The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter (19 page)

“Whew,” Bomani said looking over the cliff.
“I wonder how long it will take them to make their way around.”

Farra and Pupa were already leaving.

“Farra, wait. You can’t go off alone.”

“Just give me one good reason why I should
trust you!”

“I’m sorry. Really I am.” Bomani said
dropping his head in shame. “I wasn’t thinking straight, Hatari
said he just wanted the staff and…”

“Well I’ve got news for you Bomani. When an
evil, frightening, powerful man wants something that gives him
more
power, you don’t give it to him.”

“I know, and I’m sorry. He said he wasn’t
going to hurt you. I just wanted you to be safe.”

“I don’t know what they teach you in that
warrior
school of yours, but here is something to remember;
wielding the power of another sorcerer’s staff is tricky business.
You can’t just
use
the staff; you have to take the power out
of it.
I
wouldn’t know how to do it, and there are only a
handful of people in the entire world that do. But this part I know
for certain. If you want to harness the power of a sorcerer’s
staff, YOU HAVE TO KILL THE SORCERER FIRST!

They were both silent after that. Even
little Pupa eagerly looked at the both of them trying to figure out
the outcome of this situation. Finally, Farra calmed herself. She
wasn’t used to this feeling. Anger. She didn’t like it. She wanted
to forgive him; after all, she was the forgiving type, and she
wanted to be able to trust him again; after all, she was the
trusting type.

“I came to aid you on your journey,” she
said. “And that’s what I’m going to do.”

Bomani reached into his pouch and pulled out
the diamond. “I have this. It should show us the way.”

“Shagga said that, we have to destroy it
first. Break it into pieces.”

“Yes, otherwise, he could be watching.”

Just as Bomani said that, Hatari’s image
once again appeared on the crystal. “Don’t ruin the chance I gave
you boy! I won't give you another.”

“No!” Bomani shouted and threw it down. He
grabbed a rock from the ground and smashed it into the diamond —it
didn’t break. He hit it again and again; still, it remained in
tact.”

Farra giggled. “Silly, you can’t break a
diamond that way; especially a magical one.” She raised her staff
up. The crystal at the top began to glow, and then she brought it
down vertically and smashed the diamond with the base. There was a
bright flash of light —the diamond had broken into a hundred
pieces. Hatari’s fractured image faded.

“Too many times have I underestimated your
sorcery,” Bomani admitted, bending down to pick up one of the
slivers.”

“Hee hee,” Farra giggled bashfully. “Now
what?”

“I’m not sure. Let me see the compass
rune.”

She handed it to him and he laid it on the
ground with a sliver of the diamond. The piece of diamond circled
around the rune and the rune itself began to spin. Farra crossed
her fingers, “please not down the cliff, please, please, please not
back down the cliff.” Then other pieces of diamond lying on the
ground near the rune began to circle it as well, like numerous
planets circling the sun, until all the spinning stopped. All the
pieces had formed a straight line from the rune. A beam of light
shot from the rune through the diamond pieces and presto, it
pointed the way. The compass rune had worked. They had their new
direction, southward — not back down the cliff.

The ogres however, despite being the
fantastic climbers that they are, could not surmount the smooth
walls of the ravine. In effect, they’d have to go the long way,
following the walls east until ground rose up enough for them to
follow. By that time, Bomani and Farra would be at least a day's
walk ahead of them.

XXII DIM
SUNLIGHT?

You may find it hard to believe, but despite
Bomani’s betrayal, Farra found something inside of her to forgive
him and soon their relationship returned to normal. She wasn’t big
on grudges, and part of her believed that Bomani was truly sorry
for what he had done. So, they traveled on.

They took a moment to rest. Bomani unwrapped
his bandages to check his wounds which for the most part were
healed.

“Wow, those bandages really work.” Farra
said.

“Yeah. I don’t think that I even need them
anymore.”

He began to unwrap them, but once they were
almost off, he stopped.

“What’s wrong?” Farra asked.

“I’m not sure. I feel like I don’t need
them, yet I can’t seem to get rid of them.”

“Don’t be silly,” Farra said and helped him
with the last little bit.

Bomani starred at the bandages. He wanted
them back. Were they calling to him? Beckoning to put them back on?
He suddenly felt incomplete without them. “No,” he said, and
grabbed them back. He quickly began wrapping his leg and arm. “I
need them. I don’t know why, I just do.”

“Ooooookaayyyyy.” Farra responded, giving
into his apparent delirium. She took a drink of water then
continued. “Why don’t you put them back on then, and we’ll get
moving again. We want to keep ahead of those stinky ogres.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right.”

The sky was cloudless while the sun was hot
and merciless against their skin. They had reached an arid place
where cacti, aloe, and short dry grass sprouted sparsely across the
parched ground. It met with hills, valleys, and rocky formations of
high and low cliffs. Bomani did his best to keep alert for anything
that could be lurking about, but even that meager, shrubbery, here
and there, was something, until they reached a distinct boundary in
the vegetation all together. The dusty ground itself changed color.
Again, a distinct line from where the parched soil met that soil
which was even drier. The sunlight too, even seemed to shine less
brightly and what made the situation all that more confusing was
that there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

The softer shadows and dim light confused
Bomani. He kept checking the sky for slightest hint of a cloud, and
still there was none. Then, ahead of them, they noticed a tree,
brightly lit just as every thing around it
should
be. It
wasn’t particularly large, had no leaves but was the only thing
that was lit normally by the bare sunlight, and that in itself was
abnormal enough.

As they continued to walk into this gloomy
realm, Bomani took notice of a series of dead tree stumps and
branches protruding from the ground. There were signs of sharp
marks from something with large claws or teeth. Even the rocks
around them had this evidence, but, Bomani said nothing. He wasn’t
sure what creature had created them; he surely didn't want to
frighten Farra and give her more cause to worry. He had been
somewhat awed with the way she handled herself thus far. For a
girl, she was quite impressive, he thought. She was also very
bright, in the warrior’s sense, because Farra, he noted, had
noticed the markings too.

He caught a glimpse of her taking a gander
at the markings as they walked by. Farra was just about to say
something about them when Bomani shushed her and grabbed her
arm.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark,
menacing shadow, and he silenced her almost before she could begin.
He scanned the area carefully, but he didn’t see anything. Although
there were plenty of places behind the rocks and many plateaus and
cliffs where something could hide, he knew that he had seen
something move, and that
something
was out there watching
them.

“What is it?” Farra whispered.

Bomani slowly pulled his spear out, and
mounted his shield to his arm, “I think someone is here,” he
whispered.

“Look at Pupa,” Farra noticed. “What do you
see, boy?”

Pupa had seen something as well, and he let
out a low, guttural growl.

“Shush, Pupa!” Farra tried to quiet him.

“I don’t think that it matters anymore.”
Bomani said. He knew that there was something out there, by the
line of hair that stood up on Pupa’s back. “Who or whatever it is
already knows that we are here, and it’s watching us.”

“It? You mean, an ogre?” Farra asked.

“I’m not sure. Let’s just keep walking —
slowly,” Bomani said.

Just then a shadow moved from behind one
large rock to another. The children turned, barely able to catch a
glimpse of the mysterious phantom that stalked them. Then another
shadow moved, then another and another after that. They moved
stealthily and quickly from behind one rock to another. The
children were terrified, and they had the eerie feeling that they
were surrounded.

“I am Bomani. Show yourself.”

Why does he always have to be like
that?
Farra thought to herself. She saw no sense in inviting
danger, but Bomani seemed to thrive on it. She feared that Bomani’s
introduction would entice whoever was out there to come forward,
and she was right.

At first there was one, and then several
dark figures began to step forward. Several panthers approached
them. They were large, sleek black cats with patches of blue on
them. The largest, with one long blue stripe down its back came
closer and then, to Bomani and Farra’s surprise, began to
speak.

“Hmmm, Bomani you say? It makes no
difference to me what your name is. I will assume you will taste
the same no matter what you are called.”

Bomani’s voice trembled a bit, “Yes, I am
Bomani, and I will not be mocked by you.”

“Mocked?” Farra hissed, “Bomani, what are
you saying? They are
panthers
—they are big, big cats,
Bomani. They outnumber us and they are
panthers!
” Farra
implored.

“Hmmm, you are a very confident one.” The
large cat complimented Bomani, as he circled the boy, “I’ll give
you that. Tell me, I have not seen a human through these parts in
over a decade, what brings you two cubs out to the Forbidden
Expanse?”

As he questioned the children, the other
panthers closed in around them.

“Please, we don’t want any trouble. Please,
let us through,” Farra pleaded. “We’re just looking for the
Diamond Caves
where Hatari lives.”

“I know of such a place, but what will you
do when you get there?” he chuckled.

“We…”

“That’s our business!” Bomani
interrupted.

“This one has fire,” said one of the other
panthers.

“Fire fire, this one has fire,” another said
in a quivering voice as he ran back and forth in place. Fire, fire.
I hate fire. There is no fire. There is no fire. Shut up, shut up.”
this panther was slightly insane.

“Is it me, or is that panther crazy?” Farra
whispered to Bomani.

Bomani nodded.

“Shut him up!” The leader shouted to the
other ones. Then he turned back to Bomani. “Don’t worry, we have
been known to put out such fires.”

“Try,” said Bomani.

“Looking for a fight?” the panther
asked.

“No,” Farra answered, “He’s just like that.
He acts tough, but he means no harm. We’re not looking for a fight,
and he’s not so tough. Well, he is but — I mean, we would have gone
a different way if we knew—”

“Hatari is not far from here. A four or five
days walk in that direction,” the leader of the pack said.

“Oh, thank you,” Farra said. “You have no
idea how hard it is to find a place you have never been—”

“Unfortunately, it won’t do you any good to
know the way,” the panther said.

“What do you mean?” asked Bomani.

“Tell him, tell him,” said another panther
speaking in an erratic hysteria. “Oh! This is going to be great!”
Then he answered himself. “I know I know, It’s going to be great,
hurry, hurry, lets go, no more talking, let’s just do it
already!”

Farra raised her hand. “Um, I know I’m
supposed to be scared, but right now, I’m just really
confused.”

“This is the Soulless Glade, occupied only
by us. I am Onoc, leader of the condemned panthers. This is our
home, and our prison.”

“It’s not a
glade
,” replied a
confused Farra. “There isn’t even any grass here.”

“Oh, it used to be,” Onoc replied.

“But it’s not now, so why call it a
glade?”

“In time, little girl. Some things change,
some things do not. Much has changed in the land. The name has not.
This very spot used to be an oasis when we were first put here.
Hunger has led us to eat everything in sight, which is unfortunate
for you.”

“Why?”

“Because, we are still very, very hungry. I
don’t think you will be leaving here alive,” the panther said.

Two of the panthers crept toward the
children.” Here we go, here we go!” said one of the insane
ones.

Bomani threw up his shield instantly. He
jabbed the first panther with his long spear, and then he kicked
the other one in the head. The blow dropped the large cat to the
ground, and knocked it out. Bomani had been braced to attack or
protect them since he first glimpsed the sinewy shadows of the
panthers. He stood firmly on his feet for a moment, shield in tact,
and prepared to fight as he caught his breath.

“Come on!” He shouted to Farra.

They ran forward, through the pack and near
the odd tree in the center of nowhere. The panthers passed the
children, and once again they blocked their path. Having reached
the nearby tree now, the children climbed it as fast as they could.
It wasn’t a large tree, and mounting it was much easier than they
thought it would be. However, small trees lack strength and the
weak branch under Bomani began to give way. Bomani quickly moved
closer to the trunk and felt around with his foot for a stronger
branch beneath him. The panthers prowled below, angrily.

“Rip them down!” Their leader commanded his
pack.