"No, Derek. It's not who. It's a What!?" Madeline corrected him. His frown got deeper. Madeline proceeded to explain what she meant.
The story went like this. A few days ago during the very unfriendly visit of the Grootslang, all of Derek's friends had become hurt because of various circumstances. Tiny had fed Madeline some Aura pills that had helped to stabilise her condition. Madeline had suffered from the loss of aura. But that did not mean that she was out of the game.
After Tiny had long gone, Madeline had woken up. Seeing that she was in the make-shift bunker and her friends were nowhere to be found, she had summoned the little drops of courage in her ocean of cowardice to go out and search for them. She had found Aesir and Lydia but no Derek and Tiny. And then there was that terrible aura that had blanketed the entire place. That aura that had turned the sunny sky into a dark cloudy day.The fear of that aura had made her ocean of cowardice bury those litt
"Fuck!" he cursed as he spat out blood from the impact of hitting a tree behind him. "Damn it! two of them?" He dodged again to the side as yet another tail struck his former position. "Three!? No." He jumped on the trucks of trees left and right, with such speed and accuracy that looked impossible for a human to achieve. He took a position up the highest tree and looked below. His eyes widened in shock. "Shit! shit!! shit!!! How are there that many? I thought we had already killed at least a dozen of them."Aesir felt depressed. The workload just multiplied. "Madeline had better give me a holiday or something when this is over." Below him were at least nine Inkanyambas. Each one struggled upon itself to get the 'delicacy' that was Aesir. He closed his eyes slightly and then his breathing suddenly changed, his stance too had changed. For a faint second, it looked like the world around him had slowed down. he leapt into the air and as he descended he opened his eyes promptly.
About an hour ago, when Aesir had his cool boy mode whipped silly out of him by an Inkanyamba tail, Tiny, Madeline and Derek had rushed into the fight to help. Aesir's sword attack had only cut down a few of the Inkanyamba. Madeline made two Projections of a Cerberus while TIny entered the fight delivering powerful punches to the giant eel-like creatures. It was indeed an amazing sight to watch as the Inkanyambas took a beating from both women.Derek had just woken up and a long time. He felt the need to stretch his muscles a bit. So he jumped into the flare without thinking. It was only when he landed on the back of one of the creatures and tried to attack did he discover that for some reason, he could not weave runes. He tried as hard as he may, but his connection to runes was faint and even when he could feel the connection, a particular flow of energy seemed to always come in between his connection. His hands formed sparks as a rune blade would form, but then it would dis
As soon as the Bishop came back, he has not been the same. Locked up in his room for several days, he had done nothing nor agreed to see no one. Food had been continually sent to his room but he did not touch them. At times, the servants and guards would hear him scream in rage and fear. The shattering sounds of malware hitting hard surfaces could also be heard from time to time. No one knew what had happened. All they knew was that the high ranking members in the region had come together for a hunt against the rebel tribe of monopods and the abomination that was a Writer with airships and even a helicopter. This was supposed to be an overwhelming victory. Especially with a beast such as the Acting Bishop taking charge. This event was supposed to be a testimony told in meetings of the supremacy of the mighty Grootslang. Another medal around their neck, and the flesh and bones of a Writer as the shining medal plate. There was even a small celebration for anticipated victory bef
Gbolan looked different. Ivory had taken him to have a bath and even comforted him enough that he finally agreed and ate some food. She covered him with a blanket as he slept in her room. She kissed him on the forehead and walked out to the side room. It was a well-decorated spaced office. This would be her temporal office until she had finished settling the matters in the region. She took one more look at the sleeping Gbolan before she closed the doors tight.She sat on the office sit that was wide enough to swallow her small figure and rested her back on the backrest. She squeezed her fists tightly. "House Thembeka Huh!" She opened a side drawer and brought out a crystal ball. She took a deep breath to control her mood and a stern expression took form on her face. Placing her fingers on the crystal ball, she said a chant and the crystal ball glowed brightly. An insignia appeared on it. If Derek was here, he would have recognised this insignia. That was because it is that of
Since the event with the Inkanyamba, things have been going rather smooth. This was because of the subtle division of labour. Derek and Aesir handled the surroundings and took care of creatures such as the Inkanyamba and any other creatures that the Grootslang had planted in the area. Madeline was strictly in charge of administrative duties. And lastly, Lydia and Tiny helped with rebuilding the village.After all, was set and done, it was drawing time for Derek and his friends to continue on their journey. But now Derek faced another problem. What was the assurance that once they left, the Grootslang will not come back for their revenge? This was a problem Derek had pondered a solution to for a long time now.It was very early hours of the morning. Derek had not been able to sleep at all last night. He sat in the branches of a high tree and stared into the distance. His mind was filled with possible solutions he could implement. He even considered the possibility of in
Hayaa made some adjustments to the foundational rune and Derek set it up above the village. This was going to be the umbrella that would protect the monopod village when they continued their journey. The foundational rune proved to be far more effective than Derek had even thought. And since it came with its own power source which was the gem in the middle, it could last for at least several years. In fact, according to Derek, it could last for as long as 10 to 15 years. But if attacked once more by the Grootslang, then maybe another 5 years.A defensive system had been finally put in place. Next was the issue with the administration. A good number of the slaves were unable to return back to their homes and so, they had become members of the village. The village was no longer a village of just Monopods but also of humans. Madeline and Lydia help to set up a council as a governing body that consisted of not only Monopods but also humans. This would ensure fairness of rights fo
A few minutes later, Tiny's bathing suit had been peeled from her body. She stayed underneath the water in embarrassment. But then the next topic attracted her attention."Do you think what Derek said is true? I mean about an origin rune existing inside him." Madeline asked Lydia.Even though Lydia was not there, she had been updated. "Actually, I had known about that for a while longer than you guys.""Serious?"Lydia nodded. A thought came to Madeline's mind and she asked, "Bastet!?"Lydia nodded again. "You guys don't understand. It is true the origin rune is a treasure, but as it stands, it cannot be removed from Derek's body. And as long as they don't know about it, he should be safe.""They!?" Tiny asked."Yes! 'They'. The royal family and noble houses." She took a deep breath in and then she continued. "You guys have barely met them. And I am truly grateful for that. If possible, I would advise that you run when you meet one. E
All was finally done and dusted. As Derek, Madeline, Lydia and Aesir mounted the backs of their Griffins, The Villagers gave a warm goodbye. Farna wasted no time turning on the Foundational rune that protected the village like a dome as soon as they were gone. Derek looked to Aesir and could not help but laugh a bit. The face of his good brother was swollen. Evidence of receiving punches and kicks that almost took his life. Aesir was not the only one that was beaten silly. The only difference was that Derek was a Writer. There was only so much their attacks could do. The Griffins speed through the sky. Derek had already regretted not taking a plane as any normal person would. They definitely would have made it to their destination by now. As it stood, they had already spent over three weeks in the monopod village. Although Derek had to admit that deep down, a part of him was glad that he and his friends had gotten stronger because of this event, and he had even gotte