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Seventeen

The steps were smooth and the short descent before long ascent had been easier than she imagined. Fatigue had slowed her, but frequent stops to sit had prevented a crowding blackness in the corners of her vision from winning over. The staircase was lit from above at long intervals and gave a grey ambience to the walk, a complement to her pallor.

Rounding a corner, Lexus saw the staircase abruptly open into another large room. She gripped the sharp rib more tightly and backed up against the wall, attempting to peer out into the gloom. The room appeared to be a large chamber, a sophisticated version of the dungeon in which she awoke. It's walls were decorated in gigantic swirls, hatching, lightning, the colours barely visible through the light. To her horror it was filled with tables, chairs, a gigantic cauldron, and scarred bodies.

The Startlers lay prostrate everywhere, lying under skins snoring, stretched out on trestles, clustered in grunting, naked heaps. Suppressing her terror, Lexus stepped out in the room slowly, swallowing the urge to gag from the rank smell of the dozens of bodies, the waste of what must have been a huge banquet, the acrid smoke of burnt hair.

Lexus edged along the wall of the chamber, her eyes flicking left and right, adrenaline keeping her feet shuffling sideways, her heart racing. Through the gloom she saw a doorway further around the wall of the chamber. She increased her pace, the possibility of escape drawing fresh energy from her exhausted frame.

The howling started somewhere opposite the door she had reached. Ignoring the sleeping Startlers behind her, she dredged every last gram of strength and burst through the doorway into a distantly lit space. It was a corridor leading downwards, with an opening revelling what must be the light of the Commons. She began to run.

A figure stepped from the light and began to charge towards her, it's silhouette suggesting a small Startler, it's wild hair waving at it roared. Thievery jumped into her head as she neared the opening, the Accord flashing into her vision, her heartbeat surged again, and she lunged at the Startler as it closed on her. The rib slid easily into the beasts throat, his warm blood bursting onto her arm. The force of her attack thumped the Startler backwards and he collapsed on his back, dragging her forward with his clasping hands. She landed heavily on his chest, knocking the wind of from him, and forcing yet more blood from the wound. It screamed a cry of agony as the rib lodged in his neck, one responded to with howls of anger from the chamber behind.

Lexus hauled herself to her feet, and drawing on the shock and fear sprinted for the opening. It drew near quickly, too quickly, and she surged into the light, her eyes seizing from the brightness. She gasped as they closed but her legs still ran. Ran until she felt herself thump into a figure before her. Falling backwards she looked up at the creature, a Walker, tall, with reddened forehead and eyes scarred and bubbled shut by burns.

Sixteen

Lexus awoke groggy, but without the pressure of Startler hands holding her down. She attempted to move left, then right, but found the pain in her forearms and hands too great to allow them to support her. Raising her right arm she saw it poulticed from hand to bicep, the gouges of the torture stuffed with what looked like chewed or mulched leaves. She sat up slowly, cradling her arms. Her left was cut from hand to forearm. She felt weak from loss of blood, and wondered if they had been feeding her while she lay unconscious. Her stomach suggested no.

The stone dais they had laid her on sat in the middle of large room. The earthen floor extended 4 or 5 metres in every direction, and met stone walls that rose into a central opening. Looking up made her a little dizzy, and she quickly looked back down to the ground. The opening did not seem to open to sky, but appeared to be a chimney of some kind, a small amount of light refracting down it to light the room ever so slightly. She glanced back from the floor to the dark walls, scanning the gloom for figures.

Her forearm particularly ached where the Startler had bitten her. She shuddered involuntarily when she remembered, and quickly reached up to her temples. Her plugs were still in place, one small comfort available to her. She listened for Thievery, but found nothing. The Accord was closed to her. The Transept, likewise, seemed closed. No Watchers crowding her consciousness now, despite the words of the Wane.

Lexus felt her anger rising. It blended with confusion and fear, and coalesced into a small knot of hatred in her viscera. It afforded her a little strength, and she swung her legs off the dais. She lowered herself to the ground slowly through the dizziness and stood for a moment, gathering herself. She glanced again at the walls, then look a longer look, searching for a door or exit of some kind. The walls were patterned, and through the gloom she could great swirling patterns painted onto the rough, rocky surface. Spirals, zig-zags, interlocking geometrics, crude stick figured humanoids that appeared to be hunting what must be a drone.

She jumped at the sound of a Startler howling, the audible barrelling down the chimney above her, forcing her to stagger from the dais towards the encircling wall. Laughter followed.

They can see me, she thought, this too, is part of the game.

Still cradling her arms she edged along the walls, her eyes searching for signs of a door, or worse, the signs of a person in the room with her. She heard a snap beneath her feet and peered down. Bones. The agony in her hands was not enough to stop her first impulse, the grogginess not enough to stop her crouching to grab what seemed to be a broken rib. It was dry and somewhat brittle, but one end appeared to be sharp.

Lexus began to move more quickly around the room. The blood loss must be great, but the dizziness was fading quickly as adrenaline from her shock settled into her system, and she scanned the walls again for hairline cracks, tiny bits of light forcing its way into the room, her prison.

Nothing.

Despair began to encroach. Had they lowered her into the room through the chimney?

The realised. The dais. She walked carefully back towards it. She could see were the blood from her arms had been split onto the top, where it had trickled over the side, and where some had bridged the fracture between the top, and its supporting walls. She extended her aching hands and pushed what was in fact a lid, which swung open gently, noiselessly.

Fifteen

"Strong this Walker... strong indeed. The Old Gods themselves may even attend this one's ritual, methinks"

The voice pounded in Lexus' head as she gradually regained consciousness. She felt the bruise on her cheek swelling, one eye pushed shut for biting a captor. She felt... she felt... something licking her arm... her good eyed flicked open to see a Startler perched over her arm, its tongue dabbing the blood from her wounds. She gasped.

The pain as it pushed its teeth into the wound made her body arch, despite the other Startlers holding her down. The urge to scream out loud pushing its way to the front of her conditioning. She clenched her teeth and moaned and deep, guttural moan.

It was then that she felt the Wane. It barely touched her consciousness. It's voice was a whisper in her mind past the barrage of agony.

And so it is, my child. This is where the Watchers bring your kind, time and again, to suffer, to break your vow to the One God.

Fourteen

Pain lanced along Lexus' arm and up into her shoulder as the dull blade cut the skin on hand. She shuddered as it moved, staring wide-eyed in horror at the figures holding her down.

"Soon delicious, soon we will take those rocks from your head... soon"

She writhed under the gaze of the Startler, it's narrow-set eyes moving lasciviously across her prostrate form, resting on her uncovered legs.

"Very... delicious..."

As the knife moved to her wrist, she lost consciousness.

Thirteen

With Thievery pounding in her ears Lexus throws herself over the edge of the precipice. The air rushes up billowing her robes and her heart beat accelerates more than she thought possible. Thievery issues further particles of the sounds of her pursuit through the forest at the plateau's base, predators growling, birds shrieking, the Startlers howling and screaming frustration. She hits the lake with her feet and slips into the quiet of the water. Thievery changes tune, a bubbling, squeaking noise, and bursts back into the full rhythm of the pursuit as Lexus breaks the surface again. She gasps at the cold, and begins to drag herself through the water towards the edge of the lake, her robes heavy about her.

She had seen picts from the Accord of individuals leaping from heights to escape pursuers, and always thought the idea ridiculous, but necessity had outweighed her fear with a greater danger. She quickly checked her flank before glancing up to see if the Startlers were following her. At least three stood on the edge of the precipice waving their arms, one throwing a spear that, thankfully, fell well short. The wound to her flank was insubstantial, but ached. It would require treatment when and if she reached the waystation she knew was further along the shore of the lake, and down its draining river.

With her alarms issued to the Accord as yet unheeded, Lexus knew it would be a second day of hard running before she could reach the comparative safety of the waystation, or at least a centre of some sort, be it Feeders or Impress. She wrung what water she could from her robes, and set out, Thievery maintaining a rhythm to keep her heart rate high, and her breathing consistent (if not slightly laboured).

The ground is firm and slightly rocky beneath her feet as she runs, forcing her to pay close attention to her footsteps. She scans the forest line above her to her right, but the flora looks too dense to run easily in sodden robes. Suddenly alarmed, she checks her blade, and is relived to find it still stuck in its scabbard. She picks up the pace a little, Thievery responding with an accelerated beat as the yelling of the Startlers fades into the distance.

She stops. Ahead of her the open ground closes and disappears beneath the lake. The wall of the plateau has closed in and pushed a peninsula out into the water, which meets a low range of hills and bottle the water of the lake. She can see mist rising from between the two bodies of stone, and realising there must be a large waterfall or rapids where the lake drains. She looks back to see if the Startlers are still in pursuit, but can't make out any figures moving. Looking around up towards the tree line she sees a clear break in the forest, what could be a canyon of some sorts. She sets out towards it.

It is a rough climb up towards the canyon, leaf litter from the trees concealing numerous small rocks and potholes, but she labours on, and finally stands at the edge of the tree line. Again checking the Accord for a response, from any helpers besides the Watchers who seem merely note with interest the distress she has experienced since the initial attack, she finds no reply, and sets herself to climb into the canyon. Looking up, she can see that it runs flat for a distance before apparently rising up the the high plateau somewhere past the canyons first bend. She steps forward, and the ground gives way beneath her feet.

Winded, Lexus is laying on her front, her robes gathered about her head and shoulders, one ankle aching since striking the ground, when she hears an audible.

"There you are my delicious, waited such a long time, we have."

Twelve

Lexus woke early in the relative discomfort of the waystation and set out. She'd been making good time but knew there was still at least a days travel ahead. She refreshed herself, ate, and opened a groupmind with the Drone to discover its whereabouts. Thankfully, it has not wandered far in search of food, and was back in front of the waystation when she was ready to depart.

She heard the muffled sounds of her Communicative playing beneath the ambient noise of the Commons and turned up the volume slightly. Thievery had been her companion for many years, and she was enjoying its new-found excitement at sights and sounds it had likely never seen. She found it taking particles of sound from the Common's fauna and lacing them into its rhythms, and tying the rhythms to the pace of the Drone and its walking.

On the previous day Lexus had taken her blade and shaved the Drone's shoulders, only nicking it once or twice, and subsequently ordered it to bathe. She now found the travel far more pleasant, and had even rewarded the hard-working humanoid with a glimpse of the Accord. It's loyalty to her has jumped immeasurably as a result.

The day wore on slowly, and gradually the boundary forest of that marked the edge of the Majestic Centre's domain grew in the distance. Lexus knew that beyond and above the forest was a plateau, and on that plateau was the Lesser Centre. Her sponsor in the Transept had provided scant details of the exact path to the Centre, which rankled with her desire for certainty, but the assurance the Transept provided was enough to ensure her continued determination to reach the indicated destination in good time.

She rested near midday, and allowed the Drone to wander a short distance. A stream had come down off the plateau, and the Drone proceeded to drink, to bathe again as she had taught it, and to make small, happy noises. Lexus smiled when she saw it, and Thievery collected the noise, repeating it back to her in a simple tune. She felt the presence of the Watchers above her, noting her progress and seemingly enjoying the scene.

Lexus had barely stood to summon the Drone back to her when the noise rolled down out of the lightly sloped cliffs above her. The Drone turns from the water towards the cry, a low grunting shout, echoed by a harsh cry from a distance behind.

STARTLER Lexus shouts to the Drone. It drags its heavy and wet frame out of the water and lurches over the soft ground to her. She vaults up into its harness and draws her blade, while the Drone pulls up to its full height.

The Startlers burst from the treeline beyond the stream, screaming, wailing, flailing their bodies with their hands, terrible, adorned in rags and furs, armed with jagged blades and fire-hardened spears, desperate in their hunger to reach her. She sees their bodies painted in blues and reds, deep scars etched beneath. When they are with arms reach the Drone strikes out, grabbing the first to reach it with a colossal fist, snapping its neck with a horrifying 'ping'. The second Startler steps inside the Drones reach while it kills his comrade and drives its spear into the humanoids leg, before dragging its blade across the vast belly. The Drone roars, the first audible Lexus has ever heard a member of the Commons make, and falls forward onto the Startler, its weight crushing the hapless savage beneath it. Lexus, still shocked at the noise the Drone has made, finds herself rolling forward out of the saddle, her blade still in hand, as the noises of yet more Startlers roll out of the trees above her.

She stands, and runs, leaving the wounded Drone to its fate.

Eleven

Lexus sat astride the Drone uncomfortably. Certainly the height of the Low-Birthed afforded greater visibility than the customary gait of a Walker, but walking did not evoke a distaste of extremely hairy shoulders. She looked back from the direction she had come and saw in the distance the crown of the Majestic Centre gradually disappearing beneath the horizon, the spray of the Waters of Life obscuring the city as they fell from the edge of the plateau. She remembered the waters cascading past the Centre and sighed, before returning her focus to needing to direct the lumbering beast forward.

Without glancing down at the head and neck of the Drone (lest she have an involuntary reaction to the creature and offend its extremely limited sensibilities), she cast her vision to the distance and pressured its back, inducing motion. It coughed, drew breath, stood, and lurched forward. Despite initial alarm at the realisation she had been directed from within the Transept itself to mount a Drone, and the subsequent shock of the brutes odour, Lexus had quickly become accustomed to the rocking, swaying motion as it walked, and even found time on occasion to sleep.

The Transept. All Walkers were familiar with The higher levels of the Accord, but direct contact with either the Watchers or the Wane was known to be extremely rare. Certainly many of the Castes were used to the experience of a High-Birthed sharing the experiences of one of their order, but to be spoken to was considered to be akin to gaining the favour of even a Cherubim.

As she looked out onto the Commons from her saddle atop the Drone Lexus could feel the individuals of the Transept drawing on her vision, listening to her hearing as though her senses were theirs. It was not an uncomfortable sensation, but rather the opposite. The knowledge of the weight of the Transept's interested individuals bathing in her experience provided certainty that despite the ever-growing distance from her Adjunct and home she would be safe. She wondered if her obedience to the Transept would be rewarded, perhaps with a glimpse of the high Accord's mysteries, a glimmer of the ancient knowledge the High-Birthed held? She smiled.

She dismissed the thought. How improper she realised, for a Walker to aspire to be more than a tender to the needs of the Commons. She reached up and drew her long hair back into a tight handful, and tied it there out of her face, adjusted her robes to better protect herself from the bright light, and returned her thoughts to the matter at hand. She must make good time, to be in the Lesser Centre within three days, lest she raise the ire of her High-Birthed sponsor.

She goaded the Drone forward with greater pressure in its back.

Ten

As dawn's light slithered between the branches of the canopy Ghed began to stir. He sat up and gradually opened his eyes, taking in the deepening greys and greens of the undergrowth. He stretched and stood, shaking detritus off his robes before turning to see if Laughing Boy continued to sleep.

The initial rush of blood that accompanied the realisation that Laughing Boy was nowhere within sight calmed when his voice appeared.

Aspirant?

Yes? Are you safe?

Yes Aspirant. The Mullah arrived before dawn and lead me back to the body of the Walker. You slept heavily and were in no danger. It was decided to leave you.

Ghed rubbed the sleep from his eyes and walked towards a tree to urinate.

Aspirant?

Yes?

Have you noticed the return of the Jacobite?

There in his vision was a transparent blue square, barely visible in the partial light of the morning. Once noticed it pulsed a dull grey, the flashed a repeat of the yesterdays action, the killing of the Startler.

We will discuss its absence shortly. Join us back at the body when you are ready.

Ghed urinated, drank from the river, washed himself briefly, and set out over the short distance to the scene. The Jacobite picted images excitedly, the bird they had heard the night before, the Feeder's protestations, Laughing Boy moving with untold grace through the air, his blade bearing downwards.

Pushing through the dense undergrowth to reach the scene Ghed stopped, shocked. Immediately before him was the largest being he had ever seen. It resembed the feeder but was immensely taller. As he appeared it turned towards him lazily with small, squinting eyes in a huge bulbous head. It's arms hung very low, and upon its back was a harness or seat of some kind. The Jacobite fell quiet again, returning to the transparent blue of the dawn.

This is a drone Aspirant.

Ghed looked beyond and to the left of the creature looming over him and say Laughing Boy kneeling on the ground. Behind him was Lexus and the Startler, now beginning to attract a number of flies, but before him was another new creature. It stood perhaps a head shorter than he and wore golden, ornate robes slung from hunched shoulders. Its skin was withered and grey, the pallor not unlike the two dead he faced. It turned to look at him and spoke.

There you are my charge. How is this fallen one treating you?

He means me Aspirant.

Quiet monk! Would you have me cast you lower in the Accord than your present station?

No, sacred one.

Your obeisance will remain while you serve this Walker's adjunct. Is that clear, monk?

Yes, sacred one.

Ghed stood still, confused.

Are you the Mullah?

Yes Walker, I am a Mullah. There are many Mullah in this Commons.

Laughing Boy said that too.

Yes, it is good that this monk should teach you, as he was charged. In time you will have little need for him.

The Mullah looked back towards Laughing Boy.

Come Walker, stand beside me.

Ghed approached apprehensively, and stood next to the Mullah before his companion.

Walker, are you ready to try this monk for his crimes against the Accord?

Nine

In the gathering gloom the Walkers proceeded a short distance upriver and made camp. Laughing Boy assured Ghed that the deceased could suffer no worse defilement than had already occurred, and the two soon sat with the artificial light acquired from Lexus between them.

Keep a few of these foodcubes in the carry-all pockets of your robes Aspirant. They last for a considerable time, and are very nutritious always.

Ghed accepted the foodcubes and thanked him before beginning to eat.

When will the Mullah arrive?

I do not know Aspirant. It is highly likely that the Mullah who vested you in this Adjunct at the waystation was not distant when the Startler struck.

What are they like?

They differ. Some tend the Accord only, and are exceedingly humble. Other are more akin to warriors and are fearsome. I did not see the Mullah who attended you, so cannot say. It did not communicate with me, nor did it share its vision.

Do you love the Mullah? They told me I would.

This is a strange question Aspirant. You should know that the relation between Watchers and the Mullah is... more complicated than that they share with Walkers. Many Mullah do not fully comprehend the greater dimension of the Accord, which ensures their caste remains lower in status and privilege.

There is much to learn about the Accord.

Indeed Aspirant, indeed. The mysteries are indeed vast.

Haven eaten, Ghed pulled his robes closer around him and lay on the soft earth.

But do you love the Mullah Laughing Boy?

I do not.

Laughing Boy switched off the light before himself preparing to sleep. The sounds of the night settled around them, a comforting buffer against the horror of the day.

I have a question for you Aspirant.

Really?

Yes. Aspirant, where was the Jacobite during our charge over the Commons to where Lexus lies?

The question startled Ghed a little, and he sat up to try remembering the last time he had seen the Jacobite.

I don't know... was it under the tree, with the Fan Tail?

Yes, I believe so. And tell me Aspirant, do you hear that noise?

Ghed listened carefully. Over the sound of the river and the rustle of the canopy he could here the pip and warble of a bird singing.

Is that the bird the Jacobite wanted to see?

Yes Aspirant, I believe it is.

It was some time before Ghed could sleep.

Eight

Ghed shifted his weight to his other foot as the discomfort of crouching so near to the corpse increased. Laughing Boy had instructed him to to take a very close look at the tangle of bodies, and he now followed Laughing Boy's hands as they searched the victim for information. He glanced up to see if the Feeder still stood guard around them.

Return your vision to this place Aspirant

Laughing Boy was attempting to discover the contents of the victim's pockets. Ghed stood, stretched his legs a little, and moved to a better position for viewing. Laughing Boy withdrew several small items.

Foodcubes, an artificial light of a type I've never seen, electronic keys to a waystation. This Walker has been most unfortunate.

This is a Walker such as us?

Yes Aspirant. These items confirm the Accord's insistence this Walker was called Lexus. I am not familiar with members of this Adjunct.

Adjunct?

Yes. Some Castes have Adjuncts that serve different tasks, or stations, or domains upon the Commons. This Walker's Adjunct is from a far domain to which I have yet to travel.

Why was she so far from her domain? Do Walkers usually travel long like that?

Sometimes Aspirant. This Walker is unusual though. She has travelled from the Majestic Centre independently, and without informing the Accord. It is quite peculiar.

Before Ghed could further question him Laughing Boy stood and walked to the river to wash his hands of blood.

Look closely he commanded, what do you see of the attacker?

Lexus had lain on her left side when they had approached, and the attacker had fallen onto her front in a crumpled heap as he died. Laughing Boy's blade has contacted the neck and severed it's throat, through the windpipe and nearly to the spine, which Ghed guessed to have been a preventative measure. The body had been pushed aside initially to allow a closer look at the bloodied mess of the Walker, but Ghed pulled it onto it's back and began to visually examine it.

Laughing Boy returned to collect his blade from where he had left it next to Lexus, and as he walked back to the river asked Ghed.

Do you see anything unusual Aspirant?

Ghed could see that the body was humanoid, but was hugely scarred in deep parallel grooves along the length of it's naked arms and legs. It was obviously male, and wore a simple shift that covered most of it's torso and hips. His hands were stained and heavily calloused on the palms, with the scars of the arms leading on the backs. The nails were obscured by small and apparently razor-sharp blades somehow grafted to the fingertips.

I have seen this before Aspirant. Do you notice anything about the killer's head?

Ghed moved position to look more closely at the cranium. He touched the side of is own head, and saw that where Ports should be the killer was naked, a rough set of stitching stretching the forehead skin taunt. He stood and backed away a little.

What is this thing?

They have many names Aspirant, though we will call then Startlers.

Startler?

Yes. They exist in unknown numbers across the Commons, are violent and maddened. The Accord believes individuals such as this killer to be rare though. We are strangely fortunate to have seen one.

More fortunate than this Walker though.

Indeed. But continue your examination Aspirant, there may be more information on this body.

Ghed crouched again, put his hands under the Startler, and rolled it onto it's front. It's back also showed the scars of it's arms and legs.

The Accord assumes they do this to prove their vitality Aspirant. There are two forms of Startler, those natural to the Commons, and those such as this, who are stolen from a caste and isolated from the Accord. It is the latter who are most mad.

Ghed moved to take a closer look at the torso of the Startler, and glanced up to see Laughing Boy standing before the Feeder. The Feeder handed Laughing Boy what seemed to be a few foodcubes, and began to lumber back in the direction of the plains. Ghed returned to examining the Startler as Laughing Boy walked back towards the bodies.

Wait Aspirant. Return your vision to the Startler's nape. What do you see there? Look very closely.

Ghed leaned a little closer to the corpse to see through the relative gloom of the copse. In the nape of the neck was a small circle drawn into the skin. Surrounding the circle were more thin lines, curved and random, though forming a rough pattern of cross-hatching. Ghed heard Laughing Boy gasp.

What is it Laughing Boy?

Unfortunate Aspirant. It is unfortunate that we should find this.

Ghed stood and backed away from the corpses a little.

There is time to explain the significance of that mark Aspirant, but first we have two events. A Mullah comes, and more interesting, we have gained a Watcher.

Seven

In the time it took Ghed's eyes to adjust to the light beyond the tree's canopy Laughing Boy had already barked a series of orders.

Do not proceed too quickly to investigate. Allow me to place my hand on your shoulder and do not get too far ahead of me. Ensure you look both to the horizon for danger, and to the ground for hazards, lest we both fall.

With Laughing Boy's right hand on his shoulder Ghed set out. They advanced rapidly out onto the grasslands to avoid ensnaring roots or divots and began to pick up pace. Ghed's eyes moved quickly across the terrain while Laughing Boy opened a shared window to the Accord. Information about the scream streamed in.

A distress continues to be issued from a short distance ahead Aspirant. Some Feeders are nearby and approaching to assist the individual. The Accord is being searched to find the identity of the individual who issues the distress, and we assume the audible.

Ghed increased his fast walk to a jog, and began to move towards the river in a direction indicated by Laughing Boy.

What do I do when we get to the place? An increasingly alarmed Ghed asked.

Ensure you do see everything Aspirant. It must be issued into the Accord, and if there is danger, follow my commands.

Ghed's eyes continued to scan the ground ahead quickly, his feet seeking firm ground. When he reached the edge of the copse Laughing Boy instructed him to slow slightly, and he dropped to a cautious walk. Laughing Boy dropped his hand from Ghed's shoulder and stepped past him. Ghed watched his robes gently advancing into the woods, and tried to look at both the branches overhead and the ground on which Laughing Boy stepped. He followed hesitantly, concentrating on the movement, struggling to also pict the scene into the Accord.

Ghed's eyes flicked right when a rustling began on the other side of the river. Branches were being pushed aside as a being charged through the undergrowth. A large, lumbering figure emerged into a clearing and paused, it looked towards them.

A Feeder, Aspirant.

The Feeder was tall, perhaps a head higher than Ghed, but shorter than Laughing Boy. It wore rough-hewn coverings, and large, solid, muddy footwear. Any exposed skin was coarse and blackened. It pointed with long muscular arms to a point ahead along the river, and began to advance at pace. It was carrying a long curved blade on a pole.

Quickly Aspirant, only focus on the ground ahead. We must reach the site before the Feeder, they are known to anger too easily, thereby endangering themselves.

The Feeder stopped, and pointed again. A short distance ahead in the gloom, bundled beneath a tree on their side of the river, Ghed could just make out the shape of a individual lying prostrate. It's torso seemed ripped and shredded, a large pool of blood gradually sinking into the damp earth of the riverbank. One limp arm was raised towards the canopy, clutched by what appeared to be a clawed hand.

The Feeder lurched ahead towards the scene. But halted before it reached the water, staring at Laughing Boy. It raised and shook the polearm violently, and looked to Ghed, as if seeking support. Laughing Boy raised a open hand to the Feeder, then reached slowly beneath his robes to his thigh.

You must not close your eyes Aspirant. Between your vision, and that of the Feeder, I must see what transpires. Follow behind me, watch the ground, and watch this beast carefully, closely.

From beneath his robes Laughing Boy drew a blade, long, cruel, glistening. It's edge was nicked and the handle dirtied. He advanced quickly.

The figure above the bleeding and gored individual looked up. Flesh from the arm of the individual hung from it's jaws, a bloodied mass. It's eyes widened when it saw the Feeder in the river, making it stand bolt upright from it's crouch over the victim. It turned and saw Laughing Boy advancing, threw back it's arms, and looked prepared to open it's mouth and scream.

Laughing Boy leapt forward, blade in hand, Ghed following a short distance behind. Laughing Boy sprang into the air, drawing the blade backwards, and swung, striking the figure in the neck.