A large skull-shaped rock set into a hillside cliff made a perfect vantage point overlooking the island landscape. Even a decaying city surrounded by a few hills and coastline offered a rather macabre beauty when seen as a whole. From the rock, anyone could spot boats approaching one of the island’s little inlets.
On the far side of the island, something awaited a hero’s return. It was far bigger than the usual tiny trunks of wood which brought half-starved men here. This boat was more of a floating city than any simple hallow tree. At least, it looked like a city with its many boxlike levels surrounding a tall pillar in the city’s center.
Whatever it was, it had brought that man here. Now it would be the Gorguardian’s passage to freedom.
With a bag of her few precious belongings slung over her shoulder, the Gorguardian slithered through her old home one last time.
Barren relics stood where a thriving city had once been. Crumbling building structures lined both sides of wide pathways woven throughout the area. Caved in sections marred some buildings. Others just had a few walls, pillars and piles of rubble to mark their past existence.
Many of the walls facing the shores bore signs of painted scenes. Most of them had long since faded away or had been lost among the piles of rubble. Only a few of the scenes were still recognizable. Amidst the cracks and missing plaster of one long wall was a painting of people carrying pitchers towards another human reclining in a pool. Another wall displayed two men engaged in a fist fight. A third painting was almost beyond recognition. Some shape of a figure pointing something at flecks of something else was all that remained of this painting. One thing that each of these paintings had in common was a lack of clothing save for a bit of cloth wrapped around the, very tiny, waists of these humans. The young gorgon had never seen real humans so thin. They had wide waists and always wore plenty of material over their skin. She used to stare at these scenes for hours wondering how they’d been made and by whom.
Greenery was the island’s most common sight. The land was slowly reclaiming this human creation. Weeds peered through the semi-smooth surface of the pathways. Ivy clutched pillars in a tentacle like grasp. Small trees pierced the plaster and ceramic remnants of walls. Even the mighty solid stonework couldn’t escape the creeping encasement of moss.
Newer looking stones were strewn about without any organization. These were the many heroes who’d come to claim a gorgon head. Their stones stood as markers of their quest’s failure.
Despite these signs of ruin, it was unclear what forced the humans to leave. During one of her many explorations deep into the city, the gorgon found bundles of documents hidden within the crumbling brickwork. As a youth, she had seen some of the strange markings that humans gave each other. Recalling those markings, she was able to recognize them in each document. As she learned another marking, she could piece it together with other markings and decipher an entire word. As she saw the same markings again and again, she began to understand them. Finally, the island’s history could be told.
The city owed its existence to a humble fisherman named Finley. Attempting to find a new fishing source, Finley came upon the island. He so loved this untouched paradise that he convinced his wife, Gilah, to join him here. Together, they had a long and fruitful existence. Although many of their children left the island, they soon returned to their beloved home. Along with them came spouses and extended families. Soon the island was populated with a happy fishing community.
Alas, the sea god eventually turned his attention to other waters. His sea dwellers soon followed, leaving the community without a food source. The land was neither big enough nor fertile enough to support a farming community of their size. If the community couldn’t find another resource, they would have to leave their island or starve.
It came to pass that a man named Purlieu suggested that the island resort to the one thing that fed all coastal towns on the mainland: tourism. With an abundance of seaside scenery, the island could become an aristocrat’s playground. Granted, it would require relying on imports from the mainland. To save their home, the people decided that the sacrifice was well worth it.
Rebuilding their community anew, the island lived on as a refuge for the wealthy.
There was mention of an extremely demanding patron among the last few documents. The markings ended abruptly with one phrase.
“Until the day we return.”
These documents did not see the light again until a young gorgon in exile found them many years later.
While the humans may have intended to return someday, the Gorguardian did not. Instead of looking back, her eyes focused solely on the wooden city in the inlet. With the sun already low in the sky, it would be far easier to fool the humans into letting her aboard. Twilight mists were already rising in the inlet’s waters. It almost seemed as though the island wanted her to escape as well.
A hero’s cloak of aggressive red concealed Gorguardian’s body from human eyes. She tried to pull the helmet further down on her brow but the cries of her snakes made that impossible. They were already unhappy about being under a helmet. Being squashed further was out of the question. Gorguardian also held the hero’s former shield. Its large girth would make an excellent face guard. All she had to do was act like a human and the city’s people would never suspect a thing.
Her grip on her bag tightened as Gorguardian approached the vessel. A ramp was ready to welcome a hero aboard. Many excited voices echoed around her. Gorguardian kept her face hidden to avoid detection or accidentally turning someone into stone. As she set scale on the ship’s deck, Gorguardian was aware of a presence beside her.
“Well, lad,” a gruff voice greeted her, “Did ye bag the monster’s head?”
Doing her best to disguise her voice, Gorguardian responded, “Yesss I did. Uh, but I’d keep your men back jussst to be sssafe.”
“I understand,” the voice agreed. There was a clap sound and the voice spoke again, “So then, once we’re out to sea, drinks all around!”
Many voices rose together into loud cheers. The voices faded from Gorguardian’s awareness as vibrations of a semi-familiar skittering mixed with the crew’s foot stomping. Gorguardian’s heartbeat quickened as her snakes began to squirm.
“Actually,” Gorguardian said, “That fight left me exssshausted. Jusst show me to my quartersss sssso I can ressst.”
Uneasy silence surrounded her. Panic shot through Gorguardian’s mind. Had she blown her chance already? Did they suspect anything? What was she going to do now?
Another, much higher-pitched, voice was heard. “But, you already know where your quarters are, sir. You slept there during the voyage out. Remember?”
“Uh, yesss but I…” Gorguardian thought quickly. “That, uh, creature put up more of a fight than expected. My head hurtsss too much to remember. I-I don’t feel ssso….” She wobbled a little in hopes of proving her “exhaustion”.
“Whoa, easy lad!” the voice cried as hands reached towards her. She immediately flinched away.
“Ssstay back. The head!” she warned.
“Ok, lad, ok.”
“Maybe you ssshould have sssomeone lead the way jussst to be sssafe.”
She heard a mumble. Then the higher pitched voice answered, “Uh, sure. Follow Johnny over there.”
Gorguardian risked a quick glance over the shield and saw a man ready to lead her. She quickly ducked behind the shield and followed his footsteps.
As she slid away, the voices talked among themselves.
“Captain, am I losing my mind or does something seem strange to you?”
“Aye, it does. We’d best keep an eye on that boy. Something’s not quite right here. And the last thing my ship needs is bewitchment aboard.”
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Leloni Tabbyra's Peculiar Fables 