EPISODE 19
‘How could you accuse me of murder’? Kamsi looked away, thankfully it was dark so he wouldn’t see her eyes.
‘I would get to the root of this and if you burnt Nai’muri to death, you shall die yourself’ he pointed a finger at her.
‘Why do you accuse me wrongly? I think Assura is judging your slave wife and her daughter for their atrocities’ Kamsi hissed angrily.
‘What atrocities’? Mazi Ekere snapped angrily.
‘They ate the new yam before the festival. You know the punishment is death or have you forgotten my husband? That Assura is a goddess of light and justice? She comes and goes in the fire’ Kamsi replied.
This thought appealed to him as he remembered the night he had sent Adoni and Nai’muri away. They had been caught by Kamsi roasting the new yam; fear gripped him as he realized that the goddess had come to take vengeance.
He returned to his hut without a word to Kamsi or Zabacha.
Their faces were blackened with soot; their wrappers smelt of smoke.
‘Do you think it worked’? Zabacha smiled at her mother.
‘Yes. Who would escape such an inferno’? Kamsi laughed and hugged her daughter.
Jaja Omiro was finally going to be Zabacha’s.
He had taken the advice of his sister Analin and had decided to give his new adviser a chance.
At midnight, when the whole land was quiet; when everything was as still as a graveyard; Roka left for the prison in the company of his sister, Alistarin his adviser and some warriors.
‘Take the Hunani out’ he pointed at a sickly looking boy who was barely eighteen years old.
They all returned to the throne room.
‘Remember my lord, draw him to yourself’ Alistarin, his adviser whispered into his ears.
‘Get the prisoner food and water’ Roka snapped his fingers and few minutes later, his servants returned with steaming plates of boiled meat and corn and some wine.
The boy was hesitant at first as he scanned the faces of the people in the room; he understood their language as it was similar to that of Ozodo, the land his people traded with.
What did they want from him?
He rose to his feet and dragged the large tray containing all kinds of food to himself.
He had come with his uncle, Andol, the head of their clan; they had decided to explore the mountain and see what was beyond it, only to find a great land flowing with gold and honey pebbles.
Unknown to them, Roka, the ruler had seen them; he had launched an attack and he was the unlucky one; the rest fled leaving him behind.
‘Tell me your name…I swear by the gods, I would not harm you’ Roka placed his hand on his chest.
The Hunani boy saw this, the king had pledged to spare his life; the king had given him food and wine, maybe he wasn’t such a wicked man after all.
‘Bello’ he replied.
‘Bello? Where do you come from and why did your people come to my land’? Roka asked gently.
‘We are Hunanis. We are nomads and we like to move around with our cattle and trade’ Bello replied.
‘Hmm, trade’ Roka exchanged glances with his adviser, his mind went to the story she had told him earlier and he realized that she had not been lying.
‘Why did your people come here’? Roka watched the boy closely for any sign of reluctance or lies.
‘Curiosity, we just wanted to see what was beyond the mountain. It took us courage and perseverance to finally reach it’ Bello replied.
‘Courage and perseverance and maybe greed’? Roka raised a brow.
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about’ Bello quickly looked away. These people were looking for information that he wasn’t willing to give; he was ready to die than tell them anything about the Hunani nation.
‘Alright. Tell me everything you know about the land after the mountain as I am sure you trade with them so I spare your life’ Roka’s tone switched from loving to stern.
‘Ozodo’? Bello called out.
Roka was about to say something in return when two warriors rushed into the throne room.
‘My lord, some men crossed the mountain, we have chained their hands and feet, they demand to speak with the king’ one of the warriors spoke.
‘What men’? Roka rose to his feet. His heart raced, had the beautiful maiden told her people about him? If so, they were doomed.
‘Bring them in’ Analin spoke up, noting the fear and confusion in her brother’s eyes.
‘Ozodo is the name of the land after the mountain. They are ruled by a woman, Jaja Nana, and her son, Jaja Omiro is the prince’ Bello described the terrains, cultures and family structure of Ozodo.
He was about to say more when the intruders were bundled into the throne room; he quickly recognized his uncle; had he come to save him?
‘Andol’! Bello jumped to his feet.
‘You know this man’? Roka asked.
‘Yes. He is my uncle’ Bello replied.
‘Why have you come’? Roka turned to the men who were dripping wet all over.
Andol had taken some of the Hunanis and they had traveled through the Ozodo river to the foot of the mountain; that was the route they had taken.
They had come for a purpose and they would rather die than not achieve it.
‘My king, I bow before your majesty. Your land is rich and beautiful, we have come to pay respect to you. We come in the name of our king, Segura Segura’ Andol bowed his head.
‘What does your king want’? Roka asked. This was the first time he was hearing about another king; he was excited because all his dreams of ruling and conquering other lands were finally going to come to pass.
‘An alliance with you, great one’ Andol bowed.
‘An alliance, how did he know about me’? Roka asked.
‘We told him after we discovered your land. We spoke of its beauty and riches and he was very pleased’ Andol replied.
Roka left his throne with his sister and adviser and they spoke in whispers.
‘Nothing goes for nothing. Your king must want something from me’ Roka said to the man. His adviser had warned him about believing everything the Hunani people said, they were untrustworthy and predictable.
‘Just an alliance. Lord Segura Segura, has a lot of enemies. He has a lot of wars to fight but he lacks the weapons but your land is richly blessed with mountain iron and he needs your help in forging these weapons’ Andol bowed his head.
‘So your lord needs my help’? Roka raised a brow.
‘You may say that’ Andol returned.
‘Tell me, Hunani, what can your lord offer me in return? I am well aware that you do trade with Ozodo; I have plans for that land, what can your lord do for me’? Roka asked.
‘You are a powerful king and you seek to possess and conquer the land of Ozodo which is ruled by a ruthless and vile woman. We want you to conquer her and her people that is why we risked our lives in coming here. My lord, Segura Segura, would provide a hundred men and fifty horses for the invasion’ Andol bowed his head.
Roka was stunned by this offer; he didn’t have a lot of men and this could go a long way in preserving the little that he had.
‘How do I know you are not leading me into a trap? How do I know that your men would not turn on me that day’? Roka stared at the man intently.
‘I will prove it by shedding my blood. Unchain me’ Andol called to one of the guards.
Roka nodded his approval and he was quickly unchained.
He drew a short dagger from his waist pocket and chopped off his index finger; the blood dripped on the palace floor.
Roka did not flinch, nobody did. The Hunani’s act was a very symbolic one and it showed they all understood each other.
‘When do we attack’? Roka couldn’t hold his blood and power lust.
‘On the day of the virgin dance’ Andol replied.
Roka briefly thought about the girl he had deflowered ‘Tell me about this virgin dance and the consequences for those who aren’t virgin’.
‘All the unmarried freeborn are to dance before the prince. He would pick the one his heart pleases; if a girl is deflowered and discovered, she could be killed’ Andol explained.
‘What a backward culture’ Analin smirked.
‘Uncivilized savages’ Alistarin, Roka’s adviser hissed.
‘It is their culture; my ladies’ Andol bowed his head.
‘I must save her’ Roka was more determined than ever. He was going to find her and he would keep her for himself.
‘One more thing, Hunani, if you betray me, I would hunt every one of you down and chop your bones bit by bit till nothing is left of you’ Roka’s was firm and understood.
To be continued…..
