CHAPTER 5
Odie was picking and sniffing some herbs in the bush with his goat skin bag hanging across his left shoulder. Different herbs and flowering plants littered the surrounding area. As he picked and sniffed, he came across a thorny wild plant, he smiled. "Oh, there you are; I thought you had gone extinct," he laughed and picked it. "With you, the potion will be most effective," he laughed again and put it into the skin bag and continuing his search for other herbs. As he was busy picking some herbs, a raven crowed and flew towards him; he stretched out his right arm, letting the bird perch on it. The raven had brought a message from Chief Ogon. Odie took out the folded piece of brown paper tied to the bird's leg and read:
"Greetings, Odie. It is I, the one who knows your whereabouts from the land of your father. I am greatly burdened with some issues needing urgent spiritual attention; I seek your guidance. If it pleases you, meet me at the caves of Onoh tomorrow at noon; if not, choose another location."
Odie narrowed his eyes, surprised that Chief Ogon, who had never asked for permission before coming to see him, had suddenly asked for permission. Since he knew the location of his hideout, Odie wondered why Ogon would suggest another location. He pondered this for a while before releasing the bird. He presumed the letter might not come from the chief but from a spy trying to uncover his whereabouts and possibly harm him. "He'll never ask me to meet him elsewhere; he has never done so, and he'll never do so," he muttered and hurried back to his cave.
Chief Ogon and his entourage traveled west towards the caves of Onoh. After waiting for Odie's reply, which never came, he interpreted the silence as a mutual agreement. They approached a certain river in the forest called Achara, a coursed river that forbade humans from crossing it at noon. To cross it, one must wait until nightfall. Chief Ogon frowned, remembering the course following the river. He wished they had taken the other route, which has a wooden bridge crossing the river, but it would have added days to their journey. His entourage seemed to be puzzled as they watched him walk around mumbling and acting as though he wanted to move the water. "Chief!" one of his men called. "There's a boat over there," he pointed.
"Yes, I'm not blind. You don't get it, do you? The boat can only be used at night," Chief Ogon replied. After lengthy deliberation, he and his entourage settled beside the water, waiting for nightfall. He excused himself and went far from the camp. He mumbled some spell, and a raven flew over and perched on his outstretched arm. He quickly squeezed some paper onto the raven's feet, and then it flew into the sky. It was a message to Odie about a change of time in their appointment. He had clearly told him in the message to meet him at the cave the following morning because the infamous river wouldn't let him meet at the appointed time. Odie got the message on his way to spy over the surroundings of the cave. He had also intended to cast some diversion spells over the cave to confuse whoever might try to uncover his location, but the message made him change his mind. He released the bird, but not until he had enchanted it and commanded it to spy on whoever had sent it. As the bird flew into the sky, he could clearly see through the bird's eyes as his mind controlled the flight and direction of the bird. He squirmed at every turn and elevation; he was thrilled by the sight of nature from that height. With the way he smiled, it was easy to tell that it was his first time using such a spell. When he had seen enough sights, he lowered the bird and finally allowed it to perch on a tree as it looked down on the chief and his men. "It's really him," he said and let out a sigh of relief; he almost released the bird from the spell but the sight of a creepy creature sneaking up on the chief and his men made him hesitant. It was Roiy, the Nimf who had deceived Chief Ebikaler days before. He could hardly explain what it was because the sight was a bit cloudy. The Nimf was using an invisible spell, but Odie's spell was stronger, which was why the sight was murky. When he tried to navigate the enchanted bird closer to the creature for a better view, he immediately lost control over it. Perceiving danger, he ran towards the river, but another thought stopped him. "Why is the chief with soldiers?" he said, narrowing his eyes. "Maybe the Oba placed a bounty on my head, and the chief took it upon himself; is that why he's here with soldiers? He has never visited in the company of anyone, and now soldiers... But he's not a greedy man," he blinked repeatedly as he mumbled those words. The chief had saved his life on several occasions and had partially provided for him in the forest, and would not think of harming him. He closed his eyes, exhaled deeply, and continued towards the river. He intended not to reveal himself directly until he knew why they came. Meanwhile, at the riverbank, Chief Ogon was seated on the ground; leaning on a tree trunk, glancing at the river, wishing that time would run faster. The forest Nimf was hiding behind a tree, giving the men a hateful glare. He muttered some spell, and a female wasp came out from its infected neck and flew towards a soldier standing beside a tree. The wasp stung the soldier on the neck and enchanted him. The soldier's eyes blackened, he moved and jumped into the water. The splash in the water startled the chief and his men; the chief got up and glared at the soldier who was freestyle swimming in the water, disturbing the spiritual order of the river. Of course, Chief Ogon knew the consequences of such action, and to avoid getting involved, he asked his men to leave at once. He mounted his horse and left in haste.
They had galloped far through the thick forest when they heard a loud scream coming from the river, followed by a haunting roar. Their horses threw them down and ran off. Leaves on the trees began to adjust themselves, blocking out the rays of the sun. Deep darkness fell in the forest, making it impossible for them to see. Fear struck down their spines. They began to stagger around, looking for a tree to lean on. They lit their torches and drew their swords, ready for battle, their eyes darting around in search of a mysterious foe. But what could be the best posture and strategy to fight an enemy you do not know and one you couldn't see? The roar became even louder and more terrifying because sometimes it sounded in the trees, causing the men to look up. Sometimes it sounded like it was coming from the ground. Sometimes the leaves rustled so loudly as if something would emerge from them. They trembled and shot arrows at some trees that looked like they were haunting them. This terror could break the bravest of hearts, but they stood their ground even though they were confused and completely terrified. When they were glancing at the trees, pointing their arrows around, a ghostly image of a lion appeared. Its eyes were dripping with blood and its body with an abundance of water. "You stinking humans," the lion roared, throwing some balls of water to engulf the men. Odie stood in the way and magically blocked the balls of water from harming the men. The lion charged angrily towards him; he drew out an enchanted arrow, placed it on his bow, and stretched it, targeting the lion's neck. When the arrow sank in, the lion melted into water and splashed all over Odie, and chief Ogon and his men got splashed too. After that, the sun rays began to pierce through the leaves once again. Odie turned to the chief, "You're welcome," he said. The chief smiled and hugged him. "It has been a while, and now you come with soldiers?" Odie said, looking at their faces. "Am I safe?"
"Of course you are," the chief replied.
"Well, I hope I am. So why many soldiers?" Odie asked and walked the chief to a corner.
"The forest is not safe these days, and this is a time…"
"A time of war?" Odie nodded.
"I was going to say trouble," Chief Ogon replied.
"Hmmm, I heard you people invaded Agumba and took the mighty sword of Ikenga; I must say, that's so heroic," Odie said.
"That is the reason for my coming," the chief said, avoiding eye contact. He knew how Odie would react to the message the Oba termed a message of reconciliation. He knew how humiliated and degraded Odie would feel if he mentioned reconciliation to him, knowing that the message was more of an uncommon errand than anything the Oba thought of. To avoid causing the boy any emotional distress, he presented the message in a more casual and informal manner, speaking to him like a father would to his son and without trying to play the Oba's politics, yet Odie felt insulted. "The Oba wants me to run some stupid errand for him while he and his chiefs are seated on their thrones, killing my kind and drinking to stupor?" Odie barked.
"Believe me, the situation back home is more menacing than the horror we just experienced a few minutes ago. Back home, every breath has become a miracle, and every meal we eat as our last. Our women have become enslaved by their fears, and our young men are practicing the best way to die. The only way to deal with this feeling is to appease the Agumbans, and to do that, we need evidence to show that we didn't actually steal the sword of Ikenga but that the Nimfs did. And now Odie," the chief touched his shoulder gently. "You're our last hope; we need you to help us find this evidence that would save the whole of Bini." Odie frowned and moved away from him. Of anything in the world, he was finding it hard to believe that the chief, whom he once held in high esteem, would tell him to do something like that after all the Oba did to him and his family. "This is totally ridiculous; yesterday you killed my family, and today you're asking me to save your life? Believe me, nothing would please me more than seeing Bini destroyed. I've nothing left there to worry about anyway."
"And your siblings?" The chief asked, looking deep into his eyes and searching for a glimmer of empathy. He found it when Odie's eyes widened in shock. "They are alive?" Odie asked with a shaky voice. The chief nodded, feeling guilty for having lied that they died together with their mother.
"You lied to me! Where are they? Where is my family?" Odie yelled, grabbing the chief by the neck. The soldiers tried to intervene, but the chief waved them to calm.
"I'm sorry I lied to you, but I did it to protect you. Had you known they were alive, you'd be dead by now. Now put yourself together and let's talk about how to rescue them," the chief said calmly. Odie moved back with tears in his eyes. He couldn't believe that the chief lied to him about his only surviving family, and now who knows if he had joined the Oba to torment his life. "If you help us, you'll no longer have to live in the forest; you'll no longer live in fear, hiding in the forest. You'll come home to your people and to your siblings, and I promise you, no harm will ever come to you." Chief Ogon said.
"Have I now become an arrow in the Oba's quiver?" Odie asked.
"No, you've become a sword of glory in the Oba's hands. Arrows are shot far into the enemy camp, never to return, but a king's sword fights his battles and stays with him till death." The Oba replied.
At night, they pitched their tents and sat around a campfire, roasting some fresh corn Odie had brought from his farm; it was a rainy season when such crops are mostly grown and harvested. Odie sat in a corner, away from the others, absently stabbing the ground with his dagger. He'd occasionally glance up at the men, who were eating and drinking. Chief Ogon, sitting beside the campfire, caught his eyes, sensing Odie's unhappiness. After a while, Chief Ogon dozed off while leaning against a tree. When he woke up, he saw Odie eating and drinking, making jokes with the men, and laughing. Chief Ogon's face lit up with a smile at Odie's brightened expression, a promising sign he hoped would mark a turning point. He offered him more palm wine and roasted meat, which he knew Odie enjoyed. Despite Odie not verbally agreeing to the job Chief Ogon had proposed, the chief took his brightened mood as a promising sign. "So would you like us to provide you with any special tools or ingredients of any kind to prepare yourself for the mission?" the chief asked, even though he knew Odie wouldn't allow a layman to gather ingredients for him, especially the ones meant for a magical potion. He asked that to know his stance on the mission. But instead, Odie glared at him and then burst into a slurred drunken laughter; he fell heavily on the ground and slept. The chief looked at him and shook his head pitifully; he went over and adjusted his sleeping position properly.
In the morning, the clatter of monkeys jumping from branch to branch woke the chief from sleep. He opened his eyes and realized he had fallen asleep while leaning on a tree trunk; he touched his lower back and moaned in pain. The soldiers were all awake and fully alert. When he glanced at the spot where Odie had slept the previous night, he squinted, wondering if he was imagining things. Odie was nowhere to be found. He quickly got up and rubbed his eyes. "He slept in this spot," he pointed, "where is he?" he yelled. "He said he wanted to go ease himself," one of the soldiers said. "And none of you thought it wise to accompany him?" the chief yelled again, running his eyes over their faces. "I tell you what," he continued. "If anything happens to that boy, the Oba will have your heads cut off." Perhaps his skepticism blinded him to the fact that Odie, despite being a recluse in the forest, was hardly lost – especially now. After all, a wizard doesn't get lost in his own backyard. When Odie returned, the chief was yelling at the soldiers; at first, Odie thought it was a normal morning routine for soldiers, but then he noticed that they were kind of awkwardly excited to see him. That threw him off. He was about to question their excitement when the chief turned and saw him. "Oh, I thought I'd lost you," the chief said.
"Lost me? This is my neighborhood." Odie replied.
"I mean, I thought you left" the chief said.
The chief deemed it necessary, given the urgency of the matter, to tutor Odie about the mission ahead, after Odie had agreed to do the job. He believed that no hope was nearer than the mission to unveil and possibly arrest the Nimf or Nimfs responsible for the invasion of Ikenga's temple. But to Odie, the mission was not necessary, given that the sword was evidently rooted in Bini, refusing to be pulled out, so he wondered how they planned on convincing the Agumbans to believe the denial about invading the temple. Even if they could get a Nimf to confess to the crime, would the Agumbans believe, seeing the sword of Ikenga rooted in Bini? Well, he didn't care; all he cared about now was setting his eyes on his twin siblings again and freeing them from the fears that had now engulfed the whole of Bini. If Bini will burn, let it burn. The chief attempted to teach Odie about the distinctive features of a Nimf but was surprised when Odie recited the features - even the ones he didn't know. "Shape-shift? I didn't know Nimfs could do that," the chief said.
"Well, they do," Odie said, feeling proud of having learned new things in the forest. The chief was finally convinced that Odie had all the knowledge he needed to embark on the tedious quest. The heavy burden of protecting the kingdom, which weighed heavily on the chief, made him speak hastily and eager to go home. "Whatever you do, don't ever bargain with the Nimfs. They may claim to be perfectly honest, but don't be fooled – they have a way of misleading people with half-truths and clever words," the chief said. He gave a few more pieces of advice and directives before mounting his horse and leaving.
Odie went to his cave, took his goatskin bag, and went to gather materials so he could magically fortify himself for the mission. First, he brought a swamp crab, some colored frogs, five different species of scented leaves, two different species of poisonous spiders, a termite queen, a baby python, and an eagle's eye. "And what remains?" he said and flipped the pages of his magic book. "The final ingredient, a dog's tear," he read and frowned. "A dog's tear, where and how am I supposed to get a dog's tear?" he said with a clenched fist, feeling frustrated. There are no dogs in the forest, and for him to get the last ingredient, he had to go to Bini. To move undetected, he had to wait until nightfall, when supernatural powers are most effective. At night, he put on a black cloak and trotted down a slope muttering incantations. As he finished, he jumped off a cliff and transformed into a brown-necked raven; he soared high through the drizzle and navigated towards Bini. He landed on the roof of Chief Ogon, whom he knew to be a devoted lover and owner of three dogs. He chose to land on his roof because he knew he would be safer there than on any roof in the kingdom. He flapped his wings and shook his head, shaking off some droplets of water on his body, wishing for a warmer place. If it weren't for the mission, he'd be in his cave, enjoying the warmth of his cozy, hand-woven blanket. He stared at the dogs and wondered how he could possibly make them shed some tears. Even if they did shed some tears, he wondered how he could harvest the tears into the bamboo flask he brought. These questions lingered in his head for quite some time before an idea flashed into his mind. He wanted to fly away but was hesitant after making the dogs shed tears by means of lachrymatory gas. He wondered how he would harvest the tears without disturbing the entire household. "Well," he raised his wings and flew towards his cave. When he returned to the roof, he was holding some dried leaves in his claws. He worried that the rain must have soaked the leaves so much that they were impossible to light, but when he threw some sparks from his claws into the leaves, they quickly caught fire. He put out the fire and tossed the smoldering grass into the compound, allowing the smoke to waft towards the dogs lying quietly beside the chief's doorstep. To prevent noise pollution, he magically restrained the dogs. They lay still, whimpering and unable to blink as the smoke from the leaves irritated their eyes. When Odie saw some tears running down the dogs' eyes, he descended into the yard, transforming into a man, he then harvested the tears into the bamboo flask. The whimpering of the dogs became more intense as they saw Odie approach them. To prevent more noise, he turned back into a raven and flew up into the sky, releasing the dogs from the spell. The dogs got up and barked intensely at the bird in the sky.