Nick turned and left the shroom’s territory, filled with a heady blend of contrasting emotions. His fear mingled with his hope. His satisfaction swirled alongside his apprehension. While he had overcome a major obstacle barring his path, accomplishing his next goal would be even more dangerous than harvesting the pollen.
It was finally time for Nick to follow the bonecrunchers and scout out their lair. This was going to be tricky. He needed to survey the region without the deadly predators catching wind of his intrusion, tipping his hand before he was ready to lay down his cards.
This was a perilous mission, but also a necessary step if he wanted his plans to succeed. There were too many unknown variables to engage the pack while flying blind. If he wanted the pollen to hit the hyena-boars at full potency, he needed to set off his bomb while they were resting in an enclosed space.
To ambush the crunchers in their den and inflict maximum carnage, Nick had to scope out the lay of the land beforehand. To understand the terrain that he would be working with before placing his bait and springing his trap.
Entering the heart of the crunchers’ territory was wildly dangerous, even by the drastically lowered standards of Nick’s new reality. It wouldn’t be so bad if he were able to follow the beasts’ tracks back to their lair, but it was beyond his ability to read the various marks scattered across the forest floor. Instead, he would have to follow in the pack’s wake, trailing the beasts without being detected by their keen sense of hearing.
It wasn’t all bad news. Nick had made significant headway in learning how to move without revealing his presence. His body had become stronger and more agile than he had dreamed was possible in his old life on Earth. By now, scanning the ground had become second nature, seeking out where to place his feet without disturbing leaves or snapping twigs.
While he headed toward the strip of woodlands that the crunchers passed through several times each day, he reviewed his strategy. He needed to minimize every risk he could if he wanted to walk out of this trial with his blood inside his body.
It’s game time, Nick. Stealth, roguelike protocols. Your primary goal is to evade detection. Secondary goal: be in a position to survive if you fuck up the primary goal. To that end, always stand beside a tree you can climb if this goes sideways. Stop moving every few seconds until you’re sure that the pack hasn’t caught on. Listen for their yips to track their position, but don’t assume that you will be able to hear them before they hear you. Watch the animals in the forest for signs that danger is headed your way. Don’t forget that the lurk is somewhere out here too. Keep one eye over your shoulder, and always be wary of being encircled.
Nick repeated the rules intended to keep him alive like a mantra until he came across the pack’s trail and then climbed into a tree. While he waited for the crunchers to pass through as they returned to their lair for the night, he rubbed some charcoal into his skin to mute his scent. He took everything out of his belt except for a flashbang and his dagger, placing the other tools into his pack and then hanging it on a branch.
While Nick waited, he adjusted his clothing, tightening laces and securing straps so that nothing would tap or rub together. He felt naked without the bulk of his pack and the tools inside. But none of them would help him now. They would only weigh him down and increase the noise he made as he moved through the forest.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
His preparations complete, all that was left was to wait. In the final moments before he began his dangerous gamble, Nick was filled with electric tension. It was as if a spring was coiled around his spine, ready to burst into motion at the slightest touch.
Mercifully, he wasn’t forced to wait for long. Twenty nervous minutes later, familiar yips and growls made his ears prick up in anticipation. Soon, the pack came into view, fortunately headed north rather than back into the forest. Their daily hunt finished rather than still underway.
Nick’s heart leapt into his throat when one of the crunchers stopped to sniff around the base of his tree, as the beast must have caught a whiff of his scent. After cocking its ears while listening intently, the hyena-boar continued on its way. Luckily, the beast never thought to look up.
He normally would have waited until he was sure the coast was clear before climbing back down. But on this occasion, he couldn’t afford to. Bidding farewell to his trusty sword and backpack, Nick lowered himself out of the branches, shaking with the exertion required to reach the ground without making a sound.
Following a pack of ferocious beasts, ones that could hear even the slightest misstep from a considerable distance, was an intense, nerve-wracking experience. The pressure only grew as Nick trailed the pack deeper into the forest, and before long, he was further inland than he had ever gone before.
On two occasions, he screwed up and made a bit of noise. Although the pack stopped to listen, they soon continued on their way, evidently deciding that the sounds had not been made by competing predators or prey.
Despite his best efforts, Nick lost sight of the pack after entering a sparsely wooded area that was studded by a cluster of low hills. For the first time, he stood within the borderlands, running between the forest biome and the highlands beyond.
Filled with a pungent flare of frustration, Nick was in the process of resigning himself to spending the night in a tree and resuming his hunt in the morning when he spotted a rough hole torn into the side of a nearby hillock. It’s the entrance to a hollow or natural cavern. He sighed in relief as he heard a series of angry barks emanating from within, for he had found the pack’s lair at last.
His first goal complete, Nick froze in place and took a long look around. He needed to work fast, for every heartbeat he lingered increased the odds of the crunchers noticing his intrusion into their domain. Five minutes later, his lips curled into a grin as sharp as a blade. In spite of his fears, this terrain was a perfect venue for the plan he had concocted.
It’s going to be dangerous as hell, but I can do this. If everything goes right, I can eliminate the pack or drastically reduce the danger they pose. I just need to complete the last items on my list, then make it back here without being eaten in the process. The board is green. It’s time to find out what you’re made of.
As the gears of his mind spun with manic energy, Nick carefully made his way back to the tree where he had hung his pack, then retrieved his gear. He hiked back to the lemurs’ side of the forest while reviewing the final steps he needed to take before he was ready to enact his gambit. With any luck, he would have everything ready to go by late tomorrow afternoon, launching his assault before the sun set once more.
He reviewed everything that he still needed to do, deciding which step to take in what order to maximize his odds of success. This was going to be one of the biggest risks that Nick had willingly taken, but it was something that he knew he had to do to maximize his odds of survival over the long run. He would use the final hours before his showdown with the pack to stack the deck in his favor. He just prayed that it would be enough.
The final pieces of Nick’s plan needed to be placed only a few minutes before he began his assault. But several elements could be taken care of today, and he could wrap up the rest tomorrow morning.
With a spring in his step, he reorganized the tools in his belt and went to work. He suspected that as time went on, he would be facing stronger and stronger opponents, not all of which would be beatable in a straight fight. But that didn't mean he couldn't take down big game.
It just meant that Nick would have to fight with his brain as well as his sword, and this was a perfect opportunity to find out what he was made of.