Jackal Among Snakes

“Garm mouthed off to the Alchemist?” Argrave questioned while rubbing his chest, taking deliberate and heavy breaths. Anneliese had placed some accommodations in the room—the end of the bed had a chair to accommodate Argrave’s dangling feet, and she had placed a large couch just beside the bed for herself. In addition, some food was ready and stocked.

The pain was beginning in earnest. It was a constant dull ache, rising ever upwards in intensity. It had been manageable at first—ignorable, even. But it kept growing and growing, becoming all-consuming. It reminded Argrave, strangely enough, of having eaten something incomprehensibly spicy. The pain appeared tame for a time—half a minute, maybe. But the fire would keep growing, consuming one’s throat, one’s mouth, with such a steady pace that the moment seemed to last forever.

Unlike a hot pepper’s spice, there was no respite from this pain. No milk, nothing to offer temporary relief. It was just an ache rising ever higher, like a room slowly flooding. The worst part was that Argrave saw no ceiling in sight—it stood to keep growing, eating away more and more at all other sensations. The uncertainty bred nervousness, fear.

A month of this, Argrave told himself mentally. This is nothing. First step on the stair. Gotta be better.

“…and so they refuse to enter,” Anneliese said.

Argrave looked at her, realizing she’d been talking while he’d been lost in thought. “Sorry, got lost in my own world,” he confessed.

“They ran into the Alchemist, and he told them to get out of their sight after some words,” she summarized what she had said quickly. “Now, they fear retribution, so they stay far from the castle.”

A stab of pain seized Argrave’s head, and he inhaled through clenched teeth, veritably hissing.

“Useless imbeciles,” he said loudly, his own voice echoing in his head. “What good are they?”

Anneliese looked off to the side, saying nothing.

“Damn it all,” Argrave cursed. “No… they’re not imbeciles. Pain… pain makes your irritable. Forget what I said.” The stabbing subsided in his head, and once it did, he interrogated further, “What the hell did they say to the man?”

“They avoided the subject,” Anneliese crossed her arms.

“Christ. I might be pissing blood soon, and they’re playing about with our local twenty-foot-tall psychopath!” Argrave stroked his head, his shouting making his headache worse. “I can’t catch a break? Even now?!”

Anneliese stared at him patiently. “Is there anything you need?”

“Yeah,” Argrave nodded. “Choke me until I’m unconscious, see you tomorrow,” he gave a salute.

She lowered her head, unamused by his joke.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized. “Maybe you… maybe you shouldn’t be here. I’m just going to be a moody prick for days on end. No one deserves to be subject to that, least of all…” he shook his head. “Just go, join Galamon.”

“I made up my mind, Argrave,” she said simply without a moment’s hesitation. “You expect me to leave you to fend for yourself? Could you? We know not how bad this will get,” she pointed out.

“But—”

steps seemed heavier than normal, somehow. Argrave tensed, quieting and sitting up in the bed. Wordlessly, the Alchemist came to stand before Argrave. He held his hand out,

and shiny as a nightstand lamp. Argrave stayed silent, doing his best to make even his breathing quiet as he waited for whatever

nearly a minute, voice low. “I see it now. You descend from that golden serpent.

way a chicken’s head could stay totally

but his cheeks were soon squished by an indomitable force—not enough to hurt, but enough to move him, certainly. Not that

the bed, her expression morphed by surprise.

noted. Argrave felt some strain on his neck as he was lifted upwards somewhat. He raised his hand up, hesitant to stop the Alchemist. Before he

with brows furrowed and eyes

many in the world,” the Alchemist said. “Words fail half the time. What good are

filled the room for a while. Argrave figured it was a rhetorical question, and so he

commanded, and Argrave scrambled in

trailed off, before finishing,

legs, all connected to a brain by systems so complex your words fail to describe them. They render you ambulatory, not words. You

don’t need this right now, Argrave thought, brain dancing to find the

metaphor,” Argrave

sign of anger. “Words are

had used a metaphor to disparage

and he winced, but kept his thoughts focused on the titan looming above his bed. “Words are the best way for the common and the grand to understand

opening up. Black smoke started to rise up into the high ceiling. He walked to the wall. It parted like burning twigs twisting from a flame, revealing the

started to worry that he was about to experience an elaborate eviction because he lost

hate talking most of all,” the Alchemist said, pure contempt showing on his voice—a rare divergence from the constant apathy. “No different from assault. Why must I

same mistake as last time, Argrave

is an assault. Yet it is the strangest form of assault, doing no genuine harm. The spoken word plants itself within your mind like a parasite, worming and changing and feeding on the valuable thoughts within. Corrupting. Morphing. Violating the sanctity, the purity, of the hallowed thoughts

turned and the wall shut, hiding the jungle away once again. “The spoken word is an insidious killer. Harmless, fools say. But in time, the words batter at the mind,

lengths to justify their lifestyle, Argrave thought drolly, finding some amusement

charge each other, spite in their gut… everything blends into the song of war, and true

Argrave’s bed. He stayed there for a long while, doing

turned and walked out of the room. Argrave stared at the threshold like the man might

Another. Finally, Argrave collapsed back into the bed, feeling

the god damn was that

Anneliese came to sit in the bed. Argrave kept his eyes on her. She reached out, then touched

pulled her hand away, blood was on her fingers. Argrave kept his eyes

said it would happen,” Argrave said grimly. “Sweating blood. I guess… time

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