The figure on the white horse was a woman. Her face is not so clearly visible because it is covered in a blue veil from the nose to the bottom of the chin. Her clean, yellow skin was not completely covered. She only wears her breast cover. At the waist down, the woman wears a minimal cover, the wrapped fabrics are no more than four long scarves whose lower end is left to dangle so that it will be easy for others to see their beautiful legs from thighs to the toes.
In addition to all her clothes that were the same color as her veil, the woman also wore some accessories made of gold. Bracelets, necklaces, long hair ornaments, at the waist and the ankles.
Even though her appearance and body shape looked like that of a young woman, Munra was quite sure that the woman was probably older than she appeared, possibly even older than Munra himself.
It is no longer a secret to the laypeople that Brahmanas have many abilities and supernatural powers, one of which, perhaps, is the ability to stay young.
"Hey, old man," said the young man with all the hubris in his voice and gestures. "Are you the owner of this buffalo?"
Munra and Aryan could only hold their anger in their chests at the young man's rude question. It was quite clear to Munra that the young man might have accused him of stealing the buffalo. There was nothing they could do to vent it all apart from dropping their foreheads to the ground.
Munra shook his head. "The female buffalo belonged to a Waisya nobleman from Irisana, Lord Adhigana."
The young man snorted, he was so disgusted to have to be close to Munra and Aryan who looked shabby and dirty in his eyes. He stepped closer to the buffalo. The young man looked at a necklace made of straw string that was around the neck of the female buffalo. At the bottom of the necklace is a wide leather pendulum.
The young man snorted again because the grass seeker's words were true. On the leather pendulum, there is an iron stamp which is the logo of a noble family living in the northeastern region of Vashara, an area that is under the rule of the Kingdom of Irisana. After all, there was another iron stamp mark on one of the female buffalo's hips.
"That's enough, Darna," said the woman. The veil covering her nose and mouth moved smoothly as she talked. "You're just wasting time with those Sudra."
The young man called Darna bowed to the woman. He grinned at Munra and Aryan. His gazes are now focused on Aryan.
"Which foreign woman have you fucked, huh?"
Again, Munra could only hold back the anger in his chest at the very inappropriate question of the young man.
"So that you have a child who is a Candala, tsk, pathetic!"
"Darna!"
Darna rushed towards his horse. "I'm just making sure, Guru," the young man chuckled and then rode his horse. "Who knew that Sudra had stolen someone's buffalo."
The guru didn't care about the reason from her cantrik—the term for who learned martial arts and magic to the expert, aka apprentice—the gaze of her eyes flashed fixed on little Aryan.
Right, thought the woman, the child was indeed a Candala. But there's something different about him.
"The sooner we reach Maghariti the better," the woman said. "This hot weather makes me sultry."
"As you wish, Guru."
The young man kicked his horse, then the woman Garga followed. They left Munra and Aryan just like that as if the father and son were not living beings whose lives were also precious.
Munra immediately got up and asked Aryan to quickly get on their wagon after the two horsemen disappeared at the crossroads behind them.
Hopefully, nothing like this will happen again halfway back to their house, Munra prayed in his heart.
*
When he reached his house safely, Munra saw several adults gathered under an old tree that was not too thick even the leaves on the branches looked withered and yellowed.
Munra wondered in his heart, what was the excitement? Those people seemed pretty serious discussing about something.
A middle-aged woman approached Munra who was removing the wooden strap around the neck of the female buffalo.
"You're home?" asked the woman. Then, she glanced into the cart. "Even with just a bunch of grass. What's going on, my dear?"
"Forget about that," Munra replied and then tied the buffalo's reins to a tree beside his house. "I have something to tell you, my dear. But not now."
The wife frowned, but she just nodded.
"Munra, hey!" A man waves his hand to Munra. "Come here!"
Munra approached his wife. "What has happened there?" asked Munra to his wife, but his gaze was fixed on the group of adults under the old tree.
"I don't know for sure," replied the wife, "but they've been together a long time enough."
"Come on Munra!" said the same man. "Come here for a moment. You should listen to this news, Munra!"
"All right!" Munra called out to the man under the old tree. "Bring Aryan inside," he asked his wife.
Munra finally approaches the people under the old tree, while the wife brings Aryan into their house.
"Come on Munra, sit here with us," said the man, again.
"What's the news?" Munra asked, but he refused to sit on the ground as the other two or three men under the tree. "You all seem to be worried about something?"
"Listen to the story from him," the same man told Munra, pointing at another man who was sitting leaning against a tree trunk.
"What story?" asked Munra, again.
"I was looking for firewood on the east side," said the man sitting against the tree. "I was there early in the morning."
"And then?" Munra didn't seem to want to linger there for long.
"I saw many soldiers of the Angholi Kingdom," said the man. "Since I was curious, I tried to get closer to be able to hear the conversation of those soldiers."
TO BE CONTINUED ...