“Once the deal was closed, Bernard called on a few friends and their families. Together, they caught several swamp rats. Keeping them separated and caged in order to only bring in healthy stock. Then, they all moved in here. Bernard and his friends all had a lot of kids, and as time passed, they grew up and started families of their own. Before you knew it, they had a village.”

To Mark’s surprise she picked right back up where she left off. She wasn’t outside the pool anymore though, she was in here with him, helping scrub the last of the swamp filth off.

“This pool house used to be a well, back when this was a quarry. They dug down until they hit the water table, lined it with stones to keep it clean, and chiseled the staircase out of the walls. The hut was built to keep the dust and weather out. Once the whole place flooded, water wasn’t so hard to come by anymore so Bernard turned this place into a bathhouse instead.”

Looking up and around, Mark could now see how this building had once been a well. Honestly it was a cool idea. Though wholly impractical if it hadn’t already been here.

“Sorry Mark,” she said once he was as clean as he was going to get. “But I wasn’t lying, the wounds are dirty and I’ll have to open them back up to clean them out. This is probably going to hurt.” She moved over to the basket while she spoke, pulling out a metal brush, another cloth and a bottle of something. Next, she opened the shroud covering the brazier a bit so she could see what she was doing.

“Why?” he asked, looking at that brush with an uneasy feeling. “The parasite should have taken care of it, shouldn’t it?” he was hoping to glean some more knowledge about this, actually it interested him more than the history of swamp rat valley.

“I’m almost done with my story…but, I’ll tell you what I know before I get back to that.” She said with a gleam in her eye’s she didn’t know he could see. “Ok, from what Grandma told me about regeneration parasites. It probably should have, but from how Lu explained what happened to you and how these healed. Not to mention the fact that you don’t already know, leads me to believe that this was the first time you triggered a healing?”

“It was, yes.” He said nodding his head for her to continue. She motioned for him to turn around before splashing some liquid fire on his back from the bottle and beginning to scrub the knife wound. It was all he could do to keep from screaming.

“Sorry Mark,” she said giving his shoulder a squeeze. “Ok, from what I know it only acted like that because it was new to your body. It wasn’t only trying to heal your wounds but it was also trying to spread itself throughout your system. Grandma only knew one guy who actually had one of these. She said he hurt himself lightly and triggered the healing while in a controlled environment and took supplements until it settled down. Then, did it again and again until it had fully fused with his body.”

Well damn. That hadn’t been in the description, Terra hadn’t told him either. What the hell was wrong with her? She almost certainly knew about this too. Lilly wasn’t done yet though, and with a new gush of liquid pain from the anesthetic smelling bottle she continued.

“Even fully fused, the healing it provides won’t be pain free. It will require you to eat, and it will hurt. However, what it WILL do, once fully infused is heal you more quickly and seamlessly. It will even work on small wounds without being triggered, once it has fully integrated. You will find yourself wanting to eat more often however and bigger portions too, going forward. Best I can figure here, the parasite just wasn’t spread out in your system enough, so it botched the job.”

“Well damn,” he said through gritted teeth as she finished up with his back. “Anything else I should know?”

“Move over here please, the leg was worse and I need to see. Thank you, Mark,” she said as she settled him in place. He was torn between worrying about how much this was going to hurt and how he was going to cover himself up in this position. “Don’t worry,” she said with a giggle. “I promise to only look at the wound…while I’m working.” He didn’t think he was going to get a better answer then that so he just shut up and waited. As she cleaned the leg, he was honestly surprised at how much gunk was in there. It had still hurt when he moved, but he hadn’t known it was because it was close to infection like this. This world being practically filled with magical technology, and having his new stronger body, had put things like germs out of his mind.

“The only other thing I know about these parasites is that they can supposedly mutate. Don’t ask me what that means because I don’t know. But apparently after one has been in your body long enough and healed you often enough it can change itself or your body to better keep its host safe.”

“Well, that’s…not…scary…at all.” he ground out as she finished up with his leg. The pain in the last stretch had been pretty bad. While he caught his breath she moved to the basket and pulled out a bottle of pills and a sack of freshly cooked organ meat.

“Alright Mark, take one of these and trigger the healing again. You are going to be hungry so I brought some food.” With a bit of hesitation, he did what she said. As the regeneration triggered, he felt that writhing sensation in his body again and the hunger began to gnaw at his body. He started eating immediately after that.

“The town was pretty peaceful for several years after founding.” Lilly started telling her story again as he ate, putting her tools away. “The entrance had been sealed off and the rats were spreading out and multiplying. Until one day they started coming up dead. They couldn’t figure it out, there shouldn’t have been anything in here except the village and the rats.”

“You keep saying they, where were you while all this was going on?” Mark asked between bites. Getting interested despite himself.

“I hadn’t been born yet, the village has been here for over fifty years now, and this happened…maybe five years after the founding.” She answered. “Eventually they found what was killing the rats. It was a bright green lizard a little smaller than the rats. It had swum out of the cave that let the mud in, all those years prior. Elder Bernard captured the lizard and killed it. He sold its hide to a shoe maker and still brags about how much he got for it. Anyway, after that the old timers put a grid over the opening to keep anything else from coming in.”

Mark chuckled, realizing now why Lu had been so insistent that they bring all the bodies back, not just the rats. She had grown up on tales of what lizard hide was worth.

“What happened next?” he asked taking another bite. His belly was already starting to settle down, he wondered what that pill had been for but was more curious about the lizards.

“Next? Nothing, not for twenty years or so. I was alive at that time but was still a baby so I don’t remember it personally. The old timers talk about it though. Lizards, like the first one showed up in the valley again. Only now there were more than one of them. Not only that, there was one that looked a lot like the ones you brought back with you. I don’t think it was quite as big as the ones outside though.”

She shuddered as she remembered the stories, she had put the last of her tools away and added a few logs to the brazier before shuttering it back down again. The room was once again barely lit.

“The old timers managed to clear the valley again. They lost people that time though, including my parents.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He said almost reflexively. He knew what it was like to lose people and didn’t wish it on anyone.

“Don’t be, I was a kid. The old medicine woman took me in after that. We spent days on end exploring the valley looking for medicinal plants. We found things the rest of the villagers never found; they were our secret places. She was a great mother to me… Now come here and let me look at your wounds.” She moved around behind him, and began to run her fingers across his back. He figured she was feeling for puckered skin, but she was only finding smooth skin.

She didn’t stop there however, she continued to run her fingers over his skin, moving around to his front. Where she trailed down to where he had been wounded by the spear. She was close to him now, so close he could feel the heat of her breath in the already humid air of the well-turned pool house. Only a slight gap separated them now.

“Thank you, for helping me.” He said catching her hand in his, when her fingers and proximity were beginning to cause a reaction. He didn’t move away though.

“Thank you?” she said in mock puzzlement. “I thought you said that once I told my story and cleaned your wounds, you were going to help me clean up to return the favor.” She was smiling now and her hand had slipped free of his and moved back to his leg.

“I suppose I did say that didn’t I?” Mark said with a mock sigh. “Well, I can’t go letting you make a liar out of me.” He said, closing that slight gap between them.

He had been right about one thing, when he first got to the pool house. He did end up falling asleep in the water. It didn’t happen right away though; it took several hours for him to finally close his eyes. When sleep finally did claim him, it did so with an already sleeping Lilly wrapped in his arms.

* * *

The next time Mark woke up he was fully rested, and feeling better than he had in a really long time. He actually felt alive, without the terror of being killed by a bloodthirsty monster. When he looked down to see the slowly waking Lilly still in his arms he felt even better. That is, right up until he looked up at the person who had woken them.

“Good morning mister,” said Lucy when he had finally noticed her. She had just finished removing the last article of clothing she wore and was already climbing into the pool. “Grandpa sent me down to wake you up. I brought your clothes with me too.” She clapped her hands excitedly after her foot entered the water. “Yes! Its still warm,” she said with glee before cannonballing into the pool.

“Lucy!” Lilly barked once the girl’s head broke the surface of the water. “You know better than to jump in while there are adults around.” Mark looked back and forth between the pair in shock.

“Sorry Lilly,” the girl said. Not looking particularly sorry at all. “Me and grandpa came by earlier but he said that you hadn’t finished treating our hero yet so I had to wait until the morning. Well, its morning and I want a hot bath.” Mark sighed; he did not envy this girl’s grandfather at all.

She was barely into adolescence, and so covered in filth that even now when she was naked in front of him, he might not have noticed that she was a girl. That wasn’t going to last though, eventually this kid was going to grow up and he was really glad he wasn’t going to be around for that.

Putting the troublesome youth and the strange customs of this place out of his mind he climbed out of the pool. He dried off and got dressed while covering himself as best he could. It would have been a lie to say that he didn’t watch Lilly as she dressed though. She looked just as thin and underfed as she had last night, but she had taken on a glow in his eyes, that wiped that away.

“Elder Bernard is probably waiting to talk to you about the lizards Mark. So, if you’re done looking why don’t you get along and meet with him. I’d like to get some breakfast and go check on the villagers. We are both likely to be really busy for a while, but if you get a chance. Well, don’t be a stranger ok. If I’m not around just ask anyone in town, they can show you where to find me.” With those parting words she gave him a wink and left.

“Grandpa is waiting for you at Bennies old house mister.” Lucy said while he put his boots on. She was happily splashing around in the water, completely ignoring the soap. “I think he said he was going to get you some breakfast. Also said something about keeping you happy and full in case you went off and died fighting the lizards.”

“Thanks, Lu.” Mark didn’t look back at the kid as he left the bath house. he didn’t know if that was normal here, or if Lu was a special case. Either way, it made him uncomfortable being around her while she was in the pool like that.

What she said about her grandpa sending him off to die didn’t really bother him, he had come here to fight and gain experience after all. What did bother him, and bothered him more than he thought it might, was that Lilly had taken the swamp rat robes away with her when she left.

The square was just as busy as it had been yesterday. Only now there weren’t any bodies to be found. They had been butchered already and were likely either being cooked or preserved in some fashion. The wracks weren’t empty though, all the rat and trog skins were either being scraped clean of flesh and fat, or being hung up to dry.

In a hurry to get some breakfast and a move on, Mark didn’t stay to watch any of the work. He did wave back to several people who waved to him, and blushed at several girls who giggled and stared at him. He made it back to the house he had originally fallen asleep in at last and walked in.

Bernard was sitting at the table, two huge bowls of stew on hand. One was in front of him, the other sat at an empty place across the table from him. Mark wasn’t left to wonder, once he entered, Bernard motioned for him to take a seat and help himself. A large map of the valley was spread out between them. It was drawn on soft parchment, and Mark again figured it was a swamp rat.

“You look better this morning mister.” The old man said with a straight face. “It looks like our little village agrees with you. Please, eat, eat, while we talk about the problems our village is facing.

Mark did as he was bid, sitting down and digging in. he listened to what the old man had to say, much of it a repeat of what Lilly and Lucy had already told him. With a few additions, like the old mans fears that if the lizards weren’t stopped soon there wouldn’t be enough swamp rats left to sustain the village even if all the towns folk survived.

Like Mark had figured, he wanted him to go out and kill all the lizards. He also wanted to send a few of the villagers along with him. Not to help, but to haul the bodies back after Mark had dealt with them. Sounded like there was a camp of lizards outside the tunnel entrance and several small roving bands that hunted for rats and villagers around the valley.

He pointed out areas on the map to be mindful of. The locations of the rat dams, the village and the cave the lizards had likely come in from. From what he said it sounded like there was a patrol around the village at all times. There were also roving bands that hunted the dams, and a camp by the cave mouth.

“Why have you all been holed up in the town so long? We didn’t see a patrol bringing the sled back, I figure in your own valley you could sneak around in ones and twos to get some hunting and gathering done.”

“Yes, well.” The old man scratched his beard thoughtfully. “We sent a runner out of the valley when the lizards showed up and killed a hunting party. We expected help days ago, as for why we didn’t encounter the patrol when we came for you. Well, old Bennie and his boy offered to cause a distraction so we could get you and the sled back.” He didn’t say it directly, but it seemed pretty clear that old Bennie and his boy hadn’t survived the ordeal. A pang of guilt bubbled up in him over that.

“So young man, will you help us?”

Mark agreed to almost everything the old man asked him to do, with the exception of hauling around a group of villagers loaded down with sleds. He didn’t care what happened to the lizards after he killed them, but he didn’t want to be responsible for any more lives while he hunted.

“Fair enough,” the old man said at last. “Our people are pretty good trackers after all, I will just send someone out to follow you after a time and check in on your progress.” With his plans laid and his belly full, Mark was finally ready to leave the village behind and go back on the hunt.

* * *

Upon exiting the village, Mark decided his first step would be to take care of the local patrol. He didn’t feel comfortable leaving them here when he left. Besides, no point going further than he had to for a fight. Unfortunately, he didn’t know anything about tracking. So, he just moved a distance from the town and started walking a wide circle around it.

An hour later, he went back to the dock. He hadn’t seen anything but mud and swamp grass. He figured the villagers were likely keeping a lookout for trogs, so he thought to ask one of them to let him know when they were spotted. It took another hour before the youth who had took his clothes away came to tell him the patrol was spotted. The morning had gone really slow and hadn’t been the glorious ‘get up and go fight’ he had expected, but at least he wasn’t being swarmed by mosquitos anymore.

“I really need to get a few small drones.” He muttered to himself, moving towards where the kid had pointed. “I need something to watch my back while I’m sleeping, and some eyes in the sky to do the damn scouting. I got spoiled with Terra and Tinker around.”

He strategized as he walked. Not wanting to just casually stroll into a death trap again he wondered how he could sneak in and get the drop on his enemies. He was so lost in thought about how to sneak up on them that he didn’t notice they had already seen him until a spear exploded against a nearby rock.

He threw himself into the mud, avoiding a second thrown spear. He couldn’t believe the force the trogs could put behind those throws. At least they weren’t very good shots, he did not want to get hit with one of those things again.

He looked up from the ground and saw two trogs bearing down on him, their belt weapons drawn. A quick scan around didn’t reveal any more attackers so he raised his left hand and sighted on the advancing duo. The reticle in his vision turned orange. That meant they were out of his weapon’s effective range. He fired off a pair of shots anyway.

Both shots connected with the nearer of the two, its bright green scales scorched black in an instant. The shots had hit but at this range Mark couldn’t tell how much damage had actually been done. Energy weapons didn’t impact like a projectile weapon and trogs were tough. The one he hit didn’t so much as stagger, it just kept coming right at him.

The situation might have seemed dire, but it was actually about as good a position as he could hope for. The pair would likely discount his weapon as being a threat and it was two against one in their favor. Mark drew the Broken blade from its harness and prepared to meet their charge.

He stood there waiting for them to close the distance, when they were only ten yards away they slowed their advancement. They hesitated, not wanting to wait Mark strode towards them. Seeing him coming in the pair threw caution to the winds and charged. When they were almost on him, Mark lifted his blade as if in preparation to strike. Then using his energy weapon at point blank range put a small hole through both trog’s heads.

The bodies slumped into the mud while Mark congratulated himself on an easy win. These trogs were tough but it looked like he could easily defeat them, using superior tactics. He could already see himself wrapping this whole trip up in the next few hours, when a flash of movement to his right caught his attention.

On pure reflex he moved his weapon around just in time to intercept the incoming flint knife. Sparks flew as the flint met the metal blade of his weapon and an awful shattering sound rent the air as the knife exploded. He was peppered with stone shrapnel, opening several cuts across his face and chest. More sparks flew from the metal plating around his left eye. That wasn’t the extent of the damage either. He’d managed to intercept the blow, but that knife had been swung with tremendous force. He wasn’t prepared for it and his blade rebounded back, hitting him in the head hard enough to make him see stars.

Blinking rapidly, he back peddled trying desperately to clear his vision. He fired off a few shots blindly as he moved, hoping to get a lucky shot off or failing that keep the attacker at bay long enough for him to recover. His artificial eye cleared first, having been blocked by static instead of stars.

He saw his attacker slumping to the ground, having been taken down by a lucky shot. It wasn’t over yet though, two more trogs were flanking the first. He was off balance and confused and could already tell that he couldn’t evade their attacks. Realizing that he wasn’t going to escape damage, he grit his teeth and lunged forward to meet the attack.

That was his intention anyway, calling what actually happened a lunge would have been an over statement. More accurately, he stopped back peddling and leaned into the attack while thrusting forward with his Broken blade. The weapon was nearly three feet long and two thirds of that length was handle. Between his strength and the brutish reptile’s forward momentum he managed to drive the foot long blade to its hilt in the attacker to his right.

That decisive move cut the number of enemies he had to deal with in half, but it left him completely exposed to the remaining trogs retaliatory strike. A stone headed hammer slammed into his left shoulder blade. A loud cracking noise split the air as both his shoulder blade and the hammers shaft broke.

“Aaahhh” he screamed in pain as he toppled to the side, losing his grip on the naginata as he fell. He tried to bring his prosthetic up for a shot but his arm wouldn’t respond. It might not have worked anyway, a fully charged power cell was only good for ten shots. He’d lost track of how many he had fired during the battle and the cell didn’t have a full charge. The gun was secondary to the primary use of powering his hand.

The thick mud softened the impact from the fall, but it also restricted his ability to recover and move quickly. Thankfully the trog was affected by the breaking of its weapon. Whether it was shock or the weapon’s recoil didn’t matter to Mark as he used those few seconds to regain his feet. The fall had another benefit, it gave him the opportunity to snatch the now dead trogs belt axe from the mud as he stood up.

The battling pair, each having recovered slightly, stared each other down across the body littered patch of swamp. Mark bared his teeth in a grimace of pain and rage. The trog closed its crocodile’s mouth with a sharp snap. The noise acted like a runners shot, and was still echoing through the air as they rushed each other for the final clash.