Pulaco struggled to find a foothold on the wet ground as the giant's brute force slowly overwhelmed him, pushing him off balance inch by inch. Pulaco stared at the giant's eye as he kept the spear's blade away from him and there he realized something subtle about the giant. So Pulaco doubled his efforts pushing back his foe and waiting for the right moment to exploit the weakness he discovered.

  Pulaco gritted his teeth. It will be a matter of time, he thought. And that went the other way too. He could die. They all could die if he misjudged things. If he failed.

  Siagu screamed in frustration. His simple plan was to hitch a ride with the pale strangers to find and kill his father's murderer. And he did find him the man who bested his father, Ziawi. But it was not all good, since arriving in the island with only a day's worth of food made searching for Pulaco that much harder.

  After three days he was already tired and hungry. This was his lucky break and he knew he had to seize it before the sly Pulaco took it way from him. He roared and pushed Pulaco a few inches back but in a matter of seconds the man was already regaining the ground he lost. Siagu felt his muscle shake in fatigue. His very strength was failing him. So, he decided to end the stalemate. "Time to go back to the mud now," he said as he looked at his enemy's cold penetrating eyes. He cursed the man. It was time to claim this elusive revenge before his strength abandoned him. Time to end Pulaco and time to go back home. Siagu violently jerked the hand that held the flail away from Pulaco.

  "Bye... bye... bagani... say hello to my father in Sulad when you meet him again!"

  Siagu extended the weapon so he could swing it with full force and pound his enemy's head. It was that simple. He smiled. Time to do things the right thing, he thought. His shoulder tensed as he swung his flail with deadly might. He believed that the death of his nemesis was already etched on the tip of his weapon. He was so sure of it. He brought the flail down in blurring speed to end his journey of vengeance. But the cold blade of the spear punched straight through his heart first. And the hand that held the blunt flail went off the mark, swinging a few inches short of Pulaco's head. Siagu's face gave a ghost of a grimace as the keen steel turned searing hot inside him, burning his insides as though it was dropped in the kilns of hell. He cursed and sighed in disbelief. This was not supposed to be.

  Pulaco twisted the weapon inside the distracted giant's chest. He had to make sure. If the giant's strength didn't waned in time it would've been him instead. It was always best to be sure. He gritted his teeth and felt Siagu's grip slackened. The chief gave out a sigh of relief as he pushed himself away from the giant.

  "Not today," he said, almost out of breath.

  The giant shambled and stared at Pulaco. A wave of pain engulfing Siagu's whole body. This shouldn't happen, he thought. All those days for nothing. He cursed before his whole body spasmed and his eyes rolled back. Then, he fell on the mud, blood spraying from his wound like a fountain.

  Pulaco stared at his foe, trying to shake the pain he felt but collapsed beside the giant instead. He tried his best to peel his eyes open but exhaustion washed over his body. "Never again," he whispered to himself. Never again. He closed his eyes and there was only darkness.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The giant, on the other hand, died with his hands cupped to his chest like a bagani. He looked as though he was making his last oath to his people. An oath he'll never fulfill. For the spear passed through Siagu's forearm down to his heart, punctuating their battle.

  It felt like the whole fight took longer than forever for the two, but their whole melee only lasted in minutes. Slowly the skies brightened as the rain clouds passed them and between the remaining clouds a staff of light from the yellow sun bathed their broken bodies. A few feet away, the waylander's limbs gave an electrified jerk. Lam could hear someone calling him but there was only darkness. He'd been in this situation far too many times before. And he knew his body would take care of itself. But the pain was still all too real for him. Again he heard the voice, this time clearer. He cursed the devatas as he opened his eyes and almost yelped as he saw the old babaylan's wrinkled face staring back at him.

  "Stand up! I know that didn't hurt you." Manang Sabtano tried to drag him up. "Help me get my son and Pulaco. Help me, so I could heal them."

  Lam stood, feet still shaky. There was something wet oozing from the left side of his head. He placed his fingers on it and it came back red with blood.

  Manang Sabtano lead him towards Mingming's prone body. "If only this lot was just like you deathless."

  The old woman held Mingming by the foot while Lam-ag held the other side of the unconscious man's body. Both awkwardly hauled the Daragangan's leader and placed him carefully on the pavilion's floor. The crone craned her neck to inspect Lam's head. "Bah, the wound in your forehead is slowly knitting together. Soon, it'll heal on its own even faster, leaving no scar behind."

  Lam took an awkward step after laying Mingming's body. "How did you know about me?" he asked.

  The old woman waved him down. "I've always known. The devatas whispered your name with the wind. I was the one who told Pulaco to search our shores for you. Speaking of Pulaco, can you get him? He needs mending too you know."

  Lam turned and awkwardly ran towards Pulaco. He hauled the brave chief's body back to the old babaylan, his own aches slowly going away. "Will they be all right?" he said, looking the old woman in the eye.

  "Oh, don't worry. My doofus son here just got a couple of his ribs broken. And I think Pulaco dislocated his shoulder. A couple of poultice here and there will get them right back up."

  She paused to wipe the sweat off her wrinkled face, "Well, I hope so." Manang Sabtano looked Lam in the eye. "You, on the other hand look well, considering that awhile ago a giant almost crushed you."

  She was right. Lam's bruises and wounds were healing incredibly fast. Faster than it has the right to. Lam sat, his back on the ornate foundation. "Did you tell Pulaco about me?"

  Manang Sabtano took a handful of dried leaves from a wooden box and pounded them in her mortar. She raised her head. "I don't have to. After this mess he'll eventually find out what you are." She fed the grounded mush to Mingming. "And don't even think of running away. If you consider him as a friend you should at least stay with him through the coming war."

  "Don't worry old woman. I'm planning on staying here. I have too much at stake here to leave it all behind."

  "Oh don't call me old! We both know the truth." She started mixing different things into the mortar. "At stake, What do you mean by that?"

  "Malaya and our child." Lam looked her in the eye."I want to protect them. They're my only family. I want to give them the chance to have the things I wasn't given. I want them to have a home."

  "Ah, then if you're planning on staying here... I advice that you at least get a 'kampilan' because your gonna be busy with it in the coming days."

  Lam closed his eyes to rest. "Don't worry I already have just the right sword." He sighed.

  "Is it all worth it?"

  "Huh?" Lam turned his head towards the crone.

  "The gift."

  He gave a sad smile. It wasn't a gift , he thought. It was a curse. "Hardly worth it."

  "Just as I thought," the old woman said. "You know I could talk to them for you. That's my job after all. I could... make a plea, make an arrangement with them..."

  "You could. But I know they'll never listen," the waylander said. "They never did."