Kanahka's Chronicle/Entry 7

This week was entertaining. It appears that Makuta Burtok wants us dead. I can imagine why, but I can’t imagine how he expects to accomplish his goal with what he has thrown at us so far.

Rohko and I discovered a feature of the island we had never seen before the other day. We saw that on the island’s volcano, one of two peaks adorning the otherwise rather flat, if tropical, landscape, had a nasty deformity in the shape of a menacing iron fortress sticking out of it. It was like a repulsive growth sticking out of the flesh of some poor Rahi, or maybe a parasite latched onto an unlucky host.

Now, maybe I am biased against the Makuta’s tastes in architecture, but, truly, it was not a sight to lift the spirits. Rohko and I decided quickly that this must be the local Makuta fortress. We also saw that that meant that purging the land of the plague that the Makuta are will be harder than we anticipated. At least we now know where our enemies reside.

You might be able to tell, from the future tense I am employing in this writing, that we have not prevailed yet. I do not think we have the resources necessary to win now, but maybe if we gain a foothold on this land we will be able to stand against our enemies more effectively.

Now, this is not the entertaining part of the past week. That is the update on our state of affairs as far as evil removal is concerned. We have not changed our status much, as you can tell. Even the events I am about to record do not change it much. Frankly, all I can say is that, if Burtok wants to do us in, he will have to try harder.

I was the first to be entertained this past week. I was scouting for a new location to set up camp in, since our old abode, a forest clearing with a few tents slapped together in it, is no longer sufficient.

I happened across a lake in the process. It is a pretty place. Perhaps I will include an illustration in my journal in the future, but for now it will suffice to say that it is like a sapphire gem in a field of emerald, looking like a spring from which life itself emerges to fill this land. Myriad creatures make their homes there, and hundreds of types of plants send their roots snaking into the life-giving, crystal-clear water, receiving nourishment, refreshment, and sustenance from its depths. Specifically, the willow trees are taking over. It is as if they are trying to engulf the rest of the island in their sheer girth. It is not uncommon for them to be four feet in diameter. As they are water-loving plants, this was unsurprising, but it was still a bit impressive.

Well, I stopped to take a drink. If there is need to drink water in whatever paradise Nurtox go to when they die, I imagine the water there is much like the water from this lake. After a splendid moment or two savoring the refreshment I received from the lake, I spotted something of strategic importance. One of the banks of the lake was actually a sheer face, curved near the top. It made a kind of shallow hollow that would be nice to use for shelter. Upon a closer look, it turned out that the sheer face was made of solid rock, which, if hollowed out, would make a wonderful shelter, not only from the elements, but from our enemies if we need to take refuge there for some reason. I can assure you, from the perspective I have looking back, that my impressions were not unfounded. The hollowed-out rock face has made a wonderful shelter so far.

As I was returning to report my findings, I saw something move beyond the edge of the clearing. All I could make out was a broad, crimson silhouette. Naturally, I went to investigate. I made my way to the spot where I had seen my quarry, leaping over rather large willow roots as I went, but by the time I made it, the red figure was gone.

I continued back home, little aware that there was something behind me. In retrospect, it was rather foolish of me to assume that nothing was going to happen, but then there’s that old saying about hindsight.

I was obviously attacked on my way back home. It had to happen. None of us had been attacked in several days. I flipped onto my back and was greeted by the visage of a metal man – or creature -- armed with red and orange armor and bladed weapons shaped like silver flames.

“Surrender,” it said in a robotic, emotionless voice, “In the name of Makuta Burtok, you must be apprehended.”

I was going to say something witty about Burtok’s name not bearing any weight as far as I was concerned, but I decided that such a statement would be wasted on the humorless machine. Instead I kept my mouth shut and focused on taming this obstructive pet of the Makuta’s.

I went down quickly before a burst of fire. It is embarrassing to admit this, but I assure you it caught me off guard. I assumed that the robot was intended to beat me into submission. In retrospect, that was rather stupid of me, especially given the flame-like appearance of the robot’s blades. I got up quickly, however, and readied my blades. The robot fired (no pun intended; it would be an idiotic pun) again, and I dove to the side, but kept my forward momentum going. I turned the dive into a roll and came up firing a spinner at the robot’s feet. My spinners carry the ability to cause a target to phase out of visibility, tangibility, and, if I wish, audibility for a limited time. I call them Dematerialization Spinners. Vohk says that’s too long. I say it’s better than Disappearification Spinners. He asked why that would be, completely unaware that “disappearification” isn’t a word.

At any rate, the spinner caused the rock the robot was standing on to vanish, and it fell to the ground awkwardly. It landed in a crouch, and began standing up, but by that time my blade had already found its way into the robot’s chest armor. The robot’s internal battery ruptured and released its stored energy harmlessly. I grabbed the mechanoid by the head and dragged it back to camp.

I arrived to find another robot much like it already there. Apparently this one had tried to take Rohko alone, idiotically. It was much like its counterpart, as I already mentioned, but this one had angular weapons looking not unlike crystals and a blue-white color scheme.

We looked the things over and found that they had names. Written under the backs of their skull casings were the names Crystallox (for the blue-white one) and Infernix (the red-orange robot). Apparently the other one utilized the power of ice and cold, and had intended to free Rohko over. Many have tried that before, my friend, and none have succeeded, least of all this machine. Rohko admitted that he had had a bit of fun fighting the thing, as well.

Well, I told Rohko of my findings at the lake, and we went off together to further inspect the area. While we were gone, much happened. I can’t relate it all here, but it is enough to say that Crystallox and Infernix are equipped with self-repair capabilities, and that, even so, they are so lame in combat that they lost to Matu and Hoka. Honestly. A pair of Makuta-created robots that lose to Matoran?

Well, we buried the robots, not to give them homage, but to keep them from bothering us for a while, and packed up and left our camp. We have moved in at the lake, and doing so has served us well. Still, we keep seeing dark shapes loitering just beyond the tree line. I imagine we will be meeting one of these dark watchers very soon.