Chapter 32

Diya woke to the sun’s first rays on his face. His back ached from the uncomfortable sleeping position. He would’ve killed for another hour of slumber and a hot bath, but such luxuries would have to wait until his soul reached tier-two. Smoke rose from among the treetops not far away. Soft coos, squawks and a variety of other calls echoed through the trees. The creatures sounded a lot more like birds than lizards. Perhaps they were related.

The tree gave Diya a clear line of sight down the path. He got his looking glass out and studied. There were already small groups of lizard men heading down it in his direction. Excitement bubbled up in his chest. Diya’s previous outing as a trapper involved having bait and backup. He was alone now and wanted to find out whether he was as good as he considered himself to be. The trap wouldn’t slay the entire settlement, of course. The aim involved reducing the lizard men’s numbers and planting the seeds of chaos.

Several pairs of lizard men marched past Diya’s perch away from the settlement. They carried crude spears and axes and snacked on berries as they passed. He wrote them off as hunters or warriors. The specimen he had followed was most likely a scout. It had probably paused to pick up extra meat for the dinner pot.

A good hour passed before the frequency of such pairs reduced and foragers took over the path. The lizard men were smaller and skinnier. Diya couldn’t tell whether they were the females or younglings. It didn’t matter. Looking at their settlement and equipment, Diya guessed that the creatures were gearing up for war. The monsters of Gaia’s Ark preferred tormenting Climbers more than each other. Given the leviathans that often took off from the tower’s peak, he guessed their ultimate objective involved flooding the outside world and colonising it. They were the enemy, and Diya reminded himself not to feel bad about putting them down.

Diya calmed his anxious nerves with a sip of whisky. It was still early in the day, but a chill had worked into his bones during the night. He needed to be warm and limber for what was to come. It wasn’t long before a pair of lizard men wandered into the bushes. One had broad shoulders and feathers budding from its spine and crown. The other had a sleeker frame and mostly scales. Long feathers extended from its forearms, but Diya couldn’t see much else. He guessed the former was male and the latter female.

Fortunately, it was the slender lizard man that walked into the trap first. Diya worried the skinny frame came with speed, and he preferred being the faster one in a fight. She cooed at the male, and he followed, warily looking up and down the path. He fumbled with his loincloth and the female chirped, her large green eyes narrowing.

“C’mon,” Diya whispered under his breath. “Just a little bit more.”

The female removed her satchel and hide covering. Diya’s heart jumped into his throat when she threw it over her shoulder. The last thing he needed was for the pair to trigger the pitfall prematurely. Fortunately, the lizard man’s effects landed on a corner of the tarp bound to the tree. The female’s tongue licked at the air as she walked backwards, beckoning the male. He staggered towards her, almost tripping on the bushes and then his feet.

Diya’s grip on his axe tightened as the pair embraced on the pit’s edge. The reptilian couple rubbed the side of their snouts together, while their clawed hands explored feathery hide. They didn’t move from their position, though, making Diya’s blood boil. He would’ve been satisfied with only one of them falling in, but this was too perfect. If the female took one more step, she’d fall in, taking the male with her.

In the end, Diya took the matter into his own hands. If other foragers wandered into the vicinity, things would get too out of control. So, he slowly crawled down his tree’s trunk, ensuring to only put his weight on the thickest of branches. Given the lizard people pair’s amorous activities, they probably wouldn’t hear a drunk bear sneaking up on them. Still, he couldn’t afford to take any risks.

Once on the ground, Diya approached them, keeping his head low. He kept his breathing slow and steady. It did little to keep his heart rate quiet, though. Diya snuck up behind the beasts, glad that they still had their eyes closed, and shoved them with all his might. The two let loose a surprised squawk, stumbling onto the leaf-and-twig-covered tarp. It gave way under their feet, and the beasts fell into the pitfall. The male’s cry turned into a soft gurgle before going quiet. Meanwhile, the female screeched at the top of her lungs.

Diya rushed to the pit’s edge and peeked in. The burly lizardman had stakes sticking out of his chest and neck. His mate struggled to pull herself free as pointed bits of wood poked out of her thigh and shoulder.

“Perfect.”

The plan had involved one falling in and then pushing the other one while they struggled to pull their friend out. Either way, Diya needed one of them alive and making a ruckus. The female screeched again, pawing at her partner. When his limp head fell to the side, looking at her with lifeless eyes, she increased her volume. Moments later, cries sounded from further down the path.

Diya ducked into the thick bushes, leaving the vines untouched. In the early morning light, it looked like a natural collapse. The hole’s edge remained hidden by fallen foliage.

Diya couldn’t decipher the female lizard man’s calls of course, but he hoped she wasn’t giving away too much information. He waited in the dense bushes as heavy feet padded towards the trap site.

Much to Diya’s disappointment, three of his scaley prey arrived at once—two club-carrying males and one spear-wielding female. Fortunately, they weren’t as smart as Diya had feared. Instead of approaching with care, they burst through the bushes to the pit’s edge, narrowly missing him. As soon as the little party looked into the hole, they received a powerful shoulder charge to the back.

One lizard man stumbled forwards, blindly grabbing at his friends. Two of them fell into the pit, leaving Diya to deal with the third. As it spun around, he caught its chest in a one-handed upward swing. The screeching from the hole drowned out his opponent’s cry of pain. When the lizard man lunged at Diya, swinging their massive club, he blocked it with the axe’s haft. The blow sent tremors up his arms and into his shoulders.

“Bloody hell!” Diya grunted. “You’re a strong bastard.”

The lizardman’s follow-up attack went wide, and more squawks sounded from down the path. Diya had little time, so he focused on getting the creature in the pit instead of killing it. He ducked under the club and stepped into the beast’s reach. The fountain pen manifested in Diya’s left hand, and he cast Frozen Ink Lance. The spear grew up into the bipedal reptile’s torso just under the exposed ribs and the head came out of the other side. It took the weapon with it while falling into the trap.

Diya didn’t bother checking his prey’s status. He ran downwind, looking for a good hiding place. The first half of the plan was complete. Now the easy part remained.

Diya couldn’t help but feel surprised when no lizard men came looking for him. Screams and screeches continued to sound from the pit while he hid in the trees a hundred feet away, but the approaching footsteps never approached. Had the monsters finally come to their senses and adopted caution? They appeared to care about one another, though. Diya doubted they’d let their tribe members die in the pit. He waited fifteen minutes before heading back to the trap.

The screeches and squawks had gotten weaker. The monsters had either tired themselves out, or blood loss had pushed them to the brink of unconsciousness. Diya crept around the little clearing of bushes, sticking to the tree line. The trunks provided sufficient cover, but he realised it wasn’t necessary after a couple of minutes. No lizard man reinforcements were waiting for him. In fact, the cries and thumping of feet were heading away from him towards the settlement. The noises coming from there were much louder. It sounded as if a fight had broken out.

Confused by the unexpected turn, Diya peeked into the pit. The female from the first pair was still alive. Her cries had gotten weak and lost volume. One of the latter group’s males had missed the stakes, but it had two limbs bending the wrong way. The others had died. Diya didn’t see the second female, though. Her friend had pulled her into the pit, and she should’ve been among the corpses.

Diya took a step back, axe at the ready. She could be stalking him through the bushes. The beasts had proven their excellent camouflaging abilities and blinding speed when attacking prey. When the tarp by Diya’s foot shifted, his back went stiff. He swung the axe at his right foot without looking and felt it make contact. A soft hiss sounded before a heavyweight barrelled into his side.

After landing on his front, Diya decided not to stand straight up and rolled towards the bushes instead. A thundering heartbeat later, a slender, clawed foot slashed the ground where he’d fallen, leaving deep grooves in the soil. The lizard woman appeared unarmed. Diya guessed she had left her weapon in the pit.

Diya expected her to run for help, but she snarled and slashed at him again. Instead of dodging, he caught the attack on his axe and pushed, throwing the creature off-balance. He rolled further away from his opponent before getting on his feet. Diya fell into a defensive stance. As expected, the female lizard man had a speed advantage. He had better range and battle instinct, though, so he didn’t worry.

The lizardman paused when Diya changed his stance. He angled his body, so his axe-wielding right arm faced her. Meanwhile, he kept his left hand hidden from the beast and summoned the fountain pen. A deep groan sounded from within the pit—the soul had been waiting for Diya deep in his previous opponent's chest. Both he and his opponent ignored the desperate squawks that followed. The female advanced on Diya while he twirled the axe. He had a risky move in mind but was confident it would end the fight quickly.

Baba always said that throwing or dropping one’s primary weapon is a suicidal move during combat. Diya agreed, but thanks to his soul, he had multiple weapons at his disposal. As soon as the lizardman ran at him, zigzagging through the bushes, he threw the axe at her. It flew towards where she was moving, and the beast threw up an arm to deflect the attack. The axe head cut deep into her forearm but didn’t leave a fatal wound. As expected, she didn’t slow her advance, swinging at Diya with her right arm. He spun away from her raising the fountain pen and casting Seeking Inkfire Bolts. Her raised club blocked the attack but the bolts exploded, shattering her weapon and covering her face in blue and black residue.

The lizard man stumbled through where Diya had been standing and coughing. The creature’s foot caught in the bushes, and the uncontrolled momentum resulted in the beast landing on her face. Diya was on her back seconds later, stabbing his pen into her neck. The nib pierced it without issue, and unusually cool blood flowed from the wound, soaking his hand. He stabbed her a couple more times, ensuring she wouldn’t recover from the attack.

Diya stood up from the little skirmish, panting. He rolled the lizardman onto her front with his foot. She clutched her neck, gasping for air. Only a creature or soul with healing abilities could save her now. Diya collected his axe and looked down at the pit to ensure none of his prey would make it out. Once satisfied, he jogged towards the village. The squawks and screeches had gotten louder, and Diya couldn’t wait to find out what was going on.