Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Pouring the remaining jars into the pit, a horrible smell rises. “The stench–” Sora gasps in disgust. “Yes, let us hope the effect is as powerful as the odor,” Arjun responds.
“Physician!” one of the servants calls out in a panic. “He has stopped breathing”
“We have not a moment to waste. Quickly… into the pit with him!”
The servants quickly lowered the salimbok into the pool, the body disappearing beneath the surface. “We must pull him out. Surely he will perish in there.” Sora fretted.
“He has already perished. Whatever happens now cannot harm him further,” he reassured her.
After a moment or two of waiting, the group is startled by a splash as the salimbok crawls from the water with wild eyes. “He lives! HE LIVES! I’ve succeeded! I have done what no one has ever hoped to do… neither priest nor philosopher nor physician has ever restored breath to an empty corpse until now… until this triumphant moment,” Arjun rejoiced.
Crouching for a moment at the edge of the water, the Salimbok’s eyes lock onto Sora. “Woman,” he growls, lunging at Sora. “Let me go!” she says, pulling away from the man.
Arjun begins to intervene, calling out, “ Please, young excellency,... Please restrain yourself–” The Salimbok interrupts him, striking him to the ground. It was at this moment he was glad he had left his boy in the city, sparing him from the violence.
Sora, fleeing from the man, runs from the tent, closely followed by the Salimbok. Arjun attempts to restrain the man; once again, he is struck to the ground. He watches as the Salimbok pounces on Sora, grasping her throat in his hands, leeching the life from her body. Upon seeing the Salimbok exiting the tent, the Salimb cries out in joy, “My boy, my boy.”
“Father?” the Salimbok questions, seemingly startled into sanity. The Salimbok looks down at his hands, horrified to see the woman’s body beneath him.
“Are you recovered?” the Salimb questions, ignoring the scene he had just witnessed. “You are well! Oh, my boy… I am so happy!”
“Sora, she is dead,” Arjun cries out in despair.
“That is unfortunate,” the Salimb states unsympathetically. “The Physician has slain his wife; confine him. I will pass judgement on him shortly,” he calls out, ordering the nearby guards.
“Excellency, I beg of you… Let me place her in the pit. It may not be too late… There may be a chance… I beg you,” Arjun pleads desperately, only to be ignored in favor of being dragged away.
Turning to his son, the Salimb asks, “Have you eaten? The cook has prepared the pudding you like.”

“Excellency!” calls out the captain. “Yes, Captain?” the Salimb responds, turning towards the man.
“I did as you commanded, pursued the nomads into the desert.”
“And?”
“I am happy to report complete success. We slew forty of them, and we have a dozen prisoners. Shall I put them to the sword?”
“Without delay,” the Salimb confirms.
“No, Father, I have a far better idea,” the Salimbok interjects.

“You deny your crime, Physician?” the Salimb asks from atop his throne.
“Deny that I murdered one of the few people who give my existence meaning? Yes, I do deny it with my last breath. It was your son!” Arjun defends.
“NO!” the Salimb roars.
“But you saw him!”
“This cannot be true… It is not true! He was trying to revive her. Yes, anyone could see that,” the Salimb argues, a small tear falling from his eye.
“Excellency, your love twists your mind, counterfeits your memory”
“You dare insult me? You speak vile lies of my household? The slaying of a woman, this is a small matter. But the slander you spew forth, it is an outrage! It is not to be forgiven! It merits the harshest of punishments! According to our laws, such punishment is to be determined by the one who has suffered”
Smirking, the Salimbok steps forward. “May I now pass judgement, Father?” he asks jovially.
“As you will, my boy,” grants the Salimb.
“I decree that the physician be confined in the cage–”
“Excellency, as one who has served you well… I ask the favor of a quick beheading—” Arjun interrupts.
“SILENCE!” the Salimb roars.
“Physician, you say you loved fair Sora, true?” the Salimbok continues.
“Yes,” Arjun relents.
“Then I will honor your love. Tomorrow you shall enjoy her company anew. For a full month, in the cold of night and the heat of the day, you shall enjoy it. Especially in the heat of day,” the Salimbok states, his smirk widening. “Oh, and that child you keep will be stripped of his citizenship in our fair city,” he adds, seemingly as an afterthought.
Arjun’s heart sank as he heard the continuation of the punishment.

The morning came, and as the Salimbok had promised, Arjun was pulled from his cell. He was brought before a pit along with several other prisoners. Arjun tried not to look, but before him stood an iron cage containing the body of his wife. She was bare and tied by her neck to the bars in a sitting position, a horrified expression plastered across her frozen face. “You see? She awaits you. It is time you joined her. Have you anything to say? A plea, perhaps? Very well. I expect we will hear from you soon enough.” As the salimbok speaks, he signals to the guards to place Arjun within the cage as well. He offers little resistance; he has had little rest these past days, and the last of his energy was spent fretting for the fate of his child. “Lower it into the hole. We would not wish for our lovebirds to be lonely, would we? Let the prisoners join them.” The Salimbok stated joyfully, “So often, Physician, you have prated on about science and philosophy while your slut of a wife withered me with scornful looks. Well now, you may prate to your heart’s content. Perhaps those who share your new dwelling will heed your fine words. As for your wife… she is now the one withered. I shall return in a month. No doubt you will be delighted to greet me.” As the Salimbok begins to leave, he turns to a guard. “You see that female?” he asks.
“Yes, Highness”
“Fetch her to my chamber”
As the last of the prisoners was forced into the hole, a heavy grate was placed over them, and Arjun was faced with his wife’s corpse.

As Danny sat reading one of the many texts the Physician owned, he was distracted by a panicked knocking at the door. Opening it, he was confronted with a man. The man’s eyes were filled with concern. “You must come with me; the Salimbok has accused your father of murdering his wife. As part of his punishment, you are to be thrown from the city. I owe your father a debt; I wish to help.” The sincerity of the man convinced Danny that it must be true. Gathering his things, Danny followed the man.

It had been several days since Arjun had been placed in the cage. The area had begun to smell like the rot of death as the prisoners had begun dropping like flies. The only entertainment was the conversations between the guards up above. “They are quiet,” one guard stated.
“Surely most of them have perished by now.”
“To judge by the smell– yes, they are dead.” The statement was quickly followed by a strangled squeak and a quiet thud.
“Eh, speak up,” the other guard said, followed by another strangled noise and thump. The grate above the hole began to groan as it was dragged away from the opening. “Hurry. You may be able to sneak past the guards at the wall and escape into the desert,” a familiar voice said, ushering the prisoners out of the hole. Sliding into view was the old woman’s son. “As for me, I have other business. We meet again, Physician.” As he spoke, the young man began to attempt to force the cage open. “This will not– keep– me from you,” he grunted with effort. Finally, the cage relented. “Now to repay a debt,” he said as he began to draw his blade. Pulling back in fear, Arjun’s back hit the bars of the cage. The young man’s weapon came swinging down, slicing a rat behind Arjun’s shoulder. Offering Arjun a hand up, the man joked, “he was about to nibble you. I see his brothers have already been at you.” Offering Arjun some much-needed water, he said, “Drink deeply but quickly. Come before we are discovered,” pulling Arjun from the hole. He supported Arjun as they began to walk. Not long after, a light approached, and it was revealed to be another guard. The guard called out, “You there!” Before the guard could continue, he was struck down by the young man’s blade. Taking the horse the guard had been riding, the young man helped Arjun mount the horse. Turning back, the young man mounted his own horse. The two men began to ride towards the outer gate of the city, facing little resistance, only encountering a single guard manning the gate, who was quickly dispatched by the young man.

Once they had been long clear of the city, the two men began to slow down. “They are not following, nor will they until morning, when we should be out of their reach. We are safe… at least from the Salimb’s troops. But not from the desert. It has many ways to kill. It is a treacherous friend,” the young man reassured.
“What of my child?” Arjun asked the man
“He is not far; I left him in the grove where we shall spend the night,” he placated.
As the two continued their journey, Arjun admired the beauty of his harsh surroundings. His recent imprisonment helped him appreciate the vastness in a new light. “When I saw you at my place of imprisonment, I had believed you had come to open my throat,” he mused to the man.
“Because of my mother? It is for her sake that I rescued you and your son. The medicine you gave me did indeed ease her final hours. Later, when my temper had cooled, I realised that you were not the cause of her suffering. I would have come sooner, but I was in mourning.”
“I understand. I, too, have lately mourned.
“Yes, you have. You said you wished to look upon the face of Death. This you have now done, and–”
“You mean the corpse of my wife? That was not Death. That was merely his handiwork. What physician has not seen it a thousand times?” Arjun interrupted as they came to a stop.
“Indeed, it is no strange sight to any of us,” the man replied as he dismounted. Arjun followed suit closely. As he stretched his legs, he began to look around the area, spotting a set of reflective eyes peeking out of the foliage. He pulled the branches aside, revealing his boy sitting on the ground, eyes half-lidded, barely awake. Pulling the boy to his feet, he led the boy to where the other man had begun to set up camp. Wrapping the boy in a blanket and lying him down, Arjun thought about what a stroke of luck it was that his boy had made it somewhere somewhat safe without a single hair harmed. “We will make for the coast. Perhaps we can find a ship to bear us across to the Arabian lands, and–”
“I have a better plan,” Arjun interrupted, looking away from the sleeping boy as he began to explain his plan.

They had begun riding early in the morning, much to Danny’s chagrin. “Look on the horizon… horsemen nomads?” The man who had revealed himself to be called Aras called out.
“Yes, let us hasten to meet them,” responded the man he had come to see as his father.
“They will take our clothes and animals and leave our meat for the jackals,” Aras fretted.
“Perhaps,” simply stated his father, turning the horse towards the other group galloping towards them.

“Ah, fine gentlemen from the city. How courteous of you to visit us.” One of the raiders calls out. “Stay your blade at least until you have conferred with your leader,” Arjun responded.
“For we too are courteous. We will repay your excellent manners with a swift and merciful death,” another raider responds, approaching with a blade.
“What would you have me say to them?” says a man appearing above a dune, “That they should spare you because you are my nephew? On the contrary, that is reason enough to fill your last hours with pain. You expect mercy? You who turned your back on us and joined those we hate?” he sneers.
“Only because I had a hunger for knowledge that could not be satisfied with my own kind, but you know this already,” Arjun reasoned.
“And I am not impressed. Have you anything further to say “
“Yes, this I can give you: the vengeance you seek with no further loss to you”
“Feh, he prattles. I will give his blood to the sand,” says one of the raiders from earlier, stepping forth and raising his blade once again.
“Wait, let us listen to more of his prattle. When he is done, we can wet our swords,” his uncle objects.
“ I pray you, prattle with great excellence,” Aras whispers to Arjun.

As the group rode into the evening, Arjun had recounted his story to his uncle. When the group came to a stop in a camp, his uncle dismounted, remarking, “You are indeed eloquent, nephew, particularly on the subject of your hatred of the salimb. It almost matches my own”
“But am I not convincing?”
“Will I let you live? Join us?” his uncle debated. “Welcome,” he said, offering a hand. Arjun could hear Aras exhale in relief behind him and felt the tension in his son’s grasp release. Calling his attention, his uncle asked, “What are your needs?” Arjun debated for a second, taking the fresh clothing offered to him he decides “I would like to speak to a water finder”
“Nothing is easier, for here is the finest there is,” his uncle responded, calling forth an elderly man in robes.
“How may I serve you?” the water finder asked
“When you seek for water, do you ever sense other things hiding in the earth? Powers you cannot name?”
“Certainly all the time”
“And you can lead me to such?”
“Come,” the old man beckoned him to follow.

Some distance from the camp, the two came to a stop. “We have arrived. The energy is weak but present,” the water finder announced.
“It will suffice, my thanks. Now kindly leave,” Arjun thanked the man. Once the water finder had left, Arjun placed down his cloak. He lay on the ground, stating aloud, “Now I must dream.” Closing his eyes, he quickly drifted off.

In his dream, Arjun could see the traders from the north who had spread their illness to the Salimbok. They led camels loaded with fabrics and goods through the desert. Suddenly, the Salimbok appeared, picking up one of the bolts of fabric, seemingly admiring the quality. Then hands of fabric reached out from the bolt, grabbing the Salimbok’s throat. Falling to the ground, claws reached down, grabbing the Salimbok and carrying him over the sea of green, revealing itself to be the beast from his previous dream.

Waking from his dream, “Yes, of course,” Arjun remarks to himself. It was so obvious. A plan coalesces in his mind. Rising, he makes his way back to the camp in search of his uncle.
Finding his uncle in the central tent, he was telling Arjun’s son tales of his exploits. Calling out, Arjun says, “Uncle… a caravan of traders from the north passed two weeks ago?”
“Yes, we saw them from afar, but we were engaged in combat with the Salimb’s lackeys and were forced to ignore them”
“In the morning, I need horses and two of your best men. Those merchants will serve us better than a thousand armed men,” Arjun states.
“I have agreed to heed your plan, nephew, no matter how mad I deem it. You shall have what you ask”