3.68 Blood Wine

         Like lashing whips, the icy sleet beat relentlessly upon Jasun & Akku as they followed the new shoreline towards Kergal. The venture was so treacherous that at moments it felt like they were taking on an impossible journey, miles and miles of post apocalyptic land spanned the distance to Kergal. Strong from all that had befallen them, they moved forward regardless of the beating storm, determined to learn the truth about their friends fate. Day turned into night and they barely noticed. Every now and then the sleet stopped enough to let the raging wind blow through their clothes, drying them out.

         They paused along the way to kindle a small fire and heat some food, but didn't stop to sleep. Night turned into day and they barely noticed again, they just kept pushing forward in the darkness, carving a new trail along the coastline until eventually they made their way to the foothills of Kergal.

         "Look!" Jasun pointed to the road ahead, rising upward from the edge of the new shoreline. "There's the road to Kergal!"

         The friends paused to take a breath. Even though it was blackened and strewn with fallen debris, the road was a beautiful sight. Jasun scanned the mountainside, beneath the thick smog he could only make out the lower contours and crags, too dark and foggy to make out the plateau very well however.

         "Look up there!" Akku  pointed toward the plateau. "Is that smoke?" It looked like smoke, but there was so much fog, it was too dark to be sure. Jasun sniffed the air.

         "I can smell smoke.... Food cooking…"

         "They're alive!" Akku concluded, eagerly heading towards the road. "Come on, let's go!"

         "Hello-o-o-o-o…" Jasun called up to the plateau, following a little more cautiously in tow.

         Was that Jasun? Neter bolted upright when he heard the familiar voice, he scrambled up to the opening to see. For a moment he thought he was dreaming... It was Jasun and Akku! His friends were unmistakable! For a moment, a wave of relief washed over him when suddenly, he realized they were walking straight into a trap! He couldn't whistle or call back, it would attract unwanted attention, he had to alert them covertly. He searched the opening for a hefty rock, picked it up and threw it down the hill.

         Suddenly the sound of a rock, tumbling through the charred underbrush startled the gods as they navigated the path towards the plateau.

         "What was that?" Jasun spun around as another rock tumbled down the slope, crashing and crackling the brittle branches and debris, lifting a trail of dust in it's path, they weren't hallucinating!

         "I think it was a rock falling…" Akku's ears were cocked, listening still... Another rock tumbled down the slope.

         "Someone's up there…" The friends studied the slope in the direction of the rock fall. "Isn't the tunnel entrance up that slope?"

         "Neter…"

         "Why would he throw rocks at us?" They thought about it for a moment… Listening... Then another rock came tumbling down the charred landscape.

         "It is coming from the tunnel entrance."

         "Maybe he's injured…" Jasun returned his attention to the smoke, rising up from the plateau... "Or warning us." Realizing things perhaps weren't all right, Akku and Jasun abandoned the road to Kergal and scrambled up the craggy blackened slope toward the tunnel entrance.

         The god of Death was filled with life when he saw his friends climbing the slope towards him. Relief filled his heart when he heard there were survivors in Anur, heartache countered it as they explained the devastation and loss they had suffered. Mu was gone? It was incomprehensible, a loss too great for any heart to bear. What was this cruel evil that had swallowed their world? It was the same evil that had swallowed worlds before his time. There were moments he didn't want to go on but he knew there had to be a reason he had survived, his people needed him, they needed each other in order to rebuild what had been lost. He shared all that he knew of the Anunnaki coup in Kergal, on what he suspected had happened to Vikkar.

         "There are Dogon and Nefilim prisoners inside." He broke the news with a heavy heart. "They've got the sword."

         "They've got the sword?" It was terrible news, Akku felt his heart stop for a moment. "Oh my god!"

         "They won't be able to use it" Jasun assured.

         "Unfortunately history seems to have missed a chapter" Neter only made brief reference to the dark spectacle he had witnessed, now wasn't a good time for adding extra fears. "Is Mina okay?"

         "Yeah" Jasun replied, smiling, passing Neter his flask. "We have to get you back home immediately, though. Those Merchants from Atlan are all over her you know." Neter chuckled, he knew it would be true. "Besides, you can't stay here, the band needs you!" He gestured to Akku. "Let's go check out the scene in Kergal before we head back, find out what's actually going on over there."

         Akku and Jasun moved swiftly along the blackened trail towards Kergal, skillfully dodging snapping twigs in their step. Amidst the smoggy cover and whistling winds it was easy to approach the plateau unnoticed. From the edge of the cave they could see the fire pit smoldering, they could also see a faint glow deep inside, proof of life inside. Like real panthers now they crept along the walls, inching their way through the charred remains, in search of the truth. The glow was coming from a fire pit deep inside but there were no faces around it, no sounds, the cave appeared to be vacant...

         The farther they walked into Kergal the quieter the winds sounded, there were signs of life, but no life could be found amidst the broken ruins and charred debris. It was evident the Firmary gods had been there, there were tell-tale kegs and crates from Atlan that could only have been there if Neter was right.

         "They've left" Akku concluded.

         "For now" Jasun agreed, eyeing the crates and kegs left behind. "It looks like they may be coming back though." He lifted his nose, the odor of rotting flesh was disturbing but given the scenario it was to be expected. A dark chill gripped his body like a cold cloak. "Let's go!"

         Akku walked over to examine the kegs, curious. He kicked them one by one. "They're full!" He squinted at the label of the keg that had been opened, trying to decipher it in the dark. "Blood Wine? Oh god! That's just sick!"