"Sorry," is all you say as you try and push past these people — but you are almost stopped by the second person, who very much appears to be a Woban, both in terms of physical size and dress. Because of the blinding glow of his headlight you can't count the number of eyes, but the grass skirt and tattooed torso make you wonder.


"What's the rush?" the other man says. You only get a very quick impression of him: short, dressed in a green-checked shirt with brown trousers, round glasses, the beginnings of a dark beard.


But you are convinced that hanging out here and interacting with these people — on this island, at this time of the night — will result in nothing but trouble, so without any further hesitation you run. The terrain seems to be taking a break from its steep descent at the moment, so you are able to dash into the darkness, away from the glow of the little campfire, without feeling the immediate threat of falling off a small cliff in the dark. You don't even know where the trail is at this point; you are just running because — after all that has happened since you've landed on this island — trusting strange people is not your first choice.


"Ligru, go and find out what was in that backpack," you hear the unshaved man say behind you. "Do what you will with the body."


All right, that settles it. You really do need to get out of here. The question is where, though? At first you run for distance, just trying to get beyond the reach of the headlamps. But you're in a forest in the dark, with your own headlamp turned off to remain invisible. Your right shoulder hits a tree hard, almost knocking you off balance. And then you start to thrash through a bush that you can't see. Keep this up, and your pursuer won't need a headlamp to find you.


So you drop to the ground and try to be as still as possible. By some miracle the big man with the grass skirt is not right behind you. In fact, both men seem befuddled.


"We weren't just imagining this, were we Ligru?" the short man says.


"I don't think so, Professor," the big man says. In the glow of each other's lights, you can see now that he only has two eyes. Not a Woban.


"We were imbibing rather heavily, and right now I'm not even sure if I can continue standing."


"Yes, you were enjoying the bottle, sir."


"So were you! I didn't drink this all by myself," the professor says. "Now help me back to my tent, before I pass out here."


"Yes, sir."


So this is interesting. The pursuit was cut short because the people pursuing you are drunk. As you lie on your stomach over a hundred feet away, partially hidden by some lacy vegetation, you watch as Ligru — the big man in the grass skirt — helps Professor So-and-So with the eastern European accent back toward a little pup tent next to the campfire. "Is there any more of that whiskey?" the professor asks. "I think you've had enough," you think you hear Ligru reply, but they are so far away and speaking so softly that you're not entirely sure.


With the professor safely stowed inside the tent, Ligru sits beside the fire in silent contemplation. He picks up a glass bottle, twists off the stopper, and takes a big swig. Apparently the whiskey bottle was not quite as empty as he had let on.


So the crisis seems to have passed. Or has it? You are lying on your belly just a short distance from the campsite, unseen only because you were smart enough to stop running and lie still. Before their impairment took over, you distinctly heard this professor give the order to take your pack and dispose of your body. So clearly you are not among friends.


But now what? Just keep lying here until Ligru passes out too? Or if everyone is drunk over there, is it safe to just scoot away right now?


__________________________________________________

You stay put.

You've pushed your luck enough so far, and you are not eager to push it any farther. Ligru does not see you, and perhaps thinks you might have been a figment of his inebriated imagination. Why risk giving him evidence of your presence by moving once more through the jungle? Maybe you can sneak away in a moment… if he too passes out from enjoying too much whiskey. But not before.


So you lie in place, with your pack still on your back, and with your belly and your knees resting in the mud. If the Woban villagers up the mountain were of the "early to bed" mentality, Ligru here seems to see things differently. You watch with dismay as he tosses some more sticks onto the campfire and sits back down beside it, as if he can't get enough of this whole "camping out" thing. But who is he, though, if not a Woban? Maybe he's from neighboring Auri Island, just a few nautical miles away. From what you remember, the people there were similar to Wobans, with the exception of the third eye.


You catch yourself yawning as you wait for Ligru to fall asleep. But he is just sitting there, as if mesmerized by the flames. You keep watching, but there is nothing to watch. So when your eyes shut the first time, and then reopen to see Ligru hasn't moved from the log against which he is sitting, you can't tell how much time has passed. But having dozed just for that second or two, your stressed-out brain and physically-exhausted body want more of it. Your eyes start to shut again, you want to fight it but it's hard to find a good reason why, especially since you seem to be watching a statue who can hold his liquor remarkably well, and before you know it you are the one who is falling asleep….


When you awake it is morning, your pack is off but you are snuggled up next to it, still lying on the muddy ground somewhere between the Woban village and the island's shoreline. You hear the roar of the small river about a quarter of a mile away.


Crap. You never meant to stay here until daylight. Taking a quick look around, you see the campsite right where it was when you passed out. And Ligru is still there, sitting beside the remains of a campfire that has long since burned out.


It never occurred to you until now that perhaps the reason he wasn't moving was because he had fallen asleep sitting up. At least, that certainly seems to be the case now. Hopefully he'll remain so until you can get away. Crap, crap, crap.


There are so many things right now your body would rather be doing: peeing, eating, drinking coffee, or better yet, going back to sleep. But your brain is perceiving grave danger, and so instead you stand slowly and hoist your pack back onto your shoulders. With the Stone of Vul-Kar inside, it feels unusually heavy — but this is no time to gripe about that. Crap, what a situation this is. You look around; once upon a time you had been following a trail, but you have no idea where that is now. The river — you need to follow the river. Forget the trail, at least for now.


So you start to back away — one step, two steps, three. Ligru is still seated in that same position, as if it were still nighttime and the fire was still burning. If his eyes were open, he'd be looking right at you.


What now — run? Yeah, sure, that idea sounds as good as any. So you turn — and stumble right into a rock. Reflexively you try and break your fall by grabbing onto the nearest branch, but this turns out to be a small bush that rattles its leaves loudly as you tug on it. You fall anyway, your feet kicking up in the air, and a bird squawks as it flies from a hidden nest inside the bush. Holy crap.


You have no idea what to expect now when you look back toward the campsite, and you're not sure you even want to. But you do anyway.


Ligru is standing now. "Hey, it's you!" he says, is voice a tad hoarse. And then he remembers the order he was given. "Give me that pack!"


You hear a voice from inside the tent. "Ligru, will you keep it down?" But the guide is on the run, snatching a pole that had been jammed upright in the ground and coming straight at you. Holy mother of a crap.


You try to run, but it is of course now too late. The Auri guide easily outruns you, and by swiping that pole at your legs he brings you down before you can get ten yards. When next you look up, you see that the pole is indeed a spear, with a massive sharpened rock at its tip. The spear is aimed at your heart, and the Auri brings it down for the coup de grâce.


After a few last spasms from your wretched body, Ligru flips you over to examine your pack. He opens the top and pulls out the Stone of Vul-Kar, smiling. It is quite the prize to present to his employer — and they'll never even have to climb the mountain.


THE END