The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter (31 page)

“Why don’t we just go with you?” Farra
asked.

“Once the door is opened, it won’t be long
until Hatari knows about it. The army will come. You must have the
scepter before they arrive, or I fear you will never get it. Then,
there is the matter of your escape.”

“Just get us to the scepter,” Bomani said.
“We can manage the escape.”

“Okay then,” said Torik. “Wait here, in the
dark until the door opens. Do your best not to alert any more of
the ogres.”

“We will,” said Bomani. “Oh, and Torik…”
Bomani reached his hand out. “Thank you.”

Torik reached out his thick ogre hand and
nodded his head as they shook hands. “Good luck.” Then he turned,
and walked down the hall.

Farra and Bomani blew out the torch closest
to door and sat with Pupa, snug against the wall, in the darkness.
They wondered how long it would take Torik to get the door open, or
if he would get to it at all. His curse could force him to change
shape while walking amongst the other ogres, and then it would be
over and they would have to find some way to open the door
themselves. Aside from that, even just sitting and waiting, there
was the chance of an ogre or even Hatari himself just happening
upon them.

They had about ten minutes of pondering
their possible failures and then they heard the sound of the huge
rock door before them moving against the ground.

“He did it!” Farra exclaimed.

Bomani stood up and held out his hand to
help Farra up. “Are you ready to do this?” he asked.

Farra smiled and took his offered hand,
standing up. “Yes, let’s do it”

“TOGETHER.” Bomani added.

With the door open, they stood in front of
the chamber, hand in hand. The sight was beautiful, a huge chamber
of dark black walls filled with smaller pins of light like that of
the clear sky at night. The scepter emitted its own light, which
was reflected back by all of the crystals and gemstones embedded in
the walls. Many of them were clear and colorless, and some were
blue and red.

The walkway led them toward a massive stone
pillar. The front was cut into large sections with stone stairways
connecting them. At the top was the Ifa Scepter, which hovered in
place under its own power giving life to the room.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” said Farra.

“Yea, it really is,” Bomani replied.

“It looks like a long way up.”

“We’ve come this far...”

They headed across the narrow pathway, a
bridge with nothing to keep them from falling over the side. Farra
looked down into the cavern. It was too dark, and too far down to
see the bottom. “Courage,” she said to herself, and proceeded
forward with Bomani.

They carefully took the stairwell upward.
Still, one lapse in their footing could easily result in falling
into the depths of the cave. Just as they reached the first level,
they heard Hatari’s voice echoing throughout the chamber.

“I shouldn’t have bothered throwing you in a
cage. I should have gotten rid of you both. Don’t worry, I usually
learn well from my mistakes.” He stood there with a team of ogres
behind him. The small draft that blew through the caves pushed
against his clothing causing it to flutter a bit. He gripped his
staff tightly and the diamonds in the eyes of the skull twinkled
under their own light, mirroring Hatari’s anger.

“Hatari!” Bomani shouted. There was nowhere
for the children to run. The only path leading in or out was past
Hatari and his ogres. That was just fine for Bomani. He had no
intention of running from him. “You’ll pay for what you did to
Farra.”

“Hmmm,” Hatari replied. “I don’t think
so.”

Bomani charged. Immediately Hatari raised
his staff and a shaft of energy shot toward him. Bomani was quick,
he put his shield in from of him to block, but the power of
Hatari’s energy bolt was strong. It knocked Bomani back to the
ground.

“Ha hah!” Hatari laughed at him. “The power
I have in these caves is unmatched, boy.”

With that, Hatari plucked one of the
crystals of the eyes in the skull on his staff. A noise, like two
crystal glasses clanging together after a toast rang throughout the
chamber. Bomani and Farra covered their ears from the terrible,
high-pitched sound. The noise echoed back and forth in a domino
effect across all of the crystals embedded in the walls, vibrating
off of one another and through the surrounding rock. The entire
cavern began to shake. The ground trembled beneath their feet and
Bomani adjusted his footing. Dust began pouring down from the
ceiling followed by small rocks and pebbles.

“The ceiling.” Farra yelled, as she watched
the debris fall toward them. They huddled together now. The
crystals loosened from the ceiling and came crashing down. Bomani
put his shield into place and deflected them as Farra huddled
against him. The rocks and crystals bounced off of his shield.
Still, some of the crystals rained down hard enough to penetrate
his shield forcing their way through its outer shell, becoming
stuck. When the rumbling and shaking stopped
.
Bomani glanced at his shield that was now embedded
with the crystals and diamonds that fell from the ceiling.

“Ogres, kill them!” These simple words
commanded by Hatari sent the ogres rushing toward them onto the
narrow path of the first stairwell.

“Moon glow!” Farra shouted blinding the
first wave of ogres that approached them as they reached their
level. Bomani took this opportunity to attack them with his spear
and shield sending them over the edge. The next wave was not far
behind. Bomani stood in front of Farra blocking their attacks,
followed by jabs from his spear. The journey had only made his
warrior skills better than ever before. His skill with his spear
and shield was not to be underestimated. The ogres could not match
his attacks and could not penetrate his defense.

The sheer number of ogres was overwhelming
even for Bomani. The brutal beasts fought the children, backing
them up the next stairwell. “Farra.” Bomani yelled while still
tussling with the ogres. “Go. Grab the scepter. At least one of us
has to make it out of here.”

“No.” Farra said. “I stay with you. I fight
with you.”

“Farra, you have to. Go, grab the scepter,
and wait for me. If I can’t make it, promise me you will take it to
my father.”

“Bomani!”

“Promise me!”

“I promise!” she yelled, and then ran up the
stairway.

Bomani’s strength was leaving him. He was
getting tired, but he would not give up. He would not let the ogres
catch up to Farra.

“I am Bomani!” He yelled, in between swings,
and ducks, and blocks. “I am from the Kingdom of Ufalme.” Swing,
swing, block swing. “I am a great warrior!”

The next ogre stood before him. “And I am
Torik, I’ve come to help you.”

Bomani stood there with spear cocked back,
and his eyes wide open. Before him, Torik stood, and winked. Torik
then changed into his half-gorilla form. He turned and faced the
two ogres behind him, smashing their heads together.

“Da trader!” The other ogres said. “He is
here. Master, da trader!”

“Stop!” Hatari yelled, and at that moment
all action ceased. Is that you Torik? Have you finally come out of
hiding, only to be killed protecting these children?”

“It
is
me Hatari. If these children
can stand against you, then so can I. When they take the scepter
from you, your power will recede, and so will all of your plans of
conquering, anyone.”

“I’ve never shown ill will toward you Torik.
Join me now, kill the boy, and we can forget this whole matter. You
can return, as general of my army.”

“I don’t think so Hoo Hoo huh,” – Gorilla
grunts.

“Nice to see you brought your monkey suit,
Torik. Tell me, how long do you think you can hold that form? It
must be painful. Every second must be killing you.”

“He’s right,” Torik whispered to Bomani. “I
can’t hold this for long. Go help Farra. I can hold them off.”

“It must be terrible not to be able to
control your power Torik.” Hatari’s sarcasm echoed throughout the
chamber.

Farra was at the top of the staircase now,
at the scepter. It hung in mid air under its own power. She reached
for it, but like Hagga’s boat, some force was protecting it. Then
she grabbed her staff and used a bit of her Anifem magic to free
the scepter from the force field. Still, it didn’t work. “I can’t
get to it!” she cried out.

“You can’t get to it because it is under MY
power. Let me show you all how powerful I really am, how powerful I
have become. I’ll start by getting rid of you little girl.”

“Noooo.” Torik yelled, and once again
started fighting. His strength in his half-gorilla form was far
greater than the ogres. He broke their bones, smashed their heads,
and sent them flying over the side of the cliff into the darkness
below. “Hurry to her. I’ll hold them off,” he yelled to Bomani who
was already on his way up the staircase.

Hatari raised his arms channeling the energy
inside of him. He was connected to the crystals in the cave. His
anger and rage fueled his power, and it grew. He commanded all of
the power that he had at his disposal. The crystals in the walls
began to shine brightly as the energy within them grew until they
were almost blinding.

“What’s happening?” Farra cried.

“I don’t know,” replied Bomani, just
reaching her. He too had tried his best to get at the scepter and
was repelled by the force field.

Suddenly the energy from all the crystals
released as beams of light that shot to the Ifa Scepter. The Ifa
Scepter then grew with energy that swirled inside of it until a
beam of light shot at Hatari. He smiled as he felt the energy given
to him grow. He had never felt anything like it. Every atom in his
body felt infinitely powerful, and better yet, he could control it.
When he was satisfied, he pointed his staff toward the children.
“Now, die!” He let loose with every ounce of power that he had. The
energy left his staff and shot straight toward the children. Bomani
lifted his shield and covered them to block it.

Bomani’s shield was built to block blunt
attacks; fists, swords, arrows, stones, and the like. But magic,
and sorcery was something that it was
not
meant to handle.
Normally, all of that raw power from Hatari would have smashed
through his shield killing him and Farra. But now, his shield had
been incrusted with the crystals that had fallen from the ceiling.
Not just any crystals. These crystals had already been intertwined
with Hatari’s magic. These crystals were now serving a different
purpose.

The energy bolt hit the shield. The power
immediately absorbed itself into the crystals, stopping it from
penetrating. Every second that passed, and every ounce of Hatari’s
energy that reached the shield, only seemed to infuse the crystals
into the shield even more, absorbing even more of the power until
soon the energy shot back out at Hatari. The force from his own
energy bolt reflected back and knocked him against the wall. In an
instant, he felt as if he was burning from the inside and all of
the power that he felt he had was drained from him. He hit the
ground and felt weak, unable to stand up. A horrible pain
surrounded his entire body. As he desperately gasped for air, he
conjured up enough breath for one word, “Nooooooooooooo.”

Hatari’s magic had left him, and so did his
hold on the Ifa Scepter. With no magic to hold it in place, it fell
out of the air. Bomani, in quick reflex, rushed to grab it
stretching out the arm that carried his shield. His momentum
carried him through to the edge of the cliff. For a second, he
thought that he could pull himself back, but no, he had moved too
much too quickly and was going over the edge.

The entire chamber became unstable and began
to shake. The ceiling was falling apart. Pieces of the ceiling
crashed around them. A large piece fell next to Torik and the ogres
he fought. They stumbled, lost their footing, and fell over the
side of the cliff.

Farra watched in horror. “Torik, nooooo!”
She yelled.

Just as soon as she yelled his name, she
heard his usual shriek of shape shifting. A second later, she saw
him rising up, flying in his half-eagle form. With his heavy ogre
bones, his skills in flight could not compare to that of a real
bird, but it was enough for him to catch some air and soar
upward.

“I’m coming to you Bomani!” he yelled,
soaring toward the ceiling and then back down again toward Bomani
hanging on the side of the cliff with one hand. As Torik zoomed
toward him, the rocks continued to fall from the ceiling of the
crumbling chamber. This time, one fell, hitting Torik directly
during his flight. He was trapped under this large rock as it
pushed him downward into the darkness at the bottom of the
room.