Chapter 43 - Glimpse

The animals were led in one at a time. A pair of ropes had been slung across the stone slab and once the beast was in position it was hoisted off the ground slightly. They must have drugged the animals, slipped something in their feed, because the aurox were extremely docile. Once it was in position I slit the poor bastard's throat, we waited for the blood to drain and it to stop moving then a noose was thrown over its head. The ropes lowered it to the ground and a pair of ponies dragged the body away.

I repeated this gruesome slaughter every few minutes for twelve straight hours. We only got through a hundred of the damn things due to the time needed to bleed them out and drag away the carcass. Still, I was six hundred Souls up but my right arm hung at my side like a lead weight.

“Kril are we done for the day? I asked as he came back into the killing shed to bring me some food and water.

“Not even close! Wash up boy, and get some food. I’ll get torches going and we’ll get another fifty or so through before we stop for the night.” I sighed and went to dunk my upper body in a barrel of water, scrubbing the blood off my arms and face then rubbing myself dry on some cloth left there for the purpose.

When I staggered into the yurt Hatrikhan had set aside for me in the camp, having fought my way through a throng of warriors wanting to touch the bloody tattoo, I was in a foul mood. I’d resisted the almost overwhelming urge to snap at the nomads as they crowded around me by the thinnest of margins and as soon as my tent flap closed I sagged, staggered over to my bed and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

Kril woke me before sunrise and dragged me grumbling outside. I was given a quick bowl of stew and led back to the shed. I imagine I felt worse than the animals already being led my way. They were doped up and soon all their problems would be in the past. I did appreciate the ant-like efficiency of the tribe as they stripped the beasts down for parts. It was very professional.

Teams carefully skinned the bodies, passing the intact hides to others who stretched them out on wooden contraptions that looked like mediaeval torture devices. Then the skinners cut fat away and sent it to huge pots boiling away over long trench fires for rendering. The meat was sliced into chunks for smoking and salting. The entire community was working with an incredible dedication and unity to process the animals as quickly as possible.

Eighteen hours later I collapsed back into my bed furs and curled up around my aching right arm. Just over two thousand Souls, allowing for the ones I’d been holding in reserve before. I spent five hundred and fifty Souls to level up to fifty, which still left me a massive one thousand, five hundred and ninety four Souls. I had twenty stat points to spend and I intended to make the most of them.

Level 50

Primary Stats: Body: D+ Mind: D+ Soul: D

Available Souls: 1594

Secondary Stats

Physical strength: 30 Reflexes: 20 Health: 200

Magic strength: 20 Focus: 20 Mana: 330

Unlocked: Aresk’s Boon: Carrion Feeders Gaze.

I boosted Focus up to twenty then put ten into Physical Strength and the last three into Mana. I was admiring my new stats and the slight relief from the pain in my arm that the jump in strength had granted me as the world faded to black and I fell into a god-dream.

The pain was gone and I was once again wearing my coveralls from the workshop back on Earth. After months of woollen tunics, shorts and loincloths, my old clothes felt uncomfortable and restrictive.

“They’re not made from wool, Ray. They’re made from felt. How many sheep have you seen in the herds?” boomed a voice I knew only too well. “Perhaps this time we should be a little more civilised?” My clothes vanished, instantly replaced by the now familiar nomad garb and I glanced up as the giant bronze statue shrank down until it was a mere eight feet tall. The god extended his right arm in the same way the warriors offered an arm clasp. I accepted the offer and felt my bones creak as the god gripped me. After a second the pressure was gone and I looked around. The plaza was identical to last time.

“Perhaps we should sit?” said Aresk and a metal throne made of shields and swords appeared behind him. He sat down, completely ignoring the sharp edges that rang against his bronze body. I found a much more modest, and less spiky, chair had materialised behind me. Glancing towards Aresk I saw the giant was smiling at me so I sat down carefully, not fully trusting the magically summoned seat.

“I’d be grateful if you’d start saying my name when you kill the aurox, Raymond. It’s a missed opportunity to earn my favour,” Aresk complained lightly.

“Do I have to?” I asked.

“Not at all but it is to your own advantage. The offerings of a champion are worth much more to us gods than those of mere mortals. It would allow me to help you more.”

“I’ll think about it. Why am I back here?” I asked, careful to keep my tone respectful.

“I wanted to ask you what you’d like for your boon! Surely you didn’t think I’d stiff you on that promise?” he blared out like a foghorn. I honestly hadn’t expected much.

“Carrion Feeders Gaze doesn’t sound terribly exciting. Can I see through scavengers' eyes or something?” I asked.

“Nothing so humdrum. Well it kind of is but I’m so pleased with you, my dear little Genghis-to-be, that I thought I’d bump up the reward a little. You can only see through a single beasts’ eyes but if I make the beast for you it will far surpass anything that occurs naturally! What kind of God-beast would you like?” he said and a column of bronze rose up next to him. Metallic outlines of various species of animals and birds flickered across the flat top.

“I can pick an animal and I can see out of its eyes?” I clarified. This could be quite an advantage.

“Of course! Perhaps a mighty bear in honour of your first kill? Or a wolf to replace poor Wilson?” I scowled as he mentioned the wolf’s name. “Perhaps not. A rat, small enough to scurry through cities and tents unnoticed, to serve as your eyes and ears? I don’t think you’re a rat kind of guy if I'm honest.”

I thought furiously. Remote vision and hearing would be incredibly useful as my new tribe began to operate independently. We’d be going up against the Koprigyn soon, an entire clan of cannibal nomads and we’d be less than half the strength of Areskit.

“How much stronger than the regular animals would they be?” I asked.

“As much stronger compared to a vile variant as those are over normal beasts. It won’t be unkillable but with your fondness of the Life tree I can see you making the beast a terror to rival an Ur-Vile!” He chuckled to himself. I wasn’t laughing, I was trying to work out the best option.

I had an entire tribe of nomads, or half of one anyway, that could be Enhanced by magic to be truly formidable. Assuming I ever got round to spending some more Souls on my magic that was. I ruled out large carnivores like a bear.

“What will it eat?” I asked Aresk and he smiled down at me.

“Always thinking ahead! Whatever the normal animal would eat of course but they might be hungrier than the average beast. They will be carrion feeders, scavengers, so they won’t be fussy about their food!”

“What kind of range does this ability have?” I wondered.

“It’s a god forged link. As long as it lives you’ll be able to borrow its senses,” said Aresk affably. “Come along now! I can’t keep you here for too long!”

The plains were vast and the nomads could move incredibly quickly across them when they weren’t burdened by their wagons. Even with the lumbering vehicles they moved a lot faster than I would have expected. I’d need eyes in the sky to gain an advantage over my enemies…

“A crow. A large crow!” I blurted as I made up my mind. It would give me aerial reconnaissance that none of the other tribes possessed. A huge advantage. It also wouldn’t be so remarkable if I had to move among the shit-sitters. Townspeople, I mentally corrected myself. Christ, I was going native far too quickly!

“Hmm? A wise bird. Ferries the souls of the fallen in battle to the afterlife. I like it!” The image on the bronze pedestal solidified into a crow with a four foot wingspan, a large example of the species. The bronze colour melted away, draining back into the pedestal, and it was replaced with jet black feathers barring a ring of pale white ones that lined the back of its head and neck.

“How will I find it? Back on Urth?” I asked as it cocked its head to the side and cawed at me.

“Oh don’t worry about that. Just make sure you start saying my name as you slay the aurox!” His voice faded away at the end and I found myself back in bodiless limbo for a moment.

My real eyes snapped open, the smelly furs and aching right arm assured me I was back where I was meant to be. Damnit. I wasn’t meant to be here at all! I should be back on bloody Earth, drinking beers, eating fast food and tinkering in my garage!

“What the fuck is that! Get out of here you filthy bastard!” Kril yelled from nearby. Without even thinking I was suddenly looking up at him as he wafted his arms at me. From my new perspective I was sitting on my wooden chest but my eyes could only be a foot or so above the wood. My perspective snapped back to my own body as I jerked upright.

“Enough Kril! He’s a friend!” I called groggily. The dream-sleep apparently wasn’t as refreshing as regular sleep. Thanks Aresk.

“It’s a bloody raven!” he said glaring suspiciously at the other half of my senses. The bird flapped over to land on my shoulder and fixed Kril with a beady glare.

“It’s a crow, bloke. Aresk gave him to me for reaching level fifty,” I said. The crow flapped back over to my storage chest as I rose to my feet and started pulling a tunic on. I was going to need some shoulder padding added to my tunics, those claws were sharp.

“A god-beast? Truly?” Kril said in wonder, bowing his head to the bird that cawed in satisfaction at the new respect.

“Yeah, whatever that is. He needs a name… I think I’ll call him Glimpse. I can borrow his sense so it works nicely.” I settled my tunic and tied my belt around my waist. “Glimpse?” I said and the bird flapped over to settle on my shoulder. I could feel something from the creature. More emotions than thoughts. Loyalty was the strongest flavour. Flavour wasn’t the right word but I couldn’t find a better one that fit as well. Then there was… love? Devotion maybe? Obedience followed and then curiosity. A faint hint of hunger as well. With a thought the bird flapped back to the chest, landed, hopped along the length of it and then returned to my shoulder with a caw. Kril flinched backwards as it swept past him.

“Can I touch it?” he asked, awe making his voice thick.

“Sure, I guess.” I wasn’t in the mood for a double entendre so I held out an arm and Glimpse hopped down to land on my fist and Kril carefully extended a finger to stroke the feathers on the back of the bird's neck. The old mans eyes gleamed with a fervour I’d never seen before in my prune-like mentor.

“Thank you, Mond,” he said quietly but then his voice quickly rose to its usual volume. “Come along! No time to play with your new friend, we’ve got aurox to sacrifice!” He led me back to my seemingly endless task. As we left the tent I told Glimpse to fly above the town and keep watch. I somehow communicated that if he found something to eat I was happy for him to feed, otherwise when my breakfast was delivered I’d save him some meat. He cawed back happily at me as he rose into the sky.