"So, you're basically the King of Kemmutu huh? And you gotta stop a bunch of demons from being summoned you say?" asked Senzo.
"Yeah, pretty much so."
"Man, that's one of hell of an ordeal you got yourself into."
"Guys, look, we've reached the Trench of Doom," said Amir.
"Whoa!!" The forest was cursed with an unsavoury sight --gloomy, filled with hollow trees that looked as if they were made from charcoal rather than wood. These trees had branches that stuck out like tentacles that looked like they were about to reach out to you. We heard a sinister roar reverberating throughout the forest. It was the crack of dawn, and the darkness of the night was sinking in.
"S-So… it's not too late for us to turn back, is it?" asked Amir.
"No way! Are you listening to yourself Amir? We must arrive in Mistville in 3 days. We can't turn back now!"
"Eeek!!"
"Come on."
We entered the forest. Many eyes followed us through the forest. Amir was panicking out of his mind, while Senzo and I were as calm as a still river. As we passed through the forest-- tearing through cobwebs, slicing tree branches in our way, and jumping over streams of muddy water-- my stomach began to growl uncontrollably. Senzo began to yawn due to his lack of sleep.
"Man, I'm starving!"
"Same here. Not to mention, I'm tired as hell. It's getting dark anyway. How about we camp out here?" said Senzo.
"Sure." I replied.
"Wait, you guys aren't possibly planning on camping out here, are you?!" cried Amir.
"Yeah. Why not?"
Suddenly, we saw a moose passing through. As it noticed us, it just stood there in silence and stared at us intently. The silence was hauntingly long. "GROWL!!!"The moose revealed its gigantic bone piercing fangs, its two extra eyes and its batlike wings to us at it roared. Amir screamed in terror as the demonic moose dashed towards us only for it to be gobbled by a humungous serpent that happened to be passing by. We were left speechless. Amir was blue in the face because of this encounter. He pointed at the wreckage left by the aftermath of the snake's consumption of its prey while biting the fingernails of his other hand.
"That… That is a reason we shouldn't camp out here, Ragna." Whispered Amir in a course voice.
"Hm, it's no big deal, but if it can put you at ease, then we'll find another spot." I replied.
"THANK YOU, RAGNA!!" Amir bowed at me countless times in gratitude.
As time went by, we came across a cave within the deep reaches of the forest. We camped out in the cave and sat around the campfire.
"Hey Senzo. Now that I've told you the reason for our adventure, how about you tell us the reason you are all the way out here in Aglonius." I asked.
"Yeah. You did also mention that you weren't looking to start any slave insurrection, so, it makes us wonder, why attack slave ships left and right like that if not for that reason alone?" asked Amir.
"It doesn't really matter."
"Oh, come on Mr Senzo, please tell us~!" Amir and I begged him like paupers.
"Tch! You guys sure are a pain in the ass, you know that?" Senzo sighed. "My fiancée was taken as a slave by a Septumian ship. I wasn't certain which Kingdom it was at the time, but I've recently narrowed it down to this place. Aglonius."
"Your fiancée?" I echoed, surprised.
"Yeah. Her name was Yawa. She was a maiden from a different tribe-- one of the most beautiful women I had ever seen. Our marriage was going to bring our tribes together. Unfortunately, when the Septumians invaded our land, they ravaged her entire village. We heard news of this thanks to the Village chief during the battle. By the time me and my tribesmen arrived, we were too late. The only survivor from her village said that all the woman and children were taken away. My tribe went travelled all the way to the Cape in the Southernmost corner of Dunya-Kelen. There we were ambushed by Septumian soldiers who used heka(magic) induced weapons that perverted the very balance of nature itself. See, our tribe is largely against using heka. We use heka sparingly and even so, it is mostly reserved for the Sangoma. Not us common folk. I don't know why I'm referring to them in the present tense. It's not like they're around anymore."
We all looked down, unsure of how to respond to that last statement. Senzo must have been in a lot of pain just thinking about his past. I had to break the ice somehow. Besides, his story piqued my curiosity about the Dark Continent and its people.
"Hey, Senzo. What is a Sangoma?"
"Basically, a Shaman. Someone with close links to the spiritual realm, which makes them more in tune with heka. They are the only ones allowed to use heka freely, but then again, it can end up being used for dark purposes by those very same Sangoma if placed into the wrong hands." Senzo answered.
"Ooooh!"
"Anyway, back to the story. Now, where was I? Oh, right. We lost the battle at the cape due to us being conservative in our views on heka. The way they infused heka into their arsenal of war was quite unprecedented for us. Upon losing, we too were put in shackles and packed like sardines inside the ship. I had to watch many of my fellow tribesmen endure torture and death. Many of them bit their own tongues off because they couldn't endure the struggle any longer. I was the only one remaining. Surrounded by corpses, rats, and faecal matter. I had to watch the corpses of my fellow tribesmen be tossed out into the seas as if they were mere leftovers tossed into a pigsty. So, I made a new resolve. I decided to cast aside my tribe's pride and morals and do things the same way the Septumians did. So, I escaped using heka, perverting the laws of nature in the process. I was lucky enough to find my spear on the ship and with it, I slaughtered nearly everyone on that ship aside from one sailor that I forced to take me to any other slave ship and slave trading post nearby. I ravaged each post one by one, leaving no stone unturned searching for Yawa. Right now, Mistville happens to be the next on my target list."
Hearing Senzo's story made me admire him even more… he had the courage to do what I couldn't. I lacked the guts to simply destroy Lord Crimsonfield's plantation, simply because I feared what would happen to me, Bjorn, and Roberta. But he went all out and demolished anything standing in the way of his fiancée's freedom. I felt ashamed of my inability to go that far. I also wondered whether it was simply a matter of having nothing to lose, other than his fiancée, whose fate was pretty much unknown even until now, unlike me, who still had something to lose.
"I see! Nice to know that we kind of have the same goal! All the more reason for us to hurry up before those monsters are summoned." I replied.
"Yeah. From the legends I've heard, the Horn of the Underworld sounds like bad news."
Suddenly, the ground shook with the sound of giant footsteps echoing from deep within the cave. A moment later, a roar so violent erupted that it extinguished our campfire. The giant footsteps closed in on us, obscured by the darkness of the cave's interior. Eventually, the giant footsteps and the shaking came to an abrupt halt. Amir, Senzo and I remained sitting around the smoke left over by the fizzled-out flames. "Guess we've got company," said Senzo.
"Yep." I replied.
"Oh, crap, this is bad! I can't see anything!" Amir smacked two stone repeatedly to make some more fire. As the new flame was lit, the light burnt the darkness away, revealing a gigantic wolf, with fangs of a sabretooth tiger wielding a giant club with axes on it. Around the cave were countless skulls belonging both humans and beasts alike. Upon seeing the monstrosity towering over us, Amir let out an uncontrollable scream.
"WOULD YOU LOOK AT THAT?! A GROUP OF HUMANS! HERE I WAS THINKING IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO HUNT, BUT GUESS MY PREY CAME TO ME INSTEAD!! WHOO WOO WOO WOO WOO!! WHOOO WOO WOO WOO WOO!!" The sabretooth wolf let out a chilling laugh.
"So, Ragna, how long would it take us to get to Mistville from here again?" asked Senzo.
"Kiki says it will take us 2-3 days max."
"Three days is far from ideal." Senzo responded.
"STOP IGNORING ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!!" yelled the sabretooth wolf as it tried to smash us with its giant club. Senzo quickly grabbed his spear and blocked the wolf's club with its tip.
"How dare you interfere with my relaxation?! You stupid mutt." Senzo pushed the wolf's club back to the wolf's direction, causing it to lose balance. In that split second, Senzo pierced the wolf in the stomach and yelled the words, "Wind bullet!!", sending it flying back to the depths of the cave where is came from. The rumbling and the shaking began again, but quicker, as the wolf ran towards us. Its eyes were bloodshot, almost as if it had entered in Berserker mode like me and Bjorn. Senzo just stood there casually, as the wolf reached our proximity, Senzo projected his will to kill outwards, causing the sabretooth wolf to stop in its tracks. "Sit down, mutt." Upon Senzo uttering these words, the wolf sat down like a dog. "Roll over." The wolf rolled over. "Roll over again." The wolf did just that.
As we rekindled the flames to see better, we noticed the wolf was sweating bullets, despite its tongue sticking out to cool itself. Which goes to show that this creature in particular, was no ordinary critter. You could see its heart pumping with haste through its torso. It was clearly afraid of Senzo.
"Now, piss off." said Senzo. "YES SIR!! WOOF!!" the wolf barked as it scurried back to where it came from. It was clear that this Senzo fella was not someone to be taken lightly. As we slept, the animals in the forest made damn sure to steer clear of us and our horses.
Once morning came, we immediately packed our belongings and ventured out of the forest. However, right before we could leave, the giant snake sneaked behind us, trying to scoop us into its mouth like it had done to that moose. "AAARGH!! GUYS, LOOK OUT!!" Amir cried, his face turning blue as he pointed at the serpent creeping up behind us.
Senzo and I pulled out our weapons in irritation at having obstacles in our way. Together in succession, we swung our weapons at the snake. "DON'T ANNOY US BASTARD!!" the two of us yelled in unison as we knocked the snake into a long line of trees. Leaving behind a deep trench and a trail of broken trunks. Just as we thought we could finally leave, another giant creature pounced on us! It was a familiar looking face-- Jean-Pierre, the leader of the bandits!
"AHA!! WE MEET AGAIN, AMIR AND BOY WITH THE SWORD!! I JEAN-PIERRE HAVE COME TO GET MY REVENGE!! I HAVE BECOME STRONGER!! I KNEW THAT YOU WOULD SEND ME FLYING ALL THE WAY HERE!! SO, I HAD TO LIVE BY THE CODE OF ADAPT OR DIE!! THUS, I HAVE BECOME ONE WITH THE FOREST!! YOU ARE NO MATCH FOR THE NEW AND IMPROVED VERSION OF ME!! JEAN-PIERRE 2.0!! MUWAHAHAHAHA!! NOW FACE MY-!!"
Before he could finish, Amir, Senzo and I hopped off our horses, threw our arms over one another's shoulders, and snapped into a kickline like we were auditioning for a precision dance troupe.
"PISS OFF, GODAMNIT!!!" we shouted in unison, kicking him skyward.
We watched as he soared into the sky, piercing through the clouds until all that remained of him was a tiny, twinkling star. It was telling just how much Amir despised that loser-- for him to muster up the strength to send Jean-Pierre flying that far alongside me and Senzo.
With that, we left the forest for good. Our next destination? Mistville!