*Thunk*
"Huh? Hey you, go check the trees!" The leader of a handful group of pirates ordered one of his men leaning against the rocks beside them. Behind the rocks were a collection of trees and dense shrubbery though they were small in scale compared to the jungles of Rook.
"What? Why me?"
"Because I said so you dumb fuck! I heard something over there, so go check it out!"
"Fuck, fine..." The pirate ventured off by himself into the woods as the leader went back to some discarded junk that he and his mates can salvage.
The story goes: These guys were supposed to intercept the escaped prisoner heading west since they were the closes between the fallen Amanaki outpost. Stopping at a sandy junction, they waited for their prize. Days passed and still no sign of the girl. Not only that but the rebels have taken Welshore Wrecker's so things were getting tense. In front of them is a thin strip of sand now leading to a liberated zone filled with those rebel bastards.
*Thunk*
"Huh? Hey!" The leader gestured to a pirate with his hound to an off-shore shipping container. "I heard a noise near our stuff! Go check it out!" The pirate nodded as he and the hound went towards the container. Out of sight for the Doctor to slowly sneak behind him. Grabbing his jaw, the pirate leader felt his throat open as he was then dragged away to the trees. Doctor dumped him alongside the other pirate who was sent there as he grabbed the shotgun out of the leader's dead hand and waited on the side of the container.
*Bang*
*Bang*
*Bang*
Just as he saw the pirate walking back to his original place he pulled the trigger. Every buckshot loaded into the shotgun peppered both the pirate and the dog who hadn't noticed the Doctor behind them. He pumped the gun repeatedly until he saw no shells coming out of the port. Throwing it aside he quickly made his way to a vast cave, hiding in the shadows while a patrolling technical drove by him, then he went to the hills beside it. From there he saw another radio tower in the distance just near the shore.
Going through more woods and bushes Doctor saw two more pirates parked near the tower. What were they doing he couldn't tell as they split up with one of them going to another splotch of trees. The one who stayed zoned out, not knowing that the Doctor creeped up behind and quietly stabbed him through the chest before dragging him away. Just as his companion returned, pulling his pants up, he became perplexed when he saw the truck there but not his driver. Coming closer to the truck he couldn't see anyone in sight until he saw trail. Going around to the passenger side he saw his friend lying there still and suddenly a knife went through his chest. In and out, in and out and he joined his friend lying there in front of the passenger side still.
The Doctor rushed up the stairs of the radio tower. This one in particular was less degraded and more stable than the last one he climbed. He was able to swiftly reach the top, go to the power box and remove the scrambler. The radio lights were flashing green and he went to his digital map. Cleared yet occupied by pirates, the outpost is indicated on the shoreline a couple hundred meters away from him.
"Valsa Docks..." Not far from here, the Doctor looked above his phone to see black smoke in the distance near the water. Ziplining down he hopped on a parked jet ski and dashed towards the outpost. As soon as he was close he went right to an abandoned shack and cut the engine. Doctor brought out his bow and arrows and trekked through the jungle hilltop. At the summit he saw the docks overall with most of the pirate guards alongside a large birdbeast in a cage at the center of the outpost or right outside the entrance. The individual guards themselves, one was at a pier and he saw one go behind the main building to just laze around without anyone bothering him.
Stretching the bowstring before he nocked his arrow Doctor carefully aimed down at the pirate near the shore. When he let his fingers go the pirate standing at the end of Valsa's pier groaned in pain as he fell into the water, Doctor's arrow lodged to his left and ripping both lungs from inside. Putting aside his bow Doctor went to the resting guard through a hole in the metal wall and easily dispatching the sleeping beauty with a quick knife thrust. Peeking on the side of the building he noticed that the cage is flimsy and the creature inside has repeatedly damaged the bamboo bars. If he can land one hit on the cage then the Cassowary will be free. Creeping to a good angle Doctor nocked another arrow, pulled the string and aimed at the cage. The force of the arrow, while startling the beast, crashed the cage's bars setting it loose with eyes on its first victim.
"Have fun guys." Doctor said as he hid behind the building.
----------------------------------------
Well the birdbeast did its best. It took down a hound before it was killed by birdshot, leaving the rest up to him. Dammit. He also had to circumvent the outpost via swimming when one of the more twitchy, machete swinging pirates couldn't stand still and he had to use the same rock thud trick to get him close to the Doctor, hiding in the trees. The others went through the same but the one who shot down his plans just got an arrow to the back.
"Dennis. The outpost at Valsa Docks is clear. I'm on my way to Dr. Earnhardt's house." He called in.
"Great work Doctor. The Rakyat warriors will be there soon."
They cut communication. Doctor was a hundred meters away from the liberated docks. He just hopped on the nearest Scavenger and drove east. Whatever tasks he'll need to do for the Rakyat he'll have to do after he confirms the safety of his found operator. Suffice to say it was a safe drive, for now anyway.
He reached a metal fence with its only opening small enough for a person to go through. Parking the truck he went passed the fence and walked upwards on a dirt path. The path then became a series of separate wooden stairs and in the distance he could see a large two story manor in development alongside a greenhouse to its left. The general area had several herbs and roaming animals underneath a line of wooden poles attached with one long wire. When he got to the front door he knocked on it a few times. He waited for a few minutes before knocking and when he waited a minutes more.
'No one's home?' Doctor inquisitively look towards the greenhouse. It was open for anyone to enter. When he did he saw that the greenhouse was kept tidy and organized that can make Perfumer nod in approval. It couldn't be said to the table beside him. Slightly disorganized, cluttered glassware in addition to three bowls just sitting there filled with an assortment of colorful supplements. Those caught his attention and for whatever reason outside him he wanted to pick one up and ingest it.
When he unconsciously hovered his hand over the right bowl he felt someone pat his shoulder. Turning to the left he saw an older, gaunt man with eyes that appeared to have been bloodshot recently.
"See anything you fancy?" He asked in a calm, jolly Victorian accent. "I like the red ones myself. The purples will give you a lift on a grey day. Everything is excellent, really."
The neurologist by trade just stared at the-
"Oh, not the yellows. Don't take them, they're liable to kill you. The... mix is not quite not right." He warned.
Noted. The neurologist by trade realized the horror of losing himself and possibly consuming his last physic.
"Well, that said, Dr. Earnhardt here... in and out, as the case may be. I assume you are the nameless MD that I was called about?"
"Ah yes. Dennis said that you found one of my friends recently?" He said while they shook hands.
"One of your friends...? Ha! I am distilling a batch later today." He said as he turned around, reminiscing to his other garden somewhere. His fellow Doctor visitor became baffled as he droned off before being shaken awake.
"Excuse me? Dr. Earnhardt?"
"Huh...?! Oh! You mean the girl... Ceobe." He exclaimed which prompted a sigh of relief from the girl's superior. "I assumed you to be speaking in code."
"Oh. No no, is she okay? Where is she?"
"Why, she's in my house, sir. Here!" He led the Doctor inside the house. The inside was a library of botanical and chemical based studies. Worthy of a specialist in medicines. Going upstairs to a purple lit room that belonged to a child he encountered Ceobe resting in bed. She was breathing heavily, stirring around and when he put his hand on her forehead.
"She's burning up..." He said to Dr. Earnhardt who was holding a childish, metal box.
"Yes, of course. When I found her she had several cuts on her arms and a handful of mushrooms. Which in itself would be no case for alarm. The mushrooms themselves are strong psychedelics but... relatively harmless, hence her shuffling. I know firsthand. However... one of her cuts is smeared from the fields of Antiaris Toxicaria: Upas trees. A highly poisonous latex. I have been administering an antidote each hour." He opened the box where he pulled out a small glass bottle. "I am afraid another dosage may be required..." He then gave the bottle to Doctor where they saw that it was vacant. "I did just examined the box."
"So this antidote? Where should I get more?"
Dr. Earnhardt pondered a bit until he came up with an answer. "Set us up with a couple of cave mushrooms, and we'll be right as rain. They are natural antioxidants and non-hallucinogenic. Peruse the cliffs below to the west."
"Thank you Dr. Earnhardt. I'm sorry for the rush." He nodded as he begin to step out.
"Think nothing of it." The botanist sat down on the edge of the bed as he tended to the afflicted Perro. "The girl must live... For you and me both."
"..." Doctor soon went outside. His boot suddenly crushed something underneath. Looking down he saw plucked mushrooms scattered around in the dirt exuding a brilliant color. He thought nothing of it and went his way, simply brushing it off as the mushrooms Ceobe brought that Dr. Earnhardt mentioned.
Speaking of whom. Ceobe's stirring shifted into mumbles as she curled into fetal position. Her eyes tightened harshly as the hallucinations took a dark turn.
"Doctor..."
----------------------------------------
"Leap of faith." After a trek down the cliff, through some hostile boars and finally reaching the cave underwater. North instead of west that Dr. Earnhardt claimed. Maybe he meant the entrance to the cave is westward. Either way he swam inside and searched for his medicinal mushrooms. Jumping down from the cave ridge, his wariness from diving into water vanished, he pressed on. Climbing roots, jumping on rock ledges Doctor looked closely to find his prize.
The mushrooms. However the mushrooms he encountered after he climbed up the roots spewed out a cough inducing gas. He tried to wave the stuff away and cover his orifices with his coat but the effects began to take hold. At first he felt dizzy. "Woah..." The sounds of the waterfall became distorted. When he continued his search for the NON-hallucinogenic mushrooms his climb upward on a collection of vines became a walk. The rocks blocking his path peeled away. Lights shined from the cave's open fissures, plants started to grow out of the rocks, birds of paradise flocked to the outside. He continued forward.
Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.
Noticing that the scenery changed drastically. He returned to Kazdel. A throng of mercenaries engulfing themselves in conflict. Before, long the breath of life has departed from all of them. One of them crawling with both arms, his legs torn to ribbons gave him a heavy metal box with a extremely strong lock and a exquisitely-shaped black key tied in a chain around the handle. She died bleeding in front of him, her task complete.
Taking the heavy box Doctor used the key to remove the lock and open its contents. It was a gun, ornately crafted from Laterano gunsmits. The severed skeletal hand is tightly clutching onto this large-caliber firearm. Who did it belong to? What happened to the owner of this severed hand? And how did all of this happen? He then inspected himself to see that all of his weapons were gone. No rifle, no bow, even his other pistol is missing. Taking the gun from the dead-man's hand as well as the bandolier of pistol magazines hanging on the inside lid he slogged forward away from this mess.
The voices from Kazdel return.
The civil war?
Who died there?
What key?
Why had he invested so much there.
The Black Procession is resuming.
They didn't have to.
He could've done something.
Have you heard of the Sacred Originium Grenade?
He did what was right.
He followed.
"I'm a natural with death."
The miasma is strong.
I like the red ones myself.
Maybe the Rusthammers will buy.
Trailing a narrow pathway outside the greenhouse he felt his back tingle. Someone was watching him, stalking him. He saw a hooded figure emerging from the shadows of the greenhouse. It readies its crossbow slowly as it inches closer to the Doctor. He could sense the atmosphere. Violence. That's all there was to it... For both of them.
"Если оно враждебно, убейте его Хантер" It was written on the caves.
"The jungle speaks only through the warrior..." He heard that call again.
Doctor shot once. Doctor shot twice. Three times. The shadows are being ripped away. Four times. Its bleeding. Coughing red and black liquid. Five times. It fell. He's seeing it die. Six times. He turned around and walked, entering a new magazine, the last one had only six rounds.
The Doctor found his mushrooms. Ceobe had them on her flower crown, resting on the belly of a slumbering dicephalic wolfbeast. This scene is nice, a cool field with an Acahualla temple there on the horizon. Getting closer, he scooted Ceobe a bit for him to sit beside her. "Sorry, I wanted to join as well." He wrapped his arm, still holding the gun, around her shoulder. She was peacefully still. The atmosphere was cozy. He wished he was like that again.
And not falling...
----------------------------------------
*Thud*
"Augh! My back..." The Doctor rubbed behind before he got up from the descent. Walking a bit a swarm of bats suddenly burst forth, slightly pelting him as they escaped the cave. From there he saw in the rocks, blue-greyish mushrooms with long stocks and a golden glow. It wasn't much of contrast to the mushrooms Ceobe encountered, with it being smaller and having a more blue and translucent color. Ripping a small portion of mushrooms out of the rocks Doctor went to another source of light to his left. Heading towards the opening he noticed a small, discarded encampment inside this cave and when went outside he noticed that the sun was close to setting.
"Woah... How long was I down there?" He found himself stuck down there longer than he should have. Seeing that he is right at the edge of the cliff Doctor became more attentive as he made his return trip to the mansion. Clambering up the cliffside until he reached the top where the mansion can be seen he suddenly registered what Dr. Earnhardt said: Peruse the cliffs, to the west. He could've went down that way to the cave and be done with it. Dammit.
Going to the greenhouse he saw Dr. Earnhardt concocting another medicament. "Oh, Doctor... What a pleasant surprise. I whipped up a couple of high notes since you were gone. O-Oh yes, and the girl is now awake. Terrible fever however..." He began looking around. To his vials. Pushing his orbital light aside. Peering behind Doctor. "What did I do with the buggers...?"
"Dr. Earnhardt?" He shook the confused drug maker who just chuckled in discovery.
"Oh yes... I finished them off."
"..." He had seen many medicine overindulgence before in his short time in the medical field but not like this. "I've found the mushrooms."
"Delightful! Give them to me. I need a couple of minutes to prepare the medicine. Go check on her." He shooed him to the house and Doctor had no problems as he made his to the now awake Ceobe. Heading upstairs he saw the Perro rubbing her head, sitting up against the pillows. She heard someone coming up and to her delight:
"Doctor...!" He petted her head. It really is Doctor... He always had that same warmth.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay... a little sick. But I'm more okay that you're here Doctor...!" He nodded. He looks so different without his helmet.
"Couldn't have done without some friends Ceobe. Dr. Earnhardt also helped."
"Yeah... He helped me..." She moved around to get herself comfortable. With some help from Doctor, he settled her in to the mattress. "When I escaped the convoy, I tried to find you and the others. But I got hungry... I ate some mushrooms... and I cut myself on some weird tree... and I got sick... and now I'm here..." Doctor's hand then lowered to her own.
"I'm glad you made it... I know it's been rough without anyone here to help." From the Doctor's perspective, she was redder than normal. The exhaustion on her face shows how hard she pushed her physical limits. Ceobe is tough but sometimes a line is drawn and she found it. A burp escaped from her throat as she massaged her neck. The mix between hallucinogenic fungi and poisonous trees still affecting her.
"What's this Doctor...? It looks so pretty..." Her hand rubbed the Tatau on his arm. She couldn't tell if this was some hyperrealistic markings from the mushrooms or Doctor had these before and she never knew since he was always in his bulky jacket. Focused on the drawn creatures and line work she didn't notice Dr. Earnhardt entering. Getting up from the bed, her supervisor assured:
"I'm going to talk to Dr. Earnhardt a bit. Rest a little bit more until he gives you your medicine." Setting her flat she nodded as he went to the other doctor to discuss something.
"A moment, Dr. Earnhardt."
"By all means."
"First, I want to thank you for saving Ceobe."
"Think nothing of it." He nodded in recognition.
"Second: Several of our associates are currently missing. Would it be safe for me to bring them here when I find them?" It made sense. They're a while away from the jungle and since he liberated those outposts from the pirates, any incursion will be bogged down by the Rakyat.
"Absolutely not."
'What...?'
"From the girl's own testimony, I can't afford Vaas' captives here. His men buy product from me todo el tiempo."
"Then this is the safest place. He won't think to look for them here and they're capable fighters, they'll fend them off-" He tried to reason with him. Find a way for convince the doctor to stay here. It had to work. His sentence was cut off by Ceobe.
"Dr. Earnhardt... please. They're my friends..." She said with her remaining strength, overhearing their conversation. "Can he bring them here... I want them to be safe..."
Something clicked in the wary seller as he went to the ill girl on the bed.
"Agnes...! How can I refuse you...?"
'Agnes...?' Doctor said the name in his thoughts. A name so treasured to the troubled med creator.
"Of course, they can stay..." His temporary silence worried both of his occupants. The doctor's body movements swayed around slightly as though he was dazed. "Ohhhh... I'm going to need a double dosage... to calm my nerves."
"Dr. Earnhardt..." He saw him shake yet sitting still in the bed. Ceobe, who couldn't rest, layed a sole hand on the nerve-wracked doctor and reassured the more stable medical practitioner in a whisper.
"We'll be fine Doctor. Go find the others." He nodded and brought her head close to his.
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Doctor excused himself out of the room and out of the mansion. Soon his phone rung and when he answered.
"Doctor. Did you find your friend?"
"Yes! Yes, she's fine. Thank you Dennis."
"You made this happen. Not me. It is your victory."
"Still, I couldn't have done it without the Rakyat." He was speaking honestly about this. There was no way he could've find Ceobe alone in the wild. "Have you heard anything about the others? Is there a way I can search for them? Anything to help me find them?"
"You know, Doctor. The pirates use a satellite dish for communication on the Medusa. You could enter the com room and find clues on the signal." Dennis hypothesized.
"What's the Medusa?"
"A ship that has been beached nearby."
"With pirates there." Doctor summarizes. With huge lines of messages to be forwarded and received, there will be no doubt the presence of pirates there. Probably more guarded than the outposts. Regardless it is a lead that he has to take advantage of.
"The Path of the Warrior, Doctor. Train your body and your mind will follow. The Tatau will bring you closer." Dennis guaranteed before they cut the call. The Path. He noticed the subtle changes within him. It was unnoticeable at first yet when he went against the pirates and the wilderness, he became: stronger. What could've been easy deaths instead were a feat of physical fortitude and combat.
Doctor looked to where a hang glider is placed at a wooden ridge and saw the whole of the island. All for him to witness and experience. Going back to what Dennis said: Train his body and his mind will follow. The Doctor checked the magazine of his Laterano made pistol to see it loaded and ready to fire. Putting the magazine back in he returned the gun to his holster and went to the hang glider. He let his instincts guide the flyer as he set off in the air. As soon as he did he felt a sense of dreadful nostalgia...
----------------------------------------
The Doctor returned wet from a drop off and he headed to the hills in front of Valsa Docks. There he obtained a new weapon. It was a sniper rifle provided by a Rakyat hunter, among other items such as the rifle's ammunition and red flags to mark where the deer died, who had submitted a trial for hunting some deers to feed hungry families. He took this opportunity to study this new weapon and work on it as he took down a handful of deers and used the red flags to mark for the hunters. The whole trial took a while as he had to get use of the rifle, its recoil and finding the deers themselves which he also experimented with using some yellow plants he plucked from the hills to track the deers who dashed further away from his sight. Fortunately one of them lead to him to find another relic.
Finished with the trial he heard someone calling for him. Doctor turned his head to see a native waving outside his shed. He wanted him to come closer.
"Hey." Doctor said when he got to the shed.
"You selling?"
"Selling? Selling what?"
"Seriously?! The guy who escaped Vaas is not keyed in or nothing?" He exclaimed in surprise. "It's cool, Doc. I'm gonna school you."
"How so?" School him huh?
"I work for a legitimate enterprise man. These islands used to be crawling with Higashi explorers. They left their letters here, never to be collected and sent to the families."
"Never? So you're volunteering to do it?"
"Sure. We use the names of the letters to find their families, if they still got them, and help deliver the letters. For a fee."
"For a fee...?"
"Of course for a fee. The families got what remains of their loved ones and we get to keep operating. This ain't good will."
'Not the most disturbing thing I've heard...' Doctor added up. Not like the rest of the horrors he had seen. He recalled back to what the shop lady said about how hefty these guys can compensate for returned letters. "Fair enough. I'll let you know if I find some letters."
"You're on board? Haha, Holla!" He cheered.
"In exchange for a cut and a discount for the families." He said as an addition for his helping hand.
"What?! Are you serious?!"
"You want my help right? Take the cuts and discount or leave it."
"Fine... I'm so going to regret this." The entrepreneur relented.
----------------------------------------
The pirates around their small camp near the shore panicked when they saw one of their sentries killed by a stray arrow. The panic risen when another was killed by another arrow. Three left. They were left in the dark of the night.
Unknown to them their leader is wanted for dead. Sentenced to death for his group attacking and killing fishermen near their camp. Another trial for the Doctor who picked the pirates off one by one without being noticed. He started with taking one out when exited the water. He quickly dashed behind the rocks and shot another arrow at a curious pirate. The Doctor was now above them at the tip of a large rock covering the camp below. When the pirate leader furiously pushed his underling to check around he sent another to his head and descended from the rocks.
He saw that they were aiming upwards to the immense rock. He quietly stabbed the closest pirated, dragging him away and leaving the leader for last. When the leader tried to order his last pirate to go up the rock he saw the Doctor rushing towards him and rammed the knife into his chest. He last saw him picking up a heron shaped stone that they threw aside.
----------------------------------------
The Temple of Stone. Festering with pirates and the target was there leading them. Sneaking through the grass, knife in hand, the Doctor had to take this slow and steady. The leader was the closest to him, the others were pacing around further away from his hidden position. So in rapid succession he went up covering his mouth, slicing his neck and dragging him to the grass.
Once done he continued with the others. One inside the small remains of the temple was taken down in an instant. One of them near the trees met the same fate. As for the two outside the slope of stairs, he only tossed a cooked grenade. It blew them away and Doctor was left to see the pit of this temple.
Inside were the ruins of ancient Rakyat stonework. The pirates appeared to be using this as a smaller outpost with all of the wooden boxes around. Looking deeper and to the side of a room he saw a small crawlspace just above him. Climbing up, he went in only to be stop by a shattered remains of a wall that easily crumbled by a small shove. The wall revealed in a sculpted pedestal a relic which he eagerly took and exited the small shaft. Seeing nothing else around he went upstairs and outside.
The morning sun finally arrived.
His Trials of the Warrior completed.
Two Spiders, Herons and a Shark marked his arm.
It's the start of his sixth day here on the Island.