4. Sadiku's Message

Abeiku was in the middle of a herb hunt. There were special herbs whose true potency could only be achieved when hunted at night. He walked slowly as though he were walking to his grave and a look of worry was stretched upon his dimly lit face.

The ground was covered in little patches of luminous plants. These were the only things that seem to lighten his mood a bit.

He quickly shines his torch in the direction of a rustling noise just a few feet from his position. A lizard with a mutilated tail was pushing up with all it's might as it stared at Abeiku's torch. It seems to have fallen from it's high place of comfort and landed in that position . He sighs at the sight and shakes his head. The moon was high and bright, but there was still no news of Atsu. " I must have gone too hard on him " he wondered aloud as he briefly massaged his temples.

He threw a cowrie under a mouse herb and harvested it's leaves. All the while mumbling inaudible incantations.

He got up to go when suddenly he crouched again and covered his eyes instinctively. Instantly, the ground gave birth to a terrible wind. The wind caught the sand and merged with it. Night creatures were blowing different sirens as they desperately searched for a safe spot from the sandstorm.

After drifting in nothingness for what seemed like a few seconds, Atsu felt the ground beneath him once again and the ongoing storm around him began to dissipate. He fluttered his eyelids as he watched the starry sky slowly come into vision once more. " Have I even moved at all?". Atsu doubted the fact that he had just teleported. He braced himself for a club blow , gritting his teeth. When seconds passed without any notable movement whatsoever in his surrounding, Atsu gradually calmed and examined his claw. He sighed at the loss of his spear and hunting sack. Which had been with him for so long. He had gotten the spear from his grandfather when he was just a boy and he had developed some sort of connection with the equipment after surviving through many risky hunt battles with it .

He paid tribute to Togbui Tsali's glorious manifestation of stars and struggles to get on his feet. His attempts caused him to grunt in pain. The river might have fixed his wounds, but it hasn't done anything to alleviate the aftereffects of the dozen club blows.

Abeiku was stunned at the sight. He doubted the possibility of Atsu knowing were exactly he would be in the dense forest before teleporting. The charm was made to trace his master's oracle staff when used without a set destination. He struggled to believe Atsu had been crazy enough to achieve the feat. Was it ignorance , or just stupidity? Or ...Who makes use of the teleport without incantations?... Can it be... So that's it! Crazy boy.

What happened to you brother! When did you grow a claw . Abeiku rushed to Atsu's side as he promptly chewed some herbs to apply on his red spots. " And were did you get tattoos? . Where have you been... Where are your equipments..." Abeiku continued with his questions in a frenzy. It was odd to see a boko in such a state. They were the true definition of calm and gentle. Atsu watched on with mixed emotions. Unable to utter a word , considering the fact that he had been insulting the Boko some hours ago.

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After the Bokor had cooled down, he resumed his gentle expression and led Atsu back to their camp. After Atsu was well rested, he told the young wizard his story. Abeiku slightly shuddered at the mention of dwarfs. "Have you been drinking palm wine? You young blood... " Atsu sneered at the boko's remarks. After all , Abeiku was just two years older than him. "No I'm fine, I met an unusual river that connects to their plane ... I am lucky to be alive." You are a legend to have survived!!. What were you thinking, taking a bath in that spot of the god river. Are you really that ignorant, I thought you were the best Zewu has to offer among teen hunters.

"The god river is quite the topic among hunters, its a pity your mentor never mentioned it to you. It is very well known for giving ignorant hunters rides into the plane of no return. Luckily, you had the teleport charm and survived. Abeiku scanned Atsu for a while and continued, "I sent you to hunt me some bush meat. Where is it? " Atsu gulped and raged within himself.

He told the Boko about the condition of the almost abandoned forest and the sole purpose of going into the palm grove which led to his current pitiable state. If it was not for the bokor's role in society which awarded him a great mound of respect, Atsu would have already tested his newly gained claw on the bokor's smooth skin out of his accumulating frustration. The thought brought his attention back to the claw. It would prove troublesome when he's among people. He has already accepted the fact that he is stuck with it. Abeiku was still a novice in sorcery and healing, making him a stranger to these sort of ailments. Sadiku would have probably just applied some snuff and snapped his fingers, but Abeiku was clearly not there yet. The grade of the teleport charm was also too high for a bokor of his level, making it a bonafide product of Sadiku's sorcery.

"Atsu!. You've been staring at that claw all these while. I thought you got over it already". " Er, what...?". Atsu looks at Abeiku as he struggled to figure out what he had been saying. "You really had been drinking palm wine haven't you... ". "I swear by Togbui Tsali's snuff box that I really am not drunk." Abeiku scans Atsu for a while again before saying, " You were telling me about my meat then you suddenly stopped. Please continue." " Yeah of course, erm... I managed to hunt a bush mouse. Though its a taboo for it to be consumed, you are a bokor at the end of the day. It won't be much of a trouble for you to overlook custom with just a few herbs.

Abeiku rolled his eyes as he sat back. He pulled a neatly prepared chicken from his bag and began to roast it on the camp fire. " After roaming the forest for hours, you only managed to hunt an abominable animal and the elders think you're the perfect face of Zewu's next generation. " Atsu's eyes switched continually from the chicken to Abeiku's face as his tummy gave a low rumble. The bokor's words were clearly going through an ear and coming out of the other. When his eyes met with the bokor again, he was unsure what to make of the situation. Abeiku's look of reprove was now replaced by one full of smiles. " I am proud of you brother. You've done well. Though weakened by hunger and in a state of mourning, you still carried out the task nonetheless. Your respect for my master is not arguable. I will proceed with my message now.

" Excuse me?..." Abeiku threw a chicken wing at Atsu and continued, " sorry for keeping you in the dark until now. I'm not on any bad foot here. I come with message from my master Sadiku, I pray for your audience. " You are welcome. I'm all ears." Said a still confused Atsu.

Abeiku cleared his throat and told Atsu of Sadiku's divination once more. Atsu nodded his head as his mind drifted back to the occasion that happened about two weeks ago. Every soul in Zewu had gathered for the occasion, so it was not like Atsu wasn't aware of such a major happening. "Well the time has come for the chosen one to take action. Sadiku and his team, I included ,had gone to appeal to the two other villages of our clan on the break of dawn when the raid first happened. We first went to Glede village to plead their aid and borrow their muscled hands and spears . We were well received, but it became obvious after a while that, they had no interest whatsoever in being an active aid in our crises. Ablegor village only knew how to cower behind the strong. They only received us because they were unsure whether to kick us out completely and follow Biakpolu village since they were the ones who were able to win a war over us and even killed our cheif in the last 'inside' clan war. As depressed as we might had been, we could only let sleeping dogs lie since they were still our brothers at the end of the day. Now we were really helpless. Biakpolu village can't be predicted anymore. Even though matters have been settled, some eight pots of Liha and palm wine can never quench the thirst of the Biakpoluans. Once they were bent on obtaining Zewu's overbearing stool, not much can be done to erase their desire. Requesting their hand at the time didn't sound like hope . We might even help in filling up their cells should we manage to send ourselves.

Since we were unsure how other neighboring clans would react to the news, we decided to keep quiet and let the wind break it to their ears. The team broke off from there with heavy instructions from Sadiku, my master. I was given the task of finding the chosen one. He is Zewu's last hope. He holds potential that will light up the future of the entire Glinwu clan and bring back unity. This was what brought me here.

" Er... Okay?" Atsu pulled out a lock of hair as he tried to digest the info. After a while, he asked the bokor , "have you found him?" Of course I have. He is talking with me at the moment.