The Witch

Days passed with Tagunban on edge worried that Aegata the Manhunter was on his trail. If it were any other warrior by now Tagunban would have relaxed assured they had lost his trail. Yet Aegata in the legends is said to have never lost a trail or failed to kill his quarry. While Tagunban had escaped him once there was lingering thought in the back of Tagunban's mind that told him his escape was either some part of Aegata’s plan or some sort of lucky fluke. Meanwhile as he fled the scenery around him shifted and changed as he found himself further and further into the Tribe of the Ancients territory. The canopy closed in ever so slightly with new and strange trees Tagunban had never seen before. The soil turned nearly black and ashy beneath his moving feet. Along with the smell of smoke beginning to taint the air that flowed through his lungs. Soon Tagunban came across a creek like ran clear as crystal and Tagunban would stop for a moment to rest his weary muscles, as he bent down and cupped his hands to drink from the creek he admired for a moment the menagerie of small colorful fish and shrimp that made this creek their home before finally bringing his hands to his face and partaking of luke warm creek water. As Tagunban drank he would constantly scan his surroundings like a deer at the water’s edge. There the boisterous laugh of a woman echoed out through the jungle as the water in front of Tagunban began to warble and warp before his very eyes. Tagunban lunged backwards, axe in hand and crouching forward like a panther prone to strike forth at any moment. It was then the water began to form a great serpentine shape and flood with colors of blue, red, and gold on forming scale, flash, and horn respectively. The beast emerged from the water as a great serpentine beast with a great golden horn sticking forward from the top of its head as curved ivory tusk curled away from its gnashing jaws, and golden spines ran down the length of its scaly back. “My my what a strong soul you have, I think I'll take it for myself. You'd make a strong spirit slave, I can tell. Give yourself to me and I'll be gentle, I promise.” The laughing voice echoed out through the jungle in a tone Tagunban couldn't tell was either flirtatious, demeaning or both. The serpentine beast then let loose with a powerful blast of pressurized water from its mouth. Tagunban dove behind a rock as the jetting beam of water sliced through dirt and tree alike with ease. Before the pressurized water could reach the rock he took cover behind Tagunban channeled his mana and quickly sent a wicked bolt of lightning into the jetting water. The serpentine beasts let out an ear piercing screech as the electricity shot up the water stream and electrocuted it. “Another headhunter of course, that powerful soul of yours must be getting bolstered by a head trophy. No matter, you'll pay for hurting my dear Naga!” the voice echoed in wrath throughout the jungle as the color faded from the Naga before it returned to the steam as nothing but water. The smell of a thick noxious smoke as if a rotten log from the swamp had been set on fire along with the strong musty smell of an ape or bear would burn Tagunban’s nose. Tagunban quickly turned to see the massive form of a hairy, dark skinned, ape-like ogre smoking a pipe and wearing a loincloth that stood at least eight to ten feet tall. “My mistress wants ya dead tiny man. ‘fraid my hands are tied, I gotta kill ya now.” the ogre bellowed before slamming down a massive fist towards Tagunban. Tagunban’s muscles crackled and flashed with electricity before using the Thunder Step to easily side step the blow. The ogre blew into his pipe and a plume of foul smoke coated the battle field. “Just give up now boy and I promise to kill ya quickly!” the ogre’s voice echoed throughout before a massive fist rocketed out of the smoke at Tagunban. Tagunban would easily side step the blow he thought only to be folded over by a massive punch to the back of the head. On the ground Tagunban quickly jumped up and grabbed the massive hairy arm before he channeled his mana again and pumped great bolts of thunder straight into the arm, yet there was no reaction to the electrocution before Tagunban fell back to the ground as the arm dissipated. The smoke must be clogging his mind Tagunban thought before channeling his mana through his arms and into his palms as arcs of electricity spilled out of them. As a massive hairy foot came down to stomp on him, Tagunban would channel his physical mana through his body and jump up through the illusory foot and into the air as he pressed his palms together. Using two forms of mana at the same time was as taxing on the mind as it was the spirit yet Tagunban prevailed as a great ball of crackling electricity formed in his hands that could barely be contained. Tagunban threw down the Thunder Star into the smoke cloud below. Tagunban heard a distorted and electrified roar of agony below before the sound of rushing water flooded his ears. Without thinking Tagunban used the Thunder Step to quickly curl all his limbs and head into a ball against his torso. A blast of pressurized water then sliced a large chunk of hair free from his head, as he fell Tagunban would see the Naga had reformed in the stream and was waiting for Tagunban to try and escape the smoke before making its move. Tagunban landed back on the ground with pantherine grace before picking his late father's axe back up, the smoke began to fade yet the ogre nor the naga were anywhere to be seen. Instead all that Tagunban saw was the tiniest flash of metal in the sunlight coming towards him. Tagunban blocked the trajectory of the shining metal with the flank of his father's axe by using the Thunder Step just in time to hear a metallic thud. Tagunban looked and saw a dart decorated with colorful feathers and strands of fiber before it zipped off again of its own power. Tagunban using the Thunder Step would bolt after the dart hoping it'd lead to the master of all these spirits. As Tagunban ran after the dart with axe in hand thunder in his muscles out of the corner of his vision he would then see the Ogre unfuse with a large banyan tree and lunge out at Tagunban as if the ogre were a crocodile breaching the water. Tagunban quickly launched a menagerie or electrical bolts at the beast only for a string of rubber trees to sprout up and intercept the lightning as ogre sucked on its pipe. Melding through the trees as if splashing through water the ogre continued its relentless charge to where Tagunban dove under its grasp and kept running. The ogre blew its pipe again sending out another cloud of smoke ahead of Tagunban who in turn leapt over the cloud with the air of the Thunder Step. Yet when he cleared the cloud of noxious smoke the dart was nowhere to be found until it burst forth from the smoke and sank into Tagunban’s neck. In rage Tagunban grabbed the dart before it could retreat and sent a veritable thunderstorm’s worth of electric mana into it. The spirit inside the dart shrieked out in agony before a green flame engulfed the dart and it clattered to the rocky ground. Tagunban’s muscles then began to feel heavy and worn out before the ogre would leap out of the smoke and grab him. The ogre held him aloft by his shoulders with its massive hands to where Tagunban would see the naga reform from the waters of the creek he was following. Taguban weakly struggled against the grip and then bit down on the massive hand as hard as he could, to where the ogre would just laugh. “Nice try little brat but it’s going to take a lot more than just a bite to get me to drop you. You’re gonna pay for shocking us all when the naga blows your head off with a blast of that water..” The ogre cackled as he painfully tightened his grip. Tagunband would hear the rush of water and grin as he enacted his plan, the bite was decoy to get the ogre to tighten his grip before Tagunban would channel his mana and shock the muscles of the ogre making them contract in just such as way to where his shoulder would take the full force of the pressurized water blast. The water sliced through the ogre’s arm like a knife before the Ogre squealed in pain as he dropped Tagunban. Tagunban rolled the ogre who fell down clutching his severed shoulder as he would channel his mana through his arms again to form a second Thunder Star which he would lob behind his head straight for the naga. Sending out an arc into the ogre who screamed in agony for a moment before drifting its way to the Naga that was desperately trying to meld into the water before the approaching Thunder Star would reach it. The naga would be half melded into the water before the Thunder Star sent a wicked arc of lightning into it, the beast screamed in agony as it’s molding with water only made it more conductive before the full brunt of Thunder Star’s power would practically flash fry its body leaving it slumped over on the shore. “Naga, Kapre you idiots you fell right for the tricks of a lowly headhunter!” The woman’s voice screamed as he lunged forth from the treeline spear in hand. The woman was light tanned of skin and conventionally attractive in most all the usual places, a supple curvaceous figure that was well endowed, a beautiful face without flaw, and long flowing black hair that passed her hips. Yet what first drew Tagunban’s attention first was her neck, it was stretched long with a series of gold bands that stacked from her torso to her chin, similar gold bands were worn around both arms above the wrist and both legs above the ankles. The woman’s body was also heavily painted with tattoos, almost similar to those of the women from his own village yet the patterns were more flowing and curled than geometric in design. For clothing the woman wore an elaborately patterned capelet that only just reached past the top half of her breasts in front while the bottom was lined with a great plumage of various feathers that reached to her stomach. Alongside a loincloth that hung to her knees in the front and back. “I’ll deal with you myself then!” the woman shouted as she charged Tagunban with her spear forward. With his muscles weak from whatever poison that dart no doubt had, Tagunban had to rely solely on the electric muscle contractions of the Thunder Step. The woman thrust her spear aimed at Tagunban’s heart, Tagunban swung his axe down on the haft of the spear to redirect the head away from him. Yet before Tagunban could swing his axe forward the woman stepped aside and shifted the weight in her stance as to send the spearhead forward towards Tagunban’s stomach. Tagunban would hook the haft of the spear with the hooked blade of his axe and pull it aside. As the spear thrust went wide with only hooked metal guards of the broad leaf shaped spear heat lightly cutting his side. Tagunban grabbed the haft of the spear as he raised his axe with his other hand, only for the woman to sidestep the swing and lunge past Tagunban's shoulder. Quickly she kicked at the back of Tagunban's knee Tagunban lunged forward to avoid kneeling to where the woman grabbed her spear and wrenched it against Tagunban's thumb and out of his grip. Tagunban quickly figured out what she was doing, she was drawing out the fight in the hopes his mana would give out and he'd crumple into a poison paralyzed heap. Tagunban as he turned around quickly swung his axe with all the force his electrically controlled muscles could muster and lopped the spear head clean from its haft. As the spear head fell onto the ground Tagunban brought the cutting hook on the other side of the axe to the woman’s neck. The woman froze but didn't drop the haft of her spear as she glared defiantly at Tagunban.

“Alright you win, kill me already and use my severed head as a weapon. Just be a man and do it quickly, I'm sure you'd love to have a shaman's head in your collection.” The woman practically spat at Tagunban with venom. “No, there are better things I could use you for.” Tagunban responded with a toothy grin. “Oh of course, and what did you have in mind?” The woman hissed assuming the worst. “You can be my first wife…” Tagunban answered before he was cut off by the bellowing chime of the woman's laughter. “Your wife? You're new to romance aren't you? Surely a marauding headhunter such as yourself knows how to take what they want. Are you just innocent or truly that good natured?” The woman barely spoke aloud in-between bursts of laughter from the shock of the statement. “Do you think I'm joking? I need all the help I can get and look like you can provide. I know you aren't a Highland Tribesman but one of your spirit servants was a Kapre; those are highland spirits my clan shaman told me about them.” Tagunban responded in half annoyance, half curiosity. “Impressive, I've never seen a headhunter like yourself so knowledgeable on spirit lore. Tell me then, what do you need help with?” The woman flirted in turn half in attempted escape and half in curiosity. “You can start by sucking your dart’s poison out of my neck, I'm being hunted by Aegata the Manhunter and don't need any handicaps right now.” Tagunban answered. The woman simply smiled and placed her lips on Tagunban's neck around the dart wound and began to suck and lick. Tagunban, having no real romantic experience in either of his lives, practically melted in response, his body buckled and his skin flushed red as the woman sucked on his neck, his breath coming in pants by the end of it. The woman pulled her head back and turned around as she drew a finger across Tagunban's chin before she chuckled and took a few steps. “I'm afraid spiritual poison doesn't work like that love, bring my Tsentsak dart and find me at my camp and I'll cure the poison there.” the woman again flirted this time for the fun of it as she walked off. “Then why did you…” Tagunban asked gobsmacked in wonder as he watched the woman walk away. “For that funny look on your face back there.” The woman teased as she walked off. Tagunban then forcing his body to move would walk back and hunt down the dart before tracking down the woman’s camp by the last light of dusk and collapsing before her campfire. “That passionate to lay with me are you? Sorry but I'm a woman who needs quite a bit of courting before that.” The woman teased before knelt down and rubbed a strange smelling paste on Tagunban's neck. With the application of the past it was as if a great weight was slowly being taken off Tagunban's shoulders and he could feel his exhausted muscles return to normal. Tagunban then got up and sat in front of the fire before taking his pack off and setting it beside him with a thud. “So do you always ask women whose names you don't know and who try to kill you, to marry you?” the woman teased again as she sat before the fire. “No, you're the exception this time.” Tagunban responded. “Before we go any further let's make some proper introductions. I am Petara the Wandering Shaman, born of the Tribe of the Buffalo, and I am twenty rains old. Now it's your turn.” The woman declared in faux formality. “Tagunban, Tagunban anak Katas from the Tribe of the Highlands, I am eighteen rains old.” answered Tagunban in return. “Excellent, now onto the important things. When you said you needed my help what did you mean? I know you said you were being hunted by some manhunter or some such and while my spirits are capable when they aren't being fools. If you're running scared from this man you'll likely need more than just my help.” Petara questioned as she threw a stick on the fire. “To make a long story short I'm seeking information about a Twa, specifically a leopard dragging the skeleton of a man.” Tagunban elaborated as Petara’s eyes light up in excitement. “You know about Daisekel? I too have been seeking knowledge on the Twa and Daisekel fascinates me most.” Petara practically blurted out in her excitement. “I didn't even know a name until now, I just… saw it before and I…” Tagunban tried to elaborate before being cut off by Petara. “You mean you saw it?! Mikai Island's lord of death, he who's power is so great all deaths on this island must first go through him before any other afterlife?! And you're still standing?! How did you do it?! tell me! I'll marry you a hundred times over if you do!” Petara frantically asked practically foaming at the mouth. “That is a long story I don't know if I have the time to tell with Aegata on my trail.” Tagunban answered dejectedly before being interrupted by Petara again. “Don't be ridiculous my spirits alert me if anyone gets to close well before they can get close enough to ever strike, It's how I found you after all. Now come you shouldn't be hiding secrets from your wife after all.” Peters teased as feigned a kissing motion with her lips in the hopes of breaking down some of Tagunban's walls. Tagunban sighed and while still one edge he did tell Petara the whole story he told his late father, his half brothers, the clan chieftain, and the shaman Yawanu. Dusk drifted well into night before the story was over as the fire burned into a pile of dull coals and embers. “My my you really are interesting, a man from alien world reborn into our own thanks to a Twa. I knew Daisekel was powerful but I had no idea he could reach into other worlds and steal souls from them. No wonder your soul is so powerful you've lived more than one life and remembered it.” Petara responded in fascination. “It's not just me either, the warchief of the Tribe of the Highlands is the same but he wants to turn this world into our old world. So I seek the leopard Twa… I mean Daisekel to try and gain the knowledge and power to stop him.” Tagunban elaborated further. “Then it's settled, I'll tag along with you. Our interests align and I find you interesting.” Petara proclaimed aloud. “So what are we married now?” Tagunban asked by this point so tired he couldn't think straight anymore. Petara laughed again and grinned in amusement. “Got a shaman with you I didn't know about?” Petara snidely responded. “You're a shaman you can do it can't you?” Tagunban asked in confusion only for Petara to laugh again. “We can't marry ourselves fool, asides all our little partnership has given you is the great opportunity to begin courting me.” Petara decided before smiling at Tagunban and flirting again. “Though greater knowledge of the cosmos and Daisekel will get you very very far.” Petara stated in a low seductive voice with a wink. “For now though it's time we sleep for the night, separately of course; and let me worry about our little manhunter problem for tonight. You just focus on resting tonight, tomorrow I'll have a plan.” Petara ordered as Tagunban practically fell over to sleep, his mind and body exhausted. Though as he dreamed Tagunban would wonder if the flirting was just a tool to get to him or if Petara was actually as interesting in him as she let on. Tagunban would curse his lack of romantic knowledge and experience before he drifted off to sleep for the night.