Butcher of Gadobhra Chapter 192 Rough Draft (Patreon)

"Toss the little bone-gnawers four barrels today, looks like feeding time is popular with them." Billy was balancing on a stack of three barrels to get a good look at the area they had dumped barrels full of guts the last two mornings. Ghouls were hiding in every crack or crevice, hopping up and down, gnawing on bones and each other. Word had spread that tasty meat was falling from the sky.

"You're the boss. I just hope none of them are smart enough to make a connection between the sound a catapult makes and a barrel of snacks smashing into the ground." Four of the stronger workers had packed one of the new catapults to the courtyard in front of the ACME building. Ben had spent a long time with Rolly and Squirmie helping him calibrate the aim and the tension to dump the barrels where they wanted them. With Rolly around, Ben didn't have to worry about his calculations being correct and Squirmie was an ideal ariel scout, letting them know exactly where each ranging shut hit.

The last two nights had seen a lot of activity at the stockyards with two dozen contract workers led by the Baron and Baroness butchering everything in sight. The magic of the stockyards was working to refill the pens, but they were clearing them each night and the respawn was slowing down. Bob and his hound had showed up each night, eager for the hunt. While Bob had been hunting wild animals for centuries, the hunts in the Fae lands were highly stylized with packs of dogs and huntsmen flushing the game and driving it to the hunters. Who got to kill the beast was pre-arranged. It was all just a dance with a familiar outcome.

Here in the stockyards it was different. There was an unpredictability to the creatures. Was this type of carnivorous sheep explosive? Or did it have some other trick? Bob felt himself pushed to his limits, straining his skills and relishing the bit of danger he was in. There was also the difference between a tired creature, and one that was fresh and eager to hunt Bob as much as Bob wanted to hunt it. Twitterberry and the hound had saved their Lord's life five times in the last three nights. But they had to admit he was getting better

The meat had been shipped to Sedgewick and dumped into the growing charnel pit. The doors were opened and a wagonload of meat was pushed inside. A few minutes later, a bloody and battered wagon was ejected out those same doors, piled high was smoked meats of all types.
The workers were spending a lot of time packing the meat into barrels. Some was labeled 'Smoked Sedge Beast', others 'Smoked Meat', and a few just said 'Smoked Mystery Meat Surprise!'

The Legion bought it all. Optio Gustavus opened up the barrels and took a look at the mystery meat, and declared it fine eating. "It's a damned sight better than what an army normally eats in the field and no one is going to complain. If anything, the variety of what's inside will be appreciated."

Not everything went to the hungry charnel pit. Suzette had spent some of the town's saved Building Points to create more Storehouses. Hams, pork bellies, wings of all types, and choice cuts from some of the beasts were stored inside where the resident refrigerator mage froze them solid. Once a storehouse was packed with frozen meat and Hermetically Sealed, Delbert just had to refresh his spells once a week to keep things frozen solid.

There was some worry about what was going on, both Billy's plan for emptying the stockyards and the increasingly dangerous charnel pit. Joe assured Ben and Rolly that keeping it busy like this was helping, slowing the growth and even setting it back a bit. The pit was burning mana to get the work done, and they gained a measure of control by regulating how much they fed it.

But eventually, they needed a Butcher to control it, and not someone who had barely graduated from the crash course in slaughtering that more and more of the contract workers were taking. "Any luck with finding him, Joe?" Ben was working on a couple of ways to locate Ozzy; Joe was one of those ways. The old smoke golem was cagey and didn't reveal a lot, but he also wasn't outright hostile to them.

"Maybe. Maybe not. If I'd been there when he blew up, I'd have a better idea. From what the little Outlander says, he really lost his temper. I warned him he burned too hot sometimes. I'm still curious about mixing light and dark, too. That might have something to do with it. Dark gives a lot of fuel and power, but light burns hot and really stokes the furnace. But both? Now that's going to be interesting. Very interesting."

"But what I can tell you is that a Cyclone blew through the area a little after he blew himself up. That's a strange event in and of itself. If he floated up high enough, he might have got caught in its wake and taken for a spin. Or, and this is of more concern, he might have been the reason it showed up. He was on the edge of learning some secrets on his own. Secrets that some folk think should stay in the Smoke. That's all I have for you now."

Ben doffed his hat and bowed. "I thank you for any help you can offer sir, in our quest to find our mutual friend. I have another idea. We have a circle of witches; I'm hoping that one of them can find a way to track him."

Joe scratched his chin. "Might work. Might not. Some of those witches are pretty new. Titania or Jenny would know the spell, if any of them. Be careful with those two, either one might ask a steep price for the help." Joe took an empty whiskey bottle, and exhaled into it, filling it with dark smoke. He corked it and handed it to Ben. The smoke inside continued to swirl around. "Take that. Might help."

Ben stared at the bottle, watching the smoke move around. "Magic smoke?"

Joe turned away without answering, then stopped. He knew the courier would just keep digging for answers, and he had a charnel pit to keep under control. "Yeah, 'magic smoke'. It's part of the Butcher. I saved one of his smoke rings, just to compare how much better he got, week to week. That might help a witch, or something else, get an idea of where he was. Don't break it, you aren't getting another."

Ben nodded, and bowed again, then went off to talk to Suzette.

Baron William of Gadobhra dressed carefully. This was going to be an important meeting, and he wanted to look his best. He was dressed all in leather from an Elite sedge beast called Ironhide. True to her name, the beast had been a challenge damage and the fight had resulted in four dead contract workers before Bob managed to put her down. Several of the workers had received rolls of 'Ironhide Leather'. Billy had paid them handsomely for the material and had his local leather workers work with the village seamstress to product outfits for he and his Baroness. The result was black leather knee-high boots, tight leather pants, and long-sleeved leather coats. The black leather went well with the red ruffled tunics they wore under the coats. Each also had a bloody cleaver hanging from their belts.

Layla was already dressed and observing the city through a large telescope Billy had bought and installed. It had cost him over one hundred gold pieces, but he had claimed it was needed for his 'planning'. Billy wasn't fixated on that anymore, but a telescope has many uses, like watching to see who is doing what in your city. They had some unannounced appointments with a few of those people. She descended to the first floor where Billy had poured two glasses of wine. They drank, Layla put a large sledgehammer over her shoulder, and they headed deeper into the city.

Rufus was carefully making his way into the city, a large chest on one shoulder and a heavy pack on his back. After seeing how much the contract workers could lift and carry because of their special abilities he had put a some of his points towards a Core Skill that worked the same way. It had become essential on his early morning deliveries of parts that McTeeth needed. Today he was delivering springs and gears for some of the traps, along with sharper blades made of the new steel alloys they had available in the smithy. He was very careful about how much he pilfered some mornings when the workers were getting breakfast, and made sure to pay for most of his other raw materials. It all belonged to the Baron in the end, so really, it wasn't stealing. He and McTeeth were just moving around raw materials and resources. If a few hundred gold ended up in his hidden chest, that was just repayment for his hard work. And besides, he knew McTeeth was getting at least three times as much as he was. It was a win-win-win-win situation for himself, McTeeth, the Baron, and the creepy voice that McTeeth talked to in the big castle.

As he rounded the last pile of rubble, he was surprised to see the Baron standing in his way, resplendent in black and red. Baron William was smoking a cigar, and practicing smoke rings. "Morning Rufus. You're working hard I see."

Rufus nodded his head in the best bow he could make with his heavy load. "That's exactly right, sir. I'm delivering parts to McTeeth for the project you and he have going up at the castle."

Billy blew another smoke ring. "Good to see my workers putting in some overtime. But now that I think about it, you aren't one of my workers, are you? You shouldn't be doing such hard work for no pay."

"That's right sir, I'm a regular player. But I'm learning so much working with your people that I don't mind putting in the overtime. The crafting levels I've gained are really worth a lot more than the labor I put in. No need to worry about me."

A voice behind him took him by surprise. Turning, he saw the Baroness was behind him, holding a large sledgehammer. "Oh, but we do worry about you Rufus. And we want to make sure everyone gets what they deserve. The Baron and I have been working so hard lately, sometimes things slip by him, but I've reminded him of a few things lately, and he's anxious to straighten them out."

Rufus smiled at both of them. "Hard work is always a great thing. Speaking of that, I should deliver these parts, McTeeth really likes to keep to a schedule."

Billy and Layla flanked him. "Well then, we'll escort you. We wouldn't want to see you delayed by a hungry monster of some sort." Rufus found himself escorted through the ruined buildings and up the steps of the castle. The Baron stopped at the top and pulled some paperwork out of his sleeve.

"Here, this is for you. It has payment for all those hours of overtime you put in working in the smithy. It also has a few charges attached to it for the cost of the metals you used that weren't accounted for. It looks like you might owe me a little bit. Something like 310 gold pieces. Dark Steel doesn't come cheaply."

Rufus looked at the paper. It was very detailed and came on a piece of heavy parchment with the ACME logo on it.

Layla laughed. "And don't worry about bringing the gold to us. Jorges collected it from the little chest you had buried under the brick pile."

Rufus sighed. He was going to have to hit McTeeth up for more money. That was always a challenge. But it was hard to argue the point with the Baron and Baroness when he was caught in a delivery, and they already had his money.

Layla was whistling as she paced off a distance and consulted a piece of paper. Then she swung the hammer hard at the castle wall, low where the wall met the floor. Instead of rebounding off the marble block, something cracked. She hit three more times, shattering the door to a hidden area. "You can have the honors Billy."

The Baron cleared the debris, and pulled out a small chest. Opening it, Rufus saw it was filled to the brim with gems and gold. He realized it was going to be even harder to get some money out of McTeeth.

The Baron knocked on the large door and it opened. "After you, Rufus. No worries, it's safe right now in the front lobby. You and I and The Baroness and Mr. McTeeth are going to have a small talk, and renegotiate out deal."

The Baroness smiled at him, causing his heart to miss a beat. "And then the Baron and I are going to go make a small visit to The Pit. You and McTeeth are invited to come along."