Chapter 3 – The Price of Strength

  Muffled voices were speaking around him. The cool, damp air blowing on his face. It was daytime, but he could tell through his eyelids he was shaded.

  Frelka slowly opened his eyes to find himself staring at the tarp above the beds on the roof of one of the bars in Mongrel.

  His leg was throbbing. Then he remembered it. The fighting. The capture. The eating. The eating! Beep!

  Frelka bolted up. Instantly he felt a pair of hands pushing gently against his chest. “Hey, hey, hey,” Stitch said. “Calm down big fella. You’re good. You’re safe. Me and the boys got you three outta there just in the nick o’ time.”

  Frelka braced himself with his left hand while he cleaned the sleepy from his eyes with his right. He winced. The sudden jerking had sent a spasm through his broken leg. Slowly, he finished rubbing his eyes and opened them to look around. Beep was lying on the bed next to him, still asleep. Shryke sat on a stool between the two of them, watching over them diligently. She smiled when they locked eyes. “Told you we shouldn’t have pushed so far, you big ox.”

  Though she wore a smile, her eyes told a different story. Was it resentment? Frelka couldn’t be sure, but he could tell in her forced smile and tone that her statement wasn’t just an “I told you so.”

  Frelka slumped his shoulder and mindlessly placed one hand on his broken leg, as if to stabilize it from any further accidental movements. “Shryke, you...you were right. I'm so sorry. I vas overconfident. I vas thinking with my brawn und not my brain. Can you ever forgive me?”

  Shryke’s fa?ade dropped, and she hung her head low, letting her shoulders slump. “Hey now,” she mumbled, “you don’t have to be that serious about it. Just flex your muscles and say they got lucky or something, yeah? Besides,” she nodded in Beep’s direction, “I’m not the one you have to worry about forgiveness from. Without a prosthetic, Beep’s career as a swordsman is over.”

  Frelka looked back over to Beep. His entire left leg was gone! Shame, guilt, and regret swarmed inside him instantly. Beep had placed his faith in him, and he failed him. Failed them both. He didn’t exactly ask to be their leader, and no one ever said he was…but they all knew it, Frelka included. And as the leader, this failure was on him.

  “Und how much is a prosthetic?” he asked, looking between Stitch and Shryke.

  Stitch’s eyebrows shot upward, and his mouth opened, one side of his cheek pulling upward as he shook his head back and forth and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “Not sure really. You’d be killed for even possessing one where I’m from. Okran forbid you wear the thing. You might as well hang a sign around your neck that says, ‘I’m soulless, kill me please’…at least, to them.”

  Frelka looked back to Shryke. “Well,” she said, wrapping her hand around the upper part of her mouth, her finger and thumb cupping either cheekbone, “there is a mechanics shop here in Mongrel. Not sure what type of quality they’ll have there, but you may get lucky and find a left leg for him.

  “In terms of what they cost, well that just depends on what you want and in what condition. I’d say a shoddy economy left leg might run you a few hundred Cats. You want something special, like one built for stealth or scouting, that could get up close to twenty thousand Cats.”

  Frelka felt like someone had punched him. Up to twenty thousand Cats?! The house they bought was huge and still only cost sixteen thousand.

  “Well,” Frelka said slowly, “what’s done is done. Beep needs a new leg, und I won’t stop until he gets von. I just need to–” He winced as he tried to move his leg. “–Just need to get moving over to da copper mine again, ja?”

  Stitch and Shryke both placed their hands on his chest, encouraging him to sit back down.

  “Hey,” Shryke said, “you’re still injured. At least give it a couple of days before you go running around on a fractured leg. You were only out for like half a day in the first place. Besides, I can walk just fine. If anyone is going mining for copper, it’s me.”

  “But this is not your fault,” Frelka grunted, pain now surging through his leg. “I can’t ask you to do that for me.”

  “You don’t have to,” she replied. “We’re a team. If the shoe were on the other foot, you’d help me no problem, right?”

  “Well, of course, but–” Frelka began.

  “No buts,” Shryke interrupted. “You focus on getting better. When you can actually walk around on that thing again, then maybe you can come help with the mining. Until then,” she gestured towards Beep, “I need you to stay and watch over Beep.”

  He hated to admit it, but she was right. Even he had his limitations, and running around on a broken leg would only make things worse. “But I don’t even know how long it would take before I’m ready to walk again. That Heavy shattered my leg,” he said.

  Shryke gave a reassuring smile and patted Frelka on the shoulder as she stood, “Don’t worry, you seem to heal pretty quickly from your wounds. Besides, when we were setting it, it didn’t feel like it had been shattered. It might have felt like it at the time, but it may just be a fracture.”

  With that, she turned and walked off. “Anyway, I guess I’m off to start mining. Don’t worry, I’ll take some of those outlaws with me. Figure I can pay ‘em for the protection so long as they promise not to abuse our spot.”

  ~~

  It had been a week since Frelka woke up, but already he was able to get up and hobble around, albeit with a crutch. Still, Shryke had been right, the injury wasn’t as severe as he had feared, and he seemed to be healing quickly.

  Unfortunately, Beep had yet to wake up. Shryke continued to assure Frelka that it was just the shock of losing a limb and that he’d wake up any day now, but with each passing day, Frelka became more and more concerned that he would go to sleep and wake up without a friend.

  It was during one of these episodes of fixation that he heard a grunting.

  “Uh. Uh. Beep. Ow. Beep,” Beep muttered as he began moving slowly, his eyes still closed.

  “Beep,” Frelka said, quickly crossing the rooftop back to his friend’s bedside. “Hey buddy, stay calm. You’re okay, but we had some very bad luck the other night, ja? I need you to stay calm und tell me what you remember.”

  Beep slowly opened his eyes and looked at Frelka. “Beep…remembers…” His voice was strained and dry. Frelka quickly poured him a mug of water from a nearby pitcher and slowly propped his head up against his arm and poured the fluid down Beep’s throat.

  Beep drank deeply, choking slightly at the beginning as his eagerness got the better of him. After he finished, Frelka helped him sit up.

  Once he was set properly in bed, Beep looked at Frelka, then around the rooftop, then down.

  “Beep!” he squeaked. “B-B-B-Beep’s leg is m-m-m-missing!”

  Frelka’s heart ached as Beep was reminded of the traumatic events that had been his present mere seconds ago. He placed his hand on Beep’s shoulder and gave a reassuring squeeze and shake. “Hey, hey, listen. Ja, you are missing your leg. Und I am so sorry for this. But Frelka promises you, you will walk again. We will make sure you get a new leg.”

  Beep’s panicked beeps slowly subsided as he listened to Frelka’s reassurances. Finally, there was silence. They sat like this for a few minutes before Beep said, “It’s Beep’s fault. If Beep had not chased after the Fog Heavy as he did, we all could have gone home. We would not have been caught, and Beep would still have his leg. If Beep had been stronger, maybe I could have killed them before they captured us. Beep is sorry.”

  Beep hung his head low as his hands reached out to massage around the stump that remained of his left leg. “Now Beep isn’t just a defective Hive…Beep is a defective fighter as well. Good for nothing Beep…”

  “You’re not defective, Beep,” Frelka said reassuringly. “You were injured, but we can fix it, ja! We can get you a new leg!”

  “Beep has seen these legs. Peglegs. Rusting scraps of metal. Nothing worthy of a warrior. Only worthy of trash…Just like Beep…” Beep’s despair deepened as he watched his imagined future dissolve in front of him. His eyes never leaving his stump.

  Frelka was at a loss for words. Having grown up in a small home in the Skimsands, he had seen few prosthetics, and the ones he had seen matched Beep’s description. He wished he had listened more to what Shryke had said, but all he could remember is how expensive she said they could be.

  As Frelka sank deeper in thought and helplessly grasping for a way to help, Beep sank deeper in his despair. Before long, they both sat in silence, staring into nothing as their minds raced and spiraled.

  ~~

  “Beep! You’re awake…What are you two doing?” Shryke’s sudden question jarred the two from their mental seclusion.

  Frelka looked around, the sun had already set, and the moons were rising in the night sky. Torch posts around the edges of the roof had been lit. It was the calm before the storm–“the silent hour” as the locals called it–the brief period of time after sunset before the screaming began.

  “Beep is despairing,” Beep confessed as Shryke sat down and looked him over.

  “Why?” Shryke asked, her tone a little more callous than Frelka preferred.

  “Because Beep’s life as a swordsman is over,” Beep answered. “All that is left for Beep now is the sweet release of death.”

  Shryke looked to Frelka in disbelief, who, in his shame, hung his head. “Is this what you think I meant by ‘watch over Beep while I’m gone’? What exactly have you been telling him?”

  Frelka shrugged. “Nothing. There is nothing for me to tell him.”

  “You could tell him he’s wrong,” she added, the sass in her voice thick and unmasked.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Frelka looked up to the woman standing over him. “I know you said da prosthetics could help, ja, but Beep and I have only seen da cruddy vons that are no good for fighting with.”

  Shryke rolled her eyes, “And? You think that means those are the only ones in existence?” She glanced over at Beep, her eyes wide with surprise and confusion. “Given the Western Hive’s propensity for mercantilism, I’m shocked you’ve never seen the higher quality limbs out there, Beep.”

  “Beep has never looked,” Beep said.

  “What?” Shryke asked.

  “Beep has never looked at Hive shops. Beep was dysfunctional and banned from his Hive. Beep is not allowed to shop in Hive shops. Beep is ‘Hiveless.’”

  “Oh,” Shryke replied, her voice softer. “Right. Sorry, Beep. I forgot about that part.

  “Well, look, there are better options out there than just shoddy peglegs, okay? Now, I’ve been working my butt off all week. I even hired the entire crew we rescued out there just so I could mine as much copper as possible. I’m almost certain the node is dry now, but I swung by the Mechanics Shop earlier this morning, and I think we have enough to get a high-quality replacement for you, Beep!”

  Beep’s head and shoulders perked up instantly. “High-quality?” he asked. “That sounds better. It sounds…powerful.”

  Shryke gave them both a smile. “Yes, ‘high-quality’ is certainly better than some of the shoddy equipment you can find out there. So, why don’t we go eat some dinner, get some rest, and tomorrow, we can all go get you a new leg!”

  Beep’s depression had already all but evaporated as he said, “Yes! This sounds perfect! Beep will rise again! His foes will fear the new Beep that comes stalking them in the night!”

  As he finished his cry to the fog, he attempted to stand, only to tip over to one side and fall to the ground.

  “Ow,” he groaned, rubbing at his hip. “Can someone help Beep stand up?”

  Frelka and Shryke looked at each other and laughed as Frelka scooped Beep with one arm and helped him down to the tables below.

  ~~

  “That one,” Beep squeaked excitedly as he pointed at one of the legs the Skeleton that ran the Mechanics Shop had laid out on the counter. As he went to hand it to him, Beep interjected, “No, wait, that one.”

  The Skeleton glanced up at Beep, pointing to the leg to his left, silently asking Beep if this was the one he wanted. Beep nodded, but as the Skeleton put the first leg down and picked the second one up, Beep shouted again, “No, wait. The first one was right!”

  The Skeleton dropped the leg on the counter and stood up straight, crossing its arms and staring expressionlessly at Beep.

  Frelka had heard of Skeletons before, but given the proximity of his home to the Holy Nation, he hadn’t ever seen one. Completely mechanical with exposed pipes, bracings, and gears, the Skeleton in front of him could have stood against a wall of pipes and likely have blended in. Its face, as much as one could call it that, was an oblong metal casing with a large central lens in the center of its face. Though it had no need to, it wore simple cloth pants and a cloak, with a metal club strapped to its side.

  “Beep,” Shryke said, “I know you’re excited, but you’ve been doing this for the past ten minutes. How about we talk over your options one more time, make one final decision, and stick with it. We can afford any of the three here, so don’t worry about the Cats, okay?”

  “Okay,” Beep replied sheepishly. He looked back up at the Skeleton. “Beep apologizes. Could you tell me one more time about each one?”

  The Skeleton continued to stare silently at Beep before slumping its shoulders and saying in its monotone voice, “Fine. Just one more time.

  “This first one,” he said, gesturing to a thick and heavy looking leg with a wide, reinforced foot, “is part of the KLR Series. These limbs are not exactly made for athletic activities, but they are sturdy and strong. They’ll be functioning even after you’ve died.”

  He moved to the center limb, a thinner, less reinforced limb with a club-shaped foot that appeared to have some form of rubber padding on its bottom. “This is part of our Stealth Series. As the name implies, this limb is ideal for when you wish to move while making as little noise as possible. You will still experience a slight difficulty with activities such as swimming, but your running and sneaking will be unaffected, possibly even better than before.”

  He gestured to the final limb on the counter. Even thinner than the other two, the “thigh” of this leg was a singular cylinder with a long, curved blade-like extension braced at a high angle serving as a foot. “This limb is part of our Scout Series. Again, as the name implies, this limb is designed for someone who values speed above all else. Thanks to its design, wearers will find it easy to push themselves forward at incredible speeds. While its flat-bladed design will hinder your swimming less than the other two, the lack of padding on it can hinder any covert operations you may wish to undergo. Also, it’s durability is slightly less than the Stealth Series and much less than the KLR. Now, please choose which limb you would prefer.”

  With this, it resumed its cross-armed, silent stare at Beep. Looking at the counter, Frelka knew which limb he’d go for. The KLR series was clearly the superior limb. Who would need to worry about running and sneaking with a leg that was tougher than you were?

  “That one,” Beep said, pointing to the limb on the far left of the Skeleton. “Beep was already fast before he lost his leg. Now, Beep will be the fastest warrior ever! Hahahahabeep.”

  The Skeleton shook its head and said, “Nine-thousand seven hundred and sixty Cats.”

  Frelka felt an involuntary wince. That’s half the cost of our house, he thought to himself as Shryke handed the Skeleton the Cats.

  “Thank you,” the Skeleton said. “Please give me a moment to install the leg. I will show you how it is done in case you need to reattach or replace the limb at some point in the future.”

  With this, the Skeleton stepped out from behind the counter and gestured to Beep. “Please lay on the Skeleton Bed over here.” He led the three over to what Frelka had thought was some kind of torture device from the First Civilization when he first walked in. “This is what is called a Skeleton Bed. It can perform most repairs and replacements of robotic limbs. However,” he said as he laid Beep down and began aligning different knobs, levers, and straps, “you still need to know how to properly adjust the machine, and how to ensure it is set to the proper setting. Otherwise, you could find yourself in worse condition than when you started.”

  The Skeleton spent the next several minutes showing Frelka, Shryke, and Beep the different settings and positions they’d need to set for operating on Beep’s left leg.

  Once he had finished his lecturing, he said, “This part only happens once, but it will hurt.” With no further warning, the Skeleton smacked a button, and a flap folded down next to Beep’s stump and a panel rotated out from the hole, slamming a metal plate with numerous latches and screw holes into Beep’s stump. Beep screamed out in pain as the machine screwed the plate into place, followed by a series of panicked “beeps” that slowly subsided over the ensuing minutes.

  “Apologies, Hiver,” the Skeleton said, monotonously. “In my experience, this part is best done quickly and with no warning to the buyer.”

  Frelka and Shryke, who had been too stunned to respond said, “That didn’t seem better!”

  The Skeleton looked back to the two and said, “It didn’t seem better to you. When I used to explain what was coming, I found that most participants either forwent the procedure altogether–costing me Cats–or reported lingering pain long after the procedure was completed. Now that it is done, however,” he continued, grunting as he set the leg in place and pushed it tightly against Beep’s plate and activating the Skeleton Bed, “now that it’s in place, we can attach his limb, and he can walk out of here on his own.”

  It took about twenty minutes for the machine to completely attach and run a diagnostics check on Beep’s new leg, but by the end, Beep was tentatively standing on two legs again.

  “You will be able to make small repairs on your own, but over time, there will be damage that can only be fixed by a Skeleton Bed. All Mechanics Shops will have one. Some individuals learn to make one, though this requires knowledge from Old World ruins. Regardless, you will need to find one of these beds once you see the damage beginning to pile up.” It nodded at the three of them and added, “Thank you for your patronage. Goodbye.”

  It walked back behind the counter and stood there, silently.

  “Well Beep,” Frelka began, “how do you feel, ja?”

  Beep, whose eyes had not left his new leg, was now shifting his weight back and forth from one leg to the next. After a moment, he looked up at Frelka. “Beep is Skeleton now!”

  “Beep,” Shryke interjected, “you’re not a–”

  “Beep no longer needs to eat!” he declared triumphantly.

  “Beep, you most certainly need to–” Shryke tried again.

  “So long, Skeleton brethren,” Beep said, waving to the Skeleton as he walked out of the shop.

  The Skeleton stared at the strange Hiver without saying another word.

  Frelka and Shryke followed Beep out onto the street where his smile had grown even larger. If Hive could strut, Beep was certainly doing it. His small chest was pushed out to the point that Frelka was worried he’d tip over with one wrong move, while his shoulders and arms were puffed outward as far as he could manage.

  “Watch out Fogmen,” Beep continued, proudly delivering his speech to the air. “Beep is coming for you! Beep will run you down and stab you before you even know he is there! Beep will not only be the best swordsman alive, but the fastest as well!”

  As he finished his speech, he took off running. Before Shryke or Frelka could call out to him, Beep was gone.

  “Should ve go after him?” Frelka asked, concerned with Beep’s eager declaration.

  “Nah,” Shryke said, waving her hand in the direction he had disappeared in. “He didn’t seem to be running toward the gate…Besides, if he did get in trouble, I’m sure we’d hear him beeping. Come on, let’s stop by Taz’s. With your bum leg and Beep needing to get accustomed to his new one, I’m seeing a lot of free time in my future. I figured we could stop by and see what types of books they had for sale. Maybe we could learn a thing or two that could come in handy in the future.”

  “Like how to make beds, ja?” Frelka asked eagerly. “Or grog? Or rum?”

  “Sure, yeah,” Shryke mumbled. “Or medicine. Or those skeleton beds. Maybe we could even figure out how to make a wind generator or how to build houses…”

  Frelka looked at the Scrochlander in front of him. “What good would that do?”

  “Well,” she said, refusing to meet his gaze, “it’s just that there are a lot of crappy places out there. And not a lot of good ones. But, if we knew how to build one of those places…well, maybe there could be another good place that people could eventually call home…”

  Frelka smiled. “Shryke, do you want to build a town?”

  Shryke shrugged. “No! Maybe. I don’t know. It was just a thought. And I figured it wouldn’t hurt to read up on the stuff while I had the opportunity, y’know? Anyway,” she said, returning to her usual composure, “look, can we just go to the store?”

  Frelka smiled and said, “Ja, let’s go!”

  ~~

  Night had settled, and the screams had begun by the time Beep walked into the room.

  Frelka, who had picked up a book on basic brewing, looked up and greeted him. “Beep! There you are! We were worried about you, ja! Where haff you been?”

  Shryke, who had set down one of the numerous books she had purchased, walked over and sat down on her bedroll around the fire as Beep slowly approached them. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

  “Beep,” he began slowly. “Beep was thinking…Beep needs to leave for a little while.”

  The two exchanged worried looks before looking back at Beep.

  “What do you mean?” Frelka asked.

  “Yeah, Beep, why would you leave?” Shryke continued. “I mean, hells, where would you go?”

  Beep took a deep breath before standing up as straight as he could, pushing his chest back out and loudly declaring, “That…is a secret. Beep must leave now, but Beep will return, mightier than ever!”

  Frelka felt a twinge of guilt in his chest. Was Beep leaving because of his leg? He said he’d be back, but would he really? He really liked Beep. His upbeat attitude always helped to make him smile, and his courageous will inspired him to fight even harder. He looked back to Shryke, his own thoughts reflected on her face before saying, “Beep, are you sure about this? We won’t stop you, ja, but if you’re upset with us because of your leg or think of yourself as defective in some form still, please just let us know so we can talk about it.”

  Beep laughed heartily before saying, “Beep is not upset. Beep is grateful! Beep is newer! Beep is better! Beep must leave to make himself even better!”

  That same fiery determination that Frelka had seen the first night they met was emanating from Beep again. He laughed loudly, flexing his own muscles before saying, “Ja, that sounds good then! You go und get stronger like Frelka und ve will be here when you return!”

  Shryke nodded her agreement and Beep smiled at the two of them before grabbing a meatcube and walking out the door.