Chapter 6: Cursed

When Aven joined the line of prisoners outside the gates the next morning, none of them met his gaze. Ko’jan spat at Aven’s feet again while turning away.

“Weather’s not as bad today,” he said to no one in particular as the guards chained them together in the usual pairs.

Old Fox just grunted.

“Aye,” Veese finally gave a nervous chuckle, glancing between Aven and Ko’jan. “Only ‘shrivel your balls’ cold, not ‘freeze ‘em right off’ cold, eh? You timed it lucky, coming right after winter. I swear a month ago Ko’jan had icicles hanging off his-”

“You shouldn’t talk to voidtouched,” Ko’jan growled. “You’ll end up cursed.”

Veese sighed and gave Aven an apologetic look.

“You ratshits shouldn’t talk at all,” Captain Erdrak gave each of them a crack with his spear haft in passing. “Form up, maggots. March!”

Off into the wilderness again to kill more unholy nightmares. Of which many prisoners now considered Aven one.

“How do you feel about voidtouched?” Aven asked Old Fox as they marched.

The old man gave his usual lack of response.

Aven continued, “Figured I should ask since, you know, you’ve got an axe and my back’s wide open to you. Should I expect a strike in the back?”

“Keep your shield up and spear pointed at the voidspawn, and I don’t give two shits what you are,” Old Fox replied.

At last, a genuine conversation. And with an enlightened man, in fact. A true egalitarian.

“Wonderful,” Aven grinned at him. “Glad to know someone here-”

“Unless you’re the kind of annoying ass who doesn’t know when to shut up,” Old Fox growled. “Then, you will get the axe.”

A clear communicator as well. Aven was beginning to like this Old Fox.

The day was a quiet one. Fewer voidspawn in their paths, fewer attacks. Those attacks that did come were repelled by the shields and spears of the prisoners. Captain Erdrak’s shouting and cursing was at a comfortable norm. For all that the other prisoners, especially Ko’jan, seemed wary of him, they kept the formation well enough.

The pits today were new, as had all the ones seen after the first day. When Aven had asked, Veese mentioned they visited them on a monthly cycle, giving time for new voidspawn to build in the pits. Less an extermination than a harvest.

They came across the last pit late in the afternoon. As before, a hole in the ground of the frozen landscape, a jagged tear in the world. This one was larger than the others, nearly thirty feet long and perhaps half that across. Deep too. The inky black of the void was far deeper below than in the other pits. With the smaller pits, the fifteen pairs of prisoners could surround the entire pit. With ones as large as this, they simply formed a line. In the absence of injured or punished prisoners to serve as bait, the guards instead hauled out a reindeer carcass, throwing it in front of the voidpit.

Captain Erdrak gave the same instructions, “Hold the line. You don’t fucking move unless you want to get torn apart. Keep your shields up, and you’ll get through the day. Get ready!”

The first voidspawn appeared at the edges of the voidpit. These were different from before: in addition to their sharp talons, they bore horns and crests, their hide dark crimson, with a thicker carapace around their upper body. Still, they had the same eyes and teeth as before. The same ravenous hunger. The same shrieks of hatred.

A first wave of arrows felled one of the voidspawn before it reached the prisoners. The next rammed itself right into Aven’s spear. Mandible pincers snapped out like the jaws of a bear-trap, snapping inches from his face. His muscles strained as he fought to keep the beast at bay, even as it lurched forward, impaling itself further onto the spear in its blind rage and hunger. The next instant, Ko’jan’s spear pierced its skull.

“Thanks,” Aven said.

Ko’jan yanked his spear free and didn’t reply. Well, better the beastkin be an angry but good comrade than one who smiled but left Aven to die.

The next voidspawn was bigger than the rest. Covered in shiny black plates like armor, with a longer tail ending in a cluster of spikes that rattled when the tail quivered.

“Hells,” Veese grunted. “Speartail!”

Before Aven could ask what that meant. The tail lashed out, and a spike the size of an arrow launched out. The prisoner to Aven’s left raised his shield. For all the good it did, the wooden slab might as well have been made of straw. The spike punched right through wood and bone, tip sprouting from the other side of the man’s arm. The man fell back with a scream, only for one of the guards to shove him back into position.

“Hold the line, maggot!” Erdrak roared. “Archers!”

The arrows launched, some skating off the voidspawn’s armor, a few finding purchase between the plates. Only enough to make the monster angry. Claws like sabres scythed out, slashing across the row of shields as if testing for weak points before scuttling back when the spears thrust out. Not as mindless as the other voidspawn, then.

Aven felt the moment the voidspawn’s eye fell on him. The gaze resonated with the seed of the Void inside him. That dark power welling up. Aven shoved it down with another effort of will. In the moment of hesitation as Aven grappled with himself, the monster sensed weakness. The tail rippled, and another spike emerged.

Aven dove into the power of the Battle Mind as the tail lashed out. He saw in slowed motion as the spike launched and shot through the air. He twisted to the side, and the spike shot past him with a rush of wind that ruffled his hair.

The momentary elation at surviving the monster’s attack changed to alarm when a heavy weight hit Aven’s back. A strained gurgle sounded in Aven’s ear. A death rattle.

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Aven jerked away, and Old Fox’s body fell into the snow beside him, spike deep in the old man’s throat. Old Fox clawed at the spike uselessly as blood poured from his mouth. Then the light left his eyes. He was still.

The voidspawn saw the gap in the line. With a hiss, it charged towards Aven. The line of prisoners fell back. Aven couldn’t. Not when he was still chained to Old Fox’s corpse.

He drew upon the Battle Mind once again as the claws moved. He felt their arc, saw where they would strike. Too close to back away. Instead, he lunged forward, past their serrated edges at the front. The weight of the monster’s arms slammed into his sides as his spear plunged into the voidspawn’s mouth.

The voidspawn jerked back, tearing free of the spear, but the triangular tip caught in its mandible as it tried to retreat, the strain pulling at Aven’s shoulders with a force that made his muscles scream.

A halberd smashed right through the creature’s armor. Erdrak was right at Aven’s side. A claw ripped at the ogre, but Erdrak caught it with one hand. The other lifted the halberd high. His next strike cleaved through the voidspawn’s skull. The corpse collapsed, still twitching violently.

The fight was over. It took Aven’s mind a second to catch back up to reality. He was still alive. And Old Fox was dead. The old man’s eyes stared up at Aven in accusation.

“Alright, maggots, off your arses,” Erdrak roared, ripping his halberd out of the creature’s skull. “Get carving.” The captain stomped away without another glance at Aven, barking out orders.

The axe-wielding prisoners approached. Aven just stared at the corpses of man and voidspawn around him. Again, Aven was the one to live. Veese had called Old Fox cursed. Clearly Aven’s curse was the stronger one.

A hand yanked Aven to his feet. He found himself staring into Ko’jan’s roaring face.

“You let him die, you bastard,” the beastkin’s fangs were bared, yellow-on-black eyes wild.

Aven could have responded with a number of replies. None seemed appropriate. Silence was not, apparently the response Ko’jan was looking for.

“You’re the shield! He trusted you to stand in front! You let him die!” Ko’jan’s shouts continued.

“Hey! Hey!’ Veese tugged on Ko’jan’s arm. “It’s hell out here. It’s not anyone’s fault when one of us bite it.”

Ko’jan shoved Aven to the ground and stood over him, “A shield doesn’t dodge. Not when someone is trusting them to stand in front. You...” he growled in fury, momentarily incoherent, “You are a vis? You swore to the Ideal of Courage? You’re a fucking coward!” He spat, “What I’d expect from a voidtouched.”

“You’re right,” Aven said.

Ko’jan froze, eyes narrowing.

Aven didn’t get a chance to elaborate before Erdrak was there, throwing Ko’jan to the ground.

“Enough!” Erdrak said. “Another single peep out of you, and you can join the old man. And you,” he turned to Aven, “grab the axe and get carving. You blinked, and your chainmate paid the price. You’re doing the work for double. Or you’ll be left behind in the snow.”

Ko’jan’s eyes met Aven’s as Veese hauled the beastkin to his feet. The fury there hadn’t dimmed.

Aven turned away and began carving. The other prisoners were careful, shielding their arms with cloths while cutting apart the corpse, careful not to let fresh black blood onto their skin. Some caught the blood in jars. The cursed properties ran out swiftly, but apparently the jars were enchanted to preserve them. Aven didn’t need that same caution. The blood burned when it splashed across his skin, but the burn swiftly faded. Aven could peel away the chitinous plates of armor without fear. He could hack the flesh to pieces and toss the chunks in the barrels as easily as if it were normal meat rather than unearthly poison.

The blood soaked him, but Aven couldn’t bring himself to care.

Voidspawn chitin could be made into armor. The spikes would serve as spear or arrowheads. Who knew what the black blood would be used for? All of this was just a harvest for the empire.

One other prisoner had died. A human with the blond hair and tall build that hinted towards Ondrar heritage. Aven didn’t know his name. The living chainmate struggled with the load, but a pair of other prisoners joined to carry the corpse so the living prisoner could work. No one offered the same courtesy to Aven. No one touched Old Fox’s corpse.

When they finished with the voidspawn, the crew packed up and began marching.

“Can’t you unchain him?” Aven asked Erdrak while indicating Old Fox’s corpse.

Erdrak sneered, “If no one wants to help you with his corpse, you can drag it back yourself.”

“I won’t be able to keep pace hauling a body,” Aven said.

“No, you won’t,” Erdrak said. “Best get back to the fort before nightfall. That’s when we close the gates.” His lip curled, revealing fangs, “Good luck, voidtouched.” He turned away from Aven, “March, maggots!”

The prisoners marched away. Aven stared after them in disbelief. They were really going to just leave him. Chained to a corpse, out in the wilderness with nothing for miles. Nothing but voidspawn.

Aven laughed. And laughed. His laughter followed after the retreating line of prisoners, echoing in the empty wilderness.

All this time, fate had allowed Aven to live while other men died around him. Better men. Braver men. Whatever twisted fate had decided Aven should live now faced the defiance of those who wished him to die. Those who had fought alongside him.

Aven was still laughing, lying back in the snow when the line of prisoners disappeared over the hill back south towards Hellfrost. One of the figures might have paused to look back. Or maybe that was only wishful thinking.

Clouds were beginning to form overhead. It would probably snow soon.

Something chittered.

Aven raised his head to see a voidspawn crawl out of the pit. Alone. A small, pathetic thing, only the size of a wolf when some were the size of a horse. It crawled onto the rocks on six clawed talons, sniffing the ground where the black blood and remains of the carcasses stained the snow. Did voidspawn have a concept of family? Did it recognize that it was standing amid the corpses of its brothers and sisters? Or did the thing only hunger?

Aven hauled himself up and picked up the spear where it lay in the snow, covered in black blood and gore. The monster raised its head, and its many-faceted eye fixed on Aven.

“Come on,” Aven said.

The voidspawn’s head tilted to an unnatural angle, as if it was listening to his words. Then it lunged.

Right for Old Fox.

Too far away, Aven’s spear didn’t reach the creature before its jaws split open into four parts and latched onto Old Fox’s leg. Aven didn’t even have time to curse his fate before the creature jerked back, dragging the corpse back towards the voidpit. The corpse and the chain still binding Old Fox’s other leg to Aven.

Aven jerked back, pulling back against the voidspawn. Right onto a patch of slicker ice. Aven went down, ass to snow. Maybe he imagined triumph glittering in those faceted eyes before he was jerked and dragged across the ground. There was no purchase in the snow. Even as Aven was pulled towards the pit, the spear slipped out of his grasp, leaving him weaponless.

Aven tried to grab onto rocks, but his fingers slipped. His heels scraped furrows into the snow as he struggled. A hand closed onto something solid. A rock. It ripped free of the ground.

The voidspawn plunged into the voidpit. Old Fox fell too, half submerged in the inky blackness of the voidpit. Aven’s feet went over the edge. Finally, he managed to grasp a firm hold on the side of the ledge.

The strain on his shoulder nearly wrenched his arm out of the socket. Yet he held, muscles screaming, the rock clutched in his hand digging into his flesh. He hung suspended over the void.

What’s the point? The thought came as an almost audible whisper in his ear. Aven glanced up. The snow-covered wastelands stretched out. Empty. If Aven’s strength gave out and he was dragged into the Void, no one would care. Another insistent tug at his ankle as the voidspawn pulled at Old Fox’s corpse. The half-delirious thought came as a cruel joke: at least something in this world wanted him.

The power of the void rose up inside him. Calling out to the void below, as if they were connected by a string. Perhaps it was the void that called out. Maybe it was his own thoughts.

Does it matter?

Did it matter at all whether Aven died or lived?

Aven sighed. His eyes closed.

He let go.

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