The Legend of Hombarume (Legends Series, #1)

18.

Ushe was exhausted, both mentally and physically. The predicament that his friend had landed himself in was stressing him tremendously. One thing was for sure, there was some truth to what Hombarume had told him when he came back from the hunt. If it weren’t true, they wouldn’t have to hold him in the palace without notifying anyone about it.

The day had been well spent and he was still going through scenarios in his head of what might occur. He had just left Dererai’s compound was ambling about aimlessly through the village. He couldn’t go home now, he couldn’t focus or concentrate on his fields right now when the whole village had put the burden of bringing justice for the hunter on his shoulders. He didn’t know if for sure the Chief would call the dare to meet and he didn’t know for sure what Hombarume had done, for all he knew, the man might have lied to him while he slayed the prince in cold blood.

He was now sitting at the village square watching the little boys play tsoro and run around the square in unparalleled joy. How he wished he was part of them, that he could just play the whole day and not worry about what the future held. He wished he didn’t have to think about the harvest, the rains or the work to get to the harvest, what crops were best, what would bring him more money or what would make him more famous. How he wished he didn’t have to worry about Hombarume or any foul play on the Chief’s part, that it would all be a dream when he woke up the next morning and he wouldn’t have to face the dare and try to explain to them that what the Chief was doing was not serving the people like he swore an oath to do.

He was mesmerised by the sight of the little ones running around carefree and joyous. It somehow reminded him of when he was young and played until the sun went down. While he was concentrating on the children playing around the village square and having the time of their lives just as the sun was about to go down, he heard the sound of the crier’s gong piercing the calm atmosphere and leaving an irritable after feeling to the ear. It went on for a while, that was the procedure, the crier would stop at the square for a longer time than he would stop elsewhere in the village to spread the news that he was directed to spread. In this case, he had been directed to call upon all elders of the court to convene the following morning. Ushe had doubted that the Chief would actually go on with it as planned but he was curious to see how it was all going to turn out.

The crier went on for a while and then moved farther down the road in the direction of Nhakayedenga’s compound. Ushe could hear himself think again and everything was back to normal. The sun was setting in the distance and even the children playing at the square had given up and decided to head to their homes. He was left alone with his thoughts and stared into the sand like it had all the answers that he needed.

‘A cowrie for your thoughts?’ a familiar voice boomed in from behind him.

It was the strangely dressed fellow from earlier on who wanted to brawl with the housemaster. He was holding a large pouch of cowries in his hand and in the distance Ushe could see his horse and those of his two friends who had also been with him earlier. They had a lot of baggage for them to be just passing through the village, they were traders just as he had suspected before. They did not seem like ordinary small scale traders from the hoard they had and the expensive looking attire they wore. Why would traders of their calibre be in this small village? There was surely no acclaimed trader in Rujeko. There hadn’t been for quite a while.

‘I take it the housemaster wasn’t really welcoming after you realised he wasn’t lying,’ Ushe said pointing at the horses and packed belongings.

The trader laughed.

‘He wasn’t very pleased.’

He jiggled around his pouch of cowries and moved closer to face him.

‘Well, I did tell you to try and solve the issue amicably,’ Ushe said.

‘I think I was too far over the edge to listen to the voice of reason, my friend.’

‘You did say a gold piece as large as my head was at stake so I understand your frustration,’ Ushe said laughing.

The trader was now staring into the sunset like there was something there that Ushe couldn’t see.

‘I’m left without a place to lay my head down for the night.’

‘Is that why you are so deep in thought?
He nodded.

‘What about you, trouble in village?’

‘Trouble in the village,’ Ushe replied.

‘Seems to have been very eventful since I arrived, almost as if I was the harbinger of bad luck,’ the trader replied.

‘I assume you had business with the Chief?’ Ushe asked.

‘It never happened and now we’ve been robbed, what else can happen?’

‘Never test the power of the gods, my friend,’ Ushe said laughing.

‘You are right there.’

The sun had now almost completely set and you could hear children singing in a nearby compound.

‘You can follow me home, that is if you trust that I won’t rob you,’ Ushe said, smiling.

‘The gods will never let this go unnoticed and I surely won’t forget it either, my friend,’ the trader said putting his hands together in gratitude.

‘You can call me Ushe,’ he said.

‘My name is Anesu, I’m a traveling trader from Makura village, it’s an honour to meet you.’