Simba: The Wild Fire

Evening, deep inside the forest of Morica:

Bagheera and his men arrived at an isolated secret place inside the forest. That was the base of the wild bandits. They then entered a small house fully made of wood.
A man who also wore clothes made of jute and mane, like all other bandits, was standing there, and he was making many small crossbows.

Bagheera: "Simba."

The man turned around. He is Simba, the leader of the wild bandits. He was very tall, very muscular, and masculine. He had long wavy brown hair and dark orange eyes which resembled the color of fire. He was remarkably handsome, but his stare could deliver fear into anyone's mind.

Every bandit bowed in front of Simba except Bagheera.

Bagheera: "We stopped the smugglers who came to steal our things. We also took money and some expensive items from them."
Simba: "Good. How much money did you get?"
Bagheera: "More than enough."
Simba: "Okay, so we can help the villagers with it. Our people need it."

Next morning, a village near the forest:
The name of that village was Breezefall Village. It was a very rural and isolated village without any development. Even though it was in the territory of Morica, it wasn’t counted as a part of Morica, and there was no law there. Therefore, the people used to experience frequent outlaw attacks. But everything changed after the rise of Simba.

The little kids were running around the village with joy, like they had seen something good.

Kid 1(very happy): "Father, mother, Simba and the others have arrived!"
Kid 2: "Everyone, come out! Simba has arrived!"

Other kids also passed down the news to everyone, and all the villagers gathered at the center of the village.
Simba, Bagheera, and the other bandits arrived there on their horses.
Simba took a pouch of golden coins in his hands and showed it to the villagers.

Simba: "Hey everyone, look what I got. These are all for you guys."

Simba threw the pouch upwards, and the golden coins fell to the ground like a rain of gold coins. The villagers danced with joy.

Simba: "I have more than this. I got more gold pouches like this and some food for you all. Eat as much food and take as much gold as you want. Just don’t quarrel or fight with each other. Come on, have fun as much as you want."

Simba then distributed food to every villager and gave them gold coins as much as they needed. But the villagers weren’t greedy. They only took the money they needed and didn’t take too much unnecessarily.
Simba tried to maintain a strict and tough attitude, but the villagers knew how soft he truly was. The truth that the people Simba got soft toward were only his villagers.

Simba was actually a young 28-year-old leader of that village. But he declined to actively work as the village chief and became a bandit because there was no law or safety in the village. He protected his village as best as he could and stole from invaders and greedy rich people. He then helped his people with that money.
Slowly, he became very famous all around the nation because of his intense fighting skills, and no one dared to step into Breezefall Village because of his infamous feats and stories. He was also highly intelligent and able to make various kinds of ranged weapons using only wood, which was very advanced for that time. Every villager respected and loved Simba very much. Simba also had a very bad temper, and he didn’t tolerate any injustice or unfairness, so people feared him as well.

The people were happily eating the food. Simba and Bagheera were just watching them eat.

Bagheera: "I think they are all very happy now."
Simba: "Yeah."
Bagheera: "Because of you."
Simba: "Because of us. Actually, I didn’t do anything. You are the one who defeated the smugglers and took the money."
Bagheera: "I am nothing without you."
Simba(in a strict voice): "That’s just your thought. Anyway, I think you should meet that girl. I am sure she must be waiting for you."

After saying that, Simba walked away. Bagheera looked at a house and went toward it. A young, beautiful girl was there, sitting alone while everyone else was outside.

Bagheera: "How are you, Kara?"
Kara recognized Bagheera by his voice.
Kara(very happy and excited): "Bagheera! You have returned. I was waiting for your arrival."
Bagheera: "Yeah. I got many things for you. These are some food. First, eat this. There’s a lot more."
Kara: "What?"

Bagheera handed over a pair of gold bangles into her hands.

Bagheera: "This is a pair of gold bangles. I brought it only for you."
Kara: "But... you know that I can’t see, don’t you? Pretty things are meant to be seen. So I don’t think I deserve such an expensive thing which I can’t even see."
Bagheera: "But it also makes sound, can’t you hear it?"
Kara: "Yeah, I can hear it. I like it. Thanks a lot, Bagheera."

Kara was a blind girl. Bagheera was the only person she could truly call a friend.

Kara: "Anyway, where did you get all this?"
Bagheera: "I prevented some smugglers from stealing our goods and took these from them."
Kara: "Oh, so you decided to do work without Simba?"
Bagheera: "Hey, I am not his minion who only walks with him. He is like a brother to me. Wait, technically, he is my brother too."
Kara: "Yeah, I know that. Anyway, did you and Simba have any great adventure?"
Bagheera: "Of course. Do you want to hear it?"
Kara(very excited): "Yeah, I can’t wait!"

Bagheera told the story to Kara.

*Flashback*

1 week ago:

Evening, Breezefall Village, Bagheera’s house:

Bagheera’s mother was very ill. She was about 70 years old, so he was very worried about her. Bagheera called the village herbman.

Bagheera: "Is there any way to save my mother?"
Herbman: "There is very little chance. She is very old, so most of my herbs will not affect her."

Bagheera became very sad after hearing that. The herbman felt his pain.

Herbman: "But still, there is a way."
Bagheera(excited): "What is it?"
Herbman: "If you are able to find the Elixora flower, you will be able to save your mother."
Bagheera: "What is Elixora flower? I haven’t heard about it before."
Herbman: "It is a special kind of flower. It can cure many types of illnesses and poisons."
Bagheera: "Really? Where can I find it?"
Herbman: "It only grows in limited areas. Its known growing place is Twin Blue Hills. But it is a very dangerous place. Many types of predators live there, and also many bandits."
Bagheera: "I don’t care about any of that. I need to save my mother no matter what, so I am going to Twin Blue Hills."
Herbman: "Okay. Good luck."

Simba was standing outside the house. He heard everything.
Bagheera came out.

Simba: "So, you are going alone?"
Bagheera: "You heard all that? Yeah, I am going."
Simba: "Hey, I can’t let you go alone. I will accompany you."
Bagheera: "No need, Simba. That’s a very dangerous place. It is my mother, and I don’t want to risk anyone’s life for her."
Simba: "She is like a mother to me too. You are my friend, and I am your leader. I can’t let you go alone to a dangerous place."

Bagheera wasn’t able to stop Simba. Simba accompanied him anyway. They both went toward Twin Blue Hills.

Forest, at the base of Simba’s enemy bandits:

Bandit Leader: "I heard the news that Simba and Bagheera are going toward Twin Blue Hills. It is the perfect time to take them down."
Bandit 1: "So boss, are we going there?"
Leader: "Yes."
Bandit 1: "But boss, I heard that it’s a very dangerous place. Moreover, are we powerful enough to take down both Simba and Bagheera together?"
Leader: "We can’t take them down in their village or in that forest. Both are their territory. But I am sure we can take them down outside their territory. We are going there for sure."
Bandits: "Okay, boss."

Two days later

Morning, the bottom side of Twin Blue Hills:

After two days of long travel, both of them reached Twin Blue Hills.

Simba: "I think we are very close to our destination."
Bagheera: "Yeah. The herbman said the flower grows at the top of the hill. But he also said many predators live there."
Simba: "By predators, did he mean animals or humans?"
Bagheera: "What do you mean? Predators are animals, aren’t they?"
Simba: "Yeah. But humans can be predators too."

They continued walking.
At noon, they reached the bottom of a rock cliff.

Bagheera: "The cliff is slippery due to yesterday’s rain. How are we supposed to climb it?"
Simba: "Don’t worry about that."

Simba took out one of his large crossbows. He tied a rope tightly to the arrow, aimed toward the top of the cliff, and shot it by infusing his warrior madness.
Normally, an arrow couldn’t reach such height or pierce hard rock, but due to the warrior madness, it reached the top and pierced into the rock. Simba and Bagheera climbed the cliff using the rope.

Meanwhile, the enemy bandits traveled another route, knowing that following directly wasn’t a good idea.

After climbing the tall cliff, Simba and Bagheera rested for a while.

Bagheera: "That was a little exhausting, wasn’t it?"
Simba: "Yeah, but not that much."

Suddenly, Simba sensed something.

Bagheera: "What happened, Simba?"
Simba: "I can sense something. Someone is around us. Be careful."

Both took out their swords and observed their surroundings. Suddenly, about ten bandits surrounded them.

Simba(smirking): "So it was you guys. You followed us this long?"
Bandit 1: "Simba, our leader said we can’t defeat you in your territory, so we followed you here."
Simba: "Whether it’s my place or this place, you can’t defeat us."
Bagheera: "Simba, they are only ten. This is very disrespectful to us. They could have sent at least fifty."

Simba and Bagheera fought the bandits. Despite their efforts, the bandits were no match. Bagheera unleashed his Warrior Madness while using his sword. Simba used only his sword.

Simba: "I don’t need Warrior Madness to defeat these guys."

They easily defeated the bandits.

Bandit 1: "No, this isn’t possible!"
Bandit 2: "We got defeated!"
Bandit 3: "Aaah, my body hurts!"
Simba: "Go and tell your leader he needs a better plan to defeat me. Not just a surprise attack."

Simba and Bagheera continued their journey.

Meanwhile, deep inside the Twin Blue Hills forest:

The other bandits and their leader were roaming around.

Bandit: "Boss, why did you send them to attack Simba? You already knew they couldn’t defeat him."
Leader: "Yeah, I know. But after that attack, Simba will think he has defeated his enemies and has nothing to worry about anymore. I have another plan."

To be continued..........