>>9865,
>>9977
>see the common intro in the first part of >>
Johann's trip with Iri and Yul also starts swift, but the similarity ends there. Instead of silence, you're treated to a rousing discourse on whatever topic Iri lands on. Mercifully, she's quite the sensitive host despite her vigor, steering toward new topics before it gets frustrating. Given your interests and her sometimes-successful attempts to pull in Yul you end up hearing a good deal about jaguar ambush tactics and poisons, while on your part talking of smelting and saltpeter, all the parts of human industry that seem absent here. On a lark you question her about it.
>"Surely if no one else then your father must have suggested some of these techniques?"
"Rrrh! Of course, but they don't listen! It's all about 'keeping tradition', until suddenly they want the benefits."
>"You could always go ahead without them."
To your surprise it's Yul who cuts in to answer. "There are many bonds we do not choose, but can't afford to break. The old ways are often a map of how to avoid death, like how the milkroot will blind you if not skinned, ground, and buried for a fortnight before being drunk. So we compromise." There's a longing in her tone that makes even Iri go quiet for a time. You note how Iri implicitly trusts Yul to chart a path, though like you she scans the horizon in between rounds of talk.
In afternoon you emerge from the woods as the elevation rises. The ground grows treacherous and rocky, and brush and smaller trees keep visibility low enough to be dangerous. Yul signals a stop, and Iri climbs to scout as a matter of habit while Yul prepares a meal from several fruits and some dried meat. You eat quickly together, Johann feeling a sense of unease (
[Snuggle Struggler]). A moment Iri drops from the trees and confirms your fears. "It's them." She slowly climbs back to her perch, and donning your new cloak you go to ground, rifle drawn. In another moment you see what she did, a dark-cloaked figure with broad pointy ears. Yul looks to you and shakes her head, drawing a blowgun. One and then another filters through the brush until six in all are visible. Closer. Closer.
A dart streaks from the trees and strikes one on the side. Wasting no time you take aim at the closes and fire, Yul doing the same. All turn towards the sound of your flintlock, and your target falls in pain before the shock wears off and others dive for cover. Their response is quick, professional, a volley of arrows that would surely hit had you been kneeling to fire like they are. More impressive is their agility, on the move as soon as the arrows pass, and only your long training allows you keep some awareness as you reload. The rustle of leaves and the snapping of branches lets you know they're coming up on both sides, but not well enough to shoot blind. They, meanwhile, are shooting as they're able, not at you but at Yul who dashed into the brush spear in hand. You hear another cry ahead. Then, silence.
At length Yul returns, several shallow cuts on her arms and legs but nothing that seems serious. Iri joins from above. "Looks like they're gone." Yul shakes her head. "They'll be back. I saw one aiding the one we shot, so they know we have a man with us." A brief discussion later you agree that direct pursuit is too dangerous. They act like soldiers, not the rabble you've often encountered on the high seas, and their accuracy means you could easily be on the receiving end of an ambush like this one. Most likely they'll seek revenge tonight when they have the advantage. The real question is whether they have reinforcements, and Yul seeks your opinion:
<Yul is confident she and Iri could pursue more safely in the trees right now, if you feel you can hold your own
<Iri can run and bring back her tribe-sisters by early night, but in those first deadly hours it would be you and Yul
<Else the moderate approach is the default: set up a layered defense in the hours before dusk, Yul on the perimeter
Unless you go full aggro with the first option, you can also pick a downtime topic with whichever girl stays nearby.
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