The Skull Warrior

by Yajat Sharma

  “Is he dead?” Archer asked, his voice cracking.

  The Scavenger didn’t reply.

  Matt coughed and stood up slowly. “Of course, I’m alive.”

  Wasting no time on celebration for a job well done, they walked towards Aronicle. They weren’t sure whether he was alive or dead. “Fortune has immensely favoured us. We got Aronicle while he could not touch any of you.” The Scavenger smiled at the children. “Let’s take him to Lynx,”

  The Scavenger lifted the unconscious Aronicle, and all of them jumped right into a waiting portal.

  7

  Lynx was deeply engrossed in a book. When the Scavenger and the others appeared in the cave, Lynx raised his head. “So you rescued the children.”

  “Yep,” the Scavenger said. “Just in time.”

  “And who are you carrying on your shoulders?” Lynx was curious.

  The Scavenger put Aronicle on the ground and sat on a sofa. “Guess who? Ha ha, it’s Aronicle!”

  “Amazing! Unbelievable!” Lynx was visibly excited.

  Everyone threw looks at each other. It was the first time Lynx had displayed some happy emotions.

  Lynx controlled himself and looked up at Matt. “And what about my things?”

  Matt plunked all of them on a nearby sofa. “Here you go.”

  Lynx’s face lit up. “Brilliant! I am curious to know how you guys managed to bring all the things and Aronicle? ”

  Matt started to recount what had happened. “Well, the portal opened in front of a house in the Isle of the Beast. We carefully moved – OOOOOWWWWWW!” Matt suddenly shouted in pain.

  It was because Urrax had appeared out of the air, about five feet above him, and landed on Matt, crushing him.

  “Sorry,” Urrax muttered as he jumped away, using Matt as a cushion.

  “Ow,” Matt muttered weakly.

  “So you have completely recovered now?” the Scavenger asked Urrax.

  Urrax smiled proudly, looking at Lynx.

  “Yep. Thanks to Lynx.”

  Lynx smiled. “Never mind that. Matt, please continue what you were saying.”

  Matt told them everything, starting from him and Archer meeting Aronicle, to the Scavenger rescuing them. Archer chipped in from time to time to fill in the gaps. Matt described in detail the conversation he’d had with the evil and the real Aronicle.

  After listening patiently to Matt, Lynx looked at Aronicle and spoke. “Hmmm, greater forces are interfering, strands of time are random. The fate of the universe lies over oblivion. That’s what Aronicle said, didn’t he? Well, Aronicle -”

  The Scavenger asked Lynx, “Could it be the Skull Warrior controlling Aronicle?”

  Matt broke in, “He told me himself. It isn’t the Skull Warrior who controls him. It’s someone else.”

  After a long silence, Lynx banged his hand on the table.

  “When the Death Lord called the Skull Warrior,” he began, “the amount of energy produced was so huge that it sent a shockwave all around. Even I felt it, deep in the recesses of my mind. Dimensions were scattered, hidden realms broke and the people living in those realms died. ‘Greater forces are interfering’. They may be good or bad. They may support the Skull Warrior, or they may oppose him. But one thing is sure: these forces will come. And when they come and fight, the amount of energy will be like nothing else. The entire universe will be thrown into chaos. ‘The fate of the universe lies over oblivion’. If these greater forces fight, then the objective of the Skull Warrior will be achieved.”

  “But what are these greater forces?” Daniel asked.

  “Gods, demons, mythical creatures, the like. When Arcane created the Dark World, he made a protective layer around it. This layer prevented any God or Demon from outside to enter.”

  “But then, how were we able to enter the Dark World through a portal?” Daniel asked.

  Lynx groaned. “AAAARGH! You aren’t Gods or Demons!”

  “Oh,” Daniel said.

  “Earthlings are so brainless!” Lynx exclaimed.

  “No, they are not,” James retorted. “Take Albert Einstein. Take Newton. Take Archimedes. Take Stephen -”

  “Alright, alright!” Lynx said. “Back to the issue. As I was saying, the protective layer around the Dark World was robust. But when the Death Lord summoned the Skull Warrior, the release of energy was so significant that the layer broke. It must be strengthened again. And that’s where the Slayer comes in. The Slayer can control dimensions. With the Slayer, you can banish the Skull Warrior to the depths of hell and mend the broken protective layer around the Dark World.”

  The Scavenger said, “So all of this depends on the Slayer. We need to get the Slayer somehow.”

  “Yes. I am optimistic that there could be much headway in my research as I have all the required things and, most importantly, we have Aronicle,” Lynx said optimistically.

  “Does everything in the list have a use?” Matt asked.

  Lynx nodded. “Of course.”

  “Even the pillow?” Archer butted in, incredulously.

  “Oh!” Lynx said, “It’s not a pillow. It’s a very, very poisonous animal coated with a covering that looks like a pillow. It doesn’t attack unless it is harmed. I didn’t tell you about it deliberately, so that you wouldn’t be conscious of it.”

  Archer and Matt glanced at each other with frightened expressions as Lynx moved towards an almirah and took out shackles. He then moved towards the unconscious Aronicle. “We don’t know whether he’s the real Aronicle or the possessed one. Daniel’s roots had hit him hard. But for how long, we don’t know. Let’s be prepared.”

  With the help of the Scavenger, Lynx tied Aronicle with the sturdy shackles. He then laid all the things on his table.

  “I don’t know how much time I will take. The scroll is now free from Urrax. It can guide you to the Warhead. I suggest you proceed early morning tomorrow. I will work till late in the night and will not be awake to bid you goodbye. I wish you all the very best.”

  Lynx hugged each one of them.

  Lynx turned to the Scavenger. “Open your palm. I will create a magic link with you. If any of us need each other urgently, the magic link will start blinking in the palm.”

  Lynx hugged everyone and went to his table. Everyone dispersed to rest for the night.

  Next morning, everyone woke up early except Daniel.

  The Scavenger turned to Matt. “Wake him up. We can’t let him sleep like a buffalo every day.”

  “A buffalo sleeps up to only two hours a day,” James said matter-of-factly.

  “AAAARGH!” The Scavenger groaned. “Never mind.”

  Matt woke Daniel up with some difficulty. When everyone was ready, the Scavenger turned to Urrax. “Come on, lead us to the Warhead.”

  Urrax took out the scroll and muttered a spell. The scroll moved up into the air and started moving forward. The six of them followed it.

  The scroll led them through a dense forest. After walking for several miles, they approached a sprawling village. Warriors and demons roamed the streets. No one paid any attention to the Scavenger and the others as they continued to walk silently.

  But their presence didn’t go unnoticed for long. Someone shouted, “Alert! Fugitives.”

  They turned to see a demon pointing at them and gesturing at others.

  The Scavenger shouted, “RUN!”

  There was commotion everywhere as the demons and monsters tried to capture them.

  Suddenly, a flying wolf appeared in the sky. It roared and fire emerged from its mouth towards the demons and monsters, rendering them unconscious in a short time.

  The wolf floated to the ground. The Scavenger blinked. “Wow. That was amazing.”

  Matt nodded and stared at the wolf, “Gosh! Isn’t it the same wolf that you rescued from the Wolf Hunters? I can’t believe it.”

  The Scavenger smiled. “I told you, we should keep doing good. Your good karma comes back to you in unimaginable ways.”

 
; As they started moving, the wolf followed them. James said, “It seems we have a new companion.”

  “We should name him,” Archer said. “How about... Foxy?”

  The Scavenger glared at him. “That’s a very creative name. Lightning is better.”

  All of them started to blurt out names.

  “The Destroyer.”

  “Four Legs.”

  “Brainy.”

  “Super Wolf.”

  “Thunder.” The Scavenger grinned. “Yes. Thunder. That’s a good name. Better than Four Legs, at least. It’s decided. We’ll call him Thunder.”

  “I still think Brainy is better,” James grumbled.

  “Let’s call him Thunder,” Matt said.

  “I c could get used to this name.” James sighed. “But don’t you guys feel we have wasted a lot of time already? Let’s go.”

  Urrax pulled out the scroll, and they started following it.

  The scroll led them outside the village, onto the road. After a few miles, the road ended in four crossroads, with a sign at the side:

  The Pain Trail – Last to the right

  Diamond Path – Second to the right

  Frostbite Caves – Last to the left

  Village of Silver – Second to the left

  “To the Diamond path, then,” Archer said, walking towards it, hoping against hope that the scroll would follow.

  But the scroll turned to another path – the Pain Trail.

  Archer sighed. Of course, it had to be the Pain Trail. What else could it be?

  The others followed. It wasn’t long before the trail ended abruptly, and the six of them saw a big hole in the ground in front of them.

  It was about fifteen feet wide and twenty feet long. James leaned over and peered in. It was dark and it was impossible to see how deep it was.

  He picked up a rock and threw it into the murky depths of the pit and silently counted the seconds.

  Five... ten... twenty... twenty-five... thirty seconds...

  Then there was the sound of stone hitting rock.

  “Half a minute!” James exclaimed. “This pit sure is deep!”

  Suddenly James looked back and saw the Scavenger running towards the hole.

  “What’s he doing?” Daniel shouted.

  “He’s jumping across,” Matt replied. “Make way for the madman!”

  The children quickly stepped clear of his path.

  “He’ll kill himself!” Archer said.

  The Scavenger increased his speed as he neared the hole. Then, when he was at the edge of it, he leapt.

  The ground reached up. The Scavenger’s eyes narrowed to slits as he realized that -

  “He is not going to make it!” James shouted.

  The Scavenger was dropping into the pit now.

  He made a wild jab with his hands, nearing the edge of the pit, about to catch the grass, just making it...

  And he missed.

  He fell inside the pit.

  James freaked out. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO”

  “He’s fine!” Matt pointed below.

  The Scavenger caught a protruding rock just in time and was now hanging from it. He quickly swung himself onto the rock and then jumped. He caught hold of the edge of the pit and pulled himself up and brushed the dust from his clothes.

  Meanwhile, the children had found a much safer and quicker way to cross to the other side. They climbed the wolf’s back, and Thunder, the wolf, flew into the air and deposited them on the other side.

  “Aw!” The Scavenger was amused. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

  The scroll led them forward into the Pain Trail. They had walked maybe ten metres when suddenly Archer began shouting. “OW! My feet are burning.”

  Daniel started jumping a little. “You’re right. OUCH! OUCH! OWWWWW!”

  “OWWWWW!”

  “STOP IT!”

  “TOO HOT!”

  The Scavenger glared at them. “Oh, please. It’s not that – OWWWWWW!”

  Now all of them were running fast to escape the hot ground. Then suddenly, the heat disappeared.

  “Wowwww... so cool,” James said. The ground started becoming cooler and cooler.

  “It’s amazing...”

  “Awesome...”

  The coldness was a relief from the burning ground they had experienced before. But soon it got too cold.

  “OWWWW! So cold.”

  “It’s biting cold!”

  “I’ll get frostbite!”

  Now they were running once again, this time because of the cold, covering distance fast. And then the cold disappeared and the regular ground appeared once again, neither too hot nor too cold.

  The children heaved a sigh of relief.

  “James, I have an amazing joke to tell you.” Daniel nudged James to lighten their stress.

  “What?”

  “Once two friends went to see Niagara Falls. Then suddenly, one of them slipped and fell into the falls. What did the other friend say?”

  “What?”

  “What a fall! Ha ha!”

  “Huh?” James couldn’t understand.

  “You didn’t get it? What a fall. Waterfall.”

  James looked blank.

  “Oh, never mind.” Daniel groaned. “All my great jokes are just wasted on you. Wasted, I say!”

  “Jokes should be good if you want someone to laugh,” Archer said, “But your joke will make someone cry; it’s so lame.”

  “Whatever,” Daniel muttered. “Your jokes aren’t great either.”

  Archer looked shocked. “What? Oh please. I was selected as the comedian in my school assembly. And after I had told my jokes and was walking out of the stage, everyone was clapping like crazy.”

  “Because you were leaving the stage, that’s why,” Daniel said.

  James sneered. He was about to say something when the ground shook so hard that he fell at once. It was like a massive earthquake. Suddenly, the ground sloped downwards, and they skidded to a stop on a circular ground in which the shape of a face was engraved.

  Welcome. A voice boomed all around.

  “Who are you?” The Scavenger demanded.

  I have no name, but all call me the Warhead.

  The Scavenger took a deep breath. “The Warhead. Finally.”

  Many have tried, but only a few have succeeded in meeting me.

  “We need the -”

  Poison. Yes, I know. The Warhead promptly replied. But first, you deserve a reward for crossing all those obstacles. And your prize will be... meeting me. The voice of the Warhead echoed around them.

  And then… the ground below them dissolved, and they fell.

  When he opened his eyes, Archer saw that he was surrounded by water. He rose. The water was knee-deep. He noticed his other friends and the Scavenger beside him in the water, lying unconscious. The wolf was nowhere to be seen.

  Suddenly the Scavenger shook and his eyes snapped open. “Oops. Come on, wake up your friends. We have to meet the Warhead.”

  Very soon, they were all awake and out of the water. The Scavenger bellowed into the hall, “Where are you, Warhead?”

  Hello, travellers. They heard the Warhead’s voice. So far, you are going great. But now comes the real challenge.

  “What challenge? Why don’t you meet us?” Urrax asked.

  Have patience, my boy. We will play a game. A Maze game. Ha ha ha…

  “Meet us, Warhead; there are important things to be done,” the Scavenger said.

  One has to be worthy enough to meet me. Let me test you.

  “As you wish,” the Scavenger said. “Start the Maze Game.”

  Good luck, travellers. Hope you survive!

  With that, the ground below them disappeared.

  They emerged in a small empty room. At the far side was a door.

  They walked to the door and the Scavenger pushed it. But it didn’t budge. The Scavenger kicked it, punched it, shoved it and barrelled into it, but it didn’t open.

  �
��You’re soooooooo stupid.” James groaned. He went up to the door and pulled it. It opened. “Pull, not push. I wonder what you’d do without me.”

  They entered a narrow pathway, and the children gasped. The walls on both sides were on fire!

  After a while, they reached a dead end. There was a wall blocking any further movement.

  James went near the wall and touched it. Immediately, he had to pull his hand away as the wall was burning hot.

  “It’s too hot,” James said.

  “What do we do now?” Daniel said nervously. “I can’t tolerate this heat anymore.”

  “Maybe...” Archer looked at the wall and moved towards it. He put a hand on it, and nothing happened to him.

  “I get it!” James said. “We have lost our Elemental Powers. We can’t control them anymore. But we can tolerate them, at least.”

  They cheered a little and then Archer found a handle. He pushed, and the wall opened like a door.

  8

  They emerged out in vast meadows that had knee-high grass.

  In front of them were two pathways. One of them was very rough and dirty. It led to a hut that was in shambles.

  The other path was made of glass, and beautiful flowers decorated it. It led to a large mansion.

  Daniel clapped to get everyone’s attention. “Okay, listen. I have read enough fairy tales to know that we have to choose the bad path. It is a stupid test designed by the Warhead.”

  “No, no, no,” James said at once. “It’s reverse psychology. We have to choose the glass path. The Warhead wants to confuse us. Just trust me.”

  “I’ll go by what James says.” The Scavenger stepped into the glass path. Everyone followed. As soon as they stepped foot in the glass, the flowers turned into thorns. It took a lot of effort to walk up to the mansion. They entered inside.

  The entire mansion was filled with a stink. There was a table laden with six plates covered with brown sticky food. It smelled like the whole world’s sewer system. Beside the table was a portal with a sign at the entrance – ‘Want to activate the portal? Eat the food first.’

  “I hate the Warhead,” the Scavenger muttered.

  “I can’t eat that,” Matt whimpered. “That’s yuck!”

  “And disgusting,” Daniel said.