The mask

"You will hear the cock speak." I told the boys.

"cock speak? I've only heard it crow." Said VD, he insisted me calling him that.

"Where is the speaking one?" Wasike inquired.

"They all do, you just have to listen."

"I'm listening." Said Wasike.

"But there is a catch."

"Which is?" Inquired Ngaira.

"Offend it and you might never hear it speak."

Their heads sunk to a thought.

"Come, follow me." I disrupted it.

They jumped from the dinning table and tagged along.

"Ingwe..."

"Call me Mukhongo." I cut VD short.

"Ingwe Mukhongo." He insisted, I looked at him, he smiled.

"Yes."

"What does it take to become an Ingwe?"

"You have what it takes, don't sweat it." I assured them just as Achesa's apprentice came running towards us as we stepped on the porch.

"Sir, Achesa asks for you, its an emergency."

I nodded.

"Boys, duty calls. I'll leave you now in the capable hands of my Mulindi, but I promise you that today you will hear a cock speak."

They nodded.

"Young man, what's the status?"

"I'm not sure of the ditails."

"Clue."

"Its about the other night's attack."

"What about it?"

"To the best of my knowledge the attack was for the spread of a terrible disease." He said as we entered the infirmary.

"Mukhongo, you've gat to see this." Said Achesa assuring me towards the room where Wasike's father had been placed. The man was bound on the infirmary bed, hurt but very violent, barking while trying hard to reach at us.

"This is the first time I'm meeting this disease, if I'm to put a face and a name to it I would call it 'the biting disease'."

"How does it bite?" Trying to make head of it.

"The disease does not bite, its the host that bites."

"I hear what you are saying, its my mind that is not making sense of it, please define the disease as you would to a layman."

"Every disease on earth has a mode of transmission from one person to another, from an animal to a human, from a plant to a human, this may be by touching, through air or what have you. For this disease its mode of transmission is through biting, once bitten by the infected person or animal judging from this first case you become infected, once infected you dip into insanity whose permanency is yet to be established. Once bitten you start looking for the next victim if not victims."

"Wow! Can you cure it."

"I have just understood the disease, I'm yet to find a cure but my concerns are that the dog you brought back alive is also infected by the disease, which means all the dogs in question are infected, some were killed yes but many escaped.

We have information that the total number of boys from Bunyala going to Nabongo's palace were 17 we can account for only two, where are the rest?"

"I can account for seven including the two, three have shown similar violence, quarantined from the community. A war is inevitable. I need to see the clan elders.

Thank you Achesa." With that I walked out.

I walked straight to the house and woke the slumbering Simba.

"Lets go."

"Where."

"Talk to someone."

He stood right up.

"Let's go." He said, leading the way as if he knew where we were going.

"What's up?"

"My people are in danger, my land is about to eat itself up. They need a warning."

"Who gives the warning?'

"Clan elders."

"How do you get to them?"

"I know exactly where to find them."

"OK, let's go."

"Dude. Slow down the sun is up, we go latter, now we explore."

"Sawa twende."

I smiled.

I found the boys, they were all around the busy Mulindi, he was so relieved when I took them off his hands.

"Where are we going?" Asked VD.

"To hear the cock speak." Answered the enthusiastic Wasike.

"Not quite, we take a walk." I said leading the way.

" Mukhongo, who is this man?" Asked VD.

"I'm Ali, son to Muhammadan Muhammad, from the coastal region."

"Wow! how is it there?"

"Has a lot of water but so dry."

"How do you mean?"

"We border the Ocean, a lot of salty water."

"What's an ocean?" Wasike asked innocently.

"Ohh, that's a lot of water, water with no end, water beyond your eyeshot and beyond."

"Does it pour on you?"

"We swim in it."

"How?"

"If its that much, how comes we do not see it here?" VD chipped in.

I could understand their curiosity, they probably think the water is piled up beyond the canopy while it was a huge basin with a shallow and a deep.

"Hey boys, today I want to introduce you to a friend you don't know you have, come touch this tree trunk."

I said motioning.

We had walked some distance away from the hill.

"Close your eyes, press your hand on the tree and tell me what you feel."

I did, Ali did, so did the boys.

"Its becoming warm." Said VD.

"It's becoming hot." Said Wasike.

"Don't pull your hand away, now, open your eyes." I watched them open their eyes, amazement spread across their faces. The tree's glow, sky blue, left for it's broad leaves which contrasted with a forest green shade.

I asked them to let go, letting go last.

"Yeah, that's cool." Said Ali.

"Your first too?"

"Yeah."

"What did you do to it?" Asked VD.

"Paid him a visit."

"What?" Asked Wasike.

"He can't visit me, so I paid him a visit." I said looking at Ngaira hard.

"Dude, you are confusing this kids with parables." Said Ali.

"They understand."

"I don't." Said Wasike.

"I do." Said Ngaira/VD.

"What did you understand boy?" Asked Ali.

"The tree was happy that Mukhongo visited him/it, knowing that Mukhongo is fine and he was thinking about him warmed him up and showed that he was happy to see him."

"You could have just said a friend."

"What tree is it?"

"Mukumu.

Told you they understand." I said looking at Ali.

"Only one knew."

"They understand. Right man." I said to Ali.

"Ohh!" He muttered looking hard at Wasike.

" Is he..." I waved his question short.

"Boys, say an Impala saw something interesting, do you think its capable of sharing the tale with it's mates?"

"Man speaks and dog bark, yes they can." Wasike said.

"Now imagine how interesting it would be to ease drop that conversation?"

"Can you do that?" Asked Wasike.

"You can."

"Can I?"

"But before we do I will need you to do something for me first."

"What?" Asked Wasike.

"Anything." Said VD.

Simba smiled.

"I would like to know everything that happened the other day."

"The attack?" Asked VD.

"Yes." I said as we got to another mukumu. We held it, it glew purple.

"Wow! Can't get used to that." Said Ali.

The boys narrated the story as vividly as they could, they talked about the assembly at the market center, the escort, the men with the cages, the emaciated dogs, about polisi

my dog all the way to when VD planted a broken machete in a mans head and Wasike slitting another mans throat.

We held several Migumo trees.

"Boys this is how far I take you."

"What?" Asked VD.

"Where to?" Asked Wasike.

"You go to the king's palace. Go straight to his chambers, from this side you go in unhindered. Tell him the Ingwe sent you."

"I'm yet to hear a cock speak." Demanded Wasike.

"You know where to find me. Get the cut then the mask will speak. Go straight. Boys go."

The boys marched forward.

I climbed a blue gum tree and watched them go until they entered the Chambers. I climbed down.

"Heard about the rebellion?" I asked Simba as we turned back.

"What rebellion?"

"Maji Maji."

"No."

"Harming bird told me about it."

"Rebellion against who?"

"The pale man."

"Those must be the Brutal race."

"A mask is being boiled, it has been on fire for twelve hours now, warriors are to drink it tomorrow before facing them in combat."

"No."

"Why not?"

"They have weapons that hurt me with the mask on, it will surely kill those who drink the mask soup."

"You are right."

"Who's mask is it?"

"Bokero, holder of the Hongo mask, the Snake."

"Kinjikitile Ngwale?"

"Yes."

"Chance of a win?"

"The pale man is out numbered in ranks."

"It's the weapons we should be concerned with."

"He must have studied them." Trying to make head too.

"Why are we talking about it, si we go there, how long is that?"

"Two hours. If you can run."

"With the mask I can." He said just as one of the masks in my pouch vibrated.

I reached in held the vibrating mask.

"Here."

"I'm no Leopard." He said.

"Ohh!" I snatched it back then handed him the other.

He put it on and the mane came.

"Shall we." He invited.

"Don't mind if I do.

Can you jump the Nile?"

"At the source."

We did. We ran south towards Ngoni tribesmen.

Thirty minutes into the run, running through the Kilimanjaro savana, we were Joined by the Maa Cheetah.

"Where are you guys in such a hurry to?" The Duma asked.

"Give aid to our own."

"Bokero?"

"Yes."

"That pale man is satanic, they value things that beat logic, do things that beat logic, human with no shred of humanity, all for cotton?" The Duma asked.

"I'm really yet to understand what they want." I said.

"They want our land." Said Ali, his mane threatening to leave him from how fast he was running, suddenly Duma was right in front of him, backpedaling, matching Simba's speed.

"Why you so sure?" He asked.

"I have met them."

"The pale man?

What was he doing?"

"They come from the tide.

They hurt me pretty bad."

"The mighty Simba hurt?"

"They carry dangerous weapons."

"Like this one?" Said Duma showing a stick Shaped like an Ostrich leg.

We stopped but it took Duma another 100 meters to stop.

"What?" I asked Simba.

"That's the weapon they carry on there backs."

Duma ran back.

"Guys not here." Said Duma finally getting back to us.

I looked around, we were in the dead center of Tabora market. All eyes on us.

We moved then took off our masks as we made a halt.

"Where did you find that?" Asked Simba.

"You would be surprised at how fast things get to me."

"You know how to use it?" I asked.

"I'm not sure yet, they say you aim with your eye, steady, breath in, out feel the trigger and pull the trigger." He said sticking the pointy end Of the ostrich leg in his eye

"What?"

"You speak their tounge?" I asked.

Simba made him translate.

"Who else knows about this?"

"I just snatched it from the pale man, you are the first."

"It can help us with Ngwale's case. Come with it."

"Do you thing the Ngoni are ready for the war after last time?" I asked.

"Don't mistake a warrior for a farmer, the Ngoni are born warriors." Said Duma.

The rest of the journey was particularly quiet.

We got to Songea the warriors poised flexing and drinking at the king's Court, one of them in beautiful grey shells sown together for a necklace a golden piece at the tip of his ear lobe, a small Arabic hat with two long black and yellow feathers, a short spear in one hand and a cow hide shield in the other.

"Duma welcome, come, he is waiting for you." He said.

"You don't know who this is? And him?" Asked Duma pointing our way.

" No, who are they?"

"Never mind, where is he?"

He led us to a tent at the farthest end of the court yard.

" Simba, Ingwe, Duma welcome to Ngoni." Said Boreko. The young man looked at us puzzled.

"Are you ready for this?"

"I have no choice, my back is against the wall here.

The chair called a meeting."

"When?" Asked Simba.

"Two hours from now."

"I didn't know that. I need to make a call." I excused myself.

I pressed the inner lobe of my ear and Mulindi responded.

"Was expecting your call, why are you in Ngoni?"

"Didn't you get the meeting alert?"

"Yes, everything is ready."

"Can it get to me?

I'm going to the Heart...send her."

"She is coming."

"I'll be hearing from you."

I went back to the tent.