George and others returned after chasing those assassins away. They saw the dead old man on the ground. "How is he?" George asked Joseph.
"He is dead," Joseph replied.
Argus noticed Joseph carrying a white ball-like something. "What is it you are holding?"
"This old man dropped it. I don't know what it is."
"Do not tell anyone about me, Joseph. Tell them I am an ordinary white ball," Mogu said.
"Wait, can't they hear you?" Joseph asked. George and Argus looked at each other in confusion when they saw him talking to the strange object.
"Only you can hear me, Joseph," Mogu responded.
"What are you talking to yourself?" George asked.
"I was just thinking aloud. Don't mind me," Joseph responded while scratching his head awkwardly. It was hard for him to lie, especially to his master who trained him and also happened to be the leader of his tribe.
"I think we should go back to the tribe. It is not safe around here," Argus suggested and looked at the dead body. "What should we do with him?"
"We will take the body to the tribe and bury him," George responded. "We are going back!" He ordered the soldiers. They all sat on their horses and followed his order.
"Where are we going?" Mogu asked Joseph.
"We are going to my tribe." Joseph intentionally moved slower than others so that he could maintain a distance of a few meters from them. That would allow him to freely converse with Mogu. He had kept Mogu in the leather bag the dead old man carried.
"Does your tribe have women?" Mogu asked all of a sudden.
Joseph did not know why this Mogu asked this. "There are. Why are you asking?"
"Hehe, it is nothing…"
"You are weird. Tell me now, what are you?"
Mogu sighed. "Hah, to be frank, I do not know. I only remember my name and a few scattered details."
"Scattered details?" Joseph pointed out.
"You have already seen them, haven't you?"
Joseph remembered the vision he had when he first held Mogu in his hands. He remembered those scattered images. "Yes. Who were those people I saw?"
"I do not know. I do not remember a thing. Just do me one favour until I remember something."
"What is it?"
"Do not tell anyone about me, okay?"
Joseph paused for a bit and thought. "Fine. I won't tell anyone. You don't know about the old man who protected you with his life, right?"
"I am sorry to say. But, no," Mogu replied in a low tone. "I do not know who the old man is, and why he protected me with his life. I do not know who attacked him." His voice got heavier by the moment as if he was about to cry. "I do not remember a thing." Suddenly, he began to cry loudly. "Uwaaa! Uwaaa!"
Joseph panicked. "Hey, close your mouth. Somebody will hear you." He tried to take Mogu out of the bag but he lost his balance and fell from the horse. "Ah!"
George, Argus, and soldiers heard the noise. They turned to look at him. "Hey, what happened?" George asked. "Did you forget to ride a horse?"
Joseph jumped up and rubbed his butt as it was hurting. "I am sorry, master. I was lost somewhere."
"Get on the horse. We have to reach the tribe quickly." George turned his horse and continued moving ahead. Argus glanced at Joseph and noticed how carefully he handled the ball before turning and following George.
"Hehehe, you can not even ride a horse properly," Mogu said in a teasing tone.
"Shut up, it was because of you." Joseph felt embarrassed. His master thought he was incompetent for the first time in his life. Nothing was more disgraceful for him.
"It was because of… me?" Mogu muttered. "Do not tell me you fell purposely just to make me laugh? Oh, I must say I am moved…" He said his last sentence in a girly manner.
"It was nothing like that," Joseph argued, but Mogu did not listen.
"You can not become my life partner as I am not interested in men. But we can stay as friends. Is it okay?" Mogu said.
"Did you not listen to me!?" Joseph shouted before he spotted George looking back at him. He smiled awkwardly to show as if nothing was out of normal. He sighed in relief when George turned his face away.
Meanwhile, a silhouette stood at the edge of a cliff. They were not suicidal nor someone chased to the edge. They were just enjoying the scenery until someone approached them.
"Miss, we were unable to get The Sphere." He was one of the masked assassins who killed the old man protecting Mogu.
"Bunch of good for nothings," The woman mentioned. "What happened to that old man?"
"I stabbed him with a dagger. He must be dead by now. We would have got The Sphere but a bunch of tribal savages attacked us out of nowhere."
"Tribal savages? Which tribe they belonged to?" The lady inquired while still enjoying the scenery.
"I am not sure, miss. But they did not belong to this area. They seemed to have come from northern steppes," The man answered.
"Then they must be staying around a water source." She side-glanced at the man. The man got intimated by the piercing look she gave. "I had missed spilling some blood by my own hands."
Joseph and others entered the tribe catching the attention of everybody. The people noticed the dead man they brought along.
"What is that horse carrying?" "Did they hunt a man instead of an animal?" "What is happening?" "Would we eat humans now?" They murmured among themselves. Kyther and other men arrived at the scene. They too saw the horse carrying the old man.
When Joseph stepped down from his horse, Kyther asked, "What happened? Who is that man? Is he dead?" He also noticed the leather bag Joseph carried. "What is that?"
"It is just a white ball. That old man carried it," Joseph answered while he tied his horse under the shed. "Some people attacked him. We reached there to save him after we spotted him being hunted, but it was already too late."
"Oh, did you find who the attackers were?" Kyther asked with a quizzed face.
"No, they were covered in black from head to toe. We could not see their faces."
George stepped down from his horse and addressed the people of the tribe. "We encountered some people chasing this man in the woods. We fought them and scared them away, but we could not save him. I brought his body here so that we could bury him according to our traditions. I apologize for not finding a hunt today as well."
"Why are you apologizing, leader? You have taught us to never let our head down in tough times. We will get through it somehow," Argus cheered him up. George nodded with a smile at his words.
Joseph was heading to the brook to freshen up when he encountered Liliya. "I heard you fought some bad people. You are not hurt somewhere, are you?" Liliya said with a concerned face. She was one hell of a beauty, at least among the females of the tribe.
Her hazel eyes, long pointed nose, heart-shaped lips, and glowing yellow complexion were one hell of a combination. When the wind blew her black long waist-length hair, she looked nothing less than Aphrodite from Greek mythology.
"I am alright," Joseph replied.
"Thank God." She smiled in relief. Kyther watched them together from a distance with a silent disturbance on his face.
When Joseph was about to leave to the brook, Liliya spoke again. "Umm… I was thinking about cooking a special dish tonight. Should I cook some for you too?"
"Oye, is she your love interest?" Mogu asked. Joseph ignored him and replied to Liliya, "Uhh… Sure, why not." He said it all with a straight face and showed no expression whatsoever.
"Hey, man. Why are you so cold?" Mogu spoke again. "At least, smile at her. She was concerned for you." Joseph ignored him again, but Mogu continued to speak. "She likes you, bro."
After a moment of tensed silence, Liliya decided she should go and not bother him for now. "I think I should go and…" Mogu continued to talk between her speech.
"Joseph will marry a lass, she will prepare for him a dress, they will give each other gifts, within years they will have kids…" He recited a rhyme. Joseph was irritated now.
"Shut up," He said in irritation before realizing that Liliya could mistake it. But it was too late. Before he could clarify, she ran towards her tent.
"Ah, boy, why were you so rude towards her?" Mogu still did not stop.
"Listen, Mogu or whatever your name is. Can you please close your mouth for a while?"
"Yeah, sure. But promise you would make up with her."
"You don't have to tell me. You are the reason this happened." Joseph headed to the brook.
At night, Joseph was on the way to Liliya when he spotted her outside her tent. He wanted to clarify the things. But before he could reach her, someone blocked his way.
"Hey, Joseph, where are you heading off to?" It was Kyther.
"Let me go. I have to do something important." Joseph tried to avoid him but he blocked his way again.
"Not important than what we will do here."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you forget? You promised to have a duel with me." Kyther pulled out his sword which gained everyone's attention.
Joseph looked around. "This is not the time. Leave my way. We can have a duel in the morning."
"No, you will fight me right now." Kyther looked pissed for some reason.
Joseph tried to avoid him and was about to walk away until Kyther attacked him. He ducked at the right moment and evaded the swing.
The people surrounding them were perplexed. Kyther glanced at Liliya watching them with a worried face. He raised his sword and swung it at Joseph.
Clank! Joseph had already blocked the attack with his sword. "If you are so eager to fight me, then I will grant your wish." He pushed Kyther away. Both took their stance at about eight feet from each other.
Argus came running after he heard about all the fuss. He saw them taking their stances. "What is happening here? Why are they having a fight?"
"I don't know, uncle," Tyler said. "But Kyther seemed pissed since you returned from your hunt." Argus could not comprehend what was happening.
Joseph and Kyther exchanged swords for a while before Joseph showed his superior agility. He twisted his body and dodged Kyther's stab before using the same momentum to hit the bushy bear on his jaw with his elbow.
Kyther got dis-balanced. It sure hurt him. He once again looked at Liliya and attacked Joseph with more furor. But this time Joseph crouched and attacked Kyther's feet. He lost his balance and fell to the ground. Joseph climbed his chest before seizing his arm that was holding the sword and placed his own blade at Kyther's neck.
It was over now. Joseph had won the duel.
Kyther panted furiously but he could do nothing now. Joseph stood up and sheathed his sword. "I hope you have learned your lesson. Don't ever try to block my way again."
When he turned his back, Kyther stood up and attacked him from behind. Before Joseph could react, someone had already blocked the sword.
"Kyther! Since when did you lose your honor!?" It was George. He shouted at him and punched him after that. "You are not suitable to be one of us." Kyther held his jaw and glared at Joseph before walking away with fast steps in fury. But before he could go far, an arrow pierced the right side of his chest. He, all of a sudden, dropped to the ground.
"Kyther?" Joseph's eyes expanded in shock. Before he could comprehend anything, multiple arrows came to them from various directions.
"We are under attack!" A soldier cried. The bell rang to alert the tribesmen. Joseph and others pulled out their swords. They saw hoards of same masked men they encountered during hunting approached them from all directions.
"Protect the women and children!" George ordered the warriors after slashing an enemy.
Joseph ran towards Liliya as she was alone near her tent. He continuously cut and stabbed his enemies until he was close to reach her. But he saw a masked man targeting his arrow towards her.
"Liliya!" He called and jumped in the arrow's way. It pierced his left shoulder. "Ah!" He moaned in pain and held his shoulder.
"Joseph!" Liliya cried when an arrow hit his thigh making him kneel with one knee. The masked assassin calmly approached them and placed their blade on Joseph's neck.
"So, you are one of those hero types who don't care about their lives when it comes to protecting something precious to you," The assassin said. Joseph and Liliya realized it was the voice of a woman.
"What do you want?" Joseph said while supporting himself with his sword.
"Where is The Sphere?"
Mogu could hear all the noises from Joseph's tent. "Oh boy, this is bad."