Chapter Five

“No one has ever survived a sting from the Kodrogo! I'm sorry Nhevia, but it seems your friend will surely lose his life!” An elderly man said to Nhevia who sat beside Alves, with a wet piece of fabric she used to clean his sweat periodically.

“There's still life in him.” She insisted. 

“Yes, but how long before life goes out of him?” 

“Not before I get him to Arithayal”

“What?” The man asked in shock. 

“Yes, the wizard will surely have a way of curing him with his magical powers.” 

“But that is a very long distance. His body is already heated up and I don't think he'll make it to the Eastlands.”

“Should I rather sit and watch him die, or should I try and see how it goes? This man saved me without even knowing who I was. I would do the same for him.”

“I hope the spirits protect you child.” The man offered his blessings then left the room. 

*****

Water, food, a few clothes in a backpack, and Nhevia embarked on her journey to the Eastlands with Alves carefully tied at the back of the horse, leaning on her body as the horse moved slowly to avoid him falling off. “Arithayal doesn't even know me, why would he be interested in anything I have to say? Oh yes! He would surely know Alves is the Bushika when he sees him, he's a wizard and he should have such power. Shouldn't he? Alves.” She spoke to Alves knowing he couldn't hear her. It helped her establish a connection with him, making the journey less boring and ominous. 

The journey was arduous, with Nhevia pushing forward through dense forests and treacherous terrain. Alves' condition worsened with each passing day, his breathing shallow and his skin pale. 

“I won't give up on you Alves, I haven't known you for so long but I know you are strong. You are a strong person. Hold on, hold on tight.” 

She finally crossed the borders into the Eastlands, asking anyone she saw “Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, I'm looking for the Wizard, Arithayal.” Everyone she met had no idea until she met an eleven year old boy. “Hey, I'm new here and I'm looking for Arithayal, the wizard. Do you know where I can find him?”

The boy looked at her, tall on the horse then looked at Alves. “That guy looks dead, is he your boyfriend?” He asked, wanting to touch Alves’s boots. 

“No he's my friend and he needs help from the wizard or he will die.”

“I will help you, but it will cost you a few coins.” The little boy smiled, revealing the gap between his front teeth. 

“I'm so sorry I don't have any coins left, can you be kind enough to take me there, please?”

“Sorry I don't have any energy left to take you there.” He immediately turned to leave. 

“Wait!” Nhevia called back. “Here, that's all I have.” She tossed a coin to him and the boy shook his head in disapproval, Nhevia tossed another coin then he smiled. “Good, now I have the strength to take you there.” He put the coins in his pockets then pointed to a house not far from where they stood. “There, that's Arithayal’s place.”

“What? The place is just right there? You could've just told me it's right there.” She felt ashamed of being cheated by a child. But at the same time, felt disappointed that a kid would be so cunning. 

“I needed a few coins for my dinner. Thank you beautiful stranger.” The boy said, waving at her with a mocking smile. Just as Nhevia turned to leave, she saw two men emerge from a crowd in the distance, pointing at the boy who'd just cheated her. 

“There he is, the little boy, he's the one who stole my wallet yesterday.” One of them said and they ran towards the little one. “He picks the pockets of everyone in the market. Get him now!” They followed after the boy as he ran to the back of a house nearby. “Wow, he's not a learner.” Nhevia was shocked at how professional he was. 

*****

“What brings you here?” the voice of Arithayal echoed as he walked from one side of the room to another with his hands behind him. His black robes and white hair made him good to look at. Nhevia expected someone old, but was shocked to see a man looking in his fifties. “He must have been using magic portions to slow down his ageing.” Nhevia thought. 

“My friend Alves. He's dying.” She started. 

“I can see that.”

“I need your help, great Wizard. He was stung by the Kodrogo and I know of nowhere else to go but to you alone.”

“When did this happen?” Arithayal held Alves’s hand to check his pulse. 

“It happened a few days ago.” She could already sense that Arithayal was a good man. He walked around sick Alves, whispering in a language Nhevia has never heard. He touched Alves and placed the back of his hand around his neck to feel the body temperature. “He's really dying.” He said before seeing the medallion around his neck. “The medallion of light!” He whispered. 

“Is it something special?”

“This belonged to an old friend who went to the Westlands in search of the Bushika. His name is Trent Auriel.” He couldn't understand why someone else ended up with it. 

“Trent Auriel?” Nhevia asked. 

“Yes. You know him?”

“I wouldn't say I know him. But I saw him in Alves’s past.”

“You have a gift of the past?”

“Yes wizard, I can see people's past.”

“So, in Alves’s past, what did you see about my friend Trent? Where is he now?”

“I'm sorry, your friend is dead. He met Alves in prison and he gave him this medallion. Trent was beheaded by the Doshikans.”

“Why did they kill him?”

“I'm sorry, I can see the past, but to see so many details, I need to have longer contact with the subject. I didn't see so much the night I touched Alves.” 

“It's alright.” Arithayal whispered in the heartbreak of losing his friend. He looked around the room with watery eyes, looked at the medallion around the young man's neck then uttered “I can cure him!”

*****

“Kharimat eliahs… Dorshkhai…” Nhevia could hear the wizard’s magical words from outside. He requested to be left alone with Alves for the healing magic and it was a long and challenging process. Her fear arose whenever she remembered that there was no record of anyone ever surviving the Kodrogo’s sting. 

“Khis et kumet bibar mhert kwihkom” Arithayal’s voice sounded again and Nhevia heard someone cough “What? That's Alves, that's him, he's alive!” She rushed into the room though not told to do so, she could see Alves sitting up on his own. “You're alive! It worked. Oh thank the spirits.” 

She rushed to where he was, wrapped her hands around his neck in a tight hug. “I was scared you might never speak again.” She had never had a connection with anyone since the death of her parents till Alves came into her life that night, and she'd spent the past days on the back of a horse with him wondering if he would make it alive or not. “Thank the spirits!” She prayed again, hugging him even tighter. It meant more than just seeing him alive again. 

Lost in the joy, Nhevia broke from the hug, placing her soft lips against his. It was a kiss! She quickly noticed her excitement had gone too far when she pulled back “Oh I'm… I'm so sorry I got too excited.”