Chapter 1: Bargain

Chapter 1: Bargain

Vast and wide, the twinkling sands stretched beyond the cloudless sky. Fergus, a name would have been worshiped for eternal time, was crawling through the sand dunes. Although the thrash of winds beating on him, he could not hear the howling sounds due to the inborn limitation. It had been about three months with no food going through his chewy mouth. On the contrary, It was him being the appetizer in a dazzling desert for hawks and eagles.

 

Coming out from the tropical forest down in Southern Aisa, traveled through the Old temples and some human cities in Arabia and witnessed different forms of civil wars, he finally reached to the edge of Sahara desert.

 

And now, about five acres away, the destination sat in the middle of the sands with stony walls enclosed, a place that concealed a powerful pharaoh under the cold granite rocks. The scorpion wriggled his body and climbed over it. The wall for Fergus was no difficulty, after all he came from rustic nature where survival was foremost. But he was looking at another problem. The entrance of special tunnels to the secret tomb had been guarded by two eagles who were standing on top of the pyramid, waiting for the next prey feeding their gizzards.

 

 

The sun beamed down Fergus’s dorsal cuticles, it sparkled as he moved. So he gathered pieces of gravels on his back and dived under the hot sand, waving toward the entrance. The eagles, with their acute eyes, were scouting down the pyramid ground, diligently fulfilling their duty. They locked up the suspicion as soon as they found the odd on the barren sand. Two eagles quickly exchanged eye contact. They expanded their circling cycle, marking the moving sand within their range. The older one, who had a larger beak and tails, extended her beautiful brownish wings, sharply streamlined down to its target. Her talon flexed open, curving a perfect grab. Seezep! A perfect catch. She could feel the weight of it. Another eagle made whistling sounds for their victory. As they returned back to the rectangular top of the mound, the big eagle dropped her meal, only to find out they were all rocks. They immediately looked back to the battlefield, and the waving sand had smoothly traveled to the tunnel entrance. A stingy tail crept up, so as his body. Before going in the tunnel, which was the size as tiny as a mouse, Fergus gave a victorious look to the deceived birds behind, and went into the darkness.

 

The scorpion tried hard to remember the map that his father gave him months ago as he was moving forward in the dark. His claws as a lead, stayed close to the wall, and used his senses to feel the air vibration. Legends said nobody had ever been able to get in and out from the burial. So Fergus asked his father how he could be sure the map was true and the safety of his son? His father did not answer.

 

A scoop of airflow penetrated Fergus’s face, his spindly legs splashed the ground to the end. Finally. But the end of it was a long slanting mound of sands to the secret tomb floor. Too fast he rumbled down the sand and hit the floor. He flapped his black tail to got himself up, then he sensed something else. His black tail armed up, straighten for a deep stretch and back to a defensive position. Hissing sounds started to grow across the room. Two large red plumps flashed in not far from his facing. The dim, unknown environment caused Fergus into fear. More red plumps appeared in the dark, as if there were an army, surrounded this scorpion. As a pair of red plumps approached closer, this time Fergus could see it clearly. Grey aura emitted behind it red eyes, and It mouth was like two pliers when it opened, scrawny legs and grenade-like abdomen, some netted webs on it. A zombie camel spider.

 

Regarding the situation, Fergus swiftly pricked himself, allowing the blue blood sprinted out to the ground. He murmured and a bright light cast on the mucky chamber of the old king. The room had suddenly glistened in sight, all the treasures were revealed. A once familiar face of the pharaoh appeared under the light, as Fergus recalled from the craved wall.

 

’For the first time of ten decades, I’ve been summoned. Whom am I speaking to?’ The pharaoh eyes scouted across the room, only saw a scorpion fizzling. So the Old king moved his hands. A red and blue magical stream swirled and wafted onto the scorpion’s head.

 

’Your majesty, My name is Fergus, and bothering you is not my intention. However, My father’s kingdom is at stake.’ Fergus clapped his claws, ‘I am here for two requests and hoping you can help me.’

 

 

’I’m listening.’

 

‘ The last war that we had with the Great Lizards, after we’d been severely defeated, they bought destruction and disease to our soils. The vitality of our kingdom decays ever since and the disease is incurable to us.’ Fergus paused and took a breath, ‘We’d lost too many of our own.’

 

’Fergus, It’s the circle of life, I hold no power to change the cause.’

 

’I do not come here for changing the cause your majesty, I’m here to ask for a favor.’ The scorpion said.

 

’A favor? All men need help, even the Arachnid ones.’ The pharaoh sneered.

 

’The Torch Light. Not only It can eliminate the disease, vitalise our birth rate and take us to the field of reeds after death, it can also give us supreme power, and for that, I will recruit the strongest armies to take down our enemy.’ Fergus grasped, ‘ The sun shall shine on all of us regardless of any forms of life. Your majesty, with your kindness, I wish you to tell me where the location of the Torch light is.’

 

’But the Torch light does not serve anything other than humans, Fergus.’

 

’That leads to my second request your majesty.’ Fergus was being careful with his words,’I believe upon your limitless power, to turn an insect into a human should no difficulty. You’d performed the magic before, a cat into a man. I’ve seen it on the craved wall.’

 

’I did. But why on earth would I help you?’ The pharaoh showed a face of disinterest.

 

’I’ll swear my life to guard your Great grave for as long as I live.’ Fergus said distinctly.

 

The pharaoh burst out laughing, and the spiders followed cackle, looked to each other.

 

’Do I look like I need your protection?’ The pharaoh swiftly returned back to his solemn face.’ I had my people built me this burial. I had all kind of animals to obey my orders. I had and still have my army would follow me wherever I go. The question remains, why do I need your protection?’

 

’ The physical body, your majesty. The robbers will sooner or later discover this secret room for the rumor of inestimable treasure. They will take your physical body with them and without the body remain in this room, the magical field will break. Your presence will become a ghost as if all others, losing all of the power.’ The scorpion smirked for his response.

 

The pharaoh chuckled, ’Very stingy.’

 

He lifted up his hands, the clanking lid of the chamber slid away and dropped on the floor, it quaked. And the embalmed body with grimy wrap slowly raised up from the tomb. All the spiders kneel down as soon as it happened. When the body stood perpendicular, the Old king snapped his fingers. The wrapped body dissipated into ashes. Two hanging feet dropped back onto the tomb.

 

It startled the scorpion.

 

’I deeply regret what I’ve said before, your majesty.’ Fergus’s legs were feeble. His head bowed down and did not dare to look up to the pharaoh, ‘ I did not mean to menace your grace, I.. I was….. I was merely concerned about your state of being as a….. God.’

Djoser raised up his hand again, it lit Fergus up to the same eye level as the pharaoh, ‘ Now that I come to think of it, I may enjoy the entertainment from you.’

 

Djoser started to move and play his fingers, which resulted in the rotation of little Fergus in the air.

 

’An entertainment?’ The trembling scorpion could not fathom the thoughts behind the pharaoh’s face.

 

’I’ll send you two combatants who also want to become a human.’ The pharaoh chuckled again, ’ I would like to see how the power hungers go on about this odyssey. The location of the Torch night is up to the furthest North, near the Thule, far away. But it can be seen by one of the combatants. He will guide you through it.’

 

The king dropped Fergus on the floor. Another stream of red-blue emerged from the stony ground, revolving a gunny bag with two small ropes at the end of each edge. ‘ This bag has a potion that can turn three of you to humans. The rule is, you cannot drink till you reach the final destination. Deal?’

 

As soon as Fergus nodded his head, the pharaoh faded away with the light. The room became dark again. It happened too quick with everything Fergus hadn’t been able to tabulate the situation, he felt the immediate danger again. The camel spiders started fizzing and ready to tear this scorpion apart.

 

Fergus used his tail to thread the rope in between the bag, stacked on his back. Wobbling of his weighted body, he ran toward back to where he came from. All the zombie spiders had no brain but natural killer instinct. They tailed Fergus like witches hunt. The scorpion jiggled through the meteorites of white messy webs while climbing the mounded sand. A spider web lashed on one of Fergus’s leg, he crumbled and fell on the sand, which had given a chance to other spiders striking the webs on him all at once. Fergus panicked. He viciously swung his claws, and joggle his legs almost uncontrollably upward. As he found his balance, two red eyes spiders scooped in front of him, opened their mouth to bite off his head. Fergus subconsciously reacted with the sting pecked through one of the red eyes as it came. The wounded spider bent backward. It shrieked across the room. Fergus smacked off the other one, frantically rushed toward the hollow hole.

 

He just kept on running.

 

Until he finally saw the exit of the tunnel. Panting, pellets of sweats were trickling down from his shells. He thought the worst had put a period at the point. But the scorpion halt at the egress. As he looked out, his worries raised up even more. For him, it might as well be a farewell.