Bone , Book II Content . " What do you mean the story gets more appalling ? " Garaz was incredulous . " How in Boethiah ' s name could it get more appalling ? " " It ' s a ruse , " Xiomara scoffed , ordering two more mugs of greef and a glass of flin for Garaz . " How much worse can a tale get which prominently features cannibalism , abuse of slaves , and the regular placement of rotting animal carcasses ? " " Don ' t you dare dare me , " growled Hallgerd , annoyed by his listeners ' lack of appreciation of his prose styling . " Remind me where we were ? " " Arslic Oan is the owner of a stronghold under siege by savage , cannibalistic Nord s , " said Xiomara , keeping a straight face . " After a lot of deaths and several unsuccessful attempts to get water , he had his armorer with the unlikely name of Gorkith outfit his slaves with the first ever bonemold armor . One of them finally makes it back with some water . " It was only one jarful of water ( said Hallgerd , pulling back in his chair and continuing the tale ) , and Arslic Oan drank most of it , passing the remains to his dear armorer Gorkith and the last dribbles to the few dozen slaves who still lived . It was hardly enough to sustain health and well - being . Another expedition was necessary , but they had only one suit of bonemold left , as there was only one survivor of the trip . " One out of eighteen slaves made it through the gauntlet of Nords wearing that marvelous bonemold armor of yours , " said Arslic Oan to Gorkith . " And one can only carry back enough water for one . Therefore , mathematically , as we have , counting you and me , fifty - six remaining people at the stronghold , we need armor for fifty - four . Since we already have one , you only need to make fifty - three to make the total . That way , three will make it back , with enough water for you and me and whoever ' s in the best condition to partake . I don ' t know what we ' ll do after that , but if we wait , we won ' t have enough slaves to fetch even a couple days ' worth of water . " " I understand , " whimpered Gorkith . " But how am I going to make the armor ? I used all the livestock bones to make the first batch of bonemold . " Arslic Oan gave an order which Gorkith fearfully complied with . In eighteen hours - " What do you mean ' Arslic Oan gave an order which Gorkith fearfully complied with ' ? " asked Xiomara . " What was the order ? " " All will be clear , " smiled Hallgerd . " I have to choose what to reveal and what to conceal . Such is the way of the tale teller . " In eighteen hours , Gorkith had fifty - three suits of bonemail ( said Hallgerd , continuing , not really minding the interruption ) prepared for the slaves . Without prompting , he ordered the slaves to practice using the armor , and even allowed them more training time than their predecessors . They not only learned how to move and stop quickly in bonemold , but how to adjust their peripheral vision to see a blow before it came , and to sway to dodge , and where the sturdiest reinforcement points on the arm were - - the center of the chest and the abdomen - - and how to position themselves to take blows there , against their natural instincts . The slaves even had time for a mock battle before being sent out among the cannibals . The slaves handled themselves admirably . Very few , just fifteen slaves , were killed and eaten out right . Only ten were killed and eaten when they reached the river . That was when things did not go according to Arslic Oan ' s plans . Twenty - one slaves with jars of water took off for the hills . Only eight returned to the castle , largely because they were blocked by the cannibal Nords . It was a larger percentage than he had anticipated surviving , but Arslic Oan felt righteous indignation at the paucity of loyalty . " Are you absolutely certain you wouldn ' t rather flee ? " he hollered from the battlements . Finally , he allowed the survivors in . Three had been killed waiting for the gate to open . Two more died almost upon stepping into the courtyard . One was delirious , walking around in circles , laughing and dancing before suddenly collapsing . That meant five jars of water for four people , the two surviving slaves , Arslic Oan , and Gorkith . As the lord of the manor , Arslic Oan took the extra jar , but he was democratic with the others . " You ' re quite correct , " frowned Garaz . " This story is getting more and more appalling . " " Just wait , " smiled Hallgerd . The next morning ( Hallgerd continued ) Arslic Oan awoke to a perfectly still and quiet stronghold . There was no murmuring in the corridors , no sound of hard labor in the courtyard . He dressed and surveyed the scene . It appeared that the fortress was utterly deserted . Arslic Oan walked down to the armorer ' s quarters , but the door was locked . " Open up , " said Arslic Oan , patiently . " We need to speak . Thirty out of fifty - four slaves successfully made it to the river and gathered water . Admittedly , some then fled , and a couple didn ' t survive because I needed to correct their fickleness , but mathematically , that ' s a fifty - five percent survival rate . If you and I and the two remaining slaves made the next run to the river , we two should survive . " " Zilian and Gelo left last night with their armor , " cried Gorklith through the door . " Who are Zilian and Gelo ? " " The two remaining slaves ! They don ' t remain anymore ! " " Well , that ' s vexing , " said Arslic Oan . " Still we must continue on . Mathematically - - " " I heard something last night , " whimpered Gorklith in a funny voice . " Like footsteps , only different , and they were moving through the walls . And there were voices too . They sounded strange , like they couldn ' t move their jaws very well , but I knew one . " Arslic Oan sighed , humoring his poor armorer : " And who was it ? " " Ponik . " " And who is Ponik ? " " One of the slaves that died when the Nords poisoned our water . One of the many , many slaves that died , and we made use of . He was always a nice , uncomplaining fellow , that ' s why I noticed his voice above all the others , " Gorklith began to sob . " I understood what he was saying . " " Which was what ? " asked Arslic Oan with a sigh . " ' Give me back my bones ! ' " Gorklith ' s voice shrieked . There was silence for a moment , and then more hysterical sobbing . " I saw that coming , " laughed Xiomara . There was nothing more to be done with the armorer for the time being ( said Hallgerd , a trifle annoyed at the regular interruptions ) , so Arslic Oan stripped one of the dead slaves of his suit of bonemold and put it on . He practiced in the courtyard , impressing himself with his natural comfortably with medium weight armor . For hours , he boxed , feinted , dodged , sprinted , skipped , jumped , and generally cavorted about . When he felt tired , he retired to the shade and took a nap . The sound of the king ' s trumpet woke him with a start . Night had fallen , and for a moment , he thought he had been dreaming . Then the alarm sounded again , far in the distance , but clear . Arslic Oan leapt to his feet and ran to the ramparts . Several miles away , he could see the emissaries and their vast and well - armed escort approach . They were there early ! The cannibal Nords below looked at one another with consternation . Savages they might be , but they knew when a superior force was approaching . Arslic Oan joyously dashed down the stairs to Gorklith ' s chamber . The door was still locked . He beat on it , cajoling , demanding , threatening . Finally , he found a key , one of the few scraps of metal that had not been smelted days before . Gorklith appeared to be sleeping , but as Arslic Oan approached , he noticed that the armorer ' s mouth and eyes were wide open and his arms were folded unnaturally behind his back . On closer inspection , the armorer was obviously dead . What was more , his face and whole body were sunken , like an empty pig ' s bladder . Something moved through the walls , like a footfall only . . . squishy . Arslic Oan expertly and gracefully turned to face it , completely in balance . At first , it seemed like nothing more than a bubble expanding through one of the cracks in the stone . As more of the flesh - colored gelatinous matter emerged , it more clearly resembled part of a face . A flaccid , almost shapeless face with a low brow and a slack , toothless jaw . The rest of the body oozed out of the crack , a soft bag of muscle and blood . Behind Arslic Oan and to the side , there was more movement , more slaves welling up through the cracks in the stone . They were all around him , reaching out . " Give us , " moaned Ponik , his tongue rolling about his hanging jaw . " Give us back our bones . " Arslic Oan began to rip off his bonemold , throwing it to the floor . A hundred figures , more , pooled into the small chamber . " That ' s not enough . " The cannibals had cleared away by the time the king ' s emissaries arrived at Arslic Oan ' s gates . They had not been looking forward to this visit . It was best , they though philosophically , to begin with the worst of the king ' s noblemen , so to end their trip well . They sounded the alarm once again , but the gates did not open . There was no sound from Arslic Oan ' s stronghold . It took a few hours to gain access . If the emissaries had not brought a professional acrobat with them for entertainment , it might have taken longer . The place seemed to be abandoned . They searched every room , until finally they came to the armorer ' s . There they found the master of the manor , folded neatly , legs behind his head , arms behind the legs , like a fine gown . Not a bone in his body . " The first part of your story was complete nonsense , " cried Xiomara . " But now it doesn ' t hold true on any level . How could bonemold be made again if the armorer who invented it died before he could tell anyone how he did it ? " " I said that this was the first time it was created , not the first time people learned the craft . " " And when did someone first teach someone else the craft ? " asked Garaz . " That , my friends , " replied Hallgerd with a sinister smile . " Is a tale for another night . "