Part 7 (2)

While the new Commander of the imperial forces Babida was slumbering, the ambient temperature began to drop considerably and the room became cold.

The window wing that was left open was suddenly hit by a strong wind, making thus a noise that disturbed the woodsman's sleep.

Babida rose but was half asleep. He was sitting upright on the bed but still had his eyes closed and was somnolent.

Then in his somnambulant state, he heard a huge voice: "Babida! Babida!" It said, calling the logger twice.

The lumberjack was shaken up by the big intensity of the tone and he completely came back to his senses.

He opened his eyes as the voice mentioned his name twice again and saw in front of him a glow in the form of a circle.

"Look on the ground!" The mysterious voice emerging from the sparkling light commanded him.

Babida the lumberjack did as he was told and remarked a small glass bottle.

"Pick it up!" The mystical voice ordered him.

The Commander of the imperial forces obeyed and collected the container. He brought it near to his eyes so he could know what was inside and glanced at a liquid as transparent as the glass of the bottle.

"Before the first sun rays of the rising day, go to the kitchen and command the cook to pour this liquid into the porridge concocted for breakfast and give it plain and hot to your men." The voice instructed the woodsman.

"After eating the mixture, your men shall have each twice the strength of an elephant and thrice the speed of a Gazelle so they can build the bridge in two days." The voice then said.

"And once the men will be done constructing the infrastructure, the effects of the magic potion will go away and they will retrieve their normal strength and speed." The voice warned.

The revelation baffled Babida and made him speechless for some time but then he recovered his senses and interrogated the voice: "Who are you, My Forefather?"

"Guigna, the god of strength!" The voice said and disappeared right after.

Not sure about what the time was, the Commander of the imperial forces sneaked outside through the open window, looked at the sky and it was twilight.

So without wasting much time, Babida ran to the kitchen of the administrative headquarters where the imperial soldiers' collation was being prepared.

He explained to the cook the urgency, then gave him the magic liquid which he poured in the pot of porridge.

The cook finished making breakfast as the sun began to shine powerfully over the sky and the troop in Okunde's garden woke up, ready to start a new day and face any challenge it had in store.

The Commander of the imperial forces Babida then instructed the cook that the porridge be distributed to the imperial warriors that were greatly hungry without them knowing it was containing a magic potion that would multiply their strength and speed.

The cook obeyed the Commander and sent the helpers to serve the breakfast, formally forbidding them to reveal what had just happened within the four walls of the kitchen.

The lumberjack then left and went to the administrative headquarters' balcony and observed discreetly how the helpers shared the first meal of the day with the men in uniform.

In the meantime, his henchman Baba who was also already awake and looking for him came to meet him on the balcony.

"Greetings, My Commander!" The interim aide-de-camp said to him while giving him a military salute.

The Commander of the imperial forces Babida greeted back the youngster but not with the usual attention, for he shifted immediately his focus back to the lawn of Okunde's garden where the kitchen helpers were giving the enchanted food to his men.

The henchman Baba guessed something of extreme seriousness was going on and didn't want to bother the Commander in chief.

So he just stood by the lumberjack's left side and like him began to observe the helpers passing on the porridge to the imperial soldiers who devoured it with no apprehension.

Then as if he had understood that there was something particular with the food, the interim aide-de-camp Baba finally decided to importune the logger and asked him: "You did something with the porridge, didn't you, My Commander?"

"Yes indeed, I did. Come with me to the office. I shall explain everything to you." Babida replied to the youngster as he turned and walked back inside.

The henchman Baba followed him.

The new Commander of the imperial forces Babida arrived in the office with his henchman Baba.

The lumberjack sat behind the desk while the youngster preferred to stand.

A bit impatient to know what the Superior Commander had done with the food being served to the troop in Okunde's garden, the henchman Baba queried him again: "So there is something special with the breakfast, My Commander?"

The logger saw curiosity was itching his aide-de-camp and didn't want to keep him out of the secret any longer, so he commenced recounting him everything.

"Well, comrade, you remember, yesterday you asked how we were going to build the bridge in a short time," Babida said to the youngster Baba.

"Well, the divinities heard you, and Guigna, the god of strength appeared to me. He gave me a magic potion that procures the men twice the strength of an elephant and thrice the speed of a Gazelle." He then described.

The interim henchman Baba was first awestruck but then jumped for joy.

"That's excellent, My Commander!" He said excitedly.

"So then you have ordered the cook put the potion in the breakfast." Baba guessed.

"Yes, indeed!" The Commander of the imperial forces Babida confirmed.

"However, the effects of the magic potion will last only two days." He then precised to the youngster.

"Only two days?" exclaimed the henchman Baba, a bit disappointed.

"Yes. Two days during which the men in uniform will build the bridge. So they will have to be fast because the volunteers may come back soon from the forbidden mountain with the lured newborn Monster." The lumberjack uttered.

"Then we shall start the construction right away without no further delay." The aide-de-camp Baba suggested.

"We will begin by noon when the effects of the magic potion would be at the fullest." The woodsman decided.

Thereafter the two strategists remained silent and ultimately they also got hungry. So the Commander of the imperial forces ordered an imperial sentinel to bring to the office two cups of coffee along with some cookies made of cassava paste that they ate while killing the time with casual talks.

The first half of the day passed by fast and soon it was going to be noon.

Finally, it was time to move on to the next stage of the warehouse strategy against the newborn Monster of the forbidden mountain.

It was now noon in the Batang empire and the men in uniform in Okunde's garden had long finished eating the enchanted porridge and had well digested.

The Commander of the imperial forces Babida was still in the office with his henchman Baba. He took his axe and told the aide-de-camp to follow him to Okunde's garden, for he had to talk with the troop about what was coming up next.

At the sight of the Commander in chief, like one man, the imperial warriors lined up and saluted him. The lumberjack greeted them back and immediately commenced a speech.

"Comrades, the final hour has come. Soon the volunteers shall come back from the forbidden mountain. You surely wonder what exactly their mission was. Well, let me disclose it to you! And as I do, don't panic since we have the situation in full control." He said in his opening remarks.

The troop murmured, for the surprise was total. The supreme military Chief Babida lifted his right hand to command them to keep quiet, which they did instantly.

"Don't be troubled as I just said since we control the situation." Babida reformulated and then went on.

"Your comrades were tasked to tease the giant bird and attract it to the west gate of the village, so it shall die drowned in the deep river." He added.

"However, they will need your support to terminate the mission. So this is where you come into action. The beast may be a cold criminal but it is not silly. It won't throw itself into the river. You will have to lure it. Therefore you will build a bridge that is hard on the extremities and soft in the middle over the water. The villain shall walk up to the center which shall break under his heavy weight, causing his fallout into the water. It would then die by suffocation." The lumberjack concluded the speech.

A big clamor from the imperial warriors followed, for the men were contented with the message.

"Now you may start guided by the interim aide-de-camp Baba right here. He has received my trust and you shall obey his instructions." Babida told them then returned to the administrative headquarters.

And as if all the soldiers had been deprived of logic, without questioning how they were going to build the bridge and for how long, they began the construction.