Dumo sat and looked at the Fakarans. Rejji looked at his two friends and stood. “Chief Dumo, council members,” nodded Rejji. “I am not familiar with your laws, but I can assure this council that we have no ill intent in visiting your lands. Our purpose for being here is to safely complete a journey to the Bone Mountains in search of the Sage of the Mountain. We would have preferred not to enter the jungle at all, but our lives were at stake. The Jiadin seek to murder us for reasons unknown to us. They were nearly upon us when we entered the jungle. Still our intent at that point was to hug the edge of the jungle until we could safely exit it again. I fear we got lost in that attempt.”
Rejji waited for some reaction to his statements, but saw none forthcoming so he continued, “As for trespassing on your lands, I must say that I have never heard of the Qubari before, and certainly not your laws that forbid trespass. Now that I am aware of you and your laws, I beg your forgiveness and ask permission to complete our journey.”
There was still no response and Rejji sat down. The council members looked at each of the Fakarans in turn and appeared to waiting for something to happen. Finally, Chief Dumo rose again.
“I have heard the statement of the one called Rejji,” he declared. “What of the others? Have you nothing to say?”
Yltar was staring at Bakhai, but Bakhai sat with his head down and said nothing. Rejji nudged Mistake and finally she rose.
“I am Mistake,” she began nervously. “What Rejji says is all true. We are not interested in being here and don’t want anything from you. We just want to continue our journey.”
Mistake sat back down and Rejji nudged Bakhai who just shook his head and refused to stand. Rejji nudged him again and finally Bakhai stood and looked Yltar in the eye.
“I am Bakhai,” he declared. “I agree with what my friends have said and ask permission to complete our journey.”
Bakhai sat down and whispers began flowing among the council members. Finally, Chief Dumo stood again.
“Bakhai,” he asked, “do you not remember the conversation you had with our head shaman?”
Bakhai just nodded and Rejji saw the displeasure on the chief’s face so he elbowed Bakhai. Bakhai grudgingly stood and faced the chief.
“I do remember the conversation very well,” Bakhai stated. “I understand the possible results of this council’s actions, both on me and on my friends. I am being put in the position of seeking gain for myself at the expense of my friends. I cannot and will not accept that. I know these two people very well and count myself lucky to have such friends. I have never had such friends before in my life. If you are wishing for me to beg for my life while you kill Rejji and Mistake, then you are wasting your time. If you are to set them free, I intend to go with them. If you kill them, I expect to die with them, because I would not want to be a part of a civilization that would end the lives of such fine people.”
Bakhai sat and Rejji cringed when he saw the expressions of the council members. They clearly were not happy with Bakhai’s speech. Dumo, in particular, was angry. Rejji could see the fury in the old man’s face.
“You think our civilization horrid, do you?” bellowed the chief. “At least we have law and order here. Less can be said of the civilization you have just come from. It is ruled by bandits who are the spawn of murderous invaders. They kill for sport and take what they want. Well they have tried to take what is in our care before and they have failed. They failed because we do not allow invaders to remain alive in our jungle. You act as if your lives are more important than our laws and I cannot allow that attitude to go unpunished. If that means that Bakhai must die with the rest then so be it.”
Chapter 19
Dumo
While Chief Dumo’s face burned with rage as he delivered his speech, Yltar’s face was one of profound sadness. Mistake rose so swiftly that the guards lowered their spears to protect the council, but she made no move towards the table.
“You speak ill of the civilization I come from,” said Mistake calmly, “and you are right to do so.”
Dumo’s face registered surprise as Mistake continued, “The problem with Fakara is indeed that is lacks law and order. The country is run by bullies who do kill without reason and take whatever they wish. Would you wish it to be different?”
“No country should exist without law and order,” growled Dumo, “but if you think that by agreeing with me that I will let you go, save your breath. I will not be sweet talked into ignoring our laws.”
“The talk I offer you is not sweet by any means,” continued Mistake. “Fakara is changing right now. You may not be aware of it, but the Jiadin tribe is attempting to unite the tribes under Grulak’s rule. If he succeeds, you had better plan to man your borders once again, for he will not leave you in peace.”
“While that may be so,” retorted Dumo, “my actions have no bearing on that.”
“Oh but they do,” Mistake said. “One of the people you wish to kill here today has made it his life’s work to offer Fakara another solution to their poverty and lawlessness. Rejji has already been in contact with clans in Khadora and arranged to set up a trading port to bring in food and tools to help the Fakaran people rebuild their society. It is a task that will be arduous and difficult, but Bakhai and I have promised to help him. This trip through your land is solely my fault. I insisted that we seek the Sage of the Mountain to learn of my real family before we start the rebuilding effort. When you kill us, you kill the alternative to Grulak’s domination. We can not stop you from killing us. After all, the law is on your side. But before you do, ask yourself one question. Does it benefit the Qubari people more to have Fakarans working in peace to become good neighbors to you, or is it more beneficial to add three young bodies to your graveyard?”
“It is not our desire to kill you to fill our graveyard,” blustered Dumo. “It is to maintain the secrecy of the Qubari Jungle. What you have seen already is enough to aid an attacking army. As the leader of the Qubari, I risk the lives of my people by allowing you to carry word of your discoveries out of the jungle. That is why we have the law and that is why we still exist.”
“Would not our vow of secrecy be sufficient?” asked Mistake. “We have no desire to bring harm to your people.”
“I cannot risk the lives of my people on the vows of strangers,” Dumo shook his head. “Two people have left this jungle in my lifetime. Both ended in disaster for us. I cannot take that chance.”
Anderal rose and asked permission to speak and Dumo nodded and sat down.
“Rejji,” the council member asked, “Mistake has told us of your mission in life and it intrigues me. Having a stable government in Fakara would certainly be most welcome, but I fail to see how simply instituting trade with Khadora would do anything other than create another tempting target for the Jiadin. Can you explain this to me?”
“It will create a tempting target,” agreed Rejji, “but it will also create wealth. The tribes today live off of the surrounding villages. The villages have little to live on and therefore the tribes have little as well. I intend to offer a better life, not only to the villagers, but also to the tribes. I believe that most tribes would gladly give up being bandits if there was a way for them to exist. The wealth we create in Fakara can be used to create more wealth. If we have a market to export the results of our labors, then those labors become worth something. As Fakara exists today, young people from the villages join the tribes because there is no other option. We plan to create that other option.”
“Why won’t the tribes just raid your new wealth?” questioned Anderal.