I
All day their ship sailed in the vast sea. Jurko sat in a chair, waiting for the inquisitor to come out of his tube. He rested himself always near the man's tube and tried not to put himself to sleep. His eyes began to sag as he wanted to fall asleep Tabot washed his face with water. The doctors and nurses began to worry about the condition of the old scientist. When he was coaxed to sleep, the person always refused and curse the person who tried to lift him from his chair. Jurko is gone, he doesn't want Nazeir to be the next to die. Demens or not, Tabot will find out what happened to the inquisitor.
There was the sound of armor moving closer to the scientist, Tullius came and pointed at the front of the ship. Tabot looked in the direction he was pointing, a land.
The land where a large fortress stood out when it was surrounded by thick forest. A huge island, left behind by humans.
"Land!" shouts a crew.
Everyone immediately walked to the front of the ship, saw the large fort that was on the island. When everyone is looking around, Tullius blew his whistle loudly.
"Prepare your things, everyone. Don't leave anything behind. Animals, weapons, medical equipment, don't lose anything."
The entire crew immediately rushed to get their things ready. Tullius saw everyone working together.
"The sick go down first. We're a little closer, so take care of those in need."
Tullius saw Tabot sat next to Nazeir's wagon, and this time he fell asleep in his chair. He let the scientist rest while he prepared everything. The guard tied the buffalos to the inquisitor's cart and Aida's cart, then a doctor was assigned to ride the two carts as they disembarked on the island.
"Always move close to me and the other guards. Take care of Nazeir, if it is necessary to put your life in danger."
"Understood," the person answered without hesitation.
While Tullius was busy preparing the people, the awakened Tabot heard things being lifted from below the deck. He jumped to his feet, seeing that Nazeir's wagon had been tied to a buffalo. Startled and confused at being awakened, Tabot began to wander aimlessly across the deck. The scientist finally fell on the small boxes, panicking everyone.
In the distance, Tullius saw the Tabot who had fallen on the boxes while talking to a doctor.
"How about you take him on a cart. Give him a mattress, let him sleep on the cart. Poor man, he hasn't slept all day," Tullius patted the doctor on the back to get to work getting Tabot a place to sleep.
Far above the ship's platform, a crew member clapped his hands hard.
"Brace!" he shouted.
Hearing the announcement, people hurried to grab things before the impact. The ship immediately shook, the belly of the ship landed on the beach sand of the island. People who were not holding on suddenly fell on the deck. Buffalos snorted feeling the ship tilted to one side.
On the other ship, the same thing happened to them when they landed on the beach.
Tullius looked at the state of the crew, they seemed to be holding on to something that could be grasped. Looking outside the hull, he could see that this ship had come out of the sea and headed for land.
"Everyone alright?" asked Tullius.
"We're fine," answered the crew.
Looking in front of the ship, a forest that covered the fort was visible at the tip of the tower. Tullius let go of his grip and walked to the edge of the boat. He didn't know where to get off this huge ship to the shore. A board that is placed as a ramp is certainly not strong enough to withstand the weight of animals and carts.
So as a way out, he opened a hole under the deck of the ship. Animals and carts came out of the hole, past the boards that were reinforced on the beach. And a few hours later, he finally saw the wagon and the rest of the crew was able to leave the ship.
Tullius and his soldiers ordered each ship to make a hole in the belly of the ship. It wasn't long before people got to work making a way out of it. Carpenters make the job faster, making the journey easier to pass.
Tullius had everyone line up in their respective skill groups. Then call someone's name.
"Aldi, Royyan, and Ade. Please come forward."
All the ranks looked in one direction, saw three men walking forward to meet the captain of the guards.
Tullius looked at them, tan skin. They do look as if they belong to the middle/central islands.
"So, who is Aldi?"
"That's me, sir"
"You will lead this expedition to the fort. You will direct us all and guide the building of the fort."
"Rebuilding the fortress, now? With the manpower we have?" Aldi couldn't speak. "We only have a few carpenters. And there are no masons to help build this fort, that would require... hundreds or a thousand of the right workforce."
"Then what can we do now? There's nowhere else for us to go."
"That's not what I meant. We certainly need help with this. While we wait for help to arrive, we gather..."
"Gather what?"
Aldi's shoulders rose and fell as he breathed. He hit the wind, shouting loudly to the sky.
"Fuck it! All this! W-what are we going to do. I don't know what to do, we're trapped!"
"Lower your tone, Aldi," the captain of the guard slapped the man's hard.
The two brothers of the carpenter immediately intervened, but were dismissed by the captain of the guard. Aldi immediately shut up, his face red with the slap. Tullius grabbed the old man's collar.
"Listen, we are few in number and I don't want to hear fretting out of your mouth that could demoralize my men. So shut up and do what I say. Got it?"
Aldi rebelled from Tullius' grip, his shoulders began to move up and down. The carpenter looked at his brother and the rest of the spearheads who saw him going mad up ahead. Without speaking, Aldi immediately walked towards where the fort was located. Tullius ordered everyone to walk in line.
II
"Do you think we will be fine in this forest?"
"Relax, Roy. If Aldi brings us here, I'm sure we'll be fine. As long as we're together with swords at our waists, danger will stay away from us."
Royyan and his brother Ade walked behind the line of guards and in front of the group. They have each other, ready to face all the challenges that the earth provides. Along the way all they could hear was the sound of the forest and the clapping of walking feet, and the squeaking of wagon wheels being pulled around by horses and buffalos.
A deer was seen walking while spying on the movement of the group from a distance. Royyan and Ade saw the deer staring, and the animal immediately ran into the tree cover when the two brothers stared back. The sound of the ocean can still be heard from the forest, but is slightly muffled when blocked by dense trees.
While taking some time, Ade picked up three stones and started tossing them in the air, spinning the stones in his hands. Royyan started to follow his brother, picked up three stones and started throwing them. Roy failed to juggle the stones, but he picked it up again. He repeated the throw, and still to no avail.
"Roy," Ade held his brother's hand. "How about trying two first."
The older brother began to show how to play, and Roy began to follow the lead of his brother. Gradually he began to understand how to throw, before long he could throw two pairs of stones with ease.
"This is fun," responded the younger brother, throwing the stones.
"The longer you learn this, the more reliable it becomes. It's the same as using Abim's hammer."
"Yeah..." Roy stopped playing with his stone. "Abim."
Ade saw that his brother was gloomy remembering his older brother who had passed away. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, recalling his brother's memories.
"One day, you will become a great person like him. A war weapons engineer."
"No," Royyan raised the hammer. "He said I had to become someone better than him. That was the only way I could get closer to him. Even if it wasn't physically, we still bonded. Like the three of us, De. That's what Abim told me."
The corner of Ade's lips dropped, yet he still tries to keep it upright.
"You're right, Roy," he put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "We must be strong in this journey, this story is far from over. And what we will do after this chapter of the story, everything will become more difficult. Life is bitter, I know you undestood the taste. But everything will be much more bitter along the way. You see Nazeir, you see the fear on his face when he is put in the tube? I don't know how he feels, but it sure hits. Seeing the person you always describe as your relatives, brothers, sisters died in an instant?" Ade shook his head. "It must hurt. We lost Abim, and him? Almost everything. This is what you have to learn from life, Roy. Stay away from bloodshed if you can. It just takes you deeper than before.
I remember it being said that the pen is more dangerous than the sword. I've never seen or heard that it's true. And I sincerely hope that this is true. If gods like Ukodottir, Tukonseh and others hear my words. I'm begging if it's really real."
"I hope so too," he answered quietly.
As they finished speaking, the group suddenly stopped. The people in the back saw what was happening. When someone goes out of line, a guard soldier will discipline the person. This also made Aldi and Royyan curious, making them to walk to the front of the group.
Up ahead, they saw Tullius and Aldi stopping to look down. Ade came closer, wanting to know what they were seeing.
"Aldi, what are you looking at?"
"Look down, De. I don't know what I'm looking at either."
The two brothers peered down. They stood on the edge of a large trench, filled with a mountain of bones. The four of them gaped at how many bones were down there.
"What bone is that?" Ask Ade
"Certainly not an animal," the commander sounded sure. "Does anyone know anything about this castle? Its history? Or... why is there a pile of human bones in front of our path!?"
Aldi and Royyan looked at the scholar. Hoping for an explanation to come out.
"I don't know anything about this fort or . . . or what's going on here."
The commander growled.
"We have to be careful, from here to the fort," Tullius pointed at his subordinates. "Get the others to circle this trench!" Tullius patted Ade's shoulder. "Be careful brother, keep your eyes open."
The scholar nodded.
Everyone started walking back to the fort. Royyan and Ade were as usual behind the line of guard soldiers.
"Brother," called Royyan. "Do you know when Nazeir will wake up?"
"I'm not a scientist, I'm a historian," he shrugged. "Not familiar with such things, not my field. The two people who should be leading now we can't wake up. We don't know what happened to general Jurko after the explosion, we don't have any leadership."
"I thought Tullius was our leader?"
"Just for now."
"What happens if the scientist dies, or Nazeir dies?"
"We have to follow whoever is still alive."
"What if they both die?"
"Come on, Roy. Don't talk like that."
"Abim always taught me to always have a plan one step further than now."
"Then, we'll look for it later. What we should focus on is to meet the fort and rest. How about it, do you like it?"
"Okay, I like that."
After hours of walking in the forest, they finally found a wide open plain. The fort is in sight, big but fragile. People who see it are in awe of the old structure that can still stand.
Aldi walked to the fort wall and opened its wooden gate which creaked when pushed open. The courtyard of the castle looked majestic, leaving Tullius amazed and wondering to himself.
"Is this a fortress or a palace?" the captain saw the building in front of him.
Passing through the defensive wall, they saw the grass growing wild and untreated. In the center of the fort there is a banyan tree that is tall and sturdy. Tullius walked under the tree and sat down in its shade.
"Send everyone in, we're camping in this place," he ordered the guard soldiers.
The group entered the majestic courtyard of the fort. Buffalos and horses were carried to the tall grass, where the carts stopped and the animals to eat. People smiled widely admiring at her beauty. When talking, their voices echoed in the large courtyard.
People started pitching tents. The carpenters were brought in by Aldi to inspect the contents of the fort, while the others unloaded and prepared the goods. Hundreds of people pitched their tents, filling the entire courtyard of the fort.
Nazeir and Aida's tubes were unloaded from the cart by the doctors and nurses. They inspect the condition of both, breathing still looks normal. Nazeir's brows drew closer together, furrowed in the middle like a child having a bad dream.
"What happened to him?" The doctor talked to his friend.
"I don't know. Nothing abnormal, maybe a nightmare."
"Inquisitors don't dream, dummy."
"Then what happen?"
The two doctors glanced at each other.
"Quickly wake up Mr. Tabot," he urged his comrade to move immediately.
As the man ran calling Tabot's name until the whole camp saw him, the doctor saw Nazeir starting to move in his tube. Like someone who wants to break free from his bondage.
"Hold on, boss," he put his hand covered surgical gloves on the glass tube. "We will save you, whatever the cost."
The hands of other doctors and nurses also touched the Nazeir tube. They are now promised to save the inquisitor.
"Your day will come. The revitalization of ancient inquisition, and the collapse of sorcerers along with their puppets. They will see the wrath of the immortal warrior's souls on earth, and you are the instrument. No," the doctor corrected his words. "You are their wrath. The devil that walks on earth."