Walter and D'huile walked through thick vines in the eastern west-side forest, under the confused gaze of Commander Gallion and his troupe of forty men. The two remained silent as Walter led the way. He occasionally looked at a map in his hands, while D'huile's hand sometimes flashed forward and cleared a path for Walter. Though confused, Commander Gallion and his men dared not ask Walter where they were going.
Growling could be heard from afar, making the men more cautious. They felt the hairs on the back of their necks stand, causing a chill down their spines.
"Where are we?" Commander Gallion asked at last.
"I was wondering how long you would last, trying to be an obedient soldier," Walter chuckled causing the commander to frown. He had not questioned Walter, since it was decided he should stay. Not asking and just following orders, was his plan. It seemed Walter had seen through it.
"Am I not allowed to ask?"
"On the contrary. Ask if you wish. All I can tell you is that most of you will die where we are going," Walter said and the men started to get flustered.
"What does he mean?" one of the soldiers asked their commander but was ignored as Commander Gallion remained looking at Walter's back.
"I only need those who scorn death by my side today," Walter said.
"Those are not men you speak of, my lord, but fools," commander Gallion said.
"Fools are more useful to me right now," Walter said.
The roaring started to get louder, making the men unsettled. Walter said no more, this was discreetly asking them to choose. They looked at each other and took deep breaths before flanking Walter from behind, shielding his back. They had made their choice.
"Halt!" a voice said above them. They paused and looked towards the voice to meet a man dressed in leaves. Only his male parts were covered and he was tattooed from head to toe. A tiger stood by his side and let out a roar the moment they looked up. Leaves around them rustled, making them look around in caution.
They were surrounded.
More men stood above them, making them realise that they were not just walking on a footpath lined by thick trees on both sides, they were walking on a path caved between a hill.
This was a bad situation, as these unknown people had the higher ground and could kill them with those arrows they had pointed at them. The soldiers paled.
Walter, on the other hand, was expecting this so he and D'huile were completely unconcerned. His eyes scanned the men aiming their arrows at them; they were warriors of the Tree tribe. He saw the most tattooed man amongst them, staring down at them without a weapon in hand and knew that most be the leader.
"Tree people, I come with a gift for the protectors of the emperors shed. Your chief will love my gift," Walter said.
The tattooed men looked at their leader, who nodded and they put down their bows. The leader eyed Walter's blank face before nodding to one of the men.
"Open the gates!" the man shouted and the scraping of ropes could be heard in front of them. They watched as a gate made of vines raised upwards, till there was a clear path for Walter and the rest to pass.
"Enter," the leader said and Walter complied.
On the other side of the gate, was an unusual forest. Only exposed tree roots could be seen on the ground. No grass or shrub grew, only dark sand across the entire forest. The men looked up to a sight some of them could have only dreamed off.
Fifty feet up, their eyes met with the sight of an entire city on trees. The city kept on going, they were not sure how big it was.
"Follow me," the leader said. He was not shocked by their reaction. Many that came here had the same look on their face. The leader trained his eyes on Walter, who had only glanced at the city mildly, then at D'huile, who cared even less. Either these two had seen so much of the world that nothing surprised them, or they were very focused on why they were here, they couldn't care less about what they saw.
The leader led them through the trees for a while, till they arrived at a clearing with a giant hut made of mud blocks at its centre. This was the first house on the ground they had seen since they got here. The door was opened and Walter got in with D'huile, asking the rest to stay outside.
Inside, sat a large man dressed in woven leaf veins. His eyes were closed as though in meditation and opened the moment Walter stood before him.
"You are the one I felt near the Valchana tree the other day?"
"I want the shed opened for me," Walter said.
"To speak like that, you must have already gotten the Valchana fruit. Let me see," the man spoke calmly, yet Walter could still hear the anticipation in his voice.
Walter took out the fruit and the man trembled slightly.
"It looks exactly as it does in my visions," he said reaching for it, but Walter placed it back in the bag and handed it back to D'huile.
"Boy, you will have to give it to me to enter the shed," the man chuckled darkly.
"I will give it to you as I and my men enter,"
"Your men? This payment is for you alone,"
"You must think me stupid. This is something you want more than any other thing. You have what I want, I have what you want. If I don't get what I want, the deal is considered irrelevant. I will sell the fruit to the highest bidder," Walter said.
"Fine. Fine. Your men can come with you. But they will not last," the man said getting up. Walter watched the man as he walked to the other side of the hut and touched the wall.
The man sucked in a breath and grunted in pain as his veins started to glow a bright red, making him look as though he was being heated from within. He stumbled backwards tiredly, the moment the glowing stopped and the hut wall slid open.
The man gasped for breath and Walter walked forward for a better look.
"What...?" D'huile started to ask.
"The emperor's shed, we are standing in it," Walter said, his eyes shining with determination.
Walter signalled for the commander and his men to enter. They all entered the hut with slight confusion edged into their faces. The hut looked small from the outside but was quite spacious inside.