The inside of the giant dome was a clear reflection of the Master’s desire to leave the forest; plastered across the walls of the dome were maps, with several circled locations, and trinkets from faraway times scattered the floor, from ancient fossils to sparkling gems. Five Epe warriors sat on decorative mats, each donning at least ten sparkling bone piercings on each ear. At the end of the room, an enormous woman with the head of a moose was perched onto an elevated platform, swiveling her head towards Naadi and Asime. Her eyes homing in on Naadi, Naadi felt an intense throbbing echo throughout his skull.

Before Asime could speak, Naadi dropped to the floor, bowing before the Master of Epe daintily. It was a great blow to his pride, but he’d already taken many blows to his pride on the journey here; nothing would stop him from destroying the Locket Bearer, even if it meant licking her boots. “I’m sorry for barging in without notice, Master of Epe. I am King Naadi the second; it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance...”

“The pleasure is all mine, Naadi.” The master replied, lifting up a bundle of grapes and eying them distastefully. “I understand Alci brought you here; sweet of him. And ever so helpful.”

“Alci brought him here? What was he doing out in the forest?” One of the warriors asked.

“Neglecting his responsibilities, as usual. And I suppose that brings us back to our original topic; King Naadi, maybe you can bring some insight into our discussion.” Another warrior said, fiddling with his ear piercings as he spoke.

“Thank you, Master.” Naadi said, and the Master of Epe flicked a finger at a rolled up carpet; it immediately unrolled itself before Naadi, and Naadi sat down, hesitantly. “It’s best if I clarify what I’m here to do before we talk even further.”

“And what would that be?” Another warrior asked, and Naadi inhaled deeply.

“I’m here to kill the Locket Bearer and destroy the Orian Locket.” Naadi said calmly, and the room instantly went quiet after that. The Master of Epe raised her head to the ceiling;and crushed the bundle of grapes in her grasp. “I’ve come here to request the assistance of the Epe Tribe.”

“Assistance?” The Master hissed. “I think you mean, permission.”

“I mean assistance.” Naadi said, holding his gaze with the Master calmly. “The Epe Tribe has suffered greatly because of Banjoko and his legacy, the locket. I understand that; and yet in the name of justice, it must be I who strikes the Locket Bearer down.”

“King Naadi, that locket is the reason for our imprisonment in this forest for fifty years. Your royal status does not give you the right to carry out this justice you speak of.” A warrior argued.

Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

“Justice? With all due respect, this sounds more like barely disguised revenge.” Another warrior said.

“Definitely; I’ve pried through your mind, King Naadi. I can see now that Banjoko has done great damage to you on a personal level; his actions resulted in the death of all of the royal family but you. The justice you speak of; is it truly justice, or barely disguised revenge?” The Master asked coldly.

“It’s justice. Banjoko killed countless people and magical beasts and did irreparable damage to the Northern Lands; the only person capable of stopping him was my father, who died in the process. So, I, the man who inherited his will and title, should be the one to finish his work and cast the locket out of the world.” Naadi said.

“That is ridiculous!” One of the warriors hissed, and the others slowly nodded their heads in agreement; Naadi could see they clearly had no intention of letting Naadi handle the situation. They’d already made up their minds fifty years ago.

“Yeah-uh- I’m just going to get back to training! Good luck, buddy!” Asime said, laughing nervously as he backed out of the dome.

“Well, Master of Epe?” Naadi closed his eyes, calming the thoughts racing throughout his head, and concentrating completely on the situation before him. “Make your call. Whatever you say, I shall go along with.”

The Master stared down at him with blank, unblinking eyes, caressing her antlers as she thought. “One of the many things…” She began. “I missed while being trapped in this forest, were the cheeky little human kings!”

Bitch, called an intrusive thought deep from Naadi’s mind, and he quickly silenced it before the Master noticed.

“I will propose something to you. I know you met my little Alci.” The Master said. “Out of all my children in this village, he is my favorite, and the only one I want to kill the Locket Bearer. He possesses an extraordinary talent; unlike anything I’ve seen out of my numerous babies.”

The warriors before the Master seemed to grimace at the mention of Alci, tensing up as she droned on and on.

“But lately he’s been showing rather…unsatisfactory work. Sneaking out when he should be training, mingling with the wild magical mutts…it’s disheartening to see such a good boy change. It makes me wonder if he’s even fit to kill the Locket Bearer, sometimes. So, I’ll put him to the test; I will allow you to go through the forest and look for the Locket Bearer! I’ll even tell you what we’ve learned so far, and where we’ve sighted him; and I will allow you to pick any warrior you wish to assist you.” The Master said, and then held up a finger before Naadi could speak. “But Alci will also be tasked with finding him; and whoever finds him first will have the right to kill him.”

“That’s unpleasant.” Naadi said bluntly, though he didn’t reject the offer. This is honestly the best offer I could hope for. Of course, since she’s so adamant about Alci, she’ll turn the table in his favor. But it doesn’t matter; he doesn’t have half the conviction I do.

“Well?” She asked, smiling down at him as he thought. “Will you?”

“Do you even have to ask?” Naadi asked, before locking eyes with her and thinking. Yes.