Just when the moon reached its highest point and a collection of black clouds seemed to deliberately cover the moonlight to be able to illuminate the forest on the east side, the soldiers from two different kingdoms finally arrived at the easternmost boundary of the forest.
Leyman raised one hand and shouted, "Hold your steps! Let's rest here for a while!"
On the banks of the river, the soldiers of the Kingdom of Angholi and the Kingdom of Maghabea rested. Each of them got off their horses.
Some of the soldiers then approached the river bank. The shallow river that barely watered was the river they called the Last River.
The river was about thirty feet wide and filled with various sizes of black rocks, from as small as a marble to a size that only three adults could hug.
The length of the river split from the north end to the south end, dividing the vast forest area into two parts. The west side where the 400 soldiers were located was now part of the territory of the Angholi Kingdom and the east side on the other side of the river was the area they called the Forbidden Forest.
The Forbidden Forest is believed by the people of the seven kingdoms as well as those who inhabit Vashara as the entrance to the Eighth Land, the Land of Purbha.
After getting off his horse, Leyman approached Jumara.
"Hey," Leyman then pointed to a large rock on the other side of the river. "You see that rock?"
"Yeah," Jumara nodded. "That's what I'm paying attention to right now. Then, what stone is it?"
"The Warning Stone."
Jumara chuckled, this made Leyman a little irritated at the attitude of the Maghabean Army Commander.
"Don't take this lightly, Jumara."
"I don't take it lightly," said Jumara. "It's just, you see?" he said, pointing to the big rock. "Even the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest are kind enough to give written warnings like that."
"Of course," said Leyman. "A warning for people to stay away and not enter the Forbidden Forest."
"That's what I meant, Leyman," Jumara laughed softly again. "Apart from the rumors that the inhabitants of the Forbidden Forest are mystical creatures that prey on humans, the stone does nothing more than frighten."
"Ooh, you Maghabeans don't understand anything. Do you?"
"Is that what you think?"
Meanwhile, the soldiers from the two kingdoms were busy eating their respective dines. Some scoop up water from the river with a broadleaf that they shape into a cone. And some prefer to feed or drink to their horses.
"You are indeed arrogant, Jumara."
"I'm not arrogant, Leyman," said Jumara. "Even if there are terrible creatures in the forest, what can we do? We're a soldier, Leyman. A commander. We are trained to overcome our fears in order to achieve goals. Just like that."
"You speak like you're not afraid of death."
"Of course," said Jumara. "That's the risk as a soldier. And don't tell me if we get into trouble later you'll just run away?"
"I didn't say that."
Jumara grinned, but at least that was what he saw in Leyman's figure. The commander of the Angholi troops seemed half-hearted in carrying out the tasks that had been ordered by his king.
This is very sad, Jumara thought. A commander who should be able to make the morale of his troop's flare-up, but no, he acts like a coward.
"You know what, forget it," said Jumara. "Tell me, what is written on the Warning Stone exactly?"
Leyman hides his annoyance towards Jumara. He was not stupid not to notice that the Maghabean Commander looked down on him.
Of course, from the start, Leyman was unwilling to cooperate with the Maghabeans. It was only because of an order from the King of Angholi that Leyman was finally willing to do all that. Also, Leyman was only a tier-three commander. Just like Jumara himself. That means, they are indeed a war commander but at the lowest level.
He was chosen and he was forced to do all this.
"Why don't you just get your men to check out that stone?"
Jumara smirked softly, but he didn't want to argue about it. He turned to the right where his troops were resting. Jumara whistled, the three closest soldiers immediately stood up and approached their commander.
"Two of you," said Jumara. Then he pointed at the big rock on the other side of the river. "Check the warning written on the boulder."
The two soldiers on the right side nodded and without saying much the two of them rushed to carry out what Jumara had ordered. One of the two grabbed a torch as a light for them. And the remaining one sat back down to continue his dinner.
"Pay attention," said Jumara to the two soldiers.
Leyman just grinned as he watched the two Maghabean soldiers cross the river.
Without any great difficulty, the two Maghabean warriors stepped from one stone to another.
However, the river water was shrinking because it was still in the middle of the dry season, so the two soldiers easily reached the other side of the river.
The large stone was in the shape of a triangular pyramid with a height exceeding the height of the Maghabean soldiers themself.
The soldier carrying the torch tried to illuminate the flat surface facing the other side of the river, and the other tried to read the writing carved on the rock face.
On the surface of the stone, carved a series of sentences in Sanskrit.
"Among the Eight New Lands, seven have been exposed to diseases that are very difficult to cure. And if you are from those Seven Lands, stay away. This is for your own safety."
The two soldiers looked at each other. Whatever the meaning of the sentence, it was clear that both of them felt a terrifying aura emanating from the forest in front of them.
The two of them were even startled when they heard the flapping of the wings of a nocturnal animal that they couldn't tell whether it was a bird, a bat, or some other animal they had never known before.
Not at all.
TO BE CONTINUED ...