2 Defiler of Tombs by William King

to Javier who in turn passed it to the others. When that was done, they began to eat.
    Kormak started to feel a little better. Partly it was because he had food inside him and partly it was because they were taking part in a small human ritual, here on the edge of these vast cold hills where alien threats waited hungrily. It made him feel a little closer to those around him.
    “Why are you here, Sir Kormak?” Aisha asked. The other Tinkers looked at him interestedly. Brandon replied before Kormak could make up his mind whether to speak or not, explaining their quest to the Tinkers, telling them what had happened to Olaf. The Tinkers exchanged looks containing horror and something else, Kormak was not sure what. Conversation died after Brandon had finished speaking.
    The wolf growled. Kormak looked around to see if there was anything coming in. He had been avoiding looking at the fire so as not to spoil his nightsight but still the light had affected his vision a little. He looked up and saw something passing overhead, too big to be a bird, the shape subtly wrong.
    “What is it?” Brandon asked.
    “Old One,” Kormak said. “Or one of their kin.”
    Even as he spoke it vanished into the night, gone as if it had never been. Kormak gestured for the others to remain quiet. They waited tensely for long minutes but whatever it was, it did not return.
    “What did it want?” Brandon asked.
    Kormak shrugged. “It may just be passing. It may have nothing to do with us.”
    “The reverse implication of that is that it may,” said Brandon.
    “We’ll know soon enough,” said Kormak.
    “If there is anything out there, Shae will let us know, Sir Kormak,” Aisha said, clearly following the course of his thoughts.
    “A useful watchdog in this foul place,” said Brandon chuckling. He was trying too hard to be his usual hearty self, trying too hard to show he was not afraid.
    He suspected that all of them were and that the dead man was on all of their minds. Someone had killed him. Someone had opened a barrow. Someone was responsible for terrible things. Kormak wondered if this meeting with the Tinkers was really by chance or whether they had something to do with all these dark deeds. Perhaps they would try and cut his throat in the night. He had herbs that would let him stay awake for days if need be, but he was reluctant to use them. They were not without side-effects.
    “We should set watches,” said Kormak. “It never hurts to have someone awake in case of trouble.”
    He looked at Brandon. “We can take turn about on watch. Just like in the old days when we were fighting the orcs.”
    Brandon groaned but he made no objection. He did not suggest including the Tinkers in the rota either. Perhaps he had his own suspicions.
    “I’ll take first watch,” Kormak said.
     
     
    Kormak was woken by the sound of a man taking a piss. He looked up, coming awake more slowly than he would have liked. There was some light from the rising sun. Brandon was standing away from the camp, looking out into the hills. Little was visible. Mist rolled over the land obscuring everything. The cold seemed to have seeped from the ground into Kormak. He rose and stretched. His back felt sore. He was getting too old for this.
    “You’re actually awake,” Kormak said. “I would have expected you to be snoring away.”
    Brandon gave him a sour grin. “I miss my bed and if you want the truth I miss my family. I miss waking up next to Gena and I miss having the young ones come racing in and asking me to tell them a story.”
    “I’ll ask you for one if it helps,” said Kormak.
    “Sod off!”
    “Go home, Brandon. I can do what needs to be done here.”
    “You always say that.”
    “Because it’s true.”
    “I said I would ride with you and I will. I am not going to give up because of a little rain and a little homesickness.”
    The big man still had something to prove it seemed, to himself if no one else. Maybe he just did not want to