They cut around the crater to their direct right, heading for the cliff to the south, aiming to put more distance between them and the herd of Otrogon. The relatively flat and rocky terrain of the ridge was far easier to handle, which allowed him to avoid falling behind again. Once they’d made it to where he thought the ring would be almost directly east of their position, they started the descent down into the field.
The group grew quieter as they entered the open space, with Melon falling silent almost entirely—she’d already been pretty quiet, but seeing the Otrogon seemed to have sent her into complete lockdown. Boko had clearly noticed the tension—likely back before they’d even left the camp—and had started what seemed to be a concentrated effort to drag Melon out of her shell. The little jokes, teases and playful nudges that the guy had been tossing out over the last couple of hours seemed to become far less effective while the monsters were in direct line of sight.
Haiko, likewise, had pulled back a bit from her normal mischief-seeking state, and August was almost certain that she hadn’t taken her eyes off the largest of the Otrogon since it had appeared. With as much attention the group was paying the monsters, they seemed entirely unreactive to being watched or even their general passing. Either the distance rendered them unaware, or they were simply uninterested in anything that wasn’t bamboo or grass. Either option was completely fine by him because every time he caught a flash of the big one’s open mouth, August found a new reminder of why he hadn’t gone anywhere near them. The curvature of the bamboo forest stole their view of the monsters as they began their final approach, and then, just like that, they arrived.
“I don’t think they are going to come this way,” Boko said, “But if they do, they shouldn’t be able to catch either of you.”
“Yes, it’s only a relatively short run back to the crater, and there is plenty of outcroppings for us to hide on top of,” Rittan said, “We should be more than capable of outpacing these monsters if they do come after us.”
A relatively short run for the Voithos, maybe—locked at his walking pace, it had taken them the better part of two hours just to make it down the grassland.
“We won’t be gone long enough for anything to happen,” August said, “But make sure you keep an eye out so nothing sneaks up on you.”
“I do not think that will become an issue,” Haiko said, eyeing the bamboo between them and the now-hidden Otrogon. “I’m feeling quite aware of my surroundings, as it happens.”
“Good,” Kalter said. “Stay that way until we get back.”
“We will remain vigilant until you return safely, of that I am certain,” Rittan said, raising his bone axe in salute. “Please ensure you take care of yourselves, as well.”
“That’s the plan—Melon,” Boko said, bumping his shoulder against her. “Feeling confident?”
“I’m not feeling very confident at all,” Melon said, voice quiet. “Exactly how far away is this device again?”
“It’s about an hour of walking to our east, but the bamboo is going to slow us down a bit,” August said, “We should be there in back two hours.”
“Too optimistic,” Kalter said, already moving towards the bamboo. “Three hours, and if we haven’t returned by then, head for the crater.”
“Looks like we’re going,” August said, following her inside. “Stay safe.”
There were a series of goodbyes exchanged between the two groups as they started towards their goal. This far out, the shoots were sparse, separated by meters, and not much of an obstacle for any of them. Even if they had been, Kalter didn’t seem intent on letting any of it disturb her, and she shouldered her way through without much deviation from her chosen path. If stealth had been their goal, it became pretty obvious that the crunching of the dried and dead leaves beneath them had ruined it entirely.
Four separate sets of feet were a cacophony in the relative silence of the forest. August gave something of a test chop at the nearest shoot with the almost-machete he’d brought along—and then was forced to stumble as it got stuck. Kalter looked back over her shoulder, and he winced.
“Just checking if it was actually sharp,” August said, “You’re at the front—do you want to use it to clear the bamboo?”
Kalter didn’t even look back; she just stuck a hand out behind her, the expectation that he’d hand it over clear. He placed it in her hand handle first and then watched as she slipped the grip back around, then took a test swing—the bamboo shoot collapsed as she cut straight through it.
“Seems like it works,” Boko said from behind him, sounding amused. “You sure you don’t want to take point, August?”
“Boko,” Melon chastised, “Don’t make fun of him.”
“I see you’re interested in the leisurely eight-hour version of this trip,” August said, rolling his eyes. “A fantastic choice; we’ll be home by tomorrow at the latest.”
“That’ll give us a chance to really see the sights,” Boko said, laughing. “What’s it look like up there, Kalter—any sign of bamboo yet, because I’d hate to miss it.”
“That’s the only thing here,” Kalter said.
It was already starting to grow thicker and closer together, and they’d barely even made any progress—he spoke up when they started to diverge a bit too much from direct east, and Kalter corrected their course without comment. The light was already struggling to filter through all of the obstructions, and the view ahead of them was growing more crowded by the minute. More and more shoots were slaughtered to allow their path forward to continue until Kalter was in almost constant motion.
Through it all, he kept his eyes and ears on high alert, but there was nothing to indicate that there was anything but bamboo in the vicinity. The map showed that their progress had slowed considerably, and they weren’t anywhere close to their destination, even after what must have been half an hour of Kalter tearing up everything in her path.
“How did you get out of here on your own?” Kalter said, snapping three different shoots with her bare hands in an attempt to clear some space for herself. “It’s everywhere.”
August honestly wasn’t sure if it was because they were making a path instead of just trying to climb through it all or if his initial path out of the forest had simply been more traversable, but it was clear that coming in from this angle wasn’t quite as easy as he’d first hoped.
“I just climbed through it all,” August said, stepping back as a bamboo shoot fell in front of him. “I was headed towards the cliff as well, so maybe it’s less thick there.”
I'm sick with food poisoning at the moment, and it's kind of ruined my ability to write anything this last week. The revision for book 2 is 40k/100k done, but it's going slower than expected because of the growing gap between the two timelines. I'm taking the opportunity(being sick is somehow one of these) to move the contention public release to a single chapter a week. That means Contention will update on Fridays only until the revision is done. The estimated time for the revision to finish is about a month, probably, or maybe shorter, when I'm back to full HP.
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
They cut around the crater to their direct right, heading for the cliff to the south, aiming to put more distance between them and the herd of Otrogon. The relatively flat and rocky terrain of the ridge was far easier to handle, which allowed him to avoid falling behind again. Once they’d made it to where he thought the ring would be almost directly east of their position, they started the descent down into the field.
The group grew quieter as they entered the open space, with Melon falling silent almost entirely—she’d already been pretty quiet, but seeing the Otrogon seemed to have sent her into complete lockdown. Boko had clearly noticed the tension—likely back before they’d even left the camp—and had started what seemed to be a concentrated effort to drag Melon out of her shell. The little jokes, teases and playful nudges that the guy had been tossing out over the last couple of hours seemed to become far less effective while the monsters were in direct line of sight.
Haiko, likewise, had pulled back a bit from her normal mischief-seeking state, and August was almost certain that she hadn’t taken her eyes off the largest of the Otrogon since it had appeared. With as much attention the group was paying the monsters, they seemed entirely unreactive to being watched or even their general passing. Either the distance rendered them unaware, or they were simply uninterested in anything that wasn’t bamboo or grass. Either option was completely fine by him because every time he caught a flash of the big one’s open mouth, August found a new reminder of why he hadn’t gone anywhere near them. The curvature of the bamboo forest stole their view of the monsters as they began their final approach, and then, just like that, they arrived.
“I don’t think they are going to come this way,” Boko said, “But if they do, they shouldn’t be able to catch either of you.”
“Yes, it’s only a relatively short run back to the crater, and there is plenty of outcroppings for us to hide on top of,” Rittan said, “We should be more than capable of outpacing these monsters if they do come after us.”
A relatively short run for the Voithos, maybe—locked at his walking pace, it had taken them the better part of two hours just to make it down the grassland.
“We won’t be gone long enough for anything to happen,” August said, “But make sure you keep an eye out so nothing sneaks up on you.”
“I do not think that will become an issue,” Haiko said, eyeing the bamboo between them and the now-hidden Otrogon. “I’m feeling quite aware of my surroundings, as it happens.”
“Good,” Kalter said. “Stay that way until we get back.”
“We will remain vigilant until you return safely, of that I am certain,” Rittan said, raising his bone axe in salute. “Please ensure you take care of yourselves, as well.”
“That’s the plan—Melon,” Boko said, bumping his shoulder against her. “Feeling confident?”
“I’m not feeling very confident at all,” Melon said, voice quiet. “Exactly how far away is this device again?”
“It’s about an hour of walking to our east, but the bamboo is going to slow us down a bit,” August said, “We should be there in back two hours.”
“Too optimistic,” Kalter said, already moving towards the bamboo. “Three hours, and if we haven’t returned by then, head for the crater.”
“Looks like we’re going,” August said, following her inside. “Stay safe.”
There were a series of goodbyes exchanged between the two groups as they started towards their goal. This far out, the shoots were sparse, separated by meters, and not much of an obstacle for any of them. Even if they had been, Kalter didn’t seem intent on letting any of it disturb her, and she shouldered her way through without much deviation from her chosen path. If stealth had been their goal, it became pretty obvious that the crunching of the dried and dead leaves beneath them had ruined it entirely.
Four separate sets of feet were a cacophony in the relative silence of the forest. August gave something of a test chop at the nearest shoot with the almost-machete he’d brought along—and then was forced to stumble as it got stuck. Kalter looked back over her shoulder, and he winced.
“Just checking if it was actually sharp,” August said, “You’re at the front—do you want to use it to clear the bamboo?”
Kalter didn’t even look back; she just stuck a hand out behind her, the expectation that he’d hand it over clear. He placed it in her hand handle first and then watched as she slipped the grip back around, then took a test swing—the bamboo shoot collapsed as she cut straight through it.
“Seems like it works,” Boko said from behind him, sounding amused. “You sure you don’t want to take point, August?”
“Boko,” Melon chastised, “Don’t make fun of him.”
“I see you’re interested in the leisurely eight-hour version of this trip,” August said, rolling his eyes. “A fantastic choice; we’ll be home by tomorrow at the latest.”
“That’ll give us a chance to really see the sights,” Boko said, laughing. “What’s it look like up there, Kalter—any sign of bamboo yet, because I’d hate to miss it.”
“That’s the only thing here,” Kalter said.
It was already starting to grow thicker and closer together, and they’d barely even made any progress—he spoke up when they started to diverge a bit too much from direct east, and Kalter corrected their course without comment. The light was already struggling to filter through all of the obstructions, and the view ahead of them was growing more crowded by the minute. More and more shoots were slaughtered to allow their path forward to continue until Kalter was in almost constant motion.
Through it all, he kept his eyes and ears on high alert, but there was nothing to indicate that there was anything but bamboo in the vicinity. The map showed that their progress had slowed considerably, and they weren’t anywhere close to their destination, even after what must have been half an hour of Kalter tearing up everything in her path.
“How did you get out of here on your own?” Kalter said, snapping three different shoots with her bare hands in an attempt to clear some space for herself. “It’s everywhere.”
August honestly wasn’t sure if it was because they were making a path instead of just trying to climb through it all or if his initial path out of the forest had simply been more traversable, but it was clear that coming in from this angle wasn’t quite as easy as he’d first hoped.
“I just climbed through it all,” August said, stepping back as a bamboo shoot fell in front of him. “I was headed towards the cliff as well, so maybe it’s less thick there.”
I'm sick with food poisoning at the moment, and it's kind of ruined my ability to write anything this last week. The revision for book 2 is 40k/100k done, but it's going slower than expected because of the growing gap between the two timelines. I'm taking the opportunity(being sick is somehow one of these) to move the contention public release to a single chapter a week. That means Contention will update on Fridays only until the revision is done. The estimated time for the revision to finish is about a month, probably, or maybe shorter, when I'm back to full HP.
The book one revision of Contention with the overhaul of the system is done, and it's sitting up on my Patreon in the 1$ tier; you can find it in the pinned master list post. It will stay up until it eventually becomes an ebook. It's only available in pdf for now. I'd appreciate any feedback on the new system/revised version if anyone wants to pay the gatekeeping fee to check it out.
Contention: Revised Edition - Book One.
Please remember to leave a rating and a review, it helps a lot with visibility!
If you like my writing and want to see more of it, you can find links to my original books on Elbowsnapper.com
If you want to show some support, get early access, or see my first drafts, go check out my Patreon
Love you guys, keep on keeping on!
Recent Releases:
Ameliorate: Intersect
Reroll: Falling & Shatter
Systematic Soul Sorting: Book 1 & Audiobook. Book 2(First Draft)
Seeker's Precept: The Dragon's Marble
