“The ice cats or icraws we need teeth and claws. Even from dead bodies works. Janice mentioned something about a seed we need. Then yetis we need dead. We have to harvest the heart, tongue, and brain. You find any seeds yet?” I asked Janice and she pointed to some shrubs a few feet off the ground grown in a seam on a large rock. “Perfect and those too. Look Captain Snomer I can attest this is your element. I am out of mine. I mainly came because right now it keeps me out of the chaos of dvaren designing a city. New elvath changing our society, and a pack of babes ready to have babies. So I will certainly defer to your expertise. We are here for profits first. Everything else is great for a catalyst for our mages. With that being said what do you recommend?”
A dvaren informed his captain he was ready to move out. “There are no tracks here but I can smell our prey, they are so thick here the stench is overpowering. Follow us, stay in the back until you see how we operate. If we get snuck up on or flanked divert to help.” Captain Snomer said as I recovered my lava ball.
I walked back to our sled, then plopped a set of snowshoes to the ground. Donnie was latching onto the harness when I kicked him off. I strapped myself to the sled and moved our team into a line behind the dvaren. They were already lashed up to the big sled with large cages. These dvaren were efficient. I looked to see if the elvath were coming and no more dingies worked the waters to the shores. My guess is they were staying on the boat.
There were no songs or joyous banter, merely some humans and dvaren ready to battle. It did not take long for a herd of yeti to find us. I got my first good look at a yeti. It was a monster at over twelve feet tall. It long white haired covered it besides the purple face. It had bigfeet with a humanoid structure of two long arms and legs. It was fast with sharp teeth and clawed hands. These were not going to be fun to fight.
I unstrapped from the sled and staked the harness into the tough ice with a metal spike. No need in having our sled slide away. My men and women drew shields in preparation. I called a loose formation while I stood on the sled to view the battle. A dozen yeti had enraged at the dwarves and were charging a line that formed instantly. Shields locked with a battle rhythm being smashed out into the frosted air by loud drum beats. Axes slammed into shields challenging the foes. With their lines set, the more noise they made the more enemy they attracted. Before the first dozen hit the line I already saw more pouring out of caverns further south. We had hit a nest.
I quickly hopped down and barked out orders. “We are going to extend the left line. This is killing only, do not try to capture. Inside the caves should be young. We can hopefully toss those into cages later. Keep the formation tight. Mages in the back. Your primary goal is to stay alive. Listen to my commands.” I ordered and we left the sled behind to move up.
I could see the yeti pouring out in wild abandon. They never slowed as they exited from the caverns. The original dozen yeti were locked in chaotic fighting. The dvaren lines condensed to handle the incoming charge. The drumbeat changed again, further consolidating the lines. Bolt launchers stood on top of sleds and rained death upon the yeti. They were in a proficient rhythm of releasing bolts rapidly. Reloaders handed readied weapons up to the dvaren with the best lines of sight. We raced to the front. It was slow moving to reach the left flank.
The drumbeat shifted again. This time forming three walls with the sled as the backstop. The yeti crashed hard into the dvaren shields that were unyielding. The battle lines hit and the yeti were kept at bay. The formation was solid in its placement. The drumbeat shifted again. Heave, heave and strike. The slaughter against an untrained wild foe had commenced. The third row of dvaren were long pikes that kept any yeti from trying to get over the shield wall. It was extremely effective.
Moving across the icy wasteland in flat snowshoes was terribly slow. I had to hold back to not outpace my team. We hit the left line of yetis from the rear. There was no surprise, the enemy had turned to face us. Travis, Lazra, Brad of Lakeland, Brad of Swiftstone, Donnie, and Markus formed the shield wall.
“Brace!” I shouted as a few peeled off to charge our line. “Poe, corridor!” A left and right wall protected our flanks. “Victor up!” I bent a knee and Victor loaded himself on my shoulders. “Freeze! Retreat! Fire!” Janice cast a hold. The shield line fell back and Victor used his height to light the yeti on fire. This broke off their attack from us. They ran around on fire without any clue how to extinguish it out.
“Fast march forward!” We closed on more on the left flank pressuring the dvaren. The shield lines of our allies were holding fine. The ice steamed with the blood of the yeti. I saw a few retreating with major wounds. One died trying to return to the caverns. I decided to let Larza take over.
“Commands Lazra.”
“Shield wall charge! Stop! Center part! Fire!” Lazra commanded Victor to release another torrent of flame.
The left side of the yeti charge had faltered. It was now collapsing. I was shifting to run down some of the yeti when a crossbow shot was called out. I dropped to knee targeted a feeling yeti and released my bolt. It hit her in the lung. I let my crossbow fall to my hip while I yanked my sword out. I charged to where my target had slowed.
I poured aura into my body and I shot across the ice. There was so much power I broke the snowshoes. The yeti heard my advance too late. I slid my blade across her stomach freeing steaming guts to hit the ice. I sped past her and found two yeti with wounds retreating. I caught the first one quickly and side swung my one handed sword into his back.
I lost my footing from this and shot across the ice rapidly approaching the second yeti. I was sailing across the ice so fast I passed him. I dug my sword into the ice to arrest my momentum. The yeti saw me on my ass working my way to my feet and charged. I dug my feet in before he arrived and shot toward my opponent. We collided with my sword plunging deep into his face and out the top of his head. We crashed to the ground and I lost my sword. I scrambled for my weapon and freed it. The enemy yeti had broken in full retreat right for the caves I was standing in front of.
I raced to place myself at a side angle. When I was perpendicular to my retreating foes I hit them from the side. I poured speed into my body as I was looking to maim my targets. I never slowed as I avoided any direct combat. I was working my way down the line severing hamstrings or slicing the back of thighs. The dvaren beat was getting louder as they kept in formation hounding the foes. I must have wounded another dozen when I sprinted closer to the caverns and repeated my process. This time they stopped to address me and I simply shifted away from them. I was too fast and they could not adjust. As I went around they were hesitant to give me their backs.
An alpha roared at me while I waited for my allies to force the foe to turn again. I yanked my last loaded crossbow off my hip and squeezed at the large target. My bolt zoomed out from the twang of the releasing rope to sink into the yeti’s neck. The yeti collapsed to its knees. Its subordinates worked to help save their leader. When they got the bolt out, the alpha spurted blood a few times then fell face first dead. They gave me their back with this and I charged again.
Every leg I could cut, I did. The yetis slowly worked their way to the caverns. A few dozen outright got away, but I turned to finish off the ones strewn about with injuries. The wounded yeti had longer reach than me so I decided on a tactic fairly quickly. I was reached for when I got close. This was countered by a shield block with a downward swing to remove the offensive appendage. When they held the severed stump close in pain I would thrust my sword to the neck or face. My blade rarely got stuck in the neck so that was my primary target. By the seventh kill in this fashion, I had the speed and timing of the yetis down. The slaughter was only amplified as the dvaren and my team ran over the wounded.
There was a pause in the fighting as it was time to head into the caverns. I grabbed my water out of my bag and drank greedily. I drained the entire canteen. I snacked on some jerky while waited for the troops to consolidate.
Ca
ptain Somner and I held an impromptu meeting. “Good work there. The flames are nice. The speed of an icraw certainly helped you cut them down. I lost two. Looks like yours are still standing. There has to be a food source close by. This far south… seals more than likely. The yetis are prey for the icraws when out alone. If we stage enough enticing yeti meat we will get some icraws to come to check it out. But really, we want to be close to a reliable food source to lure the most out that we can. I say we scan around before diving into those caves. There could be a whole other nest right around the bend.”
I knew he was an expert. If they weren’t here we would probably be sailing the coast trying to pick off the loan yeti with a harpoon or setting traps. After seeing how big and savage these creatures were down here on the ice I did become curious as to how they got so big.
“Have your scouts scour the area. While my troops will start on clean up. We will be removing the heart, tongue, and brain. No idea how you like to process the meat but my mages can freeze it. Actually, can you instruct me how to handle the bodies most efficiently?” I asked Snomer.
“Let me send over our corpse processor, I have a lot to deal with and he can give you fine details to get the most out of the bodies. Wait for us before attacking anything, even if you finish cleaning the dead and become bored.”
Captain Snomer left me at that point. I waved my team over who shuffled in the cold. Speaking of that, since my body had stopped pumping adrenaline and my sweat from exertion was cooling I began to shiver. A dvaren retorted in frustration at his boss in the distance and worked his way to us.
“Well done team, did anyone get hurt? No… great. We were lucky these yeti swarmed the dvaren lines and not us. He said he only lost two which is incredible, they were outnumbered at one point. Since there is a lull in fighting we are going to do what we came here for. We are on clean up detail while they poke around for another fight. I see everyone is cold so open your bag, layout your leather, and place the lava ball beside where you are working. Fwar you are excused go run the dvaren lines and see if they need healing. Teams of two per body once this super happy dvaren explains what to do.” I said to the team who were huddling together.
“I heard that human. I am Master Processer Tribeard. I did not believe a slave master would clean up kills, but it is not my place to judge. I have skinned thousands if not tens of thousands of these. We start with the fur, then work the joints. We normally spill the organs and guts and break the ribs. Head, hands, and feet all get left behind. Now Snomer said were here for the specific parts. He said the brain. It is hard to get to and best to retrieve through the face. Why the brain?”
Janice raised her hand and spoke. “The brain is the key in water purification. Well, it is a full tongue and a portion of the brain. We only need one brain for every ten tounges, the ratio is actually like one in twenty, but I am not going to be that person who did the math wrong and we cannot purify water. The heart is a coverall catalyst. I can freeze items, fling gouts of waters, and even snow in caverns. Yeti hearts are worth a lot on Vin. If the brains become too much it is okay, we have all our cities on purified water already. Expansion and villages are where they are needed most. Before you ask. The icraws claws are freezing while their teeth allow me to pull water from the air. The seeds of those bushes I mentioned earlier will help me frost and light freeze. To do big stuff I need bigger animal parts. There are rumors of the creatures further inland but no one travels even this far. It is always the coast.”
Tribeard thought on this then got to work. He kneeled over a dead yeti with a cut hamstring and the remnants of a ruined neck. Almost as if someone had thrust a sword through it… I wonder how many I had killed. I gazed upon the field that was easy to see where the fighting had been. The red drastically contrasted the snow. There were at least two hundred bodies piled up by the main fighting then another hundred strung out. I went back to watching Tribeard do his work when he spoke up.
“The Horde never cared if we drank shit water. It was always a large process for us. Many of our elderly and young die from poor water until we can get a new filtration system established. It is hard when you can be sold on a whim. I will tell the men. You will have your brains. They will see the value as worth the extra effort. This Vin planet is full of wonders.” Tribeard paused as he said this. His frosted breath steaming the air. “They are easier to skin with cold bodies but let me show you this one warm. You can do it a few ways. I like to split them down the front. Then rotate the cut to the inside of the legs. See this axe?”
Tribeard drew a short one handed axe off his belt. He then removed the feet above the ankle and the hands halfway up the forearm. With three chops he decapitated the corpse. He piled the parts, then went back to his dagger. From the open neck, he peeled back some skin with fur to slice downward. Once the seam was established he sliced down to the crotch. The penis and large balls were removed and tossed in a separate pile. Then he went down the inseam.
Poe wobbled while watching the progress of the creature being flayed. Donnie steadied her and mentioned she would be on sack duty.
“One last thing before you go starting your own. Save the privates. They sell well. I will instruct my men on bagging your parts separate. If you run into any issues just ask for me, Tribeard.” The dvaren said and we split into teams of two.
I peeled Poe from her shock and we worked our way to a body. My bag was set beside the dead yeti and I pulled out a sack for Poe and my lava ball. I set the ball on my leather bag and unwrapped it. Immediately heat warmed our proximity. If you went too far, the cold became too much and the heat disappeared. It was certainly welcome. I went to work and used my short sword to carve off useless parts.
“Poe, do me a favor. Look away for now. I do not need you fainting when I am working a blade. You become accustomed to it eventually. When I came to Vin I was squeamish… Well, not much but the nastiness did get to me. Now I will grab a heart from a living enemy with a bare hand… I might break that hand, but the point is there. You grow numb to the blood. We are doing vital work. This body will provide and free others. That is what my mind focuses on when I…” I said while I plopped the heart out of the body. “Grab a cold heart in my hands. It is gross, and for the life of me, I hope there are some brass tubs we can warm to bath in later. I am not turning you away to scold you for your dislike of blood and guts. Merely trying to relate and keep you from falling over.”
I guess I struck a chord in Poe. She placed her bag on the other side and opened her lava ball. The area was moderately warm now, my frosted breath was gone. As I peeled the right half of the body she worked the left. If she planned to say something to me… Well, she scowled with determination and sliced away. I finished my side and scooted over to her side to work the leg. This triggered her to talk.
“Thank you for allowing me on the team. And for knighting me… a lowborn woman. I can do this, wanted to vomit and managed to hold it in. I do need to talk to you about Donnie. I talked with his wife Mina. We got along well while you were recovering. I know Janice has taken up with Victor so you don’t seem to object to teammates binding to each other. Donnie is different though. Mina said sometimes you treat him like a brother and others like a son. I know Tammy was removed from the team when she joined your family. I would like to join Donnie’s but stay on the team. I can do this, my aura is strong, and growing rapidly. I am mumbling a bit though. Donnie and I would like to marry and I want to stay on the team… There.”
I finished the leg and she finished the torso. I flipped the body and worked the back with Poe. “I love Donnie like a brother. He was a different man months ago. I approve and hope you are happy. I hope to get more human males to knock down the ratio of men to women, but it seems males are used to die even more as slaves. I hope you find happiness.” I sighed as we finished the skinning. I looked around and the dvaren were making quick work of the battlefield. “Only a few hundred more to go. Start sacking the key parts while I dismember the res
t. I am sure Tribeard will send someone over to load this meat up. I want to save the other bits for the rats or fish bait. Looks like Snomer has an update. I will join you when I can Poe.”
I collected my items and slung my bag on my back. A double check ensured I was not leaving anything behind and I went to the dvaren boss while she went to the nearest body. I saw her feebly trying to behead the yeti and failing. I wanted to save her the effort, then decided to let her work out her issues.
“Emperor Gryff, we have fantastic news!” Captain Snomer said. The dvaren were normally dapper and drab. This was unusual. “There is the largest colony of walrus I have ever seen. Millions upon millions. If there are that many here then this tundra is probably loaded with them. It is as if the gods dropped trillions of fish for millions of walrus for tens of thousands of predators. I could be here for centuries with endless work if managed right.”
I got some of that. The rest went over my head though. “Okay, how do you want to proceed?” I asked.
“I don’t. I want to go back to the ships.”
“We just got here today. We haven’t even seen or killed an ice cat… sorry, icraw. Why would we go back to the ships?” I asked confused.
“We need to build an outpost. You have been here now and can guide your portal shaman to our base camp. You need to trust me and give us our own shaman. They are not cheap but we can do so much with one here. We are experts at this, let us work with those in Uhara. We will build a camp here as a go between. With your earth magic and our know how we can build one of the largest yeti and icraw farms ever. There are literally so many fat walrus down there they don’t even worry when a few die to predators. What we lack is mobility.” Captain Snomer said with excitement.
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