Tahu's Journal
Chapter 20
After a night's worth of driving, we came to find the others camped out along the jungle's southern edge. They'd stopped for the night, while we'd continued on to make up for the lost time. When we arrived, the sun was beginning to rise, and they were preparing to move on in search for us.
"We were hoping you'd catch up before we got going again," Tarix said to us when we stopped our vehicles next to them.
Pohatu was the one who voiced the question all of us had in mind; "None of you happened to notice any... Skrall, one your side of the jungle, did you?"
After he said it, they all gave him a questioning stare. "Why, did you?" Gali asked, looking at each of us for an answer.
"We wouldn't be asking if we had no reason to," Kopaka replied.
"What he means to say..." Vastus cut in. "Is that, yes, we did."
"But last we saw them-" Tarix began, before I finished for him.
"They were headed in the completely opposite direction, we know. That's what's been bothering us the most." Now that I'd drawn everyone's eyes to myself, they noticed my... injury.
"What... what happened to your leg?" Gali said, even though they could all already guess.
"Tuma. He was with them, and he sliced me with his shield. His Rock Steed did the rest of the job for him, though, and pretty much crushed my foot."
"Just further reason to get back to the United Village sooner," Takanuva said.
"Well, I don't know about that," I said. "We've got healing capabilities, don't we?" I looked at Kopaka and Gali. They'd done just fine when I was poisoned by the Rahkshi, why couldn't they do something similar now?
"Well..." Gali started. "Perhaps. That wasn't an actual injury, though, more an ailment..."
"It's at least worth a shot," I shrugged.
And we gave it a shot. Using water from a pool just inside the jungle's edge, they gave the same performance as before, just on the smaller scale of my leg rather than my entire body. It appeared to work well enough, but there was still something about it...
"That at least closed the wound," Kopaka said. "Your foot's a different story, though."
Gali nodded. "The armor on your foot absorbed most of the Rock Steed's stomp -odd that it did any real harm at all-, but we really can't do too much for it; you'll want to get it handled better when we get back."
That was good enough for me. The leg-wound had been a lot worse, so I could deal with this. "Alright then. We may as well get moving; if you have any other questions about our confrontation, you can just ask along the way."
And we were off, again. Not much else happened along the way; the biggest event was Pohatu and Takanuva combining the maps to see what they looked like together. Gali and Lewa questioned a few of us about the attack, too, but that was about it. A good bit of the traveling that day was a relatively laid-back trip, which I welcomed after everything we'd dealt with before now. A day's relaxation never hurt anybody.
We passed through mountainous and forest region we'd passed through when we had just started out. The trees, unsurprisingly, remained on the ground out of our way. We made it through faster than the last time, and after just an hour or so, we could see the silhouette of the United City against the sky coming into view.
It was odd to be back in the city, after all the time we'd spent outside. We didn't even know how long we'd been gone, actually, more focused on the job than the time it took. We estimated 2 weeks, or so. We sped along, past Agori and Matoran alike, toward the city center where the Turaga and Agori elders should be. Most of the people we passed kept focused on their business, and left us to ours. The town was oddly quiet, though we didn't know why.
When we arrived at the city center, we saw a green figure standing just outside, and upon recognizing him, stopped the vehicles right next to him.
"Well, looks who's back?" Turaga Matau said. "Three weeks gone, we thought you'd gotten lost-missing out there."
"The only thing lost up there was our sense of time," Pohatu said. "We thought we'd been gone two."
"Two three, all the same," Turaga Vakama said as he approached us. "However long it took you is unimportant. What is, is whether you did what we sent your to."
Takanuva handed him the map pieces we had. "I hope that they're seperated doesn't matter."
"Not at all, not at all. Come; the others will want to take a look."
Turaga Vakama led us to the other elders; they were arguing about something when we arrived there, though I only heard a bit before they stopped.
"...spotted them as near as the falls to the west! If something's not done, they could pose a serious issue!" I heard the Vulcanus elder, Raanu say.
"Calm yourself! I'm sure there's nothing to worry about, the patrollers can keep them at bay, I'm sure," I heard Turaga Onewa reply.
"You underestimate them! You've not seen what they're capable of!"
"Finish your argument later," Turaga Vakama said as we walked in. "The Toa Nuva have returned, they have the map... or rather, maps..."
"Turaga Matau, what were they arguing about?" I asked him.
"Oh, a few patrollers thought they saw-spotted some Skrall, or something, in the city outskirts."
"Skrall? Here?"
"Yes, yes, now quiet, Tahu, there's other business to do." Matau walked off towards the stands where the elders sat, and took a seat among them.
"Tahu's group has returned with the information we commissioned them for," Vakama started. "And they'll now be briefing us further on their findings."
The eleven of us took turns stepping forward and telling them what we found, beginning with minor things, like unmarked landforms, and moving on to the more significant points, like the Iptasaer and the Skrall.
"Sisters of the Skrall?" an Agori elder I'd yet to meet started. "I've heard the stories about that bunch, we'd be mad to settle near them!"
"And what about those insects? They sound like a much more significant threat than that colony!" one of the Turaga present said.
"Oh, you heard them; it sounds like they dealt with it already," another Agori elder said.
"And if the population grows again?"
"They're machines! How would they manage that?"
And so the argument started again. Turaga Vakama started over towards us, while the other elder's argued, however.
"I think you can all leave now," he sighed. "You've done your part, and now its left to us... once they're all through with their bickering."
Onua opened the door of the chamber, and we all stepped outside. We made our way to the building's entrance, and as we stepped out into the sun light, I started thinking;
How had what there was of the city changed a since we'd left?
How was the city doing, for that matter?
And of course, was our journey worth it? With all of the threats we'd seen and fought up north, was it possible to make stable settlements up there?
All any of us could do was look to the future, to see what answers it would bring. After crossing all that space, fighting the iptasaer, escaping the Sisters of the Skrall, and battling Tuma himself, and his own Skrall, our journey was at its end.
I'd say what I normally say here, but this is the last actual chapter. It's been a good run, I guess, and if you're looking forward to more Tahu's Journal, I'll be working on an Epilogue to tie up one or two loose ends...
After this, though, I'm still trying to think of what to work on next, so suggestions and ideas are welcome!