“The body is a home, a prison and a grave.” ― James Runcie, The Colour Of Heaven

An arrow flew through the air and hit the third ring of a roughly curved bull’s eye in a tree branch.

“You’re getting there! Keep it up.” Locust encouraged Karl, who was already busy loading a new arrow for another try. He figured that archery would most likely come in handy later, and the sooner he got to practising the better. Besides, it was a great time killer.

It was difficult at first; not only learning it, but also learning how to work with a bow with his claws, but he managed to figure it out. He used his left claw to hold the bow and used the ends of what once was his thumb and forefinger to hold the arrow.

It sounds easier than it is.

Sunny and Locust were busy playing chess with the set that Karl had asked the dogs to give him. He had always loved the game when he was younger, so now that he was stuck in a world with very little entertainment for someone such as himself, the board game once again found a place in his heart.

About a week and a half had passed ever since those dreadful ambushes in the marshlands, and the trio had managed to locate Noonvale. Karl and Locust had quickly caught up with Sunny. Of course, she asked what had happened, but both Karl and Locust had agreed beforehand that it would be better to keep someone of her disposition in the dark regarding the details and replied to her inquiries only that it “had been taken care of”. The two had washed themselves and their clothes in a small pond they found after exiting the swamp.

The rest of their trip to Noonvale had gone by without any more annoying surprises, for which Karl was grateful. After sighting the town, they had settled in on a hill with view of the city. The city, to those familiar with European history, looked a bit like ancient Roman city of Lutetia. Noonvale sprawled across a broad river, the larger portion located on the land nearest Karl and his friends and connected to a smaller settlement located on an island via two bridges. This second part of the city was considerably less grand, being composed of only a few small houses surrounded by a wooden wall.

He knew that the reason for Lutetia to be like that was out of fear of Germanic raids from the north, so he guessed that some less than friendly individuals lived past the opposite side of the river. He decided to ask Sunny about it. There was no guarantee that she knew anything, but it was worth a shot.

“Hey, how come the city on the other side is so… nearly non-existent?”

“The area between the Sythan River and the Moussus River is a favorite landing spot for the pirates from Nombrus. They use the smaller rivers to travel deeper in the mainland with their ships. Beyond that, the ponies have a pretty tense relationship with a tribe that lives on the other side of the river. That ‘city’ is actually a mercenary camp that offers protection for merchants.”

“The ponies didn’t strike me as the type to employ mercenaries, what with their being all high-and-mighty about their army.” Karl retorted.

“Oh, they don’t like them, but you know they have little chose in the matter. The Equestrian military doesn’t have enough ponypower…”

Karl snorted and rolled his eyes at the Equestrian variant of “manpower”.

“…available for escorts in this area, so the only real choices are hiring some mercenaries or letting the land go undefended. Merchants like that second option far less, so they’re willing to put up with hired arms if it keeps them safe.”

“Who are the mercenaries?”

“Gryphons, D-dogs, who knows. Maybe even some rogue Changelings disguised as ponies. Even if the townsponies figured out that they were Changelings, I doubt that they would even care: they’re way too valuable to the local economy to risk arresting. Basically, what I’m trying to say is; if you’re willing to take the money, pretty much anyone can join.”

“Pirates, thugs for hire, this just keeps getting better! How the hell do you guys get away with calling this a nation of peace, love and tolerance?”

Locust laughed a bit before replying. “Yeah, these border territories can be really hazardous for living, but they really are lovely… and crucial to Equestrian business interests.”

“Border territories? Who are the neighbors?”

“The Gryphons live to the north of Ironhoof. The pirates that Locust mentioned live in the marshlands between the two rivers I brought up before. There’s a native group that lives there too. Their full tribe name is really complicated, something like < Skokak-Skitôpák-wuci-Cáquk >. Most of the locals just call them Skokak for obvious reasons. They have some sort of mutual non-aggression pact with the pirates.” Sunny explained, which earned her a nod from Locust.

“Indeed, the only reason that both the pirates and the tribe actually honour the treaty is because it’s needed in order to preserve their individual interests. The tribe is powerful enough to keep the pirates out of the lands if they felt like it and the pirates trade useful things with the tribe that they can’t get from anywhere else. Each side basically has a stranglehold on the other.”

“What species are these… Skokak?” asked Karl.

“We refer to them as ‘Naga’. I don’t know if you’re familiar with them, but they’re pretty much like giant snakes with arms and torsos that stay mostly upright. They break down into a few subspecies. The Skokak are part of one that resembles cobras.” Locust explained. “They’re not entirely reptilian, though. They’re more amphibious: they can be out of water for a certain amount of time, but they need to keep their skin wet in order to survive.”

“So, to add to the previous list, we now have pirates, thugs for hire, *and* intelligent giant snake-people. Fun times.”

“How are we ever supposed to get in Ironhoof from here? Surely you can’t expect us to get through that swamp alone?” Sunny asked, audible nervous.

“Nope, we won’t stand a chance alone. Hell, forget running into enemies; just surviving in a swamp is hard enough.”

“So what’s the plan?” Sunny asked confused.

“I’ll think of one, but first let’s try and get in that city without attracting any attention.”

“You know, sometimes things are as easy as walking through the front gates.”

A voice from behind spoke, startling all three of them. Locust readied a spell, Karl prepared his claws to strike, and Sunny bravely… hid behind them. They saw that the voice belonged to a Gryphon.

“I don’t want to fight.” The Gryphon said, lifting his wings and showing his empty talons to show that he had no concealed weapons. Well, talons and a razor-sharp beak count as weapons, but there’s not much to be done about those, is there?

“How long have you been listening in on our conversation, Gryphon!” Locust snarled.

“Easy, friend. You have nothing to fear from me. For what it’s worth, though, I arrived during the discussion of the pirates’ relation with the Skokak.”

“Why did you sneak up on us?” Karl asked in a neutral tone.

“Perhaps introductions are in order so you can better understand my reasons. My name is Adler Lowegreif. I am one of the local Mercenary Captains. I’ll get straight to the point: we’re looking for new recruits. You Changelings are excellent soldiers and spies, albeit extremely rare for reasons I’m sure you are all too familiar with.”

Locust cringed at the reminder of the loss of his friends.

“And your friend here… let’s say he is a very unique specimen.”

“Yes, I am one of kind, if I do say so myself.”

“Yes, and since you talked about the Cáqash and it’s inhabitants so much I assumed you wanted to cross it.”

“Talked about the what?”

“Cáqash. It’s what the tribe calls the swampland and marshes. Some locals think it’s a bit weird using Naga vocabulary, but they’ve called it that for as long as anyone can remember and it’s just kind of carried over into everyday talk.”

‘Hm. Their name makes a little more sense now… I guess.’ thought Karl.

“As I was saying, when I heard your intentions, I thought we could help each other out. As you seem to already know, my job consists of making sure merchants arrive safely and soundly with their merchandise in Ironhoof. I hire teams to help in the effort, not without a fair share of bits of course. Usually we only have issues with the pirates: the Skokak and the townspeople usually stay away from each other.

“But lately, things have been getting tough. The relationship between the ponies and the Skokak has been deteriorating and over the past few weeks the Skokak have even been attacking trade convoys. It’s gotten so bad, that… well, my usual crew has been mostly killed off. The thing that makes dealing with the Skokak so risky is that they aren’t bound by rivers water like the pirates are. We have a good idea with the pirates where they try and pull off an attack, but the Skokak influence extends far inland. They say they’re like ghosts; coming out nowhere, savagely attacking travellers and then vanishing again, leaving just bodies behind… sometimes not even that.”

“Good relations, even neutral ones, don’t just go sour for no reason.” said Karl, stating the obvious. “What’s the reason behind the violence?”

“I don’t have a clue. One day things are as normal, the next, they start butchering travellers and tradesponies.”

“Let me guess; this is the perfect opportunity to get the maximum pay check out of the merchants. You just need a bigger crew to convince them that you’re worth their time and money.”

“Indeed, mister…”

“Karl Kempf, but just call me Karl.”

“Well, Karl, anyone who knows the basics of trade knows that when a product is popular but there is only little to be offered, then the price becomes higher. In the mercenary business it’s no different: the fewer there are of us and the more dangerous our opponents get, the more expensive our services become. Of course, mercenaries willing to risk the natural hazards of the marshes and then potentially taking on both the pirates and the Skokak are hard to come by, no matter the pay.”

“If they have so much trouble with the swamp, than why don’t the merchants simply use Pegasus carriages?” Sunny piped up at last.

“You’d think that, wouldn’t you! It’s not as simple as it sounds. The swamp is too large to cross in one try, and good luck with trying to land a cart in there without it getting stuck. Of course, there is also the fact that no one really wants to try their luck against the Orodros.”

“Orodros?”

“Yes. Nasty things! Some of the older locals call them Wôpsuqák. They’re basically giant eagles that are at least as large as an adult male Gryphon. I say ‘at least’ because it’s not rare to find some that are easily two or three times my height. They pretty much have undisputed control of the skies above the swamp. Some believe they’re used by the Skokak as scouts or even means of transportation, although I personally have never actually seen any evidence of this. Whether they help the Naga or not, they definitely don’t help anyone else.”

Karl started thinking about the proposal.

“Hey, what do you think of this: you help us get into the city, and I’ll see what I can do about your problem.”

“You’ve got yourself a deal. Let’s get going: I can show you ‘round.”

Karl and the others packed their stuff before joining Adler, who was waiting patiently at the tree line. The four made their way to the gates while Adler gave them information about the job, like the pay, the provided equipment, etc. When they arrived at the gates, the pony guards ignored them for the most part. Only throwing a brief glance of both curiosity and disgust at Karl, but otherwise let them pass without any hindrance.

Now that he was closer to the city, Karl could see just how impressive its defences actually were: the walls were incredibly high, easily one hundred metres in some places, and various towers stood equidistant from each other over the entire length of the wall. The walls were composed of different levels; the upper level possessed a catapult or a trebuchet and the lower possessed some kind of ballista. While these were physically intimidating, Karl couldn’t help noticing that the guards didn’t look all that militaristic or combat-hardened.

“That went easier than expected.” noted Locust, who had again disguised himself in his Rain Cloud form.

“Like I said, individuals like me are commodities these days. They can’t afford to ask many questions, so even if they have no idea who you are, if you’re being led in by a trusted mercenary, they won’t even care unless you start acting like a jackass. In that last case, you might end up with a shitload of fines, but they almost never put us in jail.” Adler explained.

“This city looks ready for a siege, but I can’t say that the soldiers look quite as prepared. What gives?” inquired Karl

“Those guys? Fighting? Hah! Could you actually see those ponies putting up a defense against pissed off Naga? They’re just there for show. Most of them actually buy into all that peace-love crap. It’s way more in their interest to hire me and my friends to do the dirty work for them.”

“You act as a city garrison too?” Sunny asked.

“Yep. We do pretty much everything that’s vaguely violent with the exception of police work. Pissed off the wrong people? Call us. You need an escort through Cáqash? Call us. You need hardened soldiers to defend your city? Call us. Just be sure your pockets are deep enough.” Adler finished with a grin.

The streets looked much like those in a medieval city. A lot of ponies wandered through the streets, but there were also quite a lot of other races. He saw a group of Diamond dogs talking together, two Gryphons were marching on each side of a wealthy looking unicorn and he saw a minotaur having a discussion with a merchant, probably involving the price of his products.

However on the central plaza where the big market stood, Karl truly saw how many different species there were. He saw a group of feline acrobats make a human (for a given value of the word) pyramid. A group of Diamond dogs were holding a drinking competition with a group of Gryphons and what looked like a human-sized lizard.

Karl’s group passed by a large aquarium containing some Naga and creatures that looked exactly like the Murlocs from the game World of Warcraft, although he had no idea what they were actually called in this world.

A pony stood next to the large aquarium and if Karl had any doubts about why the aquarium stood there to begin with, then those doubts disappeared immediately after he heard what the pony was yelling.

"Can I get 500 bits for this lovely lady?! An ext-ROR-dinary specimen of her kind! I can guarantee you that you won’t quickly find one more unique or more beautiful than this one right here!”

The woman for whom they were bidding was a beautiful Naga. As lower body she possessed a purplish colored tail which was adorned with sharp spines and more pinkish looking fins in between the spikes.

Her upper body looked like a human with a few differences, the main one being that her skin was blue and the vitreous of her eyes were yellow instead of white. Instead of hair she possessed a multicolored fin cascading and tapering, not unlike the general shape of hair, which, closest to her head, was coloured yellow, fading into to a reddish tint and finally a purplish tint, not unlike some bizarre sunburst paint-job on a guitar. The ears possessed smaller fins. Most of her body was unclothed, the sole article of clothing being a brown colored bikini top covering her breasts. What size were they? C-cup, easily…

‘Come on, man! This is not the time or place!” Karl mentally reprimanded himself.

“500 bits from the stallion in the hat. Do I hear 550? Anyone, 550?” The pony said enthusiastically.

A large minotaur raised his hand. ”600!”

“600 bits from the minotaur in the back! Do I hear 700?”

A Pegasus with a beard flew up and raised a hoof.

“700 from the bearded Pegasus! 800! Anypony? 800!”

The crowd started whispering amongst each other, but no one seemed to be willing to offer more.

“Come now this beautiful lady deserves, at the very least, 800! 800 once, 800 twice…!”

A Diamond Dog tentatively raised a paw.

“800! Do I hear 900? 800 bits once, 800 twice… sold to the gentledog in the second row for 800 bits!”

The Diamond Dog was signaled to follow some guards in order to pay up.

“Well, I’m curious to know how the slave trade fits into the ‘love and tolerance’ theme.” Karl asked.

“Hey, money’s money. Who cares where it comes from?” Adler replied. “Kind of ironic, really, that the pirates that cause so much trouble are also the ones who make it possible for the slave traders to become rich and stimulate the economy.” he added

“Why would a Diamond Dog be interested in a Naga, though? And a female no less. I thought the dogs would be more interested in males and creatures that don’t need water to survive in their mines.”

“Don’t ask me. It’s a strange deal indeed. I would say it could be for more… private matters, but that’s going to be some pretty friggin’ difficult sex. Believe me: I once tried it with a willing Naga lady and I can guarantee you that it’s almost impossible.”

This earned Adler a grin from both Locust and Karl.

“What?!” shouted Locust in mock-surprise. “Naga females are legendary for sex! My pals said so! Of course, we have the added benefit of being able to change shape, so it would naturally be difficult to replicate with Gryphons. I wouldn’t recommend them for anything else than foreplay for all those who don’t share similar anatomy.”

“Damn. There go my dreams.” Karl retorted with overdramatic sadness, earning him a loud laughter from both the Gryphon and the Changeling.

“What are you blabbering about? I’m sure that someone with your size fits in angling, no matter how small they are!” Locust said slyly, which earned himself a small friendly whack on the shoulders from Karl.

Their free-running, raucous laughter seemed to be eliciting some confused stares from passerby, although it was hard to tell, considering Karl got stares regardless.

By this point the Diamond dog had paid his debt and some guards were busy using a crude crane to get the Naga out of the great aquarium and into one that was basically a carriage with an aquarium instead of sitting or storage space.

Despite the presumed enmity and bawdy jokes, Karl couldn’t help but feel sorry for the Naga girl. She was actually beautiful, nothing at all like the grotesque image typically painted by the words “snake people”. And while it wasn’t important, if she actually proposed any… amorous activities, Karl couldn’t honestly say that he would reject her.

As beautiful as she was, it could not prevent an aura of sadness to radiate all around her. Karl briefly glanced at Locust who was obviously getting uncomfortable of being so close to such a massive source of sadness (he did absorb emotions, after all).

The Naga was using her snake like tail as a chair, had her hands folded in front of her lap and looked with sad eyes to the bottom of the small Aquarium while the guards were busy adjusting locks and fasteners, although all the while they were clearly admiring her from all angles possible. It was, after all, the last time they had the chance to admire the beautiful creature, although Karl was sure that their reasons were a lot more perverted than his own.

“Come on, guys. Let’s look at something else. Don’t go getting all depressed on me.” called out Adler

Karl nodded and followed the Gryphon to their next destination. They wandered a bit across the market until they reached the street.

“So, should we actually agree to this mercenary work, would that give you have enough men to make it across the swamp?” Karl asked curiously.

“Not quite. If you two accept, then we will need at least three more. I know a few guys that would be up to the job, but they’re out escorting a transport for the next three days, and that’s if everything runs perfectly. Even if they agree, they’d probably want a day or two to recuperate. All in all, we’ll probably need to wait at least five days before I can even start the job.”

“Can’t you recruit some other guys?”

“Dude, I keep telling you: ever since the Skokak hostilities have been on the rise, the Ironhoof route isn’t exactly popular anymore. Sure, there are always a few that do it regardless, but honestly, when you’re going up against Naga, you need guys that can and actually want to have your back. You can’t have some greenhorns that haven’t the faintest idea of how to act in a serious fight, but you can’t have crusty old disloyal nutbags that’ll backstab you as soon as they get paid, either.”

Karl sat quietly for a while, contemplating his options.

“Well?” asked Adler impatiently. “Do we have a deal or not?”

“Yes, we do.” answered Karl.

“Good”.

Adler held out a talon, and Karl shook it without too much hesitation. It was, after all, probably the only chance he had to get in Ironhoof in one piece.

The Gryphon looked at the Changeling in pony disguise as he held his talon out once again. Locust shook the talon as well.

“Now, your female companion can travel with the escort, but I’m not paying her.”

“Okay… now what?”

“Well, the two of you seem quite battle-ready, and you look pretty experienced, but I’d like to see your skills for myself. We also need to get you on my crew list so that you can legally make use of our training center.”

“So basically just some exercise and paperwork.”

“Yep, but for now let’s regroup with your female companion. I believe she has found something that attracted her attention somewhere on the market.”

Karl looked around and indeed saw that Sunny was nowhere in sight.

‘That was probably why I haven’t heard some kind of remark from her yet.’ he thought to himself.

“Listen Karl, why don’t you wait here while me and uhm… what was your name again?”

“Locust.”

“While me and Locust go and find your companion. It shouldn’t take long with flying. We’ll meet back up here in a few.”

Karl nodded.

Locust shifted into a Pegasus form, and he immediately took off with Adler, leaving Karl standing at the street side, patiently waiting for their return.

Something soon caught his attention: the carriage with the female Naga from earlier was heading his way. He looked at the girl inside, who had opted to lay on the bottom of the aquarium rather than sit upright, probably hoping to escape the leers and jeers she received from all around.

Karl truly felt sorry for her. He hated, no, loathed being the center of the attention. It hurt his heart that another creature suffering the same thing in front of his face. She was trapped like an insect in a jar. The top of the Aquarium was locked in place, and even if she escaped, where would she go?

Sure, a Naga could live on land for a certain period of time, but how would she manage to reach the Cáqash with the guards on her tail? Karl had no clue how long Naga could survive outside of water. The odds were definitely not in her favour and he, she and her captors all realized that.

The carriage halted in front of him to allow some ponies and other creatures to cross the street. To Karl’s surprise she opened her eyes and looked straight at him, even finding him interesting enough to lift her head a bit and look at him. Karl was never good at interpreting emotions, but he saw clear confusion, followed by shock.

He looked away so that she couldn’t really see the left side of his face. The last thing he wanted was to see the disgust so often displayed by others appear on the Naga’s face. He waited for her to back away in revulsion, but instead her look softened. It wasn’t one of loathing, but rather one of compassion and sympathy.

She felt sorry for him? An unexpected, but welcome change from the normal disgust that normally ensued upon meeting others for the first time. She put her right hand against the glass of her prison and smiled meekly at him as if to console him for his unwanted facial mark. He returned with his own smile as a way to tell her he appreciated it. Her smile grew a bit, but then the moment was broken between the two as the carriage continued its trip. The two kept looking at each other for a while, both glad to have found a companion in their suffering. He kept gazing past the end of the street long after the carriage disappeared from his sight, only looking away when he heard the familiar voices of his companions calling for his attention.

Author's Note

Hello everybody!

I hope you just like the previous chapters enjoyed this one and that you guys also this time show support for the story.

I have also an announcement to make, for the people who didn't notice it yet. I have put two links in the story by the words Lutetia and woman. You need to click on those words in order to see the pictures. Let me know if you like this way or if you prefer the pictures to just stand in the story without needing to click on the words.

Finally I have one more question for you guys, for those of you that have already tasted lime. How did it taste?

Please let me know and I hope you guys show some support and keep showing support for the story.

Editor: Vlasislas32
Author: TheShadowOfZama