SKORPIOS Part 1 of the Scorpion Saga - A Quest story by Larryn Cock skorpios@pirie.mtx.net.au The screams finally stopped, leaving the cold, stone halls of the Convent of the Sisters of Suffering filled with a heavy silence. Sister Pierce the mid-wife stared at the tiny body that lay on bloodstained sheets between the legs of the young woman who had just died. She sadly saw that the mother had been little more than a child herself and for a moment she believed that the baby had died along with its young mother but the tiny limbs began to twitch and she swooped on it with clean cloths. She carried it over to a basin and began to gently wash it. Behind her she could hear Mother Flagellata softly instructing some acolytes to take the corpse down to the morgue deep beneath the Convent to prepare it for burial. Something had disturbed Sister Pierce and now she realized what it was - the continuing silence. The baby she held was quite healthy, as shown by its vigorous struggling, but it had not cried once. Slowly unwrapping the cloths which swaddled the infant she noted that the baby was male and his skin was strangely pale. She had just noticed the boy's slightly pointed ears when he opened up his bright red eyes and smiled at her, revealing a mouthful of tiny pointed teeth. "Holy Baldor's hairy balls!" The oath seemed to explode from her lips before she could stop it and Sister Pierce was not surprised to hear Mother Flagellata's gravelly voice behind her. "Sister Pierce! Please control yourself!" "I'm sorry, Mother Superior, but this...this...child, it's not human!" She turned to face Mother Flagellata, moving aside so that she could examine the child. "Yes, I feared this would be the case." "You knew! How?" Sister Pierce's surprise over-rode her natural awe of Mother Flagellata. "Calm yourself Sister. You do not know the history of the unfortunate young woman who died tonight. She was brought to us about nine months ago by a group of villagers who could tell us nothing of what happened to her. She was badly battered and wounded, but we were able to heal her physical hurts. Mentally she did not fare so well. Those screams you heard tonight were the first sounds she had uttered in all her time here. During her recovery I made some discreet enquiries about her origins and I discovered that a young woman of a nearby village had been carried off by some dark beast. It seems that somehow she escaped and wandered through the forests in a daze until she was found and brought to us." Mother Flagellata paused for a moment, looking at Sister Pierce for several moments as if measuring the strength of her spirit. "I was one of those who worked on the girl's healing. Her injuries were terrible but not life- threatening, and it was obvious that the foul creature had raped her repeatedly. When I learned that she was pregnant I prayed to Lord Baldor for guidance but I was still plagued by fears that the child would not be human." "What are you going to do with it?" Sister Pierce asked, looking down at the infant with barely concealed horror. He continued to smile that unnerving smile and his blood-red eyes danced as he produced his first sound - laughter. "He will be treated like any other orphan left in our care, Sister Pierce." Mother Flagellata's voice held a distinct tone of reproof as she continued, "Never forget Sister, that all life is sacred to Lord Baldor." "Yes, Mother Superior." Sister Pierce bowed her head respectfully, but she looked up in surprise as the older woman picked up the baby and placed him in her arms. Then she gasped in shock as the tiny baby turned his head and sank his sharp teeth into her thumb. "I think it would be best if I placed this child in your care, Sister Pierce. I see he has already reminded you of our most important belief: Only the living feel pain, therefore pain is as sacred as life. Only through experiencing and conquering our own pain can we relieve it in others." Mother Flagellata's right hand went unconsciously to the whip coiled around her waist, her fingers absently rubbing the leather which was stained black by the blood it had drawn from her own back through the years. Similarly, Sister Pierce became acutely aware of the pouch that hung at her hip which was full of shining steel needles which she forced through her lips, ear-lobes, hands and feet during her own prayers to Baldor. "What's this?" Mother Flagellata leaned forward suddenly, cupping the infant's head in her hands, lifting it so that she could examine the back of his neck. There, stark against his pale skin, was a black birthmark shaped like a scorpion. "Well, at least the problem of his naming is solved. He shall be known as Skorpios." "That is an ill-omened name, Mother Superior." Mother Flagellata looked sadly down at the small form in Sister Pierce's arms and said, "I fear that his will be an ill-omened life whatever he is called, Sister." ******* Under Sister Pierce's distant but diligent care Skorpios grew quickly into a slender youth with an untidy mop of bone-white hair, pointed ears and blazing red eyes. He was unnaturally agile and spent a lot of his time scaling the stone towers of the convent, discovering numerous hiding places where he could escape the strict discipline of the nuns. Skorpios visited the nearby village of Kathy's Bell only rarely as his strange appearance caused him to be shunned by the villagers. There were no other children in the convent at that time, so Skorpios grew up surrounded almost entirely by women. As a rather extreme Baldorian sect, the Sisters of Suffering attracted women from all walks of life who were fleeing from troubles with nowhere else to go. Thus Skorpios was tutored in music by women from the courts of lords and taught to fight with a dagger by a former prostitute. He learnt to speak with the grace of a courtier and became fluent in the gutter-talk of the streets. He was also taught to read and write and spent much of his free time in the convent library learning about the land of Kharne that lay beyond the tall, grey walls of the convent. Skorpios was fifteen years old when his curiosity and wanderlust finally resulted in him being summoned to Mother Pierce's study. He stood outside her door for a moment, a curious tingling at the back of his neck. His timid knock brought a curt command to enter and when he did he was surprised to see that Mother Pierce was not alone. Mother Pierce was seated at her writing desk, her scarred face set in stern lines. Skorpios stood nervously in front of her, waiting for her to speak, but she just stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. He became aware of the scrutiny of the stranger but he or she was wearing a black hooded robe and was little more than a silhouette against the window. "Skorpios, this is Sister Shadow," Mother Pierce finally said. The dark figure nodded at him but Skorpios was too nervous to return the greeting. "I have become aware that you are growing increasingly uncomfortable here at the convent, and recent events have made a decision on your residency here urgent." Skorpios looked guiltily at Mother Pierce as she continued. "The village headman has told me of several thefts that have occurred in the last few weeks. But it is the latest incident that has caused the most concern. It seems that a red-eyed demon attacked three youths in the forest near the village. He told me that it ripped off their breeches and carved the letter 'S' on their buttocks. Would you know anything about this Skorpios?" Skorpios tried to avoid Mother Pierce's gaze by glancing all round the room. When he looked into the darkness of the strange nun's cowl he was transfixed. A wave of coldness seemed to engulf his soul and he could only stand speechless as Sister Shadow began to speak in a harsh whisper. "He is guilty of both charges Mother Superior. The thefts were petty revenge for being barred from the shops of the village. The three youths who bear his mark on their posteriors were a gang of bullies who took on more than they bargained for when they accosted young Skorpios in the woods." A strange wheezing sound puzzled Skorpios until he realized that the ancient priestess was chuckling. At the same time he felt the strange force that held him ease. He glared at the two women, anger and confusion preventing him from speaking. He finally managed to choke out,"What...?" Mother Pierce smiled grimly at his discomfort. "Skorpios, as it is becoming increasingly apparent that you are no longer content with your life within the Convent, I have decided to assign you to the care of Sister Shadow." She nodded towards the old woman by the window. "She is a travelling Sister with many interests, one of which involves your parentage." "She knows about my parents?" Skorpios blurted out in surprise. "Nothing more than I have told her, but now I think it is time for you to know the whole truth as well." Skorpios stood silently as Mother Pierce told him about his parentage and he unconsciously rubbed the back of his neck when she mentioned his birthmark. "Sister Shadow is especially interested in that mark. She is travelling to Sparnell, a trade town to the west where there have been reports of a mighty half-blood warrior who bears a similar mark. You will accompany her. She leaves this afternoon so please go to your room now and begin packing." Skorpios would have spoken but the determination in Mother Pierce's eyes brooked no argument. He turned and left the room. Mother Pierce turned to face Sister Shadow. "What do you think, Sister?" "He is full of conflicting emotions at the moment. Anger, fear, resentment, but there is hope and curiosity as well. He will go with me. How long he decides to stay with me I cannot say, there is a darkness within him that even my sight cannot penetrate fully. His future is unclear to me. I must go now and make my own preparations. With your permission, Mother Superior?" "Yes, yes. You may go. My prayers will go with you Sister, farewell." ************ Later that evening in a campsite by a road several leagues to the west of the Convent, Sister Shadow was awakened from her slumbers by an aching hip joint. She looked across the dying campfire and chuckled softly to herself. The bedroll that had held the sleeping form of Skorpios was gone, along with his backpack. She marveled at the stealth that enabled him to leave without waking her, then she painfully sat upright and began a silent prayer to Phyloqure. The embers of the fire burst into eerie green flame and within them Sister Shadow could see Skorpios walking quickly along, and the old priestess realized that his strange red eyes must be able to see perfectly in the dim starlight as he never stumbled even though the road was full of ruts. She also saw that his left hand never strayed far from the hilt of his dagger. Another quick prayer summoned a sprite of Baldor's to follow the youth and protect him from harm. Satisfied that he was quite safe, Sister Shadow let the spell lapse and the eldritch flames died. Pulling the blankets back over herself Sister Shadow paused to look at the back of her left hand. Amidst the ropy veins and liver-spots of age the ruddy light of the remaining embers picked out a large silvery scar that was the reminder of a severe burn. She tilted her hand and suddenly the scar was recognizable as the silhouette of a scorpion poised to strike. The burn had resulted from her investigations into dark powers that were best left alone and she hoped there was no connection between her experience and Skorpios's birthmark for his sake but she had to find out for sure. That was why she was letting him run free. That young halfblood could get into places and discover secrets that an elderly nun never could. Feeling quite a bit less sure of herself, Sister Shadow tried to banish both her fears and the dull ache of her hip from her mind as she went back to sleep.