They were back on the road first thing the next morning. She smiled as she watched the sun slowly rise higher in the sky. Thokri was sitting next to her on the driver bench. He was smoking his pipe and pointing out things that he thought might be of interest to her.

That stuff smells wonderful, but it just tastes like hot air.

He took a puff of his pipe letting the smoke out slowly. It billowed around them. The others had closed the front flap to keep the smoke out. It made Lyreen cough, and Elaine started to get giggly.

Thokri pointed at the fields on either side of the road with the stem of his pipe.

“Ya see how there are strips of trees or shrubs breaking them up?” he said.

“Aye,” Anna replied.

“That’s how the farmers know whose field it is,” he said.

“Why does it matter? Doesn’t the queen own all the land anyway?” she asked.

Thokri waived his hand. “It’s all about who gets to work that land. See, the way this kingdom does things is nobles get the rights to govern lands. Then they give the rights to farm parts of the lands they govern to the common folk. The commoners have to pay the nobles a tax, but they can keep the rest. So, the rights to who gets to farm what land is important, and folks will try to squeeze in on other folk’s farms to make a little extra,” Thokri replied.

“Oh, I get it. If they can farm extra land, they won’t have to pay taxes on whatever they grow there,” Anna said.

“That’s it,” Thokri replied.

“Other than Lord Ender, I didn’t meet any nobles on the frontier. How do they do it out there?” Anna asked.

Thokri took a puff. “You just have to show up and start working the land out there. Once the queen starts handing out fiefs, it’ll change,” Thokri said.

Anna moved the wagon over to the side to let another wagon pass by. The driver nodded at her as he went.

Food for Oldforge.

The wagon was filled to the brim with fresh vegetables.

“Won’t be seeing many of those in a few days,” Thokri said.

“Why is that?” Anna asked.

“Fresh food only keeps for so long in the back of a wagon, and these folks can’t afford to hire a mage to cast a spell on it. Farther out we go, the less farms you find,” he replied.

“What about grain? That stuff lasts for a long time,” Anna asked.

“Aye, and that’s what you’ll see past the fruit and vegetable farms, but even those will peter out after a while,” Thokri replied.

“I don’t get it,” Anna asked.

“Think about it, lass. Farmers need to worry about more than just food spoiling. They have to worry about bandits and monsters as well. If they are too far away from the lord and his troops, most of their crops get stolen, or some beastie will eat them,” Thokri replied.

Anna nodded. After their journey on the fronteer, she could see that.

“Why not just build forts?” Anna asked.

“They do closer to the capital, but out here isn’t much better than the frontier,” he replied.

“So, if they can’t protect the land they have, why are they expanding?” Anna asked.

Thokri shrugged. “Just how humans are, lass,” he replied.

Thokri put out his pipe a few hours later, and they opened the canvas back. The others had been munching on the rations she’d bought. Unlike their time on the frontier, they’d be eating well this time regardless of whether they stopped or not.

She reached back and wiggled her fingers. A piece of jerky was handed to her. Unlike the dried salted meat that was available on the frontier, this was flavorful and tender. She stuck the whole thing in her mouth and started to chew.

The inn they stopped at that night was so similar to the one from the day before, she could have sworn they had somehow doubled back.

That barmaid has bigger boobs though.

The food was the same, and so were the rooms.

She laid in the bed the second night and looked out the window at the moon. It was still mostly full and bathed the world in a silvery light.

I wonder what it’s like up there? She fell asleep soon after.

The next few days were more of the same, but when the farms started to thin out and forests grew more and more common, Thokri started to carry a crossbow with him.

“You know I can just kill anyone with my tentacles, right?” Anna asked.

“Aye, but where’s the fun in that?” Thokri replied.

Anna summoned an eye and sent it above the wagon to look around for any trouble they may not be able to see with normal vision.

“There’s lots of rabbits,” Anna said.

“Leave them be, child. We have plenty of food,” Barika replied.

“Fine,” Anna said.

They found a small inn that evening and decided to stay there. She helped Thokri and the stable boy unhook the horses, and he led them to a sad looking barn.

The main room of the inn was mostly empty other than the innkeeper, a bored looking barmaid, and a nervous looking man.

After getting rooms for the night, they sat at one of the tables and ordered ales. The barmaid was overly cheerful.

She’s dying of boredom, or she wants to flirt with Voekeer.

It turned out to be the latter. The woman was chattering away at them. Barika was more than willing to talk to the woman and was even smiling as she did so. The barmaid walked away to get their drinks and quietly returned to the table.

The nervous man kept looking their way. She started to stare at him to see what would happen when he caught her. Sure enough, he glanced their way again and locked eyes with her. They stared at each other for a moment before he looked away. She kept looking, but he didn’t look back this time.

“What are you doing?” Elaine asked.

“He keeps looking at us, so I’m looking at him,” Anna replied.

“Don’t torment the man, child,” Barika said.

“I’m just looking at him,” Anna replied.

“Yeah, without blinking or breathing,” Elaine said.

Oops, forgot again. She looked away from the man and back at her friends.

“I was just having fun,” Anna replied.

“Staring at people is a good way to start a fight,” Voekeer said.

“Not when you’re pretty,” Anna replied.

“Fair point,” Voekeer said.

“Are there anymore inns on the map?” Elaine asked.

“No, and this one wasn’t, so who knows if we’ll find another for the rest of the journey,” Voekeer replied.

“Back to camping then,” Elaine said.

“It’s part of the life, lass,” Thokri replied. Elaine sighed but didn’t reply.

The barmaid came back with their drinks and a bowl of the same kind of stew that seemed to be served everywhere. She only ate one bowl of the stuff and drank a single mug of ale. She ended up going to her room with the others after they finished. They had been munching on jerky and smoked sausage most of the day, and no one was all that hungry.

She undressed and got ready for bed like usual. She could hear Lyreen and Voekeer going at it like always, but she also heard another couple.

Two women? She was confused for a moment before realizing what was going on. Good for you.

She laid in her bed and hoped Barika had a good time tonight.

They got on the road after breakfast. Thokri puffed his pipe as they rode along.

“That might be the last inn we find until after we get out of the forest,” he said.

“Why doesn’t anyone build an inn in the forest?” Anna asked.

“All manner of beasties live there, lass. Most like to eat folks,” he replied.

“What would you have done without me?” Anna asked.

“Not taken this contract in the first place,” Thokri replied.

“Fair enough,” Anna said.

“There’s a route around, but it would take the better part of a month. That’s what we did when we went to Eagle’s bay,” Thokri said.

Anna nodded. She made sure to keep an eye out, literally, for bandits or monsters.

As the day went on, the trees got thicker, and by noon, they were in a dense forest. The road here wasn’t as well maintained as it was outside of the forest, so she had to slow down some.

I don’t think the others want to get bounced around in a wagon full of sharp things.

Their new pace seemed to be attracting predators.

“Hey, what’s a ten-foot tall furry thing with long arms, short legs, and a long snout full of sharp teeth called?” Anna asked.

“Lass, that describes about ten different monsters I can think of. You got to be more specific,” Thokri replied.

“It has three fingers on its hands with long assed claws. Same for its feet. Oh, and I think it’s invisible,” Anna said.

Thokri snatched up the crossbow sitting next to him and started to look around nervously.

“Where is it, lass?” he asked.

“Just off the road on the right,” Anna replied. He jerked his head to the side and looked into the forest.

“Want me to kill it?” Anna asked.

“Aye,” Thokri said.

She summoned a tentacle and grabbed the thing by the throat. With one powerful flex, she snapped its neck. She pulled the reins to stop the wagon.

“What are you doing lass?” Thokri asked.

“Its fur looks soft,” Anna replied.

She tied the reins to the wagon and hopped off. Thokri did the same, still holding the crossbow.

“I didn’t see anymore,” Anna said.

“Just being careful, lass,” Thokri replied.

Anna tossed the carcass to the road just behind the wagon. Its head was bent to an unnatural angle. The others got out of the wagon, and they all looked at the creature for a moment.

“What is it?” Lyreen asked.

“Krako stalker, lass,” Thokri replied.

“Wait, those are real?” Lyreen asked.

“Aye, not the first one I’ve seen,” Thokri replied.

Anna pulled out her belt knife and rolled the monster onto its back. Thokri stepped next to her.

“Let me give you a hand, lass,” he said.

“I’ll handle gutting it,” Elaine added.

“Really?” Lyreen asked.

“I’ve spent a lot of time dissecting things and harvesting organs. I’m sure this is filled with valuable parts,” Elaine replied. Voekeer rubbed his chin.

“You’re right. But we’re going to need proof they are from what we say they are from. These things are basically myths,” he said.

“We’ll bring its head with us, lad,” Thokri replied.

“I guess we can just salt and dry the hide then,” Anna said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

With both Anna and Thokri working together, they were able to drain the blood from the beast, behead, and skin it quickly.

Elaine brought a large leather bundle out and laid it on the ground. She undid three buckles and rolled it open. Inside was filled with every imaginable kind of scalpel, saw, pliers, and other wicked looking implements. The others were staring at Elaine as she ran her fingers over the tools smiling. She looked up.

“I like dissecting things,” she said still smiling.

“That’s not creepy at all,” Lyreen said sarcastically.

Elaine ignored her and took a long sharp looking scalpel from the wrap.

“I’ve heard magical beasts have organs they push mana into that work like spells,” she said.

She used the scalpel to make a cut from the top of its torso, just below where its neck would have been, all the way to its crotch. She made a few more cuts and then pealed the flesh away revealing its insides. Anna watched intently. She’d seen the insides of creatures before, but never one that could use magic naturally.

The others crowded around to watch Elaine work. The necromancer hummed a cheerful tune as she worked, cracking bones to get them out of the way before she started to remove organs.

Adventurers weren’t a squeamish group, and the party was no exception. Most of them were familiar with the insides of animals, monsters, and people. But Elaine seemed to be taking great delight in explaining what the parts she was removing were for.

“Why do you know this?” Lyreen asked as Elaine was describing the functions of the spleen.

“Uh, well the lich’s spell book had detailed descriptions of anatomy,” Elaine replied hesitantly.

“Why in the world would an undead sorcerer need to know such things, child?” Barika asked.

“He was obsessed with creating something he called the living undead. Basically, he wanted to create intelligent undead that could eat, sleep, and even have children like living people can,” Elaine replied.

Barika and the others looked horrified.

“That’s blasphemy!” Barika said.

“I know that, and as far as I can tell by his notes on it, he never succeeded. I was more interested in the flesh golems he described,” Elaine replied.

“What’s that?” Anna asked.

“Basically, you can take parts from various people and monsters and stitch them together to make something new,” Elaine replied.

“That sounds like a chimera,” Lyreen said.

“Yeah, close, but flesh golems are undead,” Elaine replied.

“Why would anyone want to do that?” Voekeer asked.

“Take this monster for example. If I were to find an organ that allowed it to become invisible, I could put it into a cat corpse and make a small invisible spy,” Elaine replied. The others looked at her in horror. “What?” Elaine asked.

“Just don’t hurt any cats,” Anna replied. The others turned to her now.

“That’s what your worried about?!” Lyreen asked. Anna crossed her arms.

“I like cats!” she replied.

“I’m not going to hurt any cats,” Elaine said.

“Good,” Anna replied.

Everyone went back to watching Elaine work. She extracted a few oddly shaped squishy looking organs.

“There, I’m done,” she said.

Anna picked the carcass up and tossed it into the forest. Her friends watched it sail away into the distance.

“I’m surprised you didn’t want to eat it,” Lyreen said.

“It smelled weird,” Anna replied.

Lyreen just shook her head and got back into the wagon. The others joined her. Elaine was the last one in because she had to clean her tools and herself off. The organs she had decided to keep went into little clay jars and were wrapped in cloth. Anna climbed back onto the driver’s bench and got the horses moving again.

When they stopped for the night, she hung the skin from a tree to dry. It was warm with a slight breeze blowing.

Should be fine by morning. Glad I salted it first though.

“I’ll keep watch tonight,” Anna said.

“Are you sure?” Elaine asked.

“I can see those things. You all can’t,” Anna replied.

“That’s a good point,” Elaine said.

“I don’t really need to sleep anyway,” Anna replied.

Why are they looking at me like that?

After camp was setup, Thokri cooked food for everyone.

He’s a pretty good cook, as long as we have the right ingredients that is.

After they ate, the others went to sleep. She put the fire out, not needing the warmth or the light it produced.

The forest was clear as day to her, just in a greyscale like the night always was.

I wonder what darkness looks like?

She looked up at the sky, seeing glimpses of the stars through the thick tree cover.

The others don’t even see those the same as me.

She had found out that other people just see a broad strip of color with the remaining parts of the sky filled with simple dots. To her, it was a riot of color with bright twinkling dots filling it.

I wonder?

She summoned an eye and sent it just above the tree line to look at the stars. She’d never done this before and was utterly shocked by what she saw.

Why are there glowing clouds?

She looked around with the eye. She couldn’t even describe what was up there, and no one had ever told her that things like that even existed.

She spent the rest of the night looking at all the wonderful new things she’d discovered, and when the sun began to rise, she sent her eye away and started a fire for breakfast.

I can’t wait to tell everyone!

The smell of cooking food roused the others, and soon her sleepy-eyed friends were sitting around the fire she built. Breakfast was just bacon with some potatoes and vegetables fried up in its grease.

“Did you know there are glowing clouds in the sky at night?” Anna asked.

“There are?” Lyreen asked. Anna nodded excitedly the others just stared at her for a moment.

“What did you do?” Elaine asked.

“I looked at the sky with one of my eyes,” Anna replied.

Her friends all perked up and seemed to be listening closer now.

“You have to tell us everything,” Lyreen said.

Anna described the strange and wonderful things she’d seen the night before to her friends. It was mid-morning by the time she finished, and they all just looked up in wonder.

“I never even thought about what’s in the sky before,” Voekeer said.

“Nor have I, lad,” Thokri replied.

“I read about mages that peered into the beyond before, but none of them ever did what you did,” Elaine said.

“I don’t think there’s a spell that can do what her eye can,” Lyreen replied.

“Probably not,” Elaine said.

“You should paint what you saw, child,” Barika said.

“That’s a wonderful idea!” Lyreen added.

“You think so?” Anna asked.

“Yes!” Lyreen replied.

They packed up the camp and got back on the road. It got so rough that by that afternoon they had slowed to a walking pace, if that. She was tempted to just pick the wagon up and run with it but didn’t know what to do with the horses, so she didn’t.

They made camp again that night, and she volunteered to keep watch. The night was oddly quiet.

Where are all the critters?

She sent a few eyes out to investigate, but they didn’t find anything unusual other than the complete lack of wildlife that is. She put it out of her mind and waited for dawn to come.

She cooked breakfast again, making the same thing as the day before. She kept her eyes out while she cooked and while her friends got up and joined her at the fire.

“What’s wrong, lass?” Thokri asked seriously.

“There are no animals,” Anna replied. The others stopped eating and looked around.

“We should get moving,” Voekeer said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied.

They all ate quickly and packed up. Anna dropped any attempt to hide what she was and summoned a dozen eyes to buzz around the wagon looking for threats.

“See anything, lass?” Thokri asked for the fifth time that morning.

“No,” Anna replied.

She didn’t blame him. There was something very wrong going in this forest, and even she was starting to feel on edge.

They rode along for a few hours. In the dead silence, the wind shifted some. The stench of rotten meat filled her nose. She made a face.

“What’s wrong, lass?” Thokri asked.

“Something’s dead,” Anna replied.

“Where?” he asked.

“Dunno. I just smelled it, but I haven’t seen anything yet,” Anna replied.

“Aye,” Thokri said. He picked up the crossbow again.

There was something on the road a few miles away. She sent the eyes closer to investigate.

“Uh, I found the smell,” Anna said.

“What is it, lass?” Thokri asked.

“Something wiped out a caravan,” Anna replied.

“Are there any survivors?” Voekeer asked.

“I doubt it,” Anna replied.

“Is it blocking the road, lass?” Thokri asked.

“Yes, it looked like something threw the wagons around, and all of the people are in pieces all over the road,” Anna replied. Her friends were quiet for a moment.

“How long?” Barika asked.

“I’m not sure. A few days I think,” Anna replied.

“How long do you think it will take to clear the road?” Voekeer asked.

Anna shrugged. “A few minutes. I’ll just shove everything out of the way with my tentacles,” Anna replied.

“We need to bury the victims, child,” Barika said.

“Aye, and those wagons might have valuables we can sell,” Thokri replied. Barika shot him a poisonous glance. “Easy, lass. Just don’t see any sense in leaving it out here to rot. That’s all,” Thokri said.

“Dwarves,” Barika said, shaking her head.

They pulled into sight of the caravan.

“What in the name of the gods could have done that?” Elaine asked.

“Don’t know, lass, and I don’t want to either,” Thokri replied and then spat.

She pulled up right behind one of the overturned wagons. They all got out of the wagon, and Thokri unhooked the horses and led them off the road, hobbling them next to some shrubs. They started to chomp them immediately.

“At least someone still has an appetite,” Barika said.

“I could eat,” Anna replied. Her friends just looked at her again. “What?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Voekeer replied.

“I know there isn’t much hope, but could you look for survivors, child?” Barika asked.

“I can. It may take a while. I don’t want to summon too many eyes. I really don’t want to be naked right now,” Anna replied.

Lyreen looked like she was going to say something rude but looked at the torn rotted corpses and decided not to.

Anna sent out a swarm of eyes to look at everybody and every wagon. They were looking for any sign of life from a slow heartbeat to a shallow breath. She walked slowly amongst the corpses as the eyes buzzed around.

It feels like a graveyard.

She looked around again and realized that it kind of was. A few things started to make her nervous, not for herself, but the others.

First, nothing had been taken. She spotted glittering coins, jewels, bolts of cloth, and other things that were both valuable and easily carried just lying around. Second and even more disturbing, there were no flies.

There’s tons of rotting meat and no bugs. Not a single one anywhere.

Finally, some of the corpses were withered as if they had been dried in the sun like jerky.

She kept walking, trying not to step in any of the pools of dried blood or on any corpse parts. It was worse the farther she walked. The caravan stretched on for nearly a mile.

After walking for a long while, an eye shot her an image of a woman somewhere up ahead. She looked terrible and was in some dark place. Anna ran at full speed to where the eye was. She found an enormous wagon that looked as if it had been struck by something as big as a tree and rolled a few times before coming to a stop just off the road.

Anna rushed over. The back of the wagon looked like a fortress. She pushed her fingers into the tough wood and then ripped the door right off its hinges and tossed it aside.

A smell that was somehow worse than the outside wafted out, causing Anna to shake her head. She just stopped breathing and climbed inside.

What am I looking at?

There were more bodies in here, but they were all naked and chained to the floor. Some of them looked fresher than the others. She thought about it for a moment then realized what had happened.

Oh no. They were trapped in here and died of thirst!

Anna walked over the corpses. She found the young woman lying there barely breathing. After snapping the chains from her arms and legs, she gently lifted her.

Barika will know what to do.

She bolted out of the wagon and ran as fast as she could go without jostling the poor woman too much.

She ran right up to her friends who were still at the wagon waiting for her to return. Barika put her hand on the woman as soon as she saw her.

“I found her in a big wagon that looked like it was armored. It was filled with naked people chained to the floor. I think they died of thirst because they couldn’t get out. She was the only one still alive,” Anna said.

“Get water and a clean cloth,” Barika said.

Voekeer went to the wagon and got a water skin. Thokri took the cloth and Voekeer poured some water on it. He then wiped the woman’s lips with the damp cloth. She stirred some and opened her mouth. Anna looked inside.

“Where’s her tongue?” Anna asked.

Thokri stopped and looked in the woman’s mouth. He uttered a truly foul dwarven curse. Barika looked in as well.

“Bastards!” she said.

“Why doesn’t she have a tongue?” Anna asked.

“She was a slave, child. Some masters do that so they can’t tell secrets,” Barika replied after a moment.

Thokri started to drip water into the woman’s mouth. She squirmed some but seemed to be able to swallow even without a tongue.

“Lift her head more, child,” Barika said. Anna shifted so that the woman was nearly sitting up. Barika placed her hands on the woman’s head and waist. Her hands glowed with the goddesses’ divine power.

Thokri started to pour water into the woman’s mouth. She gulped it down quickly, finishing an entire waterskin in a few moments. Voekeer handed Thokri another, and the woman drank a few long gulps out of it before stopping.

She looked around at the party and then at Anna. She looked utterly confused for a moment. Then, when she looked at Barika, she started to cry and hugged the priestess.

Anna set her down. Barika’s magic could heal most things almost instantly. That’s why she was able to drink so much so fast and have the water get to where it needed. Barika hugged the poor woman tightly and then peeled her off.

“We need to get you cleaned up and dressed, child.” The woman nodded, and Barika led her to the back of the wagon.

“I’m going to finish looking for survivors,” Anna said.

“Aye,” Thokri replied, patting her on the shoulder.

She looked out ahead of the caravan. She’d just finished searching the wreckage. There were no more survivors. She turned around and ran back to the others, unsure if she should start with the dead or looting the wagons.

The woman was sitting with the others near the wagon eating some of the tasty jerky.

At least I’m not the only one that can eat.

Her friends looked sad as she walked up.

I wish there were more people too.

“So, what now?” Lyreen asked.

“Bodies first. Then we can search for treasure,” Barika replied.

“I’ll handle the bodies,” Elaine said.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to just push it all off the road?” Anna asked.

“Yes, child,” Barika replied.

Elaine stood up and walked over to the edge of the caravan. She held her hands up, and her tattoos started to glow.

The dead started to rise and shuffle around. They were collecting the parts that couldn’t move on their own. Elaine started to walk into the carnage. The dead were walking ahead of her like some twisted parade.

“Come on. I don’t want to do this alone,” Elaine said. Anna grinned and walked next to her friend.

“I don’t think the others are coming,” Anna said.

“That’s fine,” Elaine replied.