After hours of traveling the next day, they took a moment to rest. Bomani unwrapped his bandages to check his wounds, which to his surprise were completely healed.
“Wow, those bandages really work,” Farra said.
“Yeah. I don’t 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. “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 and then continued. “Here, let me help you with the one on your arm, and we’ll get moving again. We want to keep ahead of those stinky ogres.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right. And who knows how much further we have to go. I wish I had Nas with us. We could move so much faster.”
“Who is Nas?”
“Nassir. My rhino. He’s a battle rhino. I ride him all the time. He has strong horns, and he is tough. I’d take him into battle any day.”
“Why didn’t you bring him?”
“Oh, well, he was sick.”
“When Pupa get’s older, he will be big enough for me to ride.”
“Nice. Maybe we will be able to race.”
“Ha, a rhino, against one of our wolves, it’s not contest.”
Bomani smirked. “I saw your mother’s wolf. It’s pretty big. I’d be your wolves would be good in a battle too.”
“Yes, they are.”
“Probably not as good as Nas though,” Bomani arrogantly added.
They traveled further. The sky was cloudless. The sun was hot and merciless against their skin. They had reached an arid place where only sparsely grown cacti and aloe reached across the parched ground. It met with hills, valleys, and rocky formations of high and low cliffs.
They walked until they noticed a distinct boundary in the ground. An obvious line showed the difference between the dry soil that they walked on and the even drier soil ahead of them. They crossed the line and noticed that even the sunlight had changed. It was definitely less bright and yet there was not a cloud in the sky.
The softer shadows and dim light confused Bomani. He kept checking the sky for the slightest hint of a cloud, and still there was none. Then, ahead of them, they noticed a tree, brightly lit just as everything around it should be. It was not particularly large and 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 and teeth. Even the rocks around them had this evidence, but Bomani said nothing. He was not sure what creature had created them; he surely did not want to frighten Farra and give her more cause to worry. He had been somewhat awed with the way she handled herself thus far. 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. He was about to say something to her, when out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dark shadow move. He scanned the area carefully, but he did not 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.”
“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 Bomani had the eerie feeling that they were surrounded.
“I am Bomani. Show yourself,” he demanded.
“Not sure if you should be doing that,” Farra whispered with concern.
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 in different patterns. The largest, with one long blue stripe down its back, came closer and then, to Bomani’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 a long time, so 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,” said the panther. “But what will you do when you get there?” The panther snickered.
“We…”
“That’s our business!” Bomani interrupted.
“This one has fire,” said one of the other panthers.
“Fire, 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, shut up! Show me the fire!”
“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, “ We are NOT looking for a fight. 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 the crazy 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, even the grass and the trees. But we much prefer meat, 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, here we go!” said the insane one.
The two panthers pounced toward them. 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 stood firmly on his feet for a moment, shield intact, 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.
The children climbed the tree as fast as they could. It was not 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. One of the panthers mounted the tree, but Bomani reached down with his long spear and pierced him. Another panther tried to climb up immediately, but he met the same end.
“This is not good. Not good at all,” Farra cried out, “Moon Glow!”
She poked out her staff as she yelled out the short incantation, but only blinded the cats near them.
“I guess it works much better during the night,” she concluded.
Pupa jumped out of Farra’s pouch, onto a higher branch and continued to climb toward the top of the tree. He climbed as high as he could, and when he reached the treetop, he began to howl with all the strength that he could muster. The children looked at him curiously.
“What’s he doing?” Bomani asked.
“I don’t know. Pupa!” Farra called to him, but Pupa ignored her. He howled toward the sky like a wolf crying to the moon.
Below, panthers surrounded them and snarled as they threatened to attack. The children used their staff and spear to keep them away, and then suddenly Farra’s branch went limp. She fell and landed in the middle of the pack. Instinctively, Bomani jumped down to protect the young sorceress, practically landing on top of her. He moved so quickly, his shield got caught on a branch and it came off of his arm.
“I am Bomani, son of King Jumbe of Ulfame, you will have to defeat me to get to her!” he cried out.
“That is exactly what we plan to do,” their poised leader agreed.
Bomani reached into his pouch to grab a rune. Just as he felt it in his hand, another panther lunged at him. He dropped the rune and raised his spear in time to jab the panther, mortally, straight through his chest. The skewered animal hit the ground leaving Bomani without weapon or shield.
He quickly reached down to grab the rune from the ground, but before he could get to it, another panther lunged toward him, his sharp claws leading the way and ferocious teeth not far behind. Bomani could have swiftly jumped out of the way, but Farra was just behind him, and he stood his ground to protect her. He threw up his arms to shield himself, as he was certain to be ravaged by the panther’s sharp teeth and claws. He closed his eyes and braced himself for the worse. An urgent frenzy of snarls and growls erupted, so he opened his eyes and saw more than a dozen large wolves combating the panthers in an urgent frenzy of snarls, fur, and growls.
Bomani helped Farra up, recovered his shield, and backed into her, pressing her against the tree so that he could cover her, as they watched the flurry of teeth and claws. Before them seemed to be a heaven-sent confusion of beast against beast, leaving them safe. The wolves outnumbered the panthers, and when the bloody battle was over, the few panthers that remained scampered off, back into hiding.
“Pupa called the wolves!” Farra shouted, as she came to the realization. “And you said that he wouldn’t be able to help us in our journey,” Farra reminded Bomani.
“Well—”
“You said that he was just a baby.”
“But—”
“To think that you didn’t even like Pupa,” she continued.
“I never said that I didn’t like him,” Bomani said as he pulled out his spear from the wounded panther.
The mark on Farra’s face radiated with light as it lengthened. She looked at Pupa’s mark for confirmation.
“Good job Pupa, I didn’t know you could do that,” she scratched the pup behind his ears, affectionately.
The wolves walked over to Pupa and greeted him by nuzzling their heads against him and licking. Farra thanked them with warm hugs and Bomani looked on in amazement.
“I’m an Anifem. We have a kinship with wolves. Come on. Don’t be afraid.” The mood had now shifted to a warm joyous occasion.
“Thank you,” Bomani said to the uncommonly perceptive and loyal pack. “Do you talk too?”
He was only answered by a short wolf’s call.
“No matter,” he said and joined in on the animal praise, rubbing and patting the wolves in gratitude.
Farra gasped, “That’s the first time I’ve heard you thank anyone for anything. Are you sure you are alright?”
“Hey, don’t make a big deal out of it. Okay?” He looked at her playfully, then he surveyed the glade, always trying to stay two steps ahead. There were no panthers in sight, and he decided promptly that it was time for them to move on.
“We should get out of here. We need to leave this place,” he said.
Once out of the glade, the full strength of the sun’s heat returned. It would be easy for them to remember this place on their return home and circumvent it altogether. They moved on cautiously with the wolves by their sides for hours before they finally parted.
The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter Page 26
