by Atlas Kane
Cade squeezed Latsi’s shoulder, as if to tell her he was sorry, and then he turned and sprinted toward the entrance to town. Weaving between stray people and buildings alike, he soon found himself shoulder to shoulder with Satemi. She smiled at him and they raced on faster.
They burst out into the open and came face to face with a terrifying sight.
Gemma stood with only four of the six hunters who’d set out on the expedition with her.
Two were missing.
Those who had returned looked a mess. One clutched the bloody rag that wrapped around her missing arm. Another had a stomach wound that seemed to still be bleeding. Yet another was unconscious, being dragged forward on a make-shift stretcher.
The lead huntress, Cade’s wife, stood covered in dried blood.
He ran toward her, inspecting her body for further signs of injury. She looked exhausted but stood strong enough that his worries fled soon enough.
Minda and Ketzal ran up to either side of her, both stopping short when they saw the look on Gemma’s face.
Raising her hands in the air, Gemma summoned a monstrosity.
A ragged and severed head tumbled to the ground, pulled from her Inventory. The twisted face of an eagle, scales mixed in with feathers, stared up at them all.
“We found the source of our troubles, and we killed many. But the greatest of them, a massive beast like I’ve never seen before, is still out there,” she said. More of the villagers were approaching, all wearing masks of fear, masks that matched Cade’s own grim expression. “And though we tried our best, we believe it followed us. The beast, and a group of rampaging amalgamations, are destroying the Waterfall District as we speak. I’m afraid they will find Camp Casmeer soon enough.”
Gemma received embraces from the women in her life, wincing as she did so, then a group of healers swarmed the hunters and escorted them away for care.
Cade stood dumbfounded as he regarded the massive bird head, the beast’s beak large enough to take off one of his arms. Satemi came and stood beside him. She sighed, expressing the emotion that threatened to overwhelm him. Every time we get a little closer to finding peace, something else goes wrong.
“Looks like we will be holding off on another dungeon run,” she said plainly, hands crossed over her chest.
Cade smiled grimly, pushing at the macabre trophy with a foot to get a better look at its design. “Yeah, I suppose so. Whatever that thing is, it’s just too damn big to ignore. At least we’ll have a few new toys to help us take it down.”
The warrior looked him in the eye and asked him in a quiet voice only the two of them could hear. “Think we’ll be able to? If even Bellows wasn’t a match for it…”
Spitting on the amalgamation’s head, Cade turned back toward Camp Casmeer. “Yes, we will. The only trick will be trying to do so without losing any more lives. Besides, I think I know just the toy we’ll need to help us do so.”
16
To Be Locked and Loaded
Camp Casmeer turned into a beehive of activity. Trouble had found them again, and it wasn’t conveniently locked away in a dungeon.
Some were busying themselves preparing rations and supplies. Tessra had a squad of crafters working on repairing or refitting clothing to withstand the rigors of combat. And everyone who wasn’t doing something to prepare for the inevitable assault, was drilling with their weapons.
Cade only had two tasks he needed to see to.
The first involved Satemi. He met her in her workshop. The woman was covered in a sheen of sweat as she worked on a few more suits of armor, ensuring that the group that left town was as large and formidable as possible.
“You wanted me to see the new breastplates?” he asked, gesturing at the stack of unfinished armor.
“No, not really. I had something more exciting to show you,” she answered and summoned something from her Inventory. It was bulky, a series of bamboo tubes strapped together with two loops of leather attached.
Studying it a moment, he took a guess. “Some kind of backpack? Why not use the Inventory?”
Satemi showed him her teeth, a gesture that looked more like a snarl than a smile. “A kind of backpack, yes. It isn’t complete yet. Needs a little love from you. When it’s done, I suggest we call it a Blastpack.”
Cade’s eyes went wide as he imagined what she had intended. Each of the four tubes were larger than the Boom Sticks he’d made so long ago. Combined, they would be enough to knock down a tree, or a handful of trees for that matter. “I think you’re crazy,” he whispered. “And I fucking love you.”
“I don’t really want to pack the Combustion Powder in it myself, so… if you aren’t too busy,” she finished, summoning three more of the bulky packs.
Then Cade sighed, seeing the flaw in her design. “I don’t know, Satemi. I have a few people putting together a half dozen Boom Sticks as we speak. They are always useful, but even if I use all of the powder, it won’t be enough to finish even a single one of these.”
The woman chuckled, shaking her head. “I am a sneaky woman, Cade. You aren’t the only one with a profession that can create explosives. Remember that guano you brought in? Well, we have a villager who is a Bio Chemist. They usually just help Minda develop new uses for her herbs, but when the guano came in, well… she approached me and asked for some. Did you know you can make explosives with shit?”
Scratching his head, Cade laughed. “Nope. So you’ve got a heap of shitty explosives for me to pack in these things then? That’s what you wanted to tell me.”
“Yes, and of course, I did want to give you this,” she finished, and summoned one more item.
The set of armor she produced was not only strange-looking, but beautiful.
It had a breastplate of glinting steel, the outline of a man’s musculature etched onto its surface. Attached were two small pauldrons. Both were sculpted to look like the mouths of beasts, one a snake, and the other a wolf. Extending down from these, two full arm bracers hung. Each upper arm and the forearms themselves were covered in cleanly carved stone. The hue and texture looked familiar.
Finally, a pair of greaves that would cover his thighs and shins, both with sleek plates of the chitinous material they’d looted from the fallen Kotani.
Everything was held together by a light-gray material, stretchy by the looks of it, and hopefully tough, though he couldn’t tell by looking.
Cade smiled at his lover who seemed as proud as he’d ever seen her. Then he inspected the armor one piece at a time.
Chimera King Breastplate of Power
Quality: Unique
Description: A masterful piece of armor that combines hardened Tanrial steel with the tough mesh of the mothling wings. By harnessing the inherent qualities of both materials, this breastplate provides excellent slashing, piercing, and blunt protection to the chest and torso and moderate slashing and piercing protection to the ribs and underarms. Grants +2 Strength.
Chimera King Pauldrons of Insight
Quality: Unique
Description: A masterful piece of armor that combines molded Tanrial steel, crafted to idealize the multi-faceted aspects of the Chimera Lord, with the tough mesh of the mothling wings. By harnessing the inherent qualities of both materials, these pauldrons provide excellent slashing, piercing, and blunt protection to the shoulders and upper arms and moderate slashing and piercing protection to the neck. Grants +2 Wisdom.
Chimera King Bracers of Fortitude
Quality: Unique
Description: A masterful piece of armor that combines the earth-shattering power of the golem with the tough mesh of the mothling wings. By harnessing the inherent qualities of both materials, these bracers provide excellent slashing, piercing, and blunt protection to the upper arm and forearms and moderate slashing and piercing protection at the elbow and wrist. Grants +2 Constitution.
Chimera King Greaves of Grace
Quality: Unique
Description: A masterful piece of armor that combines
the flexible and boundless power of the grasshopper with the tough mesh of the mothling wings. By harnessing the inherent qualities of both materials, these greaves provide excellent slashing, piercing, and blunt protection to the upper and lower leg and moderate slashing and piercing protection at the groin, knee and ankle. Grants +2 Dexterity.
Cade was dumbfounded. How did they manage to complete this in such a short amount of time? And why do I deserve all of this?
Satemi seemed to sense his qualms, and she came closer, placing a hand against his shoulder. “Not only do I love you, Cade, but most of the blasted town does too. You might not realize it, but you’ve given us everything. We earned our part, of course, but you stand at the front. This is just the outfit you’ll need to wear now, at least when we must fight, and believe me… everyone will feel better if you do.”
He wiped the tears that rolled down his cheeks. There wasn’t a distinct moment when he realized he was close to expressing his emotion, it simply roiled over like a pot over a hot fire. He laughed, at himself, and for the ridiculousness of the situation. Antinium had taken him in, given him a new life, and taught him to love and care for others. And now the hardest part was accepting that in return.
Nodding, he pulled the woman into an embrace.
They kissed, briefly, and he shook himself. There was much to do. Cade couldn’t afford to lose momentum, regardless of how intense his emotions were.
Finally, after storing the armor away, Cade took the four Blastpacks and the sacks of explosives and stored them in his Inventory. He would take as long as he needed to make sure they were ready for deployment first thing in the morning.
Staring the warrior queen in the eyes, he told her honestly, “I love you, Satemi. I love you more than you’ll ever know.” Then he kissed her once more, holding his lips to hers a few long moments until she giggled. Taking that as his queue, he left to find Ketzal.
The demoness was at the bottom of their happy glade, the sound of her labors audible even before he’d gotten past the second fortified wall. Catching a glimpse as he rounded another of the walls, Cade saw the boars at work. Bellows charged at the head of a spear-shaped formation. He was decked out in a refined set of plate armor. They’d reduced the armor’s weight significantly, wanting him to be able to move gracefully. Additional mesh filled in weak spots where the plates couldn’t protect.
Most impressive were the shoulder and hip spikes. Blunt for strength but sharp enough to pierce flesh, a single spike protruded out from the boar’s shoulders. Similarly, each of his bony hips had a similar weapon, allowing him to slam against an enemy and cause significant damage.
But he wasn’t alone.
The other smaller boars in his pack raced alongside him, their armor shining just as impressively. Though none were as large as he, even the smallest was seven feet at the shoulder. Each had handlers of their own, villagers who’d chosen a second Occupation to match Ketzal’s skill. They weren’t as advanced as she was, but all were capable of steering the boars around with ease.
Cade watched for a few minutes, resting in the tall grass until the group took a break.
Catching sight of him, Ketzal waved and jogged over. She was sweaty, out of breath, and absolutely gorgeous. “How did we look? Been at it for a couple hours. I’m glad this wasn’t our first practice, but now that the stakes are high, I wish we’d have taken more opportunities in the past.”
“Better than I thought. They’re pigs, Ketzal, fat and ugly. Yet you’ve managed to make them seem like proud horses. Well done.”
His praise perked up the corners of her mouth once again. “The boars need a rest, but do you think you’re ready to go for a ride?”
Cade flashed his eyebrows enthusiastically. “Honestly, I can’t wait.”
After the boars had drunk their fill from the stream, Ketzal gave the signal. The other boar riders called their bonded mounts and climbed up. Ketzal too pulled herself up into the saddle atop Bellows, taking a seat at the base of his neck. She gestured to Cade, and he climbed up the wooden rungs of the rope ladder that had been built into the beast’s elaborate armor.
When the saddle was considered, it was made to both help hold the armor in place as well as reinforce it. Otherwise, the boars would have been strung about all over with straps and ropes. The huge saddle could hold ten riders, two on either flank and six on the back. The design had been reworked a dozen times since they’d first attempted it, and though it remained imperfect, it was reliable.
The other boars had saddles that could accommodate six apiece, though only the largest of the beasts would be taking so many. The smallest would ride with four. All boasted the side mount design Satemi had first thought up, a way to keep eyes out in all directions as well as to ensure a quick dismount. Yet, the danger therein was obvious. Running maneuvers was necessary. Should two of the boars collide, their riders would pay the price.
As a secondary measure, the side mount riders had been trained to dismount or leap atop their boar should something happen. It was still a dangerous business.
Though Ketzal sat in the driver’s seat, Cade was given the apex view. He rode head and shoulders higher than anyone, which allowed him to command the battle. Satemi would ride behind him, ever his general.
“You ready?” Ketzal asked, a gleam and excitement in her eyes.
Cade shook his head, throwing off his analytical thoughts. “Yes, let’s do it.”
The first few runs were slow, turning the beasts around the glade at a slow trot. But after they’d warmed up again, Ketzal took the group into a full charge.
The soil groaned as the beasts’ massive hooves tore it to shreds. They galloped along, and Cade had the impression he was riding within or atop thunder itself. Who or whatever they were riding against must indeed be a big and terrible beast. For it had attacked Bellows amid his own pack. Yet then, the boars hadn’t had the advantage of armor, and most importantly, didn’t have all of Camp Casmeer at their backs.
It was exhilarating.
Ketzal’s hair streamed back and he could smell her, the ever-burning altar of her skin, like sacred incense slowly smoldering. The air whipped through his hair and his heart charged with Bellows, the crashing of the boar’s great hooves making his body sing.
And because he rode atop a pack of loyal beasts, outstripping the wind, because he was filled with a longing for sweet revenge, and because, at his core, Cade was still part boy, he whooped for joy. Ketzal turned and laughed. Encouraged, he cried out, “For Casmeer!” In a mock battle cry that brought them both to laughing once more.
The rest of the day fell short of the thrill and freedom of that singular moment.
Busy work, dinner, and then a full town meeting followed.
The Town Hall was packed with every member left to them. Their numbers lower than before by two. Yet, despite the inherent dangers, all agreed to send the largest force they could muster. Even Cha was on board, her behavior oddly repressed while they contemplated who to send. The combative councilwoman spoke only once, a short speech on how the town needed to rid itself of this danger. After that, she deferred to Havasham.
For some reason, her approach to the meeting only left Cade feeling nervous. It seemed like an act. What other game is she playing, he found himself asking. And does it involve the rest of us? Or is she just trying to recover from her growing reputation as a shit starter?
When the meeting was finished, a team of twenty-four fighters was agreed upon. All of the best warriors and hunters combined, leaving only a skeleton crew back in Casmeer. Some, like Tessra, though capable of defending herself, were simply more valuable in town. The head cook, one of the gardeners, and a few more who were either too old or disinclined to fight, found themselves taking up the duties of the entire town of Camp Casmeer. They too, would feel the strain of the raid.
But all agreed it was worthwhile. If two hunters went missing every once in a while, their numbers would dwindle before a year’s time.
So e
veryone separated, returned to their beds, and tried to sleep as best they could.
Cade and his girls were mostly unsuccessful. It wasn’t a night for lovemaking, but as they lay in the rigid silence of their shelter, all were busy imagining the actions that would follow the next day.
It was well past midnight when Minda finally broke. “Gemma, are you still awake?”
The huntress laughed bitterly. “Yes. I am exhausted and yet… I still can’t relax.”
“What was it like? Can you tell us? I know you mentioned some of the attack during the meeting, but is there anything else you can remember?”
Gemma sighed, the sound of her shifting in the furs filling the silence after. All waited though, filled with that patience one receives when speaking in the dead of night.
“At first, they were like the others. Mutated beasts, fierce and deadly, but in all ways, things we could manage. We slew a large group and came away with only a few minor wounds. After looting the beasts, I nearly called a return to camp. But then further off, towards the jungle between the Waterfall District and Tanrial, we heard a screeching roar. It was so loud it shook the leaves around us, and we must have still been over a mile off.”
She paused, her final words coming out with a tremble. Cade heard Ketzal shift closer to the woman, and he pictured her holding Gemma close, giving the woman the support she needed to continue.
When Gemma pushed on, her voice was firm again. “There were three more hours of daylight left, so I thought we could approach and at least get a look at the beast. But as we came nearer, other monsters found us. These were larger, and when they attacked… it was like they had one mind. I can’t explain it any other way. They fought like an army.”
Again she paused, and Ketzal’s whispered encouragements were the only sound Cade could hear. He rubbed his face, angry at himself. The emotion was useless and futile. He couldn’t have done anything the tigress couldn’t have done for herself. But he’d been the one to send them.