Chapter 19: Visible Enemy

The Karanga kingdom was still recovering from the destruction made by Mutapa. Those who were wounded had recovered but the scars remained as permanent reminders of how they almost perished in the teeth of Mutapa's army.

Their population had been greatly decimated with the females dominating the males in numbers. The king had commanded his warriors to help the people by encircling the newly built homes with pole and daggar

Thorns were gathered and put along the pole and dagger boundary. Young boys were trained to become archers who would defend the people. A high tree stood in the middle of the homes and its height was used for watching the enemy before it approached their homes.

The people were not allowed to go out of the boundary except on appointed times when they were allowed to gather firewood, fruits, hunt and harvest their crops since the harvest season was due.

Whistles of wood were made and given to everyone so that they would blow it when in danger. Every male person left in the kingdom was trained to fight. Mambo Tenda had also trained the people to create pockets in the ground to hide in case of another attack.

These pockets were specifically designed for children but adults ended up creating their own and for their women. Warriors patrolled the border wall day and night and they were commanded to kill anyone who approached the boundary from outside at night.

Their cattle herders moved closer to kingdom and were instructed to leave their cattle in case of any attack. But they were given horns to blow if there was any danger.

Muteyo and Musiiwa, the top warriors in the king's army trained young men to be brave and to fight in every kind of situation. The young men's skilled were put to test when one of the warriors in the center tree blew his whistle.

Whistles blew everywhere and children and women began hiding in their ground pockets. Men gathered their weapons as they prepared to fight.

Muteyo approached the center tree and the young men there pointed to the North. Muteyo approached the pole and dagger boundary. He stepped on a stone like every warrior there and saw men wearing red cloth accompanied by Gora who covered his face with the skin of a lion's head. Different predators walked in front of them.

When Musiiwa came to the boundary, he saw this and said, "Does the Bantu army have anything to do with Mutapa?"

Muteyo kept his eye on Mutapa and said, "There's only one way to find out."

Gora, the animals and the warriors accompanying him stopped at once. The animals sat in front of them. Muteyo and the warriors watched from a distance and one of the warriors asked, "What are they doing?"

"Wait for it," Musiiwa responded.

One Bantu warrior walked from the group towards the boundary. The Karanga men stretched their bows towards him. "Everyone, you attack at my command!" Musiiwa shouted and the warriors prepared to attack the man.

The man stood somewhere between the Mutapa and the Karanga boundary. "Men of the Karanga kingdom, the Bantu king sent his regards! The one you know as Mutapa is one of us. Changamire Zama wishes to tell you that from today onwards, you pay tribute to him. You are required to send a herd of cattle to the Bantu kingdom if you want to live in peace. Failure to obey his word will result in war. Remember, Mutapa is one of us!" The man shouted as the Karanga people listened.

"This is impossible. The Bantu people are on our side, right?" One of the warriors standing next to Musiiwa and Muteyo said.

"Evil reigns in man's hearts. Anything is possible," Muteyo responded.

"Unbelievable," Musiiwa said.

"Lower your weapons. If they had come for war we would be fighting right now," Muteyo commanded his army.

They watched as the man returned to Gora and the warriors accompanying him. Gora and his men began walking towards the West and the people knew that they were going for the Zezuru kingdom.

"We have to follow them and kill them. Their number is not so great," Musiiwa said.

"No! If we go after them, our kingdom will be left vulnerable. Who knows if there are others like Mutapa in their army?" Muteyo countered.

"They fooled us all along, and they have to pay for it," Musiiwa said.

"Do not let your anger cause you to give the wrong judgement in a situation like this. Use of your mind. The king has to know about this," Muteyo said.

Musiiwa nodded but he wanted to pursue them and fight them. Musiiwa stepped down from the stone and commanded his warriors saying, "Archers, remain on your positions. I need others to walk around the boundary checking if there's any danger approaching."

The leaders of the warrior's ranks nodded and started giving positions to their men. Muteyo and Musiiwa went the king's new compound which sat near the center tree. He was coming out of his hut with a spear to go and help the warriors when he saw Muteyo and Musiiwa approaching.

"I thought the enemy had visited us again," the king said as he stood in front of them.

"He visited. But there's a new development," Musiiwa said.

They looked at each other and the king said, "Why do I feel like I am not to like what you want to say?"

Muteyo cleared his throat and said, "Mutapa is one of the Bantu warriors. They came together and he has demanded that we give them cattle or they will destroy our land again."

Mambo Tenda chuckled and said, "Just tell me it was a false alarm."

"We saw it with our own eyes and heard what they said with our own ears. The Bantu king says we now serve him and he demands cattle if we are going to live at peace with him," Musiiwa said.

Mambo Tenda laughed and said, "What game are you two trying to play here? I was in the Bantu kingdom when his daughter was captured by Mutapa. He even injured the king and killed the maidens who served the Princess."

Musiiwa and Muteyo just looked at each other and remained quiet. The king saw that they were not lying and he walked towards the boundary and stepped on a stone. He looked and saw men wearing red accompanied by animals walking with Gora towards the West.

For a moment he thought he was not seeing clearly. He wiped his eyes using his hands and opened his eyes hoping to see something different but what he saw at first was what he still saw.

A herder appeared from the West and ran towards the kingdom. They all watched expecting to see Mutapa following the herder but he was alone. They opened the main gate for him and ran to the king and fell before him.

"Mambo, Mutapa has killed some of our cattle. He says if you don't bring a herd of cattle to the Bantu kingdom, he will come and teach you to obey Changamire Zama. He will take the cattle afterwards," the herdman said.

Mambo Tenda was filled with rage and he tore his garment. "Has the Bantu king lost his mind? I will never hand over my cattle to him," the king vowed as he paced around.

"Perhaps this is a matter we have to discuss alone," one of the king's elders said as he approached them.

The looked at his elder and marched towards his compound angrily. He sat down with his elders as well as Muteyo and Musiiwa.

"This doesn't make sense. Mutapa is of the Bantu kingdom?" Musiiwa said.

"The Bantu kingdom was never attacked at all. All we know is that they claim that their cattle were attacked and their Princess taken.

None of their houses were burnt. So it does make sense," one of the elders who escorted the Karanga king to the Bantu kingdom said.

"So are we going to give them cattle?" Muteyo questioned.

"Our kingdom was destroyed when they sent their man to attack us. We can't risk another attack. Let's just hand over the cattle to them as we figure a way to kill their hero," one of the elders responded.

"No he fooled us. We can launch an attack in their kingdom and bring it to ashes. They have to pay for the sin they did to our kingdom," another elder responded.

The group became divided as others wanted vengeance whilst others wanted peace. The king remained silent as his men argued about the way forward. His heart had already decided on the course of action he was going to take.

He raised his staff and everyone went silent. "We lost our loved ones when Mutapa came to our kingdom. Not only us, but the Manyika and Zezuru people lost their loved ones as well. Innocent blood was spilt over our land because one man has decided to rule us all. I say blood for blood. We have the Manyika and Zezuru kings to help us. If they agree to fight the Bantu, then we are going for war. I need messengers sent to the Zezuru and Manyika kingdoms. Let them know the truth."