by Adam Drake
Suddenly, thick arterial-blood gushed into my mouth and down my throat. My only reaction was to bite harder. I shook my head back and forth as he'd done with my ear.
Founts of blood geysered from the ragged wound and from around my lips as I made it bigger, exposing bone.
I felt the pounding of his rapidly beating heart which caused more hot streams of blood to shoot forth. Pulling back my clenched teeth, I tore away a wet hunk of flesh.
With a final gasp, he went limp beneath me, his arms and legs still twitching at his sides.
Sensing it was over, I pushed away from his body and over onto my back, coughing up blood and bits of burned man. What had I just done?
Suddenly, I realized there was still Shorty #1 to deal with. I pushed myself up to a sitting position and looked around, ready for another fight.
But the last burned man was gone. Only the Blood Priest remained, standing several paces away and looking like he hadn't moved a muscle throughout the entire fight.
“Where'd he go?”
Chak motioned at the entryway they'd come in. “Back through there.”
I boggled at this statement. “And you let him escape?” Every inch of my body screamed with pain, and I couldn't feel my left arm or the side of my face anymore.
He shrugged, as if to say it wasn't his job. “I'm only a priest. You're the Berserker.”
Incredulous, I barked a laugh, but only managed to launch into a coughing fit, hacking more blood up. Horrified, I spit and gagged as much out as I could. What if he had any diseases?
Chak knelt before me, his expression one of satisfaction. “You did well. Very well. You will make a good berserker. I shall heal you.” He reached forward.
When I realized what he was reaching for, I batted his arm away with my good hand. He blinked at me in surprise.
I glared at him. “Not like that. Never again.”
He stared, thinking. Then he nodded once. This time when he reached out, he placed his hand on my shoulder.
Chak has healed you for 5 Health Points.
Chak has healed you for 5 Health Points.
As he healed me, he said, “This little encounter has granted us an opportunity for you to learn something new.”
“How to fight for my life?” I felt the weird sensation of my elbow clicking back together, becoming whole. An equally weird sensation on the side of my head made me check it with a hand. My ear was back, like it'd never been ripped off at all.
“No,” Chak said. “Something very important.” Finished, he stood back, giving me room to get to my feet.
“What? Fighting for my life isn't important?” I felt great. Like I'd never even suffered a scratch, let alone a near-death experience. His healing was almost like a drug.
Chak nodded. “Yes, but what's important is what you fight with. Not every fight grants you the chance to slay an opponent with just your teeth. Weapons are what you will really fight with.”
“I thought I was the weapon?” I felt a little cocky after that fight. Three burned goofballs against one interstellar surveyor used to decades of a comfortable sleeping pods and gourmet coffee. How couldn't I be cocky?
He pointed at the two clubs on the ground, both partially submerged in puddles of blood. “Take those. We have to make this quick before we move on.” He glanced around the clearing, as if searching.
I took the clubs, shaking each one off as best I could. They were coated in blood.
“Ah, there's one,” Chak said and moved to a shallow recess between the stones. A bulbous glob of black rock spilled out from a fissure, former a large lump about waist high. Its top surface was perfectly flat.
Chak wiped a thick layer of dust away from the top, revealing gleaming facets.
I recognized what it was. “Obsidian?”
“Yes, obsidian, but more specifically, a crafting table. Place one of the clubs on it. Hurry now.”
I put a club on the table-like surface, the bone clinking against the obsidian.
Suddenly, an information screen floated above it.
Simple Bone Club
Schematic Unknown
Learn Schematic for 50 Blood Points – Yes/No?
Introduced to yet more information to learn, I glanced at Chak.
The Blood Priest scowled. “Say yes, you stupid wench! What do you think we're standing here for?”
I flinched at the sudden outburst. Talk about a hot and cold personality.
“Yes,” I said, resisting the urge to Bash the fat man right in the gut.
The club quickly dissolved into the table and vanished. Another message appeared.
Simple Bone Club Schematic learned.
Simple Bone Club:
3 units of Bone
100 Blood Points
Chak nodded, obviously satisfied. “Now you know the materials required to make this anytime in the future, although it is a dung weapon.”
I stared at the requirements, concerned. “And where do I get these units of Bone?”
Chak pointed at the two corpses of the burned men sprawled on the ground.
I was afraid of that.
The Blood Priest squatted next to the short one, eyes scanning over every detail. Frowning, he snorted. “No. No good.”
He went over to the tall one and did the same. This time his piggish eyes brightened. “Ah, here we are. Usable bone. Come closer, woman.”
Not liking where this was going, but with little choice, I crouched down on the other side of the Tall One's body. His head was completely caved in at the side, his dead eyes staring up at the clouds.
“Now, look at him,” Chak said.
“I am,” I said, looking up and down his corpse. “He looks dead to me.”
The scowl returned, but Chak made a visible effort to get his temper under control. Through clenched teeth, he said, “No, stupid girl. Look at him.”
With a furtive glance at the staff in his hand, I did as asked, looking the body over, but more slowly.
Within seconds a glowing outline of the thigh bone appeared within the right leg. So did the lower bone of the left arm. It was like I stared directly through the body like a medical hologram.
“Huh,” I said, I little surprised.
“Ah, you see the salvageable materials of their corpses,” Chak said. “This is how you get what you need for all craftable items.”
“But how do I actually get them out?” I asked, fearing the answer. Was I expected to hack the limbs of and tear out the bones? Could I even stomach that?
Chak laughed at my squeamishness. “Place both hands on the leg.”
Laying the club at my side, I did as he said. I could see the glowing blue outline of the thigh bone floating within the flesh. The Burned Man's charred skin itched against my grip.
Another message, this one above my hands.
Salvage 2 units of Bone – Cost: 10 Blood Points – Yes/No?
“Yes,” I said, uncertain what would happen next.
Amazingly, the man's entire leg simply vanished, leaving a ragged stump at his hip. In my hands was a heavy thigh-bone.
I didn't know whether to be impressed or to throw up.
“Good,” Chak said. “Now do the same with the arm.”
Keeping my thoughts to myself, I moved to the arm and repeated the process. The arm completely vanished, leaving a stump at the shoulder. I held the arm bone in my hands, and its information screen said it was 1 unit.
Chak stood, grunting with the effort. “Put them on the table and craft the club.”
I carried both bones over and placed them on the obsidian's flat top.
Simple Bone Club
Requirements:
Units of Bone: 3/3
Craft this item for 100 Blood Points – Yes/No?
I said yes and the two bones dissolved into the obsidian. A moment later, a Simple Bone Club emerged where they'd been.
I picked it up. It was exactly the same as the one I'd been using.
Chak said, “This is how you will recover any l
ost items, whether dropped or lost after death. As long as you are willing to sacrifice the first item for its schematic, you can make it again and again as long as you have the materials.”
I nodded. It was straight forward enough. I wondered what other things I would be able to make.
A hiss from somewhere nearby made Chak visibly blanch. “Hurry, they're coming. Best we move on from here.”
I followed him out of the clearing through the entry way the trio had arrived from.
“Who's coming?” I said, apprehensive.
“Skaggs,” Chak said. “Let us go. School time is over. Time to finally earn your place in the service of the Blood God.”
I was about to ask what he meant when I heard hissing and the snapping of jaws behind me. Through the entry of the clearing, I caught a glimpse of something large and scaly.
What kind of a messed up place had I fallen into?
Knowing I wasn't going to get an answer right at that moment, and with a club in each hand, I hurried after the Blood Priest.
Could things get anymore bewildering?
Turns out, they would.
CHAPTER SEVEN
We followed the new path away from the clearing. Based on the high cliff walls on either side, it appeared we were moving down the length of the chasm. There were two new bright red lava falls in the distance, this time on the opposite wall.
Chak noticed them, too. “His influence grows stronger here. I should of suspected this would happen.”
“Who?” I said.
“The Molten God, fool bitch!” he snapped.
For the briefest of moments, I nearly clubbed him over the head. “Don't call me that.”
He glared at me, panting as he waddled along. “What? Bitch? Well, you are one. At least until you can prove your worth to the Blood God.”
I kept my mouth shut. Not something I would do under normal circumstances. If anyone dared to refer to me in such a way I'd tear a strip out of them. In fact, I couldn't remember anyone ever calling me a bitch to my face. Besides, I wasn't one. Not even close. Interstellar surveyors were a patient, almost gentle, kind of ilk and I'd been one for years.
Of course, all that went out the window once I'd brained that burned man with the rock. But that was all a part of the circumstances I found myself in.
And what of the others? Caddie? Pullman? Were they still on the Corena? Could they also be trapped in this blood-soaked insanity?
And what of a rescue? It was a faint hope, and I knew it. We were far from the nearest system with a station. Even if the Corena had the means to send a Trans-light message drone back, it would take months to arrive. Then a rescue team would take months to get here. But what would happen to them? Would they be attacked by the planet, too?
Interstellar Surveying was the great Hail-Mary of occupations. You knew you'd be thrown far, far away from anything resembling human civilization without any real hope of aid should a crisis arise. And that's what I gladly signed up for. The pay was incredible. And the perks? Space travel, baby. Seeing brand new worlds and systems no human had laid eyes on. Relative independence. The higher-ups at corporate knew they couldn't micromanage crews who were light years away, so they gave us free reign to do as we saw fit. Within corporate guidelines, of course.
But they did have a means to keep tabs on their various crews aboard their incredibly expensive starships. Their Artificial Intelligences acted as defacto advisors on behalf of the corporations. The AI on each ship could never actually tell, or command a human crew what to do. That was against a myriad of AI laws which have been around for over a century. But they could suggest things and usually they got their way.
But what of Corena's AI? Otto? Was he still around?
Chak noticed me lost in thought. He snapped his fingers in my face. “Pay attention, foolish woman. Danger is everywhere.”
I blinked in annoyance, but said nothing. I didn't want to get into an argument at that moment.
Chak glanced at the club in my left hand and stopped. “What are you doing with that?”
“Huh?” I said, genuinely confused. “I made this because you told me to.”
“No, idiot. It's essentially useless to you right now. Drop it.”
I furrowed my brow at him. “I went through a lot to make this damned thing. I'm going to keep it. Besides, two clubs are better than one, right?” I took a few practice swings with each, although the left did feel a little off. Was it the weight?
He rolled his eyes in frustration. “It is useless to you because you do not possess the Dual-Wield ability. Look at it.”
I did.
Damage: 0 (Non-Dual-Wield penalty)
“What? It doesn't do any damage?” I said, annoyed. Was it broken?
“Until you gain Dual-Wield, any weapon used in your opposite hand will be completely useless. That's why I said to drop it.”
“Isn't that a waste?” I said. “Why make it in the first place?”
“Bah!” Chak spat. He looked around, then spotted something. “There you are. Bring your cherished club over here.”
I followed him over to a strange looking stone mound. It appeared as if it had been twisted into a form of a flower bud.
Chak waved a hand at the twist of stone. “Will it open.”
“Huh?”
“Just think about the stone opening for you.”
Okay. I did, and to my surprise, the folds of twisted rock actually unfurled outward, like an orifice. Within was a smooth shallow cavity.
“Put the club inside,” Chak said.
With a shrug, I dropped the club into the cavity where it clanked loudly at the bottom.
“Close it,” the priest said.
Without needing to be told, I willed the stone to shut. The twisted folds curled inward, grinding and popping. It sealed shut, looking as it did before.
“What was that all about?” I said.
“This is an inventory stone. You can find them everywhere. Placing items you don't need, or can't carry inside will keep them safe. And through the magic of the gods, if you find an inventory stone a hundred leagues from here, and open it, that club will be inside. As will anything else you put in.”
Okay, that was a little impressive, I hated to admit. A global storage system. Kind of made sense considering I could only carry so much in two hands.
Not waiting to see if I had any questions, Chak marched off and I hurried after him.
Soon, the piles of stones funneling us along began to spread out, revealing narrow junctions and potential pathways. Chak ignored them all, his focus straight ahead.
I tried to see what was beyond the stone piles and caught glances of strange rock formations. Some were jagged, while others had long spikes that sprouted in every direction. They were all different shapes and sizes, but it was clear attempting to maneuver through them would be tricky. One misstep and you could be impaled or sliced open.
Not once did I see any vegetation, or anything like trees. In fact, since my arrival, I hadn't seen anything green. Just the dull grey of the rocks or the red of blood. It made me miss the sterile whites of the Corena's interior.
This sim needed a better color palette, I thought.
My eyes snagged on the little message list at the corner of my vision. I'd missed one during the fight with the trio.
You have learned a new skill: Clubs.
Advancement in this skill will grant bonus weapon damage with every 5% increment.
I looked under my skill list, and sure enough, it was there: Clubs 1%
I'd used my club for the first time during that fight which probably instigated the learning of the skill.
“Ah! We're here!” Chak said, eyes wide with excitement, yanking me out of my thoughts.
The stone piles ahead became more dispersed allowing me to see some kind of wide, flat hill beyond. It had an odd yellowish hue.
“Careful,” Chak said, raising his hand for me to slow down. “We may not be the only ones here.”
&n
bsp; I didn't even know where here was, but I hefted my club and peered around as we walked forward.
We reached the edge of the strange hill which covered a large open area. Bizarre rock piles of deadly looking formations created a natural perimeter.
On closer inspection, it wasn't much of a hill at all, but a low mound, maybe twice my height. The yellowish material was of globular shape, like melted glass, forming cascading waves from the top.
Chak bent down and snapped a nodule of the substance that protruded out. He examined it closely, grinning happily.
“What is that stuff?” I said.
The Blood Priest suddenly licked the piece of yellow crap. “Ah!” he said, as if tasting something wonderfully sweet.
I asked him again and he said, “Excretion.”
I felt my stomach lurch. “Excretion?” I looked at the huge pile of it. “What could excrete all this?”
Chak didn't answer. Instead, he stepped onto the material, testing it with his weight. “This is old. Very old. Come.” He waddled up the mound.
Carefully, I placed a bare foot onto the stuff. It felt like hard plastic. I shrugged and followed him up.
Reaching the top gave a much better view of the surrounding area, but any territory beyond the perimeter formations were lost in the natural darkness the clouds above created.
The very top formed a round peak like the top of some mutated dessert. I was expecting to see a giant deep hole and was happy not to find one.
Chak looked the entire area over and grinned. “This is good. Now we can begin phase two.”
“And that is?” I asked, not expecting him to answer.
“We dig!” he said, tapping his staff on the mound.
I looked down at the yellow crap beneath me. “Dig? Dig for what?”
Chak ignored my question. “First, you will need help. You doing it alone will take far too long, and your talents will be better served with other tasks.”
I was not surprised he didn't include himself in the digging. “Tasks?” I was getting tired of always asking questions. Especially when he was selective on which he answered.
He turned to me and said, “I am going to give you a pair of quests. Each one will help us in completing this phase. After, we will-.”
A shout cut him off.
