Will McDermott - The Moons of Mirrodin

“Come on, huh?” said Slobad. “Hurry. We go in now. Why you waiting, crazy elf? Move now.”

Glissa didn’t argue. She swung her sword back and forth in front of her as she backed up, wincing with every step. She kept expecting to fall over Slobad or bump into the gate. After a few more steps, her blurry world got much darker. She heard the sound again, only this time it was much louder and sharper, like swords striking in front of her. Glissa held her sword defensively as she wiped her forehead and eyes. When she could focus, she saw a wall in front of them. From far away, she heard the clash of weapons.

They were inside.

“How?” she asked.

“That is what we would like to know,” said a booming voice behind her. Glissa turned to see what she knew must be a leonin. She and the goblin were surrounded by leonin guards. One large leonin stood with his hands on his hips.

Slobad had described the leonin, but the goblin’s sketchy description could not come close to matching the impact of seeing these creatures in the flesh. They looked more like beasts than men. Their flattened noses spread out from sloping foreheads like snouts, and their eyes were set back close to their pointed ears.

Yet for all that, they looked regal. Long manes of flowing hair-some braided, some not-seemed to sparkle in the torchlight, as did the highly polished silver and gold metal of their arms and legs. The guards all wore shiny armor and carried large, mirrored shields. The sight was impressive, and Glissa felt ill at ease.

The leonin who spoke was well over six feet tall. His great mane, much larger and fuller than any others around him, cascaded down over his shoulders and chest. His sculpted arms were folded in front of him, and Glissa could see their great strength even at rest. Metal and flesh muscles bulged against the leonin’s silver-clad chest. He had the air of a leader about him. The guards had an air of calm superiority, standing as she had seen Kane stand on guard duty.

The leader regarded Glissa and Slobad coolly, staring down at them over his flattened nose.

“Take them away,” he said to the guards, then turned and left.

Glissa looked at Slobad, who shrugged. As the guards came toward her, Glissa handed them her sword. She didn’t even consider fighting. The blood had stopped flowing from her forehead, but her ankle was on fire and her shoulder ached. They were in the hands of the leonin now, captives, but they were alive, and that was better than the alternative.

* * * * *

Glissa removed the bandage from her ankle and swallowed hard. The infection had spread almost to her knee. Scraps of green metal coated the leather, sticking to the bandage as she pulled it away from her wound. Her calf was still swollen, and her entire leg felt as if it were on fire. Green pus oozed out from all over her leg, not just down by the wound. Everything below her ankle had turned black and was cold to the touch. She turned away from Slobad so he wouldn’t see how bad the wound had gotten.

The guards had taken them to a small room and closed the inside door. Glissa had heard the now-familiar metallic click after the door shut and knew they were locked in. She sat across from Slobad in their prison and worried-about her foot, about Slobad and Raksha, and about the latest threat against her life.

“What were those creatures outside the gate?” she asked.

“I told you other day,” said Slobad. He was pacing back and forth across the room and hadn’t seemed to notice Glissa fiddling with her bandage. “Leonin fight nim. Always fight nim. That’s what take Raksha away from Slobad. Battles against nim. Beat them back to Mephidross; they just come back again. Don’t know why.”

“Mephidross?”

“Bad place under Ingle,” said Slobad. “The black sun … er … moon, where goblins go when burned in Great Furnace. Slobad never go to Mephidross. Too close to Ingle. Raksha tell me about it, huh? Green muck everywhere. Gas swirling in air make you sick, huh? Nim rise from ground. Attack leonin. Bad.”

“Zombies?” asked Glissa. “I’ve heard stories about the dead rising from the ground-Father called them zombies-but these nim didn’t look dead. They just looked sort of turned inside out.”

Glissa concentrated on her hands and built up a small ball of green mana between them. She moved her hands over her leg as if massaging the energy into the wounds and decay.

“Don’t know,” said Slobad from across the room. “Never see them before today. Some say green muck or foul gas turn people into nim. Never want to find out, huh? Slobad like being goblin.”

“You’ve never seen one?” asked Glissa. “I thought you said Raksha fought them all the time.” The mana spread out over her leg and sank down into the decaying flesh. The metal skin around her knee looked a little better, but her foot remained black and cold. She looked up at Slobad to see if he had noticed, but he was still pacing. It was obvious the goblin didn’t like to be locked up.

“Out on border with Mephidross,” said Slobad. “They never come all the way to Taj Nar before. Something funny happening in world, huh? Levelers, nim, crazy elves. Strange, huh?”

“I suppose it’s all my fault,” snapped Glissa. “Is that what you’re saying?”

Slobad stared at Glissa and blinked a few times. “You strange, crazy elf. I never say that. How it your fault, huh? Just strange, that’s all. Crazy elf. World not revolve around you, huh?”

Glissa lowered her head. She didn’t know where that outburst had come from. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I haven’t really been thinking right since the leveler attack.…” She paused. “No, that’s not true. I do that all the time-seeing things that aren’t really there. I’m just suspicious of coincidence, I guess. I’m sorry.”

Slobad came over to her and saw her foot. He let out a low whistle. “You lose that foot if we don’t see healer soon, huh? Need to find way to get from here. Get out soon or lose foot. That for sure.”

Glissa didn’t argue. There was nothing more her magic could do. If they didn’t see the healers soon, she’d have to cut off her own foot just to save the rest of her leg.

“I thought you said Raksha owed you,” she growled. “Fine way to show it-locking us up in here.”

“Raksha don’t like surprises, and leonin don’t trust strangers,” said Slobad. “I guess Slobad upset Raksha when I bring stranger in through secret entrance, huh?”

Glissa dipped her bandage in a bowl of water sitting on the table. “Raksha was the leader we met, right?”

Slobad nodded.

“Didn’t he know about the entrance?”

The goblin smirked. “No,” he said. “Slobad help build gate for leonin many cycles ago. Added extra door. Slobad always like to have more than one way in or out, huh?”

Glissa laughed as she cleaned the blood off her forehead and shoulder. After rinsing the bandage again, she tried her healing magic on her other wounds, but the energy would not come this time. The infection and her failed attempts to keep it in check had made her weak.

“We need to see Ushanti now,” said Slobad. “Can’t wait for Raksha to calm down, huh? Slobad find other way from here.”

He began pounding on the door. When the door opened, a Leonin guard filled the doorway. Slobad talked to the guard for a moment. The leonin’s eyes widened in horror. He closed the door, and Glissa heard him running off.

“What did you say to him?” she asked.

“Slobad remind him of penalty for losing prisoner,” said Slobad. “If you die, he dies. Try to look sicker when he comes back, huh? Told him you be dead by first moon. Just show him leg. He believe, huh?”

A few minutes later, the door opened and two guards entered. Glissa hung her head low and breathed heavily, trying to look and feel as sick as possible. It wasn’t hard. The guards led them from the room. Glissa limped along between the two guards, helped by Slobad.