"There's something you're hiding from us!" Asa removed an arrow from her back, then pointed it at Banjoko.

A smile spread across his face as he watched her closely. They shared a stern eye contact and his smile grew wider. Banjoko's smile was the king of the joker.

"Speak!" She pointed her arrow from Banjoko to Sanmi, to force him speak. He kept quiet, without a single word.

"If we're going to survive this night, then we don't have to abstain from keeping secrets from each other-"

"I do not owe you any explanation, wench! In case you forget, you left us in the dungeon to sell as slaves!"

"We had no choice, perhaps, that was a better decision than what you'd have faced if prince Yotifa didn't intervene, so don't speak to me with disrespect!"

"And who are you to gain my respect? You aren't even of royal blood!" He spat at her face.

"I saved you earlier on, Mister interpreter." Asa reminded him. "And you didn't even realize it. So consider yourself lucky that I'm in a good mood today, else!"

Sanmi moved closer to Asa, while Ajoke and Shade stepped closer too. They both glared at each other with a sight of burning anger. It was easy to see how much animosity they felt for each other just by looking at them.

"Else what?" He smirk raised at her. "You want to be a hero? There's nothing you can do to me. Whatever you call yourself, I don't care! It's your loss if you shoot me because I know how useful I am to you."

Asa rolled her eyes and hissed at him. "I only need your tongue."

Sanmi hurried his hand to slap her, but instead the arrow shot towards the cloak of the old, invisible man who had a chicken leg in his mouth.

It dropped and everyone looked in the direction, wondering where the meat had dropped from.

Ajoke swung her knives at Sanmi. Its blade tore the side of his hand, but he pushed her away. Ajoke hit the heat head, unconscious to the wall while Asa placed an arrow to her now, again.

Ready to kill him this time. But Ajoke raised back to her feet, standing behind Sanmi.

"What are you doing now? Leave there. Let me finish him off!" Asa ordered.

"Wait, wait! Please, don't shoot." Ajoke begged as she moved forward.

The old man picked up the chicken and it disappeared once again. Then he opened another door. There were baskets of fruits, stalked in the room. Although, dead mean filled the room as well, the old man didn't care. He just ate on. 'The room must be for the giants or something.' He guessed, and closed the door.

Asa dropped her bow with a heavy breath. She wouldn't waste time to stop anyone that wants to ruin her plans.

Ajoke moved forward, staring at the serious faces of everyone in the room.

"There's no point in fighting. We already have enough in our plates right now and our next plan is how to leave here successfully. For our mission to get established, we have to trust each other." She picked her knives from the floor.

"Truth is, we do not trust you. Or you, or you." She pointed at Sanmi, the dwarfs and the king, along with the chief and naked man. Apart from the monsters, they were the three other categories that disturbed their plan.

"I know you don't trust us, either. We only trust ourselves." She muttered, facing Asa

"It is certain that we have the same aim, but one thing is freaking clear! That we all have bigger problems to deal with! Now talk!" She demanded from Sanmi.

His fragile eyes looked dull and his lips formed a straight line as all eyes turned to him.

Meanwhile, the short man with long hair and the four other prisoners that followed him out got to the edge of the island. Facing the water, it felt as if there was a storm when it wasn't even raining.

"Umm, Dare, can we do this?" One prisoner asked the shirtless man.

"The water is wrack. Can you even see forward? Nothing here is clear."

"Where is the boat?"

"At the other corner. Who do we move it?"

"We swim."

"Where would we swim to?"

"Not far, just by the edge of the island till we get to that other side." He pointed

'Grrrrrr! Grrrrrrr! Grrrrrrr!'

The groan if the beasts echoed and the five of them shivered in fear. Its echo filled the sky, and it looked as if something bigger was coming for them.

They weren't expecting it, nobody expected this.

"It's better than facing those ugly reptiles." Dare, the shirtless man hissed while he walked towards the crashing water.

"Come on, guys! Don't just stand there." He hissed and jumped into the soapy waves to swim.

The others heard another disturbing hiss of the Ninki Nanka. They looked up and imagined if it was closer. Looking forward, the short man was no where to be found.

They looked around, and what was before them was the waves crashing onto the black, solid rocks.

"Dare! Dare!" they called, disturbed.

The whole place went silent, like an abandoned island.

"Oh no, we better look for another way out." a man hissed, climbed back into the giant's hall while others followed by.

In search of another way out, the remaining three ran through the basement. Suddenly, a door opened and wonder plastered their faces.

"A strange phenomenon is unfolding. When the tiny planet floats by itself, the world would be dark and enigmatic. The chaos caused would be like that never seen before. The polar ice cap would form on both ends. Green pastures would appear on the fringes, and the forest would spring up in between. Then, recent fire like the sun would come around, and cover towns and cities. It would be the end of an Era.

Not only the earth but other planet would witness the same thing. It would be shorter days and longer nights. There would be a massive quake that could lift the still waters gathered under the ocean and awake the water spirit that has been asleep for a million years."

Banjoko narrated, while Sammi interpreted his words.

"What does this mean?" Asa asked.

"Nanka Ninki, the dragon spirit, is the guardian of the sacred river and forest. It is an omen of death. All it wants is to keep treasures that hold magical powers."

"I heard that most people who saw it died shortly after." Sanmi mattered. "Delivered from the skies, as a gift from the gods. That was what people said. The golden twin eggs are supposed to protect us from this nightmare."

He slipped into a chair, already exhausted.

"It's prophesied that they would wipe out all our lands. All the western lands in Nigeria." Iretiola narrated.

"Now I remember. I was very little when my grandma told me the story." Shade contributed to the talk. "When children get too confident and feel that they can disobey their parents, but going into the swamp alone, they are taken by the Ninki Nanka."

"Eighteen years ago, I saw a mythical beast, with the striking resemblance to the Ninki Nanka, except for the fact that it had wings.

"Wings?" Asa whispered.

"Yes, it looked like a bird, but more powerful. I was younger then, though I can still remember it clearly. I caught the sight from afar, it was one of these at hand. It ascended upon the earth with a light, blinding. I thought it was going to be the end of the world. Although I lost my mother that night, I know it would definitely come back."

"My father tried to kill the dragon once, but unsuccessfully. It burnt his face. He lost a lot of men that day. Since then, he stopped going to war as a king. My brothers and I took the position of leading his army when he got of age." Prince Awade explained, walking towards the burning fire to warm up himself. They tried to kill the dragon, many men burnt to death.

"Some said it was imaginary, others made it into folktales and passed it down over generations to model their children's behaviours and reinforce about living a meaningful life. I heard stories about the animal kingdoms, mermaids, forest spirits, the sun and the moon being rivals, you know... I find these stories funny. Why won't I? Why would I believe the folktales when they seemed so unreal? Ninki Nanka, which shapeshift into dragons and the possession of the twin eggs, destroying an entire race because of a curse. Why on Earth would I believe that... Then, it was entertainment to me but. Here we are. Here they are."

All the men marvelled at his story. Some of the oldest chiefs nodded convinced that the mysterious beast might have some magical powers, especially if the golden egg gets into their possession.