08 |Strange Disappearance

Danji and Kamyla trailer after His Majesty and into the palace building.

The three padded through the long palace corridor with a series of doors on both sides, making their way to the large double door at the far end; marked with a wooden craved head that held tribal symbols and values.

The royal guards pulled the door open, letting them walk in.

The moment Danji and Kamyla stepped foot in, their eyes fell on the seated personnel in the room.

They immediately went down to the ground to lay in greeting. "Ihiwea".

Seated in a circular pattern were the five Elders of the Sah'Jangi Empire; one from each of the largest kingdoms; the Royal Adviser, the Chief Priest and the Emperor himself.

The Elders were seated on the left side; two women and three men, all of old age and appearance, dressed in elite colourful fabrics of wrappers and gowns.

The Royal Adviser, a man in his late thirties, was seated on the right side of the Emperor.

And then finally, the Chief Priest, Baba Elawo, standing on the far right with his subordinate — a fifteen years old boy dressed in similar white cloth attire as Elawo, having white markings on his arms and legs.

They all locked their eyes on the commander and his deputy.

Danji and Kamyla slowly stood up on their feet. As mere commanders, they had no right to sit in the presence of their supreme heads.

With Emperor Ado seated on his throne in the middle, he then cleared his throat.

"Now that we are all here. Let's begin. Obi?" He turned to his Royal Adviser.

He stood up, bowing his head, "Ihiwea!"

They bowed subtly.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice. But I am sure we all here, excluding the commanders understand the urgency of today's matter".

They nodded.

"So in order to save time, I will go straight to the point".

Obi turned to the commanders, "I understand that you both and your army have been away for two weeks for the protection of the selected kingdoms with weak defences".

Danji and Kamyla nodded.

"Well, in the period of your absence, unexplainable occupancies have been taking place".

"Unexpectable?" Danji crooked a brow.

"Yes. It first began two days before your departure. In the Ewhoko kingdom, a group of six hunters went missing at the same time after setting off for hunting in the early hours of the morning. But we assumed it was one of the causalities of the wild animals in the forest. The next day, two girls from a family in the same kingdom, at the same time, went missing as well. And what segregated their case was the fact they went missing within their village".

"In a town two days later in Flümu kingdom, a mother and her two sons went missing after leaving for their farmland. That same day, in another village, two men went missing that were believed to not have even stepped out of their homes".

"Now to cut the long story short, in three of the five largest kingdoms and two small ones, there have been random reports of missing people without any trace".

Emperor Ado then spoke, "We at first assumed it to be cases of random kidnap by ritualists or cultists outside the Empire, but the disappearance became more rampant and mysterious as to how someone can get missing even when their houses were locked from inside".

A male Elder then spoke, "Because of all these, rumours have started to spread that it may be connected to the Evil Forest".

"Evil Forest?" Kamyla exclaimed.

"Hm. Some claimed to have seen abnormal shadows and beings in the middle of the night roaming their village".

"Although all these could be rumours built on fear and anxiety", a female Elder started, "But we can not ignore the fact that things are actually going outside of logic and reasoning".

"And where there is smoke, there is fire", another added.

"If we do not act fast, it wouldn't take too long for panic to spread that Tawongis has started to escape from the Evil Forest..."

"But that should be impossible, My Elder", Kamyla said. "The Empire has bounded the Evil Forest, forbidding Tawongis from being able to escape for more than a decade now".

"True", Baba Elawo finally spoke. "But remember, our authority over the connection between the Forest and ours, relies greatly on our connection with the Ancestors".

"What are you implying, Baba?" An Elder frowned, "That the Ancestors are perhaps angry with us? We have done nothing wrong".

"That is what we think", he smiled.

Emperor Ado frowned. "What do you mean by that, Baba Elawo? Have the Ancestors perhaps said anything on the matter that puts us at fault and results in the escape of Tawongis?"

Baba Elawo's colourless iries locked on the king, smiling innocently as he shook his head. "The Ancestors are silent, Your Majesty".

Ado narrowed his eyes.

Baba then added, "But there could be a possibility that there is a certain village or group that has gone against the laws of our land which has angered the Ancestors and resulted in this paranormal experience. Who knows?" He shrugged, pretending like he wasn't the only person who could confirm such assumptions and solutions.

But everyone knew that when Baba Elawo wanted to play dumb and ignorant, he was an award winner — and no one knew why he did that at times.

Ado tsked, shaking his head to the old man's unnecessary drama before turning to the commanders. "Anyways, the main reason we decided to inform you about this now is that we would like you two to investigate without drawing any attention to the matter and causing an uproar. If this is really connected to the Evil Forest, then it is better we confirm, locate and know why there is a breach between our worlds".

"Yes, Your Majesty". They bowed.

"You two are the strongest warriors we have and also those most capable of facing a Tawongi head-on. So please, as inconsiderate as it may sounds, we will like you two to begin your investigation in your very own village, Diowo, which is one of the villages closest to the Evil Forest, when you return for your friend's burial".

Kamyla and Danji nodded, "We understand, Your Majesty".

"You may leave now".

The two bowed, slowly turning around and walking out of the room silently.

Emperor Ado exhaled heavily, pinching his forehead as he shook his head. The current situation was more than troubling.

Slowly turning his gaze to the side, his eyes fell on Baba Elawo.

Baba Elawo's eyes remained on the shut bamboo door, having his lips stuck in a mischievous smile as he clutched onto his metal staff.

Ado narrowed his eyes. The old man knew something...

"Baba?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?" He slowly turned to him, maintaining his smile.

"Anything you would like to share with us?" Ado asked.

All eyes turned to the grey old man.

Baba Elawo chuckled, "If the tongue was meant to always hang out, then there would be no use of the lips, would there?"

Ado scrunched his brows.

Baba Elawo slowly turned back to the door, taking a step forward, "Your Majesty, the Ancestors see beyond our expectations but reveal less than our hopes..."

He proceeded to the door, having his junior silently trail after him. "We can only hope to understand when the revelation comes", Baba Elawo completed, walking out of the room without another word.

Ado frowned.