CRADLE OF THE GODS

Chapter 4

After days of rigorous training, the men were finally ready to embark on their mission. The words of the chief priest resonated in their minds as they walked into the forest.

"Be careful", he told them. "Everything in the forest is out to kill you. Do not eat or drink anything from the forest."

The chief priest gave them a leaf to put in their mouth, holding it between their upper and lower teeth.

"This leaf must always be in your mouth", he told them.

"You will not want for food and drink and you will be less susceptible to the mind games of the forest as long as the leaf remains in your mouth."

He drew patterns on their bodies with chalk to make their bodies stronger and their wounds heal faster. Lastly, he gave them a gourd with feathers in it.

"This will guide you through the forest", the chief priest told them.

"The forest is ever changing. Its maze of trees makes it impossible for anyone to find his way let alone get to the forbidden land. You will need this."

Okoh held the gourd. When they got to the evil forest, he whispered an incantation to the gourd and brought out one of the feathers. He threw the feather in the air. As the feather floated in the wind, it transformed into a bird. The bird flew into the sky. They followed the bird as it led the way.

"Do not lose the gourd!" these words of the chief priest resonated in his mind. He heaved a sigh before he began to move. Their journey had just begun.

The men had trekked several kilometers in the forest when they reached an area filled with rocks and some fallen trees. The ground there appeared terribly ploughed and everywhere was in disarray. The men looked around as they walked through the area in apprehension. Ehiedu sat down on one of the rocks to rest awhile when he felt it move. He sprang up in alarm and he and the others brought out their weapons. They looked round and noticed that other "rocks" around were also moving.

"These are not rocks!" Ibe yelled.

The "rocks" turned out to be dark skinned dwarf-like creatures with hunchbacks who buried themselves in the ground exposing only their backs. As they began to move, they burrowed through the ground in unimaginable speed, causing the earth to tremble. The men fled the scene, but the dwarves followed, moving beneath the earth. Every now and then, the dwarves would shoot out of the ground and try to land on the men, like a heavy downpour of stones. The men were terrified. The tremors in the ground caused them to fall. But each time they fell, they got up and continued to run, placing their hands above their heads in fear of the dwarves landing on them. It was hard to see through the dust and sand that filled the air, still they ran, hoping that they would not bump into a tree. Or something else.

Unfortunately for Orewa, one of the dwarves landed on his back, knocking him to the ground. He reeled in pain as he struggled to break free from the grasp of the dwarves who tried to pull him into the ground. He gnashed his teeth as he used his weapon to strike the dwarves. His comrades soon noticed what was happening to him and rushed to his aid. By then, the dwarves seemed satisfied that they had Orewa and left the other men, focusing their attention on dragging him underground.

Orewa's comrades came to his rescue. They were able to pull him away from the dwarves but not without some broken ribs and a dislocated ankle. Because he was injured, they had to carry him and this slowed them down. They believed they were going to die as the enraged dwarves were hot on their trail. What a nightmare it was. They soon got to a steep slope and they fell, rolling all the way down to the bottom. By this time, they were disoriented. They landed in a swamp, panting in terror. Their fears were soon doused as the dwarves suddenly stopped chasing them. They stood at the top of the slope, making noise with their teeth that sounded like two rocks being hit together.

"Looks like they are afraid of the swamp", Ehiedu said.

The dwarves dispersed after a while. The men sat there, trying to catch their breath. Their chests were still recovering from their hearts' pounding. The men brought out charms and herbs and used them to nurse Orewa who was barely conscious.

"The bird is gone!" Ibe remarked.

Okoh searched for the gourd. Alas it was gone.

"It must have fallen off my pouch when the dwarves attacked us", he said trying to retrace his steps.

"You lost the gourd!" Ehiedu yelled

"How could you be so careless? I knew the oracle should never have given it to you."

"Calm down Ehiedu", Ibe said, "It is not his fault. You know what just happened to us."

"Oh! You are taking sides with him!" Ehiedu yelled.

"I have been wondering why the gods picked a musician to accompany great men to battle. Your flute cannot help us here."

"Gods of our fathers!" Ibe said. "Don't insult me Ehiedu!"

"If I do, what will you do?" Ehiedu asked, "Hit me with your flute?"

"Ehiedu has lost his leaf!" Biose said, restraining Ibe who was gearing for a fight.

"The forest has made him delirious. He is not himself."

The men were concerned about Ehiedu. They felt pity for him. What would become of him now that he had lost his leaf? They just stared at him as he ranted on.

"Idiots!" he said, "The gods were fools to send us on this futile mission! We were even bigger fools to accept to go! Now we will all die in this forest..."

His comrades knocked him unconscious and tied him up. They were at a loss on what to do. They were lost in the evil forest and things were only getting worse for them. How were they going to complete this mission now?