Chapter 21

The mutants were humanoid in shape and basic form, but they all deviated from normals in some way. They came in many styles, all of them hideous: some had three arms, some had two arms with three hands on each, some had one leg, some had three, some had claws, some had gills, some had one eye, some had four eyes, and some had an antenna. They were a mix and match of near-humanity, a grim reminder of failed experiments from the past. They were all armed with makeshift clubs and spears that were obviously no match for Bartz’s and Tomas’s modern weapons and Nata’s magic. The mutants had to know this.

“We are on business for your King Lary,” Bartz declared.

One of the mutants stepped forward. He was perhaps the most mutated of the lot, with three arms, each with two hands, three sturdy legs, and three snake-like eyes. He also had two ears and an antenna, all of which were connected to a short, stocky frame. He looked designed to fight viciously.

“Lary is not our king,”