Journey to The Mugunta

Arzika was challenged , how could his enemies come so close without his consent? He was undoubtedly worried.

Baba Abarshi and his friend waited patiently for Hamza and eventually he returned wearing different clothes and with his Stranger's mask

" Abarshi!" Baba Abarshi called out " what have you done?"

" What?''

" Don't play with us, I knew you were the one fighting Rushewa! And you also killed Gerau!" Dangali Said

" It is unfortunate that Gerau was my first victim, I aimed at Arzika , not him, but anyways you are still safe, '' Hamza replied

" What do you mean by that? what you did was very foolish ,'' Baba Abarshi chided.

" I am very sure he hadn't exposed me, because if he had, your house would have been decorated with the guards, '' Hamza sounded so comfortable.

" Abarshi, what you did was very stupid, '' Dangali added.

" Don't tell me that! I am not a coward like you who could not take over his father's legacy , instead you shamelessly turned his shrine into an orgy!'' Hamza switched

Baba Abarshi followed Hamza with with a slap" how dare you?"

Hamza held his face and laughed sarcastically " I have never seen such fear in Arzika's eyes, the only regret I have is that I couldn't save Hankarau but Gerau deserved what he got. I had warned him,"

" Baba Abarshi, we need to get this boy out of here before he is found by Arzika, Hankarau wont survive Arzika's torture, he will confess in no time,"

" I am not leaving" Hamza continued as he walked to himself some water " maybe when you give me the Mugunta Map, I might have a rethink,"

"Abarshi!" Baba Abarshi kept on but his son had no ears " we have to find a solution to this, Arzika and Gerau father are powerful people,'' he directed to Dangali.

Arzika's palace

Arzika was alone in his small conference hall, he was deep in thoughts" this is what the third maya has been trying to figure out," he thought

" But his is rare, I smell my enemies as soon as soon as they step their feet in Nasara, but this one was in my palace and I couldn't feel it , he almost killed Rushewa, and even threw a knife at me,"

The general broke the silence as he walked into the small conference

" Has Hankarau confessed? '' Arzika asked

" No,"

" I will see him myself,"

Arzika had never been disturbed since he sat on the throne, he walked into the power room to have a dialogue with the third maya.

" Who is he?''

" I cannot say, but he is still within,"

"I want to hear more,"

"He is very powerful and he only wishes to end you but he can't do it alone, '' the third maya said

" What are you saying? I have no end! "

" All I can say is that he must not leave Nasara , we have to get hold of him, it might not turn out well if he steps out if Nasara,"

" Then find him and tell me who he is,"

" He is more of a beast,"

" Who does he serve? Is his god stronger than lord Riya?''

" I am telling you what Lord Riya had said,"

" Find him before he leaves " Arzika left with his two mayyu behind him.

Arzika was vexed , he left the power room to confront Hankarau, he also checked on Rushewa, she had sustained much wounds.

Hankarau was not kept in the dungeon, he was being tortured severely in very dark room in the palace.

" Your highness," Hankarau managed to speak , his blood had formed a map on his face, his heart was beating slowly

" Who helped you?" Arzika began.

" I don't know, he appeared in the tents with a mask,"

" And Gerau knew him,"

" only Gerau could answer that,"

" You know Gerau is dead , I don't want to get hard with you, this was never what I wanted for you, tell me the truth and I will still let your sister go,"

Hankarau was silent for some seconds, he was glad Gerau never mentioned anything before died " I don't know him,"

Arzika become more furious, he thought he had conquered his fear, the recent situation had become a huge burden " bring me his sister,"

The guards obeyed ,

" No matter what ,do not kill her, he might not confess if he has nothing to loose, because I know he is lying," the first maya whispered to Arzika

Gimbiya was brought in, her ropes were torn, she burst into tears as she saw her brother tied to the ground, he could not move a muscle, Arzika collected a sword and aimed it at her throat .

" Who is he?" Arzika voice had changed but Hankarau persisted, He never wanted to betray his friend

" I don't know,"

In a blink, Gimbiya's head was seen rolling on the floor , her blood had splashed on her brother face , this was Hankarau worst night mare, he had plans to confess but he was hesitating,he wanted to give his friend more time to escape from Nasara but Arzika action had changed his mind, he wailed in pains

" I don't like my time wasted!tell me who he was!" Arzika yelled.

Hankarau talked as he wailed " you shouldn't have killed her! She was innocent from the beginning,"

" You wasted my time, I am giving one more chance or I will repeat my action,"

Arzika had drew his sword again but the first mayya tapped him, " this is not wise, we will never get to know who he is if you kill him" She spoke to Arzika with her minds.

Arzika withdrew his swords and threw it away in anger.

" I will make you go trough hell!" Arzika said then he followed up with a sudden announcement " No one leaves or come into Nasara until I find the the bastard" he said" surround the borders with more guards! "

Baba Abarshi's house.

Baba Abarshi trembled in fear, Dangali was with him and they thrived to find a solution.

" Arzika has banned everybody from traveling, and you must leave the land," Dangali directed to hamza.

"I am only leaving because I want you to be safe, I would appreciate if you give me the map,"

" The borders have been surrounded , the only route to leave is through the Rukiki Forest, and it is also believed to be hunted, more reasons why Nasara citizens do not use the route." Dangali warned

" I will use it and be fine ," Hamza said

" Abarshi!" baba Abarshi called Hamza to order.

" Father , if I must leave, I need to have a reason, no one believed I could beat Rushewa, ''

" Let's give him the map, I am beginning to see something different about him, maybe He understands the message, '' said Dangali

" What message?'' Baba Abarshi inquired

" He said Nasara would be great when a stranger seats on the throne and He was deserted because They thought He was crazy, but maybe He meant something else"

" Please, we don't need this now, I want him to leave Nasara as soon as possible, I have my own plans," Baba Abarshi said

" I will give you the map if that would make you leave," Dangali proceeded.

Baba Abarshi hated to hear the word " map"

" No you cannot survive .....'' Baba Abarshi tried but he was interrupted by Hamza.

" I will leave Nasara and try to remain alive"

" Don't worry, I believe he would be fine, let's believe that the time the day will meet the night and suddenly becomes the day again is near ," Dangali said

" What does that mean?" Hamza and Baba Abarshi asked simultaneously

" Let's hope you find out soon, I will get the map for you," Dangali turned to Baba Abarshi " you have no choice, let him go."

The Journey

Rukiki forest appeared to be the first route on the map Hamza held, the journey was quite rough, he sustained some shallow cuts , he had fallen into some traps but he remained fearless, he believed the journey started smooth as he never encountered any monster as the people said, He finally left Nasara, the unusual thing He did was that He wore his stranger mask while he traveled.

Hamza wished he owned a Horse. He remembered that He had some shillings which were meant for his feeding , but He sacrificed it to rent a camel to continue his dreadful journey.

The journey became tiring when it seemed he was getting nowhere, He got to a small village and decided to take a rest for a day, but something mischievous occurred while he slept, He woke up to discover that He had been robbed, his bags and his camel had disappeared and nobody gave him a listening hear.

" Oh no! My map was in the bag!" He lamented with his hands on his head, He couldn't recognize the place He was , it was then He confirmed that He was lost, but He continued moving forward, as He walked to no direction, He saw some men on camels and was forced to seek help from the travellers.

" Please, I am traveler, I was on my way to Mugunta when I lost my map,"

They stared at him for a while and laughed, They thought he was a mad man "just jump into the well," said one of the men.

" Please help me,"

" Nobody goes there and return, Gamsheka is the gate keeper, he will crush you to death,"Another man added

" Please I only need the map, if you can help me,"

One of the men stopped laughing " Hmmm, nobody carries such map around, but every Emir has the map, there!," he pointed to a particular direction" is the way to lumana, you can go , beg the Emir of Lumana for the map"

" Can you give a lift? I lost everything I had,"

" No, my camels are not for upcoming ghosts, that is a cut short to lumana but be ready to roll with mud , follow us behind and I shall show you the route to the cut short."

" You can't give up" hamza told himself, He walked towards the direction the travelers had shown him,and the journey became more hectic and tedious.

Lumana Castle

Prince Amir of lumana appeared better, He asked for his release which was approved by the Emir Hana, but his activities were restricted, He was never left alone, Emir Hana ensured that his chambers were free from harmful tools and weapons , the Emir had kept the triple edged dagger in his possession.

Prince Amir was bored , He told the Emir that He wanted to go for hunting, but Emir Hana was not convinced, He knew Amir had not fully recovered, the Emir granted his request but warned the guards to always be on the watch.

" I need a stool, I want to seat and watch the birds fly, my legs itch , I can't stand for too long," Amir instructed and He got what he asked for.

Amir was escorted by six guards including the general, the hunting went well and lasted for a while, but Amir stopped them from going back with the stool, He said he would want to hunt the following day.

" We could still bring it tomorrow" A guard suggested.

" No, We are going to the different location tomorrow, You can't be carrying the stool around on the Horse," Amir smiled as He spoke and the guard obeyed.

Lumana general summarized how the hunting went ,but the Emir Hana was not yet satisfied.

Hamza struggled till he eventually encountered the muddy road, He was exhausted and famished, but He managed to pull through, his mask could not protect his face from the muds and sores, He climbed a hill and sighted a tall castle , He was partially fulfilled that He had finally gotten into lumana.

The following Sunrise.

Amir eventually had access to his chambers. He had his mind made up , He was happy that his plans were coming through, He took a bag and filled it with fruits and wine, but He had buried a thick rope which had been in his bathroom for a while.

" It is today, I am tired" He said to himself.

The guards prepared for the next hunting ,the location was a stone throw from the previous location , as soon as They began to set the traps, Amir asked for permission to ease him bowels.

" We can't let you go alone," the General said

" You want to watch me remove my robes?"

" It's an order," the General argued

" I won't take time it's my privacy, "

" Your highness,"

"Say no more, I have to go, it is an order too, I don't need to take permission for my privacy"Amir said , He walked down alone to the previous location where he had kept the stool, He was very fast, He took the stool to a tree removed the rope from his bags and began to create a noose on a high branch of the huge tree, coincidentally, Hamza was in the forest. He watched Amir from a close distance, Amir was dressed in very attractive robes, without thinking twice , Hamza knew that those robe were worn by people with the blue blood but he got more puzzled as the fine man began to form a noose.

Amir hastened , he was almost done but was was halted by Hamza

" Don't do that, no matter what," Hamza yelled while he was walking to Amir

" who are you?"

The General couldn't bear it anymore " let's check on him, he is taking too long, the muddy path is not too far from here, he could be up to something ,"

The guards left their horses and walked so fast, they got alarmed when they heard Amir's voice as he argued with Hamza, t hey followed the direction of the voice.

Hamza raised his hands When he sighted them" I was only trying to stop him from harming himself! "

The guards were charged. They searched Hamza and collected all his small knives He had in his pockets, Hamza who was so exhausted didn't want to reveal himself too early, the guards hit him so hard but the general halted them as he saw the noose and the stool place underneath.

" Arrest him! He attacked me" Amir screamed

The general brushed off Amir " Your highness, you don't need a stool and a noose to pass out faeces, " The General said , he directed the guards to untie the noose .

Amir was irritated, he spat on the General and left angrily while some guards walked after him.

" I was trying to stop him, " Hamza defended himself

The general tied Hamza arms" You will tell the Emir what you saw after disclosing who you are, but for now, stay mute!"

Hamza was consoled with the fact that He would be taken to where He would get the Map to continue his journey .

Emir Hana was very disappointed in Amir following the general reports " I warned you to never leave him alone, what if this stranger had not intervened?" Emir hana scolded

Hamza was asked to kneel before the Emir Hana

" I didn't do anything. I was on a J.....

" No one asked you to. Speak" Hana cut him short, the Emir covered his nose, Hamza was a mess " Please untie him and clean him up , I can't stand his smell" Emir hana instructed.

Hamza had a cold bath, but something kept running through his mind while he took his bath" the Prince looks familiar," He thought.

The guards waited patiently for him , they almost ran amok when He stepped out of the bathroom.

" Was it the prince we bought to the bathroom? "the first guard asked

" No, he still has his rags, he must be using some black magic, let's arrest him!"

Hamza had never been so confused

" What did I do again?" He asked but his hands were locked up in shackles, He was dragged to the General, the General ran along to report the Unbecoming to Emir hana who was in a middle of a meeting with two of his Chiefs, the General had no choice.

" Your highness, I am sorry but something strange has happened, " the general turned to guard and gave him a signal, the guards came home with hamza , hamza was topless, but he appeared very calm.

" What happened to my son? why are you dragging him like that?"Hana stood up from his throne.

" He is not your son, He is the stranger whom you asked to get cleaned"

" Is this a joke?"

The rumors had spread like wildfire in the palace. Barau and amir also walked in to confirm , they were both stunned and slack-jawed.

" He is a demon, he should be killed at once!" Amir suggested

"Loose him," Hana ordered and they obeyed, Hamza winced , he stretched his arms,and flipped his grown hair, which revealed his obvious birth mark on his forehead.

" Who are you? why do you have my son's face?" Emir hana shivered as he spoke.

Hamza sniffed hard " My name is hamza and I am on a journey to the Mugunta, I am stranger from Nasara, I am not even used to my own face because I have always worn a mask all through my life, so I cannot answer the second question?"

" liar!" Amir yelled.

" I will be the only one talking," Hana raised his voice.

" Baba, isn't it obvious that He wanted me dead so that he could come and take over my place, he is a demon!" Amir continued.

Hamza chuckled, He was so fearless " really? If I wanted you dead, I would have left you to commit the suicide, it doesn't make sense,"

" Shut your trap!" Emir Hana directed to Hamza

" He is lying" Hamza was stubborn , he was struck by the General's punch as he tried to defend himself further.

" You said you are on a journey to Mugunta, which means you also have a death wish, what brought you to lumana?" Emir Hana asked.

"I got lost, I lost my Map,and I was told I could get it from the Emir in lumana"Hana said quickly.

" Permission to speak your highness, don't you think this fellow had used the identity theft spell?" One of the Chiefs asked

" The last time I witnessed the identity theft spell .." Hana paused " the identities are exchanged, which means that if he had casted the spell, my son should appear as him , but Amir is still the same and this one happens to possess a birth mark," Hana said slowly, " is Hamza your real name?"

" I adopted the name , my real name is Abarshi," Hamza was getting irritated

"Why are you going to the Mugunta?"

" Because I am on a mission to end Arzika, the reason I am here is because I lost my map and I saved your son!"

" Never you raise your voice at the Emir!" The general sparked

Hana didn't know what to think, but he didn't want to believe that Hamza was using some black magic, he remembered that his wife had twins but He buried the one that died himself.

" Your highness , You have to decide," said the Chief, Jikau had also heard the news, he walked so fast to the small conference and he exploded

" Kill him at once,!This is a Gamsheka's strategy!!"

"I am tired of reminding you that I am the ruler of lumana! and my own personal judgment is final, I will do my own findings "

" Your royal highness!, just let me go, I am beginning to regret that I saved him, I will get the Map somewhere else" Hamza said

" I won't release you until I know who you are, more ever, Mugunta map is not map you can easily get, General , take him to a free room and keep a close watch " Hana concluded.

Amir was pissed off, he walked out as usual,while Hamza was in a dilemma, this was totally out of his mission, Emir Hana dismissed the meeting, Jikau was dissatisfied, he walked with the Emir with the aim of convincing him that Hamza could have used the improved part of the spell.

" I feel sense in what the boy said, if he wanted my son dead, he would not have saved him at the first place "Emir hana snapped

" Your highness, this is another logic, this boy is total evil, there is no way he could be Amir's twin,the Queen had a still birth! the fact that he is from Arzika's Emirate should give you a huge cause for concern" Jikau chipped in.

" He is on a mission to kill Arzika"

" that's a blatant lie!"

" Brother Jikau, I will do my findings, you could do yours too,"

Emir Hana concluded, then He went to the Maker's messenger for some advice.

" She had a still birth, I buried the boy myself," Hana stated

" You were not there when she gave birth?"

" What do you mean?"

" You just said that the only thing that differentiates the boy looks from your son is a birthmark, remember you told me that your wife said the dead twin had a birth mark and you thought she was out of her mind"

" Make it clearer" Hana was curious

" Maybe she was right" the messenger landed.

Emir was getting crazy " is it possible that I buried another child?"

" You need to start your investigation by searching for the Midwife who was with your wife when she had her twins,"

These words sounded like bombs In his ears, there could be a possibility that his son never died.

" I will, as soon as possible, I hardly hear anything about her after she left the palace many years ago, I hope she still lives"

Emir Hana asked to be taken to Hamza's room which was one of the free rooms in his chambers.

Hamza was lying in the bed with his eyes wide opened, Emir Hana entered with the General which made him sit up quickly but he remained mute.

" Show the Emir some respect, " said the General, and Hamza bowed.

" You can leave us," the Emir directed to the General and the General Submitted.

" have you eaten?" Emir Hana was quite emotional as he noticed Hamza's pale face.

" I had drunk some water I used to bath,"

Emir Hana was displeased, he called out on the guards to get him some food, " You didn't give him food, He is not a prisoner" Emir Hana breathed out heavily ,cleared his throat before he continued " are you serious about your mission?"

" yes,"

" why?"

" To destroy Arzika, the Emir of Nasara,"

Emir Hana raised his eyebrow , He was surprised at Hamza's guts "I know that Arzika is terrorizing his people but I heard They are beginning to accept their fates"

" No , I cannot accept it because I know that He wouldn't stop, he gets more wicked by the day and he has more evil plans to unleash if he is not stopped!"

Emir Hana was intrigued, He felt the flame of determination in Hamza's voice , He couldn't stop staring at Hamza , he decided to digress,

" Who is your father?"

" His name is also baba Abarshi, that is what he is fondly called, He is a stranger in Nasara,"

" Your mother?"

"My father said she died when I was barely 1 year old, I didn't know her,"

" So where is your native land before you turned strangers in Nasara?"

" It always leads to an unending argument whenever I asked my father that question, He never tells me,I feel bad about it, Nasara is like a prison to me, but he preferred it to any other place,"

" You look exactly like my son, and he had a twin who died during birth, " Emir Hana had his eyes closed as He spoke" I need to thank you for your intervention"

A guard knocked , he walked in with one of the palace maids who was with Hamza's meal, Hamza was excited at the sight of the meal,He wasn't shy, He began to eat with his bare hands.

" Careful, don't rush the food" the Emir said , the guard and the maid left and the were alone again, Emir Hana was inquisitive, He continued with his interrogation.

" Does your father know about this bold step you are taking?"

" Actually," He spoke while he ate" some situation led to it, " Hamza briefed the emir about the occurrence that led to the beginning of his journey which got Hana more shocked " you attacked Arzika?"

" Yes i did, he banned every citizen from going out of Nasara and also no body is allowed into the land until he gets the culprit and here I am , dining in presence of the Emir of lumana"

" I must discover who you are, I promise, I will leave you to eat your meal, I shall be back"

Emir Hana left for his Chambers, He found out that Prince Amir was sitting, waiting to pull out an argument.

" What is it?"Emir hana asked with an unusual look.

" You gave him a room in your Chambers, and You are even feeding him! How could you fall into this demon's trap so easily?"Amir blurted

" I don't have time for this," He turned to his personal guard " get me the General, I want to know the outcome of their search for the Midwife Kaka"

" Baba!" Amir yelled.

" Amir!" Hana was enraged" You are simply hating this guest because He didn't let you complete your show of weakness! You and I know what you planned to do with the noose and the stool, You stopped the guards from returning the stool so that you would be able to kill yourself! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Emir Hana said as He walked to seat on his a chair " I will not treat someone who saved you like a prisoner, so take it or leave it! you should go and work on your emotions, next time you consider suicide, I will subject to you an unimaginable torture!!"

Amir chest was pounding, His eyes were like that of angry Tiger whom could not wait to tear up His prey ,His father had never threatened him or called him weak, He walked out on His father with His guards excluding Barau.

Later on, He and his guards discovered Hamza's room, and They barged in,Hamza was licking His fingers like a Baby when They barged him but he cared less.

" Who the hell do you think you are?" Amir started , he was fuming.

"Well , I just discovered that we look alike,"

" Shut up, " Amir walked up the Hamza who already stood up on his feet, and was holding a chicken stick " I will make sure you regret the actions you are taking, you fool!"

" I have no problem with you calling me a fool, I am sure you must have hanged yourself if you were in my shoes, weak prince!" Hamza slammed back.

"How dare you?" Amir attacked Hamza with a punch but it was deflected, He pushed Hamza to the wall and held him by his throat, then,the guards intervened.

" Your highness, He is his highness guest, please be calm,"

' You are lucky I am not with my sword," Amir boast, He spat on Hamza's face and left in full rage.

Hamza watched still as He smiled " it is not time to reveal your self ," He silioloquized " that meal is so delicious" He said and decided to give himself some rest.