“Yes.”
“We have to discuss something important.” The Scavenger leaned towards Huro and whispered, “About the Knight.”
Huro’s face filled with interest. “I see. One moment.” He delegated his tasks to another person, whispering some instructions to him.
“Come with me.” Huro took the Scavenger and the children to another room.
“What is it?” Huro asked.
“We know that the Knight is coming,” the Scavenger said.
“Yes. Earlier he used to do surprise raids. He has now become too powerful. He warns people beforehand and expects everyone to surrender. The Knight is expected tomorrow morning. He will take away all our food, weapons and drinks. We are just planning to save whatever we can. But who are you and why are you asking all this?”
“I have a plan to end the Knight’s reign of terror once and for all.” The Scavenger fixed Huro with a stare. “We need to fight together.”
“No,” Huro said at once. “We would be massacred. It’s about... fifty of us against thousands. We stand no chance.”
“Are there any friendly villages close by.”
“Two. One is about ten miles from here. Fuelon. And the other, Shil, should be about fifteen miles.”
“We can seek their help and fight together. It will end the Knight’s reign of terror for all times to come. Trust me.”
Huro shook his head. “But who are you, anyway?”
The Scavenger pulled back the hood covering his face, and Huro gasped audibly. “The Scavenger,” he whispered in awe.
His attitude changed completely, and he said, “What a pleasant surprise. As you say, my Lord. We trust you.”
“Good.” The Scavenger rubbed his hands. “Now...” the Scavenger said, “send half of your men to Shil, and the other half to Fuelon with a message that the Scavenger and the four Elemental children have arrived to rescue them from the Knight. Summon their armies by today midnight. Meanwhile, we will prepare traps. I need heavy logs of wood. Send these logs to the entrance of Shimo. The Knight is going to wish he never came here. Come on. Let’s go.”
Huro gave instructions to his men. They all went to the village entrance. The Scavenger scanned the area and selected two trees that were about twenty feet apart. Using ropes, he tied the branches and the bases of the two trees with each other in a way that the ropes were taut.
Next, he took pieces of wood and plunged small, sharp and lethal knives into them. He made several such wooden boards and placed them at certain angles.
The Scavenger explained his trap to Huro. “When the enemy comes rushing in, they will trip over this rope.” He pointed to the ropes at the base of the ground. “The boards will flip and the knives will shoot off on the enemy. Let’s try.”
The Scavenger jumped over the rope at the tree base.
The boards flipped and knives came straight towards the Scavenger’s head. He ducked and rolled away.
“See,” the Scavenger said to Huro, who was standing with his mouth open in admiration. “It will work.”
Huro nodded.
The messengers that the Scavenger had sent to call the other villages came running.
“What is it?” the Scavenger asked them. “Did you convey the message to the villages?”
One of the men stepped forward. “The village of Shil is coming. But Fuelon refused. They said that they couldn’t risk losing their people.”
The Scavenger swore. “These selfish people will meet their end and when they do, no one will help them back. But never mind. We will manage things on our own.”
He turned to Huro. “I need more wood. And steel too. Get me some grease, oil, glue, rope, spikes, bamboo and, of course, bottles.” He looked around. “Why are you waiting? Just move!”
Huro and his men quickly scattered and after a few minutes, the Scavenger got all that he wanted.
The Scavenger spent the next few hours constructing tricky traps. The children couldn’t understand even half of them. They just watched and assisted the Scavenger.
The Scavenger finally stopped and surveyed his work. “Ta-da! Look at my genius traps!”
Matt was curious. “But I don’t see any traps.”
The Scavenger grinned at him. “That’s the point. If the enemy can’t see the trap, then they won’t be able to avoid it.”
Suddenly, they heard people cheering and shouting in the village square. Huro turned and ran, the others in tow.
A large procession of warriors with weapons was coming – the ones from Shil. The Scavenger and Huro greeted them.
“We are very thankful to you for coming to our help,” Huro said to their leader – a man with a grim expression and a battle-worn face.
“Please don’t mention it. Our village has had enough of the Knight’s torturous rule.” As he spoke, the man’s eyes turned from Huro to the Scavenger, eyeing both of them. He bowed to the Scavenger.
The Scavenger bowed back and asked, “What is your name?”
“I am Crimson,” the man said. He gestured to a skinny man standing on his left. “He is Fat.” Then he turned to a gigantic man to his right. “And he is Tiny. Both are my guards.”
Ironic, the Scavenger thought to himself. “Welcome. The Knight is expected tomorrow, and we don’t have much time. Are you ready?”
Crimson nodded. “I was born ready. What do we do now?”
The Scavenger looked at the sky. “It’s almost evening. I suggest you rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day.”
The Scavenger turned towards the children. “Rest well. There is a big battle ahead.” The children proceeded to the resting area.
Next morning, they were all ready for the Knight. The children wore their armours, procured their weapons and came outside. All the other warriors were standing there in a tense mood. Urrax and the wolf – Thunder – were already there with the Scavenger, along with No One, Huro, Fat, Tiny and Crimson.
The Scavenger turned to the children. “You stay out of the fight, at the very back. We can’t risk you getting hurt.”
Matt groaned but was secretly relieved. Without his Elemental Power, he was pretty much useless.
He and the others walked to the back with Urrax and waited impatiently.
