The lizardmen’s settlement appeared surprisingly small. It only housed four rough mud huts but had a couple dozen of them milling about. Bunty climbed a tree to get a better look and soon noticed there weren’t enough children or elderly among them. They were all young and spry, going about their work with gusto. It didn’t take him long to find their leader. Its feathers were longer and thicker than the others. Instead of working, it remained in one position cooing at others and pointing at several piles of sacks littered around the giant firepit.

A large wooden staff sat in the leader’s hand. The multi-coloured feather decoration and softly glowing bone short atop it confirmed its status as a shaman. Bunty had read about its kind animating shadows, shooting fireballs, or conjuring servants of leaves, branches, and mud to fight for them. He marked the creature as his target. Hopefully, it would drop a Core he could use.

Bunty theorised he had found a budding outpost. The sweet and spicy aroma rising from the campsite reminded him of the plant monster. Then he spotted the heavily muscled individuals still working on the huts. Either they had built the settlement to combat the plant monster or expanded their territory following its death. It didn’t matter. Bunty watched the routes they took out of the settlement and put a plan together.

Once the sunset fell, the firepit came to life, and the hunter lizardman got to work over a titanic pot. It wasn’t just him that added berries and meat to the container but others too. Bunty knew very well how big a menace the creatures would become once they gathered strength and targeted Climbers. So, he didn’t feel bad about what he intended to do to them.

After watching the settlement all day, Bunty knew where the night watch took their posts. He ducked around them, staying downwind, on to the settlement’s favourite path. It was almost all grass with barely any muddy patches. The harder ground also had more berry-laden bushes growing out of it. When Bunty spotted tracks going well past it towards lower elevation, he guessed it led to another settlement.

Fortunately, the bare branches didn’t obscure the moon’s light. When passing through the plant monsters’ lair, Bunty had collected the aromatic yellow goo. He rubbed it all over his leather coat before settling into the clearing between the bushes. Lighting a fire wasn’t an option, so he relied on the scent to ward off predators. After having a quick meal of cheese, bread and dried meat, Bunty started digging.

On the ground floor, pitfall traps had gotten boring. They were effective but straightforward and far from interesting. When facing superior numbers, Bunty couldn’t think of anything better. Besides, the lizardmen’s senses would most likely detect a pendulum log. Due to a lack of foliage, there wasn’t a lot he could use for concealing the traps.

The digging helped Bunty work the cold out of his bones. Bunty resolved to replace his retractable shovel after the hunt. He’d seen the miners on the second floor using a version with a pick on one end. Versatility was key for a trapper. When roots got in the way, Bunty paused and chopped through them with his axe. It would need sharpening before sunrise. He didn’t dare go into combat against the lizard people with a blunt tool.

As the temperature dropped, worries of the lizardmen sneaking up on him disappeared altogether. Cold-blooded creatures relied on the sun to stay warm. It was why the creatures on the second floor were mostly mammals. The guidebook claimed that the first floor didn’t have any reptiles either. Bunty recalled seeing other beasts in the plant monster’s lair. He was sure they were mostly rodents and deer, though. Hopefully, the predators were smarter. If they were smart enough to avoid the beast’s luring scent and the lizardmen’s, Bunty didn’t have much reason to worry.

A lone pitfall wouldn’t do. So, Bunty gathered fallen branches and sharpened them with his dagger. He hoped the stakes would function how he intended. While setting up a proper trap, Bunty would’ve preferred picking out the straightest branches even if it involved scaling a tree and chopping parts of it down. However, he couldn’t afford to make too much noise or leave traces of his work. Since he was dealing with intelligent prey, the sight needed to appear relatively untouched.

It was well past midnight when Bunty finished. Then it was a matter of concealing his work before resting for the night. He spread the dug-up soil around the clearing and under the bushes. Then he threw a tarp across the opening, covered it with dirt, fallen branches and bits shed by the local bushes. He arranged everything such that there were plenty of dropped berries to attract a forager without it looking suspicious. After a few finishing touches, Bunty scaled a wide-branched tree, had a snack and a drink before going to sleep.

Bunty woke to the sun’s first rays on his face. His back ached from the uncomfortable sleeping position. He would’ve killed for more sleep, but that would have to wait once he got his first Core. 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 Bunty a clear line of sight down the path. He got his looking glass out and studied. There were already small groups of lizardmen heading down it in his direction. Excitement bubbled up in his chest. Bunty’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 objective involved reducing the lizardmen’s numbers and planting the seeds of chaos.

Several pairs of lizardmen marched past Bunty’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 paused to pick up extra meat for the dinner pot. Why else would it be out alone?

A good hour passed before the frequency of such pairs reduced and foragers took over the path. The lizardmen were smaller and skinnier. Bunty couldn’t tell whether they were the females or younglings. It didn’t matter. Looking at their settlement and equipment, Bunty guessed that the creatures were gearing up for war. The monsters of Gaia’s Ark preferred tormenting Climbers more than each other. They were the enemy, and Bunty reminded himself not to feel bad about putting them down.

Bunty 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 the moment came, and a pair 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 few from its arms but Bunty couldn’t see much else. He guessed the former was male and the latter female.

Fortunately, it was the slender lizardman that walked into the trap first. Bunty 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,” Bunty whispered under his breath. “Just a little bit more.”

The female removed her satchel and hide covering. Bunty’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 lizardman’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.

Bunty’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 Bunty’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, Bunty decided to take 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 lizardmen 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, Bunty approached them, keeping his head low. He kept his breathing slow and steady. It did little to keep his heart rate quiet, though. Bunty snuck up behind the beasts, glad that they still had their eyes closed and shoved them with all his might. The two let lose 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 males cry turned into a soft gurgle before going quiet. Meanwhile, the female screeched at the top of her lungs.

Bunty rushed to the pit’s edge and peeked in. The burly lizardman had stakes sticking out of its 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, Bunty 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.

Bunty ducked into the thick bushes, leaving the tarp untouched. The dirty tarp held with only one end hanging over the pit. In the early morning light, it looked like a natural collapse. Bunty couldn’t decipher the female lizardman’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 Bunty’s disappointed, three of his scaley prey arrived at once. Two club-carrying males and one spear-wielding female. Fortunately, they weren’t as smart as Bunty 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 lizardman fell, grabbing at his friends. The beast grabbed at their friends and managed to grab a wrist. Two of them fell into the pit, leaving Bunty to deal with the third. 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 lizardman lunged at Bunty 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!” Bunty grunted. “You’re a strong bastard.”

The lizardman’s follow-up attack went wide, and more squawks sounded from down the path. Bunty didn’t have much 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 Bunty’s left hand, and he stabbed up into the bipedal reptile’s torso just under the exposed ribs. It stumbled backwards before joining the others in the trap.

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