7.5 BROWN TOWN

  Before the sun even had a chance to climb above Mount Laon, the former timawa, Tikum Kadlum, and the strange old man were already up to continue their trek.

  "What was your name again?" Apo Lokangan said as he led the mangy-looking man through the overgrown forest by what he called, 'the easier path'. Easy or not, the Black Dog still had problems following him as weeds and vines tried their best to trip, trap or tangle his bare feet.

  "Tikum Kadlum," the timawa answered, face evident with pure disdain against the flora that hindered his way. He cursed out loud, breaking the dried branches barring his path. The decision of the old man to send the panigotlo away was an awful idea. The creature could've easily cleared the path for them. Tikum groaned after struggling through the curtain of cogon grass. They've been walking a whole day already under the shadow of old acacias and the old man could still not stop blabbering about himself. His stories were mostly about weird things, ranging from his exploits with an aswang maiden when he was young... to the kind of lily that best induced the ceaseless psychedelia most of Vijayan elders enjoyed in their pastime.

  Most of Lokangan's blabbering were, of course, nonsense for Tikum. The former timawa shook his head. Physically, he was at the edge of fatigue and the constant bombardment of tall-tales was fast becoming irritating for him. Odd still, Apo Lokangan also reminded him of Asog Kalibutdan. And it did not do good to his already wary state of mind. But then again a part of him was also glad that old Lokangan was of the verbose type. For it staved off most of the Black Dog's worries away, distracting him for a little while. But the sense of dread he'd been bottling inside him seemed to fill again as he noticed a general strangeness in the air during their trek. It was a cold and somewhat hallow feeling. As though a sinister aura was closing in on them.

  His stomach grumbled. "Gi-atay," he said to himself. Having nothing to eat and trying to think that he could hold off his appetite with willpower alone made him think more of food. But hunger aside, everything seemed to be gloomier as the skies maintained a clear shade of gray. Tikum sighed. He still didn't know where Apo Lokangan was leading him to. But the old man assured him that he knew where all the trails and paths that covered Mount Laon ended.

  It wasn't that reassuring for him...

  Tikum paused to catch his breath. "Others call me... the Black Dog too," he said just to cut the silence that grew between them. "And before you ask, let me tell you that you wouldn't like to know why and how I got it..."

  Apo Lokangan paused just in front of a wall of thick giant ferns and expertly found the right path. He held back a branch so Tikum could pass easily. "So, it's Tikum the Black Dog Kadlum?" He smiled at him. "What a mouthful... Did your mother gave you that name? And did she ever loved you? Because with that name–"

  "Could we get back to discussing Sri Kihod's scheme?" Tikum paused mid-way. "You know, to more important things at hand?"

  "Are names that important to you?"

  "I think we're better men than that. Names mean nothing. What defines a man is his actions."

  "Really? Sounds like you learned that the hard way."

  "If it's not, then it should be. Motive, whether be good or bad doesn't count much at all the way I see it. And reputations? They always fall short. In the end, it's always actions that define a man whether he be a famed bagani or a lowly uripon. And the name Lokangan's worse! It doesn't exactly roll out of the tongue smoothly-"

  Apo Lokangan let the branch go, smacking Tikum flush in the face like whip.

  "Ouch!" Tikum said, covering his nose with his hand. "What did you do that for?"

  "Shusssh!" Apo Lokangan paused at the middle of the trail, pointing at a white song-bird with a red crest, flapping its broad wings.

  It circled the stark trees before landing on its nest high above them. As soon as it reached its perch it began to sing a melodious song. Apo Lokangan smiled, not missing the opportunity to join it as he whistled his own tune.

  Soon a mouse deer came, eyeing them before churning the soft soil near the roots of a molave tree with its hooves. Then, birds of different colors flew above the canopy, gracefully diving down back to the forest floor where the bees kissed the wild and fragrant flowers.

  Apo Lokangan smiled. "Isn't it beautiful?"

  "It is."

  "All this always reminds me what's worth protecting."

  "I see what you mean," Tikum said, watching the macaques leap gracefully from one branch to the other.

  "Such a shame others don't see it our way."

  "That's the thing about us all, we'll only find worth on things we already lost. And not on things we currently have. All because we're short-sighted and petty-"

  "Oh, aye! Back to the topic then," Apo Lokangan said, continuing on. "You say, that he wants to pry the Bone Gates like it was some plaything? Why risk turning order into chaos? What kind of a man would do such a thing?"

  Tikum wiped the sweat off his face. "A man who thinks he could change the world by bringing it back down a notch."

  This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "A mad man!"

  "Well, that's sums up Sri Kihod nicely..."

  "I have lived long... But this goes beyond all of it. I still do not trust you, young man. But this man you speak of, if we let him be, will turn the realms upside down. I see no good in his path. What will he gain in changing things?"

  "That there, is something I don't want to find out."

  Apo Lokangan slowed his gait. "Though I know some tricks to slow it down and return it to its cage... No one can really control the Dragon of Mount Laon if it is ever unleashed–"

  "If the Dragon is a strong as you describe then it'll be enough for my clever master. Sri Kihod will see the opportunity and grab it for his own benefit."

  "If the gates were destroyed by the Dragon it would mean–"

  "Utter destruction," Tikum said.

  "Those damnable gates... They were closed for a reason. They were locked using strong magical chains for a purpose. Does your master not see that there has to be boundaries between us? There has to be."

  Tikum crouched and crawled as he took the lead. "You should tell him that."

  Apo Lokangan waved his hand and cleared a path with his arcane prowess with ease. Tikum made a face but the old man continued on. "Hmmm," he said to Tikum. "Magic and madness... Such an awful combination."

  Tikum stood, dusting off his bahag. "Yeah. What's worse about Sri Kihod is... he thinks he's right too."

  "Very dangerous, indeed. Men who think they're right will stop at nothing to reach their goals."

  "That's why we need to find him or Amburukay first. Hatch our own counter-attack before he gets any more bright ideas about the gates."

  "Aye. Do not worry. If we find him... I am sure that I'll be more than a match for his dark magic. Lest you forget, I am the keeper of this domain. And Mount Laon would always take care of its servant."

  "You guard all of this?" Tikum whistled. Mount Laon and the idyllic land around it wasn't exactly a small place.

  Far from it, having the tallest peak, Mount Laon towered over other mountains in Buglas. The flat plains that surrounded it were flowered with wild and exotic flora too. And the forest they were traversing was surely the oldest in all of Vijayas. It was easy to be lost in it too. And finally, there was the magic held by the volcanic mount, it too rivaled that of Madia-as, the home of the other devatas itself.

  "Aye... someone has to do it." Apo Lokangan rubbed the back of his neck. "My old bones sometimes ache but–"

  "But it has its perks?" Tikum studied the yawning crevice hindering their way. It was too deep and too dark to see the bottom. He decided to wait for the old man this time.

  Old Lokangan nodded. With a gesture, a bridge made of stone formed before the timawa's eyes.

  "All that magic from losing a wager with the God of Time?" Tikum said. "You basically became a devata's emissary..."

  The venerable Lokangan nodded as he walked on the bridge. "When my master could not slay the beast he imprisoned it instead. In hindsight, it sounds fool-hardy. Especially... now."

  "Where did he bind the Dragon?" Tikum followed him, terrified at how deep the dark crevice was.

  "Here on the very ground you trample."

  "Gi-atay." Tikum shook his head. "A monster that a devata couldn't kill is under all of this?" He sighed. "Not so reassuring."

  "Aye," Apo Lokangan said. "And someone has been tampering with its magical leash. That's why I thought it was you. You see, you got that look in you. A very good cross between a brigand and a scoundrel."

  "Oh, you do me great pride with all your compliments." Tikum smiled. "I might blush-"

  "Only the truth, my dear friend, Tikum."

  "Whoa." Tikum paused. "I've done devious things before but look who's talking- you panigotlo-riding snatcher!"

  Apo Lokangan gave out a hearty laugh. "It should be said at all times. The truth, that is."

  "Gi-atay," Tikum whispered.

  "Now, how about I strike a bargain with you?"

  Tikum paused his progress through the thick grass before them. "Does it involve the Dragon of Mount Laon? If yes, then no."

  "But you haven't heard all of it yet. Weren't you listening earlier? You see, before... I was not like this. What I mean is, I am not a buruhisan... of any kind."

  Tikim stopped on his tracks. "You weren't born to shape magic?"

  Apo Lokangan gave Tikum a knowing smile. "I was something else. My master gave me all this after the wager."

  Tikum thought about it. Slowly he realized that Apo Lokangan was telling the truth. He smiled when Si-an Usong came to mind. He now had an inkling as to what Lokangan was to Kang Laon. Tikum suspected that the Exalted One made Lokangan an avatar of the devatas just like Si-an Usong was to Halmista. Their very own lackeys in the mortal realm. The ones who did their bidding since gods could not interfere with men's petty affairs. But the old man seem to imply something else too. Something more interesting.

  Apo Lokangan studied the surrounding trees around them. "Perhaps, I could persuade him to reward you too, if you help me with my task. My bones need rest, Tikum. You could replace me. Being a guardian isn't so bad. You–"

  "I'm not into the business of baby-sitting dragons," Tikum said. "I'm just not that eager to guard something so enormous and also that destructive. Why not ask your patron devata, Kang Laon, to kill the monster instead? You know, this time for good. It'll make things easier. Surely, the god of time has recovered from their first bout."

  After passing through the ancient forest, they started to climb towards a north-facing hill adjacent to Mount Laon. The hill itself was bare except for the thick bushes strewn around it.

  "How I wish he can," Apo Lokangan said. "But when they first clashed...my master, the Exalted One, was badly wounded. With wounds that even magic could not fully touch-"

  "And is now conveniently indisposed?" Tikum said. "Tough luck! How long has it been since he failed to slay the dragon?"

  "A few thousand years... Give or take a century."

  "That long...What is he? The god of time or the god laziness? How about I offer you a better deal?"

  "A better bargain than a god's rewards?"

  "Yes." Tikum nodded. "Help me stop Sri Kihod from unleashing the fiend your master couldn't defeat. Simple as that. The more people we put between Sri Kihod and his plan the better. After that I could help you do something about the dragon. What say you?"

  "Hah, prevent everything before it happens? Oh, you scoundrel! That's what I'm trying to do. Come here, slowly you oaf."

  Apo Lokangan beckoned him to crouch as they neared the hilltop. Tikum scurried closer to him. Then, he stopped, hiding with the old man behind a spread of greenery before them. When he was settled, Old Lokangan quickly cleared a small hole through the shrubbery so they could spy the other side of the hill. The old man cleared his throat. "Is that the man you call–"

  "Sri Kihod!" Tikum almost shouted when he saw his former master at the base of the hill.

  "Ah! Then, luck is on your side." Old Lokangan's hands crackled with magic as he smiled at Tikum Kadlum.

  The Black Dog felt his throat dry up. If Sri Kihod was here, then Ukok was close by. Tikum paused for a breath as the blood on face his drained away. From the looks of it, Sri Kihod had started his dark rituals already.

  The voice of reasons that held him days ago seemed to slacken its hold. This was Tikum's chance to rescue Ukok. This was his chance to bleed Sri Kihod like the pig he was. Tikum knew that he had to make a move right that moment before it was too late...But what should he do? What could he do against his former master?

  "Gi-atay," Tikum whispered to himself.