The Tales of Tikum Kadlum

3 TROUBLE IN TWO

6.3 WHIPPED DOG

Tikum's heart bounced inside his chest. While the color of his face drained away, leaving behind the pale features of a man whose bubble has been abruptly burst. His hastily cobbled-up plan hinged on Tugnawon's obvious dullness. But her little surprise threw all that away in a breath. Now, he had to improvise. He had to or it would be his end. Tikum cursed himself. He had to strike fast. He had to do it now or utterly fail.

But Tugnawon had other things in mind for Tikum. With ferocity, her slam sent him crashing down, breaking his weapon into pieces and leaving him with a meager splintered handle of his spear. Tikum grimaced in pain as he crawled away, feeling the full brunt of her attack on his poor back. Discontented, Tugnawon picked him up again and shook his weapon off from him. Her strength was inhuman and all Tikum could do was grit his teeth, trying his damn best to hold on to the only form of defense he had.

His hands trembled as he doubled his efforts. Still, she was too strong. Far stronger than him or any man at that. But Tikum still had his wile and wit with him. Using her own force he deflected the end of the broken piece of spear towards Tugnawon, drawing blood and leaving splinters behind. A gash from her wrist to her elbow made her pause her assault. Tikum eyed her and in a flash, he felt an overwhelming sense of foreboding.

Things were about to get much... much worse.

The Black Dog froze as a roar from the giantess' maw tore through the noise of the jeering townsfolk. And as clear as day, he saw the intelligence in Tugnawon's eyes change into a beastly glint born out of malice but he couldn't stop himself from smiling even in the face of danger. It wasn't because he finally cracked his head and went crazy. It was because in a short span he realized he could still win after seeing the giantess' reaction.

Say one thing about the Black Dog. Say he really knows how to read people. And he's a damn expert when it comes to exploiting other people's tell.

Tikum knew by then that she was going to be under an angry spell for a breath- a momentary lost of composure as the smart ones call it. The perfect opportunity he was looking for. With her paralyzed with fury, the cogs on Tikum's mind clicked. He turned his head towards her wound and attacked as she shifted her attention on staunching the blood on her injury. But bad luck struck for the Black Dog as a staff of light coming from the elders' general direction flashed at Tikum's eyes for the second time. All Tikum could do was curse his luck. For his failure to strike afforded Tugnawon an opportunity to deal another blow with the dull end of her weapon.

The audience flinched as Tikum felt the brutal blow on his chest. It sent him back to the kawayan railings, making the whole structure shake from the impact. Tugnawon roared again, this time in satisfaction as she let Tikum fall on his own, watching the Black Dog grimacing in agony.

The more verbose member of the audience that consisted the putli heckled Tikum. While a rare few encouraged him to fight back. Whether they were just mocking him or not, he no longer cared. On the other hand, the rest of the onlookers, the commoners, cheered like chaos-driven fiends unleashed to the world of the innocent. They were not the typical crowd... The were more bloodthirsty, to say the least.

They somehow knew that the duel itself was bound to be one of the shortest fracas inside the pit, especially if Tugnawon was the one fighting. The giantess wasn't fond of wasting her time on good-for-nothing nobodies.

Amidst the ruckus, Tikum could only hear a buzzing sound in his ears as he lay prone. All his senses felt like they were all too bruised to do any good. Every breath was labored and every second stretched a little too long as he stayed immobilized. He tried to stand, lifting his head up first. As he picked himself up he stumbled, collapsing back. Fatigue and compounded pain was his new enemy. An enemy few could best. Even for the likes of the Black Dog. He lifted his head again, mind clearly disorientated. All he could see was the sky and the wispy clouds drifting by. He tried to move but lancing pain hit his whole body in full. A seed of doubt grew on Tikum's heart too. Could he continue on? Could he even fight? Or was this his last? All this wasn't supposed to happen. He shouldn't have failed this bad. But when all seemed lost, a voice called from inside him. Buried deep in the darkness, it urged him.