King Kong: The Faunus and the Beast

Chapter VIII

The wall was massive.

They'd come across it after nine minutes of exploring. It stood seventy feet tall. It was made of stone, and supports made out of timber wood had been set up all along it. The top of the wall was lined with wooden spikes, which pointed to the heavens above.

Torchwick stared at the wall. His eyes observed its height. Spectacular. He looked left, right, searching for its end. But there didn't appear to be one on either side. He looked straight ahead at the wall. He smiled, his hands on his hips, as if the wall was a masterpiece he created.

"That looks centuries old!" he said.

Blake observed it, and pieced different things together in her mind. She remembered the warnings of the beast on the island. Perhaps it was on the other side of this wall. Someone had built this to keep something out. But was the beast so large that it needed a wall this large to keep it out? She noted a few more details that someone like Torchwick would pay no attention to.

"Looks like it was repaired recently," she said.

Everyone turned to look at her.

She pointed at the wall. "There's earth on those timbers. It has to be replaced every monsoon."

"You're saying there's people on this island?" one of the White Fang soldiers said.

"Yes," Blake said. "And I can characterize them. They're scared people."

"Scared of what?" Sun wondered.

The fear returned to her as she started to think about the beast.

"I'm not sure what it is exactly," she said, masking her fear flawlessly. "But whatever it is, they thought they needed a wall this big to keep it out."

Torchwick shook his head. "Let me straighten a few things out for you, Kitty-Cat. One, this wall is an ancient ruin. Two, the island is uninhabited."

Then, as if in response, they heard drumming in the distance. They turned to the noise. Up ahead, they could see the ground descending, and, beyond that, they saw the gate of the wall, and scaffolding that led to the top of the wall.

"And three," Sun added, "there's an uninhabited Atlesian beer hall in there with a mechanical band."

"Let's go," Torchwick said.

The group followed the sound of the drumming. As they got closer to the noise, they could hear screaming and chanting.

"Kong!"

There were big rocks at the edge of the hill overlooking the lower elevation in front of the gate. The group approached them, and knelt down behind them. They watched beyond the rocks, filled with awe at the scene beyond.

It was a village of dark-skinned, human natives. They were running in all directions, frantic and excited. Many of them wore outfits made of straw and animal bones. A large number of them were wearing cloaks made of straw, with eye-holes carved in. Two groups of natives were sitting in front of sets of drums, and banging the rhythm that had attracted the crew. A parade marched into view, making their way to the wall. In the front of the parade, four women were holding onto long sticks, which were attached to a flat plank of wood. The plank was covered with flowers and other plants.

Sitting atop it was a woman. She wore a top that wrapped only around her breasts, exposing her shoulders and stomach, made from the fur of an animal. A dress was strapped around her hips, made from straw. She had a headdress made of sticks, bones, and feathers. She had multiple necklaces resting at her chest, made out of beautiful pearls.

The rest of the parade was a formation of women, who followed those carrying the one on the plank. The parade came to a stop in the middle of the ceremony, and the plank was lowered to the ground. Through everything, the woman stayed completely still and calm, only moving to blink or breathe. The once wild crowd of natives grouped together around the woman. They danced wildly, chanting and screaming.