Their journey back was going smoothly. From the movement of what Rank assumed to be the sun,he'd estimate they had about an hours worth of land to cover, with two hours worth of time before sunset. He'd found that the speed at which the sun rises and sets is either the same, or extremely similar to how it did back home. He also had Yun use his status viewing ability on various mundane things like the water and air. To his surprise, reading the air brought a list of all gasses present, ws well as their quantities. Aside from lower carbon dioxide levels, everything else seemed similar to what he remembered from his science classes. He was not sure what exactly to make of these discoveries.
They finally made at back to the lake when they're progress was brought to a hault.
In the centre island, between the two bridges, stood a creature very similar to a boar. It seemed to have bone plating along its back and across its shoulders. Rank recognized it as one of the creatures Yun had identified to be stronger than Rank and Kodo.
"Yun, what can you tell me about it?" Rank took note of the creatures small stature.
"It's young. According to the status it's still in its adolescent stage. It's apparently a very territorial creature... And it says that it typically moves in large herds..." Yun seemed to be thinking the same thing Rank was.
"What are the odds it's just a cub that split off from its herd."
"Or even better would be if it's herd was killed.."
A chorus of grunts behind him paired with the silence of his friends told him all he needed to know.
Rank turned around to find nearly twenty creatures, in various stages of post-adolescence, slowly emerging from the surrounding forrest. They definitely were not lucky.
To Rank, it seemed like an ambush. Like the young one had been a trap, bait to lure something into the middle island. It seemed dangerous, but as the beasts prepared to charge, Rank had to make a decision.
"Everybody onto the island!" Rank yelled at his group. He silently shot up a prayer, took aim, and shot. One hit, one kill. Straight through the small ones skull. He'd have to thank Tark for the genius invention later.
His team rushed onto the now-safe island. He did not.
"Kodo! Cover me!" Rank barked. The little lizard jumped back and let loose a barage of tiny fire motes. Rank made a mental note that Kodo could spit fire...neat.
He drew his dagger and rushed at the boars. They answered in kind.
His only plan was to try and take down a large one and scare them off. If these creatures were as smart as he thought, they'd have an alpha, or know how to respond to fear. He really hoped.
"Rank, lookout!" He heard someone behind him shout.
Suddenly some movement in the corner of his eye caught his attention. When he saw it, he cursed. Out loud. Very loud.
Fuck.