• Location: A temporary nomadic camp of the Honga Tribe deep in the forest in the lower Atrana Mountains, hidden just off the Trade Route.
• Type: Moral Dilemma · Cultural Confrontation · High-Stakes Combat
• Era: Beta Age
• Tone: Claustrophobic · spiritual dread · explosive violence

Atmosphere & Sensory Cues: The damp, mist-thickened air of the deep woods · the smell of wet moss, crushed ferns, and ash · J.W.'s frantic, hushed begging in the dark · the bone-chilling, heavy snap of rusted metal · the sudden roar of a Windstrike Rifle.

The Honga scouts do not speak as they lead you off the Trade Route. Within seconds, the familiar path vanishes behind a wall of dense, grey mist and ancient timber. The unnatural silence of the forest presses in on you. Each scout watches you with two familiar eyes — and a third, open and unblinking in the center of the forehead, dark and reflective, fixed on you with unsettling focus. You cannot tell if it sees differently — only that it sees enough.

After a long march, the forest thins gradually, not into a village but into a living passage of color — a waypoint on the Honga’s endless migratory cycle along the Arla River. Light tents of layered, shimmering cloth hang between trees like river-skin caught in branches. Blues, greens, and soft amber hues breathe with the wind. Smoke rises in thin, disciplined threads from low fire pits.

The tribe watches in silence as you and your captive are shoved roughly into a damp, dark tent. The heavy canvas flap drops behind you, blocking out the pale light, and the silhouette of a spear-wielding guard takes up position outside. For the first time since you captured him, the silence in the room is broken not by you, but by Jareth Wyrick. The apex predator of the Atrana Mountains has been reduced to terrified prey. In the dark, his stoicism finally shatters. He is breathing heavily …

Then he suddenly clears his throat, and then — all at once, completely unexpectedly — the man who had previously only communicated with you via notes speaks to you. “What's wrong?” he asks in broken English with a heavy French accent. “What we do now?”

With the PCs and J.W. now sealed inside the guarded tent, their immediate physical state depends entirely on their past actions. If the PCs met Aruṋa in Scene 3b, their hands remain free as honored pact-keepers, though J.W. remains tightly bound. If the PCs have NOT met the Honga previously, they are treated as prime suspects — their own hands are tightly bound alongside their captive. Alone in the dark, the ticking clock of the outside world pauses just long enough for the Hunter to panic.

—

This phase only triggers if the PCs decided to wait in the tent or failed their escape attempt in Phase I. While the PCs face Aruṋa's judgment in the center of the camp, Valen's posse has successfully tracked them to the perimeter. Vastly outnumbered by the Honga warriors, the heavily armed Veyra-riders remain completely hidden in the dense foliage, waiting for their moment to strike.

—

Valen Vanlith and his posse observed the initial arrest on the Trade Route and tracked the PCs to the Honga camp. Outnumbered, they waited in the dense foliage just outside the camp's perimeter. Phase III triggers the moment the PCs leave the camp (or attempt to flee from it).

• The Great Reveal (J.W.'s Voice): Play up the absolute shock of J.W. speaking. For the entire adventure, he has been a silent, arrogant wall of muscle. When he finally opens his mouth, make sure the heavy French accent and broken English contrast sharply with his former stoicism. In that dark tent, let the players hear him sweat, beg, and bargain. The forest breaks Exohuman laws.
• Information Control: J.W. is desperate, but he is still a master manipulator. When the PCs ask their “One Question” as part of the deal, give them a truthful but strictly limited answer. Use the Case Resolution page to formulate the answer, but do not give away the entire plot for free. He gives them just enough to satisfy the bargain.
• Portraying Aruṋa: Aruṋa should not sound angry, malicious, or vindictive. She is executing natural law. Deliver her Honga dialogue slowly, with heavy, expectant pauses. The horror of the ritual comes from how calm and inevitable it feels to the tribe.
• The Standoff Mechanics: In Phase III (State B), make sure to clearly describe the three-way chaos. Valen is shooting at the PCs, the Honga are throwing spears at anyone in their way. The players don't necessarily have to kill everyone — they just need to survive long enough to escape the crossfire.
• The Return to 8a: Remember that this scene is a detour! Once the bloody business with Valen is concluded at the perimeter, the PCs still have to limp back to civilization. Send the DM directly back to Phase III of Scene 8a.

• ↑↑ Start: Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ★ Overview: All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter
• ☞ Resolution: Case Resolution and discoverable Backstory
• ← Previous Scene: Scene 8a — Return to New Kourou (Phase I & II)
• → Next Scene: Scene 8a — Return to New Kourou (Phase III - The Final Stretch)