Blood Isle

Chapter Sixty: Change of Plans

The forest had changed since last night; you could sense it in the air. The moment that they had entered the wood, the pack felt that the attitude of the enemy had changed from passive to aggressive. The enemy was no longer accepting their predations and the destruction of their brutal devices. The pack concluded that the enemy had decided their existence was a threat, and they had added more snipers in the trees.

Now, some snipers were close enough to cover other snipers.  A broadhead had hissed through the air under Katar's chest, causing him to vacate the premises immediately. After cautiously scouting the narrow valley, they discovered that the enemy had created teams of two; there were four sniper teams in the trees. The enemy knew they were coming, and they were waiting for their return.

It was one thing hunting unsuspecting savages; and quite another facing an enemy that was waiting for you. The nature of the game had taken a deadly turn; slowly, they proceeded to stalk their prey. Their inherent skills provided the wolves with a dependable but invisible level of detection; as they crept forward, they kept to the shadows and cover of the surrounding trees.

In a joint effort, Tikay and Katar crept forward slowly; Kater paused and moved the broad leaf of a plant with a branch to distract the snipers he knew were watching. Two crossbow bolts buried themselves in the dried leaves beneath the foliage. As the snipers attempted to frantic reload, Tikay's and Kater's broadheads stilled their struggling forms.

With ever mindful movements, the team managed to eliminate the three other sniper groups. As they silently padded away from the valley of death. Katar knew that he had cheated death; he envisioned his form lying on the dried leaves, with his heart stilled by the poison on a broadhead. A brief shiver shook his form as he contemplated the vision.

Matay exchanged a meaningful stare with Katar; she had noted his shiver and was nuzzling him, reassuring him that everything was alright. As they ghosted between the trees, an errant breeze wafted through the trees from several concealed Nyen snipers.

The pack quietly scattered as they approached the hidden killers; the darkness of the forest surrounded them as they crept through the shadows. A heavy dew covered everything with moisture that rendered the leaves into a silent carpet. The necessity of coping with the sniper teams had slowed their unit's progress considerably. Another crossbow bolt clattered in the trees as it sped away and disappeared in the darkness.

The breeze through the trees was blowing predominately from the South-Southwest. Cautiously, they approached downwind of the shallow ridge where the sniper group stood in trees. Ahead of them, the dim light from the moon and stars highlighted the shadowy forms of Nyen hidden within the trees. The position was a tricky spot; the snipers covered an area where sharpened stakes waited.

As long as the breeze continued to blow, they could silently track the savages within the trees. Katar and Matay approached a couple of savages in the trees; they waited for the shadow of a cloud to lessen the available light.

Both of them positioned themselves to take a shot at their respective targets. After a long two minutes, Katar heard the whisper of Matay's crossbow announce the Nyen sniper's death. Katar's crossbow bolt took the savage in the temple; they slowly withdrew to locate more of the enemy.

The unit faced a rather thorny problem; four sniper positions had fire fields that protected each other. The death of a sniper would attract the attention of the other three. After long minutes of discussion, the unit decided to take the four savages all at once.

This required costly time and timing that would save one or more of their lives. Katar noted that it was a good thing it was a partly cloudy night; they used the dimming of available light to close with their respective targets.