The early morning sun cast long shadows over the rolling plains, its golden light illuminating the sea of tall grasses that swayed gently in the breeze. The N'jobu moved with quiet determination, his eyes keenly scanning the ground for any sign of the riders he pursued.
Ahead, faint traces of hoof prints crisscrossed the terrain, each indentation a clue in the vast expanse. He dropped from his horse and knelt beside one such print, brushing his fingers lightly over the edges. The soil was still soft, the mark fresh—no more than a few hours old.
"I can't believe I am doing this."
N'jobu sighed at the comment, already feeling his irritation rise—He found himself teetering the edge of that emotion a lot these days, and it was all because of one person.
"Will you shut up?" He asked, whipping his head over his shoulder. Sazayi glared back in righteous indignation. "I never asked you to follow me out here. That was your choice."
His friend sneered.
"Please, you knew I would follow you when you told me you were leaving Asso. And how could I not? When your sole purpose is to spy on Kayin for no good reason but your own pettiness." He shook his head in disapproval, "traveling alone is as dangerous as it is stupid, without me you would end up dead somewhere."
"Really now? Are you sure it is not the other way around?" N'jobu shot back unimpressed, he pointed behind them, where the remnants of their camp lay metres away.
The site was now a graveyard of charred carcasses, their forms twisted and blackened beyond recognition. The acrid smell of burnt flesh hung heavy in the air, mingling with the faint, lingering smoke that was carried by the wind. The ground was scorched, the earth itself seeming to recoil from the devastation that had unfolded.
Sazayi rolled his eyes. "Don't act as if I did not help you back then."
"Whatever... Let's move forward."
He jumped back on his horse, and the pair went off, following the trail left by the group before them.
He felt that something was odd the moment he heard of Kayin leaving the city, with a whole unit of mercenaries and that woman—Vyswe'eyaga—no less. It was not to visit his family in Akwa like he claimed it to be, Akwa was at the east and his group was clearly headed north.
He was aware that what he was doing might appear unhinged to others, or maybe even completely deranged. But his gut told him that he would get his answers only by uncovering what Kayin was hiding.
Even if it meant following him unbeknownst to him.
~~~~~~~~~~~
The midday sun hangs heavy in the sky, the intensity of the heat almost unbearable.
I wipe away the sweat rolling down on my brow, reach for the gourd on my saddle and relish at the sweet taste of fresh water flowing down my throat.
Unfortunately, it is not enough to soothe my discomfort, my skin feels itchy, like is being pricked my tiny needles, and my eyes are aching. I had already applied ointment on my skin this morning—but maybe I should have put on some more, I just hope I will not end up with a too sever sunburn at the end of the day.
"No way!" Ewa exclaims, "you only celebrate birthdays every decade?"
"Yes."
"Massah, having to wait ten years for their birthday…" She shakes her head in utter shock, "why do such a thing? I don't envy the kids of the Nchāren. This is just evil."
Since taking off in the morning, we have been travelling in relative silence… Until Ewa grew bored, that is, and started conversing with Vyswe'eyaga, the topic had been about their respective routines in Asso at first, then it somehow deviated to Vyswe'eyaga's past life when the Nchāre empire still existed.
Of course, I was more than excited to listen in on every detail, it is not every day you get to learn of the Nchāren lifestyles.
It just feels so wasteful that this knowledge cannot be shared without disclosing her identity… Someday maybe.
"Stop making Decennials sound so bad. In hindsight, I can't imagine why anyone would want to celebrate the day of their birth every single year. Does it not make the event less significant every time?"
"Of course not. You never know when you might to kick the bucket, so better celebrate every additional year you get to live, no? But I guess it is not as important for you guys since you get to live longer."
Vyswe'eyaga looks at her in amused curiosity. "Kick the bucket… Ewa, you have the most interesting idioms."
Vyswe'eyaga is usually the type to keep to herself, when we first met she would barely talk to me and never said more than a couple of words. So, I am happy to see her open up like this with others.
The more I observe her, the more I realize that she is not much different from any other of us, even if she comes from a once-believed-extinct civilization and she can wield any art of sorcery—still, she is a woman like any other.
I cringe whenever I think back at how borderline fanatical I was acting around with her.
She has shortcomings, and is just as prone to making mistakes as any other… I see it now.
Especially that evening when she told me about that world ending prophecy. I could not understand why she had taken so long to act on it, it angered me that she stayed quiet without telling anyone.
But when I think about it, it must not have been an easy situation for her. I mean―She had been thrust in this world completely different from what she used to know, then she is told to save the world—Maybe I was too harsh on her.
Another two days later, the landscape changes from the rolling plains of Ebuotou to a dense foliage. Gigantic trees stand dozens of metres tall, and their canopies form an intricate latticework of interwoven branches and leaves, to the point of completely hiding the sky, only a few rays manage to pass through them. Not to my displeasure.
But as we continue to navigate through the forest, I cannot shake the feeling that something is wrong with this place. I have crossed this forest a few times in the past and this is the first time that I felt that something was amiss.
I know that I am not the only one to feel that sense of wrongness―the others felt it too, the sudden unease in their demeanours was evident.
"There are no sounds." Gamba declares.
Now that he mentions it, I realize that he is indeed correct. No matter how much I try, I cannot hear a single sound in the forest. No chorus of chirping, tweeting, or warbling from birds. No rustling of leaves or the sway of branches. No buzzing of insects or any other animal sounds. The air is utterly still. Even the stream, which I know winds through this place, gives no sign of movement—not a trickle, not a murmur.
Nothing. And this does not bode well.
A couple of hours in, we also grasped on another issue. The forest around us seems to be unchanging.
"Is it me or are we walking in circles? I have the impression that I have seen this rock five time already." Ewa points a finger at the rock in question.
"You're right." Ike looks around us cautiously.
I retrieve my map and examine it, "I don't understand, have we gone offtrack? But… I am sure this is the right path."
Ewa folds her arms behind her head. "Woah… We are really lost, aren't we?"
"…Not necessarily." Vyswe'eyaga dig in her pocket and retrieves a metallic disc―The compass―and I quickly understand what she is trying to do. She had shown me the two items she had received from the boy prophet in Asso; one is a crystal pendant and the other, a compass which always points north, the very direction we are going. "We should be able to find our way with this."
She examines her compass, and points to her right. "This way." We push onward, with Vyswe'eyaga at the head of the party.
But of course, things could not have gone so well. I should have seen it coming really, it was obvious that whoever or whatever wants us trapped would not let us out so easily.
Or maybe this is just a coincidence and bad luck.
I heard the sound of rustling leaves, and at my peripheral vision there is movement amongst the branches of nearby trees. And before anyone can react a small figure emerges from the canopy―moving faster than anything I have ever seen―and jumps on Vyswe'eyaga's horse.
She screams, a loud and high-pitched shout, accompanied by the horse's neighs who rears up sharply. Vyswe'eyaga loses her hold on the reins and falls off. Thankfully, Ike manages to catch her before she hits the ground. At the same time the figure jumps off and lands on a tree trunk ahead and I can finally see what it is.
A monkey.
It looks over its shoulder, a wide, unnatural smile etched on its face—a look I can only identify as taunting ridicule, then disappears in the foliage.
"T-The c-compass…" Vyswe'eyaga breaths urgently, still in Ike's arms. "I-It, it stole the compass."
I can barely register her words when all the branches around us shuffle violently.
The next seconds are a blur.
Before anyone can react a troop of monkeys bursts out of the trees from all sides and jump on us. Half a dozen jumps on Ike and Vyswe'eyaga—she lets out a piercing scream, flailing wildly, but her panic only causes the pair to crash on the ground.
Another wave warms Ewa, Azikiwe and Gamba clambering over their backs, clinging to shoulders, slapping at faces, and gripping hair. I catch a glimpse of Azikiwe's eyes—wide with disbelief—as he stumbles back, a screeching attacker latched to his head like a grotesque crown. Gamba and Ewa swing blindly, roaring in frustration, I catch sight of more scrambling onto the horses, which rear and neigh in frantic protest.
Before they can reach me, I summon the wind.
A furious gust roars to life, tearing through the chaos. It blasts the monkeys back, scattering them with shrieks into the underbrush.
Then—hands.
From behind, unseen fingers clamps over my face and mouth, smothering breath and light. My body is slammed into the earth with bone-jarring force, the air crushed from my lungs. More shapes scramble over me—clawing, pulling, anchoring me down. Rough hands tangled in my hair, yank it taut. My vision flickers with pain, my limbs flail against the weight, but they keep coming.
I can barely think from the assault of the barking of monkeys and Vyswe'eyaga's piercing screams ramming through my ear drums.
Finally, they scamper off me and I can breathe. When I regain my bearings, groaning and aching, there are no more monkeys, the forest is as quiet as it was moments ago, and no ape in sight.
Wha-What just happened?
"The hell?" Someone exclaims.
After the initial shock is gone, it dawns to me that we were assaulted by monkeys, freaking monkeys.
"The horses are gone."
"One of them took the compass." Vyswe'eyaga stands up, still visibly shaken from what just happened. "What were those beasts?"
"Apes are what they are… I can't believe it—this is so embarrassing." Ewa walks over to the trunk the monkey and sit on it with a flop. "Let's never talk about it. Ever."
"We just lost all our gear and provisions. We must find those horses." I finally say.
"We must find the compass first. Quickly."
I throw a quick glance at Vyswe'eyaga.
Right, we might not be able to leave this place without it.
"We will split in two groups; one will search for the horses while the other for the compass."
"Is it… Is it really safe to do that? Separate ourselves, I mean."
"There is not much time until nightfall, it is our best option."
I wince, feeling a slight sting on my face as I wiped my brow. I slowly touch the area where I felt the irritation, and look back at my fingers to see them slightly bloodied.
It looks like I did not leave of that altercation unscathed, luckily it is just small scratch.
"Ok… Let's decide how to make the groups."