Torn

Death: Like a Great Stone is a story in the Hidden in Deepest Shadows storyline written by Lalajujunini and is one of the stories in the Keys series. The story recounts Sarhab’s near-death experience with the Makuta Dahfk, and his ensuing rescue by the Av-Matoran Mivu.

Chapter 1
Sarhab interrupted, laughing. “I am sorry to tell you this, my little friend, but no Makuta could ever find me.”

However, the Matoran was adamant, “No you must listen to me! I heard this from a reliable source, and for no small price. You are in great danger. I don’t know how, but the Makuta have found you.”

“Listen,” Sarhab grinned, “No one knows better than a Toa of Iron how ruthless the Makuta are. They destroyed my village, for Mata-Nui’s sake. But whoever gave you this information has to be wrong. I’ve been too careful. And don’t forget that I’m the one paying you, so whatever I do with this information is my business, not yours. Next time, be more careful about who you get your information from.”

With that, he turned and walked back out of the alley. If you wanted good information for a good price, Stelt was the place to go. As soon as he was out of sight from the Matoran, he activated his mask. The air around him flickered, then flashed up into his usual disguise, a Toa of Stone. As he entered a busy marketplace, he lost himself in thought, and his grin dissolved into a frown. The Matoran had been Jaxys, a Steltian Bo-Matoran, and one of the most reliable informants on the island, and one of the most expensive. Sarhab knew that what Jaxys said must be true, but anyone could be an informant for the Makuta. If he gave any hint that he might be leaving, then they would attack before he could leave. This way, he might be able to get off the island before they realized what he was doing.

So far, he had managed to avoid discovery by staying quiet and staying hidden. His Mahiki made this a little easier. Seeing a Toa around here wasn’t that unusual, especially Toa of Stone, because their strength made them good mercenaries. By hiding in plain sight, but not drawing too much attention to himself, he could pass through large crowds relatively unnoticed.

He stepped behind a row of ramshackle huts, and broke into a run. As he ran, he looked up into the gray sky, and considered his course of action. If he tried to wait, then he might be fine. Maybe Jaxys had gotten bad information. But if Jaxys was right, and the Makuta knew where he was, then staying could be fatal.

Then again, if he tried to leave right now, any attempt to leave could be monitored. Maybe showing his hand would be the opposite of what he needed to do. He didn’t know how they were tracking him, if they knew his cover name and followed his actions, or if they could recognize him on the spot. If he caused a scene trying to get onto a boat, which wasn’t too unusual, it might blend in, or it might spell disaster.

He heard ahead a scraping noise, probably some poor Steltian Matoran dragging a broken air-cart of cargo to its next transport. He ducked between a pair of huts, then slowed his pace and rejoined the crowd. He headed towards a nearby dock, and walked onto the boat as if he belonged.

Chapter 2
He stepped below deck, ducking his head under the low ceiling, and looked around. It was a large ship, but old, and not in the best condition. Still, it would float, and that was all a boat needed in Stelt. He grabbed one of the Matoran bustling by, spun him around by the shoulder, and lifted him into the air. He looked official, and had in his hand a list of cargo to be packed. The Matoran glanced down at the ground, and was surprised to note that his feet were no longer touching the ground. He timidly looked up at his captor, avoiding looking Sarhab in the eyes.

“Umm… can I help you sir?” He whimpered.

Sarhab shook him, “What’s your name?”

“Uh… Wemmip. I’m the Head Cargo Officer on this vessel.”

“Can you point me towards the Captain’s quarters, Wemmip?”

“Yes sir. Just that way, third hallway on the left, and then fifth door on the right.”

Sarhab dropped him to the ground with a loud smack. “Thanks, Wemmip.”

Leaving Wemmip to pick up his list, he walked off in the direction the Cargo Officer had indicated. He found the door, and instead of knocking, kicked it straight off its hinges. It flew across the room and landed across the Captain’s desk, which was instantly reduced to splinters. It was a small room, at least it was to a Toa, but still larger than most of the crew’s quarters, and those could hold almost twenty Matoran at once. On the walls were carvings of what Sarhab assumed were the Captain’s close friends. The Captain was a large, well-muscled Ta-Matoran.

The Captain stood up, briefly glancing at his ruined desk. ”I don’t want any trouble here, Toa.”

Sarhab frowned, “If you mean I shouldn’t have broken your desk, that’s your fault for using a cheap desk.”

“No, I want you to not break any more desks. What do you want?”

“I need to get to the Southern Continent, and I thought that I might just take this boat.”

“What do I get?”

“Well, for starters, I don’t smash your ship.”

The Matoran reached over and pulled a weapon from its mounting on the wall. “This is a Vacuum Shield. It’s fully charged. I could blow us all to Karzhani before you could say Lava Eel.”

A Vacuum Shield was a weapon that could create a powerful vacuum and implode its surroundings, and then release this later in an explosive blast, like the Captain was threatening to do. “You wouldn’t blow a hole in your ship would you? I’d be finished, but so would you and your ship, along with most of the crew. How about you just put that down and we talk like civilized people?”

“Why should I? I’m the one with the weapon.”

Sarhab pulled a modified Kanoka Disk launcher off his back. “Well, sort of. And, I can blow a hole in you before you can blow a hole in your ship.”

The Captain set the Shield down in the remains of his desk. “Like I said before, what do you want?”

“Safe passage. Free passage. Comfortable passage. In fact, I think this room will do quite nicely. So shoo! This is my room now! Why are you in my room? Get out before I make you!”

Standing outside his room, the Captain thought that it was all quite sudden. A few minutes ago, this stranger had burst in to his room, and now he, the Captain of this ship, was standing in the hallway, holding a few carvings of friends and a cracked leg from his desk. Behind him, the Toa of Stone was nailing the hinges back onto the doorframe. The Captain wandered down the hallway in a daze. ''Where does Wemmip sleep? He’s got a pretty big room, maybe we can share?''