We took the ice skimmer as far as we dared before setting out on foot. I kept pace with Odoacer, whose reclaimed strength had given him a wild look in his eye. Several times, I cautioned him that if we were to have any chance of success, we would need to go undetected. I worried that as soon as he caught sight of the enemy, he would fly into a rage and attack them heedlessly.
Even though I had my reservations, he seemed to understand, and he became more composed. We fought against the cold snow and the bitter wind as we approached the encampment. Just crossing the distance was a challenge, as we could not approach too close without risk of detection. And yet, our precautions soon seemed unnecessary as we were able to proceed without incident.
We climbed a large snowbank overlooking the encampment, and although I had prepared myself, I was still shocked by what I saw. There were about fifty or sixty of cannibals gathered in scattered campfires. I do not know what they used for kindling, but it gave off an awful black smoke that burnt the nostrils.
I was astounded that they lounged so freely in the cold. The creatures wore little more than rags, and yet they acted as if they were enjoying a summer day. That, and their grotesque appearance reaffirmed what I already knew. Whatever these things had become, they had departed from humanity.
The stories did not lie. Where their heads should’ve been, there was a jutting black stone. It grew out of their molting flesh like it had been planted there. Some still had their faces, stretched thinly over where their brain should’ve been. Some were so far along that they were reduced to little more than mouths and rock. They danced and drank by those fires, uncaring of what prowled in the night. Many were sleeping soundly.
It is a skin-crawling thing to look upon monsters, and I fear my words will fail to convey the awfulness of these things—for they could no longer be called men. Speak of a corpse rotting but not dying, speak of jaws that gnashed in darkness, speak of unnameable things that howled in the night, you would still not appreciate the depravity of these creatures. I saw them wear, in jest, the faces of the men they flayed. Their laughter was like the cackling of rakshasa, feasting on their ill-gotten prey.
I had to tear myself from my horrified thoughts. They were distracting, and whatever fear I felt, it would not serve my purpose. I refocused on the task at hand.
There were no guards posted, save for a few at the tents where I presumed the prisoners were being kept. Both the cannibals and the captured tribesmens’ ice skimmers were strewn about the encampment with little regard for order. They didn’t encircle them or try to create a barricade with the floating ships. The tents were similarly haphazard, though I noted that the shelters seemed to be more for the prisoners’ sake than the cannibals.
I spotted one near the edge of the encampment, just beyond the light of the bonfires. If I carefully circled around, I would be able to enter it without notice.
Odoacer made to move, but I firmly held him down. “Your strength is returned, but trust me to infiltrate the camp. I have been trained in the art of silence, and I fear you will only get us caught.”
“You cannot expect me to remain still while my kinsmen roast over their fires,” Odoacer hissed.
I too had noticed the burnt remains, but I tried to avoid their sight out of decency.
“Would dying uselessly give them greater honor? Or would you prefer victory?” I whispered urgently back. “I will go and free your people and find them weapons. And then we will decide what happens next with strength of arms.”
“And if you fail and are caught?” Odoacer asked.
“Then you have my permission to die. But as I have obeyed your people’s laws in coming here, I now request the courtesy that we actually try to succeed in our task.”
I got up and kept myself low to the ice as I prowled in the shadows. Whenever a cannibal happened to glance my way, I flattened myself on the ice, using my blue cloak as camouflage. For all the horror of the encampment, I was astounded that such creatures behaved so recklessly. There is a difference, I think, between a killer and a warrior. Discipline separates carnage from war, prolonged brutality against the quick elimination of the enemy, and as a man who had seen the battlefield, I vowed I would teach these monsters thoroughly of the latter.
Reaching the tent, I realized suddenly it was made from human skin. Keeping down bile in my throat, I peered quietly under, and inside, I found seven men tied and bound. There was a cannibal lazily keeping watch in the corner. The wind and raucous noise outside concealed the sound of my quiet footfalls as I circled around the tent towards where the cannibal was seated. He had kept his back close to the entrance flap, and so it was a quick matter of rushing forward and plunging my blade into his neck.
I held my hand over the monster’s mouth as I felt warm blood drip down my clothes. He struggled for a few moments before losing strength, and I let the creature fall to the ice. The men bound must’ve thought I was a wraith of the night as they backed away in fright. But as I approached and started cutting their bonds, they began to whisper in excitement.
“My name is Sirius. I am an ally of Odoacer, and we are here for your rescue.”
The name Odoacer seemed to rejuvenate their spirit even further. These tribesmen had suffered greatly at the hands of the cannibals, some bearing terrible wounds inflicted upon them. They had looked like broken cattle, but as soon as I mentioned Odoacer, they began to hold themselves as men once more.
“Odoacer truly lives?” one tribesman asked.
“Yes, he does. He will join you in the battle, but we need to arm ourselves and free the rest of your able-bodied kinsmen. Do you know where we can find swords?”
One came forward, a younger man, but he seemed filled with the most courage. “I shall show you where.”
It was painstakingly slow, and the younger man’s movements were abrasively loud on my ears. Every moment I thought the alarm would be raised. My heart wouldn’t stop pounding in my chest. But slowly, we reached the nearby tent and overtook the guards. Throwing open the flaps, we found the store of weapons, and we both carried as much as could back.
The blades were of far poorer make than my previous weapon, but they would suffice for the battle ahead. I took one for myself as we passed them around.
Those of lighter foot snuck to free their kinsmen. Thankfully, I was told cannibals had mostly been feasting on the remains of those who died in the initial attack. They had been saving the prisoners for later. And so, we had more men than even I expected as we began to stalk the encampment.
Those cannibals who had lounged and fallen asleep without fear of the shadows met silent and gruesome ends. There were twenty of us or so in total. Unfortunately, we could not free everyone. There were more captured in areas we could not sneak into. And so we had to whittle the cannibals’ numbers as much as we could before announcing ourselves.
Creeping through the tents, I caught sight of Odoacer planting his knife into the neck of a sleeping cannibal before I lost track of him again. I confess, it was difficult to keep the battle lust at bay. We were making too good of progress. I got too hasty, and I threw open the flap of one tent and rushed inside, expecting to take the occupant by surprise.
The interior was full of carpets and tapestries, made of human hair and depicting obscene blasphemies. I shall not report much of their likeness here, except that they seemed to be of a devotional purpose. I saw a black obelisk with an eye at its top, not a human one, but of something other.
There was a lone cannibal sitting cross-legged in the tent. He too, wore nothing but rags, and he held a sword carved from obsidian in his lap.
Just as I swung my new tribesmen sword down upon him, he reacted faster than I could’ve understood. He raised the obsidian blade above his head, parrying the strike like it was nothing.
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“Well met, Sirius of the School of Astronomers.” A mouth with a head of black stone smiled so wide that blood spurted from the split flesh. “On behalf of our king, I have been sent to bid thee welcome to our lands.”
I struck again from the side, but the cannibal simply raised his arm. The sword bit deep into the bone, but it did not cut the arm all the way through. The cannibal did not seem to be pained in the slightest.
“Sit,” he beckoned in his deep, rasping voice. “For we have little time, and there is much to say.”
The force of the command was so sudden and unexpected, I found my body moved against my will, and I sat across from the cannibal. Before I had time to regain my senses, the cannibal twitched and his head fell back. When it came back up again, a different, darker voice spoke from the monster. It was like the creature’s lungs were filled with gnashing stone, and I knew something was speaking through it.
“I have waited for your arrival for many years. Be at peace, I have instructed my subjects to grant you safe passage through our lands. You are invited to come before the Court of Black Stone. There, we would treat you as befitting a king.”
“I have no desire for such a thing.” I snarled at the cannibal.
The monster’s smile grew even wider, rending the head nearly in half. “You will come for an audience before Manessah, else you shall never reach Calrathia. You think it is I who will block your path? I tell you I would see you journey to the City of Knowledge. It is the others who would prevent your passing. Only I can clear the way.”
“Should I ever come to your court, it would be to take your blasphemous king’s head from his shoulders,” I spoke darkly.
The cannibal laughed. “Do you think the Potentate watches over you? He has abandoned you just as He has abandoned these lands. You have been betrayed and brought here to die. Why else would He have let you come here?”
“So by my hand, the Potentate may deliver your ruin!” I said, so enraged by the cannibal’s words.
There was a cry from outside, and I knew the time for secrecy was over. Yells and shouting sounded through the camp as the battle begun.
I lunged forward with my sword, and this time the cannibal did not stop me. With a single strike, I parted his head from his neck. If the monster felt any fear or surprise, he didn’t show any. Ever grinning hideously, the head toppled to the ground. The body remained motionless for a moment, as if suspended by an unseen force. But then, it too crumpled onto the carpet.
Jumping to my feet, I quickly exited the tent, and I saw that the tribesmen had descended upon the cannibals with a great fury. Those that were sleeping near the fires woke up to a rude awakening. I saw many stumbling to their feet, only to be quickly cut down before they could get to their swords.
Those that were already awake were more fierce, but even among these I saw that they stumbled drunkenly. The camp descended into chaotic fighting as the outnumbered but more organized tribesmen rallied. I saw Odoacer fighting near the front, brandishing his sword and calling forward his men.
I hollered and joined the fray as we tore through the ranks of the monsters. The tribesmen fought with a frantic desperation. There would be no running or regrouping or second chances. Either we prevailed here, or we would be slaughtered to the man. And it was that desperation which gave the bruised and battered men new strength.
The battle quickly turned into a rout as the cannibals fled for their ice skimmers. Catching one of the creatures, I pulled the monster back and thrust my sword through his chest. Kicking the dying creature off, it flailed as I stepped over it in pursuit of the others.
“Don’t let them get away!” Odoacer shouted. “Not a single one!”
The cannibals had been pushed back to their ice skimmers, where they fought a rearguard escape. Most of the vessels were already being boarded by the tribesmen, but I saw a lone skiff begin to pull away. I sprinted towards the ship and jumped aboard just as it was gaining speed. Three cannibals looked to be terrified in my presence, but they still fought for their lives.
As the ice skimmer departed the camp, one of the cannibals stumbled over to face me. A parry and a stroke and the monster tumbled off the skimmer with a large gash across his chest. The cannibal at the rudder spun the ship, causing both me and them to fall against the railing. The tribesmen blade slipped from my hand off the side of the vessel, and I cursed. Its poor quality had made it unwieldy, and it had finally caught up with me.
I unsheathed my broken blade and face down against the two remaining cannibals. The one at the rudder was still desperately trying to get the ship to pick up speed again while the second approached me with an obsidian blade in hand.
We traded strikes, but the cannibal’s blade had more reach. He knew to keep me at a distance while his fellow worked to stabilize the ship. And with my sword as it was, I knew I would have no hope of fighting both of them off. I decided my next best course of action was to hack at the rigging, trying to cripple their escape.
I sliced my broken sword through rope, and the headsail began to flap violently as it lost the wind. The ice skimmer slowed. We were not too far off from the encampment, and if I damaged the sail enough, it would be possible for the others to catch up.
The cannibal roared as it saw what I was doing and rushed me as I sliced through another rope. I raised my blade just in time to catch a strike aimed at my head. But the cannibal had made a mistake. It had closed the distance, and now the advantage was mine.
It tried to step back and thrust with his obsidian weapon, but I instead tackled the creature to the deck. The cannibal tried to slice me at the side with his sword, but the angle was all wrong. The blade bit through my cloak, but could do little else as I raised my own sword high and drove it into his neck.
The last cannibal saw what had happened to his ally, and he quickly abandoned the rudder, reaching for his own sword. I roared with furious anger, wanting to end it here and now. I pushed upwards and sprinted with all my might towards the remaining monster. Just before its fingers reached the hilt, I threw myself forward, and we both tumbled off the struggling skimmer onto the ice below.
My vision was a blur and the world was pain as we both rolled along the ice. In a rush to regain my footing, I pitched over and fell again onto my side. The cannibal was on me quicker than I could blink. Its snapping jaw and wild eyes made it look more like a mouth than a man. I could tell there was no mind left in it any longer. This was a struggle for survival, and it would be fought as such.
The cannibal pinned my sword arm and tried to bite at my face like a vicious animal. With my free arm, I held the creature at bay while it tried to scratch and claw at my eyes. Its strength was formidable, bizarrely many times more than I thought its gaunt body was capable of.
Its grip on my sword arm might as well have been iron, and I was quickly weakening against its furious blows. I attempted to throw the creature off to the side, but it had positioned itself perfectly. In a last ditch effort, I gave up on defense and punched at its face weakly. The creature took hold of my other arm and pinned it as well.
The cannibal roared in triumph as it surged to bite at my neck. It aimed to tear my throat out, and my eyes widened as I realized I could not defend against the strike. I breathed out my last, looking at the stars one final time before pain and death.
Except… that pain and death didn’t arrive. I glanced down, and I saw a sword caught in the cannibal’s mouth. The creature looked up fearfully, leaning back. I saw Odoacer standing above me, covered in blood, as was I.
He gently drew back his sword.
The cannibal looked around, realizing it was the last one left alive. It threw up its hands, and in an awful shriek, shouted “Wai—”
Odoacer lopped off the monster’s head. It landed on the ice and I threw the corpse off to the side. Its blood poured darkly onto the snow, and I panted heavily for several moments, knowing it was at long last over. Victory had been snatched from death yet again, and I was more than exhausted.
The tribesman offered me his hand, and I took it. Surveying the battlefield, I heard cheering and celebrating in the distant encampment. It was the sound of men given a second chance of life. I felt weakness overtake me, and Odoacer grasped my shoulder to keep me from falling.
“I cannot thank you enough,” Odoacer said, tears forming in his eyes. “I thought all was lost, and all I could do was to die a good death.”
I laughed. “Never give up hope, friend. Not even against fearsome odds.”
Sharing in his joy, I suddenly realized that I might take my own advice. Many terrible things had happened on my journey here, but it had not been all awful. I was glad that I was here, and I had saved the lives of these men. I had come to regret a great deal, but standing here, I realized this had been for the good. And I hoped, knowing where I had ended, that I would’ve made the same choices again.
We limped into the encampment, where we sat on one of the tribesmen’s ice skimmers. Most of the men had already gotten to work, throwing the dead bodies of cannibals and all their foul possessions into the fires.
For the fallen, they were placed aside. I did not know the burial rites of the tribesmen, but I hoped they might undo the desecration that had been enacted upon their brethren. Several came forward and wrapped Odoacer and me in thick furs. And while there wasn’t much in the way of food and drink, I was given water and some rationed fish. We laughed and took our rest as warriors did after a brave battle.
A tribesman came forward to report to Odoacer. “We have found the woman. She was bound in one of the tents, but she didn’t seem badly harmed. She requests to speak to you.”
“Bring her forward.” Odoacer waved his hand and then turned to me. “You might find her interesting. She is the one I was talking about earlier, the mad woman from Terminus who paid us to take her to Myz.”
I chuckled, though I had no wish to meet anyone right now. I was so tired I wanted to curl up and sleep for a thousand nights. But I was not about to let Odoacer, who had been through far worse than I, beat me out yet.
The tribesman nodded and went away. A few minutes passed. In the darkness and in the new bustling activity of camp, I saw the silhouette of a woman in the firelight. She was of blond hair and carried a large great sword on her shoulders. I blinked as I thought it was an apparition, a hazy memory manifesting from my delirium. But the woman did not vanish, instead she grew more solid until she stood just a foot away from me.
My mouth was agape, and my breath left me. All I could utter was a single word.
“Berenice.”