ic Jungle Memories: Walking the Daydream

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"Why?" Your lips move weakly, it your voice hoarse as you stare up at the man you once called friend, lover, husband. You are too lucid for what your final moments shall be but you do not care. There is only desperation, even as your limbs refuse to move and you feel everything as if it were a thousand times more. You feel the cloth on your skin bite into your flesh, the rock your head lies on scratch ravines on your skull.

 

Hakan stares at you with all the emotions of a tree but you see through him, you see the hurt and the pain, and you feel his fingers brush through your hair for the last time. The cultists chant in their strange ways, so far from those you have learnt and know so well because in your life at the temple.

 

"Because it is the only way." He brings out a knife, strange for the Moon's ways but somehow familiar, as if you held it, found it, in another life millennia from now, and he lays it at your throat. You feel like screaming as the blade seems to slide past your skin like a skewer through pit-roasted meat and you reach up to place a hand over his, your veins pumping poisoned blood through it. A ritual defied, your death turned towards other ends, other means, made useless, and you helpless in your own sacrifice.

 

"Please," you say, whispering as the chants reach a crescendo. You are desperate, knowing that if he does this then your life, a part of the Moon's spirit becomes nothing but flesh and bones, and nothing more. "Please, you can change this, my love. Turn it and do it right. Bring me to the gods, holy, and not like this. Sacrifice me as the Moon properly deserves."

 

Sacrifice me as the Moon properly deserves.

 

It echoes between the two of you even as he slices your throat and you feel like screaming with the pain. But you don't, staring up at the man you once called friend, lover, husband as your lifeblood flows out of you.

 

It flows out and darkness pervades and you feel the rough stone of the altar beneath you, but the your touch normalizes, become less painful. You open your eyes and you see a snake eyes star back at you. Its claws are like that of an owl's and they scrape on either side of your head. It leans down and hair like a human's frames its face, which you realize is that of Kayara's. It is stretched, as if someone peeled off the skin and stapled it to the bone of a jaguar, screaming silently in agony and you see its teeth. They are too thin, too long, too black. Tongue like a whip.

 

It jaws open wide open and you see the semblance of the Moon within its maw.

 

It is a chimera of Beasts.

 

You hear Neil shout in alarm and it turns it snout to him, seemingly forgetting about you.

Edited November 14, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

A sacrifice to the wrong God, or the right one in the wrong way!

 

In a flash her mind wheeled around the possibilities. Either the moon had not been properly revered, and had waned - waned enough for some demon was no longer kept leashed or caged by her power. Or, the sacrifice had been to some foul God which had now been empowered. 

 

Why Neil?

 

More questions. But right now the answer was survival. 

 

"Run!" she yelled at Neil as she spun out of the way and onto her feet, hoping her senses came back to the present fully astute. Her balance too, come to that. 

 

She held her pistol in her hand. She wondered if such poisons would effect such a snake-beast. She doubted it, somehow. 

 

"<Do you have a tongue with which to speak?>" she asked rapidly in ancient Incan, Mayan, and even the ancient crptic language of old Lemuria...

[Zeitgeist Blue]

At your shout and spin it seems to remember you and it leans closer and sniffs the air with its snout. You feel the warmth of its breath, acrid and hot on your skin. It moves its snout closer, but rears its head back and when it crosses the moonlight you see the snake-like eyes replace Kayara's for a moment. Then it blinks and it is gone.

 

A forked-tongue shoots out from between its teeth, tasting the air, and it considers you for a moment.

 

<Its scent is familiar,> it speaks, delivering back to you your own mangled tongue. The voice is scratchy, nails running gouges against gravel, and the sound comes from somewhere deep within its throat, mouth staying open and unmoving as it speaks. The tongue lolls in the air. <That must be why the ritual poisons do not affect it. It is a freak.>

 

You hear a cackling, coughing sound coming from it. Its shoulders heave back and forth, and it takes a few moments before you realize that it is laughing.

 

<Yet it would taste the same as any other.>

 

And with that it bends its knees and lunges forward.

Edited November 17, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassie leapt backwards, then sideways, then over some fallen stone. She had no intention of being eaten today. 

 

She felt the pieces of the Jigsaw start to fall in place. She had memories of an ancient sacrifice, gone horribly wrong. Quite how, and quite what the consequences had been...well, that was still obscured. But one thing was sure. The consequences were very, very bad. 

 

"<What happened? Kayara! What happened?>" she yelled at the...thing. Was in Kayara? or something possessing her?

 

In any case, her trigger finger pulled, and a smalll dart flew from her customised revolver. It was all very well trying to persuade the beast to talk. But it was good to have a back up plan....

[Zeitgeist Blue]

It landed on all four limbs, like a jungle cat jumping for its prey, and jaws snapping shut on nothing but ait. It didn't seem all that bothered with Snakebite leaping out of the way as it transitioned into a prowling gait, circling Snakebite and forcing her to move to keep it within her view.

 

<It does not know?> You hear it cackle. <And it is a bred from Lemuria! Foolish, it holds a key into the past but it stumbles blind regardless.>

 

<Everything has happened. She hears it but cannot speak for herself.> The creature spoke, hanging its jaw open. Inside, you could see the resemblance of the moon. And though Kayara's features did not mimic a human's expressions, you could hear its mocking voice within. <Petty humans and their petty differences. Her beloved sacrificed her, tricked by a cult worshipping Alquhitu, the god of Beasts. Scared he was, frightened for his people, and sacrifice needs pain, suffering to be truly powerful.>

 

It stood on its hindlegs, towering over you, and it stalks forward. <He realized his mistake too late but, the coward, instead of destroying what he wrought bound his monster. I am her and she is me, trapped in this body made of ston to a god I care not of and rings wrought of iron and ancient magic.>

 

Its voice picks up in volume. <So I am trapped and feed on the detritus of a race that knows nothing!>

 

Your shot finds its mark, burying itself halfway into its chest, and you see it falter a step. In surprise or the poisons working, you do not know. But then it growls and leaps again, angrier and swinging its limbs wildly.

Edited November 19, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassie did not much like being called "it", but if this creature smelled the Lemurian blood in her veins then she could see its point of view. Not a point of view she much liked, either. 

 

Her train of thought was brought to an abrupt end by a smashing limb of the beast that caught her full on. She rolled with the blow, but still felt the trickle of blood down her arm and a gasp, a grunt, of pain escaping her lips. 

 

By Hermes, he is fast!

 

"<So this is what you have come to? Living in the darkness, imprisoned? Have you no ambition?>" she goaded. 

 

Her pistol seemed quite useless. She slid it back into its holster. No, instead it seemed she might actually have to go head to head with this creature. Or run. 

 

She was a fairly tall, athletic woman to look at her, but she was stronger than she looked. Considerably stronger, with the Lemurian blood in her bones and muscles. And this was why she moved up to the beast and swung her fist as hard as she could...

[Zeitgeist Blue]

It smells your blood, and the scent only seems to further its frenzy, and it swings again, arms like flails, but dodge and weave aside. 

 

<Stupid. Thing! Stand still and die!>

 

Its patience runs thin, swings getting sloppier, and only then do you take advantage. You step inside as it overshoots, swinging your fist for a haymaker punch that connects to its jaw. You hear the crunch of teeth, how they snap and break against one another, and it recoils backwards from the punch, black blood trailing into the air. But before you could follow up its arm grabs you and swings you around into the ground with it. Both of you roll on the ground, trying to find purchase and you feel its hand wrap around your torso, claws digging painfully at your sides.

 

Then your head smashes against the rock in the middle of the clearing, stunning you, and in moments the creature is atop you, snout mere inches away from your face. The moonlight hits it and strips it of all falseness. Looking closer you see snake eyes, and the face of Kayara is just a farce. Underneath it is a corpse, dessicated and rotting, bone white where it sticks out from decayed flesh and rotten hair. It is a shadow of itself.

 

You feel the slobber drip down its open maw and the hot, rancid breath makes you feel like gagging. A tongue caresses you, painting you with the blood you had spilled. It pants, its breath ragged, as it puts its weight on you, then it moves its snout down until you are level to the snake eyes.

 

<I... yearn... to be free. To... kill and... hunt as a predator should. To make the humans know... fear as they should. But her beloved's ring, it stays within the temple... binding, limiting me. Only her sacrifice...>

 

You see its maw open wide, wide enough to fit your head inside, and in the jaw you see the Kayara's eyes, smoldering like coals, stare back at you. The man who died in the altar above you stares back at you. Many more eyes stare back at you.

 

It doesn't bother finishing the thought.

 

<...But there shall be no sacrificer.>

Edited November 19, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Stand and die? I might just...

 

"<There might>" gasped Cassie as she felt ribs crack. In  a moment, she was in things grasp, in its horrendous strength. It was all she could do to stop her vision turning black. 

 

"<If you did not eat everyone that might help you!>"

 

It was a bluff, of course. She had no intention of ever letting something this malign into the world of men. But if she could save her own skin, that would be a nice bonus too. 

 

"<Think on that before you chew my Lemurian bones!>" she wheezed, barely able to get a lungfull of air. "<You might be sucking my marrow...I hope the taste, gone in a moment, is better than the chance of emancipation!>"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

It rears it head but before it could finish you off, you hear six gunshots go off and the creature pull back as six bullets found their mark, right in the center of its temple. It releases you from its grip, huffing and coughing up blood.

 

Then Neil is there, blade flashing as he hacks at the creature. It jumps back but not before leaving a nasty slash across Neil's chest. Yet Neil doesn't seem yo notice it, hauling you up to you feet as he reloads his revolver with one hand and points it towards the creature waringly. You almost black out in the process, but Neil lightly slaps you across the cheek.

 

"Up Crow, up! We're getting out of here."

 

You back away, slowly, facing the creature and it stands there glowering at you until you enter the tunnels and lose sight of it. Only then do you realize that Neil had been putting a front, and his face immediately turns pale, the hand with his revolver going up to the slash on his chest.

 

Blood flows from it but he pushes you to go on. His other hand is wrapped over your shoulders, used both as a support for you and for himself.

 

"Just, just keep on going." He wheezes before forcing himself to take a deep breath. "Don't worry about me. Keep your eyes peeled. It's a predator so it knows when to duke it out or when to ambush its prey."

Edited November 20, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"Nonsense!" wheezed Cassie, fighting to get her breath back. 

 

I'm sure I broke a rib...

 

...or two....

 

Still. It could be worse. She could be dead!

 

"We are both getting out of here alive. Maybe even in one piece" she joked, as she felt oxygen hitting her blood stream again. "But its fast...very fast. We need to get somewhere it can't follow. Out of here, or through some gap it cannot follow!" she said. 

 

She ignored the smell of his blood, although it didn't smell good. Time for first aid later, though...back at camp if possible, otherwise it would be a makeshift sloppy piece of medical care. She just hoped he hadn't got something really nasty, like a haemopneumothorax...

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Double post

Edited November 22, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"Yeah, back the way we came. We can collapse the way."

 

You move but as it gets easier for you, Neil seems to get worse. Now it is you carrying him. Thanks to your Lemurian strength the task is not so grueling as it would be carrying the larger man.

 

You're back at the catacombs where the stone has been worked to a smooth finish when you hear Kayara's voice again. So near back to the temple, so of course something would go wrong.

 

"Trespassers..."

 

"Despoilers..."

 

"Murderers..."

 

"Thieves..."

 

And with each accusation Neil only seems to become more incensed.

 

"Get away!" He shouts hoarsely as he brings his revolver to bear against the darkness. "We're leaving! You'll never see us again!"

 

It is at that time that you see a flash of movement in the ceiling. It tries to escape you as you look up but your senses are clear, even taking care of Neil.

 

The creature freezes as you lock eyes with it, mid-climb. Kayara's deformed face looks back at you from an alcove within the ceiling. It hangs there, upside down, as it smells wounded prey.

 

Behind you is the exit to the catacombs, just meters away to the crumbling staircase. Jars and mummies around you.

 

"Crow," Neil said and fumbled to give you his revolver.

 

"Explorers."

Edited November 21, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Bullets...well, they might well be more effective than the Tranq-darts. Cassie was opposed to firearms, on the grounds that they could kill people (a quite reasonable proposition to her mind). But...better kill than be killed, and this beast was not exactly human. 

 

But she kept having the nagging sensation she was missing something....the heat of adrenaline, the danger, the darkness....she was missing something....

 

"Come on...we got to go...." she grunted, although their chances seem to constrict with every minute. 

 

She shuffled and tried to haul Neil out of the temple, her eyes on the beast, her ringed-finger twitching. It was surely the ring that was involved somehow...

[Zeitgeist Blue]

You support Neil as you continue backwards to exit the catacombs and all the while the creature watches you.

 

But it doesn't stop you.

 

You climb the stairs slowly, pulling at the rope while you simultaneously keep a hold of Neil, watching where you step. You leave the staircase and your ring grows hot as if it were a fire hurrying to burn its fuel, yet you see nothing but wisps in the tunnels as you leave. They struggle to form into coherent shapes.

 

"Trespassers..."

 

"Despoilers..."

 

You hear the familiar cant together with what seems like pleaing.

 

"Don't leave me... please... don't..."

 

Phantom hands seem to grab on to your clothing but they dissappear as you resist.

 

Then almost half an hour after you pulled Neil out of the staircase you are outside the temple, in the night air of the jungle. Of in the distance, you can hear the sounds of nocturnal birds chirping, insects and frogs. It is alive outside and full of life. The moon shines bright along with thousands and tens of thousands of stars. This far from civilization nothing can hold back the night sky.

 

Neil motions for you to sit him on the ground. "Told you, Crow." There's a pause as he groans in pain and he closes his eyes. After a few seconds je resumes, eyes still closed. "Should have left the moment we saw that crazy ghost. It isn't natural."

 

"Nothing there makes sense. Two of the same ghost, except they were not really ghosts and one could've walked straight out of a zombie movie. Then that thing that was all animal and not human." Neil was rambling now. "Moons and beasts. I didn't want any of these.."

 

He takes a deep breath. "All I needed was a fresh start."

Edited November 25, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"At this point..." gasped Cassie, her energy depleted. "I don't think what we want comes into it...we cant let the beast loose on the world. "

 

She pulled out the medical kit from their supplies, and started tending, as best she could to Neil. And herself. 

 

"Something's gone terribly wrong here. A corrupted sacrifice to the gods. The moon ghost, Kayara, she wanted to be sacrificed...but her slayer, maybe her lover, stabbed her in the back. If you pardon the pun...."

 

She didn't like the look of Neils wounds, but he was at least alive. They both were. 

 

"Must have sent her crazy, and that beast down below probably just as mad, in its own way" she continued. "What I don't get, though, is how you are tied up to all of this" she asked, firmly. "Kayara, or the beast, or whatever we have here, they seem to have it in for you....why is that, I wonder?"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Neil begins to chuckle, but stops as soon as the sewing needle enters his skin and you begin your operation. Still, he smirks, eyes still closed, seemingly unperturbed by the pain. He did not even take alcohol to ease his pain.

 

"I'd turn crazy trapped all alone with that monster for who knows how long." He opens his eyes and you see in there an icy hardness in his eyes. "Eventually, I'd want to stop it if I couldn't think of another way out. She-- ouch-- wants to be sent out properly?"

 

He produces his diary from his pocket and places it on the ground beside you. "We know how to do that from what we know of the native practices now and the carvings around the altar. We've got the equipment, the sacrifice victim, the location. All we need is the mixture for the drug but it's about a week's walk to the nearest tribal village to take the ingredients."

 

For a few minutes he doesn't answer you and you could practically hear the gears turn in his head. Finally, he speak up, looking at the jungle behind you. "I've done a lot of things I'm not proud of. It's in the past but they must have known about it, or sensed it, somehow and used it against me."

 

He shakes his head. "That and maybe the artifacts in my bag made them regard me as the threat." Then his finger stretches out to point at your ring. "But that. That's the real deal here. I've seen it glow sometimes, right before you start acting strange or something crazy happens. Care to tell me why, Crow?"

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

"I would love to tell you why" replied Cassie. "But I honestly don't know...."

 

She studied the ring again. 

 

"A curse, I think. I woke up from one of my trances with it bound to my finger. I can't get it off. I mean, maybe I could cut my finger off but I am rather attached to having all my digits. It would make playing the piano real hard..."

 

"It gets warm, even hot, around...well, like you say, when something crazy happens. But other than that, I'm don't know...." she mused. "I would love to get rid of it. I have a feeling if we can break the curse of the sacrifice...well...it's more of a hope than a feeling" she conceded. 

 

"In any case, if we are going to get the sacrifice right, we need those ingredients. Problem number one. If we need to hike to the nearest village, then to the nearest village we need to go. Unless they are stored in those jars down in the temple. Faster, for sure. Not sure if its safer...."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"Doubt it." Neil shook his head, pushing himself off the ground as soon as you are done. "A thousand years in those jars. All that's left are dust and bones."

 

He looks away from the temple, to the directionnof the nearest village and his intent is clear. Eyes set.

 

***

 

You begin your trek almost immediately, the moon just beginning its descent from the sky, and soon the trees obscure the temple's stone walls from you. You only stop to rest once dawn is upon you, finding a outcropping of stone to which the two of you are sheltered.

 

The life in the jungle is a relief from the dead silence of the temple and every minute is proof that you are in the living world. You see animals dart to and fro, birds flit above you as they sing their songs. Flowers grow in all colors of the rainbow and trees twist in their slow dance of centuries.

 

But it is during the night when the ring still grows warm and you dream. You dream of the jungle growing, of trees dying and trees rising. Animals are born, grow, and die to be turned into feed. One night, you dream of Neil sneaking up beside you, revolver in hand and a killing intent in his eyes, only for you to wake up from the sound of the revolver going off.

 

And it is during the fifth day of your trek that the sounds die down. You remember the temple in that silence. It oppresses the two of you and Neil only speaks when needed to. Then it is evening and the moon is high in the sky, almost a full moon, when you crest a hill and view fires in the distance.

 

The village, in all its humble glory, is the first sign of living civilization you have seen for almost two weeks.

 

Neil looks at you, lips set into a thin line, and nods. "We made it, Crow."

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

And thank the fates!

 

Cassie was no stranger to living in the wild, and could manage the basics like lighting a fire and navigating. But food was low, and feet were blistered. And she needed, badly, to have a good wash. She would not want to be down-wind of herself right now, or from Neil come to that. 

 

She wondered what dialect these people spoke. Hopefully someone understood Portuguese or Spanish. Maybe even english. But this was the jungle, so it was anybodies guess...

 

She paused for a moment and knelt down to pack her whip and pistol into the backpack. "Keep your pistol out of sight, Neil. We don't want to look anything other than peaceful..." she looked at the Machete by his belt. That was probably ok....machete's were pretty useful to carve through the jungle, and besides...hard to keep concealed. 

 

"We come in peace, and so on....last thing we want is a fight!

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"I know how it's done," Neil said, huffing as he pushed forward, parting foliage in his way. "It's not the humans we need to worry about. You hear anything today? Because I haven't and it feels too much like back in the temple for my comfort."

 

"Let's keep our guard up too."

 

It only takes a few minutes to wade your way to the village. The past few meters is a clear field and a small, wooden bridge over a stream, but before you can cross a voice shouts to you in Portuguese.

 

<Stop! Who's there?> Then it repeats the question in Spanish.

 

You look over to where the voice originates and you see a woman behind a barricade. Made from nailed together wood, it doesn't look like it would hold up to much. The light of a fire pit near her puts her face in shadows but you can still see her glaring at you.

 

Looking around, you see several other villagers watching the exchange from behind their own cover. You realize they form a loose semi-circle around the village and against the stream. Like fortifications but hastily made. Several fires are lit along the circumference and these are the ones you had seen at a distance. They flicker in the dark as a breeze brushes past you and the shadows dance.

 

Hushed words are exchange among them but you only catch a few words. Monster. Woman. Names of their fellow villagers. They seem to be baffled as to why you and Neil are here.

 

And scared too. They brandish weapons in their hands. Machetes and old looking pistols. Some of them have bandages wrapped around their limbs, still red with dried blood. They look to have gotten into a fight and left it worse for wear.

 

<Why are you here?> The woman asks again, voice pitched higher. As she says this a few people level their pistols at you.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Not the easiest question to answer. 

 

"We are friends" she answered, soothingly, in Spanish. 

 

She turned around slowly, hands up, to indicate that everything was safe. At least, that she and Neil where safe. 

 

"We mean you no harm. Although it seems that something else means you harm. Great harm" she started, wondering if these villagers have had some terrible encounter with the beast. The monster. 

 

"I am Cassandra Crow. An explorer. What happened here? A monster, did you say?"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

"Neil Kirkland," he says from beside you, pointing at himself as he does so.

 

There is a flurry of murmuring before it dies again, just as quickly, and the woman speaker steps forward. She does not cross the stream, instead stopping by the foot of the bridge opposite the two of you. You note that while less pistols are pointed at you, they still seem at edge.

 

<You can call me Isa,> she says. <We were not expecting outsiders. And yes, you heard right. There is a monster in this jungle.>

 

She pauses as if unhappy you had managed to overhear them. Then she shakes her head. <But if you are who you say you are then you should not stay outside the village any longer than necessary. Come.>

 

She beckons you to come forward as she tracks your movements, and when you cross the bridge she steps away and walks back behind the barricades and past them to the village proper.

 

She is alone as she escorts you but a pistol rests at her hip easily and so does a machete. She opens her flashlight as she guides you through the village.

 

It is the evening but it is not so late that everyone should already be asleep, but the small huts are all closed. Doors shut, windows shut. You see a few window shutters move as the inhabitants peek out at you.

 

<Yes, a monster,> she says after some time. <A few days ago a monster appeared in the jungle, killing a trapper of ours. At first we thought it was some overambitious jaguar but the hunters we sent out too were killed, almost to a man. The survivors, we did our best to treat, but their wounds were horrific.>

 

She looks at you blandly, and there are dark circles under her eyes from lack of sleep. <Those who could still speak told us of a creature that walks on two legs, human skin wrapped around it, and an unholy mixture of jungle creatures. It is lucky you did not come across it.>

 

Finally, you come across a hut, slightly larger than the rest and with what looks to be a signal dish. Isa walks up to the door and raps her knuckles on the wood.

 

<It's Isa.> She calls out. <You won't believe it but I've brought guests.>

 

And she leans back, her foot tapping, clearly expecting a long wait.

Edited November 30, 2018 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

As tempting as it was to blurt out the truth in complete form, Cassie felt that the atmosphere was - and quite understandably - tense. Diplomacy needed a light touch, and the truth had to spill out in a measured way, whilst avoiding any falsehood. 

 

"<I fear we...may have>" said Cassie, cautiously. "<And we barely escaped with our own skin....>" she pointed at both of them, indicating the war wounds they had recieved. 

 

"<What is this terrible beast? It did not look like any predator from the jungle....something much more terrible....!>" she said, more emphatically. 

 

"<Forgive the questions, but we are explorers and archeaologists. We seek to understand, even if the understanding is something terrible....>"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

<Your guess is as good as ours,> she says, shaking her head. <It just came out of the jungle one night and now all we can do is hope it goes away before our food runs out. Along with the beast, there have been sightings of a strange woman in the jungle. No one knows who she is but she seems only to keep to herself.> She forms a fist and looks down at it. <We're dealing with real danger. People have died, so I have no time for spirits and daydreams.>

 

Then the door to the hut creacks open and you see an old man peer out, round spectacles perched on his nose and hair grey with age. <Yes, Isa? You know my bones aren't what they used to be.>

 

<Sorry, Uncle Doji.> She clears her throat then gestures to the two of you. <We have guests though from the outside. You could give your approval and give them dinner.>

 

She turns to you. <You haven't had dinner yet?>

 

Uncle Doji just seems to notice the two of you and he startles a bit, spectacles askew, before pushing them back up. <Guests! American guests too. And you did not tell me? Why, they must be cold and hungry. Come in! Come in!>

 

Before Isa could protest, he opens the door wide and gestures for you to come in. <Do you speak Portuguese or Spanish?>

 

Isa sighs and steps inside. It is a simple affair inside, a single room house. A basket-weave mat occupies most of the house but various bits and ends of a living space are on the sides. The whole room is lit by a single light source, a light-and-radio device, which is also where you hear the soft tones of music playing, just soft enough so you can't hear the lyrics.

 

As soon as you are inside, Uncle Doji motions for you to sit down by the room's lone table and he waddles over to a stove and rice cooker. As he cooks, Isa looks you over then speaks in a low voice.

 

<You can eat here. And sleep in the house next door. It is empty now.> She sniffs. <A bath would also be good for you. There are buckets not far from here and perhaps in the morning we could see to your injuries, though it looks like you are starting to heal.>

 

Then dinner is served, a simple beef broth with rice. As you eat, Isa stays within the room, watching you, and at one point she and Uncle Doji both leave the room with her prompting and you hear their hushed voices outside.

 

Neil takes the opportuniy to speak with you alone. "It followed us here." He says, looking up at the ceiling. "Or maybe we freed it by leaving. I don't know but I know enough that you'd be willing to throw yourself back in the jungle if you needed to."

 

The door opens with Isa and Doji returning and Neil leans in closer to whisper. "Don't. You aren't hurting it, not in its territory."

 

Then he stands up, smiling for your hosts, and stretches his arms. You can see bruises there from your last fight. "I'm fine, mostly. Though maybe a day of rest is what I need."

 

"Thank you Uncle for the meal but I think I'd like to retire for the night."

 

Neil walks to the doorway then looks back at you, gauging you and you see the smile falter for an instant before it returns. Then he exits the room.

[Supercape]

Snakebite

 

Cassie bid Neil goodnight. She wasn't quite ready to sleep. Not yet. 

 

Isa was kindly, but her interest lay more with Doji. He was old, and mayhap had heard more thank Isa. 

 

"<You have been most generous>" she said, kindly. "<We needed food and rest. And a bath>" she added with a smile. 

 

"<We found a temple, a weeks walk from here. Dedicated to a moon Goddess, I think. We didn't have the time to examine it fully, but...these were old Gods, and they used human sacrifice>" she explained. "<Forgive my supersition, but perhaps the myths of ancient times and more real than we dare to think....I think the beast of the Jungle may be a beast of the old myths and Gods...>"

 

It was a bold start, but she did not think there was any better way...