Panting with exhaustion, the dogs gripped the earth with their claws and dragged the big, upside-down boulder of a bogling into Malchim's workshop. It gave the Ongocks enough time to gather around.
“What is that?” Sammy asked, mirroring Renalia’s reaction several hours ago.
Lexi shrugged, so they all looked at Malchim. “I don’t know. Never seen it before, either.”
“That armor is pretty hard. Might make a good shield,” Lexi said. She knocked on the chestplate of the bogling for emphasis.
“Ha. That’s why you’re the hunter and I’m the processor,” Malchim said as Lexi rolled her eyes at his response. “No, this here is a collector's item. To the right people, I reckon it’s worth its weight in silver.”
“Why didn’t you retrieve the arms and legs?” Shim asked.
Lexi grinned widely, eyes twinkling with anticipation. “Renalia, will you do the honors?”
Renalia raised her cupped hands to chest-high and lifted her upper hand off with a flourish. “This is Penny.”
The baby bogling extended its limbs from its shell to stand up and swiveled its neck to eye each of them in turn.
Renalia smiled at their widened eyes and Sammy audibly gasped.
Marcy froze and then squealed in the highest pitch Renalia has ever heard. “It’s sooo cuuute! Can I hold it? Can I? Can I hold it? Can I?”
Renalia looked pointedly at Lexi, who shrugged at her misjudgment of Marcy.
“Okay, but watch out for its bite. Just bonk it on the head when it tries that.” She pinched the edge of its shell between her thumb and forefinger and handed it to Marcy.
“That’s- That’s a live bogling.” Malchim came forward for a closer inspection.
“Now, I’m only a hunter,” Lexi said with a self-satisfied grin, “but I think that there’s a collector’s item.”
Malchim laughed and rubbed his chin. “And worth its weight in gold!”
They each took turns handling it, except Minnie, who hid behind Malchim. “Is it going to eat us?” she asked in a small voice.
“No, no, sweetheart. We’ll lock it up. It won’t be able to get out. But that’s a good question, though. Is it going to stay ‘undead’ if we don’t feed it?”
“I tried giving it some jerky–”
“–Reny, the jerky is for you only,” Marcy interjected, placing her hands on her hips.
Renalia shrugged. “It was only a test and it didn’t want it.” She took the bogling back, as it had not stopped trying to bite the others, no matter how many times they tapped it on the head. It only seemed content in her hand. Is it because I’m turning into a bogling?
“Ooh, I know!” Sammy shouted before running into the house.
Malchim looked at his youngest son’s back in confusion before addressing Lexi. “I’ll have a chat with the Chief later, see if he has any contacts in the city that may be interested.”
“Yep. And I’ll check with Old George. He’s been in this business the longest. He may know someone, too.”
Sammy came running back, holding a glass jar with a live cricket inside. “Try this. I caught it this morning.” He unscrewed the top and Renalia quickly dropped Penny inside.
They all drew closer together, even the dogs, mesmerized by the life-and-death struggle on display. The cricket jumped and flapped, instinctively recognizing a predator. But within the small confines of the jar, there was no escape.
Renalia felt bad for it and thought a brief prayer for the little insect, in case crickets had souls and could go into cricket heaven.
On the third attempt, Penny pinned one of the cricket’s legs beneath its foot. In slow motion, they watched as its mouth approached the cricket’s back and chomped down. A few drops of cricket innards sprayed on the glass jar as Penny used its tongue to stuff more of the cricket, legs twitching, into its mouth.
“Ew,” said Minnie.
At the same time, Sammy exclaimed, “Yes!”
Renalia took the glass jar from him before he could drop it in his excitement. She said, “I think we can give it some bog water too, in case it needs more magic.”
“Good idea,” said Malchim. “And Sammy, you’re now the Hunter in charge of getting bugs for this bogling.”
“Yes, sir!” Sammy agreed happily. The boy stood tall with his new responsibility, his wide grin squeezing his eyes as he glanced up at his dad.
Am I this obvious too? Renalia thought. In the past, she had suspected that Mama had a mind-reading skill, with how often she seemed to guess exactly what Renalia had been thinking about. But after Mama failed to detect the white lies she told, she concluded that they had a special mother-daughter bond.
But now, she realized that children were simply transparent. Sammy worshiped his dad and was happy at the implied praise. Minnie appeared relieved that the bogling was bottled, but had not yet conquered her fear. Marcy seemed happy that everyone was happy. And Shim… Huh, maybe it’s hard to tell what he’s feeling because he himself isn’t sure.
Renalia took Penny out and handed the dirty jar back to Sammy. “Thank you, Sammy.” The boy took it and ran off. If she had to guess, he probably went to wash off the jar and hunt for more bugs.
Malchim was easy to read, too, as he became less angry and more excited. He walked around the bogling on the ground with his tongue pinched between his lips. “Now, let’s see how we can cut into this one.”
Shim followed with his hand out. As he activated [Cleanse], caked mud and other debris flew off, offering them a view of the glossy chestplate on the upside-down bogling. And underneath, there were intricate patterns on the dome of its shell. Geometric shapes with four to six sides interlocked with each other, with barely any gaps between them. Each shape was slightly elevated in the middle, with multiple ridges lowering it down toward the edges. It looked like a stack of sliced ham, with each piece slightly smaller than the one underneath it.
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Malchim whistled in appreciation. “A collector’s item indeed.”
Renalia ran her fingers along Penny’s shell, sensing tiny knobs that were the precursor of a completed plate. She wondered if boglings continued to grow in un-death. It didn’t make sense because it implied they would die again of old age. And what would happen to a dead bogling if they patched it up and stuck it back in the bog? Would it rise from the dead a second time? Would it become even stronger?
Once again, she wished Granny were still around. Granny had not had a particular interest in boglings before, but Renalia was sure that would change once she told Granny they were Carded.
Noticing Penny allowing Renalia’s fingers to caress it, Marcy reached out again. It snapped at her, causing her to stare accusingly at it and to pout at Renalia.
Renalia shrugged and mouthed a silent “I’m sorry” so as to not hurt Penny’s feelings. It was stupid to think of boglings as having emotions, but she did it anyway. Marcy stuck her lower lip out even more and left before they started taking the bogling apart, taking Minnie and Boogie with her.
Lexi caressed the shell of the armored bogling. “Would make a pretty shield, too.” She smirked.
Malchim whipped his head at Lexi, but before he could say anything, she started laughing. He joined in, laughter erupting from his belly.
The prospect of a substantial payday had raised all moods and erased all previous disagreements.
“I’ll leave you guys to it,” Lexi said. “It stopped moving a while ago, so it’s probably dead. But be careful anyway. And, Renalia, I know you usually harvest peat for Manor Day, but would you be interested in hunting for Manor Day tomorrow? You can continue your training with my brother that way.”
Renalia considered it for a few seconds. On the one hand, working in the fields meant she would get to see her parents again. On the other hand, going to the bog might net her a new Card. Plus, leaving the village meant she could put off dealing with Ullock.
Their previous interaction had ended in a weird state. Did the crying in her arms mean he forgave her? Or would he see it as a moment of weakness that he had to address by asserting dominance now?
Their peers had, whether through bravery or cowardice, snuck away quietly while Ullock wasn’t looking. Only Shim had stayed. But he had not said anything either, even after Ullock extricated himself and walked away without a word or backward glance.
It was as if they had all decided that silence allowed them to ignore a very messy, very adult situation.
Despite all that, she was certain of one thing: bringing a live bogling into the village probably broke some rule Ullock had in his head, even though Hunter adults seemed thrilled at it.
She refused to let Ullock, or even the fear of him, dictate her actions, though. She was too much her Mama’s daughter, after all.
Noticing her mental struggle, Lexi suggested an alternative before Renalia could announce her decision. “If you choose to hunt, I can tell Donaldson to come back early enough so that you can have dinner with your folks.”
“Yes, thank you, Lexi. I’d like that.”
As Lexi and Porkchop left, Malchim and Shim gathered the tools they needed. The bogling was too bulky and heavy to move to the processing station, so the plan was to dissect it where it lay.
Placing Penny on her head, she hurried over to where the aprons hung, stripping down to her underclothes and wrapping an apron around her. Without a useful card like [Cut], she knew it limited her role to scooping out the innards. This suited her just fine, as it would give her the chance to snatch the bogling Card.
Having seen how Lexi wielded a shield to great effect, she hoped the Card would give her one of her own–a shiny black one, as dark as coal. And with pretty patterns, too. It’d better not be full-body armor because she couldn’t imagine moving in such a heavy shell. If it doesn’t break my knees first, that is. She said a brief prayer in her mind, just in case.
She rejoined Malchim and Shim as they carefully used their skills on the bogling. The shell resisted the [Cut], screeching like when Blacksmith McCormick used a sanding wheel on a knife.
By making an incision where the dome intersected the plate, it was like they were creating a bogling bowl with a lid on top. Even with both of them working at it, it was a much slower process compared to opening up the hare.
It gave Renalia ample time to wonder what Penny thought of the scene before it. Penny had settled into Renalia's brown curls after wandering around a bit. It realized that the top of Renalia’s head dropped into the air all around.
She consoled it with a quick pet. I won’t let them cut you open, Penny–even if you have a nice Card.
Shim’s [Cut] duration ran out after ten minutes, so Malchim continued on his own. He stood up and stretched after completing the cut from armpit to armpit.
“There’s no way this thing is still alive. But, just in case, grab your weapons and stand ready, kids.”
Malchim and Renalia grabbed their spears from nearby, while Shim unsheathed the knife from his belt. Renalia assumed a ready stance, the spearhead pointing down and the shaft angling up and back over her head. Malchim extended his spear out and raised the chestplate. A flap of skin came up with it, revealing the preserved innards of the bogling.
In the dissection of previous boglings through slits or holes, Renalia could avoid looking too closely at what she was doing and power through it with her [Dull Emotions] and [Resist Impulse] skills.
But now she witnessed the inside of a once-living creature on full display. While there was no sickening sight of blood, everything glistened with disturbing wetness. But the worst part–the very worst–was how many things there were and how they nestled against each together. Having reached inside of boglings before, she knew exactly how they would sound rubbing against each other: the moist sucking noise of dead flesh.
Her stomach dropped, and her precious jerky threatened to come back up the gut. She quickly averted her eyes and resisted the impulse to throw up. She added an activation of [Dull Emotions] for good measure, despite doubting whether wanting to vomit is an emotion. But maybe it dulled the disgust?
Next to her, Shim’s face had taken on a greenish tinge and the knife in his hand trembled. Malchim, however, could barely contain his laughter.
“Oh, this is beautiful! I’ve never witnessed anything so well preserved before. Listen, I’m going to fetch some jars and we’ll place everything inside. I think there may be some interest in these organs, too.”
As he left, Renalia relied on her ability cards and willed her foot forward. With only Shim left, who was actively looking away from the open bogling, this would be her best opportunity to grab the bogling Card without any weird stares.
She knelt by the bogling and parted the intestines gingerly, feeling her disgust and anxiety rise even under the influence of [Dull Emotions].
There was no Card.
She grew more frantic in her search, ignoring the squishiness, until she finally spotted a sparkle. Unlike the steady glow of previous Cards, this one was faint and flickered like a candle on the last bits of the wick. Wasting no time, she plucked it and placed it into her Core.
She froze, dumbfounded, staring at the four black feet imprinted on the Card in her mind’s eye. Speed? I get speed from this lump but armor from a hare?! Someone has a sick sense of humor. And not funny. Not funny at all.
Hearing dry heaving behind her, she turned to see Shim staring at her, with one arm still buried halfway to the elbow in slick intestines.
“There’s more of everything, but it’s still like before. You can just look at little sections of it.”
“Shut up,” Shim said. “I don’t need your help.”
I tried, Lexi. I tried. Renalia shrugged and turned back to the bogling, for she had felt something hard in her fumbling, and it wasn’t the tucked legs.
She found it again: a small round thing. She pulled it out as Shim said from behind her, “I think it helps. Thank-”
“Is that an egg?” Malchim interrupted. He placed a couple of big glass jars down and rushed to her.
She held the matte black sphere up to the sun. “I think so.”
“It’s an egg!” Malchim exclaimed. He wrapped an arm around her chest and spun her around in a jig. “It’s an egg! It’s an egg!”
Renalia flew through the air, laughing in spite of herself. Penny flew with her, its jaws tightly clamped on her tresses. She clutched tightly to the egg with one hand and tried to reel Penny back with the other. Despite fearing that she would lose her grip, she enjoyed herself.
This happy version of Malchim reminded her of Papa. It made her wonder what a happy version of Shim would be like.