As they dropped down from the river where they just encountered mermaids, everywhere was quiet, no single noise was heard anywhere.
Dike signaled everyone to remain quiet and as they carefully toss each step so as to avoid dry woods and grasses; dry woods might break under their weight and cause some noise and dry grasses when stepped on may make some crispy sound.So they were carefully throwing steps as they were moving along. They kept moving, they could see nothing dangerous though. So they were gradually losing their guard despite Dike repeatedly making gestures to them to remain as quiet as possible as they walk through this strange land.So one of them shouted when bitten by an insect and before other warriors could look back, he got whisked away.The warrior who saw the movement of what took him away shouted and wanted to pursue, another strange creature also carries him away instantly.
These creatures look like aliens, they are blind and they have no sense of smell and transparency but to make up for that, they have the incredible hearing ability.They hunt with sound and are attracted to a place where there is noise and their transparency makes it difficult for any warrior to launch an attack on them even if you are anything as fast as them.
Some say that these creatures were aliens chased down from space, that they see but our atmosphere makes it impossible for them to see humans down here on earth but that they see themselves.
This creature’s skin can repeal the strongest and sharpest spears and are about 20 times faster than humans so the warriors have no chance against these creatures. Their only way is to remain quiet and avoid being detected and hunted by these creatures.What you see after each attack from these creatures is shaking bush and trees because of their transparency.So the rest of the warriors just went flat on the floor and remained quiet as they saw movements which they suspected to be the movement of these creatures. They couldn’t figure out their shape or size or exact location just for the shaking of bushes that gives them clues that these creatures were around listening for the slightest disturbance.They remained flatted on till Dike signaled that the creatures that just attacked them have gone. So they rose and continued tiptoeing till they came out of that land to a safe place where they could finally talk.Some of the warriors were already discouraged, one started murmuring that he wants to go back, that he is tired, that he doesn’t want to die like the warriors who have died.Dike tried to tell him that there is no going back till they get the Magic Beans but he refused and turned back to run so he ran as fast as possible but as he ran back into the land of Silence, he got whisked away also by these creatures.They could see now see some part of the face of these creatures as they devour the fleeing warrior, his blood-stained their mouth and part of their faces, and this gave visibility to the warriors looking from afar.Just like these creatures are transparent to humans, humans are transparent to it also.
The rest of the warriors could see from afar how he met with his death.The distance didn’t allow them to see the image well as they stopped to watch and mourn the death of their fellow warrior.They gave him a minute's silence and promised never to tell anyone at home that he died while fleeing because the memories of cowards are said not to be worthy of remembrance.One of the warriors who has earlier inquired why the land was called the land of silence now understands the reason.
‘Who else wants to return home’ Dike asked, ‘no one indicated’ so let’s go fetch the Magic Bean so as to save our King and return to our families.
They’ve lost another 3 warriors making it a total of 10 warriors and the journey has not even started yet Obiokwu the supposed weakling whom everyone thought would be the first to die is still alive.‘you’ll see them flying on broomsticks, putting on black hoods, with protruded caps, they are very wicked and seeks to harvest our blood if we let them, but we can resist them’ Dike said as they approach to cross the territory of witches.He then asked everyone to bring out from their bags the portion given to them by the Oracles, ‘don’t waste it, when a witch approaches you, stay composed and make sure it gets close enough then you pour this portion on the witch and it will dematerialize before your eyes, but remember, don’t waste it and don’t use it unless it’s necessary. If you waste yours, you are gone’ he added.While they were threading quietly through the path, the witches were watching them from their covens. They laughed hysterically that they just have food walk into their lands.They usually travel to the villages at night to hunt for blood, they turn into birds, or rats and
Dike reminded them, that if no one looks back no matter the sound, or noise, nothing will happen to the person.Even if you hear the voice of your wife or baby, please don’t look back, they are deceptions, your families are in the village, they can’t be here and the forces that live here can’t harm you unless you look back. When he was done speaking, He told them to proceed as he’ll lead from behind.Don’t even look back if you hear my voice calling for help; just keep moving he added as they went ahead of him into the ‘Land of No-look back’It was the elders who shared the story of the land to them and why they called it a land of ‘No look back’ their warriors observed many years ago that the forces in that land can’t harm anyone who doesn’t look back, then they went on to share stories of several of their warriors turning into pillars of salt, a rock of stone and into so many t
No matter what is flying above you, the screeching noise over you, don’t look up.Our ancestors who were warriors named it ‘don’t look up’ when they discovered that the mysterious flying creatures in this land can’t harm anyone that didn’t look up to see them.No one has been able to see so as to describe the creature on this land because those who saw them turned to ashes instantly. But we don’t need to fear. If we don’t look up no matter what, we’ll make it through this land without any harm. Dike addressed them as they made it into the land.They could see piles of ashes from various spots as they take each step. These spots are warriors they’ve heard their folklores who couldn’t survive crossing this path not because they were not mighty men of valor but because they looked up.Each step the warriors take they see another pile of ashes that remi
Don’t stop running! Immediately they took to their heels. They practiced running with a heavy log of wood as warriors so it wasn’t too difficult for Dike at first to lift the sick warrior who looked at the creatures with a mirror and run.The sick warrior, his name is EmekaThe other warriors were way ahead though they regularly look back to see if Dike was running fast enough with the unconscious Emeka on his shoulders.That was when they saw a dog-like animal, coming after Dike closely. This animal is 10 times the size of a man with a fierce-looking face and a protruded sharp tooth from under its mouth.It is said that these strange-looking animals have a good sense of smell therefore no one can hide from them, once you set your legs on their lands you just keep running. That was how the name of the land came about.The animals can’t run as fast as humans but they definitely don’t stop coming after
As they were resting and laughing at themselves for how they panicked during their last flight, one of them saw a shinning stone which he suspected to be gold. He thought of how he’ll become extremely wealthy should he return with such gold.Though Dike has told them never to do anything till he has prepped them about the land they are in and reminded them of the instructions they must yield to survive such land. This warrior secretly and quietly separated himself from others to pick up this stone.The idea of sharing the profit of selling such precious stone with another warrior should they know about it made him shrewd and kept the idea to himself.The other warriors were listening to Emeka share with them the description of the creature he saw with the aid of the mirror and what happened to him that made him passed out.Emeka just did the impossible to see the un-seeable and lived, so everyone wants to know what he saw, they were so
The people of Afugiri community gathered to pray and make sacrifices to the gods over the safety of their warriors at the shrine. The Oracle was leading the prayer and in the making of the sacrifices. They called out to the gods and ask that they save their warriors.The Oracle did some incantations after humming with ‘omu’ on his mouth for like 7 minutes. He then cut the throat of the ‘Ehi’ (bull) that the people of Afugiri jointly brought for the sacrifices. The 11 villages had contributed to buy this Bull. Everyone was willing to contribute because of their love for their King.The Oracle was dressed on leather that is embedded with cowries and small bones; he hanged several horns of gazelle and wrapped the skin of a leopard-like wrapper. His face was marked with white chalks and tiro (black-eye lash) was marked on his eyelids.The elders were all putting on pure white wrappers, raised to their bel
The Oracle told him that if he can sacrifice the person he loves most that the warriors won’t be able to make it back from their journey to get the Magic Bean.It was a very tough one, his wife Ada whom he so much loves. She was the only one who could calm him and make him smile when things are not alright and she has been firing him up to go to any length and win the throne.He thought about it but couldn’t come to terms with sacrificing her.He went to the Oracle and told him that he can’t. Well, the Oracle said, if he doesn’t, that he’ll die within the next 7 days.‘I’ll be saving myself and getting the throne if I sacrifice my beloved wife,’ Arinze said to himself as he reluctantly agreed to sacrifice her.His mood changed, he wasn’t socializing as he refused to be with anyone. Life without the woman who perfectly understands and loves him would be very hard
When the Oracle in Afugiri got to Ohuhu, the Oracle in Ohuhu already knew why he came. The gods have just revealed to him what’s going on. He immediately requested that all the married women in Afugiri be summoned to match throughout the land of Afugiri, confessing that their warriors would be back. Arinze would discourage some women to be amongst the match but the majority showed up. And later when they were done, the others who didn’t show up were meant to ‘Kwa-Iwu’ (punished) for not showing up. Very early in the morning, you could hear the words of the women as their leader declare saying ‘our warriors would be back safely’ and the rest of the women would chorus ‘Ise’ (amen). ‘No charm sent by anyone would work against them’ the leader said ‘Ise!’ was chorused. They continued speaking, calling on the gods to protect the warriors and bring them back safely. This they continued as they journey to and fro all the lands
THE ORACLE OF AFUGIRI GAVE HIS VERDICTThe persons sent with Mazi Ukandu to see the Oracle of Afugiri and that of Ohuhu came back with the same report.When they visited the Oracle of Afugiri, the Oracle consulted with the gods and after which he said, that Arinze knows what killed his wife and shouldn’t blame anyone else.The people who escorted Mazi Ukandu refused to believe the message, so they said not until they get the message from the Oracle of Ohuhu if it correlates before they’ll believe the message from the Oracle.On the day they should go, Mazi Ukandu didn’t want to, he had reported to Arinze his son-in-law and he discouraged him, telling him that the Oracle of Afugiri and that of Ohuhu hate him and would do anything to bring him down because he has a shot at the throne which they are against.So the men went without him and the report from the Oracle of Ohuhu was the same. The Oracle of Ohuhu also told them that they
THE ORACLE OF AFUGIRI GAVE HIS VERDICTThe persons sent with Mazi Ukandu to see the Oracle of Afugiri and that of Ohuhu came back with the same report.When they visited the Oracle of Afugiri, the Oracle consulted with the gods and after which he said, that Arinze knows what killed his wife and shouldn’t blame anyone else.The people who escorted Mazi Ukandu refused to believe the message, so they said not until they get the message from the Oracle of Ohuhu if it correlates before they’ll believe the message from the Oracle.On the day they should go, Mazi Ukandu didn’t want to, he had reported to Arinze his son-in-law and he discouraged him, telling him that the Oracle of Afugiri and that of Ohuhu hate him and would do anything to bring him down because he has a shot at the throne which they are against.So the men went without him and the report from the Oracle of Ohuhu was the same. The Oracle of Ohuhu also told them that they
CENTAURAs they were resting, one of them heard the sound of a horse galloping and when he peeped carefully after hiding, it was a sight that scared him, a sight he had never seen like that before.Though he has heard folklores about what he just saw, he couldn’t recollect at that moment that such creatures existed in the folklore he has heard before.He immediately ran back to where they camped and reported what he saw to Dike who was roasting meat and drinking wine while been entertained by the song of one of the warriors who was very talented in singing.When the warrior ran into where they were, they all got startled, immediately picked up their swords, bows, and spares respectively getting poised to fight.The warrior who ran into them began describing what he saw, by the time he was done, Dike sat back at ease and asked the warrior who was entertaining them with his melodious voice to continue as he bites a mouthful of
THE LAND OF GIANTSSo when they saw a place, cool and nice, they lay down to sleep. At first, they were so confused by the types of trees they are seeing; Grasses look so big like giant plants, and trees look very tall as though it’s touching the sky.They were too exhausted to observe, they just lay down to sleep.They have a very deep sleep until they wake up to see themselves being wrapped by a giant spider.They brought out their sword and spears and to spear the spider and free themselves from the webs which look tick like a strong cord.The spider had a fight with them, trying to recapture them in its web, but the warriors were able to fight it back till it retreated, and they saved the ones who couldn’t break out of the webs because their hands were webbed in such a way that they couldn’t use the knives or swords on them to free themselves.They were surprised at how big the spider was, so they became careful. It&rsq
‘This is the land of half-blood; half werewolf and half-human and they are vicious. Therefore we must move as quickly as we can so that we will leave their territory before the moon rises’ Dike said.When one of the warriors asked how they came about and live in that land, Dike share with them what knew, he said.In the olden days, a woman committed the abominable by sleeping with a wild dog; she got pregnant and gave birth to the first half-blood.She said she fell in love with the dog after she has had series of disappointment from men who she was in a relationship at various times in her life. She lost trust in a man and fell in love with a dog because according to her, dogs are more loyal than humans.The community rallied together to drive her and her half-werewolf and half-human baby out of the community of humans.She continued with the sexual relationship with the dog and had more half-bloods or Lycans. They then moved far away fr
‘This is the land of half-blood; half werewolf and half-human and they are vicious. Therefore we must move as quickly as we can so that we will leave their territory before the moon rises’ Dike said.When one of the warriors asked how they came about and live in that land, Dike share with them what knew, he said.In the olden days, a woman committed the abominable by sleeping with a wild dog; she got pregnant and gave birth to the first half-blood.She said she fell in love with the dog after she has had series of disappointment from men who she was in a relationship at various times in her life. She lost trust in a man and fell in love with a dog because according to her, dogs are more loyal than humans.The community rallied together to drive her and her half-werewolf and half-human baby out of the community of humans.She continued with the sexual relationship with the dog and had more half-bloods or Lycans. They then moved far away fr
LAND OF LUSTAs they continued to walk, recounting their last experience; the archers making fun of those who did have less headshot and everyone was laughing at them and jokingly asking them to begin their target practices, one of them saw a beautiful lady, looking seductively at him. At first, he thought it was everyone who was seeing her, but when he looked at the other warriors, they were still jesting as though nothing was up.The warrior was so engrossed looking at the lady; he even missed his step and almost fell; he has suddenly forgotten every other thing he was doing.The lady who was seductively dressed in well-designed animal skins would wag her tongue at him; invite him with her hand gestures while looking straight into his eyes. She takes graceful and seductive steps backward as she invites the warrior towards her.Mysteriously, the other warriors didn’t see what was happening with that warrior as they were all alike in their various visions a
While they were rejoicing at the sound of water because they just ran into a nearby river to swim and drink water out of sheer joy that they overcame that pang of thirst.Suddenly, one of the warriors was attacked, crowded by green goblins with long noses, not longer than few centimeters.Immediately the warriors noticed, one of them wanted to run to go save the warrior that was isolated and crowded by these goblins, but he was held back by Dike.‘If you are allowed to go, we’ll lose you too’ he said.While they were at the bank of the water, Dike instructed that they form a circular formation. The warriors have learned various formations during the pieces of training, and they use different formations depending on the need. This time it was a circular formation because the goblins were charging from all angles.Every warrior’s back must be at the back of another warrior.This formation made it dif
You could hear the sound of the village gong (Ekwe), whenever you hear the sound of the gong, important news is about to be passed so everyone stops what they are doing to pay attention to the news that usually accompanies the gong.You could hear ‘okwu-ekwe’ that’s the name of whoever is in charge of the gong at any time. He was shouting that everyone should come out to the Mbara-Ama (village Square) because the issue concerning the accusation that queen Ada being responsible for the death of Arinze’s wife would be heard today, and whoever is interested in contributing to the judgment so that the justice can be served without bias should come out.Because the King is sick, most of the judgments are carried out by the chiefs in council after everyone present at the hearing has contributed.This makes judgment take a very long time before it’s reached and many are left offended when the judgment doesn’t go b