Not Dead

"Something's not right." The Shamanka mumbled.

It was dark and both the suns had gone out when the Shamanka, Skah and a couple of other shadowy figures arrived inside the cave. They were visiting the cave so late at night so that the Shamanka could confirm by herself that Zok was indeed dead, just like the shamans had reported.

However, the Shamaka did not believe them. Taheton was too smart to die in there without a drastic error on his part. And as much as the Shamanka knew Taheton, he was an extremely conscious person. Her suspicions were confirmed as soon as they reached inside the cave. The Shamanka realised one thing, the tale of what happened there was not as simple as it looked. There were things that the shamans from earlier could not account for.

One of which was the lack of explanation of why there were only two dried up patches instead of three? If there were only Zok and Taheton who died that would have made sense, but there were Zok's and Taheton's dire wolves who weren't accounted for. Those creatures were extremely loyal to their partners thus it was highly improbable that they left their partners to die without even trying to save them. At least that was true in Zok's case because the Shamanka had seen how the commander wolf treated him.

"That girl... Sera. What did she tell you about that brat's wolf?" The Shamanka asked as she kneeled down to one of the bloodied spots and smelled the dried blood.

"According to her, Zok sent her away with his wolf. However, after the commander wolf safely dropped her outside, the wolf then immediately rushed back in to help Zok and Taheton." Skah religiously replied, "Taheton's direwolf, however, decided to stay outside as far as she remembered."

"If that was what happened then, there should be three blood patches here. But there are only two. After all, the arachnid would not have left the wolf alone after they were done killing those two." The shamanka replied, "That would also not explain what happened to Taheton's wolf. Why wasn't it outside when you first arrived here?"

"We... assumed the arachnids devoured it." The shaman that had accompanied the others to the cave, squeaked in a scared voice.

The Shamanka sniggered before snapping her fingers and the following moment a multitude of vines emerged from the ground below and wrapped themselves around him. The Shaman was trapped in a cage of vines. He couldn't move a muscle to help himself untangle from the vines. His face was the only part of his body that was still visible.

"If that were the case, then why weren't there any footmarks of the creature left behind?" She pulled the man's face closer to hers, "You don't believe that a horde of arachnids just flew their way out of this cave to attack the wolf outside, do you? But even if they did, why wasn't there a blood spot outside, like these?"

"Please... Your Holiness... I have been loyal to you... for the entirety of my life! It was a... mistake... I beg you..."

"It's true. You have been under my authority for years," The was a tinge of sympathy in the Shamanka's voice, "and yet you don't have a sliver of knowledge inside that thick skull of yours. What use do I have for such a stupid follower? At least be honoured that your sacrifice will teach a thing or two to the others."

"No... No... NOOOO-"

The shaman screamed at the top of his lungs as the vines that were around him squeezed the life out of him. His blood and minced meat were splattered all over the muddy ground as the vines disappeared just like they had appeared in the first place. The shamans around him immediately followed the custom and prayed for Okun to have mercy on his poor soul. Even the Shamanka joined in on the prayer while Skah was thinking how big of a hypocrite the Shamans were.

On one hand, they claimed that they respect all life that Okun created. In fact, they respected their belief so much that they refused to kill anything. It didn't matter whether it was a plant or a beast. Yet on the other, they did not hesitate for a moment before killing their own kin.

But he wasn't all that different from them either. After all, he too willingly sent his son on a one way trip to hell, which he would never return from. Maybe their sick minds were the reason why they used to get along with each other so well.

"Time to another lesson, my fellow Children of Okun," The Shamanka mumbled as soon as their prayers were over, "Looks closely at the blood left behind by our brethren. Do you see something different?"

Skah excused himself from the crowd. He was sick, but not sick enough to look at the fresh remains of a fellow being. However, once they started gasping in shock, he couldn't control himself and went ahead to check just what was going all.

"What the..."

It was strange. The blood left behind the shaman was glowing in the darkness of the cave while the dried patch of blood next to them wasn't.

"What is this sorcery?" Skah asked the Shamaka who had her usual emotionless face back.

"It is what separates us from the beasts of Wilderness, Chieftain." She replied, "The blood running within our bodies is much different from the blood of the beasts."

She then pointed at the middle of the cave. The dried-up patch of blood there was glowing as well, however, the other patch wasn't. Which could mean only one thing.

"Only one of the people had died here." Skah mumbled, "Which means that the other patch of blood belongs to-"

"The Arachnid. Moreover, If Taheton was alive he would surely inform us about his success or failure in executing Zok. Just like he had done countless times before." Shamanka uttered in an emotionless voice, "But since he didn't, it could only mean one thing... your son is not dead."