the severed claw of the creature that had kiled him. It seemed fitting, somehow, to show that his death had been avenged.
Not that the poor sod'll know anything about it, Frey thought, as Gimble's crewmates began to fil in the grave.
Last night's other casualty, the eager young Tarworth, was in better shape. He was limping along, using a rifle as a makeshift crutch, but his spirits seemed high.
Frey saw him joking with Ucke as they set out. Ucke grinned, showing his uneven mouthful of scavenged teeth.
Pinn looked shifty al morning, but nobody said a word about his little mishap with a pistol. Frey's own pistol had been lost during his flight from the beast, so he'd taken Gimble's twin revolvers. Nobody seemed to mind, and Gimble wouldn't need them.
Their pace was slow, for Tarworth's sake. Hodd assured them they'd be at the crash site by mid-afternoon, but even that seemed too long. Last night's attack had made them wary, and they jumped at every rusde of leaves. Yet despite the sound of animals al around them, they caught barely a glimpse of the local wildlife.
The animals heard or smeled them long before they arrived, and made themselves scarce.
'See, boys?' said Grist. 'They're more afraid of us than we are of them!'
Speak for yourself, thought Frey. You didn't see what attacked the camp.
At midday, they found the vilage.
It was dug into a hilside, half-buried by the slope of the land. The trees had thinned out and there was little undergrowth. Sunken trenches with wals of stone blocks formed enclosures and yards. Oversized doorways led into passages, tunneling into the hil. Scattered about were crude huts of rock and packed mud, their roofs falen in. It was an abandoned place, empty of life.
'Your lost tribe?' Grist asked Hodd.
'Sadly not,' said the explorer. He blew his nose on a handkerchief. 'This is a beast-man vilage. Home to the savages that inhabit this island. I passed it last time I was here.' He swept the buildings with a disinterested gaze. 'They have been wel documented by explorers before me. Come on. The craft isn't much further.'
They ignored him. Several of them wandered off to investigate the huts. Frey stayed back. Dead as it was, the vilage was uncomfortably roomy, built for people much bigger than the average Vard. He didn't like the size of some of those doorways. 'So there are beast-men?' he asked Hodd. 'That much is true?'
'Oh, indeed,' said Hodd. 'I have seen some from afar. They walk like men, but they are more like animals.'
'What are their women like? Are they like animals too?' Pinn asked, nudging Malvery in the ribs.
Hodd merely looked puzzled. 'Their . . . women?'
'What happened to the beast-men who lived here?' Frey asked, changing the subject before Pinn could get realy lewd.
Hodd sniffed. 'Perhaps driven away by a rival tribe. They are a violent sort.'
'Cap'n!' Jez caled. She was waving from the doorway of a hut.
Hodd roled his eyes. 'Must we waste al this time? I told you, there's nothing you'l find that the Explorer's Guild doesn't already know. Beast-men have been thoroughly, thoroughly researched. There's simply nothing more to say! An exploratory dead-end!'
'Ah, let 'em have their fun,' said Grist. He spat out the butt of a cigar and put a fresh one in his mouth.
'Ooh, look at this! Look at that!' Hodd mocked sourly, in cruel imitation. 'There's nothing worse than watching amateur explorers at work.'
Frey walked over to Jez and joined her inside the hut. It was little more than a circular wal with a floor of mud and rotted rushes, but unlike the others, its roof was stil mostly intact. Whatever had been inside had long disappeared.
Jez was crouching by a wal, holding a broken necklace of coloured stone. Frey took it from her.
'Genuine beast-man necklace,' he said. 'Nice work, Jez. Might be worth something.'
'Have it if you want, Cap'n, but that wasn't what I caled you over for. Look.'
He crouched down next to her. There was a smal circle of stones on one side
Not that the poor sod'll know anything about it, Frey thought, as Gimble's crewmates began to fil in the grave.
Last night's other casualty, the eager young Tarworth, was in better shape. He was limping along, using a rifle as a makeshift crutch, but his spirits seemed high.
Frey saw him joking with Ucke as they set out. Ucke grinned, showing his uneven mouthful of scavenged teeth.
Pinn looked shifty al morning, but nobody said a word about his little mishap with a pistol. Frey's own pistol had been lost during his flight from the beast, so he'd taken Gimble's twin revolvers. Nobody seemed to mind, and Gimble wouldn't need them.
Their pace was slow, for Tarworth's sake. Hodd assured them they'd be at the crash site by mid-afternoon, but even that seemed too long. Last night's attack had made them wary, and they jumped at every rusde of leaves. Yet despite the sound of animals al around them, they caught barely a glimpse of the local wildlife.
The animals heard or smeled them long before they arrived, and made themselves scarce.
'See, boys?' said Grist. 'They're more afraid of us than we are of them!'
Speak for yourself, thought Frey. You didn't see what attacked the camp.
At midday, they found the vilage.
It was dug into a hilside, half-buried by the slope of the land. The trees had thinned out and there was little undergrowth. Sunken trenches with wals of stone blocks formed enclosures and yards. Oversized doorways led into passages, tunneling into the hil. Scattered about were crude huts of rock and packed mud, their roofs falen in. It was an abandoned place, empty of life.
'Your lost tribe?' Grist asked Hodd.
'Sadly not,' said the explorer. He blew his nose on a handkerchief. 'This is a beast-man vilage. Home to the savages that inhabit this island. I passed it last time I was here.' He swept the buildings with a disinterested gaze. 'They have been wel documented by explorers before me. Come on. The craft isn't much further.'
They ignored him. Several of them wandered off to investigate the huts. Frey stayed back. Dead as it was, the vilage was uncomfortably roomy, built for people much bigger than the average Vard. He didn't like the size of some of those doorways. 'So there are beast-men?' he asked Hodd. 'That much is true?'
'Oh, indeed,' said Hodd. 'I have seen some from afar. They walk like men, but they are more like animals.'
'What are their women like? Are they like animals too?' Pinn asked, nudging Malvery in the ribs.
Hodd merely looked puzzled. 'Their . . . women?'
'What happened to the beast-men who lived here?' Frey asked, changing the subject before Pinn could get realy lewd.
Hodd sniffed. 'Perhaps driven away by a rival tribe. They are a violent sort.'
'Cap'n!' Jez caled. She was waving from the doorway of a hut.
Hodd roled his eyes. 'Must we waste al this time? I told you, there's nothing you'l find that the Explorer's Guild doesn't already know. Beast-men have been thoroughly, thoroughly researched. There's simply nothing more to say! An exploratory dead-end!'
'Ah, let 'em have their fun,' said Grist. He spat out the butt of a cigar and put a fresh one in his mouth.
'Ooh, look at this! Look at that!' Hodd mocked sourly, in cruel imitation. 'There's nothing worse than watching amateur explorers at work.'
Frey walked over to Jez and joined her inside the hut. It was little more than a circular wal with a floor of mud and rotted rushes, but unlike the others, its roof was stil mostly intact. Whatever had been inside had long disappeared.
Jez was crouching by a wal, holding a broken necklace of coloured stone. Frey took it from her.
'Genuine beast-man necklace,' he said. 'Nice work, Jez. Might be worth something.'
'Have it if you want, Cap'n, but that wasn't what I caled you over for. Look.'
He crouched down next to her. There was a smal circle of stones on one side
Similar Books
