Chapter 20

The feast was grand, or at least it was in Daniel's opinion. He'd never attended an actual feast before, but this one seemed to be hitting all the marks. Food, people, entertainment. Check, check and check.

But Daniel found himself unable to really enjoy it after his talk with Alexander. He wasn't really sure what he meant by that last comment. As far as these people were concerned he was a hero.

And while he may not think that Alexander had found the perfect solution to rule these people, it wasn't like he would've done much better. Even then it still left a bad taste in his mouth.

Draconians danced throughout the square, and up at the front of the table that spanned most of the street was Alexander sitting in the seat of honor. Daniel didn't know how to feel about him. He was sane enough, especially if anything he'd been told about the Blood Moon was to be believed, but even then that goddess still had her claws in him.

He was older than he looked, that was evident from him building this town from the ground up, but even with that age Daniel didn't think he held much sentiment towards this place. They were an army he could use to hunt other creatures cursed by the blood moon. That's all he wanted from their relationship, nothing more nothing less.

Daniel remembered the joy Alexander expressed while fighting the specter inside of Limbo. None of that was present here. He just looked bored, tired, and when Daneil asked a nearby draconian for an explanation he was answered with surprising gusto.

"Ah, esteemed guest," the draconian said as he turned towards Daniel. "Allow me to answer your question. Lord Alexander has already killed every creature cursed by the blood moon within his reach. It's too close to the new blood moon for him to find any more of the cursed creatures to hunt. The weak ones get killed within the first year of a blood moons cycle, and then he needs to go on prolonged hunts to find the stronger ones. The specter was likely the last one he'll get this cycle."

"How often are the blood moons," Daniel asked while taking a bite from something similar to a turkey leg.

The draconian shrugged, "About every five years. It's all determined by the Blood Goddess herself."

The draconian turned his attention towards Alexander, and respect shone in his eyes, "I'm just glad he stays with us now. It wasn't always like this. He used to fall into a depression when he ran out of creatures to hunt. One that he hid from, refused to face."

"What do you mean by that?" Daniel asked.

The draconian shook his head, "No more of that talk, it's in bad taste. Just know that his willpower is immense. He is the only creature to be cursed by the Blood Goddess and reclaim so much as a sliver of his sanity."

"The only one, huh? What is he doing with that newfound sanity of his? Besides of course building this city."

"That I cannot tell, for I do not know the lord's plans. But enough of that, if you're done eating I'd be honored to show you the sights of our city. I'm sure you'd be impressed by all we've managed to achieve under Lord Alexander's banner."

Daniel refused the invitation for the moment, he had something he wanted to get done before he left the city, but it could wait. With the polite refusal, Daniel once more glanced toward Alexander as the draconian he'd spoken to left him be. His people respected him, but what did the man himself think? Was he content where he was? He didn't look like he was.

Suddenly loud gongs rang out throughout the grand square and the crowd quickly grew silent. Food and silverware was set down as the entirety of the settlement turned their attention over towards Alexander.

The man himself continued to sit slumped in his chair, which lacked all the decoration of the city surrounding it. It was steel, and looked both unsightly and uncomfortable. Amidst the sea of gems, art and lavishness was their king devoid of any of it.

Slowly he stood, and even slower he began to address the crowd, "I am bored, but I'm sure most of you already know this, and even more of you know why."

His voice was booming, and Daniel had no difficulty hearing it despite being some distance away.

"The Goddess of Blood, the Drowned Queen, the Blood Moon. She goes by many names, but I know her as Navarre. I don't enjoy speaking of her, but when I first arrived in this world I would talk to her often. In recent years the amount I've seen her has dwindled to almost nothing, but my mentors used to tell me to speak your desire to the world so that it may listen, and we have a guest here tonight, so I shall."

Countless eyes turned towards Daniel, who stood stock still under the attention.

"He is a fellow traveler, and I'm hoping his belief alongside mine will ensure she hears my message tonight. It shouldn't be that hard to believe she's listening. I am her favorite, and I wouldn't be surprised if she was watching me right now regardless of our status as travelers."

The boredom seemed to leave Alexander's expression as it was replaced with something harsher, more malicious, "Your grip on me is weakening, Navarre. Your challenge wasn't unsurmountable. I'm climbing the mountain you placed before me, and I'm doing it well. I've stumbled, sure, but where I stumbled most would've fallen. And where I've fallen most would've stilled."

The crowd watched with rapt attention as he spoke, and not a sound could be heard, "When I reach the top of the mountain, and I will reach it, I will take your throne, if only so it won't be you sitting in that chair. And then I will bury you so deep the world will forget you ever existed. No one will ever again utter a single one of your names. For the rest of time the moon will shine a bright beautiful white, completely devoid of your blood. I will kill you."

With that last statement Alexander wasn't looking towards the crowd, but instead the moon and the ever present swirls of red marring its surface. Slowly he turned around and sat back down in his cold, steel chair as cheers roared out from the crowd of draconians all around him. It was deafening, zealotus, but despite that Daniel could only hear a single question echoing in his mind.

'Did this guy really just promise to kill a god?'

= = =

By the time that the feast ended the sun had long since set, and Daniel was led by several draconians under the soft glow of card-powered street lights to a few locations, and then finally to a luxurious guest house. It was extravagant beyond belief, far outstripping the architecture he'd seen since coming here, but what truly made it stand out was what contrasted it.

A log cabin stood not far from the house. It's make was rough, with logs that poorly fit together and a door that didn't quite sit snugly into its frame. None of the cuts in the wood looked to have been done cleanly, and one of the windows had a spider webbing crack spread all throughout it. Daniel didn't pay it much mind, but he had a hunch as to whose house it was.

He walked into the extravagant house set up for him and found its furnishings just as lavish as its exterior. Silk curtains adorned the windows, and the mattress of his bed felt softer than any he'd ever felt before.

But Daniel was drawn from his thoughts before he could settle in as a knock rang out from his door, and when he pulled back a blind to check who it was he unsurprisingly found Alexander standing there.

Daniel opened the door, and Alexander hastily spoke, "I'll only take up a moment of your time. My men will be taking you back to Anton's city early tomorrow, so I figured it was best if we talked now."

"Well, come on in then," Daniel said as he stepped out from the doorway and took a seat at the incredibly ornate table centered in the middle of the room while gesturing for Alexander to do the same.

"What do you want to talk about, Alexander?"

Alexander took a seat in the chair opposite Daniel, where he then clasped one of his hands on top of the other, sighed, and spoke, "There's a story that my mentors back in my old world used to tell me. At the time I didn't care much for it, but with time I've grown to relate to it. It was the tale of a man named Sisyphus. The story is fake, of course, but there's still meaning to be found in it. As the story goes, Sisyphus was a clever king, too clever. The fine details don't matter, but his wit ended with him being punished by a god to forever push a boulder up a mountain. If he ever neared the top, then the boulder would roll back down, and he'd have to start all over. His task was perpetual, eternal."

"I've heard the story," Daniel remarked. "It's a common one back in my old world, is there a chance you're from there by chance?" 

"I'm not," Alexander quickly rejected. "No two travelers stem from the same world. Stories, beliefs, logic. All of this can be the same between many worlds, but even then those worlds are not the same. Beyond that, I'm sure you can see how I find myself relating to this Sisyphus."

"I can," Daniel said, remembering Alexander's speech.

"I've been told that one must imagine Sisyphus, the clever king, eternally tormented as he was, as a happy man," Alexander said with a mixed expression. "I disagree with that ideal. I understand its intention. I really do, but to find true happiness despite great suffering is best kept to madmen and saints. While I cannot deny the joy I have felt underneath the thumb of the Goddess of Blood for the majority of my time in this world, I cannot truly call it happiness. It's hollow, a joy driven by nothing but her own madness imposed onto me. To give in and call it true happiness is to accept it, to accept my fate, to accept that the mountain cannot be climbed. His bolder was stone, mine whispers lies."

Daniel eyed Alexander and asked the question at the forefront of his mind, "Where exactly are you going with this?" 

Alexander sighed as a glass of wine appeared from seemingly nowhere in his hand, "Don't die during the coming Blood Moon. I just wanted to stress the importance of that. Some see the immortality as a blessing, and others see the joy in the eyes of the cursed and think that maybe it's not so bad. It is, and she takes special notice of travelers. She knows it upsets me, so be careful."

With that Alexander abruptly stood and left the house, leaving nothing behind but his words and an empty glass of wine. A quick glance out the window confirmed Daniel's suspicion. The king of this town, of this entire race, was walking towards the dilapidated run down log cabin that he chose to live in, because that's what he believed he needed to do to climb his mountain.