I'm Too Sexy For My Niche- Sinbad And the Eye of Dagon
Sinbad and the Eye of Dagon
by Aaron Besson
The robed figure lurched through the dark streets of Basrah. Its gaze took in every detail as it scurried along, finally stopping before a wooden door with a rose carved on it. Looking around briefly, it pushed the door open with a bandaged hand and went in.
The place was dimly lit, with immense clouds of pungent hookah smoke interweaving with the lilting sound of a maqam player. The figure gazedslowly around the room at the few people smoking and reclining on great pillows, then shambled towards the man behind the great, wooden bar.
The landlord looked up from the bar he was wiping down and smiled politely as the stranger approached him. The smile disappeared from the landlord's face as the figure gurgled something quietly to him. He showed great hesitance in responding to the robed one, until two small gold nuggets dropped on the bar top. The man looked at the nuggets, looked back up, then quickly nodded his head off to the far corner as he snatched up the gold and found another part of the bar to clean.
The robed figure looked to where the landlord gestured, then slowly made his way towards the two men reclining there. The men looked up from their hookah as they were approached. The taller of the two chewed casually on the stem of his hookah as his friend stared silently at their new guest. The taller man nodded at the stranger. "Greetings, sahib," said the man, making a welcoming gesture with the hookah stem. "Can we help you?"
The hooded figure looked over the two men, then settled his sight on the taller of the two. "Greetings, effendi." he said in a raspy voice. "A thousand pardons for my intrusion, but are you he who is known as Sinbad?"
The man quietly assessed the hooded figure again for a long moment, taking a draw from the hookah. Finally he said "Aye, I am he. Who asks?"
The hooded figure gave a gurgling sigh. "It is a true honor to finally have found you, effendi. The tales of your deeds have rang far and wide throughout the land and seas. It gives me pleasure unending to stand before the greatest of sailors and warriors."
Sinbad's companion leaned back against his pillow and gave a great laugh. "Ha! You will cause Sinbad's head to swell and his turban to unravel with talk like that, sahib!"
Sinbad picked up a date from a bowl on the low table and threw it at his friend, who laughed again as it bounced off his bald head. "You must forgive him," said Sinbad with a good humored smirk. "Jabir is an excellent first mate, but otherwise simple of mind. Your name, sahib?"
"Forgive my blathering, effendi. I am Al-Moheet, a humble trader of antiques and rarities. I come to you with a quest worthy of your greatness."
Sinbad arched an eyebrow. "Indeed? Please, sit and regale me." Sinbad gestured for Al-Moheet to sit and offered the hookah stem to him.
Al-Moheet bowed in apology. "I thank you for your kind offer, effendi, but forgive me if I prefer to stand. My bones are old, and standing allows me some measure of dignity."
Sinbad gave a small shrug. Al-Moheet continued. "I have searched for you to ask you to find a jewel of great worth to me, a jewel I will pay you handsomely to reacquire for me."
"'Reacquire', you say?" asked Sinbad.
"Yes, effendi. The details of the theft will shed proper light on why only the employment of one such as you will do. It is one of the great prizes of my collection, an emerald as large as a man's head. As great as its worth in sequins would be, the sentimental value is a thousand times greater to me. Its theft has caused me no little grief, I assure you."
"Your pain is clear, sahib. Who is the thief that causes you such suffering?"
Al-Moheet gave a shudder. "A foul race, brave Sinbad, true monsters of the deep abyss. 'Awlad el Dagon', they are called. They rule beneath the seas, yet come to land to steal from honest men such as you and I. It is they who stole my emerald, and great rewards are yours should you reclaim it."
Sinbad sat up and leaned forward. "Your tale is truly worthy of consideration, sahib. What is this great reward you offer?"
Al-Moheet reached into his deep robes and pulled out a purse which he tossed to Sinbad. "This is but a trifle of what shall be yours when you return with my property."
Sinbad picked up the heavy pouch and poured its contents into his hand. Out fell a large nugget of gold, easily the size of an eagle's egg. Jabir whistled upon seeing it.
"You shall have twenty of those upon the return of my property." said Al-Moheet.
Sinbad held the nugget up close. He noticed that it was covered with small coral growths and barnacles, and had a briny smell to it. Alas, gold is gold, and this was undoubtedly worth many, many sequins. Sinbad gave a slow nod of approval. Jabir's eyes shone almost as brightly as the gold. If Sinbad knew one thing of his friend, it was his love for treasure.
"You shall have your emerald, Al-Moheet," said Sinbad, "Where has it been taken?" Al-Moheet handed Sinbad a roll of parchment, which he unrolled to reveal a map of the western sea.
Al-Moheet pointed a bandaged finger at a small symbol on the map in the middle of the ocean. "The temple of the Awlad al Dagon is here. That is where they will have hidden the emerald. You must make haste, effendi, as their temple only sits above the waves until the new moon, when it will sink beneath the waters once more for one hundred years."
"If this map is correct, the voyage is but two weeks’ time and easily accomplished. What of temple itself?" Sinbad asked as he perused the map.
"Be warned," said Al-Moheet in a hushed tone. "Great and foul is the magick that the Awlad al Dagon use. You must be wary, or all will be for naught." Al-Moheet pulled out a translucent pouch that looked much like a jellyfish. "When you find the emerald, place this over it before you pick it up. There a magically warded gems on the altar where the emerald will be. If you pick it up before concealing it, the Awlad al Dagon will know, and your lives could be forfeit."
Sinbad took the pouch, which felt cold and rubbery in his hand. He looked it over, then placed it his belt pouch with the gold. "Well noted. We shall set sail on the morrow. Meet me here in a month's time and you shall have your property restored."
Al-Moheet bowed. "My gratitude is beyond words, Sinbad! Good journey to you, and may fortune fill your sails. I will await your return." He bowed once more, then lurched out of the cafe.
Jabir looked to his friend as Al-Moheet left. "He is an odd fellow, to be sure. Do you trust him?"
"His passion to regain his property is sincere, and his money is good. That will serve as well as trustworthiness until it does not." replied Sinbad. "Gather the crew, Jabir. We sail tomorrow!"
Sinbad stood at the prow of his ship, gazing along the horizon as his ship cut through the crashing waves. Basrah had disappeared behind them a week ago and the voyage had been uneventful, blessing them with strong winds and clear skies.
Jabir joined Sinbad at the prow, and noticed Sinbad's furrowed brow. "What ails you, Sinbad? The journey has been without peril."
"Aye, and that has given me much time to think. In all my travels, not once have I heard of these Awlad el Dagon, and no legends of this temple of theirs. I say in all humbleness that I find not knowing of them suspicious. Despite our fortune thus far, from hereon we shall be cautious."
"Best to start now," said Jabir, staring to the port side. He pointed off into the distance. "What is that?"
Sinbad's gaze followed his first mate's gesture. Multiple wakes cleaved through the water at a startling pace towards the ship, like a large school of fish. As they moved closer, the clear waters showed they were anything but.
"Are those...men?" asked Jabir in astonishment.
Sinbad frowned. "If they are, those weapons they carry do not fill me with confidence of their hospitality." Sinbad yelled to his crew "Men! To arms and gather to me! Be prepared to be boarded!" The crew gathered to Sinbad's side immediately, on alert but confused as there was no ship to be seen. When they saw the source of their captain's alert, they were doubly confused, but ready for battle as seasoned warriors.
They didn't have to wait long, for just then the shapes leaped out of the waves like dolphins and landed on the deck of the ship. They were man-like in shape, but that is where the similarity horribly ended. Their bodies were covered with slimy green scales, and they stared malevolently at Sinbad and his crew with wide, pale eyes. Spiny fins crowned their heads, and in what could barely be called hands they held wicked tridents that looked to be hewn out of coral. They made guttural, croaking sounds as they lurchedtowards the men. Sinbad had seen many strange things in his voyages, but never anything like these monstrosities.
Sinbad's shock lasted not a second. "Defend the ship and your lives, brothers! Send these horrors back to the unholy depths that spawned them!"
Bolstered by their captain's command, the men roared a battle cry and fell upon their attackers. The sides seemed evenly matched in terms of numbers, and the men took to their charge with great bravery and ferocity.
"What are these accursed things, Sinbad?" asked Jabir, sizing up his opponents.
"We will be sure to ask one if we leave that many alive, my friend!" Sinbad said through gritted teeth as he brandished his scimitar and charged towards the largest of the attackers, a monster in the truest sense of the word that stood a head and a half taller than Sinbad and wielded its mighty weapon like a child's toy. Jabir shook his head in admiration of his friend's bravery and faced off at the nearest opponent, mercifully smaller in stature than Sinbad's chosen foe, but no less fearsome in appearance.
Sinbad roared towards the behemoth. The huge fish man turned its unblinking, baleful eyes at Sinbad, croaking in rage and swinging its trident around quickly, causing Sinbad to leap back quickly lest he be disemboweled. Sinbad slowly circled his opponent, getting its measure. The thing had a definite advantage with the length of its cruel weapon, but it was obvious to Sinbad from the thing's ambling gait that it was much more used to fighting in the deeps than on solid surface.
Sinbad feinted many times towards the fish man with jabs and slashes that the coral trident easily blocked. He didn't intend for any of those blows to connect, he was merely trying to aggravate the monster. Judging from its hateful glare, Sinbad was succeeding. Picking his moment, Sinbad feinted high and to the left, which the fish man overextended to block, leaving its side wide open. Sinbad quickly went in low and opened a gory wound in the thing's side before it could block the blow, leaving it to scream mightily as it put its webbed hand to the cut.
The thing was gravely injured, but was not giving up the fight yet. It stabbed and swung wildly at Sinbad, pure murder in its eyes. If any of the blows had connected, Sinbad would surely be cut in twain or impaled, but the wound he had dealt the fish man was a truly cruel one, and its attacks faltered considerably. It was a short waiting game indeed for it to leave an opening which Sinbad took full advantage of, coming in quick and low to run it through. It fell to its knees on the deck now slick with blood both human and otherwise, heaving a final, wet rasp as it died.
Sinbad looked up from his fallen foe to judge which way the wind of battle blew. It saddened him that many of the men he had called friend and brother had fallen before these abominations, but they had sold their lives dearly. The numbers of the attacking horde had been reduced greatly, and upon witnessing the greatest of their number fall before Sinbad, all spirit left those foul things that were still alive. A wild croaking raised up, and the fish men started hopping in a panic towards the railing to escape. A fewmore were cut down as they fled, and the men roared in victory as the remaining monsters leaped over the side to plunge deep into the depths.
Sinbad peered over the railing, staring into the deep waters, lest they return. Jabir quickly joined him at his side.
"I am going to hazard a guess, and say those were the Awlad el Dagon." said Jabir, breathing heavy.
"I am inclined to agree with you, my friend." Sinbad replied grimly, still gazing into the ocean. "This bodes ill, Jabir, most ill, indeed."
"We showed them our quality, Sinbad. They shall think twice about trying us again."
Sinbad shook his head and turned towards his friend. "What concerns me is that they thought about it at all. Do you not see? They obviously know of our quest."
Jabir saw his friend's dire meaning. "But how can that be? Even the men don not know what we are seeking."
"A question for later." said Sinbad. "See to the men, and prepare for an ocean burial for our fallen. I want double watch at all posts for the rest of the journey." Jabir gave a quiet nod to Sinbad, then went about his given tasks.
Sinbad did not regret the precautions. Twice more during their journey they were beset upon by the Awlad el Dagon. The men on watch raised the alarm both times, and the foul spawn of the sea were routed both times. Even so, the loss of life on Sinbad's ship was dear each time, and by the time the temple of the Awlad el Dagon's appeared on the horizon, the ship had only a meager crew.
Sinbad gazed in amazement. What looked to be a tall mountain in the middle of the deep blue sea, proved to be anything but as the ship drew closer. Before them was a large spire of some sort, hewn out of what appeared to be lapis lazuli. The men commented on the odd mixture of curves,angles, and curves that were angles that formed the edifice, and were quite wary of it.
"Not much of a chance that this is not what we are looking for, is it?" Jabir asked Sinbad, his attempt at levity doing little to mask his concern.
"Very doubtful, my friend." replied Sinbad. "It is at the location that Al-Moheet marked on the map, and the unnaturalness of the place is obvious. This is the temple of the Awlad el Dagon, to be sure."
Jabir sighed. "Alas, to be wrong once."
Sinbad gave a brief smile to his first mate, and clapped his shoulder. "We have made it this far. Let us get this over with posthaste, that we may get home to enjoy the fortune that awaits us."
Jabir brightened somewhat at the mention of fortune. "Aye, I look forward to that as much as seeing this place far in the horizon behind us."
Sinbad nodded to his friend in agreement, then turned to the crew. "Jabir and I will take the skiff to the island to retrieve the eye. You men prepare the ship to leave immediately upon our return. If you do not see us rowing back within two hours’ time, do not hesitate to set sail for home. Go to my estate, you will be paid well for your good and loyal service." Sinbad turned to the man to his left. "Aasim, you are in charge. If we do not return, you have this final order from me." Aasim gave a quick nod to Sinbad, then set about making the ship was ready for the return voyage.
Sinbad and Jabir were lowered with the skiff into the water, and proceeded to quickly row towards the silent structure. No sounds of birds or wildlife of any sort met their ears, only the slap of the waves on their boat greeted them. When they reached the island's edge, they tied the skiff to an outcropping of the strange, blue stone and climbed out cautiously.
The journey to the edifice was a slow one. The odd angles of the ground were precarious to navigate, and both men could not look at where they were stepping too long without slight nausea setting in. Finally, they stood before dark, cave-like entrance.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Jabir as Sinbad prepared a torch.
"Not in the least," replied Sinbad, lighting the torch. "But we are at the point of no return."
"Poor choice of words, my friend." chuckled Jabir humorlessly. "Very well, fortune awaits."
The two men entered the darkness, scimitars brandished. Sinbad held the torch out far in front of him, but its light only illuminated a few feet ahead. The walls of the cave felt smooth, as if polished. The floor descended slightly downward until, after what seemed a lifetime in the stygian darkness, a dim blue green light could be seen not far ahead of them.
They soon came to the source of the light. They stood in a room shaped like an inverted bowl, completely covered with bizarre, ancient runes and murals depicting a great battle between what could be none other than the Awlad el Dagon and a great, bearded man, hurling strange magicks at them and obviously winning.
"Hm," muttered Sinbad. "Odd story to tell in your own temple. You would think the Awlad el Dagon would show a battle they won."
"Never mind that,look!" said Jabir, pointing to the far end.
Sinbad looked to the source of the light that filled the room. Sitting on a blue-green dais was a huge stone, giving off a sickly green light that paled in comparison to the light of four large sea-blue gems surrounding it that bathed the room in their luminescence.
Neither man could take their eyes off of the emerald. There it was, the goal that they had risked and lost lives for, finally within their grasp. As they approached the dais a low, deep humming could be heard coming from the four blue gems.
"Look at those gems, Sinbad," Jabir whispered covetously. "Each of them could make a man rich..."
"Do not even think about it," interrupted Sinbad. "There is absolutely nothing about this situation I like, and I will not go begging trouble more than I have to. Let us finish this." Approaching the dais, Sinbad took out the odd pouch that Al-Moheet had given him, and slowly placed it over the emerald. The four surrounding gems hummed at a higher pitch briefly, causing Sinbad to suck in his breath, then lowered to a low drone again. He deftly picked the pouch and hoisted it over his shoulder. "We are done here," He said to Jabir. "Let us depart, quickly!"
"You will get no argument from me. Lead the way." said Jabir.
Sinbad hurriedly led Jabir back up and out of the abyssal cave, whereupon they were surprised to see Al-Moheet awaiting them.
"Al-Moheet?" Sinbad asked incredulously. "What are you doing here?"
"Have you retrieved it?" replied Al-Moheet excitedly, ignoring his question.
"Of course," said Sinbad, "But you still have not expl..."
"Excellent," replied Al-Moheet with a hiss, "Now for the reward that is due you!" With that, Al-Moheet pulled from his robe what appeared to be a puffer fish of sorts which he squeezed towards the men, sending a foul green mist spraying towards them. They fell coughing, Al-Moheet's croaking laughter fading as they lost consciousness...
When Sinbad awoke, his head pounded like a hundred elephants were running through it, his hands bound behind him. Standing over him was Al-Moheet holding the pouch in his hands, now unbandaged to show moist, green-grey skin. Surrounding them on the odd-angled stone of the island were many of the accursed fish men, croaking excitedly. Jabir was bound next to Sinbad, groggily shaking himself awake.
"Ah, Sinbad!" Al-Moheet sneered. "Welcome back, I did not think you would want to miss the ritual." That damnable croaking laughter rasped from the depths of his cowl once more.
"What in the name of all that is holy are you talking about?" asked Sinbad slowly, still trying to overcome the effects of the poison.
"'All that is holy' indeed, fool!" replied Al-Moheet. "What you are about to witness is a holiness that your land-crawling kind has never seen the like of!" Al-Moheet reached up and pulled his cowl back, causing Sinbad and Jabir to gasp. Al-Moheet was barely human, with great, round eyes glaring balefully at them from deep pits in his grey, fleshy face. A bit of drool fell from his bulbous lips. "With the Eye finally in our possession once more, Great Dagon shall rise again! The Days of the All Ocean return!" TheAwlad el Dagon loped and gibbered in joy at Al-Moheet's words.
"This is madness!" exclaimed Sinbad, struggling to sit upright. "What isyour game, Al-Moheet?"
Al-Moheet leered at Sinbad. "No game, effendi, yet you were most definitely a pawn. That was no temple of ours that you pillaged, but the shrine of hated Nodens." Al-Moheet spat as he said the name. "He is the one who tore the Eye from our lord, rendering Dagon impotent. He is the one that secured it in that foul place that none of the blood of Dagon could enter, except upon pain of death. Your kind were still huddling in caves when Nodens sundered Mighty Dagon, never would he expect you to be a tool for the Eye's retrieval!"
While Al-Moheet spoke, Sinbad slowly worked to slip a small blade out of his wristband, hidden there for when his scimitar was not available. He deftly started cutting away at his restraints. He looked at the Alwad el Dagon surrounding them, then back to Al-Moheet. "What foul pact have you made with these monsters, Al-Moheet? What did they promise you?"
Al-Moheet put his misshapen hand to his chest in mock offense. "Monsters? That is no way to speak of my family, good Sinbad. Surely you see the resemblance." He lurched forward to grin two inches away from Sinbad's face, his breath reeking like rotted fish. "Granted, there must be more changes before I can join them fully in the blessed deeps, but soon...soon..." Al-Moheet looked off briefly in reverie, then snapped back to Sinbad.
"My current state has served us well. It allows me to further our ends on the accursed land easily. Would you take a task offered from such as them?" He waved his hand to the fish men. "If even I were to enter the temple of Nodens, I would be dead on the spot. You were necessary to our plan, good Sinbad. Your crew was a concern, but they were easily whittled down over time." Sinbad looked past Al-Moheet's shoulder to where his ship should have been anchored. In its place was floating debris. His heart sank.
"You obviously got what you wanted," barked Sinbad, looking to see that Jabir was now awake and upright too, taking stock of their dire situation. "Let us go with our lives."
Al-Moheet's laughed as he started ambling towards the water. "Oh, dearest Sinbad, would that such could occur, but I fear I still have need of you. Great Dagon has slumbered for countless ages, and I fear he will be hungry when he awakens..." He left the horrible implications for Sinbad and Jabir to consider as he raised his claws out to the ocean, the pouch holding the Eye in one of them.
"Ia! Ia Dagon!" he roared, the rest of the fish men now on their knees in worship. "Ia! Ia! Dagon fhtagn!" he roared once more, removing the Eye of Dagon out of the pouch and held the great emerald above his head. Sinbad could see a great, explosive bubbling occurring out in the ocean not far from the island's edge as Al-Moheet continued his foul chant. His heart sunk. In all his voyages, nothing filled him with the dread he felt now.
Suddenly, over the sound of Al-Moheet's invoking and the surging of whatever was coming out of the ocean, Sinbad heard a high, keening tone. He looked around to see where the noise was coming from. Even Al-Moheet noticed it, and stopped his vile incantation to find its cause. All eyes fell on Jabir.
Jabir shrugged at Sinbad apologetically. "They were so beautiful, and the emerald was safe in the pouch." Jabir was absolutely sheepish. "I had to take one of the gems!"
"YOU WHAT?!" yelled Sinbad and Al-Moheet in unison.
"One gem was easily worth twenty times the gold offered!" Jabir retorted. "Tell me we couldn't live like rajahs with what we..." Jabir stopped talking. Everyone felt tremors start to shake the island as water bubbled forth from the pouch on Jabir's belt.
"Is it supposed to do that?" asked Jabir weakly.
Al-Moheet and the Awlad el Dagon started gibbering in terror as the island shook, not knowing where to run. Sinbad finally cut through his bindings and rushed over to Jabir. He reached into the man's belt pouch and pulled out the gem.
The gem was now a pulsating orb of deep blue water, pouring in great streams over Sinbad's hand. In the center of the orb, Sinbad could feel something fighting to get out. He threw the orb and it bounced over the odd-angled stones, finally coming to a stop at Al-Moheet's webbed feet. The seawater around Sinbad and Jabir rushed away from them to follow it.
Al-Moheet screamed horribly as the now large pool of water at his feet rose up into the form of a blue giant of a man, his beard made of seaweed and kelp. Al-Moheet fell to his knees, dropping the Eye and putting his claws up over his head in a feeble attempt to protect himself.
The colossus looked around slowly, his deep blue eyes resting on the Eye of Dagon, then onto Al-Moheet's cowering form. "So, little fish," rumbled the man, his voice like crashing waves, "You sought to undo the work of Nodens, stealing the prize of my hunt to rejoin your pathetic master? Allow me to help you, then." Nodens waved a hand out to the sea. Immediately, a great tentacle made of seawater shot out of the ocean and sped towards Al-Moheet. The tip of the watery tentacle plunged through Al-Moheet's back and tore through his chest like a spear, causing the him to gasp in pain and shock. The tentacle quickly pulled back to the ocean, yanking Al-Moheet with it, his screams cut short as the bubbling waters consumed him.
The remaining Awlad el Dagon scrambled in all directions to try and escape their doom, but it was all for naught. More tentacles burst from the ocean, impaling the fleeing fish men and pulling them back into the surging waters.
Sinbad and Jabir watched the massacre in amazement, but Sinbad's keen mind told him that now was not a time for idleness. "We must go, Jabir," said Sinbad, cutting his friend loose. "I do not see us being much more welcome."
"I could not agree with you more, my friend." replied Jabir, rubbing his wrists. With that, the two men escaped across the alien surface to where their skiff remained tied. They freed the skiff and rowed as fast as their strength provided. Their escape was none too soon, for not long after the final fish man was thrown screaming into the bubbling miasma, the foul bubbling faded to mild waves once more, and the ancient edifice quickly sank back beneath the ocean's surface.
Sinbad and Jabir sat in the skiff, look out at the vast ocean that showed no trace of the horror that had occurred. "Well," said Jabir, breaking the silence. "It seems that Al-Moheet got what he desired. I'm sure he and the rest of his foul brood will keep fine company together under the waves."
Sinbad smiled. "Jabir, should I ever again tell you to leave the gems alone, kindly see fit to ignore me."
Jabir's deep laughter filled the air. "My pleasure, Sinbad. Speaking of which, might I assume we are not getting paid for this voyage?"
Sinbad gave his friend a disbelieving stare, which quickly broke into a wide smile. "Man the oars and start rowing. The voyage is not over yet." Jabir looked around at the wide, blue sea around them, shook his head, and muttered various curses and rowed as Sinbad laughed.
