Urenma episode 17 – 19

urenma
Episode 17

For two years Obinze searched from land to land to find medince men who were powerful enough to help him cross into the river world. At this time fables were told of men like Ojadili who crossed the divide between the living and the dead, humans and spirits. Obinze’s journey led him to a medince man called Akputa, who made the wish which had eluded him seem a light thing. “I will help you get into the river world if that is what you seek. I have been there on many occasions in search of powers and to warn ogbanje children to stop coming back to their parents. I know the river world; it is full of power, full of pretty girls like the one whom you so seek to be given back to you. I must warn you it is also full of deception. Are you sure you want to go there young man?” “Yes I am!” “Then it will cost you ishi ezego iri” (Ten counts of Ezego-ancient currency). Obinze counted out the money and laid it on the floor. “Now strip yourself of all you have on you and bathe in that pool”.
Hastily Obinze denuded himself of all he had on his body and entered a pool of green water. With zest Obinze began to bathe in the pool. Akputa made an observation as Obinze bathed himself. “The pool never gleams except a spirit appears in it. Who did you say you are?” Before Obinze could draw enough breath because of the greenish water which chocked his breath to answer to the question, Akputa drew a machete with a sharp jagged edge and sent a blow on Obinze’s back. A thick splash of blood exploded on the surface of the pool and Obinze sunk in. Akputa began to dance around the pool making some incantations and waiting for Obinze to resurface from under the pool, to Akputa Obinze was a rogue spirit sent to steal his powers.
When the wait for Obinze to surface from under the pool seemed unending. Akputa threw some black powder into the pool and a little storm started in the pool and threw Obinze to the surface of the pool. He was lifeless and was bleeding a lot. “Alas! He bleeds like mortals and yet appears like a spirit in the pool. Who is this man?” wondered Akputa. With a wooden hook Akputa drew Obinze closer to himself and lifted him out of the pool. He ran to one of the earthen pots in his shrine and removed some black mixture, forced Obinze’s mouth open and squeezed some of it in. He moved back and waited still holding his machete. Obinze jolted back to consciousness with a shout and his eyes flaming. “Oh! I see you are mortal, but a part of you is joined to a goddess. She is the one whom you seek, lie in your face! I have to attend to your wound now! The machete I attacked you with is not meant for humans. Lie on your face! I have to attend to your wound lest in some minute’s time you change to a monster and begin to hunt my land for the flesh of both beasts and men!” Akputa’s words shocked Obinze, quickly he turned and lay on his face. Already he was beginning to feel some strange movement in his body and unusual strength surging from within him. Akputa look some herbs and put them into the deep wound on Obinze’s back. The pain was so much that Obinze wailed. “AAAAH! AAAAH!! AAAAH!!!” and passed out. In his voice Akputa could decipher the sound of the voice of the beast; Obinze was already turning. Hours passed and Obinze woke up only to see himself in chains and ropes and thick furs all over his body like a beast of the field.

There was no sigh of Akputa in his shrine,with amazing force and strength Obinze trashed himself to snap the chains and ropes, but he couldn’t. He tried many times but failed to free himself. Hours passed and he began to feel weak and feel into sleep yet again. By night, he wasn’t sure if it was a dream or not, some beasts came, they stood on two feet like humans and had thick furs all over their bodies and had extremely long and sharp claws and also teeth like wolves and surrounded him in Akputa’s shrine. He could tell what they had come for. Though they spoke no word, he could tell their thoughts. Shockingly his mind had become one with theirs. With amazing speed the beasts began to rip Obinze’s flesh apart. He wailed in pain and cried out to Akputa for help, but there was no sign of him.

In the river world Akputa sat with a few elder gods communing in secret tongues, “A man has come to me, asking to be crossed over into the river world. He intends to come and demand that Urenma be returned to him as wife”, said Akputa.

urenma

Chapter 18
“Where is this man now?” asked
elder god Nshaa. “He is chained
in my shrine. He has turned into
a beast”. “Why did you turn him
to a beast?” “The man is a
mystery…… I have not seen his
likes before. He carries within
him a part of princess Urenma.
So when I saw the sign in my
pool, I attacked him with Ndana.
My medince couldn’t heal him
before he turned into one of the
cursed beasts”. “Go back and
send him to us as he is. We have
a use for him in his present
condition”. Immediately Akputa
left for the world of men. When
he left the gods continued to
commune, “Now Urenma’s heart
shall no longer go after her
mortal husband when she sees
him as a cursed beast. This
brings her forbidden longing to
an end”, said Nshaa.
By morning Akputa emerged
from his pool of green water and
to his greatest shock saw Obinze
completely healed from his
beastly nature. Around the shrine
were heads, limbs and different
body parts of the beasts that had
attacked him in the night. In
shock Akputa asked, “What are
you? When I left you for the river
world you had turned into a
cursed beast. Please tell me what
are you and what are these
things in my shrine?”
“My name is Obinze; back where
I came from I am a legend. I
want you to send me to the river
world now”. “Yes I will. But first
you will move back into the pool.
When you take some portions
which I will give you, you will
sink into the pool. I will bring you
up and lay your body on that
Nkpoko (Native bed/ bench made
with raffia tree branches). For
safety purpose I will cover your
body with opete leaves and other
portions. I will lay your amour
beside you, when you wake up
in the river world, you will have
them ready for battle”. “Shall we
start now”, asked Obinze. “Yes
get into the pool”. Obinze did
and Akputa began to throw into
the pool all sorts of powders till
they formed a cloud on the pool.
Akputa ran to one of his pots
and brought out a portion and
gave it to Obinze to eat. Obinze
ate and sunk into the river.
Akputa caused another storm in
the pool and Obinze’s body
floated to the surface. He took it
and placed it on an Nkpoko. He
applied opete leaves and many
other mixtures on his body and
lay his amour beside him. He ran
outside and cut some fresh
leaves and covered Obinze’s body
with them. In the river world
Obinze woke up, beside him
were his machete, bow and
arrows. For once since he
beheaded Urenma, he felt the full
strength of Urenma’s hairs all
over his body. He picked his
amour and sprang to his feet.
The river world was an endless
stretch of snow white water land
filled with infernal creatures of
different sorts, trees animals of
the types he had not seen and
houses which seemed as though
they had life of their own.
He felt small and lost in that vest
world. Still rotted to his feet and
wondering which direction to
go, he heard a voice. “Hide a
battle is upon you! Hide!” Obinze
ran behind a thick lush green
plants and hid himself. The plant
spread wide its branches amd
s—-d him in like an octopus.
Within the plant more than a
hundred eyes flicked open and
began to glare at him. From
within them a monster voice
spoke very fast. “You are not
from this world! Are you?” “No, I
am not. I am from the world of
men………”. “Where people fall in
love right?” “Yes, where people
fall in love”.
The harshed monster voice
changed to a tender voice, “The
children of the gods have told us
a lot about your world. They have
beautiful tales about love in your
world…” “I am in your world
because of my love. My wife is a
child of the gods and was taken
from me because she loved me
and shown kindness to my
people. I want her back”. “I see,
men don’t come here often
seeking to be given one of our
beautiful damsels to them as
wife. Look up….”
Obinze looked up and saw six
strong men, whose handsome
looks cannot be described by
human words holding long, giant
machetes. The plant continued,
“……they have come for you. I
cannot protect you from them
and no one in this river world
can. But I will give you a secret,
you will have to fight and fight till
the elder gods sit and ask you
what you want. If you are
thinking of negotiating with the
elder gods you will die here.
When Ojadili was here, he fought
the gods to a submission. They
had to ask him what his mission
was. You will have to do the
same”.
Without much ado, the plant
threw Obinze out of its cover and
shouted, “Here is the stranger
whom you seek! Kill him!”
The six spirit warriors bore
down on Obinze violently…………
Chapter 19
FLASHBACK: THE MOMENT OBINZE
LANDED IN THE RIVER WORLD
The elder gods were in a
meeting discussing how to
present to Urenma the calamity
which befall Obinze. They wanted
her continued desire to see him
permanently destroyed. They
knew Obinze was going to be
sent to them as a cursed flesh
eating creature, their intention
was that Akputa was going to
sent Obinze to them as a cursed
flesh eating creature; their
intention was to present him in
that form to Urenma before
destroying him. While the
meeting went on, a monitoring
serpent spirit barged into their
meeting and announced “The
mortal whom you spoke of my
lords, is here, but has not arrived
in the form you mentioned. He
has come in his form as a whole
and complete mortal man. He is
no beast at all!” “Then kill him!!!!
Send the six guards! Bring me
his head here!” Nshaa yelled. The
monitoring serpent spirit
slithered off with haste to go
deliver the command to the six
spirit warriors. Nshaa turned to a
very high ranking elder god and
barked, “Find Urenma, subdue
her and keep her under lock
before she get a wind of the
intruder’s presence”. To a high
ranking guard of the river world,
Nshaa ordered “I will not have
another Ojadili on my lands, now
go and close the portal which
allowed the mortal into our
world.. Here and today, Obinze
dies!”
FLASH-FORWARD: THE BATTLE-
OBINZE AND THE SIX SPIRIT
WARRIORS.
The six spirit warriors were in
motion descending towards
Obinze. Obinze laid down his
arms and shouted, “I have no
desire for battle! I have only
come to speak with the elder
gods to release my wife to me!”
The six spirit warriors swung
their machetes toward his head,
the plant which he had confided
in picked Obinze’s machete and
raised it above his head. The
machetes of the six warriors
spirits crashed upon Obinze’s
machete and the spirits bounced
back. Obinze machete fell next to
him. The plant yelled at him
“Fool! Fight now or you die
here!” The plant sent a wooden
shield toward him and Obinze
picked it and his machete and
poised to duel with the six spirit
warriors. The machetes of the six
spirit came swinging toward
Obinze yet again; he raised the
wooden shield to protect himself.
The machetes of the six spirits
landed on the shield and
shattered it and sliced into his
shoulders and sent him to the
ground violently. The six spirits
standing over to sever his head,
Obinze was forced to swing his
machete at them. His blow sent
them back. They were surprised
and said to one another with
one voice. “He is not entirely
human!” They dropped their
machetes and transformed into
six saber-toothed monsters.
Obinze was scared and took off
in no certain direction. After
running for a while he turned to
see if he had escaped the six
sabre-toothed monsters. Behind
him there was no sign of them.
He saw a huge black rock and
ran toward it to hide. As soon as
he squatted behind the rock a
heavy foot gave him a bloody
kick to the face and sent him
flying into the air. Obinze did well
to hold on to his machete. When
he landed on the ground the six
sabre-toothed monsters sprang
on him. Obinze was purely acting
on instinct, the moment he saw
them, he rolled on the ground
and swing his machete at them.
His machete caught the monster
in front on the shoulder and sent
it crushing above him. The other
five landed on him and began to
dig their claws into his flesh,
yanking off chunks of bloody
flesh. One of the monsters
opened its humongous mouth,
filled with a set of heart-stopping
teeth, and tried to force Obinze’s
head into it. The monsters teeth
left deep layers of cut on Obinze’s
head. Yelling in pain, Obinze
began to stab and swing his
machete at them insanely.
As soon as he got a little space
he jumped to his feet. While on
the ground he found a secret, a
little effort in the river world had
released a lot of energy. With that
in mind he decided to make a
stand and fight. As the six sabre-
toothed monsters regrouped,
Obinze raised a cry and ran
toward them. The six sabre-
toothed monters were surprised
and came for him nonetheless.
One was limping, Obinze decided
to target that one. When he drew
closer to the wounded monster,
he buried his machete into its
heart and the monster went limp
on the ground. Though it did not
die, it could not rise to fight. At
that moment Urenma’s hair in his
body began to pulsate with great
power. Obinze had taken the
strength of a warrior spirit, that
act elevated him to the rank of a
war lord in the river world. The
other five Sabre toothed
monsters ground their charge to
a halt when they saw the energy
around Obinze’s body. As though
he was under a surreal influence,
Obinze charged at the five saber-
toothed monsters, as he swung
his machete at them, all he could
remember was the day he and
his wife took a bloody battle to
Ogidi, his army and the twelve
gods.

To Be Continued……