The Ancient Lands: Warrior Quest, Search for the Ifa Scepter (5 page)

Bomani looked at Anan with contempt and
distrust, “Still,
brother
, I know you all too well.”

“The map,” Anan responded, “You should get
it, and fetch this scepter.”

“That’s my father’s business. I won’t
interfere with that.”

“Ah, but you are the king’s son. Who better
to retrieve it? If you do this, then I will never doubt you. I will
praise you. Even more than that, I will stand up to anyone that
doubts you.”

“I find it hard to believe that you would
ever praise me, Anan. I assume you think that I will fail. That is
the real reason you want me to do it. You want to gloat in my
failure,” Bomani said.

“Hey, don’t do it just for me. I know you
want to be king. If you do this, then surely people will see your
strength above Mongo’s. Just think of the admiration that the
people will have for you. Everyone will speak of how
you
saved the kingdom!”

Bomani really didn’t need to be convinced.
In his heart, he wanted to do it the moment that Anan proposed the
idea. He didn’t need any encouragement. Still, Bomani knew that
Anan’s motives did not have his best interest in mind, but it
didn't matter. From that moment on, Bomani knew what he was going
to do.

He waited until Anu was asleep and then he
stole the map right out from under his nose. It wasn’t hard. Anu
snored like a sick ogre. He set out in the middle of the night,
taking with him only what he needed: a long spear and his blade;
both rested in their places in his shield, which he carried on his
back. He wore it in sort of a backpack style with both of his arms
fit through straps. He also carried with him a pouch made of
leather secured around his shoulder. Inside were two fire rocks,
and a boar’s gut for carrying water.

With any luck, no one would miss him for a
few days. The following day, he was due to make his way to the Grun
Village to report back on dwindling conditions. It would be a week
before there was any concern to his whereabouts. By then he would
be on his way back, at least that’s what he thought.

Bomani traveled on foot for two long days
heading south until he hit the mountains and then followed them
eastward until the land began turning green again. From the
coloring of some of the trees that were pink, purple, and blue, he
knew that he was somewhere near the village of the Animen. He made
his way toward a small stream, which rustled its way downhill
through the thick.

The stream was clear, and a good spot for
him to fish. He stood poised; in the middle of it now, 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 didn’t want
to make things easy for himself. That wasn’t his style. He’d 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 quickly 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 wasn’t yet strong enough for
the task ahead, and that he was too young. He wanted to give up and
go home, but this wasn’t his way. Most people would have given into
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 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 about 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 life long nemesis
that he had easily conquered. After all, he was Bomani, and not to
be trifled with.

“Humph,” Bomani said. 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. He 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 looking playful with Bomani’s fish in its mouth.

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. Bomani turned over and heard a voice.

“You’ll never catch him,” said the
voice.

It was the voice of a pretty young girl. She
stood about twenty feet away from Bomani, and was dressed in a blue
hooded cloak that matched the hues of the precocious wolf pup that
taunted him. A gold headband of sorts peeked out from under her
hood across her forehead. It held 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, an invisible
force held a luminous crystal in place, which hovered over the tip
of the staff centered within a hook. Her name was Farra and she
snickered in a cheerful manner as she spoke to Bomani. The playful
pup amused her, but Bomani was not amused at all. Farra’s 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!”

Farra’s mood was 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!”

Farra was impressed yet amused, “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 tell this beast to return my fish.”

“Humph, you’re not going to get anything by
"ordering". Besides, he hates being called a beast.”

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

Farra 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, I just want my fish
back.”

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

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

Pupa understood him, but he still wanted to
engage in a game of chase. He started to dart off in the other
direction, but Farra shook her head at him, 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’s curiosity drew her a
couple of steps into the stream yelling out the first word that
came to mind.

“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 with one raised brow.
He didn’t want to see where this was going.

“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, cuz 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.

“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.

“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 assessing his age by his
size and manner.

“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 a woman
approached them. It was Farra’s mother. She walked up from around
the bend. Her name was Anika and she called out for Farra as she
neared.

Her mother was beautiful and she walked with
elegance along side her equally regal looking wolf, Laka. Laka’s
bright yellow fur matched the yellow clothing of her master. The
wolf was not leashed, as Animen did not believe in restraints, and
her head was as tall as Anika’s waist when it stood on all fours.
As they walked, Anika gently stroked Laka’s head.“Who’s that?”
Bomani asked Farra as Anika approached them.

“That’s my mother,” said Farra.

“See, now that’s the size that a wolf should
be.”

“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, I didn’t know you would be here. Who
is your friend?”

“Hello 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? 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.”

Anika was amused by Bomani’s fervor, but she
played along. There was no need to insult the boy, she thought.

“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.”