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We make sure to work on the maps and update with all the new information we have. Every new piece help make the whole better, and I will make more compasses and explain it better to Kima, Vekalie and Queral. It is sad that Vekalie that have seen so much of this land, is hardly better than Xuela in explaining it, but it is useful to know what she have seen and there seems to be so many types of terrain she crossed that I would call it absurd if I hadn't visited places like New Zealand. But I guess this region of this world just like New Zealand, didn't have kilometer thick ice squishing and killing everything before it receded ten thousand years ago like northern Europe did. Still, this world seems even more varied and she crossed not just a mountain range, but also rounded a desert and have seen vast grass plains with grazing dinosaurs. There are many people and camps, but not for a long stretch on her journey, and as she talk I get the feeling that Vekalie started by running in the wrong direction. Like it would have been far closer to a coast the other way, and she might have crossed over this landmass or continent.
Without proper clothes, tool and stuff like salt, the higher inland seems harder to survive, and with dinosaurs making land travel incredibly dangerous, I think the damn alien bastards might want us to travel along the coasts, and dropped more people there. Where it is easier to live, and move around. One important bit of information is Vekalie's knowledge about that closest camp north along the shore. It's on a cliff along the shore probably a couple of hours sailing further north of the island we found her on. Xuela will fly and take a look.
Considering that Vekalie travelled towards the sunset in a zigzag line to avoid steep or high mountains, big rivers and lakes that she couldn't cross, and over such a vast distance, it proves a minimum landmass size, which is probably more than Europe, and what we and she know about camps indicate that there have to be at least several thousand people here, which should mean there is at least dozens of humans. Sadly that also means the same amount of Kima's people, but most shouldn't be venomous unless they were specifically picked. It also means that Xuela's kind or other flyers have a huge advantage. The issue of other humans, and human women and thus potential children, is for when that happens. It's not like I can go looking, and my social life have gotten way too complicated as it is. This is also dinosaur planet, so a short life is very likely one way or another. Following the coast is basically the only viable option to travel safely. Flying is just so damn unfair.
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The evening is still early and I make sure to spend a long intimate moment with Bokyli, and honestly we both enjoy how her body have changed. I might not like that she change, but we enjoy it. I just hate the mood-killing flashes I get of Kima, and Bokyli quickly understands the problem once I tell her. She too find Kima very creepy, and Bokyli feels an urge to run if Kima stares at her and smiles, so she is very happy that Kima oath bound herself, as she know that I wouldn't force an oath even on Kima. Bokyli would really like to stay in my hut and arms tonight, instead of sharing the community hut with Kima, and if I hadn't been in a relationship with Reiley, I really would have liked her to. I don't love Bokyli like I do Reiley, but I have growing feelings for her, and there is just something about her fairly carefree happy jumpy personality that I like. We don't know how she will change, but at least for now I feel certain I have Bokyli's loyalty and that we're working towards the same overall goal.
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Evening work is done, and I'm in a good mood, so I've decided to take the first part of the night watch along with Kima, since being very tired will help me sleep, and spending time with Kima to get used to her might help. Also, Bokyli and Vekalie appreciate me being out here with Kima. Kima is eager to show me that she have had warrior training, and her jabs and strikes are lightning quick. Kima's species is fairly slow and I will outrun her on flat or modestly easy ground, but her strikes are lightning quick. Her species use spears or short swords in mainly thrusting attacks, or slashing attacks with knives, and their range weapons are thrown. Truly long range weapons are not a thing, and Kima is disappointed as she literally can't draw a bow or use it, as she was so impressed by Reiley and her bow and my crossbow against the dinosaurs. We will probably try and make her a crossbow.
Kima is trained in throwing short spears, daggers and those special 'throwing-teeth', and she quickly shows she is very good with them on the ranged targets at 15 meters. No wonder she hit that fur pig with the rock. Interestingly, throwing things with range and accuracy is something that many people here simply can't do. It obviously start with good enough depth perception, which is something most have, but quick and precise arm and hand movement range with strength is another thing. Lobbing something isn't the same thing as a throw.
Obviously Kima can't get or make new throwing-teeth here, so she will be careful how she use them and try to retrieve them - like we are with our Star Fall arrows and bolts - but Kima is free to use flint, branches and so on to make herself weapons from, and she want to make a shield too. Normally a shield with her Lords symbol would be given to her, but we've not made shields yet since we've mainly been up against big dinosaurs. There are big dangerous animals on Kima's world too, so she get the issue. We have wood and leather, so Kima will make a shield or two. I've ask Kima to take her time and do good work on shields and weapons, as she will have to acclimate to the terrain and working with wood. Also, instead of my symbol I prefer her shield have camouflage. One of the body armour vests fit Kima okay and doesn't hinder her movements, so when she is guarding she can wear one.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
I give Kima a few of the dinosaur teeth and feathers as she did help immensely with those kills, and I noticed that Kima complimented Koru's shark teeth hat twice, and it's not like I see much use for dino teeth or bone. Unlike Bokyli, Vekalie have not trained much with weapons, but she can use a bow fairly well and is good with a sling, but a sling have its pros and cons so she will get a bow and general weapons training. Reiley will try to make crossbows for Kima and likely Queral as crossbows are good defensive ranged weapon that is easier to learn, and hopefully we can adapt the design to fit them. With venom on those bolts they'll be hellishly dangerous.
As the dinosaurs were big and dangerous Kima applied a huge dose of finger venom on my crossbow bolt tips, so she practically emptied her supply, but her body will produce more venom over the next few days and eating meat helps. Her venom can be stored in sealed waterproof bottles, so we will do another batch of small bottles with nail polish like brushes in the lid to have for an emergency situation, but we will definitely keep them secret and for just a few very trusted people. Just having the venom working that well on large predator dinosaurs is a tremendous help as it should work on all of them, and actually mean we have an effective weapon against them. We honestly have no idea how different people will react to Kima's venom, and it might not work at all or be too effective and just kill. Queral is still completely zonked out and unresponsive, but she have a pulse and breathe.
A low dose of Kima's finger venom is suppose to just make someone quickly freeze stiff so they can be captured or taken out, while a large dose will act even quicker and it will kill since the target can't breathe, so I guess it is a neurotoxin. But dosage matter a lot and Kima's training obviously didn't cover other species and a huge range of biology and sizes. The venomous fangs in Kima's mouth have a slightly different venom that is stronger, and is mainly to kill. Mouth venom in a low dosage combined with a low dose of finger venom, it is used for 'bleeding death', which means the person will slowly bleed out from a small wound while feeling excruciating pain. It is mainly used to slowly kill someone while they are conscious, or for torture. For torture the wound is closed with fire so the person won't bleed out, and a person can be given daily doses so they feel that excruciating pain for weeks. Or they are given it several times a day, so they try to scream all the time and can't even sleep. Kima have practised that.
I will be kept awake by remembering Kima's smile as she proudly told me all of that in a low voice since the others don't need to know. They probably wouldn't want to know that. I feel bad about saying it, but the more I learn about Kima, her venom and her training, the more I feel relief knowing that Kima is strongly oath bound to me.
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As night fall and it gets dark, Kima becomes hard to see against the rock, and she likes to move smooth, slowly and totally silent and perch in unexpected locations as she explore the cliff and get used to and learn her new home. It's a bit scary and annoying as I don't have heat vision to track her, but it is good training in trying to find her. Kima is very surprised how good my hearing is in locating her even behind me if she makes too much noise, as her species seem to suck in sound location, and it becomes sort of a game and training as the night pass. Kima needs to learn that people here can do that and some have far better hearing than me. Or sense of smell. Or weird vision. Or there may be tripwires and alarms. We still keep watch of our surroundings, but it makes the time pass and it is training. Every 15 minutes or so I try to find Kima, and if I can't, she makes a low sound, and I try to locate her from it. She is sneaky and understand hiding in shadows and using contrast to her advantage, but that also makes her a bit predictable. The faint glow from the waves crashing ashore have increased over the last few nights, but Kima turns out to have another surprise in some kind of bioluminescent organs that glow weakly red, which her kind use for moving in pitch black tunnels along with her thermal vision, and for communication in pitch black, but it is very weak in this light for me, and it won't be seen far. Still, I have her not casually use it as someone like Reiley or Koru might see it well. All our different vision spectrums and senses prove that anyone trying to look at or ambush other people, will have to think about keeping distance, being down wind, being utterly silent and non moving, and preferably being out of sight as much as possible.
Something dies to the south, but that has just become the usual background sounds. At least for me. Kima is happy that we live on a high cliff where the big dinosaurs can't reach us, but she would prefer living in caves on these cliffs. Deep caves with small and defensive entrances, and a couple of well hidden escape exits. Xuela does not have a high opinion of Kima and her culture after learning they live underground in the dark, but at least Xuela is wise enough to not call Kima a primitive savage to her face.
As I sit and just watch and listen, what have become clear is that we need to make some specific preparations for future defence, and one is to mark certain spots so they're more visible during day and night, and name features in the terrain. It is very unlikely that anyone passing on the trail down from the ridge will not notice our constructions, and as we build more and we clear away some foliage to make defence easier, that likelihood increase. Beside making more warning tripwires in the surrounding nature, we should use some of that bright light grey ash cement to add big markers, with some kind of contrasting black symbol on top. That way we might see the markers in the dark and can use the markers as references to tell were we see something or enemies move, and learn which range it is to easier hit spots near it with ranged weapons. We have a simple rattler system between the huts and from the lookout to the community hut, but can it be improved?
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After a couple of hours Kima have explored to her satisfaction, and comes back and lay silently beside me as we just watch from the lookout. She doesn't move a muscle as she watch, just the eyes that wander and look until she spots something and slowly move her head to have the front eyes and heat vision focus on it.
It's hard to not see Kima like a big pet lizard, and I feel bad about a stray though of having her on a leash walking beside me like some big dog. I realise that I've absent-mindedly put my hand on her back and is stroking her skin, back ridges and tail below her body armour vest, and Kima seems to like it, as I notice what I'm doing when she slightly move her body and press it against my hand, and she have scooted closer. I instinctively apologise as I remove my hand, but Kima whispers back that her body is mine, and thanks me as that felt nice. And she scoot a bit closer to me and strokes my back with her tail.
It is not creepy. It is not creepy. It is not creepy.
We just continue to watch the surroundings as the moons slowly makes their way across the night sky behind the darkening clouds.