“Yes, it’s me,” Aylan replied, smiling. ‘Still alive. But don’t worry; I’m not here to take my revenge. I have saved it for later. Right now, you’ll just leave this place and warn your master, that the Stonemen have their power back. And they’re ready to face any attack. Now, run!”
Vando crawled for a few moments, then stood up and ran to the bottom of the mountain, where his horse was tied to a bush. He didn’t look back for a moment as he rushed to his master. Aylan asked the Stoneman if he could show him the escaping raider. The Stoneman grabbed the scene in front of Aylan.
The slave master stopped and looked at his assistant with surprised eyes. As Vando approached to him, he looked devastated. He explained what happened at the top of the mountain by pointing at it. As soon as he realized Aylan was still watching him, he said something to his master and poked his horse’s belly harshly with the spur to speed up. Khatash Shiyalsor gave a hateful glance to the mountain and followed his assistant. Aylan could see his facial reaction as he was determined to come back to finish what he started.
When Aylan returned to the Stone Hedge, the people were already celebrating their victory. Cro had joined a band of singers and singing a victory song with them. King Pathuray welcomed him, “Come here, oh brave soldier. It’s for sure that you are an excellent commander. Without your quick thinking, we wouldn’t be able to defeat those thugs today.” The stone prince and the others agreed and cheered.
“I’m feeling honored, my King. But it was your soldiers’ bravery that defeated the Raiders. They have risked their lives to protect the city. They are the real heroes,” Aylan politely replied.
Everyone surrounded them cheered again. They brought all five soldiers and Prince Mathuray in the middle of the crowd and showed respect by putting their right hands on the chest. The soldiers put their hands on the chest as acceptance gesture. Then the King gave them some old and strange looking sticks, which were the highest award for the bravery in Janagaliyan tradition. They were brown in color and had woodwork of the shape of a Stone Soldier. Aylan and Cro had received one stick each.
Aylan asked the prince to send some people to bring the catapults here, and as they returned with the catapults, he started showing how they work and suggested them to make even bigger catapults and put them on the borders of the city. The stone prince was a bit confused about the need of the catapults, “Why would we need them? Didn’t we defeat the Raiders? Even if they come back, we now know how to face them.”
“Please pardon me for interfering you, Prince Mathuray,” Aylan said. “But if I am aware that the slave master well, he would come back to finish his unfinished business. And as you don’t have the Cricles on you yet, the catapults are the only option left for you to face him. Because I can tell you with a guarantee that next time he would bring the Danobs that work under him. And he would be well prepared for this kind of attack.”
“The Danobs?” The stone King sounded surprised. “How could he have the Danobs under his control?”
“They apparently aren’t working willingly for him. The slave trader had put a spell on them. When the last I saw him about six years ago, he had five Danobs under his control. He may have doubled the number of Danobs by now.”
King Pathuray could realize the seriousness of the possible re-attack. He asked the stone prince to start the catapult making project as soon as possible. Prince Mathuray nodded to his father and thanked Aylan for what he had done for them and walked the soldiers to get prepared for the future attacks. The stone king has asked Aylan, “Do you have any wishes that are possible for me to grant?”
Crow whispered in Aylan’s ear, “Ask him for Princess Amura’s hand. I know you two like each other.”
Aylan pretended as if he didn’t hear anything. He replied, “I am not sure about that, my King. But I wish to know more about the power you use to bring the distant view closure.”
King Pathuray smiled, “You didn’t realize it yet, that you could do the same as well.”
“Could I?” Aylan surprised. He couldn’t think of anything that would make him do the same as the Stonemen.
“Yes, indeed,” the Stone king shook his head. “You have the ring of the wizard king Burundas Jadukor in your pocket. If you put the ring on your finger, it would help you grab the distant scenes like us and many more things.”
Aylan looked at the king with wide open eyes and asked, “How did you know about the ring?”
“It was the wizard king Burundas Jadukor who blessed us a few centuries ago, with the Cricles and the illusions as he had seen us suffering from various problems. After the Kings’ assassination, his once loyal assistant wizard Morkot Jadukor had stolen his armor, helmet, the ring, the sword, and other unknown important things. On the way to cross the Mayra Ocean the ship sunk and Morkot had lost all of them. And no one had seen them again. When they brought you to me, I have felt the presence of the ring, and also realized that whoever gave this to you, had known that you’re the right person to have it.”
“But I didn’t know that dying monk, neither did he know me,” Aylan replied as he put his hand in the pocket and took the silver color ring out.
King Pathuray gave a long glance to the ring, then closed his eyes and said, “Yes, this is the wizard king Burundas Jadukors’ ring. I could recall the memories from my ancestors that have passed on to me. King Burundas has had the ring on his finger while he blessed my great-great-grandfather, King Tatharay.” The stone king opened his eyes and looked straight into Aylan’s eyes, “You would eventually have all the lost things, my son. You would have a significant responsibility in upcoming days. But whatever it is, you’d always have the Stonemen and me by your side.”
Aylan didn’t get what the stone king had meant. All he was thinking about the dying monk. Also, he had no idea about what else the ring could do and how’d he get the other things. So, he asked the stone king.
“You’ll find this soon by yourself. I could say about the distant scene as it had done already. Now, you have to locate the rest by yourself, or they’d appear to you with other incidents,” the stone king replied.
The next morning, after having the breakfast with the royal family, Aylan and Cro stepped outside Jangaliya. They didn’t realize how the city looked like, because of all the illusions and excitement. Now, when they turned back to the city from the mountain at the border, they became amazed once again. The entire city looked like a maze from the mountaintop. The stone made buildings were painted with different colors, and they were matched to the next building, making it more comfortable for the eyes. Aylan thought to check the power of the ring. So, he put it on the finger and reached out his hands to the front, aiming the king’s castle. Cro sat on his shoulder uncomfortably. He didn’t want to see any more magic but knew it well that Aylan wouldn’t stop checking his newly found power.
As Aylan grabbed the scene and pulled back to them, they saw the whole royal family was still looking at them. Aylan waved his hand awkwardly and let the scene go. Cro laughed, “I bet you just wanted to see the princess. You can’t lie man.”
Aylan smiled. He hadn’t intended to see her but didn’t argue with Cro.
Chapter Seven
King Khuli had summoned the Kajlases to come to Ashaland with their families. He was going to give them a new home to live as they were struggling with food. Commander Magoora sent three ships to bring them here. He had a plan of his own. And to make it happen, he had convinced the king to get more Kajlas to Ashaland. Guessing the reason, the Queen Mother wasn’t agreeing with the decision. However, she didn’t say anything about it, thinking she’d be able to control them once she gets the power back.
Everything was fine for the first few days. The wild Kajlases stayed quiet as they were ordered to be. On the seventh day suddenly the Kajlas on the second ship went out of control. By the second hour of the morning, they had killed all the human sailors on the ship and played brutal games with their dead bodies. And by the noon they had realized that no o
ne amongst them knew how to sail a ship. They tried to keep sailing and ended up crashing it into a sinking mountain. Most of the Kajlas didn’t know how to swim, but only a few could survive holding on the ruins of the ship.
The next day, the third ship arrived near to the place of incident. The sailor from the crow’s nest shouted to the captain to take a look. The captain took the telescope to see what the sailor was pointing at and he felt stunned. By the look of the ruins and the levitating human dead bodies, he didn’t take more than a moment to realize what had happened to those dead crew’s fate. Instantly the captain met the leader of the Kajlas passengers and warned him if the same thing happens to them, then the consequences wouldn’t be good.
The chief of that group of Kajlas, Igur wasn’t happy with this situation. “I’ll assure it for you, Captain. Don’t worry,” he said.
“I’m hopeful about it,” the captain said, sarcastically. “I’m going to rescue and arrest the survivors now.”
“No,” Igur said with a loud voice. “They’re a disgrace to us. They’ve killed your people. They should get punished in our way. Run the ship over them and let them die in the ocean.”
The captain became speechless for a moment. He thought the Kajlas wouldn’t be happy to know about arresting his people. Instead, he wanted them to die! “I can’t do that, you see?” he replied. “As a captain, I have a responsibility. I can’t go with my personal emotion. I can’t let them die in the ocean.”
Igur leaned down to the captain’s face. “Just do as I said. You might not go with your emotion, but I do. My family was on that ship, and they died because of those idiots. So, I want them to die.”
“Okay, as you wish,” the captain had to agree with the Kajlas leader. “But I tried. Anyway, you’ll have to let the entire ship know that it’s your decision to run over them. Otherwise, I’d get punished once we reach the destination.”
“You, pathetic human,” Igur laughed. “You are fond of killing people for no reason, and now you’re trying to be the innocent one, huh?
“For your kind information sire, I’m a captain of a passenger ship. My duty is to transport people safely, not to kill anyone unless my ship gets attacked.”
“Enough with your garbage talk, captain,” Igur threw his right hand in the air. “Just do as I said, and I’m going to announce it on the deck, happy?” he rushed out from the cabin.
The captain ordered his sailors to run the ship straight over the survivors. As go over them, some of the Kajlas died instantly by the hit of the ship, and the others were left to die in the middle of the ocean. The captain had always hated the Kajlas, but he felt sorry for them for the first time.
The third ship arrived at the port of Ashaland two days after the first one, with the dead body of Igur and some his faithful ones. Some of the Kajlas who had their relatives and friends amongst the survivors, they protested against Igur’s decision. However, when his order was fulfilled, those Kajlas had attacked him and his guards and killed them on the deck. They wanted to kill the captain as well. But the shrewd captain reminded the Kajlas about what had happened with the second ship without a captain, and he had no choice but following Igur’s order.
As the Kajlas put their feet in the city, the people were surprised. It’s not like they didn’t see any Kajlas before. They had the same wild and even brutal look, as the ones who were already in the city, but had a sinister shade on their faces and mischievous smiles on their lips, as if they were up to something. The people of the city, the Midneys, and non-Midneys could feel this, and they just escaped from the Kajlas’s way and kept looking at them with frightened eyes from a distance.
Commander Magoora wasn’t happy to hear the news. Igur was his nephew and only worthy one to replace him. He held himself from punishing the rivals and pardoned them. He made sure that the news wouldn’t go the king by any means. The captain was called again and ordered to go for another trip to Chukataba to bring more Kajlas to fill in the place of the dead one.
***
Meanwhile, on top of the south wall, five young Midneys sat with their bows and arrows ready. They were preparing for the upcoming festival and the big sports. They had chosen to aim the villager’s kids to practice and to have fun as well. They knew very well that these kids’ lives meant nothing to the administration and they wouldn’t get punished for killing them. To make it more interesting, they made their arrows exactly like the Gypsies.
After a long wait, at the fourth hour of the day, their waiting had ended. Some kids had appeared in their shooting range. The kids were playing hide and seek without suspecting that they were being watched. The Midney hunters loved the situation as it was more challenging than the static target and they’d be able to kill all of them. They cheered as they took sips of wine from their glasses.
As the kids decided who’s going to find the others and spread to hide behind the bushes and trees, backing to the Midneys, the hunters took their bows and arrows and aimed the kids. Before even the seeker finished his counting, all his playmates were dead. The Midney hunters counted eight dead children were lying behind the bushes and cheered their wine glasses again. They had more fun to see the reaction of that child, finding his playmate’s dead bodies one by one. It took him a few moments to realize that the killers were looking at him, too, and he was in an open area of where he wouldn’t be able to hide. His little heart pounded faster. Tears burst out from his eyes, as he looked around and put his hands together to ask for forgiveness from the unseen killers. He tried to shout and call his mother, but couldn’t open his mouth out of a scare. His condition made the Midneys laugh. They decided to wait until the boy got up and ran. And in a few moments, they had their chance and shot all five arrows at him. Five arrows drove through his little body and hooked him to the tree that he aimed to hide. The Midneys were satisfied with their performance and left the place.
At lunchtime, the mother of the boy came to look for him and found her son dead. She dropped down on the ground and fainted. Another mother of one the kids who followed her came to the scene and was horrified. Immediately she started looking for her daughter and found her dead body behind a bush. She grabbed her little one and howled by her name, “Khela! Oh, my Khela! Speak to me, dear. Please talk to me!” She rubbed her face against her daughter’s face, held her tight. But, the little one didn’t reply to her mother.
Upon hearing the screams, the other people from nearby came to the spot and were stunned. It wasn’t that they had not seen the blood before, but so far, they had seen the grownups being dead. It was the first time somebody had brutally killed the kids. The whole village was covered with sorrow of the loss of the children. Turning into anger as they discovered the arrows from the Gypsies. They went to the head of the guards and requested him to take their complaints to the King. The head guard knew who the responsible for these murders were all along. He pretended to be eager to let the king know about the horrific incident but did nothing as the people left the gate.
The villagers did not trust him either. So, they promised to themselves to take the revenge as soon as they saw any gypsy nearby. Also, they had announced to the parents to keep their kids within their eyesight.
The hunters returned to the city. Lesra, the son of Chief Lord Brirar, went to his father to tell him about his successful hunting. However, at that time, Lord Brirar was at the court to convince the king not to punish the Dainees. He was sent to the King by the Queen Mother and she knew her son would listen to one person in the whole kingdom. King Khuli was determined to punish the guilty Dainees for their crime.
Since the Dainees were kept hidden from the public, only Lord Brirar was allowed to stay in the king’s court, other than the King, the Queen Mother, and the guilty Dainees. King Khuli was sitting on his throne, rubbing his chin with his left hand, and looking at the Dainees stood in the middle of the room, with their face hung down. Lord Brirar was trying to convince the king not to go hard on the Dainees. But the King ignored him. Lord Brirar
looked at Chaya helplessly. The Queen Mother squeezed her brows, hinting to keep trying.
“You know, I have never punished any Dainee before,” suddenly King Khuli broke the silence. He looked around and leaned back on the throne. “Humans are very vulnerable. Any punishment would be enough to make them scream. But you Dainees, I have no idea how to get the maximum satisfaction from punishing you. I’m not going to throw you into the pond. My crocodiles might get stomach problem.”
“My King…,” Lord Brirar tried to say something as the king paused. King Khuli ignored him.
“I know the best way. Ha ha ha,” King Khuli laughed hysterically. “I’m going to tie you with the raw sheepskins, under the sun. As the skins get dry, they’ll get smaller and pull your limbs out. Within the four-five days, your limbs would rip off from the body. And that’s the only way to get punished for a sneak into my secret chamber and steal the fireballs!” He shouted.
The Dainees were shaking out of a scare. Now hearing their declared punishment, they felt like going to faint at any time. The Queen Mother Chaya couldn’t stay silent anymore. She stood up and came in front of King Khuli.
Son of The Prisonland (The Myth Shadow Trilogy Book 1) Page 6