《The Lumberjack And The Beautiful Suzie》


 Prologue (1)

    "Oh Oluwa, god of the forest, what a beautiful maiden I see in the green grass over there!" Babida the lumberjack exclaimed as he took a minute break from timber cutting. The reason for his sudden pause: a thin and black-skinned eighteen-year-old girl with curly hair, holding in her right hand a basket full of mushrooms. Her name was Suzie.


    She was sent to the woods by her grandmother, big momma - like she tenderly called the old woman - to fetch mushrooms for the dinner soup.


    She had her back turned and was totally focused on her task when the woodsman noticed her. She was worry-free searching for the white Button species and sorting them out. She was throwing away those that caused sickness and putting the good ones into her rubber-made basket for the elderly''s favorite meal.


    She bent graciously to pick up the mushrooms and while doing so, her pink silk mini-dress moved upward, exposing, even more, the charms of her hairless legs. The skirt featured cords at the waist fastened on the front side in the form of a butterfly knot.


    Babida the lumberjack was subjugated and the short pause he was taking, mutated into an eternal moment of infatuation. The steel ax he had held in the palms of his strong hands for the past two hours slipped and fell on the ground covered by plenty of tiny pieces of wood.


    "Hi, there!" He cried out from the top of his lungs.


    Struck by the high decibels of the logger''s voice, Suzie looked behind her, eyes wide open and the left hand on her chest, then deeply sighed, and took two steps back.


    In front of her, was a sweaty thirty-something years of age tall black man with a herculean body that he was proudly displaying under the hot sun of the afternoon. He had pecs as massive as Mount Everest and possessed nurtured biceps displaying an impressive number of veins.


    "Who are you?" The young maiden Suzie shouted in panic.


    "What are you doing here?" She added while continuing to move backward.


    "Sorry Miss, my intention had never been to frighten you. Please pardon my nonmanners!" Babida the lumberjack replied to her with a softened tone.


    Not quite sure how to react to the stranger''s assurance of coming in peace, the young maiden Suzie rather chose to walk away.


    "Anyway, I am leaving now," she said to him as she sped up her exit from the bushes.


    "A moment, please! May I at least know your name?" Babida the lumberjack responded to the young woman while flashing a bright smile.


    "What for? I said was on my way. Did you not hear me?" The young Miss Suzie retorted then started running away, her basket full of mushrooms in her hand.


    Babida the lumberjack extended his right arm in an attempt to stop her but it was too late. The beautiful unknown girl had vanished away as fast as she could.


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    Deeply disappointed, the woodsman sprung, fists closed, then screamed.


    Back in the center of Ekule, one of the most incredible villages of the Batang empire in Africa, the young Miss Suzie released her breath. She had escaped from the unknown.


    "Ouf! I''m now far away from that...who knows ...stalker," she said relieved as she entered the very bustling center of the imperial city.


    She then continued her walk home where her grandmother had long been waiting for her to prepare the mushroom soup.


    "Hi, big momma!" Suzie said to the sexagenarian woman as she got inside the house.


    "I am back home," she pursued while rushing to the kitchen, for she was late for the preparation of the dinner. She laid the basket of mushrooms in the sink and barely had she done so that an angry voice emanating from the living room shook her up.


    "Where have you been, you little blighter?" Suzie''s grandmother asked her upset.


    "Big momma, I am sorry!" Suzie mumbled while hurrying to hug the old lady in an attempt to calm her down.


    "Today there were so many mushrooms across the forest and thus I had to make sure I carry home as many as possible. I also had to be very selective and pick up the healthiest ones for your preferred soup," she convincingly explained.


    "Hmmm, now you are flattering me. You know every time how to appease me, especially when you bring home my favorite chow." Grandma answered back her granddaughter in a mild tone of voice.


    Suzie thereafter returned to the kitchen. She removed the mushrooms from the basket and placed them in a pot. She opened the tap to fetch some water, then tidied the white Buttons up.


    And thenˇ­! A flash memory of what had happened in the woods popped up.


    "Big momma, let me tell you the strange thing that occurred when I was in Ekule''s forest earlier in the day!" Suzie declared to her grandmother who was sitting on her rattan chair in the parlor.


    The aged woman was airing herself with a floral folding hand fan. She stopped for a moment, and glanced in the direction of her granddaughter before uttering doubtfully: "You again with your stories, what''s up this time around, little tattletale?"


    The night had completely covered in the village of Ekule. Babida the lumberjack was unsuccessfully trying to have some sleep after though a long and hard day of work. The reason was that he couldn''t help reminiscing about the unexpected encounter in the bushes he had earlier in the afternoon.


    The image of the dark in complexion young maiden with whirling hair and dressed in a pink silk robe with cords on the waist fastened in the form of a butterfly knot could not get away from his mind.


    The mighty woodsman was hit by a wave of love that shook him in all directions and made him lose control of himself. For the first time in a long moment, he felt weak. The fascination he was having for the unknown pretty maiden was now viral.


    "I wonder where the young maiden in pink dress dwells?" Babida the lumberjack whispered to himself.


    "I bet she lives in the neighboring village Okala in the west, for I have never spotted her around here," he persuaded himself.


    "Therefore, tomorrow early morning I will travel to Okala and look for her," he decided.


    "I must first try to get some rest," he added as he laid his head on the pillow, and stretched his hands and feet to the edges of his ebony-made bed, then finally fell asleep.


    Before dawn, Babida the lumberjack rose up. He geared up and completely changed his appearance. Indeed, with the help of the mirror in the tiny bathroom of his cabin and the sharp blade of his ax, he got rid of his enormous beard and made his mustache clean-cut. He then applied lemon juice on his face to eradicate the dead cells and the recalcitrant pimples.


    Thereafter, he took a bath that was longer than usual before spraying rose-made fragrance on his armpits, neck, cheeks, and voluminous chest. He squirted too a few drops of the perfume onto the palms of his hands and rubbed slightly his face and the rest of his body.


    Lastly, he wore a long perfectly white boubou with a brown kufi hat and covered his feet with brown leather sandals.


    Done with clothing, he took the way to Okala and arrived at the main arteries of the village. They were crowded and noisy as always. Charcoal merchants, butchers, fish sellers, tailors, jewelers, customers, passers-by, and running kids were animating the streets.


    Babida started his inquiry. He asked passers-by if they knew the whereabouts of a slim and black-skinned woman of eighteen years of age or a little bit above with curling hair who could wear to perfection a silk robe, notably a pink one with a butterfly knot on the front side.


    People had no idea who the young Miss was. Desperate, Babida held on for a moment. He stood in a corner, thinking about what he would do next. A group of three kids about twelve years old who were playing in the area and had remarked on him walked up to him.


    One of the teenagers, who seemed to be the chief of the band, spoke to him and affirmed with an imperious tone: "Ho! I know someone who can help you find whoever you are looking for."


    Babida was very disturbed by the small boy''s lack of tact but chose not to scold him. He preferred to focus on how the latter could assist him in his love quest.


    "Oh really? Well, I''m all ears, speak!" The logger reacted.


    "Look to your left, straight! Over there is the Witch''s street," the toddler said while showing the direction with his index finger.


    "Go there and all your questions will be met with answers!" He commanded.

 Prologue (2)

    Without wasting any longer time, Babida the lumberjack headed in the direction that was just shown to him by the rowdy teenager. As he was nearing the Witch''s street, the sun rays mysteriously stopped to shine. The path hence darkened and a sudden thunder came off the sky and rumbled.


    The muscular woodsman was seized with fear that he tried hard to conceal. He kept moving forward and as he was doing so a ball of light appeared in front of him out of nowhere. His vision was blurred, forcing him to bow and avoid total blindness.


    Right after, a levitating Witch who was dressed in a black hooded gown emerged from the luminary. She lowered her head and looked at the prostrated visitor while moving her long brown nails in a way one would believe she was playing a virtual piano.


    "You, Babida the lumberjack...! What could be the reason that makes you disturb my peace?" The Witch interrogated the impromptu visitor.


    "Pardon me, your Oracle! I wished I had announced my coming here today but the circumstances did not allow me to," Babida defended himself while remaining in the bowing position before the Sorceress.


    "You will then pay the price for your guts. Won''t you?" The Witch said to the reverent man.


    "And what is that, your Oracle?" Babida the lumberjack inquired.


    The Magician kept silent for a short instant as the woodsman continued to kneel down to her feet, his forehead and nose on the ground, his arms stretched toward the front, and the palms of his hands in contact with the sandy floor.


    "Ten imperial Batangi." The Witch replied finally to him.


    "Your wish is my command, your Oracle," Babida the lumberjack stated to manifest his agreement.


    "So, what can I do for you?" The Sorceress quizzed the logger.


    "There is a thin and black-skinned eighteen-year-old or plus maiden with spinning hair that I gazed at in Ekule''s forest while I was cutting off logs. She wore a pink silk short dress with a butterfly knot on the front side. I have been seeking to get to know her but to no avail," Babida the lumberjack confided saddened to the Witch who was listening to him attentively.


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    "Hmmm, I see the big and strong lumberjack has been stung by an arrow of love." The Oracle reacted playfully.


    "Now, I am asking you to do the following. You will go back to Ekule''s forest and inspect where you glanced at her and bring to me anything she may have touched or left behind her." The Sorceress instructed the woodsman.


    "Your wish is my command, your Oracle," Babida the lumberjack repeated to her, then stood up and walked backward, his spine slightly bent and his face staring at the empty ground.


    In a matter of seconds, he exited the Witch''s street and everything returned to normality. The sun was shining again, birds were flying high in the air, people of Okala village were moving up and down, children were frantically circling the streets and vendors were enticing customers.


    Babida the lumberjack took the way back to Ekule.


    He penetrated then crossed the main areas of the imperial city which were as lively as those of Okala. Inhabitants were as usual busy in carrying out their daily duties. They were loud. They were rushing here and there. They were looking after their kids. And among the numerous activities, they were also setting firewood for the lunch meal.


    They were doing so many things but none of them distracted Babida the lumberjack who was focused on his mission: to reach Ekule''s forest and get what the Witch had requested from him.


    He trekked past the streets of the center of Ekule in the direction of the west till the limits of the livable zone, then entered the forest.


    Without swirling around, he directed himself straight to the spot where the young maiden Suzie was picking up the white Button mushrooms. He turned over the stones, swept with his right foot then with the left one, the dead leaves littering the ground.


    He had almost lost hope of finding a bit of the existence of his crush when he noticed an object ten steps away that was lying on the green herbs.


    He went near it and lifted it. It was an untied pearl bracelet. He looked at it very closely and after a brief moment of thought, he said to himself: "Wait a minute! Is it not what I believe it is?"


    He looked at the jewel a second time then confidently and emphatically declared: "Yes it is! That''s a woman''s anklet. There is no doubt about it!"


    "Oh, oh! Wait, wait! Yes, yes, I''m standing in the exact location where I spoke to the Miss before she vanished away as quickly as she could." The logger asserted.


    "So this jewel must belong to her. I am certain it detached itself from her foot, probably when she roughly stepped back." He added.


    "I am bringing it immediately to the Witch in Okala." He spat out, and then he left Ekule''s forest.


    In the meantime, the young Miss Suzie, who was a sleepyhead, woke up from a long sleep. The day had well progressed. She stretched her hands upward while yawning then tried to perform a full high kick with her right foot. However, she halted her gymnastics when she realized in the middle of the process that something was strange.


    "Oh, oh! Have I lost something? Why does my foot look naked?" She posed the question to herself, with her right foot half-extended in the air as she had paused her karate movement.


    "Oh, Loba, God of the gods! It can''t be it. How in the world did I lose my pearl anklet?" She cried out mad.


    She lightly hit the head with her right hand, then pulled a small portion of her curly hair disgusted. She suddenly had a flash memory of her encounter in the woods with the unknown man just last afternoon.


    "Oh, oh! I know exactly where and when my ornament went missing. It surely fell on the ground when I moved back frightened by this gigantic and never seen before woodsman," she voiced to herself.


    She finished her cogitation, got ready, and right away speeded to the forest.


    On her arrival in the woods, there was no one around. The logger had departed for Okala village where he intended to visit once again the Sorceress.


    The young maiden Suzie explored the area where her unexpected meeting with the woodsman unfolded. She sought her anklet in the green herbs with thoroughness but could not find it. Despair and wrath took her over. Resigned, she stopped her research and headed back home.

 Prologue (3)

    He passed through the same arteries he had crossed during his last journey in the locality, then spotted the Sorceress'' street. He went in and the same things that happened the first time he set foot occurred again: sudden darkness, a heavy thunder, a ball of light, then the levitating Witch playing a virtual piano.


    However, this time around, there was a major change which was that his visit was expected by the enchantress. Consequently, the latter appeared to the woodsman in her playful mood.


    "Black tea or palm wine, Mr. Hercules?" She joked.


    "Haha, your Oracle has a lot of humor, I behold. Rather red wine, please! But at a later time," Babida the lumberjack returned the favor.


    "What do you hold in your hand? Is that a pearl anklet? Precisely a woman''s pearl anklet?" The Witch asked the courteous visitor who had the jewel in his extended right hand.


    "Nothing goes unnoticed to your Oracle. Your Oracle sees everything, hears everything, and knows everything," the logger obsequiously complimented the host.


    "Hmmm, a lumberjack with refined manners and who knows how to speak to an Oracle, that''s not common," said deeply flattered the Witch to the woodsman.


    "Therefore I will grant your wish and exempt you from paying the ten imperial Bantagi I had demanded." The Sorceress decided while inserting her right hand in her black gown.


    She took out a short stick which she mystically lit and used to form a circle of light. She moved her hand a little bit backward to gain momentum then threw with tremendous force the circle of light in the atmosphere before she disappeared.


    And like at the previous visit of Babida the lumberjack, normal life reasserted itself. Hence, the sun shone again and birds were back whistling in the sky. As for Okala''s inhabitants, they invaded the streets once more: the children ran foolishly across them while merchants and buyers dealt.


    The woodsman rose and as he was standing, he noticed a blank white paper on the floor. He crouched, pinched the papyrus, and neared it to his face. Then the image of the eighteen-year-old maiden he had been looking for, became clearer and clearer. However this time around, the pretty Miss wasn''t wearing the pink silk robe with the butterfly knot. She had instead put on a casual home outfit and was apparently inside a house, moving candidly.


    Unexpectedly, to the great dismay of the logger, the image gradually blurred till the young Miss could no longer be seen.


    Half-disappointed and half-thrilled, Babida the lumberjack ranged the mysterious blank white sheet in the pocket of his white Boubou. Thereafter he hiked back to the imperial city Ekule without still knowing the whereabouts of the young woman, except that she was in a house. However, he had no idea of the location.


    "I wished the sheet of the Witch had revealed to me the home address of the beautiful maiden. I can''t even tell whether the house is in the village of Ekule or that of Okala or maybe...wait a minute! That of Okunde in the north?" The logger questioned himself.


    "Hmmm...Okunde, I almost forgot that one but...anyway, from my current position and given the important orders of wood I have received, I must give up my quest and return immediately to Ekule to resume my work," the enamored woodsman concluded sadly then began to head back to Ekule.


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    However, on the way to the imperial city, an idea popped up in his head: "Wait a minute!" He said, talking to himself.


    "Why would I not stop one time by Okunde and settle this case once and for all? I can simply reorient my path to Okala''s north gate. From there, I board a canoe and navigate till Okunde''s west gate," thought Babida the lumberjack.


    "Yes, indeed that''s a very good idea!" He responded to his query and immediately began to implement his new plan.


    The journey of the woodsman went on trouble-free. After a couple of hours of trekking, he finally arrived at the east gate of Okala and embarked on a canoe whose captain was extremely friendly to him. The experienced sailor gave the hungry traveler two wild mangoes from the locality that the latter licked savagely to the extent that a few drops of the yellow juice of the fruit were about to stain his white boubou.


    "Sir, please take this handky and quickly clean your chin up," the captain of the boat said to Babida the lumberjack as he handed the latter the handkerchief.


    "Thank you, captain!" replied the traveler as he hastened to collect the cleaner and apply it on his now yellow chin.


    The two men then continued the voyage and not even one time the river lashed out a wave. Even the crocodiles were docile to them. The reptiles seemed to be paying them tribute and never neared the canoe. Ultimately they reached the coast just as the sun was about to set and the logger disembarked. He thanked the captain of the canoe and without wasting time he rushed to the west gate of Okunde.


    Upon his arrival, the guardians of the empire''s doors were celebrating the birth of a baby of one of them and lightly checked his identity. They let him pass the checkpoint and continued their party.


    The woodsman entered the village of Okunde and after a few meters away from the west gate, he searched the pocket of his white gown to grasp the magical empty white paper. He brought it out and neared it to his face. To his great astonishment, the image of the young maiden reappeared.


    This time around she had on her the popular traditional wax-made women''s dress, the Kaba, and was wandering across the streets. She walked past Mobu Street, Sanka Street, and Madiba Street to the grand statue of the reigning Batang Emperor, his Majesty Batang V, the fifth ruler of the Batang dynasty.


    Babida the lumberjack had not recognized the streets the young maiden he had fallen in love with, was passing by but his attention was caught when the Miss went past the Emperor''s statue. It was one of the most famous monuments in the whole empire and it was situated nowhere else but in the center of Ekule, the capital city.


    "What? So she lives in Ekule." exclaimed the logger, stunned.


    "I must go back to the imperial city right away." He told himself while hasting.


    He walked in the direction of Okunde''s south gate and from there he penetrated Ekule through its northern door. As he was moving forward he noticed a wooden house on the left side of the way. It was a chalet. It seemed to him colloquial. He felt like he had seen it already but could not remember where. And thenˇ­


    "Oh, wait a minute! The magical blank white paper!" He shouted as he was recovering his memory.


    "Yes, that''s the house I saw in the image. That''s surely the young maiden''s hideout." The woodsman uttered undoubtedly.


    He started to stretch his neck, then his feet in an attempt to peep inside the house but it was hermetically locked. There was no opening. He paused for a moment to think about his next move. While doing so, he placed his hands on each of his waists, lowered his head slightly, and glazed the sand on the floor.


    Then, for no specific reason, he turned to look in his back and could not believe his eyes. Another house but entirely identical to the previous one. A twin house. The only difference was that the window was open and he could spot from a distance the moving shadows inside.


    Like a frog, the logger leaped over the tiny fence in front of him, and like a snail, he crawled quietly to the opened window. Yet, he was not tall enough to spy through comfortably. So he took a brick that was laid on the floor and placed it against the house plank wall, then climbed on top of it.


    Unfortunately, his weight was too overwhelming for the poor brick which failed to resist and dislocated.


    BAMM!!! The sound of the noise he made when he landed hard on his back.


    "You again?" shouted an angry voice.

 Prologue (4)

    "You again? The stalking lumberjack!" The young maiden with the Kaba growled, standing on top of the logger who was lying on the ground.


    "Suzie, what''s going on over there?" A voice from inside the house asked her.


    "Big momma, it''s that shady lumberjack who terrified me last time in the forest when I went there to pick up mushrooms for the dinner soup," she explained loudly to the old lady.


    "What? Did he dare set foot onto our property? No way! I''m coming outside to whoop his bottom," Grandma said in fury and fire. Then she rose off her rattan chair and met her granddaughter and the woodsman outdoors.


    At the same time, a man rushed out from the other twin house where the logger had first tried to sneak in.


    "Suzie, what is the matter darling?" He enquired while running toward her.


    "Uncle Bibi, look at the man over here. He is a lumberjack. He was spying on me. The first time I caught him red-handed in his dirty activities, was in the forest. And today he dared come onto our property. He was peeping through the window using the now broken brick," she explained to her late mother''s senior brother.


    "Wait a minute! I must be dreaming. Someone should wake me up, please!" Uncle Bibi, his glasses off, reacted to the discovery he was about to reveal.


    "This is Babida the lumberjack, the Killer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain. He was awarded the medal of the highest honor and merit by the reigning Emperor''s deceased father, the Great Batang IV, for his bravery and heroic actions during the attack of the empire about fifteen years ago by the Terror of the cursed Hill," Suzie''s maternal uncle disclosed the past to her.


    "Oh, Loba, God of the gods! That''s him Bibi." Grandmother reacted, her eyes wide open in amazement.


    "Yes, mom! There is no doubt about it," Uncle Bibi stated.


    Just right after the true identity of the man the young Miss Suzie and her grandmother believed to be a stalker was disclosed, the neighbors came out massively to raise the hero of their younger age: Babida the lumberjack. They surrounded him while hailing his name and hugging him time and time again.


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    "Babida the lumberjack, the savior of the Batang people, the slayer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain," they chanted.


    Surprised by the story Uncle Bibi has just told her, the young maiden Suzie was piqued by an itching curiosity. She began, confused, a set of questions to her late mother''s sibling.


    "But Uncle Bibi, I don''t understand. Where is the Forbidden Mountain? I have never heard of it, though I have been in this land for the past eighteen years. I have never left even once," she interrogated her uncle who was all ears.


    And she went on: "You said the Monster''s aggression took place fifteen years ago, meaning I was a three-year-old toddler back then. So I must have witnessed the sad event but as I am speaking now, there is no souvenir emerging from my mind. Why is it that?"


    Her uncle was still mouth shut as she elaborated, even more, her stance: "Why is it that I had no idea who this man, Babida the lumberjack, was? Are the empire''s heroes forbidden to show up in public? Or is it simply forbidden to speak about them? Which of course makes no sense if that is indeed the case."


    Done with her litany. Suzie''s uncle cleared his throat and replied: "Well, now listen to me very carefully my little darling!"


    And suddenly, a powerful storm erupted. The sky became dark then drops of rain began to fall. The crowd that orbited the woodsman was dispersed. The latter was left standing straight in the middle of the yard. Big Momma went back inside the house, inviting her grandchild Suzie and her son Uncle Bibi to do the same but they ignored her. The rain got stronger.


    Uncle Bibi got at the same time a flash memory.


    15 YEARS AGO...


    "Anna, Anna! Wake up, wake up!" Bibi shouted as he opened the door of his junior sister''s bedroom.


    "Take your little daughter Suzie with you and both go hide in the cave!" He ordered her.


    "The Monster of the Forbidden Mountain is attacking the empire. The beast is right now in Okunde and will soon arrive here in Ekule," he reported to her.


    Anna who was barely asleep, bounced off the bed in panic and rushed to the opposite room where the three-year-old infant Suzie was profoundly slumbering.


    Gently but with hastiness, she instructed the little girl to get up.


    "Sweetheart, get off the bed! We have to go to the cave. Do you remember? I told you we will have to hide there each time a villain comes around to harm us," Anna murmured to the child''s ears.


    "Oh, Mommy, please leave me to sleep!" replied the little girl very annoyed.


    "Sweetheart, don''t be vexed! But do you remember what I told you we will have to do anytime a big monster comes around? It''s to go hide in the cave, isn''t it?" Anna insisted.


    "Yes, mommy, true!" Three-year-old Suzie answered without opposing further resistance and then followed her mother.


    Bibi escorted his sister and his niece to the underground.


    "Ok, that''s awesome! Now that things are in order, I can leave you with my conscience in peace. I have now to head back to Okunde and join the imperial forces which are on the brink of collapsing before the incredible might of the Monster." Uncle Bibi said as he left the two females in the hideout.


    But before the young soldier''s departure to the warzone, he stopped by his room at the end of the corridor near the staircase and wore his uniform constituted of two steel bracelets -one on the right arm and another one on the left hand-, along with silk trousers, and a long curved sword. As it was of tradition he let the chest, proudly exposed. Ready, he walked out barefoot.


    In Okunde, the imperial army had already sustained a significant loss of valiant soldiers. More than a hundred men of honor had perished under the claws and beak of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain.


    It was a massive bird that weighed about twenty thousand kilograms and measured almost ten meters long and five meters large. It could not then fly for a lengthy moment nor hover enough high in the sky to not hit trees.


    So its preferred way of moving was on its legs. It dwelt in the mountain situated in the north of Okunde. The hill was proclaimed forbidden by the late Great Batang IV. No inhabitant in the empire was permitted to hike there after the fifteen-year-old Emperor''s son, Dida the First, was killed by the Monster during a promenade.

 Prologue (5)

    ALWAYS 15 YEARS AGO


    The imperial soldiers failed to stop the foe in Okunde. The Monster of the Forbidden Mountain overcame quite easily all their tricks and arrived at the south gate of the village. It destroyed mercilessly the checkpoint and the imperial guards assigned to its defense before taking the road to the north gate of the capital city Ekule.


    Alerted of the looming danger, the Emperor, The Great Batang IV commanded that all men of the land -soldiers and civilians-, progress in the direction of the north gate of the imperial city and pledged to distinguish and elevate to the highest either military or non-military position whoever would slay the monster''s head and bring it to him on a silver platter.


    The emperor was an ailing sixty-year-old man. He had been ruling over the empire for twenty good years since his father''s abdication. He had won battles but they were not as challenging as the war against the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain. His army was already down by two hundred brave fighters. Only three hundred were remaining to protect the fifty thousand inhabitants of the overall land. Half of the population was concentrated in Ekule.


    Men of courage heard the order of their Majesty and moved toward the north gate of the imperial city. One of them was the then seventeen-year-old boy Babida who was already endowed with an out-of-norm physique. He was a woods cutter apprentice and learned the skills of the profession from his uncle Doda who had passed away a year ago suffering from lingering diabetes.


    Contrary to most of the men in the troop who were equipped with a sword, the brave teenager Babida held in his right hand a Herculean steel ax weighing twice the average weight, about five kilograms. Its length went up to a hundred centimeters.


    However, as was customary for most warriors, he wore silk trousers, a steel bracelet on each hand, and a tusk necklace that hung on his naked chest.


    He walked proudly amid the men of courage. They chanted in unison war songs to motivate themselves. They defied the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain to set his long and skinny leg on Ekule''s soil. They were telling how merciless they would be when the time to lay the sharp blade of their weapons on its neck would come. They were singing so many things when suddenly...they were rocked by an earthquake. Their enthusiasm was shattered and the north fence crumbled. In the background, the shadow of something yet unidentified became bigger and bigger.


    "It''s the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain!" A warrior in the battalion shouted, his finger pointing in the direction of the Beast.


    ALWAYS 15 YEARS AGO


    The troop went wild and began to scatter in all directions. The seventeen-year-old Babida unbelievably stood still in his position and did not move even for an inch. He extended his right arm into the air, holding tight his ax in the palm of his hand.


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    "Come here, you little monster. Your end is near," He said, challenging the Beast which was teased and began to swing disorderly.


    The Monster screamed angrily while opening his wings, which it then used to blow, with brutal power, a sandy wind.


    Babida and his war comrades were sent into the air spinning before they landed painfully on the surface of the ground. Some of them died on the spot. Their weapons were spread all over the combat zone.


    Lain and hurt, Babida looked up at the sky. His ax was a hundred meters away from him. He felt like his days were numbered and therefore expressed his last wishes.


    "I wished our ancestors, gods of the Batang people would lend me their superpowers so I can defeat the Monster and in return, I promise to let them harness my plot of land for the next ten years as I will leave," Babida vowed.


    As he was done mentioning the name of the ancestors, a voice that he only could hear, enjoined him loudly: "Babida, Babida! Rise and go pick up your weapon! Your wishes have been accepted."


    A shooting star thereafter fell from the sky, rolled around the courageous young combatant, and cured his wounds before evaporating into space.


    In the greatest shape of his lifetime, the seventeen-year-old boy stood back on his feet. The Monster was still yelling but he wasn''t intimidated. He sprinted to grab his ax and threw it with tremendous strength and accuracy on the long and skinny leg of the giant bird.


    Bingo! The Beast was hit and its blood burst out diffusely. The animal went wild, swirling like a tornado in the direction of the inner Ekule. It ravaged everything on its path before crashing into a home.


    "Annaaaa, Suzie!" A man shouted hysterically while running toward the location where the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain had fallen. It was Bibi, Suzie''s uncle. He raced as fast as he could but tripped over a stone and sprained his left ankle. He stayed on the ground, sobbing.


    Babida began to run as well, as human voices in crisis emanated beneath the enormous injured bird.


    "Help! Help! Bibi, we are stuck in the cave," Anna cried out while three-year-old Suzie burst into tears.


    The Monster was moaning. Babida came up to its level, stood over it, and with an air of superiority declared: "Die, you, bird of ill omen!".


    He then snatched his ax from the Beast''s leg and extended his two hands in the air.


    Lastly, he directed with unprecedented brutality the blade of his weapon on the animal''s long neck and the Monster pushed his last breath.


    "Hurra! Hurra! We are safe. The Monster of the Forbidden Mountain is no more. It has succumbed to the sharp blade of our valiant defender," Uncle Bibi intoned despite the pain from his bruises and the crowd which flocked to the place repeated the slogan after him.


    Babida had just killed the villain and people were euphorically celebrating his prowess. However, he urged them to first assist him in pulling away the Beast, for there were two persons enclosed in the cave whose exit was blocked by the fallen Monster.


    Anna got out of the hole holding in her hands a sleeping three-year-old Suzie. She thanked Babida and the rest of her rescuers, then walked to the position of her wounded brother Bibi and tried to bring him moral support while he was being treated by a native doctor.


    As the Emperor had ordained, Babida took to him on a silver platter the head of the dead Monster and he was decorated with the medal of the highest honor and merit.


    A few days later, he left the imperial city Ekule for an unknown destination to fulfill the pact he had signed with the ancestors.


    BACK TO THE PRESENT


    All this while eighteen-year-old Suzie stayed under the heavy falling rain to listen to her Uncle Bibi telling her a fifteen-year-old story that starred the today old, the yesterday young, Babida the lumberjack. She was now in admiration of who she thought was a man without manners, a stalker. She looked around andˇ­.


    "Where is he, Uncle Bibi?" She asked angrily.


    "Where is who?" The uncle reacted.


    "The lumberjack!" The young Miss shouted.


    They checked around the compound but the woodsman had vanished away...Too late, Suzie!


    TO BE CONTINUEDˇ­

 Part 2 (1)

    The young Miss Suzie and Uncle Bibi were unable to find Babida the lumberjack anywhere around the compound. He had mysteriously disappeared from their sight. So they gave up on their investigation, at least for the moment, and finally rejoined Big Momma inside the house.


    The matriarch was as usual relaxing on the rattan chair while sipping a cup of hot Chai, a beverage composed of boiled water, black tea, cow''s milk, ginger, and black powder pepper.


    "Big momma, I see you have made Chai already," the young maiden Suzie spoke to her grandmother and the latter nodded.


    "Well, that''s great! I will serve a cup of this marvel to Uncle Bibi too," she added while holding the jar of hot Chai in her right hand. She poured some of the liquid into a cup and handed it over to her uncle.


    "Thank you, darling!" He said to his caring niece, then tasted the delicious flavored water.


    He quenched his thirst with a few drops without pronouncing a word and after a moment, he broke his silence and uttered to the two women in the parlor: "Now I am returning to the other twin chalet to take a nap."


    "We had a very agitated afternoon," he explained. And in one shot, he swallowed the rest of his Chai, then retreated.


    Big Momma and her granddaughter Suzie were now just the two of them in the house. They had their eyes locked on each other. And as if they were communicating by telepathy, they declared with emphasis and in perfect harmony: "We have to find that lumberjack."


    This was a powerful statement to ascertain their determination to get to the bottom of the unfinished business.


    Babida the lumberjack who by chance discovered the hideout of his crush Suzie in the north of Ekule was now running away from her and also from the crowd that was glorifying him. His true identity was unconcealed and he could no longer pretend to be a common woodsman like the others. He was Babida the lumberjack, the killer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain.


    From that moment, he was fully conscious that his life in Ekule and even beyond, would no longer be as quiet as it was since his coming back to the empire a year ago.


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    He walked back to his home in the south of the imperial city, his kufi hat lowered to the level of his eyebrows so that people would not recognize him. He knew news in the region spread like wildfire.


    The woodsman arrived in his humble two-piece wooden cabin. He removed his leather sandals and kept them on the shoe rack on the left side of the door, then went to the center of the room and lay on the perfumed wool carpet.


    He stared intensely at the ceiling above his head till he lost himself in deep thoughts. A moving light showed up and formed a circle in the middle. An image of the young maiden in a pink dress, the beautiful Suzie resurfaced. She was smiling radiantly, blinking stars, and blowing tiny bubble kisses in the shape of a heart with her right hand.


    The enamored lumberjack dove even more into the depth of his dream until Burrrrrrˇ­


    A sudden astounding vibration shook the earth. The incredible strength of the phenomenon made the deer painting canvas on the wall of the logger''s cabin crashed against the floor. The petrol lamp, as well as the dishes, and the cup on the table situated on the left side of the room all trembled.


    The woodsman''s beloved ceramic vase of roses did not withstand the wrath of the earth either. It fell off the wooden stool at the left corner of his bed and made a deafening noise that baffled his small ears.


    Like a leopard, Babida the lumberjack stood off the ground and sprung toward the door, which he opened to have a glimpse of the outside.


    The night was at its fullest. The sky was gloomy and the moon was grey, not a good omen according to the Batang empire astrology.


    Trees had lost a few branches. Old roofs had succumbed to the earth strike and were torn. Even the kennel of the neighbor''s dog was damaged. The puppy was barking and running across the lawn frantically.


    People in the affected area went outside their homes to witness the extent of the destruction. They plunged into deeper sorrow when they caught sight of the bad forecast in the heavens.


    While they were interpreting the meaning of the ominous sign, a strident howl emerged from the north and seemed to be far beyond the limits of Ekule. Its intensity hinted it was above the cliff adjoining the neighboring village, Okunde. And the cliff was nothing else but the forbidden mountain.


    "Something has happened in that cursed hill again," Babida the lumberjack whimpered to himself.


    "I must absolutely go find out tomorrow morning what it is," he concluded. He then went back inside his house and took a rest.


    As for the young maiden Suzie, she was with her grandmother in their chalet at the moment of the earthquake and once it was passed, she began meticulously to assess its sequels on their shelter.


    Fortunately but strangely not even a glass was destroyed. Just dust had aroused a little bit and was causing grandma to sneeze.


    "What, what...was...was that Suzie?" The old lady laboriously asked her grandchild while trying to contain the sternutation.


    "Especially the mysterious scream which originated from that doomed mountain?" She wondered.


    The granddaughter Suzie was busy searching for any havoc in the house, so she did not react to her grandmother''s queries. She kept on with her detective mode. She knocked lightly on the walls to test their post-earthquake solidity till an angry voice interrupted her.


    "Suzieee, do you hear me?" Grandma roared vehemently at her granddaughter who was ignoring her.


    Shocked by the sharpness of the tone, the young Miss Suzie blenched and almost lost her balance as she stepped over the wooden statue of a lying Katanga lion that was placed on the ground.


    "Sorry big momma!" She apologized while she had her two hands on the upper part of her Kaba.


    "Well, uncle Bibi certainly has answers to it." She replied to her grandmother''s interrogations.


    Toc, toc!!! Toc, toc!!! Toc, toc!!!

 Part 2 (2)

    Someone banged repeatedly at the door.


    "Suzie, open, darling! It''s me, uncle Bibi. Are you safe?" Uncle Bibi''s voice resonated from outside.


    "Oh, oh, talk of a Monster and he will surely appear," the young Miss Suzie told her nanny while rushing to unlock the door.


    Like a mad buffalo, uncle Bibi entered the house and walked around to detect any suspicious movement.


    "Thank our ancestors! You are all fine," Uncle Bibi exclaimed relieved, his eyes heaved to the sky, and the palms of his two hands stuck against each other.


    "Bibi, was it that bird of ill omen that was howling?" Grandma asked her son while displaying a sign of anxiety on her face.


    "But it can''t be. It was beheaded by Babida the lumberjack," she went on, answering hence her question.


    "You are right mommy but I guess the Monster had procreated before attacking the empire. It was killed but no one ever inspected the mountain afterward." Uncle Bibi assumed, then gently hit his forehead with his right hand as he just realized how terrible such an eventuality would be.


    "Procreated?" Grandma blurted confused.


    "If that was indeed the case. Why has it taken so long? Why did it take fifteen years for its progeniture to reveal its existence?" She interrogated her son who remained silent.


    The granddaughter Suzie observed her grandmother and her uncle elaborate on a topic that was again just a few hours ago unknown to her. Despite her shaky knowledge of the past, she involved herself in the discussion and began to make assumptions.


    "My thought is that the Monster indeed laid an egg or more. How did it copulate? It''s a mystery but anyway it has a descendant," she brainstormed while Big momma and uncle Bibi were listening to her carefully.


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    "The fact that a big howl emanated from the forbidden mountain right after the earthquake is not a fortunate coincidence. I believe the power of the vibration fractured the egg''s shell, ending therefore a fifteen-year-old maturation," she deduced while her relatives looked at her dazed by the fertility of her brain.


    "Oh Loba, God of the gods! Suzie, you''re a G-E-N-I-U-S, genius, darling." Uncle Bibi told her, eyes wide open, jumping and tapping the ground at a rapid speed.


    "Clap here my little angel! The plausibility of your hypothesis is simply mind-boggling." Grandmother complimented her while showing the palm of her right hand to perform a high five.


    "Okay, it''s time to go to bed now.,"Uncle Bibi said to the two women.


    "Both of you, go upstairs to your respective rooms! As for me, I will from now on sleep on the old hammock. Batang empire is no longer a haven," he asserted.


    The two ladies did as uncle Bibi had suggested. The latter kept a close watch over the chalet. He stayed up for a while, then when he got exhausted, he stepped inside the hammock and fell asleep.


    The morning had just started, however a lot of things was already going on in the imperial palace. Following the chaotic events of the last night, Batang V, the Emperor, summoned the twenty honorable wise men of the empire to attend an extraordinary congress by sunrise. Their chariots raced as fast as they could toward the main entrance of the castle. Before the first sunray of the day, they were all seated around His Majesty.


    They manifested to him their regrets as Edimo, the god of ruin, did not spare the imperial family. The back fence of the supreme residence was destroyed. The statue of the Emperor''s late father, The Great Batang IV in the center of Ekule did not escape from the wreckage either. It was dismembered.


    The meeting''s purpose was to adopt a set of measures to prevent the land from any further misfortune.


    "Prominent congressmen, as you all know, the empire last night endured the ruthlessness of the god of destruction," Batang V said as an opening statement to the council of wise men.


    "Great damages have been accounted for across the land. A lot of villagers are now facing the hardship of a painful wake-up. So are you and the imperial household," he pursued.


    "However there is a far greater concern. A reverberating howl was heard right after the earthquake. The palace''s Oracles are categorical. It came from the Forbidden Mountain and for them, a new Monster was born. That''s why the moon turned grey," the Emperor announced to the congressmen who were mystified and invaded by a sudden fear.


    "Save us, my Lord!" The youngest of the wise men cried out while running to bow before His Majesty.


    "Rise, Duda! Rise!" The Emperor commanded him. The latter obeyed and stood on the left side of the Ruler.


    "I called you here today so we can anticipate any attack of this bird of ill omen," he confessed.


    "My Lord, we should send by tomorrow our bravest warriors to the Forbidden Mountain. We should strike the beast first and we shall do so on its territory so we could preserve our properties from more demolition and our loved ones from an ugly death," the Senior member of the assembly advised.


    "Brilliant idea, Honorable Buba! However we will not have to wait until tomorrow. We will do it right now," the Emperor proclaimed emphatically while getting off his chair, his scepter in his right hand.


    "Scribe!" He shouted and a man came up to him in a hurry, holding in his hands a papyrus, a feather, and a calabash of ink.


    "By Imperial Order of His Majesty, Batang V, the Fifth Ruler of the Batang dynasty. All men aged sixteen years and above, and whose qualifications to wield with dexterity a sword or any lethal weapon can not be doubted, are hereby instructed to join a military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain. The goal of the imperial mission is to slay the head of the newborn Monster and bring it to His Majesty on a silver platter. The victor will receive as a reward the medal of the highest honor and merit along with a thousand Batangi," the Sovereign decreed.

 Part 2 (3)

    By noon the whole empire was in effervescence. The messengers of His Majesty Batang V were wandering across the crowded streets of Ekule, Okala, and Okunde while reading aloud the imperial command.


    Like all other inhabitants of the land, Babida the lumberjack grasped the imperial message, which was in line with his day plan, except there was a gratification on top of it: public acknowledgment and money. The logger wasn''t a big fan of fame, however, he would have been silly to ignore the imperial financial incentive and increase his wealth.


    He wore his wartime armor composed of two steel bracelets, silk trousers, a tusk necklace, and his herculean ax of one hundred centimeters long for a weight of around five kilograms. Then barefoot, he left his cabin and trekked to the center of Ekule where groups of courageous warriors who answered the call of His Majesty Batang V, were being formed.


    The logger joined the battalion of civilians. Set and alongside the imperial soldiers and army veterans, they began to walk toward the north gate of the imperial city Ekule with one clear target: the newborn Monster that dwelt above the hill adjacent to the next village, Okunde.


    Extremely boosted by the ancestral song of victory: The Makossa, they pledged to climb to the summit of the Forbidden Mountain and abbreviate the Beast''s days.


    "Oh Loba, God of the gods, sharpen the blades of your children and guide them to the dean of the beast. Shall fear never get hold of them and shall they be victorious, Amen," they sang over and over.


    On their way, they met warriors that were coming from Okala in the west. Together they mixed and formed bigger groups of civilians, imperial soldiers, and army veterans. Under a bright moon, they finally arrived in Okunde through its south gate.


    There they found organized bands of military and nonmilitary combatants that they assimilated and together they constituted a massive regiment of one thousand men of honor under the command of the local Governor, His Highness Kola II, a cousin of the Emperor Batang V.


    Kola II was forty-two. Two years older than his next of kin, Emperor Batang V. Previously he served as the Superior Commander of the imperial forces before being promoted to the rank of Governor, the second highest position of power in the empire.


    He had well earned his nationwide reputation of "Heart of a Tiger" after he choked with his bare hands a hungry tiger that was about to attack him and his pregnant wife Ana.


    The incident occurred while the spouse was grilling gorilla meat, almost every Sunday afternoon, in the backyard of the couple''s mansion in Okunde village. Kola II was sitting on a wooden chair in the corner and was admiring furtively the culinary talent of his wife while consuming the local alcoholic drink: the Kai-Kai.


    Then unexpectedly a two-meter-long and three hundred kilograms tiger jumped over the house fence and landed in the compound.


    Kola II was seized by panic as he saw the fawn directed itself toward Ana''s position. He abruptly got off his chair, making thus the fabric wrapped around his left shoulder to untie and fall on the ground. He was left topless and with just underpants.


    The then ruler of Okunde was physically blessed by the ancestors of the Batang people. He measured one hundred and seventy-five centimeters high for ninety-five kilograms. He was endowed with impressive biceps, enormous thighs, and well drawn six packs on his stomach.


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    Paralyzed by fear, the pregnant wife leaked water. She looked in the direction of her husband and whined: "Kola, save your unborn child!"


    Enraged, Kola II ran toward the big cat, and with the momentum generated by his race, he grabbed the tiger by its throat, pushed it against the fence, and then pressed its neck with savage strength. The wild animal suffocated and died without even rendering a single claw.


    All this while, Babida the lumberjack stood in the middle of the troops like a good warrior. He followed to the letter the instructions of the superiors who themselves were obeying the commander-in-chief, Governor Kola II. The woodsman always kept his initial position in the ranks and sang in unison war songs with his comrades. Disciplined, he never took any initiative of his own.


    Kola II welcomed the men of honor coming from the imperial city Ekule and the village of Okala to his unit of command Okunde. He then ordered them to rest and recuperate from a long journey that began earlier in the day after taking a well-deserved dinner he had organized for them.


    He thereupon visited each of the tents built in Okunde''s garden by the region''s assigned soldiers for the exceptional circumstance and since everything seemed to be alright, he wished a good night to the warriors and went back to his headquarters as a group of local women came in and commenced distributing food and beverages.


    Flatbread, spicy toasted bush meat, and guava juice were abundantly dispatched to the soldiers. They ate all of the exquisite repast. Finally, it was time to sleep, so the superiors therefore split the combatants into small units and attributed each unit a tent. Babida the lumberjack who had been waiting for that moment so exhausted he was, wasted no time and rushed to slumber.


    The night went by hitch-free...


    "Two volunteers, two volunteers!" A man shouted while running toward the center of the improvised barracks in Okunde''s garden. The warriors woke up as the sun was rising.


    "Two volunteers, two volunteers!" The man reiterated louder.


    "His Highness Kola II requests two brave scouts who will go to the Forbidden Mountain and spy on the movements of the Monster," he said.


    "Me!" A voice emerged from the troop.


    "Great! Who are you?" The Governor''s emissary asked.


    "Babida," he responded.


    The Governor''s aide de camp paused for a moment, pretended to clean his right ear with his index finger, then said: "Sorry! Can you repeat?"


    However, the volunteer did not have time to answer. The officer anticipated by making an assumption.


    "You mean Babida, the lumberjack?" He asked.


    "Yes!" The voice responded.


    "By jingo! The killer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain is back among us," he exclaimed.


    Warriors stepped out of the tents and flocked in big numbers toward Babida''s position. They were startled by the revelation.


    "Yes, it''s him. He''s a little bit older but on my ancestors'' head, I swear it''s him." A senior warrior affirmed after he glanced closely at Babida''s body.


    "I am going with him to the cliff." An acute voice resonated, stopping in the meantime the crowd''s excitement. The soldier was a teenager.


    The rest of the troop looked at him bewildered but no one protested or expressed reserve. They approved in silence the rules of wartime.


    "Well, who are you?" The Governor''s messenger interrogated.


    "Bodo," the youngster replied.


    "How old are you?" His Highness'' emissary asked.


    "Sixteen," the young lad asserted.


    "Well, both of you, come with me!" The Governor''s emissary told Babida and the young warrior.


    The two warriors shadowed the emissary who was heading to the headquarters of the Commander in Chief, Governor Kola II.


    "Your Excellency, you will never believe who is one of these devoted servants of the empire," the messenger declared to the Ruler of Okunde.


    The latter was surprised by the unexpected announcement.


    "Oh really? Well, are you referring to the older warrior right here or the youngster over here?" The Governor questioned his assistant while pointing with his head, at Babida and Bodo who were standing in front of him.


    "I have to say the lad here was still a toddler fifteen years ago. So he would not have been able to decimate the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain. That''s being clarifiedˇ­"


    "No need to continue with your development, Polo. I know who this brute force of nature right here is. He is Babida, the lumberjack. Even the herculean ax he is holding in his hand is enough evidence," Governor Kola II deduced marvelously.


    "Now, both of you, listen to me with the utmost attention! Take this little plastic bottle with you. It contains a precious liquid provided by Iy?, the god of deep sleep. I obtained it in exchange for my manhood. I relinquished my ability to impregnate a woman but it''s fine, I am the father of ten kids already. I did this for the sake of our land," Governor Kola II told the two scouts with an air of great seriousness so they could understand the importance of their mission.


    "Find a way to drop the mystical liquid into the beak of the newborn Monster and come back safe," The Commander in Chief instructed the two scouts.


    "Your wish is our order, Your Excellency!" Babida the lumberjack stated. He then took the magical potion and slid it into the right pocket of his silk trousers. He tapped on the youngster''s back to signal him to follow him and they both left the Governor''s headquarters, en route to the Forbidden Mountain.

 Part 2 (4)

    The sun was almost at its climax. Babida the lumberjack and the young Bodo walked at a fast pace toward the direction of the Forbidden Mountain in the north of Okunde village. Very thirsty and dehydrated, they stopped by a lake on the way: the Sanaga, one of the finest in the region. They first drank some of its pure water before finally deciding to swim in and refresh their entire bodies that were being aggressed by the sun''s rays. Done, they resumed their journey.


    After a persisting effort, they reached the foot of the Forbidden Mountain just as the sun rays were dropping in intensity. They lifted their eyes and perceived the summit at over a thousand and five hundred meters. The two scouts were intimidated by the incredible height of the hill. However, for their mission was of great importance, to give up was out of the question for them, especially after all they had endured along the path.


    Babida the lumberjack was nonetheless worried the climbing of the flank was going to be too much for the youngster Bodo, though the latter had displayed outstanding stamina and strength since their departure from the headquarters of Governor Kola II.


    "Stay back and wait for me here," the woodsman said to the young Bodo.


    "Sir, it would be better if I came with you. I''m fit and you would need someone to assist you one way or another when you find the spot of the newborn Monster," the youngster answered back the logger.


    The latter took a few seconds to think about the stance of the young scout before looking him in the eyes and seeing himself at the same age.


    "Oh yeah, you are simply as foolish as I used to be when I was a teenager. Well, so be it, follow me, young lad!" Babida the lumberjack told the young Bodo.


    They thus began to defy the abrupt front flank of the hill. The woodsman was ahead and the youngster Bodo was shadowing him. Step by step they moved toward the summit and when they were just about to reach there and that the sun was going soon to set, Babida the lumberjack felt a bizarre movement on the opposite flank of the mountain.


    "Wait!" The woodsman enjoined the youngster Bodo.


    "I felt something striding on the other flank of the cliff. We have to continue to move forward with even more caution," he stated.


    "Trail me and move only if I move!" He commanded the young lad who did as he was instructed.


    The woodsman began to crawl like a lizard. Each of his movements was now made with delicacy. The young scout Bodo copied on him and after a short moment they finally reached the summit.


    "Wait!" Babida the lumberjack ordered once again.


    He crawled to the opposite flank of the mountain, looked down, and saw a big crater in a landscape largely dominated by tall green herbs.


    He stood back on his feet and said to the youngster Bodo: "Follow me, brave lad!".


    Then they began to move down the rocky flank of the cliff at a slow speed. After arduous labor, they touched the wet ground. Babida the lumberjack kept the lead and walked toward the cavity he had remarked when they were on the summit. The young Boda tailed him.


    A few meters from the immense hole, the woodsman with a hand sign commanded the teenager Bodo to stop his progression. He began to crawl again and neared the cavity. He tried to peep inside but it was so obscure that he could not see anything.


    "I need fire," Babida the lumberjack whispered to the young Bodo.


    "However, I don''t know how I can make it," he expressed sadly.


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    "But I have matches with me," the young warrior surprised the logger.


    "How come?" The woodsman asked.


    "I am a smith. I smelt plenty of swords and for that, I am constantly making fire. So I always bring matches with me wherever I go," the young scout explained while putting his right hand in the pocket of his silk trousers, then took out a box of tiny Ikoro sticks with phosphorus on the edge. He then passed it on to Babida the lumberjack.


    "Thank you, brave lad!" The woodsman said to him.


    "Wait for me here!" The logger ordered him, then stood up and went backward.


    He looked for a tree, found one, and cut off a branch with his herculean ax. He then returned to the crater. The youngster Bodo had remained still.


    "Okay, here we go!" Babida the lumberjack whimpered.


    He opened the matchbox, gripped a thin stick, and rubbed its head against the red strip on the side. It caught fire. He directed the flames on the leaves of the branch he had just sectioned. They ignited as well.


    The woodsman approached the crater. He extended his right hand and looked inside. The hole depth was about fifteen meters. He noticed fragments littering the ground and was confused by what it was. So he called on the young Bodo.


    "Young lad, come closer!" Babida the lumberjack murmured while making a hand sign.


    The young Bodo crawled toward the crater.


    "Look at the bottom! What could be these broken pieces?" The logger asked him.


    The young warrior glared at the fragments intensively and replied: "But this is a bird''s fractured shell."


    Babida the lumberjack was struck by the youngster''s statement. He stared at him as he had just realized where they had set their feet, and commanded loudly: "Young lad, run, run, run, run away!".


    Babida the lumberjack and the young Bodo began to sprint wildly amid the greenery. With the sharp blade of their weapons, they repelled the pasture blocking their way. The young scout Bodo sliced viciously with his stainless steel sword the head of the damned grasses while the woodsman used his herculean ax to unroot the most recalcitrant plants.


    After a long run, the crater was well far behind them.


    "Stop!" The logger was ordered. The youngster Bodo who was demonstrating impressive marathon skills, obeyed him.


    "The sun is about to set. We need to find a shelter. In these grasses, we are excellent prey for this bird of ill omen. We will go back to the cavity tomorrow morning," Babida the lumberjack declared.


    "There!" The young Bodo shouted while pointing in the direction of the refuge.


    "Yes, perfect! Let''s go!" The logger responded to him.


    They advanced toward the location. Plenty of grapes were on their way. They harvested some and began to eat them while continuing to move forward.


    "What a marvel of nature these grapefruits are! They are extremely energizing," Babida the lumberjack confessed as they reached the foot of a small cliff.


    They climbed to the top and lay while watching over the ground to foresee any suspicious activity. Then the night arrived rapidly and the wind became cold. The youngster Bodo fell thus asleep whereas the woodsman, although also very tired, was unable to snore since so many things were going through his mind.


    Grrrrˇ­Grrrr...Grrrrrrrrˇ­Grrrrrrrrrr


    "Hey, young lad, you are sounding louder and louder. You must be in an opera in your dreams right now," the logger said while looking at the sleeping kid.


    Grrrrrrrrrrrrrˇ­Grrrrrrrrrrrr


    "Wait a minute! But that''s not you!" He declared before standing up hastily.


    He looked around and suddenly screamed: "It''s the baby Monsterrrrrrrr!"


    The young Bodo was wakened up by the powerful sound of his senior colleague''s alert. He rose in panic, quickly carried his stainless steel sword, and stood next to the logger.


    A big bird, five meters high, three meters large, and about ten thousand kilograms arose in front of them and attacked them with its beak.


    The young warrior Bodo was seriously injured and Babida the lumberjack was unbalanced. The latter rolled down the cliff and lost his herculean ax in the process. Now alone and bleeding profusely, the young scout Bodo was therefore at the mercy of the baby Monster. At a slow but sure pace, the angry bird neared his prey to finish him off.


    "You, bird of ill omen, I swear on the head of my ancestors, we will exterminate you and any of your cursed descendants. You will never have peace on this land," the teenager Bodo said in agony.


    The baby Monster seemed not to be moved by the words of a defenseless prey. It stepped toward the young scout and stung him with great violence. The lad died on the spot.


    "No!" Babida the lumberjack shouted but it was too late. His young comrade was no more.


    He stood back up and ran to pick up his steel ax. He then attempted to hit the beast but the latter was faster than him and slapped him with its left wing. He was propelled into the air before brutally landing on the green grass.


    Thankfully for him, the herbs were high and it was dark. Therefore the wicked bird lost sight of him. The predator sought its prey around the small cliff for a while and was never able to find him. Babida the lumberjack remained camouflaged while holding his breath and praying to Meneh, the god of invisibility.


    Ultimately, the baby Monster gave up on its hunt and retreated. The calm thus reigned once again, at least for the moment.


    Hurt, Babida the lumberjack was moaning. He put his right hand in the right pocket of his silk trousers, then took out the plastic bottle that Governor Kola II had given him. He looked at it hesitantly as its magical content was a sleeping potion for the newborn Monster. He needed a healing beverage instead.


    To solve the dilemma, the woodsman invoked the ancestors: "Almighty Igw¨¨, my ancestor, god of healing, I implore your mercy upon me. Turn the content in this bottle into an invigorating potion so I can drink it and heal from my wounds! In exchange, I will give you half of my wealth."


    Barely had the logger finished expressing his wish to the forefathers, that a voice was heard above the sky.


    "Babida, Babida, the ancestors have received your wish and it has been granted," the voice declared and never spoke again.


    The woodsman removed the cap of the bottle and drank a few drops of its content. A bright light thereafter appeared out of nowhere, moved around his injured body and the wounds one after another cured instantly. Now in great shape, he stood up and looked for his herculean ax in the pasture. He found it and then began to head back to Okunde village. The scout mission was aborted...but the war was just beginning.


    TO BE CONTINUEDˇ­

 Part 3 (1)

    "Behold over there! Babida the lumberjack is back from the Forbidden Mountain but the young lad Bodo is not with him," an imperial soldier exclaimed while standing in front of his tent in Okunde''s garden.


    All of the combatants on the lawn of the garden well as some residents who came to support the imperial troops, glared in the direction where the woodsman was coming from. He looked sad and exhausted from his overnight journey.


    The inner corners of his eyebrows were raised and his eyes were red. He looked lost in his thoughts. Indeed, he couldn''t help thinking about the Beast''s coup de grace on the young Bodo and how he would have been able to save his young companion should the ancestors have been by their side. The film of the tragedy was playing time and time again in his head.


    He managed to hide his emotion throughout the way back to the military camp but at the sight of his comrades, he broke into pieces.


    Devastated, he let his herculean ax slide from his right hand and drop to the ground. Then hot tears began to roll down his jaws. He wiped them off with the back of his hands but they kept on flowing to the extent that even his chest was imbibed with some of the salty liquid.


    Everyone understood what had happened to the scout mission. Some soldiers, like the tradition of the imperial forces required, planted their swords on the lawn and kneeled on the right foot to pay tribute to the courageous youngster. The rest of the combatants along with the local inhabitants prayed in silence. They begged for the ancestors'' favor on the lad''s soul.


    Meanwhile, the pain was particularly awful for a middle-aged man in the crowd. He wore no fighter''s uniform, but rather a regular brown boubou and caoutchouc slippers. He was frowning and burning inside. He glanced at Babida the lumberjack nervously and spat on the lawn to express his contempt vis-a-vis the imperial superhero.


    Then with a voice filled with sorrow, he cried out to the amazement of the troops: "No. You let my son die under the criminal claws of that Monster."


    "You are a counterfeit hero. You were unable to protect a kid that could have been your son. You should have perished on that cursed mountain, not him. He was too young for a sacrifice of this magnitude," the man whined.


    "If only he had listened to me. I had advised him to stay at home with us but he rather chose to act otherwise. Now he went prematurely into the world of the ancestors. What a stubborn kid he was! His mom might sustain a stroke when she is informed of this ordeal," the man deplored.


    The woodsman heard the harsh statement of the inconsolable father directed against him but did not utter a single word. He stared instead at the ground ashamed, his hands on his waists. He was completely outpowered by the turn of events.


    The Governor''s aide de camp, Polo, like an arrow came out of the headquarters at the right end of Okunde''s garden. He saw Babida the lumberjack in a state of severe depression and drew with no questioning the conclusions of the spy mission.


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    He thereupon instructed two guards to take the woodsman to his tent so the latter could have some rest and commanded the sentinels to make sure the servants fed the logger when he got up. Then the Governor''s henchman went back inside the main quarters.


    One of the two sentinels retrieved the steel ax of the Forbidden Mountain''s escape from the soil. Then they gripped each of his arms and escorted him to his lodging. It was a four-picket foundation that measured three meters long and was covered on the top, the lateral, and back sides with palm leaves. The front side was entirely open since there was no door. The ground had remained untouched. It was simply a portion of the lawn of Okunde''s garden. The area hosted up to twenty warriors.


    The soldiers helped Babida the lumberjack lie on the floor. The latter fell asleep immediately. They looked after him for a while, then left since everything was in order.


    The aide-de-camp Polo went to notify his Master, Governor Kola II, about the critical situation. He met the ruler of the village of Okunde in his private apartments within the headquarters. The man of power was sitting behind a bamboo desk and was reading his notes.


    "Pardon me, Your Excellency, there is a catastrophe I would like to report to you. The scout operation has lamentably gone awry. One of the two emissaries has not come back from the Forbidden Mountain and it is the youngster Bodo. By the endless cry of his senior companion, Babida the lumberjack, who is unable to talk for now due to post-mission trauma, I have deduced the young lad has died, probably killed by the baby Monster. Anyway, misfortune has struck us," the henchman Polo shared the bad news with the ruler of Okunde.


    "How in the world did that happen?" Governor Kola II reacted thunderously.


    "Bring that lumberjack over here without any further due!" He ordered his aide-de-camp.


    The latter panicked as he knew better than anyone how merciless his Master could be when immersed in anger. He commanded the two guards who escorted the battered woodsman to his tent, to go there hastily and wake him up, then take him to the Governor.


    The sentinels put into action the superior''s order. Upon their arrival in the logger''s shelter, they found him profoundly snoring. They looked at him for a few moments and felt guilty about having to disturb the sleep of a former recipient of the medal of the highest honor and merit.


    Yet, they had an instruction from the mightiest authority in the region and they could not afford the price for the infringement of their oath to serve faithfully and obediently the Emperor His Majesty Batang V and as well as his delegates duly appointed.


    "Sir, please rise!" One of them whispered to the very tired woodsman while tapping gently on his left shoulder.


    Babida the lumberjack loosened his eyes at a very slow pace and glared at them quite confused, for he had barely recovered from his tiring journey to the cursed hill and from his emotional shock.


    "His Highness Kola II wants to see you. Please, come with us to the headquarters!" The imperial guard said to the woodsman.


    The latter stood on his feet and followed the imperial sentinels. However, in a hurry, he forgot to carry with him his herculean ax and left his tent in a pitiful condition, that was to say sleepy, unbathed, and unshaven.


    The troops and residents began to mutter as Babida the lumberjack and the guards walked out of the garden and directed themselves toward the Governor''s headquarters.


    They entered the hall, then headed to the private space of the commander in chief of Okunde village. The latter was standing and glimpsing at the picture of Emperor Batang V that was hanging on the wall. He had his back turned and his arms crossed and placed just a little bit above his rear. Polo, his aide de camp, was standing on his left and had a view of the whole flat.


    "Your Highness, Babida the lumberjack is here!" The henchman directed the attention of his Master to the visitor.


    Governor Kola II halted his contemplation of His Majesty''s portrait and turned to glance behind him. He had cooled down and his temper tantrum had eclipsed.


    "Gentleman, I have received a primary echo of your mission to the Forbidden Mountain. It seems things did not go our way and I would like to grasp what exactly capsized," he told the logger who had his head down and his eyes slightly opened.


    Babida the lumberjack first kept silent. However, when he finally decided to speak, his words were inaudible.


    "Your Hiˇ­Weˇ­.tacked...theˇ­. term," he stuttered.


    Governor Kola II was annoyed by the lumberjack''s unarticulated location. So he scolded him.


    "Will you express yourself fluently, for our gods'' sake?" His Highness shouted at the woodsman but the latter kept on stuttering and still couldn''t be understood. The scream of his commander-in-chief produced no effect on him.


    Bothered by the unchanged attitude of the logger, Governor Kola II felt compelled to take a draconian measure against him.


    "Guards, arrest this man and throw him in jail for some time! Hopefully, there he will come back to his senses," he ordered.

 Part 3 (2)

    The imperial sentinels executed the Governor''s sentence right away. They primarily handcuffed Babida the lumberjack before holding him tight by his hands. The latter didn''t oppose any resistance to his arrestation and let himself manhandle.


    The imperial guards took him to a secret penitentiary lodged in the underground of the Governor''s headquarters. They opened the main entrance of the cave and it was lightly lit. Also, because it had no window, the air was of a low quality.


    The imperial sentinels then went down the stairs with the logger and as they were doing so, dust aroused from the ground, for the place was poorly maintained. The three men walked up to the other end of the cave that was sheltering a cell infested with cockroaches.


    "Sir, please go inside the cell," compassionate tone of voice, one of the two imperial sentinels uttered to Babida the lumberjack.


    "Sir, we pray that you get well soon. We wished you remained a freeman but we have a command to enforce," the other imperial guard thereafter expressed his regrets to the new prisoner.


    The imperial sentinels thereafter inspected the room of the inmate and estimated that there was no particular issue they had to address in an emergency. So they locked the door of the cell and abandoned the poor woodsman to his fate.


    The news of the imprisonment of the logger propagated like wildfire. By the end of the afternoon, the whole Okunde had heard of it and passed on the scoop to the other towns of the Batang empire.


    The young Miss Suzie was in the kitchen of the family''s chalet in the imperial city Ekule, frying duck eggs for lunch. Her grandmother was sitting as usual on the rattan chair and was listening to the local radio''s regular programs when breaking news came up.


    "And now, dear auditors, we have breaking news from one of our correspondents on the field of the special imperial expedition in Okunde. Babida the lumberjack has been arrested by Governor Kola II for a reason that we can not provide for the moment. But the first information we have recounts that Governor Kola II sent Babida the lumberjack to the Forbidden Mountain along with a sixteen-year-old warrior for a scout mission. The young lad perished under circumstances yet to be elucidated. The operation aborted and the woodsman returned alone to the barracks and burst into tears," the anchor reported.


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    Big Momma was baffled by what had just gone through her ears. She impulsively yelled: "Oh Loba, God of the gods! Suzie, come fast my darling to the parlor! I must be in a dream."


    The granddaughter was surprised by the call of her grandmother. She stopped her lunchmaking and hastened to the sexagenarian''s position.


    "Big momma, what is the matter?" The young maiden Suzie, with haste, interrogated the aged woman.


    "They just announced on the newscast that Babida the lumberjack has been jailed by Governor Kola II for an unknown motive. They explained that the woodsman came back from a failed mission at that cursed hill and his comrade, a young lad who went with him, passed away under circumstances to examine," Big Momma clarified to her.


    Suzie''s heart began to pound fast and she felt uncomfortable. Her state even worsened as a mysterious headache took her over.


    "I need to sit down," she confessed to her grandmother who was reluctant as to how to handle her unwellness.


    The young Miss Suzie pulled a small wooden bench that was against the wall near the radio. She placed it next to her grandmother, sat, and leaned on the matriarch. The latter gently applied the palms of her experienced hands on her granddaughter''s temples. The therapy was effective and the young maiden Suzie was now getting better and better.


    In a few moments, she recovered entirely. She got off the bench and uttered to the astonishment of the old lady: "I am traveling tomorrow to Okunde to free Babida the lumberjack."


    "It''s unjust to be imprisoned after risking one''s life for the empire. It''s a pity that his young companion died but it was not mentioned that it was his fault. They were on a highly dangerous mission and the Governor, without any doubt, knew it," She defended her stance.


    Big momma looked at her granddaughter and remained silent. However, she did not show a sign of disapproval. She simply let her grandchild speak her mind.


    "I am heading to Uncle Bibi''s chalet and ask for his help. Hopefully, he agrees to come with me to Okunde, and release the unfairly imprisoned woodsman," she stated while putting the bench away.


    The young woman had almost forgotten the fried duck eggs she made for lunch. However, as she was about to leave the house, she suddenly remembered: "Oh oh! The omelets!" She exclaimed.


    "Sorry big momma! Let me serve you rapidly!" She confessed.


    "Do you want it with flatbread or sticks of cassava paste?" She questioned the elderly.


    "Whatever will be in my dish, I will gladly eat it, my little angel. Don''t worry yourself!" The granddaughter replied.


    The young maiden Suzie returned to the kitchen and cut a big chunk of omelets which she put on her grandmother''s assigned plate. She brought it to the eating table and said with a voice full of vitality: "Big momma, lunch is served."


    "Thank you, little angel!" The old woman answered her.


    "But before you go out, you better change your outfit and wear another one with a scarf preferably, so you can hide your face. In case you are caught in your endeavor, maybe you can have a chance to run away unidentified," She advised her grandchild.


    "Yes, you are right, big momma! I will do it right away," the young Miss Suzie approved.


    She climbed to her room upstairs and after a short moment, she came back downstairs with a blue wax-made Abaya dress covering her neck to her ankle.


    Her head was enveloped with a scarf of the same color and material as the robe. Only her eyes were visible. On her feet, she had put regular brown women''s sandals on.


    The grandmother glanced at her and declared: "Ok, that''s way better. Be careful, little angel!"


    "I will. Don''t worry big momma!" The young Miss Suzie reassured her, and then she left the house.

 Part 3 (3)

    Toc, toc, toc! Toc, toc, toc!


    "Who is that?" A voice asked from inside the house.


    "Uncle Bibi, it''s me, your niece Suzie. Please, let me come in!!" The young woman responded.


    Uncle Bibi opened the door and she stepped in.


    "Uncle Bibi, I know you are already aware of the terrible news since your radio is always tuned to the local frequency. You never miss the newscast, do you?" The young Miss Suzie asserted.


    "I am here to request your assistance in freeing Babida the lumberjack from jail in Okunde," she pleaded with her uncle.


    Amazed by what just spiked his ears, Uncle Bibi shouted: "What? Tell me it''s a joke, isn''t it? Have you completely lost your senses, Suzie? Do you want Governor Kola II to hang us? That man is a half-god. He has the right to life and death upon us."


    Uncle Bibi''s reaction sent shivers down his niece''s spine, making her to be uncomfortable and thoughtful.


    However, after a while, she recomposed herself and then counterattacked her uncle''s statement: "But what if the newborn Monster attacks the village and no one knows the whereabouts of Babida the lumberjack who is nonetheless a valuable human shield against that bird of ill omen?"


    Uncle Bibi was tickled by the question of the young maiden Suzie. Disturbed by its relevance, he gently placed his left hand on his face and began to daydream. His thumb was under his chin while the index, middle, ring, and pinkie fingers caressed his cheek.


    He began to have the troubling vision of how a ferocious Beast destroyed Okunde''s south gate before blowing with the help of its large wings a powerful wind that ravaged people and their properties.


    He looked even more desperate when he visualized the newborn Monster continuing its work of destruction by penetrating the imperial city Ekule and running toward the twin chalets to aggress him, Big Momma, and his lovely niece Suzie.


    That image in particular was the u-turn in his objection to the young lady''s request.


    "You got me with that one. Well, wait for me here! I will be right back," Uncle Bibi told her.


    He thereupon rushed to his room upstairs and after a few moments, he showed up with different outfits. He was clothed with a majestic brown and large cotton-made boubou along with a fedora hat of the same color and material as the gown which was lowered to his eyebrows. His feet were covered with black leather sandals.


    He advanced toward his niece Suzie and murmured to her left ear: "Come my little darling! Let''s go and save your lover!". Then he began to walk up to the exit.


    Surprised by her uncle''s allegation, the young Miss Suzie responded: "Lover? What do you mean, Uncle Bibi?"


    He turned, stared at her, sighed, and mumbled funnily to her: "Lovebirds!", then left the house.


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    The young Miss Suzie was electrified. For a few seconds, she remained immobile like a statue while frowning, and then she ran as fast as she could to catch up with her uncle.


    "Wait for me, Uncle Bibi!" She shouted as she sped up to reach the position of the middle-aged man.


    In the meantime, Emperor Batang V was in the lunar bedroom with his wife, Empress Serena.


    The imperial couple could not believe the news from Okunde and wished Governor Kola II had consulted with them before imprisoning Babida the lumberjack.


    They were annoyed that the arrest of the imperial hero was leaked to the public and they could unfortunately not overturn the Governor''s decision. They in fact did not want to undermine the latter''s authority over the area.


    "By all the Saints, why did he take such a drastic measure? At least, he should have informed me of the situation," the Emperor deplored very upset.


    "My Heart, pardon me but you have given so much liberty to your Governors. They have simply become little emperors over their zones of command. Today it''s Kola II who is embarrassing your power. I''m pretty sure soon we shall hear wonders from the Governor of Okala in the west and that of here in Ekule. If I were you, I would repeal the current Constitution and make a new one that provides me with undividable Might," Empress Serena suggested to her husband, His Majesty Batang V.


    "You have been warning me about this. However, as you very well know, it''s my late father, the Great Batang IV who reformed the institutions a year before he passed away. He wanted to prevent me from the drunkenness of superpower," Emperor Batang V responded to his spouse.


    "Fine then but now you are facing the consequences of the soberness of a dividable power," the Empress Serena regretted.


    A FEW HOURS LATER...


    The young maiden Suzie and her uncle, Bibi, reached the north gate of the imperial city Ekule. An imperial guard glared at them, a bit suspicious of their looks. He found it eerie that it was not possible to see their faces. Their outfits were regular ones but it was unusual for couples who crossed the gate to have their traits completely invisible.


    "Excuse me, sir! Can you uncover your face?" The imperial guard asked Uncle Bibi who was purposely looking down, to make it even more difficult for the sentinel to see his eyes.


    The young maiden Suzie witnessed their exchange in silence.


    Uncle Bibi was taking too much time to answer and so the imperial guard commenced losing his patience. He reformulated his query with an even more firm tone.


    "Sir, to pass the border, I will need to verify your identity," he said categorically to the traveler.


    The young Miss Suzie felt things were on the verge of getting out of control. So she decided to intervene before it was too late.


    "Excuse me, valiant soldier! The man right here is my dad, and he has been deaf and dumb since birth. He can only communicate in sign language," she told gently to the sentinel.


    "Oh, sorry Ma''am! Now I understand his strange behavior. Please, have a safe journey!" The guard answered her and with a gesture from his head, he instructed a younger colleague to open the gate. The young Miss Suzie and her uncle thus crossed to the other side and were now hiking to Okunde''s south gate.


    "Darling, so I have been deaf and dumb since my childhood," Uncle Bibi poked fun at his niece and she laughed out loud.


    "Haha, Uncle Bibi! That''s in fact the best idea that popped up in my head at that very moment. Of course, Loba forbid, you are not deaf and dumb! Thank the God of the gods!" The young maiden Suzie reacted.


    "But now for the next gate, I think it would be wise to separate and go one after another," she suggested to her uncle.


    "You always come up with brilliant ideas, especially in critical times," Uncle Bibi said in appreciation of his niece''s ingeniosity.

 Part 3 (4)

    It was remaining just about five hundred meters for the young Miss Suzie and Uncle Bibi to reach Okunde''s south gate. The two relatives put hence into action their plan. They began to walk separately and pretended to be perfect strangers to each other.


    The niece Suzie arrived first at the checkpoint. The imperial sentinels were kind to her. She passed the control formalities hitch-free and was authorized to enter the village of Okunde, which she did with a bright smile.


    Just a few minutes later Uncle Bibi showed up at the Okunde''s south gate as well. He had pushed upward his fedora hat and unlike when he previously reached the north gate of the imperial city Ekule, he wasn''t giving any dubious impression at all. He answered without any difficulty the imperial guard''s inquiries and like his niece Suzie before him, he was also granted access to Governor Kola II''s province of command: Okunde.


    However, as the middle-aged man was about to cross to the other side of the gate, an imperial sentinel who was standing a few meters away behind him screamed: "Wait!".


    Uncle Bibi halted abruptly his movement and looked in the direction of the imperial guard who was now approaching his position while parading. He was lifting his feet straight and touching the soil with great confidence. His hands were swinging from the left to the right.


    After a few moments that seemed to be an eternity, he finally reached Uncle Bibi''s level, and against the odds, he kneeled on his right foot while joining the palms of his two hands before greeting the traveler.


    "My commander, I wish you well," the imperial guard said with a resounding voice.


    "The gods have preserved you from harm and I thank them for their favor upon a retired servant of the imperial forces."


    The other imperial guards remained passive spectators to what was going on. They were mesmerized by the reverence of their comrade to someone they regarded as a regular passer-by at the gate.


    "Rise, Bobo!" Uncle Bibi ordered but Bobo didn''t obey him and humbly stayed kneeled.


    "I can see you have become a grown-up man and also a tremendous athlete and soldier," he added.


    Uncle Bibi extended his right hand and placed it on the right shoulder of the deferent young warrior, and begged him: "Please, rise brave man!"


    The imperial sentinel stood up, looked at his comrades, and uttered: "Gentlemen, I introduced to you, His Eminence, Bibi, former Commander of the Regiment of the Ekule''s men of honor."


    The other imperial guards heard their colleague and in unison, they took a bow as well from their positions. Then, one of them yelled: "My Commander, we wish you good."


    Uncle Bibi got emotional. He hoisted his right arm, placed his fingers on his right temple, and gave them a salute. Then he implored the imperial guards to get back on their feet.


    "Valiant warriors, please rise!" He begged the men in uniform.


    The latter rose back to their feet. Uncle Bibi turned and faced the gate which was still open. He then crossed and entered Okunde village.


    The young maiden Suzie was around three hundred meters ahead and was looking in the direction of the checkpoint. She was impatiently waiting for her uncle to join her. She was extremely agitated and nervous.


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    "By all the Saints, why is he still not coming? It''s taking too long. He should have passed the controls by now," she spoke to herself with an air of anxiety.


    "Oh wait! Is that him?" She then exclaimed as she saw from a distance someone walking up to her position.


    "Oh, it''s him. Thank Loba, God of the gods!" She expressed with great excitement. She began to jump while waving at him. To draw even more his attention she thus yelled: "Uncle Bibi, Uncle Bibi, I am over here."


    The middle-aged man looked in front of him and saw his niece. He hence increased his pace. He walked up to his young sibling as fast as he could. A powerful uncle-and-niece feeling seized them. The young Miss Suzie then excitedly began to leap toward Uncle Bibi to shorten the distance between them. Finally, they bumped into each other and hugged intensively.


    "The Ancestors are with us today," the young woman whimpered in her uncle''s ears.


    "Yes, indeed, they are undoubtedly watching over us," the latter replied to her while heaving his eyes to the sky for a few seconds.


    Then he invited his young sibling to resume their journey.


    "Well darling, come, let''s go!" He said to her.


    The two adventurers thereupon took the way forward. They were thirsty and hungry. They had departed from the imperial city Ekule early in the afternoon and now the sun was about to set in Okunde village. They spotted a local restaurant on the roadside and decided to stop by.


    "Follow me!" Uncle Bibi said to the young Miss Suzie and she trailed him.


    The two relatives entered the eatery. It had no door and was made from red dry mud. An opening existed between the wall and the roof which was covered with plated palm leaves. Nice flavors were fragrancing the place and some customers were already enjoying the delicacies.


    They were as diverse as the population of Okunde. Soldiers, civilians, men, women, and children were occupying the long wooden benches that had been affixed to the ground. There was no table. So they were holding their meals wrapped in taro leaves with their hands and putting their drinks on the floor or a block in front of them.


    Fried fish, grilled chicken, tomato stew with beans, cassava donuts, porridge, and mango juice were being sold at light speed. And before the service, a bit of patience was required.


    "Mami Makala, when is it going to be my turn? I have been waiting for too long now," a man in uniform extremely vexed complained to the aged lady vendor behind the flames at the opposite side of the venue.


    The young Miss Suzie and her Uncle were standing next to the exit. An eight-year-old girl thus came up to their level and uttered to them: "Auntie, Baba, sit on the free space over there!".


    "Thank you, sweetheart!" Uncle Bibi mumbled to the infant before grabbing his niece by her right arm and going to the bench that was shown to them.


    The two siblings sat and like the rest of the customers, they waited for their turn. And after a few moments, the eight-year-old child came back to them.


    "Auntie, Baba, what would you like to order?" She interrogated the Ekule''s visitors.


    "I can see by your appearance that you are not from the area. My guess is that you are from the imperial city, Ekule, aren''t you?" The kid went on by making a remark to the two travelers who had not answered her previous question yet.


    Embarrassed that the too-curious little girl would blow their disguise up, Uncle Bibi blinked at her and discreetly sent a hush. Then he murmured to her ears: "Bring for each of us a big fried mackerel with five cassava donuts and a cup of sweetened porridge!"


    "Okay, Baba! I will be right back," she excitedly replied and left.


    A few instants later, she came back with two taro leaves filled with food. She handed over one to Uncle Bibi, then said: "Bwam Baba" and delivered the other one to the young maiden Suzie and uttered: "Bwami Auntie".


    "Oh, so you are from the Batumba empire!" Uncle Bibi exclaimed and the infant nodded.


    She retreated for a short time and returned with two cups of hot porridge. She laid them on the brick in front of the imperial city guests who wasted no time savoring their repast. The young Miss Suzie had slightly unwrapped her scarf and let just enough space to slip the tasty fried fish and the crispy cassava donuts in.


    Uncle Bibi rearranged his fedora hat so it would not allow his eyes to be visible. He ate with caution.


    Once done with the core part of the meal, the two siblings drank up their porridge.


    "Now it''s time to get out of here and find a room for the night," Uncle Bibi muttered to Suzie while standing up and removing from the right pocket of his boubou two imperial Batangi.


    He called the little girl from the Batumba empire with a hand sign. She attended to him and he quizzed her: "How much is our bill?"


    "One imperial Batangi," she replied.


    "Here are two coins. Keep the change!" Uncle Bibi responded while smiling at her.


    Then the middle-aged man turned toward his niece Suzie then whispered to her: "Let''s go, darling!" And they walked out of the restaurant.


    The sun had faded away. So they hastened their steps in the hope of getting a shelter where they could rest for the night.


    Uncle Bibi saw from a distance a signboard with the inscription "Four Batangi for a journey to the Kingdom of Iy?".


    "Over there, we can slumber!" He declared while pointing in the direction of a hotel with his right index.


    "Follow me!" He instructed his niece.

 Part 3 (5)

    Uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie trekked to the hotel. Upon their arrival, they were enchanted by the eye-catching outside. The garden was magnificently organized and it spoke volumes about the personality of the owner. All flowers were perfectly aligned. Roses were flourishing in the far left corner while Eucalyptus were blossoming in the far right one.


    On the opposite side were growing marvelously green Aloe Vera plants. They occupied a space of about twenty meters long. In the middle of the land was sown an olive tree that was as fresh as the water from the fountain of Ebuka, the god of purity.


    Uncle Bibi and his niece then went inside and were welcomed by a harmonious melody. A pretty woman in her prime age was sitting behind a wooden counter. She had plenty of Fulani mascara on her face. Her long black hair was falling on her shoulders and her neck was laced with elegant pearls. On her ears was hanging a pair of blue-violet gems. She wore an immaculate white silk gown.


    At the sight of the visitors, she gleamed and then spoke to them: "Peace be upon you, dear guests! Be welcome to the Kingdom of Iy?, the god of deep sleep!"


    "Thank you, Ma''am!" Uncle Bibi responded vigorously.


    The young Miss Suzie participated in the conversation too, however, her voice was not intelligible. She was displaying signs of extreme fatigue from their long journey.


    "How can I help you?" The host interrogated the guests.


    "A two-bed suite, please! One bed for me and one for the beautiful young woman right here." Uncle Bibi ordered as he pointed to his niece Suzie.


    "Four Batangi each bed. Eight Batangi for both." The receptionist answered back.


    Suzie''s uncle slid his right hand into the pocket of his right boubou and extracted a ten Batangi coin. He passed it on to their host and uttered to her: "Please, keep the change!"


    The lady took the money and expressed her gratitude to the generous visitor. She then grabbed two keys from the mural cupboard overhead, which Uncle Bibi found odd but chose to keep his mouth shut and wait to see what was going to happen. The check-in formalities were completed, and the receptionist asked the two clients to follow her and they complied.


    The three arrived in a very luminous corridor and halted at its commencement. The host remitted a key to each of the visitors and told them to walk up to the end of the aisle and take the room either on the left or on the right side.


    However, she underscored that one of these accommodations provided a peaceful sleep while the other one procured horrible nightmares.


    Before leaving the two travelers face-to-face with their fate, she mentioned that the good room granted the tenants'' wish.


    "And the doomed room?" The young maiden Suzie inquired but it was too late, the pretty receptionist mysteriously turned into a swarm of stars and melted.


    The young Miss Suzie panicked and held her uncle tight by the left hand. He tried to comfort her but she couldn''t stop trembling. Frightened, she began a series of questions to convince her relative to give up on their project and head back to Ekule.


    "Uncle Bibi, let''s halt our plan here and go back home! What if we step inside the wrong room instead of the holy one? What if we sleep and never wake up? What if we are hit by a spell? What ifˇ­" She interrogated Uncle Bibi but he interrupted her.


    "Darling, let me remind you that we are here because you wanted it. Remember! A great danger hovers over the empire, and one of the men who can defend us is unfairly in prison right now. Babida the lumberjack needs our help and we need his unmatched combat power," Uncle Bibi reasoned her.


    "And also, don''t focus only on misfortune! What if we choose the lucky room? Have you thought about it, hein?" He added.


    The young maiden Suzie tickled and glanced at her uncle intensely, like to acknowledge he might be right.


    "You see! That''s what I was talking about. Now you are coming back to your senses, bright spark!" He said to her delightedly.


    "Now the future of the Batang empire is in your hands. You are responsible for picking the room we sleep in tonight." Uncle Bibi uttered.


    "Go in front, darling! I am behind you," he assured her.


    The young Miss Suzie began to walk at a slow pace to the other edge of the corridor. Her uncle shadowed her. She reached the two last doors, sighed, and decided to open the left one.


    She inserted her key in the lock and turned but it was not the correct one. She understood she had the right door''s key in her hand.


    Uncle Bibi glared at her and asked her: "So what do you want to do darling? Do I give you the key in my hand or do you want to open the right door instead?"


    Out of frustration, the young maiden Suzie yelled out: "This is so much stress.". Then she breathed out and with a mild tone of voice, she appealed to the ancestors: "Help me Dibiy¨ş, god of wisdom and I promise to name my first son after you."


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    A bright light thereafter descended from the ceiling and moved around her body before evaporating.


    "Give me your key, Uncle Bibi," she said with a commanding voice.


    "Are you really sure, darling?" Uncle Bibi asked her but she did not reply. She simply stared at him, then extended her right arm and showed the palm of her hand.


    Uncle Bibi understood she meant what she had expressed. So he put his key in the palm of her hand. She turned, looked at the left door one more time, sighed, and unlocked it.


    To her amazement, the room was vast and glowing. It diffused incredible scents. It had two beds placed against the wall. One was on the left side and the other one was on the right side.


    The young maiden Suzie went to the bed on the left position. She removed her scarf and threw it on the blanket. Then she turned and looked at the bed in the right position and saw her uncle already lying on it.


    She extended her two arms horizontally and let herself fall onto the mattress. A profound siesta seized her and she was transported to the Kingdom of Iy?, the god of deep sleep.


    She met Uncle Bibi there who was bowing before the divinity. A strong and intense light was floating above his head. Like her uncle, the young Miss Suzie immediately prostrated. Then a voice emerged from the light and began to speak to them.


    "What can I do for you?" It said.


    "Almighty Iy?, please take us where Babida the lumberjack has been imprisoned," Uncle Bibi answered.


    The divinity''s light became bigger and bigger to the extent that the place was entirely invisible for a few seconds before it evaporated.


    "Oh my goodness, who are you? How did you get inside here?" Babida the lumberjack spoke to a strange and big shadow in the right corner outside of his cell.


    However, no one answered him. So he neared the cell''s door and attempted to look through the bars but it was too dark and the shadow had ceased to move.


    "Who is there? Speak or I shout and the guards will come down," he threatened.


    He waited for a while to see if anyone would appear, but still, nothing occurred. Finally, he convinced himself that he was having hallucinations probably because he had spent quite a long time already in the penumbra of the underground. He thus calmed down, returned to his bed, and took a nap.


    "Hey brave warrior, wake up!" The young maiden Suzie whispered.


    Babida the lumberjack blenched. He got off his bed and for the second time he neared the cell''s door. He opened his eyes and saw the young maiden of his dreams. Although it was dark, her face was sparkling.


    "I can not believe what I behold. I must be dreaming awake. How did you penetrate here?" The woodsman queried the young lady.


    "Well, it''s a mystery but the most important thing now is that we are here to free you. We have grasped echoes about your unjust arrest and given the great hazard which presently weighs on the empire, we could not stay aside and witness a valuable defender as you perish without being able to fight," She explained.


    "We???" the logger asked in astonishment.


    "Shut! Yes. My uncle Bibi who is also here, my big Momma at home, and I."


    "Where is your uncle? I see no one else but just you," Babida the lumberjack reacted to the young maiden''s statement.


    "He is over there, at the right corner. He is still asleep. We smelled the scents of Iy?, the god of deep sleep. That''s how in fact we landed here. I mean, the divinity granted our prayer to appear here. Hopefully, soon my dear uncle will wake up," the young woman told the woodsman.


    Trrr, trrr, turrrrrrrrrrrrr


    A guard unexpectedly opened the door of the underground. A huge light from the hall of the headquarters thus pierced the penumbra of the cell and blinded Babida the Lumberjack. The latter reflexively blocked the might of the glow with the palm of his right hand.


    As for the young maiden Suzie, she walked back on her toes to the right corner where Uncle Bibi was still dozing. She tried her best to go unnoticed.


    "Who are you talking to, disgraced warrior?" The guard reprimanded from the doorstep.


    "Pardon me, comrade, I can sometimes be loud during my meditations. I will lower my voice next time," Babida the lumberjack pleaded with the imperial sentinel.


    "You better do," he responded with disdain to the logger and then closed the door.


    The latter waited for a few seconds to elapse to make sure the imperial guard had really gone away. Then he resumed the dialog with the woman of his dream coming for his salvation.


    "Young maiden, are you alright?" The logger asked his rescuer.


    "Yes I am fine but as for my uncle, I can''t tell. He is still slumbering and the thing is worrying me a lot. I hope nothing is wrong with him," she declared with anxiety to the woodsman.


    "Yes, I hope too. Nevertheless, what''s your plan?" He quizzed the young maiden.


    "To be honest, without my uncle, we are lost. I am the mastermind and he is the commander of the field operations. He is now a retired warrior but he still got it," The young woman confessed powerlessly.


    Babida the lumberjack remained quiet, the young Miss too. A long silence took hold of the spirits of the two lovebirds. Each of the two had the impression of being just by himself in the underground. The other one didn''t exist for a while.


    Then...


    "Are you there, young maiden?" Babida the lumberjack asked the young woman, putting hence an end to their trip through the universe


    "Yes, I am," she replied.


    And then...


    "Wait a minute! My uncle is moving," she exclaimed happily.


    Haaaaaaaa


    "Where am I?" Uncle Bibi queried while yawning.


    "Thank our ancestors! You are doing well," the niece Suzie expressed her excitement.


    "The gods are with us. My Commander, you are waking up from a long journey in the Kingdom of Iy?, the god of deep sleep." Babida the lumberjack revealed to the middle-aged man.


    "Yes, I remember now. It''s because of the strong fragrances in the room of our hotel," he asserted while gradually recovering consciousness.


    "We left our hometown Ekule to save Babida the lumberjack and...wait a minute! You are the lumberjack," Uncle Bibi remarked, stunned.


    "How did I...did we land here?" He interrogated while staring dazzled, at his niece.


    "It''s a mystery we will solve later, Uncle Bibi. Now we have a divine mission. To free the imperial hero right here and escape from this obscure place," the young Miss Suzie put her uncle back on track.


    Uncle Bibi stood up with a bit of strain. He then walked up to the cell''s door and shook it in an attempt to open it but it was sturdy. A special force was necessary to topple it. However, the operation was risky, for it would have certainly drawn the attention of the imperial sentinels.


    So he discarded that option. He paused for a moment, looked at the woodsman and his niece, then declared: "If one needs omelets, one will have to break the ducks'' shells."


    The young Miss Suzie and the logger were confused by Uncle Bibi''s statement. They glared at the latter in a way that showed they were waiting for clarification and finally, it came.


    "Someone will have to spend some days with the native doctor for the sake of the Batang empire," Suzie''s uncle added but still, his language was incomprehensible to his interlocutors.


    "Whatˇ­," the young maiden Suzie was about to say something. Yet, she could not finish her sentence.


    Trrr, trrr, turrrrrrrr


    An imperial guard unlocked the door of the underground. The powerful light emanating from the hall of Governor Kola II''s headquarters slapped the face of the woodsman once again. And like previously, the logger reflexively barred the might of the glow with the palm of his right hand. Then the imperial sentinel began to go down the stairs.


    As he was doing so, the door of the cave shut itself. He was holding in his hands a bowl of cooked rice, tomato stew, and fried chicken along with an orange and a bottle of fresh water.


    And when he reached the woodsman''s cell, he uttered to him: "Comrade, here is your lunch!"


    However, for he had his hands full, he therefore could not open the door. So he first placed the food and the drink on the concrete ground.


    He thereafter removed the cell''s key from the rope tied around his silk trousers and unlocked the door. The ideal moment that Uncle Bibi who was hiding in the left corner had been expecting.


    BAM!


    Uncle Bibi came from behind and with his right hand, he whacked the back of the head of the imperial sentinel. The latter fell and hit his forehead against the floor. He sustained a severe commotion.


    "Oh my goodness! What have you done, My Commander?" Babida the lumberjack exclaimed in total shock.


    "Uncle Bibi, why?" His niece Suzie shouted.


    "That''s what it takes to make omelets." The middle-aged man responded with no remorse.


    BOUM!


    An imperial guard kicked the door of the underground with impressive force and it broke. He thereupon went down the stairs while running and was followed by a squad of about twenty imperial sentinels heavily armed. They carried with them sharp stainless steel swords, curved knives, poisoned arrows, ebony sticks, slingshots, and ropes.


    Uncle Bibi, the young maiden Suzie, and the logger were thus caught red-handed. Their escape plan collapsed like a castle of cards. A new chapter of their lives was hence about to begin.


    TO BE CONTINUEDˇ­

 Part 4 (1)

    Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


    A mild earthquake occured suddenly...


    Zttttttttttttttttttttttttttt


    An electrical short circuit happened consequently in the underground.


    Sparks popped up from the old electronic bulb hung on the ceiling, making the already weak light to blink.


    The squad of imperial sentinels and the inmates were silenced by the unexpected vibration of the soil and they all looked awestruck.


    Just a few minutes later, an even more powerful earthquake occurred and debris from the underground''s concrete walls crumbled on them as they crouched down, hands on their heads, to protect themselves from serious harm.


    The light went totally off this time around, plunging the place into complete darkness and a cloud of dust made the squad of imperial guards and the prisoners cough continuously.


    Uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff uff


    "Suuuˇ­zieˇ­uffˇ­uff." Uncle Bibi painfully expressed himself while coughing and trying to get back on his feet.


    "I amˇ­uffˇ­uff..overˇ­here, uncle Bibi," the young maiden Suzie replied with difficulty as she stood up and inhaled the dusty air into her lungs too.


    "Let''sˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­get out of here!" Babida the lumberjack said to his companions of misfortune as he rose and breathed in the fumes of the polluted air.


    "You are uffˇ­uffˇ­going nowhere," an indistinct voice of an imperial guard objected while holding his throat with his right hand and extending his left hand to bar the way to the stairs.


    The servant of the imperial forces displayed an unwavering determination to maintain captive the disgraced hero and his saviors despite the chaotic situation.


    "Guards, don''t letˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­these three malefactors escape!" He dolorously ordered.


    "Understoodˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­my Capoˇ­" A guard on behalf of the squad answered with his throat obstructed by dust.


    However, he couldn''t finish his sentence and was interrupted by the brouhaha of a sudden vast movement of panic that stemmed from the headquarters'' hall above accompanied by horrified screams.


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    Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


    "Bats, bats, bats!" Imperial sentinels in the hall shouted repeatedly while running hysterically in all directions.


    "What? A bats'' attack?" Babida the lumberjack exclaimed.


    "Oh no!" The young Miss Suzie reacted, jumping backward in fright.


    Aaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaa Aaaaaaaaaaaa


    The imperial soldiers upstairs cried out in ache as they were mortally bitten by a swarm of angry bats.


    Then a pack of five overexcited black bats collided with the now damaged underground door which had been kicked off a while ago by an imperial warrior.


    The wild flying mammals were stunned by the impact and fell hard on the floor. Yet, these critters were incredibly robust. In no time, they recovered and began to slowly crawl on the walls while emitting unfriendly sounds. Only their yellow wicked eyes were visible in the obscurity of the cave.


    "Where areˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­theseˇ­creepy bugsˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­coming from?" A guard roughly uttered while freaking out and stepping backward.


    "Fromˇ­uffˇ­uffˇ­certainly the forbidden mountain," Uncle Bibi mumbled with his pharynx still being hampered by dust.


    ˇ±Of course, where else? They can only come from that cursed hill. Their master Edimo, the god of destruction, for a reason yet to find out, has for sure purposely provoked the earth strike leading to the dislocation of the wild flying mammals'' cave and sent them on a hunt for human flesh," Babida the lumberjack asserted.


    "Someone give me a wooden stick! It''s time to send these little parasites back to where they belong. And it''s hell!" The logger requested, his tone filled with gravity.


    "Take mine, Babida!" An imperial guard responded while handing over a wooden wand to him.


    In the meantime, the devilish bats continued their sluggish walk on the walls while staring viciously at their prey in the darkness, their favorite environment.


    Babida the lumberjack stretched his right arm, grabbed the wooden stick from the imperial sentinel, and lifted it into the air.


    He then closed his eyes and commenced murmuring unintelligible incantations to the ancestors. Just a few seconds went by and he was done praying.


    The logger opened his irises and declared loudly and emphatically: "Weah, god of fire, I implore you to consume this stick with your most ardent flames and I shall fulfill my promise to you."


    The cane caught fire with vivid flames and the underground was thus abundantly illuminated.


    The bats that were now gathered overhead on the ceiling went mad at the sight of the burning glow and generated terrifying howls.


    An imperial sentinel took his bow and shot an arrow at one of them, however, he missed his target since his hands were shaky.


    The lucky bat counterattacked and showed better accuracy. It flew down at a rapid speed, its fangs forward, and dug a nasty hole in the skull of the archer. The latter bled badly before dropping dead.


    "Oh Loba, God of the gods!" The young maiden Suzie screamed, for she was completely freaked out.


    The villain mammal rushed to the back of the underground to gain momentum and was about to strike a second time. It had its wings wide open and its gaze on the young Miss Suzie but Babida the lumberjack stood in its way and swept the air with the livid flames.


    The merciless bat was dissuaded and went back to the ceiling where its peers stayed wisely glued, intimidated by the heat of the fire.


    "Fellow warriors, My Commander, young maiden, go all inside the cell and lock yourselves up! Leave me alone with these creatures of death!" The woodsman advised.


    "Are youˇ­?" Uncle Bibi tried to reply to the logger but the latter cut him short.


    "Yes, I am sure My Commander!" The imperial hero stated with great confidence.


    "Guards, do as he says and retreat inside the cell!" An imperial sentinel commanded the other imperial guards.


    "Yes, My Caporal!" The squad voiced in unison to their superior.


    The young maiden Suzie moved in first to the cell, hopping over the lying body of the imperial guard that had been knocked out by her uncle before their failed attempt to free the lumberjack.


    Two imperial sentinels carried in the unconscious comrade and laid him on the bed to unencumber the cell''s entrance.


    The Caporal and his men penetrated the bunker as well, followed by uncle Bibi who on his way to the shelter gently tapped the woodsman''s right shoulder as a manner to wish him victory in his upcoming life-or-death match.


    Suzie''s uncle unhurriedly pulled back the cell''s door as if he was expecting the logger to change his mind, yet, the imperial hero didn''t pay attention to him and kept his focus on the savage bats.


    Not seeing any hesitation from the former recipient of the medal of the highest honor and merit for the beheading of the Monster of the forbidden mountain over a decade ago, uncle Bibi finally shut down the cell''s entry. The moment that Babida the lumberjack had been waiting for.


    "Now, let''s fight ominous species!" He said fiercely before blowing on the torch to switch off the fire.

 Part 4 (2)

    The callous bats didn''t need another invitation from the audacious woodsman to bring out their pointed fangs and come down from the ceiling with the intent to stab him pitilessly.


    However, the wicked flying mammals didn''t know that they were falling into a setup of the cunning logger.


    "Weahhhhh!" With a voice full of vitality, Babida the lumberjack invoked the god of fire.


    And to the shock of the pack of bats that were on the verge of stinging him, the wooden stick that the woodsman was holding, got its fire back and this time around the flames were even more raging than ever before.


    Babida the lumberjack thus swept the space with the ardent fire and earnestly burned the five entrapped evil bats that were just about to reach his head. They released agonizing cries before wholly shapeshifting into ashes.


    The young maiden Suzie who had been nervously witnessing the deadly combat from behind the cell''s bars, let herself explode with joy.


    "Youpiiiiiiii, that''s my hero right there!" She spat out to the astonishment of Uncle Bibi and the imperial sentinels.


    The Caporal of the squad immediately unlocked the cell and exited. He then enjoined his men to carry their fainted comrade and to follow him because they were about to leave the underground. Meanwhile, Uncle Bibi and his niece Suzie remained inside the cell.


    The imperial sentinels'' Commander approached Babida the lumberjack and whispered to his ears: "You are free to go, brave warrior."


    He thereafter talked to his men: "Guards, let''s move out of here!" and they began to take the door. In a few seconds they were all gone from the underground, leaving behind the woodsman and his saviors henceforth in total liberty.


    The young Miss Suzie came out of the cell while running and enlaced Babida the lumberjack tightly around his waist. The woodsman was taken aback and held the wooden stick on fire up in the air, so the fire would not mistakenly roast them.


    Uncle Bibi observed quietly the two lovebirds'' intimate moment for a while until he felt forgotten. So he cleared his throat and uttered: "Well, I guess someone owes me a jar of palm wine and also a big goat."


    His niece Suzie heard her uncle''s insinuation, broke the hug, and shyly stepped back. The logger glanced disconcerted at his crush''s senior relative and smiled at the latter fakely.


    "Let''s leave this dramatic place!" The forty-five-year-old uncle told the two soul mates as he moved in the direction of the stairs.


    The young maiden Suzie and the logger shifted on the side to cede the passage to the middle-aged man, then they walked behind him.


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    The three enfranchised arrived upstairs in the Governor''s headquarters'' hall and were deranged by the shambolic view. The evil bats'' aggression was over, however, dozens of imperial guards'' lifeless bodies were strewn over the ground.


    The trio leaped over the casualties and headed outside the building. Their trauma increased as the sun''s rays were shining over the area and one could clearly see the horrendous extent of the last evening mess.


    The blood-thirsty flying mammals had decimated and injured hundreds of warriors and civilians whereas just a few of these mad critters'' dead bodies were littering the yard of the Governor''s headquarters and the lawn of Okunde''s garden nearby.


    The imperial troops assembled for the military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain were utterly disorganized and battered.


    Some women of the village had set up an emergency rescue unit and were providing, with limited material, medical care to the wounded.


    The young maiden Suzie spontaneously joined her fellow females and began to assist the survivors in critical condition. She thus left her uncle with the logger.


    And suddenly..., the sound of a horn resonated three times from the Governor''s headquarters. In the Batang empire, the instrument was played for major announcements by the local rulers to their subjects.


    All gazes were therefore fixed toward the balcony of the administrative building. Surprisingly, instead of Governor Kola II showing up as per tradition, his aide-de-camp Polo came forward. His face was pale and his eyebrows were furrowed.


    The Governor''s man of trust unfolded the papyrus he was holding in his right hand and with a frail voice started to peruse: "Message of His Majesty Batang V to the population of the empire. Last night, men of great value left us after serving and defending the land with devotion. Governor Kola II was one of them. Like the other braves, he stumbled in the attack of the coward bats sent by their evil master Edimo, the god of destruction. By his demand, his sepulcher will be buried later in the day without a public ceremony. Hence, until further notice, the military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain is momentarily suspended. A new Governor will be appointed in three moons."


    The henchman Polo ended his announcement and rolled back the imperial sheet. He thereupon went back inside the administrative headquarters.


    The crowd was dazzled. Babida the lumberjack looked at his left and saw his companion Uncle Bibi removing his fedora hat to pay tribute to the gone authority. And for a while, a silence of cemetery reigned all over the venue. Everyone was keeping the mouth shut and meditating in one''s corner.


    Then it was time to move on, so the rescue operations resumed. The young maiden Suzie showed impressive nurse skills and along with the fellow local women, her uncle and some imperial warriors, attended to the victims of the wicked bats.


    Whereas while the lifesaving activities were being carried out, Babida the lumberjack left discreetly his companions on the scene of the massacre, for he had to get back a personal and very dear belonging that he lost sight of since the day of his arrestation.


    So he went to his former military tent that he found wobbling and on the verge to collapse as a result of the earthquake.


    It was in that very shelter that he was resting the day two imperial guards on order of late Governor Kola II came over to wake him up and escort him to the office of the then alive ruler who out of anger threw him to jail.


    By the mercy of the ancestors, upon his arrival to the tent, the logger immediately spotted on his right his beloved Herculean steel ax which was scintillating and lying on the ground. He picked up the weapon and gave it a warm kiss on the head before sitting calmly on the floor with the legs crossed, the torso upright, the eyelids closed and the two hands stuck against each other, to invoke the forefathers.


    "My forefathers, I urge you to prevent your people from another calamity caused by Edimo," Babida spoke to the kind-hearted gods of the Batang empire.


    "Last night, the god of ruin once again slaughtered our valiant warriors and innocent civilians. Our Commander in chief, Governor Kola II, paid the highest price with his life as well and presently there is no one to lead us on the battlefield against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain and the ruthless bats," the woodsman related the dire situation to the deities with a bitter tone of voice.


    Done with the supplication of the ancestors, he opened his eyes and saw a sparkling butterfly entering the tent and strolling around before landing on his head.


    The logger thus felt an intense power getting gradually hold of his muscular body to the extent that he went into a trance. Then a voice only he could hear began to talk to him.


    "Babida! Babida! Babida!" The hypnotic voice pronounced the woodsman''s name up to three times and the latter was transported into another dimension.


    "In three moons, you shall become the new Commander in chief of the men of honor. Shall you succeed in destroying the newborn Monster of the Forbidden Mountain and the other evil creature of Edimo, that is to say the wild bats, you shall be elevated to the rank of Governor of Okunde," The voice prophesied and shut up.


    Babida the lumberjack listened to the revelation of the divinities and had goosebumps. He wondered how it was going to happen since he was not a member of the imperial family.

 Part 4 (3)

    And the night fell over Okunde...


    Gradually, a bright half-moon began to appear and enlighten the dark sky as the evening was progressing.


    Babida the lumberjack finished his meditation, grabbed his steel ax and walked away from his former military tent. He began to seek out the young maiden Suzie and her uncle, and spotted them on the esplanade of the administrative headquarters beside the Okunde''s garden.


    The rescue operations had ceased and the woodman''s companions were about to dine along with the rest of the lifesavers after many hours of restless work.


    Generous donors of the village brought some food to the troops and the benevolent civilians among which the young maiden Suzie and Uncle Bibi, so they could get back a bit of the huge deal of the energy that they had spent on healing the injured, removing the corpses of the deceased littering the ground, and tidying up the lawn of the Okunde''s garden.


    "Well done work, dear companions!" Babida the lumberjack said to his two associates as he met them and bent to fill in a space on the long wooden public bench where they were sitting. The logger sat on the left of the young Miss Suzie while Uncle Bibi was on her right.


    "You did a very good job today. I''m sure Governor Kola II is at peace in the heavens seeing you making sacrifices for others," the logger confessed to his co-adventurers.


    "It''s quite amazing that you are holding no grudges against the late ruler whereas he unjustly threw you in jail," the young Miss Suzie made a remark on the woodsman''s forgiving heart while handing over to him an apple.


    "Thank you, dear!" He told her as he took the juicy fruit and bit on it.


    "Hey, the two lovebirds! Have you looked at the sky? There is a moon and that''s the first of the three before the nomination of a new Okunde Governor by His Majesty Batang V," Uncle Bibi jumped into the conversation of the two lovers before slicing a piece of flatbread that he combined with toasted salted peanuts. He then voraciously devoured the tasty mixture.


    "Yes, albeit it''s a half-moon," Babida the lumberjack replied to him.


    Uncle Bibi ate up his meal and expressed with signs of worries his deep thoughts regarding the appearance of the luminary in the heavens.


    "Indeed, the moon is not at its fullest yet, meaning that if the appointment of a new Governor in Okunde were to take place today, it would be without the blessings of the ancestors. Hopefully in two moons, there will be a fully round and shining satellite in the sky," he said while frowning.


    The young maiden Suzie who had her eyes directed toward the firmament hence asked: "But what if in the T-time the moon is not a whole?"


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    The relevance of her question froze Uncle Bibi and Babida the lumberjack to the degree that the two men temporarily lost their ability to speak.


    "We shall see. We shall see," Uncle Bibi then responded to his niece as he overcame his muteness before imploring the ancestors for their favor upon the Batang people.


    "Oh Loba, God of the gods, protect us against our enemies!" He whispered to the divinities while glaring at the sky.


    "Alright! Let''s finish up our dinner now, and get some sleep!" He then commanded his companions.


    The young maiden Suzie took a piece of flatbread and an avocado that she passed on to Babida the lumberjack then from her uncle she took for herself some toasted salted peanuts.


    Though she was very hungry she didn''t eat much, for it had become an habit she had cultivated so as to always maintain a slender body. Whereas her two male companions swallowed everything they had in light speed and even shared her leftovers.


    Finally, for a smooth digestion, the young maiden Suzie beheaded a coconut that she handed over to her uncle. She thereupon broke another one for the woodsman before opening a third one for herself and together they made a cheer by knocking the hard outer layer of their palm fruit against each other.


    And like in a well-coordinated musical band, they drank up the delicious sweetened liquid inside.


    "It''s time to go now," Uncle Bibi uttered while getting on his feet and holding his coconut layer.


    "Suzie, come with me darling!" He enjoined the young maiden as he marched toward Babida the lumberjack, placed his right hand on the latter''s shoulder, and mumbled: "Good night, intrepid warrior! See you tomorrow morning shall our ancestors grant me life again."


    "Good night, My Commander!" The lumberjack replied as Uncle Bibi walked away with his niece Suzie.


    The two next of kin moved out of the Governor''s headquarters'' esplanade and arrived in the center of Okunde which was drowned in a very morose ambiance after the earthquake and last night''s deadly bats'' attack.


    The downtown was unusually asleep whereas in the days before the unfortunate events, by this time of the evening, barely midnight, locals wandered across the sandy streets, and musicians beat tambours from which mesmerizing melodies came into existence.


    Uncle Bibi saw an auberge and told his niece Suzie: "Let''s find accommodation there for the evening!" while pointing in the direction of the hotel with his right index finger.


    They walked up to the place and found an aged lady at the reception who was delighted by their visit.


    "Praise to our ancestors!" She exclaimed.


    "I had almost lost hope to see any visitors here today since death and destruction have afflicted the village," The old woman explained the reason for her apparent joy.


    Uncle Bibi removed his fedora hat, slightly bowed his head to greet her, and responded: "Ma''am, we are enchanted that our coming into your home brings some sparks and hopefully trouble times will soon be cast out by the ancestors."


    "May indeed the forefathers restore peace all over our empire!" The respectable lady sided with Uncle Bibi while binding the palms of her hands together.


    "Now please let me know how I may assist you!" She then added.


    "Thank you for caring! We need a room with two beds," Uncle Bibi told her.


    "Fine. We have one that would fit you well for only three Batangi," the aged woman answered him.


    The latter therefore inserted his right hand in the right pocket of his dusty boubou and took out a five Batangi coin.


    "Please Ma''am, take this and keep the change!" he said to the Mistress of the auberge as he gave her the money.


    The old lady collected the payment and was even more elated.


    "Thank you very much! Shall the ancestors reward your kindness!" She declared.


    Ahaaaaaaaa


    Suzie yawned while rubbing her left eye with the back of her left hand.


    "Sorry!" The young maiden excused herself, for she was extremely tired from her long day in the rescue operation.


    "Please, don''t be sorry darling! That''s totally normal and it''s a bit late already," the aged runner of the auberge addressed the young Miss Suzie.


    The Mistress of the house thereupon unhung a key from the mural cupboard behind the reception bamboo desk and said to the visitors: "Follow me, dear guests!".


    She led Uncle Bibi and his niece Suzie to room number three in the corridor at the left of the hall.


    The old woman unlocked the door and it swung open. The room was unlit and a cold wind emerged from it.


    The two guests felt an abnormal extremely low temperature in the summertime. The young maiden Suzie who had been drowsy all the way to the auberge was instantly awoken.


    Her sleep immediately vanished away and her eyes were now as clear as the water from the fountain of Ebuka, the god of purity.


    She glimpsed at her uncle and noticed he was aphonic and immobile like a statue. She tried to move but she could not. Her body was magically affixed on the ground.

 Part 4 (4)

    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 overˇ­


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 5 (1)

    Babida the lumberjack and his two associates Uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie headed back to the military camp in Okunde''s garden as the first sun rays of the new day shone stronger.


    "Here you are safer!" The woodsman said to his two companions.


    "Last night, because of that Witch of bad luck, you couldn''t have some rest. Neither could I. I had to wake up in the middle of the night, for I was having a vision that you were in danger and needed my help. Anyway, now it''s over. Let''s forget it and find a spot where we can sleep without disturbance," the woodsman suggested.


    "Well, under this palm tree would be perfect, wouldn''t it?" Uncle Bibi answered while showing the direction of the shelter with the index finger of his right hand.


    They trekked toward the palmea and stopped under its refreshing green branches.


    The young Miss Suzie, who was already half asleep, removed her brown sandals, hastened to the soft lawn, and immediately snoozed.


    As for Babida the lumberjack, he laid his herculean steel ax beside the palm tree, then sat upright on the grass and leaned on the trunk before shutting his exhausted eyes.


    Whereas the middle-aged Uncle Bibi remained awake for a while. He walked around the tree and contemplated the singing birds on top of the branches. Their sweet morning melodies appeased him and even reminded him of the time he was a little boy in the imperial city Ekule and enjoyed the robins'' chorus with a girl he was in love with.


    "Ama, Ama, Ama! Oh Ama, how I remember my young age with you in our hometown Ekule and how I terribly miss you dear. My first love, wherever you are now, I simply wish you happiness! Hopefully, one day, we will meet again," Uncle Bibi magnificently sang the song over and over again as the birds kept on playing their music.


    And when finally the robins'' opera reached its apotheosis with the rising sun, he took off his fedora hat and slippers, and like his companions, lay down on the lawn and napped.


    The three adventurers slumbered under the curious watch of some imperial sentinels.


    "Behold Babida the lumberjack and his friends. It seems that last night was a rough one," one of the imperial guards declared jokingly.


    "Yes indeed. I saw the killer of the Monster of the Forbidden Mountain leaving the barracks precipitously in the middle of the evening while I was outside surveilling," another imperial sentinel stated.


    "He came back right after dawn with the elderly man and the young maiden by his sides. I guess there was some sort of issue and now it may be over," the imperial soldier added.


    Ahaaaaaaaa


    "I should go and rest too, for I stayed awake all night long because of the patrol," he concluded while yawning.


    The imperial warrior thereupon turned and went to his military tent.


    The day continued nicely and by noon the young Miss Suzie woke up. She glanced at her sides and saw Babida the lumberjack and Uncle Bibi profoundly snoring.


    She stretched her hands then slowly rose. She then strolled her eyes around and perceived bush down Okunde''s garden.


    "There are surely running waters behind those pastures over there," the young maiden Suzie asserted.


    She thus began to head toward the green herbs and as she neared them their height seemed to be increasing. After just a small walk, she reached the feet of the plants and there was no way in. So she created a little passage with her hands and went inside the bush.


    She walked till the other end of the greenery and when she emerged from it, she saw in front of her a well-maintained stream with pure and calm waters.


    "Wow, what a fantastic view!" She exclaimed with great excitement.


    ˇ±I need to bath inside those mythical waters," the young miss Suzy said in addition.


    Away from indiscreet eyes, she undressed and dove into the river. And while she was bathing, the waters sparkled, the fishes danced around her, and the wind blew in slow motion.


    Her curly hair gleamed and a group of three yellow butterflies descended from the sky and gravitated upon her head.


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    After a few breaststrokes, she came out of the waters, cut some plant leaves to cover her nudity. She looked even more beautiful in those nature-made clothes.


    The young maiden Suzie thereafter picked her wax-made blue gown and her scarf of the same material and color, stood at the stream''s edge and crouched to wash the garments.


    "Hey darling!" Someone yelled behind her.


    She was slightly surprised. She looked back and glanced her two companions Babida the lumberjack and Uncle Bibi.


    "So all this while, it''s here you have been hiding, in Okunde''s river!" her uncle said to her.


    "Youhou!" The woodsman shouted unexpectedly as he ran toward the stream shores and flipped over the waters before diving deep inside.


    "Hey, young man! Not so fast!" Uncle Bibi told the logger then he took off his boubou and sprinted too toward the river.


    The elderly man remained only with pants and shamedlessly he jumped over the stream, arms and feet extended with his back turned.


    "Supalala!" Uncle Bibi shouted childishly as he dove inside the hot waters.


    The young maiden Suzie looked at her companions'' ludicrous moment and smiled.


    She thereafter uttered to herself : " Look at these two big men playing like toddlers," while shaking her head on the sides as a way to express her astonishment.


    Then she remembered she still had laundry to do, so she got back to work. She finished cleaning her clothes and picked up her uncle''s own and quickly tidied it up as well.


    The woodsman in the meantime got out of the waters as drops rolled down his pumped body.


    "How are you, pretty maiden?" He addressed his crush Suzie.


    "Fine!" She shyly answered as she leered the logger''s massive torso and biceps.


    "Youhou!" Uncle Bibi suddenly exclaimed, for he was enjoying his swimming moment.


    The middle-aged man continued his breaststrokes, unaware that his howl had just provoked an abrupt end of a just started flirt between the two youngsters.


    "Look at my uncle! I had never seen him in this childish state," the young Miss Suzie spoke to Babida the lumberjack who simply giggled.


    "Oh, let me hang fast these clothes and hopefully within the next three hours, they would be dry,ˇ± the young maiden Suzie declared as she remembered she wasn''t done with the laundry.


    She hung the outfits on the leaves of the plants and while she doing so Uncle Bibi came out of the water.


    "What a replenishing river! I feel like in my twenties," the elderly man confessed joyfully.


    He cut a few leaves that he wrapped around his waist and commenced moving them circularly at a slow then rapid pace. The moves were those of the Batang empire''s folkloric dance, the Sambasiko.


    The young maiden Suzie tried hard to contain herself but when uncle Bibi made his special move by slowing down the waist shake, then pausing and standing immobile before sweeping the floor with his right foot, she laughed out loud till she got a mild stomach ache.


    "My Commander, what a terrific performance right there! You''re an artistic virtuoso," Babida the lumberjack said, amazed.


    "Alright, enough! Uh! Let me take a break now!" Uncle Bibi uttered a bit out of breath before sitting on the green grass.


    "Come sit next to me, my children!" The elderly man invited his niece Suzie and the logger, and they swiftly obeyed to his command.


    "Fine! Now listen to me with the utmost attention!" Uncle Bibi required from his companions.


    He thereupon started recounting them a tale...


    "Once upon a time, there was in the imperial city Ekule a twenty-year-old young and strong man. He enrolled in the imperial army and was very proud of it.


    However, after a few months of serving His Majesty with great devotion, the gentleman felt very sad, for he was lonely and had no pretty woman by his side.


    One day he went on an imperial mission to Okunde and a sunny afternoon like this one, his comrade Radi took him to the river.


    Upon their arrival, they found two beautiful sisters of almost the same age as them who were catching little fishes with rattan baskets that they used like nets.


    The siblings looked alike, for they were twins. Nonetheless, they had different heights and sizes. One sister was taller and thinner than the other and was courted by the young man''s friend, Radi.


    The shorter and bigger sister melted the gentleman''s heart. He instantly madly fell in love with her and regularly invited her to this stream in the afternoon and they entertained themselves till almost the last sun rays.


    One day the young man invited again the shorter and bigger girl but she didn''t come over. And as if the spirit of misfortune had plotted against the gentleman, he had chosen that day to propose to her to get married to him.


    He was hence disheartened and for days he couldn''t sleep at night and hardly ate.


    Ultimately his mission in Okunde was over and he returned to his unit in the imperial city Ekule and ever since he never found love again.


    That unlucky lover is your old uncle Bibi right here," The middle-aged man almost in tears concluded his story.


    The two lovebirds, Babida the lumberjack and the young maiden Suzie looked at a regretful Uncle Bibi and they held him by each of his hands to express their compassion.


    Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiii


    Suddenly the woodsman grasped a familiar sound.


    "Wait a minute! Is that a snake noise?" He said as he hastily rose to grab his steel ax.


    Frightened, the young Miss Suzie and Uncle Bibi stood up as well and stayed behind Babida the lumberjack.


    Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiii


    The noise repeated with even more intensity, then a green and nervous mamba about one meter long popped up from the green herbs.


    "Oh! Oh! Guys, we are about to have nice snake meat for lunch," the logger exclaimed as he stood face-to-face with the reptile.


    And with incredible dexterity and rapidity he beheaded the foe.


    "Now, let''s make fire and grill this excellent bush meat!" He declared.


    "Let me handle that, young man!" Uncle Bibi reacted then collected two stones on the ground.


    "Just bring me a few fagots!" He added.


    The young maiden Suzie heard her uncle and walked as fast as she could to the other end of the bush. She picked up some dry wood sticks, and came back to the position of her companions.


    They joined their efforts and together successfully made fire. Then Suzie took the snake''s body to the stream and cleansed and stripped off its skin before returning to the fire to smoke the reptile.


    A festive ambiance was therefore created. Babida and uncle Bibi began to sketch funnily Sambasiko moves. The young miss Suzie watched amazed her companions'' euphoric moment while roasting the green mamba.


    An hour later, the color of the reptile''s flesh had changed from white to slightly black and its fine odor sharpened the appetite.


    "Hey big men, lunch is ready!" The young Miss Suzie invited her two associates the woodsman and Uncle Bibi to eat.


    They therefore interrupted their nonacademic dance and rushed to sit down on the ground so that the young maiden Suzie would serve them. However, for an unknown reason the pretty Miss was taking too much time.


    Very hungry and impatient, the two giants rose and met her around the fire to check what was delaying the service. They learned that there was no plate where to put the delicacy. So they helped the beautiful chef find a bunch of wide taro leaves nearby that she used as dishes to serve the hot grilled snake.


    "Gentleman, let''s get at last started!" The young maiden Suzie boldly declared as she gave the kickoff by pinching some of the animal''s flesh and putting the piece in her papillae.


    Babida the lumberjack and Uncle Bibi sliced the snake too and savored its combined chicken-fish taste.


    In light speed the three companions ate up their repast. They were full and started feeling lazy and drowsy. So they lay on the green grass to digest and rest. They took a nap till they were out of the blue disturbed...


    "Comrade, please rise!" An imperial sentinel said while lightly shaking the logger with the right hand.


    "Late Governor''s aide-de-camp, Polo, is asking for your presence in the administrative headquarters, and right away," he informed.


    Babida the lumberjack woke up, as well as the two other companions Uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie who heard the imperial messenger. They were invaded by curiosity, they wondered what the henchman Polo had so important to tell.


    The three associates thus quickly ran to the river, poured water on their faces, and wore on their clean outfits which had long dried. And without any further due, they followed the imperial guard to the administrative headquarters.

 Part 5 (2)

    Babida the lumberjack accompanied by the young maiden Suzie and Uncle Bibi arrived with the imperial sentinel to the office of the late Governor''s henchman, Polo.


    When they entered the circular room, the deceased Governor''s aide-de-camp was sitting behind his wooden desk and he was holding a papyrus in his right hand.


    The thirty-year-old henchman had his face plunged into the document and was reading its extremely important imperial message.


    "Here is Babida the lumberjack, sir!" The imperial messenger exclaimed to introduce the guest.


    The aide-de-camp Polo halted his reading and glanced at the door where the woodsman he called for and the imperial sentinel he had commissioned were standing but also the young miss Suzie and the former imperial army''s Commander, Uncle Bibi.


    "My heartfelt respects, My Commander!" Polo said as he rose to salute the middle-aged man.


    "What a great surprise! Polo the cunning!" replied Uncle Bibi, calling the tall and svelte young man by his nickname.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp was attributed his alias when he debuted in the imperial army ten years ago.


    He was assigned to the regiment of Ekule where Uncle Bibi was enrolled too and had back then the rank of Caporal.


    During an intensive elite training camp, the youngster Polo faked a knee injury to get sick leave.


    The Commander of the elite unit at the time granted the rookie Polo a few weeks to recover after the imperial doctor confirmed that the freshman''s knee was indeed swollen up from a heavy shock sustained during the training camp.


    On the day of the made-up incident, the young Polo went discreetly right after sunrise to a bee nest lodged on a palm tree in the little woods behind the barracks.


    He pinched a bee with two thin sticks and self-inflicted the insect''s venomous sting on his knee which began to swell.


    He then removed the animal''s stinger to slow down the knee inflammation and rushed back to the barracks where a new elite training session was about to kick off.


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    He immediately joined the ranks and participated in the military tests until when it came to climbing a wall and he could no longer, for his knee had become enormously swollen.


    His comrades evacuated him for the military infirmary within the barracks where the doctor declared him inapt to pursue the training.


    Later he revealed his cheating to his comrades but Toma, an elite fighter who was often in conflict with him and need of recognition from the hierarchy, sold him out.


    The Commander of the elite unit, to punish the rookie Polo for his act of cowardice, ordered he be thrown in the arena lodged in the middle of the barracks'' main yard and the starved lion in the cage beneath be unleashed for a life and death combat.


    The slender fighter alone face-to-face with his fate surprised his comrades with an unexpected trick he had anticipated.


    The night before his arrestation, the young Polo knowing the preferred punishment of the Commander of the regiment was to throw the trepasser either to the dean of lion or the stream of crocodiles, invoked Iy?, the god of deep sleep who gave him a magic sleeping potion in exchange of his herd of sheep.


    He thus poured the enchanted liquid on his dinner which he then wrapped with aluminum foil and hid in the pocket of his silk trousers. The meal comprised grilled lamb and boiled rice.


    As instructed, a squad of five imperial sentinels conducted the youngster Polo to the arena and released the lion. The animal came out very nervous, for he was extremely hungry.


    Without wasting time, the tall and slim fighter removed the package in his pocket. He tore it, and launched its content toward the wildcat.


    The latter sprung on the lamb and voraciously devoured it. As soon it was done, it fell unconscious on the ground and deeply snoozed.


    Amazed by his intelligence, the young Polo''s comrades who feared for his life, nicknamed him Polo the cunning. And since then, he had been greatly popular among his peers and highly regarded by his superiors.


    BACK TO THE PRESENT


    Uncle Bibi looked at the now mature and accomplished man Polo and walked up to him as the latter stepped on the left side of his desk.


    The two men warmly shook hands and couldn''t help congratulating each other for their achievements.


    Uncle Bibi stressed out that his time had passed and wished his younger comrade Polo a richer career than his at the service of His Majesty, Emperor Batang V.


    The two men''s volubility finally annoyed Babida the lumberjack who felt forgotten. The woodsman had been requested by the aide-de-camp Polo and was impatient the latter turned his attention to him and revealed to him whatever he had to say.


    The imperial guard and the young maiden Suzie were more relaxed than the logger and admired the numerous eye-catching wild animal sculptures that were featured in the late Governor''s henchman''s office.


    And at last, the lengthy conversation of Uncle Bibi and his younger comrade Polo came to an end and the late Governor''s aide-de-camp fixed now his gaze on his office''s entrance.


    ˇ±Oh, pardon me!" He exclaimed very sorry and rushed toward the three other individuals.


    "Thank you, Abo! You can now leave," he said to the imperial messenger who gave him in return a salute and left.


    "I greet you, comrade Babida," He then told the logger who returned the politeness with a military salute.


    The henchman Polo glared at the miss behind the woodsman and was struck by her unique beauty.


    "May I know who this exquisite creature of our ancestors is?" He asked Babida the lumberjack.


    "Well sir, that''s our dear companion Suzie from the imperial city Ekule. That''s in fact Commander Bibi''s beautiful niece," replied the woodsman to the late Governor''s henchman Polo.


    "Oh, I see. Young Miss, be welcome to our headquarters!" The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo addressed Suzie who slightly bowed her head to pay her respects to him.


    He thereafter redirected his focus on the man he called for, that was to say Babida the lumberjack.


    "First of all dear comrade, I would like to underscore that I was extremely disturbed by your imprisonment by the late Governor, His Highness Kola II," He confessed regretfully to the logger.


    "It was a sad event. I suggest we simply let it go and focus on the current challenges that the Batang empire is facing," the late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo added.


    "I have right here a message of extreme significance from His Majesty Batang V," he uttered while showing the papyrus in his right hand.

 Part 5 (3)

    Babida the lumberjack and his companions, Uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie, were shaken up by the late Governor''s henchman''s assertion and were now impatient to know the content of the rolled golden paper.


    "I have to admit that I, myself, was hooked by His Majesty''s proclamation," the Emperor''s messenger then said, piquing, even more, Babida and his associates'' curiosity.


    "Let me read it to you first before its formal publication!" The late Governor''s aide-de-camp spat out as he unfolded the papyrus.


    "By imperial order of His Majesty Batang V, at the third moon following the passing of Governor Kola II, our valiant warrior Babida the lumberjack will be Commander of the imperial forces and lead the military expedition to the Forbidden Mountain where dwell the newborn Monster and the devilish bats that threaten peace upon our land.


    Shall the new Commander of the armed forces succeed in his mission, shall he be rewarded with the second most valuable position of authority in the empire," the henchman Polo revealed the imperial order to the woodsman and his companions.


    "In short, Comrade Babida, you are from now on the Supreme Commander of the imperial forces and soon you shall become Governor of the province of Okunde. I wish you victory in the battles against Edimo, the god of ruin and his maleficent creatures," he clarified and kneeled before the new imperial army chief Babida the lumberjack with the right foot on the ground while extending his hands and forming a fist.


    Uncle Bibi kneeled as well to pay his homage to the new Commander.


    The young maiden Suzie was in shock. She refrained from jumping on her lover Babida and embracing him in front of their host Polo, though the temptation to do so was extremely strong.


    She quietly thanked the ancestors for their favor upon the logger and implored them to guide him in his new position.


    As for Babida the lumberjack, he remained still since His Majesty''s decree wasn''t quite a surprise to him given that he had already received the revelation from the ancestors a few days back.


    He was just wondering how the divinities made the Emperor appoint a non-member of the imperial family to the rank of the army chief, the third most influential position in the land.


    Yet, since it wasn''t the right moment to investigate the mystery, the logger put the interrogation on standby and celebrated his nomination with the henchman Polo and his companions.


    "Long live His Majesty Batang V!" The new Commander in chief of the imperial forces declared.


    "His Majesty shall be assured that I shall fight till my last breath to defend the land against its fierce enemies." Babida the lumberjack boldly added.


    "Well, My Commander, it''s time to introduce you to the troops," the aide-de-camp Polo told the woodsman who nodded.


    "Guards!" The henchman Polo shouted with authority.


    And two young and fresh imperial sentinels rushed to his office.


    "Play the announcement horn! There is a message of great importance from His Majesty, Batang V!" The imperial messenger Polo ordered.


    "At your command, sir!" The two imperial guards exclaimed in unison and left the room.


    A few minutes later, the sound of the horn resonated three times across the area and caught the attention of the troops in the Okunde''s garden.


    "Oh, oh! We have a message from the Emperor earlier than scheduled, whereas only one moon has passed yet," a warrior uttered in astonishment.


    Imperial soldiers left their tents i the lawn of Okunde''s garden and massively flocked to the Governor''s headquarters'' esplanade. They heaved their eyes to the balcony and waited for the imperial messenger.


    There was a bit of nervosity in the air. The men in uniform were extremely depressed since the bats'' attack and were in dire need of a leader to boost them up and guide them to victory.


    At the beginning of the military expedition to the forbidden mountain, they had only one target: the newborn Monster. And now they also had the terrifying flying mammals to defeat.


    The imperial soldiers kept looking at the balcony of the administrative building to perceive any human shadow but there was still nothing that was happening.


    They began to groan, for they were very impatient to hear His Majesty''s message. When they were starting to get a bit too loud, the late Governor''s henchman Polo showed up holding with him a folded papyrus.


    Like one man, the troop kept quiet to listen to the imperial messenger. Polo unfolded the sheet and commenced perusing His Majesty Batang V''s order.


    At the mention that Babida the lumberjack was going to be Commander of the imperial forces on the third moon following the passing of Governor Kola II, the men in uniform went wild and cheered.


    They whistled and chanted so loudly that their voices crossed Okunde''s garden and reached the center of the village.


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    Polo had not finished reading the imperial message yet. So he lifted his hand in the air to command the troop to recollect itself and allow him to go to the end of the decree.


    The warriors obeyed the instruction and stood still. The imperial messenger thereupon resumed his announcement.


    He informed the troop that their new Commander was tasked by His Majesty to continue the military expedition to the forbidden mountain and annihilate the newborn Monster and the devilish bats.


    Polo went on by also informing the soldiers that Commander Babida would be elevated to the position of Governor should he accomplish his mission.


    This last news caused more noise than the previous cheer. The men in uniform tapped the ground and shook dust. Youyous emerged and spread above the Governor''s headquarters'' esplanade to the last limits of Okunde village.


    However, Polo wasn''t done yet. There was something important that needed to be added to the spectacle: the introduction of the nominee.


    Thus the late Governor''s aide-de-camp extended his hand in the air again and the warriors calmed down.


    "Now, comrades, let''s give a salute to our supreme Commander!" He yelled with great excitement.


    The men in uniform went wild again as Babida popped up and got close to the balustrade followed by Suzie and uncle Bibi. The euphoria reached at that moment its peak.


    The imperial warriors then kneeled to salute their new leader who greeted them back, standing.


    The lumberjack thereupon took the floor and heartily spoke to his men: "Comrades, today His Majesty Batang V has chosen his humble servant that I am to pursue a great mission that had been started by the late Governor Kola II, may he rest in peace. We all know what the challenges in front of us are. It''s time to get rid, once and for all, of all the dangers that disturb the tranquility of our land. Be prepared for the ultimate sacrifice if necessary!" He said to a troop that was very hot and together they screamed for victory.


    His speech done, the lumberjack returned inside the Governor''s headquarters with Polo and his companions, uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie.


    They went back to the late Governor''s aide-de-camp''s office as the evening was about to fall in Okunde.


    Before the first half of the night, the news of the nomination of the woodsman was spread across the empire.


    Suzie''s grandmother was alone in the chalet in Ekule village and was as usual sitting on the rattan chair, listening to the radio.


    The matriarch wasn''t paying much attention to the newscaster until she heard the name of Babida the lumberjack.


    "...Jack will become Commander of the imperial forces on the third moon following the death of former Governor Kola II. His Majesty Batang V has decreed. Moreover, the Emperor will later promote the new Commander to the function of Governor shall he exterminate the empire''s enemies, namely the newborn Monster and the evil bats." Grasped big Momma who was daydreaming.


    She jerked and her focus was now at its fullest. She thought some spirits were trying to make fun of her.


    So she opened her ears wide to listen to the newscaster again but he didn''t repeat the information about the logger and was now giving other scoops about the empire.


    "Zut! When is the next report session?" The elderly cried out, pissed off.


    In Okunde, the Commander of the imperial forces to be, Babida, along with uncle Bibi and his crush Suzie contemplated the wild animal sculptures in Polo''s office.


    "What a beauty this Kigali leopard is!" said the lumberjack, amazed.


    "Who is the author of such artistic perfection?" He asked the late Governor''s henchman.


    "My Commander, I regret I don''t know much about him but the sculpture is more than fifty years old." replied Polo.


    "Hmm... impressive!" The logger stated.


    Toc, toc!


    An imperial sentinel knocked at the office''s door, then came in.


    Polo and his visitors interrupted the sculptures'' admiration and glanced in the direction of the entrance.


    The imperial guard saluted them and uttered: "Pardon me dear Commanders but dinner is ready. You may come to the dining room."


    "Oh, perfect!" Polo reacted.


    The late Governor''s henchman then glared at the Commander of the imperial forces to be, Babida and invited him to go for dinner along with his companions uncle Bibi and the young miss Suzie.


    They all hence left the office and were escorted by the imperial sentinel to the canteen.


    The guests entered the massive room and noticed a table at the other end filled with plenty of food.


    There were almost all the delicacies that the Batang empire could offer. Nonetheless, Babida was more attracted by crabs and gombo sauce which he put in impressive quantities in his dish.


    Uncle Bibi was also very hungry. The snake meat they ate in the afternoon had completely disappeared from his huge stomach. Like the lumberjack, the old man picked a great portion of crabs with gombo up which he mixed with fufu corn.


    The young maiden Suzie felt a little bit embarrassed by the avidity of her companions, however, she refrained from saying any criticism in front of the host Polo.


    She showed more manners and took just some boiled rice with fried fish and pepper. Contrary to her gluttonous companions, she ate with grace and style.


    The host Polo was very satisfied, for his guests were having a great moment. He then ordered they brought palm wine, the most fermented one, so the evening would be even more memorable.


    Not so long after his command, an imperial sentinel came with the most refined palm drink he had found in the Governor''s headquarters'' cave.


    He handed over the bottle of the alcoholic beverage to Polo who uncapped it.


    Puff!!! That was the sound of the opening of the container. For there was gas inside, some of the drink flowed out and poured on the ground.


    A friendly atmosphere was created and everyone enjoyed the beautiful time.


    After a few hours of eating, chatting, shouting, and sketching dance steps, they were all tired and felt sleepy.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo ordered they take Babida and his companions to the guest apartments, which two imperial sentinels hastened to do.


    They took the Commander of the imperial forces to be, Babida, to the most spacious guest room.


    Thereafter they conducted uncle Bibi to the next one, smaller but also comfortable.


    And ultimately, they lodged the young maiden Suzie in the ladies'' guest room, almost as big as that of the lumberjack.


    All the guests in their chambers, the guards returned to the late Governor''s henchman Polo and reported to him that the visitors were nicely installed and in security.


    Polo thanked them and asked them to leave, then went to rest as well.


    Toc, toc, toc!


    Someone shyly knocked at the door of Babida''s room. For the lumberjack was a bit drunk after he slightly abused of the palm wine during the dinner, he wasn''t thus quite sure where the noise was coming from.


    Toc, toc, toc!


    The visitor was persistent, though he banged the egress always timidly. This time around, the lumberjack understood someone was at the other side of the door.


    So he woke up and was swagging because his legs were weakened by alcohol. He opened the door and was surprised by who was standing in front of him.


    The young maiden Suzie was at the doorstep and was looking more beautiful than ever.


    The palm wine that was circulating in Babida''s veins vanished instantly and his mind was as clear as the water of the fountain of Ebuka, the god of purity.


    "What are youˇ­doing here, young Miss?" He whispered to her with a trembling voice.


    "Aren''t you sleeping yet?" He added, displaying low self-confidence before the devastating beauty of the young maiden.


    Suzie looked at the muscular lumberjack eating his lips, gradually losing his ability to speak and glaring from left to right to see if there was any imperial sentinel around.


    Then when the logger was far from imagining what was going to happen, the young miss caught him off guard by jumping on him and laying her lips on his.


    "Oh, wow! Well,..." said Babida but he was hushed by the fatal woman who placed her right index finger on his mouth.


    The young maiden went for the second round of kisses and this time the Commander of the imperial forces to be, was more active.


    He grabbed her by the waist and they passionately exchanged affection. They moved into Babida''s room, closed the door, and landed on the soft mattress of the bed.


    And suddenlyˇ­the young miss stopped everything.


    "Not tonight, big boy!" She said to the lumberjack who was already in the firmament.


    "Not before marriage!" She clarified.


    "Ah! No! Alright!" answered Babida a bit disappointed but very comprehensive.


    As per the Batang empire tradition, sexual intercourse outside wedlock was a big NO.


    And the Commander of the imperial forces to be, knew better than anyone that he had to be an example not only in military life but also in private life.


    Therefore he declared to the young maiden: "We shall marry by the will of the ancestors after my mission to the forbidden mountain."


    To this, Suzie replied with excitement: "I can''t wait for that."


    Then Babida told her to go back to her room immediately and make sure no one, especially Uncle Bibi see her.


    The young maiden kissed him for the last time and vacated. The lumberjack was now alone in his room and couldn''t believe what had just happened.


    He pinched himself to check whether he was in a dream or not and realized that what unfolded moments ago was all real.


    He got off the bed and neared the room''s window. He looked outside and spotted a three-quarters moon. That was the second moon since the passing of Governor Kola II.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 6 (1)

    Only one moon was remaining for Babida the lumberjack to commence his mission as the Commander of the imperial forces.


    Two moons had already gone since the passing of Governor Kola II.


    The logger woke up and got off his bed in the splendid main guest room of the administrative headquarters and went straight to the bathroom to trim his beard and shower.


    Done, he searched the closet at the left corner of the room and found a brand new military uniform. There were nice silk trousers and steel hand bracelets.


    He wore them on and wrapped his tusk collar around his neck. He then found a brush on the cupboard and combed his frizzy hair while looking at his out-of-norm physique in the glass.


    Ready, he grabbed his beloved Herculean steel axe that he had placed by the right side of the bed, then walked away.


    He arrived at the office of the late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo and was surprised to meet uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie who he believed were still asleep.


    "Oh, Good morning all. You''re very early risers." said the lumberjack.


    "No, My Commander, I think you slept a bit too long, for the dose of yesterday''s palm wine was a bit too high," replied Polo while laughing along with uncle Bibi and the young miss Suzie.


    "Ah, yes! You''re right!" Babida reacted.


    "So, what time is it?" He then asked.


    "Soon it will be noon." answered the late Governor''s henchman.


    "Oh, really? Alright!" Babida replied back.


    "Hence it will soon be lunchtime. I am already super hungry." The Commander of the imperial forces to be, told Polo.


    "Yes, My Commander. Certainly an imperial guard will soon come to announce to us that food is ready and served." The late Governor''s aide-de-camp responded to the starved Commander.


    Barely had Polo finished speaking that an imperial sentinel knocked at his office''s door and stepped into the room.


    "Greetings My Commanders, please be informed that lunch is ready and you may come to the canteen." The imperial sentinel announced to his superiors while placing the palm of his right hand on the temple to salute them.


    "Oh, that''s a bit sooner than expected. Nevertheless, It''s perfect. The Commander in chief didn''t have breakfast. So please take him, and his companions right here to the lunch room." Polo ordered the imperial guard.


    "At your service, My Commander." He replied while giving another military salute.


    The lumberjack, uncle Bibi, and the young maiden Suzie then followed him to the canteen.


    As was customary the table at the other end of the room was filled with impressive quantities of food.


    The two gluttonous Babida and uncle Bibi as usual jumped on the food without much manners and put in their dishes almost everything they could.


    The logger took a whole grilled chicken with fried potatoes and stuffed his mouth.


    As for uncle Bibi, he filled his dish with dozens of fried duck wings that he mixed with tomato stew and boiled cassava paste.


    The poor young maiden Suzie watched powerlessly the epicurean spectacle of her companions.


    As usual, she showed grace and style as she served herself a fair quantity of food.


    She took some boiled rice, which she could eat every single day, then added some fried chicken thighs to her dish. She thereafter poured some curry-flavored sauce on the white grains.


    After a few bits, the three companions were full and fortunately for Suzie, the late Governor''s henchman Polo wasn''t around to offer them another bottle of palm wine.


    The fermented beverage would have surely caused more embarrassment to her because of the incapacity of the two big men around her to resist the temptation to drink above what they could bear.


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    Done, they left the canteen and returned to the office of Polo and found the latter very busy, for he was arduously preparing the transition of power to the lumberjack.


    "Ah, you are back, My Commander!" The late Governor''s aide-de-camp exclaimed.


    "I hope you had a great time at the canteen." He said, guessing what had happened down there.


    "Surely they did." said the young maiden Suzie with a little grimace on her face.


    Haha!


    Polo laughed, having a clear picture in his mind of the two men devouring everything they could without any manners.


    "Wellˇ­" Uncle Bibi tried to defend himself and his acolyte Babida but couldn''t get to the bottom of his sentence.


    The latter was interrupted by his lovely niece.


    "Wellˇ­it''s always like that. And surely it''s never going to change." She said grimacing again.


    "Oh, sorry young Miss! Well, Iˇ­weˇ­promise that next time we will be as gracious as you are." The woodsman funnily told her.


    "Well, let''s see!" Suzie replied to him doubtfully.j


    "Okay, let''s go back to business now!" uttered Polo.


    "Tonight would likely be the third moon since the passing of our late Master, His Highness Kola II." The henchman said.


    "And hopefully it would be a full moon, meaning the ancestors have agreed and blessed the choice of the new Commander of the imperial forces and soon the Governor of Okunde." Polo added.


    "Yes, correct, Polo the cunning!" expressed uncle Bibi while calling the late Governor''s aide-de-camp by his nickname.


    Babida listened to the slender warrior and stayed quiet for a while, for he was beginning to visualize how tremendous his mission was.


    He felt the level of seriousness it demanded and had goosebumps.


    Then finally when his little moment of quiet reflection was over, he jumped into the conversation that was going on between Polo and uncle Bibi.


    "Yes, comrades, indeed, tonight shall be the night of my elevation as Commander of the imperial forces." The lumberjack reacted.


    "However, I won''t be able to accomplish my mission without the blessing of the divinities, your help, and that of the troop in Okunde''s garden." He stated with an air of great seriousness.


    "My Commander, you can rely on me. I am willing to make the ultimate sacrifice should I have no choice." Polo declared to the logger.


    "Same here, My Commander!" Uncle Bibi gave his commitment too.


    "I may be a bit old now but I still got something in the tank. Moreover, I would rather die on the battlefield than on the comfortable couch in my chalet." He then emphatically spat out.


    An atmosphere of solidarity was hence created and for the young miss Suzie, it was out of the question that she stayed aside.


    Her little voice suddenly resonated and took aback the three men in the room.


    "I''m coming to the forbidden mountain with you, My Commander." She exclaimed.


    The big eyes of the big men nearly dropped from orbit. Their tympanums were in shock, for they couldn''t believe what had just come across.


    Babida looked at the young maiden and told her: "Sorry, Miss! What did you just say?"


    And with even more confidence, she repeated exactly what she had spoken before.


    "My Commander, the young miss is trying to say that she will be the first woman in the history of the Batang empire to defend land on a battlefield just like one of your devoted warriors." Polo rephrased the young miss'' words.


    "Yes, that''s exactly that!" confirmed Uncle Bibi.


    "Well, therefore there are going to be two headlines tonight." The lumberjack admitted.


    "I may go down as the first non-member of the imperial family to ever occupy the position of Commander of the imperial forces. And the young and brave Miss right here shall become the next role model of the young girls in our land." Babida concluded.


    The afternoon went on calmly and the sky began to darken, for the evening was about to take over.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo hadn''t taken a minute break, even to eat something.


    He was so involved in the organization of the transition of power to the new Commander of the imperial forces that he couldn''t spare some time for himself.


    Babida and his companions, uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie had left him and gone back to the guest rooms, so they could get some rest and prepare for what they believed was going to be a long night.


    Suddenly, the announcement horn resonated all over the administrative headquarters and Okunde''s garden.


    Babida, who hadn''t seen the time flying by quickly, jerked from the bed and looked through the window.


    The logger remarked that the night had completely fallen and a huge and full moon was enlightening the sky of Okunde.


    He therefore understood that the ancestors'' spirit was hovering upon him and that the divinities were putting into action the plan they had revealed to him.


    Toc, toc, toc!


    Someone suddenly knocked at the room''s door. The woodsman rushed to open it and saw the young miss Suzie accompanied by two imperial Sentinels.


    "Greetings, My Commander!" said the imperial guard in front as they made the military salute to him.


    "You may come with us. It''s time for your official elevation." The imperial sentinel added.


    Suzie remained mouth shut and looked even more glamorous with the long golden silk gown and pearl earrings she had worn on.


    The lumberjack tried to focus on whatever his comrade was telling him but couldn''t help furtively glaring at the beautiful maiden.


    However, it wasn''t the right time to lose concentration. So he managed to get his mind where it had to be.


    "One moment, comrades !" The lumberjack said to the imperial sentinels.


    He then walked up to his bed, picked up his Herculean steel axe, and left with his escort.


    They stopped by the office of the late Governor''s henchman Polo who was along with uncle Bibi, standing and waiting for the lumberjack.


    "At last, you''re here, My Commander!" He exclaimed.


    "Your hour has come." Polo then asserted.


    "Let''s go to the balcony now!" He said as he moved in front.


    And as they marched to the balustrade, they could hear the clamor of an excited troop.


    The tumult got even stronger when the imperial warriors at the foot of the administrative headquarters perceived the imposing physique of their next leader Babida the lumberjack.


    Yeahhhhh!!!


    They screamed with more vitality than at the reading of His Majesty''s decree to the extent that the roar did not only reach the limits of Okunde village but went above the northern frontier and woke up the sleeping newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain as well as the nasty bats.

 Part 6 (2)

    Huuuuuuuuuu


    A terrifying counter-howl was heard, making the men in uniform shut up like one man.


    And given the gravity of the situation, Polo hastened to elevate the new Commander of the imperial forces so he could right away take full responsibility for the military operations.


    He did so in a cemetery silence, for the big noise originating from the forbidden mountain had sent a shiver down the spine of the lumberjack''s soldiers.


    They observed quietly Polo wrap the imperial medal of supreme military command around Babida''s neck and hand over to him the papyrus containing the Emperor''s decree.


    As he was done, a pack of uncountable bats appeared over the sky and emitted unfriendly sounds that destabilized the troop.


    Babida immediately ordered the young maiden Suzie to rush to her room and close all entries. Without interrogation, she obeyed and left the balcony as fast as she could.


    The new Commander of the imperial forces lifted his axe in the air and yelled as powerfully as he could: "Comrades, let''s eradicate these devilish flying mammals once and for all!"


    Then he jumped over the barricade and landed on the ground of the administrative headquarters'' esplanade.


    The bats descended from the heavens and began to attack indiscriminately the imperial warriors.


    A deadly fight then went on. The archers used their arrows to pierce the stomach of the villains and their slingshots to knock them on the head. The fencers wielded their swords to cut the savage animals in half.


    As for Babida the lumberjack, he mercilessly beheaded with his five-kilogram steel axe the hellish bats, sending them thus to the kingdom of their creator, Edimo, the god of ruin.


    However, some of these terrifying creatures were faster than certain men of honor. They mortally stung with their pointed fangs the slower, older, and inattentive warriors.


    Dead bodies were strewn over the ground and reddish blood was flowing all over the battlefield.


    Nonetheless, guided by their new Commander Babida the lumberjack, the imperial warriors didn''t let the devilish bats run over.


    They exterminated each of the villains that were flying over their heads. They showed great determination in defending the empire to the last sacrifice.


    After a moment that seemed infinite, the place was quiet. The combat had ended and the view was messy, for so much damage was accounted for. Humans, beasts, and materials dearly paid for the drawbacks of the fighting.


    Babida the Commander of the imperial forces looked so fresh as if he didn''t just risk his life whereas the skillful warrior had just slayed an inestimable number of savage bats.


    Had his Herculean steel axe not been stained with the flying mammals'' blood, no one would have ever thought he was on the battlefield.


    Polo poured the magical liquid on his dinner which he then wrapped with aluminum foil and hid it in the pocket of his silk trouser. The meal comprised grilled lamb and boiled rice.


    As instructed, a squad of five imperial sentinels conducted Polo to the arena and released the lion. The animal was very nervous, for he was extremely hungry.


    Without wasting time, the tall and slim fighter removed the package from his pocket, tore it, and launched its content toward the wildcat.


    The latter sprung on the lamb and voraciously devoured it. As soon it was done, it fell unconscious on the ground and deeply snoozed.


    Amazed by his intelligence, Polo''s comrades who feared for his life, nicknamed him Polo the cunning. And since then, he had been greatly popular among his peers and highly regarded by his superiors.


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    Uncle Bibi looked at the now mature and accomplished man Polo and advanced to him as the latter stepped on the left side of his desk.


    The two men shook hands and couldn''t help congratulating each other for their achievements.


    Uncle Bibi stressed that his time had passed and wished his younger comrade Polo a richer career than his at the service of His Majesty, Emperor Batang V.


    The two men''s volubility annoyed Babida who felt forgotten. The lumberjack had been requested by Polo and was impatient the latter turned his attention to him and told him whatever he had to tell.


    The imperial guard and the young maiden Suzie were more relaxed than the logger and admired the numerous eye-catching wild animal sculptures that were exposed in the late Governor''s henchman''s office.


    Finally, uncle Bibi and Polo''s lengthy conversation ended and the late Governor''s aide-de-camp fixed his gaze on his office''s entrance.


    ˇ±Oh, pardon me!" he exclaimed and rushed toward the three other people.


    "Thank you, Abo! You can now leave." He said to the imperial messenger who gave him a salute and left.


    "I greet you, comrade Babida." He then told the lumberjack who returned the politeness with a military salute.


    Polo glared at the miss behind the woodsman and was struck by her beauty.


    "May I know who this exquisite creature of our ancestors is?" He asked Babida.


    "Well sir, that''s our dear companion Suzie from the imperial city Ekule. Tr that''s Commander Bibi''s beautiful niece," replied Babida to the late Governor''s henchman.


    "Oh, I see. Young Miss, be welcome to our headquarters!" The late Governor''s henchman addressed Suzie who slightly bowed her head to pay her respects to him.


    Polo thereafter redirected his focus on the lumberjack.


    "First of all, I would like to underscore that I was disturbed by your imprisonment by the late Governor, His Highness Kola II." He confessed to the logger.


    "It was a regrettable incident. Let''s let it go and focus on the current challenges that the Batang empire is facing." The late Governor''s aide-de-camp added.


    "I have right here a message of extreme significance from His Majesty Batang V." Polo uttered while showing the papyrus in his right hand.


    The young maiden Suzie mourned unstoppably for her dear uncle as the night continued to progress. She was utterly inconsolable.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo tried all he could to calm her down but it was to no avail.


    The administrative headquarters'' imperial sentinels came to lend him a hand in attempting to appease the young miss but none of them succeeded.


    They couldn''t even take the old uncle''s body to the mortuary, for the young miss didn''t allow them.


    She hugged the corpse of her relative so strongly that it was impossible to snatch it from her without brutality, something that the Commander of the imperial forces would have never tolerated from his men.


    So, ultimately they gave up and let the young miss continue her funeral.


    In the meantime, the news of the new bats'' attack in Okunde had spread across the empire and Big momma who was as customary sitting on her rattan chair, listened nervously to the radio.


    Suddenly there was an update regarding the aftermath of the fight.


    "Dear auditors. This is your reporter Raba. We have new news from the battlefield in Okunde village. As we informed you previously, there was a deadly bats'' attack that happened at the beginning of the night when Babida the lumberjack was being elevated to the rank of Commander of the imperial forces. Fortunately, the divinities led the latter to victory against the devilish bats. However, there were casualties. Among which former Commander of the Ekule''s regiment, Bibi, who has been mortally stung by one of Edimo''s hellish creaturesˇ­" The anchor said, causing a heart stroke to the elderly who fell off her chair and passed out.


    Alone and with no one around her, Suzie''s grandmother died.


    At the imperial palace, His Majesty Batang V celebrated the first victory of his newly appointed Commander of the imperial forces Babida, and was pleased with his choice.


    "I knew I was making the right decision." He enthusiastically told Empress Serena as they lay on the lunar bed.


    The latter liked the woodsman but just for the war-time hero, he was. However, she despised the fact that her husband had chosen someone outside the imperial family to occupy a position she believed was vital to the survival of their throne.


    She wondered how come His Majesty Batang V had broken a non-written rule that had been in place for five generations.


    She had consulted with the Oracles of the imperial palace to understand her spouse''s behavior but they couldn''t find any explanation.


    They told the Empress that maybe the Emperor had been confused by the divinities who had an unknown plan for the land. Yet, they couldn''t bring up any proof to back their assumption.


    The Empress was so mad, for she feared so badly a putsch.


    The night went on and the troop in Okunde''s garden was galvanized after their victorious fight against the terrifying bats.


    They praised Emperor Batang V for his wisdom and vision by nominating as their supreme Commander a man of high temerity and strength such as Babida the lumberjack.


    They envisioned themselves climbing on top of the mountain in the northern frontier of Okunde and then going down the flank to cut the newborn Monster''s head off.


    They invoked the divinities to give more power to their leader so he could once again take them to victory.


    Hungry after their well-earned win, they ate and drank abundantly till daybreak.


    And when the first rays of the sun began to shine on Okunde, the warriors returned to their tents and slumbered.

 Part 6 (3)

    "Suzie!" shouted Babida as he woke up from a nightmare.


    The tragedy of last night resurfaced and he remembered that he left the young maiden on the balcony of the administrative headquarters alone with the late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo and the dead body of uncle Bibi.


    He looked through the window and the day had completely risen. So he quickly rushed to the bathroom and geared up.


    Done, he wasted no more time, grabbed his axe and walked away. The logger went straight to the balcony and it was empty. The young Miss had departed from there.


    He turned to the imperial sentinel that was supervising the corridor and asked him the whereabouts of the young maiden, to which he replied that she had finally left the balcony just right after dawn accompanied by Polo and a squad of his comrades.


    The imperial sentinel added that he heard the late Governor''s henchman suggesting to the young maiden Suzie that they travel to Ekule and organize a farewell funeral for the late uncle.


    The imperial guard went on by saying to Babida that though the young miss was still in shock and had cried all night long, she became reasonable as the night was advancing. Thus, she accepted to leave the balcony and give her cherished uncle a decent burial.


    The new Commander of the imperial forces was saddened he couldn''t do much to support his companion and crush since he couldn''t leave Okunde and go to Ekule because of his imperial mission.


    He thereupon went back to his room and invoked the ancestors.


    "My forefathers, be praised!" The lumberjack said.


    "Last night you elevated me to the rank of Commander of the imperial forces." He confided in the ancestors.


    "What a great honor this was!" He then declared.


    "The men in uniform were boosted and together we smashed the terrifying bats." The logger pursued his statement.


    "However, we also sustained losses among which the fall of a man of great value, a devoted fighter. The Commander Bibi." Babida painfully confessed with a shaking voice.


    "But I know as I speak Commander Bibi is up in the sky with you. Thank you for giving him a warm home over there!" The logger concluded his prayer.


    He left his room and went to the headquarters hall.


    On his arrival in the main room of the administrative headquarters, the imperial sentinels that were surveilling the place, greeted their new Commander in chief with a military salute.


    Babida greeted them back and asked them how they were feeling after last night''s combat. They confessed to him that his presence on the battlefield had been essential for the victory against the devilish bats.


    They told the lumberjack that they felt boosted under his lead and there was no way they would not have defeated the wicked flying mammals.


    However, regarding the newborn Monster above the mountain situated in the north of the village, they believed they would need better preparation, for the beast was far stronger than the bats.


    Their new Commander assured them that he had a plan and he would soon unveil it to them, to which the imperial guards responded that they had total trust in him.


    After the heart-to-heart conversation with the imperial sentinels, the woodsman went outside and walked up to Okunde''s garden to meet with the rest of the troop.


    Some of the warriors were still dozing in the tents. They had all night long celebrated their victorious defense against the hellish bats'' attack.


    Babida greeted each of the men in uniform that were on the lawn of Okunde''s garden. He congratulated them for their commitment and told them that the gods and the Emperor had certainly appreciated their determination in protecting the land.


    Rapidly, the new Commander of the imperial forces Babida was surrounded by tens of soldiers who interrogated him about when the expedition to the forbidden mountain was going to happen.


    "Soon. I shall let you know." The logger replied to them.


    "Meanwhile, train and be prepared!" He then advised them.


    All queries answered, he hence ended his visit to Okunde''s garden by instructing his men to resume whatever they were doing before he interrupted them.


    And as they were executing his order, the new army superior Commander returned to the administrative headquarters.


    With the late Governor''s henchman Polo gone to the imperial city Ekule to assist the young maiden Suzie in the burial of her dear uncle Bibi, Babida was alone in the management of the administrative headquarters.


    So he thought about designating an interim aide-de-camp until Polo would be back in Okunde.


    He went to the latter''s office and checked the files on the desk. He saw a folder about the military expedition to the forbidden mountain.


    He skimmed the pages thoroughly and noticed a scheme related to how the troop would defeat the newborn Monster that dwelt in the cursed hill.


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    Indeed the late Governor Kola II before passing away had instructed Polo the cunning to draft a victory plan over to the beast, for his aide-de-camp''s ingeniosity was unlimited.


    The lumberjack studied the strategy and learned it by heart because he thought it was a great one.


    In the appeasing silence of Polo''s office, the new Commander in chief of the imperial forces began to visualize how he and his men invaded the forbidden mountain and destroyed the villain bird that threatened the peace of the Batang empire.


    Done perusing the secret document, the logger needed a man around him he could trust and together exchange ideas on how they could successfully implement the plan.


    Before he was nominated in the position of new Commander of the imperial forces, Babida had remarked on a young imperial sentinel that was keeping safe the corridor to his guest room.


    He found the rookie who answered by the name of Baba very sympathetic and smart.


    After another thought, the woodsman was convinced that the youngster would be a great fit as the interim henchman.


    "Guard!" He shouted.


    And immediately an imperial sentinel showed up at the door.


    Sitting behind Polo''s desk, Babida ordered the imperial guard in front of him to call his comrade Baba, which the latter hastened to do.


    "At your service, My Commander!" The imperial sentinel said to the lumberjack then left the office.


    Toc, toc!


    The imperial sentinel that was commissioned by the lumberjack knocked at the office''s door and came in accompanied by the youngster Baba.


    "Greetings, My Commander!" Both the imperial guards said as they gave a military salute to their superior.


    Babida who was analyzing another set of documents on the late Governor''s henchman''s desk stopped what he was doing and glanced in the direction of the door.


    "Oh, you are back. Great!" The new Commander of the imperial forces said to the envoy as he was pleased to see behind him the rookie imperial sentinel Baba.


    "Well, your mission is over, for now, comrade. You may go back to your post." The woodsman enjoined the envoy.


    The latter obeyed immediately, leaving the youngster Baba alone with the new Commander of the imperial forces.


    "Please, come closer comrade!" Babida told the young imperial sentinel Baba.


    The rookie executed hastily his Commander''s order and moved forward. He halted his walk at one step from the desk.


    "How old are you?" asked the lumberjack to the young man.


    "My Commander, your humble servant is twenty years old." He replied to Babida.


    "Yes, surely!" asserted the Commander of the imperial forces.


    "Well, comrade! If I have called you, it''s because I have a mission of extreme importance for you. However, it demands the man in charge to be as silent as a cemetery. Are you a tomb?" uttered the woodsman?


    The rookie was shaken up by the declaration of his Commander since he wasn''t expecting to be trusted so soon in his just beginning military career.


    "Well, My Commander, just the fact that you ask me a question of such significance is already an honor for me because it means you thought about entrusting someone like me," Baba answered.


    "Anyway, I''m ready to put myself at your service for any mission you will assign to me." The youngster added.


    "Then it''s perfect. Please, you may have a seat comrade." The logger instructed the rookie, Baba.


    "Let''s talk now about some state affairs!" He then said as the young imperial sentinel pulled the chair in front of him and laid his rear on it.


    The new Commander of the imperial forces Babida then began to pass on key military intelligence to the youngster Baba who in a matter of seconds was no more a simple imperial sentinel but a henchman of the third most powerful man in the Batang empire.


    "Well, comrade, we have here a war strategy drafted by Polo under the guidance of late Governor Kola II" whispered Babida to his aide-de-camp Baba.


    The youngster was paying the utmost attention to his Master. His face looked serious as he was understanding that the moment required full focus.


    "From now on till the return of Polo to the administrative headquarters, you will be in charge of this office. Your immediate mission is to study all parts of this war scheme, improve it if necessary and come back to me to advise me about how we can successfully implement it to defeat the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain." The lumberjack instructed his new man of trust.


    "At your service, My Commander." The youngster Baba replied with a heart filled with emotion.


    The young man couldn''t still believe how swiftly his life was changing.


    "Well, comrade, let me leave now so you can occupy your desk and do whatever you have to do!" The woodsman then said and got off the chair.


    Baba stood up as well and saluted his Commander as the latter walked up to the door and left the room.


    The youngster was now all by himself in the spacious office that used to be occupied by the late Governor''s henchman Polo and slightly shook his head, for he was still in the clouds.


    He wasn''t sure whether all that had just happened was real until he sat behind the desk and laid his hand on the top-secret defense document containing the war scheme against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    The youngster Baba sighed and prayed to the ancestors for their guidance.


    Done invoking the divinities, the interim henchman Baba immediately started his assignment.


    He probed all the sheets about the war strategy against the redoubtable beast above the cursed hill.


    Bit by bit he mastered the contours of each stage of the scheme. Finding more studious than him in the empire would have certainly been a hard task, for the rookie was just a rookie by name.


    The youngster Baba looked more like an experienced officer who had been accustomed to missions of high magnitude.


    As the sun was about to set in Okunde, the interim aide-de-camp finished his study camp.


    Feeling ready, he got off the chair and went out of the office to look for his Chief, Babida the lumberjack, and met him in the hall of the administrative headquarters.


    "Greetings, My Commander!" The henchman Baba told the logger as he gave the latter a military salute.


    "We may go back to the office shall you have some minutes." He then addressed the Commander of the imperial forces.


    Knowing that the youngster was surely requesting his presence in the office for matters related to the war scheme against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain, Babida replied to him in the affirmative.


    "Yes, I do. Please, let''s go!" He said to his henchman.


    And together they moved back to the circular bureau.


    The youngster let Babida sit behind the desk, stood by his right side, and described to him how he thought the plan could effectively be put into action.


    "My Commander, after carefully reading this masterpiece of strategy, here is how I believe we will get a victorious outcome." Baba began his explanation.


    "We all know that it''s a difficult and likely impossible task to go on a toe-to-toe fight with the villain." He then uttered.


    "Therefore, though it''s risky, instead of taking on the newborn Monster on its territory, we shall attract him to Okunde''s north gate then drag him to the west gate where he would fall in the river and drown." The henchman advised the Commander of the imperial forces Babida.


    "Hence we shall organize a commando mission to the forbidden mountain for two or three of our men to tease the animal and lure it to its grave: the river that flows on Okunde''s west border.


    Babida heard the words of the twenty-year-old henchman Baba and was in awe of his wisdom.


    "Oh my goodness, the god of wisdom, Dibiy¨ş, without any doubt lives in this young man!" exclaimed the lumberjack his eyes wide open.


    "Comrade, let''s then start without any further ado!" The Commander of the imperial forces Babida added as he stood up and looked at the now dark sky through the office window.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 7 (1)

    The new Commander of the imperial forces Babida had now a clear path to victory against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain thanks to the foresight of his henchman Baba.


    The time had finally come to abbreviate the days of the beast that dwelt above the cursed hill in the north of Okunde village and posed a threat to the peace of the whole Batang empire.


    So the lumberjack kicked off the execution of the top-secret war strategy that had been initiated by the late Governor Kola II assisted by his aide-de-camp Polo the cunning.


    The new army superior Commander consequently sent his henchman, the youngster Baba, to Okunde''s garden to select from the troop three volunteers for an undisclosed mission to the forbidden mountain.


    Without wasting time, the young man hastened to do what he was told.


    He left the office and rushed to Okunde''s garden in the middle of the evening under a cloudy sky, for it suddenly threatened to rain.


    "Three volunteers, three volunteers!" shouted the henchman Baba as raindrops fell upon the garden.


    His scream caught the attention of the men in uniform on the lawn who turned their gaze at him and the comrades that were inside the tents came out to grasp what was going on.


    "Three volunteers, three volunteers!" Babida''s henchman repeated.


    In a short lapse of time, the imperial warriors surrounded the youngster Baba who then declared: "Our Commander-in-chief, Babida the lumberjack, is seeking three volunteers for a special mission to the forbidden mountain."


    And as if they had been waiting for this moment, tens of imperial soldiers yelled that they should be selected for the mission, even if it was to the kingdom of pain where the beast''s creator Edimo, the god ruin, was hiding.


    Amazed by the excitement and enthusiasm of the men of honor, Baba was spoiled for choice because he needed only three valiant fighters for the special operation.


    Therefore he decided to pick three men in the superlative. He took among the warriors who desired to participate in the mission: the oldest, the youngest, and the biggest.


    The choice of the three volunteers made, the henchman Baba returned to the office where the Commander of the imperial forces Babida was waiting for him with the selectees.


    Toc, toc!


    The interim aide-de-camp knocked at the office door and entered the room followed by the volunteers.


    "Greetings, My Commander!" Baba said as he and the men behind him saluted their superior Babida the lumberjack.


    The logger who had his focus on the paperwork on the desk paused and glared in front of him.


    "Be welcome, comrades!" He said to the men in uniform standing at the other side of the table.


    "My Commander, here are the devoted servants of His Majesty that destiny has chosen for the mission you are about to assign to them." The henchman Baba then told him.


    The woodsman looked at them closely and noticed something obvious to him. He grinned and uttered to his aide-de-camp Baba: "You are indeed one of a kind assistant."


    "You picked an old warrior for his experience, a young one for his vitality, and finally a big one for his power." He added.


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    "My Commander, what a sharp eye you have!" The henchman declared to the Commander of the imperial forces.


    "Well, shall it be so!" Babida replied.


    He thereupon commenced a serious conversation with the volunteers. He explained to them what they had to do and how they had to do it.


    The three volunteers listened attentively to the Commander and measured the high stakes of their mission to the forbidden mountain.


    They pledged to succeed at all costs, including by making the ultimate sacrifice.


    They assured the superior Commander Babida that they wouldn''t fail and they would lure the newborn Monster to the west gate of Okunde village so it drowned in the river.


    All dots put on the I, the three volunteers left the office and immediately departed for the forbidden mountain in the middle of the night.


    Babida and his henchman Baba stayed in the office and silently started a meditation, imploring the ancestors to be with the commando and protect the men of honor against the mortal beak and claws of the giant bird.


    The first stage of the war scheme was underway. The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba were now preparing the next one.


    The three volunteers were already gone to the forbidden mountain to tease the newborn Monster and entice it to the river at the west gate of Okunde.


    However, without a strong backup on their return to the village, they would have had a hard time trying to push the villain to the deep water of the stream so it drowned.


    The two strategists, Commander Babida and his aide-de-camp Baba, had therefore planned to build a huge bridge over the river that would be steady on its extremities but weak in the middle.


    And for that, they estimated a massive workforce of two hundred imperial warriors, was necessary.


    The final stage of the scheme was simply for the men in uniform to attract the beast to the unsteady center of the infrastructure so it would break under the heavy weight of the giant bird that would thus collapse straight inside the deep water below and die by suffocation.


    Hence, all night long, the lumberjack and his henchman perfected the plan. They re-wrote it countless times, for they knew a mistake would have meant the end of the Batang empire and the beginning of the Edimo kingdom.


    Very focused and determined to succeed, the two men didn''t even stop their work when an imperial sentinel came to announce to them that the dinner was ready.


    "For later, comrade!" the Commander of the imperial forces replied to him without even glaring at him.


    The woodsman couldn''t simply take his eyes off the paperwork.


    Nonetheless, at some point, the logger as well as his henchman could no longer keep up the infernal intensity of work.


    They got hungry and weak. It became urgent for them to take a break and refill themselves.


    So the Commander of the imperial forces Babida uttered to his aide-de-camp Baba: "Good job, comrade! It''s enough for today. Let''s go to the canteen and after to our bedrooms!"


    They halted their work and left the office.


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba arrived in the dining room and ate as fast as they could, for it was late and they were tired and sleepy.


    As soon as they finished their repast, they got off their seats to go to their respective rooms.


    The lumberjack was still occupying the main guest room of the administrative headquarters whereas the youngster Baba was lodged in the imperial sentinels'' shared apartment.


    So before they parted ways, the Commander of the imperial forces Babida told him that he would order the following day in the morning that they arrange a private room where he could stay all by himself.


    To this, the interim henchman Baba was very pleased and impatient to have a taste of the benefits attached to his new function.


    And when he was about to walk away, he realized that there was a vital question related to the war scheme that had remained unanswered and he couldn''t wait till the next day before he could ask the Commander in chief.


    Knowing the topic was top-secret, he came closer to the lumberjack and said to him: "My Commander, I have something I would like to ask you regarding..." then extended his lips to the Commander''s left ear and whispered the rest of the question.


    "Ah, ya! I already have a plan for it. You shall know about it tomorrow." Babida whispered back in a way that was inaudible to the imperial sentinels that were standing at the two ends of the canteen.


    Everything being clear, the two men finally separated and went to rest.


    Babida stepped into his room and immediately jumped on the bed.


    And while he was lying, the question of the youngster Baba popped up in his mind.


    "Yes, indeed, how are we going to build the bridge in a short time before the commando sent to the forbidden mountain comes back, and hopefully, is pursued by the lured newborn Monster." The logger repeated the youngster''s relevant remark to himself.


    However, he was too exhausted and couldn''t go to the bottom of his reflection since he unconsciously fell asleep.

 Part 7 (2)

    While the new Commander of the imperial forces Babida was slumbering, the ambient temperature began to drop considerably and the room became cold.


    The window wing that was left open was suddenly hit by a strong wind, making thus a noise that disturbed the woodsman''s sleep.


    Babida rose but was half asleep. He was sitting upright on the bed but still had his eyes closed and was somnolent.


    Then in his somnambulant state, he heard a huge voice: "Babida! Babida!" It said, calling the logger twice.


    The lumberjack was shaken up by the big intensity of the tone and he completely came back to his senses.


    He opened his eyes as the voice mentioned his name twice again and saw in front of him a glow in the form of a circle.


    "Look on the ground!" The mysterious voice emerging from the sparkling light commanded him.


    Babida the lumberjack did as he was told and remarked a small glass bottle.


    "Pick it up!" The mystical voice ordered him.


    The Commander of the imperial forces obeyed and collected the container. He brought it near to his eyes so he could know what was inside and glanced at a liquid as transparent as the glass of the bottle.


    "Before the first sun rays of the rising day, go to the kitchen and command the cook to pour this liquid into the porridge concocted for breakfast and give it plain and hot to your men." The voice instructed the woodsman.


    "After eating the mixture, your men shall have each twice the strength of an elephant and thrice the speed of a Gazelle so they can build the bridge in two days." The voice then said.


    "And once the men will be done constructing the infrastructure, the effects of the magic potion will go away and they will retrieve their normal strength and speed." The voice warned.


    The revelation baffled Babida and made him speechless for some time but then he recovered his senses and interrogated the voice: "Who are you, My Forefather?"


    "Guigna, the god of strength!" The voice said and disappeared right after.


    Not sure about what the time was, the Commander of the imperial forces sneaked outside through the open window, looked at the sky and it was twilight.


    So without wasting much time, Babida ran to the kitchen of the administrative headquarters where the imperial soldiers'' collation was being prepared.


    He explained to the cook the urgency, then gave him the magic liquid which he poured in the pot of porridge.


    The cook finished making breakfast as the sun began to shine powerfully over the sky and the troop in Okunde''s garden woke up, ready to start a new day and face any challenge it had in store.


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida then instructed the cook that the porridge be distributed to the imperial warriors that were greatly hungry without them knowing it was containing a magic potion that would multiply their strength and speed.


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    The cook obeyed the Commander and sent the helpers to serve the breakfast, formally forbidding them to reveal what had just happened within the four walls of the kitchen.


    The lumberjack then left and went to the administrative headquarters'' balcony and observed discreetly how the helpers shared the first meal of the day with the men in uniform.


    In the meantime, his henchman Baba who was also already awake and looking for him came to meet him on the balcony.


    "Greetings, My Commander!" The interim aide-de-camp said to him while giving him a military salute.


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida greeted back the youngster but not with the usual attention, for he shifted immediately his focus back to the lawn of Okunde''s garden where the kitchen helpers were giving the enchanted food to his men.


    The henchman Baba guessed something of extreme seriousness was going on and didn''t want to bother the Commander in chief.


    So he just stood by the lumberjack''s left side and like him began to observe the helpers passing on the porridge to the imperial soldiers who devoured it with no apprehension.


    Then as if he had understood that there was something particular with the food, the interim aide-de-camp Baba finally decided to importune the logger and asked him: "You did something with the porridge, didn''t you, My Commander?"


    "Yes indeed, I did. Come with me to the office. I shall explain everything to you." Babida replied to the youngster as he turned and walked back inside.


    The henchman Baba followed him.


    The new Commander of the imperial forces Babida arrived in the office with his henchman Baba.


    The lumberjack sat behind the desk while the youngster preferred to stand.


    A bit impatient to know what the Superior Commander had done with the food being served to the troop in Okunde''s garden, the henchman Baba queried him again: "So there is something special with the breakfast, My Commander?"


    The logger saw curiosity was itching his aide-de-camp and didn''t want to keep him out of the secret any longer, so he commenced recounting him everything.


    "Well, comrade, you remember, yesterday you asked how we were going to build the bridge in a short time," Babida said to the youngster Baba.


    "Well, the divinities heard you, and Guigna, the god of strength appeared to me. He gave me a magic potion that procures the men twice the strength of an elephant and thrice the speed of a Gazelle." He then described.


    The interim henchman Baba was first awestruck but then jumped for joy.


    "That''s excellent, My Commander!" He said excitedly.


    "So then you have ordered the cook put the potion in the breakfast." Baba guessed.


    "Yes, indeed!" The Commander of the imperial forces Babida confirmed.


    "However, the effects of the magic potion will last only two days." He then precised to the youngster.


    "Only two days?" exclaimed the henchman Baba, a bit disappointed.


    "Yes. Two days during which the men in uniform will build the bridge. So they will have to be fast because the volunteers may come back soon from the forbidden mountain with the lured newborn Monster." The lumberjack uttered.


    "Then we shall start the construction right away without no further delay." The aide-de-camp Baba suggested.


    "We will begin by noon when the effects of the magic potion would be at the fullest." The woodsman decided.


    Thereafter the two strategists remained silent and ultimately they also got hungry. So the Commander of the imperial forces ordered an imperial sentinel to bring to the office two cups of coffee along with some cookies made of cassava paste that they ate while killing the time with casual talks.


    The first half of the day passed by fast and soon it was going to be noon.


    Finally, it was time to move on to the next stage of the warehouse strategy against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    It was now noon in the Batang empire and the men in uniform in Okunde''s garden had long finished eating the enchanted porridge and had well digested.


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida was still in the office with his henchman Baba. He took his axe and told the aide-de-camp to follow him to Okunde''s garden, for he had to talk with the troop about what was coming up next.


    At the sight of the Commander in chief, like one man, the imperial warriors lined up and saluted him. The lumberjack greeted them back and immediately commenced a speech.


    "Comrades, the final hour has come. Soon the volunteers shall come back from the forbidden mountain. You surely wonder what exactly their mission was. Well, let me disclose it to you! And as I do, don''t panic since we have the situation in full control." He said in his opening remarks.


    The troop murmured, for the surprise was total. The supreme military Chief Babida lifted his right hand to command them to keep quiet, which they did instantly.


    "Don''t be troubled as I just said since we control the situation." Babida reformulated and then went on.


    "Your comrades were tasked to tease the giant bird and attract it to the west gate of the village, so it shall die drowned in the deep river." He added.


    "However, they will need your support to terminate the mission. So this is where you come into action. The beast may be a cold criminal but it is not silly. It won''t throw itself into the river. You will have to lure it. Therefore you will build a bridge that is hard on the extremities and soft in the middle over the water. The villain shall walk up to the center which shall break under his heavy weight, causing his fallout into the water. It would then die by suffocation." The lumberjack concluded the speech.


    A big clamor from the imperial warriors followed, for the men were contented with the message.


    "Now you may start guided by the interim aide-de-camp Baba right here. He has received my trust and you shall obey his instructions." Babida told them then returned to the administrative headquarters.


    And as if all the soldiers had been deprived of logic, without questioning how they were going to build the bridge and for how long, they began the construction.

 Part 7 (3)

    The men in uniform under the influence of the enchanted porridge were inhabited by tremendous strength and vitality.


    Guided by the Commander in Chief''s henchman Baba, they built up before the sunset half of the bridge over the river in Okunde''s west gate.


    The sky was now completely dark and the imperial warriors deserved a good meal and rest after their hard work.


    Hence the interim aide-de-camp Baba sent them back to the barracks and ordered the cook of the administrative headquarters to distribute them the finest food he had along with energizing drinks.


    The men in uniform were given red beans with red-oiled cassava paste and fresh mango juice. They dined and were full.


    Thereafter they went to sleep though the evening had just begun, for they were extremely exhausted and had to resume the construction of the bridge the next day morning.


    The night went on and Babida the lumberjack was standing on the administrative headquarters'' balcony all by himself, thinking about all the numerous things that had happened recently.


    The image of the young maiden Suzie crying and holding tight to the dead body of uncle Bibi couldn''t get away from his mind.


    He wondered how the funeral of his late companion and former Commander was going on in the imperial city Ekule.


    Nonetheless, he was comforted by the fact that the aide-de-camp Polo was over there by Suzie''s side.


    He regretted he couldn''t travel and assist the young miss since he had an imperial mission to carry out in Okunde and especially in a critical time.


    Indeed, the lumberjack was preparing for the return to the village of the three volunteers that he expected to be chased by the lured newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    He turned his gaze to the west side and perceived in the middle of the night the bridge under construction and was very satisfied with the progress his men had done in just one day.


    The woodsman Babida made a short prayer to thank the ancestors for their favor upon him and his men then left the balcony and went straight to the main guest room that he was still occupying and snoozed.


    A new day came and the sun rose above Okunde.


    The imperial warriors were already set to continue the construction of the bridge over the river in the west gate of the village under the supervision of the Commander in Chief''s henchman Baba.


    To show the way forward, the latter planted the first shovel of the day in the pile of cement and without any further ado, the men in uniform started to build the remaining half of the bridge.


    They were always under the influence of the magic potion that had been poured into the porridge that they ate as breakfast the day before.


    They tirelessly mounted all the key components of the arch bridge and by noon three-quarters of the infrastructure was done.


    The interim aide-de-camp Baba suggested that the men take a short break to dehydrate themselves and swallow some little chocolate cookies that had been prepared by the cook of the administrative headquarters before resuming the construction of the remaining quarter.


    And as they were quenching their thirst and feeding themselves, an enormous howl emerged, sending a shiver down the spine of the men in uniform.


    Huuuuuuuuuuuu


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    The sound that they heard. They looked toward the location from where it originated and it was no other place than the forbidden mountain.


    The Commander in Chief Babida who was in the office inside the administrative headquarters came out precipitously to assess the situation.


    Having understood that the big scream was emerging from the cursed hill, the lumberjack immediately rushed to the west gate to see at what stage the bridge construction works were.


    Arrived at the foot of the infrastructure, he found his aide-de-camp Baba very nervous and pressuring the imperial warriors to finish the last meters very quickly.


    The superior army Chief joined his henchman and together they pushed the men of honor to their limits.


    Ultimately the bridge was ready just before sunset but at the expense of the devoted soldiers who were extremely exhausted and had returned to their normal state, for the effects of the magic potion vanished away.


    And suddenly, the ground trembled.


    Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida and his henchman Baba had planned and built a bridge over the river in Okunde''s west gate to set up the giant bird.


    The infrastructure was ready for use. However, what the woodsman and his aide-de-camp had not anticipated was that the men in uniform would be tired at the end of the construction and therefore would need some time to rest and recuperate the energy that they spent.


    And now they were in a dire situation. Babida the lumberjack had commissioned a commando to the forbidden mountain to tease and lure the beast to the village, which was now underway.


    The three volunteers were running away as fast as they could from the merciless bird which despite its slow pace could somehow keep up and was chasing them with great determination.


    It destroyed everything that was on its path and made the soil shake so strongly that it reached the west gate of Okunde''s village where a battalion of two hundred imperial warriors was waiting for it.


    As the villain neared the village, tension among the imperial warriors was palpable.


    The Commander in Chief Babida who was worried because his men didn''t have time to replenish themselves, thought about trying something desperate.


    He removed from the right pocket of his silk trousers the empty glass bottle that contained the magic potion given to him by Guigna the god of strength, and handed it over to his henchman Baba, ordering him to fill the container with some water from the river.


    The youngster took the bottle and hastily did as he was told. He brought it back and gave it to the lumberjack.


    The logger then started a prayer to the ancestors.


    "Our forefathers, you have given your men a potion for strength and vitality but there is no more and now they face a great danger which I fear they won''t surmount, for they are extremely tired after the bridge construction works. I have ordered that the magic potion be replaced with some water from the river in front of us. I thus urge you to give to this liquid the same abilities and I shall make a big sacrifice for you." He said.


    Then the Commander of the imperial forces instructed his henchman Baba to distribute a drop of the water inside the bottle to each of the men in uniform.


    They all drank the beverage and very quickly found themselves in the greatest shape ever.


    Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


    The newborn Monster caused another earthquake as it progressed toward Okunde village, running after the commando of three imperial warriors who came to disturb its peace in its hideout in the forbidden mountain.


    The volunteers ran toward the north gate of the village but soon the oldest could no more keep up with the infernal race, so he stopped to take a short break.


    The youngest and the biggest were forced to leave him behind, for the mission was greater than him and just like any imperial soldier, the oldest had taken an oath to fight and defend the Batang empire to the ultimate sacrifice.


    Now alone in the middle of the bush, the oldest took deep breaths as he felt the giant bird closing the gap on him.


    He turned to look on his back and perceived the long neck of the five-meter high and ten thousand-kilogram villain and was frozen.


    The oldest tried to take the sword in his back but was so tetanized that he failed twice to do so.


    He tried a third time and succeeded, however, it was too late. The newborn Monster was too close and with its sharp beak, it pierced the skull of the old imperial soldier who dropped dead.


    The wild animal looked in its front and glanced from a distance at the youngest and biggest volunteers who were provocative and insulting.


    "Bring your dirty and fat rear over here, ugly giant!" They were yelling.


    Therefore the beast continued to run after them with even more speed and anger.


    The two volunteers reached Okunde''s north gate where the checkpoint had long been abandoned on the order of the late Emperor Batang IV, father of the reigning Ruler Batang V.


    The commando quickly crossed and switched the direction to the west.


    The newborn Monster kept chasing them while ravaging everything on its way.


    The manhunt continued and soon the beast was lured to the west gate where Babida the lumberjack and his men were fully geared up to give a warm welcome in their own style to the giant bird.

 Part 7 (4)

    "Over there! Two soldiers coming straight to our position, running frantically." shouted an imperial warrior who had been charged by the interim henchman Baba to keep watch over the area.


    All gazes were thereupon directed to the running men. And as the latter got closer to the troop, their face became visible and the watcher identified them.


    "That''s two of the three volunteers that were sent to the forbidden mountain." He said as the ground trembled accompanied by terrifying howls.


    The two volunteers were sprinting toward the river and the newborn Monster wasn''t stopping its manhunt either.


    It had had enough of the provocative and mocking behavior of the commando and was determined to teach the two men in uniform a lesson.


    At three hundred steps away from their comrades, the two volunteers slowed down their race and started to move backward while looking straight at the newborn Monster, inviting it to come forward.


    "Over here, little bird of ill omen!" They were saying to the villain which as well reduced its pace.


    The giant bird moved when the two volunteers moved and halted when they halted. A mind game hence began and lasted for long minutes.


    The Commander of the imperial forces Babida was watching attentively how his envoys were luring the beast to the river.


    However, the commando had neither remarked that a bridge had been built nor had been told about it since the Commander in Chief Babida never unveiled to them this part of the war scheme before their departure to the cursed hill.


    So the two volunteers were wrongly attracting the giant bird straight to the coast without knowing how they would make it fall into the water and drown.


    Babida saw the mistake and instructed his henchman Baba to quickly send an imperial warrior back up their comrades and while continuing to lure the villain, explain to the volunteers the new strategy.


    Immediately, the interim aide-de-camp applied the order of the Commander in chief.


    A brave imperial soldier randomly chosen by the henchman Baba ran to the position of the volunteers and told them to direct the wild animal to the bridge on the left side of the coast behind them, which they began to do.


    The giant bird as the lumberjack had told his men was a criminal creature. Nevertheless, it wasn''t silly.


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    The villain found it strange that as soon as the third imperial warrior came up to the commando, they changed the direction they were asking it to come to.


    So the newborn Monster completely stopped moving and observed them nastily.


    It began to be wary and suspicious that something shady was going on.


    The lumberjack and his men who were lurking in the bushes were baffled by the animal''s attitude and thought the plan was falling apart.


    "My Commander, what to do now?" asked the interim henchman Baba.


    "Wait a moment! Let me think a while!" The Commander in chief responded.


    And like he had found a solution, he stood up and instructed his men to keep hiding in the grass.


    He went to the position of the two volunteers and the imperial warrior who had been sent to give them new instructions regarding the new war strategy.


    The lumberjack Babida hastened to the position of the two volunteers and the imperial warrior that had been tasked to communicate to them the new war scheme.


    The three men saw their Commander in chief and were boosted as he stood in the middle.


    The four men lined up horizontally and teased, even more, the beast which was looking at them with wicked eyes and tapping the ground with its right leg, making thus dust rise around its three-meter large body.


    "Come forward, bird of ill omen!" Babida told the newborn Monster with a challenging voice as he slowly moved backward with his men.


    Their bodies were inclined toward the left side of the coast.


    The villain which had halted its walk resumed its progression, for there was something powerfully captivating with the leader of the squad in its front.


    "Come forward, bird of ill omen!" The Commander of the imperial forces kept telling the giant bird which obeyed him like it was hypnotized.


    The movement lasted for a quarter of an hour as the woodsman was making sure that the beast would follow them to the top of the arch bridge.


    Finally, they reached the foot of the infrastructure under the close watch of the rest of the imperial warriors lurking in the greenery.


    Babida congratulated the men by his side before commanding them to disperse and find a safe place.


    With no opposition the three other men did as they were told, leaving the beast on a toe-to-toe confrontation with the logger.


    Babida looked at the animal with an air of great seriousness and defied it to come after him if it had the guts to do so.


    "Now, it''s just you and me, bird of ill omen. I challenge you to get closer if you dare so I can send you the kingdom of your creator." The lumberjack told the beast as he began to climb the bridge.


    Vexed, the giant bird accelerated its pace and ran after Babida who was sprinting as fast as he could to the other end of the bridge.


    The animal tracked him down and put even more intensity into its race to the extent that the bridge commenced crumbling.


    And when the villain came to the center of the infrastructure, as predicted the concrete broke under the heavy weight of the newborn Monster, causing the fallout of the latter into the water below.


    The animal landed harshly and created a massive splash followed by a tsunami.


    Its body was hence carried to the unexplored depths of the river.


    "Hurrah! Hurrah!" shouted the interim aide-de-camp Baba as he was coming out of his hideout.


    "Hurrah! Hurrah!" The henchman said even stronger and the imperial warriors as they were also leaving the bushes, repeated after him.


    They looked in front of them and perceived from a distance their Commander in chief Babida stuck at the other side of the dislocated bridge.


    "Commander!" The men in uniform shouted excitedly at the lumberjack who waved at them.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 8 (1)

    The terrifying bats and the newborn Monster were finally decimated and the Batang empire was thus now rid of all known enemies.


    The kingdom of pain was in shambles since its ruler Edimo, the god of ruin was mad because of his recent defeat against the defenders of the most coveted empire in the universe by the spirits.


    The dark divinity had lost in a short time his two most devilish creatures which perished under the merciless weapons and the cunningness of the men in uniform led by Babida the lumberjack.


    Angry, the god of ruin blamed the defeat on the Witches of evil.


    Therefore he severely punished them. The luckiest ones received a hundred lashes on the back. The unluckiest ones were deprived of all power and thrown out of the kingdom of pain.


    They found themselves weaker than the weakest of humans and they wandered across the globe without aim.


    The war had ended and Babida the lumberjack was now the most respected man in the Batang empire after His Majesty Batang V.


    And as promised, the Emperor invited him to the lunar palace in Ekule to elevate him from the position of Commander of the imperial forces to the rank of Governor of the province of Okunde.


    In the meantime, the ceremony was also an opportunity for him to stop by the young maiden Suzie''s house and bring her moral support for the loss of her relative, uncle Bibi, who was also a Commander and dear companion to him.


    He planned to make the journey to Ekule with his aide-de-camp, the youngster Baba.


    "Comrade, be prepared, for tomorrow by dawn, shall it please the ancestors we shall travel to Ekule for my elevation as the new Governor of this village," Babida told his henchman as they were spending the afternoon together in the latter''s office around a cup of coffee.


    "At your service, My Commander!" Baba replied while giving a military salute to his superior.


    "Well, drink up your beverage and come with me. I have some business I would like to handle before we leave tomorrow!" The woodsman instructed his aide-de-camp Baba.


    The two men rose from their seats and left the office.


    The lumberjack went with his henchman Baba to the animal market in eastern Okunde, for he needed the biggest and the finest sheep ever.


    The woodsman had a pending promise to the ancestors that he wanted to fulfill.


    During his time in prison in the underground of the administrative headquarters, when he and his companions, the late uncle Bibi and the young maiden Suzie, as well as a squad of imperial sentinels, were attacked by a pack of five bats, he had invoked the ancestors for help.


    Weah, the god of fire, gave the woodsman his most ardent flames that the latter used to burn seriously the flying mammals which consequently died.


    However, the logger had given his word to the divinity. During his mediation, he silently promised the god of fire that he would offer him the biggest and the finest sheep ever bred in the empire should the divinity save his life and that of his companions.


    Guided by Weah, the lumberjack was ultimately victorious.


    The time had then come for him to pay for his debt.


    "Good afternoon sir! May I please see your most valuable sheep?" uttered Babida as he entered the property of a shepherd.


    "Good afternoon, My Commander! Sure you can." The animal breeder replied to him.


    Then he took the lumberjack along with his aide-de-camp Baba to his farm at the back of the domain where over a hundred healthy sheep were eating the grass.


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    "Oh! Give me this one, please!" said Babida as he fell in love with the fattest and the freshest sheep.


    "How much is it?" He then asked the shepherd.


    "Ninety Batangi, My Commander." The animal breeder said to him.


    "Here is a hundred Batangi! Please keep the change! The lumberjack paid then took the animal and left the farm accompanied by his henchman Baba.


    They returned to the administrative headquarters and went straight to the backside with the breed, for the logger wanted to fulfill his pledge before sunset.


    Babida ordered the youngster Baba to bring to him a few fagot sticks he would use to make fire and grill the animal, which the latter hastened to do.


    While his henchman was on the lookout for woods, Babida cut off the sheep''s neck with a sharp hit of his axe. The animal bled profusely and its blood was sucked up by the ground, for the ancestors were pleased.


    Baba came back with dry fagot sticks and matches and helped the Commander in chief light them.


    A big and ardent fire aroused and served to smoke the flesh of the animal.


    Within two hours, the animal was ready to end its voyage in the large bellies of the lumberjack and his henchman Baba.


    Babida the lumberjack was done feasting with his henchman Baba in the backside of the administrative headquarters and it was now time to digest the tasty grilled sheep meat that he had sacrificed to please the ancestors and prepare for the long journey to Ekule the next day morning.


    "Now comrade, let''s have some rest! Tomorrow right after dawn, we shall embark on a long trip to the imperial city." The woodsman told the youngster, Baba.


    "Fine, My Commander!" answered the interim aide-de-camp.


    Baba then rose and went to his room inside the administrative headquarters, leaving behind the Commander of the imperial forces Babida alone with the carcass of the slaughtered sheep.


    The lumberjack rapidly cleared the place, for it was dirty and bloody after the sacrifice of the mutton and its grill.


    Done, Babida went immediately to the main guest room inside the administrative headquarters that had become over the days like his private room.


    He picked up from the wardrobe two brand-new military outfits and a pair of sandals and packed them in a bag along with all the necessary kit for the shower.


    He then stood up in the middle of the chamber and began to verify by counting with his fingers if he had forgotten something important.


    When he was assured that everything was on track, he jumped on the bed and dozed.


    Cocorico! Cocorico!


    A hen sang as the day was about to break.


    Cocorico!


    The bird repeated its song and Babida woke up, sluggish.


    Though he was still sleepy and wanted to stay longer in bed, the invitation to the imperial palace was far too important to mess it up by not showing up before His Majesty and hence offense the Ruler.


    So after a short moment resisting falling asleep again, Babida finally rose and went to bathe.


    Done gearing up, the logger took his baggage and left the room.


    He arrived in the hall of the administrative headquarters and met the young henchman Baba who had long been ready to depart with him to Ekule.


    Babida was pleased by the youngster''s early readiness. They exchanged a few casual words before climbing on the back of a camel and starting their journey.


    Just before the fall of the night, the Commander of the imperial forces Babida arrived at the east gate of Ekule accompanied by his aide-de-camp Baba.


    They had all day long been on the way to the imperial city. They were extremely exhausted, and so was the camel that carried them and their loads.


    At the sight of the Commander in chief, the imperial sentinels at the barricade lined up in front of Babida and gave him a warm military salute.


    "Greetings, My Commander! Welcome to Ekule!" said the leader of the squad to the lumberjack as he placed his right hand on the temple before slamming powerfully his thigh with the same hand.


    "Thank you, comrades!" replied the superior army Chief Babida who greeted back the imperial guards.


    "You may continue your journey." The leader then said and ordered one of his comrades to open the gate.


    Babida and his henchman Baba crossed the checkpoint and were now en route to the center of Ekule.


    As they were about to penetrate the bustling streets of the mythic downtown of the imperial city, the inhabitants recognize the lumberjack, and very quickly a massive crowd formed around the Killer of the Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    "Babidaaaa!" They hailed the name of their hero tirelessly and were extremely excited.


    Quickly the road became narrow and it was difficult for the Commander of the imperial forces to move the camel in the middle of the mob.


    Emperor Batang V who was sitting in the palace''s hall was informed about the arrival of his army commander and was very contented.


    He ordered that they arranged immediately the finest guest room of the lunar palace and lodged the holder of the medal of the highest honor and merit there and that early in the morning they brought the man before him to the reception venue.


    The palace''s servants hastened to do what the Ruler had commanded.


    Though Babida was slowed down by the excited crowd, he finally reached the entrance of the imperial palace where the sentinels were already lined up to give him the most agreeable welcome they could.


    The leader of the squad at the sight of the superior Commander ordered his comrades to play the trumpets as he saluted Babida who got down the camel along with his aide-de-camp Baba.


    The woodsman greeted back the leader of the imperial guards who instructed a comrade to take the animal with the visitors'' luggage and escort the latter to the main guest room of the palace.

 Part 8 (2)

    The imperial sentinel took the lumberjack and his henchman Baba to the doorstep of the palace''s main building where two servants were waiting for them.


    The maids collected the guests'' baggage from the imperial sentinel and invited the Commander of the imperial forces Babida to come in along with his aide-de-camp.


    As for the camel, it was taken to the backside of the imperial palace by the guard.


    The servants that were radiant young maidens conducted the visitors to their apartment. It was the most luminous and spacious room of the palace after that of His Majesty Batang V, the lunar chamber.


    The guests marveled and thanked the maids for their kindness as the hosts were leaving them.


    "Comrade, let''s take a shower fast, for I guess soon we might be called for supper and we better be ready now." Babida suggested to his henchman Baba.


    "Correct, My Commander! I am going right away to the bathroom." said the youngster Baba.


    The aide-de-camp thereupon rushed to bathe and was done very quickly.


    The Commander in chief Babida went after him to shower as well and finish pretty fast too.


    Within half an hour, the two men were cleaned and dressed in sparkling military uniforms.


    Toc, toc!


    Someone knocked at the room''s door. Baba hurried to open and saw the two beautiful young servants who invented them to follow them to one of the palace salle a manger.


    "Right away, Miss!" replied the henchman with a seductive voice.


    Baba informed his superior Commander Babida who thus exited the room.


    Both men then began to walk at a slow pace behind the two gracious maids who showed them the way to the eating room.


    After snaking the endless corridors of the imperial palace, the guests finally reached the venue.


    As they entered the place, they were dazzled by the long table at the left corner filled abundantly with the finest delicacies of the empire and surrounded by ten other gorgeous servants.


    Crabs, chicken, goat, mutton, fish, snails, gorilla, snake, vegetables, plantain, cassava, fruit, and all sorts of desserts were aligned from one end of the fitting to the other.


    "Wow! What an imperial welcome this is!" exclaimed the woodsman as they were being guided to their seats by a maid.


    However, given the circumstances, they had to display good manners and refrain from their gluttonous habits.


    So Babida and his henchman Baba ate what was just enough for their stomachs and in a very civilized way.


    The guests were also served the most delicious palm wine their papillae had ever tasted, which they managed to drink responsibly since they were also making sure to appear sober the next day at the lumberjack''s elevation ceremony as the new Governor of the province of Okunde.


    Full and very satisfied with the special treatment provided to them by the gracious servants of His Majesty Batang V, Babida the lumberjack and his henchman Baba left the eating room and returned to their apartment so they could rest after their tiring voyage from Okunde to the imperial city Ekule.


    They shared the same bed and slumbered profoundly till daybreak.


    The logger was the first to wake up and geared up in a brand-new magnificent military outfit.


    He then waited patiently for the signal of the servants or the imperial sentinels of the palace.


    The henchman Baba finally woke up and was surprised to notice that the Commander in chief was already set for the elevation ceremony.


    A bit embarrassed that he overslept, he asked the woodsman to forgive him and rushed to the bathroom.


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    But for the logger, his henchman''s lateness wasn''t a big deal.


    "Take your time, Comrade!" Babida told to him as he stood up and opened the window.


    He saw the imperial sentinels receiving visitors who were coming to his nomination as the new Governor of the province of Okunde.


    He then looked amazed at a squad of imperial sentinels that were parading at the left corner of the palace''s main yard.


    And unexpectedly a pigeon came up to the window and landed on the sill, making the lumberjack smile.


    The latter extended his hand to pat the bird but it flew away under the powerless eyes of the woodsman.


    Toc, toc!


    Someone suddenly slightly banged the door and caught Babida''s attention. He walked up to it and pulled the handle.


    The two beautiful young maids of the past evening were standing in front in different clothes, even more shining than those they were wearing at the guests'' arrival at the imperial palace.


    "Greetings, My Commander! You may come with us, please." One of the servants said to the Commander of the imperial forces.


    "Right away, young Miss!" Babida replied to her.


    He then inclined backward and looked to the right side of the room and saw his henchman Baba who was at last ready, walking up to him.


    "Come, it''s time for the big moment!" Babida told his aide-de-camp.


    "Yes, My Commander!" The youngster replied.


    They thereafter left the apartment and followed His Majesty''s servants.


    The radiant maids guided Babida the lumberjack accompanied by his aide-de-camp Baba through the long corridors of the imperial palace.


    As they marched forward, the woodsman began to feel the weight of his soon-new charge.


    He entered a deep daydream, for he suddenly had the impression that he was advancing alone to the ceremony''s venue.


    Everything around him ceased to exist. There was only him and the unknown in front of him.


    A cold wind commenced blowing and fear took hold of his body. He trembled like a leaf and his five-kilogram axe was now too heavy for his frail right hand.


    The solitary moment lasted till...


    "My Commander!" A man whispered.


    "My Commander!" The man repeated with more intensity in his tone.


    "Yes?" replied Babida as he came back to himself with flurry eyes.


    "That''s His Majesty! You may bow." The man advised, astonished by the lumberjack''s sudden trouble.


    The woodsman looked at his interlocutor once again and realized that was his henchman Baba who was talking to him.


    He then glanced in front of him and recognized the charismatic and huge man who was wrapped with the most valuable fabric of the empire and was sitting in a golden chair.


    The imposing individual was no one else but His Majesty Batang V.


    Therefore Babida precipitously threw himself on the ground and bowed before the most powerful man of the land, causing the laughter of the Emperor and the hundreds of subjects that surrounded the place.


    "You may rise, Commander." then said His Majesty Batang V to the lumberjack.


    Babida did as he was told. He changed his prostating position and took the kneeling stand.


    The Emperor ordered that they played the trumpets to open the woodsman''s elevation ceremony as the new Governor of Okunde.


    Once the musicians were done. The imperial Ruler got off his gilded seat and read a long speech in which he lauded the bravery of Babida first in his time as a civilian and then as a full-time military before enjoining that they brought him the majestic sword.


    The supreme Leader laid the weapon three times on the head of the lumberjack, then declared: "I, Batang V, fifth Ruler of the Batang dynasty, I hereby proclaimed Babida the lumberjack, Governor of the province of Okunde. He has my total trust and all the subjects of the land shall treat him and respect him the same way they would do to me."


    "You may now stand up, Governor." The Emperor then told him.


    Babida did as he was instructed and the crowd acclaimed him joyfully.


    The first part of the elevation ceremony was over. The second part then followed.


    Emperor Batang V ordered that the banquet for the new Governor of Okunde, Babida, started.


    So the servants brought rolling tables filled with varieties of food and beverages.


    They strolled around the venue and the guests served themselves. They picked whatever they desired and ate and drank happily.


    The Emperor invited the lumberjack to his private eating space since according to the superstitions of the land, it wasn''t good for the Ruler to eat in public and risk embarrassment in front of his subjects such as dirtying his magnificent garments with sauce or whatever aliments.


    The Ruler had to always distill in the mind of the people that he was a half-god. He had to be feared, though he could be kind.


    His Majesty Batang V and his guest, the newly appointed Governor Babida, arrived at a small but sparkling room and there was a gilded table that contained nearly all the marvels available in the empire.


    There was notably a big lamb that was toasted and was also the favorite meal of His Majesty.


    "You may sit by my side, Governor." uttered the Emperor as a maid pulled his massive chair so he could sit.


    Impressed, the woodsman remained speechless. He wasn''t expecting such a degree of attention from the half-god.


    The new Governor sat on the right of the Ruler who was at his ease contrary to his guest.


    Babida was intimidated. However, he tried the best he could to conceal his nervosity.


    The Emperor with a silent look at the maid on his left side ordered that the latter serve him the lamb, which she hastened to execute.


    She cut a big chunk of the meat that she then put in a golden plate that she laid in front of the Ruler along with a silver fork and knife.


    Unexpectedly the Ruler passed on his dish to Babida who was shocked by the gesture.


    "But Your Majesty..." The woodsman said with a shy and shaky voice.


    "Good appetite, Governor!" His Majesty Batang V wished him.


    And with another silent look at the maid, he commanded that she serve him once again, which she did.


    The servant took another gilded plate and gave a bigger piece of lamb to the Ruler.


    Then with his guest Babida who was waiting for him, they savored the tasty and mellow flesh of the sheep.

 Part 8 (3)

    The private lunch between His Majesty Batang V and the new Governor Babida ended and it was now time for the two most powerful men of the empire to part ways.


    "Thank you, your Majesty, for your trust. You shall be assured that your humble servant right here shall always defend the land to the ultimate sacrifice." The lumberjack heartily said to the Emperor.


    "I know, Governor. I know. You may return safely to Okunde. I have ordered that they set two horses and a carriage for you." replied His Majesty.


    "You may also take this purse. It contains thrice the prize for killing the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain, though this time you didn''t bring to me its head on a silver platter because the beast was instead swallowed by the stomach of Okunde''s river." The Ruler added.


    "Thank you, your Majesty!" Babida took the gift and left the Emperor''s private eating space.


    Two imperial sentinels escorted him to his room where his henchman was waiting for him so they could go back to Okunde.


    Babida arrived at the chamber and was pleased to find that his aide-de-camp had already packed all their belongings and they could leave the palace right away.


    "My Commander...Sorry, His Highness, we may go now." said the youngster Baba to the new Governor.


    "Yes, then let''s depart!" Babida responded.


    "However we may first stop by the young maiden Suzie''s house." He then revealed to his aide-de-camp.


    Baba carried the luggage and followed the Governor who had taken the lead.


    They arrived downstairs and found a coach with two white horses in the best shape ever seen.


    They hopped in and the henchman Baba took the commands. He smacked the horses'' rears and they began to move forward.


    The lumberjack guided him to the address of the young miss Suzie who lived in the north of the city.


    As they were rolling on the streets of Ekule, villagers bid the new Governor farewell and wished him success in his function.


    They implored the ancestors to accompany the lumberjack and guide him to the path of victory against the future enemies of the land.


    Babida was flattered and in return, he pledged to the crowd that he would never let the empire down and would rather give his life.


    The henchman Baba continued to follow the itinerary to the young maiden Suzie''s place that His Highness Babida was giving to him till they finally reached a street with two identical chalets and stopped between the two houses.


    They were getting down the coach when they heard someone shouting the name of the lumberjack.


    "Babidaaaa!" The voice yelled.


    The new Governor and his henchman Baba looked in front of them and saw the young maiden Suzie who was coming up to them while running as fast as she could.


    The young maiden Suzie finally reached the position of the new Governor Babida accompanied by his aide-de-camp Baba.


    She halted before the lumberjack. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes were red, for she was sobbing.


    The young maiden wasn''t in her usual glamourous shape. Her beauty was lessened by the abundant tears that wetted her face.


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    Babida held her by the shoulders and they fixed their gaze on each other.


    The crying miss tried to say something to her companion but her tongue was heavy and words were choked in her mouth.


    "Gra...Gra..." She was saying.


    "Gra...what?" asked Babida but the young maiden Suzie was still incapable to articulate.


    "Let''s go to the house!" The newly nominated Governor Babida told her then grabbed her by the right hand and they began to walk to the chalet, trailed by the young henchman Baba.


    As they stepped onto the property, Polo, the late Governor Kola 2''s aide-de-camp came out of the chalet.


    "Greetings, Your Highness!" He uttered to the woodsman.


    "It''s good that you came by, for we are in a terrible situation. The god of ruin has struck twice the heart of the young miss." He revealed to the logger who looked surprised and confused.


    "What do you mean by that? Could you be clearer?" Babida asked the late Governor''s henchman Polo.


    "Well, Your Highness, when we came to the house with the corpse of Commander Bibi for his burial, we found that the matriarch, namely his mom or the young maiden''s grandmom, was lying dead on the floor in the parlor." He disclosed the sad news to Babida who was in shock.


    The lumberjack looked at the interim henchman Baba who was standing behind him and the young miss and the latter was neither grasping how the misfortune happened.


    Governor Babida after the bombshell held tighter Suzie into his arms as she intensified the cries.


    "Come, let''s go inside!" The woodsman then told his crush.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo let Babida and Suzie pass in front as he looked at the youngster behind them whom he recognized.


    "Oh, it''s you comrade Baba. You came with the superior Commander." Polo declared to the youngster.


    "Yes, My Commander, in your absence the then Commander of the imperial forces and now Governor of Okunde, Babida, asked me to replace you until you come back to the administrative headquarters," Baba responded to him.


    "Oh? Well, congratulations! Hopefully, you will be confirmed for the post because I am going to take a sabbatical year. I have been working with no rest all these past years. My health has thus deteriorated." Polo said to him.


    "Come, let''s go inside!." He then concluded the chat with the youngster.


    The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo entered the chalet with the youngster Baba and they met the lumberjack and the young miss Suzie who were sitting next to each other on the rattan divan in the parlor.


    Babida kept on consoling his crush, though she couldn''t help crying.


    The loss of her two last relatives was unbearable. Uncle Bibi and big Momma were her greatest support since the passing of her Mother Anna when she was a five-year-old toddler.


    Younger, the trauma of her mom''s death often caused her to scream in the middle of the night.


    She constantly had nightmares till she turned twelve and uncle Bibi and grandmother had finally found the secret to make her move on and forget about her mother''s death.


    One day, uncle Bibi, Big Momma, and twelve-year-old Suzie went to the market to buy a turkey for the "Ngondo", the Batang empire''s yearly celebration to thank the divinities for their kindness over the past year, and beg them for protection for the next year.


    As they were strolling around the market on the lookout for the biggest and most good-looking turkey, an old and strange woman who was standing on the sidewalk drew the attention of little Suzie and with her right index finger told her to come closer.


    The teenager Suzie obeyed under the influence of the hypnotic power of the old lady.


    Uncle Bibi and big Momma were unaware that their little darling had left them until when grandmother wanted to pay the merchant for the turkey and she asked her grandchild to pass on to her the three Batangi coins she had given her to hold when they were about to go out to the market.


    "Suzie, give me the money!" Grandma said but the kid was not around.


    Uncle Bibi turned to look behind and saw the little girl from a distance talking with an unknown old lady dressed in an all-black robe.


    "Suzie !" He shouted before hastening to go up to her since she couldn''t hear.


    "Suzie!" He said again as he was now near to her.


    Little Suzie turned to look at him and uttered: "Uncle Bibi, behold, this old lady right here knew my mom Anna. She was her Makossa teacher. She even told me to come to meet her here every three days so she would tell me more stories about my mom."


    Uncle Bibi was taken aback. He was Suzie''s mother big brother and had never seen the old lady before. Moreover, Anna never learned Makossa to become either a singer or a dancer.


    However, the story seemed to make the little girl Suzie happy and uncle Bibi didn''t want to spoil the moment. It was the first time since her mother''s passing that something about the latter made the teenager smile.


    So uncle Bibi pretented he knew the old lady and she was telling truth.


    He therefore answered: "Yes, Indeed your mom was the most gifted Makossa singer in the empire and she was also a very good dancer."


    And as he was done with his pretense, grandmother came from behind and shouted: "Suzie, give me the money!".


    But her son, uncle Bibi, pinched her and she understood something was going on. She hence let it go.


    "Mom, here is Anna''s Makossa teacher. She is very nice and was telling nice stories about Anna to Suzie. She even told her to come over here every three days and she would tell even more tales about my sister." Uncle Bibi described to big Momma while pinching her.


    "Oh yes, I remember like it was just yesterday. Well, that would be kind of her. I see already the glow on Suzie''s face. Anna was indeed everything to her. Well, we shall then come back in the next three days with the little girl so she would hear stories about her mom. Thank you very much!" said Grandmother, pretending as well to know the old lady.


    "Well now, we have a turkey to buy for the Ngondo. Thank you once again!" She said as she held Suzie''s hand and together with uncle Bibi, they left.


    They purchased the turkey, went back home, and celebrated the Ngondo with the well-grilled meat of the bird. Then they went to bed.


    The next morning they woke up and surprisingly the teenager Suzie had had for the first time no nightmare about her mom and it was the same thing on the following day.


    Uncle Bibi and Grandmother were thus convinced that the unexpected meeting with the old lady was the source of the positive change.


    On the third day morning, Suzie had had also no nightmare in the past night. Uncle Bibi and Grandmother were even more convinced that the old lady was behind all this.


    So they decided to take Suzie to her as they had promised, though at first they weren''t serious and just wanted to be kind.


    They took Suzie to the market and the old lady was at the same location she was standing last time. And as she had pledged, she recounted a new story to Suzie about her mom Anna and the little girl was even more contented than the first time.


    The family went back home and in the night the teenager Suzie still had had no nightmare. Uncle Bibi and Grandmom realized that the meeting with the old lady had a positive effect on the kid.


    So finally they decided that they will continue to take her to the old lady every three days as part of a therapy.


    They did so till Suzie turned thirteen and at the next meeting with the old lady, the latter didn''t show up and she never did again. But ultimately Suzie stopped once and for all to have nightmares.

 Part 8 (4)

    Without any close relative still alive, Governor Babida thought it would be good for his crush, the grieving young maiden Suzie, to come with him to Okunde.


    "You may travel with me to Okunde and leave this place filled with sorrow and pain. Of course, you may come back later when you finish grieving." The lumberjack told the young miss who remained quiet.


    The young maiden Suzie couldn''t speak, for she was so overwhelmed by the shock of the passing of the last members of her family.


    "Yes, Your Highness, that would be great for her, I think so too." The late Governor''s aide-de-camp Polo agreed with the woodsman.


    Babida then ordered his henchman Baba to help the young maiden Suzie


    do her suitcase but because she was a woman the youngster was a bit embarrassed and stuttered.


    "But, My...Your...Highness!" Baba spat out with difficulty.


    The new Governor Babida understood the issue and said he would help the young miss himself.


    The interim aide-de-camp Baba was relieved and sighed.


    The lumberjack gently asked Suzie that they go upstairs to her room so he would assist her in packing her belongings.


    Despite the sorrow, the young maiden managed to get off the rattan divan and walk up the stairs to her private apartment.


    The two lovebirds arrived in the young miss'' room and began to collect outfits, shoes, make-up kit, fragrance, soap, and body lotion that they assembled in a big leather bag.


    Done, they went back downstairs, and together with Polo and Baba, they went outside to the carriage.


    Since the conveyance was small for the four, Polo and Baba mounted each of the white horses while Babida and his crush were sitting in the coach.


    Set, they started the long journey to Okunde.


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    They crossed the east gate of Ekule under the clamor of the imperial sentinels who were excited to see the newly designated Governor, Babida.


    The lumberjack''s reputation had reached a level that caused fanatism to everyone who looked up to him.


    The second mightiest man of the Batang empire, not taking into account the Governor of Okala in the North and that of the imperial city Ekule, had reached the proportions of a half-god.


    Governor Babida and his entourage penetrated Okunde through its west gate and it suddenly began to rain.


    So the logger commanded the two henchmen Polo and Baba to park the carriage somewhere they could shelter.


    Around them were enormous bushes, so the coachmen accelerated till they perceived a wooden cabin on the right side of the road and they stopped by.


    Babida and the young maiden Suzie quickly got down from the carriage and ran to the door of the cabin. They tried to open it but it was closed.


    With the pressure of the falling rain, the Governor Babida felt compelled to take extreme measures.


    Hence, he hit the lock with his axe and the door swung open.


    He entered the cabin and quickly lit the lamp torch that was on the table.


    In the meantime, the two henchmen were trying to find a good and dry spot for the carriage and the horses but there were only grasses around.


    So ultimately they abandoned the coach and the animals under the rain and ran inside the wooden cabin where the Governor Babida was holding tight his crush Suzie into his arms so she would stay warm.


    After an hour, the rain ceased and Babida and his entourage went outside and could neither find the carriage nor the white horses. They had vanished away.


    With no other transportation means, the four beings were obliged to continue the journey on foot.


    Their vehicle gone away and with no better option at their disposal in the middle of bushes, the return of Governor Babida and his entourage to the administrative headquarters was thus slowed down and soon it was about to be full night.


    The lumberjack therefore instructed his men to accelerate the pace and reach the nearest bustling spot.


    However, the infernal rhythm was too much for the grieving and overly tired young maiden Suzie whose feet began aching her.


    "I can''t keep up." She said to the logger as she leaned on him.


    His Highness Babida understood the gravity of the situation and that he had to do something about it before it worsened. So he decided to carry the young miss.


    The muscular and athletic lumberjack grabbed the thin maiden with his right hand and snatched her from the ground before lying her on his massive right shoulder.


    He walked with her while holding in his left hand his Herculean steel axe.


    The henchmen Polo and Baba were impressed by the capabilities of their supreme Commander and couldn''t stop furtively looking at him.


    They whispered to each other how unbelievably strong the logger was and wished the gods of the Batang empire had endowed them with such might.


    The henchmen were also incredible forces of nature, yet there was something else with the lumberjack who was way above the masses.


    He was chosen by the ancestors and given the greatest power a human could ever bear.


    After walking for some time, Babida and his entourage finally reached in the beginning of the evening, the first populated area of Okunde on the west side.


    The inhabitants recognized their governor and quickly surrounded him. Some offered to lodge him and his entourage in their humble homes if he desired.


    Others proposed to put at his disposal their finest carriages if that was his wish.


    The lumberjack was extremely contented with the attention of his subjects.


    Since the young miss Suzie could no longer bear the hardship of the journey, Governor Babida accepted to spend the night in the house of an old man with the whitest beard ever seen.


    Along with his henchmen, Polo and Baba, and the young maiden Suzie, he followed the elderly to a mansion that had a perfectly maintained garden with the greenest leaves ever witnessed.


    The four entered the house and it was completely luminous, for the lights were the most scintillating ever glanced.


    And suddenly the old man with the white beard turned into a big glow that swallowed the lumberjack and his entourage till they became invisible.


    They disappeared with their host.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 9 (1)

    "Your Highness! Your Highness! Your Highness!" whispered someone repeatedly to the ears of the sleeping Governor Babida.


    "Your Highness, are you fine?" The individual interrogated the lumberjack who wasn''t still answering back, for he kept on slumbering.


    "Well, we probably should wait till tomorrow morning." said the individual in a desperate tone.


    "The Governor, the henchmen, and the young maiden that we found snoozing next to him in the backyard are certainly under the enchantment of Iy?, the god of deep sleep." He then asserted.


    Along with the people around him, the individual left the room.


    The night went by and finally, the sun rose above the sky of Okunde.


    Haaaaaaaaaa


    The woodsman yawned as he woke up from a very long sleep.


    "Where am I?" He then declared in confusion.


    "At last! You are up, Your Highness. And even better, you seem to do fine." said someone.


    Governor Babida rubbed his eyes with the back of his right hand, then glared in front of him and saw a young imperial sentinel who all night long watched over him.


    "Comrade, what''s going on? Where am I?" The lumberjack asked the imperial guard.


    "Your Highness, you are in your room, the Governor''s room." replied the imperial sentinel.


    "It used to be that of late Governor Kola II but now it''s yours." He added.


    Babida who was feeling dizzy asked the imperial guard to bring some water, which the latter hastened to do.


    He rushed to the left corner of the room, grabbed a bottle of water, and walked up back to the Supreme Commander.


    He uncapped the container and handed it over to Governor Babida who claimed he was having a headache.


    "Should I call the Doctor, Your Highness?" queried the imperial sentinel.


    "Yes, please!" responded Babida as he drank the water then lay on the bed and slept again.


    Some moments later...


    "Your Highness! Your Highness!" Someone mumbled to the Governor''s ears.


    The latter woke up abruptly and looked around him. The lumberjack saw an imperial warrior with a medical box in his right hand.


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    "Greetings Your Highness! My name is Dabo. I am late Governor Kola 2''s doctor and now I am yours." The imperial warrior uttered to Babida.


    "Last evening, imperial guards found you along with two comrades and a maiden unconscious in the backside of the administrative headquarters." He then described to the Governor Babida.


    "Can you please explain to me how it did happen?" asked Doctor Dabo.


    However, he didn''t get any feedback, for the lumberjack fell asleep again.


    So he left the room while committing to return at a later time.


    Haaaaaaaaaa


    Babida yawned as he woke up for the second time of the day since his passing out the last night.


    "Ah, Your Highness is awoken again," exclaimed Doctor Dabo who came back as promised to check up on Governor Babida one more time.


    "Hopefully, Your Highness, you are feeling better now." The physician declared.


    "Water!" uttered Babida as he was sitting upright and leaning against the headboard of the bed.


    With a sign of the head, Doctor Dabo ordered the young imperial sentinel next to him to quickly bring some water to the lumberjack.


    The youngster rushed to the same place where he had taken a bottle of water last time, that is to say, to the cupboard on the left side of the room.


    He took another bottle of the precious liquid and brought it to Governor Babida.


    The woodsman removed the cap and drank the water up so thirsty he was.


    He was calmer than at his previous wake-up. He seemed to have fully retrieved his senses.


    Nonetheless, Doctor Dabo wanted to be sure about it. He hence asked the lumberjack for his permission to be auscultated.


    Knowing the doctor''s request was for his good, Babida accepted without any reserve.


    "Give me your hands, Your Highness! I need to check your pulse." The doctor told his patient.


    With no delay, the logger extended his right hand toward the physician who pressed his wrist for a couple of seconds and then declared: "Yes, everything is in order. You are fine, Your Highness. You may resume your duties, though I suggest it be in two or three days for you to take more rest."


    "Surely Doc!" Babida replied to him.


    And then he remembered about his entourage. So he questioned Doctor Dabo about their whereabouts. To which the latter replied that they were doing way better than him and were even worried about his health.


    And he asked why they hadn''t come to see him then. Doctor Dabo told him that, as the Governor of the province, his security was tightened.


    He tried to explain to the medic that they were like family to him and they should be given access to him whenever they wanted.


    "Surely, Your Highness!" said Doctor Dabo.


    "But you didn''t give this order to the imperial sentinels in charge of your security. So they applied the rules that were effective during the time of the late Governor Kola II." He then explained.


    "I shall hence forward your wish to the imperial sentinels so they would allow those you have authorized to come to you anytime they wish." Doctor Dabo told the lumberjack before grabbing his medical box and departing from the Governor''s private apartment.


    "Alright! I will come back later." He said.


    Toc, toc!


    An imperial sentinel knocked at the door of the new Governor''s room and stepped inside.


    "Greetings Your Highness, your authorized visitors are here. He said as he gave a military salute to Babida.


    The woodsman who was lying on the bed replied to him: "Thank you, comrade! You may let them come in."


    As he was done giving his instruction to the imperial guard, the young maiden Suzie followed by the henchmen Polo and Baba entered the room.


    The young miss was sparkling and looked more beautiful than ever before in her long yellow wax-made robe.


    She ran to the woodsman and fell on him, without bothering whether he was doing better or not, for she was missing him so badly.


    "My love!" She whispered as she hugged him.


    The henchmen Polo and Baba witnessed the enamored moment and felt like they came to visit the Supreme Commander at the wrong time.


    They stood for a good moment on the side, practically ignored by Governor Babida whose mind had been captivated by the destabilizing charm of the young maiden Suzie.


    And then as if the charm effects had disappeared, the woodsman declared as he broke the hug with his crush Suzie: "Comrades, you may forgive your Commander who sometimes can not resist the power of love."


    Smiling, the youngster Baba replied to him: "Your Majesty, what a great poet you are!"


    And the henchman Polo added: "Your Majesty, what a great conqueror of hearts you are!"


    "You conquer the hearts of your men on the battlefield and you conquer the hearts of the women on the..." Polo went on but didn''t finish his sentence.


    "...on the bed?" asked the interim aide-de-camp Baba with a funny look.


    The insinuation of the henchmen made the lumberjack giggle.


    However, the young maiden Suzie who was a shy type looked down a bit embarrassed.


    "Ok, ok, let''s change the topic!" uttered Governor Babida, seeing the remarks of his men displeased her.


    "Well, had anyone gotten an idea of what happened yesterday night?" The logger interrogated.


    "It''s very simple." said the young maiden Suzie.


    "The old man with the white beard was an angel of Iy?, the god of deep sleep." She added.


    "He came because I invoked him when my feet were aching me and I couldn''t any long walk. All I wanted was just to be on a bed wherever it would be."


    "Ah, that''s it. All is clear now. This then means that you made a promise to the divinity. I won''t ask you what it is since as per our tradition it''s not allowed, for the relationship of each of us with the ancestors is private." Babida stated


    "Gosh! That was my first experience with the divinity and I passed out instead of sleeping." The lumberjack told to his entourage who laughed out loud.

 Part 9 (2)

    Babida spent the rest of the day chatting, eating, and drinking with his entourage in his private apartment but by sunset, the time had come for them to separate so he could rest more and recover from his passing out last night as prescribed by Doctor Dabo.


    "Well, comrades, thank you very much for your visit. I have been advised by the medic to rest more and that''s what I intend to do so now." Governor Babida told the visitors.


    "Well, His Highness, we may hence go now. By the way, we wish you a speedy recovery." The henchman Polo said as he and the youngster Baba greeted the Superior Commander.


    They then turned and walked away, leaving the young maiden Suzie behind.


    "You may also go shall you desire it, young miss." The lumberjack said to his crush who looked at him as if she wanted to stay more.


    "Well, you also know that we have to get married first before we can upgrade the intimacy." He added.


    But the young maiden Suzie kept glaring at him with a look of carnal desire.


    "Young miss, I am telling you, you may go now for our good. You know what can happen if you prolong your stay." Babida kept warning her, though he was burning with the flame of carnal desire.


    Ultimately, when he least expected it, the young maiden Suzie smiled and uttered: "Good boy! I was just playing with you to see what type of man you are. I may say you are a good one, a very good one."


    She thereupon stood up and walked up to the door. And when she was about to step outside she sent him with the palm of her right-hand invisible kisses.


    Then she closed the door and vanished away.


    Babida watched the scene, lightly shook his head while smiling before declaring "Women!" and sliding into the blanket.


    He fell asleep and slept like a baby.


    Babida the lumberjack had now stayed three days in his room and never left it once.


    He scrupulously followed the prescription from Doctor Dabo and was now feeling in form.


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    It was thus time to finally start his new duties as Governor of the province of Okunde.


    He geared up and dressed nicely in a brand new military uniform, then left his room accompanied by a young sentinel of his close-knit guard.


    He reached the doorstep of his new office and had sad memories of the last time he stepped out of it and landed in the cell of the underground.


    Indeed the bureau that the woodsman was about to occupy had had as tenant before him one of the most devoted statemen of the Batang empire, the late Governor Kola II.


    However, the former tenant had thrown the lumberjack in jail out of anger. Babida had failed to clearly explain to the late Governor how a scout mission in the forbidden mountain that the latter had entrusted to him, capsized.


    The flashbacks over, the lumberjack sighed and penetrated the office as a freeman and was amazed by its splendor.


    The bureau was neat and spacious with shelves that housed tons of papyrus.


    A huge portrait of His Majesty Batang V sitting on his throne and holding his scepter with his right hand was hanging on the wall behind the desk.


    A tinier painting of the late Governor, His Highness Kola Il, was placed right below the gigantic picture of the reigning Emperor.


    The lumberjack contemplated the two pictures and commenced visualizing his instead of that of the late Governor under the massive picture of His Majesty.


    And while he kept on with the images'' exploration an imperial sentinel knocked at the door of the office and informed the new tenant that he had a visitor and it was the young maiden, Suzie.


    "Let her come in!" Babida ordered and his crush Suzie stepped in carrying with her a dish filled with little chocolate cookies that she had concocted for the Governor''s breakfast.


    The woodsman was very pleased very the kind gesture, so he lightly kissed the young maiden on the forehead while thanking her.


    Then he felt it was the right moment for him to move forward in the relationship.


    So the logger kneeled with the right foot and grabbed the young maiden by her right hand before looking at her straight in the eyes and asking her the question she had long been waiting for.


    "Young Miss, will you marry me?" He said to her.


    "Yesssss!" The young maiden Suzie responded emphatically to the marriage proposal of Babida the lumberjack.


    The scream was so powerful that the imperial sentinel watching over the Governor''s office at the door from the external side could not resist sneaking in without notice and taking the risk to catch his Superior Commander in a position particularly carnal with his female guest, causing hence embarrassment for both sides.


    The two lovebirds turned to glance at the door with a silent look that spoke volumes to the too curious imperial guard.


    With their eyes, Babida and his crush the young maiden Suzie told the inquisitive imperial guard: "Ok, you saw what you saw, and then what? None of your business!"


    "Sorry, Your Highness," said shamefully the imperial sentinel before returning outside to the corridor and resuming his duty as if nothing had ever happened.


    The two lovebirds then continued from where they stopped.


    "We shall marry in three moons by the river coast on an afternoon." The logger told his fianc¨¦ who jumped for joy.


    "We shall wed even today but I know we need some time for the preparation. Three moons are just perfect, my love." Suzie replied to him.


    "We shall wed with just a few guests." Babida precised to her.


    "Yes. Just the two henchmen and five imperial warriors would be enough." Suzie provided even more detail about the number and qualities of the guests for the wedding ceremony.


    "I wished big Momma and uncle Bibi were physically present. Nonetheless, I know they will spiritually." Suzie said regretfully before observing a short moment of silence in memory of the deceased.


    "Well, I may go now so you can resume your work." The young maiden then declared and left the Governor''s office immediately.


    Babida was now alone in the oval bureau and very happy about himself.


    He felt like he was the luckiest man in the universe, for the most beautiful woman in the Batang empire had accepted to marry him and spend the rest of her life with him.


    To celebrate what he considered was a milestone in his life after a long period of bachelorhood, he took a chocolate cookie brought to him by his crush the young miss Suzie and bit on it.


    After a short moment of ecstasy, the lumberjack came back to his normal state, sat behind the desk, and consulted the infinite paperwork that had remained unprocessed since the passing of his predecessor, the late Governor Kola Il.

 Part 9 (3)

    The beautiful Suzie couldn''t believe what had just happened in the office of Governor Babida.


    The lumberjack had at last proposed to her and they were going to tie the knot in three moons.


    She was swirling around her room in the administrative headquarters.


    First, she pretended that she had wings like a butterfly. So she jumped in the air and landed on the soft mattress of the bed while reproducing the wingbeat of the insect with her hands.


    Then she imitated a hunting lioness. She lurked behind the bathroom door like it was green grass and spied the pillow on the bed like it was prey and went on all fours at the slowest pace possible.


    She neared the bed and sprung on the poor pillow that she scattered with her teeth, causing the cotton inside to pop out.


    And she laughed as she realized what the joy of an upcoming marriage could make the bride do.


    It was now afternoon in Okunde and Governor Babida had so much work to do. He inherited from his predecessor a lot of unfinished matters.


    However, there was one that was particularly preoccupying. The logger read the file thrice and his analysis was always the same though he thought he would get different results, for what was written in the report was unbelievable.


    The file mentioned that the land''s existence was under a threat far greater than the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain. Nonetheless, there was a possibility to annihilate the danger in its early stage.


    Unfortunately, the report wasn''t complete and looked as if it had been deliberately cut in two parts and the other half had been hidden and classified as top secret.


    But that was going to be for a later time. There was a wedding to organize.


    Therefore Babida the lumberjack closed all cases on the desk and left the office.


    He went to the henchmen''s bureau so he would ask them to be witnesses for his upcoming union.


    Governor Babida knocked at the door and opened it. As he entered the circular room, the henchmen Polo and Baba who were working in tandem, paused to greet the Supreme Commander.


    "Greetings, Your Highness!" They said in unison as they gave him a military salute.


    "You may sit down," replied Babida.


    "I have to talk to you about a matter of great importance." He then added.


    The two aides-de-camp were surprised by the Governor''s declaration and couldn''t wait to hear what he had to say that was so meaningful.


    "I''m going to marry in three moons with the pretty young maiden Suzie and I wish you be our witnesses." The woodsman revealed.


    "Congratulations, Your Highness! You can count on me to carry the groom''s ring." Polo expressed vigorously.


    "Congratulations, Superior Commander, you can rely on me to hold the bride''s ring," said Baba as powerfully as the henchman Polo.


    "Well, that''s perfect! Now it remains to select among the troop five lucky imperial warriors that would attend the wedding ceremony. I assign you to do that for me." uttered the lumberjack to the two men who nodded.


    "Alright, I may live now. See you later!" Babida concluded his visit and left the henchmen''s office.


    Governor Babida went to his private apartment, and the henchmen Polo and Baba hastened to execute what they had been instructed to do by the Okunde''s ruler.


    They had to select five lucky imperial warriors among the troop in Okunde''s garden so that they take part in the wedding ceremony of the Supreme Commander Babida.


    However, the woodsman hadn''t given them any criteria on which they had to base their choices.


    Knowing that most of the men would be happy to be among the five special guests of His Highness Babida, Polo the cunning suggested to the interim aide-de-camp Baba that they organize a game from which the five lucky attendees would emerge.


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    So they thought about making the men in uniform go through a stamina contest that consisted to test the latter endurance during particularly difficult military exercises.


    The two henchmen thus left their office and headed straight to Okunde''s garden.


    At their sight, the troop understood that there was news either from Emperor Batang V himself or from Governor Babida.


    So they waited for the two henchmen to close the gap that was between them so the latter would announce them the news that they were carrying with them.


    Meanwhile, a bunch of impatient warriors began to make upfront assumptions.


    "My Commander, are we going back to the main barracks?" said some of them.


    "My Commander, has the Emperor ordered that we go home and see our families?" asked others.


    "None of that, comrades!" responded the aide-de-camp Polo.


    "The reason that brings us over here is that we have received a command from His Highness Babida," Polo said to the men in uniform while the interim henchman Baba stood behind him and silently approved his words.


    "The lumberjack is going to wed in three moons. However, only five of you are allowed to attend the event."The henchman Polo explained.


    "Who then is invited and who is not, My Commander?" interrogated an imperial soldier in the troop.


    "Well, all interested candidates will go through a stamina contest that will take place tomorrow early morning right after sunrise.


    "Alright, I''m going to take part in the contest. I wouldn''t miss for all the gold of the world a chance to be by the side of the killer of the Monster of the forbidden mountain on the happiest day of his life." declared an imperial warrior excitedly.


    "So do I" began to repeat one after another a group of tens of prospective competitors.


    "Well, so now that everything is clear for everyone. See you therefore tomorrow by the grace of the ancestors!" Polo concluded and along with the youngster Baba, went back inside the imperial headquarters.


    It was now evening in Okunde and the sky was marvelously enlightened by a beautiful and round moon.


    For the two lovebirds Babida the lumberjack and the young maiden Suzie, the appearance of the satellite had a particular meaning. It meant in the next two moons, they would get married.


    So each lover was burning with impatience in their respective room and was coping alone with the coldness of the night.


    Babida was lodged in the most spacious sleeping room of the administrative headquarters, the Governor''s chamber.


    The nights in the Commander''s private apartment began to be endless and boring, for he dozed all by himself, without his other half Suzie who was staying in one of the guest rooms of the building.


    Nevertheless the bachelor''s life was soon going to end for the two soul mates.


    "Only two more moons!" said Babida the lumberjack to himself before falling asleep.


    The night flew by in its slowest pace ever, however the morning finally came up.


    The henchmen Polo and Baba woke up and rapidly prepared themselves to go to Okunde''s garden where men in uniform hoping to be selected for the private marriage ceremony of Babida the lumberjack and the beautiful Suzie, were waiting for them.


    As the two aides-de-camp stepped on the lawn of the garden, over a hundred competitors were already boosted.


    They screamed and slapped themselves on the cheeks and chest to give themselves courage.


    The henchmen Polo and Baba challenged them to marathon, deadlift, heavy loads pulling and pushing, push-ups, and arm wrestling.


    The military exercises unfoled under the hot and energy-consuming sun over the firmament of Okunde.


    At the of the mid-day, the organisms were sucked up. The challengers had nothing left in the tank.


    However, five of the competing men in uniform who were braver and more enduring than the rest were declared winners and therefore got their passes for the wedding ceremony of their hero Babida, a man they looked up to.


    As the night was falling and the sky was lit by another incredibly full moon, the henchmen Polo and Baba hastened to go back to the administrative headquarters.


    They went to the Governor''s office to give to him the list of the five imperial warriors they had chosen to be among his guests for his marriage with the pretty young maiden Suzie.


    The latter was spending her day in front of the mirror of her room, trying on the most extravagant female robes of the empire.


    Finally, she had found what was fitting her to perfection and couldn''t wait to make the sand of the coast dance as she moved toward the groom Babida the lumberjack.


    Two moons had already passed by and only one was remaining for Babida the lumberjack and his crush the young maiden Suzie to be united for life.


    The morning started joyfully. The birds over the sky of Okunde sang the most mesmerizing melodies ever sung, for the most beautiful young miss of the Batang empire was going soon to tie the knot with the second mightiest man in the land, the killer of the Monster of the forbidden mountain, Babida.


    Though the latter was thinking about the big moment, he managed the best he could to fulfill his stateman''s duties.


    Governor Babida had risen from his bed before dawn and rushed to his office to deal with some hot paperwork.


    In the complete silence of his bureau, he was trying to find a solution against a looming danger upon the empire. His predecessor, the late Governor Kola Il, had started to study the case and made it a top defense topic.


    The idea was certainly great, there was an issue though. A piece of the document was missing and Governor Babida couldn''t find it anywhere, nor could he ask anyone about it.


    For the serenity of the population and the troop, no one had to even suspect that such a thing existed.


    However, since he had looked at the village from every part and wasn''t detecting any apparent threat, the lumberjack supposed and hoped that his deceased predecessor, His Highness Kola Il, had somehow solved the problem.


    So he decided, at least for the time of his wedding with the young maiden Suzie, to cease bothering about a danger he didn''t know and couldn''t see.


    There were at the moment more important things to focus on, that was to say, his forever alliance with the beautiful Suzie.


    And hopefully, in the upcoming night, the third moon was going to appear so he would marry the next day in the afternoon by the riverside.


    Therefore, just before sunset, the lumberjack stopped his long day of work and went to his room.


    Tired, he took nap until...


    "Your Highness! Your Highness! You may come quick." A panicking voice invited him to hastily wake up.


    Governor Babida blenched and got off his bed.


    "What''s going on?" He asked with a scolding voice to the imperial sentinel who came to disturb his rest.


    "Your Highness...we are attacked. You may come fast." The imperial guard insisted with more intensity.


    Then...


    Nooooooooooooo


    Someone suddenly screamed outside of the administrative headquarters. Babida rushed to his room''s window and noticed a vast moment of the troop and civilians running frantically in all directions.


    The woodsman measured right away the gravity of the situation. So he grabbed his axe and commanded the imperial sentinel to come with him outside.


    And as they moved out, they withnessed the other imperial sentinels of the administrative headquarters in total panic.


    However, the moment was not appropriate to ask them questions about what was going on. The situation was dramatic and it was essential to react fast.


    And moreover the logger preferred to go himself assess the situation outside, and hence make sure that he would come up with the most suitable counteraction.


    He continued his way and went down the stairs, then speedily crossed the hall and stepped outside, followed by the imperial sentinel who came to inform him about the chaos.


    As he set his foot on the yard, he saw people that were propelled in the air before landing dead on the ground.


    There was a powerful tornado that behaved as if it has a spirit in it, surely a bad one, and was running consciously and indiscriminately behind civilians and imperial soldiers, killing the weakest, the unluckiest, and the unwisely defiant.


    "Oh my goodness! What is this again, declared Babida the lumberjack as Okunde village was turning into shambles.


    TO BE CONTINUED...

 Part 10 (1)

    Babida the lumberjack and the beautiful Suzie''s marriage was planned to be held after the moon had appeared three times over the sky.


    Two moons had already occurred and only one was remaining before the two lovebirds could tie the knot forever in the peaceful and quiet village of Okunde since Babida the lumberjack along with his men in uniform decimated the terrifying bats and the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    However, Edimo, the god of ruin had not said his last word yet.


    The bad divinity had lost his two most devastating creatures and was sick, for his plan to take over the Batang empire was hence delayed or even worse destroyed.


    But Edimo had more than a trick in his bag of evilness. There was a devilish project that he had been working on all this while and the time had finally come for him to test the might of its new creature: the walking tornado. A calamity endowed with wisdom, power, and invincibility.


    A new monster in a way that the universe had never witnessed before.


    It was now for the first time into action, on full display in the god of ruin''s favorite playground, namely, the Okunde village.


    Babida the lumberjack witnessed the walking tornado chasing defenseless civilians and badly equipped imperial soldiers who consequently were being slaughtered and sent to the air like they were leaves.


    "What is this again?" asked the baffled Governor Babida as he stood in the yard holding tight a pole so he would not fly as well, for the walking tornado was sending a powerful wind toward the running and screaming men and women.


    "Your Highness!" suddenly shouted a male voice.


    Babida turned to look at where it was coming from but he couldn''t see the author of the shout.


    "Your Highness! Over here!" yelled the man even more powerfully.


    Finally, the lumberjack located the origin of the voice and spotted from a distance the henchman Polo who was waving at him and asking him to come to him.


    Babida the lumberjack along with the imperial sentinel who came to warn him of the danger while he was sleeping began to race as fast as they could toward the position of the aide-de-camp Polo.


    Unfortunately, as they were doing so, the imperial sentinel knocked over a stone and fell on the ground.


    Babida turned to help him out but the walking tornado which had remarked on the two men running to the other end of the yard, had now shifted its focus on them.


    It was coming at a rapid pace and with the panic, the lumberjack had trouble carrying him.


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    However, it was out of the question for the woodsman to lose once again under his watch a comrade.


    And the imperial sentinel was so young that he reminded Babida of the young lad Bodo who was killed by the newborn Monster during their scout mission in the forbidden mountain.


    So like he had suddenly found extra force, the lumberjack snatched the youngster from the ground and ran away with him under the pressure of the walking tornado.


    They then disappeared in the bushes with the henchman Polo who was impatiently waiting for them.


    In the middle of the night, Governor Babida carried the wounded imperial sentinel and guided by the henchman Polo, they reached a hideout.


    They were now far away from the walking tornado, the new devilish creature of Edimo, the god of ruin.


    The center of Okunde village was in turmoil. Many inhabitants were killed and the survivors tried to escape from the calamity and find a sanctuary.


    "Your Highness, you may wait over here!" suddenly suggested the aide-de-camp Polo who then marched alone toward a big stone.


    He looked around to check whether there was any suspicious movement and saw nothing.


    So, he took out from the right pocket of his silk trousers a bottle containing an undefined potion that he drank before pushing with all his strength the gigantic stone that was blocking the entrance of a cave.


    And as he was shifting the rock on the side, the light of a petrol lamp powerfully lit the way.


    He then made a sign to the lumberjack to come forward with the injured imperial guard.


    Governor Babida carried the youngster and entered the cave. And as soon as they had crossed the entrance, the big stone came back alone to its initial position and barricaded the passage.


    The henchman Polo went ahead and Governor Babida marched behind him as he spent a tremendous amount of energy carrying the massive body of the youngster.


    Soon they reached a spacious place that marveled the new Governor of Okunde, for there were thousands of refugees who had fled the village and come over there to protect their lives.


    The woodsman''s amazement increased, even more, when he saw how well-furnished the shelter was. So he exclaimed: "How in the world is this possible?"


    "An idea of late Governor Kola Il, Your Highness" replied the henchman Polo.


    "In fact, it was my idea. Anyway, it doesn''t matter anymore" added Polo the cunning.


    Governor Kola Il had learned from the divinities that Edimo, the god of ruin, was preparing a new creature even more demonic than the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    He sought the advice of the experienced aide-de-camp Polo and together they set a plan that they managed to not disclose till the last minute.


    They had thought about building a magical cave filled with food, beverage, medical material, mattresses, restrooms, and an amusement area for the kids, where people could stay during an attack or war.


    Governor Babida hence understood the incomplete top-secret case that he found on his desk when he began his new duties.


    He then sighed as he was relieved and pleased with the good deeds of his predecessor.


    Thanks to late Governor Kola 2''s foresight, many inhabitants of Okunde village saved their life and found refuge in the magical cave, a well-constructed sanctuary with all survival necessities.


    "Babida!" suddenly shouted a female voice.


    The lumberjack who was contemplating the eye-catching architecture of the main compartment of the cave took a break to look in front of him.


    He saw the young maiden Suzie running to where he was in a panic.


    A powerful emotion instantly took hold of him as his bride Suzie narrowed the distance between them.


    For the path seemed to be interminable, the groom Babida commenced to race as well toward her and met his wife to be in the middle of the main compartment of the underground.


    The two lovebirds passionately enlaced and the magic moment lasted for quite a while.


    Governor Babida''s eyes were filled with tears but he fought to retain the salty liquid in the orbit as he hugged tighter the love of his life.


    As for the young bride Suzie, she completely abandoned herself into the massive body of the logger and sobbed profusely, wetting hence the chest of Babida with her hot and big tears.


    The occupants of the shelter recognized the Governor of Okunde village and immediately surrounded him.


    Noticing the crowd that was growing around him, the lumberjack interrupted his enlacement with the young bride Suzie and turned his focus to the refugees.


    "Your Highness, save us and our children!" exclaimed a woman with a worried air, holding a small boy with her left hand.


    "Your Highness, we have never seen a monster with a power of such magnitude." declared an imperial warrior, very depressed.


    The woodsman looked at them and replied: "Shall the ancestors be with us!"


    "Be assured that we will do everything to protect you and your loved ones. You may now go back and resume whatever you were doing." He added as he took the left hand of the young maiden Suzie and they walked up to the left corner of the main compartment of the underground.


    They occupied a small space and sat on one of the mattresses then began a silent meditation.


    They implored the ancestors to preserve them from the deadly wrath of the walking tornado which was outside in the main arteries of the village destroying everything and killing the inhabitants and their domestic animals.

 Part 10 (2)

    "Your Highness!" shouted someone from far away.


    Governor Babida heaved his head to look in front of him and saw the interim henchman Baba who then began walking up to him at a fast pace and excitedly.


    "Your Highness, I''m so happy to see you. I was extremely worried about you. The attack surprised all of us in the mid-evening and we had either to retreat or perish since that strange walking tornado seemed invincible," confessed the aide-de-camp Baba to the woodsman.


    "I was outside, on the esplanade of the administrative headquarters, taking some fresh air when unexpectedly the temperature dropped considerably and the wind blew stronger. Leaves, sand, and objects of all sorts therefore began to fly. And then a massive tornado emerged." The henchman Baba recounted to Governor Babida who with the young maiden Suzie listened to him attentively.


    "However, what was the most striking was that in addition to its strength, the walking tornado seemed inhabited by an evil spirit with great intelligence. Indeed, it behaved as if it had a conscience. It was purposely following random people to kill them. It was staring at them and then chasing them. It stopped its race when its target escape. And also the imperial warriors didn''t know how to handle such a monster, with no body, no bones, and no blood but just made of wind. It was simply invincible." The youngster Baba went on, reporting his side of the story to Governor Babida who was now very thoughtful.


    "Thank you, comrade!" said the Governor of Okunde to him.


    The lumberjack thereupon rose and entered an intense reflection about the critical situation and the revelation from his henchman about the nature of the new enemy.


    Then he spoke to himself: "We shall see. We shall see!" with an air of defiance.


    Once his deep moment of thinking was done, he went back to sit next to his bride Suzie who was as well very concerned.


    Refugees were moving up and down in the main compartment of the magical cave.


    Children were having fun on the playground, unmindful of the danger that was outside, decimating other little boys and girls like them who didn''t have the chance to run away to a haven.


    Governor Babida was looking at them while his bride Suzie was holding him by the right hand and had her head laid on his right shoulder.


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    And suddenly the lumberjack as if he had found a way out of the walking tornado threat, stood up and told his entourage: "Wait a minute, I''m coming right back!"


    He then started to move toward the exit of the magical underground while the young maiden Suzie, his henchmen Polo and Baba, glanced at him gradually disappearing from their sight, and interrogated themselves about where the Supreme Commander was going and for what purpose.


    "But...my love..." said the bride Suzie as her groom Babida was unexpectedly departing.


    However, the latter never answered her back. He kept moving forward since what was in front of him at that moment was far more important than anything else, including their marriage.


    Putting an end to the walking tornado massacre was now the top of his priorities.


    And ultimately, the people behind him could no longer see his tall and massive physique. He was gone to the unknown.


    "Where is His Highness heading to ?" asked a refugee who like many others were taken aback by the woodsman''s departure.


    Nonetheless, no one could give him a response.


    The lumberjack was now alone in the long alley that led to the exit of the magical cave.


    He walked up very determined to stop the madness that was unfolding on the other side of the rock at the entrance of the shelter.


    Finally, he reached the big stone which detected a human presence and opened itself by rolling to the right side.


    The movement shook up a little bit Babida, for it was out of the blue.


    He got out of the cave which closed on his back. Governor Babida was then struck in the face by the sun which had long risen and was savagely shining over Okunde village.


    It was so hot that the black skin of the logger burn and he was forced to rush under a palm tree that was nearby on his left and protect himself from more harm by the impolite hot glowing ball upon the sky.


    "Oh my goodness! What a hellish sun up there!" exclaimed Babida as he sheltered under the cooling branches of the palm tree.


    "Well, I am going to stay and wait here for some time until the temperature decreases to a bearable level." He then added.


    The lumberjack sat on the grass, leaned against the palmea''s trunk and rested, extremely tired since his sleep had been disturbed last night by the unpredicted attack of the walking tornado.


    "Has anyone an idea of where Governor Babida is gone?" The young maiden Suzie quizzed the logger''s henchmen Polo and Baba.


    "Well, young Miss, I wished I knew. However, I am as ignorant as I believe, the youngster over here by my side is too. Isn''t it comrade?" replied the senior aide-de-camp Polo as he lightly tapped the right shoulder of his younger collaborator Baba with his left hand.


    "Yes My Commander, I don''t know either. But I''m just guessing." The interim henchman Baba declared.


    "Oh guessing? Well, may you speak out?" The senior henchman Polo asked his young collaborator.


    "My Commander, I think His Highness Babida is going back to his office." The aide-de-camp Baba revealed his mind.


    "Office?" exclaimed in unison the young miss Suzie and the senior henchman Polo so confused by the youngster Baba''s assumption.


    "Yes. But unfortunately, I can''t speak more about it, for it''s a State affair."


    "Oh I see, you can''t speak more because of me since I''m neither a military nor a stateswoman, so I can''t be told about it. Well, I understand anyway." expressed the young maiden Suzie a bit disappointed, nonetheless reasonable.


    "I''m sorry, young Miss!" told the aide-de-camp Baba, presenting his excuses to her.


    The senior henchman Polo stood quiet, for he knew what his younger comrade was assuming Governor Babida went to do in the office.


    Being a henchman allowed to have access to top military defense secrets, and to be aware of all key matters of the empire before anyone else down in the hierarchy.


    Hence, to avoid any breach by his younger collaborator, he switched the topic so the young maiden Suzie would not ask more questions and put the youngster Baba in an uncomfortable situation where he would mistakenly reveal military intelligence.


    "Oh, they are distributing hot beverages over there. Comrade, come with me and help me take one for the young miss." He suddenly said, distracting his entourage.


    "Oh yes, surely, My Commander!" replied the youngster, then followed the senior henchman who was already walking away.

 Part 10 (3)

    As they were walking to the hot beverages sector, the senior henchman Polo whispered to his young collaborator Baba: "Governor Babida went to consult the top secret document regarding that new monster, isn''t it?"


    "Yes, that''s what I think, My Commander! He has been working on it all these past few days. Though he didn''t involve anyone and worked alone on the case, I was able to check the document indeliberately when he forgot to put it away and had asked me to look for another one on his desk." The interim aide-de-camp Baba revealed.


    "You know, I worked on this topic with late Governor Kola Il and we had prepared a plan to reduce to zero the threat, among which the construction of this magical cave. But there''s a top secret winning strike against the walking tornado that had been drafted by the former Governor and hid somewhere maybe in the office or...I don''t know..." told the senior henchman Polo.


    The youngster Baba was thereupon pensive as they reached the drinking spot.


    "Please, three hot Chai, comrade!" asked the henchman Baba to an imperial warrior who volunteered to serve the tea to the refugees.


    "Right away, My Commander!" The waiter of particular circumstances replied.


    The two henchmen carried the drinks and walked up back to the position of the young maiden Suzie who was drowsy and hadn''t slept since her escape along with the other refugees from the walking tornado last night.


    "Sorry, young Miss! You may drink this beverage and then lie on the mattress to get some sleep." The aide-de-camp Polo told Suzie.


    "Thank you, My Commander! You have been very helpful since the passing of my uncle. Only the sky can reward you for your good deeds. I will make a prayer for you to the ancestors." said the young maiden Suzie to the senior henchman who was very pleased by her kind words.


    "Young Miss, you can always count on me," Polo answered back to her.


    "On me too!" exclaimed the youngster Baba after clearing his throat.


    The three refugees of the magical cave thereafter silently drank the hot Chai.


    The heat of the sun was finally declining as Babida the lumberjack woke up from his nap.


    "Ouf! At last, the weather is mild now. I can thus resume my way forward to the office. I need to find the missing piece of the top-secret document about that calamity. I know that it surely contains vital intelligence on how to handle this damned walking tornado." The woodsman told himself.


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    On these words, the Governor of Okunde Babida rose and continued his march ahead to the administrative headquarters from where the new monster had launched its savage attack on the village.


    In his solitary walk, the logger got lost in his thoughts. He wondered how he could defeat an enemy that was constituted of wind and had no bones, no flesh, and no blood.


    Governor Babida interrogated himself about how he could dominate an adversary that had no emotion, no feelings, and queried himself about how he could hence inflict pain on it as he did to the old and newborn Monsters of the forbidden mountain, as well as to the terrifying bats.


    However, he boosted himself to take up the challenge.


    "We shall see. We shall see." Babida the lumberjack repeated to himself as he could now perceive from a distance the administrative headquarters if one could call it again so, for the building was in shambles.


    "Oh my goodness!" cried out the Governor of Okunde at the sight of the completely demolished edifice.


    The walking tornado had gone away but had left its footprint. The monster had shown no mercy to anything that was standing in his path. The center of the village was in total ruin and bodies of imperial soldiers and civilians that could not make it to the magical cave or another shelter, were lying on the soil.


    The dismay of the woodsman was so great that his heart began to beat like a drum and threatened to pierce his chest and come out.


    Governor Babida let the Herculean steel axe that he was holding in his left hand go on the ground, and then kneeled before looking at the heavens and asking the ancestors: "My forefathers, why? Why? Why?"


    The chance to find the top secret document that contained a winning strike against the new phenomenon: the walking tornado, was maybe lost forever under the rubbles of the administrative headquarters.


    The predecessor of Governor Babida, the late Governor Kola Il, had worked on the case before his passing, classified it as a State affair, and hid a part of the document somewhere, probably in his office.


    The lumberjack had discovered the other piece of it but it was incomplete and key information was missing or written in a non-straightforward language that required to be initiated before one could understand what it was all about.


    With the recent events, the woodsman connected the attack of the walking tornado with the warning of looming aggression by a new creature of evil that was mentioned in the piece of the top-secret document that he found on the day he took office as Governor of Okunde.


    "What am going to do now?" said Governor Babida as he stood up.


    "It was already difficult to find the missing piece of the top secret document when the building was still up. Now that it has been pulled down by that cursed walking tornado, how tougher is it going to be to get it?" The lumberjack questioned himself.


    "Anyway, I have no choice but to clear the debris. No matter how long it''s going to take, I will turn all stones until I am certain it wasn''t safeguarded within the office or any other rooms of the administrative headquarters." Babida committed.


    He then picked up his axe and courageously advanced toward the rumbles before like a one-man army beginning to clear the wreckage.


    The lumberjack as if his might had tripled, with a strike of his Herculean steel axe made the stones fly as he freed the way to the position where his office was before the calamity put everything upside down.


    The logger''s determination was total and ultimately paid back. He reached the side where used to be his bureau and saw hundreds of documents covered by dust.


    He commenced to assemble them one after another until he randomly laid his hand on a rectangular box with a lock on it.


    "Oh, oh! Look what we have here!" Governor Babida said to himself.


    He then sat on a stone to try to open the container but the lock was sturdy. So he took his axe and brutally knocked the box and it fragmented into several chunks.


    However, a rolled papyrus tied in the middle with a red wire emerged from the receptacle.


    "Hmmm, what is this?" uttered Babida, delighted by his discovery as he picked it up and contemplated it as if it was a treasure.


    The woodsman thereafter slowly unfolded the sheet and was amazed by the "TOP SECRET" notice on the letterhead.


    He then began to silently explore the content and suddenly shouted: "Yes!" as he was done perusing it.


    Governor Babida retrieved his weapon and took the way back to the magical cave.

 Part 10 (4)

    The night was about to fall on Okunde when Babida the lumberjack reached the entrance of the magical cave.


    He tried to push on the side the big stone that obstructed the passage but he couldn''t.


    "Oh, no! This stone is magically affixed on the ground. How did the henchman Polo open it last time?" He spat out in frustration.


    "Yes, of course! It wouldn''t be a magical cave if one didn''t need magic to penetrate it." The woodsman assumed.


    "So what should I say or do to liberate the way in?" Governor Babida interrogated himself.


    "Ah, wait a minute! The top secret papyrus!" He exclaimed and took out the document from the right pocket of his silk trousers.


    The lumberjack read the sheet again and then loudly expressed himself: "Yes, right here! ABRACATULA".


    As he was done pronouncing the magical formula, he felt the big stone slightly move, making a very discreet sound of an unlocked door: ''Cac''.


    The logger thereupon pushed the massive rock to the left and freed the way. He nearly became blind because of the powerful light that was generated by the interior petrol lamp.


    The Governor of Okunde hence entered the magical underground and quickly walked in the long corridor that led to the main compartment of the shelter.


    Barely had he stepped his foot in the main area that an imperial soldier shouted: "His Highness Babida is back."


    All refugees directed their gaze at the Governor and immediately ran to welcome him.


    The young maiden Suzie who was lying on the mattress and had woken up from a short sleep not so long ago, stood up to grasp what was going on and perceived the muscular silhouette of her groom, then rushed toward his position.


    The two henchmen Polo and Baba were slumbering on a mattress that was twenty feet away from that of the young maiden Suzie.


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    They were dozing so profoundly that they didn''t hear the noise that the arrival of their Superior Commander caused.


    The bride Suzie reached the level of her husband-to-be, Babida but was blocked by the gigantic crowd that had surrounded the Governor of Okunde.


    So she stayed behind and hoped he would notice her, for he was busy talking to the imperial warriors and the civilians who had so many questions about the calamity and their future.


    Finally, the lumberjack heaved his head, looked to his right and spotted his crush Suzie and exclaimed: "Young Miss, you are there! Sorry I didn''t see you."


    Then he walked up to her and hugged her but very shyly, for there were too many people having their eyes on them.


    "Let''s go to your place!" Babida told the young maiden Suzie and they began to walk to her space at the left corner of the major compartment of the magical cave.


    The two henchmen were still snoozing. It was easy for anyone by the way they looked so far away in their dreams to remark that they had had a difficult last night.


    The two lovebirds Governor Babida and the young maiden Suzie sat on the mattress and it seemed like the bride had a question that she burned to ask her groom.


    "What?" queried the lumberjack.


    "Tell me, what would you like to say? I''m all ears." He incited the young miss to speak out.


    She hesitated for some time and ultimately took the plunge: "Well, my love. When are we finally going to marry? Three moons have already passed, though it was under the current dramatic situation."


    Governor Babida who had some doubt that the young bride Suzie was going to ask him about the wedding, glimpsed at her and then told her: "Soon, young Miss. Soon!"


    The young maiden Suzie was very sad, for the attack of the walking tornado had changed all plans, including her scheduled marriage with Governor Babida the lumberjack.


    However, the beautiful bride Suzie was as she had always been, that was to say reasonable. She understood very well that the priority of her groom Babida was to save the land from total destruction, first as the Stateman that he was and secondly as the national hero that people looked up to.


    Moreover, he had the trust of the Emperor, His Majesty Batang V, who had appointed him Governor, the second highest position in the land, and gave him the mission to rule over Okunde village.


    And also the woodsman had made history by being the first ruler of a province who was not a member of the imperial family.


    Therefore under these particular circumstances, there was no way that Babida the lumberjack could have carried on with his marriage.


    He had to prove to His Majesty that he well deserved all the hope and responsibilities that he had placed upon him.


    The young maiden Suzie looked at her groom who had the face lost in the clouds so thoughtful he was, then she leaned on him and laid her head on his right shoulder as a way to tell him: "My love, you are not alone in this fight against that calamity. You have my full support".


    To this affective gesture, Babida the lumberjack who captured the silent message of his crush, silently replied to her by bringing his left hand to his right shoulder and patting the young miss Suzie''s curly hair.


    They stayed in that warm and intense position for a good while. And it was only when some volunteers began to share collation that they were forced to break the body contact.


    "Oh, young Miss, they are sharing bread over there with coffee or...maybe Chai. Let me go and take some for us!" said the woodsman with the nicest voice that a groom could use to speak to his wife-to-be.


    "Okay, my love!" uttered the young maiden Suzie with a small and shy voice, for she wished nothing had disturbed their fusional moment.


    Governor Babida then stood up and went to the food distribution area.


    "Comrade, please for two slices of bread and two cups of hot...Chai? Or is it coffee?" asked the woodsman to an imperial warrior who was volunteering to share the meal with refugees.


    "Right away, Your Highness!" answered the imperial soldier to the Superior Commander Babida.


    He swiftly served the logger who thanked him before returning to the left corner of the main compartment of the magical cave where the young maiden Suzie was impatiently waiting for him.

 Part 10 (5)

    "A hot and sweetened Chai for the most beautiful maiden in the entire Batang empire." declared Babida the lumberjack to his bride Suzie as he gave her one of the two cups of tea that he was holding, making the latter blush.


    "Don''t you exaggerate a little bit, my love? There are many women in this land way prettier than I am?" The young Miss Suzie reacted.


    "Well, I wished I was hyperbolizing but I am not. The truth is that I am the luckiest man in the world. A hefty and bearded groom like me with the most refined beauty that could ever be. And hopefully, soon we shall wed." The woodsman answered her with a smiling face.


    The last sentence of her husband-to-be made the young maiden Suzie''s black cheeks become even redder.


    And out of the blueˇ­


    Haaaaaaaaaaa


    The senior henchman Polo woke up and yawned.


    "Oh, Your Highness!" He exclaimed, surprised to see that Babida the lumberjack was back in the magical cave from his outing earlier in the day.


    The aide-de-camp Polo stood up and gave the Governor of Okunde a military salute and while he was doing so, he mistakenly stepped on the left hand of the interim henchman Baba who was sleeping next to him.


    "Ouch!" The youngster screamed as he woke up, for the pain was horrible.


    "I am sorry, comrade!" told the senior aide-de-camp Polo to his younger collaborator as he removed his left foot that he wrongly laid on the latter''s left hand.


    The sleep in the eyes of the interim henchman Baba was thus gone and he jerked from the mattress when he glanced in front of him and realized that Governor Babida was present and sitting next to his bride Suzie.


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    Like the senior aide-de-camp, the youngster Baba rose hastily, saluted the Superior Commander Babida, and powerfully cried out: "Welcome back Your Highness!".


    "At ease!" ordered Governor Babida to his henchmen.


    Then he added: "Well, comrades we need to talk privately but before that, you may take some hot beverages and bread over there."


    "At your command, Your Highness!" The two aides-de-camp Polo and Baba replied to him in unison, then headed to the food distribution area of the magical cave.


    "Two hot cups of coffee, comrade, and with some bread." asked the senior aide-de-camp Polo to an imperial warrior who was distributing the collation for refugees.


    "I am sorry, My Commander, but we have Chai instead and have no coffee at the moment. Is that fine for you? replied the imperial soldier to the senior henchman Polo.


    "Uhhhh, well yes! Do we have a choice? I don''t think so. Then, let''s go for two cups of Chai, please!" The aide-de-camp Polo uttered.


    "Well, My Commander, here is one cup of Chai for you and another one for our young comrade right here."


    "Thank you, comrade!" replied the two henchmen Polo and Baba simultaneously to the imperial soldier who volunteered to supply the provisions.


    "And also here are two big slices of crispy bread!" The volunteer then said while handing the aliment over to the two aides-de-camp who took it and thanked him once more.


    Thereupon the henchmen moved back to the position of Governor Babida as they sipped the tea and chewed the bread, and at the same time whispered about what they thought the Superior Commander wanted to talk with them in private.


    "I''m pretty sure that His Highness wants to discuss the top-secret document related to the walking tornado." guessed the youngster, Baba.


    "Yes I do think so as well." stated the senior henchman Polo as they were about to reach the level of the lumberjack.


    "Ah, you are back, comrades!" exclaimed the woodsman who interrupted his passionate conversation with the young maiden Suzie to focus on the two men now in front of him.


    "Sorry, young Miss! I have a meeting with the men but I will be right back." The groom Babida told his bride, Suzie.


    He then rose and moved ahead to the right corner of the main compartment of the magical underground that was free and quiet.


    And as he was doing so, he invited the two henchmen Polo and Baba to follow him, which they did with some fear in their stomachs.


    Now that they were only three of them, though refugees glared at the group from away so curious they were, Governor Babida and the two aides-de-camp Polo and Baba could openly speak about State affairs.


    "Well, comrades, as you can suspect it, the matter that I would like us to exchange on, is of extreme significance." The logger Babida said as an opening statement.


    "I''m quite sure that you Polo, as the longtime late Governor Kola 2''s aide-de-camp, you''ve heard about a top-secret document warning of an upcoming threat but also how that danger could be eradicated." pursued the lumberjack as the young miss Suzie looked at them from a distance.


    "Yes indeed, Your Highness! I drafted the strategy with the late Governor. May his soul rest in peace!" Then declared the senior henchman Polo.


    "Great! So you know well about the winning strike that could stop once and for all the walking tornado. Hence you shall come with me along with Comrade Baba." The lumberjack spat out and began to take the way out of the magical cave.


    TO BE CONTINUEDˇ­

 Part 11 (1)

    Okunde village had suffered a dreadful attack from the walking tornado, a new maleficent creature of Edimo, the god of ruin.


    Governor Babida and his two henchmen Polo and Baba left the magical cave where certain imperial warriors and civilians including the young maiden Suzie had found refuge.


    The three men were now heading to a destination that the logger Babida was the only one to know. His aides-de-camp Polo and Baba were simply obeying his command to follow him and had no clue where they would stop by.


    The night was at its fullest as they were walking in the middle of bushes and had blurry vision, for there was no moon in the sky to enlighten the area.


    So consequently, the youngster Baba hit his foot against a stone and shouted a bit too loud because of the pain that it caused him.


    "Ouchhh!" The latter complained with a sharp tone of voice.


    The accident frightened Babida the lumberjack and the senior aide-de-camp Polo who jerked as if they were being assaulted by an enemy that was hiding in the obscure grasses.


    "What''s wrong, comrade?" inquired Governor Babida to the interim henchman Baba.


    "I knocked my left foot against a damned stone." replied the youngster Baba.


    "It''s very hurtful." He added.


    "Hmmm, you freaked the hell out of me." Governor Babida admitted to him.


    "Out of me also!" declared the senior henchman Polo who was a bit pissed off.


    "Sorry, Your Highness! Sorry, My Commander!" The interim aide-de-camp Baba apologized.


    The pain had now diminished and fortunately for the youngster, he didn''t sustain an injury. Hence the three men resumed their march ahead.


    However, Polo and Baba still had no idea where their Superior Commander Babida was taking them, though they knew that the ultimate goal of their night adventure was to topple the walking tornado with the winning strike that was enclosed in a top-secret document that was elaborated and secured by the former and late Governor Kola Il.


    Ultimately, since they were walking and it seemed that the way was still long, the senior henchman Polo decided to ask Governor Babida about where they were going.


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    "Your Highness, may we know our destination?" Polo said.


    "Look over there, comrade!" The lumberjack answered him while pointing in the direction of the river.


    Governor Babida had discovered the top-secret document containing the winning strike against the walking tornado and instructed his henchmen Polo and Baba to follow him without disclosing to them his destination.


    And finally, the walk through the bushes took the three men to Okunde''s river where Babida the lumberjack intended to perform a ritual that would endow him with incredible might.


    However, he needed assistance and had with him one of the key men who had drafted a part of the confidential war strategy.


    The Mastermind of the whole plan, Governor Kola Il, was no more but his henchman Polo was still alive and in good physical condition.


    "Well, comrades, we have reached the first spot of our journey, " said Governor Babida to the henchmen Polo and Baba who had been trailing the Superior Commander on his order.


    "Comrade Polo, I know that now you understand why we are here since you worked on the winning strike with the former Governor. However, I don''t know to which extent you were involved in the strategy but for sure you can help with decoding the message," uttered the lumberjack before removing from his right pocket the top-secret document.


    "I have right here with me the formula of the winning strike but I have to apply it properly and I am going to rely on you," said the woodsman with a serious air.


    "Of course, comrade Baba, I am counting on your bright mind too." Babida the lumberjack told the young henchman.


    Then he unfolded the papyrus and began to read it despite the low vision due to the extreme obscurity.


    First, Governor Babida whispered the beginning of the document to himself and when he reached the line of the winning strike formula, he raised his voice.


    "Yes, right here!" He declared.


    "Alright, comrades, listen carefully!" The logger called for the henchmen''s attention.


    "EERHT SEKIRTS NO EHT TFEL, EERHT SEKIRTS NO EHT THGIR, ENO SEKIRTS NI EHT TRAEH," read Governor Babida with some difficulties.


    "The warrior should perform this formula in Okunde''s river as he invoked Ebuka, the god of purity and he shall become invincible in combat against the enemy," added the woodsman.


    The henchmen Polo and Baba were baffled as they realized that late Governor Kola Il had discovered the secret of invincibility, which was exactly what was necessary to match the power of the walking tornado which had the same skill and was hence unbeatable by any normal human being.


    Now it was remaining for the men to successfully interpret the code.


    The henchman Polo asked the Superior Commander Babida to hand him over the papyrus so he could read the complex formula.


    With no delay, the lumberjack gave him the document and the senior henchman Polo began to peruse it. He then admitted to the dismay of Governor Babida that he hadn''t worked with the former ruler of Okunde Kola Il on that particular part of the top-secret document.


    The aide-de-camp Polo explained to the logger that Governor Kola II redacted or found the formula of the winning strike alone and never spoke to him about such a thing. He confessed that he was just learning about it.


    Seeing that his senior collaborator was unable to help, the youngster Baba told him to pass the sheet on to him, which the henchman Polo did immediately.


    The interim aide-de-camp Baba then started to read and on the winning strike line, he shouted: "Oh, I know. We need a mirror."


    "And where to find it?" Interrogated Babida the lumberjack.


    "Well, it is written in the document that the warrior as he performs the ritual, should invoke Ebuka, the god of purity." The youngster Baba spat out.


    "And it''s because by doing so, the river will become so clear that one can see his reflection and that of any object orˇ­WORDS." He explained with maestria.


    "My goodness, what a genius you are, comrade!" exclaimed Governor Babida who was very impressed by the young aide-de-camp Baba.


    "Give me the papyrus!" asked the logger to the youngster who hastened to do so.


    The lumberjack commenced calling the name of Ebuka, the god of purity. And when he was done doing so, the moon appeared over the sky and enlightened Okunde''s river to the extent that everything had its reflection in the water which was the clearer that could ever be.


    Governor Babida came closer to the riverside and presented the scriptures of the papyrus to the water. While the words that before could be read normally were reversed and incomprehensible, the formula of the winning strike on the contrary was in the most explicit form that could ever be.


    "THREE STRIKES ON THE LEFT, THREE STRIKES ON THE RIGHT, ONE STRIKE IN THE HEART" Babida the lumberjack could now read.


    The logger thereupon lifted his axe and struck the water as the formula recommended him and the water of the Okunde''s river rose to the sky before turning into a massive rain accompanied by thunder.

 Part 11 (2)

    The execution of the winning strike ritual by Babida the lumberjack provoked over Okunde village a heavy rain that was associated with a lightning bolt that rumbled and made Edimo, the god ruin, shake in the kingdom of pain.


    The bad divinity felt in his body that something with tremendous power had just happened on earth and represented a serious threat to his plan to take over the Batang empire.


    The god of destruction felt a power that was greater than that he had conferred to his new creature, the walking tornado.


    In a panic and out of anger, he commissioned a witch of evil to earth so she would look at what had made the kingdom of pain vibrate.


    With no further ado, the evil servant disappeared before her Master and took the route to the men''s planet.


    Governor Babida who was accompanied by the henchmen Polo and Baba, was now under the unstoppable rain on his way forward to the downtown of Okunde where the walking tornado had been seen for the last time.


    The Superior Commander Babida was possessed by the spirit of invincibility since he now mastered the skill of the winning strike after pronouncing the magical formula that was concealed in the top-secret document, and thereafter performing the ritual that was attached to it.


    Whereas the henchmen Polo and Baba were intimidated by the growling rain, Governor Babida on the contrary felt untouchable, for his strength was multiplied by an undefined number.


    He was ready to take on the walking tornado and was intensely seeking the cold monster with sharp eyes in the middle of the wreckage that it had caused the night before.


    And suddenly, following a violent thunder a witch of evil appeared laughing in front of Governor Babida and his henchmen Polo and Baba.


    Hahahaha


    The servant of the god ruin mocked Babida the lumberjack who nonetheless kept moving ahead whereas his entourage was a bit impressed by the bad witch''s nocturnal apparition and slowed down their pace.


    Then she declared: "So you are the one to have caused such a big rain and hence disturbed the peace of my master?"


    "Therefore you shall dearly pay for your audacity." The wicked witch spat out in defiance.


    As she was done blaming the woodsman, the rain got even stronger to the point that it destabilized the confidence that the evil sorceress had displayed at the beginning.


    She was thereupon unbalanced by the power of the raindrops that hit her so strongly that one would have said they were stones.


    Her defiant words had not affected the logger and ultimately she was compelled to run away and go back to her lord.


    Babida the lumberjack and his companions continued their march forward until they arrived in the center of the village.


    As they set foot on the lawn of Okunde''s garden, the wild rain ceased and a whistling wind began to intriguingly blow.


    As the seconds were passing by, the wind gained in intensity to the extent that leaves, light objects, and dust flew high in the air.


    After some time the wind became even bigger and heavy objects could now levitate.


    And it steadily continued to increase until its velocity could carry human beings. The henchmen Polo and Baba thus grabbed Governor Babida by his arms so they would not hover in the air.


    They stood firmly on the ground and didn''t move even for an inch. They leaned on the unbelievable strength of Babida the lumberjack who looked like a superwarior.


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    The stalemate remained for a good while. So finally the calm returned over the area as the wind failed to form a tornado and swallow the three men.


    "We won!" Said Governor Babida the lumberjack as he sighed in relief.


    The aides-de-camp Polo and Baba looked at the Superior Commander Babida, with their eyes that were filled with incomprehension.


    "Let''s go back to the magical cave and announce the good news to the men and women and of course the children. Life can at last restart in Okunde. The walking tornado has been defeated." Governor Babida told the henchmen Polo and Baba.


    "As for me, I have a marriage to finalize with the young maiden Suzie. The time has finally come." The woodsman stated.


    The three men then took the way back to the magical cave.


    Governor Babida once again had won a battle against evil and hence caused turmoil in the kingdom of pain.


    The lord Edimo, the god of ruin, was very upset and decided to punish the witch he had sent on earth to investigate about the great power that he felt after Babida the lumberjack read the magical formula of the winning strike, performed the ritual to acquire the skill and consequently was endowed with the spirit of invincibility.


    "You are good for nothing," said Edimo, the god of destruction, to the begging witch before mightily slapping her.


    The sorceress of evil was ejected from the kingdom of pain into the infinite depths of the universe. She cried out as she made her journey to the dark sphere.


    "Finally, I have to handle the matter myself. None of these creatures can accomplish the least of missions." Edimo, the god of ruin, resolved himself.


    In the meantime, Governor Babida and his henchmen Polo and Baba returned to the magical cave.


    As they set foot in the main compartment of the shelter, all gazes were directed at them.


    "Governor Babida is back with the henchmen," shouted a refugee, visibly excited to see the Superior Commander and his entourage.


    The crowd immediately surrounded them.


    Without delay, Babida the lumberjack began to speak to them.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, my children, comrades, you can leave the shelter now. Outside is presently safe since we have defeated the walking tornado. As for how we achieved it, the explanation will be for another time. For now, let''s go back home. If your house has been taken down, please register with my henchmen right here. The administrative headquarters have been destroyed but we will install temporary offices in Okunde''s garden. May the ancestors give us strength!" stated the woodsman to a silent crowd.


    Babida the lumberjack terminated his speech and immediately directed himself toward the left corner of the main compartment of the shelter where his bride Suzie was standing and looking at him gradually advancing to her position.


    The crowd dispersed and the refugees went to pack their belongings and took their way out of the magical cave.


    A long rank was hence formed to avoid jams in the narrow alley to the big stone at the exit.


    A woman and her two children were the first to reach the massive rock that at the sight of the refugees, rolled itself to the right side, revealing thus the rising sun over the sky.


    "Wow, it''s so beautiful!" The mother of the kids expressed her amazement at the view of the yellow heaven as they stepped out.


    One after another, people left the magical cave but Governor Babida, his wife-to-be Suzie, and the henchmen Polo and Baba remained for a while, for they had an important matter to discuss.


    "So young Miss, I''m all yours from now on. Tomorrow afternoon, we shall marry by the riverside. The two gentlemen right here are going to be our witnesses and unfortunately our sole guests. The five other men that we selected from the troop to take part in the wedding ceremony are regrettably among the fallen imperial soldiers." declared the groom Babida.


    "I have been waiting for this moment, my love. I had prepared a very beautiful wedding dress but I heard you tell the crowd that the administrative headquarters have been demolished by that cursed monster. So my outfit is gone now." Suzie confessed with sadness.


    "No matter how you are clothed, you always look beautiful to me. Of course, I understand the pain that it causes you but we might have another chance to celebrate our wedding with great fanfare." The lumberjack told his bride Suzie.


    "Let''s go now!" The woodsman added.


    After these words, the henchmen Polo and Baba took the lead and Governor Babida with the young maiden Suzie walked behind them.


    They arrived at the exit of the magical cave, stepped out and witnessed the big stone close itself behind them and make a light sound, ''Doum''.


    The four former refugees turned to look at the rock and were filled with emotion.


    Then they resumed their walk ahead. They had no more homes and had to find where they could stay until the administrative headquarters were rebuilt.


    In the meantime, the Emperor His Majesty Batang V who consulted with the imperial palace Oracles in Ekule received the news that the calm was back in Okunde and the walking tornado was eliminated by Governor Babida.


    The seers of His Majesty went on by reporting to him that there was a high number of casualties and Governor Babida needed swift help to restore his region of command.


    So the Emperor ordered the Governors of Ekule and Okala to send military and material support to their counterpart in Okunde.


    Governor Babida wasn''t aware of what was going on in the imperial city Ekule since the administrative headquarters was down and consequently, the communication cables were damaged.


    "I hope that the Oracles of the imperial palace have already informed His Majesty about our situation here and that support is already underway," uttered the woodsman to his entourage.


    "Yes, I think that they will come soon, Your Highness," asserted the senior aide-de-camp Polo.


    "Yes, they have to," confirmed the youngster Baba as they now take the road to Okunde''s garden.


    Imperial warriors were already cleaning up the big mess caused by the calamity and reconstructing the tents.


    Governor Babida saw this and was very pleased with the men in uniform.


    "Good job!" He repeated to each of them as he was moving forward with his bride Suzie and the two henchmen Polo and Baba.


    Finally, they reached an isolated area of Okunde''s garden and decided to stop their journey there and built a tent as fast as they could before sunset.


    While Governor Babida began to dig holes with his steel axe, the aides-de-camp Polo and Baba went to seek wooden poles from the wreckage and all sorts of components they deemed necessary to raise a solid outdoor shelter.


    The young maiden Suzie thought about making food for the men at work. So she went into the bushes nearby and collected ripe avocados from a flourishing avocado tree, then she found yellow bananas from a banana tree.


    She thereafter went back to Okunde''s garden and met the lumberjack and the henchmen fully immersed in the construction of the tent.


    The young maiden Suzie then cut leaves from the nearby palm tree which she used like plates and served the avocados and bananas that she had peeled.


    She invited the hardworking men to take a break, for they would need tremendous energy to finalize the shelter before the night fell.


    "Big boys, come get some strength." The young maiden Suzie told them.


    They halted their work and rushed to eat the visually attractive meal.

 Part 11 (2)

    The execution of the winning strike ritual by Babida the lumberjack provoked over Okunde village a heavy rain that was associated with a lightning bolt that rumbled and made Edimo, the god ruin, shake in the kingdom of pain.


    The bad divinity felt in his body that something with tremendous power had just happened on earth and represented a serious threat to his plan to take over the Batang empire.


    The god of destruction felt a power that was greater than that he had conferred to his new creature, the walking tornado.


    In a panic and out of anger, he commissioned a witch of evil to earth so she would look at what had made the kingdom of pain vibrate.


    With no further ado, the evil servant disappeared before her Master and took the route to the men''s planet.


    Governor Babida who was accompanied by the henchmen Polo and Baba, was now under the unstoppable rain on his way forward to the downtown of Okunde where the walking tornado had been seen for the last time.


    The Superior Commander Babida was possessed by the spirit of invincibility since he now mastered the skill of the winning strike after pronouncing the magical formula that was concealed in the top-secret document, and thereafter performing the ritual that was attached to it.


    Whereas the henchmen Polo and Baba were intimidated by the growling rain, Governor Babida on the contrary felt untouchable, for his strength was multiplied by an undefined number.


    He was ready to take on the walking tornado and was intensely seeking the cold monster with sharp eyes in the middle of the wreckage that it had caused the night before.


    And suddenly, following a violent thunder a witch of evil appeared laughing in front of Governor Babida and his henchmen Polo and Baba.


    Hahahaha


    The servant of the god ruin mocked Babida the lumberjack who nonetheless kept moving ahead whereas his entourage was a bit impressed by the bad witch''s nocturnal apparition and slowed down their pace.


    Then she declared: "So you are the one to have caused such a big rain and hence disturbed the peace of my master?"


    "Therefore you shall dearly pay for your audacity." The wicked witch spat out in defiance.


    As she was done blaming the woodsman, the rain got even stronger to the point that it destabilized the confidence that the evil sorceress had displayed at the beginning.


    She was thereupon unbalanced by the power of the raindrops that hit her so strongly that one would have said they were stones.


    Her defiant words had not affected the logger and ultimately she was compelled to run away and go back to her lord.


    Babida the lumberjack and his companions continued their march forward until they arrived in the center of the village.


    As they set foot on the lawn of Okunde''s garden, the wild rain ceased and a whistling wind began to intriguingly blow.


    As the seconds were passing by, the wind gained in intensity to the extent that leaves, light objects, and dust flew high in the air.


    After some time the wind became even bigger and heavy objects could now levitate.


    And it steadily continued to increase until its velocity could carry human beings. The henchmen Polo and Baba thus grabbed Governor Babida by his arms so they would not hover in the air.


    They stood firmly on the ground and didn''t move even for an inch. They leaned on the unbelievable strength of Babida the lumberjack who looked like a superwarior.


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    The stalemate remained for a good while. So finally the calm returned over the area as the wind failed to form a tornado and swallow the three men.


    "We won!" Said Governor Babida the lumberjack as he sighed in relief.


    The aides-de-camp Polo and Baba looked at the Superior Commander Babida, with their eyes that were filled with incomprehension.


    "Let''s go back to the magical cave and announce the good news to the men and women and of course the children. Life can at last restart in Okunde. The walking tornado has been defeated." Governor Babida told the henchmen Polo and Baba.


    "As for me, I have a marriage to finalize with the young maiden Suzie. The time has finally come." The woodsman stated.


    The three men then took the way back to the magical cave.


    Governor Babida once again had won a battle against evil and hence caused turmoil in the kingdom of pain.


    The lord Edimo, the god of ruin, was very upset and decided to punish the witch he had sent on earth to investigate about the great power that he felt after Babida the lumberjack read the magical formula of the winning strike, performed the ritual to acquire the skill and consequently was endowed with the spirit of invincibility.


    "You are good for nothing," said Edimo, the god of destruction, to the begging witch before mightily slapping her.


    The sorceress of evil was ejected from the kingdom of pain into the infinite depths of the universe. She cried out as she made her journey to the dark sphere.


    "Finally, I have to handle the matter myself. None of these creatures can accomplish the least of missions." Edimo, the god of ruin, resolved himself.


    In the meantime, Governor Babida and his henchmen Polo and Baba returned to the magical cave.


    As they set foot in the main compartment of the shelter, all gazes were directed at them.


    "Governor Babida is back with the henchmen," shouted a refugee, visibly excited to see the Superior Commander and his entourage.


    The crowd immediately surrounded them.


    Without delay, Babida the lumberjack began to speak to them.


    "Ladies and gentlemen, my children, comrades, you can leave the shelter now. Outside is presently safe since we have defeated the walking tornado. As for how we achieved it, the explanation will be for another time. For now, let''s go back home. If your house has been taken down, please register with my henchmen right here. The administrative headquarters have been destroyed but we will install temporary offices in Okunde''s garden. May the ancestors give us strength!" stated the woodsman to a silent crowd.


    Babida the lumberjack terminated his speech and immediately directed himself toward the left corner of the main compartment of the shelter where his bride Suzie was standing and looking at him gradually advancing to her position.


    The crowd dispersed and the refugees went to pack their belongings and took their way out of the magical cave.


    A long rank was hence formed to avoid jams in the narrow alley to the big stone at the exit.


    A woman and her two children were the first to reach the massive rock that at the sight of the refugees, rolled itself to the right side, revealing thus the rising sun over the sky.


    "Wow, it''s so beautiful!" The mother of the kids expressed her amazement at the view of the yellow heaven as they stepped out.


    One after another, people left the magical cave but Governor Babida, his wife-to-be Suzie, and the henchmen Polo and Baba remained for a while, for they had an important matter to discuss.


    "So young Miss, I''m all yours from now on. Tomorrow afternoon, we shall marry by the riverside. The two gentlemen right here are going to be our witnesses and unfortunately our sole guests. The five other men that we selected from the troop to take part in the wedding ceremony are regrettably among the fallen imperial soldiers." declared the groom Babida.


    "I have been waiting for this moment, my love. I had prepared a very beautiful wedding dress but I heard you tell the crowd that the administrative headquarters have been demolished by that cursed monster. So my outfit is gone now." Suzie confessed with sadness.


    "No matter how you are clothed, you always look beautiful to me. Of course, I understand the pain that it causes you but we might have another chance to celebrate our wedding with great fanfare." The lumberjack told his bride Suzie.


    "Let''s go now!" The woodsman added.


    After these words, the henchmen Polo and Baba took the lead and Governor Babida with the young maiden Suzie walked behind them.


    They arrived at the exit of the magical cave, stepped out and witnessed the big stone close itself behind them and make a light sound, ''Doum''.


    The four former refugees turned to look at the rock and were filled with emotion.


    Then they resumed their walk ahead. They had no more homes and had to find where they could stay until the administrative headquarters were rebuilt.


    In the meantime, the Emperor His Majesty Batang V who consulted with the imperial palace Oracles in Ekule received the news that the calm was back in Okunde and the walking tornado was eliminated by Governor Babida.


    The seers of His Majesty went on by reporting to him that there was a high number of casualties and Governor Babida needed swift help to restore his region of command.


    So the Emperor ordered the Governors of Ekule and Okala to send military and material support to their counterpart in Okunde.


    Governor Babida wasn''t aware of what was going on in the imperial city Ekule since the administrative headquarters was down and consequently, the communication cables were damaged.


    "I hope that the Oracles of the imperial palace have already informed His Majesty about our situation here and that support is already underway," uttered the woodsman to his entourage.


    "Yes, I think that they will come soon, Your Highness," asserted the senior aide-de-camp Polo.


    "Yes, they have to," confirmed the youngster Baba as they now take the road to Okunde''s garden.


    Imperial warriors were already cleaning up the big mess caused by the calamity and reconstructing the tents.


    Governor Babida saw this and was very pleased with the men in uniform.


    "Good job!" He repeated to each of them as he was moving forward with his bride Suzie and the two henchmen Polo and Baba.


    Finally, they reached an isolated area of Okunde''s garden and decided to stop their journey there and built a tent as fast as they could before sunset.


    While Governor Babida began to dig holes with his steel axe, the aides-de-camp Polo and Baba went to seek wooden poles from the wreckage and all sorts of components they deemed necessary to raise a solid outdoor shelter.


    The young maiden Suzie thought about making food for the men at work. So she went into the bushes nearby and collected ripe avocados from a flourishing avocado tree, then she found yellow bananas from a banana tree.


    She thereafter went back to Okunde''s garden and met the lumberjack and the henchmen fully immersed in the construction of the tent.


    The young maiden Suzie then cut leaves from the nearby palm tree which she used like plates and served the avocados and bananas that she had peeled.


    She invited the hardworking men to take a break, for they would need tremendous energy to finalize the shelter before the night fell.


    "Big boys, come get some strength." The young maiden Suzie told them.


    They halted their work and rushed to eat the visually attractive meal.

 Part 11 (3)

    Governor Babida and the henchmen Polo and Baba finished feeding themselves with the nice meal that the young maiden Suzie made for them from the avocado and banana trees that she found in the bushes.


    The three big men ate the tasty repast and got the extra force to build an emergency tent on the lawn of Okunde''s garden before sunset.


    They had no more homes after the walking tornado scattered the administrative headquarters where they had offices and lodgings.


    The three men resumed the construction works as the afternoon began. Hopefully, for them, the hot sun rays were filtered by the leaves of palm trees above their heads and the wind generated by the moving branches was cooling their place.


    The young maiden Suzie was watching the big men at work while eating the remaining avocados and bananas that they left for her with compassion.


    In the meantime, she was also projecting herself into her marriage scheduled for the next day in the afternoon by the riverside.


    The walking tornado had shattered her dream but now there were no obstacles, no threat from any monster.


    The sky was blue and normal life was restarting albeit the wreckage and the bodies of victims reminded her of the sad attack of the calamity.


    Sometime after, the young bride Suzie got tired of looking at the men building a shelter that seemed never-ending.


    So she became sleepy and went to lie in the grasses a few feet away from the tent under construction.


    She looked incredibly beautiful. Babida the lumberjack glanced at his wife-to-be and felt lucky that such an angelic woman wanted to wed a massive man like him.


    The instant lasted a few seconds but it motivated the woodsman Babida who had a sudden surplus of energy. His movements were now faster and his gestures more accurate.


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    The henchmen Polo and Baba were boosted by the incredible pace of their Superior Commander.


    As the sun started to fade away, the three men completed the tent that was looking robust and fancy.


    Imperial warriors were amazed by the shelter of their Superior Commander and wished they had built theirs as beautifully as his.


    "Your Highness, you have multiple talents," said an imperial warrior to Governor Babida.


    "Thank you, comrade! But it''s the result of teamwork with the comrades right here." The lumberjack replied to the imperial soldier and tapped the shoulders of the henchman Polo and Baba.


    "Your Highness, I would rather say that it''s the result of the avocados and bananas that your bride gave to us," joked the youngster Baba, causing the laughter of everyone around and the waking up of the young maiden Suzie.


    "Oh, oh! Hum hum!" Whispered Governor Babida to indicate to his men to change the topic.


    "Well, I need to have some rest now. Tomorrow I''m witnessing a marriage between the second most powerful man in the Batang empire with the most beautiful woman ever," told the youngster Baba who then went inside the tent and lay on the palm leaves that recovered the ground.


    "I''m going to do the same, Your Highness. Good night, comrades!" The senior henchman Polo addressed the lumberjack and imperial warriors that were around.


    The logger Babida then went to where his bride Suzie was and sat next to her.


    "How are you feeling, young Miss? Ready for the big day tomorrow?" The groom Babida asked his bride Suzie.


    "Yes, I am my love!" She shyly answered.


    "Great! As for me, I need to go and have some sleep too. The construction of the tent has squeezed me." Babida the lumberjack told his crush.


    "Fine, my love! I will join you later." The young maiden Suzie replied to the woodsman.


    Governor Babida stood and went to the tent and lay on the ground like the two henchmen Polo and Baba did before him.


    The bride Suzie stayed on the lawn of Okunde''s garden and contemplated the stars in the sky. She prayed that the ancestors bless her union with Babida the lumberjack.


    "Our forefathers, lay a favorable hand upon my head and that of your servant Babida and bestow your favors upon us as we are going to marry tomorrow in the afternoon." The maiden Suzie implored the divinities.


    As she was done calling the gods of the Batang people, a glowing butterfly appeared and flew over her head before landing on the young miss'' curly hair.


    She felt so relaxed and smiled while looking at the sky where she could see the faces of her late grandmother and uncle Bibi.


    The young maiden Suzie rose and went inside the tent, lay next to her husband-to-be Babida, and fell asleep.


    The night was short and it was a new day in Okunde.


    The men in uniform in Okunde''s garden felt a vast movement of the ground that suddenly became shaky.


    Then one of them shouted enthusiastically: "Over there come a thousand men to back us up."


    All men in the tents came out to witness the moment. They were invaded by great joy at the sight of their peers who advanced to their position with a confident allure.


    The men in the thousand battalion were equipped with all sorts of military and medical materials for defense, reconstruction, and healthcare.


    They possessed swords, daggers, arrows and arcs, slingshots, hammers, shovels, axes, horses, camels, coaches, wires, food, and medical kits.


    A man was walking ahead and showing the way to the thousand warriors battalion.


    Governor Babida and the henchmen Polo and Baba were still sleeping so tired they were after their very active and recent past days. Suzie had gone to the river to take a bath of purification before her wedding.


    An imperial warrior hence rushed to his tent to inform the lumberjack that the imperial backup had arrived.

 Part 11 (4)

    "Your Highness, Your Highness! You may rise! The Emperor has sent us backups," whispered the imperial warrior who precipitously went to the tent of Babida the lumberjack to tell him about what was going on outside.


    The Governor of Okunde opened his eyes but he remained half-asleep. The informant then repeated with a low voice what he had just said previously: "Your Highness, you may come outside. His Majesty Batang V has sent us a one thousand men battalion."


    However, the newsman was walking on the palm leaves that covered the ground, and his steps made a crispy noise. So the henchmen Polo and Baba also woke up.


    "What''s happening, comrade?" asked the woodsman Babida to the informant.


    "Your Highness, there is a thousand men battalion sent by the Emperor and that is at the moment about five hundred feet away from us," revealed the newsman.


    "Oh really?" replied Babida the lumberjack who instantly stood up so pleased by the news that he just received.


    The aides-de-camp Polo and Baba, like their Commander in chief rose. The big news ended their desire to sleep.


    In the meantime, the young maiden Suzie was back from the river where she went to purify herself before her marriage with the Governor of Okunde later in the day.


    "Good morning, my love! We have an impressive number of new men in uniform coming to reinforce your depleted troop." The young bride excitedly shared the news with her groom.


    "Good morning, young Miss. Well, that''s what we are about to go to witness." The woodsman answered her.


    He immediately left the tent with the henchmen Polo and Baba and the informant. The bride Suzie stayed alone in the shelter.


    "Wow!" Governor Babida exclaimed when he perceived the one thousand men battalion who kept advancing to Okunde''s garden at a regular and artistic pace.


    The parade of the backup troop was so agreeable to watch and marveled not only the lumberjack and the men in uniform next to him but also the inhabitants of the village who began to come outside in big numbers and acclaimed the new battalion.


    The one thousand men backup troop was led by a charismatic warrior that looked from a distance almost as enormous and tall as the logger Babida.


    They kept on the march ahead proudly and when they were around three hundred feet away from Okunde''s garden, Governor Babida decided to advance toward them to give them a warm welcome.


    He instructed his henchmen Polo and Baba to accompany him and meet halfway the new men of honor.


    "Come with me, comrades!" The Superior Commander Babida told them and they commenced moving forward.


    After a few feet, they were now in front of the one thousand men battalion that stopped at the command of the army general that was leading them.


    "Be welcome to Okunde, General!" said Governor Babida to the Commander of the backup troop.


    "Greetings, Your Highness!" He replied as he gave the woodsman a military salute.


    The General then invited the Governor of Okunde to inspect the troop.


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    "You may review the troop, your Highness." The General told him.


    Babida the lumberjack stepped forward, leaving the henchmen Polo and Baba behind.


    Rank after rank, the one thousand men backup battalion greeted the Superior Commander Babida as he walked past them.


    Once the inspection of the new men in uniform was done, the logger Babida told the General to command his men to resume their walk ahead, which the superior officer executed instantly.


    "Forward, march!" The General shouted with a big voice and the new men in uniform moved once more at the same impressive and organized pace that caught the attention of the crowd before.


    They arrived in Okunde''s garden where their counterparts had lined up to welcome them.


    The old and depleted troop was barely two hundred men after the walking tornado aggression.


    The survivors were emotional and began to silently weep at the sight of their new comrades.


    Governor Babida then ordered the senior henchman Polo to introduce the old troop to the General.


    The officer reviewed the tired and decimated troop that greeted him as he moved around them guided by Governor Babida''s senior aide-de-camp Polo.


    Done, the lumberjack invited the old men to embrace then assist the new men with the bagage and show them around.


    "Comrades, you may welcome and thereafter help the new men unload the vehicles and animals before strolling with them around so they can quickly measure the extent of the damages and the work that awaits them." Governor Babida instructed the old men.


    "You are under the orders of my henchman Baba. You shall report to him your needs or troubles." He added.


    "General, you may come with me, please!" Babida the lumberjack then told the leader of the backup troop.


    "Comrade, your company is needed. Come with us!" The woodsman addressed the senior henchman Polo.


    And they walked in the direction of the wreckage of the administrative headquarters.


    Governor Babida arrived with the Commander of the backup troop at the ruins of the administrative headquarters. The henchman Polo walked silently behind the two powerful men and listened over their conversation.


    "Generalˇ­.?" Babida the lumberjack tried to call the superior officer by his name but the latter had not yet introduced himself.


    "General Dipi, Your Highness!" replied the high-ranking officer.


    "Well General Dipi, here is the wreckage of our offices and lodgings. We need to rebuild the building as fast as possible," said Babida the lumberjack to the leader of the new men in uniform.


    "Well noted, Your Highness, today my men will take some rest after their long journey from the imperial city Ekule for some of them and from the northern village Okala for the others, '''' answered the imperial General.


    "But tomorrow after sunrise, once the men will be done with the breakfast, I will assign fifty of them for the construction of the administrative edifice." General Dipi added.


    "Thank you, General!" Governor Babida uttered, very pleased by the announcement of the Chief of the backup force.


    "Now General, we may go back to the garden, today is my marriage date with my bride. The ceremony will be by the riverside in the afternoon. We will be happy that you play the role of the priest and celebrate our union." The woodsman invited General Dipi to the big event of his life.


    "That''s wonderful news, Your Highness. It''s a great honor that you offer me to be the priest, which I hereby accept," declared the Commander of the backup troop to Governor Babida.


    They then turned and took the way back to Okunde''s garden, always trailed by the henchman Polo who kept quiet.


    The men of the old troop were almost done helping the men of the new force discharge the vehicles and animals.


    "Ah, that''s excellent. Our men are working fast. Soon all the material and provisions will be safeguarded." Babida the lumberjack spat out delightedly.


    "Yes, your Highness! Our men are getting along pretty fast and it''s promising for the reconstruction of the village," underscored General Dipi.


    While the two Commanders were speaking, the young maiden Suzie came from behind and was looking extremely beautiful with the white roses around her curly hair.


    She was already ready for the wedding ceremony.


    The logger Babida felt a human presence on his back and turned to have a glimpse. His heart nearly got out of his chest at the sight of his bride Suzie.


    "Oh my goodness! You''re stunning, young Miss," exclaimed the groom Babida.


    General Dipi who had his focus on the troop was thus distracted and he turned to look at whom the Governor of Okunde was telling a compliment and was baffled by the mesmerizing beauty in front of him.


    "General Dipi, here is my gorgeous bride, Suzie." The lumberjack proudly introduced the young miss to the leader of the backup troop.


    "Without a doubt, Your Highness! She is the most beautiful woman I have ever seen." The General confessed.


    "Young Miss, this is General Dipi, the Commander of the new imperial forces. I have requested that he be the priest for our marriage today and he agreed." The groom Babida told a blushing Suzie after all the flattering remarks that she had just heard.


    "Oh really? That''s very kind of him. Greetings, My General." The young maiden Suzie answered, then slightly bent to salute the high-ranking officer.


    "Well, I think it''s my turn to prepare myself. I have to go and take a purification bath too. Comrade Polo, you may take General Dipi around the garden." Governor Babida declared.


    "General, young Miss, Comrade, excuse me please!" The lumberjack then said before leaving Okunde''s garden for the nearby river.


    Upon the logger''s arrival at the stream, the water was calm and clear and one could see one''s reflection.


    Governor Babida got closer to the water, looked at his projection, and screamed: "Oh my goodness! That''s not me."


    Babida the lumberjack was frightened by his image. His beard was so voluminous and covered a quarter of his face.


    "How long have I been walking around while looking this awful?" The muscular woodsman questioned himself.


    "I used to jokingly say that I''m lucky the young miss wants to marry a massive bearded man like me but now I must say it seriously. I''m really lucky." He spoke to himself.


    "Let me shave now!" The logger then added.


    He took his axe and used the sharp blade to trim the beard while mirroring himself with the clear water of the river.


    Done, he looked at his reflection and amusedly declared: "Now it''s the young miss who is lucky to wed a handsome man like me."


    Governor Babida thereupon removed his silk trousers and all his military ornaments. He then dove into the water and began to bathe.

 Part 11 (5)

    Governor Babida cleansed his massive body from all impurities with the clear water of Okunde''s river before his eternal union with the most beautiful maiden of the Batang empire, Suzie.


    While he was swimming in the stream, fishes formed a circle around him and followed him synchronously in all directions that he took as if it was a prepared choreography so marvelous it was.


    The purification process lasted about a quarter an hour before the replenished woodsman got out of the river.


    Surprisingly he found a brand new and sparkling military uniform that was hanging on the green herbs.


    Amazed, the Governor of Okunde heaved his eyes to the sky and thanked the ancestors for their infinite favor upon him, and implored them to bless his marriage that was soon going to happen later in the afternoon.


    Babida the lumberjack dressed up in his fresh outfits and looked so elegant that the grasses bowed before him and shifted on the right and left side to free the way out of the bushes.


    The logger walked through the open space and the herbs returned to their initial position as he moved forward.


    Finally, Governor Babida reached the lawn of Okunde''s garden and spotted from a distance his bride Suzie who was observing the old and new troops building additional tents to be used for lodgings and the storage of food and also military and medical equipment.


    "Young Miss!" The groom Babida excitedly called his bride Suzie.


    She turned to her left and saw her husband-to-be at the other end of the garden.


    "Oh my god! What a handsome man! Is that my groom?" The young maiden Suzie exclaimed at the sight of the most refined gentleman that could ever be.


    The two lovebirds began to run toward each other to narrow the distance that separated them.


    They raced in slow motion as if the clock had been delayed. The run seemed endless and the excitement of the meeting in the middle of the way got stronger as they reduced the inches.


    Finally, the groom Babida and the bride Suzie bumped into each other and embraced under the incredulous eyes of the troop.


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    Governor Babida tenderly looked his wife-to-be Suzie straight in the eyes and whispered to her: "Now let''s go and get married!"


    "Yes, my love!" She replied.


    In the meantime, General Dipi the occasional priest, and the henchmen Polo and Baba the witnesses, came up to the groom and bride. They looked with their new military uniforms as glowing as the future husband and wife, Babida and Suzie.


    "Well, it''s the time, Your Highness!" declared the senior aide-de-camp Polo.


    "Now let''s go to the riverside!" He then added.


    The group of five hence moved toward the west side of Okunde''s garden under the sad watch of the other imperial warriors who, given the ongoing crisis, weren''t invited to the private marriage ceremony of their Superior Commander Babida, and the love of his life Suzie.


    After a few minutes, the groom and the bride along with their entourage disappeared through the bushes, and the troops that could no longer see them resumed the construction of the new tents under a hot sun.


    In a very short time, the group of five reached the coast of the Okunde river and a refreshing wind commenced blowing from the east side, making the branches of the trees and the grasses incline and pay the visitors respect.


    The henchman Baba cut some roses and threw them on the sand in the form of a circle and they all stepped in the middle.


    The groom Babida stood on the left side of the coast with the senior henchman Polo while the bride Suzie was placed on the right side with the youngster Baba.


    As for the circumstantial priest General Dipi, he had his back turned against the river and stood between the two lovebirds.


    "Ok, let''s begin the ceremony now!" The special reverend said.


    "We thank our forefathers for making this day beautiful as our two lovebirds here in front of me have expressed their intent to tie the knot forever." General Dipi then declared.


    "Without any further ado, I am going to start by asking the beautiful maiden right here, Suzie, if she would like to spend the rest of her life with the gentleman Babida, right here." General Dipi, the occasional priest, questioned the bride while looking into her eyes.


    "Yes, I do!" She powerfully answered in the affirmative.


    "Yahoo!" Shouted her witness, the henchman Baba.


    "Now, it''s the turn of the groom Babida right here. Gentleman, the bride said yes and it was so sharp that I almost lost my ear. Let''s see if you can do better!" reacted a playful General Dipi.


    "Now I''m going to ask my question. Groom Babida, do you accept the beautiful woman right here as your wife for eternity?" The particular reverend asked the lumberjack who had a facial expression filled with seriousness.


    Babida first looked at his witness, the henchman Polo on his right, then turned his gaze on the occasional priest General Dipi on his left before giving his full attention to the pretty woman in front of him.


    "Young Miss, since the first time I laid my eyes on you in Ekule''s forest, I have never been the same man again. You are the only one who gives a purpose to my life. Before all the witnesses present here today, I declare that I shall cherish you as my wife till my last breath." Babida the lumberjack made an emphatic wedding declaration.


    The young maiden Suzie blushed so intensely that she was about to kiss the groom Babida even before the reverend had made the union official.


    "Wo wo wo! Wait a minute, young Miss." cried out General Dipi as he stopped the excited bride.


    "I shall hasten things because the bride can no longer wait to devour the lips of her other half." said the circumstantial priest.


    "Well, witnesses, you heard the two lovebirds, they said they will tie the knot for life. So I hereby declare from now on Babida and Suzie, husband and wife. You may now kiss each other," concluded General Dipi.


    Without wasting a single second, the two lovebirds exchanged the most passionate snog that could ever be to the extent that General Dipi had to beg them to halt and continue later in private.


    The husband and wife Babida and Suzie hence broke the amorous kiss under the laughter of the witnesses Polo and Baba.


    "Now it''s time to go back to the barracks for a little collation. Congratulations to the newlyweds!" declared General Dipi.


    And the group of five walked away joyfully from the riverside.


    THE ENDˇ­


    Side stories coming up nextˇ­


    Thank you for your support!


    Elmielos,


    Your favorite author!

 Side story 1

    Side story 1: Where did Babida the lumberjack go after killing the Monster of the forbidden mountain? (Read part 1)


    Babida P.O.V


    My name is Babida. I''m a thirty-two-year-old black man and my job is as a lumberjack.


    At the age of seventeen, I killed the Monster of the forbidden mountain and became very famous among the people of the Batang empire, the most incredible and powerful land in Africa.


    The Emperor at the time, His Majesty Batang IV, decorated me with the medal of the highest honor and merit after I brought to him on a silver platter the head of the villain, a giant bird ten meters high, five meters large for twenty thousand kilograms.


    However, I obtained my victory over the Monster after I signed a redemptive pact with the ancestors while I was on the battlefield and in bad physical condition.


    Indeed the beast had launched a powerful windy attack with his large wings and my comrades and I were sent flying high in the air.


    We then landed hard on the ground and I was lucky to not pass away like the other imperial warriors and civilians like me who had heard and answered the call of the Emperor to defend the land against the evil creature.


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    While I was writhing in pain, I implored our forefathers to heal me from my wounds so I could get up and defeat the Monster of the forbidden mountain.


    I gave my word to the ancestors to lend them in exchange for their compassionate act, my plot of land for ten good years as I would leave the empire immediately after the end of the combat.


    The divinities accepted my supplication and restored my body. I was now in the greatest shape of my life.


    I rose and ran to pick up my Herculean steel axe from the ground and tossed it violently on the giant bird''s leg that stumbled before I snatched the weapon from the injured limb and used it to slay the Monster''s head.


    My comrades and the people of the empire celebrated the death of the villain but for me, it was the end of my time in the land.


    I went back to my late uncle''s house, a wooden cabin in the south of the imperial city Ekule and I packed my belongings while sobbing.


    But an agreement was an agreement. The ancestors had fulfilled their obligation, I had to execute mine, which was to quit my land and not come back before a decade while the forefathers harnessed my parcel.


    With my luggage in hand, I looked at my childhood house and became even more emotional. My feet were very heavy, for I had second thoughts about staying but I knew that I would be struck with terrible consequences such as leprosy and epilepsy.


    So I finally stepped outside and closed the door. I heaved my head and in front of me there was only one place where I could go and that was the neighboring land situated on the west border, the Batumba empire.

 Side story 2

    Side story 2: How did Babida become a lumberjack? (Read part 1)


    Babida P.O.V


    My name is Babida. Well, this is what my uncle Doda decided I would be called when he found me abandoned in the woods in a rattan basket covered with a blanket to keep me warm. I was crying loudly and thus caught the attention of my uncle who was cutting off logs. I was two months old when the woods cutter came to pick me up and cradle me so that I would stop sobbing and I did. Since then he became my fatherˇ­and my mother. However, he always preferred that I called him uncle Doda and I never asked him why. He revealed to me the truth about how he became my parent when he was on his sickbed and was suffering from lingering diabetes. I was a sixteen-year-old teenager back then and I had started learning from him how to fell trees and make logs. Seeing that death would soon overcome his diminishing strength, uncle Doda made me promise that I would take care of his long-time business and pass on the heritage to my son if the ancestors were kind enough to give me one. So while my uncle stayed at home, fighting against his illness, I went to the forest with the heaviest of axes that could ever be. A Herculean steel axe that the ill man had given me when I became his apprentice. My uncle told me that this was how he became powerful when he began logging with his deceased father. And he was right. In the beginning, I thought he was a bit too harsh with me. I missed several times to hurt myself because the axe was so heavy that I often lost control. The tool weighed five kilograms, which was twice the normal weight. But after a couple of weeks, I was able to lift the axe with one hand and hit the hell out of the wood that dislocated in multiple fragments. Ultimately uncle Doda died and I was torn and devoured by infinite grief. I stopped for months going to the bushes and cutting trees. Life was meaningless to me and I became weak spiritually and physically. Indeed I was so affected by the disappearance of the only man who counted on me that I couldn''t lift the axe in the air again and when I tried, I failed to break the wood and I almost harmed myself. However, something happened in the Batang empire and helped me heal from my depression. A Monster of unbelievable measurements came to attack our land and hence threatened my existence and that of our people. The Emperor His Majesty Batang IV called on all of the children of the fatherland to defend what we had the dearest. I remembered my uncle who sacrificed his life for me and I thought about doing an action that would make him proud of me where he was. And I knew he cherished the land more than anything. So I took the Herculean steel axe that he had gifted me and went to combat against the villain, a giant bird that was widely known as the Monster of the forbidden mountain. A cliff that was adjacent to the north border of the Batang empire. I hence went to the battlefield and though I got severely wounded, I was able to get back up on my feet after I struck a deal with the ancestors to heal me in exchange for the harnessing of my land for a decade as I would leave. Thereupon the forefathers repaired me and I was able to decimate the beast by cutting off his head with the sharp blade of my axe. His Majesty Batang IV rewarded me with the most valuable civilian medal after I brought to him the head of the evil creature on a silver platter. Then I left the land of my ancestors and went to the neighboring country, the Batumba empire. When I arrived there, no one knew about me and it was fine because I could walk unbothered and be myself. However, I needed a job and the only thing I had learned to do was to cut the wood into logs. I, therefore, resumed the business my late uncle had passed on to me. In a few months, I became the most famous and successful lumberjack in the Batumba empire. Though I was doing well in my host country, I missed the land of the Batang people. Unfortunately, I couldn''t go back before a decade had expired. The time was long and endless and I was aging. Nevertheless, ten years finally passed and I was twenty-seven years old back then. I had already established myself in the Batumba empire, so I stayed for another four years. But when I was thirty-one, melancholy almost killed me. I couldn''t bear any longer the weight of being away from my fatherland. So overnight, while people in the Batumba empire were sleeping, I quit discreetly and arrived after a two-day journey by the afternoon at the west gate of the Batang empire, Okala. I was of course older than when I left the land, hence none of the imperial sentinels recognize me as the national hero that I was. Some of them were young and certainly had never heard about me. They checked me and found nothing alarming. So they allowed me to cross the border and step inside the land of the Batang people. I was now back in my fatherland after over a decade abroad. I was moved as I thought about uncle Doda. I was shaky and some tears came out and wetted my cheeks. I then continued my way forward to the south where my uncle''s house was based. By the evening I reached home and the garden was sparkling. I was pleased with the ancestors who had well maintained the property since my departure. I stepped into the wooden cabin and it smelled extremely nice. Everything was perfectly aligned. So tired that I was, I fell on the bed and dozed till the next morning. I was woken up by the beautiful songs of the birds that were perched over the branches of the trees around the domain. I went to shower and then dressed in a white boubou that my uncle used to wear when he wasn''t going to the forest to cut some trees. Ready, I opened the door to step outside and was amazed even more by the beauty of the garden that was shining amazingly thanks to the sun''s rays. I decided to go for a stroll in the center of the imperial city, Ekule and saw people happy and worry-free about the future, moving up and down the renovated streets. I was also glad that no one could recognize me and I could hence enjoy the eye-catching view and architecture. And when I had had enough, I returned to my house and thought about what I would do now that I was back. As I thought about the question, it became more and more obvious to me that I had to carry on with the business of my late uncle, that was to say, felling trees and cutting them into logs. Yes, I was going to be a lumberjack forever. No matter what I did to change it, I couldn''t succeed. The wood cutting was all I knew to do and it was going to remain so.


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 Side story 3

    Side story 3: How did Suzie''s mother pass away? (Read part 1)


    Suzie P.O.V


    My name is Suzie. I''m an eighteen-year-old black maiden from the Batang empire in Africa. I live with my grandmother - big Momma - like I affectionately call her in a chalet in the east of the imperial city, Ekule. The particularity about our house is that it has its double opposite the street. A twin chalet where uncle Bibi, my late mom''s elder brother lives alone. Talking about my mother always makes me emotional because I lost her at a very young age. Anne was her name. I have a few souvenirs of her from when we strolled through Ekule''s forest and had fun picking mushrooms. I was maybe five years old at the time. It''s really difficult to tell my exact age so little I was. I remember when we wandered in the center of the village and walked past the statue of the late Emperor His Majesty Batang IV, the father of the reigning Emperor His Majesty Batang V, my mom always waved at the monument. She adored the Emperor and thought he was a Wiseman and a great Supreme leader. While my mom revered the Ruler of the Batang people, I venerated her because for me she was a source of inspiration. She was very caring. I especially liked when she concocted cassava donuts fried with red oil and accompanied by roasted fish. Aside from big Momma, for me, she was the best cook in the whole Batang empire. However, my role model passed away under strange circumstances that neither uncle Bibi nor big Momma ever wanted to describe to me each time I asked them the question. I understand that it was a way for them to protect me from a hurtful truth or past but for me, that was something I needed to know to be at peace with myself. So finally I decided to investigate what had happened to my mom. I was, I believe, seven years old when my mother died. Uncle Bibi was on duty in the imperial army when grandma came back from the woods and was in floods of tears. I was playing in the sandy yard of the house and when I saw big Momma in her awful state, I panicked. Her hair was disorderly and her eyes were red and wet. I could see how she was being eaten by sorrow. I asked what was going on but she didn''t reply to me as she entered the chalet and slammed the door. I followed her and began to cry too because I didn''t see my mom with her whereas they had gone to the woodland together. So instinctively I related big Momma''s distress with something bad that I supposed had happened to my mom. I shouted at my grandmother and insisted that she tell me why my mother wasn''t back home with her and why she was crying. The elderly saw my determination to not let go and felt compelled to tell me something. Though she didn''t provide me with full detail, she told me that mom would never come back home again because an angel took her in the forest, and they went to heaven together. I knew that big Momma''s story wasn''t straight but I burst out in tears because at least I had understood that my mom was dead. Now it was remaining to know the cause of the passing, which my grandmother never revealed to me but did with her first child Bibi, my uncle. Till the age of fourteen, I was ignorant of what happened to my mom. But one day, while big Momma and uncle Bibi were in the parlor and thinking that I was probably still asleep, they began to speak about my late mom. I heard the name of the woman who gave birth to me and hid in the corridor upstairs that led to my bedroom to listen over. At first, they said nothing special about her. My grandmother and my uncle were just nostalgic about my mother''s nice character and wished she was still alive to witness how fast I had grown up. And then uncle Bibi asked my grandmother if there had been a way my mom could have avoided the hyena who ate her but grandma responded no because the hunter, a suitor, missed his shot with his last arrow.


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 Side story 4

    Side story 4: How did the Monster of the forbidden come into existence? (Read part 1)


    Emperor Batang IV P.O.V


    My name is Batang IV. I am the Emperor of the Batang people. I rose to power at the age of forty years old after my father, Emperor Batang III abdicated because he was very old and sick. He was almost eighty and had lost his vigor due to diabetes and other diseases related to aging. When I became the new Emperor, my father''s legacy put so much pressure on me. He was a great conqueror and had annexed Okala and Okunde who were under the reign of two cruel warlords who terrified their populations and extorted their wealth by using extreme brutality against those who rebelled. After the troops under the command of my father defeated the enemies, our territory became bigger and peace reigned upon the region for a long time. My father was acclaimed for being an on-field Ruler and people venerated him like a half-god if not a god himself. The empire thrived under his impulse and commenced arousing the envy of not only Rulers of neighboring land such as the Batumba empire but also the lust of some evil spirits such as Edimo, the god of ruin. The bad divinity who had been expelled from the heavens by the ancestors because of his stubbornness and penchant for having pleasure at seeing humans suffering vowed to take over what the good divinities cherished the most on earth: the Batang empire. So Edimo, the god of ruin, thought about inflicting pain on our land through his creatures. At first, he sent the witches of evil but they were too weak for my father''s army whose Oracles had concocted a magic potion with the water from the fountain of Ebuka, the god of purity, and gave it to drink to the men in uniform. The imperial forces exterminated them. Only one out of the hundred witches of evil that had come to confront my father''s army was able to run away but her Master Edimo, the god of destruction, ultimately killed her for her outrageous incompetence. Then for five years, the Batang empire was the most peaceful place to live in. There was no war or no attack from any too-ambitious foreign Ruler or any bad spirit. However, if the population enjoyed the trouble-free land, my father was extremely worried about the apparent resignation for further calamities from the god of ruin notably. Even the Oracles of the imperial palace could not see him in their magical mirrors. They kept telling my father that he had maybe repented and understood it was better to live in the heavens among the ancestors than to dwell in the hot flames of the kingdom of pain. One day whereas the day was going on hitch-free as it had been in the past five years, a sudden earthquake shook the ground and caused frail infrastructures and houses to collapse, killing the unlucky inhabitants that were inside at the time of the sad event. It was the first time that the empire experienced such a calamity. Hence everyone was confused as to how to react. My father first. He asked the Oracles for an explanation but they were unable to provide one. As the days passed by and nothing else happened, my father, who was advised by the honorable members of the congress, concluded that the earthquake was a natural event, though it had generated the unfortunate loss of human lives and vital material. So normal life resumed for the next decade during which no major misfortune struck the empire. My father was now very old and diminished by illnesses. He renounced the throne to allow the young, fresh, and bold forty-year-old Crown Prince that I was to lead the nation. The day that he signed the abdication decree, I was standing by his side. He was lying on the bed and his right hand was trembling like a leaf. The moment was very emotional but I retained my tears. I didn''t want to start my reign as a weak crying Emperor. My first act as the new Ruler was to elevate my father to the pantheon of the Greats. I thus demanded that he be mentioned henceforth as the Great Batang III. My second act was to proclaim my union with my childhood love, Duna, and elevate her to the dignity of Empress. Three months after our marriage, Empress Duna got pregnant and I expected it was going to be a boy, that was to say my heir and the next Crown Prince. I invoked the ancestors and they heard my prayer. Nine months later, Empress Duna gave birth to our first child, a boy, Crown Prince Dida the first. He was the most handsome infant that could ever be and changed me as a man but also as an Emperor. I was more compassionate when I made certain decisions. For instance, on some trials, I said to myself what if I were in this man''s shoes and were separated from my loved ones? So instead of condemning the man to one or two years of prison as per the law, I commuted the sentence to general interest work along with a small fine. One year later, I became a father for the second time. Empress Duna gave birth to another boy and I named him Bila the second. The first decade of my tenure went on relatively calmly. I succeeded in avoiding wars with neighboring empires. I signed pacts of nonaggression and brotherhood with the Rulers of the Batumba and Damba empires. The Batumba land was the immediate neighbor on our west border. The Damba land was situated right after the Batumba empire in its western frontier. My two sons Dida and Bila were growing up fast and it made me a proud father. The feeling was just indescribable. They were now respectively ten and eleven years old. The elder Dida started his initiation to become the next Ruler after me. He was smart and strong. He learned how to wield a sword and strike with a bow and arrow. I authorized him from time to time to go to the bushes escorted by imperial sentinels and hunt antelopes. The kid was very good at it. He carried his prey to the lunar palace and ordered the cook to grill it. Once it was ready, he brought it to me pretending he did it all by himself. I knew the truth but as a father, I preferred to appreciate his good intent, which was to make me proud of him, and I was. Time flew by even faster and my two sons were now fifteen and fourteen years old and had joined the imperial army as reserve soldiers. There was going to be a one-month youth military camp in Okunde village during which the young reserve staff was going to be trained and taught the army values and principles. So I sent my two sons over there to take part in the camp. They were accompanied by their close-knit guards. It took them one day and a half to make the journey from the imperial palace in Ekule to the army barracks in the north of Okunde. Upon their arrival in the morning before noon, they were welcomed by the Commander of Okunde''s regiment. The camp was going to start the next day and before that the reservists were permitted to go for a stroll around the area. Bila was exhausted by the long voyage they had just completed, so he declined to go outside the barracks and preferred to rest to be in great shape for the beginning of the youth military camp the following day. As for Dida, he was subjugated by the beautiful landscape of Okunde and couldn''t miss the only chance they had to visit the village. The Crown Prince went for the promenade with the close-knit guards and suggested that they reach the magnificent mountain they could see from a distance which was about three kilometers away. Though the sun was a bit too hot, it didn''t deter my first son''s determination to visit and contemplate the hill. With the close-knit guards, Dida arrived at the foot of the mountain. He was impressed by its size and thought about climbing to the summit and having an overview of Okunde. Though the guards warned him that they would be back late to the barracks, he insisted on going to the top and used his authority as Crown Prince to force the guards to come with him. Once at the top, Dida was happy with his decision. The view was indeed breathtaking, even for the guards who tried to dissuade him to not climb. The time to end the hiking arrived but when they were about to go down the cliff, the Crown Prince went to have a look at the flank that was opposite to the one by which they ascended to the summit, and noticed something strange at the bottom. There was a massive cavity that looked like the result of an earthquake. Without telling anything to the guards, Dida took them by surprise and began to descend the mountain to go to check the big hole. The guards tried to follow him but they realized that it was too risky. So they stayed on the summit while glaring at Dida advancing toward the cavity. The Crown Prince finally touched the ground and walked through the grass till he reached the big hole. He bent to sneak inside and was out of the blue slapped by an enormous wing. Dida fell into the cavity and that was his end. The close-knit guards were baffled and weren''t sure about what had just happened. They began to shout the name of the Crown Prince but he wasn''t answering. And suddenly, a huge and terrifying howl emerged from the cavity. The decibels propagated way above Okunde and went to the imperial city of Ekule and the western village of Okala. Intimidated by a monster yet unknown, the close-knit guards ran away as fast as they could. They returned to the barracks, took the new Crown Prince Bila, and immediately traveled back to Ekule where I was worryingly waiting for them at the imperial palace. I was devastated when I saw my second son alone without his elder brother. The guards recounted to me the story of the death of my first son. I proclaimed a one-month national funeral for my first son and forbid anyone to ever hike again to the mountain in Okunde.?


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 Side story 5

    Side story 5: How did Emperor Batang V rise to power? (Read parts 1,2,3,4,5)


    Emperor Batang V - P.O.V


    My name is Batang V. I''m the Emperor of the Batang people. At my birth, I was the second in line to the throne behind my late elder brother, Dida the first who was killed at the age of fifteen years by the Monster of the forbidden mountain during a promenade. I grew up in the imperial palace as Prince Bila and after the passing of my big brother, I became Crown Prince Bila. I was fourteen years old back then. My father, the Great Batang IV, began to initiate me to the duties of an Emperor and insisted that I should always be righteous but firm and severe when the circumstances commanded to be so. He was extremely popular for being the Ruler under whom the greatest enemy that our land had ever faced, perished: the Monster of the forbidden mountain. After the giant bird stole the young life of my senior brother Crown Prince Dida the first, my father Emperor Batang IV signed a decree to proscribe anyone to hike to Okunde''s mountain where the beast resided. Believing it was just a matter of time before Edimo, the god of ruin, was going to instruct his evil creature to attack the empire, my father ordered the troops of the regiments of Ekule and Okala to back up the imperial forces in Okunde. However, the Monster stayed in its hideout and didn''t emit a single howl for five years to the extent that there were famous legends about its possible death that were divulged. One was saying that the giant bird was dead, eaten by its creator Edimo, the god of ruin. Another one came up and spread the news that the ancestors had silently handled the problem and set the beast''s cavity ablaze, killing it consequently. And out of the blue, when no one expected to hear about the Monster again, on a calm night, it powerfully screamed and the frightening sound went way above the mountain. By doing so, the villain announced a looming attack on the empire. The imperial palace and the troops in Okunde that had long stopped the military exercises that simulated various ways to defeat the villain, were in total panic. Two days following its warning cry, the villain left its fortress, marched toward the north gate of Okunde, and decimated the imperial sentinels standing over there with a flapping of wings. It then advanced to the inner side of the village where two hundred imperial warriors were lined up to deal with it. But very quickly the giant bird outpowered them with its windy attack. One blow of the wings that exponentially increased the speed of the wind and turned it into a weapon that propelled any human or object on its path to the air and provoked a life-threatening landing on the ground. My father, Emperor Batang IV was now sixty years old and weakened by sicknesses. The Governor of Okunde at the time, a cousin to my father, Kola I, who was leading the troop on the battlefield alerted the Emperor. They needed additional forces because the units that had been formed to annihilate the Monster of the forbidden mountain had failed to do so. The beast was described as invincible and of a different nature of power that had never been witnessed before. Okunde village was seriously damaged and many people succumbed to the windy attack. The devilish animal was moving now toward the imperial city Ekule. With three hundred men in uniform left and that was deemed to be an insufficient number, my father signed a decree calling on all the men of the land without exception, military or civilians, to head to the imperial city east gate and end the conquest of the Monster. The call of my father was heard and the courageous men of the land took with them all sorts of weapons, notably swords, and vowed to fight the beast till their last breath. There was one among these brave subjects of His Majesty that had something special in him, a divine gift that he had received from the ancestors and that was unbelievable power like no one in the empire. His name was Babida, an apprentice lumberjack of seventeen years old who lived with his uncle in the south of Ekule. The Monster with its windy attack had though succeeded in taking down the fighters including Babida who was seriously hurt after his hard fall on the ground but the ancestors intervened and replenished the woodsman. He rose in the greatest shape ever and ran to pick up his massive axe from the ground and tossed it on the beast''s leg so powerfully that the villain was unbalanced and began to swirl uncontrollably. The giant bird fell over a house and was bleeding profusely. Babida hastened to its position and snatched his axe from the limb then he beheaded the Monster. Babida brought the beast''s head on a silver platter to my father who in return for his heroism decorated the barely adult fighter with the medal of the highest honor and merit and gave him a one thousand Batangi prize. But money being a taboo, my father demanded that only the award of the medal be publicized. Since then Babida became a national hero and people referred to him as Babida the lumberjack, the killer of the Monster of the forbidden mountain. I was twenty years old when all these events happened. I was a bit older than Babida the lumberjack and being myself an army reservist, I wished I had gone to the battlefield and combatted the Monster. However, my father, Emperor Batang IV, didn''t allow me. He feared losing another son and an heir to the throne. With some distance, I think today it was a wise decision from my father because my uncle, Prince Bola I, would have certainly taken over the throne after my father if I had passed away on the battlefield against the beast of that cursed hill. My father''s junior brother, Prince Bola I, was a warmonger. He would have surely started wars with other lands such as the Batumba and Damba empires whereas my father had signed with them a pact of nonaggression and brotherhood and we were at peace. Uncle Bola I, had a boundless ambition and was capable of the worst, though he could be at times the nicest person ever. Nonetheless, it was as if he was possessed by some evil spirits that made him a multifaceted individual. Ultimately one year after the Monster of the forbidden mountain was slayed by Babida the lumberjack, my father was taken away by illnesses. He died while I was on a military mission in Okala. My uncle Bola I, attempted a coup but he was stopped by the loyal guards of my father who had vowed to the late Emperor that the law of succession in the land would be implemented or they would lose their lives for it. Immediately after I was informed of my father''s passing, I interrupted my mission in Okala and headed back to the imperial palace in Ekule. Uncle Bola I, had already been thrown in jail. I swore on the constitution and became Emperor. I changed my name to Batang V and elevated my father to the pantheon of greatness. He became The Great Batang IV. I was twenty-one years old back then. The youngest Emperor in the Batang dynasty. For over a decade, my reign was relatively trouble-free. I married in the meantime the most beautiful woman of the land: Empress Serena. We had two kids: Crown Prince Dabo I and Princess Yola II Empress Serena was my biggest support and a great advisor though she could sometimes be on certain topics more radical than me. If it were up to her, I should have repealed the system of governors and provinces that had been put in place by my father to prevent me from holding absolute power in my hands. But I never followed her on this one. I trusted the wisdom of my father and also it benefited the land. With the governors, I had less work and some key decisions were taken faster because the rulers of the provinces had the power to act for the best of the community. Nonetheless, an unfortunate event made me reconsider this rule. Edimo the god of ruin had not said his last word yet. Fifteen years after his most maleficent creature was decimated by Babida the lumberjack, he gave life to another one, the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain. I deployed men in uniform to Okunde and called on brave civilians to join the army and defend the land against the enemy. Babida the lumberjack who had left the empire since he killed the first Monster of the forbidden mountain over a decade ago was back. He was older but even stronger. He participated in a scout mission to the cursed hill to spy on the newborn Monster. A young fighter, a teenager, went with him. Unfortunately, the young lad was murdered by the newborn Monster, and Governor Kola Il who had instructed the mission imprisoned Babida on a whim. It was said in the rumors that the lumberjack failed to explain to the governor what had happened on the field. I was very upset with Kola Il who was my cousin and the son of Kola I, my father''s cousin. The Governor of Okunde jailed a national hero without consulting me and moreover the young comrade who was killed by the newborn Monster had died on the battlefield as a soldier. Ultimately Babida was released from prison after Edimo the god of ruin sent on Okunde his new flying creatures: the terrifying bats, and Governor Kola II was assassinated by one of these evil mammals. The empire had hence now two serious adversaries: the newborn Monster and the wicked bats. Thanks to our ancestors and with the help of Babida the lumberjack that I appointed Superior Commander of the imperial forces, we defeated our enemies.?


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