D.A.B, day 23
Two days later. Shadows in the night.
It just had to rain didn't it?
Well, at least that should make the ground softer and more silent, and help mask our sounds and smell, but it sucks being wet and we have to protect the bow, strings and arrows. We have wrapped it in leaves, waxed it and tried our best, and other things are stored in sealed pots, or just because they are very 'handle with care'. At least my crossbow with high tech material should work fine in rain. Xuela is staying in the hut and have it nice, but me and Bokyli just sit in the dark jungle under the tarp while trying to avoid the rain and wait for Reiley to make contact. They all agreed in my reasoning and seem to have no problem with what we're hoping to do, so in a way I guess we're murderous asshole raiders just like our targets.
Bokyli and I woke up from our afternoon nap, ate and left an hour before sundown. It would take time for us to get into this position with our cumbersome load of trap material and it was better to use the last daylight to move here, on the other side of the ridge from Reiley's scouting position. We could have used the canoe to reach the Salt Boon's natural break water, but there is the unknown danger of the ocean at night, and we want to have the canoe as a fallback and escape option if we need it. So silently we made our way up the ridge, trying to follow the directions that Reiley gave us and avoid leaving an obvious track as we made our way here. Bokyli isn't really a warrior, but then again neither am I as I only got my basic military conscription training.
Sitting here in what I'm reasonably sure is the agreed meeting point and just waiting have been hard, and my thoughts just goes on tangent after tangent. Ideas. Indecision. Anxiety. Doubt. Worry. Bokyli seems to have it easier and I hear her munching on one of those plants she likes. It's quiet enough and I guess it's a combination of stress eating and just her body doing it's thing, and it's honestly a bit comforting.
The plan is for Reiley to make sure that our enemies behave like they've had so far, and after dark come get us. Radio communication would have been really really nice, but every culture have had to make do without it for most of their history and wars, and most people waking up here seem to belong to species that never reach that far in technology. Making a 'simple' spark gap radio will be insanely hard and probably impossible for me, as the first step is to 'somehow' get a lot of copper. Then making a lot of copper wire. Which is probably an instant no-no right there even with that vessel Xuela have, but still easier than the rest. Making enough power would also be an issue since I would need other metals. There might be sulphur in that geothermal area Xuela found, but that is far away, and I don't know how to make sulphuric acid from it although I might have a guess since it is H2SO4, but a battery is probably another no-no as that would need lead too, so I have to find ore with lead in it and refine that, which is another likely no-no. Just trying to smash and melt every high density rock I find will be hard work, and I haven't even explored more than the very closest area, and hardly that. I might remember my physics well enough, but I sure don't know the formulas to calculate the electronic parts and frequency, not that a spark gap really need it. Shit, I'll need to do some kind of radio receiver too. Yeah. That is a 'nope' and I will be very happy if I can just charge my smart watch.
I hear a faint sound, but can't see anything as we silently prepare to fight. It might be a flying dinosaur, or worse. After another minute I hear Reiley's distinct but faint whistle close and I make a similar whistle back, and Reiley joins us. We hug and huddle together as Reiley whisperingly informs us that the enemies have behaved predictably and it doesn't seem to be a trap. So we go over the plan, and refine trap placement and usage, and then move out. This will be a long and dangerous night with plenty of nerve wrecking anxiety and paranoia that they might discover us, and if it all goes well, I'll be a killer next time I see the sun.
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Just waiting for the enemy to wake up and starting to move, is even worse than silently working on all the traps and other preparations during the night. That took focus. This is just waiting while making sure I don't doze off. But we did it, and we don't think the enemy have noticed anything. So we just wait as the sky becomes brighter. Afraid to make even a noise. Afraid to move and disturb animals. Afraid that my sweat or smell will give us away too early. Afraid Bokyli's eyes will be noticed. Things itch. So many horrible thoughts as I try to still my beating heart. We don't really know anything about our alien enemies true senses and skills, which is one reason we avoided going close to their camp. Another is that they might have traps or tripwires around their camp. We've added some to our cliff as we will always come or leave on the path and Xuela fly.
Choosing the right trap spots and silently installing the traps while avoiding leaving telltales was hard but the rain helped, and we reached this spot by going around and wading through the ocean surf. This is not a spot I would have chosen, but the likely enemy movement means that this is where we have to be. Erasing traces or camouflaging when we couldn't really see is bad enough, but I worry one of them have got some kind of sense, vision or something that will warn them of us just being here. That will instantly change the odds and outcome, and might make far better entertainment for the damn alien bastards. I don't expect that we might wound or kill more than one without them realising they're under attack, and that is still bad odds for us. Just one enemy getting away will be really bad, as we have to find and hunt that dangerous person in this dangerous world. Two? Much worse. There is a high chance that one or more of us will be hurt or die, and Xuela is the least likely. So me, Reiley or Bokyli. And there is no turning back.
We cannot undo what we have started.
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I hate this. Truly hate this.
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We have the weak wind heading out towards the sea, which is good as it helps to hide our smell. But the waves hitting the shore hide enemy noise, and so do the damn birds, so our first indication that the enemy is awake and active is a tree top waving weirdly. Reiley sign that she smell cooking which I repeat towards Bokyli, who noddingly agree. Eventually we see 'Climber' making his way towards us a few meters inside the jungle edge. Alone. Which is bad. The plan is to eliminate both archers first, as they are a ranged threat, and helpfully also moves furthest away from their camp to get to their ambush positions. But previous mornings 'Big Archer' came along. Still, it could be worse and we have some contingencies. We can just hope that Climber take the same route through the for him chest high water and up the cliff, and that Big Archer hurries up. We will stay completely still and silent, and we are well camouflaged and hidden. I have made mud and black waxy charcoal lines on my face and hands, and so have Bokyli on her whole body. Maybe I should have used that green pigment that stains skin?
Climber looks like a weird beefy hairy Chimpanzee, but with the head going back and ending up as a big horn. Climber wears an armless green tunic decorated with a bit of yellow and have a bandolier style quiver with a knife across the front - kind of like Bokyli's. Climber grabs a leafy branch from the jungle before balancing on the rocks as he walks towards the water. Just casually looking around. I'm not aiming at him or moving, but if he reacts and looks questioningly towards us, we have limited choice and have to act fast. So far his behaviour is spot on, as he will use the leafy branch to hide his tracks on the other shore before climbing up the cliff. I glance towards Reiley and notice that Big Archer is heading along the same jungle edge route towards us. Okay, this might work. This might work. Be ready. Be ready.
Climber has reached two thirds across the inlet water when he makes a painful cry, loose balance and falls in the water. Wait for it. Wait for the reaction. Climber is flailing about in the water, having lost his leafy branch and bow and trying to back pedal while swearing.
"OW!!! Verika humping verika smelling anus! ANUS! Ow ow ow!"
From inside the jungle Big Archer is looking around at his companion splashing and swearing while nursing his leg and trying to remove something while making painful sounds. I cannot see Four Arms or Violet, but Big Archer is on alert with his bow ready. Nothing happens except his companions splashing and making painful sounds as he tries to half swim back to this shore.
"What is wrong?" That high soprano Swedish-Indian something female sounding voice really doesn't match what I expected from Big Archer. Damn alien bastards.
"Gjurl stepped on a thorny verika branch lying on the verika bottom! Verika thorns are this verika long. Thorns hurt like Ylla wouldn't believe and Gjurl is verika bleeding! Ow! Anus! Gjurl lost Gjurl's bow too. ANUS! OW! Anus! Gjurl just stabbed Gjurl's other leg with the verika branch! Ow ow ow."
That is a weird speech pattern.
"Koru told us to be quiet." That voice is just so... wrong.
"Shut Ylla's verika mouth! Ow ow ow!"
I guess that actually worked, and so worth it. I hid ten of those branches with long vicious thorns under a thin layer of sand in a diagonal pattern, hoping for a delaying or wounding effect as the seawaters buoyancy would mean that Climber wouldn't put much weight on his foot. But those thorns are viciously pointy and very hard. All those hidden branches in that pattern are damn suspicious if someone go out and look, or would wade over to help Climber if he headed to the other shore, but then they will be out in the water and sweeping the bottom, and thus an easier target. Climber makes it back to the first big stones and sit on one of them as he lifts his foot up from the water. A meter long thorny branch is stuck in his foot that is dripping blood and he gingerly tries to examine the branch and what to do while swearing, whimpering and saying ow. That looks really really painful and I almost feel bad. Almost.
Big Archer have come closer but is still looking at the scene from the jungle. Please, follow the slight path and move just a bit further towards your favourite camping spot. Please. Please. Movement catch my eye and Violet is moving towards Big Archer, and doing so surprisingly gracefully and alert. Please come and look what happened. Still your curiosity. Yeah, Violet is a big muscular person that must be taller than 2 meters, and I get why Reiley see Violet as dark and as a woman. I can't really tell if Violet is a woman, male or something else, and it might be very bad to jump to any conclusion or have stupid ideas based on humans, but it looks like Violet have huge tits under her clothes. But it is a bonus that she is here and in range when this fight really kicks off. Shit! That is not clothes! Violet is wearing armour! Violet have a segmenty looking dark hauberk armour with short arms, that I assume is made from some kind of dinosaur. Shit! And a big stone axe beside her large knife. Violet is bad news, and looks competent and very strong. I know my crossbow bolts hit hard and I have of course loaded a Star Fall bolt, but I can't chance that my bolt will penetrate that thick armour, so no center body mass shots, and reloading gives her time to move. If she gets close, I'm probably dead. Shit!
Violet scans the area as she moves over to Big Archer, and surprise Big Archer. Big Archer is not that alert or have good peripheral vision, or hearing. Good to know. Violet instantly understands what has happened, but Big Archer informs Violet about the thorny branch and dropped bow, and I can see the annoyed 'oh for fucks sake' reaction. It looks like no-one suspects that that branch was deliberately placed. Good. Good. Very good. Violet signal back towards their camp and make a gesture, so I assume Four Arms is back there and looking, and is far more skilled and attentive than Big Archer. I don't like competent enemies. Violet signals Big Archer to move to his ambush spot.
"Gjurl. Be quiet and move back here." That low threatening husky female voice actually fit my expectations of Violet, and the strange something accent also kind of fit.
"Koru, lick Gjurls verika anus!" Gjurl - which presumedly is Climbers real name - whimpers and makes what I assume is some kind of insulting gesture back towards Violet - Koru - as Climber is focused on his foot and its attached branch without having made any progress in removing it. Violet just stands there, and give Big Archer - Ylla - an annoyed look, who have stopped and is watching Climber. Violet move over to Big Archer and push him towards the ambush point while pointing. Big Archer starts to lazily move as Violet holster the stone axe in a holster across her back, grab some big leaves and move towards Climber. Yeah, Violet is dangerous, smart and seems to be a competent warrior, and in the brighter early morning gloom out on the beach I see that Violets skin have many black swirling tattoos over her violet skin.