Chapter 47

Still Havila.

"Here's what we are going to do," started the leader of the search group designated to search for Ja Lia by the Emperor. His face was smooth but rude. His gaze was stern as he stared at each of his men haughtily. He seemed to have been doing this task all his life.

"We are going to form groups of five. Five men in each group."

He paused again. Just like the emperor would do whenever he was talking. Twas prettily hard to tell if he was taking after the emperor or building his own fortress of shenanigans and nuances.

"Some will go to the market square. Some will go where the helmet of Jin is being kept. Some to the place where he was dumped in the sea. And some would come with me to the forest."

He stopped talking as he watched the group divide themselves into the halves he had mentioned. The warriors seemed groomed enough to carry out what was right. They were old enough to choose. He wouldn't do all for them.

Then in no time, they dispatched, each to his or her own lane.

"Report to the palace after your search. I'll meet you there. Definitely, with success."

He was determined. He spoke thus too. He didn't seem to be scared of anything.

The groups who had halted resumed and began to disappear into the height of the day.

The leader of the group led his men towards the forest. He felt a strong urge within himself. Aohen had impacted something in him. Now you could tell why he was so certain.

"Do you think they would find him?" Jim asked, walking side by side with Tzu. They were creeping after the group overseen by the leader. The leader had no faintest idea yet.

"Just be quiet. Time will tell," Tzu hurled. He had acted like he was acquainted with the deal. Jim wasn't surprised. He knew that something wasn't right, but he needed to see for himself what would happen.

"But a part of me believes that he is alive somewhere, though I'm not sure where. And I kinda feel like that stupid fellow owes an answer to it."

He pointed at the leader. The group was a few metres ahead of them, so in the meantime, the two of them could still merge into the few people going to and fro.

But soon, of course, twould get to a point where there wouldn't be anybody plying the route. Twould only be himself, Tzu, and the group up ahead of them. And by then, if they were not seen, then, they'd be crawling through the dust.

Jim was sure to lag as much as possible, but Tzu was impatient. He didn't even know why the annoying elder brother had chosen to be a part of the quest.

If he had arrived at Havila alone, with no Tzu, he was sure that he would have gotten to the root of all the things. He quite believed in himself.

Soon, the group took a bend and kept going. Jim was sure that as they went that, they were having a talk. If it weren't for his dickhead elder brother, they would have a talk too.

He tried creating a conversation.

"I'm not sure these folks are out there looking for nobody. They are just some group of prisoners let loose, who could do anything they lay their hands on at the moment, because none of them is sure when next they'd have such opportunity again."

Tzu only looked at him and scoffed. He didn't say a word. Jim took that as the peak of it all.

He wanted to punch Tzu in the face. He didn't care what that would lead to, but he remembered that he was tailing the group.

The group up ahead took another bend. But Tzu and Jim were quite far behind.

Jim started to hurry. Probably he would catch up with the group. Tzu didn't really bother. He seemed to be acting as though he was forced to join the search. Jim was even forced to think that Tzu was happy that Ja was not with them.

Jim would have loved to ask what his problem was, but what did it matter.

As soon as Jim got to the curve, he couldn't find the group. He was standing alone in the path which led to the sea. He was acquainted with that path; he had gone through there before.

There were few trees on the right and the left. Twas a scanty forest.

"Where did they go?" Jim heard from behind him. He didn't want to pay attention. If it weren't for Tzu, he wouldn't have lost the group.

Jim kept moving up the path as he looked around. He was so doubtful of how true would it be that the group had made it to the sea in that short period of time.

"Who do we have here?"

The leader of the group walked out of an unseen shade far into the woods. He had an evil smile sitting on his broad face.

"Had no idea that strangers were asked to search for another stranger," he shot, trying to be mean, but those words to Jim weren't mean shit.

The leader got to Jim and held him in a choke on the neck.

"Cat caught your tongue? What are you doing here?"

Jim was going to spin the motherfucker over and climb on him to teach him sense when they all heard the call of a raven.

Immediately, the leader let go of Jim and turned to see the calling the bird. But the bird was swift as it flew past them towards the East of the forest.

"Track its trail," the leader ordered, barking as they all ran through the forest, following the bird.

"You too?" Tzu called at Jim, but Jim didn't owe him an explanation. He ignored and followed the group though he knew the odds.

For a moment, the leader ignored the annoying Jim. He seemed to have another pressing matter pulling him.

The day was pale as it seemed as though the clouds were ready for an impromptu meeting. Then there was a change again, and an apt azure took its pitch.

Tzu had joined in the pursuit till they got to a hut by the sea. The Raven flew into the hut.

As some of the men meant to run into the hut, the leader called at them,

"No one goes in. Step aside."

The leader ventured to the front, his rude face roughening.

Then as soon as he got to the front of the hut, few steps away from the door, he shouted, "Now, raven, you get your turn."

He reached for a sachet of oil in his robe and got a tool that ignited fire too.

In no time, he had sprinkled the oil around the house and then ignited the tool. Fire took its turn.

The hut was set ablaze.

The leader smiled, seeing that everything Aohen told him happened intermittently.

Jim expected the bird to fly out in vain. The Raven didn't fly out of the hut.

He looked at the faces of the group of men to see if they were as confused as he was.

How the leader had known that would lead to something like that was his contention.