Dire Spirits

7/24/2019 Dire Spirits

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Dire SpiritsDire Spirits

Setting: Village of Kwaso, in northern Lokossa, near the borderlands with Meru

and Sokone

The Kirsine scout, Mugabe Bawku of Fara, leads a hunt for the capture of an

indigo-furred dire lion which has been terrorising the borderlands near Kwaso of

late !ts appearance is uni"ersall# seen as a blessing b# the $ncestors

$cco%panied b# his guide, &ufu, and the Lokossan hunters Tabiti, Bontu, 'uro

and Mensa, and well as a half-do(en hangers-on and sla"es )porters, cooks, and

labourers*, Mugabe tracks the noble beast through the southern Sokone plains

into the sa"annah of western Meru +hile ca%ped on the fth da#, the hunterbeco%es the hunted, and 'uru where he rests, right under the nose of the

sleeping Mugabe nce roused b# 'uru.s terried screa%s, Mugabe leaps to his


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feet and gi"es chase, his Lokossan co%panions reluctantl# follow, spurred on b#

&ufu.s ad%onitions

$fter a long o"ernight chase, the lion, which see%s to ha"e been luring Mugabe

awa# fro% the herd, turns to confront the scout Mugabe.s /uarrel fails to piercethe beast.s hide, and it readies to pounce B# a stroke of good luck, Tabiti looses

an en"eno%ed, which buries its to0ic pa#load into the beast.s shoulder Sei(ing

the opportunit#, Mugabe reaches into his calabash, grabs a handful of the fungal

"eno%, and grapples with his /uarr#, introducing %ore of the paral#sing to0in

into the creature.s wound 1e withstands se"eral powerful strikes b# the lion, but

aided b# his war-%ask and his luck# calabash, %anages to choke the ener"ated

beast into sub%ission to the delight and cheers of his co%panions

The dire lion will %ake a tting gift, and will a%pl# substitute for the hu%an

tribute de%anded of theAhonsu, the cruel Lokossan sorcerer-king, for the annual

Traditions

Sun-sta2 and maraboutof the Sun Faith, Kha 3ar of Min and his 4unior Sun-

teacher co%panion, &akh are in Lokossa to spread the Faith Kha hopes to %ake

so%e inroads a%ong the otherwise traditional Lokossans !t is fortunate that the#

fear wielders of ashe%ore than the# despise heretics, and Kha hopes this will

gi"e hi% the opportunit# to i%press upon the folk of Kwaso the %erits of the Sun

Faith and its principles of lial lo#alt#, kindness, hospitalit#, and obedience, as

enshrined in the hol# te0ts The Four Corners of the Mountain, "irtues which are

in short suppl# since the #ears of chaos wrought b# The Long War


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Kha and his charge en4o# the hospitalit# of 5lan $boa(e, and ha"e worked with

the clan.s wea"ers and wheelwright to assist in and bless the cage and wagon in

which it is hoped the dire lion will be housed for transportation to theAhonsu

The hunting e0pedition returns to Kwaso with great fanfare, the loss of 'uru )anda few na%eless sla"es en-route* notwithstanding The "illage chief, a "assal of

the local, absent oba, welco%es the hunters with a la"ish feast in their honour,

%en and wo%en segregated, of course 2ers of %arriage pour in and gifts are

la"ished on the heroes, Mugabe in particular, b# the "arious clans The pri(e is

placed in the "illage 6s/uare7, safel# secured in the cage so e0pertl# constructed

b# the $boa(e clan, while re"ellers take ad"antage of the obas largesse,

so%ething which has been in short suppl# of late The obas griot, Kwesi, sings

the praises of Mugabe.s great feat of strength and courage, and it isn.t long

before a warrior-wo%an, $bena, one of the dreaded Lokossan Reapers,

approaches, in breach of the usual rules of segregation, as if to challenge theforeign upstart

Kha has obser"ed $bena drinking copious a%ounts of pal% wine, #et she see%s

una2ected She appeared to be bristling with anger during the griot.s account of

Mugabe.s deeds, and clearl# feels that the praises heaped upon hi% are an

a2ront to her own glor# 1e waits with anticipation to see if the 8eapers.

reputation for sa"ager# and ferocit# is well-founded

Meanwhile, the "isiting alan sage, 'e%bele of clan Math(ahu, has been

en4o#ing the hospitalit# of the chief.s co%pound, #et he re%ains uneas# 1e well

knows that the blood of his people watered the 4ungles of Lokossa during the9%peror Shang%a#.s ill-fated atte%pts at con/uest 9"en now, %an#

generations later, 'e%bele can still feel the power of the $ncestors coursing

through the "er# land itself, and teaching hi% %aster# of the Nkisi of Grasping

Vines

'e%bele wishes to wrest the ancient secrets fro% these southern lands 1e is

fascinated b# the Traditions and the hints of half-buried "ine-choked ruins $s

nganga, he knows he will be a2orded a certain degree of freedo% and respect,

but he lacks the wherewithal to "enture too deepl# into this foreign land 1e

hopes to ac/uire sla"es: ser"ants, porters, and guides, for this purpose $s an

outsider, he is naturall# drawn to the other foreigners at Kwaso

Mugabe will soak up the adolation he richly deserves.When he notices Abena he will look he straight in the eye an while putting on his most charming smile says" Woman, you are welcome by my side to share the fruits of victory, we of the Plains have no segregations. Perhaps later we can testour prowess in a friendly wrestling bout. Great warriors like ourselves shouldnt harm each other when there are greater threats to ourpeoples out there in the wild."!e whispers to ufu " My loyal friend, if she agrees you could perhaps indulge in some wagering with the locals. #et me know how theodds are and $ can perhaps influence the outcome much to your, $ mean our profit"

the space around Mugabe soon clears as Abena stands over the cocky %irsine. &heres something...unnatural...about a woman who

denies her rightful place in society' wife, mother, lover. &hose who submit to the rigors of the (eapers test forgo the traditional role, indefiance of the gods and ancestors alike, and are treated with a great deal of suspicion despite the awe with which they are viewed.)he utters something in the clipped, glottic #okossan tongue as she produces the double*bladed ra+or for which the (eapers arerenowned, before kicking over Mugabes plate of cassava root and bowl of tesh wine.


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%ha, frowns disapprovingly at this display. !e turns away and is surprised to see several monkeys milling about the lions cage,seemingly unperturbed. $n fact, one of them appears to be epertly untying the leather cords which secure the cages door, while othersand cast aside the effigies and icons placed there by the marabout himself. the nearby drunken locals seem too enthralled by theprospect of a duel to notice.

-embele, senses a supernatural presence which he cannot immediately identify

%ha will attract Abenas attention away from the cocky Mugabe and direct her towards the cage where the mankets are working. !e willgrab a torch and drive the mankets away


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Dire Spirits

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