Chapter 11: The Fort by the Shore

From what Mihan told me, this jungle was called Xitlachtan. Talak was probably a simplified term for it.

Xitlachtan was rich in different kinds of spices. I experienced it firsthand from breakfast. A bowl of thick, blue whatever-meat soup sat between my hands. It smelled strongly of onion and pepper. It didn’t look appetizing, but it was delicious. Kinda like curry but sweeter and creamier.

These spices were the reason why those outsiders would risk the dangers of this jungle.

“The spices belong nowhere but in this land,” Mihan said while we ate around the fire, “and those outsiders plunder this jungle of it and more.”

The jungle grew a wide array of spices which I personally witnessed being prepared and cooked. Nothing looked like the ones I knew from Earth, but most had similar smell and taste. Unfortunately Mihan forbade me from even seeing the sacred spices.

Maybe I could gain access to these commodities and trade stuff they’d need for it. But I’d have to gain their trust. I had to show them I wasn’t like any of those outsiders who steal the resources of this jungle.

But it wasn’t just spices and other food stuff the outsiders took interest in. They plundered tombs and shrines for all sorts of artifacts containing precious metals and gems. Based from the lizard scouts, the outsiders shipped off everything from the fort built up north. And they expected the next ship to arrive in two or so days.

“How long have been these outsiders doing these?” I asked Mihan. I emptied the bowl and asked for seconds. I was starving. Too bad Amea stayed in the hut.

As Mihan said, these outsiders, at first, came to trade peacefully several decades ago. They didn’t draw blades or aimed their weird-looking muskets. They exchanged outland goods for Xitlachtan’s natural resources. But it didn’t take long before they got greedy, demanding more stuff in exchange for barely anything.

One of the outsiders asked for lizardfolks to come with, to “help” them strengthen their business partnership. But those lizards never returned. The outsiders came back to “hire” more, but the lizardmen were quick to discover the exploitation. So they resorted to slavery, and had been their mode of “recruitment” since.

Unlike before, though, Atala’s generation imposed a strict kill on sight. Anyone remotely visible from the coast were shot with sleeping darts so they could be tortured them and have their corpses impaled along the coasts. I swallowed. If I’d been weaker, it would’ve been my and Amea’s fate.

“I guess I gotta be thankful to Atala.”

“You are a very lucky man. Pray to your Gods that it will not run out soon.”

The strategy worked because less outsiders came. Just the tougher ones. But now they were armed with those gun-like weapons and it caused more casualty.

While I stayed in the encampment, I figured I should learn more about this… gun. It was unlike any I’d seen from history, as far as I know.

It looked less of a musket and more of an old Chinese bamboo gun, but shorter. At the back was a three-inch diameter wide and nine-inch long iron cylinder with a red crystal embedded on the butt. An meter-long iron barrel was attached to it. It had no triggers or iron sights. No handles, too. It more or less reminded me of the world war two German stielhandgranate but bigger.

As for the bullet, I noticed a shiny white powder stored in a bag and the musket balls that perfectly fit the barrel.

I poured a generous amont of powder. Then, I dropped the musket ball inside before packing it with leaves. At first I thought the crystal was a decoration, but every single one of these "guns" had them. So I pressed it.

"It doesn't work," I said having after spending hours figuring out how the thing worked. The sun had already vanished from the sky.

But then I remembered how musket worked. Muskets didn't necessarily fire the moment the trigger was pulled. There was a delay that accounted for the flint to strike the steel before burning the gunpowder.

So I pressed the crystal for five seconds. I felt a small amount of my mana get sucked as the crystal glowed red. Bubbles popped from within the cylinder causing it to heat up, followed by a muffled hiss. After a few seconds, the gun shot, launching the metal ball into the canopies. The recoil was stronger than I expected. Almost like shooting a goddamn shotgun.

"This thing kicks!" I said.

It had a six seconds of delay which was disgustingly long. A handle would be nice. Adding iron sights shouldn't be a problem because it didn't spew gunpowder that threatened blindness.

I assured the lizardfolks that it was just me messing around. They weren’t very happy.

Out of curiosity, I dismantled one. I ended up breaking a spherical glass in the process, spilling a fluid that felt hot to touch. The crystal was pointy and seemed to be buried halfway into the spherical glass, touching the liquid. The barrel sat tightly on top of the glass.

I dismantled another to find out how it worked. It was more basic than I expected – the fluid in the glass glows once the crystal receives a mana, and then the white powder ignites after the liquid boils.

Weirdly, the white powder didn’t ignite with fire, and instead turned into ash. Still, alchemy was amazing.

I thought of bringing one. Pirates did bring flintlocks and swords at the same time, after all. But then I remembered I was capable of magic. What a waste.

After three days I learned everything I needed to know. I dressed myself with the clothes of dead slavers. Everything I needed to bring was ready, and Atala met me before I left.

“You best succeed. Your friend’s fate lies on it.”

I smiled. “Of course I will.”

“That confidence does not guarantee your competence.”

“Yeah I know. Just relax here and wait for me.”

After informing me of their plans, the lizard warriors escorted me. It took less than half a day before we arrived on top of a hill, where I had a full view of the coast and the ocean.

A wooden fort sat by the shore, where sea waves slapped against a huge wall of boulders. Despite the rocky beach, they managed to build a small harbor not far from the fort.

Inside, guards manned the towers lazily. People of different races piled more crates, barrels, and sacks on top of one another. They sure managed to obtain that much from the jungle.

The outsiders numbered at least a hundred. With such weapons and fortification, it would make sense why the lizardfolks didn’t bother with a siege. It would be suicide.

Mihan crouched next to me, her eyes narrowed towards the enemy base. "You know what you have to do. We'll stay here to watch."

As part of the act, they slashed and grazed me yesterday and let it heal without herbs or even wiping the blood. The classic "let your body handle it" technique. But thanks to my traits and skills, it wasn't too painful.

Once I was ready, I breathed deeply. Then, I sprinted out of the jungle. I stumbled several times over the thicket, making sure dirt and grasses rubbed on me. When I neared the fort, I screamed for help.

The watchtower guard saw me. Then, he warned his friends, sending out three armed people to come fetch me.

One of them rushed to my aid. "What happened?"

"Lizards! They attacked us and captured the survivors!"

They immediately took me in. I didn't have to try hard with my acting. In fact I shouldn't have. They'd take me in anyway.

Once inside everyone stared at me. At the corner of the yard sat a cage full of lizardfolk. There were about twenty of them.

They carried me to a makeshift hospital where the doctor immediately patched me. The tricon-wearing man seemed to be the boss, wearing a sleeveless coat and a pair of loose pants. A beautiful saber dangled from his waist, on the other side holstered a smaller version of the gun.

"What happened back there?"

"It was a slaughter! They captured the rest of the survivors and demand the lizards in exchange!”

He hummed. "So you’re the messenger, eh? What group are you from?"

I hadn’t consider that, so I improvised. I bawled my eyes out.

"They tortured them! They... they slashed boss's throat and my brother’s, they quartered him right before my eyes. They’ll torture everyone!”

"Gods redeem me, this man is a mess," the boss man said, standing up, "patch him well doc and make sure he gets rest."

And it worked. The doctor advised me to lie down after drinking a mixture. It probably contained a sedative so I just spat it out and pretended to sleep.

I waited for the night to fall. When it did, I headed into wherever the captain's quarters might be. After searching for a bit, I heard his voice come out from the top-most room of the keep.

"...the mayor’d been threatenin’ to fire us if we return empty-handed again. Can’t risk more of my men," the boss said.

"Won't it damage our men's morale? I'm afraid they'll start a mutiny against us."

"Bah! They won't. They know they'll be gettin’ somethin’ soon. And the less people we have, the more we get paid."

Well, they didn’t fall for the divide and conquer plan. I left the fort from the shadows and sprinted towards Mihan as fast as I could. I made sure to swing a bola as I approached so Mihan and her buddies wouldn't mistake me for enemy. It made a distinct low-pitched whistle.

"They didn’t bite."

Mihan hissed. "Then stick with the second plan.”

I sprinted back. The doctor stood by the hospital doorway, confused as to where I was. When he turned around, my presence surprised him.

"Agaphonet’s asshole, where the hell did you go?"

"I took a shit. I've been shitting a lot."

He sighed. "I bet you ate whatever you found in this damned jungle. Go back to your bed. I'll concoct something for that."

And so I laid on the bed.

I had a whole day left to carry out my plan. By tomorrow night, if it succeeded, then there would be slaughter. Although I didn’t like killing, it was necessary in my current situation. And these people had it coming regardless of who they were back home. They arrived here to cause misfortune for the lizardfolk and it will backfire to them.

If you find any errors (non-standard content, ads redirect, broken links, etc..), Please let us know so we can fix it as soon as possible.