“Please, let me rest…” Themistokles held his blood drained head while kneeling in the sand.

“I told you not to drink so much.” Eugenia replied with crossed arms and little pity in her voice.

“Ack! It was my first drink in weeks! I had ta enjoy it rightly… Owowow.” The sound of the waves hitting the beach seemed to make his head spin.

“We don’t have the time for your hangover to cure itself. You only have a few more months left until the promised time!” Eugenia pulled back her short sleeves and pumped her fists to inspire confidence in the sunken in eyes of the merchant.

“Aaagh… please don’ yell.” He covered his temples as if he had been hit by the roar of a dragon.

“The sun has already risen, so it’s time to get to work.” She was chipper as could be and already walked across the beach to gather materials for their big project.

“Izzat why she wouldn’t drink with me?” He wondered, sluggishly getting to his feet. Eugenia had refused to drink even a drop of his wine, but she didn’t give a reason aside from saying it was improper for a priestess. In hindsight he regretted drinking her share as well.

“I gathered some of the sails and linen that were washed ashore before. I used some for Lady Medusa’s clothes and my bedding, but there is still plenty left!” She shouted from a distance away. It still felt like Zeus’ lightning bolts shattering his skull.

“Aye, dats good.” He muttered and walked across the hot sand. His mouth felt drier than the Persian wastelands. He looked up towards the burning sun that was dragged across the world on Helios’ chariot. It must have been hotter than a volcano on his backseat.

Eventually he caught up with Eugenia and inspected the sails. They weren’t rotten or anything, but they had seen better days. The best parts had been cut out and used for the islanders’ purposes. There was still enough to make one big sail or two medium sized ones.

“What kind of ship are we making?” The priestess asked brimming with excitement. For some reason she was especially interested in this part of their work. He had to admit it was very reassuring, if charming even.

“Even if… urgh…’scuse me.” He swallowed some bile while holding up his hand to make her wait. “If we had the materials to build a big’un… I wouldn’t be able to man it on my lonesome.” In fact the boat he had managed to sink in that storm was already too much for him alone. That was one of the reasons he misjudged the navigation and ended up here. But there was so much cargo, he had no choice back then.

“That’s true. So we should build a compact one that can be steered from one position.” She followed along with his brainstorming.

“It’s gotta be bit reinforced to last thru dat storm…” He shakingly moved his finger across the line of the horizon. Even if he had the ability to point straight there would have been no point. On this island it always appeared like an infinite blue horizon surrounded them. It was quite jarring.

“Reinforcement, huh?” She went into a cute thinking pose and racked her brain.

“I’ll just use ‘e metal and strong wood from the chest and some other stuff.” He rubbed the back of his nose. “Can ya get me some parchment?”

“Yes! I have it all stored up at my sleeping place.” She rushed off without a second thought and returned just as swiftly. Themistokles barely managed to pull a piece of charcoal from his cargo in that time. “Here you go. What do you need it for?”

“I jus’ wanna… mmrpph… draw a plan. We can’t just hammer some planks randomly.”

“You said you know a little about shipbuilding?”

“Just a tad. I sold some sketches in the past and when you’re bored outta yer mind durin’ travel; let’s say I memorized a few pointers.” Which didn’t mean he also knew how to construct the boat. He hadn’t even so much as built a chair in the past, so this was quite extreme of a jump in difficulty.

“You even learned how to sail too. That’s impressive.”

“Haha, they called me jack-of-all-trades Zosimos sumtimes!” He laughed, but that just made his stomach rumble in reproach.

She smiled happily, which made him feel unworthy somehow. What a bright girl.

“You got some skills of yer own, no?” He just recalled all the things she and that Lady of hers had already done for him since he arrived.

“I picked some things up here and there.” She said humbly and then turned her face to his sketch. “What is that half circle?”

“The bow… we need it to reinforce the… the thingamajig…” He slapped his cheeks a few times to focus up. Thanks to her burning questions he actually managed to remember more things and made some important connections. The plan was finished in just an hour.

“This is so intricate. I never knew that ships were this layered.” Eugenia complimented him.

“Sure are. Just look at this rudder and- wait a sec! How do ya know what this looks like?” He rather abruptly realized the peculiarity in her actions. He held up the map and then stared at her milky eyes.

“I heard each of your strokes on the parchment.” She said innocently as if it was natural.

“Do all of Athena’s girls have such a great memory?” He asked perplexed.

She tilted her head cluelessly.

“Nevermind.” He felt like the odd one now. Instead of worrying he just blew the charcoal dust off the map and then put it down on the crate again. “We got the plan and most materials.” He moved to the edge of the beach and then submerged his head in the cool waves! “Brrr! And now I’m sobered up.”

“Then next we just need to build it.” Eugenia nodded.

“Ya sure make it sound like a cakewalk. Should have some tools in the mossy barrel over there. Was supposed to hold water, but ya know.” He stepped forward, but immediately regretted it as his bare foot hit something heavy and metallic with full force.

After he squirmed on the ground for a few seconds Eugenia squatted down next to him and gave him a sympathetic expression which basically conveyed ‘I’ve been there’. Then she touched the big hunk of wood and metal that was responsible for his pain.

“What is this construct? It was next to you when you arrived here and it attacked Lady Medusa’s door.”

“Artemis’ bow, I’m sorry to hear that! She didn’t get hurt or anything?” He was wondering if the Lady’s attitude towards him originated from that slight.

“She is fine. Even an iron arrow wouldn’t harm her.” Eugenia replied dismissively. “More importantly what is it?” She could be pretty callous in her own right.

“This thing shoots harpoons.” He said and patted the mechanism lightly.

“What’s a hairpuhn?”

“That ‘iron arrow’ you mentioned, where’s it now?”

“Over there.” She pointed at some metal sticking out of the sand. Looking at it made him feel oddly anxious. Must have been his imagination.

“See, this here’s a harpoon. It’s got the barbs and all.” He wiped the sand off and dragged it over. It was still lighter than the average spear, but heavy nonetheless. “Eastern sailors use it to hunt big prey in the sea.” He explained.

“So it works like a bow and arrow, but for fish?”

“Not just any tiny fish. That would be excessive.” He put the harpoon back into the device and looked at the back. There was some snapped rope back there. “Must have been destroyed when it was set off. Usually the harpoon is attached to rope so you can reel it back in.” He made the hand motion.

“Ohh, what do you hunt with it?”

“Lesse. I guess sea lions and dolphins. Maybe even sharks?”

“Huh? Lions? In the sea?” She was astonished by his suggestion.

“They aren’t real lions.” He scratched his cheek and thought about it for a bit. “They are more like dogs with fins and lots of fat.”

“Fishdogs? That sounds amazing.” He had her full attention now. So she liked dogs. That was an unusually masculine preference. Any town girl he had ever met was afraid of mutts. There were more wild dogs and war dogs than the tender kind in this world.

“They’re really harmless compared to our own land version.” He remembered eating the succulent meat of a sea lion once. It was worth the price to say the least.

“What is a shark then?” She wanted to know more and more.

“Imagine a fish the size of a real lion. Then give it more teeth than you can count. That’s a shark.” He summed up with a shadow over his eyes.

“Terrifying!” She was taken aback. Compared to the swimming dogs this was a harsh contrast.

“They make some good soup though.” He forced himself to laugh to liven up the mood. After telling her about some more of the many sea creatures he knew or heard about, they pulled the harpoon and its device all the way to the edge of the temple steps.

“Why did you bring it along with you? Did you want to hunt something?”

“It came with the ship. I didn’t really need it, but ya buy the whole package.” He shrugged and leaned against the heavy thing. “If ya don’t mind, I’d leave this one behind. It’s heavy and takes too much space.” He requested with a smile.

“We have a lot of junk lying around, so this won’t be a problem.” She approved it without a second thought.

“Won’tcha need to ask your Lady first?”

“Lady Medusa doesn’t care about anything on the island.” Eugenia said dejectedly. “She gets bored of anything I show to her in just a few moments.”

This description made her sound more like a cat than a great lady, but he would avoid speaking his mind in this case. It was still causing him to smirk.

“I have a few things among my wares that could interest her. If her tastes aren’t as mundane as ours.” He winked.

“I tried to teach her mathematics, but that seemed to bore her even more than building a miniature version of the temple in Lamia.” Eugenia let her shoulders sink with a sigh.

“You must’ve a lot of free time around here.” Mathematics were not a mundane thing for certain, but they were also far from intriguing to the average person. Maybe he should keep that to himself as well. “Should your Lady not be up by now? Do you need to prepare her breakfast?”

“Don’t worry about such things. Lady Medusa doesn’t eat often and she sleeps for days on end. We may finish the boat before she wakes up.” The girl said absolutely serious.

“Haha.” He laughed loudly at her exaggeration. It must have been a joke, right? It would take them maybe weeks to finish this. Nobody could sleep that long, curse or not.

Medusa sat atop the toppled statue of Athena that had shattered into twelve equally sized pieces long ago. It was not reminiscent of her appearance anymore and thus this unfortunately couldn’t count as a slight against her. In the first place this temple was abandoned and banished from the cult.

With her deep silver eyes, the Gorgon stared into the distance. From this angle she could just about see the humans talk and gesticulate. Their conversation was rather lively. Although the merchant had reeked of alcohol when she passed their camp, he now seemed sober enough.

They were making unfamiliar signs and discussed the form of the boat they hoped to build with their four hands. She could not believe that they were capable of such a feat.

Every ship that had arrived here to bring foolish warriors was taller than her lair and longer than the southern courtyard. They were manned by two dozen stark faced humans that moved giant oars in a melodic rhythm. When they arrived the rhythm was still steady and reminded of an unknown hardy song. In the rare event that they managed to escape to the ship before she could petrify every last one of them they returned to their oars and rowed in a panicked melody of dissonance.

Of course she was not the infamous Gorgon for nothing. The survival rate of humans that dared enter her island was below one in twenty. Sometimes she killed too many for the escapees to still get the boat off shore and then she climbed on deck and scared them all into one place before ending their lives with one malicious glare.

The ships were an eyesore, so she destroyed and sunk them without fail. The crumbling chunks drifted off or sank, carried away by storms. The pieces that the girl and the merchant gathered right now were the remains of such failed expeditions. They were not even aware that they were building their freedom on the backs of their brethren’s corpses.

Their freedom?

She closed her eyes and once again forced herself to subdue that nagging thing deep inside her soul. Something was slowly edging its way into her consciousness, forcing her to acknowledge it soon. She would not let it. There was nothing in this world that could control her. Not even her own heart.

The days passed quickly. It was strange for the Gorgon to stay awake for such long periods at a time. She made sure not to make herself noticeable for most of that time passage. Eugenia was exceptionally perceptive thanks to her blessed ears, but she was rather distracted with her work and went to sleep completely exhausted. She gave no sign of noticing Medusa’s presence at all.

Every day they worked on a new piece of the ship, creating unfamiliar shapes. The Gorgon had torn apart ships and boats many times, but she had never paid attention to the giant wooden beasts’ innards. She could hardly imagine that these curved and pointed parts would ever form a ship in the end.

It took them an entire week to finish just a single long piece that would barely be able to float on its own. When both were asleep she surveyed their work at night. The wood was thin and seemed unreliable. If this was supposed to carry all the cargo and a human, it would certainly sink.

Her long nails scratched across the old wood and she let the moonlight reflect off of her hand.

“Ngh… don’t touch.”

Medusa froze up. The girl had called out to her. She glanced back towards the camp with a hint of uncertainty, but realized that the priestess was just twisting and turning in her sleep. She had decided to sleep close to the small tent that the man had built for himself. It looked pathetic, but it would protect him from some minor winds and showers at least.

The foolish girl on the other hand was just lying on a pile of sails as if she had not a care in the world. Her expression was self-satisfied, like only an earnest days’ work could make it. It was aggravating to look at.

Medusa flicked her tail against a half finished plank and threw it off the stone it was perched on. The low thunk as it fell down was not enough to appease her angered mind. The exhausted humans didn’t even notice the noise.

“You need me to do what?” She raised a brow and glared down the blindfolded man.

“I am deeply sorry to make a request of my benefactor, especially when you are letting me roam free like this already.” He went down on one knee to bow in front of her. At least he thought he did, but she was actually to his right. “We will not be able to complete the boat in time if we don’t get access to coal. The tools are too worn down and we need to make new ones. Melting the old bronze tools and the iron chest is an arduous process which requires incredible heat.”

“And what makes you believe that I have any intention of giving you this coal?” She asked coldly. This human’s audacity was starting to make her lose her composure. He just kept taking more and more and never showed anything in return. Even for a greedy human, no, a merchant, this one had very little common sense.

“I know that I cannot ask for more than you have already given me.” His voice was strong. That was the only good thing about this weak man. The voice. “But we cannot find any on this island. As the Lady of this isle, you are the only one who has the knowledge.”

“Did you not ask the girl?”

“She told me that she arrived here not too long ago and isn’t familiar with everything yet.”

That was only half true. The Gorgon huffed, thinking of how she had probably pretended to be more incompetent than she truly was. At this point the priestess must have known more about this island than Medusa ever had. Yet her instincts were unnaturally accurate.

“Why did you not send her to negotiate in your stead?”

“I would have liked that, as my presence seems to incense you.” He was sharper than he looked. “But Eugenia said she wanted us to...” He gave her a troubled mien and stopped short.

“Out with it human.” She prodded him on. He called the girl by her name so naturally. Humans really were weak, trying to find solace in each other’s arms to escape the wheels of solitude that crushed all equally. Even after they grew so close he still had the intent to use her as he pleased. What would the priestess have had in mind? Why did she not run his errands as expected?

“She said she would like us to get along.” He pressed out with a subtle sigh.

“Of all the foolish reasons.” The Gorgon joined his sigh unabashedly.

“I share her wish to a degree.” He suddenly added. “I always prefer to have a good business relationship.” His sly expression was unbefitting of his bumbling appearance. Were all merchants so unaware of their own insignificance?

“Business is not a one way road.” She said while looking down on him and slithering in a circle around the confused man. He did still not lay eyes on her true form, always blindfolded when meeting her. How tempting it was to tear it off just to see his priceless expression. “I expect compensation.”

“Of course! You can have whatever I have in stock. I will trade you anything.” He replied hastily, but regretted his poor choice of words immediately.

“Anything you say?” Medusa smirked.

“…anything I have in stock.” He managed to find a small loop hole.

“So any one thing you have brought with you?”

“Yes.” He nodded with a gulp.

“Even that precious map of yours?” Her words struck like a dagger in the night and hit the merchant’s vitals. He jerked back as if he had been kicked.

“You know of that?”

“I know everything that happens on my isle.” She replied mysteriously. It was a mild exaggeration, but the more imposing she appeared the better.

“I can-” He balled his fists. “I cannot give you the map.” His words were shaky, but unyielding.

“Not even for your precious coal? Your journey could find a premature end then. That map will not serve you well when you are stuck with us.” Her words slithered inside the man’s head like snakes in a pit.

“What use could you have for a map of a distant land?” He went on the counter offensive.

“That is meaningless. It is my privilege as the sole seller to ask for any ware in return. The market is about to close, feeble merchant.”

He gritted his teeth. The curly hair hung deep into his face, even covering the blindfold.

“The coal you seek is below my lair. In the deepest cave that sprang up below the temple. You can take all of it, should you manage to enter there.” She was taking delight in this little game. It was rare that she could torment an enemy with her words rather than her fearsome eyes.

“My apologies, but I cannot do that either.” He replied with forced countenance.

“Hm?”

“Eugenia told me that I am not allowed to ever enter your lair. She made me swear on Eopia’s honor.” His face had returned to being determined.

“Tsk.” Medusa clicked her tongue and slithered around a pillar. That young priestess had told him something unnecessary. How much did she blabber anyway? “Did she say why?”

“That she did not.” He denied her firmly.

“Hmph. How irresolute.” Even a priestess would keep secrets from those she guided, huh? Well, she would not let her have such a fantastical ideal world. “Your name was?”

“Themistokles.”

“So that is the name she called countless times.” She said with a seething smile. “Listen well human. I shall tell you where you are and who you are talking to.”

“Pardon?” He did not comprehend at first. But when the Gorgon put her mouth to his ear and the snake hair wriggled around his head he turned pale despite his dark skin.

She told him the truth without any embellishments, but that was more than enough to sway his cowardly mortal heart. She could taste his fear in the air. The leg he was kneeling on was shaking a bit and sweat poured down his neck.

Medusa felt that dark flame inside her rejoice. It was finally able to lick across the source of its burning hatred.

“So that is why she was so unclear.” He whispered. That was when he put on a false brave mask. “When I arrived someone told me about a monster, but to think it would be the lady she reveres. I suppose the curse should have given me an idea.” He slapped his forehead as if he just got a joke he was told long ago.

“That weak girl does not revere me. She serves that woman who hates me more than any mortal.”

“That is unfortunate.” He said with a nervous chuckle. “I feel sympathy for such an earnest girl. Neither of her idols is very kind.”

“Stop your muttering.” His knowing attitude was only fanning her ire.

“Keeping her here is indeed no better than a curse.” He agreed. “So let me take her with me.”

Crunch.

A large piece of the pillar next to Themistokles crumbled as the Gorgon had clawed her hand through it mere finger lengths away from his face. He did not even flinch as the dust rained on his head.

“Never.” She replied, stressing the word with all her cold rejection.

“I will finish the boat.”

“What?”

“I will finish it and make my dream come true. That is all my life is worth right now, a single promise.” He clutched his hand around his leg until it turned white. “I cannot carry the burden of anyone else. My shoulders are not wide enough for that.”

Medusa scratched across the pillar to release her irritation physically. His words made no sense to her.

“You wanted a trade that is worth your time? Then let me trade Eugenia’s freedom.”

She listened as if she had heard the footsteps of the Titans of old across the land.

“If I cannot save her, if you will keep her imprisoned with you no matter what, then I will give up on convincing you. I will bear the shame of my cowardice until the end of my life. Is that of suitable worth to you, Lady of Sarpedon?”

“Heh. Hehehe.” It was impossible to stop the rising laughter that escaped her throat. Bearing this second rate act with a serious mind was impossible. Completely beyond her power! Human nature was revolting from birth until the last step towards the underworld. She could see his scheme, could feel his sincerity in relying on his weakness to justify the deal.

She could respect how far he would go.

“I accept your offering. The coal is all yours.”

“I thank you.” He replied with his head lowered in shame.

For the first time in over a week Medusa felt the pressure leave her unsteady soul. It was only a slight reprieve however.

“I feel real villainous now.” Themistokles lamented as he sat down next to Eugenia inside the camp.

“Did she agree?” She asked while chewing on some wheat bread. She had gotten used to the good food he had brought along.

“As ya predicted. I’m amazed.” He wrapped the blindfold around his wrist and sighed. “She told me the truth about you two.” He added with a heavy voice.

“Did she?” She gulped the bread down a little too hastily and had to hit her chest repeatedly to avoid choking.

“Now I see what your plan’s all about. I don’t know if that was a good idea.”

“Lady Medusa cannot act nice without justifying it to herself.” Eugenia said as she split the bread and handed some to him. “So we had to give her a chance to act like a monster.”

“I was all terrified too. Thought she would put a hole in me.” He was too afraid to even recall that sound of crumbling sand stone.

“She promised me that she would not attack you.” Eugenia said with conviction.

“You trust her implicitly, but she did try to bait me into her lair.”

“Huh?” Eugenia reacted more surprised than he expected. “How could she! That’s just too cunning, even for her!”

“Hey, are you tellin’ me ya didn’t see that comin’?” The bread felt very tight in his throat all of a sudden.

“What? Uh, I did, naturally.” She wiped some sweat off her brow and put the bread aside to turn away from him.

“Womenfolk will be the death of me.” He shrugged jovially and gave up on worrying.

Due to the schemes of the humans, construction of the boat progressed to the next stage. But with each step forward everyone’s troubled hearts would soon come to a clash.