The jeep violently bumped, causing a man to awaken from his sleep.

"Hey, watch it with the driving, Evan. Geez, what time is it?" The man asked, rubbing his eyes from the bright sun that beamed down upon him.

"Early noon. Glad you got up before heatstroke could've killed you in your sleep," Another voice said. She stood up straight, tucking her red hair behind her ear.

"Listen, the quicker we find him and convince him, the quicker we can get to the cold headquarters," The man said. "I always wanted to go to Africa, but not this part of it."

"Think of it as a vacation, Matthew. You know you always enjoy them." The woman said.

The Jeep continued down the hot savannah. After another hour of driving, they saw a man walking on the street and stopped the car to talk with them.

"Excuse me, we are looking for this man. Have you seen them?" Matthew asked. The man looked at the picture then shook his head.

"Sorry. I have not seen such man, but there is town more beyond here. They may have your answer," the man said.

"Thank you," Matthew said, hopping back into the Jeep.

"What did he say?" Evan asked.

"There's a village or town if we continue this road. It might have who we are looking for," Matthew said.

The car entered the town. Kids watched with curiosity as the group exited the Jeep with bags and technology on them.

"Hey, Garrett," Matthew said. "How are we ever going to convince this guy? He's some sort of big deal apparently. We can't just say 'Hey! Join this thing!' And call it done,"

"I'll figure it out, let's worry about finding him," Garrett said. The group began asking people, and most shook their heads or didn't understand them. Matthew approached a woman with a frail older woman.

"Excuse me, have you seen this man?" Matthew asked. The woman shook her head and before she began to walk away, the older woman tugged at her. The two spoke to each other in their native language then the woman handed the picture to the older woman, who nodded and spoke to the woman.

"He passed this village two nights ago," The woman translated from the older one. "He asked to purchase gourds and ingredients, then left in the direction of setting sun,"

The woman pointed beyond the horizon.

"Thank you, so much. Hey guys! We are on the chase again! Get the Jeep!" Matthew yelled to the group.


The sun slowly crept down to hide from the sky. The group tried to sleep, but the violent bumps from the Jeep caused them to stay awake. Garrett looked out and spotted a figure in the distance, unmoving.

"Hey, Hey stop the Jeep," said. The car pulled to a stop as Garrett squinted. The black dot moved but stayed in one place.

"Give me the wheel," Garrett said. Garrett turned off the car lights and began driving slowly towards the black dot. The black dot formed into a humanoid sitting on the ground, its head downwards. Garrett stopped the car and turned it off. As the car's engine stopped, there were quiet sounds of grinding rock.

"What's going on?" Alyssa asked.

"This may sound crazy, but I think we found him. I'm not sure, but let's approach.. with caution," Garrett said. The group got out of the Jeep. Evan began to turn on their flashlight but was stopped by Garrett's hand. As the group got close, a loud hiss came from the figure, who looked at the group that stood still. The figure quickly stood up towards the group and raised its hands.

"SUN DA WEKONO!"

With the booming voice, a large black snake emerged from the ground, roaring, and hissing at the group, threatening and readying to attack.

"Holy sh-!"

The group scattered, hiding from the large snake. Matthew darted towards the Jeep but was forced face first to the ground, the wind nearly knocked out of him.

"Wie is jy!?" A voice said, holding him down. He could hear hisses from a snake near him.

"English! English please!" Matthew cried.

"I said, who are you!" The voice said, clear now in Matthew's language.

"Matthew! Matthew Marshall! I am an advisor for the champions of Paladins! I have come to speak of Mal'damba!" Matthew replied. The figure released him, letting Matt get up. He now had a better look at the figure.

The figure wore a mask. It's green eyes shone when their head moved, and orange and purple gradient feathers that swayed from the wind. A collar with yellow gold markings hid their neck and connected to a green top part that served as a shawl. The rest was a brown robe, stitched and homemade, with darkish grey pants. They wore no shoes, but bandages wrapped around their feet. A cobra was perched on their hand, showing its teeth and gums at Matthew, but stayed still.

"You.. were looking for me?" The figure asked. Matthew nodded, collecting himself and not trying to vomit from the sudden rush. "And I am guessing those were your compatriots."

The rest of the group was gone, still hidden from the large snake that wasn't there anymore.

"Please, gather your friends and sit. I will finish this food as an apology," Mal'damba ordered, walking towards the spot he was in and starting up a fire.


"Wekono's chosen huh?"

"Yes,"

"That's pretty cool,"

"…It is.. Cool,"

The group sipped the drink Mal'damba presented to them. It was bitter, but the aftertaste felt sweet. All of them were uneasy by the snake that glared at each one of them.

"Why did you come find me? I can see you traveled far just to see a man," Mal'damba questioned.

"We were wondering if you wanted a position of a champion in Paladins. Fighters that prove their worth in arena and come home with glory and pride," Matthew explained.

"And money," Evan added.

"I have no interest in silly games," Mal'damba answered. "I won't waste my second life as a fighter for people's entertainment."

"But your name will be known! You could become a hero for all we know! Paladins provide the lesser to be heard!" Garrett explained. Mal'damba heard each of the group's members explanation about Paladins, but it never moved Mal'damba's answer.

"It sounds interesting, but my focus is to heal others. Wekono has given me the blessing to travel through the savannah and tropics to aid animals and people. I am sorry that I wasted your time to find me," Mal'damba said, putting his drink down and picked up a mortar and pestle and started to grind at herbs. Alyssa stood up.

"How about you can aid those while in battle? Strengthen your power and if you prove yourself, you could come home with power beyond imagining to help the whole continent," Alyssa suggested. Mal'damba stopped. His head rose so his eyes could see Alyssa's face.

"And if I don't?" he asked. She was silent, unable to find an answer.

"We will owe you," Matthew spoke up. "Any favor in need."

Mal'damba let out a small huff of amusement, and put down his mortar and pestle.

"If this Paladins is what you say it is, I will join," Mal'damba said. The group began to high five each other but was stopped by a hiss from the snake.

"However, if my time is wasted, your souls are weighed by the spirits," Mal'damba calmly said. This lowered the mood between the group but was glad they got the man into the fight.