A thunderous explosion erupts in the distance, its echoes cascading through the forest like a raging storm. Quickly followed by a powerful tremor which sweeps through the earth beneath my feet, shaking my very core.
I whip my head toward the source of the sound. Is that not the direction Vyswe'eyaga's group was headed to?
I wish I were wrong, but I am certain that they are being attacked like we are… I just hope that no one is hurt.
I quickly turn my attention back on the figure above. He is tall and slender, with a very pale―almost white―skin, and long locs of white hair stream behind him, bound in a loose ponytail. His face is devoid of any expression, his brown eyes distant, almost indifferent, as he hovers overhead, suspended in the grip of powerful winds.
In every way, he is a perfect, living replica of me.
I had heard rumours, tales of creatures capable of stealing the appearance of others. There were stories of children vanishing into the wild, only for the missing ones to return days later... changed. Accounts of strangers drifting through nomadic settlements—figures no one recognized. When approached, they remained unresponsive, seemingly oblivious to the world.
What gave them away, more often than not, was how subtly wrong they were. Their mannerisms—awkward imitations of the real person's habits—felt off. Their unsettling tendencies of silently watching others with bone-chilling intensity.
Then, out of nowhere, they would disappear. Only for the real ones to be found days later, cold and lifeless.
It was never clear whether the mimics were responsible for the deaths, the causes of death were never the same.
Not much is known about them either, Moyibi Nkams are so rare they border to a myth. The only accepted theory about them is that they cannot be Junjus, as they are not aggressive toward human beings.
Yet here we are…
We have been attacked by, not one but, five of them already. The first ones were nothing to be concerned with, their mastery of the winds was clumsy at best, but the latter… they quickly became a real issue. Becoming stronger and more purposeful in their mastery. Fending them off became increasingly tedious, even with Azikiwe and Ewa's assistance.
A barrier of howling gales surrounds it, effectively preventing anyone from approaching him. Those who try are torn apart. Azikiwe can attest; he attempted a covert strike only to be severely wounded in the effort. He survived thanks only to his formidable constitution—but for now, he's out of commission.
As I gaze upon this lone mimic, the truth settles in with chilling clarity… They learn. And they do so at a frighteningly rapid pace.
Though I cannot fully understand the mechanism behind it, they seem to acquire knowledge from their predecessors' mistakes, becoming ever more cunning—they must be all interconnected somehow. This is the only plausible speculation I can come up with.
The Moyibi Nkam raises a hand, and several searing blades of compressed air fly at us. Ewa is already dodging, she rolls gracefully, and the spot she was previously standing on shatters, sending fragments of earth into the air.
I don't bother to do the same—I wouldn't succeed even if I tried. Instead, I ground myself, feeling the elemental currents thrumming around me. As the blades hurtle towards me, I reach out deep in my being, commanding the wind to obey my will. The compressed air resists at first, its searing edge keen on destruction. But my will is stronger and easily crushes the one of the Moyibi. With a mental twist, I dissipate the blades into harmless gusts, the violent energy dispersing into the atmosphere. The remnants of the attack swirl around me, a whirlwind of defeated force, before fading into nothingness.
I sense a shift in the atmosphere. The winds are getting stronger, taking up speed, so much so that the trees and branches are bending in its direction. Whatever he is preparing… It does not look good.
I reach out to the brewing storm, but this time my adversary is prepared. My attempts for control over the element are met with an even more ferocious opposition, our wills collide again and again for dominance.
What he has not realized though, is that by focusing only on our contest of dominion, it has neglected to maintain the wind barrier which protecting him, now it only serves to keep him suspended in the air.
From the corner of my eye, I catch Ewa in motion. She has slipped into its blind spot, and with a swift, forceful throw, one of her daggers slices through the air and strikes the unsuspecting Moyibi Nkam.
The impact is so fierce, it sends it crashing to the ground.
With it now downed, I can finally seize control of the storm and quickly disperse it.
"That was close," I mutter under my breath.
Already, Ewa approaches our downed foe.
"Hmm…" She kneels down and carefully turns the body onto its back.
The body slumps back but the head remains sideways on the ground—Ewa had hit it so hard that the dagger had sliced clean through its neck. The same unfamiliar silvery-white, gooey material trickle down the headless corpse.
"These things are really interesting," Ewa says, poking at the severed head. "They have no organs yet die nonetheless when hit on a vital organ… like a human would."
Soon the body of the mimic convulses, then dissolves in a pool of silver on the ground.
The sight causes goosebumps to rise on my skin, no matter how many times I see this, it is truly disturbing to see something wearing my face be slaughtered as such, even more so when Ewa does not appear bothered in the least.
"They mimic everything about the human body… down to it flaws apparently."
"How long will it take for them to learn not to do that… I wonder."
I hope they never do.
She springs up, sheath her dagger back in its scabbard. "Azikiwe? You still alive over there?"
A moment later, she is answered with a grunt, and Azikiwe shows up from his hiding place. His clothes are torn and bloodied, with cuts all over his body, and his arm is firmly clutching his side to prevent from bleeding out.
A crooked smile forms on his scarred face, though it looks more like a grimace than a smile—with his face looking sickly pale and everything.
"Sorry to disappoint," he answers hoarsely.
I walk up to him, supporting him on my shoulder.
"I believe we should give up the idea of finding those horses for the time being—"
"What? No. We, we can't do that."
I stare at Ewa, slightly surprised by her outburst.
"Azikiwe is wounded, healing will take some time. Furthermore, we keep getting attacked by the Moyibi Nkams, which are getting stronger the more of them appear. There will be a point where we might not be able to pull out of an altercation unscathed, if at all. The most sensible thing to do now is to regroup with the others, maybe figure out what is going on and leave this place… Don't you think?"
She lowers her gaze, looking embarrassed—and rightly so.
"Why are so adamant on continuing searching anyway?" Azikiwe grunts after a short silence, to which she cringes.
"Well… Erm… Never mind that. You're right, it is way too dangerous to wander on our own." She then turns on her heel and walks off. Azikiwe and I stare at each other for a moment, he half shrugs, and we follow after her.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"We have been walking for a while." Azikiwe says besides me, the words came out as a breathless pant. He looks even paler than before, his steps have become more laboured, causing him to lean more on me, as a result, even I have become slower.
"Let's take another break then." I huff.
He nearly collapses on the ground when I walk him to a nearby trunk, almost bringing me down with him. He takes a more comfortable position and release a sigh of relief.
His condition has not worsened, but it has not improved either. The bleedings have stopped, most of his wound have closed too, but from how long he has been straining himself—I fear they might have reopened.
It would have been ideal to let him heal enough to at least walk on his own, but we don't know when other Moyibi Nkams may show up, so it's best to keep being on the move. In hindsight, the frequencies of our breaks have been increasing more and more, so it might just be a matter of time before they do catch us.
"Here, have some water."
Ewa throws him a gourd and empties its content when he catches it… There are only two gourds remaining. At this rate, we will quickly run out of water. And the stream from earlier is gone.
"The tremors have stopped. Seems like whatever skirmish the others were involved with has ended." Ewa says, with a somewhat troubled expression.
"Is that not a good thing?"
"It is…" She sighs. "It's just that… Now it will be a tad bit difficult to locate them—I know their general position—but considering that they will not be static…"
Oh. It will indeed be inconvenient.
I can't help but sigh.
I should have given a scrying mirror to Ike, or Vyswe'eyaga, but they were in my luggage… carried by the now lost horses, and I don't know of any other method to signal them without outright giving out our position—Who knows what else is lurking in this forest.
This forest seems to expand without end. If we keep walking arround without a clear destination, we will just exhaust ourselves.
Without mentioning that the sky has dimmed noticeably, it will not be long before it gets completely dark—then, this place will become even more dangerous.
"Do you smell that?"
I turn to Azikiwe, "smell what?"
"Ashes..." Ewa answers, "Something's burning."
Her eyes widen, her mouth opening slightly at something behind me.
I turn around, and out there, somewhere among the trees is a flickering light. It is dim, barely visible at first, and moving erratically from left to right. But the longer I stare, the more certain I am that it is growing bigger… and it is coming toward us.
"What is that?" I whisper, more to myself.
Then I hear the sound of shuffling in the foliage, and two men emerge from the bushes, running at full speed toward us.
I feel my mouth fall open, not at the sight of two grown men running so comically fast in the middle of a forest with expressions of pure terror on their faces, no, but because very familiar with the identity of our new company.
They are Sazayi and N'jobu.
Various questions flood my mind about their presence here—More so about Sazayi, he is the type of guy who adores his comfort more than anything—but they are quickly brushed aside at the sight of what is pursuing them.
It is… some kind of floating device; the main body is composed of a pyramidal part with a shiny blue gem embedded in it, which is enclosed in two hexagonal cases revolving around it. The structure has a set of six large, pointed appendages to the sides—three on each—in the shape of cones, floating behind the whole structure like sets of wings. The whole thing is made of a grey alloy I cannot identify, with each part floating independently from the other and without ever touching but still moving together as a whole.
I have never seen something like that, but I know it is definitely related to the ancient Nchāren civilization, somehow.
There is at least half a dozen of it, all going after N'jobu and Sazayi, and shooting hot red beams at them.
"Run!" N'jobu shouts as soon as they are in earshot.