The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter

by Jason McCammon

Chapter 1

  The BOY

  family crest

  Bomani traveled by foot away from the stronghold of his kingdom, Ufalme. He headed South through the savanna and toward the mountains that marked the edge of the land that was still considered part of Ufalme. Once he came to the mountain ridge, he followed them eastward for a while until once again the ridge led him south. Here, the dry brownish land and grass of the savannah was already begging to show much more vibrant green pants. The tress and the rest of the plants began showing other bright colors such as pink, purple, and blue. He knew that he was somewhere near the village of the Animen; a village of sorcerers. Bomani didn’t care much for sorcery. To him, the strength of a man lay in his personal skill as a warrior. Not some type of magic aided by the gods. That was cheating.

  He carried a long spear, a short blade, and a shield that was almost as tall as he was. The shield was painted red with gold edges. On the front there was a large emblem of his family crest. Usually, he wore this on his back with his weapons placed inside it. At any hint of danger, Bomani could easily withdraw his spear from his shield and be ready for anything.

  Recently, a lion came into his kingdom, almost killed a small boy, and killed one of the strongest men in the kingdom. If it weren’t for his brother Mongo, who finally killed the lion, who knows how many people would have died.

  That was inside the walls of the kingdom, where people were supposed to be safe, but now, Bomani was traveling alone. His only protection from danger was himself. There were plenty of animals in the savanna that could easily kill a human.

  He soon came to a small stream, which rustled its way downhill through the thickets. The stream was a clear, good spot for him to fish. Although he also had with him some bread, some dried fruit, and some meat, he much preferred a fresh fish.

  He stood poised; in the middle of it, tracking the movements of the fish as they swam past his legs. He held his spear, ready to strike. It would have been much easier if he had simply made himself a crude fishing rod with his spear — using some string, a knife, and a small piece of bait, but Bomani did not want to make things easy for himself. That was not his style. He would much rather struggle if it meant improving his physical skills.

  He caught sight of something dark moving in the water in his peripheral vision. He turned his head quickly and focused on a fish coming his way. As soon as the fish was in range, he stabbed at it with his spear.

  The sound of the spear entering the water was soft compared to Bomani’s gasp of disgust for his miss. His spear pierced the soft mud on the bed of the stream. When the water calmed, Bomani stood and peered at his own reflection, and doubted himself.

  He not only doubted his skill at fishing, but also his whole journey altogether. For a moment Bomani was consumed with thoughts of failure. He feared that he was not yet strong enough for the task ahead, and that he was too young. He wanted to give up and go home, but that was not his way. Most people would have given in to their fears of failure and quit. Not Bomani. It was just this sort of conflict within himself that made him stronger and pushed him forward. He was going to save an entire kingdom. It had to be done. He shook off the useless thoughts that gripped him — devoured them like a snake devourers its prey— and decided to move on.

  Bomani pulled his spear from the water and waited intently. He held it firmly but loosely enough to allow a fluid connection with his weapon. He waited patiently to catch sight of another fish in the water below, and once again his eyes glimpsed the movement of a fish cutting through the water. With one swift motion, he thrust his spear towards his prey. The wounded fish fluttered around as he pulled it off of the spear.

  Bomani admired his work with an overwhelming sense of confidence, and looked at the fish arrogantly, as if it was a lifelong nemesis that he had easily conquered. After all, he was Bomani, and not to be trifled with.

  “Humph,” Bomani said. He sheathed his spear back into his shield and he tossed the fish back and forth in his hands and boasted about his technique and skill in spearing the fish, when abruptly he was startled by something swift and shadowy. Suddenly the fish was gone.

  Bomani grabbed his spear instinctively, and could feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest. He was ready to take on someone, or something, or be taken. Either way, he was ready to fight. To his surprise, when he looked around there was a small blue haired wolf pup. It stood by the water with Bomani’s fish in its mouth, looking as if it wanted to play.

  Annoyed, but relieved, Bomani let down his guard and exhaled. The pup looked back at him teasingly. It wanted Bomani to chase him. The young wolf turned away, as if to run, and then paused and watched Bomani as it waited for him.

  “Hey, give that back!” Bomani yelled. He started after the pup and dove toward it, but the animal evasively jumped out of Bomani’s reach and he fell, face down, into the water.

  “You’ll never catch him,” said the voice of a young girl. She stood about twenty feet away from him. She was pretty and dressed in a blue hooded cloak that matched the hues of the precocious wolf blue pup that taunted him. A gold headband across her forehead peeked out from under her hood. It had a medallion of two wolves howling at the moon. She held a long staff upright, made of a strange, grayish-blue, twisted wood. At the top of the stick, a luminous bluish crystal hovered over the tip of the staff, centered within a hook.

  She snickered in a cheerful manner as she spoke to Bomani. The playful pup amused her, but Bomani was not amused at all. Her laughter irritated him. He looked at her with disgust and said, “That was my breakfast.” He wanted to assure her that this was not a joke, “I spent all morning trying to catch that!”

  The young girl seemed unaffected by his tone. “All morning, huh?” she replied. “I guess that you are no fisherman then, are you?”

  He felt a sense of humiliation. Naturally, he needed to introduce himself to this stranger, and not just by name. Bomani stood up, stuck out his chest, pulled his shoulders back and proudly exclaimed, “I am Bomani; I am a warrior!”

  “Wow, what a great warrior. I haven’t seen such a magnificent warrior in all my life.”

  Bomani shook off her obvious sarcasm and commanded, “I order you to tell this beast to return my fish.”

  “Wow. You’re not going to get anything by ‘ordering’. Besides, he hates being called a beast.”

  “Well, what do you call him?” Bomani demanded.

  She looked at Bomani intently and carefully explained, “I call him Pupa (Poo-pah), and he’s a wolf. He’s my wolf. We share a sacred soul, and soon we will share a sacred union.”

  “Oh, yeah? Look…” Bomani thought for a second. “What’s your name?”

  “Farra.”

  “Look, Farra, I just want my fish back.”

  “You can ask him,” she said gesturing toward Pupa. “He’s right there.”

  Bomani asked Pupa sarcastically, “Will you please give me back my fish?”

  Still playing, Pupa started to dart off in the other direction, but Farra shook her head at the pup, disapprovingly. Pupa dropped his head down in submission and obediently walked over to Bomani with the fish.

  Bomani snatched the fish from Pupa impatiently and began to walk away to the opposite side of the stream. He could no longer tolerate their taunting attitude, and he looked forward to proceeding on alone.

  Farra took a few steps onto the stream. “So…?”

  Bomani stopped for a moment and replied, “So, what?”

  “So what are you doing way out here, far from home?”

  “How do you know I am far from home?” Bomani answered.

  “I don’t, but you’re not an Animan. It has to be at least a day or two’s walk to any other village. You’re from the Kingdom aren’t you; from Uflame?”

  “Maybe.”

  “I bet you are.”

  “I’m a warrior.”

  “
I think we covered that.”

  “I’m on a great quest.”

  “Really?” Farra said. This seemed to impress her.

  “Yes.”

  “Really, really?”

  “Yes, yes. What’s the matter with you?”

  “Oh, nothing, Nothing at all. It's all so perfect. I wasn't going to come out to the river, but then I came to the river anyway, and you were here, and then I met you, and you're going on a quest, and that's just the sort of thing I neeeeeeeeed!” Farra was so excited that her words ran into each other as she spoke.

  “Really?” said Bomani, raising one brow.

  “Yes,” Farra exclaimed, “Pupa and I need a quest. Well, not really a quest, but an obstacle to overcome together. This would join us spiritually, making our sacred union complete. Then the spirits will give us our mark, and we will be on our way to reaching our full potential.” She spoke so fast that it was almost impossible for Bomani to tell one sentence from the next.

  “Look, I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “But it is so simple. See I am an Animan —well an Anifem really, because I’m a girl— and we’re like sorcerers connected to our wolves. We…”

  The sound of her voice changed to a mumble as he rudely placed his hand over her mouth. For Bomani, she had already been talking way too much. He had gotten the hint, and he wanted to stop any misconceptions that she had before they went any further.

  “First, I know what an Animan is. Second, you’re not going with me,” he stated firmly.

  She mumbled something inaudible beneath his hand, until he took it away.

  “Why not?” she asked.

  “Again, first of all, I don't know you. Secondly, you're just a young girl. Thirdly, your wolf is just a pup. He won’t be able to keep up with us. And lastly, I don't need help.”

  “Hmmm, I bet you’re not much older than I am,” Farra said as she looked at Bomani.

  “A great warrior must travel alone,” Bomani insisted.

  “I don’t think you really know anything about this warrior business. I've heard of a great warrior from your kingdom. His name is Mongo, have you heard of him?”

  Bomani had no idea how to answer her question, but this Farra sure was not winning any points as far as he was concerned. He put his face in his hand and sighed, and then he was suddenly rescued from answering Farra when an Anifem woman approached them, calling Farra’s name.

  She was beautiful and she walked with elegance alongside her equally regal looking wolf. Its bright yellow fur matched the yellow clothing of her master. The wolf was not leashed, as Animen did not believe in restraints, and it was so big that its head stood well above the woman’s waist.

  “Who’s that?” Bomani asked Farra.

  “That’s my mother,” said Farra. “Her name is Anika.”

  “See, now that’s the size that a wolf should be,” Bomani said, looking at the large wolf.

  “Hey, Pupa’s young and growing, what do you expect?”

  “I expect a wolf that could actually do something besides toying with people’s food; one that could protect me.”

  “If you’re such a great warrior, then why do you need protecting?”

  “I don’t, but at least we could fight together.”

  “Farra, who is your friend,” asked her mother as she approached.

  “Mother, this is…”

  Before she could finish the introduction, Bomani butted in. He was surely intent on introducing himself properly. “I am Bomani. I am a great warrior.”

  “Bomani, you say?” she thought for a moment, then bowed her head. “You mean as in Prince Bomani, son of Jumbe.”

  Bomani knew that no one would understand the prince being out alone. He figured that for now, he should keep that part of himself hidden. “No ma’am, not the prince.”

  She thought for another moment as if she was trying to understand his meaning. She gazed around the area, then returned her attention back to him. “What brings you to our village?”

  “I came to the river to fish when that pup stole my food.”

  “You mean Pupa?” she asked. She glared at Pupa and the pup recoiled with a quiver, as if he had done something wrong.

  “He gave it back,” Farra shouted in Pupa’s defense.

  “You'll have to excuse Pupa; he is young and likes to play. I'm sure he did not mean you any harm. Why don't you come into the village where we can give you a proper meal?” said Anika.

  “Hah!” Farra laughed at Bomani. It was a mocking laugh. “He’s a great warrior, mother, he doesn’t need our help,” she said.

  “Yes ma’am,” Bomani responded. “A great warrior doesn’t need any help. I can get my own food, thank you.”

  “Well, I suppose that I cannot force you to eat a good meal, but you are welcome to do so.” Then she turned to Farra, with a maternal touch straightened out her clothing, and then continued. “This one must come home and eat. Perhaps, Bomani, should you come this way again, you could bless us with your presence. You are welcome in our village.”

  “I could do that. I would come now but — well, it’s just that I’m in a hurry, and I must continue on my journey. I have no time for visits.”

  “I understand,” said Anika. “Good luck to you then. Come along, Farra.”

  “Good bye, Mr. Bomani,” Farra said in an eager voice and a grin from ear to ear. She waved as they walked off.

  Bomani turned and said nothing. He simply waved as he walked away.