Amir's POV:
Getting ready for our next destination. To the Lelantos Village.
We packed our things and got prepared to move out. After what happened last night, though it was quite short and awkward. I wiped it off and focused on my mission. The Inang Matilda and the other Osanyin People accompanied us. They even provided us with some medical kits and medicines in case of emergency.
"Be careful. Your Highness," Inang Matilda uttered solemnly.
"Thank you for the hospitality and kindness. Hope this Village will be blessed more by the gods," I uttered.
She rang the bell and people started bowing. A show of respect. We bowed also for them.
"Sasama ako!" someone yelled out from behind.
Everyone turned around to see who yelled and to my delight, I saw Lusaka in her white and blue striped kimono. I glanced at Inang Matilda and saw in her eyes the dismay. She deeply sighed.
"Lusaka, Hindi kita pipigilan sumama sa kanila. Basta ipangako mo samin na babalik kang ligtas kasama ang kapatid mo,"
I was astounded by what I heard. So, Li and she were siblings.
"So they are siblings," I uttered looking at Inang Matilda.
Inang nodded.
Lusaka stepped forward on us, while people were staring at her with concerns on their faces.
"Pinapangako ko po, Inang. Babalik kami ni Li na ligtas. Kaya't hayaan niyong sumama ako sa kanila," She uttered.
"Kung ganun, mag-ingat kayo sa paglalakbay. Mabuti't may kasama na kayong manggagamot," Inang uttered.
She then hugged Lusaka and gave her a forehead kiss before we bid goodbye to them.
...
Strolling in silence that no one bothers to shatter. I took a glance at Niala who was right ahead of us, and Mill who was gulping some water from his satchel. Lusaka who was strolling right beside me. I hemmed to catch their attention and they all glanced at me.
"Going to Lelantos will take us days, so much better to preserve the foods that we had in case it will take us much longer days than we expected," I uttered.
They just nodded.
I can walk properly despite the wound on my leg, it's quite healed now, thanks to the cream-like medicine that they put on my legs for a quicker recovery.
"Lusaka. About the Arnica Montana. Is it valuable to the Village?" I asked her, who was just beside me. She glanced at me and nodded, she had this bright porcelain skin and long braided hair, and she was shorter than Niala; just below a shoulder at me.
"Tama po, Arnica Montana is one of the rarest plants here at the Realm, na tanging sa mga bulubundukin lang makikita. Kulay dilaw ang bulaklak nito, maraming benepisyong nabibigay sa atin, at mapanganib rin ito dahil sa lason na taglay nito. Tanging mga eksperto lang sa panggagamot ang may alam nito,"
She uttered.
"So, kung hindi nangako ang kapatid mo, gagawin niyo ba?" Niala asked and took a glance at Lusaka.
Lusaka looked at her and was speechless for a second.
"See? Nilagay niyo lang sa panganib ang kapatid mo —"
"Mali ka, hindi namin siya nilagay sa panganib, dahil sa kung nangako man siya o hindi — kukunin niya pa rin ang Arnica Montana na hindi labag sa loob niya,"
She said calmly.
"Si Li, matalino, mapangahas, palaging positibo, at mabuting bata 'yon. Mukhang mahina lang siya sa inyong paningin pero matibay ang puso 'nun... "
"Alam namin kung gaano ka mapanganib ang Almaciga, pati na rin ang misyon niya sa Lelantos. Kahit kailan, hindi naging maganda ang relasyon ng Osanyin at Lelantos..."
I was mute when she started narrating everything from her brother to the relationship between the two Villages. It felt like I was outdated in what was happening outside the palace.
"What did Hunters do to Osanyin?" I asked.
"Malaki. Nagnakaw, pumatay, gumahasa, at tinakot kaming lulusubin ang Osanyin sa oras na ilaban namin ang aming karapatan bilang mamamayan ng Osanyin."
I, Mill, and Niala were flabbergasted and muted as she uttered those words out of her mouth. How cruel they are. The stroll stopped, the moment she confessed things.
"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know this. Does the Palace or the King, or the Queen know this?" I asked.
She nodded. I was dumbfounded after, they knew yet didn't do a thing to prevent this cruelty. How come this was overlooked? A lot of innocents were affected. Lusaka started sobbing and in shame, she covered her face from crying with her palms. Niala forward to her and tried to hug her.
"Shhh, Huwag kang mag-alala Lusaka, nandito ang Prinsipe Amir, he will do what's right for your village and punish those abusers." Niala shushed Lusaka, hugging her and caressing her back to calm her down from the outburst. Niala glanced at me and gradually kicked me on my left knee, I was able to dodge it.
"It's okay Lusaka, after the mission. I'll go back to the Palace and work on this. We will give you the justice you deserve. They'll be punished by the law of the Realm and the law of Alvenrass." I uttered with assurances.
Mill coughed to distract the situation.
"Guys, sorry to distract you but we have to keep on going. Your Highness," Mill said.
We nodded and then continued to walk. Niala stayed beside Lusaka holding her hand.
Another immense silenced trek. After what happened earlier, still, Niala still remained on Lusaka's side. I glance at Mill who's walking ahead of us. Then, I walked forward to Mill and tapped his back.
"Mill, does this have shortcuts?" I said. Directly uttered.
Mill grabbed the map out of his pocket and unfolded it. He glanced at it and pointed in the direction of a shortcut.
"This will be a shortcut. In the wilderness, but still, there's a small village located and we don't know what's out there in the village...or, we have to take this long straight path, safe and sound, but it will take us longer? Your decision, Your Highness."
I was dazed and confused for a moment. Thinking about what's the better idea for us to reach the Lelantos. Shortcuts.
I stopped strolling which made them stop walking. They all glanced at me.
"What is it?" Niala uttered.
Tall pine trees along the sideways stood firm. Marks the boundary of this long way with the rare trees seen while we're walking and a dusty path. We look up at the tall pine trees aligned with each other. This is probably the boundary of the desert-like path of Osanyin to the pine trees, and large shrubs running along each side of the way. More like an avenue.
"Is this the boundary?" Niala uttered curiously.
"Yes, it is, as shown on the map, the Central-Osanyin boundary was a torrent river connected with a bridge. While the Osanyin-Lelantos boundary was more like a desert-like path that meets the avenue-like path. So I guess this is it... "
"We're almost there!" Mill uttered.
"Let's take a shortcut," I uttered.
"What? There's a shortcut?" Niala uttered.
"Yes. It will be Prince Amir's decision if we take this way or we'll have the shortcuts."
"Malapit na tayo sa shortcut, pero papasok tayo sa isang maliit na nayon sa loob nito. Hindi naman siya mukhang mapanganib pero kailangan pa rin natin mag-ingat. Iyon kung pipiliin natin ang pintas," Lusaka uttered who was just beside Niala.
"Then let's take the shortcut," I said in a commanding tone. I walked ahead of them confidently, and the rest followed.
Welcome to Osanyin Village. That was written on the wood nailed at the tree. Also, we saw a footwalk, beside it and a small piece of wood that had some writings on it. The Footers Village.
"Footers Village," I said.
"Yes, this is the shortcut," Mill added.
I took a glance at them and they all nodded. We chose the shortcut rather than the usual route going to Lelantos Village. As we walked to a dense and muddy path that no vehicle or carriage could enter, we only heard the cawing of crows, the buzzing of insects, the rustling of leaves, and psithurism.
"I don't know what to feel but it seems peaceful and creepy at the same time," Niala uttered. I walked ahead of them, the ladies were at the back.
"Sabi nga nila, ang tahimik na bagay ay may tinatagong lihim na tanging sila lang ang nakakaalam," Lusaka uttered.
"Hmph! sabi-sabi lang 'yan para matakot tayo..."
Then suddenly, the ground trembled, and crows and birds flew away from the trees.
"Wahhhh! Lindol!" Niala screamed out of her lungs.
We ducked and covered our heads in case twigs and branches would fall out.
"Niala!" Lusaka uttered then grabbed the arms of Niala and drew near her.
I glanced at them, and abruptly, I felt a sudden pain all over my body. Like it's inside of me, heated and electrified. I moaned and lay down in pain, ears perked up with that terrible sound, holding my ears. They were stunned and terrified.
"Prince Amir!" uttered in sync while the ground trembled.
A while after an earthquake stopped. It's all wiped out. The pain inside and that terrible squeaking sound were abruptly gone. I opened my eyes and the sunlight struck my eyes. I saw in the vision that Mill and Niala were trying to wake me up.
"Amir?!"
Someone uttered. My eyes were slowly dropping by, closing themselves. Then, splashes started to leave my puzzling self. Then, gasped out of breath and woke consciously. They held and leaned at the tree branch, releasing the water that I consumed earlier by splashing.
"Who did it?" I uttered gasping for some air to breathe.
Mill and Niala turned to Lusaka who was holding a bottle of water, with an awkward smile.
"Paunmanhin, ginawa ko 'yon para bumalik sa kamalayan niya," She defended.
It's valid. So, I let it slide.
"Anong nangyari sa'yo? Okay, ka lang?" Niala uttered in a worried manner. I took a gaze at her and nodded.
"Are you okay? Kanina, bigla kang natumba at nahimatay habang lumilindol at parang namimilipit ka sa sakit," Lusaka added. While on knees.
"I don't know, Maybe just a faint," I said. I attempted to stand and to my delight, it didn't get worse. I still can.
"See? I'm fine now, let's move forward. Maybe we can just take some rest if we reach the Footers Village,"
After, that earthquake and sudden collapse, it felt like something seemed to have changed inside me. I can feel my blood torrent, my heart's vibration.
As we walked through this dense and muddy path. We suddenly heard a rattling sound near the area. We immediately stopped and stealthily ducked and hid in the shrubs. It is still, rattling. Followed the sound to where it came from. I heard someone. It's given me goosebumps as they were having a casual conversation while rummaging through the house things have fallen, and broken, creating clattering. I turned my gaze to the back.
"You hear that?" utterly whispered.
They both looked at each other as if they didn't hear that. They turned and gazed at me confused.
"What?" Mill said. I was wondering why they didn't hear it.
"Ano ba narinig mo?" Niala asked curiously.
"They're talking," I added.
By the looks on their faces, I can say that they don't believe me.
"Stay, be quiet." I utterly whispered in a low tone.
sniffs.
"You smell that?" a voice of a lady uttered.
"Yeah." replied a man who had a deep terrifying voice.
"Smell of a flesh, huh!" responded the other voice. Who seems a man of his youth age.
"Come on."
"Stop that." that deep voice uttered.
"Why, bro?"
"We came here to find the stone, — " he added.
"Besides, they're survivors. Let them escape from us and let the other villagers see them. Once they did, the message was received. We're coming back to get what belongs to us." his tone was going deeper and deeper than it was earlier.
"His right, also, we ate and killed a lot of them. The stone was not here, let's leave,"
...
I gulped, trembling, sweating, and couldn't contain what I heard. It seems like it was the hunters who tried to plunder and invade every village, but eating them sounds like cannibalism. I turned my gaze back at them and looked at Lusaka. What if, the next village that hunters will invade will be Osanyin?
Mill tapped me on the shoulders which made me startled and for a moment, all I did was sputter.
"It's the hunters, they invade the Footers Village, they kill and eat them.
Aghast. As soon as I uttered those.
"Let's go, they leave already," I uttered.
"What? — wait!" Niala uttered grabbing my arm.
"A-ano...nangyayari!? Bakit pinatay? Bakit kinain?"
"I don't know. I only heard them, that's why need to go to the Footers Village to see what happened," I uttered.
I stood up and briskly strolled ahead, I left them and they tried to catch up with my phase.
I am eager to reach the townlet as soon as possible to see the aftermath of it. My knees and feet were about to surrender, even those who were catching up breath just behind me. We walked for minutes currently.
"Prinsipe Amir..." Lusaka utters breathily
"Your Highness, I think we should stop for a while. We're already tired." Mill complained.
"Then rest, follow me after if you're done resting. I have to see the Footers Village." I uttered commanding.
"Makakarating din tayo 'dun! Hinay-hinay sa paglakad. Sakit na ng paa ko!" Niala complained.
"Then rest!" I calmly said. I tried to be calm and composed despite brisking.
Then, out of nowhere. I halted. Signaling them at the back to a halt also. I smelled something burning. I sniffed around, I followed the smell through. It's just around the corner. Then suddenly, stepped on something, and noticed that the footwalk had ended its way. I darted at it and saw a hand. It was a hand; someone cut it off. It's the hunters. They also took a glance at it, they were aghast. Niala and Lusaka were about to puke as they turned around after seeing it. Mill grabbed it with no hesitation, and then looked at me.
"You're right. Something happened here." Mill said. Then released the hand.
Now, all I see above is smoke. These tall and well-trimmed shrubs were supposed to be hidden doors. I entered through it and saw something that was horrifying and brutal.
"Oh, dear! anong nangyari dito?" Lusaka uttered shocked by what she saw and gradually covered her mouth with her palm.
The cabin was burned, and dead people are everywhere, beheaded, halves, organs spread, eyeballs hanging on doors, penises and tits were stuck like a barbeque, a man burned and cooked at a bonfire like a lechón, bones, and blood spreading on the muddy ground. This is a bloody nightmare! Brutality.
"Hindi to makatarungan. Grabeng kababuyan ang ginawa dito." Niala uttered clenching her fist in anger and disgust.
I was still stunned seeing this after I heard them.
"They are looking for a stone," I uttered emotionless. Breathing heavily.
They all turned at me.
"A stone?" uttered in sync.
I blinked my eyes and turned at them.
"Yes, it's what they are looking for. But they didn't find it here. So they attacked and killed this innocent, and now they are moving on to another village,"
They gasped.
"No, Osanyin! We need to come back and warn them... "
"We can't," I said with full dominance.
"What?" Lusaka responded. I gazed at her with seriousness on me.
"We need to keep on going to Lelantos and take Li with us," I said.
"Then what will we do with this?" Mill asked.
"Leave them here. I want others to see this also with their own eyes. Those hunters will be punished." I uttered clenching my fist. A rage brewing inside of me.
"We're not staying here, let's find another shelter," I said, turned back, and left this village, nothing but dead people.
This is Lelantos Hunters! And we did this! We want to take what belongs to us.
As we leave the signage.
- END.