Cryptic Wonder- the Awakening

by Wylder Willis

  Denzel asked, “So, does everyone understand the plan?” Zeke, Dante, Celeste, and Esme all nodded, still amazed at how well the two explained the plan.

  “Glad to hear it! Now you guys will probably want to prepare your weapons for the battle, so you’re dismissed until it is time for war,” Naomi said still looking at the map. They left and headed to a few of the tents. A raven Anansi walked in and stood at attention, looking at Naomi and Denzel patiently.

  Leander asked from where he sat with a glass of water, “What news do you bring?”

  “Everyone is getting ready, but it is the humans. A small group approaches, The widow is with them,” the Raven announced watching Naomi and Denzel for any reaction.

  “They are probably coming to demand our surrender. They are to be escorted here,” Naomi commanded. Something within her had changed, and she sounded like an actual commander. The raven bowed and headed out to escort the humans in.

  “Do you want to hide the map Naomi?” Denzel asked.

  “Why? It doesn’t reveal the plan it only shows where the humans and Cryptics are in real-time. This paper tells the plan so I’ll just hide it,” Naomi replied.

  Denzel nodded as Naomi tucked a small paper into a small bag at her hip opposite of her sheath.

  Chapter 15

  The humans arrived in a short time, escorted by a raven and a tiger Anansi, who then stood guard outside the tent. Naomi and Denzel stood in front of the table with the map on it. The widow looked around the tent, seeing the Cryptics outnumbered her in the tent at six to three.

  Naomi saw that the widow seemed uncomfortable. “Leander would you take the others for a walk, please? Denzel and I are going to have a talk with our guests,” Naomi asked hoping he wouldn’t go far if needed. Leander understood and lead the others outside.

  The widow asked, “I see you set up camp, but surely Hunter told you that you stand little chance against our secret weapons. So the only question I have is when can I expect your surrender?”

  Naomi smirked, “I was just about to ask you the same thing. You see we know all about the catapults and we will beat them, then you. Oh and his name is Denzel.”

  The widow didn’t seem to like that as she threatened, “This was your last chance, bitch. I will see you on the battlefield just long enough to end your disgusting life.” With that the widow and her two companions left, escorted back outside the camp by the raven and tiger Anansi.

  Denzel asked with a glare, “You really don’t like her do you?”

  “Not one bit. What is her name anyway?” Naomi smiled.

  “Her name is Rue. She named me Hunter because she wanted me to have a normal name. She really hates her name so she insists people call her Emma,” Denzel explained.

  “Well that explains a lot. I’d be pissed off too with a name like that,” Naomi smirked knowing she had a tool against the widow.

  “We better get ready and check on the camp, because tomorrow we are at war,” Denzel suggested as he turned to the exit. Naomi followed him as the four leaders came back inside with smiles. Leander stopped Naomi at the doorway by placing a hand on her shoulder. Naomi looked up to him.

  “You did a good job in taking care of the situation with the widow. You are a good leader Naomi,” Leander praised before walking inside. Naomi looked at him in surprise that he used her name instead of calling her caracal. She decided to take it as a compliment and followed Denzel through the camp. They said hello to the few people they saw still outside of the tents. They finally made it to the tent for them and headed in. They sat on their mats and cleaned their blade in silence. By the time they were done cleaning their blades it was time for camp supper.

  Naomi and Denzel sat at a long table with the other leaders and other warriors. Zeke and Dante sat nearby along with Celeste and Esme. Everyone ate in silence either anxious or anticipating the battle. When everyone was finished eating Acacia nudged Naomi in the side signaling she should speak before everyone went to rest before the big day. Naomi stood up with Denzel.

  “Thank you all for joining us here. We will be facing a grave threat tomorrow, we may not all survive, but we will give it our all. We won’t go down without a fight! We will come out victorious,” Naomi proclaimed.

  The people cheered and raised their empty goblets. Naomi saw the four leaders had raised their goblets, and she glanced at Denzel who had grabbed their goblets and was holding her’s towards her. Naomi took it and raised it as Denzel raised his to the sky. As she looked out at the many people gathered for the fight only one thought occurred. Will I lose any of my friends tomorrow ?

  Once everyone calmed down, they all started heading to their tents some chatting and some in silence. Naomi and Denzel waved goodnight to each of the four leaders as they headed to their own tent. The four leaders waved goodnight to them in return. The made it to their tent in relative silence, as Naomi was thinking and Denzel preferred not to annoy her thinking, though he did wonder what she was thinking about. Little did he know she was plotting how best to use what knowledge she had against the widow, Rue.

  They got inside the tent and changed into sleepwear. Naomi changed into a black shirt and leggings. She couldn’t find a place to change out of sight from Denzel except outside, so with a sigh, she changed with him in the tent. Denzel changed into just black shorts. They changed facing away from one another so there was at least some sense of privacy. They slid into bed after washing up and fell asleep next to each other, sleeping back to back.

  The morning sun rose in the sky, Naomi woke early to the sound of bird song. She headed outside as she slipped on her cloak from yesterday. She walked out of camp into the open battlefield. There were scattered rocks and boulders throughout the field. She climbed on top of one of the large boulders and sat on the skyward ledge, her feet dangling from the ledge as she gazed out across the vast rocky field. The stone beneath her felt rough and cold from the night air. Naomi smiled as she thought about the battle. “However today ends the world definitely won’t be the same… I wonder if Zeke and Dante are dating, they seemed friendly to each other yesterday,” Naomi pondered speaking to no one.

  Back at the tent, Denzel woke up feeling a coldness where there had been warmth. He woke and looked around, seeing that Naomi was missing. He slipped on a white shirt and headed outside on silent footsteps to search for her. He headed towards the rocky field, guessing that she would want to scout the terrain. He reached the field swiftly and spotted her with ease sitting on a boulder. He exhaled with relief to see she was okay. He climbed up the boulder and sat next to her, his feet dangling over the edge.

  They sat like that for a few minutes before Naomi spoke as she leaned into Denzel, “Do you think this is the right course? What if in leading our people into war we are dooming them to extinction.”

  Denzel slid a hand around her before he spoke, “I think whatever we do together will be the right path; together we are stronger than apart and I wouldn't like it any other way.”

  “How is it you know just what to say already? We’ve only been life partners for a day,” Naomi teased.

  Denzel smiled as he said it was a talent. They sat in silence again watching the field until they heard a tiger’s roar for a possible final meal. Naomi swung her legs up and over her head and landed on her feet looking down at Denzel who was still sitting looking at her.

  “Next time warn me your gonna roll over my arm,” Denzel said looking at Naomi who was smiling.

  “If I did that then you wouldn’t have anything to whine about. Now get up; last meal won’t last forever,” Naomi countered as she started back to camp.

  Denzel quickly got to his feet mimicking Naomi and chased after her. They made it to breakfast and saw most were still in their sleepwear, as well. Naomi sat next to Denzel with the other leaders at the head of the table. Naomi grabbed some raw quail eggs and a couple of sausages. Denzel grabbed some scrambled eggs and a slice of toast. Naomi used a pointed tool to carve out a hole in the top on an egg
and remove some of the shell pieces. She then put the egg to her lips and sucked the liquid out through the small hole in the shell. She did this three more times, sometimes having a sausage before sipping from another egg. Denzel ate his scrambled eggs in silence occasionally glancing at Naomi when she was eating one of the quail eggs. He also noticed she wasn’t the only one eating uncooked quail eggs.

  Once everyone had finished Naomi stood tall with Denzel. It was time for words of courage and unison.

  Naomi and Denzel spoke in unison, “Today we face the humans on the field of battle. We will face them together as a people, as a family.”

  Everyone cheered or applauded. Naomi glanced to her friends and saw them all smiling at her. She was thankful to see them there and willing to fight alongside her and Denzel. Everyone went their separate ways to prepare for the battle. Some went to clean or sharpen their weapons one last time. Some went to go onto their scouting shift, and some like Naomi and Denzel went back to their tents to get dressed.

  Naomi and Denzel reached their tent and found fresh clothing waiting for them on a freshly made bed. There was also a tiny black remote resting on Naomi’s clothes. Denzel's clothes were similar to Naomi’s clothes. Both had sleek black cloaks that had two latches to keep them in place. The tops were simple long-sleeved, black shirts. The pants reached to the ankle where they were close fit with elastic. Then there was the simple armor. Two chest plates, two pairs of shoulder pad or neck guards, and a pair of matching helmets.

  Naomi got dressed in the clothes then grabbed a shoulder pad and a neck guard. Denzel did the same, taking the time to help Naomi strap on the chest plate. Naomi helped him do the same. Denzel opted for a shoulder pad and neck guard as well. They placed the neck guard on opposite shoulders of each other and the shoulder pad followed the same action. Naomi grabbed the smaller helmet. Denzel grabbed the bigger one and put it on, the faceguard slid down into place with ease. Naomi offered with a smile, “Maybe don’t put it on yet?”

  “Yeah seems the faceguards are made to slide into place once you put the helmet on,” Denzel said as he took the helmet off. Just as they suspected the faceguard slid up and out of the way. They headed out of the tent and found two steeds waiting for them, saddled and ready. One was a mare of Diomedes named Xanthos. She was a fearsome looking horse with a black coat; her mane and tail were red like her eyes. Her teeth were all pointed and sharp to suit her diet of flesh.

  The other was a Chollima mare. She had a lovely dark bay coat, with a black mane and tail, her eyes a shadowy grey. Both stood there waiting to be ridden into war. Naomi mounted Xanthos and Denzel took Chollima, they both rode towards the field, where their army waited. The saddle of Xanthos was a light grey eastern saddle designed just for combat. The reins were a matching grey, but the saddle pad was a dark red like the chest guard. The Chollima bore a black saddle and reins with a similar design as Xanthos’ tack. The saddle pad was also a dark red as was the chest guard.

  They rode up through the army as it made a path for them. They halted atop a large slanted boulder and looked to their sides. To Naomi’s left was Leander, Acacia, Dante, and Zeke. To Denzel’s right was Gwythyr, Topaz, Esme, and Celeste. Naomi looked across the rocky field and saw that the enemy was watching.

  The widow, Rue, was on a dusty grey stallion that had a white mane and tail. Denzel watched in fear as the three large catapults were rolled onto the field behind his mother’s army. Naomi looked to him, “Don’t worry we planned for this, and have a secret weapon of our own.” Denzel looked at her in surprise as he didn’t remember talk of a Cryptic secret weapon. Naomi simply looked to Leander who held out a blue-tinted conch shell. Naomi took the shell and placed it to her lips. The air went still as everyone watched in wonder. The first note sounded and it was the most beautiful sound any one had ever heard, but the sound didn’t stop there as it blossomed into a lovely tune that not even a Siren could match. When Naomi finally lowered the shell from her lips everyone was amazed by her; then they heard a bone shivering sound that seemed to echo through the entire field. Naomi swiftly put the shell in the saddlebag next to her left leg.

  “FOR HONOR AND LOVE! CHARGE!” Naomi said as she raised her double-bladed sword into the air. Everyone let out a battle cry as they surged forward. Naomi and Denzel urged their steeds forward, weapons drawn from their sheaths.

  Rue’s army did the same as they charged forward, heavy hitters in the front, unlike the Cryptic army which had its swiftest fighters in the lead. At the rear of the Cryptic army, many soldiers diverted course and slipped into the forest and into the trees. They were the archers led by Celeste. Naomi and Denzel put their helmets on just before they saw it. A large white dragon flew overhead towards the human army and the catapults. It looked like a scaly version of an eel. It had only two legs which were up front. Its head was angular and had many golden colored fins and a line of golden hooked spikes lining its back. The tail ended in another golden fin shaped like a handful of feathers. It was the creature that Naomi had seen back at the Leader’s temple hideaway, and it was flying straight for the catapults! But the catapults were already launching their first boulders and it appeared the dragon wasn’t going to make it in time.

  The first catapult swung and released its boulder right at the dragon. Naomi watched as the Dragon didn’t swerve to avoid the incoming boulder; instead, it merely opened its massive jaws as a burst of white-hot flames burst forth. The flames engulfed the boulder until the dragon closed its jaws, but by then the boulder was gone. The dragon’s fire had disintegrated the boulder! Naomi smiled through her faceguard as the two armies clashed together spurred on by the dragon’s bone-chilling roar. Naomi and Denzel charged into the thick of the opposing army as they urged their steeds to leap over the front line. They landed together in the midst of Rue’s army, yet behind the heavy hitters who were already getting picked off by arrows fired from the shadows of the forest as well as some fierce Anansi’s that had transformed during the charge.

  An angry man with long blonde hair spun around towards Naomi and rushed towards Naomi with a wild yell from behind. Naomi leaped up from the saddle and landed behind him as she slashed downwards with her sword. Her sword slashed down his back, causing him to bellow in pain before falling to the ground. She looked ahead and yelled to her horse to do what damage she could, then Naomi leaped at the closest human and into battle. Denzel slashed at a few humans as he charged forward keeping his eyes locked on his mother. Rue stood on a boulder watching the battle. Rue eventually noticed him riding towards her, and she smiled wickedly.

  Naomi cut down a few more opponents before turning to look for Denzel. He was almost on top of his mother. Naomi saw the glint of something in Rue’s hand and knew it was bad. Naomi transformed with an outcry, “DENZEL!” She leaped forward, jumping from one human’s shoulders to another, causing many to fall on their faces.

  But she was too slow, as she could only watch as Rue threw a small hidden blade towards Denzel. He wasn’t fast enough to react except to turn his body, and was struck in his right shoulder instead of the chest by the blade. He yelled out in pain, but he managed to swing his sword while Rue’s guard was down. His saber caught her outstretched arm and slashed down her arm almost from the elbow. She pulled her arm in close at the sudden pain with a hiss. The dragon finally got around to destroying the second catapult, which wasn’t far behind Rue and Denzel. The catapult was blasted by the white-hot flames causing a wave of displaced air to push Rue and Denzel away. They both flew off their horses and landed on different sides of the battle and Naomi.

  Almost as soon as Denzel got back to his feet, a human swung a spear at his head. Naomi watched as Denzel was dragged into a fight, before dashing towards Rue with a growl. Rue got up just in time to be knocked back down by the force of Naomi leaping onto her.

  Unknown to Naomi though, another Cryptic joined the fight alongside Denzel. It was Esme who leaped to the rescue, or so Denzel thought after seeing Esme’s weighted chain co
llide with the human’s head with a loud crack. His belief was turned over on its head when he found himself wrapped up in her titanium chain with a blade to his throat. “Why Esme? I thought we were friends on the same side?” Denzel asked looking at her in surprise.

  “I made a new friend who wants the same thing as I do--for humans to stay where they belong. Out of the Cryptic world,” Esme said as she led Denzel closer towards Rue and Naomi. Naomi had Rue pinned and had transformed back to humanoid form.

  “Let her go or the Droga has a short life,” Esme called out loud enough for Naomi to hear. Everyone around stopped fighting and cleared the small area around Naomi and Denzel. It was now a battle of leaders that would determine the fate of the Human and Cryptic people. Naomi glared up at Esme seeing the trouble Denzel had found himself in. She swiftly placed her double-bladed sword to Rue’s throat, with a growl.

  “Release the Droga, Esme and I won't hold this treachery against you,” Naomi commanded just as the dragon destroyed the final catapult with the thunderous sound of wood shattering. The dragon had slammed its thick tail down onto the catapult. Denzel smiled just as he thrust his saber backward towards Esme. The blade struck Esme in the side causing her to cry out in pain, releasing her grip. He spun on his heel and slashed his saber across her chest.

  Naomi swiftly dealt with Rue, knocking Rue out with the hilt of her swords, before rushing to help Denzel. Esme blocked Denzel’s blade by using her chain like a whip and disarming him. Naomi leaped into the fray launching between them from a rock to Denzel’s left. She split her sword into two blades midair as she aimed it for Esme’s midsection. Naomi slid to a stop in the dirt after landing on her right shoulder with a thud. Denzel had shapeshifted into his wild form and was lunging at Esme, allowing Naomi to get back to her feet before striking again. Denzel tackled Esme to the ground, his large canine’s inches from her throat.