Anticipation

OOC: JP between Lucian, Jaxx and Strangetides

As they waited they saw a few natives come and go along with and without some wild beasts among them. The natives and beasts looked very confused as they tried to figure out where their prey vanished off to. So Hunter Nicolaus and Tarmen were able to rest for a good while and eat some rations as they were hidden. Hunter even had time for Nicolaus to tend to his bandage while remaining quiet. Eventually the daylight began to fade and the group decided to slowly make their way back to the first camp. They were moving slower than usual so they could avoid making noise and Tarmen could check the new path for traps. Occasionally they would come across a snake or small nocturnal rodent, but between Hunter and Tarmen's quick reflexes, they were of little threat.

The cover of darkness was seemingly a god-send for the group. Tarmen couldn’t be sure how good the eyesight of the native’s was, but so far it seemed as good as theirs.
He even began to relax as they trekked, staying low and slow meant that he could see a good amount of the nightlife. He had found more of the bug repelling plants, so stocked up. He had also found a rather large bug… thing, while doing so. If they weren’t trying to escape killer natives he would have killed it to take back. Could have fetched a nice price somewhere.

After a good time of this good luck however, Tarmen caught sight of one said native. He cursed as one more joined him, as well as a sizable feline.
Relaying this news to the others, he spoke to Hunter.
“How good of a shot are you in the dark? If you get the cat down, I can get the men. I doubt either of us can take the beast one on one in the dark.”

Hunter simply nodded as he slowly got into position and readied his bow with a poisoned arrow. Normally hunting in the dark was a major challenge for most, but Hunter had a fool proof plan for that situation. First off he used poisoned arrows to weaken the beast and secondly he could see the eyes of the beast shine in the darkness. The glowing eyes on the beast were his target now, despite being a small target. Hunter waited till Tarmen was in position as he readied his arrow. Then he aimed at the head of the large beast till he saw the glowing eyes moving a bit. Once the the beast stopped moving next to the natives, it looked at at Hunter's direction and opened its mouth to reveal its white sharp teeth.

However before it could growl, Hunter fired his arrow into the left eye of the beast which sent it into a wild panic. The beast cried in pain as it stood up on its back two legs and instinctively clawed at the two nearby natives before it fell limp on the ground. Hunter then said the number ten in his head as he was keeping a kill count in his head. The two natives were in shock being clawed by the beast as they looked at their wounds.

Tarmen moved quick, running behind the natives and slicing his machete into the side of one’s neck, then grabbing the others hair to throw him to the ground.
Heaving the blade from the first man, a hard kick to the others throat silenced him.
Looking to the beast, he gave a prayer to Vastad in case he ever found himself against Hunter. Man’s poison worked very good.

Waiting in the silence after, he noticed an odd wound in the roots of the tree he pressed against.
One of his own markings.
“We are close to camp, but they are too it seems. Think we should risk it?”

Hunter thought for a minute then he replied, "Perhaps we can stay hidden and study how they react to Voah's salt. It may help us gain an edge over them as we escape." Then Hunter put his bow on his back as he got ready to move on.

Nicolaus watched from the shadows as the men executed their plan. This was where they shone, and he was quite content to let them do their jobs. He did slip his hand into his satchel in readiness.

The beasts were a concern, he mused as the carnage commenced. Human trackers might be fooled or lost, but these were something else.

It was over in moments. As the two woodsmen talked he studied the men and their beasts. their tools, weapons and dress. He also checked their bodies, their eyes, gums and teeth.

Tarmen had wondered if the salt would do anything to the natives. Seemed tonight they would find out.
“Just have to hope they don’t have more cats. Let’s find a place and then we take shifts to get some rest.”

Noticing Cagliostro, Tarmen still wasn’t sure what to make of the man, though his healing knowledge had been useful.
Finding a place that hid them well, they began their vigil over the now surrounded camp.

As they watched the natives invading the old campsite they got to see some interesting behavior. From what they saw natives were inspecting the the campsite for clues on their prey. Hunter watched the natives to get a head count and a strategy in case he needed to kill them quickly.

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