I awaken next to my colleagues and see that most of them are awake except the King.
I notice that my head is touching some sort of ceiling, which is strange to me as I do not feel upside down. I actually felt weightless, as if I were standing on the moon.
"Do not look down, Esquimo." One of the royal guard members tells me.
That literally has to be the worst instruction ever given in the history of man because it always forces you to look down.
Looking down, I see that there is nothing underneath my feet at all, only a ceiling above my head.
I panic for a brief second but quickly regain my composure, as it seems we are safe for the moment. After checking and asking around to make sure everyone is fine and uninjured, they all tell me that they are okay.
Once that is established, I proceed to wake up King Juulian so that we can gather our wits and assess the situation.
The King awakens and is instantly upset, realizing he was knocked out earlier.
"This hospitality is unacceptable towards a king. All I wanted to do was speak to their leader," the young king pronounces as he pushes his head off the ceiling.
"Your request has been heard," A voice from behind us speaks.
Startled, we all slowly maneuver and turn around to see who has spoken. Finally, getting into a position where we all face the man who spoke, we see a dark-skinned man calmly sitting cross-legged, watching us fret around.
Once we turn around, this man takes his time and looks at everyone. He stared at us as if trying to read our history through our eyes. His eyes finally leave mine and settle on the King, whose energy is far from friendly. And he's never been good at hiding his emotions.
The man speaks clearly and directly to the King. "I am the leader of the Melatonin Tribe. First, while yes, you may be a king, you are not the King of this land. This land doesn't even belong to me. It belongs to my people."
"Your people?" the young King scoffed. I instantly felt a ripple of goosebumps tear across my body at the tone of his voice. "If your territory is on my land, no matter how far from my kingdom, then I own your territory too. I just have never traveled this far before, and all of this is unknown to me."
The leader of the Melatonin Tribe just looks at King Juulian, unmoved by his disrespect.
Then, the quiet cave is echoed with a terrifying scream as we all notice that one of the members of the royal guard has fallen away from the group and into the abyss.
His yell is suddenly silenced, and we know that he has met the bottom.
Fear captures our group as the situation turns more dire, and we realize that we are still very much in danger of losing our lives.
The leader continues, "Second, you were met with hostility because you are not welcome here. You had no invitation.
"The only reason you and your colleagues are not joining the population of skeletons outside of my home is because my tribesman took heed to your crown and acknowledged you as royalty. But let me be clear, I don't care about your royalty. I was only obliging you because I was curious about why you sought us out.
"But if all you wanted was to come here to infiltrate and disrespect, there is no need to talk. And no need for survivors." Then, another member of the royal guard is released from whatever force kept us up and falls to his death next, reducing our current number of 4 to 3.
Panic and fear flush over us remaining suspended above our death. I didn't want to die with these things in my heart, so I closed my eyes to accept my fate peacefully.
"Stop! I came here because I need your assistance." King Juulian yells.
"My my, how rude you are. Here you are moments before your death, and you don't ask me to stop. You tell me to stop. You don't ask for my assistance. You tell me you need my assistance. Your father should be ashamed of the son he has raised." The leader scolds the young king, dropping two more guard members, leaving only the King and I.
The king grows silent, hearing a remark about his father. The leader of the Melatonin Tribe has not taken his eyes off of King Juulian once, watching his reactions.
"Reflect, young King. You have lost five men in a matter of minutes. Is it because I am a monster, simply enjoying the cries of strangers as they splatter onto the floor of a volcano?
"Or is it something else? If I were you, I would think before I spoke again. Unless you truly did not care about your friends. And if that is the case, then, friend, I am sorry for you as well."
I open my eyes to see that the leader of the Melatonin tribe has his eyes on me. The strange thing is though, I could feel the sincerity of his comment.
The King and I sit there for what feels like an eternity. A moment later, he finally speaks, and all I can do is pray he has taken heed to the leader's warning. "You are right. My father would be ashamed of me.
"My short tenure as king has been nothing less than disastrous. I have disrespected a former ally of my father's and have made an enemy that can destroy my kingdom.
"Thinking I could handle the problem myself, I foolishly sent hundreds of my men to their deaths and haven't even had the gall to ask for their bodies so that they may receive the burial they deserve. I have traveled for days straight, neither resting nor eating because time is of the utmost urgency as my enemy traverses now to my home.
"I find the man whose help I need the most right now, and instead of bowing my head, I show my chin. I have lost all except one of the men who have sworn to protect me, and I realize now that I have failed to protect them due to my arrogance.
"I am truly sorry for my disrespect, but please, I beg you, I need your help and will promise you anything you ask for. If apologies are not enough, I ask that you at least spare my longtime friend Esquimo. He has done nothing to offend you, and if I do not see tomorrow, I know I can entrust him to make the best decision for my kingdom." The King says.
I look at the young King, genuinely shocked. As I have watched him grow through the years I served his father, I have never seen him humble himself so much. I had to say that seeing him admit to his wrongness, I knew he was truly ashamed of his prior actions.
The leader of the Melatonin Tribe stares deeply into the eyes of King Juulian. I feel a pull and fear that the words of the King have fallen short on the ears of this man. But instead of a vertical descent, we are being moved horizontally towards the leader.
As our feet touch the solid ground, I feel a renewed appreciation for a surface I had taken for granted all my life.
"Please sit," the leader instructs us both. As we sit, the King offers us a tall wooden cup of water, which we thank him for and engulf in the whole beverage.
After we finished our drinks, the leader of the tribe asked King Juulian, "So, tell me why you have traveled to my home, nonstop, to find me?"
"Well, sir- "
"You may call me Cordon." the leader tells the king.
"Yes, Cordon. A few moons ago, I made a mistake of disrespecting the leader of a perilous people. As a result of my actions, they have declared war upon us, and I know it is a battle we will not win.
"I heard a tale of a warrior of your tribe defeating a notorious family. After confirming the story was true, I raced here hoping to enlist your assistance against this deadly enemy." King Juulian explains.
"So you want us to fight your battle for you?" Cordon asks, refilling his cup.
"Yes, but I will send a legion of my best to fight alongside you. My kingdom is not populated with cowards, but I'm afraid I have provoked a monster we cannot handle alone."
"And what is the name of this tribe?" Cordon continues his interview.
"They are called the Hardoy Tribe." King Juulian answers.
"Ahh, The mighty Hardoy Tribe! That is a powerful enemy you have enraged, young King. You must have touched one of their women to evoke a war." Cordon chuckles.
"Something like that." the King's jaw clinches. "So, you have heard of them?"
"Our people have crossed paths before. We share a similar culture, being that we love to fight. We have met their tribe in tournaments before. It is actually quite popular among some of the stronger Tribes. But that is unimportant right now." Cordon says, finishing his beverage.
"So, young king, in exchange for us defeating the Hardoy tribe for you, what will my people get in return?"
"What is it you want?" King Juulian asks.
"I want nothing. My people need nothing. You saw all that the land provides us, and we are content with what we have. So what can you offer us? Why should I possibly put my family at risk of death for a man who can offer me nothing?" Cordon asks him straight up.
King Juulian doesn't have an answer to this question and knows he cannot win this man over with anything material. "I don't know." The young king admits.
Cordon looks at him, not letting his gaze leave the frame of the king's. After a moment of silence, Cordon finally speaks, "I'll take you up on your proposition, young king."
"You will!?" The King says, and both he and I sit there in astonishment.
"Yes, I will. It will be good exercise for my people and it will give many of our young warriors a chance to earn their stripes and titles.
Happiness takes over the young king's heart as he bashes his head in a bow, thanking Cordon for granting his wish. Raising his head, he asks Cordon, "Please, tell me what you want, anything, and it is yours."
"Simple, young king. After this meeting, we will prepare to travel and meet the Hardoy tribe. There is a nice desert between your home and theirs that will serve as a good battlefield. That is where we will wait. Save your men, for they will only be in the way.
"You and your friend will be led out of our territory and returned to the dead forest. And the only promise I ask is that you promise never to return. No hard feelings, but I do not want people thinking they are welcome to explore my land. Not even Kings.
"So I do this for you, you do that for me, and in the end, we never see each other again. Agreed?" Cordon asks.
Thinking it would be an instant agreement, I was shocked that the young king pondered this deal for a second. Finally, he agreed, and the two men stood and shook hands.
After the deal was sealed, Cordon said to the young king, "I am curious. What story did you hear that made you want to seek us out?"
"It was a tale about a young prince and some glass roses," Juulian replies.
Cordon smiles, clearly remembering this event.
"Was the young prince you, Cordon?" King Juulian asks.
"No, it was not. It was my son Cordayl. I remember him returning from that adventure. I was walking through the village, and he was handing them to all the women in the tribe. Such a ladies' man he is."
Suddenly, there was a knock, and a stone door we had not realized was there slid to the side and opened up. A young boy walked into the room and handed Cordon two slips of dark cloth without saying a word.
"Thank you Cordayl. Go and prepare yourself for training. I will be with you shortly." Cordon says.
"Yes, sir. " The young boy says, leaving the room, making a silent exit.
"That was Cordayl?" I ask, astounded, the first words I have spoken in Cordon's presence.
"Yes, it was." Cordon replies
"But- he is only a child. No older than 10. How can he alone have defeated a fearsome group at such a young age?" the king asked my question for me.
"He is eight. And the events of that tale took place last year. He is strong for his age." Cordon says, with a slight hint of pride in his tone. "We will find out how strong very soon."
Returning his attention to them, Cordon tells them "I need you both to put this cloth over your eyes. I will lead you out of the village. Then my warriors will lead you back to the Dead Forest." Cordon explains.