The Quest For Trinkolo

“There weren’t always dragons in the valley” said Bkomo.

He listened intently. Bkomo was a sound stalker.

The ‘Valley of Bones’ as it was known, the battleground of many conflicts throughout Trinkolo history was once more a source of concern.

His hand tightened around the shaft of the spear as it glowed a golden bronze, in the twilight, the power flowing through it reverberated in his hand. The roped muscles of his forearm, evidence of years of military training.

Chinkwe stared into the valley, scanning from right to left, his midnight black panther pacing up and down, as he sat mounted on it. His panther growled, sensing evil.

“Schwarz! Stop!”

The blue and purple flowers that filled the valley with a sense of beauty, calm and peace, swaying softly in the summer breeze, belied the bloody soil that nourished them.

“Do you see anything Chinkwe?” asked Bkomo, sweat beads appearing and running down the side of his cheeks, like liquid bullets, from his forehead. “I do not hear any breathing, or crying.”

Chinkwe was a night gazer.

“I can’t see any trace of them. They have taken the babies away Bkomo, we need to find the portal to their underworld, the rest of the tribe must be ready to fight from dawn. Let’s head back. Galagata must hear of this, we cannot allow this.”

Chinkwe turned Schwarz around and replaced his flaming sword in the sheath on his back.

Bkomo followed Chinkwe back to the city. Trinkolo was set in a hollow mountain, they entered Trinkolo by walking behind the waterfall, the thick curtain of never - ending water had protected them and hidden them for many years, from prying eyes.

The potency and the power of the waterfall, the sound of the turbulent waters crashing into the lake below had protected them from hunting ears, and had made Trinkolo undetectable to the most sensitive of dragon seekers.

The outer walls of the city stood resolute, and impenetrable, for sheer size and structure.

Once back inside the city walls they were summonsed to Galagata’s court.

It was a city in mourning, the walls of the platinum palace loomed large before them.

They looked up at the colossal structure with well - founded trepidation.

“Weapons!”

They handed over their weapons, as was protocol, before entering the colossal bronze gates, which creaked open to reveal the platinum palace.

The palace was set amongst green hedges, and manicured lawns, rising up out of the green landscape like a space ship.

The Royal Guard marched them to the door of the palace.

The Palace Guards received them and took over, walking either side of them, flaming spears in hand, sporting spear tips that glowed in the night like metal heated in a furnace.

The guards had long daggers in the sheaths on their hips, these were made of a liquid metal something like mercury, encased in a crystal glass blade, and engraved on the sheath of each dagger were the words ‘certain death’.

Many an enemy had succumbed to the liquid mercury that the daggers spray when slashing movements are made by the elite Palace Guard.

They walked into the great hall its walls made of black granite. They looked down, nobody was able to stand the power of looking Galagata in the eyes and survive.

The white marble floor and steps before them lead up to his throne, which was made of platinum and velvet.

They looked down at the marble floor and took their positions on one knee before him, the guards remained standing but also looked down.

“Chinkwe, Bkomo what news do you bring?” Boomed Galagata’s voice.

Beforehand, they had decided that Bkomo would do the talking.

“Galagata the Great, we bring troubling news.”

“Well, out with it, then!” Boomed the powerful deep voice.

“Galagata the great, the babies have been moved, we could not detect sight or sound of them. They have a portal and we must find their portal.”

“I want to know who it was that gave away our position, and I need you to lead the troops to the Oracle in the forest, let her know that I sent you, she will know what to do.”

“Yes Galagata, we will do as you command. Chinkwe and I are proud to serve you.”

“Pride is weakness, service is strength, serve with a humble heart and understand that the survival of Trinkolo is upon your shoulders, there is no turning back once you have accepted this mission. You must complete it, and if you fail and somehow survive, you understand that your lineages will be wiped out from the history of Trinkolo! Your families will follow you in death, there is no place for weakness.”

“Understood Galagata” said both Bkomo and Chinkwe in unison.

His throne rose above the platform, his power of levitation a reminder to all that he was not like them. He was raised into the golden ceiling, which opened up and then closed beneath his throne.

The Palace Guards led Bkomo and Chinkwe out of the great hall and to the gates of the palace.

“We will need to inform our families of their potential future obliteration. Our time has come Chinkwe.”

“Bkomo, I am proud to serve with you, tomorrow we begin, to life or death.”

“Your weapons! Warriors may your mission be successful, we would be honoured to have you join us, as Palace Guards.” Chinkwe and Bkomo accepted their weapons from the Palace Guards.

“You leave at dawn! We will ready your troops.” barked Mkize the feared and revered leader of the Palace Guards.

Early the following morning, Bkomo left a teary wife and three children and Chinkwe left his two children with an anxious wife. Schwarz growled as he lined up next to Sambo, Bkomo’s mount.

“You two again, cut the alpha male routine, don’t you know that you are brothers? Or is this an ongoing sibling rivalry?”

“Bkomo, it’s their instinct, give them some time together and they will soon realise it’s best to support each other.”

The troops, dressed in the titanium and tungsten body - hugging armour, brushed with carbon to make them harder to detect, were fully armed. Their boomerang spears folded and sulphur-tipped titanium arrows, and titanium bows, secured in metal clasps that hugged the body. No weaponry protruded from their armoured bodies, to increase mobility and efficiency of movement. They remained in formation at attention, awaiting their orders to move out.

Suddenly a golden lazer beam struck one of the troops, and he fell to the floor, shaking vigorously until terminated.

“By order of Galagata, he sensed this man would betray the rest,” said Mkize.

Bkomo and Chinkwe bowed acceptingly. Mkize sheathed his baton. Bkomo faced the troops.

“Let’s move out, we must have no doubt amongst us, all or nothing!” Bkomo lifted his glowing bronze spear, that throbbed with electromagnetic power.

The men chanted behind him in unity “All or Nothing! All or Nothing!” Raising their heavy muscled and armour- clad right arms, (as is Trinkolo battle tradition.) Arms punching the air in time with their chanting.

They marched out of the city, past the city walls, the enormous gates creaked closed. The night gazer watchmen on the palace walls, who were partnered with a sound stalker each, resumed their positions.

Bkomo dismounted from Sambo and put his ear to the ground, as Chinkwe scanned the horizon atop Schwarz. The men remained silent as the two leaders concentrated, and focused their powers of detection.

“Clear” said Chinkwe. “Clear” said Bkomo and then in unison. “Let’s move out.”

Before them lay the bushland and forests that would determine their fate and the fate of their offspring, their lineage.

They moved silently through the green forest, mimmicking the stealth of the panthers, which was part of their military training and they set up camp at dusk.

“Bkomo, I have a visual of the purple smoke, it is half a day’s march from here, if we leave now, we can meet her, Sambo and Schwarz can get us there in an hour.”

“Let’s go Chinkwe, the men can settle in for the night.”

“Agreed. Schwarz! Heel! Down!”

Bkomo and Chinkwe mounted their panthers.

“Schwarz, you lead according to my command.” said Chinkwe.

“Stop growling Sambo, you will lead us back, really, you two are ridiculous!”

They set off through the dense forest, Schwarz leaping over fallen trees and bouncing off rocks, in a show of agility and flexibility, daring Sambo to follow. Sambo was equal to the task. Chinkwe directed Schwarz towards the purple smoke that emanated from deeper in the forest.

They arrived at a large oak tree located in a clearing within the forest.

The purple smoke was billowing from the oak tree.

“Chinkwe, I hear an undertone of growling, a powerful deep growling, close by.”

With that a grizzly brown bear, 8 foot tall appeared from behind the large tree trunk. His eyes were wild. Sambo and Schwarz, tensed up. Chinkwe readied his flame sword, and Bkomo tightened his grip on his electromagnetic spear.

A hidden door cut into the tree trunk opened.

“Calm down Francis, they are from Trinkolo. I am expecting them.” The command came from a stubby old lady with unruly green and purple hair, and golden teeth.

“Oracle!” Both Chinkwe and Bkomo bowed.

“Welcome Chinkwe and Bkomo, I have been expecting you, please forgive Francis for his over protective nature, he has been like that since he was a cub.”

The Oracle had an accent that was learned, like that of an English Professor at Oxford.

“He certainly is rather large. And I don’t think I would like to tangle with him.”

“Wise decision, beneath his thick fur, resides tungsten carbide fibres, they render most weapons against him useless. The weapons you carry would be a minor irritation to him, like a pin prick. But enough about Francis, I know about your plight.”

“Oracle I wasn’t even sure you knew our names, but you know of our plight?”

“Correct Chinkwe, I know most of what’s happening in this realm, I will cut to the chase. I have one word for you…. Thandi.”

“Galagata’s granddaughter?”

“Correct, she is the leak.”

“The leak?”

“She is the reason that the babies were stolen by the dragons.”

“But, but how?” asked Bkomo concerned at the news, news that would mean certain death for him and his family.

“Shape shifting dragon seekers, Thandi has a friend, he was the one. Her flirtatious ways have been the undoing of Trinkolo, they will now attack whenever they like, and you will be forever defending, unless..mm…Unless”

“Unless what? Please Oracle unless what?” pleaded a desperate Chinkwe.