Three Wounded, One Dead

The Balogun followed the scout towards the far side of the village observing the environment, for some strange reason the Jamas seemed to be circling the village instead of heading away from the village. It seems like Akin is wittier than she had given him credit for, the boy did manage to escape his captors and instead of fleeing senselessly into the deep glooms of the forest, the hunchback decided to circle the village.

"Akin's Agbara is getting stronger," the Akọgun said to the Balogun's relief, it means the boy is still alive

The moment they reached the place that the advance scout indicated the Balogun felt slightly disappointed, the scout had led them all to a huge rock with nothing involving Ṣeyi, Akin or the Jama assassins.

"It is just a rock," She snapped

"No ma," the scout corrected, pointing towards the base of the stone "Look!"

The Balogun obeyed the scout and looked towards the base of the rock, at first she could not make out the strange shapes beneath the rock thinking that she was looking at pure soil but then a finger twitched. Immediately she realised that someone was actually under the large stone, and from the nature of his clothing, he was one of the Jama assassins.

"Balogun" the Ọtun called "Over there," he said, pointing a little further away

The Balogun raised her head to look in the direction indicated and to her shock, she found the carnage of the aftermath of battle, every tree had several sharp darts embedded in them and others had serious lacerations. The realization came to her immediately, the warriors and the assassins came through here.

"Is he still alive?" She asked, indicating the man beneath the rock

"He is," replied one of the healers, "But most of the bones in his body are broken and some vital organs crushed, he will need a lot of bed rest if he is to heal completely"

"Revive him!" She ordered, then she faced the Akọgun "Touch this rock, tell me which one of the members of Bọlaji's team defeated him"

In reply, the proud Akọgun reached out to touch the rock, to mentally absorb the Agbara that moved such a heavy burden. Then the Akọgun signed soberly, looked at the Balogun and gave a self-chagrin chuckle.

"He used switch, this is Oluṣeyi's handy work," the Akọgun said in a calm tone "It seems like we have underestimated the boy"

"What!" The Balogun exclaimed,

The reply she expected was not the reply she received, instead of the Akọgun repeating his words, she heard the Osi-Balogun call out "Mee- meeee" with a nonchalant grin on his face. A few of the healing women sniggered at the private joke and the Balogun gave her Osi a cold scowl.

**

Bọlaji had just finished bandaging the last of Ṣogo's many wounds when the scouts found him, and the Balogun followed soon after.

"Report" She commanded

"This Jama might be of the rank of Seiki, mid-rank. Lekan carried his opponent towards the village and Afọlabi went the opposite direction each in deep combat with an assassin, my opponent Ṣogo by name is now neutralized and helpless" Bọlaji said "Ṣeyi has moved ahead circling the village, towards his friend's aid. From the information I received from this looser, the assassin after Akin is the Elder Jama"

"And you left the most dangerous Jama for Ṣeyi to handle" the Balogun snapped

"He's capable" Bọlaji replied

"Bọlaji, you have a lot to learn as a leader" Baṣọrun Jaguna growled, "Betrayal is something you will learn as well"

"Absolute trust in my men is one of the qualities of a good leader" Bọlaji replied "The only thing you believe in is power"

"Or they might be dead!" Afọlabi said from the background as he arrived accompanied by two other scouts, one carrying the wounded Jama and the second bearing the Ida, "he is alive and bleeding" Afọlabi said as he reported to the Balogun

"Healers!" The Balogun commanded, and immediately two healers moved towards the wounded Jama.

"Ensure that they are given the cursed sleep, they must live long enough for us to ask them some questions," the Akọgun added

"How much knowledge does Ṣeyi have concerning the Jamas?" The Balogun inquired as she faced the Osi, who happens to be in charge of the basic Ẹṣọ training

"Only their history, he knows nothing about their strengths or their weaknesses," the Osi replied

"Then we must hurry or they both will be dead," the Balogun voiced as a matter of urgency

"Ṣeyi and Akin are both capable of handling the Elder Jama" Bọlaji observed

"Or the elder Jama will prove too difficult for him to handle" Afọlabi taunted "Even now they could be dead, this world is a dreadful place" his words almost made the Balogun go hysterical

"Afọlabi," Bọlaji countered, "One thing you should know about Oluṣeyi when it comes to figuring out the weakness of his opponents, he is a natural"

"And how do you know this young man?" The Akọgun inquired

"When we were all up against Agbako, Ṣeyi figured out his weakness on his own, Ṣeyi is a mischief-maker and a weapon of mass chaos, I know without a doubt that he is capable" Then Bọlaji faced the Balogun "And what better way for them to cement their friendship, than a battle to the death against a common enemy"

"Bọlaji are you sure?" The Balogun asked, understanding the point of his speech

"Yes, ma!" Bọlaji replied

"The watcher might have helped during the first Iṣẹ," Afọlabi countered "The watcher is not here now"

"The watcher had nothing to do with the demise of Agbako, it was all Ṣeyi"

"Enough" the Akọgun growled, "where is Lakan?"

The scouts arrived with Lakan not far behind carrying the corpse of the dead shadow warrior on his shoulder; he stopped beside Bọlaji and placed the dead man on the forest floor.

"Lakan," the Balogun greeted "how did you fair?"

"He is dead," Lakan replied, with his head bowed "I'm sorry, I lost control of my Agbara circulation. He is a Jama of the third rank"

"I told you, Lakan would lose control of his strength," Afọlabi whispered

"I guess you are right this time," Bọlaji whispered

"And what is in your hand?" The Balogun demanded

"The spoils of war" Lakan replied, brandishing his new sword

"Hand it over" the Balogun commanded

"But," Lakan exclaimed in shock "I didn't mean to kill him"

"Now," she said sternly

With a high level of reluctance, Lakan obediently handed over his prize to his superior gazing at the Jama-type weapon longingly. Somewhere deep down in his soul, he feels that this is the last time he will ever lay his hands on such a magnificent weapon.

"Lakan," the Balogun said in a comforting tone, "I know that this tool complements your ability and you have a deep desire to wield it, I am taking this blade for your safety. If this is a soul Ida then you are in great danger, most of the Jamas who make use of the soul blade end up falling into the realms of madness. Remember, you are the juggernaut of Ilu-inọ son of the great juggernaut of Ilu-ina, your tribe might not be as noble as the Alaramide tribe might be but you have the dignity of your tribe to uphold"

"I see," Lakan nodded

"Don't worry, if this Ida is pure, then I will hand it back to you. That is a promise," the Balogun pointed and this cheered Lakan a bit.

"Thank you, Balogun," Lakan replied

"Balogun," the Akọgun prompted, "we're losing time, we must go"

"Yes, we must move on," the Balogun agreed

Akọgun immediately divided the search party into two groups, the smaller group consisting of three healers, five guards and the unconscious prisoners were returned to the village to await further instructions. The rest of the hunting party continued the search for the two missing Ẹṣọs and the last remaining Jama assassin.

The Balogun hopes that Bọlaji's words are true because if anything should happen to the two boys, she cannot even imagine what the wrath of the Adegunju tribe will be like. The only way to save Ilu-ina village is to bring Akin home safely.