One of the guards stationed at the village gate approached the hot spring, his steps brisk and voice urgent.
"Kipkemboi, I have news," the man declared, catching Kipkemboi's attention.
"There are some... unusual men at the gate. They look deformed, with oversized bones, broad foreheads, and thick hair covering their bodies. They don't seem hostile, but they carry huge wooden clubs. What should we do?" he continued, describing the cavemen who had arrived, sensing their new leader nearby.
"They must be the cavemen Liana told me about. Let them through and bring them to me," Kipkemboi instructed without hesitation.
Soon, the two cavemen were brought to the hot spring. The sight of the enormous, primitive men drew murmurs from the nearby villagers.
"Kipkemboi sure has an odd taste in friends," one of them whispered.
The two cavemen, Aruka and Bieru, immediately knelt before Kipkemboi, recognizing their leader. "Uga ga aru," they grunted in their crude language, heads bowed in respect.
Kipkemboi's eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he regarded them. These two could be useful... he mused silently.
"Why are those guys kneeling to you?" Jajwok asked, eyebrows raised in confusion.
"Oh, don't worry about them," Kipkemboi said dismissively. "They're my protectors now." With a simple gesture, Kipkemboi moved them into the storage mark on his hand, disappearing them from view.
Just then, the sound of drums echoed through the village, followed by the sharp clanging of metal and the steady beat of people striking objects.
"Ah, it's that time already," Kipkemboi said, his tone suddenly serious. "Grab something solid to make noise. The ghosts are coming. Follow me." He motioned for Jajwok and Kit Mi Kai to follow him outside the gate.
They ran, joining the crowd of villagers already making a cacophony of noise, their faces tense with anticipation.
"The ghosts," Kipkemboi began to explain as they rushed along, "are the souls of the dead who haven't moved on. Every three months, they travel from river to river. The noise we make guides them—and wards them off. If you don't make noise, they might take your soul and drag it with them to the river." His expression was grave. "So be careful. Make as much noise as you can."
Kit Mi Kai and Jajwok joined the villagers, clanging metal, beating drums, and shouting into the dark as the first of the ghosts floated into view. Their radiant blue forms shimmered like stars, casting an eerie glow over the night.
Despite their spectral nature, the ghosts were almost beautiful—like glowing phantoms drifting silently through the village, their forms translucent but strangely calming.
As Kit Mi Kai focused on making noise, he couldn't help but glance over at Jajwok, who had begun to dance, swaying his body in rhythm with the drumbeats.
"Why are you dancing?" Kit Mi Kai asked, his voice tinged with annoyance.
"This noise is catchy!" Jajwok shouted, his grin wide as he danced in the moonlight.
Kipkemboi, unable to resist, also started moving to the beat. "You know, it is pretty fun," he admitted, breaking into a rhythmic step of his own.
Kit Mi Kai frowned. "Don't encourage him."
"Oh, come on, you're always so gloomy!" Kipkemboi laughed, grabbing Kit Mi Kai's hand and pulling him into the dance. "Do as I do! Right leg, left leg, turn, then kick!"
Despite himself, Kit Mi Kai found his feet moving to the rhythm, following Kipkemboi's steps as the villagers looked on, surprised to see their usually serious leader letting loose.
"I've never seen him have this much fun," Kipkemboi's mother remarked, watching from the sidelines.
"He deserves it," his father replied. "He's always had the weight of the village on his shoulders. He's protected us when we should have been protecting him."
As the dance continued, Kit Mi Kai noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A ghost was hovering close to Jajwok, its eerie blue light flickering with each movement.
"Hey, Jajwok," Kit Mi Kai called out. "There's a ghost staring right at you. Can you see it?"
"Nope, can't see a thing," Jajwok replied pretending and oblivious.
Kit Mi Kai's brow furrowed. "It's right beside you. It's staring hard."
The ghost drifted closer to Jajwok, its hollow eyes fixed on him. "I remember you..." it whispered, its voice like wind through dead leaves. "Yes... I remember you... I died because of you... You scared me when I went to fetch water for my sick mother..."
"What ghost?" Jajwok asked again, still unaware of the spectral presence hovering beside him.
"Hey, guys! Is this the boy?" the ghost rasped, turning toward the other ghosts. As if in response, all the ghosts turned their heads, their glowing eyes locking onto Jajwok.
"It's him," they whispered in unison.
Realizing he was in real danger, Jajwok didn't waste a second. He bolted, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him, but the ghosts gave chase, floating after him like shadows.
"Oh shit! Oh shit! Oh shit!" Jajwok cried as he dashed toward the Evil Forest, the ghosts right on his heels, whispering, "Catch him... catch him..."
"We've gotta help him!" Kit Mi Kai shouted, spotting a large boulder beside the gate. Without hesitation, he grabbed it and turned to Kipkemboi. "Get on."
"What? What are you planning?" Kipkemboi asked, a mix of confusion and curiosity in his voice.
Kit Mi Kai launched the boulder into the air with Kipkemboi on it, jumping on himself as it soared toward the Evil Forest.
"This... is actually a pretty cool way to move," Kipkemboi admitted as they flew through the air.
Meanwhile, Jajwok was running for his life deep in the Evil Forest when, suddenly, a portal appeared beside him. Out of it stepped an older man, his stride matching Jajwok's frantic pace. The man bore the same lightning mark on his feet that Jajwok had.
"Hey, kid. What're you running from?" the man asked casually, as though he wasn't sprinting alongside a terrified Jajwok.
"Ghosts!" Jajwok yelled, his panic evident.
"Oh, I remember that," the man said, a smirk forming as lightning crackled around him.
"What about you? What're you running from?" Jajwok shot back, his curiosity momentarily overcoming his fear.
The man's expression darkened, his voice dropping. "Time."
With that, the man suddenly boosted his speed, becoming a blur before disappearing into another portal ahead of them. Moments later, a pig—dressed in a Victorian-era suit with a top hat and walking cane—emerged from the same portal. The pig moved impossibly fast, but it seemed like it was walking.
It turned its head without moving its body and sneered, "Stupid," before disappearing into the portal again, chasing after the man.
Jajwok could only stare in confusion as he continued to run, muttering to himself, "Why do people keep calling me that?"