Chapter 133
Hiccups POV:
It's been nine days since I took on the isitwalangcengce and in that time a lot has happened with Toothless, the tribe and I during our time with this tribe of the savannah. To begin with when we got back to the village after my battle Mosi lead me straight to his hut where we sat down and spoke about what the isitwalangcengce told me. We spent over six hours in the hut discussing it while Toothless lay outside keeping guard since we didn't want to be disturbed during this meeting. He originally wanted to inform his village guards to warn them to be on the lookout for people who are acting strangely but I told him not to since for all we know they could be working for the person we're after. He didn't like me saying that one of his most trusted men might be working with someone who seemed intent on hurting the people of the tribe but he agreed knowing at this point we couldn't trust anyone. We agreed we'd be the ones to keep an eye out for any suspicious behavior among the people like people leaving the village late at night or seeming on edge but I'd be sure to talk to Mosi first when I have some suspicion since I'm unfamiliar with their customs and what I think is suspicious could be normal for them. When I came out thought the people presented me with the pelt of the isitwalangcengce with the head still connected to it
After that I had a lot of trouble with the tribe but only the usual trouble I had with people when they find out about my god made possessions with people. In other words, I was bombarded with questions from the tribes' people when I simply stepped outside my tent or came to land with Toothless after we get back from patrol or a simple pleasure flight. Fortunately, I was able to get peace in my tent since the entrance becomes hard as a stonewall so nobody was able to bother me when I rested. Outside of my tent though I couldn't even go for a walk in the savannah to admire its beauty or study the wild life without at least one member of the tribe wanting to tag along with me. It was downright annoying but it did have some advantages since one of the people who wished to talk to me was the village shaman Rashidi. His company I didn't mind since with him I was able to learn about the land, the animals, the plants, the medicines that could be made and of course the beliefs of his people. To describe him, he was an elderly man with a bald head and small grey beard on his chin who always wore a yellow lowing cloth that went over his right shoulder and always carried a walking stick that reached just past his head in height and had three hollowed out gourds tied to the top for storing things.
We'd often sit down on a rock together watching the springbuck herds roam the fields of the savannah peacefully which always made me feel so at peace with the world. Sadly, I couldn't truly enjoy the peace since I was constantly looking over my shoulder in worry of when the mastermind behind the isitwalangcengce shall use their next move to attack the village. When it comes to the mastermind behind the attack I didn't like to just assume it was a man since it could just as easily be a woman so I just called them mastermind. What I called them however wasn't what bothered me the most though since the one other question that was running through my head besides who they are is what do they want. Honestly that is the one thing that bothered me the most since they had to have a reason for going so far as to make a deal with a mystical beast that's a known man killer. The question was what was their reason for doing this, was it revenge against the tribe for something, a desire for something they had, wanting to take their land for themselves, a war between tribes or sick as a love of seeing innocent people killed. I just wondered what they could possibly want so bad that they'd go so far as to make a deal with such horrific beasts that kill people without hesitation.
Presently however I was in my desert armor with my spiderpack on my back while me and Toothless sat on a large boulder overlooking the wide-open planes of the savannah looking over the golden fields and smiled at the sight since it was so peaceful. I sighed as I looked out at the zebra running together in their herd on their journey to the watering hole and knew I needed to truly savor this moment of peace since the peace was no doubt going to be short-lived as chances there'd be some threat for me to deal with. I rolled my eyes wondering why I could never have a simple vacation when visiting new lands but then again it did often have its advantages like with what happened in the jungle since I did walk away with a ton of gold. I shook my head at the thought of the gold since I had more than enough of it at home and tried to tell the tribe this but they insisted that I keep it all since they believed I'd earned it for what I'd done for their people with Kwame saying that if I didn't take Shara down then their tribe would suffer for generations. I didn't agree with taking so much gold for myself but they told me that they didn't put as much value into gold as Vikings did but it still felt like I was taking too much from them. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by someone saying.
"Good morning Hiccup." I turned to the owner of the voice only to find Rashidi making me smile.
"Good morning Rashidi and how are you today?"
"I am doing fine thanks, just making my way to the wet lands of the savannah to gather some ingredients for my healing salves and was hoping to ask that you accompany me." I raised an eyebrow. "I would normally go by myself having little to fear but with all that's been going on I've been feeling a little on edge and would be more comfortable if I was accompanied by someone I know would watch over while I worked." I smiled at him.
"For you my friend, I'd be happy to." He smiled as I stood up and looked at Toothless. "Come on bud, let's get going." He crooned and nodded as we began walking along side Rashidi but I had the feeling this trip was going to be a lot more difficult than simply gathering herbs.
1 hour later
It's been an hour since me and Toothless joined Rashidi on his journey to the wet lands of the savannah to gather some herbs for his medicines and in that time not much has happened. We'd mostly just been talking about the land, the ancestors who founded their tribe, the animals and just how life lead us to where we are today. Besides this we'd also been enjoying the beauty of the land even enjoying the sight of a few giraffe and wondering lionesses on the prowl for their next meal but we didn't bother them so they ignored us. As we walked I asked about the wetlands of the savannah since I had yet to be there and learnt that it was mostly moist ground with large lakes which was home to mostly crocodiles and hippos so one always had to be careful when near them since both species were known to be both dangerous and territorial. (AN: True fact, hippos are responsible for around 3000 deaths a year while the crocodile is responsible for around 300 each year.)
I was then brought out of my thoughts when the ground beneath my feet let out a squishing sound when I took a step and looked down to see the ground we were walking on had moistened. I knew this was a sign that we were now entering the wetlands of the savannah and looked out to see how the landscape has changed from the land I'm used to seeing so far. I was surprised seeing the landscape had gone from a beautiful golden yellow to a lush and lovely green mixed with bronze brown patches. The thing that caught my attention the most were the moss green waters full of reeds and floating green plants with birds flying around. I smiled at the sight since it had its own form of beauty like the savannah as I turned to Rashidi who looked at me with a smile before he said.
"We have arrived my friend." I smiled at him.
"I have to admit that this place does possess a beauty all its own."
"In this world there are many forms of beauty my friend but there are few who are ever able to see them all before moving onto the next world." He sighed and shook his head. "It is truly a sad thing that so many wonders of nature are mostly looked over by man." He looked up at me with a sad look in his eye. "Enjoy this beauty while you can my friend for mans greed shall one day drive them to destroy all this." He looked back in the direction of the savannah. "Even the mighty rhino shall be killed off by man for their horns while the mighty elephant shall be hunted for their tusks." I looked him in the eyes and could tell he was serious with how he felt.
"How do you know this?" He just smiled sadly.
"The bones never lie but it is with things like these that I wish they did since it is always a painful thing to see in their patterns."
"These things are never easy to see for those of us who can actually see the beauty in nature my friend so all we can do is try to open up the eyes of as many people as we can and hope they're able to teach it to their children." I shrugged. "At least this way we might be able to stop some from going down this path of destruction." He nodded before he sighed and smiled.
"We need not focus on the distant future of the world and simply enjoy what the world has to offer now knowing its fate." I nodded.
"You're right." I looked to the wetlands smiling. "Speaking of what the land has to offer we better get to work on gathering the herbs before nightfall." He nodded before walking towards the wetlands with me and Toothless following.
Two hours later
We'd been collecting herbs for over an hour but it's been pretty enjoyable for me since I was learning so much from Rashidi about the herbs and how they can be used to heal different wounds or tend to the rashes and infections caused by some plants. With my gathering chameleon I was able to gather multiple samples from the plants and help out Rashidi with his gathering. Now I was helping him gather some of the plants resting on the top of the lakes water as he hummed an old tribal tune he'd been humming since we began the gathering. I smiled as I joined him in humming the tune since it was a pretty catchy thing and it seemed to bring a bit of joy to my work until I noticed ripples in the water that we weren't making with our harvest. I looked at the source of the ripples to see something in the water that just sunk back underneath it making me shrug figuring it was just a crocodile and returned to harvesting the plants.
I was once again brought out of my thoughts by those same ripples came back harder than ever and I looked up to see something speeding towards Rashidi and knew that no crocodile was fast enough to go at that speed. I activated my ox flame boots speed mode and ran at him quickly grabbing him before pulling away from the water shocking him until a head burst from the water where he was. I turned back to where the creature crawled out and saw some sort of creature with two long black horns curving back, a long dark green scaled neck that was covered in spots like that of a giraffe and had a long tuft of red fur going down the top and that was all I could see with the rest of its body submerged in the water. Just because I didn't know though it didn't mean Rashidi didn't which was proven when I heard him whisper in a voice filled with fear.
"A ninki nanka!" My eyes never left the creature that continued to glare at us.
"A what?"
"A ninki nanka, it's a very dangerous beast but they are never found in this part of Africa and don't travel far from their home."
"We'll have to go over where it lives later since for now it looks pretty angry and eyeing us like Toothless eyes fish." He turned to face the beast that begun to rise out of the water.
"You have a point." Toothless lowered his body and growled at the ninki nanka as he glared at it while readying a plasma blast but I held up my hand signaling him to stop as I turned to Rashidi.
"We'll go over that another time since for now I believe it best you get back to the village and warn everyone." I turned to Toothless. "You fly him back to the village bud since it'll be faster." He crooned in concern. "Don't worry bud, I've been up against so much worse without you in the past." He looked down in sadness before I helped Rashidi into the saddle while he looked down at me in worry.
"Are you sure about this my friend." I smiled at him.
"Rashidi, go up against a titan with power over time and there'll be very little that'll measure up as a challenge." (AN: Check out chapter 99 and work your way up since it best to start at the beginning of that adventure.) He sighed and shook his head.
"My friend you truly live an incredible life."
"Yeah but at times I'd kill for a simple vacation in a new land where I didn't up against some threat." A growl brought my attention back to the ninki nanka. "We'll go over all this another time though, for now you need to get out of here and warn the tribe." He nodded.
"We'll be back for you my friend!" They then took off as I turned back to the ninki nanka and glared.
"Alright big guy, let's do this thing."
I unfolded my eagle shield while releasing my star sword, as I looked at the beast ready for a fight and charged at it ready to take it on as it fully left the water revealing its body that looked like a crocodile but three times bigger with the patterns of a giraffe on it. That was all I could examine right before the ninki nanka charged at me with the speed of a native African cat known as the cheetah forcing me to cut my examination short and dive out of the way of its charge. I tuck and rolled out of the way of the beast while dragging the blade of my sword across the ground before turning back to face it while crouched down gripping my sword tightly. The ninki nanka came to a halt in the spot where I was just standing and smiled right before large wooden vines burst from the ground where my sword had slashed and quickly wrapped around the legs of the ninki nanka and trapped it as they turned to petrified wood as I said.
"I have a few tricks to deal with your kind."
It struggled against the vines for a few seconds as I took the time to examine the creature properly but didn't get the chance since it quickly broke the wood as it let out a roar that made my ears ring. I knew this meant I'd officially angered it and was proven right when it glared at me with a look that felt as if it was trying to rip my head off with its eyes. It charged at me again but this time I activated my ox flame boots speed mode and dashed back a good thirty feet to try and dodge the beasts advance. It didn't stop charging at me though so I stabbed my sword into the ground and smiled as the vines around the handle moved to wrap around my own wrists before giant arms of earth burst out of the ground on either side of me and like always mimicked whatever my hands did. I bent my elbows and readied the arms to capture the beast within the giant stone hands but when it was six feet away from me it stopped but it extended its head towards me snapping its jaw only a foot from my body.
This confused me until I looked behind it and saw a long chain leading back into the water before I looked to where the chain lead and saw a metal harness wrapped around its torso. From this I knew why the ninki nanka was here when according to Rashidi they weren't native to this part of Africa and I highly doubt it traveled all this way since Rashidi said they never travel far from their home. This ninki nanka wasn't here willingly, someone brought it here in order to kill more of the people like the isitwalangcengce that actually came here because of a deal it made with the person who I assume is the same one who imprisoned the ninki nanka. Knowing this creature wasn't here by its own will I couldn't in good conscience kill this thing since I highly doubt it wanted to be here and chances are it just wants to go home meaning I had to free it but before I could I needed to calm it down and I knew exactly how to do it. I folded up my eagle shield and pulled my sword out of the ground making the arms crumble as I pulled it back into my prosthetic before having one of the legs on my spider-pack reach in and bring out my calming flute and placing it in my hand as I stared at the ninki nanka and said.
"Don't worry big guy, I'm just going to play you a little song to relax you." The ninki nanka just continued to snap at me but I kept my distance as I sat down and brought my flute to my lips and blew into it beginning the song to calm the ninki nanka.
1 hour later
It's been an hour since I began playing my calming flute and since then I have yet to stop playing it as the ninki nanka seemed to be calming down when I first started but had a whole lot of anger that needed calming and considering its situation I couldn't blame it. Taken from its home against its will and chained up like a slave, I have to admit I'd be pretty angry to if I was in its situation but then again who wouldn't be. Still though I knew I could help this ninki nanka if I kept playing my flute till it calmed down. Now after playing one hour I was seeing the ninki nanka completely calmed down so I could finally help it and lowered my flute as I smiled at the ninki nanka that was now laying down calmly staring at me as I said.
"See now, I'm not an enemy and now I need you to hold still so I can get that harness off you." It growled. "Don't worry, as soon as it's off you'll be free to make your way back home and be with your own kind again while I stay and find the one responsible for hurting you." The ninki nanka closed its eyes and lowered its head as I stood up and walked up to its side. "Easy now, I'm going to take this thing off you now."
It nodded as I began removing the harness while also examining it and I had to say as a blacksmith this harness was crudely made since the metal it was made of looked to have simply been pounded without heating it. Along with this the metal was pretty darn rusty and jagged so it dug into the ninki nanka's skin and hurt like a burning knife so now I got why it was so angry if the angry red welts were anything to go by. I slowly began to undo the rusty bonds on the ninki nanka as gently as possible not wanting to hurt the ninki nanka and making it lash out at me since at this distance I'd have no chance at dodging its blow. Removing this harness took ten full minutes since the ninki nanka kept moving in discomfort as I removed the harness and I couldn't blame it since the metal had deeply cut into its scales. I smiled as I fully removed the harness and said.
"There we go big guy." I tossed the harness to the ground and patted the ninki nanka's neck. "You won't have to worry about that nasty thing anymore." I looked down at it. "I'll make sure of it."
I planned to take the harness with the chains as evidence to show Mosi that whoever's behind the attacks on the tribe struck again but I had the feeling Rashidi is going to need to know what's happening now since a ninki nanka in this area would no doubt raise his suspicion. It was then the sound of screams and Toothless roaring in the distance caught my attention and I turned to see multiple tribesmen with weapons raised and Toothless with Mosi and Rashidi on his back leading them. The ninki nanka leaned its head past me growling but I placed a hand on its head making it stop and turn to me as I said.
"Get back into the waters, I'm going to go and convince them that there's no reason for them to come and fight you." The ninki nanka growled. "I know but I want this to be done with as little blood shed as possible."
It growled and nodded before running back into the water while I turned back to the people and activated my bull flame boots speed mode as I took off towards them since I didn't want to risk them reaching the lake and finding the harness. If they did then some of the people would realize that someone brought it here on purpose and then that will lead to complete chaos with people blaming each other. This is the last thing Mosi and I wanted since it would lead to the downfall of the tribe and make it easier for whoevers behind all this to achieve their goal whatever it is. When I reached the people they all stopped and lowered their weapons as Toothless landed and ran up to nuzzle me while Mosi and Rashidi dismounted him. I chuckled as Toothless nuzzled my chest while I rubbed his head before Mosi said.
"Hiccup, we came as soon as we could when Rashidi told us you we fighting a ninki nanka but we feared we were too late."
"Don't worry, it pulled me into the lake but I killed it by stabbing my star sword into its skull before its body sunk to the bottom and that is where it shall remain until the land takes the body back." They all cheered but I gave Mosi a look telling him we needed to talk to which he nodded.
"Good work my friend, when we get back to the village we shall celebrate your victory." I smiled and nodded.
"Thank you Mosi but I'm going to stick around and explore the bottom of the lake to make sure there aren't any more ninki nanka or some other mystical beast lurking in the waters."
"But how will you breath?" I smiled.
"Using a little gift the Celtic gods gave me but while I do this you all return to the village since while you're all away the village is more vulnerable to any mystical creature that may attack."
They all nodded as they turned around and making their way back to the village while I made my way back to the lake with Toothless following me. When I reached the lake I began taking off my armor along with my spider pack and taking out my merrow cap, which I had stored in my spider pack. I placed it on my head as I looked out at the lake as I said.
"Time to let the ninki nanka know it's time for him to go home." With that said I dived into the water to let the ninki nanka know he was free to return from whence he came, remove the chain that connected to the harness so no animal could be hurt or accidently strangled by it and to also search for clues as to who might've done the deed.
Nightfall
It's been hours since I dived into the lake to let the ninki nanka the people were gone and it could begin its journey home along with getting the harness's chain and search for clues and in that time I've made some progress with night falling over the savanna since then. The ninki nanka had taken off when I told it that it was free to leave but not before nuzzling me in thanks making me chuckle as it swam off. When it was out of sight I took care of the chain and found it to be tied to a large boulder that was imbedded into the ground to the point that even my dragons would have a hard time pulling it out so it was no wonder the ninki nanka didn't flee. As for the chains, they were crudely made but they were strong so there was no way the ninki nanka would be able to break them keeping it trapped. The thing was next to the boulder the chains were tied to I found a necklace that seemed familiar and with the lack of plant life growing on it I knew it wasn't under the water for too long meaning it was put there the same time as the ninki nanka most likely left dropped by the person who trapped it here. I knew this would help me figure out who was behind all this but before I did anything I needed to let Mosi know about what I learnt which I have yet to have a chance to do.
When I got out of the waters the first thing I did was place the harness, chain and necklace in my spiderpack for the journey back to the village. When I finished loading them up I put my armor back on while letting Toothless know what I found at the bottom of the lake and letting him know the ninki nanka wasn't going to be causing any more trouble nor did it hurt me. When we got back to the village I didn't get the chance to talk to Mosi since there was a major celebration held in my honor for saving Rashidi and dealing with the ninki nanka. During this celebration I didn't get much time to myself since people were begging me to tell them every detail of my battle against the ninki nanka so I had to make some things up since I didn't want anyone to know what really happened since it would tip off the one responsible that we were onto them. Fortunately, it wasn't that hard to come up with ideas with my past experiences and they seemed to buy it. When I was able to talk to Mosi I let him know that Rashidi should know what happened since I knew he could be trusted as he couldn't be responsible for what's been happening since the ninki nanka would've killed him if I wasn't there. This leads us to where I am now which is sitting in the Mosi's hut with Mosi and Rashidi sitting across from me and we'd just finished telling Rashidi of what we know. He was stroking his beard in thought and nodding as he stared at me before he said.
"I understand why you both kept this a secret from the tribe but rest assured I am not the one behind these attacks for messing with those beasts is not something I'd do as it would be too dangerous and further more I am a sangoma meaning my duty is to the tribe not against the tribe." I nodded as Mosi said.
"I'm grateful to know that you can be trusted Rashidi." He then turned to me. "Now Hiccup, you said you believe you found a clue at the bottom of the lake." I nodded and pulled out the necklace showing it to them and for the first time able to get a proper look at it and saw it had the head of an African wild dog in the center with a fang of one on either side but was brought out of my thoughts when Mosi gasped making me look up at him.
"What is it?"
"This necklace belongs to Kimoni." I raised an eyebrow.
"Your cousin?" He nodded. "But why would his necklace be at the bottom of the lake next to the ninki nanka's chains."
"I'm sure if we ask him then he could explain it as I'm sure he had nothing to do with the ninki nanka." Rashidi looked at him.
"Don't let your love for your family blind you to the truth Mosi."
"He is my cousin, the only family I have since my brother's disappearance so long ago and the captain of the guard who has helped protect the tribe since my father lead the tribe." He turned to me. "Hiccup I want you to stay away from Kimoni for now while I return the necklace and get some answers and that is the end of discussion." With that said he took the necklace and walked out of the hut but before I could follow him Rashidi placed a hand on my shoulder and shook his head.
"Give him time to calm down Hiccup but keep an eye on Kimoni for I fear the tribe's chief may be allowing his love for his only remaining family member blind him to the truth." I nodded.
"Don't worry, I have a way to keep an eye on Kimoni without him knowing in the form of some automatons I brought with me." He nodded.
"Be careful my friend for I feel that the one responsible for these attacks is not done with us yet." I nodded and made my way out of the hut knowing he was right since from experience that when you think it's over the one responsible has something big coming.
AN: Rhinos are being pushed to the brink of extinction so if you can donate to charities that protect them for future generations since when they're there's nothing we can do and when they're gone the elephants are next. Also speaking as someone who's seen a living rhino in the wild poached rhino that was stripped of its horn while the remainder of its body was left for the scavengers and I assure you it was not pretty. Anyway I know there wasn't much action in this one but rest assured I have something big planned for the next chapter with what Hiccups going up against and I assure you its more than just a beast so until next time stay safe and have a nice day.
