In total, we collected eighty-four plates that were six feet by four feet. Way more than necessary for what we needed but now we had plenty of backups when these new ones inevitably burned out.

Since we had so many extra plates I decided to have three on each surface. It would reduce the swaying considerably, making for a much more enjoyable trip. Also having three along the back and front would speed the travel along, allowing us to go further during the night.

I was deep in thought when Martin came in.

"Hey, Paul."

"Oh, Hey, what's up?"

"We're going to be here for a few days right?"

I turned to the large pile of plates in the corner. "Um, yeah... probably a week or more. Why?"

"I would like to bury the dead."

"Oh... um, ok. Hmm, perhaps take Ska with you for backup."

Martin nodded, leaving to find Ska.

I could only shake my head. I understood he felt bad for the Gargon, though I couldn't imagine why. It's not like he knew them. It's not like the sanctity of the dead was high on his priority list, I mean less than a month ago we dumped human corpses into a swamp for animals to devour. If he needed to do this I wasn't going to stop him.

***

"Hmm, Martin-friend, why do we do this?" Ska asked as he helped carry another of the metal beings.

"It felt wrong to leave them like that," he replied, helping to lower the body to the ground.

Martin had his summons digging a large trench to place the bodies into. Unfortunately, it wasn't one of his larger summon so the process was... slow.

In the meantime, Ska was helping him un-pile the bodies and lay them next to where the pit was being dug. It wasn't until they were halfway through that he found the real disturbing part. Child-like Gargon bodies were buried at the bottom.

The sight stopped him cold and made him fall to shaky knees.

Ska looked to see what the issue was and hissed in anger. He stepped over to Martin and gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"They are at eternal rest now, friend Martin."

"I know, but who... why?" Martin asked, looking at the highly mutilated bodies of the children. Unlike the adults, these had been mangled and attacked with a vengeance. They sported multiple cuts, missing limbs, and multiple impact marks from spells.

Martin sat like that for a few minutes before he was able to get back on shaky legs and continue this gruesome work. He had to do it through blurry tear-streaked eyes but he did it.

It took two full days for Martin and Ska to bury the dead. He did not talk about the atrocity the first night, letting it eat away at his soul. Coming upon scenes like this was one of the prices his class required. When he had chosen the class it had been a bad time in his life. His wife had just been murdered by the cartels and he had a gun in his mouth, ready to pull the trigger when the System gave him another option.

He used that to choose a class that allowed him to exact his revenge in the most gruesome way possible. The only thing was, it required a blood oath and part of his soul. At the time it was an easy choice to make. And even now he didn't regret the choice as it allowed him to avenge his wife... and unborn child.

***

I spotted Martin and Ska returning as I was attaching the new plates. It had been three days and I could see he was covered in dirt and grime from the work. He didn't talk about what had happened, but Ska had come to me and given me the details.

I agreed it was an awful situation. Children of any type were rare in this new world, most had not survived the first few weeks. The ones that did were kept hidden and safe. I had not run across the third type yet, those that had chosen a class and leveled up. The thought of meeting a group like that honestly scared me.

It wasn't that I was afraid to kill a kid if they meant me harm. It was that someone so emotionally and intellectually immature would be dangerous, to say the least. Slap on power and no supervision and you had a recipe for disaster.

Thinking back on it it was odd how I hadn't seen any children so far. I think the youngest person I had come across had been that one shadow faction kid, and I think he was around fifteen. Other than the corpses I had come across.

And maybe I had a callous attitude in regards to this, but I had seen too much shit, been through too much shit to lightly dismiss any threat.

"I'll be washing up and resting for the remainder of the day," Martin said, passing me by and entering the house.

He didn't even wait for a reply. I turned to Ska, "that bad huh?"

His throat rumbled in assent.

"Alright, I'll talk to him tonight. There is a bowl of clean water and a towel if you wish to wash up."

That was one downside to the house, no water supply. I believed I could remedy that issue with a simple rain collection system but that was low on the priority list at the moment.

Fiona should be back by tonight, she had gone ahead to scout for us. With the new plates, which were significantly better than the cobbled-together ones but only about half as good as the custom-built ones, we would be able to double our distance of travel. Which would take us from moving at a fast walk to a slow run.

With the rough math, I figured we could now cover sixty to seventy miles in a night. Assuming weather and conditions were in our favor. That was certainly better than the thirty we were averaging before. Heck, I could have crossed three times the distance on Bella by now.

Speaking of, Bella and Ska's meeting had been an interesting event. They pretty much hissed and growled at each other until they were tired then lapsed into ignoring each other. I wasn't sure what it was all about and all Ska would say was that it was a measure of one's resolve. As long as they didn't tear each other apart, I didn't care.

I waited until supper to confront Martin. "So... you wanna talk about it?"

"Not really."

"I already heard what was in the pile of bodies from Ska, and it would probably help if you talked with someone," I replied.

Martin huffed in resignation. "Fine, I suppose you're right. Do you know why I really decided to join you?"

"Action, adventure, and to get away from your sister," I replied light-heartedly.

Martin chuckled, "you're partially correct. Mainly it was to get away from the reminder that was the town of Arman. I never mentioned this but I had a wife."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry she died over a year ago. Well... she was murdered over a year ago. The cartels... they ruled with an iron fist, and if you stepped out of line, there was no second chance," the man replied, tears forming in his eyes. "It wasn't until a week after her death that I found out she had been pregnant."

"Oh, god... I'm so sorry," I replied apologetically.

He smiled sadly but continued. "Nothing to be sorry about, you didn't pull the trigger. Anyway, after her death, I spiraled into depression. In the end, I had a gun in my mouth, ready to end it all."

Martin's voice went from sad to angry, "then the System came and changed my fate, it gave me the ability to take my revenge and help the rest of the town free itself."

He took a breath and settled down, wiping the tears from his eyes. "The deaths today brought those painful memories back to the forefront. It was eerily similar to what they had done with the people they killed when they took over Arman. They cut the entire town off from any help, nobody was allowed to leave unless one of the cartel goons went with them. If I could kill them all over again, I would, and I would make sure they suffered long and painfully for it!"

"You don't have to convince me, I've seen the horrors this new world brought on. I can't honestly say they are any worse than what existed before, maybe just less hidden. If you ever see one of these cartel goons, don't hesitate to kill them. I'll back you up a hundred percent."

Martin nodded as a grim smile formed on his face.

***

Fiona returned later that night with some good news.

"I found another dungeon!" she said excitedly.

I looked up from my tattooing slash rune crafting work with a sigh. "I really wish you wouldn't burst in like that, now the project I was working on is ruined."

"Oops, sorry. I just got so excited."

"Well, let's hear about it."

"Hmm, yes," Ska chimed in.

"Well, it's about six hours to the northwest. It's a dungeon called the Jackal Pit."

Ska hissed angrily, "jackals! They should all be dead. Typical that they would make their home in a dungeon."

"So you know these creatures?" I inquired.

"Hmmm, yes. They are like the Grimalkin, recently uplifted to sentience. The difference is they revel in their animalistic nature. Long ago our species clashed until we finally drove them out of the lands. To know that there is a pack this close makes me furious."

"Well, a dungeon is a dungeon, perhaps we should go clear it out. What level was it?"

"Level sixteen but there is also a clear spot to set the house down less than a mile from the entrance," Fiona commented.

"Hmm, it'll be dangerous but I think we can do it," I replied, "point the direction and I'll get us moving as soon as the sun sets."

This would be a good opportunity for Martin to level and Ska to show his true abilities.