask right between the eyes, sending it flying over the railing and falling thousands of feet to the ocean surface.

An explosion nearly deafened the pegasus as a unicorn let a bolt of fire strike a demonic mask, the conflicting magics annihilating one another. Daring looked up from her cover to see Timur, a black and white blur, downing creature after creature with the spin and stab of his spear. The minotaurs seemed like lumberjacks on the job, swinging their axes in huge arcs to cleave through multiple creatures simultaneously.The Saddle Arabians stood back to back, hacking and slashing with their scimitars, their veils and robes torn by multiple spear lunges.

Daring bunched up her leg muscles and leapt at a demon mask approaching Timur from behind. Tackling it to the deck she threw a hoof at the eyes, hoping to crack them. Again and again she punched the ruby eyes of the mask, "Die damn you!" she screamed. The spirit creature under her hooves put its feet into her chest and kicked her off. Landing on her side, Daring felt the watchful eyes returning again. Reaching for her neck, she felt for the amulet which made these creatures ignore her. To her annoyance it lay several feet away, snagged on the hand of the demon mask.

The fighting around her took on a different tone as the mask's target was revealed to them again. Daring rolled out of the way as several thrown spears stuck quivering where she had lay a split second before. Lashing out with her hooves she caught another of the creatures on the face, sending it flying across the deck. Deflecting spearheads with her hard hooves, Daring felt herself being pushed into a corner. Eight of the creatures had their spears leveled and aimed straight for her face as they approached with deadly intent.

"Never thought it would end like this." Daring mused aloud as her back came against the wall of the cabin. Raising their spears, the masks dropped them and began to clutch their heads, wailing out of their fanged wooden mouths. Daring spread her wings and flew above the possessed masks, landing next to the entrance to the cabin. At the center of the deck stood the elder zebra, eyes closed and chanting an incantation while making runes out of a strange powder.

The warriors hesitated, then jumped back into the fray, shattering the crippled and wailing masks. Within a minute the deck was cleared, the remains of the wooden monstrosities being thrown overboard. Timur sat back against the railing, catching his breath after such an intense fight. Daring walked over and sat next to him.

"You alright Timur?"

The zebra nodded as he gasped for breath, "It has been many years since I have fought like this, but I am fine Ms Do."

Daring nudged the wooden remains of one of the combatants, "What in Tartarus are these?"

"Spirit Masks, an abomination of magic and a violation of nature itself. Those gems that power them are filled with souls captured in battle, they are bound to the shaman that captured them and defiled their eternal rest. Once killed, the entities inside are released and can go on to the next realm. The use of Spirit Masks is forbidden by all tribes, only the incredibly foalish or desperate use the souls inside of the masks as their slaves. It is a tortured existence to be a Spirit Mask, many are slaves to witch doctors, and if they survive his tenure, they are passed down to a new witch doctor. Some of the oldest Spirit Masks have been passed down in their enslavement for over a thousand years."

Daring lifted the portion of the facemask to get a closer look, "Why are they here?"

"They were sent here by somepony to kill you Daring. The eyes you felt watching you were the eyes of the souls in those gems, seeking you out across the miles. And it is why you should go back to wearing this." He tossed the ivory amulet into Daring's lap. The pegasus scooped up the protective amulet and placed it around her neck. Looking back down at the shattered fragment of the Spirit Mask, Daring nearly shrieked as the remaining eye shifted to look at her, the partial mouth scowling. Pushing it off her lap, she stood up, raising a hoof to stomp on it.

"Wait Ms Do! We can use it for information." Daring held her hoof above the scowling wooden mask, shakily preparing to destroy the ruby eye if it decided to get back up. Timur shouted something in Zebrican to the old zebra that was tending to the wounds on some of the crew ponies. The elder gathered two of his kin and walked over to the mask. The trio brought out colored sands, tracing a circle around the shivering Spirit Mask. Drawing the proper runes in charcoal, the trio sat down and began to chant their incantations.

A glow began to emanate from the runes, coming out to encompass the partial mask and levitate it. Timur grabbed his spear, reaching the head into the glowing circle to pierce the remaining ruby eye. As before, the mist emerged from the eye, coalescing into an orb. But instead of escaping, it stayed inside the circle, futilely trying to escape through the magical barrier. The orb began to chatter at Timur, demanding its freedom.

"Tell me spirit, who sends you to slay my friend!"

The answer came as a shout from the spirit, "N'dutu!"

Timur ground his teeth, "Why does he want her dead?" The spirit orb threw itself at the magical barrier holding it, Timur began to chant in a low tone, the orb took on a different color and became sluggish, "Answer me spirit, why does N'dutu want Daring Do dead?"

The orb regained its color, staying closer to the center of its magical prison, "She seeks Macho ya Pepo, as does N'dutu. The blue one wants Macho ya Pepo for himself, N'dutu is a puppet, dancing to the blue one's tune!"

Daring took a step closer to the imprisoned spirit, "You sound more afraid whenever you talk about the Eyes, why do they make you afraid? You're a spirit, they can't harm you, or can they?" The orb shivered under her gaze, "What do you know about the Eyes of the Demon?"

The spirit orb sparked with fear and anger, "IT IS FORBIDDEN! The Eyes are devices of doom for the living and the dead! The All Mother damns the Eyes and forsakes their maker to Erebus! Let me go to her bosom, let me rest! Set me free!"

Timur regarded the flickering spirit orb with cold eyes, "I give you one task, spirit. Go back to N'dutu, and make sure his shaman learn that they are never to enslave the spirits to do the bidding of a warlord ever again. Then you may return to Yeye's heart, begone." Timur swept out one of the runes with his hoof, dispelling the wards holding the spirit captive.

The glow coming from the remaining runes faded and the spirit orb dissipated back to the elements. "You should have asked more questions Ms Do. I believe that was a truly ancient spirit, to know so much about the Eyes."

Daring snorted once, "What do you think he could have told me that I don't already know about ancient history?

"Much, Ms Do. It is possible that we just spoke with the spirit of a Wale Mrefu, trapped by shamanic magic since his kind left the world so long ago."

Daring's jaw dropped and her eyes opened up wide, "Do you think you could get him to come back for a few more questions?"

Timur grinned, "Sorry, done and gone."

***************************************************

With the old Seahawk captain taking control of the Storm Rider since the captain's death, the crew returned to their watch and the passengers returned to their quarters. With the amulet protecting her, Daring lay in her bed in her quarters, resting more easily. But her eyes refused to close, the thought that a warlord could command the spirits of the dead to do his bidding made her wonder what else he had up his sleeve.

And the thought that the spirits of the dead were just pawns to him, what kind of power did the Eyes of the Demon have that could make them so desirable? A soft glow of magic came from the speaker in the corner of her room.

"Eh, how does this thing work? It's already on? Oh, so it is! This is your captain speaking, we may be hitting a bit of a rough patch here in a couple of minutes. No possessed wall decorations this time folks, just a small weather system moving in. Shouldn't be too much of a problem if turbulence doesn't bother you. Hey! Hands off the wheel minotaur! I know what I'm doing!"

Daring curled up into a tight little sepia ball, "Oh sweet mane of Celestia, can this night get any worse?" The peal of thunder reverberating on the airship's hull made the pegasus wince. "It's alright Daring, all these airships have lightning wards, no reason to worry." Heavy rain began to pound the side of the airship, and a roaring wind tossed the ship around the sky.

The pegasus reached under her bunk and into the small pouch that she brought along. It was no ordinary pouch, she had asked the tailor who made it to give it a little enchantment, mainly one that vastly increased the volume on the inside of the pouch. Burying her hoof almost up to the shoulder in the unassuming pouch, Daring retrieved a small bottle that she kept around for just such an occasion. Unscrewing the cap with her teeth, she pulled out one of the sleeping pills with a wing tip, tossing it in her mouth and swallowing without a drink. Placing the bottle back into her pack, Daring huddled under her musty blanket, covering her head with her pith helmet.

***************************************************

Even with the sleeping pill and all of her willpower she could not manage to fall asleep. Daring Do still lay in her bed, strongly considering never taking another adventure. If it meant she ever had to ride one of these infernal machines that somepony, probably a psychopath invented just to torment her, Daring would probably just drop everything and retire.

She rode out the night curled into a small ball, hugging her hindlegs to her chest and wrapping herself with her wings as completely as possible. The gentle rock and sway of the airship that had reminded her of her hammock in the jungle had been replaced by the sound of creaking planks and a bone jarring shake as the winds of the storm hammered the sides of the ship.

The howling wind outside the porthole brought back the memories of the shrieking of the trapped souls inside of the Spirit Masks. The thought that she was fighting somepony who could send the dead to do his fighting was paralyzing. What if this was the one mission she couldn't do? What if the Eyes of the Demon were the one artifact just outside her reach? What if she fell prey to the magic of a witch doctor, her soul an unwilling slave to the whim of a warlord who would use her as fodder in a bush war or as a household slave?

Daring surprised herself by waking up what she guessed to be the next morning. The magical crackle of the PA system in the corner drew the gaze of her bloodshot eyes.

"Attention all passengers, this is your interim captain speaking. We have been blown a few miles off course, but the good news is that the storm seems to have had the effect of speeding up our journey, we will be landing at Tashim in less than an hour."

A pounding knock drew Daring Do to the door to her quarters. Opening it up, an excited Timur almost bounced up and down in front of a bleary, baggy eyed, disheveled Daring Do. "Come come come Ms Do! You must see what I have to show you!"

Daring decided it must be good if he slipped back to rhyming. The mare followed the zebra up to the deck, Daring looked without surprise at the large amount of debris being cleared off the deck by the crew. The cloud ceiling hung thousands of feet over their heads, telling Daring that the ship had dropped considerable altitude in the night.

Without warning the contents of Daring's stomach decided they needed to make an appearance. Leaning over the rail, she hurled away all of her stress and trepidation. Opening her magenta eyes, she looked down at a vast amber plain bordered by a shore of ivory white stone. The sun rose proudly over the distant horizon, painting the waking land in a sea of warm light. The expanse of plain was dotted by short, scrubby trees. The flicker of shy antelopes bounded away as the massive airship came close. The ship passed over a herd of large, grey elephants, their trunk trumpeting to the passing airship.

Daring looked down in awe, holding a hoof on her pith helmet to keep it from falling off. Timur lay a hoof on her shoulder and chuckled, "Welcome Daring Do, to Zebrica!"

Comments

[Nide]

Wale Mrefu, a human spirit,
oh this is going to be fun!

"Our scientific power has outrun our spiritual power. We have guided missiles and misguided men. "

"Our land is more valuable than your money. As long as the sun shines and the waters flow, this land will be here to give life to men and animals; therefore, we cannot sell this land. It was put here for us by the Great Spirit and we cannot sell it because it does not belong to us."