12 — Disappearing Corpses

12 — Disappearing Corpses

Ketty, Kefin, and the slaves returned just as we were wrapping up the cooking. The dwarf housewives nearly lost their heads at the offer of my spices for their vegetables. Presumably, these spices were something of a rarity in the Kingdom of Dwarves. I gave a rather rousing cooking sermon afterwards, which Lihzalea sat out since she didn’t have the foggiest idea how to work a kitchen.

“How did it look?” I asked Ketty and Kefin.

“We followed where the monsters were strongest,” Ketty said.

“But there were a lot of them,” Kefin added. “And they don’t disappear like in labyrinths. We couldn’t make it very far.”

It sounded like our only option was to collect the bodies as we proceeded, which would have been easily solved by giving someone a magic bag if slaves were allowed to use them. Which meant the job came down to only one person...me. We couldn’t sit around here forever or something might happen in Rockford without us. But wait, was that really all we could do?

“Were the former slaves any help?”

“Probably would’ve been above ground,” Ketty reported, “but down there they’re a mess.”

“The tunnels are narrow. It makes it hard to coordinate,” Kefin explained. “And movement is difficult.”

“It is what it is, I guess. The former slaves can rest here. Keep this area safe,” I ordered.

By the pitying looks on my companions’ faces, it was obvious that I was not going to get my wish. I should have known better than to assume I’d ever get it my way.

“Hey,” one of the slaves said timidly, “are we gonna be enslaved again?”

“Or are we ant food?” another asked.

“As long as you protect this place, I’ll treat you fairly,” I promised.

“Oh, thank the divines.”

“We’ll win back our freedom today!”

A cheer rose from the other ex-slaves, though I had no real intention of letting loose anyone who still had outstanding crimes to do time for.

After our meal, the team and King Rockwell rested up with a quick nap. The other dwarves were left with orders to take the defense in shifts and get plenty of food themselves. Several hours later, we awoke, and our excursion into the tunnels began.

“Before we go, anyone need nose plugs?” I asked.

My team raised their hands at once, while Rockwell and Lihzalea tilted their heads. They had clearly never encountered Substance X before.

“Well, take them anyway. They’ll purify the air for you.” I passed out the plugs.

“You’re sure I don’t needa go?” Grand asked.

“I need you here so I know the defense is safe,” I said. “The people trust you. Ex-slaves!” I called out. “You’re to obey his orders. Fair warning, Grand, it might start to stink a little.”

“Got it.”

And so we descended into that godforsaken tunnel that I’d hoped I would never have to see again.

“I’m supposed to just hold the light?” asked Lihzalea.

“Just like that,” I replied. “Let us know if you notice anything.”

“Can do.”

Lihzalea stood in the second row of our formation. King Rockwell was at the front with plenty of room to maneuver while Ketty and Kefin sandwiched Lihzalea behind him. Lionel and I took the rear.

“Many monster corpses, but they’re rather small,” Lionel noted.

“They get bigger the deeper we go,” Kefin replied.

“Then we’ll start running into more of ’em,” Ketty added.

“Not to worry,” I said. “I’ll leave Substance X at the forks.”

My two beastfolk companions’ anxiety at the utterance of that word was almost palpable.

“This ‘Substance X,’” Rockwell said. “It’s potent?”

“Does it make monsters weaker or something?” Lihzalea asked.

“All it does is stink,” I stated flatly. “Enough to keep the monsters away. You can have a sip later if you want. It’s good for you...I think. Just don’t waste it or they say you’ll incur the sage’s wrath.”

“That certainly sounds powerful.”

“Then why isn’t it more popular?” Lihzalea wondered.

“Probably because you’ve got to either chug it all or not at all,” I remarked.

“And you choose to...” Rockwell trailed off.

“I can down it, no problem,” I said with a smile.

The other two responded with horrified looks. Leave it to Substance X to forge friendships like nothing else. They were already pale, but hopefully they’d manage when the place actually started stinking.

The farther we pressed, the more corpses we found. I collected them all, summoning them into my bag, while Ketty and Kefin glanced around suspiciously.

“We definitely took out more than this,” Ketty noted.

“Yeah,” agreed Kefin. “There should be more bodies.”

They weren’t the type to engage in idle conversation, so this was serious. There were two possibilities: the bodies had disappeared over time, like in a labyrinth, or the ants were carrying their dead away.

“If they’re making off with the corpses...” I mused aloud, “that means we might come across even stronger monsters soon. I should’ve joined the first trip here.”

“No one could have anticipated this,” Lionel answered comfortingly. “You’re here now, and there’s no shame in that.”

The others agreed and I started feeling a little better. “Thanks. But still, I knew the risk was there from the beginning. All I can do is my best with what we have. Let’s keep going.”

I left the combat to our three frontrunners and focused on gathering bodies. When we approached our first fork, I dropped a barrel of Substance X and stopped the party.

“Hold on,” I said. With a prayer, I dropped the Illusion Staff to the ground. It pointed in the opposite direction from where everyone was about to go. “This is going to sound crazy, but we should go this way.”

Ketty and Kefin exchanged crooked smiles.

“Whatever you say,” Ketty agreed.

“You give the orders,” Kefin added.

I smiled back. “Thanks.”

We proceeded down my chosen path, King Rockwell and Lihzalea shooting me funny looks that I ignored.

A ways down the passage, Rockwell said with perfect timing, “We’ve got company.”

Monsters were waiting in our path. Weak ones, but many of them. We dispatched them with ease, though, and as I was collecting their corpses, I noticed something. The ants seemed perturbed by the missing bodies of their comrades.

“Something’s off about ’em,” Ketty remarked.

“You’re right,” Kefin agreed.

If those two had noticed it, there could be no doubt.

“There are way too many of these things for them to have enough food to sustain themselves,” I said. “Meaning some of them may be cannibalizing each other and getting stronger in the process.”

“Their remains certainly have nowhere else to go,” Lionel concurred. “They don’t disappear as in a labyrinth.”

“We could be in store for some surprises. Stay alert, everyone.”

Farther in, we came across another fork, and I followed the same course of action, placing a barrel of Substance X on the ground and letting the Illusion Staff determine which path to follow.

“The tunnels are getting wider,” Lihzalea noted.

She was right, I noticed. They were.

“And there are more enemies,” Rockwell pointed out as the front guard struck out at more monsters.

“They’ve yet to attack from the rear,” Lionel said, “but we should be prepared for the possibility.”

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

“The subjects protect their king or queen,” he explained. “No such structure exists within a labyrinth, but monsters are sometimes known to follow a similar culture.”

“Where did you hear that?”

“Guildmasters Goldhus and Jeiyas.”

When had he found the time to do research? Regardless, at least he hadn’t been idle during our time in Yenice. I found it impressive that he’d earned the dragonewt brothers’ respect.

“I’ll take that gem,” I said, moving to collect the slain monster’s corpse just as the rest of the ants set their sights on me. There were few left, though, thanks to the three at the front taking the brunt of the attack. I changed the Illusion Staff to sword form. “I can handle one or two of you.”

I sliced the approaching monsters with ease. Another lunged at me from my blind spot only to be pierced by a spear from behind.

“Did the Whirlwind not warn you about arrogance?” Lionel asked pointedly.

“I knew you had my back,” I replied coolly. “I only freaked out a little.”

It was true that I had gotten full of myself before, complacent in the knowledge that I could be as reckless as I wanted and rid myself of the consequences with a single spell, but I genuinely trusted Lionel to cover me. Admittedly, he did have a point, though.

“I thought your goal was to die from naught but old age,” Lionel said.

“It is. You’re doing great helping me with that, by the way.”

“Much obliged.”

We shared a friendly chuckle. Lihzalea was quivering in front of us.

“Hey,” I said to her, “if you’re scared, you can come back—”

“I...” she interrupted, mumbling. “I love this vibe you’ve got going! The bonds between men. Master and servant. Oh my gosh, it’s so cute!” she babbled, her voice very much not shaking with fear, but with passion. “You two tell me if you need anything. I’ll be your sword any day of the week.”

She continued her simple light-shining job with more enthusiasm than I thought possible. She did swing that greatsword and cut down ants with more skill than I’d given her credit for, but after that, I chose to press on with the excursion, pretending like she didn’t exist.

Two more forks later, we came to a clearing. There, we found even more ants, only larger and bipedal. They were eating the corpse of one of their fallen kin.

“An evolved form?” I wondered.

“There’s a lot of ’em,” Ketty noted.

“I can’t tell how strong these are,” Kefin said. “Could be trouble.”

The bipedal ants had grown to about the size of goblins, but I couldn’t sense any other danger from them.

“Lionel,” I called, handing over his flame greatsword, “take care of them. Ketty, watch his back. Kefin, stay with me while I gather corpses. I want King Rockwell with Lihzalea.”

“You do know I can fight,” Rockwell argued.

“I know, but I don’t think this will take long. Let us handle it.”

The king reluctantly agreed.