Chapter 46: Herd

They arrived at the small island, called Kurtanjo by the locals, by morning. This time, Adriana was far more comfortable aboard the Duskbreaker, and went straight to her bunk to sleep off the booze and food. By the time she woke up, they were there and serving breakfast. She was the last to show up, and grabbed a seat between Tobias and Iris.

“This place smells like shit,” she announced. “People really live here?”

Tobias snickered, but Lucas cleared his throat. “They’re hardy people, who work their asses off to help provide for Hessiopolis. They can’t help it if their cattle smells worse than usual.”

“Hope it doesn’t put you off your appetite,” Eva said, though she was notably deep in the galley, protected from the worst of the smell by a blanket of savory meats and fresh bread.

“Not at all,” said Adriana, and she dug into her eggs and yogurt with relish. She continued, speaking around her meal, “Ain’t nothing going to stop me from eating every chance I get. Keeps me strong.”

Iris pushed her plate away and turned to face Adriana. “The cattle are really interesting, though. They’re all the descendants of a bull who got a hold of a lot of Bestia and grew really big. He got into the rancher’s barn and impregnated half the cows. Their babies came out super big and with a hunger for meat, and so did their babies. And now Kurtanjo has the biggest, richest meat in the archipelago!”

“Really?” Now Adriana cared. “Does that mean when we’re done, we can eat one of them as tribute for our services?”

Silence.

“Well, I don’t think we’ve ever asked, but feeding us after is reasonable, right?” Tobias asked with a cheeky grin.

“It’s tacky,” said Eva. “I won’t ask, but if you do and they agree…”

Davos clapped his hands and rubbed them together. The entire table looked to Lucas.

“Godsdammit,” he sighed, “yes, I’ll ask.”

They let out a cheer. Cora reached over and patted Lucas’ shoulder. “It’s good for morale, just think of it that way.”

“Of course. But that means we have to be on our best behavior to earn our Kurtanjo steaks. That’s what I’m offering.”

It fell on Adriana to answer for them. She smiled and said, “I keep telling you I can behave. Let’s hear some ground rules, so I know what not to do.”

Tobias grinned. “Don’t kill the giant cattle.”

“Obviously.”

“No, seriously,” said Davos. “This is their livelihood and we don’t want the rest of the herd to go berserk. They’ve already broken their old fences and eaten some people, but these red oxen are sacred to the people here. They’re a gift from the gods.”

Adriana snorted, but she was alone. “Okay,” she said. “What else?”

Lucas counted them off on his fingers. “Don’t kill the cattle, don’t let any bystanders get hurt. Our priority is their safety, not fighting. Our job will be split into two categories, builders and wranglers. You’ll be a wrangler, responsible for keeping the red oxen busy and driving them where we need them. Tobias and Iris will be with you.”

That sounded perfect. “I can handle a few unruly cows without killing them. What will the rest of you be doing?”

Davos chuckled and answered for them. “We’re handling the repairs to the fence, and providing protection for the Builder who will reinforce it once more. We’re going to extend the fence while you keep them busy, and then drive them in bounds. Meanwhile, Cora will hopefully get a chance to nap.”

“Fat chance,” the healer said with a snort. She kept her shawl tight around her that morning, and it gave her an odd authority she only had when dressed for the part. “Someone always gets hurt. If I get a chance to sit back and enjoy myself, then I say I’ve earned it.”

“No arguments here!” Iris chirped. A chorus of agreements rang around the table.

“Right,” Lucas continued, “Expect a long day of work, and then a reward of the best meat around. Even if I have to pay for it. Don’t make me pay for it please.”

The table cheered, and Adriana finished her breakfast quickly. The task went from feeling stupid to exciting, just like that. It would be a great chance to find out how she could work with Tobias and Iris. They’d seen her in the arena twice, and once against Synto, but now she was part of a team. How would that change things?

Adriana gestured for Iris and Tobias to lean in. “Let’s talk strategy…”

No amount of talk prepared her for how beautiful the island was, or how monstrous the red oxen were. Rolling hills of green grass and red flowers stretched out as far as the eye could see. Brush as big as humans littered the landscape, perfect for the even bigger oxen, one of which stripped a bush bare in one massive bite.

“I thought they were carnivorous,” Adriana said, pointing. They stepped off the dinghy and waded through the water the rest of the way. The Duskbreaker was too big for the remaining docks, and they needed the space to evacuate if things went poorly.

“Gotta eat some vegetation to move all that meat,” said Davos. Look, you can see it’s eaten something or somebody recently.”

Sure enough, Adriana looked closer and saw why they were called the red oxen, and it wasn’t their natural colors. The head, aside from being nearly as big as she was, looked like a cow gone wrong. Twisted horns protruded from its head, nasty and ready to gore someone, but it was the rows of crooked, razor-like fangs that caught her attention. The steer’s entire head was stained with blood, while the rest of it was a light, tanned brown.

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“Huh,” she said. “Does that mean, if we eat one of them, we’ll be eating whatever they eat?” She stepped onto land, Davos, Tobias, and Iris right behind her.

“That’s typically how it works,” said Tobias. “They can probably find us one that hasn’t eaten a person recently.”

Iris shuddered. “Maybe I’ll pass.”

“We’ll find you something good,” Lucas promised as he got off the other boat. He was a big enough guy that he, Cora, and ostensibly Eva shared it, though the latter just flew overhead instead of bothering with a boat. Lucas paused long enough to pick up Cora and carry her the last few feet to shore to keep her feet dry.

“Aw, my hero,” Cora said, cackling at the look of discomfort on his face. “Much appreciated.”

Lucas cleared his throat. “Alright. You all have your instructions. Wranglers: keep them busy, wear them out, and keep them from venturing too far away. You’ve got the harder, more demanding job today, which means you get the best cuts of meat once we’re done, and there will be water and fruit near the fence for when you need a break. Any questions?”

There were none.

“Alright. Then Eva, Davos, Cora, and I will get working on the fence. Work hard, work clean, and good luck.” Without any further ado, they headed to the east towards civilization, while the herd grazed and ran wild to the west, across the hills and meadows, before a dark forest swallowed the rest of the island and loomed threateningly.

“Right, let’s do this,” Adriana clapped her hands together once and jogged toward the first big steer.

“Who left you in charge?” Tobias demanded with a grin. “I’ve been on the team longer, and I’ve got twice the Divinity you do.”

“But you only have normal Divinity,” said Iris. She was a good head shorter than Tobias and even shorted to Adriana, and her little legs worked as hard as they could to keep up to their relaxed jog.

“Can’t beat my True Divinity,” said Adriana. “I’m on the path for power and authority. I’ll let you be part of my team if you behave, though.”

His eyes narrowed, but there was a spark of excitement. Then he turned back to their quarry and said, “They’re not the most dangerous monsters imaginable, but they still eat people. Be careful, but stay alive.” Tobias stopped short and stretched. He made sure his long black hair was pulled back in a ponytail, then summoned his Spirit Bow.

The nearest red ox turned their way. He had mad, yellow eyes and dried, crusty blood over his muzzle. “Hroooorng!” he bellowed, stamping his feet into the green earth. In his mouth were countless jagged teeth, and it was clear he bit into his own lip half the time. He was magnificent.

Adriana spread her legs and planted herself. The sun shone brightly, without any clouds in the sky, and it would lend her all the strength and endurance she needed to get the job done. There were dozens in the herd, and only a handful were close by. Her mind worked double time to figure out where to start. “Why don’t you show me how you do it, then?”

“Gladly!”

Just as the ox lowered his head, Tobias let loose with a yellowish-white bolt of lightning. It discharged between the beast’s eyes and stunned it, but that only made it mad.

“Iris, disappear,” Tobias said. “Adriana, throw me straight up.”

Rather than question him, she grabbed a hold of the suddenly much lighter archer and hurled him into the air. The steer looked up and charged their way. Tobias fired shot after another, alternating between bolt and blaze until the tanned hide had char marks. Each shot landed along the ox’s spine, making it slow…

…but not stop. Adriana let out a whoop and burned Inner Fire for a burst of strength and speed to push off the ground and met it halfway. Her fist crashed into his skull, right between the eyes, and the creature’s legs went out from under it. Momentum carried it through her, but she grabbed a hold of its horns.

It wrenched back and forth, trying to fling her away. Adriana held on for dear life and waited for her chance. One thrash had her feet touch the ground. She immediately burned more Inner Fire and used the beast’s momentum against it. It didn’t flip over so much as shuffle awkwardly sideways until it crashed into the ground.

“Nice!” Tobias shouted as he landed next to her. “But can you keep it up?” Another cow came running, and he fired a shot of fire into its chest.

“Easy,” said Adriana. Her opponent lost interest in fighting her and instead fought to get back up. She circled him and gathered the lightest smattering of Smoldersap in her right hand. Then she jumped and slapped its ass. The smoldersap burned slow and light, and just as she predicted, the dumb steer ran back to civilization, where the ruins of his fence beckoned him to safety.

“One down,” she whispered to herself, and then looked around.

Iris was nowhere to be seen, but a not entirely accurate red ox walked between two others, swinging her tail wildly. The two males snorted and went to follow, before noticing the other did the same. In seconds they locked horns and fought each other. Adriana might not have seen Iris, but she heard the joyful giggle.

Tobias ran nearly as fast as Davos could, and he peppered the cattle with shots until he had three of them following him towards the broken pens. He would be fine on his own, and there were plenty more to the west.

They continued like that for the next hour, running around and keeping the cattle occupied, and close. Only a few tried to actually fight them, and Adriana beat them into submission. It was with great satisfaction that she punched out her fifth red oxen when she needed a break.

“I’m going to set a perimeter off to the west and chase some stragglers over,” she called out. Both of them were too busy, but it was fine. They wouldn’t miss her. Adriana jogged towards the forest, keeping a decent distance between her and the cattle. She’d fight them to submission once she was sure they wouldn’t run for the trees.

The forest was dark, imposing, and made her as wary as any other small creature being watched by predators. It looked claustrophobic in there, and if any cattle managed to get in, it wouldn’t be her getting them back out. Not alone, at least. Tearing her gaze away from it, she focused instead on her Smoldersap, and dripped it over a line between the open fields and the trees.

The grass and brush burned slowly, but with the judicious use of her Flamespitter to burn and then stamp out a gap to keep the fire from spreading to the forest itself, she got the job done. She walked down the line once more with her Flamespitter, growing and heating the patches of black tar to a proper line that even the man-eating cattle wouldn’t want to cross.

Just as she was ready to pat herself on the back, she heard a rumble. In truth, she felt it in her bones at first, turning her guts to jelly. She looked back to the treeline to see a predator looking back at her. Adriana took a step backwards, and the monstrous lion came out after.

It had a glorious mane of blood red, and a flawless golden pelt. It radiated power, age, hunger, and malice.

They stared each other down. Adriana weighed and measured her ability to fight a lion who consumed Bestia without backup.

She burned Inner Fire and ran as hard and fast as she could, the lion hot on her heels.