The sudden appearance of human-like figures in the middle of
the river caused a big panic and scattered screams as villagers who had gone to
the river to either fetch water or wash their unclean clothes ran for their
dare lives. Sensing this, Ojinta called out to them as they ran even further,
probably thinking he was a ghost and wanted to kill them. It took the bravery
of Oma, one of Ojinta’s daughters to calm the people down as she called out to
them saying “this is my father, this is my father, papa, papa, papa, welcome
back”, as she ran very excited towards her father. Meanwhile, the three warriors
who survived the rescue mission, the Princess and Amara, the lady who they had rescued
from being raped, were very surprised to see that they have returned safely to
Lorji, infact they gazed at Ojinta strangely, because they never knew he had
such powers, unknown to them that Ojinta had collected the charm from the
priest they visited before embarking on the rescue mission to Ikanga village.
One after the other, the shocked villagers regained their confidence and moved
towards the river to observe what would happen when Oma hugs her father, seeing
that all went well, they all moved towards Ojinta and his team, touching them
and most importantly greeting the princess before they burst into songs of
victory.
The sounds of victorious music is heard from the lips of
those who were at the Ikuma riverby those who were either on their farms, at
the market place, the village square or those resting at home, infact it was a
triumphant entry, one which Ojinta never foresaw. The team of singers continued
to increase as people joined the train as it passes them, those who were at
home joined the train as it crosses their compounds; those who were farming
left everything and joined the train; even those who were at the market places
ran quickly to see for themselves what was happening because it has been a
while such happened in the village. Ojinta and his team led the pack of singers
and dancers towards the king’s palace,despite the heavy dust, people kept
singing on top of their voice, so loud that even the King was very surprise to
hear such loud noise. The King who was still on his bed resting and praying
that all will go well with those who had gone to rescue his daughter, jumped up
to know what was causing such loud sound, commanding his guard to know what led
to such loud sound, after waiting for a while without a response from his
guards, he stepped out with his wife and his two sons, though he was angry that
his guards didn’t bring back a report of what was happening, he walked further
to the entrance of the palace where the guards were standing and looked towards
the direction of the sound, all he could see was a thick dust raised high like
the aroma of a food cooked by an experienced woman. Gradually, his facial
expression changed from being angry and surprised to being very excited, as he
could now see the team of rescuers and his daughter amidst the very excited
villagers. He quickly ordered the guards to allow the villages enter the
compound as many as could come in, and told his maids to prepare a good meal for
the victorious men and his daughter. The very excited King, including his wife
and sons, who have also seen the good news, dance joyfully into the compound as
they waited for the rescue team and the villagers who were on their way.
The bouquet was huge, everyone gathered together to celebrate
the victorious rescue carried out by Ojinta and his team. After the appraisals
from the King and his Chiefs on the rescue team, the men went to freshen up, as
the dancing and singing continued in grand style. After a while, Palm wine was
brought for the great people of Lorji present at the King’s palace. As if that
wasn’t enough, roasted yams and bush meats were served alongside the very fresh
Palm wine; it was indeed a superb combination, because the needed refreshment
made the people increase their voices like those of homing birds about to mate.
The whole place went silence when the chief priest walked in;
he is usually respected because he is the eyes, ears and mouth of the gods of
Lorji. Something happened some years ago when a man continued shouting while
the chief priest walked in, some said the man was drunk, other felt he wasn’t
aware that the priest had walked in, nevertheless, he was punished by the
priest, as he was crippled for six (6) good months, some people felt it was a
harsh judgment, but no one dared to murmur, whisper or even to summon the
courage to question the priest, not even the King and his chiefs. The Chief
priest hailed the villagers, he shouted louder than usual, and told the
drummers to start drumming, and told the villagers that the day was worth
celebrating, that even the gods are very glad, immediately he concluded the
story, sorry, his speech or whatever he was saying, the celebrations
skyrocketed to its zenith, well, maybe some of the villagers were singing even
louder probably to annoy the priest, but he was just calm, seated and mumbling
some words, probably saying some incantations or maybe calming himself down not
to get agree. Amidst all this drama, the Men who had return from the Ikanga
village, walked in alongside the King, The queen, the princess and the King’s
two young sons, sensing their presence, the music gradually died down, as the
entourage sat around the King’s throne, facing the excited people.
The King started with a brief speech, encouraging the youths
to take up their cross in emulating good things like the courage of the men who
had gone to rescue the princess, he also stressed the need for the youths to
join the team of the village warriors and even announced a date for trials to
all those who have such dreams or those whose parents were warriors and are
seeking for opportunities to join the prestigious team. After his speech, he
called on Ojinta, to share with the villagers, the story behind the success of
their mission. Ojinta stood up proudly, with a smile that can make a woman
blush for three whole days; he walked towards the crowd, his height,
well-shaped chest, super crafted hands and shoulders waved to the ladies each
time he spoke, some ladies missed everything he said, because they were busy
analyzing the well-built man; Ojinta kept sharing his story from when they left
the village, how they located the Ikanga village, how they recused pretty Amaka
from the hands of the men that wanted to rape her, he further told the
villagers their strategy utilized in rescuing the Princess, all of a sudden, he
stopped, his countenance changed, he looked at the warriors seated behind him,
then with a sad look he said, three of our good warriors died in the quest, the whole place became
silent, though at the background one could hear people crying, that would be
the wives and children of the fallen heroes. Ojintacharged the King to give
something to the fallen heroes as compensation to their heroic acts, because
Ijokolo and Oyedikedied fighting to protect the Princess, while Azuma died
fighting the warriors that came into the palace through its entrance, Amanze,
Iduike and Abraka are the only ones that returned home. Immediately Ojinta
mentioned the names of the fallen heroes, the waling took a different turn, as
the affected family members started shouting, some even said they knew
something was wrong as they didn’t see their loved ones with Ojinta, a lot of
sympathizers gathered to calm the situation, after the very interesting story
by Ojinta, he thanked the villagers for listening and went to take his seat.
The silence was broke when the chief priest stepped up to
remind the King of the promise he served to the men before they left, the whole
villagers agreed by nodding their heads, while chiefs totally agree with the
chief priest by not only nodding but adding a “Yes” to the nod. The King
stood-up, smiled and said that he would give to the three fallen heroes, each a
piece of land, food for a year and fifty pieces of silver, the whole village
awed at such generous gesture, as the families of the fallen heroes now felt
the need to smile. To the heroes that are sitting by my side, I will not choose
for them, because I promised that whatever they choose will I grant unto them,
so it’s their choice said the King.
Amanze stood up first, he shouted like a warrior, moved and
danced around like one who has five soldier ants by his manhood, after his
wonderful display, he stood still and requested for a piece of Palm oil
plantation farm, two hundred tubers of yam, a hut and 80 piecies of silver, The
king nodded in acceptance. Iduikewas a warrior that loves music, he and the
band group are quiet close, so as he stepped up to make his choice know to the
people, the band men immediately started playing as Idu, as he is popularly
known as, danced and sang melodiously, after a while he stood still, prostrated
to the king, then he made his request of a Poultry farm, and 100 pieces of
silver, Abraka who loves weaving baskets stood up, did some acrobatic stunt and
made his humble request, 50 pieces of gold, 50 pieces of silver, a large piece
of land and four royal aids for his basket weaving factory, the ovation was
loud as the villagers loved all the choices so far. Finally, Ojinta came out, a
hunter at its best, handsome and well built; he greeted the king, chief priest,
chiefs and the villagers, danced a little as the band played some body moving
sounds, after a while, the whole arena was silence, as Ojinta raised his voice,
I choose………………
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