Part 7: Plans Gone Terribly Wrong!
As the sun arose, the Hilaku and Somahaku continued their journey to their hopeful freedom. Montissiya questioned the whereabouts of their destination, but she knew she had no choice in the matter. She went to talk to Diyuhama alone. "Please, we need to rest. My tribe is made entirely of children, do not forget."
"I'm sorry, but we cannot. My Ciliyo and strong men can carry the younger and more tired ones, but they must take turns; also, my men will need breaks from carrying them..."
"... I am truly grateful, thank you..." she said, with a sigh of relief...
Dohuku had at this time reached the "platform." There, hanging from a branch was a suit of armor.
Just then, a large serpent fell from the tree, onto the platform. Dohuku was determined to get the armor. He took his scythe, and prepared himself. This serpent was different than the others... it was somewhat cautious; it did not charge at him immediately.
Dohuku decided to make the first move: He charged at the creature. The creature lifted its tail, and swiftly surrounded Dohuku with it, squeezing him. Dohuku was in shock, and he lost hold of the scythe. He slowly inched his hands together, and grabbed the dagger. He cut deeply into the creature. The grip loosened, and Dohuku got away. Just as he got to his scythe, the creature came at him. He did not even have time to bend down and pick it up. He tried any, and almost had it, but he could not grasp it... The creature hit the scythe with its head; the blade fell to the ground with a loud 'Clang!'
Dohuku now had a stick... He quickly recalled the sharp end. He moved quickly, and drove the wooden steak into the creature's head. It fell immediately to the ground, and exploded into a sticky substance. Dohuku touched it with his fingers, and had another idea: He grabbed the blade, and glued it back onto the stick with the ooze... He only hoped that it would hold in battle.
He now made his way over to the suit of armor. He took it, and put it on. It was amazing! It was full body armor that went down his arms and legs. It even had a pair of boots. This, along with the headgear, was covered in sharp spikes, specifically on his toes and wrists, so he used them to climb down the trunk of the tree with ease. He got to Fin Del, and Fin Del barely recognized him!
They set off along the shoreline, in search of a Shield...
The Hilaku and Somahaku had been traveling for a full day now. They decided that it was safe to rest for a couple of hours.
"Diyuhama, where are we going" Montissiya asked, somewhat annoyed, as was to be expected...
"I... don't know... We will run for a bit longer, find a place for you to hide; I will leave guards, then proceed to find other stray Hilaku groups..."
"Thank you... thank you for all that you have done, but please, do not endanger yourselves for us."
"We have made our decision... so, please... don't argue..."
"Sire, the troops are prepared." One of the Valchior said. This pleased Kiyu-Su-Lu...
"We leave immediately... We will head to the northern Glemock swamps to destroy the army of the Glemock people."
"...are you sure of this, sire?" The Valchior seemed to dislike this idea... for some reason or another...
"Positive!" he was furious! "Don't question my judgement, ever!"
The troops set out for the north, marching... Kiyu-Su-Lu forget one major detail: He was told by Konowich to return the next day, which happened to be today... He is going in the opposite direction of the Kingdom of Montlefor... to the north, the land of the Glekor...
"Bashtool, gather a dozen men, and go to the Tarahaki Hills... Find out what is going on with Kiyu-Su-Lu..." He was confused; it was visible in his eyes...
"Yessir, I will return as soon as I have some answers for you!"
"Dohuku, the Lake is huge!!! We've been searching for hours! How will we ever find it?" Fin Del was now becoming aggravated and exhausted...
"It says "at the edge of the sea" so it should be far off in the distance; here, let's go that way, it's the farthest point!" They set out again... the trip at their speed took half an hour, and they arrived to see a strange tablet... There, imbedded in the ground, was a circular object... It was surrounded by many stone tablets, like a sanctuary of sorts... Dohuku could barely take it all in... he moved forwards, and stepped on the tablet. He soon realized that it moved! A large, deformed creature fell from the sky! It was huge, at least 3x as tall as Dohuku ever planned on growing... it was also extremely wide; a colossal being if there ever was one... It appeared as though the Goliath's muscle tissue was falling out of it's body.
Dohuku had absolutely no idea what to do! He ran towards the creature with his scythe ready... but it stomped it's foot, and he fell to the ground... The creature tried to slam him into the ground with his fist, but he rolled out of the way. He stopped abruptly as he rolled into something!!! The Shield! Great! It, like the other parts, had many spikes... meaning that it could be used as a shield or a weapon. He slipped it on his left arm, and it felt as though it were light as a feather... He kept dodging the creature, waiting for an opportunity where he could attack the Goliath... But it never came... all of a sudden, the creature moved extremely quickly, and he could not dodge quickly enough... his first instinct was to put his arms out in front of him... this choice could have saved his life!
His shield was out in front, and the Goliath's fist hit it directly on the spike in the center... He did not get hurt by the fist, but he was sent flying, which in itself had a serious pain... The creature fell in pain. Dohuku got up, and again unsheathed his scythe. He only hoped it would hold, because of the ooze...
He struck the creature across the head with the scythe... it worked! It stayed in one piece, and the creature cringed in pain; it then became limp...
"Dohuku," Fin Del yelled as he ran over, "great job, you alright?"
"Thanks... that sure was the toughest, yet..." He said, gasping for breath... "Let's go, we've gotta find a "T"-"
He was cut off in mid sentence by a large roar, then a fist in the back... He hit the ground, and could not move... He was expecting death, but it did not come... He finally got up, and did not see the creature... He was confused!
"What happened, Fin Del?" He asked, as he got to his feet, wincing at the pain...
"I... really don't know... I guess it had no more energy, so when it hit you, it also hit one or more of the many spikes on your back. You were down for a while, and it just disappeared...
"By the way, I just remembered a "T". The Sluvoo continuos down past the Tarahaki Hills. It splits, one way, I don't know where it goes... that's probably where the weapon would be. The other leads to the Glemock Swamps, home to the Glekor people... if they can be called that. They are intelligent... and pure evil... Many people believe they see the future. We have to be very careful!" Fin Del seemed to shake as he said this...
"Let's go... I'm ready for anything!" Dohuku said, as he started walking towards the Sluvoo River...
By this time, Bashtool was close to the Tarahaki Hills. He arrived just in time to witness the entire Valchior army leave... He knew what was going on right away; he could feel the tension in the air. He and his men started the journey back to the Kingdom...
A few hours later, he spoke with Konowich. "MyLord, the entire army is heading for the Glekor Swamps. They plan to eliminate them..." Bashtool made his report, and oddly enough, he seemed pleased to tell Konowich the good news.
Bashtool obviously did not trust the Valchior; he probably guessed they would fall... this is why he seemed delighted at the fact that they had not come here.
"But, that was not in the agreement!" He said furiously. "We were to get the Hilaku, and they were to get the Somahaku. We would later decide the fate of the Glekor..." Just then, an idea came into Konowich's head. It was terrible, you could read that on his face. "...they must be thinking of destroying us... as well!"
Konowich fell silent and thought for a couple of minutes... "Round up the troops. We will take the Tarahaki Hills hostage, and take out the Valchior when they return... The Hilaku can wait. Recall the troops we have out after the Somahaku. They mean nothing to us now. We will rule Estevar by ourselves!"
"Yessir, sir!" Bashtool replied. His excitement was shown in his choice of words, and the look on his face... the adrenaline always gets to him. Konowich worried that maybe this was not such a good time for that, but he didn't care...
Now, the Hilaku High Guard had learned of the Kontor Army heading for the Tarahaki Hills. The Hilaku had a plan: They would meet the Kontor, launch an ambush, and eliminate them all, for Sharkon knew (or so he thought, he knew only what Kiyu-Su-Lu had planted in his mind!) their plans. They, along with the Somahaku, would try to take over the World!!! Little did he know, the Kontor were caught up in the Valchior's plan, and the Somahaku were no more...
Of course, Sharkon himself would remain behind. He had now acquired 70 separate groups to attack the Kontor. They had already set out, with Mendor, one of his finest, in the lead. His army would meet the Kontor just before they reach the Hills. After finishing with the Kontor, he ordered Mendor to eliminate the village of the Somahaku. The planet would once again be at peace...
Dohuku and Fin Del reached the fork in the River, just as the army of the Valchior came into view. Quickly, they needed to hide... Fin Del was standing next to a large boulder; he asked Dohuku to help him lift it; they could hide in the crater it had made.
Dohuku pushed and moved the rock with ease, to his own surprise.
"Wow! That was amazing!" Fin Del yelled excitedly.
"Shhh... It must have been the armor. Hurry, inside." They hid quickly, just as Dohuku noticed something... "What's that, Fin Del?"
"Wha?" His eyes moved towards the army of the Valchior, then to the other side of the grounds. His face went all pale; it's as though he had just seen a ghost... "Oh...my!" he choked out. "Th-that is the Glekor army. The Valchior must have decided to attack them; but they can see the future! They saw it coming! Get ready for a Showdown..."
"Sire, what is that on the horizon?" one of the men asked.
"Heh... that must be their army. Much smaller than I thought. Get ready!" He seemed... somewhat disappointed in his enemy.
The battle started only minutes later. The Souhari were in front, and they were doing great. The enemy was falling. The Valchior had not lost one person. It went smoothly for a few minutes... but all of a sudden, Kiyu-Su-Lu heard screams from the back of the Valchior army... then the sides. The army was much, much larger than he had expected!!! They came in from all sides. Of the 2000 men who had attacked, few managed to find a way to flee; 57 men, including Kiyu-Su-Lu, had escaped to the west. The battle ran for a whole 20 minutes after the reinforcements arrived... the Glekor did not notice the 57 escapees... nor did Dohuku or Fin Del. The Valchior, as it was known, was defeated...
