After the vawykins roused them up and took Mau to work, X felt slightly better and decided to tour the ruins now housing them. He exited what seemed to be the reception room and entered another chamber, its ceiling long gone. Pulsating spheres covered in purple goo clung to the walls in here as well, while the center table and cracked chairs were obscured by cobwebs. Thick, aged vines emerged from the gaps between the marbled floor. Some rooms on the opposite side of the building fared better, with a couple of them still retaining weathered wooden ceilings.
The purple growth crept into every corner of the ruins, and some walls offered no safe space to rest a hand. X observed the vawykins tending to the purple growth. In fact, it was all he saw them do. As he moved upstairs, what remained of the wooden floors creaked with every step, and he had to watch out for hidden holes beneath vines and plants. The condition of the rooms on this floor was worse than those on the lower level. Much like the first floor, no space was left unspoiled by the purple growth.
During his exploration, X accidentally brushed against the purple goo. Although he found it viscous and nauseating, he realized that it posed no immediate danger. Continuing past some vawykins who toiled at their farming tasks, he was addressed by them in a language he couldn’t decipher. Ignoring their words, he continued his stroll through the ancient ruins.
He encountered Mau in what long ago served as the main bedroom. The gnome focused his energies on gathering garbage and hurling it through a window, sending it cascading down into the chasm behind the building. His punishment involved the task of cleaning up the ruins. X gazed out of the window, his eyes drawn to the expanse below.
Before him stretched a fissure in the earth, vast in magnitude. It was as wide as a skyscraper and held a depth he couldn’t ascertain from up there. His eyes got lost in the bottom of this fissure, where light lost its way and its bottom lay forever out of its reach. On the opposite side of this geological formation, a valley and hills extended boundlessly into the distant embrace of the horizons’ mountains.
X put a finger over some of the purple growth, sticking the mere tip in it. “What the devil is this anyway?”
“Food,” replied Mau.
“Your kind of food?”
“Hell no! Do I look that desperate? It’s vawykin’s food. For their larvae,” replied the gnome.
The redheaded elf tilted his head. Beneath the layers of viscous goo, he caught the sight of a pulsating sphere. Something moved within it. “Holy...”
“Yeah, those parasites are really something, if not revolting. Be careful around those,” said Mau.
“I definitely will.” X shivered as goosebumps prickled all over his body.
“Especially when they’re about to hatch. You don’t want one of those things taking root in you.”
“Staying near these things doesn’t sound like a sane idea,” spoke X.
“Their hatching period is well known among vawykins, don’t worry. These won’t hatch prematurely. And when they do come out, we’ll know.”
X worries weren’t eased, but they had no other option for the time being.
“And what’s that foul smell lingering in the ruins?” inquired X. “I thought it might be coming from this purple growth, but it doesn’t smell.”
“Ah, that fine scent comes from this.” Mau held up a gray mass with both hands.
“Ugh, yeah, that.”
“Vawykin stool.”
“And you’re picking it up?”
“Well... it’s part of my punishment. After a while, you don’t even notice the smell. They’re making me gather it to feed the klikules... the parasites. They feed their shit to the klikules, and then feed those fattened klikules to their babies. I don’t ask, I don’t tell. They do seem happy with this arrangement. Although, I did tell them once that they should change their diet because maybe that’s why they were all ugly and deformed,” explained Mau.
“I gather that went well with them.”
“Eh... I think that’s when communications began to break down.” Mau continued sifting through the garbage, separating the dung from other objects. “There’s no helping dregs, at least not in the looks department.”
“The more I know about them, the more I think in all departments.”
“And you’re not wrong.”
“So... are we in the Dregadas? asked the redheaded elf.
“What? This place? This is paradise compared to the Dregadas. We’re way off from there, and we should be thankful for that,” said Mau as he picked up a splendid piece of dung. “These vawykins— dregs, they’ve simply lost their way.”
X gazed at the sky through a large hole in the partially collapsed wall of the main bedroom. Dark clouds gathered around the ruins and thunder rumbled in the distance. Before long, rain began to fall, transforming the ruins into their natural wet sate. The redheaded elf retraced his steps to the first floor and sought refuge in one of the best-preserved rooms towards the back. Despite the intense rain turning into a deluge, his chosen sanctuary remained dry. Occasionally, he noticed vawykins passing by, and some of them entered his room to attend to the klikules within.
[Why didn’t you take his advice”]
The mirage loomed near the entrance.
“Eh?”
[Take over these simple-minded beings.]
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? To see me fail.”
[You’ve got me wrong. I’d like for you to do something for someone else for a change.]
“And I did! Giving people what they wanted. Oh, and they wanted tons of it.”
[Sure, you did, along with lead. A bullet to the head is in high I demand last I heard— wrong. These days it’s magic scrolls.]
“You saw me, huh?” X smiled. “I’m still learning, give me a few more tries and I’ll perfect my aim.”
[You’ll never learn]
“You still going on with this? I already know what I have to do to feel blood coursing through my veins. For I’m too, a simple-minded being. And that’s all I want out of this life.”
[Then keep being simple-minded. In your own little mind-prison, you dim-witted...]
X left the voice in his head to parrot on incessantly without giving it any further attention. After stretching, he nestled into the driest corner of the room. The rain persisted, with a couple of leaks intermittently disturbing his rest. By nightfall, the rain had dwindled to a drizzle. It was during this time that Mau stumbled upon the half-asleep elf.
“Ekk’s...” The gnome poked his shoulder. “Ekk’s, are you there?”
“Ah.... Mau? Did you finish your duties already?” The elf felt his head heavier and hotter than when he had dozed off.
“Not at all. I’m dead tired. They can eat me if they want. I’m fucking sleeping.” Mau seated himself beside the elf.
“I did have a question I forgot to ask you two earlier. Who was the one with long ears, like mine but older and darker?” questioned X.
“The dark elves? Your cousins or something. You do know this, right?”
“Of course.”
“And the old one was the Seeress, you know, respected. But damn, I didn’t think you’d threaten her. You were going to veer the shot, weren’t you?”
“No. I wasn’t,” replied the redheaded elf.
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“Good thing they complied then, or we might have sparked a fucking war.”
“And... why did the red beast...”
“K’bula?” inquired Mau.
“Yeah. Why did K’bula want her, if she is so revered?”
“Most likely to see his and his gang’s future.”
“Mhmm...” X harbored skepticism regarding the Seeress’ ability to foresee the future, at least until he had witnessed it himself.
A starry night enveloped them, while a cool breeze seeped through every crack in the walls, carrying away their tiredness.
The next morning, Mau rose early to resume his punishment, while X felt increasingly worse. Despite this, the elf managed to explore more of the ruins, eventually succumbing to fatigue, discomfort, and a pounding headache by midday.
As the day progressed, the pain in his shoulder intensified, compelling him to spend most of his time lying down. His wound emitted an unpleasant odor, and X knew he wouldn’t last like this much longer. Come evening, Mau and X engaged in a brief conversation about their new surroundings and accommodations. The gnome informed him that they had left the human-elf border behind and had entered feralis territory—a small region that acted as a buffer between the Dregadas and civilization. This area was dotted with feralis villages and contained two major feralis settlements: Guerlin and Balibi. Further to the northeast, a four-day journey away, lay Fildereal, the nearest elven city.
Battling through pain and exhaustion, they drifted into sleep.
The following morning, X found himself devoid of the strength to stand up. His fever had surged, and pain coursed through his entire body.
By midday, Nila and Khratzika returned.
“Fucking dogs!” exclaimed Nila.
“Dogoons?” asked Mau.
“We wished. But no. Real wild dogs! Chased us halfway here.” Nila carried a bag filled with supplies while Khratzika carried the rest inside her hunch, snug between her exoskeleton and her back.
“Tell me you brought some good stuff to drink and to eat. These dumb asses are working me to the bone.” Mau leaned his back against the wall, sweating prideless drops of hard work.
“Here, take these.” Nila handed him a decent chunk of dried meat and a water jug. She then presented X with a blue potion. “Drink it. I don’t even need to ask you. You look like shit.”
“Not at all.” X accepted the cerulean beverage Nila had uncorked for him. “Are you sure... this will work?” he asked.
“I’m starting to believe your backwards-ass story about those cocksucking gods and how you ended up here,” spoke Nila.
X grinned. “You’re darn right they are.” He drank it all in one go. A sour taste invaded his mouth.
“And here’s the most important thing for you.” Nila produced a parchment. “A Healing scroll. Now, those diminished-skull fucks don’t have the best magic around, but at least I got this low level one. It’ll do.”
“You sure?”
“Oh, we’re sure, Ekk’s. We’ve used plenty of these before. Leave it to Nila, she’ll patch you up nicely,” said Mau, reinvigorated by the tasty food.
“But first, we need to remove this...” Nila stood before X’s shoulder and unwrapped his bandages. She brought the Healing scroll closer to his shoulder. “This might sting,” Nila warned him before chanting the necessary incantations. The scroll glowed, and then she pressed it onto his wound.
Heat radiated from his shoulder, as if minuscule needle-like branches of magic were penetrating his skin, dozens of them burying themselves into his muscles, veins, cells, and blood. Instead of pain, wonder played across his face. Magic healed not only the exterior but also reached deep within.
“It’ll leave a mark, but what can we expect from feralis magic.” Nila handed him a piece of dried meat. “Eat. You need to regain your strength.”
Nila and Khratzika finished unloading the supplies.
“How did the rest go?” inquired X.
“Better than I expected. Your idea worked. Of course, with my natural charm, everything does,” replied Nila.
“Yeah, whatever. Did you get my fucking dusts?” interjected Mau.
“Have a go at them.” Nila tossed two bags at Mau’s feet, who opened and rummaged them.
“Only shitty Glycan dusts?!” complained the male gnome.
“And you’d better thank me I could get those. It’s a feralis town. The hell did you expect?” retorted Nila.
X began to feel better.
Too fast for any of this not to be the work of demons.
Most of the supplies consisted of food, beverages, clothing, dusts, and empty shells.
“I traded a small piece of the scroll for all these,” explained Nila.
“Not bad,” remarked X.
“Fucking great, I say,” Mau’s spirits returned to him.
Khratzika lay down beside X. Her exoskeleton injury had been patched. “Tired,” she uttered.
“Rest then. You did well.” X petted her head, and she rolled up into a sphere.
The gnomes settled around him.
“What now?” questioned Mau. “I don’t plan on cleaning shit for much longer. Kill me first.”
“You thought of something?” added Nila.
“Right now we are just surviving, but as I’ve told you, we’re going into the big leagues. With a boom! So, yes, I did.” X confidently addressed both gnomes.
“Fuck yeah!” exclaimed Mau.
“Let’s tear those sub-races a new asshole!” added Nila.
“And we’ll do it. In time. But first, I need your help with something,” said X with a grin.
*
Nila and Mau found themselves gathering vawykin dung in sacks X took from the cellar. While X spoke with this nest’s queen, trying to convince her, both gnomes toiled away.
“What the fuck are we putting this foul shit in these sacks for?! Holy hell!” complained Nila.
“Bitches... all the same. Will it kill you to do one day’s honest work for once?” spoke Mau.
A clump of stool flew in Mau’s direction.
“Fuck you! Maybe you’ve grown used to clean this shit after doing it for days, but some of us still represent the best of gnomehood!” shouted Nila.
Another clump of stool landed near him.
Somehow, they managed to load all twenty sacks with excrement, punctured holes in them, and hung them in neat rows within the largest room on the second floor.
“Looks good,” X had returned.
“How was the queen? Receptive?” inquired Mau.
“She will be," replied the redheaded elf.
“Okay... now what?” inquired Nila.
“We bring the purple goo along with the parasites and put them over the sacks,” X gestured to the substance on the walls.
“What?!” Nila’s face displayed shock and disgust in equal measure.
“They might not hold,” Mau remained skeptical.
“Or they might. We won’t know until we try,” said X.
“If they don’t, the vawykins won’t be too happy about their shit and klikules languishing in the open like this,” reasoned Mau.
“Don’t overthink it,” X didn’t see the risks as high.
“Do what you two demented motherfuckers want, but handling this crap was my limit! I’m not touching that purple shit!” Nila emphatically drew a line where her limits to this madness ended and went fuming downstairs.
“Her loss.” X held one of those sticky spheres in his hands, watching the parasite inside contort.
Mau grabbed another slimy sphere. “Why are we doing this again?”
“Freaking health hazard. I don’t want to see this anywhere near us,” replied X.
They walked towards the hanging sacks of excrement, their hands spilling purple goo. A vigilant vawykin spotted them and immediately alerted the nest. A chorus of clicking and clacking noises ensued as the vawykins encircled them, concerned about their precious parasites were being moved by non-vawykins. Before long, the queen arrived, accompanied by her royal retinue.
“What doing!?” the queen demanded answers.
“Your fucking work!” retorted Mau.
“You not speak! Gnome!” the queen’s lieutenant clacked his sharp claws near Mau.
“Let’s calm down. Look, you cannot have these...” X trailed off.
“Klikules,” Mau remined X.
“Yes, you can’t have klikules growing wherever you see some free space in these ruins. Apart from being disgusting and dangerous, it’s not efficient,” spoke the redheaded elf.
“What you telling?” the queen failed to understand the pale elf’s words.
“Killing baby food!” yelled a vawykyn soldier. A new row of insults and demands increased in volume as they menacingly hit their claws against each other, surrounding them in numbers.
“Wait, vawykins!” X exclaimed before swiftly finishing unloading the precious cargo in their hands onto one of the sacks of dung. He signaled Mau to do the same. The room fell silent as every being present became enthralled by the unfolding scene. The klikules adhered to the sacks, but the parasites remained motionless.
“Parasites dead!” shouted the congregation of vawykins. “Baby food waste!”
Before the queen could issue any commands, both parasite spheres began emitting a soft light. Initially, a faint chirr escaped the purple foulness, followed by a gentle bluish glow that gradually intensified into a vibrant magenta radiance. From within, purple goo oozed out, descending in slow, deliberate drops. And thus, the cycle of foulness continued.
The vawyking wowed in unison.
“More bring!” commanded their queen.
The vawykins worked tirelessly bringing every klikul and sticking them to the sacks. Each klikul, after adhering to the sacks of dung for several seconds, emitted a chirring noise, glowed, and excreted more vileness from its insides. Every little vawykin celebrated this event with loud clicks and clacks, raising their arms and swaying their hips in an undulating rhythm. The klikules had taken a liking to their new substrate and cheerfully demonstrated it, promising increased production for the vawykins’ hungry babies, as they later explained. Everyone returned happily to their duties. To commemorate this joyful event, the queen invited the newcomers to a ritual session.