Chapter Three

Po-Wahi, Takua quickly found, was a dry, arid desert of sand and stone. As his boat pulled into the dock, the traveler was startled to find the small port abandoned. With no knowledge of the area, he would have no way to navigate the expansive region.

He went several paces inland, then thought better of it and started back for the boat. But as he did, he was startled to see a solitary tan-armored merchant and his wares, quietly smiling at him.

“There you are!” Takua said, starting back. “Maybe you can help me.”

“Eh? What’s that?” the merchant asked, holding a hand to his ear. “Sorry. Don’t get too many travelers around Po-Wahi these days. What can I do for you? Need a boat? Information? Or a souvenir, maybe?”

Hopeful to get some tips about the local culture, Takua gestured around. “What is Po-Wahi?”

“Po-Wahi is… well, there’s not much to it, really, mostly sand… lots of sand. But there are the canyons, which are real pretty to look at, if the sun or the Rahi don’t get you first… and the Path of Prophecies, which the ancient carvers made. Po-Koro’s a decent place, too, and don’t miss the games. Most everyone around Mata Nui turns up to see a Koli match, when they’re on. Haven’t been too many visitors lately, though.”

“Goodbye.” With a nod, Takua thanked the merchant for his assistance and set out on foot, following the stone path laid before him. “Stay outta the sun!” the merchant called out as Takua left.

He had not been traveling long when he arrived at a fork in the road with a statue and two directional signs. The Matoran script engraved on the signs was rapidly regaining its familiarity, and for a moment he forgot he was reading at all.

He stopped for a moment. Is my memory returning?

There was no way to tell for certain. He chose the path to the left, certain that it would take him to Po-Koro.

The path was long and monotonous, but eventually he came to another fork in the road. A stone carver was here, hard at work. As Takua admired his work, the carver took notice of the newcomer.

“Hot enough for ya?” he asked. “Another Hafu original…” he said as he gestured toward his work. “Wow… Sometimes I impress myself! Can you guess what it is yet?”

Takua could’t, so he shook his head “No.”

The carver sat down, leaning against the sculpture. He seemed to sense Takua had not come for idle chit-chat, for he raised a weary arm and pointed to one of the two paths. “If you’re looking for Po-Koro, traveler, take the right road. My right. Or is it your right?”

Takua thanked him for the help, such as it was, and headed out along the path to the right. His right. He had not taken many paces when he heard the chipping of metal against stone picking up again. The traveler smiled, admiring the tirelessness of the curious carving Matoran. Perhaps once he had delivered the message to Huki, he could come back and see the finished product… assuming he didn’t get lost and could find the village.

But then he saw it.

✴        ✴        ✴

A marvelous stone gate stood before him. The path was overlooked by six magnificent, enormous stone faces. Vaguely, Takua wondered if these were also the work of the stone carver with whom he had just spoken.

Takua walked through the gate and into the middle of a thriving marketplace. The sounds of animals and bartering filled the air. “The Maha market is bottomed out,” one says. “Want a Maha? Going cheap.”

“I’ll trade you two Husi for your Maha.” responds another. “Take it or leave it.”

A nearby merchant eagerly flagged Takua, and the curious traveler meandered over.

“Hello, stranger! Are you looking for a good Koli ball? Let me recommend the Comet, our most popular model.”

“What is a Koli ball?” Takua asked.

“Why, Koli balls are for playing Koli, of course,” the merchant replied. “You’d want a Comet — our most popular model. Trading for two Husi Pecking Birds, or the equivalent.”

The traveler picked one of the merchant’s wares up and observed it. “How do I buy a Koli ball?”

“We trade here, like in the rest of the bazaar,” the trader answered. “If you’ve got something worth trading, I’ll give you a Koli ball for it!”

Takua didn’t have anything to trade, so he said, “Goodbye.” But the merchant’s grin deepened.

“Come back anytime… Our Comet balls are the best in Mata Nui. Everyone wants one! Don’t be the only Matoran in Po-Koro without a Comet!”

As he was wandering off, Takua happened to notice a hut with an open door to his left. He heard someone carving stone within it. Intrigued, he decided to enter the hut. Just inside, a tall figure whose stature resembled Nokama and Vakama greeted him.

“Hail, adventurer! You have come at an unhappy time in Po-Koro, I fear. I am about to announce to my people the news that the next Koli match will have to be canceled. I do not think even great Pohatu could play Koli at a time like this.”

“Who are you?” Takua asked.

The elder gave him that quizzical look the amnesiac was quickly growing accustomed to, but he obliged. “I am Onewa, Turaga of the village of Po-Koro. The Matoran here are master carvers, and their work is the envy of all Mata Nui. But today I am not carving works of art. Instead, I am fashioning beds.”

He held up the woodworking tools he was working with, then set them down on the table. “I am struggling to bring comfort to the sick people of this village, but it is a fleeting solace. We know nothing of this illness, how long it might last, or where it comes from. Left unattended, I fear the Madness…” He does not finish his sentence.

Curious, I ask why he is canceling the Koli match. “Why are you canceling the Koli match?”

“A dark plague has corrupted my people and my village. Though many still stay at their work, and visit the bazaar, and play Koli, they have blinded themselves to the truth, and put strength and duty before fear. Huki, our greatest Koli champion, was one of the first to fall ill. He has become weakened, and cannot move from his bed. I fear that soon we will see in him the beginnings of the Madness, the same diabolical force that grips the wild Rahi when their masks become infected. Like the theft of Ko-Koro’s Element of Melting and the poisoning of Ta-Koro’s water supply, this new attack would wipe us out from the inside.”

In addition to Huki, there was another name the Turaga had mentioned. “Who is Pohatu?”

“Pohatu is the Toa of the Po-Koro Matoran,” Onewa replied. “His great strength can fell mountains, and the Kanohi Kakama gives him speed greater than any creature on Mata Nui. The irony is that Pohatu’s strength and speed cannot help us. An enemy that can neither be seen, nor felt plagues us.”

Onewa gestured to the village gate, and to the wilderness beyond. “Vakama, of Ta-Koro, has sent some of his Guard to assist us, but they will not enter the village for fear of falling prey to this disease. Instead, they are combing the hills in search of Pohatu, who is on a grave quest for the Masks of Power. But without knowing even where this illness comes from, there is little anyone can do… even the great Pohatu.”

His countenance fell. “I am distracted by many of Po-Koro’s problems, adventurer, and I can give you little of my time. Do you think you can give me some clue about how to cure this illness?”

Takua nodded. Though he couldn’t explain it, Onewa’s mention of the Element of Melting and Ta-Koro’s water supply seemed like it should be familiar, but the reason escaped him. Filing it away for later, he told Onewa goodbye. “Goodbye.”

“I wish you the speed of Pohatu, adventurer,” Onewa as Takua departed, returning to his sorrowful task of carving beds for the ill.

✴        ✴        ✴

Curious, Takua headed down to look at the Koli field. As he came around the bend, he noticed someone practicing with a Koli ball. The athlete greeted Takua with a vigorous “Hup! Hup! Hup!”

“Are you here for a Koli match?” he asked. “I sure could use some more teammates to play with. All the others have gone home. They’re not feeling well. Not even Huki can play anymore. And I just got a new Comet! Traded two Husi for it.”

Having heard so much already about the game, Takua asked, “What is Koli?”

“What is Koli?” the athlete repeated incredulously. “You must not be from around here! Koli is the greatest sport on Mata Nui. It’s incredibly simple, but takes much more skill than the sports they play in other villages!”

As he spoke, he walked around the field, gesturing at the stands, the goals, the balls. “Koli is played in a Koli field. You’re standing in the biggest one in Po-Wahi, but they don’t have to be as fancy as this. All you need is four goals, set up on each side of a square. There are four players. Each of the goals has a Matoran to guard it. To win, you have to kick Koli balls — like this one — into any of the other three goals, while at the same time stopping other players from getting their balls into your goal. That’s it!”

Takua pointed at the ball, “What is a Comet?”

“A Comet is the best kind of Koli ball you can get,” the Koli player said. “Everyone is getting one of these now. They’re perfectly balanced, so it’s very hard to miss, and when you kick them, they fly as fast as a comet! They only started trading them recently at the bazaar. I don’t know where they get them, but whoever carved them is truly a master.”

The amnesiac nodded, understanding. “Who is Huki?”

The athlete grinned at Takua. “Who is Huki! Why, only the greatest Koli player, ever. At least… he was. He fell ill a little while ago, and I haven’t seen him around much. He lives just on the other side of the Koli field.”

The traveler had come to Po-Koro with a message to deliver. Now that he knew where Huki lived, he could tell him that Maku was all right. Perhaps it would make him feel a little better. “Goodbye.” Takua said, but as he was turning, he heard something that sent a chill up his spine:

“Hup! Hup! *cough*”

Was the athlete too coming down with this mysterious illness?

Takua spotted what had to have been Huki’s hut as he left the Koli field. It was marked with an ‘X’ to quarantine its resident. As Takua move toward the hut, he passed a lone spectator in the stands, still hopeful that the Koli match will go on. “I love Koli, but everyone is home sick!” he moaned.

Takua arrived at the hut and found a lone villager within. He looked very ill, scarcely capable of moving. But as Takua stepped inside, a fury welled and Huki barked: “Stay away from me!” Realizing his own tone, he added, much weaker, “I just want to be left alone.”

Takua nodded, moving safely away from the building, “Who are you?” he asked.

“I am… Huki…” he replied. The words came with much difficulty.

Takua edged forward, stepping just shy of the threshold. “I ask because I’ve been sent from Ga-Koro. You may have heard about the attack there… Well, Maku asked me to tell you she’s safe.”

Huki sighed softly.

“Why are you sick?” the traveler inquired. In hindsight, Huki probably wouldn’t know much more than the Turaga had been told, but perhaps Takua could ascertain some clue.

“I don’t know…” the villager croaked. “I have been here for — how many days? I’m not sure anymore… I used to know. You must go. I feel… strange. No one must come here, especially Maku. Do not tell her I am ill, it will worry her… she must not see me like this, she must not…”

Unconsciously, Takua stepped again inside the building. “Huki, perhaps—”

“Get out!” Huki yelled.

With a hard, resigned look at the deathly Matoran, Takua turned and left. “Goodbye.”

✴        ✴        ✴

Takua hurried down to the Koli field to see if the stranger truly had the same symptoms as Huki, but to his alarm, the athlete had vanished. Even more surprising, however, was the lone object left on the field — the precious Comet.

Resolving to seek the athlete out and return the ball to him, Takua went to retrieve it. But as he did a mysterious substance seemed to ooze out from within it and coat the ball.

Takua recoiled. Surely that was not natural. Gingerly picking up the ball and avoiding getting any of the substance on him, he carried it down the village square to Onewa’s hut.

“Hello again, Hero.” the Turaga said in greeting. “I hope you bring good news… we all could use some.”

When Takua presented his find, at first, the Turaga was puzzled.

“What? But this is just a Koli ball…” he observed. “Hm. But not just any Koli ball; this is the special kind that is being traded at the bazaar, and which has become very popular. Thank you, adventurer, for showing this to me. You are as noble as your reputation, and resourceful.”

Using a nearby ladle, he scooped the substance off the rock and observed it keenly. “This opens my eyes to many things. If these balls are the cause of the illness, then we must take them away from the village, and throw them in the sea. But they are very popular and the Po-Koro Matoran value Koli above many things. I cannot take these away from my people unless I have proof that they are the cause.”

The Turaga placed the ladle down and looked at Takua. “However, this is a vital clue. I know that a merchant in the bazaar sells these balls — you must find out from him where these balls come from. But take care. If he is somehow involved in this plot, then he will not want you to find out. The evil that visited Ga-Koro across the waves has come, it seems, to our ocean of sand. I fear the shadow of the Makuta has been cast across Po-Koro. I know that the source of this evil must be found or all may be lost.”

“When Ga-Koro was attacked, Maku found Gali and she was able to help,” Takua suggested. “Perhaps Pohatu can help here too.”

Onewa nodded. “If Vakama’s Guard can find the Toa, I will suggest to Pohatu that he seek you out, and together I hope you can do what is necessary. Would that the sick did not need me, or I would come to assist you on your quest. Perhaps there is some information that I can provide you with that will help you unravel this great mystery!”

“I will let you know,” Takua replied. “Goodbye, Turaga.”

✴        ✴        ✴

Takua quickly returned to the Comet merchant in the marketplace. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the merchant issued the same marketing spiel as before, with little variation. Impatient, Takua cut him off.

“Where do you get your Koli balls?” he asked.

The merchant seemed taken aback, but then he grinned and winked cleverly. “Well, now, that’s privileged information, my friend. Let’s just say I have a secret source…”

Takua started to respond, but the merchant turned and started advertising to some villagers who were lingering nearby. The distraction afforded Takua a good opportunity to look at the wares, and as he did, he noticed a strange object resembling a key among the Koli balls. He slipped it into his bag without the merchant noticing.

Not certain where he was going or what he was looking for, he decided to head out the village, back the way he’d come. He soon saw the carver on the road still hard at work on his latest masterpiece. Takua kept to the left this time and headed toward what he thought was a quarry.

The quarry was filled with enormous mask carvings. Below each mask was a small hole requiring a small key.

The realization struck Takua like a thunderbolt. Did he hold within his backpack the key to solving this mystery? There was only one way to find out.

Takua place the object he’d “borrowed” from the Comet merchant into each hole, one by one. At first he was discouraged, for although it fit perfectly, it seemed to have no effect. That was, at least, until he finally came to the last one. When he slid the key into the hole, something like a door slid open to reveal a deep tunnel.

Takua marveled at his fortune. Inside the cave, he discovered a pile of Comet Koli balls. They were all infected like the one he’d shown Onewa. Even more disturbing was the sickly stone emblem holding a mask covered with the poison Takua had observed on the Comet balls. Between it and him were about a dozen brown and green columns holding the roof of the cave in place.

The traveler turned to leave, but shouted in surprise — he was not alone in the cave. A large, blue scorpion-like Rahi beast had burrowed out of the dirt and spotted him.

Takua took several terrified steps backward, but then heavy footfalls filled the room coming from the staircase, and Takua felt a hand on his shoulder. And when the Matoran turned to look, his eyes were filled with awe at the tall stranger that appeared.

A Toa.

Before anyone could act, the scorpion took aim and hurled a gob of mud with its tail at the tall figure’s mask. The Toa appeared to be fine, but he groped at his eyes. Turning in Takua’s direction, he spoke.

“Adventurer, the scorpion has blinded me for the moment. It will be some time before my sight returns! Tell me where to kick the ball, and together we can destroy the Nui Jaga’s nest!”

With Takua to guide him, the stranger moved with astonishing speed, even for one blinded. Although the Nui Jaga knocked away several shots, the pair quickly began breaking the green columns which constituted the Nui Jaga’s nest. After the last strands had been snapped, the Nui Jaga quickly retreated as the ceiling threatened to collapse upon them all.

“Let’s get out of here,” barked Pohatu, and with a strong sweep of his arm, he grabbed Takua and threw him on his back. As Pohatu started running, Takua hung on for dear life, and although Pohatu was racing as fast as he could, the Matoran could sense that they were not going to make it. But then the stranger begins to accelerate, and the pair suddenly shot far outside the cave.

Takua slid off Pohatu’s back. As they watched, a cloud of dust and stone billowed out of its mouth as the formation collapsed.

“Excellent my friend!” the Toa remarked, looking at the destruction. “We make a good team! My sight has returned to me. This was an evil plan, indeed. Onewa was right to call upon me. That was an infected mask set beside the Koli balls… But who left it there, and placed the balls beside it?”

Pohatu looked at Takua. “Though Po-Koro will be safe now, we have uncovered an even greater mystery. I fear the Makuta’s influence may extend beyond the Rahi, now… I will take this news back to Po-Koro, and help them carry the infected Koli balls into the sea. My Mask of Power will let me to get to the village quick enough, I think, to save even Huki.”

He smiled. “You are a cunning ally, friend, and brave. I hope that we shall meet again, someday.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving Takua marveling at the strength and courage of the great warrior.

✴        ✴        ✴

Takua returned to Po-Koro as fast as his legs would carry him.

“Hail, hero!” cried Onewa upon seeing him. “Hello again, adventurer! Pohatu has already been here, and gone. The infected Koli balls have been taken to the sea, and they will bother us no more. The Matoran of my village are recovering from their illness. I’m not certain what became of the merchant who sold those Koli balls, however. He disappeared before Pohatu returned.”

“He will reappear before long, I’m sure,” Takua nodded. “The island is only so big. If I keep traveling, I’m sure I’ll see him.”

Onewa nodded. “Pohatu has told me of all your adventures. We, like the Ga-Koro Matoran, will long honor your deeds! Nokama was right when she said you would be witness to many important things transpiring throughout our land. She asked me to watch you, and tell her if I also feel this… I know now that you are the one her Astrologer has spoken of. Take this Carving Tool, which is the proud symbol of our greatest Carvers. Show it to Nokama and she will give you the Book of Chronicles.”

Takua was wordless as he took the tool. “Thank you,” he finally managed.

Onewa smiled. “I trust your travels are going well. I wish you the speed of Pohatu, adventurer.”

Before heading back to Ga-Koro, Takua had one more stop to make. As he passed the Koli field, he saw athletes running to and fro with clean Koli balls. From the stands, fans crowded shouted cheers of support. “Foul! Ref!” shouted one. “SCOREBOARD! SCOREBOARD!” barked a second. Others yell, “Yay team!” and “Who do you think will win?”

“Who ate all the pies?! Who ate all the pies?!” chanted the one closest to the traveler. Noticing Takua, he grinned. “It is a good day for Koli.”

At the hut near the field, Huki was now up and about, seemingly bursting with energy.

“I have heard all that you have done for our village, adventurer, but I especially owe you thanks,” he told Takua excitedly. “I will soon be fit enough to return to Koli, and to Maku. If you see her in your travels, tell her I am well! Hup! Hup! Hup!”

“I will tell her,” chuckled Takua.

✴        ✴        ✴

“Hello again,” Nokama greeted him. Without a word, Takua produced the Po-Koro chisel.

The Turaga nodded somberly, taking the tool and turning it over in her hands. Then she retrieved a book of tablets from a pedestal and handed it to him.

“Take this book,” said she, “and attend to it, and travel to the villages. It will store all that you see. If the Toa fail, and Mata Nui is destroyed… this, at least, will remain. And the ocean will keep it safe for us.”

Takua felt a chill. “The keeping of chronicles is a sacred duty,” Vakama had told him. “And it will have to be filled now that the Toa are here. Many more great tales are soon to come.”

“Thank you, Turaga,” Takua bowed. “I will honor this duty… goodbye.”

“Good luck,” Nokama smiled. “Chronicler.”