2-13: Deadhive Overrun

The gang follows the mountains southward, keeping to the west side so as to avoid the Holy Nation. Past Flotsam Village and the Floodlands, a pair of military outposts mark the border of paladin-patrolled territory—or did until recently. One of the two outposts has fallen to ruin. The gang decides to check it out. Last time, an enemy of the Holy Nation turned out to be a friend. Perhaps that's what they'll find here too?

Not this time. This outpost has been overtaken by fogmen, a group of distinctively blue hivers who've gone completely feral for some reason. The gang finds them in the midst of fending off an attack by starving bandits, who have bitten off way more than they can chew.

If they were wise, the gang would probably take this as a warning and stay well away. But starving bandits are weak and fogmen are weak too. Each fogman only has 50 HP on each body part, half as much as humans or hive soldiers like Jam. Surely the gang is built different. They join in the fight, felling fogmen as more and more pour from the fallen outpost.

Soon, the ground is littered with fogmen, the gang standing tall in what seems at first will be one of their only total victories. The thing about fogmen, though, is that there's always more of them. Even the toughest warrior will eventually get worn down after getting hit with sticks enough times, and while the gang is getting stronger, the toughest warriors they are not.

Jam is the first to fall. They find themselves on the wrong end of a fog heavy, a soldier drone that's a lot tougher and more skilled than the frail worker drones that make up the bulk of the fogmen numbers. Ells tries to intercept and prevent Jam's creepy blue counterpart from kidnapping them, but he soon falls too. One by one the gang is knocked out, taken inside the destroyed outpost, and chained to poles.

This is when the gang finds out something very important about the fogmen: They eat people.

Unlike the cannibals, who leave people in cages for ages before throwing them in a pot, the fogmen don't fuck around. They start eating as soon as the gang is all captured. The fog prince gets to eat first, munching away while a chorus of fog drones kneel and wave their arms around in some sort of ritual. Knife doesn't exactly have the time to consider the cultural significance of such an act. She is, as her status bar describes, "BEING EATEN ALIVE!!"

Knife works her hands faster than she has in her entire life, picking the lock on her chains and making a break for it. The fogmen spring into action, immediately clubbing her into unconsciousness and tying her back up again, but she at least manages to buy some time. The fog prince switches their attention to one of the starving bandits.

For some reason, the commotion of Knife's escape attempt causes some of the fogmen to start beating the unholy hell out of the already-captured Horse. Horse lets out a blood-curdling scream—the fogmen have taken his leg clean off. Outlaw Farmer and Ells have managed to pick the locks on their own chains by this point and leap forth to distract the fogmen before they kill him—it works, though Outlaw Farmer gets knocked out again and recaptured. Jam has also picked their lock and runs toward Knife, hoping to grab her and escape in the confusion, but they get bogged down by fogmen. They cut a couple down before taking a vicious club to the ribs and also getting recaptured. Ells grabs Horse and carries him out of the outpost, hiding him behind a massive hunk of scrap where the fogmen won't see.

Jam wakes back up, escapes, and starts repairing Burn, who the fogmen left unconscious on the ground on account of being inedible. The fog prince finishes eating the bandit and turns their attention back to Knife. Ells runs back in, as loud as he can, hoping to make the fog prince abandon their meal and chase him.

It works. Ells now has a fog prince and a bunch of heavies chasing him and he has a hurt leg. This is exactly what he wanted. Yep. Everything's comin' up Ells.

He hobbles outside the gate as fast as he can, Burn hiding nearby at the ready to rush in and save Knife. He's all ready to hobble all the way back to Flotsam if he has to when an incredible lifeline appears right before his eyes. Like angels from on high, a nomad caravan happens to have chosen this very moment to stroll by. As the fogmen will attack everyone and everything, so too will everyone attack them. Ells can count on these nomads to join the fight.

Jam catches on to the plan and jumps out from behind the scrap where they were hiding with Horse to add their blade to the battle. Having noticed the rest of the fogmen seem to have to wait while the prince eats, they bank on none of the other fogmen daring to eat while the prince is occupied. If they keep the prince busy, then, Knife should be safe from being eaten.

The fog prince is tougher than their drones but still pretty fragile. They are much more skilful than Jam and Ells, but with the nomads backing them up, the gang has numbers on their side for once. While most of the nomads and their animals beat down the fog heavies, a couple of them help Jam and Ells take on the prince. Victory against the prince seems inevitable, though wounded as they are, Jam and Ells accept that that victory may see them lose consciousness again.

That doesn't mean Knife and the others are completely out of danger, though. Knife desperately needs medical attention. As the inedible one, Burn is the safest choice to rush in and try to give it to her.

The fog prince ate Knife's entire right leg before Ells managed to lure them away and she's just gushing blood. She's lost so much blood. Burn reaches her, sees the emergency and starts patching her wounds on the spot. There's no time to try and free her and carry her out first. A fog heavy creeps up and starts wailing on Burn, but Burn doesn't stop. They can't afford to. There's so little time.

There's not enough time.

While Burn is still bandaging her, Knife succumbs to her wounds. She's just lost too much blood. She dies in their arms, still chained to the fogmen's pole. Burn loses consciousness moments later, finally falling to the fog heavy's clubbing blows.

Outside, the battle rages, Ells and Jam none the wiser as to the loss of their comrade. Fighting side by side with the nomads, they finally take down the fog prince and the remaining heavies.

Jam catches their breath. In the battle's uneasy aftermath, they turn to the nomad leader to thank her.

Jam was not expecting her to hit them with a sales pitch. They're about to blow her off, preoccupied with saving the rest of the gang, but it looks like the nomads are about to roll out and an animal could help fight. Jam makes the split second decision to buy a pack bull.

Jam names her Pilaf. She will be very helpful. She is a bit wounded from the battle, but not too badly, and the gang doesn't have time to sit around and heal. Jam and Pilaf charge once more into the outpost, take out the remaining weak fogmen, and start freeing the rest of the gang.

Ells, meanwhile, inspects the unconscious fog prince.

While animals die if you loot their items (meat, hides, claws and such), most humanoids don't have items that will make them die if removed. Fog princes are an exception. Despite the fogmen being a very local threat, any merchant anywhere will offer a princely sum for a fog prince's head. I suppose tales of the dreaded fogmen spread far and wide.

Ells hacks off the prince's head without a moment's hesitation. He would even if there was no bounty—the gang already paid a steep enough price for underestimating these guys. Then, he joins Jam in freeing the other and carrying those who can't walk, one by one, to the hiding place where Horse is still camped out.

Riddly is the last to wake up and hear the sombre news. With her back on her feet, the gang is all well enough to walk—minus Horse, of course. Outlaw Farmer agrees to carry him. While the gang wishes they could do more to honour Knife, they know they can't take for granted that their little hiding spot will remain safe for long. They'll have to settle for mourning her on the way back to World's End.

Barely a word is spoken on the journey back. Jam is particularly devastated; Knife was the first person in Flotsam Village who was actually nice to them. She was good people. With the fog prince's head in Ells' pack, the gang has technically already taken revenge, but it's cold comfort.