Brajamusti immediately dropped to his knees in front of the injured man.
“Who captured Grandpa Paijo?”
The man struggled to catch his breath.
“Members of Naga Hitam... They took him to Benteng Batu.”
Wira Gantang’s expression immediately turned serious.
“Then we can’t waste any time.”
Sinta looked at Brajamusti.
“We’re going there.”
Brajamusti nodded.
The three of them quickly headed for Benteng Batu, which stood west of the valley. The place was notorious as the headquarters of the Naga Hitam group.
They traveled quickly.
By nightfall, they reached a hill. From the top, they could see an old fortress guarded by dozens of men.
“There are a lot of them,” Sinta whispered.
Brajamusti gazed at the fortress.
“I’ll go in first.”
Wira stopped him.
“Don’t be reckless.”
“I can’t let them hurt Grandpa Paijo.”
In the end, they came up with a plan.
Sinta would cause a commotion at the main gate while Wira distracted the guards from the rear. Brajamusti would sneak inside to find Paijo.
The plan worked.
Brajamusti managed to enter the dungeon.
There, he found Grandpa Paijo sitting behind iron bars.
“Grandpa!”
Paijo lifted his head.
“Brajamusti?”
“I came to get you out.”
Paijo smiled.
“You shouldn’t have come.”
Brajamusti opened the cell door.
“They captured you because of my flute.”
Paijo shook his head.
“No. They captured me because they knew I would come looking for you.”
Suddenly, applause rang out from the end of the corridor.
A man in a black robe appeared.
“What a touching reunion.”
Brajamusti stepped in front of Paijo.
“Who are you?”
The man smiled.
“I’m the one who has been searching for the Dragon Flute all this time.”
He drew his sword.
Brajamusti gripped his flute.
But Paijo spoke at once.
“Don’t use the flute.”
“Why?”
“Because he lured you here on purpose.”
Brajamusti fell silent.
The man laughed.
“That’s right. I wanted to see how much the flute’s power has awakened.”
Sinta suddenly appeared from behind and attacked the man.
A brief battle broke out.
The man turned out to be incredibly strong. He was able to withstand Sinta and Brajamusti’s attacks at the same time.
Wira then arrived to help.
The three of them attacked together.
At last, the man retreated.
Before fleeing, he looked at Brajamusti.
“Go to Lembah Arwana.”
Brajamusti furrowed his brow.
“Why?”
“Because that’s where you’ll learn who the flute’s first owner truly was.”
The man tossed a metal disc to the ground, then disappeared.
Brajamusti picked it up.
A dragon emblem was engraved on its surface.
Paijo saw it, and his expression immediately changed.
“Don’t keep that.”
“Why, Grandpa?”
Paijo stared at Brajamusti grimly.
“Because that emblem belonged to someone who should have been dead for decades.”
Brajamusti fell silent.
“Who?”
Paijo didn’t answer.
He only gazed into the distance, toward the mountains.
“Lembah Arwana holds far too many secrets.”
They finally left Benteng Batu that night.
As they traveled, Brajamusti continued clutching the metal disc.
He still didn’t know who owned the dragon emblem.
But one thing was becoming clear.
His journey with Sinta was no longer merely a journey to find love.
Now they had been drawn into a far greater and much more dangerous secret.
And their next destination had already been decided.
Lembah Arwana.