23 A meeting in the woods

Jide was tied up and blindfolded in the back of a carriage driven by Abdul and Ladi as they headed towards the secret headquarters of the clan. Although he could have told them that he had already seen the surrounding mountains of their hideout in one of his visions, Jide knew that revealing the extent of his abilities would be a bad idea. So he relaxed and tried to enjoy the journey as much as humanly possible.

Abdul and Ladi had been informed to give Jide all courtesy even while preventing him from knowing the way. As such the interior of the carriage was lined with leather padding and they had prepared horses for the rockier part of the journey.

"I still think we should have knocked him out or drugged him." Ladi insisted.

However, Abdul replied, "You know both of those methods are suspect when dealing with Knights. Their recovery is just too fast."

"Hmm...are you sure he is even a Knight...Musa could have been lying just to sneak him into the clan." Ladi countered.

"Ha ha ha. I know you grew up with Hafis and as your grandmother is elder Ladidi you are a little biased, but did you see that great sword on his back that he was swinging easily, it must weigh 500kg, and I have fought against him...he is most likely a Knight." Abdul answered.

"Hmm." was Ladi's only response as she turned away from Abdul and focused on the road ahead.

....

Far away in the Oshodi Kingdom, Nnenna breathed in the fresh air as they journeyed towards the next city from the border. The road was surrounded by fields and farmlands but there were still clusters of woods scattered intermittently along the way.

They shared the road with merchants, who had bought the monster parts and returning hunters and adventurers who were either to injured to continue their adventure on the border or were looking for excitement elsewhere .

Therefore, it took Nnenna a week to realise they were being followed. Their pursuers had been very astute and subtle about their tail without the same person following them throughout the entire week.

It was only when Nnenna had concentrated on expanding her spatial awareness the night a week after leaving the border city, as her group was making camp, that she had noticed the team of ten people at the edge of her coverage range and recognised seven of them. If they had just been a group of hunters travelling together or if they had had the same scout who was within 100 meters of Nnenna it probably would not have raised her suspicion. It would seem that the groups own cleverness led to their downfall.

"We are being followed." Nnenna told Obi and Amaka as they settled down to eat dinner together.

"Really?" Amaka asked.

Obi on the other hand did not say anything but just looked alert.

"Yes, they are probably presents from Commander Oge. But don't worry we will lose them in the next city." Nnenna responded as she reached for her bowl. They were all hunters so they knew how to survive on the road and since they had just left the border city their meals were still appetising.

"Okay Nnenna. If you have a plan we will go along...but I think it would be easier to lose them in the wild." Amaka suggested.

"Don't worry you will see"

....

Abdul removed Jide's blindfold as they brought him into the throne hall. Jide saw the clan head on the throne, surrounded by the elders of the clan starting with elder Usman on the right and elder Ladidi on the left. Finally Musa and Hafis stood below the raised dias at their respective ends of the hall.

"Welcome to the Abacha clan."

...

Meanwhile, a group of over 20 people met at a secluded clearing in the Misty Woods in the Republic of Maidugri. There was still mist on the air and most of the people at the meeting had their faces masked and bodies cloaked, to obscure their identity.

They were a lot of secret looks thrown at each other and some with hidden intents especially at those who boldly revealed their identity but so far the group had managed to advert any open hostility.

This was because of the attraction of the offer brought by the mysterious new part in the Republic. Just as the tension was rising to unbearable levels, seven new people walked out of the mist and boldly moved towards the centre of the clearing. These people were the old man with the scars all over his body and his companions.

As they walked in, a path was made for them and on reaching the center of the clearing, the old man was surrounded by his companions in a six point star with each of them facing outwards.

"Finally, you are here, old man...you promised that you have knowledge and power that has been lost and we can all benefit from it. Speak now or you will not like the outcome." a giant of a man roared as he crossed his arms and flexed his muscles. He was even bigger than Osaze but had no weapons except from his steel gauntlets and boots.

"AARGGHH....I WILL..." Osaze was about to lose control as he gribbed his hammer but the old man stopped him saying, "Relax Osaze... they have a right to want answers."

"Firstly, the power I offer you is the chance to become a real Mage...just like me..." and on saying this a massive horned serpent solidified from the mist with scales that seemed to be made of ice.

"Now let me tell you a story on how I found out about Magical Beast and External Mages..."