Evolution Island: Kill to Survive

A fusion of worlds

As soon as the tribesmen spotted Aaron and Zach walking towards them, they got down on both knees and bowed their heads in submission. Only the chief remained standing. Though all the tribesmen were under the impression that these 2 strangers were divine beings, the chief didn’t seem convinced.

“We are here to talk with your people,” Aaron announced. He thought it best to win the chief’s favour before making any enquiries. Zach however, was still pissed off about the fact that Nashoba had wanted to kick them out of the village come morning. 

Nashoba greeted them both, more cordially than before and offered them a seat on the large log in front of the bonfire. Aaron and Zach took their seats beside the chief and waited for him to begin the conversation.

Nashoba was only the leader of the Cayuga tribe, but its bravest warrior. He commanded the respect of every man, woman and child. Never before had he invited complete strangers to sit beside him. Even for the members of his tribe, this was a great honor. While the chief had his own doubts about their origin, he didn’t think of them as enemies.

“I do not think you two are Gods,” were the first words to come out of his mouth.

“And what makes you say that?” Zach questioned, with an air of arrogance.

The chief didn’t mind his tone and calmly replied, “Grogath would have killed your friend if you hadn’t showed up. A few Dark Orcs would have been no challenge for immortal beings. The Gods we worship can move mountains.”

“Well, your God didn’t save you. We did!”

‘’I cannot deny what you say is true,” Nashoba replied, turning his head to look at Zach. “Though I do not see you as Gods, it’s true that you saved my tribe. We Cayuga know how to express gratitude. You two are free to stay here as long as you want, so long as you don’t insult our customs or disrupt our way of life.”

Zach was surprised to see that Nashoba still spoke with such authority even though he was literally on the ground a few hours ago, ready to be beaten to a pulp by Grogath. If anything, he felt like the chief owed them for saving his life. “f*****g arrogant son of a b***h. You’re just a damn NPC,” Zach muttered under his breath.

Aaron knew where this was headed and decided to take control of the situation before things went out of hand. “We would like to stay here and help out. But in exchange, we would like your people to teach us a few things about this land.”

Nashoba nodded in agreement and got up. “My people will share their knowledge with you. It’s the least they can do to repay your kindness. I shall be returning to my tent now. It has been a long day and I wish to be alone. May the Gods be with you.” With that he took their leave and went back inside his large bamboo tent canopied with banana leaves.

“That guy’s beginning to get on my freaking nerves,” Zach huffed.

“It’s not a good idea to antagonize a powerful NPC. We need to make the Cayuga our allies,” Aaron responded.

“f**k that. We deserve some special treatment after what we just did.”

“Zach, they lost a lot of good people in this battle. Don’t expect anything from them. We should focus on our task now.”

“Alright,” Zach nodded. “You were gonna prove how these people are from another game world.”

This was Aaron’s cue to call for Odolo. The elder was ready to do everything possible to get them better acquainted with the people of his tribe. He announced to the men and women gathered around the fire that their saviors wanted to ask them questions to get to know them better and they should answer with complete honesty.

When the introduction was over, Aaron got straight to the point. He had different questions prepared for each person.

“What is the name of the forest your people crossed?” Aaron asked Odolo the first question.

“It is Zofran—the hunting ground of the beaked killer.”

Satisfied with the answer, he moved to the next person. “What is the name of this island?”

“Pontaca,” came the reply.

“What is the name of your settlement?”

“Dorana,” replied the third.

“What lies east of the great forest?”

“The mountains of Taimund.”

 “Who is the greatest enemy of your tribe?”

“The Nagochi! Those cannibals have destroyed many of our settlements!”

Aaron sighed and went on to his last question. “Have you ever faced a Hobgoblin before? Or a Stoneclaw Crab?”

“I’ve never heard of such creatures.”

With that last question things became clear as daylight. Aaron looked at Zach and asked, “What do you make of that?”

“They are all using different names.”

“Exactly bro, the places and people they mentioned do not exist in Evolution Island. They called this island Pontaca, not Solaris. The name of their settlement is Dorana, not Dewdale and that wasn’t Zittorac forest, but Zofran. These people are from a game where Hobgoblins and Stoneclaw Crabs do not exist, but pterosaurs do. Gilbert really has fused several other game worlds into this one. This is Solaris, but most of the creatures and NPCs living here aren’t from Solaris. It is up to us to explore and find out what new regions and enemies he has added.”

“So, we don’t know what to expect anymore,” Zach replied, expressing his annoyance. “That just f*****g complicates stuff even more. God damn it, Gilbert! He really outdid himself this time.”

“There’s no point cursing him, bro. It’s just like starting a new game. At least we are in a human settlement now. We have to count on the Cayuga to provide us with information, since this is their world. Let’s just find out more about the forest and focus on the quest ahead.”

“To destroy the Dark Orc camp we need to traverse this...Zofran forest and for that we need to deal with the pterosaurs. How do you plan on doing that?”

“I told you I’m pretty sure the pterosaurs hibernate during winter. That’s our window of opportunity.”

“Let’s say what you’re saying is correct. It still doesn’t help us. It’s summer here. We can’t wait for winter. We have just two days to complete our side quest.”

“We don’t need to wait for winter. We just need a weather scroll,” Aaron replied. “But that’s only the first part of our problem. Dealing with a camp full of Dark Orcs and Hobgoblins is gonna be the real danger. We’re gonna need a damn good plan.”