King Ode Kahn and the Curse of The Royal Sceptre (Part 2)

It felt like King Kahn had just awakened from a nightmare. His mind struggled to comprehend what had just occurred in his throne room. Merely moments ago, he had been sitting on this very throne struggling with the boredom of having to choose a wife from a crowd of women wanting to be his queen. Now, he had witnessed what looked like a suicide by a woman who had apparently taken the power of everlasting wood from his sceptre. In his hand, he held what Ozor's spell had replaced his sceptre with, a piece of dried wood. A stick. The guards had tried to settle the confused crowd who had immediately realized what they had witnessed and quickly been gripped with fear. Everyone in the kingdom knew the origin of the sceptre and the power it possessed. As kids, they were told of the great Genesis wars where the first Kahn, Doro Kahn, had forged the sceptre from the the celestial Falus and had infused it with the power of everlasting wood sent down from the heavens by the great god Ayagra. The sceptre had been a sign of peace, prosperity and stability in the kingdom and no Kahn had ever ruled without having the power of everlasting wood. To lose it, was to lose his throne, people and ultimately the kingdom. It had barely been thirty minutes after the incident and the people were already in a state of disarray. Total chaos may has obviously only moments away. King Kahn slumped into his throne, feeling both confused and afraid. The images of Ozor slicing her throat repeatedly flashed in his mind. Her words kept echoing in his head as the images of her blood slithering towards him and wrapping itself around his arm replayed themselves in his mind. "Today, the era of the Kahn's will come to an end. Today, you lose your power. You lose Kongdobia". A voice from the crowd screamed "King Kahn. You must give me audience. I need to speak to you about what has just happened before all hope is lost". Still in a daze, Ode Kahn motioned for the whoever it was to be brought forward. One guard immediately forced his way into he crowd, past several visibly irritated people and fished out the one who had spoken. He brought her before the throne saying "Your highness, it was this little girl who spoke". She was a little girl, no more than 16 years of age, dressed in old garments which looked tattered and unwashed. Her hair was long, blonde, thick and matted. She looked like she had not seen the inside of a washroom in a very long time, but king Kahn cared not for her appearance at this time for he was more interested in what she had to say. "You were the girl who spoke? Tell me, what do you know of what happened here moments ago" said King Kahn. 

Beeb had always wondered why people mistook him for a girl. He had examined himself many times and had never noticed anything about himself which could possibly lead people to continuously assume he was a girl. When he was much younger, people who had mistaken him for a girl usually felt the wrath of his very scathing tongue. However, his father, being the wise man he had always been, had thought Beeb to respond to situations with a bit more deliberation rather than impulse. This was why, when the guard who held his arm had introduced him to the King as "The girl who spoke", he had deliberated carefully on whether or not he would kick the guard in the crotch for making such a stupid mistake. He decided not to at this time.The guard relinquished his vice-like grip on Beeb's arm and Beeb immediately bowed to the king, while muttering under his breath about how much of an idiot the guard had been."King Kahn,.." began Beeb, my name is Beeb, son of Banj of the house of Ber. I'm sorry for screaming so disrespectfully in your presence but we have no time to waste. You must come with me immediately or else..", "Watch your tongue peasant" interrupted the guard who had brought Beeb forward, "you are in the presence of a Kahn. He will go nowhere with the likes of you". "Enough Akunai" said Ode Kahn as he rose from the throne and walked slowly towards Beeb who immediately bowed his head respectfully. "You say your name is Beeb? from house Ber? I know your house. Banj, your father, was once the greatest entertainer in this kingdom. What does the son of a once great entertainer know about what has occurred here today? Speak. Beeb raised his head and kissed his teeth at Akunai the guard before replying king Kahn. "Yes, my father was once a great entertainer till he journeyed to the west to seek more fortune and fame. However, my father is also the reason I am here with knowledge of what this woman has done here. You must speak with him immediately or you will lose everything you hold true and dear. Many years ago, my father foresaw the events of today in a vision and made me attend each and every presentation hoping to thwart the efforts of the Edochies before their servant could accomplish her diabolical plans, but I failed. My father had seen the events of today in a vision but did neither knew the exact moment when it would occur, nor the exact identity of the servant, he only knew that if the Edochie's succeeded, it would mean the end of your reign and your life. I could stay here all day and tell you everything I know about the things to come but it would be wise to hear it from my father instead. Please, we do not have much time to waste. You must come with me" 

King Ode Kahn listened to Beeb intently, occasionally catching glimpses of Akunai gnashing his teeth and leering at Beeb as he spoke. When Beeb had finished speaking, Ode considered his current predicament. The royal sceptre had been taken from him and the power of everlasting wood was no longer in his possession. Only the gods knew what sort of consequences he and his kingdom would face if he the sceptre and its power remained absent from him. Beeb and Banj seemed to be the only people at the moment with any answers to the numerous questions he had swirling around in his head. It would be foolish not to explore the possibilities of a solution by visiting the house of Bar. He turned to Akunai "Ready the royal whip, Akunai. We will be going to the house of Bar tonight"

Apart from his drink and drugs Banj didn't enjoy many things in life anymore. As a young boy he had loved to sing and dance and practiced for hours non-stop in the family courtyard. As a young man, he had traveled to every corner of Kongdobia performing for the rich and poor because he simply loved to express himself through his art. As an older man, he had journeyed to the west in search of more adoration, wealth and recognition but had found only a vulnerability in himself for debauchery. Sex, drugs and alcohol may have stolen his gift for art but it had given this old man something else, sight. Banj and gone to the west as an entertainer and returned as a seer. Even though he could not sing as he used to because the seerup had irrecoverably damaged his vocal cords and he could not move his body as freely as he did in his prime because the kokane and mariwana had left his body weak and shrivelled, Banj the uneducated boy from the house of Bar had now been given the gift of sight. Banj sat slumped in his favorite chair, facing the entrance to his home. A few hours ago, he had poured a sizable amount of kokane on the table in front of him and snorted it all within minutes. Seconds later, he had fallen into his customary high where he saw visions of son, Beeb, distracted by the ample bosom of a woman, supposedly waiting for her turn to present herself for the king's consideration, in the palace throne room. The image was then replaced with visions of a woman slicing her throat in the throne room of the palace and the royal sceptre vanishing from the king's hand. When the visions finally faded and his mind returned to reality, he knew what he feared for years had become real. Years ago he had seen a similar vision, albeit not as vivid as the one he just had, and had done all he could to try and prevent the events which he now knew had occurred in the palace. Since the Edochie's had succeeded in stealing the power of everlasting wood from king Kahn, Beeb would have to convince the king to meet with him because it would be only a matter of time before things took a turn for the worst in the kingdom. Banj sat in his chair, smoking his homegrown mariwana through his khalifa pipe and staring at the door hoping Beeb would walk through them with King Kahn. 

The journey from the palace had not been an easy one but they finally arrived at the doorstep of Banj & Beep's home. The house of Bar had never been known for wealth or prosperity and Beeb's father had been the only one in the bloodline to ever attain recognition through his music. After his decline in fame, Banj had returned to his family home in the squalor of Kongdobia's moochin district where neighbors claimed he drowned himself in alcohol, drugs and women of questionable virtue. It was no place for a king to grace with his presence but Ode had seen a certain sincerity in Beeb as he spoke in the throne room earlier. It would not cost him anything to investigate the claims the boy made. Still, Akunai looked very displeased with the whole affair and cautioned the king once more as Beeb opened the door, steeped into the house and invited them to come into his home. "Sire, I urge you to reconsider what you are doing. Pay no mind to this wretched child and his delinquent father. Let us take leave of this place before the tongues of peasants begin to wag. Surely we are able to retrieve the royal sceptre without consorting with drug addicts and alcoholics". Ode turned to Akunai and replied in a stern yet calm tone "Akunai, so far, it seems like only drug addicts and alcoholics can make sense of our current situation. I will give them audience, even if it is for a few hours. If nothing worthwhile comes of this visit then I shall explore other options. For now, we consort with Beeb and his father."  King Kahn walked through the entrance into the house and was immediately greeted with a the stench of uncleanliness and sloth. The living room was littered with empty bottles of seerup, alor-omo and biyer. The carpet was dirty and riddled with burn marks and alcohol stains. Unwashed clothes and dishes lay scattered all over the room and walking around in the room was a task accomplished only with careful deliberation and navigation. The room was poorly lit and by the time king Kahn's eyes had adjusted to the lighting in the room, a voice came forth from a chair overlooking the entrance of the house where Beeb and the royal guests stood. "King Kahn, Una welcome oh. First of all, make I tell you sorry for my pikin, En no dey take eye see breast. If to sey en no be like en papa wey follow like woman too, we no go dey this wahala wey we dey so. My name na Banj, abeg make una enter, siddon, we get big matter to yarn. Una fit make unasef comfortable" King Kahn took another look at the room he had been offered to sit in by Banj and decided against making himself comfortable. "Worry not about my comfort Banj" replied Ode Kahn. "Your son tells me you have knowledge of the events that just occurred in the palace. Tell me what you know please". Banj smoked on his khalifa pipe for a few seconds before addressing the king's request. "hmmm e no go easy o. I go explain everything but wait make I high first. E dey easier for me to explain matter when I dey high". Banj continued to smoke the mariwana in his pipe as Akunai seized him by the throat. "Have you lost possession of your senses? you are in the presence of king Kahn of Kongdobia and you choose to disrespect him in this manner? You will tell him what you know or...". "Enough Akunai" bellowed Ode Kahn. "Unhand him and remove yourself from our presence. You will remain outside until my business here is concluded. Leave us". Akunai obeyed his orders with an audible grunt and exited the room while king Kahn addressed Banj "Your son repeatedly stressed how little time we had to remedy the problem we now face. Surely your preference for drugs cannot be a priority at a time like this". Banj had finished smoking and placed the khalifa pipe beside the scattered particles of kokane on the table in front of him. "I am well aware of the immediacy of our situation King Ode Kahn. As I was saying, before that idiot interrupted me so brutishly, I tend to be more coherent when I'm slightly intoxicated" King Kahn's expression prompted Banj to continue speaking "I know you are surprised. My journey to the west made me discover a lot of new things about myself both physically and mentally. For example, there was this woman I met in the kingdom of Cadashia, her name was Kaam. Or Koom. or was it Keem? I cannot remember. I do remember how big her..." "Father!" interrupted Beeb, who had been quietly standing beside the king since their arrival. "You're doing it again father" said Beeb. Banj took a second to gather his thoughts and spoke again "Yes, as I said, I needed to get high to communicate properly and I know it comes as a surprise to you. The drugs and alcohol not only give me the ability to speak like a nobleman but they also give me sight. Spiritual sight. 20 years ago I had a vision of a woman, her face shrouded by a dark malevolent cloud, bringing an end to your reign. She did this by performing an evil spell which conjured ancient spirits that once walked this land. I did not fully understand what the vision meant until I had a series of other visions, triggered by various moments of intoxication and reprobate sexual encounters...or both at the same time...depending on my mood...or how much money I had...sigh I miss having a lot of money you know...do u know how much kokane u can buy with just...". "Banj...please focus." said Ode Kahn as Banj's digression had visibly irritated him. "Oh yes. I had other visions which opened my mind to the details of the first vision. The woman was a descendant of the Edochies, the first men. I'm assuming we are all familiar with the tales of the first men and how the Edochies ruled and enslaved the people of Kongdobia until the first Kahn defeated them in the genesis wars? Well, in my visions, this woman used an ancient spell to summon the spirits of the Edochies. These forces can only be summoned by the Edochie bloodline and require the summoner to sacrifice his or her own life to complete the spell. In return, the spirits will vanquish the enemy of the summoner and grow in strength, usually by possessing a host." Banj paused to scratch his crotch area before continuing "If they are allowed to reach full strength, the spirit of the Edochie's will consume the host and the enemy of the summoner and use them to do whatever they desire...which, in this case, is to conquer kill the Kahns and conquer Kongdobia". King Kahn's attention had been wrapped around every word that came out of Banj's mouth. He did not know whether to believe the man alcoholic drug addict or order the palace physicians to assess his sanity. "Ok, lets say I believe what you have said. What do they want to the sceptre? why take it from me?". Banj seemed distracted by events occurring within the crotch of his pants "Urgh! why is this thing so damn itchy? Beeb! when was the last time you washed these?". Beeb, who had gone into the kitchen and returned with drinks for the royal guests answered "Last month father". "Last month? no wonder they are so itchy. I told you I don't like clean clothes, idiot pikin. Anyways, they took the sceptre because the power of ever lasting wood is what defeated them the last time they encountered a Kahn. The power which has been in your family for centuries is an ancient force which the Edochie's underestimated when they first fought the first Kahn. Now, they have preemptively neutralized that power by taking it away from you...or so they think." said Banj with a smirk. "What do you mean by that? " asked Ode Kahn. "Well I had another vision a few days ago that revealed the true power of the royal sceptre. It has none. Granted, it is a conduit for the power of ever lasting wood, but the power is not in the sceptre at all. It is in you. It is in the Kahn. The power of everlasting wood merely flows from you into the royal sceptre. The spirits have taken the sceptre but were not able to fully relieve you of the power you Kahn's possess. However, they did succeed in blocking it withing you. As you are, the power of ever lasting wood cannot manifest because the Edochie's spirit placed a barrier over it within you. In essence, retrieving the sceptre is pointless, what you need to do is remove the barriers to unleash the power within you before the Edochie's return to full strength. E dey make sense?". King Kahn felt like every sentence Banj uttered placed a heavy stone on his shoulders. He motioned for his guards to clear a small patch of space on a couch opposite Banj and sat down beside a small pile of used condoms, bottles and clothes. "So...ok..." he began, sounding confused and scared. "Ok so why take the sceptre and leave me with a stick? and is this why the Kahn's always had to take a wife? because a Kahn cannot fully summon the power of everlasting wood without a queen? is that why?". "Ah! you are starting to catch on King Kahn." replied  "A Kahn cannot be king without the power of everlasting wood and the power cannot fully manifest for the king without a queen. As for the stick, it was simply a sign of mockery from the spirits of the Edochies. They took away the power of everlasting wood and ridicule you by replacing it with a useless piece of wood". King Kahn let out a sigh and rubbed his forehead contemplating everything he had just heard and asked "So what do I have to do". Banj called for Beeb and whispered into his ear. Beeb responded by dashing into another room and returning with a bag in his hands and placed the bag on the table with the khalifa pipe. Banj opened the bag and retrieved a small transparent pouch filled with white powder, another transparent bag filled with what looked like green shredded grass and three green bottles, one with out labels and the other two having yellow covers and yellow labels around them. He laid them out on the table carefully and when he was done, looked at king Kahn with a smile on his face and said "Kokane, e dey. Mariwana, e dey. Seerup or Alor-mor, that one sef dey. For my last vision, I see sey the only way to restore your power na to find wife. I no sey to find wife don dey hard you since tey tey so for you to find the one babe wey fit your spec, you sef go follow see vision with me. Pick one of these make me high together. You no fit do am alone because na me get the eye wey dey see spiritual tings. Pick one and we go high, you go see your wife, then you gats go find am, marry am, restore your power and save our nyash before them bad belle Edochie's use use chop suya. U hear?" King Ode Kahn sat with an expression of digust, disbelief and exhaustion on his face. It was obvious he had no other options at the moment.

Outside, listening to every word being uttered in the room, was Akunai. After hearing Banj's offer to king Kahn, he unsheathed his sword and charged into the room. He was the head of the royal guard, he had trained most of the men remaining guards in the room with the king, it would be easy to slay them all. He burst into the room, sent his sword into the belly of the guard closest to him and screamed "In the name of the first men, the true rulers of Kongdobia, I swear to kill you all"

to be continued