"Well, as dust-ups go, this one wasn't too bad," Eizzach admits, settling down near the fire. [B]"It was over quickly enough and we seem to have gotten a meal out of it. Incidentally, I'll have some of that claw meat. Shame we don't have any butter or a lemon wedge, mind, but you can't expect to plan for everything."
"I know" Yani says, snapping a piece of claw with a loud and passing it to Eizzach. "Too bad those plant zombies weren't lemon plant zombies. No wait, now that I think of it, that would probably make them even more revolting".
Listening to Vazio's concerns, she appears lost in thought for a moment and then she answers. "The further we venture into this island, the less deserted it turns out to be - and not in a good way. Now Lady Xabala's informing us there must have been something spawning that 'zombie' not far from here, just a couple of hours away from our main camp. If that sits well with you, come tomorrow I might do some forward reconnaissance - perhaps, if the jungle's thick enough, I might be able to scout ahead jumping from branch to branch so as to avoid coming face to face with any more of those creatures... What do you think?".
"Ther 'creature' that created the zombie is a plant and unlikely to employ much in the way of tactics beyond what it can do to acquire a single individual in which to reproduce and thus, temporarily, create the zombie. Encountering this plant alone, may not be advisable."
Yanistah gives a quick glimpse at the carcass burning nearby. "You do have a point, and I surely don't want to end up like that. The way you described it, it looks like a creature better fought from afar - an approach I'm not very well suited to, alas. Still, it's a threat I'd rather see neutralized before venturing forth. We should tread very carefully from now on, try to pick up fights with single zombies and overwhelm them just like we did before - if possible, that is"
Xabala frowns in thought. "I do not think so. Many plants send out spores and seeds to propagate, growing new plants at the other location. I think this may be the same with the zombies merely being a method to transport the seeds of a new plant from one place to another. The zombie would eventually die and decay on it's own, the new creeper growing from the soil under where it fell."
"So what we killed was basically one of its seeds? And if that Creeper thing would manage to get its... tendrils... on one of us it could turn her into a seed, too?"
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As she watches her companions sleep, Yani tends to the fire to prevent it from going out. I hope it's enough to discourage potential predators. At least the smoke should keep the bugs away.
Under the dim light of the flickering flames, she adds some notations to the map Lalaru's been helping her draw. As soon as she's done, she starts her daily devotions; her shadow stretching out into the black sea, a kicking and punching silhouette stands out against the orange fire while muttering celestial mantras.