TRAILING SHADOWS - Chapter 195

Malinton could feel the heat in the air as he rode his horse, closer to the council house fo the Ilu Of Fate and divination. H eid dnot kike the idea of which he whas to come back here because he could almost swear the tensopn in the air was as thick as bread, laden with butter.

Of all the places to be at right about now, coming back to the Ilu Ifa was not the most pleasant place to be. He had been on a mission back then, all on the mission to get to the Blue Moon Mercenary Alliance House to get a bounty filed in.

It was a simple matter that the council of the Ilu Ifa had thought it important to be a part of but then again, they could not just go all out and then soil their hands in the public. The motivation had been to make  the job seem like it was fate playing out all against itself.

That way, there would be no way to point fingers And in a way, it sorta created a loophole for them to exploit such that they could ignore the demise of the target, which could be considered true because in actuality they did not have the direct dealings in that.

But that was quite the time ago. He had been summoned back from Ilu Eshu where he had been positioned as a Spy. As a spy, it was important for him to father information on the way the things went on in the neighbouring realms such that the realm which he was under could be several steps ahead of the other. It was in this way, they all fostered the need to get better and even stronger than the others.

It Was something all the realms recognized and subtly took part in, although, it was considered grievous when such spies were found. Just as in the way things would actually go on Earth, except that it had to be with spirit beings.

Riding on the horse, Malinton had never been so uncomfortable. His throat felt parched and he needed a drink of the alcoholic beverage that was in the flask, just in the pouch by his left hip. But then  again, he knew he could not do that, another downside of having to come to Ilu ifa, most especially when he had to do business in the Council house.

The last time he had had a drink of alcohol or was it wine then, and the Prime knew about it, it had almost cost him his head. The least he could do was not to repeat that again. At least, so that his head could remain longer on his shoulders.

After all, the last time, the Prime Overlord, had given him an explicit warning about how he would not be lucky the  next time.

Such was one of the reasons why he did not like the summon of which he had answered to come back to the Council House. The Prime Over Lord did not like to have people who drank because, according to history, it was such a taboo for them. But what gives? He was a fan of wine and the fact that the Prime was such a sticker for the abolishment amongst his kind of Irunmoles did not nreally freak him.

But then again, it would be foolhardy for him to act like he did not know what she would do if he was caught. That was why he had had to watch  his drinking habits before heading down here for the past two days.

The only thing he quite enjoyed about this place, even as he rode down the scanty streets was the wind and the trees that were just about everywhere. It was a serene and quiet place, he had to give the Ilu Ifa that.

But that was it.

The wind blew his clothing just a little, parting his attire of the shoulder strap white loin cloth which he had on, the shoulder strap being on his left shoulder to the right side of the body. He had his hands wound around the grey reingings of his horse, as he rode on in silence. The serenity of this place could be mistaken for someone who was used to the bustling and busy atmosphere of other realms to be eerie. But this was here he was born so he’s pretty much used to it.

Except that he could not really take the time to appreciate all of that. His mind worked on, tirelessly as he kept on riding his horse on the scanty road. The soft chattering of the occasional passerby didn’t faze him as he thought about what had happened back then in Ilu Eshu.

It was about the mission that he had filed at the mercenary house as a bounty. But then again, he was sure from that time that things had come south when the burly faced Irunmole had come to him, trying to thwart the mission away. He had not really given it much thought, thinking that as far as the mission was done, it didn’t really matter whether or not it was filed officially.

But then again, he did keep tabs on what was going on, after all, he was but a spy who had being positioned in the Iu Eshu for strategic reasons. He did find out that the mission had almost gone down the drain but the management had worked hard to track down the renegades and then, have them replaced.

that had been enough. But only for him to get there again, after he did not get to hear any word of confirmation from them, and then find out that the mission was a complete failure. He grimaced even now as he thought of how that could have been.

The Blue Moon Mercenary Alliance was one of the top best. It was not logical that they would fail to deliver. But then again, that was the case and there was very little that he could do. When he had pushed to see the General, he got to know that the General had been in training for a while and would not like to be disturbed.

He had been summoned shortly after, and coming down here, he could almost guess what they wanted of him.

A status report, no doubt. A status report that was not what they needed or wanted to hear. they wanted to hear that the mission had been delivered. How then was he going to carry out the task of having to tell them that the mission and failed and the bounties were yet alive?

That puzzled him so, so much.

“This is tiring. I need a drink.” Malinton said, speaking out of the dryness of his parched throat as he scratched the back of his head with the left hand, a smile plastered on his face.

“You would have a drink when you are inside, preferably, non alcoholic.” A voice sounded off, breaking into Malinton’s daydream.

‘Eh?” Malinton opened his eyes immediately, putting his hand to the side.

Malinton swallowed nervously as he looked to the soldier that had greeted him, smiling shyly as he rode past. Rather, as he trotted past. He would not rather be found in such awkward conditions as that as he could still remember the humiliation that he had gone through back then when the Prime had decided to deal with him for his drinking habits.

Malinton sighed and then licked his lips as two guards walked to his side. They had the usual armor of leather on them, some of having the red and bronze on the. They instantly and wordlessly helped him down from the horse and then began to lead the way, beckoning to him to follow.

Soon, they came into the sight of the towering Council House with the numerous engraving of the Prophetic god in various poses and doing whatnot. It was the design that was particular to this region based on their standing as Irunmoles of the God of Fate and Divination.

“Ti O ba fe lo ku,  Boya ko shey dada!” A gruff voice sounded, the sound of it, making Malitnon’s eyes widen immediately.

His body shivered involuntarily as he stared right into the eyes of the personal Aides of the Priem Overlord, The Alpha Shola.

Shola had a tight scowl on his face and his right hand clenched tightly on the hilt of his blade which was strapped to his waist at the left hand. The sword was strapped into a scabbard that seemed to reflect light, giving it a sort of twinkling sensation.

But that was just about the only thing that did not look so deadly with him.  Malinton swallowed as he tried his very best not to panic under the intense stare of the personal aide of Prime Shope, the Orunmila of the Ilu Ifa.

__________________________

(T/N)

(1) If you don’t want to die, you better watch yourself.