Metzli's Sacrifice

It was just an average day. Metzli hunted in the damp jungles for most of it, before heading back at the first hint of dusk. She really didn't feel like hunting in the dark today. Back at her camp, she pondered for a while, glancing over to the more or less abandoned brothel with a sigh. Riona was still not back. It was quieter than it should be. And although she liked the silence more than the noises of the cities, this felt... wrong. Incomplete. She shook her head and turned to look somewhere else. What she saw confused her. Fires? No, not fire. But there was definitely a glow somewhere far north. It loomed on the horizon, glowing orange through the canopies of the lush jungle flora. Metzli was more intrigued than anything else. The light reminded her of a campfire, but combined with the silence in the camp, a sense of unease came over her. And then she noticed the jungle was crying out. The sounds were not like the normally were. The squawking of birds, the heavy breathing of the larger reptiles, it was... off. Metzli glanced up at the now abandoned shrine up the tree. She got up and hurried over to climb on the statue of Derketo, perching on top for a better view. "Not good," she mumbled to herself. "Land angry..." She frowned as she kept watch, trying to figure out if the glow came closer or if it was just her.

It was not just her. She could see more and more of the glowing, and soon enough the trees furthest away started to burn. She knew enough. Metzli hurried back to her camp to bark orders at the servants, urging them to start packing all the things strewn about. Then she ran over to Almera's shop, shouting for her to come out. "Al-mera! Come outside! Land angry, fire in jungle!" Almera seemed as confused as Metzli was just a little while ago. Metzli pointed at the glow in the distance with a slightly trembling arm. "Need get things and go!" She didn't wait for a reply but ran back to the camp. The servants were in a panic and were haphazardly throwing things in boxes and sacks, while her trainee hunter looked on in confusion. She looked up at Metzli with bewildered eyes. "Metzli? Where are we going to go?" Metzli froze for a moment, taken by surprise. "Not... not know." She looked up. "Not rain. Need rain for fight fire..." She looked back to her trainee, staring her down as dark thoughts came over her. \*I could ask... *it*. Like the sorcerer-priests would do, back home.\* She blinked herself back to the here and now, and cast another glance to the glow, which had grown in intensity again. She hesitated for a moment, eyes showing a rare hint of endearment as she flashed a weary smile at the servant. "Metzli try thing. Arrow girl help pack." Metzli looked around the camp, eyes landing on the servant handling the tanning of hides until today. "Hide man. Come." She waved him over and lead him to the other side of the giant tree in the middle of the encampment. "Metzli get thing. Wait here." She hurried back and rummaged around in one of the boxes before fishing out a cloth headwrap that could double as a blindfold. She headed to the other end of the camp again, glancing back to double check that the other servants were out of sight. "Put on mask." She held out the wrap for the man, who gave her a puzzled look but knew better than to object.

After he did as he was told, she gently helped him walk to the edge of the cliff. "Metzli sorry. But need try save camp." She put a hand on the man's shoulder, who recoiled slightly at the touch before calming down. "Wh-what is going on? Why do I need to be blinded? Where are we going?" Metzli kept quiet. She eyed the man for some time, hand hovering over the knife on her hip. *Am I really going to... But I have to, or else we will all burn to death...* She shook her head free of her hesitations and swallowed hard. Her hand took a tight grip of the knife as she started to murmur a crude imitation of the sorcerer-priest's sacrificial hymns. The man started to grow uneasy, so Metzli gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, took a deep breath, and plunged the knife into the man's chest. [Gory details will be skipped, you're welcome.] After the work was done and the man's soul was offered up to her god, Metzli looked down at the body with a frown. She felt uneasy, and the lack of response from any higher power didn't make it any better. She sighed and nudged the body to the edge of the cliff, grimacing as she pushed it off the edge and into the shallow water below. She headed back to the camp, making sure to wipe the knife clean on some leaves before she came into view of the others. "Hide man... Hide man leave." she stated. The others looked up with surprise, but Metzli motioned for them to continue packing, which they did.

Metzli kept watch as the remaining servants continued to pack. The warrior, the archer and the cook. She hoped they wouldn't ask questions about the tanner. "Need rain," she mumbled to herself. "Why not listen?" She looked up again, a sliver of hope left that there would be clouds forming. She turned her attention back to the work, watching the other three while mixed emotions ran through her head. *Should I try again? How many would I need before It listens? Would It listen at all?* She shook her head free as the short archer girl flashed a smile at her. "We're almost done, Metzli. Just a few more boxes." Metzli smiled back a hollow smile. "Bless moon." She swallowed heavily. "Preyfinder. Need come." She beckoned the fighter over, towards the spot at the cliff's edge. It was easier this time. She knew what to expect. Preyfinder was more distracted, and Metzli's hand shook less. She never really got along well with the fighter. Maybe that's why. She frowned at herself and nudged the corpse over the edge like before, grateful for the water's obscuring of the gruesome scene below. "Preyfinder go ahead. Look for safe path." The others either didn't think anything of it, or they hid it well. Still, no rain. She grimaced again, and focused on the boxes. Just one more. *Just... one more.* She swallowed again. "Cook man start bring box to path." She pointed towards the giant tree branches they used as a pathway. "Metzli help carry box. Come." She pushed away the unease of lying to those that trusted her. *We just need rain, and then we will be okay. If I don't do this, we all die.* She followed the cook, carrying a box of her own. She had never been so grateful for the man's lack of interest in conversation. It made it a little easier. This time there was no knife needed. Just a little push to his shoulder as he made his way over the slippery branch. The nauseating sound from his landing was proof enough that it worked. She hoped it still counted.

When she got back to camp again, her favorite servant stood at the ready with the remaining bags under her arms and a focused expression. "Others ready for leave," Metzli stated. "Arrow girl wait. Need... need talk." The girl's face turned serious. "What's going on? Shouldn't we be leaving?" "Arrow girl want save camp?" Metzli asked. Metzli try ask god for help. Not help." She frowned, while her servant took a moment to think before offering nothing but a firm nod. "What do you need of me?" "Come. Leave bags here." She turned around without another word to head back up the altar. Thoughts raced through her head. *Should I keep trying? There is no ziggurat. No dragons. Does that matter? And the statue is all wrong. Maybe that's the problem...* She halted as the two reached the altar and turned around to smile a hollow smile at the huntress again. "Arrow girl ready? Metzli try ask god. Give rain. Rain fight fire." She hesitated for a moment. "Metzli... need give girl to god for ask. Metzli sorry." She looked the other way, barely even noticing the fires coming ever closer. It was quiet for a while. It seemed the whole world took a moment as the weight of Metzli’s plan dawned on the normally so starry-eyed girl. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. The short servant girl looked down at the altar with a frown, then back towards the camp and finally down at the altar again. She nodded. She grimaced in an attempt to smile and finally broke the silence, her voice thin. "If... if that's what is needed for the others to make it, I'll... I'll have to." She did her best to look determined. Metzli looked up for a second, this time noticing the glow had gotten dangerously close. Flames were closing in around the northwest side of the rock plateau the camp stood on. It wouldn’t take much longer before they’d be trapped…

Metzli closed her eyes for a moment and told herself it would be okay. She looked her trainee in the eyes and smiled. "Metzli grateful. Bless moon." She then gestured at the dais before the statue, and helped the girl down on it. *I hope I can do this right. Just a little cut and we will be safe. Keep it together.* She rubbed her eyes and cast another desperate look upwards, grimacing at the lack of rain. Her hand hovered over the handle of the knife on her hip once more. "Arrow girl good servant." She smiled softly, maybe more to herself than to the girl on the dais. "Metzli remember." She swallowed hard. *Maybe it's for the best if I just... just get on with it.* She took her knife firmly in her hand. Her trainee glanced at it and closed her eyes, trembling slightly as she laid otherwise motionless on the dais. *Does she know about the others? No, no. Think later. No time.* Metzli raised her arm, and plunged the knife down into her servant.

*[Gore skip yada yada.]*

Metzli felt her hands shake as she looked down at her work. It was harder than she thought. It was less elegant than she hoped. But she thought it might be good enough. She closed her eyes and started to hum the hymns again. She never quite understood the meaning but she remembered dedicating the sacrifice to *It* and asking for Its approval. So she asked. There seemed to be no reply. Metzli cursed quietly at herself. She looked around helplessly, the realization of the situation rushing back at her as she stepped back from the altar and the trance that came with it. She looked up once more and wondered if the clouds got darker or if it was just the smoke and the light. She headed back down to the shop.

Almera was busy packing all kinds of ingredients and bottles. Metzli walked over and grimaced. "Metzli try ask rain. Not work." She sighed. "Think need go now. God not want save Lotus camp." She tried to hurry Almera outside and away from her encampment, now devoid of people. "Metzli servant away. Only Metzli and Al-mera need go." She swallowed heavily, shook her head, and helped Almera pick up the boxes. She hoped the cook's body wouldn't be visible in the mud when they went down the path. As the two were heading down with their boxes and bags, Metzli noticed the first drops of rain on her skin. She stopped and stared at her arm for a long time. Almera looked up and grinned widely. "Looks like you did it, Metzli. I guess we don't have to evacuate after all!" Metzli smiled the last hollow smile for that day, too drained to feel anything, or answer. She just stood in the rain until she was soaking and shivering from the uncharacteristically cold water.