Chapter 12: Mechanics of Flesh

The next minutes, or maybe hours, blurred by. Time didn’t matter. He needed to find Milo. The young man with blond hair asked him the same question so often that Ezra’s response became instinctual as soon as sound came from the man’s mouth.

“Are you still okay?”

Ezra nodded again. The sounds of battle faded a long time ago, but they wouldn’t stop running. His calves burned, his thighs ached, and his breath exited in raspy intervals. Nothing seemed to stop these men, and he could see no end to the forest.

“Where are we going,” Ezra managed to get out between puffs of air.

“Back to our camp. It's safe there. The beast won’t come near that many people.”

That thing with orange eyes. The eyes that relentlessly preyed on him. Why would it be so scared of people? It seemed like it could kill anything.

“Milo. Where’s Milo?”

The young man glanced back again and frowned. “I don’t know. Is he a friend of yours?”

Ezra nodded.

“We’ll see once we get back to camp. Maybe another group has him.” His voice didn’t sound hopeful. “Unalloyed were never meant to face something like that.” The young man slowed his pace briefly. “What’s your name?”

Ezra nodded and then realized the question warranted a different response. “It’s Ezra.”

“I’m Audrus,” he replied and then stared ahead and fell silent.

Other things were on Ezra’s mind, and Audrus did not ask another question.

Their pace slowed, and Ezra looked up to see walls made of mishappen metal plates wedged between massive trees. Others in similar attire to those around Ezra walked along the top. Sharpened spikes, some of them rusted and broken swords, lined the bottom of the barricade. A dull iron cocoon, with a small viewing slit at the front, sat in the treetops behind the wall. A light flashed from the slit, and Audrus pulled out a tiny mirror from beneath his breastplate. Receiving the signal, a voice echoed across the compound.

“The hunting party has returned. Open the gates.”

Metal screeched as the center of the wall slid open to slowly reveal a crowd of a few dozen people. Some wore armor, while others had tattered rags, the color of the forest, draped over their bodies. Everyone stared with a gaze that pleaded for good news, even though Ezra knew Audrus had none to give.

“Out of the way,” a raspy voice called from the back of the crowd.

The throng of people parted as a middle-aged man with round glasses, smudged with what Ezra assumed was oil, pushed through. He had the same lethargic yet passionate glint in his eyes that Ezra had seen in his father’s. A mind wracked with many ideas but little time to accomplish them.

As the man got to the front of the crowd, he grasped Audrus’s shoulders, leaving black streaks of mechanical grease. “You found it didn’t you,” he said in a frenzy.

Audrus tried to hide his uncomfortableness as he stepped back. “More like it found us.”

“A trivial matter. Tell me you retrieved a piece of its flesh. The last four groups were all disappointments.” He muttered something about useless personnel under his breath.

Audrus motioned to one of his men, holding a bumpy item wrapped in cloth, to come forward. He took the item and uncovered it. The rest of the crowd leaned in to get a peek at this mystery object, and ecstasy glowed in the dirty man’s glasses. Even Ezra could not resist the allure of such excitement.

In Audrus’s hands lay a lumpy piece of flesh. Metal wire weaved through its bloody tendons to form a sturdy but delicate-looking mesh. Beyond the metal, congealed blood browned the edges of the cloth. Ezra backed off once a sour scent hit his nostrils.

The man’s glasses slipped down his nose as he picked up the organic material. “Wonderful. Wonderful! A specimen like this will do just fine.”

“Then take it already,” Audrus said. “The thing stinks more than a Codolts dung.”

The man gave a short bow and scurried off. This time, no one stood in his way.

“You’re all dismissed. It's been a long day, so we’ll debrief before last light,” Audrus said In a commanding tone.

Ezra scanned the crowd, hoping to spot Milo’s face. A little girl clutched a woman’s pant leg and stared at him. Her eyes looked hollow in a way a child’s eyes never should. A shiver ran up Ezra’s spine, and he continued searching. The crowd was already dispersing, and Milo was still nowhere to be seen.

“Sorry if that was a little startling. Hugo can be a bit obsessive sometimes.”

“Oh, that guy who looked like a mechanic,” Ezra said, realizing Audrus was talking to him. “Is he a Sky-seeker?”

“Officially, he is, but he has no interest in climbing to the higher layers. Right now, he’s our employer and what people call a relic delver.” Audrus started walking further into the encampment as the walls shut behind them.

“A relic delver?” Ezra asked.

“They’re people who find and work with ancient artifacts.”

Artifacts like the Thorin-sphere. Ezra mentally noted. “I thought they picked the lower layers clean decades ago.”

“They did, but Hugo’s a special case. He doesn’t look for normal artifacts.” As they walked past another group of hunters, Audrus waved and gave a smile. “Most artifacts are made of metal or synthetic material, but Hugo is interested in the organic.”

“Like that piece of flesh from earlier. Is that from the monster that attacked my camp?”

“Sure is. Blew it right off the wretched things face myself.” A self-assured smile briefly spread across Audrus’s face as he pat the vibro-crystal gun at his side.

Before Ezra could ask another question, an elderly woman approached Audrus with a tin foil dish in her hands.

“Audrus, my dear.”

He glanced in the woman’s direction and extended his arms in a welcoming fashion before embracing her with a hug. “Martha, I’m glad to see you well. How is Leonardo doing? I hope he’s taking it easy after that accident in the lab.”

“The fool keeps saying he needs to go back to his research when he ought to stay in bed. Sometimes, I think he’s more married to his work than me.”

Audrus laughed. “I’m sure that fool still loves ya. You keep showing him that tough love of yours, and he’ll heal in no time.”

“By the way, this is for you.” She offered him the dish wrapped in tin foil. “This is the least I could do after you fetched medicine for us. Without your forage skill, I’m not sure that idiot would still be alive.”

“Thank you very much,” Audrus said as he graciously accepted the dish. He peeked under the foil and grinned. “Boy, you couldn’t imagine what kind of day I’ve had. This is exactly what I needed.”

Martha beamed with self-satisfaction as she walked away. “You better not waste a scrap of it. Nothing worse than a Sky-seeker wasting food.”

“I won’t. Let Leonardo know I send him my best wishes.” Once Martha blended into the crowd, Audrus turned his attention back to Ezra. “As I was saying, that monster is why Hugo is down here, and for the rest of us, we’re just people with a particular set of skills looking for work. Fees for the Polnolite test aren’t cheap.”

“So you’ve never been past the sixth layer?”

“Born and raised on the sixth, yet never seen a head above it,” Audrus said like it was a mark of pride. “You're welcome to stay the night,” he continued. “There’s always a corner to sleep in and an extra bowl to eat. Hugo may be eccentric, but he takes good care of his employees.” He looked up at the shadows lengthening through the treetops. “I’ve got to get going, but please, please make yourself comfortable. If you have any questions, just ask one of my fellow hunters.”

Audrus said his goodbyes and briskly walked across the encampment until Ezra lost sight of him around one of the few trees within the walls. Light among the trees glittered, and he was alone again. Owen, now Milo, the inverted abyss was determined to take everyone from him. He didn’t even know how it had happened. Maybe it was better that way. Hopefully, it had been painless. There was no proof Milo was dead, but the possibility that he was echoed in Ezra’s mind. His throat clenched, and he could feel tears welling up despite not wanting to cry in the middle of a crowd.

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The speakers along the walls clicked on. “More hunters have returned. Open the gates.”

Ezra gazed at the location of the sound and held onto every word. As the speakers clicked off, he rushed towards the gates, where people had already begun to gather. With great force, the doors to the outside sluggishly opened. Every second stretched to a minute. A group of battered and ragged hunters walked, almost dragging themselves, to the wall. Among them, a boy with brown hair that nearly obscured his eyes leaned on one of the hunters.

Squeezing through the crowd, Ezra was soon in a sprint before the hunters had made it through the entrance. He spotted blood running down the side of Milo’s head as one of the hunters cried into the crowd.

“He needs medical attention now.” The bruised hunter, carrying Milo, looked up as Ezra approached. “Are you Ezra?”

How the man knew his name didn’t concern him. “Yes. What can I do to help? Anything. Anything at all. He’s my friend.”

“Find Audrus. You know Audrus?”

Ezra nodded and sprinted back into the camp, and around the tree, Audrus had gone. He called over and over until blond hair popped out of a large tent. As Ezra stopped in front of the tent, gasping for air, Audrus wore a worried frown. “It’s Milo. Help. He’s injured. They need you.”

Audrus ducked back inside and moments later emerged with a canvas backpack. “Show me.”

He still hadn’t recovered from his first sprint, but that didn’t matter. Taking in a deep breath of air, Ezra weaved through crowds with Audrus behind. When they got to the front gate, Audrus immediately took charge. The hunter with Milo looked ready to collapse.

“You there,” Audrus pointed at a hunter who had a fresher face. “Take this man to the infirmary. I will be right behind.”

The hunter took his orders as gospel and immediately obeyed. Soon, they were rushing across camp again. People’s faces blurred as Ezra ran. Once inside a large white tent, the hunter set Milo on a cot. Audrus raced to the back of the pavilion. Counters and cabinets filled with medical supplies lined the wall. Even without spoken orders, the hunter set to examining Milo.

Pulling back Milo’s hair, revealed a small wound. That can’t be it. Milo had survived far worse before becoming a sky-seeker. Next, the hunter rolled up both pant legs to the knee, and the real injury finally revealed itself. On his right leg, several cysts, filled with green liquid, bubbled up around a small hole in his skin that trickled blood.

“He’s been poisoned,” the hunter grumbled.

Audrus returned to the cot holding a few bandages, a pair of scissors, and a mortar filled with an orange mixture. He shoved the bandages and scissors into Ezra’s hands.

“Cut them into squares about the size of your palm. Then I’ll spread this ointment on them, layer them on the cysts, and wrap the wound.” Ezra stared at him, still processing the situation. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

Those words woke him from his stupor, and Ezra got straight to work. As he rapidly cut the cloth, Audrus swiped each piece as he finished. After preparing eight squares, smothering them with ointment, and layering them on the fluid-filled protrusions, Audrus took the bandages and wrapped them around Milo’s leg. He set a hand to Milo’s head and breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’ll check again in a few hours,” Audrus said, “But I think he’ll be alright.”

“What did you do?” Ezra caught a glimpse of the remaining smears of ointment in the stone mortar.

Audrus was already gathering the used medical supplies. “I prevented the poison from propagating into his body.”

“Poison?” Ezra asked as a group of weary hunters entered the tent.

“How did this happen?” Audrus turned to the new arrivals.

“It was that beast, sir. That abomination has more tricks than we expected.” The hunter leading the group cast his eyes down at Milo. “Will he be all right?”

“He will be fine. Did anyone else get poisoned?” Audrus gave the group a cold stare to let them know there would be consequences for hiding anything. “If not, each of you needs to get some rest. You can tell me the full story in the morning.

With that, the hunters shuffled out of the tent, and Audrus continued his explanation to Ezra. “Peace Sorrel, Urroran, and Lum Frog acid. According to my forage skill, those work best when treating poison of this nature. Sorrel reduces the swelling, Urroran extracts the poison, and the acid dissolves the walls of the cysts.” He finished putting away the last of the supplies.

Ezra sat next to Milo, stunned. “I thought you were hired to hunt for Hugo. How do you know all this? Not that I’m complaining.”

“My skill, Forager, lets me detect natural materials depending on my need. That and the four years of medical school my parents forced me to take before I dropped out. They thought my skill would get me nowhere as a sky-seeker.” Audrus frowned as he wiped the last of the ointment out of the mortar. After being wrapped in his thoughts for a moment, he looked up and smiled. “But being a sky-seeker isn’t a solitary job.”

Ezra hovered over Milo. “I suppose it isn’t.”

Audrus cleared his throat and made for the door. “Lot of things to do tonight, but feel free to stay with him and let me know if his condition changes.” After that, he left, and the other hunter followed behind.

The tent fell silent, and Ezra carefully watched Milo’s shallow breaths. Several lamps along the walls automatically lit up as light faded. He was tired, but Milo still wasn’t awake. Feeling the weight of his eyelids, Ezra began to slouch. Just for a minute. His shoulders relaxed, and the tension in his neck disappeared. Ezra closed his eyes. Within the darkness, two orange dots rippled as if they were staring through murky water. The dots got brighter and then brighter until he could see malicious intent burning within them.

Ezra shot up and reached for the Thorin-sphere. Realizing he was still in the medical tent, he relaxed. Milo was still asleep, and the camp outside seemed quieter than minutes ago, or maybe hours ago. For the first time since arriving, he noticed the straps of the backpack still on his shoulders. He let the pack fall to the ground as he stretched. Behind Ezra, the cloth at the entrance rustled, and he whipped around to find the source.

“Who’s there?” He scanned the room and spotted a little girl just a few beds away. It was the same one he had seen in the crowd.

Her eyes stared with no discernable emotion, and in her hands, she held a water pitcher. Trembling, she slowly walked over and offered the clay container. Ezra paused, but she pushed it into his hands.

“Drink,” she faintly whispered.

Hesitant, Ezra let a few drops of water trickle into his mouth. “Thank you,” he said raising the pitcher in appreciation.

She continued watching him, and Ezra was unsure of what to do next. Now that he thought about it, she was the only child he had seen in the camp. What was she doing here?

“Where are your parents?”

Her lip quivered, and it looked like she was about to cry. It was the first emotion he had seen from her. In a way, it was assuring.

“Daddy’s supposed to be working, but he’s not here,” she whimpered.

This time, she did start crying. Ezra set down the pitcher and wondered what he should do. Milo was better with these things. He had always been good with kids. He tried to shush her, but she started to cry louder.

A woman rushed through the door and dashed to the little girl. Embracing the girl in her arms, the woman soothed the child as she stroked her amber hair. “It’s alright. Mommy is here.” The girl’s cries grew quieter as the woman stood up. “I’m so sorry about that. She didn’t mean to bother you.” She took in the room with a nostalgic gaze. “Her father used to work here. So sometimes she’ll run back when she’s upset.”

“No. It’s okay. She wasn’t bothering anyone,” Ezra hurriedly said and held up the pitcher. “She even brought me water.”

The girl’s mother smiled. “She would always do that for her father’s patients.”

“What’s her name?” Ezra asked, trying to lighten the mood.

“Emma.” The woman patted Emma’s back. Her sobs stopped. “And I’m Sylvia. Are you two new recruits?”

“No, we’re just passing through.”

Sylvia shook her head in pity. “How unfortunate. I swear the beasts of this forest have a vengeance for Hugo. Without us hunting them. They would have left us alone a long time ago.”

“Why don’t people quit?” Ezra said before realizing the question could offend her.

Thankfully, Sylvia’s face remained calm. “The others aren’t all of the same opinion as me. The pay is good but not good enough for us to stay.” She adjusted her hold on Emma as an idea lit up her eyes. “How about you two come with us to the third layer in the next few days? That is where you're heading?”

“Yeah, it is.” Ezra assumed there was no reason for Marcus to stop climbing.

Emma sniffled, and Sylvia took it as a sign to get going. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I should get the little one down to bed. I hope your friend recovers.”

Maybe it’s not so bad we came here. The beds around him seemed more tempting than before, and Milo’s breathing was steady. He could finally let himself relax.

The next morning he woke to the excited hubbub of those outside the tent. Leaning onto his side, Ezra saw Milo already sitting up with a pile of pillows behind his back.

“Glad to see you’re finally awake.”

Milo turned at the sound of Ezra’s voice. “Where are we? The past two days weren’t a dream? We’re not back in Deepburrow. Are we?”

“No, Deepburrow’s long behind us. A group of sky-seekers saved us from some sort of monster.”

“Oh,” Milo blinked like he was trying to bring the memory back. “And what’s going on out there?”

Ezra looked at the entrance. “Not, sure. Wanna go check?”

“My leg’s still harder than compressed Decrite.” Milo massaged his calf. “Go and let me know once you come back.”

Ezra threw off the covers and realized his boots were still on.

“Looks like I’m not the only one who’s a mess,” Milo said.

He brushed off the comment and went straight for the door. The noise amplified tenfold as Ezra parted the tent flaps. Hushed whispers passed through the outside of the crowd, and shouting erupted further in. A worried expression covered most people's faces. Sliding between packed bodies, Ezra made his way further in. The smell of stale sweat made him want to gag, but his curiosity got the better of him.

The amount of people thinned as he got to the front. Hugo and others in oil-stained clothes he didn’t recognize stood on a podium.

“This is a temporary decree. I know it may seem like things have gotten out of hand, but this changes nothing. We came down here to kill the thing, so we won’t leave until we do it.”

A hand poked at Ezra’s shoulder, and he noticed Audrus beside him. “What’s going on?” Ezra asked, trying to keep his voice low but still heard over the noise.

“Third layer just quarantined us until the Stoletime seekers get here. Which may be a few weeks.”

Ezra blinked at the explanation. A few weeks? He didn’t have a few weeks. “And that means?”

“It means no one enters or leaves the second layer until that beast is dead.”