Ch87. Tanzania 1

Hiring Juma was indeed one of the best things Hadrian could do. The man was a local and goldmine of information. More so due to his special circumstances. He had the 'gift' as they called it in these parts of the world. Which meant he was an exceptionally powerful wizard. Well, exceptionally powerful was a debatable bit according to Narcissa but it was clear he was no pushover. Anyway, he knew his fair share of people from the magical tribes in Tanzania and that helped Hadrian and the company a lot, especially when it came to saving time. And that's how they just in two days after coming to Tanzania managed to get to their target.

"Magnificent, isn't it?" Juma knowingly asked. "When I was first brought here as a kid, I remember spending the entire night up, admiring it." He nostalgically added. Hadrian nodded as he looked up. Above them, covering the entire place of the tribe was a huge tree as big as a skyscraper, with dense twine of uncountable branches going deep underground, creating a sort of an umbrella over the dwellings of the tribesmen. In the middle of the 'village', a big main trunk of the tree could be seen. "That's the 'sacred' place. You shouldn't get too close." He warned the group after seeing Hadrian's eyeing it.

A local man with long hair done up resembling an afro that sported many branches in it, walked towards the group while supporting himself with a branch. His hands had wooden bracelets and even his shoes were made of wood. Juma saw how Dora looked at the man funnily. "It's all made out of the Mother Tree's fallen branches. Don't underestimate these plain-looking things, they are all magical and in this village, only the best craftsman can get opportunities to work with the fallen branches of the Mother Tree and hence, the position of the village chief." Juma told her and even Hadrian and Narcissa listened intently, their feelings covered with their impassive masks.

The chieftain came closer to them and instantly locked Juma in an intense debate in some Tanzanian dialect or something that neither of the group understood. The topic was all too clear to them, however, as both occasionally glanced towards them. Fortunately, the chieftain didn't look all that angry at 'outsiders' being in his village. After they were done talking, the two men turned towards Hadrian and his girls. "Wilcume." The chieftain said in a 'broken English', making Juma snicker which earned him a scowl and a slap on his shoulder.

"Fine, fine," Juma said in an appeasing manner. "Just let me talk." He told the chieftain. Apparently, the man understood English perfectly and it was just talking that was problematic for him. The chieftain nodded and Juma chuckled one last time before he took a deep breath to calm himself. "The chieftain would like to welcome you."

"Is this normal? I thought they wouldn't like strangers." Hadrian asked and Juma just shrugged.

"He also hopes for 'knowledge trading'." Juma said and the chieftain nodded hopefully, making the trio quickly understand just why he was so forthcoming. "The village has many magical artifacts it can trade as the settlements focus more on crafting so despite the outsiders being a rare sight here, they are welcomed. Especially those willing to teach a bit of their knowledge." Juma said.

Before Hadrian could say anything, Narcissa butted in. "I don't mind showing them a bit of runecrafting in exchange for a bit of their own magic crafting knowledge." She said and Hadrian closed his mouth after he spotted the veiled excitement on her face. The chieftain smiled widely at her, it was obvious the deal was to his liking. Narcissa then turned to Hadrian, asking for permission to which, he just shrugged helplessly.

"You are my wife, not my slave. Do what you want." He told her, earning himself a peck on the cheek and silent 'thank you'.

"Do you have some alchemy knowledge? I can trade for teaching some potions to you." Dora suddenly said and the chieftain blinked at her. A pondering frown appeared on his face but in the end, he nodded somewhat cautiously while his eyes found Juma and he quickly said something to him, making him widen his eyes.

Juma pursed his lips and slowly turned to Dora. "They indeed do have alchemy knowledge. But I don't think someone from Britain would appreciate it." He carefully said, watching for any sort of reaction from the group. Dora looked a bit miffed and that but Juma continued. "They have a bit of knowledge in flesh-crafting from one of the Chinese wizards who visited two centuries ago." He told her and Dora's jaw dropped. She showed quite a conflicted expression but then her eyes hardened.

"I would like to learn it." She said, surprising everyone. Even Narcissa and Hadrian didn't think she would actually agree. Dora was very tolerant of the so-called dark arts but she was nevertheless a witch raised in magical Britain, therefore prejudiced. She grew up with these prejudices and even though Hadrian tried a lot to get her out of that mindset, it was a slow process. Hadrian was quite happy Dora reacted like this as it was a clear show of progress for his efforts!

Juma then turned towards Hadrian with a questioning look. Hadrian just shrugged. "I am knowledgeable only in transfiguration and I don't think I will have time for it as I am in the middle of devising a ritual." He told Juma who nodded in understanding. The discussion about knowledge trading concluded, the trio was shown to their living arrangements which was basically a hut... that had magically expanded interior and was kinda luxurious.

It was evening and both Dora and Narcissa already left for their classes while Hadrian was straddled with Juma, thinking about how to get away from him. He wanted to inspect the 'Mother Tree' as he needed to know just how was the tree capable of 'generate' magic outta its ass. Sadly, his perception quite couldn't reach it so he had to get closer. Juma watched Hadrian with a tinge of amusement but after a while decided he had enough fun. "I can take you towards the tree." He said, making Hadrian look at him with a spooked look, earning himself an eye-roll. "Come on, since we came, you didn't try too much to hide your interest in it. I talked with the chieftain and as long as you won't touch it, we can get a closer look." Juma said, making Hadrian surprised.

"Am I really that bad at hiding my interest?" He asked his guide who just snorted. "You are worse." And with that, the duo left towards the Mother Tree.

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Author: Didn't really have time to check grammar as I am busy IRL.