"Why did you do that?" The chief asked fearfully after recovering from his shock."Aren"t you going to receive me and at least let me have a rest father?" Ochieng" answered the chief"s question with another question.
This confused the chief a little, he walked side by side with Ochieng" to his large hut, after exchanging a few things concerning the clan"s administration and the burial ceremony of his son, wife and the dead warriors with the clan elders.
After this, the chief could be more than busy taking care of this and that. First of all, he was to feast with the whole clan to welcome back his son. Secondly, he was to pa.s.s the stool and an "orengo"ยน to his second son Okoth Ang"wen officially as the next chief. Thirdly, he was to be involved in the entombment of his dead eldest son and Achola Nyakune. Lastly, he was to go to the clan"s shrine and pour a liberation of blood and milk to "Were" as a thanksgiving.
The two clays could not be inhumed for long. So their burial would have to be the next day. This would go along with the honoring of those who died during the civil war. Those who had proved to be heinous when that was happening would be put under severe punishment. All that would take place for a period of one week.
The next day, the clansmen were in the chief"s compound. The ambiance of the compound was gloomy. Women were shrieking, the children were playing here and there, completely ignorant of what was going on, young men were used as couriers and were constantly running in and out of the compound. Women who were not crying were busy helping the remaining chief"s seven wives with the cooking. Men sat in a circle at the center of the compound enjoying the elixir of "kong"o".
Normally, if Ok.u.mu just died alone, the ceremony could have taken place in his own home. Since this involved the death of his mother and other clan members, the observance had to take place in the chief"s home. Ok.u.mu would however be buried in his own.
Ochieng" decided to sneak out of the clan with Apeleka at aurora that very day. Many who had come specifically to see him were truly foiled. Since he didn"t tell anyone where he was going and when he was leaving, even the chief and his first wife could only brush off those who came with the intention of seeing him bitterly.
At the two sides of the entrance of the Lang tribe from the Lu tribe, there stood two warriors guarding it. The warriors were hulky. They looked powerful and the scrunch on their faces made them appear dangerous. Just looking at them could make one be ignited with fear. They stood there like dummies and if not for the aura they exuded, one could completely ignore them.
It was a place at the south eastern part of the Lu tribe land. It was also the one amongst many borders of the Lu tribe and the Lang tribe. Such places were always guarded by warriors from both tribes, however, in this particular border, the people from Lang tribe did not give the people from Lu tribe such chance because they had the upper hand in battles at that border line. Because of this, there was no one from the Lu tribe around the place. Not far away from there was a path leading to the forbidden land.
This place was not very far from the Odindi clan. It could take a messenger at most four days if he used a short cut. If it was Ochieng" or his horse, a hour or two was just enough for them to cover that short cut.
At noon, the day Chief Ong"am decided to bury his dead members of the family, some uninvited invitee arrived at this the entrance of the Lang tribe. They were two people, a young man and woman. They looked perfectly matched as they walked beside one another. One was a beautiful woman who could make birds chime in concordance at her sight. The other one was an inviolable handsome young man that could walk among mortals without fear of being harmed.
When they arrived near the entrance, the two Lang warriors" superciliums rose. They could not believe that there were people who were egotistical enough to dare infiltrate their Lang tribe.
The young woman and man were Apeleka and Ochieng". They came with the horse but decided to hide it somewhere to avoid causing ruckus when they arrived at the Lang tribe. As for Jakony, Apeleka left it behind to sing for Anyango. He was here to help Apeleka settle a few things with her tribesmen.
"What do you two kids want here?" One of the warriors asked impatiently in Lu language.
"Will you let us pa.s.s or we enter on our own?" Apeleka asked with a smirk.
"I would like to see you pa.s.sing on your own." The other warrior said disdainfully.
Apeleka laughed softly before trying to make her way into the Lang tribe. The two warriors snorted in displeasure before stopping the woman. This time they forgot that that was a woman and wanted to push her away. The moment they lifted their hands, their arms were stopped in midair. They struggled to free themselves but no matter how hard they tried, the hands that held them could not even move.
"Whoever touches her dies." The voice of the owner of the hands said without any feeling.
The fact that the person could hold their arms and still remain calm no matter how they struggled came to show how strong he was. It was after this realization came to them that they realized that they had bitten what they could not chew. Frigid sweat started trickling down their foreheads. They even started trembling in fear.
"Sir, please spare us." They knelt and started begging Ochieng" for mercy in fright.
Ochieng"s look did not however change. It was as if he wasn"t listening to them. He looked at them in the eyes and removed his sword. The two warriors felt their emotions stir and started swallowing heavy hunks of saliva. They knew their end was nigh.
"Hold it right there!"
Ochieng" had lifted his sword to end these two people when a coa.r.s.e voice sounded. He lifted his head only to see a group of around thirty Lang warriors. The warriors were looking at him with homicidal eyes. A normal human being could quail on seeing them but as for Ochieng", a "Mogwedhi" who had gone into wars against several savage beasts could not tremble before them.
Apeleka was however filled with fear. She did not believe that Ochieng" could handle such a big number. She started even worrying about him but when she turned her head and saw the audacious expression of her man, she could only sigh and wait for what was to come.
1: It is the end of the cow"s tail that has a lot of hair. It was used as a symbol of power by the Luo people. After an animal had been flayed, this part of the tail was cut and preserved.