The Tales of Unearthly Encounters

Convergence

What a magnificent piece of art.

Kabuto looked at the ancient tree with awe and admiration. It wasn‟t that big, barely 4-5 feet of height. The foliage of the tree was veiling the moon, which was rising upon the sky like an old electric bulb. In that remotest valley, surrounded by mountains, the tree stood like a dethroned queen.

Kabuto‟s hand moved through the harsh old bark, feeling the fissures and texture under his skin. He felt gratitude towards the tree for growing into such a magnificent piece of art. It was of no doubt that he was going to earn a good sum of money if he could take this with him.

He stood almost at the middle of a mystical valley. The evening was still young, the sky hadn‟t completely darkened yet. The light of the full moon was flooding the valley and everything around it, providing a more enigmatic charm to the place. Mist clad hills were raised all around the valley, carpeted with dense greenery. The silhouette of the titanic mountains could be noticed on the background of the darkening sky.

Kabuto wasn‟t by himself, with him was his apprentice cum assistant, Sam, and there were a few workers from local villages to do the menial jobs and carry things.

Kabuto looked at his assistant, "This is it, take it."

Sam remained quiet. Kabuto was an experienced businessman. He didn‟t always rely on the words of the mouth. From his personal experience, he knew that the language of the body was much pertaining to the truth to the language of your mouth. Very few people could control the language of the body. Most common men couldn‟t help but keep it exposed like an open book, naked to the plain eyes. Sam was no exception to that. Kabuto could sense the hesitation, but his assistant wasn‟t daring to say anything.

"Just say what you‟re thinking."

Sam looked at his Kabuto‟s eyes for a moment. Then in a barely audible voice, he uttered, "The workers are very scared. They don‟t want to be here." "Why is so?"

"They say that we have ended up in the Valley of Yasha. It is not a place for mortals like us. We must exit as soon as possible or he will be angry."

Kabuto‟s lips twitched with a smile, "I see, and who might our friend Yasha be, and how his anger might affect us?"

"He‟s not a person, a demigod, the workers think it might bring bad luck -"

Kabuto laughed out loud without letting his assistant complete his words. Then he took out a cigarette, lit it and took a long drag. He closed his eyes, enjoying the smoke within his lungs. His eyes remained closed for a few seconds, Sam wasn‟t sure whether Kabuto was calculating something or suppressing his anger.

With a deep sigh, Kabuto released the smoke from his lungs. The smoke dispersed into the wild scented air of the valley like venom spreading through blood.