King Solomon's Treasure

Chapter 16 The Witch Hunt (1)
When we got back to the lodgings, I invited Inverdus to come in with us.

"Now, Inverdus," I said, "we want to talk to you."

"God please speak."

"Inverdus, we find King Tavara a cruel man."

"Yes, God. Alas! The land weeps for his cruelty. There will be a great witch hunt tonight, and anyone found capable of witchcraft will be killed. No one is safe. If If the king covets someone's livestock, whose wife, or worries about who has the ambition of rebellion, then Gagul and her witches will smell the evil spirit in this person and execute him. Before the moon sets tonight, there will be many people Killed. It happens every year. Maybe it will happen to me too. Because I am good at fighting and popular with soldiers, I am alive now, but I don't know how long I will live. Tewala is cruel, people suffer It's unspeakable, the people are full of resentment, and they hate him and his iron-blooded wrist."

"Then why don't people fight back? Inverdus, why don't you just push him down?"

"No, god. He is king, and if he is killed, Skaga will inherit the throne. You know, Skaga is more ruthless than his father. If he becomes king, our chains will The heavier the day, the sadder it is. Well, if Emmetus, or if his son Agnus, had not died, it would be a different matter. Pity they are dead."

"How do you know that Agnus is dead?" A voice came from behind us.We looked back in surprise, and it was Ambopa.

"What do you mean, young man?" asked Inverdus. "Who made you say that?"

"Listen, Inverdus," continued Ambopa, "I will tell you a story. Many years ago, King Aimetu was slain in his country, and his wife and children ran away in a hurry. Is that so?"

"Yes."

"It is said that the woman and child died in the mountains. Is that so?"

"Yes."

"But in fact, the woman and the child did not die. They crossed the mountains and met a nomadic tribe, so they followed the tribe out of the desert and came to a place with water and trees."

"how do you know?"

"Listen to me first. They continued to move forward. They walked for several months and came to the place where the Amazulu people lived. The Amazulu people are also a branch of the Kukuana people. Because of the war Fleeing here. The woman and the child settled down here. Years later the woman died, and her son Agnes began to wander around again, and finally went to the place where the white people lived, and settled here, and learned the knowledge of the white people .”

"It's a good story," Inverdus said suspiciously.

"Over the years, he has been a servant and a soldier, but he has never forgotten the homeland his mother told him. He wants to return to his hometown in his lifetime and see the place where his people and his father lived. So he waited for a long time In [-], he finally got his chance. He met a group of white people who wanted to find people in this land. So he volunteered to join their team and embarked on a journey with the white people. Along the way, they went through a lot of hardships, passed through Burning desert, over snow-covered mountains, finally came to Kukuana. Then they met you, Inverdus."

"You must be crazy," said Inverdus in amazement.

"Am I really mad? Let me show you something, my uncle. I am Agnus, the true king of Kukuana!"

After speaking, he tore off the short apron around his waist and stood naked in front of us.

"Look," he said, "what's this?" He pointed to the huge blue snake tattoo on his waist.A giant snake had its tail in its mouth, its mouth just above the thigh.

Inverdus was so surprised that his eyeballs almost fell out.He fell to his knees with a plop.

"Qom! Qom!" he cried repeatedly. "You are my brother's son, and you are the real king."

"Didn't I tell you, uncle. I'm not yet king, and only with your help, and the help of these brave white friends, can I regain my throne. That old woman in Gagul is right, the land There will be rivers of blood again. Her words killed my father and drove my mother away, and I will make her pay. Inverdus, you must make a choice now. Will you join me and help me? Will you face the dangers ahead with me? Will you help me overthrow the tyrant and murderer of Tewala? Will you? What will you choose?"

The old man rubbed his head, thought for a while, then stood up, walked to Ambopa, no, it should be said that it was Agnus, knelt down on his knees, and held his hand.

"Agnus, the true king of Kukuana. Now we hold hands tightly, and I will serve you until death. When you were young, I used to play with you on my lap. Although I am old, I still Willing to fight for you, for freedom."

"Very well, Inverdus, if I succeed, then you are one and above all. If I fail, you must die too. Arise, my uncle."

"And you, white people, are you willing to help me? What should I give you in return? If I succeed and find a shiny gem, you can take as much as you can. What do you want? "I translated his words.

"Tell him," said Sir Henry, "that he has misunderstood the Englishman. Riches are tempting, but a gentleman loves riches and takes them in a good way. Gentlemen don't bend for riches. But I have always liked Ambobar, and here I'll stand by him on the matter. I'd gladly fight the ruthless demon Tyvara. How about you two, Goode and Quitman?"

"Well," Good said exaggeratedly, "you tell him that killing the tyrant is really good, just to exercise your muscles, and I am willing to join. My only request is that I am allowed to wear pants."

I translated his words.

"Very well, my friends," said the former Ambopa, now Agnus, "and you? Maku Mazahn, you are an old hunter, wiser than a wounded buffalo. You will fight by my side ?"

I scratched my head and thought for a while.

"Ambopa, or I should call you Agnus," I said, "I don't like revolution. I advocate peace, and I can even say that I am a little timid." Hearing this, Ambopa smiled, "But since On the other hand, I'm loyal to my friends. You've followed us faithfully and behaved like a real man, so I'll support you. But you have to remember, I'm a businessman and I have to earn a living, so I accept your offer of the jewel in case you need it later. Also, as you know, we are here to find the missing brother of Inchub (Sir Henry's Zulu name). You must help us find him. "

"Of course," Agnes replied, "Inverdus, you have seen the serpentine pattern on my waist. Tell me the truth, have any white men ever visited this land?"

"No, Agnus."

"If anyone had seen, or heard of, white people, would you know?"

"I'm sure I'll know."

"Did you hear, Inchub?" said Agnes to Sir Henry. "He has not been here."

"Well then," sighed Sir Henry, "he didn't come either, I suppose. Poor brother, poor brother! It's been all in vain after all the hard work, and, well, leave it to fate."

"Let's talk about the matter at hand first," I hurriedly interjected to change the sad topic, "It's justifiable for you to get back the throne, Agnus, but have you figured out a plan?"

"I haven't. Inverdus, do you have any plans?"

"Agnus, Son of Lightning," replied his uncle, "there will be a great ball and a witch-hunt tonight. Many will be taken and killed. There will certainly be many sorrowful and terribly distressed, Valla has a grudge. After the ball, I will talk to a few important chiefs. Convince them first, let them tell their soldiers. At first I will talk to them well, let them understand that you are the real king .I think, by tomorrow morning, you will have 2 people under your command. Now I have to go, think and prepare. After the dance, if we are still alive, we will meet here, when the time comes Discuss the detailed plan again. At most, we will fight with them and have a bloody battle."

At this time, the guard outside the door shouted, it turned out that the envoy sent by the king had arrived.We hastened to let the three messengers into the house.Each of them carried a gleaming suit of chain mail and a sharp tomahawk.

"This is a gift from His Majesty the King to all the alien visitors." One of them said.

"Thank you, Your Majesty the King." I replied, "Go back."

The three turned and left. We looked at the chain mail with interest, the exquisite workmanship never seen before.The entire armor is tightly connected by countless small iron rings, which can be taken off with both hands when stacked.

"Is this something your king made, Inverdus?" I asked. "It is very beautiful."

"No, gods. It is handed down from the ancestors. We don't know who made it, but only a few pieces have been handed down, and only members of the royal family can wear it. This kind of clothing has magical powers, and it is invulnerable when worn in battle. No life is in danger. The king seems to have liked you, or feared your magic, or he would not have given such a precious gift. Wear it tonight, gods."

Then we rest quietly and talk about the current situation.At last the sun went down, and thousands of campfires were lit outside. In the darkness, only the sound of footsteps and the clash of spears could be heard. The soldiers were rushing to the appointed place to gather for the grand ball.About ten o'clock, a full moon rose in the sky, and while we were admiring the light, Inverdus arrived, in full armor, followed by twenty soldiers, and escorted us to the ball.We followed his advice and wore chain mail under our clothes.Surprisingly, the chain mail is not heavy at all, and there is no uncomfortable or uncomfortable feeling after wearing it.The chain mail, evidently made for tall stature, looked baggy on Goode and me, but Sir Henry fitted him well.After putting on our chain mail, we strapped our repeating revolvers to our belts, and in our hands we carried the tomahawks sent by the king.After everything is ready, we set off.

When we came to the square where the king received us in the morning, we found that it was surrounded by [-] soldiers.The soldiers were divided into teams, and a passage was set between every two teams, through which the hunting witches could move freely.Soldiers with weapons standing neatly in the open square, the scene is very spectacular.They stood quietly in line, the bright moonlight sprinkled on their raised spears, on their stalwart bodies, on their fluttering feathers, and on their colorful shields.Looking around, there are rows of blurred faces and gleaming spears.

"Is the whole army here?" I asked Inverdus.

"No, Makumazahn," he answered, "it's only a third. Every year a third of the troops go to the ball. Another third is assembled outside in case there is an accident in the massacre. And More than 1 troops are guarding around Lucheng, and the rest of the troops are staying in various villages. You can see that the number of this army is huge."

"They're all so quiet," said Goode.Indeed, it is very depressing that so many people gather together but there is no sound.

"What did Bugwan say?" Inverdus asked.

I translated Goode's words.

(End of this chapter)