"Bonfire Night"- skekNa, skekTek
At first, skekNa is too absorbed in the task at hand to catch the footsteps behind him. He adjusts his leather mask with the clean part of his hand, attempting not to inhale the bundle of herbs stuffed into the end. He often doesn’t bother with it- he’s used to gore and worse- but these have been left in a back room for too long and the stench is atrocious. He tosses another one onto the pile, wiping the unpleasant sliminess on his robes, then turns to face the intruder.
“Slave-Master!” skekTek exclaims too brightly- not as oily as the Chamberlain might be when he wants something, but still with an air of falseness that skekNa doesn’t have time for tonight.
“Scientist,” he replies curtly, reaching back into his cart for another bundle.
“Wait, wait!” There it is. The Scientist doesn’t quite grab his arm, but makes a motion to block him from the pile. “Surely you don’t plan to burn them all .”
SkekNa rolls his eyes. “Yes, I do. The smell has made it to the banquet hall and the Emperor made it abundantly clear that I needed to do something about it immediately.”
The Scientist makes a noise of commiseration, but still glances to the cart hopefully. “Surely one kept in my lab would be less offensive than-” he surveys the heap, “-a full dozen. I have need of a few organs, and there’s hardly any sense in killing one still in working shape for them.”
A snort. “That’s the first time you’ve ever said that. Thra knows that not a single one I send to your repulsive workshop ever comes out.” Still, he leaves the final bundle in the cart- it had been the top of the pile, so it’s at least the freshest. It is thankfully mostly hidden by a burlap sack- he barely likes looking at the creatures while they’re alive- but its little feet sticking out the opening belie any attempt to think of it as merely cargo. He taps the side of the cart pointedly and sighs. “Fine, one.”
He lowers the torch to the heap of bodies, and one by one they go up in flames, painting the trees around them with an eerie orange glow. He’s grateful for the mask as the Scientist covers his beak with his voluminous sleeve- the smell of burning podling flesh and charred hair is nearly as offensive as the odor of their slow decay. They watch in silence for several long minutes- if nothing else, to make sure the burn does not spread. The Scientist clicks his tongue pensively.
“SkekGra has told us something of the customs of these creatures.” SkekNa rolls his eyes again. Only skekGra would actually find such things worthy of study. “The composition of their bodies is very similar to plant matter, so they bury their dead with seeds and allow their decomposition to serve as fertilizer for the surrounding flora.” A pause. “I am certain they would find this quite contradictory to their biological cycle.”
SkekNa lets out a harsh cackle at that. “It would hardly be worthwhile to concern myself with their feelings now.”
This many losses will leave the castle short-staffed, and that won’t do. He will have to contact some of his operatives tomorrow for fresh recruits. Hopefully the next batch will last longer.