March 5, 2015
March 6, 2015
Nyansakrom: Chapter 10
Nyansakrom: Chapter 10
by safohen
There was an air of calm as the sun rose in the sky, its rays bathing Mampam prison in bright light. An outpost guard watched the surroundings warily.
'Any more accidental discoveries, she sighed, 'and we may have to find a new Mampam Prison'.
'A warm fog slowly rose up from the trees, blocking her view of the forest floor.
'Foggy weather,that's unusual she thought. 'Just a few minutes ago, Despite the sudden attack, the guards adapted quickly, using their shields to protect themselves from the incoming projectiles. Prisoners were ordered to return to their cells without explanations. There was a loud crash as the prison gates were broken down by convicts and asafo who had used the 'fog' for cover. Even then, the guards fought bravely, using their superior numbers to keep the enemy at bay.
Suddenly, more of the intruders emerged from an old well, armed to the teeth and savagely beat down any guards in their path. Faced with a three pronged attack, the guards felt despair for the first time in their careers as they were soon overwhelmed.
Sumina opened a smaller gate to let in the three mbrewanana and the ahintafour.
'Take the bushfire unit and the asafo, Asamoah, Agyeiwaa' ordered Ama, 'Find the 8 groups quickly.'
Araba and Asamoah led two asafo units in reaking through the guards who defended the cells and smashed them open. Convicts were asked about the 8 and were given a weapon to fight with.
'Four of them are on the top floor and the rest are at the bottom' reported Agyeiwaa to Ama.
'Well done, Agyeiwaa. Adwoa, take the ground floor. Adisa and I will take the first floor.'
The first four decided to join Ama but voiced their reservations about Kyeiwaa.
'The kakai of Nyansakrom is a bloodthirsty asafo who has lost any human feelings, warned the war queen.
'It cannot be helped, replied Ama, 'I need her skills just as much as I need yours'.
'What will you offer me in exchange for my co-operation?', asked Kyeiwaa
'Complete pardon from your crimes once we win the war and the freedom to dish out your own twisted sense of justice and discipline on the people of Nyansakrom' replied Ama.
'So even if your niece gossips about me and I cut off her tongue, you'll let it slide?' asked Kyeiwaa.
'You're free to discipline culprits of deviant behaviour as you see fit. Their relation to me is not important, just don't kill too many of them. Such people do not belong in the new era we seek to usher in'. said Adwoa.
'That....is an interesting answer' said Kyeiwaa with a wide grin.
'I had my doubts about how important you two are to us , at first, said Adwoa as she faced Sika and Abakan with four of the remaining groups.
'But let's consider the following, you both cheated the village in market sales but before it was proven in court, the community declared you guilty until proven innocent. When I suggested that you both be sent to a maximum security prison for dangerous, hardened criminals, no one objected'. They felt that you actually deserved to be here!'
'The moment you entered your cells, you knew that once you got out, the village would never trust you again. 'You would get no jobs, no friends and your families would continue to view you as scum. I have counselled such families before but they are adamant in maintaining such views even though we both know its wrong.
'Your son is in a bad spot as well. He may be an asafo now but they don't really trust him. As long as he can be useful, they'll smile at him but when he's older, he'll be seen as a threat to his age mates. A crab does not give birth to a bird. His parents were rotten therefore he must also be rotten or could be. Thus, one fine morning, they'll send him off to some decrepit outpost where he will only come back to report and leave the village moments later.
'He'll stay there for his entire life knowing that he never had real friends, strong family ties all because of the sins you two have committted. Or he'll die in some war during his stay there and the village will heave a huge sigh of relief.'
'Either way, you and him have no rela future in the current set up of things but if you join us and use your financial prowess, the village will accept you. Under our rule, there will be no need to cheat to pay debts as you did, your son will be recognised for who he is and not be considered as a mere tool and neither will you'.
'Its alright to be anxious but be quick about your decision, we don't have much time.'
'Most of what you've said is true, said Sika, wiping the sweat off her brow,' but are mbrewanana not supposed to guide us to make better choices, instead of attacking prisons and causing chaos?"
'Mbrewanananom do not have enough power the way things are now. We can come up with the answers but we lack the power to enforce them. We provide guidance but not enforcement of the solutions. Our advice has often fallen on deaf ears. But under the rule of the mbrewanana, we will make them hear us and we will lead Nyansakrom to become what it was supposed to be, a true village of wisdom.
'However we are forced to use brute force and violence to bring about this change. These are the effective tools that willbring about a new era, the era of the sages. An era where reason and fairness will abound in Nyansakrom. Where dialogue and understanding will be second nature in settling conflicts. Where wisdom will truly be known as the greatest power of a village.
'But until then , we must weed out those who will oppose us, beginning with the royals, beneficiaries of a flawed system that says leadership is by birthright. It will be the first of many systems that will fall. To kill a snake, you take off it's head.'
'We will not be a part of ....' Abakan began.
'This' concluded Adwoa. 'Then perish' she said before signalling to the five okofour to kill them before leaving the room with the remaining three groups. Before they could strike , the warden and eight asafo of Dede's company burst into the cell and attacked them. In the fierce battle that followed, the couple were hurt, and the five okofour were subdued.
Dede and the rest of her team fought the intruders side by side with the prison guards. She cut a path through the convicts and rogue asafo with the blunt edge of her akofena.
Sensing danger, Tumi retreated amidst the barrage of flaming arrows, smoke and spears they used when escaping. When the smoke cleared, most of them had left.
Sumina was detained again after a clash with Aba fell in her favour. The same fate befell the rogue mbrewanana, the elder and the warqueen. A headcount showed that 30 guards needed intensive care and that 80% of the prisoners were locked up in their cells.
Those missing included Kyeiwaa, the seven rogue asafo, the five obrafour, and the ahintafour.
'Not enough to completely outmatch us in an attack but still a lot, Aba noted, glad that her plan for handling the intervention at the prison had worked!
'Does your interrogation chamber still work? Pokuaa asked the warden.
'Yes, but aren't you a little too young to interrogate Sumina?'
'He was with the Tumi for a fair amount of time and may have vital information on them. My captain wants to interrogate him and also show me how it's done.'
'I'll tell my officers to get it ready'.
'Any more accidental discoveries, she sighed, 'and we may have to find a new Mampam Prison'.
'A warm fog slowly rose up from the trees, blocking her view of the forest floor.
'Foggy weather,that's unusual she thought. 'Just a few minutes ago, Despite the sudden attack, the guards adapted quickly, using their shields to protect themselves from the incoming projectiles. Prisoners were ordered to return to their cells without explanations. There was a loud crash as the prison gates were broken down by convicts and asafo who had used the 'fog' for cover. Even then, the guards fought bravely, using their superior numbers to keep the enemy at bay.
Suddenly, more of the intruders emerged from an old well, armed to the teeth and savagely beat down any guards in their path. Faced with a three pronged attack, the guards felt despair for the first time in their careers as they were soon overwhelmed.
Sumina opened a smaller gate to let in the three mbrewanana and the ahintafour.
'Take the bushfire unit and the asafo, Asamoah, Agyeiwaa' ordered Ama, 'Find the 8 groups quickly.'
Araba and Asamoah led two asafo units in reaking through the guards who defended the cells and smashed them open. Convicts were asked about the 8 and were given a weapon to fight with.
'Four of them are on the top floor and the rest are at the bottom' reported Agyeiwaa to Ama.
'Well done, Agyeiwaa. Adwoa, take the ground floor. Adisa and I will take the first floor.'
The first four decided to join Ama but voiced their reservations about Kyeiwaa.
'The kakai of Nyansakrom is a bloodthirsty asafo who has lost any human feelings, warned the war queen.
'It cannot be helped, replied Ama, 'I need her skills just as much as I need yours'.
'What will you offer me in exchange for my co-operation?', asked Kyeiwaa
'Complete pardon from your crimes once we win the war and the freedom to dish out your own twisted sense of justice and discipline on the people of Nyansakrom' replied Ama.
'So even if your niece gossips about me and I cut off her tongue, you'll let it slide?' asked Kyeiwaa.
'You're free to discipline culprits of deviant behaviour as you see fit. Their relation to me is not important, just don't kill too many of them. Such people do not belong in the new era we seek to usher in'. said Adwoa.
'That....is an interesting answer' said Kyeiwaa with a wide grin.
'I had my doubts about how important you two are to us , at first, said Adwoa as she faced Sika and Abakan with four of the remaining groups.
'But let's consider the following, you both cheated the village in market sales but before it was proven in court, the community declared you guilty until proven innocent. When I suggested that you both be sent to a maximum security prison for dangerous, hardened criminals, no one objected'. They felt that you actually deserved to be here!'
'The moment you entered your cells, you knew that once you got out, the village would never trust you again. 'You would get no jobs, no friends and your families would continue to view you as scum. I have counselled such families before but they are adamant in maintaining such views even though we both know its wrong.
'Your son is in a bad spot as well. He may be an asafo now but they don't really trust him. As long as he can be useful, they'll smile at him but when he's older, he'll be seen as a threat to his age mates. A crab does not give birth to a bird. His parents were rotten therefore he must also be rotten or could be. Thus, one fine morning, they'll send him off to some decrepit outpost where he will only come back to report and leave the village moments later.
'He'll stay there for his entire life knowing that he never had real friends, strong family ties all because of the sins you two have committted. Or he'll die in some war during his stay there and the village will heave a huge sigh of relief.'
'Either way, you and him have no rela future in the current set up of things but if you join us and use your financial prowess, the village will accept you. Under our rule, there will be no need to cheat to pay debts as you did, your son will be recognised for who he is and not be considered as a mere tool and neither will you'.
'Its alright to be anxious but be quick about your decision, we don't have much time.'
'Most of what you've said is true, said Sika, wiping the sweat off her brow,' but are mbrewanana not supposed to guide us to make better choices, instead of attacking prisons and causing chaos?"
'Mbrewanananom do not have enough power the way things are now. We can come up with the answers but we lack the power to enforce them. We provide guidance but not enforcement of the solutions. Our advice has often fallen on deaf ears. But under the rule of the mbrewanana, we will make them hear us and we will lead Nyansakrom to become what it was supposed to be, a true village of wisdom.
'However we are forced to use brute force and violence to bring about this change. These are the effective tools that willbring about a new era, the era of the sages. An era where reason and fairness will abound in Nyansakrom. Where dialogue and understanding will be second nature in settling conflicts. Where wisdom will truly be known as the greatest power of a village.
'But until then , we must weed out those who will oppose us, beginning with the royals, beneficiaries of a flawed system that says leadership is by birthright. It will be the first of many systems that will fall. To kill a snake, you take off it's head.'
'We will not be a part of ....' Abakan began.
'This' concluded Adwoa. 'Then perish' she said before signalling to the five okofour to kill them before leaving the room with the remaining three groups. Before they could strike , the warden and eight asafo of Dede's company burst into the cell and attacked them. In the fierce battle that followed, the couple were hurt, and the five okofour were subdued.
Dede and the rest of her team fought the intruders side by side with the prison guards. She cut a path through the convicts and rogue asafo with the blunt edge of her akofena.
Sensing danger, Tumi retreated amidst the barrage of flaming arrows, smoke and spears they used when escaping. When the smoke cleared, most of them had left.
Sumina was detained again after a clash with Aba fell in her favour. The same fate befell the rogue mbrewanana, the elder and the warqueen. A headcount showed that 30 guards needed intensive care and that 80% of the prisoners were locked up in their cells.
Those missing included Kyeiwaa, the seven rogue asafo, the five obrafour, and the ahintafour.
'Not enough to completely outmatch us in an attack but still a lot, Aba noted, glad that her plan for handling the intervention at the prison had worked!
'Does your interrogation chamber still work? Pokuaa asked the warden.
'Yes, but aren't you a little too young to interrogate Sumina?'
'He was with the Tumi for a fair amount of time and may have vital information on them. My captain wants to interrogate him and also show me how it's done.'
'I'll tell my officers to get it ready'.
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