Chapter 12: The Cannibal Plains

  “Halt! Who goes there?” came a voice from the rooftop of the Storm House they had been approaching.

  Frelka looked up, shielding his eyes from the light. He couldn’t tell who said it, but he could make out the shape of mounted turrets pointed right at him. He held up his hands. “Whoa! Don’t shoot! We are friends, ja. We saw this building as we were travelling und decided to check it out in case we needed an outpost.”

  “Well, it’s already bein’ used as an outpost,” the voice responded. “Who are you lot? And why are you intentionally heading into cannibal territory?”

  “My name is Frelka, und we are heading to rid the plains of their cannibal inhabitants once und for all, ja.”

  The man laughed. “Well, well, well. It’s been a while since I’ve seen such vigor out here. Most of the people Moll sends my way are broken shells of people strugglin’ to believe they’ve actually escaped the Holy Nation. Barely good enough to hold the line, let alone fight a war…no offense boys,” he added, looking back over his shoulder.

  Frelka’s eyes widened. “You know Moll? We’ve met her!”

  “I gathered as much,” the man replied. “Name’s Mani. I’m Moll’s second-in-command, an officer in charge on the Cannibal Plains frontline. Come on in and sit down.”

  At his word, the turrets turned away from their group, and the door to the outpost opened up.

  The room inside was simple: storage shelves and a table with chairs as you walk in, and wooden dividers with beds and more storage on the other half of the room with stairs leading to the roof. Even inside, the faint stench of rot and shit from the Cannibal Plains couldn’t be escaped. Frelka wondered how these people managed to live in such a place day after day.

  As he was observing the room, his eyes crossed a Scorchlander with short, white hair and a short, white, chinstrap beard. He wore a dark leather shirt under his Assassin’s Rags with Samurai Clothpants covering his lower half.

  “Please,” Mani said as he stepped off the staircase, “sit down. Like I said, it’s been a long time since we had any actual fighters around here.”

  They sat down and Mani signaled for two of his men to bring them all fresh water. After they had finished quenching their thirst, Frelka spoke. “So, Mani, you said you are the leader here on the frontline, ja? Tell us, how is the fighting going?”

  Mani’s face turned stern. “Honestly, it could be better. Much better. I wasn’t kidding about the types of recruits we get up here. And with that Grand Wizard unitin’ the tribes, we’ve been havin’ a mighty hard time just keeping the line from being crossed, let alone pushing it.”

  “We saw the poster for the Grand Wizard!” Beep exclaimed. “We are going to kill him!”

  Mani laughed. “I like your spirit young one! Yes, that would be the ideal option.”

  “Sounds like there’s a ‘but’ attached to that statement,” Shryke said.

  “But,” Mani continued, “as I’ve said, we’ve had trouble just holding the line up here, and the Grand Wizard is deep in the cannibals’ territory. We’ve made some friends with the local Cannibal Hunters that roam the plains, but their numbers are few as well; certainly not enough to push–they’re barely enough to contain. Hells, I’d be afraid to risk losing the assistance they provide in drawing the Cannibals’ attention.”

  Stone raised his hand.

  Mani laughed. “You don’t have to raise your hand, son. What is it?”

  Stone blushed as he slowly put his hand down. “Right. Sorry, sir. You said before that this Grand Wizard is uniting the tribes?”

  Mani nodded. “Aye, he is. He showed up ‘bout two years ago: a defected Paladin from the Holy Nation. Not sure why, but he went out promisin’ the cannibals more meat than they’d ever need if they’d follow him. Not sure how, but he actually got ‘em to listen. Ever since, their attacks have been more coordinated, their numbers have swelled…and we’ve been pushed back to two measly outposts.”

  “Oh shit,” Shryke said, “a defected Paladin? This guy’s no joke then.”

  Mani nodded. “Based on your faces, I take it y’all still want to go after the man. If that’s the case, you’ll need to know a few things first. Y’all got a map?”

  Frelka looked to Beep who laid it on the table in front of them.

  “So,” Mani began, “we’re here.” He made a mark to the southwest of the ghost village they had visited. “Since the Grand Wizard’s rise to power, they’ve taken up residence in the old ruins of Deadcat,” he made another mark to the northwest, deep in the Cannibal Plains, “and have even made three makeshift villages of their own.” He made three final marks to the northwest and west, forming a barrier around the Cannibal Capitol.

  “Jesus,” Horse whispered. “I didn’t realize it’d gotten that bad out here.”

  Mani looked at Horse and nodded, and for a moment, Frelka could almost feel the exhaustion that Mani hid from his men. Mani took a deep breath and the mask was back. “Now, until we take out their leader, they’re going to be too united to do anything about, but, if we take out their villages first, we may be able to thin their numbers enough to create an opening to him.

  “It’s gonna be tough, there are literally hundreds of ‘em wanderin’ around out there–maybe even close to a thousand–and the villages they’ve established will easily have a hundred to a hundred and fifty cycling through at any time. If you’re truly intent on wiping ‘em off the map, I’d start at the villages and work your way inward.”

  “Th-th-thousands?” Stone whimpered. “Is it even possible to kill that many?”

  He tried to move his hands out of view, but Frelka had seen the shaking. He patted Stone on the shoulder. “We can. We will. Because we have to. It won’t be easy, and it won’t be all at once. But we can do this.”

  “And what assistance will you provide?” Horse asked, looking at Mani.

  “Nothing, I’m afraid,” he confessed. “Like I said, we can barely hold our own out here. But, cannibals aren’t the only ones who roam the plains. There are Shrieking Bandits and Shek Berserkers out there as well. Neither are terribly friendly, but maybe you can get lucky and form a temporary alliance with some of the groups you find out there.”

  “That’s not very promising,” Frelka muttered.

  “I’m sorry,” Mani said, his shoulders slumping somewhat. “Trust me, if I had the ability, I’d be out there with you all, but the downside to bein’ a leader is that I can’t just run off on a whim. I’ve got to keep this place runnin’. Moll’s depending on me. But know this, if you get overwhelmed, you’ve always got a place to run to here. We’ll make sure you stay safe while you’re here. Those crossbows ain’t just for show after all.” He paused, studying the disappointed faces in front of him, before adding, “You know what? There may be one thing.”

  He stood and walked over to a nearby desk on the opposite side of the room. He grabbed a piece of paper and began writing on it. Once he finished, he came back over and handed the paper to Frelka.

  “Here. It’s not much, but like I said, we have been able to form a working relationship with the Cannibal Hunters. Like most merc groups, they charge for their services; unlike most merc groups, though, they’ve no aspirations aside from what their name implies. But if you meet a group out there, this letter may spare you the recruitment cost; they owe me a favor after we sheltered one of their own from an attack. I really am sorry I can’t be of more help. Now,” he said, standing from the table and adjusting his gear, “if you’ll excuse me, I actually have to make my way over to our other outpost to the southwest of here and check in. Good luck, and happy hunting.”

  With this, he excused himself from the table, leaving the group to themselves.

  “Hey kid,” Shryke said, reaching out to Stone, whose purple-hued face had blanched, “you okay?”

  Stone looked up at her. “N-No,” he admitted. “How are you all okay? There’s only six of us, against a thousand cannibals!”

  “A thousand naked cannibals,” Beep chimed.

  “Naked cannibals with large cleavers,” Horse added, taking a sip of his water and trying to hide the faint smirk on his face.

  “Not helping Horse,” Shryke snapped. “Look, Stone,” she said, turning back to face him, “it’s not that none of us are scared. I’m terrified. But,” she paused for a moment, glancing at Frelka and looking back, “Frelka here got us out of the Foglands when I thought it was impossible. Since then, I’ve learned to trust the big ox. If he believes that we can do it, I believe in him.”

  “But what if he’s wrong?” Stone stammered.

  “Then we’ll die,” Horse said nonchalantly.

  “Dammit Horse!”

  Horse chuckled and shrugged, putting his water down on the table. “You think they have anything stronger than water here?” he asked as he stood and walked to the nearby shelves.

  “If we die,” Beep added, “then we’ll die making the world a better place.” He looked at Frelka, then back at Stone. “And that’s all that really matters.”

  “I will be sad to see you all die,” Burn said.

  They heard a singular, boisterous guffaw come from the shelf Horse was at.

  “What the fuck, Burn? What is wrong with you two?” Shryke shouted, looking back and forth between Burn and Horse’s back.

  “Apologies,” Burn said, “the cannibals are afraid of my kind, and seeing as I have no meat for them to consume, it is highly unlikely that I will perish, even if you all should.”

  “They could still beat you to the point of inoperability,” Shryke threatened.

  Burn’s processors whirred. “Point taken.”

  ~~

  “Holy shit,” Shryke whispered as they peeked over the cliff down to the cannibal village below. “This is practically the size of Moll’s camp! Look at all those tents! And why are there so many fucking cages?!”

  Frelka knew she already knew why but allowed her to vent. If he was being honest with himself, it was likely bigger than Moll’s camp–at least in area covered. Judging by the hordes of cannibals walking around below, there was no doubt that it had a larger population. He was glad night had fallen already, allowing them to safely hide at the top of the cliff that surrounded the village on three sides.

  Frelka stared into the valley in disbelief. In the center, he could see multiple large fires burning, chunks of meat of varying sizes hoisted on spits. Around these fires was a large ring of around thirty upright metal cages. Even now, Frelka could see a group of cannibals beating one of the prisoners, his pleas for help lifting futilely up and away into the night sky. After his screaming ceased, they unlocked the cage and carried the body over to one of the fires, where another cannibal began chopping the body up.

  He heard Stone throw up behind him.

  “Suck it up, Buttercup, and quiet down before they hear us,” Horse said, taking a sip from his canteen. Catching Shryke’s glare he chuckled and wiggled the bottle in front of her. “Turns out they did have something a little stronger than water.” He corked his drink and stowed it away before turning back to Stone. “What is it kid, have you never seen someone being chopped up before?”

  “N-n-n-n-n-no,” Stone stammered. “H-H-How are you not sick seeing this?”

  Horse shrugged. “I’ve lost three entire teams in all kinds of brutal ways.”

  “We had to fall asleep to the sounds of screaming every night and see people being eaten while we were in Mongrel,” Shryke added, turning her gaze from Horse to Stone.

  “I was eaten,” Beep chirped, matter-of-factly.

  “I was not paying attention,” Burn answered. “I was watching behind us.” He looked down into the valley and shrugged. “I’ve seen worse.”

  Stone stared at them all in horror. “What are you monsters?” he whispered.

  Shryke chuckled and muttered, “We’re alive, kid.”

  Frelka looked back toward the camp. Around the ring of cages, he could make out countless single and double-person tents. Smaller campfires were scattered around this area with a group of cannibals sitting or sleeping around each one. What stood out the most, however, were three of what appeared to be raised platforms with cloth tarps used as roofs. It was almost as if they were trying to build an actual house.

  “Well,” Frelka said, turning to the others, “Mani was certainly right, this is going to be very difficult. So, any ideas?”

  “Oh,” Beep chirped, “Beep has one. Beep will sneak down there and knock out one of the cannibals. When he wakes up, we’ll get him to tell us all of their information.”

  “Cannibals only scream and fight…and shit,” Horse added, sniffing the air. “They don’t talk to outsiders.”

  “Then maybe we could disguise ourselves?” Frelka asked.

  “Unless you want to be the one disguised and potentially have to eat another person,” Shryke answered, “I don’t think that idea will work either.”

  “Besides, where would we get the paint?” Burn asked.

  “G-g-guys,” Stone stammered.

  “Well, I doubt we can draw them off one at a time. They’d likely all charge us,” Frelka said.

  “Yeah, that’s not going to work.”

  “G-g-guys…”

  “Mani said they have patrols, maybe we can pick them off as they leave the camp?” Shryke suggested.

  “Maybe,” Frelka said, “but if the one we saw enter earlier is any indication, I’m not sure that’s going to be an option either.”

  “G-g-guys…”

  “What, Stone?” Shryke snapped.

  Stone pointed at the hill leading from the cliff to the valley below; the hill Beep was currently sneaking down.

  “What the fuck does that idiot think he’s doing?!” Shryke whipser-shouted. “We have to go–”

  “No,” Frelka said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “we’d all be seen before we even make it to him.”

  They all held their breaths as they watched Beep work his way down the hill and up to one of the tents on the edge of the village.

  ~~

  Beep paused outside the first tent. The stench this close up was one of death and decay. He had thought the smell of the Cannibal Plains couldn’t get any worse, but clearly this had not been correct. The mixture of rotting meat and human waste seemed to permeate the air around him. He struggled to keep from gagging. He could hear the soft snoring of one of the cannibals from behind the flap.

  He closed his eyes and whispered to himself. “They don’t deserve honor. They would kill you without it if you allowed them.”

  He drew his katana, pulled back the flap, and stabbed the cannibal inside, covering his mouth with his hand so any scream wouldn’t be heard.

  As he watched the life drain from the cannibal’s eyes, Beep felt a pit form in his stomach. He had killed before. This shouldn’t be any different. Frelka and Shryke told him it was okay…it should be okay…so why didn’t it feel okay? He shook his head and cleared his mind. Now is not the time to doubt, he told himself, now is the time for stabbing the things that want to stab me.

  He moved to the next tent and killed the cannibal sleeping there. Then the next. Then the next. One after another, Beep worked his way through the line of tents, killing each inhabitant before silently moving to the next. His blade became sticky, and he had to stop more than once to wipe his blade and steady his hand. It wasn’t just the adrenaline of being surrounded by enemies, he still couldn’t shake the stomach-grasping feeling of dishonor.

  Then, about halfway through the first cluster of tents, Beep remembered his conversation with Stitch the night he decided to join the Shinobi thieves: “The boss at the tower says he can make Beep quiet, like a shadow on the wind.”

  A shadow on the wind, he thought. That’s what he was. He was a blade in the darkness, death in the night, a shadow on the wind.

  “Beep is a ninja,” he whispered to himself.

  In that moment, the pit in Beep’s stomach disappeared, and he knew he was doing the right thing.

  He continued working his way through the remaining cluster before making it to his first campfire, where six cannibals sat, eating. He was close enough to hear the squelch of the barely cooked flesh as they ripped at it with their sharpened teeth.

  He was behind a large platform with cloth tarps serving as a roof, the ring of cages on the other side of it. Even from here, Beep could hear the rhythmic chopping of cleavers on flesh. Suddenly, Beep didn’t feel so good. He felt his stomach churn as his head began to spin.

  He decided he had done enough. He would have to come back later. He turned around just in time to see a large cleaver come slamming down, flat side first, on his head.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  ~~

  “Well,” Horse said, casually watching Beep’s unconscious form being dragged to a nearby cage, “what was that? Like thirty cannibals? Impressive.”

  “Goddammit Horse,” Shryke said, “are you sure your other parties died? Or did they just leave you in the night with a note that read, ‘We died. Don’t look for us.’?”

  Horse chuckled. “Good one.”

  Frelka could barely hear the two as he watched his friend being placed in the cage.

  He turned back to the group. “Okay, listen up. We have to go und rescue Beep.”

  Shryke stared at Frelka, a mixture of disbelief and sympathy on her face. “Listen, big guy,” she said as she placed her hand on Frelka’s wrist, pausing his frantic drawing in the sand, “I know how you feel, but how exactly do you think we’ll be able to rescue him? Even with the sleeping ones Beep killed, there’s still probably another forty or fifty of those fuckers walking around down there. Gods only know how many are asleep in the tents on the other side of the camp.”

  Frelka glanced desperately at each of his teammates. Shryke’s sympathetic and grief-stricken face, Stone’s tear-stained cheeks, Horse’s desensitized stare, and Burn’s immovable gaze.

  “That’s it,” Frelka said, pointing at Burn. “You said they were scared of your kind, ja? Why not go und just walk into their camp und take Beep?”

  Burn’s processors whirred as he said, “This would not be recommended. They fear my kind, but, as Shryke pointed out, they would likely group up and beat me into inoperability if I were to walk amongst them by myself. Fear only goes so far.”

  “Well,” Frelka added, his desperation growing in his chest as he waited to hear Beep’s agonizing cries in the night, “maybe we could split up und try to pull groups of them away from the camp. Then, one of us could sneak in und snatch Beep up!”

  “You sure everyone here can outrun a group of cannibals?” Horse asked, eyeing Stone. “I’m bettin’ not.”

  “Why do you need to outrun cannibals?” Beep asked.

  “Because we’re trying to figure out how to rescue you, idiot,” Shryke added.

  There was a brief silence before most everyone stifled a gasp and rushed to Beep. Burn and Horse remained seated.

  “See, it all worked out,” Horse said, taking another sip from his canteen.

  “No thanks to you,” Shryke hissed, smacking him on the back of the head. “I thought Shek were supposed to be warriors, not drunks.”

  “Can’t be both?” Horse asked. “Besides, there’s a difference between fighting and dying.”

  “How did you escape?” Frelka asked Beep, ignoring the two next to him.

  “Beep gets knocked down, but Beep doesn’t stay down. I woke up, picked the lock, and snuck away.”

  The group stared at the Hiver in disbelief. Even Horse had paused his drink.

  “That simple, huh?” Horse laughed.

  “Well,” Shryke said, “now that that crisis is averted, let’s get back to figuring out how we’re going to deal with this camp. Beep, you probably took out anywhere from a quarter to a third of the group. I hate to ask, but do you think you could work your magic on the other side of the camp? If we can guarantee there are no other cannibals sleeping in the tents, we may actually be able to pick the remaining forty or so off as a group, with the help of Spite here, of course.”

  Beep nodded. “Beep can do this.”

  He turned and began sneaking away into the night only to have Frelka grab his shoulder.

  “Are we sure we want to send Beep right back into the situation he just barely escaped from?” Frelka pleaded to the group.

  “Beep is fine,” Beep answered, placing his own hand on Frelka’s. “If Beep is captured again, I’ll just escape again.”

  “What if they don’t give you the chance to escape again?” Frelka asked. “What if they break your legs? Or just kill you on the spot?”

  Frelka saw a flicker of fear cross Beep’s face as the possibilities flashed in his mind. Almost as quickly as they had come, however, he watched them disappear as Beep gently removed Frelka’s hand from his shoulder.

  “Then Beep will either have to hop away very quickly…or Beep will be dead.”

  With this, Beep turned and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the rest of the group stunned.

  “Did something happen to Beep?” Shryke asked.

  No one answered as they all watched the camp below for signs of Beep. Eventually, they saw him hugging the wall of the cliff on the northern side of the encampment, making his way to the other side of the camp where the bulk of the remaining tents resided. Slowly and methodically, they watched him move from tent to tent. Sometimes pausing to kill an inhabitant, sometimes moving on from an empty tent, sometimes pausing to rub his hands and blade in the sand. All the while, keeping an eye on his surroundings for any patrolling cannibals. It seemed he had learned from his first mistake.

  “Well,” Horse said with a chuckle, “at least he don’t need to touch a hot stove twice.”

  After about thirty minutes, Beep had finished scouring the tents and turned back to return to them at the cliffside.

  “Okay,” he said after he returned, “now what?”

  “Now what?” Stone asked. “Aren’t you tired?!”

  “Beep is exhausted,” Beep said with a smile, before passing out in front of them.

  Shryke chuckled and began rolling out one of the bedrolls she kept in her pack. “Well, it’ll be morning soon anyway. This seems like a good enough blind spot. Should we let Beep sleep and watch the camp?”

  Frelka nodded. “Ja. Let’s see how they react to Beep’s nightly visit.”

  ~~

  They continued to watch the camp for the entirety of the next day. Despite the numerous deaths that Beep had visited upon them the previous night, Frelka was appalled to learn that the cannibals had no major reaction to a fraction of their camp being found dead in their tents. Instead, they just dragged the corpses to the center of the camp, slowly chopping away and cooking them.

  It made absolutely no sense to Frelka how any sentient creature could be so gluttonous as to supersede its own sense of self-preservation or safety, but apparently this was exactly the case with these cannibals. It was no wonder the Holy Nation had no true fear of them escaping the Plains. Frelka’s mind flickered to the Grand Wizard. He really was the piece that would take the entire cannibal society–if it could even be called that–down.

  The rest of the day passed without much in the way of events. With a fresh source of food found, most of the cannibals remained at their fires: eating, talking to each other, and retiring to the freshly cleaned out tents. No patrols left, and none came in.

  By the time night had fallen again, Beep had recovered from his exhaustion and was chewing on one of the rations they had bought.

  “This tastes like wood,” he complained as he chewed on his bite. “And the smell around here doesn’t do much for the taste either.”

  The rest of the group nodded their heads in silent agreement.

  “I’m sorry guys,” Shryke responded. “These things last a really long time.”

  “Probably because you’re not hungry after just a few bites,” Frelka added with a smirk.

  Shryke rolled her eyes. “Whatever, you big babies. It was the best way to feed us for the longest time and take up the least amount of space. I’m carrying all the food and all the medical supplies; if one of you wants to take over for the food, then maybe we’ll be able to afford some better choices.”

  “Backpacks don’t really work with all the dodgin’ and rollin’ I do during a fight,” Horse responded, quickly avoiding any potential future responsibility.

  “Und Beep und I use our packs to carry all of the heavy loot we find.”

  “I could handle the food,” Burn added.

  “There we go,” Shryke said, “Burn will carry the food from now on. Though are you sure you want someone who doesn’t eat choosing what food to buy to bring along?”

  “I can cook,” Burn said.

  The group paused and looked at the Skeleton.

  “What do you mean you can cook?” Shryke asked. “Like you can make these rations?”

  “Very likely,” Burn answered. “Though given your previous comments, I am not sure why you’d want me to make them instead of meatwraps or meatcubes for the group.”

  “Wait a second,” Shryke said, her eyes wide with surprise, “you can make that stuff?”

  Burn nodded. “It is simple physics and chemistry. I can make the bread for our meatwraps too. My bread has, on average, a three percent higher rise coefficient than most bread sold in stores.”

  The group’s silence was broken by Horse’s chuckle. “Well, there ya go, Shryke. We’ve got a Skeleton chef.”

  “Thank the gods,” Shryke added with a smile. “I was really dreading learning how to cook.”

  “Well,” Frelka interjected, shoving the last bite of his ration in his mouth, “now that that’s settled, let’s figure out how we’re going to finish off this camp, ja?”

  The group nodded.

  “So,” he continued, “based on what we’ve seen, there’s around forty more cannibals left in the camp: five stay in the center with the food, und the rest are broken up into groups of six to eight scattered around their various campfires. Since charging in would likely be a bad idea, any suggestions for how we can successfully pick off the remaining groups?”

  “Well,” Shryke said, pulling down her crossbow, “I figure we can do something like what we did on our way out of the Foglands: I pick them off one by one. If they notice me, I’ll make my way around a corner to where you all will lie in wait. Ideally, if they just see one, they’ll only send out a few at a time, right?”

  The next several hours were a long and arduous ordeal. Frelka hadn’t been fond of Shryke being the bait, but since he couldn’t use a crossbow–and had no suitable alternative–he could only agree to her plan. Fortunately, Shryke’s skill with Spite had much improved since their time in the Foglands; now, she could reliably hit a cannibal from far enough away that by the time they looked to see where the bolt had come from, she was well hidden.

  Of course, no plan goes perfectly, and there was more than one occasion that required her to lure a group of screaming cannibals to the rest of them. Thankfully, as she had predicted, these groups were never larger than a handful, and they were able to dispatch them easily enough.

  By the time the sun was rising, they stood in the center of the encampment, panting and bloody, but alone.

  “Well, shit,” Shryke said between breaths. “I can’t believe that plan actually worked!”

  “Well, given Beep’s prior interventions, and your proficiency with your Spite, the chances of success were fairly high to begin with…barring certain complications,” Burn responded.

  Shryke waved him away. “Shut up. Statistics can’t account for crazy, naked cannibals.”

  “What should we do now?” Stone asked timidly.

  While they had had a few skirmishes, Frelka couldn’t help but notice that Stone had still skirted the perimeter, engaging very little each time. He made a mental note to check in with him when they were safe again.

  “We should loot!” Beep exclaimed before rushing off toward one of the three upraised structures.

  Frelka smiled and ran off with Beep, Burn walking patiently behind.

  Horse looked at Shryke, who was eyeing the cages.

  “You plannin’ on helpin’ these guys?” he asked, gesturing towards the prisoners.

  “I mean, wouldn’t you? No, on second thought, don’t answer that; I get the feeling your answer would make me want to hurt you.”

  Horse laughed and grabbed Stone by the arm. “Come on newbie, let’s help the doc with these prisoners. If we’re lucky, maybe some of ‘em will join us. Nothin’ better than a good ol’ meat shield.”

  Shryke shot him a dark look. “Ignore him, Stone. If any of them do join us, it will be as equals. We don’t do ‘meat shields.’ Scum,” she added under her breath.

  As Beep and Frelka ran into the first hut, they both froze. Again, the cannibals upped the ante with their scent. The inside of the structure was like a concentrated form of the air outside. As Frelka looked around the modest room–a few bedrolls and some crates and barrels–he saw why: a barrel filled with what he could only assume was blood, and scraps of skin hanging to dry on a nearby rack.

  Frelka swallowed the vomit that surfaced at the back of his throat.

  “You know what, Beep? You go ahead und loot away. I think I’ll stand guard outside, ja?”

  Beep nodded begrudgingly, wrapping his face snugly with his rags.

  After about five minutes of sporadic noises, Beep emerged from the tent, his pack still cradled in his arms. He smiled widely at Frelka and gestured for him to follow him away from the structure.

  He laid everything out in front of him, beeping excitedly. “Look at all this loot, Frelka! Beep. It’s probably not anything we could use, but we can certainly sell it all! Look at this armor! And these pants! And they had some other supplies too! Oh, and look at this! They have food!”

  Beep proudly pulled out handfuls of dried meat.

  “No more rations for us!” he exclaimed as he started to bring one towards his mouth.

  “Beep!” Frelka hissed as he smacked the meat from Beep’s hand. “What are you doing?”

  Beep looked dejectedly at the meat, now covered in sand, on the ground. “Well, Beep was going to eat that, but not anymore. Now Beep will eat this one!”

  Frelka frantically batted a second chunk of meat from the Hiver’s hands as he attempted to shove another serving into his mouth.

  “Stop that!” Beep exclaimed. “You’re wasting good food.”

  Frelka fought the urge to vomit again. “Beep, I’m going to ask you some questions now, okay? Once I finish, if you still choose to eat, I will let you, ja?”

  Beep’s eyes narrowed, annoyed but compliant.

  “What did we just spend the last two days fighting?”

  “Cannibals.”

  “Und while we were fighting, did you see them butcher any goats?”

  “No.”

  “Any Garru? Bulls? Beak things? Bonedogs?”

  “No, Frelka, you know we didn’t see any of that,” Beep answered, still annoyed. “What is your point?”

  “My point is, Beep, what do you think that meat is made out of?”

  Beep’s face blanched and he dropped the piece he had been holding in anticipation of Frelka finishing his questions. Immediately, he began digging in his pack, throwing out piece after piece of meat, beeping with every toss. When he had finished emptying his pack, a mound the size of a Bonedog pup sat in the sand.

  “Beep can’t believe he almost ate that!”

  Frelka smiled, relieved, and placed a hand on Beep’s shoulder. “I’m just glad you didn’t know what it was. For a minute, I was very worried about you!”

  “Beep is not a Fogman!” Beep protested. “Beep would never!”

  Frelka held his hands up in front of him. “Okay. Okay, Beep. That’s good, ja. Come, let’s put this memory away and loot the rest of these structures.

  The two ran off to the next building. Burn, who had been watching the two curiously walked over to the nearby pile and gave a couple of small kicks in the sand before following them to the next house.

  Shryke still wasn’t sure why Beep had put so much human meat in his pack–or why Burn had half-heartedly kicked sand on the pile Beep left–but she tried not to look at the pile of flesh in the sand as she continued bandaging one of the Shek women in the cage in front of her.

  “Weird ass Hiver,” she muttered. “There, that should last you for a little while. We’re just finishing up here, but if you’d like, we should be headed to a safe house nearby soon. We can lead you and the others there to recover.”

  The Shek shook her head as Shryke finished unlocking the cage and let her out. “Berserkers don’t need to recover; we just need to fight.” She looked around the cages and frowned at the bodies of her sisters in some of the other cages. Her shoulders slumped. “Perhaps a short rest would be okay,” she added, her tone thick with defeat.

  Shryke smiled encouragingly at her and patted her on the shoulder. “I think so. Why don’t you wait in the center there. When we’re done with everyone, we’ll head out.”

  The Berserker nodded and strode to the center of the camp, picking up the red bandanas of other fallen sisters in the cannibals’ pile of discard clothing.

  Suddenly, she heard a scream from one of the cages further down. As she looked, she saw the scream hadn’t come from a prisoner, but from Stone–who now stood with a large cleaver held to his throat, a scrawny cannibal slathered in green and black body paint holding him from behind.

  Shryke instantly unsheathed Spite and leveled it at the cannibal, but it hiss-laughed and shrunk behind the much larger Shek.

  “Dammit,” she muttered.

  “Put weapon away,” the cannibal shrieked in a high-pitched voice.

  “Why should I?” Shryke responded.

  “Because me kill friend if don’t. Then me eat you both!”

  “Or, I could shoot him and you both,” she threatened, Spite still leveled at the cannibal’s head.

  The cannibal shrieked with laughter as Frelka and the others joined her from the other side of the camp. He let out a loud whistle, and another twenty cannibals–all painted in the same green and black body paint–emerged from behind tents and cages, cleavers in hand and smiling ravenously, their eyes wild with hunger.

  “Shit,” Horse muttered.

  “Ah,” Burn commented in his usual monotone, “‘certain complications.’”

  “Attack!” the cannibal shrieked.

  Because of Stone’s size, the cannibal failed to slit his throat as intended, instead leaving a gaping slash across his chest. Stone elbowed the cannibal in the face and turned to face him, sword drawn.

  The cannibal hissed with glee and licked the blood his blade had captured. “Man Shek always taste better than woman Shek!”

  He lunged with an overhead swing and brought the heavy blade down hard on Stone’s katana. Stone flinched as the gash in his chest seared with pain. He tried to push the cannibal away but found he felt slow, like he was moving through water.

  The cannibal swung again, and Stone was able to bring his blade up in time to deflect, but he could tell he was slower. He needed to run, but his feet wouldn’t move. Another strike. He felt the jolting in his wrist as his blade was knocked free from his hand. In a final swipe, the cannibal brought his blade down again.

  Beep watched helplessly as Stone’s arm fell to the ground uselessly beside him. The cannibal kicked the Shek in the chest, knocking his still form flat, then planted a foot on his and stepped on him like a stone in the dirt as he rushed to join his brothers.

  He had considered waiting until he had had time to train with it first, but seeing Stone’s still form enraged Beep. He sheathed his katana and drew the Nodachi he and Frelka had found from his back. The blade was much longer than he was used to–requiring both hands to wield–but Beep hoped that would help him reach Stone faster. He began to swing wildly in front of him, letting the weight of the blade carry him through the swings. He began to feel dizzy; felt as though the blade would fly from his hands at any second, but he tightened his grip and continued swinging. He cut down one cannibal, then another. He could hear the sounds of the others around him fighting; hear the twang of Spite securing another kill, but all he could see was Stone. He wouldn’t let his protégé die like this! Frelka hadn’t let him die!

  Finally, he was standing over Stone. He slowed his swinging and let the blade fly from his hands. He heard a clang as it collided with one of the nearby cages. He knelt beside Stone as Frelka closed in and stood over him, fending off the remaining cannibals.

  Beep wished he had paid more attention to Shryke when she had taught him about first aid. He tried to remember. What first? Right, pulse!

  He placed his fingers to Stone’s throat. It was weak, but present. He was still alive!

  Next, stop blood loss!

  He looked at the obvious danger: the bleeding stump where his arm had been. He quickly pulled out one of the bandages he had and a stick. To the best of his ability, he formed a makeshift tourniquet around Stone’s stump as close to the cut as he could, staunching the flow.

  Now what? Is he alive? Yes. Massive hemorrhage? Done. Airway?

  He could see the slight rise and fall of Stone’s chest.

  “Beep, watch out!” Shryke screamed.

  Beep looked up just in time to see one of the cannibals charging at him from the side Frelka couldn’t guard.

  He drew his katana and blocked the attack. He rose quickly, spinning around to the backside of the cannibal–who was now looking for where the small Hiver had disappeared to–and sliced down, severing the cannibal’s spine.

  He looked around and watched as a large female Shek held a cannibal high in the air with her large, two-handed Fragment Axe–a rectangular blade with notches all around its edge, giving it a bumpy appearance. With a war cry, she slung her blade down and sent the cannibal’s body flying limply into the last cannibal, who had been trying to run away. Immediately, she bolted toward the collapsed figure and brought her blade down hard on its neck.

  Beep watched as the head bobbled away from its previous home, down the small incline leading away from the camp.

  With that, the battle was over.

  Beep quickly returned to Stone, Shryke right behind him.

  “Excellent work, Beep,” she added as she looked over his work. She looked up at Frelka. “I think he’s as stable as he’s going to get, but I don’t think he’ll be waking up anytime soon. Think you can carry him? We need to get everyone out of here and get back to World’s End as soon as possible!”

  Frelka nodded and slung the Shek over his shoulder.