Haha haha haha
The old lady who had been so far so nice to the visitors, now sarcastically laughed at them before changing her good-looking receptionist appearance into that of a very nasty wizard with three long and thick braids touching the ground.
"What's going on?" The young maiden Suzie asked in fright.
Haha haha haha
"I am the servant of Edimo, the god of ruin," the lady wizard answered her with a very intimidating voice.
"I am here to overturn the ancestors' favors upon Babida the lumberjack. And you, his companions, because you are always ready to help him in dire situations, I must neutralize you first."
"You and that damned woodsman keep thwarting my Lord's plan to rule alone over the Batang empire. So you must perish," the servant of the god of destruction revealed.
"The ancestors have schemed to confuse Emperor Batang V so he shall appoint in two days when the moon is at its fullest Babida the lumberjack as the new Commander in chief of the imperial forces to fight against my Lord's new creatures: the baby monster of the Forbidden Mountain and the terrifying bats." The lady wizard provided even more explanation for her motives.
The young maiden Suzie seized the ancestors' intention and was thrilled by it. However, she quickly toned down her excitement when she realized that the logger's elevation to the top of the imperial forces by the forefathers would coincide with the nomination of a new Okunde Governor by the Emperor.
Hence she interrogated the lady wizard: "Witch of evil, tell me! And how will the ancestors handle the designation of a new Governor in Okunde ?"
Haha haha haha
"The ancestors have also planned to confuse Emperor Batang V so he shall elevate Babida the lumberjack to the position of Governor shall the latter win the battles against my Lord's creatures. Nonetheless, Edimo, the god of ruin is always one step ahead," the lady wizard told a partially mummified Suzie then laughed out loud.
"Now it's time for you to sleep as well," the Witch of evil concluded her talk with the young miss.
And with the help of her mouth, the lady wizard blew a cold wind toward the young Miss Suzie, and just like her uncle, she became voiceless and completely mummified.
The servant of the god of ruin thereafter pushed the mystically paralyzed bodies of her tricked guests inside room three and closed the door before throwing a spell of invincibility on the lock and evaporating for the kingdom of pain.
The night went on...
Babida the lumberjack had returned to his former military tent in Okunde's garden and was dozing on the ground along with other warriors.
However, contrary to his comrades he wasn't having a peaceful sleep as he was diving into a dream in which his crush Suzie and uncle Bibi were crying out for help.
The woodsman was tormented and began to shake his head from one side to the other. The acute cries of the beautiful young maiden Suzie in particular were so high that ultimately he woke up in a panic.
His heartbeat and respiration were incredibly fast. He looked around to check whether he was disturbing the sleep of his fellow warriors but none of them seemed to be aware of his nightmare. They were all worry-free slumbering.
"I must go out and look for the young miss and her uncle. They are in great danger. I'm quite sure about that. May the ancestors guide me to them!" The logger whispered to himself.
He then grabbed his herculean ax from the ground, stood up, and left his tent in the middle of the night. He walked back to the esplanade of the Governor's headquarters where he saw his companions Uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie for the last time.
And from there, he took the same path that his two now endangered associates had taken to leave the administrative area.
He trekked untill he reached the center of Okunde. The streets were unusually quiet, for there was no one outside. All the doors and windows of the houses and shops along the path were closed. People were still under the shock of last night's bats' attack. Just the cats of the neighborhood were busy running up and down the slightly lit ways.
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Babida the lumberjack stood in the middle of the sandy road and screened with his eyes every corner and building, hoping to perceive his crush Suzie and her uncle.
To his great disappointment, the logger couldn't find their trace. He was nevertheless convinced that they were somewhere in the downtown area and thought they had gone to spend the night in a hotel.
"They must be in an auberge," the woodsman declared.
"They are not from this village and therefore have no house here. Commander Bibi could have simply decided that they stayed at the military camp, but I believe he chose to go to a hotel for his young niece Suzie to sleep in a comfortable bed," he then added.
"I should check after them in all the auberges around," he finally decided.
The logger glared in front of him and remarked on a guest house.
"There is an auberge !" He excitedly exclaimed.
He then headed toward the location and pressed the knob of the door to enter but given the late time, it was already shut. So he knocked and the keeper, an old lady, came to open the entry.
"Oh, oh! It's Babida the lumberjack in flesh and bone," she said delightedly before inquiring about his needs.
"What can I do for you, brave warrior ?" She hence asked the logger.
"Pardon me, Ma'am, I am on the lookout for my companions, a middle-aged man accompanied by a beautiful young maiden. I was wondering if they didn't come over here earlier in the night," the woodsman replied to the keeper.
He then went on and told the old lady: "In fact, the two folks I am seeking, are visitors from the imperial city, Ekule."
"I hope your friends are not in trouble, my dear" The keeper of the auberge said to him.
The woodsman hence provided the old lady with much detail. He explained to her that the two individuals were his prison's companions and that they parted ways in Okunde's garden some hours ago after being set free the night of the evil bats' aggression.
He regretted that his associates didn't tell him where they were going. Nonetheless, for it was late, he guessed they went to seek a place where they could have some sleep.
He related that as soon as his companions departed, he too went to his tent to slumber but during his sleep, he was disturbed by a vision in which they called him for assistance, for they were facing danger.
The auberge keeper listened carefully to the killer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain and told him: "Imperial hero, I wished I had answers to the whereabouts of your companions. Regardless, the least I can do is to implore the ancestors to preserve them from any harm."
Babida the lumberjack was downhearted and excused himself before the old keeper for his late-night visit. He then turned his back and began to leave the venue. However, when he was just about a hundred meters away, the old lady surprisingly invited him to come back to her.
"Young man, wait a second! Come back over here! Maybe you would like to come in so I can consult with the Oracles about your companions," she said to him.
Babida the lumberjack heard the aged lady's words and a great joy took him over.
"With great pleasure Ma'am!" He said to her, then stepped inside the auberge.
And as he set his foot in, his attention was drawn to a blue wax-made scarf lying on the ground on the left side of the hall. His curiosity was immediately aroused, for Suzie had been tucking her head with a fabric of the same color and material.
So he asked the old lady: "Pardon Ma'am, are you sure you didn't host here a man of around forty-five years of age and a pretty young adult maiden?"
"Indeed I did. And you will go join them right away in room three," she responded and transformed herself into the lady wizard with long and thick braids.
Haha haha haha
"What great prey I have here! The favorite child of the ancestors, the chosen one," the Witch of evil said ironically.
The woodsman was shaken up by the sudden turn of events and moved backward.
"Who are you old Witch of bad?" The logger queried the wicked Sorceress.
Haha haha haha
"I am the faithful servant of my Lord, Edimo, the god of disaster," the lady wizard replied with an imposing voice.
"If not because of you, my Lord would have long conquered the Batang empire. Fifteen years ago, you killed his most feared creature, the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain," the Witch of evil added.
"But this time around, the god of ruin is more resolute to achieve his purpose. Last night you had a sneak peek of greater atrocities he has in store for you and your people," the Sorceress confessed.
"The newborn monster and the terrifying bats shall soon inflict unbearable pain on the Batang empire shall the inhabitants not bow before my Lord Edimo and venerate him," the lady wizard uttered, followed by a burst of intriguing laughter.
Babida the lumberjack looked at her and took her aback by launching with tremendous power his steel ax on her forehead. The impact of the hit was so brutal that the Sorceress stood still for a while. And when she was on the verge on dropping dead on the ground, he mockingly said to her: "You talk too much, old Witch."
Then after she stumbled, her body melted like sugar in water.
And unexpectedly the noise of a door someone was seemingly attempting to open caught the logger's attention. He hence opened wide his ears and discovered the brouhaha was originating from the corridor at the left of the hall.
Thus he walked in the direction of the noise and stopped in front of room three where someone on the other side was pressing in vain over and over again the handle of the door so as to open it.
The woodsman also pressed the knob but it was very sturdy. He couldn't open the door either.
And again, someone from inside the room moved the handle and the egress couldn't still be unbolted.
"I see. The old Witch has thrown the young maiden Suzie and her uncle in and cast a spell on the door so no one can go in or out," the logger deduced.
"Well, let's verify if the charm will withstand the wrath of my ax," the lumberjack said as he held his weapon tighter in his right hand.
He moved one step backward and furrowed his eyebrows in anger. Then he lifted his five-kilogram Herculean steel ax in the air and released all the fury in him by knocking the hell out of the knob which broke into tens of pieces.
Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
The door swung open as the spell of invincibility flushed out.
"Babidaaaa!" The young Miss Suzie happily shouted as she saw her lover.
She thereafter ran toward the logger and jumped on him. The beautiful maiden spontaneously wrapped her hands around his neck and began sobbing.
The woodsman let his steel ax slide from his hand and fall on the floor. He grabbed his crush with gentleness by her waist and they exchanged an intense moment of affection.
Hum hum!
Uncle Bibi cleared his throat and the two lovebirds came down from their expeditive romantic trip. They thus unleashed the hug.
"My Commander, glory be to the ancestors, you are doing well," Babida the lumberjack told the imperial army veteran, Uncle Bibi.
"Thank you, brave warrior! You have saved us from a sure death," the middle aged man answered back to the woodsman.
"Let's leave this place my children!" He then addressed his niece Suzie and the logger.
The woodsman retrieved his herculean ax from the soil and the three companions commenced walking out of the auberge. They left the corridor and arrived in the hall.
"Wait a minute! Suzie, I believe this blue scarf is for you, darling," Babida the lumberjack uttered and bent down to pick up the accessory.
"Let me help you put it on!" He told the young maiden Suzie.
The caring logger came close to her and fastened the fabric around her head.
"You look even more gorgeous." He complimented her.
"Thank you!" The young maiden replied, blushing.
Done, they resumed the walk and stepped outside the auberge. They heaved their eyes to the sky and it was twilight.
The first moon was hence over…
TO BE CONTINUED...