Only Time Will Tell

Chapter 4: Dwarf Village

MOALLIM ABUBAKAR

A FEW MOMENTS AGO

"And you must be... ?"

"Hansel and Gretel, the witch hunters " Hansel quickly cut in. He spoke with confidence.

"Brother, I don't think that was appropriate. He's a wizard, he might find that offensive " Gretel whispered to Hansel as she punched his abdomen slightly, with her elbow; but they had no idea I could hear them.

"You two are THE Hansel and Gretel? " I asked confused. They looked nothing like the formidable siblings I heard that terrorized the evil witches in the outside world.

"Yes sir. Don't mind our cute looks, we're killers " Gretel said grinning. They were more or less, children, just like Anubis. I wasn't overly surprised by the incessant level of immaturity they had just exhibited.

"So you are THE Hansel and Gretel? That's quite disappointing." I shrugged trying to get myself together.

"So who's the target sir" Hansel asked, struggling to put a serious look.

"This was a bad idea" I muttered to myself, shaking my head in disappointment. They really had no idea of what they were meant to do. "No.We're not killing anybody " I replied sternly.

"Hansel I think you've pissed the old man off" Gretel whispered to Hansel and they bursted into laughter amongst themselves, giggling like little children. Their level of unprofessionalism annoyed me greatly.

"I need you to protect someone for me" I said, sighing in disappointment.

"Oh you should've told us we were going hunting and not going to kill someone " Gretel joked, laughing at her lame sense of humor. She abruptly stopped laughing when she noticed I didn't find her funny.

"No. You're not going to hunt them you i***t. You're going to protect them " I said through clenched teeth, holding back the anger building up within me.

"Protect them to where?"

"To Mt Horeb" I answered quickly

"What are they going to do in Horeb for f**k's sake!" They exclaimed, finally understanding why their expertise service was required.

"It's not something you should be concerned about. Besides, you wouldn't understand even if I tried explaining" I said to them, but it was a waste of saliva, they weren't paying attention.

"So how good is there Magic? Can they help in combat against the ugly creatures in the woods" Hansel asked, suddenly paying attention again.

"And that's the little problem here" I said, suddenly chagrined because of the next thing I was going to say. "They don't know about the creatures in the woods" I chipped in and they stared at me sheepishly in disbelief. "No I'm not saying,that they don't know such creatures exists" I defended. "As a matter of fact, they've learned about them. The only problem here is that they haven't come in contact with any" I said almost in a whisper, searching their eyes intently to know their next reaction. It was embarrassing.

"So they haven't seen an elf man?" Gretel asked in uttermost disbelief. "Such handsome creatures" she added.

"And orgies and minotaurs, vampires, werewolves, fairies and... ?"

"Brother don't forget about those stubborn, troublesome, daft, ugly dwarves" Gretel interrupted Hansel and shuddered in disgust, probably for the dwarves.

"I'm afraid no" I said bowing my head in shame

"We're so doomed " Gretel said looking at Hansel worriedly.

"So you're literally paying us to babysit those grown babies?" Hansel asked still looking shocked. There was a brief silence for a while as no one spoke but dwelled in their thoughts.

"That's so great!" They suddenly said together in excitement. "Have you ever been paid such amount to babysit someone? " Gretel threw a rhetorical question at Hansel. "Whatever the risk is, I believe it's worth it." she giggled.

PRESENTLY

ANUBIS

"So if you're witch hunters, why are you keeping us alive" Reem asked.

"We're not savages. we don't go about killing innocent people. We only hunt the ugly witches that hurt people" Hansel replied.

"...and when we're paid to do so" Gretel added and they both nodded in agreement.

"The witches that hurt people with dark magic " I muttered to myself.

"Paid? So you are some kind of assassins for hire?" Reem asked in disgust

"Well if you mean eliminating the bad witches, then yes. There's no harm in ridding the world off a little evil." Hansel said.

"You guys aren't from around here. I'm positive you are foreigners " I said, almost to myself.

"Yes. Our skills has gotten us quite a reputation across the globe." Hansel said, boastful.

"So what brings you here?"

"Nothing. We have quite a hobby of seeking out Adventures." Hansel replied casually. "And so the big question. Where are you lost puppies heading to? " He asked.

"That was insulting. Nonetheless we're headed to Mt Horebs" I replied.

"Sounds like an adventure. Can we tag along? " Hansel pleaded or whatever what he did meant.

"No way! We don't know you guys and I don't trust you people. You might be dangerous "Reem protested

"No we're not dangerous.You need to trust us because we didn't kill you"

"you wouldn't hurt us, you don't hurt innocent people, stupid " Reem cussed.

"It's okay Reem. Let them come along. They might be of help" I interrupted their petty fight.

"But Anubis? "

"It's okay Reem, trust me" I said caressing her cheek. "Let's go guys " I said. And together we continued the journey. — A journey of friendship

—

We trudged wearily through the woods for hours; tired and hungry. Reem and I had company now (one which I believed was brought by faith) so we scrapped the idea of going to the village and focused on the journey. We traveled dedicatedly, stopping a few times just to rest our exhausted bodies and eat fruits, before we resumed our match again. The last time we stopped was when we decided to rest our heavy eyelids. It was getting dark and we could barely see anything else, other than the empty sky with no stars to light up the night. We made camp at the base of a huge oak tree. We gathered some dry leaves and set fire to keep us warm from the harsh cold of the night. It was my first night outside of the institution. We barely spoke to each other as we slumbered into sleep.

The journey was resumed again in the early hours of the morning, the next day. Reem and I didn't sleep much because of the harsh conditions of this foreign environment, so we decided take advantage of it by continuing our journey.

"Wait Anubis" Hansel had called out to me earlier before we left, and then he proceeded to speak when I attended to him. “Considering that you’re traveling to a far place, don’t you think you need a solid plan?” He’d asked a sensible question, one that I had been too angry and hasty to even think about. “My sister and I know these lands fairly well, and as an adventurer, I tell you, you might not make it to your destination if you don’t plan yourself well” he advised, seemingly having my best interest at heart.

“What do you suggest we do then?” I asked

"You’re traveling to a far place, I think you’d need a horse to get there faster” he suggested

"Good! Where do we get one?” I asked but Hansel arched an eyebrow at me instead.

"What do you mean, where do we get one?" He asked looking flustered. "Can't you just magically create one?"

"No! Magic can't make or give life" I replied sharply, a bit surprised that he thought that was possible. “It seems there's so much to Magic you all don't know” I muttered speaking more to myself than him.

"Okay, that aside, you still need a horse” he pointed out

" Don't worry. According to my map, there’s a small settlement a couple miles from here. I believe they’ll help” I reassured him before we embarked on our journey.

It was afternoon now, and the sun was scorching hot, so we decided to take a break under the shed of a tree. We had not rested long before Reem spotted something.

"Hey guys look at this, isn't it cute" she squealed, catching our attention.

"Put him down now!" Gretel screamed.

"But he's cute can't we keep him" Reem said. She had so much adored the short little man. She lifted him, but made sure to keep him at arms length away from her.

"No he's not cute, he's a man. And we can't keep him, he's a dwarf, can't you tell by his bushy long beards?" Gretel scolded. "I'm positive he's calm now because he finds you attractive" Gretel nagged.

"Oh God!" Hansel sighed in disappointment. " Please don't tell me the settlement you were talking about was the dwarf settlement" he said snatching the map from me and began to study it carefully.

"Ok. Reem, just put it down " I said defenseless, already tired.

"Guys shhhhh!" Gretel suddenly said, placing her index finger on her lips. "Do you hear that?" she asked and we all kept quiet, expecting to hear or see something strange. There was total calmness in the woods [as if they heard the command too]. The environment was awkward because the birds never ceased their noise throughout the journey, but now they did. Everywhere was so calm that I could hear everyone's heart thumping furiously in excitement.

"I don't hear anything" Reem sighed, interrupting the silence, and in a split second, an arrow made a near-miss off her forehead. We followed one natural command as we all took to our heels. As we ran dwarves emerged from the shadows, mounting their horses and chased after us. We fled for our lives but they kept on charging towards us, shooting arrows after arrows at us. It literally rained arrows in the woods

We kept on with our flight, jumping boulders and dodging trees branches and trees in general. We ran effortlessly for a great while till they cornered us at a cliff.

"Put him down now, you ugly beast" A female dwarf screamed, shooting an arrow at Reem and it landed a few inches away from her feet. I guess that was an intentional miss.

"What the... ? You took him with you?" Gretel asked in shock.

"Drop him!" The dwarf commanded alighting her horse and shot deadly stares at Reem and her dwarf partner.

"Oh honey!" The dwarf Reem held, called out to the female one, smiling sheepishly.

"I'll deal with you later when we get home" she replied and pointed her sword against Reem. She gave Reem a stern look, and she dropped her little friend immediately. The poor thing landed with his face on the dirt. The female dwarf withdrew her sword and slid it back to it's sheath. She opened her mouth in awe as she finally noticed our companions: Hansel and Gretel. They were shocked to see her too. I guess they must've met from somewhere.

"Well..well..well! What do we have here" she said moving her stout body towards them.

"Hey Margaret " Hansel chuckled nervously, but was shut up with a slap.

"I told you that wasn't a good idea " Gretel whispered to him, bowing her head away.

"We finally meet again...eh?" The dwarf said posing the question to the siblings.

"I swear we can explain " Gretel quickly cut in.

"No Gretel don't worry let me do the talking" Hansel interrupted.

"No. The the last time you did the talking, we ended up stealing their stuff"

"Shut up! The both of you!" The taciturn dwarf ordered and they both kept quiet instantly. "Bind them!" she ordered and the angry looking dwarves behind her alighted their horses with ropes. "Bind them together with their friends!" she ordered once more and the angry dwarves began to bind us, rather roughly.

"I think you're mistaken, we're not friends " I protested

"You are now. Stupid!" Gretel interrupted me.

"Oh save your breath!" The dwarf said referring to me. They binded us and mounted us on their horses. "Saddle your horses! We ride to the village...eh!!" The dwarf ordered and they took off.