That night…Bomani started the fire. He lay his shield and weapons down on the ground and then sat on a rock near the fire. Pupa walked to them carrying something large and hideous in his mouth. Farra was sitting quietly. Her eyes were locked on Bomani’s movements. Neither of them said anything for a while. They stared at the fire and each other until Bomani spoke.
“I have some bread and some dried fruit left if you want some.”
“Sure,” said Farra. “I’m hungry.”
Bomani reached into his pouch and pulled it out. “It’s not much, but it is something.”
“That’s not enough for the both of us,” she said. Just take it.”
“No, it’s fine. You eat it.” Then he looked over at Pupa. “What’s that Pupa is eating?”
“It’s some big bug he found.”
“Okay, I’ll eat some of that. Looks like he has enough. Unless you want it.”
“I don’t eat bug.”
“When you’re hungry. You have to eat whatever you can.” Bomani reached over to Pupa to grab at his food. He stopped when Pupa growled at him.
“Looks like Pupa isn’t interested in sharing with you,” she said as she grabbed the bread and dried fruit.”
“Maybe I’ll just find something tomorrow.”
“Okay,” she said in a low voice. She started chewing and then stared at him again.
Bomani took a deep breath. “Okay, Farra, you really want to know why I’m out here alone.”
“Yes Bomani, that would be helpful.”
He was obviously reluctant. “I wasn’t sent to find the scepter by my father. I took it upon my self to do it.”
“Why would you do that?”
“It was the night before I came. My kingdom was holding festivities of the Circle. Even though the crops were drying up, and food was scarce, my father thought it would be good for the spirit of the people. It is nights such as these that my people look forward too. It keeps them happy.”
“I have been there,” said Farra with a more enthusiastic tone. “A couple of times.”
“To the Circle?”
She noticed Bomani staring at Pupa who wasn’t even finishing his bug. “Hey Pupa, she said. Give him the rest of that.” Pupa looked at her and then brought the bug to Bomani.
“Thanks,” Bomani said. He studied the half eaten bug for a while deciding as if he wanted to actually eat the thing. But he was hungry, and many times, his warrior training had taught him to eat bugs if life depended on it. He had rarely seen one so big. He placed it on a stick and into the fire.
“I’ve been three times,” said Farra. It was great. I really like how everyone is so cheerful and lively. The atmosphere is wonderful. The cheers, the yells, the fires in the night make such wonderful shadows of the people dancing. I love the dancing. Sometimes I just watch the shadows. Ha, do you dance?”
“No. I’m not a dancer, at least not at the festival. I just watch, like most of the rest of the people in and around the kingdom. Everyone comes. I sit next to my parents, the King and Queen.
“King Jumbe and Queen Najila, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’ve seen them at other times when walking around your kingdom. You mother is so beautiful. She’s so tall and her ebony skin is flawless.”
“Thanks.”
“But at the festival, I’ve never been close enough to get a good look at your face. You can bet that next time I will.”
“Well, next time, maybe you can be a special guest of the kingdom.”
“Oh and the food. There is so so much good food.”
“Even despite the shortage of food, everyone feasts,” said Bomani. “Father made sure that there was plenty of food. People spend weeks collecting cassava roots, peas, beans, nuts and creating spices to prepare dishes. There is also plenty of meat for everyone.”
“What was different about this night?”
Bomani Pulled the bug off of his stick and looked at it again before he started to eat it. “Well, if you have been to the Circle Festivities, then you know that on the third and last night, we hold the games. People compete from everything from running, to rock throwing, to wrestling. My brother, Mongo, and Bogo started to wrestle it was the last fight of the night. Their bodies clashed together, everyone in the crowd was so tense. Most of the people were rooting for Mongo, but there were many that were hoping that Bogo would win, just for a change. Either way, it was going to be a good fight. They were rivals at everything for the past two years. Almost every event came down to them. Of course it was always my great brother that prevailed in the end.” Bomani turned his face up for moment.
“Like usual,” he continued. “It seemed like my brother was going to win, then suddenly Bogo got the upper hand. And just when everyone’s attention was focused on the two of them, I mean everyone. Even my father was anxiously leaning forward in his chair. He never cheers or roots for anyone, but I know he always wants Mongo to win. Anyway, all the sudden, someone screamed out, LION!”
“Oh no!” Farra gasped. “A lion? You mean like a real lion? What happened? What was it doing?”
“It was right there in front of us. Everyone started running in every direction, screaming and yelling. The lion jumped on a small boys back, struck him with his claws”
Pupa became restless, noticing the rise in Farra’s anxiety. She quickly pet him to calm him down. “Did the lion kill him?”
“He was about to,” Bomani continued. “But suddenly this old man was there. It was weird because everyone else had fled or was fleeing, but not him. He sat there alone. I don’t know his name, but I’ve seen him before. He walks around the kingdom with a limp, leaning on his staff, using it as a crutch. He doesn’t move to well it all.
He stood up, his staff and suddenly the fire rose from the pit. Then he moved his arms and then the fire flew toward the lion and smashed into it. The ball of fire knocked the cat to the ground. I’m usually not much for sorcerers, no offense. I believe in the strength of a mans hands.”
“Or woman…” Farra added.
“Um, sure. But it was great how he saved the boy. The lion wasn’t dead though, and sending that ball of huge ball of fire through the air must have tired him out or something, because the man just sat back down. He didn’t run or anything. The lion got up again, but by that time three guards approached it. That boy was injured, but that old man saved his life.”
Bomani grabbed the stick he used to cook the bug and then started to break pieces of off it and toss them into the fire. “I moved towards it,” Bomani continued. “To attack. But my father grabbed my arm.” I hate that he did that. Does he not think that I am strong enough or something? I wasn’t afraid. I could have taken it on.”
“Maybe he is just your father and he didn’t want you to get hurt.”
“Yeah, you might think that, but the lion quickly took down three guards, and guess who went in to fight it, my brother, Mongo. My father didn’t stop him from fighting the lion. He and Bogo fought the thing. And again while they were fighting, I was going to join in and help, but again my father held me back. Soon, they killed the lion. It’s very rare that a lion would enter the confines of the kingdom. It must have been hungry weak, unable to catch real a real meal. The food shortage has affected everyone. The bad thing though is that even though they killed it, Bogo was hurt so badly that he died in minutes. I watched my brother hold him while he died. I heard the last thing that he said.”
“What did he say?”
“He knew he was dying. People speak about a moment that warriors have before they die from battle, being both scared and proud of who they are. Bogo was shaking; I knew he was having that moment. He looked at my brother and said, ‘my prince, do you think I would have beaten you?’ Then my brother said, ‘ yes Bogo, I know you would have.”
“Wow, sounds like your brother and Bogo had a lot of respect for each other.”
/> “Yep. That’s my brother. Always saying the perfect thing at the perfect time. Always having the admiration of all the people and all the girls, always being the strongest and the fastest. The women want him and the men want to be like him.”
“Sounds like all of that could make someone big headed, even arrogant.”
“Ha. That’s just it. Not my brother. Not Mongo. Not an arrogant bone in his body.” Bomani tensed up and whipped a wood chip even harder into the fire. “He doesn’t even care for the fame or the being great. He just is.”
Farra fidgeted for a moment, like she was trying not to say what was on her mind. Then she spoke, “you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous.”
“You’re jealous.”
Bomani stood up. “I’m not jealous, I just….I want to be king that’s all! That’s another thing, I don’t even think that Mongo even cares to be king. But you know what, he probably will be anyway.
I practice so hard. No one my age can come even close to beating me in a fight. But Mongo is nineteen, and I’m only fifteen. He’s bigger and stronger and has been training longer. He even tries to help me train, but for some reason that just makes it worse. I don’t even want his help.”
“Does being king only have to do with how great of a warrior you are?”
“No, but it’s a big part of it,” Bomani said, feeling very frustrated.
“Well, to be honest with you, Bomani. I think your warrior skills are great. I don’t mean kind of great, I mean really really really great.”
“Well that won’t matter, because if something happens to my father right now, Mongo would probably king and not me.”
“And that’s what you would be worried about? Not the thought that your father might be gone someday, but that you would not be king? So your father is nothing?”
“No.” Bomani sat back down. “You can’t look at it that way. Being royalty, we always have to look at things like that. What would happen if father died? What would happen if father and mother died. We don’t like thinking about things like that, but we must.”
“Oh, okay. Well at least you have a father. Mine went missing years ago. Sometimes, mother is still so sad about it. She still cries when she doesn’t think that I am looking.”
“He just vanished?” Bomani asked.
No one has seen him. I don’t know if he is alive or dead, or what. You should be thankful that you still have yours. I miss mine. He was great. He wore red, because that was the color of his wolf, Ekko. HE was a fire wielder.” Whenever we parted, he would give me this medallion on around my head. He has one just like it, and the two fit together. Sometimes I’m afraid that they will never be together again.”
“It’s nice,” said Bomani.
“Thanks,” Farra replied starring into it. Then her head suddenly popped up. “But none of this explains why you are on the quest alone.”
“Oh yea, right,” Bomani said reluctantly. “Well, remember what the griot said about the Ifa scepter, how we used it to stay in touch with the god of harvest?”
“Yes.”
“It was my father’s adviser, Anu, that said that the reason why the lands were drying up was because the scepter had been removed, and that we must retrieve it. Heh, Anu is a funny little man; scrawny and small. But he is smart, and he knows much about the gods, the lands, and our history. Me and um… a couple of friends of mine, Anan and Kweden, overheard them talking about the scepter and how important it was. So after my friends and I talked about it, we figured that I should be the one to go get it. That would prove to the kingdom that I am worthy of the crown.”
“The map, you stole it. Is that who you got it from?”
“Yes, I stole it from Anu.”
“Your friends must think you are great to think that you should do this alone. You’re probably a better warrior than I thought.”
“Yes, I am great. Some of the boys are really jealous of me. They wish they were me; a great prince and a great warrior. Some of the jealous boys don’t like me because they are just that, jealous. But most people are my friends. I have a lot of friends. They know how great of a warrior I am.”
Farra frowned. “But really, you’re just doing this to prove something? You don’t really care about the kingdom? You just want to prove how great you are?”
Bomani noticed a slight disappointment on her face. “I am doing it for the kingdom, for all of Ufalme. If I were king, things would be great.”
“No you’re not. You putting the fate of your kingdom in just your hands just to make yourself look good. I just don’t think it’s right.”
“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”
“No, I think I do understand.”
“Whatever,” Bomani shrugged.
They both sat quite for a moment. Farra stroked Pupa who lay silently in her lap. “Well, Pupa is sleeping. I think I may as well get some sleep too.”
“Okay, replied Bomani. “We’d better put out the fire before we go to sleep. Don’t want any ogres seeing it throughout the night. Are you going to get cold?”
“I’ll be okay,” Farra said as she readjusted to a laying position.”
Bomani scooped dirt onto the fire until it was out and then he too lay on the ground. “I’m really sorry about what happened with Hatari. It won’t happen again. You have my word.”
“I believe you,” Farra said quietly. “And I forgive you.”
“Will you still be here tomorrow morning? I mean, are you going back home.”
It took Farra a few seconds to answer. “I’m committed to this now.” She paused again for a few more seconds. “Pupa and I will still be here in the morning. Good night.”
Chapter 19
DIM SUNLIGHT?
The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter Page 25
