The sound of dripping water woke Lam from a deep dream. He gave a long yawn before he took the white cloth on his head, squeezing his eyes shut and opening them so his sight could adapt with the dimness.

  Stalactites that covered the ceiling above him startled his senses back to clarity and to reality. The jutting rock formations reminded him of the macupo's vile fangs. He shivered at the thought of the vile beast coming to life. After a while, the fog of sleep broke open to let his memories pass.

  "Where... am I...?" he whispered but only the echo of his own voice answered back.

  Lam tried to stand but his legs wouldn't let him. He tried again but failed. Worried and a bit curious he raised his head to see what's wrong. Only then did he realized that a chunk of his left leg was gone. He whispered his curses as pain rushed towards his body.

  "Where the fuck are my legs?" he whispered in shock.

  He could feel his wound healing but it was too slow. He tried to piece things but all he remembered were muddied up memories. The last thing he saw was the white soul-searing light that came at him after their victory against the pale invaders. Out of stubbornness, he tried to stand for the third time but pain stabbed at his side and chest.

  "I wouldn't do that if I were you," said a rough voice warped by the cave's echo.

  Lam turned his head towards it, hands looking for a weapon to protect himself. "Who are you?" he said, eyes straining to see through the gloom of the cavern's inner chamber. "Where's my damn sword?"

  "I got a better question for you." The man in the darkness raised his shaking hand and pointed at Lam's legs. "What are you?"

  Lam growled. "Someone who you wouldn't want to cross." The waylander tried to face the speaker shrouded by the shadows but pain and fatigued had weakened him. He took a jagged rock from the cave's floor instead. It wouldn't do as a weapon but he had no choice.

  "Where am I?" He raised the pointed edge towards the man in the darkness.

  "You're in a cave my friend."

  "I'm not blind. What I meant was why did you bring me here? I need to go back to my family. They need me right now."

  "I can't let you do that my friend."

  "You can't? Then, you're no friend of mine." Lam propped himself up using the cave wall, teeth gritted. Beads of sweat ringed around his pale features. Then, Lam paused as he heard the man in the shadows stand and stagger into the light, dragging Rooster's claw behind him. His heart skipped a beat with the thought of his sword slicing his own flesh. But things were not as he thought it was.

  "I beg to disagree, friend," the man said as he stood in front of Lam.

  "Salip?" Lam said to his chieftain.

  He almost didn't recognize the datu of Mandawili. His face was all bruised up. Dried blood clung on his matted long hair and his nose seemed to have acquired a crooked edge.

  "This is heavy," Pulaco said with a raspy voice. He dropped Lam's sword with a clang and took the bamboo canteen slung to his hip and offered it to Lam.

  The Pulaco in front of him seemed like someone else. And not just physically. Yes, he was no longer the magnanimous chief who seemed like some bronze-skinned demigod of a time long-passed. And gone was the aura of invincibility that veiled him before. Only to be replaced by what looked like his truer self. He was now just a man of flesh and bone. But somehow, Lam felt like this Pulaco was the man the tales were all about. It was in his eyes too, there was an edge in the way he looked at things that made him all the more intimidating and dangerous. It was always in the eyes.

  Lam slid back to the cave floor, dropping the rock on the floor. "What happened to you?" he said, looking at Pulaco's other hand. The one covered in thick bandage.

  "Got into a fight," Pulaco said. "How are you feeling?"

  "I'm fine." The waylander looked down his missing leg and then looked up at Pulaco with a grim smile. "I've made through worse things than this," he added as he took the cup offered by his chief.

  "Then, you're a tougher man than I thought."

  "Yeah, I guess so." He struggled to smile.

  "Are you sure you'll be fine? Can't imagine the other guy fairing better than you."

  Lam exhaled deeply. "Oh, can't you see? I'm as fit as a carabao. Well, most of me is if you don't count the missing parts. And the other guy is as dead as a duck."

  "Yes, you do look lean too... you really look like you shed unwanted weight."

  "Hmmm." A genuine smile edge Lam's lips. "I finally think I could beat you in a race." He sighed. "How about you? You seem to have change a little, Salip."

  Pulaco coughed. "Me? We'll can't you see?" He combed his unruly hair with his fingers. "I'm still as dashing as a mountain goat." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "All things considered I think I look better now," Pulaco said as he crouched a couple of feet in front of the highlander, trying to twist his lips into a smile. "Don't worry though, I'm not keeping this look any longer than I should."

  Lam gagged at the smell of the drink inside the bamboo canteen. "Do I have to ask what's on this drink?"

  "It'll help mend that leg faster."

  "What leg?"

  Both men laughed again.

  "It'll be okay, Salip. Give it a week and I'll have a new one on hand." Lam massaged his thigh after chugging the concoction.

  "I'm not worried. I know you're as tough as they come. But I still couldn't believe you didn't tell us about your..."

  "Power? Magic? Sorcery? Curse?" He lowered his head.

  "I was going to say secret, " Pulaco said, no judgement in his tone only curiosity. "But yes, didn't you trust us?" He took the canteen from Lam and placed it on a flat stalagmite behind him.

  "How in the dark gods would I say it to all of you?" Lam said, raising both hands placatingly. "Would you believe me, Salip? You'll probably call me mad if I did!"

  "Well, you've got a point there," Pulaco said as he rubbed his bandaged hand. "Ming would probably tell you that face on."

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  "Speaking of Ming, where's the bald ape?" Lam said.

  Instead of a reply a long span of silence crawled and stretched between them. Pulaco looked down on the cave floor, searching for the right word. How would he word this. What could he say. He sighed. "He's gone," he finally said. "Zullah caught me off guard. I barely survived. Very stupid. I should've done something. It was an obvious trap. I wasn't paying attention. Ming... he didn't make it. I fell off a cliff and almost drowned swimming to safety. He's dead, Lam–"

  Lam nodded, face sullen. A part of him wished he was there. They could've fought their enemies together. The outcome would've been different. It could've. He shook his head. Apart of him wanted to at least bid farewell to his friend. This whole thing was unfair. This whole mess shouldn't have happened in the first place. A long span of silence grew between them. The coldness of the dark cave soaked down through their marrows. Emptied of warmth, they sat like statues in the midst of a forsaken ruin.

  Pulaco cleared his throat before sighing. "Heard Sand and Butod perished in the beach. I hope they fought well."

  "They didn't die in vain," Lam said. "I made their murderer pay."

  "I trust you did." Pulaco gritted his teeth. He felt more hallow after confirming their deaths. How many of his friends were left? How many have perished? And his people? What would happen to them all. All this. All because he miscalculated. A damning error on his part. He cursed himself.

  "What do we do now?"

  Pulaco's sharp eyes turned to Lam. "I want to protect Mandawili."

  "Then, why are we in a cave? We should be home right now protecting it."

  "No, we can't... not yet." Pulaco leaned closer. "I have a plan and we're still waiting for someone."

  "Who?"

  "Me," said an old woman's voice at the mouth of the cavern. He words was so distorted by the echoes it sounded like it came from Sidapa's domain.

  She halted mid-stride and looked from left to right, checking if she was followed. The bright light of the noon sun cast a shadow on her face as she turned towards them. From a distance, the only thing Lam could recognize was she was wearing some sort of tunic paired with a thick malong. She also looked like she was carrying something behind her. Perhaps, a basket of some sort.

  "Almost got lost on my way here," she said as she entered the dank tunnel after realizing that no one hounded her trail, hobbling her way towards the two baganis.

  Pulaco raised his head, one swollen eye squinting. "You're late."

  "Something came up," the old woman said in between wheezes as she drew closer. "Both of you should be resting. Did you drink what I left you?"

  "I already had mine," Pulaco said, showing the empty bamboo canteen beside him. "You sure you're not poisoning us with it?" he added as he sat on the flat stalagmite with a smile, tearing the bandage off his hand.

  "Can't do that now, too busy at the moment." Manang Sabtano gave him a betel nut stained smile, but clearly there was sadness in the way she did it. "I have so much things to tell you, but all of it can wait." She gave him a hug. "The important thing is they all bought our ruse, Pulaco. Everyone thinks you're both dead. News of your demise will spread in no time." She passed a long and narrow thing wrapped in hide and twine to Pulaco.

  "I hope the Silver Sultan will hear of it too," the chief of Mandawili said.

  "Dead?" Lam interjected.

  Pulaco tore the canvass and twine, revealing the kampilan blade inside."Yes, dead and missing."

  "Why?"

  "A possible war is inevitable," Manang Sabtano said to the waylander. "Pulaco here thinks the Magalos would not back away even if they knew that the great datu of Mandawili is dead. So, we'll stop it before it begins."

  "And how will you do that?"

  Manang Sabtano stood between them, hands akimbo. "Care to explain yourself, Pulaco? This is your plan after all." She dug through the basket. A couple of alum crystals, some turmeric root, a bundle of lemon grass, two clay jugs of water and a handful of blumea leaf and other assorted things was was inside it. Manang Sabtano took the turmeric root and threw it towards Lam. "Chew on that first."

  The waylander fumbled to catch it with only one hand. He shook his head. "So, the plan?" He stared at Pulaco.

  "First, we have to sell the ruse to everyone that I died, including to those close to us," the Mandawilian datu said. "It's crucial."

  Manang Sabtano nodded. "But in time they will know."

  "Yes, but only after we kill the Silver Sultan, himself," Salip Pulaco said.

  "Kill the sultan?" Lam's voice hitched.

  "Pulaco predicts that he will come for us. My conversation with Banglud earlier proved it to be true. I now know the specifics of it, now."

  Lam shook his head. "But–"

  Pulaco raised a hand and nodded. "War is at our footsteps, and he will be determined to led the Magalos and shamzirs in conquering our lands. I simply plan to spread chaos in their ranks before this becomes a full-blown war."

  Lam turned to the crone. "And you agree with this? He means to infiltrate the Magalos ranks, dispose of their ruler and for what?"

  "In doing so, he will tip the favor to our side," Manang Sabtano said.

  "Who else knows about this plan of yours?" said Lam to the old crone as he munched on the root.

  "You, me and Pulaco."

  "No one else?! Malaya? The Daragangans?"

  "No one else," Manang Sabtano said as she dug through the basket again, looking for something. "Now, where is that damn thing." After displacing everything in the basket, she finally found what she was looking for, a red putong.

  "Why me?" Lam said. "I mean what can I do to help you?"

  "Your secret will be a great help for us, Lam." Pulaco took the clay jug and drank from it. "We can use it. But for now, we'll have to play things close. Zullah may have planted spies in our ranks. We can't root them all out in time. Not with the sultan's hounds on our doors."

  "What if you fail in eliminating him?" Lam said. "And Salip, if you do kill him, what if it doesn't stop the sultan's expansion? Mingming said they'll still have those wazirs."

  Manang Sabtano walked behind Pulaco and tied the embroidered red putong on the datu's head, wrapping his long greasy hair in place. She admired it for a second. It was a symbol of valor in times of great war but somehow it didn't matched the blood-red tampi wound around the datu's hip. "Yes, that could happen as well. The wazirs could simply take over too."

  "I have my doubts with this scheme, Salip," Lam said. "I'm sure we can think of a better one. Better than this path."

  Manang Sabatano nodded as she inspected the poultice wrapped around the chief's half-naked body. The man's whole back was riddled with old and new scars. Scars both big and small. Scars both shallow and deep. Perhaps, some were too deep that they'll never heal properly.

  Pulaco cleared his throat to speak. "My word is final. We will move in the shadows as we gather our forces. To be out in the open is risking a long drawn-out war. Something we could not afford." He sighed. War that I've tried to avoid for many years, he said to himself.

  "Do not worry I will move to secure an alternative if this doesn't work," Manang Sabtano said. "I've already talked to Dumog." She began to tend to Lam's wounds. "And he has accepted the Daragangan's leadership. I'll tell him about this whole thing when the right time comes.

  "And what of Mandawili?" Lam said.

  Pulaco nodded. "For now, Malaya will act as our interim datu. I know she and Dumog can handle it. Manang Sabtano will also be there for her."

  Lam shook his head. "This is not the right way. This is not the bagani's way you've told me about. This plan is risking too much. You might fail. And what of your people?"

  Pulaco looked Lam in the eye. "We have to do this Lam, because we're left with too few choices. A battle army to army would defeat us in one go. We are outnumbered and ill-prepared and if Zullah is right then, it is I that caused all this chaos."

  He turned towards Mingming's mother as she finished her task. "So, I intend to stop this myself. I need to do this on my own. This will be for the ones we've lost."

  The old woman nodded, wiping her hands on her tunic. "For my son. For our friends..."

  Pulaco sighed, remembering a familiar memory.

  "Yes, we'll have to do this for the ones we love," he said. "A small sacrifice to protect them."

  "This all sounds like you're not planning to return," Lam said. "What of Malaya and your sons and your grandchild. The ones you love. This is suicidal, Salip!"

  Pulaco nodded. "I see your point, Lam But we'd be avoiding war if it does work. We'll be saving more lives. If it doesn't work then, we'll still be ready to fight the Magalos long enough for our people to flee. To escape."

  Lam placed a fist on his chest. "Then, let me be the man to kill the sultan! I swore my sword and my life to you. Let me prove it this time!"

  "Not with your situation right now. Perhaps, when you get that new leg back."

  Lam sighed. "If things go bad what will you do!? What can we do?"

  The datu's obsidian eyes fell upon the blade on his hands. The weary orbs had the same malicious glint like the gray steel before it. "Then, we'll fight them and if the need comes... We'll bring them war for all the ages to remember until death takes us all. We'll do it like the old way. We will bring them hell."

  *THE END*

  SALIP PULACO will be back in

  THE WHISPERS OF WAR