The mighty Tampico River rose from the Sierra Madre Oriental of the central plateau. To the south, it linked with the Lake Texcoco water system; to the north, it wound and twisted, passing Xilotepec and Suiqiu City before rushing all the way down into the lands of the Huastec. At last, this thousand-li river would surge into the seashore, forming a chain of great lakes northeast of Otter City before flowing into the Caribbean Sea.
In the Nahua Language, "Tampico" meant otter. And at this moment, this land where otters dwelled had welcomed an uninvited Red-hair Tribe guest.
Whoosh!
A Bone Arrow shot out, swift as lightning, flying toward an otter that had built its den among the lakes. In the blink of an eye, the otter let out a miserable cry and died on the spot.
Then, the young huntress's red hair stirred as her agile figure strode forward. She confidently slung her bow behind her back, stretched out strong, slender fingers, pinched the otter by the tail, and lifted it upside down to inspect it. She only glanced once before smiling in satisfaction.
"My heavens!"
Another young hunter, carrying a spear on his back and holding a light hunting bow, also hurried over from behind. He glanced at the hunted otter and cried out in amazement.
"Ah! You hit the otter's eye again! That's smaller than a bean, and it moves!"
"..."
The agile huntress tilted her head and gave the young hunter a sidelong look without speaking. Then she looked around. In this land of dense lakes and interwoven waterways, she saw no trace of large beasts. The huntress drew a fine Obsidian dagger, crouched beside the small lake, and skillfully slit the otter open, gutting it and peeling off its pelt.
The other young hunter put