After informing Stidham and the train crew, and through them the passengers of what we had learned, I bought another goat.

And then got ahold of some dynamite the train had been transporting.

“You really intend to blow them up?” Lillianne asked, eyeing me as again walked back out to where the snatch-worms were waiting. Things that we now knew that while they mimicked plants, they were most definitely not plants. What I wanted to know was something else about them.

Well, several things, but I was going to take what I could get.

“Not yet.” I replied with a shrug as we rounded the bend once again, to gaze upon the intrusion of an alien world onto our own, again. “If I never see these things, or this town, again after this mess, it will be too damn soon.”

“Agreed.” Halona replied, shifting nervously as she gazed at what amounted to the twisted union of a bear trap and a trapdoor spider.

With bright pretty colors no less.

“But you plan to blow them up at some point?” Lillianne pressed, after she too had shuddered when she saw them again.

“I do, but I’m willing to bet the townspeople tried that too at some point.” I answered as we slowly came up to the same spot where we all split up earlier. “They have a prospecting building here, and you need explosives for that sooner or later. Yet these things are here, big as life, and the townspeople either evacuated or were eaten. Apparently. So, I’m betting we’re still missing something, and I aim to fix that.”

“What do you think is going on?” Halona asked, eyeing both me and the snatch-worms. None of us were willing to fully look away from the bizarre things.

“I have a suspicion that they’re somehow connected to whatever is in that bank.” I told them, slowly leading the goat forward again, hating how close I had to get these dangerous things. “But I don’t know for sure, and I want to see if I’m right.”

“You don’t even know if there’s anything in that bank!” Lillianne argued back, annoyed. “You just want to get in there so you can salvage whatever money it has!”

“I won’t turn that chance down.” I agreed with a laugh. “But I don’t think that bank is empty. There’s too many little things off about this that makes me think something’s there. Somehow. We’ll find out after this, either way. So, if you would please shoot this goat with your fantastical tracking bullet Miss L?”

I gestured to the hindquarters of the goat as I undid the rope and left it standing there, looking around curiously as I walked back to the group.

“It’s not fantastical.” She grumbled as she pulled out her large pistol, with its cartridge holder forward from the handle rather than back, checked that her shot was loaded in the right chamber, and then aimed it at the goat.

“Says you.” I muttered, catching a slight smirk that flitted across Halona’s face before she went back to being serious.

Lillianne didn’t reply as she sighted down her pistol to the goat, and then pulled the trigger. Rather than the bang of a normal pistol, there was a sound like steam shooting out of the frame of the pistol, then a sound that reminded me of the thumping of a cannon pipe. Then the goat let out a sudden scream, and charged head first into the snatch-worms!

I blinked in surprise. The hell kind of pistol is that?

I didn’t have long to wonder about it though as the goat charged straight into the little mini forest of snatch-worms, and was immediately snatched up and pulled screaming underground, again.

And it was just as fast and terrifying to watch as the last time.

“Well?” I asked, keeping the rest of the forest of hell spawned things in the corner of my eye as I turned to look at her.

“Just a minute.” She replied, putting her pistol back into its holster on her hip, and then flipping open the little line of lights on her arms bracer. Then she held her arm up and pointed it in the general direction of the of where the goat had been snatched.

For a moment, there was nothing. However, before I could even think of saying anything, the little orbs began to light up! Slowly at first, but then longer and quicker, and in various patterns. The patterns meant nothing to me, but they seemed to mean something to her.

After a few moments though, I started to get antsy.

“Well?” I asked, watching as she waved her arm around, seemingly trying to either shanks the device to make it work, or give her different results.

“It looks like it goes to the bank, or somewhere around it at least.” She replied, sounding almost sullen about it.

“Oh, I see.” I nodded, keeping the monstrous things in my eyesight as I nodded my head in mock thoughtfulness. “So, according to your fantastical device, it’s going right exactly to where I thought it would? Wow! That would mean that I actually knew what I was talking about! More, it would mean that I was actually right! What an amazing concept!”

“Oh shut up!” She snapped, glaring at me while Halona just laughed out loud. “We still don’t really know what’s going on!”

“Well, I’m glad you confirmed my theory, either way.” I told her with a very smug smile on my face, causing her to just glare even more. “Now we need to come up with our next plan. One that deals with these things, and whatever is feeding inside the bank.”

With a sigh, we and glanced back at the waiting snatch-worms.

I was really growing to hate the sight of the things.

They were a simple thing to apparently avoid, but they had chosen their ground well. So, not a defensive ring, although it can function like that just fine. I thought, running the information through my head. But it’s a feeding ring of some kind. Are they, connected somehow to the bank monster?

I shuddered at that stray thought.

I growled quietly in exasperation. I was getting tired of tiptoeing around these things, but there wasn’t much else I could do. I knew, or heavily suspected anyway, that the real target was in the bank, and we needed to get in there to kill it. But with this circle of snatch-worms in the way, it would know we were coming.

And since those things could move when they wanted too, I decided to err on the side of caution, and assume they could be made to move and attack. It didn’t make sense for them to only be capable of sitting and waiting. I had a feeling those things moving around underfoot was one of the major reasons the survivors of the town threw in the towel and left.

I honestly couldn’t blame them. The thought of it also terrified me: take a step on a road in broad daylight only to be snatched up and pulled underground to your death. Yeah…no thanks.

Still, that left us with the issue of how to get past them.

“What’s the matter?” Halona asked me, startling me out of my thoughts. “You have this half glare, half inquisitive look on your face.”

“Oh he’s probably trying to workout how to get past the snatch-worms.” Lillianne replied with a shrug before I could say anything. “He had the same look on his face right before he led his cavalry charge against the giants.”

“Against one giant!” I snapped, annoyed.

“Who was surrounded by practically all the rest!” She snapped back, exasperated. “So, to get to him, you had to charge through all the rest! Ergo, you led a charge against giants, plural!”

I grumbled at the triumphant look on her face and looked back at the snatch-worms. I also ignored the grin on Halona’s face. We’re surrounded by monsters! I thought darkly. One would think they’d be a little more serious.

Though the same could be said of me, I guess.

The oddly sedate nature of these things just seemed to invite people to loosen up. I frowned at that. Perhaps how they got such a foothold? I wondered as I looked around the area they were all at. People just relaxed too much until it was too late?

Another creepy thought.

“Too bad we can’t just hop over them.” Halona muttered, looking at them as well. “But they reach too high, and I don’t wish to see how far they can stretch when they need too.”

I nodded absently, when the thought suddenly hit me!

I whirled around to look at the buildings around all of us. Specifically, how close they all were, and what kinds of roofs they had. A mad plan was taking shape in my head, and I couldn’t help but grin a little.

Hop over them indeed! I thought, my grin getting a few more teeth in it.

“What?” Lillianne asked, staring at me. “I recognize that grin. You had it right before the charge, and when you fought that tiger warlord.”

“That striped jackass challenged me!” I laughed at the look of surprise on her face. “And neither of us were fighting over nations or citizenship or war and peace. At least, not until later when everyone else heaped everything onto that damn fight. The original challenge was for a rematch to a brawl where I kicked his stripe tailed ass, and he was furious about it.”

“I thought your fight with him was to shut down his argument against joining the Union, and to stop him from bullying all the other factions into agreeing with him.” Lillianne remarked, looking confused.

“It was.” I laughed as I waved both girls back away from the monster tendrils with jaws as long as half my leg. “But that was later, and technically it was me accepting his demand for a rematch. That fight had a lot riding on it, but for him and me, it was personal. Among the Beastkin, those who demand a rematch don’t get their way, unless the other party agrees. That was basically me agreeing, and using it to shut him down.”

“So what was the real fight over?” Halona asked as she clomped next to us, looking fascinated and amused, as though she already had an idea. “What was the original fight over that he demanded a rematch for, and you used to reshape history?”

“That’s going a bit far.” I muttered darkly, rolling my eye as we quickly walked back to the station. I’d had them set up the dynamite inside the station itself, so we quickly walked over to it. Now I needed a way to load a lot of this stuff reliably, and carry it for what I was contemplating.

But we needed a little more information first.

“No it’s not.” Lillianne disagreed sharply, piercing me with her sharp eyed gaze. “That duel and the giants charge are celebrated among the Beastkin as legendary heroic moments for their people. And you are celebrated as a hero to their people as well. That play I mentioned the other night? The one about your many heroic deeds in the Frontier and the war?”

“Yeah.” I grumbled, all but shuddering at the mention of it.

“The majority of it was financed by the more prominent Beastkin leaders and financiers.” She grinned impishly at me. “Apparently, the original production was to be much more humble and modest; a local play of some famous Union Legends, with you chief among them. However, the local Beastkin community heard about it, and the money just poured in.”

I stared in shock and no small amount of horror. “They spent their money on that nonsense?!”

“It wasn’t a waste to them.” Lillianne smiled as her eyes narrowed. “Now then, Halona asked a question; what was the original fight with the tiger warlord over. You mentioned a brawl. What were you two brawling about?”

I looked away from both women, trying to focus back on the task at hand, but I could all but feel the weight of their stares, and how they both leaned in and crowed me. I sighed and slumped in defeat. Me and my damn big mouth.

“A cause worth fighting for.” I stated vaguely, hoping that would get them to back off. It didn’t. Naturally.

“Which is?” Lillianne asked, now back in full reporter mode.

“Oh I think I know!” Halona stated, who suddenly looked like she was trying hard not to laugh. She also looked like she was about to fail miserably at it too. I just groaned again before sighing and giving up the ghost.

Fighting monsters is easier than dealing with these two! I thought darkly as I looked away from both of them.

“A woman.” I finally uttered. “A beautiful Beastkin woman.”

“I knew it!” Halona burst out laughing, finally losing her battle to hold it in. Lillianne looked shocked, and seemed like she couldn’t decide between laughing or yelling.

“She took a fancy to a young Union cavalry officer who was very tired from a long march and was looking for some company to share a table of food and drink with.” I explained, each word almost being pulled out of me while I glared at Halona, who just laughed harder. “Unfortunately, an equally young, hot tempered tiger man fancied her too, and decided to impress her by picking a fight with the man she was eating and drinking with. It didn’t go the way he thought it would.”

“He was a warlord at that summit!” Lillianne stared at me in shock, awe, and what almost looked like jealousy. “And you beat him like a drum in a tavern, all over a woman?”

“Pretty much.” I replied with a shrug. “Everyone else either forgot about it, or didn’t put two and two together, except for my men, who luckily, kept their traps shut. And the beating was not one way. Beastkin in general, and tigers especially, are damn fast, and strong as an ox. I had to get clever to kick his ass, which I did. Which is also what I’m doing here, if you two are done gossiping about ancient history.”

“Oh?” Halona asked, still giggling as she looked at the box of dynamite. “And what plan is this? Hurl the dynamite at the snatch worms, clear a path, and then charge the bank, guns blazing?”

“If I was an idiot in a play, perhaps.” I replied, glaring at both of them. They just stared back at me with evil smirks and raised eyebrows. I rolled my eyes and got on with explaining the plan to them.

“The buildings are close enough that we can just jump from one to the other. And if we need to, get some boards or planks and make a makeshift bridge, and bypass the circle of snatch-worms altogether.” I explained, gesturing to the buildings and how close they all were to one another. “Then we blow a hole in the roof of the bank, and clear the building, by gun or by bomb, floor by floor, until whatever is in there is dead.”

“That’s…dramatic.” Lillianne replied, looking like she wanted to say something else.

“What of the snatch-worms?” Halona asked, seemingly unconcerned about how crazy the whole thing sounded out loud. I wasn’t sure if I should be comforted or disturbed by that.

“I suspect they are connected to whatever is in the bank. Perhaps physically for all we know. If we kill the main thing, those should, hopefully, die as well. But we will still have to be fast, and get out of there quickly.” I nodded to her.

“You can probably save time in the bank by going to either their ground floor or their underground vault floor.” Lillianne sighed as she seemed to just give up on trying to change my plan. “The snatch-worms seem to be all about being underground and moving through it. So, if they are connected to something, or just feeding it, it would need to be on the ground floor or the underground vault floor. Probably the latter.”

“Good, every second will matter, but a destination is better.” I nodded as I looked at the bombs. “We need to carry to a lot, just in case. But you can only carry so much of this stuff.”

“You take some saddlebags loaded with them with you.” Halona said, looking excited. “I will carry the rest, and throw them at the snatch-worms, gaining their attention.”

I blinked in surprise. That could work. It had been while since I worked with a team.

“I’ll go with you.” Lillianne stated. “I can carry the load, and my weapons and gear can give us an advantage.”

She shrugged when I looked at her in surprise. “If nothing else, I can watch your back.”

I looked at these two impressive women, and had to concede that I was lucky to be working with them. Mostly. I could do without the dime store novels, and everything that came with them.

“Have a place you can retreat too, off the ground.” I told Halona sternly. “Here if you think you can make it, or the train I guess. But have a place closer picked out if you need it.”

“Understood.” She nodded seriously.

“And you,” I said, looking over at Lillianne. “I enter the rooms first, and you will back me up. You will follow my lead all the way, understood?”

“Understood.” She nodded solemnly. I could also tell that she actually meant it. It was in the set of her shoulders and the tightness in her jaw. The fire in her eyes also helped.

“Good, then lets get ready.” With that said, we all got to work.