“I’ll carry you,” Devin said. He reached for Casey, and she shrank away.

  “Sorry!” Devin said. “I’m sorry. I just …”

  “It’s OK,” Casey said. “Turn around. I’ll climb onto your back.”

  Her weight was nothing, and he found his new balance immediately. He doubted he could run any faster by himself. The hardest part was the feeling of her pressed up against him. He cursed his own thoughts and ran faster.

  The first thing he saw when he came out of the forest was the burned remains of the farmhouse and barn. The crops were trampled, and the fields were a mess. The only thing that hadn’t been touched were the ruins of the outbuilding.

  Three people hung from hastily erected wooden structures next to the farmhouse. Milo sat next to them, watching him approach.

  Devin’s mind kept trying to convince him these were scarecrows or effigies... anything but people.

  As he got closer, he couldn’t pretend anymore. The three x-frames had been built from the broken lumber of the barn. They’d been braced against the picket fence that surrounded the farmhouse. They were crude but sufficient for their task.

  The farmer, his wife, and their young son Lee were nailed to the crosses. Spikes had been hammered through their ankles and wrists.

  “Shit,” Devin said. “Are they …”

  “The boy’s alive,” Casey said. She jumped down off Devin’s back and climbed up on the fence so she could reach Lee. She laid her hand on his leg and closed her eyes.

  Devin held his breath. Green light flickered across Casey’s hand. It spread over Lee’s body. Color returned to his face, and his head twitched. He coughed a few times.

  Casey almost fell off the fence before Devin caught her. He lowered her to a sitting position.

  “What’s wrong?” he said.

  “Nothing,” she said. “We have to get him down.”

  “How?” Devin said. “The spikes are driven through his bones.”

  Casey dug a snapstick out of her pack. “Break this under his nose. Be careful not to breathe any in yourself.”

  Devin took the tube and climbed up onto the fence. He popped the tube under Lee’s nose, turning his own head away.

  Casey placed a red jar of salve on the ground next to the fence. “If something happens to me, rub this on his wounds.”

  “Wait, what’s going to happen to you?” Devin said.

  “Being a healer has its risks,” Casey said. “Please, just do what I say. I don’t have the energy to answer questions right now.”

  Devin nodded.

  “We need to free his legs first,” Casey said. “We’re going to have to hold him up until we can get his arms free, too.”

  “Can you help” Devin asked Milo.

  “I’ll do my best,” Milo said. “You may have noticed I don’t have thumbs.”

  Milo’s figured blurred, and the bobcat stood where the dog had been.

  The party has lost Milo’s Boost ‘Pack Tactics.’

  “Gah!” Devin said. He took a step back without thinking. Milo gave him a look, then leapt up onto the middle cross. He stretched out until his paws crossed over the boy’s neck and held him in place. He bit down on the back of Lee’s tunic.

  Devin touched the spike stuck driven through the boy’s ankles. “I don’t think I can pull this out.”

  Casey pulled herself up to a standing position. “Don’t pull the spike. Pull his legs.”

  “That’ll kill him for sure!”

  “No, it won’t. With the snapstick you gave him, he won’t feel anything. I can deal with the shock and bleeding if we do one spike at a time. I can heal injuries, but I can’t remove foreign objects from the body.”

  “But …”

  She turned her head in his direction. “Just do it, Devin. He’s almost gone, and I can’t help him while he’s hanging there.”

  He’d never heard her raise her voice, not even when speaking to the crowd of townspeople. It was like getting sandblasted by her will. He grabbed both ankles, muttered an apology to Lee and yanked his legs towards him.

  It was like pulling a rotten board off a fence. The cross wobbled and Devin was sprayed with blood. Casey grabbed Lee’s foot and whispered soothing words.

  For a few seconds, nothing happened. Then the awful gashes closed into puckered wounds. Casey slumped against the fence.

  “Give me a second,” she said. “I have to take this slow, or I’ll overload him with Life energy and do more harm than good.”

  “Why not use the salve?” Devin said.

  “Not unless we have to,” she said.

  Devin grimaced but didn’t argue. Casey sat panting for several seconds, then nodded to Devin.

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  “Ready,” she said.

  Devin held his breath and yanked Lee’s right wrist over the nail. Blood spurted from the wound. Casey healed Lee again, then her eyes rolled up in her head and she collapsed to the ground.

  Devin jumped off the fence and bent over Casey. She was breathing.

  Lee slipped further down.

  “I don’t mean to alarm you, but if you don’t help, I’ll have to claw him to hold him up,” Milo said.

  “Dammit,” Devin said. He took a deep breath, then ripped Lee’s arm from the remaining spike.

  Devin set the boy down on the ground and snatched up the healing salve. He slathered the stuff all over Lee’s arms and legs. It was absorbed into the boy’s skin as soon as he put it on. The wounds closed and Devin breathed out a sigh of relief.

  Even with everything going on, Devin found it interesting that his own skin didn’t absorb the salve. Was that because he wasn’t hurt, or did the potion somehow know who it was supposed to heal?

  Devin checked on Casey again. Her breathing was steady, and she didn’t seem injured.

  “She'll be fine after some rest,” Devin said. “I hope.” He turned back to the grisly sight and his expression sobered.

  “What happened here?” he said, “Was this bandits?”

  “Bandits?” Milo looked at him like he was stupid. “The Patriarch’s troops did this.”

  “What? Why?” But Devin knew. He slumped. “This is my fault, isn’t it?”

  “No, Devin,” Milo said. “You didn’t do this to these people. This has been happening to people in Teth for a very long time.”

  “What exactly did happen?” Devin said.

  He saw a flicker of violet light play around the cat’s ears. This time, he knew what that meant. Milo was using powers. Violet meant Universal Knowledge, the Logic sphere, which made total sense.

  “Farmer Winsley went to Pitmerden with the intention to summon the local constable,” Milo said. “Unfortunately, a detachment of the Patriarch’s regulars were passing through. They accompanied the constable back here. When they questioned the family, Bryce Winsley confided to their officer that he’d tried to apprehend you, but his brother allowed you to escape. The officer ordered the punishment prescribed under the Patriarch’s law for aiding the escape of a Warlock – crucifixion of everyone involved.”

  “My God,” Devin said. “I knew that Bryce kid was a psycho, but I never thought he’d do this to his own family.”

  “He didn’t intend this to happen,” Milo said. “Like you, he didn’t understand the realities of Teth. The stories spread by soldiers and knights make them out as heroes, and the Patriarch as the most heroic of all. Young people can be tragically swayed by these types of stories.”

  “I should have killed him,” Devin said.

  “He might have preferred that,” Milo said. “The officer ‘rewarded’ him for his honesty by sending him to Zarkmaith Prison instead of crucifying him alongside his family. But he was forced to watch first.”

  Devin blinked. “Prison? Why have a prison if you’re going to kill anyone who so much as jaywalks?”

  “I don’t know,” Milo said. “The guards seemed to think that being sent to the prison is a fate worse than death, so perhaps it’s to sow terror among the populace. Bryce became catatonic when he heard where he was going and had to be physically carried away.”

  Devin wondered what sort of place could terrify a man more than crucifixion.

  “What’s the army officers name?” he said. “The one who ordered this.”

  “He’s not important,” Milo said. “He’s one of many.”

  “His name,” Devin said.

  More light played over Milo’s coat. “His name is Lieutenant Daniel Carlman.”

  Devin nodded. It was enough. He wasn’t going to go tearing off on a vengeance mission right now, but he’d look up Lieutenant Carlman if he got the chance.

  He’d gotten a couple of achievements since he last checked.

  Achievement Unlocked! – The 100 Club. You’ve walked 100 kilometers on Senarci. Don’t get too excited. It’s a big club.

  Reward: 1 Fundamental Forces shard.

  Achievement Unlocked! – Problem Salved. You used a magical salve on a fatally wounded person.

  Reward: 1 Life shard.

  Devin searched the farmhouse to make sure no one was hiding. The buildings had been destroyed during the battle with the tree, and the farm was a mess. An awful smell permeated the area. At first, Devin thought it was the corpses, but it was coming from the remains of the tree. He kept his distance. The stink was so bad he suspected it could knock an unenhanced person out if they got too close.

  Devin remembered something, and his blood ran cold. “Where are the kids?” he said.

  “The constables took them back to Pitmerden,” Milo said. “They’re in no immediate danger. Young children are exempt from most punishments. I imagine they’ll be placed with a family in the village.”

  Devin let out a breath. “Well, that’s something.” His stomach clenched as he looked up at the farmer and his wife. His mind played images of the children returning to the farm to see their parents like this. He couldn’t just leave them there.

  He decided to pull the crosses out of the ground with the bodies still on them so he could pull out the spikes. He tried to be respectful, but the whole process was ghastly.

  His enhanced strength and stamina should have let him make short work of digging a grave big enough for the two of them to lie side by side, but the ground was rocky and the shovel wasn’t enhanced. He broke it within a minute. He found another one in the rubble of the barn and was more careful after that.

  After he was done with the graves, he worked to remove all traces of the horror. He tossed all the wood onto the wreckage of the farmhouse. For a moment, he considered burning it all, but decided it wasn’t necessary.

  He checked his character sheet and frowned. He’d earned a grand total of 1 Might point for all the digging, along with another achievement.

  Achievement Unlocked – Gopher. You’ve done a disproportionate amount of digging given the time you’ve been here. I hope you’re looking for buried treasure.

  Reward: 1 Fundamental Forces shard.

  “How come there’s not a digging ability?” he said.

  “Take it up with the gods,” Milo said. He’d transformed back into his dog form. It had been a gradual change this time.

  “Why did it take longer for you to change that time?”

  “It costs less mana if I do it slowly,” Milo said.

  Devin tried to wake up Casey again with no luck. He decided to let her sleep while he tried out his looting Boost on the tree. He found a rag and tied it around his nose, then went to look at the tree. Milo stood up, yawned, stretched, and followed him.

  The stench was a million times worse this close. Devin held his breath, but Milo walked right up to it and sniffed it.

  “I told you this tree was weak,” Milo said. “It’s rotten to the core.”

  “How can you stand that smell?” Devin said through his improvised mask.

  “Smells are nothing more than data,” Milo said. “With a nose as exquisite as mine, you learn to appreciate them all.”

  Devin sighed and touched the bark. “Transmute!” he said.

  Victorious Transmutation created 1 item. Two Life shards substituted for 1 missing Fundamental Forces shard. The total cost was 7 Fundamental Forces shards and 2 Life shards.

  Reddish fog covered the tree. When it cleared, most of the tree had vanished. What was left looked like the trunk of a normal tree that had fallen onto the barn. Even the smell was gone.

  Devin – The Boost can substitute shards?

  Milo – It can, although it can get expensive. Every shard that’s swapped doubles the cost.

  Devin – I didn’t get an option to refuse.

  Milo – And you won’t. You’d be able to learn too much about the item before spending the shards.

  Devin – That sucks. You didn’t tell me about that earlier.

  Milo – Welcome to the big leagues. I told you to make sure you had enough shards, and I assumed that was sufficient. If I had to go down every tangent of every explanation I gave you, we’d still be in that tree outside Horgoff. It’s already hard enough to keep your brain pointed in the right direction.

  Devin – Fair enough. How does swapping work?

  Milo - Abilities that can use more than one type of shard generally allow the substitution of any type of shard they can use. If you have the shards in your possession, they’ll use as many as it takes.

  Devin – All right. Let’s see what we got. It sure cost enough.