Death Be Not Proud

by ShinigamiDad

Farewell

The afternoon and evening passed uneventfully: after selling a few jewels to Bixia the gem smith, Reaper bought a new, younger, dark-brown dalzi, dubbed “Colt” by Luna, from Tal’ar’s brother, Arta. The stableman also thoughtfully threw in two full sets of tack, for a “small” fee. They also procured a pair of blankets and new wineskins for their impending trek.

Properly outfitted at last, the two companions returned to the inn as evening set in, and a few snowflakes swirled down from the lowering clouds.

Reaper glared at the sky: “It better not snow tonight, or it’ll make our getaway tomorrow a bit less stealthy.”

Luna nodded, then stopped and peered closely as several flakes landed on her dark blue sleeve: “Behold! They look like tiny diamonds! How beautiful!”

Reaper smiled: “You really do look regal in that outfit! I wonder if we can figure out a way to get it back to Equestria when you return.”

Luna looked away and chewed her lip.

Reaper bounded up the inn’s steps and pulled the door open, letting out a gust of warm, smoky air. Luna stopped at the threshold and stared intently into the shadows of the surrounding buildings for a moment, tipping her head sideways. She shook her head and stepped inside the inn.

Tal’ar hurried to the entrance from across the room: “By the Gods! Don’ you two look like sumpin’ from an old storybook! The T’zesa there looks like mighty Brōka Nosk'a herself come back from the Beyond!

Luna raised an eyebrow and turned to Reaper: “Another day, another elevation to godhood!”

Reaper grinned: “Don’t get too comfortable with the title! If memory serves, Brōka Nosk’a was the last of the Lost Gods to face exile, and she chose to fall in battle, naked and unarmed, instead.”

Luna set her jaw: “Given those options, I believe she likely made the right choice.”

Reaper raised an eyebrow, and turned to the innkeeper: “We have changed our plans somewhat: we intend now to leave tomorrow late afternoon.”

“Not in the mornin’?”

“No, and I would like to purchase enough provender to last the T’zesa and myself for four days.”

“Not a problem--I’ll have plenty of dried fruit and bread and cheese and whatnot ready a-fore 'ya leave. Did Arta treat ‘ya right?”

Reaper smiled as they crossed the floor toward the back-corner table: “I assume his price was a bit inflated, but I don’t mind--we can afford it, and the having the tack immediately was quite convenient.”

Tal’ar rolled her eyes as Luna and Reaper sat down, handing over their bundles: “‘A bit inflated!’ Like as not he robbed ya’ blind, I wouldn’t wonder!”

Reaper winked: “Well, as long as you get your cut, yes?”

The innkeeper stared for a moment then burst out laughing: “Yer alright! We’re gonna miss you two when yer gone!””

She picked up their bundles and headed toward the stairs: “I’ll run yer stuff to the room--Regel’ll see to yer needs. Yo! Regel!”

Tal’ar disappeared up the stairs as Regel hurried to the table: “What c’n I get for you gentlefolk tonight?”

Reaper scratched his chin: “I know you have some Southland wine--bring us that. And perhaps you have something sweet?”

Regel nodded: “The cook just took out some sugared spice bread! I’ll get that!”

Luna raised an eyebrow: “Sweet things? How uncharacteristic!”

“Hey, it’s our last night here--let’s try something a little different.”

“More ‘local color?’”

“Exactly.”

“So tell me of this Brōka Nosk’a; I was only able to glean the barest scraps of old tales from my time in your memory store.”

Regel stepped up and placed a jug of wine in the middle of the table along with two cups, then turned away.

Reaper filled the cups: “She was styled as the Goddess of Battle--not of War, per se, just battle. She was the quintessential fighter: she did not seek war for itself, but her bloodlust was insatiable once aroused.”

“And she preferred death to exile.”

“Yes. Killed twenty with her bare hands in her final battle at daybreak of the Last Day--Kenn Gune.”

“‘Last Day?’”

“The final day Kur had its gods. The March of Mortal Time is said to have begun as she fell.”

“When is this said to have happened?”

“If the myths are to be believed, some twenty-five-hundred years ago.”

“So the baths built in honor of Liz’un-urd’a-birna date back over two millennia?”

“Unlikely. Worship of the Lost Gods continued for quite some time. There are still remnants of it today. I would expect that old temple is fifteen-hundred years old, give or take.”

“Like the shrine where we made our arrival.”

“Right.”

Regel reappeared carrying two steaming mugs and a plate of sticky, aromatic, light-brown bread: “'Ya gots yer wine, but the cook thought this might go better with the sweet bread.”

Luna pulled a mug toward her and wrinkled her nose: “Potent! What is it?”

Reaper sniffed his mug, furrowed his brow, then took a sip. His eyebrows shot up: “I’ll be damned--it’s jetutko! I haven’t had this in years!” He took a swig: “Be careful: your use of the word ‘potent’ is spot-on! This stuff’ll knock your boots off!”

Luna took a mouthful and swished it around: “I am unable to identify the flavor, though it seems I should be able to. It eludes me like a memory I cannot quite grasp.”

Reaper smiled: “Any memory this calls forth is likely so old as to be nearly lost to you. Jetutko is spiced, fermented dalzi’s milk. It’s an old winter favorite in the north. I haven’t tasted it in thousands of years…”

Luna raised an eyebrow and took a long drink: “Yes--I have not tasted mare’s milk in more years than I care to recall.”

She took a bit of the bread and another drink of jetutko: “It goes wonderfully with the bread! Celestia would be delighted with this confection!”

Reaper pulled out the map from his cloak pocket: “Tell her when you get back! I’ve marked the location of the shrine at the far north edge of this map, and updated a few landmarks based on our travels.”

He refolded the map and set his gloves on it: “I’ll hold on to this for the moment, and I’ll be sure to make any final edits over the next few days, so your return is as smooth as possible.”

He took a piece of bread and his mug and leaned back, eyes closed, as Luna bit her lip and stared at the edge of the map sticking out from beneath the gloves.

---

It was well past midnight and several mugs of jetutko later when Luna and Reaper returned to their room, slipped on nightclothes, stoked the fire and crawled beneath the blankets.

Reaper began to fade immediately: “Were you going to check out my last dream? I remember you being interested…”

Luna turned to face him, but the answer died on her lips.

“You have to tell him.”

Luna glanced around, clenched her teeth and hissed in a forced whisper: “Not here!”

“Fine.”

Luna closed her eyes, reached out and touched the lamp on the table in Starswirl’s secret library. It sprung to life, filling the cluttered, dusty room with a cool, white light. Nightmare Moon leaned against the wall, wrapped in Luna’s new cloak.

“Interesting location. You have come to conduct some more research I take it?”

“Yes. I need to have a better sense of Gerrar and Yunada. And I know he will not willingly divulge anything more.”

Luna pointed to the corner where Reaper, again clad only in his half-opened, tattered cloak, slouched in an ornate, richly-carved chair.
Nightmare Moon raised an eyebrow: “What an odd piece of furniture to be in this place!”

“Agreed. Now, what do you want?”

Nightmare Moon began running her fingertips lightly over the books filling the shelves along the walls: “You have to tell him. He cannot go on believing that you have a return path.”

“I know, but the time has not yet arrived. I must see to Gerrar first. All options must be closed off.”

Nightmare Moon stepped over to Reaper’s sleeping form and knelt beside him, dragging a fingernail delicately down his neck and around a nipple: “Do you believe you can handle Gerrar? Perhaps you should leave the ‘closing off’ to me.”

Luna glared: “I know precisely what I am doing. I have now had enough experience with the dream tools at my disposal to, how did Reaper put it? ‘Take him off the board.’”

“What then, True Sister? Can you really go through with the end-game? It was terrible once!”

Luna ran her hands over several red, hide-bound volumes titled Yunada: “Yes, I recall. And yes, I am prepared.”

Nightmare Moon turned away from Reaper and looked at the books in Luna’s hands. She closed her eyes and shuddered: “Even by our lights this Yunada is twisted!”

Luna licked her lips nervously: “This is even worse than the visions you forced out of Reaper! I can see why he has so thoroughly repressed these memories!”

Nightmare Moon nodded as the room was suffused with a lurid red light and the smells of naphtha and pitch: “Su'totza. Yet another Lost God. It seems to me they do not entirely live up to their reputations as ‘Lost’--not as often as we see or hear references to them.”

“Yes, perhaps ‘Ghost Gods’ would be more accurate. Regardless, I know all I need to know of Yunada. I have no intent to actually engage with him.”

Nightmare Moon reached out and pulled down a thick volume, bound in rich, green silk: “No, you seek more knowledge of Gerrar, perhaps something like this…”

She opened the book and her eyes went wide; she bit her glistening lip: “Ah, Gerrar--or is it Reaper? You dirty boy! It is a shame we did not meet under different circumstances--you would have been more than welcome to put your tongue there!”

Luna scowled as Nightmare Moon ran her hand down Reaper’s abdomen, under his cloak, and between his legs.

“Leave him alone! He is unaware of our presence, and I should like to keep it that way!”

Nightmare Moon rolled her eyes, but withdrew her hand: “Fine. But you may well need to control him or Gerrar or both by extraordinary means in order to execute your plan.”

Luna sighed: “I am aware…”

Nightmare Moon flipped through more pages: “Well, this certainly has some control potential. One could never pull this one off with hooves…”

Luna stood and waved angrily, causing the room to empty of all books and scrolls: “Stop! I have seen all I need to move forward!”

The room suddenly darkened; Luna shook her head and found herself on the beach at the base of the unknown lighthouse. Nightmare Moon sat on the bottom step, pointing at Reaper, bleeding out into the sand.

“But move forward to what, True Sister?”

Nightmare Moon stood and faded away, leaving behind a faint, silvery shimmer, like a heat mirage.

Luna walked over to Reaper’s body and looked down at it with brow furrowed. His skin was covered with a dense brown coat, like a pony, and a broken horn protruded from his forehead. Gerrar’s bloody sword was stuck in the sand at his side.

Luna bent down to pick up the sword and awoke with a start as her fingers closed around the hilt.

She lay awake for the next hour, starting at the ceiling until she drifted into a restless sleep.

---

Reaper awoke the next morning and lay quietly on his side, watching Luna’s sleeping face for several minutes, luxuriating in her scent, touching the back of her hand, feeling her pulse.

“You can have her, you know.”

Reaper shuddered and squeezed his eyes shut: “No--I can’t--and more’s the pity. But I have to die and she has to leave. And you, dark angel--once I would have happily explored my basest impulses with you--”

“Something about ‘booze and zaka and cunt,’ if I recall…”

“--but you’re just a voice in my head via a fragment of a lost soul in Luna’s head. You’re not real.”

The hair suddenly stood up on the back of his neck. He could feel eyes behind him. Someone was in the chair.

“You just keep thinking that, Harbinger…”

He snapped his head around--the chair was empty.

“Is something wrong?”

He turned back and looked into Luna’s eyes: “I felt someone else here. Nightmare Moon spoke to me. How is this possible? I’m sure I wasn’t asleep just now!”

“I wish I knew. She eludes me each time I think have her pinned-down.”

Reaper reached out and cupped Luna’s cheek in his palm: “Luna…”

She gently pulled his hand away, kissed his fingertips, and slid off the bed. She walked to the window and looked out on the street below.

“It does not appear we will have to deal with anything more than a light dusting of snow today.”

Reaper took a deep, shuddering breath and sat up: “A bit of good fortune.”

He stood and looked at Luna, silhouetted against the window: “Luna…”

“Please go downstairs and ask Regel to fetch several basins of hot water--I would like to take a bath. Would you do that for me?”

Reaper closed his eyes: “Yes.”

He pulled his cloak over his nightshirt, slipped on a pair of clogs and headed to the door.

As the door thumped shut, Luna turned from the window and wiped the welling tears from her eyes with the sleeve of her shift.

“You have to tell him.”

“Go to Tartarus.”

---

An hour-and-a-half later Luna came downstairs to the common room, wearing simple, patched and cleaned travel clothes and a light cloak. She sat down across from Reaper who was poring over notes and his map as he sipped mulled cider and chewed absently on a bit of dark bread.

“How was your bath? I suspect you’re a bit too tall for that tub.”

She waved at Regel, who was standing across the room: “It was a tight fit, to be sure, but pleasant all the same.”

Regel hurried over: “Yes, T’zesa?”

Luna spoke slowly as though translating: “Some cider, please?”

“Right away!”

As the servant headed toward the kitchen, Reaper looked up from his notebook: “We can probably drop the language act once we’re clear of the town. I’m sure it’s getting kind of tiring.”

“Indeed. I will be glad to drop the ruse, though I will miss this town. Its citizens have been quite friendly.”

“Yeah, well priceless gems will do that…”

Luna raised an eyebrow: “Cynic! I believe these people to be quite genuine!”

“Maybe. My years on this world taught me to trust no one, and my millennia on yours taught me not to really care.”

Luna nodded and took a chunk of bread as Regel placed a mug in front of her: “I understand. Then trust my judgement--these are good people.”

Reaper shrugged and took a swig of cider: “I just hope they survive the coming weeks. It’s hard to tell what will happen after the battle at Fort Torlek. It will likely scramble to whole power dynamic in this region.”

“Well, what kind of man is Gindu?”

“Typical warlord material, if a bit more civilized. Talks the talk about wanting to at least reestablish some of the old city-state arrangements and agreements.”

“And so would be likely to leave a town like Rixk’a alone.”

“As long as they pay their tribute, probably.”

Luna and Reaper sat and ate in silence for several minutes, until Tal’ar walked up to the table bearing a bundle and two earthenware jugs.
“Here’s the food ‘n drink ‘ya asked fer last night. If’n it’s not enough just say so and I’ll hunt up some more!”

Reaper scooted his chair aside: “Just set it on the table. I’m sure it will be enough--thank you!”

The innkeeper nodded and smiled broadly: “It’s been a true pleasure havin’ you two here--I’ll be sorry t’ see ya go! Do ‘ya have e’rrything ‘ya need?”

“Yes--I believe once Regel retrieves our dalzi from your stables and helps us load them, we should be ready to go.”

Luna swallowed a mouthful of bread: “Should we be on our way shortly, or do you still wish to leave at dusk?”

Reaper let out a long breath: “Let’s go ahead and get packed-up and on the road now. By the time Regel gets the mounts and we get them loaded and ourselves out the door, it will likely be noon at least. We can take the main path southeast at a leisurely pace for a few hours before cutting south.”

Luna nodded: “That should appear to establish our route to most observers.”

“Right.”

Reaper stood and gestured to Tal’ar: “I believe the time has come for the T’zesa and me to take our leave of your fine town. Please have Regel fetch our mounts.”

“At once, good Sir!”

Reaper turned to Luna: “I’ll head up now and pack. No need to hurry…”

Luna took another sip of cider: “I will join you shortly.”

As Reaper turned and headed toward the stairs, Luna pulled the dagger from her belt and quickly carved a shape into the tabletop. She finished her drink, stood and placed the empty mug next to the symbol she had inscribed: a crescent moon.

---

Tal’ar stood next to her brother and Regel two hours later as Reaper and Luna, mounted on Colt and Bitch turned away from the inn, bound for the town gates.

Tal’ar waved vigorously with her left hand, her right being clenched tightly around three almond-sized rubies: “Fare thee well you two! Come back if ‘ya gets the chance!”

Regel waved as well: “Travel safe, T’zesa! I’ll--er, we’ll miss ‘ya!” He blushed furiously as Luna looked back and smiled broadly at him.

They waved to Er’rem as they passed his shop, and Luna, resplendent in her armor and cloak, unsheathed the smith’s sword and saluted him with it. The smith bowed deeply and returned the salute.

And lastly they waved to the City Watch and bade farewell to the throng of townsfolk who had gathered to see the spectacle. The Head Nightwatchman and Captain of the Guard both accepted a bit as an exit toll, then moved the barriers aside as Bitch and Colt cantered toward the gate.

Luna rolled her eyes as they cleared the town’s entrance: “‘Exit toll’ indeed! That was simple extortion!”

Reaper laughed: “Sure, but who cares? Damn near everybody else in town had gotten to wet their beaks, why not them, too?”

“I suppose. It does seem odd that Zain was not present to take his cut as well.”

Reaper shrugged: “Yeah, I mean it’s not like we were sneaking out--I told the Captain of the Guard this morning!”

Luna furrowed her brow: “Perhaps he was seeing to our old dalzi-trading acquaintances.”

“An interesting thought.”

They rode at a slow but steady pace for roughly four hours as the shadows lengthened in front of them. They stopped at a bend in the road before it began to climb slightly through a cut in the side of a hill.

Reaper dismounted and let the dalzi off the left side of the path and down into a dense thicket of beech-like trees and brush.

Luna climbed down off Bitch and looped her lead around a branch: “How long do you expect we should wait?”

Reaper looked to the west: “Looks like about another hour ‘til dusk, then we can work our way through this bit of woodland and follow the natural fall of this set of downs directly south."

Luna sat down on a fallen log, pulling her cloak tightly about her: “I have grown accustomed to warmer surroundings these last few days.”

Reaper smiled: “I understand. It shouldn’t take too much to get re-acclimated to the cold, especially given that cloak!”

Luna nodded: “It is wonderfully warm! I am sure our next leg of this journey will pass far more comfortably than the first.”

“Well, barring encounters with a hartz or a pack of otsal, or losing all our gear, I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet!”

“Given our strange fortunes so far, let us not get too far ahead of ourselves!”

Reaper laughed as he uncorked his wineskin and took a swig of the pale Southland wine it contained: “Thank you, Tal’ar!”

Luna took the wine from Reaper and filled her mouth with the cool, pale liquid, handing the skin back as she glimpsed Larg, now waxing toward full, rising on their right above the dark, skeletal trees.

She pointed at the moon, now casting ghostly shadows through the barren treetops: “Even Larg came out to see us off!”

Reaper grinned: “Finally! A nice, uncomplicated Lost God!”

Luna laughed as she took back the wineskin.