Feeding

As quickly as the view greeted me, it left, and Tradaeya and I were back wandering through the small streets and alleys of a kingdom abandoned by the sky itself. As we traversed deeper into Seraphil, the ground below slowly elevated, taking us higher up the hill with each step. Distant sounds echoed throughout the tight walls, being carried by the small draft that would breeze past us. Maybe it was the people of this town looking for the next dragon to eat from, all of them scattered about. Soon we began to approach what looked like a large clearing in the buildings after countless turns. As we approached the threshold of the small town square, Tradaeya ducked behind a large pile of debris and I followed. She motioned a shushing gesture to me and I nodded.

I poked my head out just enough to see what she had tried to hide from. Upon first glance, I noticed the exteriors of the buildings that made this square. The bottom halves of them were supported by large stone pillars, each of them having cracks running rampant across their otherwise smooth surfaces. Between each pillar were brick walls, rectangular windows, or doors that filled in the gaps. Atop the pillars, ledges went around the buildings, their once ornate looking carvings now dulled with time. Above the ledges, balconies and windows of all shapes and sizes rested amongst the second floor walls. Some roofs were low while others were higher, but they all had a similar triangular framework. Each building was unique from one another in form and deterioration, despite their similar base structures.

I turned my gaze downward to see a large fountain, its former shape unrecognizable now that it had been completely destroyed. Debris and various wooden things were scattered across the brick ground. Just ahead was another alley, the one I assume Tradaeya was aiming for, To the left, the town square was completely opened up to the main road, the view of the dark sky being completely visible. Just outside the opening and seeping through the edge were several dragon corpses, each one filled with several people gnawing at their insides. Now that I had seen them, the sounds of their feasting became much more apparent. The wet squelching of flesh pressing against each other, and the loud nauseating sound of tearing meat mixed in. I ducked back, hoping I was not seen.

I looked to Tradaeya for guidance. She stared quietly back before quickly remarking.

"We'll just have to find another way around. They might make a ruckus if we stroll by." She said quietly.

I nodded in agreement and we began to make our way backward. As we did so, Tradaeya suddenly stopped.

"Wait... thou hearest that?" She said.

Now that she had made me painfully aware, I began to hear it. The sound of scraping against the stone bricks behind us. It was the sound of something heavy being dragged across the loose bricks. Occasionally, the clank and scrapping of metal could also be heard. From the sounds alone, I had a good feeling of what it could be, and from the look on Tradaeya's face, she knew too. Still, we had to confirm, and so we stayed.

We peeked our heads around the corner just enough to see the source of the noise. Sure enough, the source of the noise was something I was unfortunately far too familiar with. A large, ash covered dragon corpse slid slowly across the bricks. The large chains that held its limbs tight to its body screeched against the ground with each movement. The tensioned chains that came off the scaled surface met at one point, wrapped around the shoulders of a tall, black armored knight. It was a flesh fetcher. The fetcher's hood and cape flapped in the gentle breeze, and their sickle bore its dark, silvery edge. They leaned forward, struggling against the weight of the dragon, yet still moving it, displaying their inhumane strength. As the dragon slid along, the townsfolk followed after it, crawling along the rugged stone like ants to a piece of discarded food. As the fetcher pulled the dragon along, the townsfolk began climbing the corpse and picked at its hide, attempting to pick the scales off its skin. Realizing that they would not be able to pick the scales off on their own, one of them made their way toward the struggling fetcher. He wrapped his frail gray arms around his leg in an attempt to get his attention. The fetcher, in a moment of rage, kicked the decrepit man or woman off, sending them rolling across the rough bricks of the square grounds. Other townsfolk began to follow suite, and the fetcher fended them off one by one with little to no effort.

I flinched at what unfolded, thinking that the fetchers would treat those they were feeding with compassion and sympathy. I had assumed that this was some sort of charity work for them, only to remember the way I was treated being offered a bit of dragon flesh. Finally, the fetcher stopped in their tracks, leaving the dusty corpse near the crumbled fountain. He began to unwrap the large chains from the dragon as swarms of townsfolk continued getting in the way. The fetcher kicked them off as he let the final chain fall to the ground, the solid metal cracking the brick beneath it. The fetcher readied their sickle and began carving away. The blood spilled like a miniature raging waterfall, coagulating with the ash along the dragon's chest and the ground. The fetcher walked along the dragon's front side, allowing their sickle to drag through the skin. As blood pooled beneath the dragon, the townsfolk rushed over to get a sip of the newly formed crimson puddle. The fetcher then cut downward and walked back around, allowing the skin to unfold like a door. The gory interior spilled out, and the townsfolk became moths to a flame. With that, the fetcher picked up all their large rusted chains, threw it over their shoulder, and walked back out onto the main road and out of our sight.

In this moment I had realized something truly horrific. This was no charity for the flesh fetchers. The way this fetcher treated those they were feeding, those who were starving for even a sliver of meat, was more akin to that of a rancher feeding his cattle, only this rancher had no love in his heart for the animals he fed. Just what do these flesh fetchers truly want?