Survival Of The Cursed

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 7᯾ 𝕱𝖎𝖓𝖉𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕬 𝕿𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖘𝖑𝖆𝖙𝖔𝖗

The night was dark and foggy. It was already midnight. The waxing moon seemed to be flowing through the birds that sang to its shine. The giant's hall was huge and beautiful. As the tallest building, it served as the heart of Ife, in Oyo-Ile, because the giants built it themselves. It was said to have been the fountain of creation where Oduduwa created the earth.

With twelve rooms in the building, Asa along with the seven dwarfs climbed to the upper part of the building.

They stood by the line building and what they saw in from of them was mind-blowing. All the ships were destroyed by the crashing ocean. Taking a closer look, they realized that ships wouldn't be able to float on the troubled water.

Atata's thick, bushy eyebrows pulled together in unison as his large eyes surveyed the place. Any ship sailing might wreck due to the force with which the waves crashed against the walls of the island.

"Ohh! How on earth are we going to sail?!" Banjoko asked fearfully in ancient Yoruba, while he looked at others' faces.

"The gods must be angry with us." Asa's lips mumbled the words incoherently.

Just then, the eight of them went back into the hall.

Prince Yotifa was seated on the thick wooden table when his eyes caught his sister's leg which was still bleeding. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." A short intake of breath followed her lips while Ajoke looked down in resentment.

He walked up to her as they stood opposite each other. Although Ajoke was only 15, she was almost as tall as her brother.

"Are you sure?" He asked again, concerned.

Unable to speak, Ajoke just nodded. Tears flowed down her eyes while she held onto the pain.

Yotifa tried to smile to cheer her up but he wasn't successful in it.

"You fought well today. Mum and dad would be proud of you." His hand held unto hers that still had dry blood stains. Staring into her jet-black eyes, Yotifa sighted the tears that hung out her lashes, making her eyes glitter.

Her lips began to tremble silently. Of course, it was her first fight. As a child, she had so wanted revenge but Yotifa told her that the patient dog eats the fattest bone and that the day for revenge would come.

"You deserve better." The corner of his eyes dampened while a single tear rolled down her swollen eyes.

Taking a closer look, he discovered that the cut was a deep one. He hated to put her through so much but the wheels of destiny couldn't be changed.

The door behind them suddenly flung open. Asa and the seven dwarfs walked into the main hall.

"There's no way out for us. The waves are crashing forcefully. It's as if the so-called curse isn't broken yet." Asa reported in a loud tone.

"Don't worry, Ireti would join us shortly. The spells cast on the giants won't fade till sunrise. We just need a way, somehow. Probably, her spells would be able to save us all."

'Grrr! Grrrrr!! Grrrrrr!!!'

A troubling noise grunted from outside interrupted their conversation.

"And what on the heck is that?" Yotifa looked upward, alarmed.

"They're here already! Ninki Nanka?" Gbotifa, one of the dwarfs with a long plaited beard pulled the table towards the wall. With the king's chair on it, he was able to reach for the window.

He peeped outside to get a view of what was happening.

They had green-scaled bodies like that of a crocodile and their necks were long and stretchy like that of a giraffe. It was truly Nanka Ninki, a half-giraffe and crocodile creature with three pointy horns on its forehead. It's poisonous, thorny skin and claws have no cure.