Arc I - Chapter V - Rushkwa
The evil crew finally comes out of Grogar's Lair, being around a dry and catastrophic wasteland with no flora and fauna at all. "So, this is it. Nothing has changed in Grogar's home. I remember my lands were near this place."
"Hey!" says Cozy Glow. "At least... can we know who are you? I only know your name and you killed Gusty because you said it and that's it."
And that's the moment where Tenebris stopped walking. The blue-eyed night goat with a necklace turns around and looks at Cozy Glow. "My name is Tenebris and that is the only fact you need to know."
Cozy Glow gets a bit scared while having an intimidating night ram looking at her, but doesn't quit. "I know, Mr Tenebris... but there are loose ends about you that not only me but also Mr Tirek needs to tie..."
"I still don't believe you murdered Gusty the Great," interrupts Sombra. "And also... How did you end up being a Tartarus monster trapped in a stone prison?"
"And how Discord gave you powers?" asks Tirek.
Stone Chisel also asks: "And why you recognized Grogar?"
"Stop," exclaims Tenebris while looking around. "I'd like to tell you how I became the Princesses' nightmare because that's what leaders do, but I'm afraid I want someone else to tell it for me," and then he turns his back, laughing. "Discord, would you?"
The God of Chaos, whose hands are trapped inside two big boulders that he can't break with his magic, appears behind Stone Chisel, crawling on the ground. "If you are trying to humiliate me, I'm afraid you won't reach what you want."
"I know you know everything about me, Discord... and that's because you know I'm the only one who can kill you."
"You're not the only one who can kill me."
"Really?" says Tenebris. "Is there any other creature which also has our powers?" Discord tries to play with Tenebris, lying to him one more time... but suddenly gives up when he thinks about how worth it would that be. Nothing. Even if he plays with the night ram, he won't get out of the boulders. "I see. Interesting answer, Discord."
"Tell them, then. I don't want to waste my time remembering what you did."
"Please, Discord..." he says, smiling. "Think about this poor creature you left alone. I'd be glad for you if you do that for me. Besides, I may let you go."
Now Discord and Tenebris share one look again. The night ram laughs, expecting the God of Chaos to tell them his story. "You can't kill me... if I tell it. That's what I say."
Tenebris raises his hooves, smiling. "I never planned to kill you but... sure, it's good to make this kind of deal just in case, God of Chaos."
Discord literally trapped himself. His enemy never thought about killing him but now that he said it, he's on the edge. There's no other way because he knows that crazy night ram takes everything very seriously, something that Tenebris also understands, and that's why he is laughing aloud. "You..."
"Me? I'm your owner now."
The draconequus frowns but eventually takes a breath. He fell. "Tenebris was the leader of a species which lived on the Equestrian North named as the Night Rams, relatives of the rams, with darker fur and having the ability to exhale a magical cold mist from inside their body which helped them to live."
"Is," interrupts Tenebris. "I was, am and will be the leader of my community."
Discord sighs. "If you'll correct me every time I say something, just tell them with your own words, fool."
However, Tenebris has something else on his mind, something that he has already taken advantage of. "We have a deal, Discord."
"Damn you," he answers, only for the ram to laugh louder. He now knows that he likes this kind of humiliation. "Tenebris thought it was unfair for the other creatures of Equestria to have a kingdom in Canterlot which was only surrounded by ponies. He called that an unfair caste creature system and that's why he had the idea of creating a fair united kingdom for all the creatures, and due to that he travelled to Canterlot with his soulmate Rushkwa to talk with the princesses about this."
"But," he says, now turning around and looking at everyone. "They rejected my idea."
"Rejected it?" says Cozy Glow. "Why?"
"They told him it would be very chaotic for all of the creatures to administrate a united kingdom together."
"LIES!" shouts Tenebris, stomping one of his hooves against the ground, leaving a big hole in it. "Everything they said was a lie. Everything. They wanted all of the power for them... they didn't want anything else that wasn't a pony to touch it."
"Um..." interrupts Stone Chisel. "That would be too strange. I don't like the princesses but I think they would never have those thoughts. Besides, they have just recently opened a School of Friendship for all of the creatures."
"They may have changed their minds, but what it's done, it's done. Once they rejected my offer, I was so disappointed I asked for help from my relative Grogar, which gave me the powers of his bell... and at that moment, I met him," he says, looking at Discord. "I convinced him to create an alliance to kill the Princesses and rise a new Kingdom and that's why he gave me part of his powers. That fusion between the bell and Discord created a new kind of power..."
Everyone remains silent until Cozy Glow dares to speak: "And that new kind of power is..."
"Chaos magic," says Tirek. "So, along with having the powers of the Bewitching Bell, you are the first creature of all Equestrian History which had Discord's magic, without being Discord, in his veins."
"Booyah, that's right," says Discord. "And after I gave part of my power to you and Rushkwa, you decided to declare war. What an idiot."
"Uh-huh," says Tenebris. "I remember that the most because that was the moment you and Grogar left me alone."
"You know why I think it was a mistake to give you my power?" Discord says, and then he decides to stand up. "Because when you killed Gusty the Great and her warriors with just your presence, Grogar and I realized you were an insane, degenerate murderer, torturer and piece of filth who deserved to die... Grogar liked to be cruel, I liked to be cruel, but you... you were so evil you were even dangerous to ourselves."
It was like Discord exploded a bomb and everyone looked at it, but Tenebris doesn't even react to that. He just keeps a serious, straight face. "How strange. Firstly, you begged me not to die, and now... You are looking for me to kill you, don't you?"
Discord now chuckles. "I changed my mind when I thought I'd have to spend all day long with you."
"I would, Discord... but, you know... I also changed my mind... not only I won't know how can I get rid of this gem if I kill you now, but also... it would be too boring to keep going with my journey without you. I need someone to make fun of."
"I won't tell you how can you get rid of that."
Tenebris sighs and looks at Stone Chisel this time before turning around. "We'll work together with that later. Now that I have some free time before everyone in Tartarus gets crazy, I want to look for a soul."
"Rushkwa?" asks Stone Chisel, out of nowhere, and at that same moment, Tenebris turns around and his fur gets spiky. He feels he got goosebumps and a second later he finds something, nervously, and at that moment he starts prowling around. He starts looking everywhere but does find nothing.
"Hey!" shouts Chrysalis. "What is happening?"
"I feel her!" he shouts, getting nearer them again. "When he said that... I felt it! I felt her soul! She's near!"
"Who?" asks Tirek.
"Rushkwa, my soulmate!"
"What?" now asks Stone Chisel. "Is she here?"
"My wife, I feel her soul..." he says, getting nearer them, and from a second to another, he comes up with a weird, strange conclusion: "How weird... but... it can't be... is it... the gem?"
"What now?" says Sombra, angrily.
"The more I approach you... the more I feel her soul. This... this is impossible... this only means..."
Now, the night ram sticks his eyes on Stone Chisel's. He felt her soul at the same time the pony said her name, how suspicious, and for him, that only means one thing... "What... did you do to my wife?"
"What?" says Stone Chisel. "I don't know what are you ta---"
Crash. Tenebris now crashes Stone Chisel against the lair's entrance with his magic. "Now I understand how you set me free... the soul of my wife is with you!"
"I don't know what are you talking about! Just let me go!"
But no, it's too late. Tenebris has already figured it out. At first, he thought the pony was his wife's soul, but now he finds out there is something else inside. The pony is just a layer for that, and that's why he has to do what he has to do.
SHREEP!
It was such a characteristic sound it looked like an onomatopoeia from a comic book. A second later, Stone Chisel is bleeding and realizes he has a hole in his belly. A hole where a tiny black stone comes out. All of the villains get surprised at how cruel was Tenebris' decision to solve this problem. Now, the thief falls to the floor, bleeding while trying to take a breath before dying due to bleeding out. "What is this, you dull piece of litter?"
"Uh... uh... argh..."
"Come on! You don't have so much time before bleeding out! Tell me!"
"You son of a..." dares to say Stone Chisel. "I'm going to die!..."
"I know, you imbecile! Tell me why my wife's soul is inside this!"
"TENEBRIS!" Discord's shout stops Tenebris for a short time, but then, the Chaos throws his final offer on the table: "Listen... If you spare his life... I'll tell you how can you get rid of that gem."
Now Tenebris has the offer right there. How can he get rid of that gem? Only Discord knows. "You... you want me to save this? To spare a useless creature's life? Don't you see the ponies trapped you in a stone prison?"
"This stallion isn't guilty of that, Tenebris... It's not necessary to kill him, because it's just to satisfy for a short period of time your bloodthirst."
That only makes Tenebris angrier, and he decides to do something else. He immediately closes Stone Chisel's wound and all of the spilt blood on the ground goes inside him again. The stallion takes a long, long breath and thinks this is over... but no. This is not over. This has just started. Tenebris now gets Discord up with his magic and crashes him to the ground. "Both of you are not going to get out of this so easily. First of all, why my wife's soul... IS INSIDE THIS?!"
"Wait! WAIT!" shouts Stone Chisel, coughing and still gasping, trying to breathe normally again. "My mentor... had t-that amulet locked up in a box and that's the only thing I know!" shouts Stone Chisel. "And then, when I got out of his home, I robbed that amulet and I ate it because it has powers."
"Powers?"
"Powers. That is what that stone gave to me, magical powers that I can handle better than the cheese."
Everyone gets confused at hearing that, so Chrysalis asks. "Cheese? What are you talking about?"
"Ha! Finally, you admit your legs with holes look like they came out from a worn-out cheese!"
"Oh! You..." shouts Chrysalis with her glowing horn, but Tenebris interrupts everything getting in the middle.
"Wait. Which kind of powers?"
Stone Chisel now gets surprised at realizing how he has Tenebris' attention now. "Um... uh..." he says, intimidated by the night ram. "E-each one of my robberies were planned and also done thanks to that," he says, trying to be the most sincere possible, trying not to fall into his hooves again. "It gave me the ability to... um... turn me into a shadow and also... spit some kind of black mist that unicorn magic couldn't destroy. It was something temporary, though."
Tenebris gives the stallion a small smile. "Temporary... I see." After saying that, the tiny black stone explodes and a black mist comes from it, which only floats around the intimidating ram. "This is chaos magic, the one I can control."
"Yes," says Stone Chisel. "That's what I wanted to tell you before you interrupted me."
"What did you want to tell me?" asks Tenebris with a slight nonchalance, looking at the black mist around him.
"Um... my mentor told me you were the first Wizard of Chaos, a sect which hated creatures who could handle clear magic. Unicorns were the main enemies of the sect, so... when they found out your existence... they labelled you as the first Wizard of Chaos, and... just a fan fact but, ironically, a nomadic unicorn found a source of your powers... and then the sect was born."
Tenebris stays in silence and now, the chaos magic in pure form around him turns into a small ball on his loin. "A source."
"Yes."
"Which source?"
Stone Chisel, now desperate, doesn't know what to answer. "I have no idea."
"Wait," interrupts Sombra. "I think I have an idea."
Now everyone looks at Sombra. "What?" asks Tirek. "Wasn't it something related to your empire?"
"Yes," says Sombra. "Thousands of years ago, when I was king of my empire, Princess Celestia tried to put a night ram statue on my lands, but I denied the offer, and the only thing I know after that is her dull guards moved it to somewhere else... somewhere lonely. Maybe it was under the ocean, on Mt. Everhoof or somewhere else."
"Mt. Everhoof, maybe," now interrupts Tirek. "I was hiding from the Kingdom, near that mount, and then I found the ruins of a ram statue. What called my attention was... there was a bit of magic around it. I thought the ram escaped at first, but then I felt that was something the Wizards of Chaos should have done, but I never knew who did it..."
Now Stone Chisel opens his eyes, shocked. He has just found something. "Wait... no. No. Everything is connected."
"What?"
"My mentor told me this nomadic unicorn found its chaos magic source near Mt. Everhoof... and if it's a ram statue... that means..."
Tenebris now gasps. He has just found something else. "Rushkwa... my R-Rushkwa... was consumed by that unicorn."
"Um..." struggles Stone Chisel. "Yes."
And out of nowhere, the night ram stomps Stone Chisel against the lair, with fiery eyes. "WHO DID THIS? GIVE ME THE NAME OF THAT FILTH! OF THAT MURDERER!"
"SHADOW STAR! SHADOW STAR! HE'S ALREADY DEAD! HE'S ALREADY DEAD!"
Tenebris, at listening to that, throws Stone Chisel outside again. Tirek now opens his eyes, shocked. "I knew it. I knew Shadow Star was the one who did it."
But now, the most important thing in this scenario is Tenebris' reaction to Stone Chisel's answer. The night ram gets out of the lair, trembling and with his eyes closed while having the chaos magic around him, which eventually ends up in a cold mist flowering around the ram. A voice that everyone can hear speaks to the night ram:
"I'm trapped... he trapped me... help... help..."
"R-R-Rushkwa..."
"Accomplish your mission, my soulmate... do it for me... join my soul with yours... and you'll set me free..."
"RUSHKWA!"
Tenebris shouts one more time, but the cold mist eventually fades away and ends up in everyone looking at Tenebris. The first thing the ram does is look at Discord while turning the chaos mist around him into a ball, but instead of saying something, the night ram just growls, letting Discord understand what is he going to do. "Go ahead, do it."
The night ram chuckles again while having the chaos magic ball on his hoof. "It's what I have to do."
Discord now smiles while frowning. "Then do it, you fool."
Eventually, he does it. It's time to join his soul with Rushkwa's, and there's only one way to do it. The night ram opens his mouth and literally gobbles the chaos magic ball, swallowing it. Discord closes his eyes, while Tenebris' eyes turn from a blue colour to a lighter tone. The change is so drastic the red gem of his necklace starts trembling and fades its colour to black for only one second, just to return to its red again. Everyone gets shocked at how quickly his decision and also Discord's reaction. "Huh? What?" shouts Tenebris. "DISCORD! THIS FOOLISH GEM IS STILL HERE ON MY NECK!"
The God of Chaos, now with a sigh of relief, says: "No matter how much chaos magic you can eat and how many souls you can consume or join with... that gem will never break."
"YOU LIAR! YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE GOING TO TELL ME HOW I CAN GET RID OF THIS!"
"That gem is unbreakable. There's no way to get rid of it."
Tenebris gets angry but decides not to do anything. He just gets near the God of Chaos, pushing Stone Chisel away. "Stop playing with me, you dull monster. I've said it would be boring to keep walking after putting you in a grave but I can change my mind in one second."
"I'm not playing with you, Ten. I know that gem is unbreakable because I know where that comes from, and even my powers can't destroy it," and then, he touches his head with the ram. "And go ahead, kill me. You will do me a favour."
"Okay!" says Stone Chisel, getting in the middle of them. "Can we calm d--?"
Tenebris dares to throw Chisel away, crashing him against a stone wall. Now the night ram has no mercy. "My wife was consumed by a pony... I heard her soul crying in me... and now someone has to pay. You."
"What?" says Chisel, shocked and hurt. "No! Hey! I saved you! I set you free! PLEASE! NO!"
Nobody moves, and even Tirek tries to cover Cozy Glow's eyes with his hoof. "If you shout, your death will be slower."
"WAIT, DUDE! IF IT WASN'T FOR ME YOU WOULD BE STILL TRAPPED IN YOUR PRISON! I SET YOU FREE! I AM YOUR KEY TO YOUR FREEDOM!"
And at that moment, when Chisel is about to get riddled by the ram, someone else starts speaking: "You can't break the gem but you can break the necklace which holds it."
Tenebris stops and turns around to look at Discord. "What?"
"Don't kill him. Not only did he set you free so he has a point to be spared, but also... someone has to carry me. I can't move with these boulders on my hands and this stupid chain you made." Tenebris now thinks a bit while looking at the scared pony in front of him, being crushed against a wall. "I can tell you how can you break the necklace if you spare his life." This only makes Tenebris laugh, and even the four villains behind him smile a bit, confused on the inside.
"Why do you suddenly want to save this fool's life? What did he do to you?"
"Because he doesn't deserve to die, not like you. Besides... if you want more points and also want me to be honest, he is another puppet you can make fun of."
"Ha," says Tenebris, smiling. "So... you do not want to be alone in the humiliated list. Well, you offer a deal... I grant it." And then, he throws Chisel to the ground, sparing his life one more time. "Tell me... how can I get rid of this necklace?"
"I had one of those necklaces a time ago... It is made of a magical material called postcrystalline. It is a strong material but you can easily break it into pieces with only one thing."
"Which?"
"The Crystal Heart."
Sombra now gets shocked at listening to that but doesn't say anything. "And where I can find that?"
"Crystal Empire. From here to the north."
The night ram gets shocked while listening to that. "But... from here to the north... that's... my lands were right there..."
"NO!" shouts Sombra, now approaching the three creatures. "Don't you dare to touch my territory which is not yours anymore!"
"Your territory?" says Tenebris, getting nearer the King. "You stole it from me."
"It's mine now," keeps saying Sombra, now with green, intimidating eyes while his horn starts glowing purple. "Don't you dare to take what belongs to the King."
"The King? You?" says Tenebris, also with fiery eyes with a pink tone. "You're anything but a king, shut up."
"Sombra, don't."
"Shut up, you!" shouts the King while controlling his dark magic. "I bet I can block this stupid ram's magic with one dark crystal."
"Hey," says Tirek, this time taking a step further from them. "Can I tell you a piece of advice? I'd be in the same way if someone wants to take what is mine, but... that ram has chaos magic on his veins and literally swallowed a chaos mist, which is powerful."
"I don't like this weakling but..." says Chrysalis. "This time I agree with him."
"Shut up, all of you! You are not worth enough to give me orders! I D----!"
And at that moment, something expells Sombra far away and throws him into a swamp. Everyone gets silent at the same time Tenebris calms down while having a pink ball of magic between his horns. "Stupid horse. Just like every pony." Now, Tenebris looks at the other five and exclaims: "If you dare to do that to me, only once... I won't care about you, and I'll be honest, you'll have the same fa--"
A purple beam explodes where Tenebris was standing, and Sombra rises from the swamp, this time with his eyes filled with some green smoke and a horn surrounded by a purple flame. "Piece of litter."
"SOMBRA! YOU IMBECILE!"
"Look at what I did, Discord! I destroyed the only living thing that could kill you... Although I never believed in him, I knew that fool was just a liar like everyone else..."
But no. Sombra was wrong and finds it out when something comes out of the dark violet smoke. A Tenebris filled with dark crystals is still standing. The Crystal King, instead of getting scared, only gets angrier. "I've got to admit you are not bad, but such a pity you are so imbecile..." and at that same moment, the dark crystals that were on his body get absorbed by the ram while shouting of pain because the trembling gem is trying its best to reject the crystals... but Tenebris doesn't care anyway. That only shocks every creature else around. "Thank you for giving me your magic... Sombra, right? You can turn into a shadow, don't you?"
"Wait!" shouts Tirek. "This stupid fight is now out of the question. Can we go back to where we were? As you said, Tenebris, Sombra's powers are not bad and can be usef--"
"I'M NOT GOING TO GIVE THIS FOOL MY LANDS!" interrupts Sombra. "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, YOU SKINNY FILLY!"
The centaur didn't like that at all. That's why he dares to use his powers against him, trying to consume his magic, but then, a cold hoof touches his loin.
"Let me finish this, Tirek, because Sombra and I have to solve a serious problem here."
Tirek wants to keep talking but Cozy Glow gets next to him and starts pushing him behind. She is scared of what can Tenebris do to him. Sombra suddenly fires a dark beam from his horn but Tenebris doesn't even move. At the same time, while Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy Glow are watching. Stone Chisel moves his hurt body and gets up while looking at Discord. "Why... why did you save me?" whispers to the draconequus, which only looks at him.
"You've got to solve this."
"What?" he whispers. "One step and he already killed me. How can I solve this?"
Discord doesn't even look at the robber now. "The robberies you made don't even compare to how grave was this mistake, Stone Chisel. If you did it, then you can solve it with me."
Stone doesn't even know what to say... did he? Did he just commit the worst mistake of his tactless life? Wait... once he says that, he gets a sigh of relief: "Wait... King Sombra is powerful. He can defeat him."
Discord, instead of answering Chisel's words, dares to exclaim aloud: "Sombra, if you keep fighting with him you are going to die. Leave this aside and give him his lands."
Stone gets surprised at that and takes cover when a purple beam comes straight at him, but Discord luckily blocks it with one of his boulder-hands. "I AM NOT GOING TO GIVE HIM MY LANDS!"
"Well... die, then."
"He can defeat him," whispers the robber, while thinking how cold were Discord's last phrases. "He must."
Discord, who is not even listening to Stone Chisel now, keeps watching Tenebris and Sombra's fight. They are still firing magical beams against each other, crashing against the ground or falling into the swamps. However, there is one crucial moment in the fight where Tenebris falls into a swamp but doesn't rise from the waters. He only gets his head to the surface, where he asks: "Sombra... you can turn into a shadow, don't you?"
Nevertheless, King Sombra fires one more magical beam at him, but this time the beam hits its necklace and throws Tenebris once again into the depths. While in the water, there is a voice that talks to Tenebris.
"Do it... for me... Look at you, my sweet soulmate..."
"Rushkwa..."
"Look at your necklace..."
Tenebris takes a look at the necklace and finds out there is a tiny crack where Sombra's magical beam hit him. It isn't broken yet, but it certainly has a crack. That's the moment where the evil ram smiles. "I've got to..."
"You've got to... the shadow in his veins..."
"I've got to... and then you'll be free, Rushkwa. For me, for you, for the community."
"Sombra..." says Chrysalis, while looking in the swamp. "He's not moving."
Now, the King laughs while taking a look at the body in the depths. "See?" he says. "I've told you I had to be the leader of this alliance. If you have me as your guide, I'll assure you everything will be ours."
"Shut up," interrupts Tirek. "I know you are lying."
"Lying? Me?" says Sombra. "I will never lie to those who don't want to steal my lands... not like the fool who is now dead."
Behind them, Stone Chisel and Discord are now together. "See?" whispers the robber. "I told you. He defeated him."
But that only makes Discord chuckle. "No, he didn't. He absolutely didn't."
"Wait," says Cozy Glow. "If he's dead, he has to be floating on the water... and he's not,, Sombra."
The three villains now look at Sombra, who gets surprised for a second but calms himself down with a chuckle. "If he's not dead, he will either drown or get killed by my dark magic," he exclaims while turning his eyes to a bright green again, chuckling louder.
"Come on... he hasn't got out of the waters yet."
"Just wait."
Once Sombra shoots his last magical beam underwater, the ram opens his mouth and the dark magic enters his body, shocking all of the villains. "He..." says Chrysalis. "Did he just... ate your magic?"
Tenebris shouts underwater and gets out of the swamp, showing everyone his necklace has now two cracks on the postcrystalline. "It hurt because of this stupid gem... but I finally consumed your magic, Sombra."
Tirek, Cozy Glow and Chrysalis take a step behind, while Sombra looks behind. "You cowards... I'll kill you after killing this fool!"
"I don't think so," says Tenebris. "Tell me... you can turn into a shadow, don't you?"
"And why do you want to know?" he shouts, angrily.
"Don't make me find that out on my own... you wouldn't like it."
"No," says Discord, with a certain slight of fear. "No. Please, no."
"What?"
"I know what he's thinking, he won't kill him but... Sombra, GIVE UP NOW! GIVE YOURSELF IN!"
"You would find it out when I kill you," he says while glowing his horn with a purple flame again. "You will nev---"
And then, out of nowhere, Tenebris opens his mouth and turns one of Sombra's feet into a shadow which he gobbles. He has just eaten one of Sombra's hooves. Everyone now gets scared of how Tenebris did that... even Sombra. Discord, who knew this was going to happen, shouts: "GIVE IN, SOMBRA!"
Sombra, instead of giving up, turns into a shadow... without knowing that would be easier for him to get defeated. "Oh. You made this easier."
"TENEBRIS! NOOOO!"
Even before Tenebris opens his mouth, the gem on his necklace starts trembling so much it even leaves the third crack on the postcrystalline. Sombra's shadow starts moving around the night ram, while everyone is listening to his shouts as he starts getting inside the night ram's mouth. The gem doesn't want Tenebris to swallow its power so it starts giving him pain but now, at this same moment, Tenebris doesn't care about that. He shouts once, trying to resist, but his cry is barely heard because it is completely covered by Sombra's shouts.
...
Tenebris has literally consumed King Sombra.
Just a couple of seconds later, the gem turns black for a couple of seconds but it luckily goes back to its normal red again. The gem hasn't broken yet, and the postcrystalline necklace either, although it has a couple of cracks on it. Cozy Glow, now hiding behind Tirek, takes a look while everyone gets shocked, observing the bright green eyes of Tenebris which slowly fade out to its normal, dark blue colour again. He takes a long breath while staying on the ground, and exclaims loudly to everyone around:
...
"Now... let's go to the north."