EUROPIA CITY Berthold was sitting at the breakfast table with his family, enjoying a hearty meal of eggs and bacon. He has a beautiful wife and two boys. He heard a knock at the door. He excused himself and went to answer it, finding Simone standing on his doorstep. It’s been three days since the funeral and she totally ghosted him. "Good morning, Berthold," Simone said, a serious look on her face. "I'm sorry to intrude on your breakfast, but I need your help with the investigation. I really need to do this. Can you come with me now?" Berthold raised an eyebrow. He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Of course," he said. "I'll grab my coat and be right with you." He knew Simone all too well. She still had that childish determination in her eyes. She wasn’t going to let this case rest until she gets to the bottom of it and since she barely had any friends, he was the only one she could turn to. He turned and went back inside, quickly explaining the situation to his family and p
“Calm down Simone’’ Berthold said. Taking a seat on the bed at one corner of the room. “I think we can talk things out Mr Chester. We would be willing to exchange something of value for what you know about the murder. Name your price.” Chester let out a long sigh. "Fine. I'll tell you what I know." Simone and Berthold leaned in, eager to hear what he had to say. "But first," Chester said, his eyes flicking to Simone. "I want to know why you're so eager to find out who killed the Admiral." Simone hesitated for a moment before answering. "It's our job to solve this case and bring the killer to justice." Chester snorted. "I don't buy it. There's something more going on here." Simone's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?" "I mean, why do you care so much about this case? What's in it for you?" Simone was taken aback. She hadn't expected Chester to ask such a personal question. She took a deep breath before answering. "Admiral Yvette was my father," she said, her voice barely above
“How did they find me?’’ Kumah thought as he fled through the thick forest. He kept on through the woods breaking off the weaker branches in his way, swiftly evading the ones he couldn't break in split seconds. His heart pounded in his chest and sweat dribbled from his forehead down to his chin. He was fast, too fast for a normal person. His hunters couldn’t keep up with him and they were on horseback. He knew they weren’t after his vessel. The Al-Kida wouldn’t send such average warriors after him. But there’s something wrong all of a sudden. His vessel sends him a strange signal, his heart skips a beat as he glanced at what was ahead of him. He quickly broke his speed and slid, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. "Damn it! A cliff?" He thought to himself "what now?" He looked down the cliff. It was a long way down. A familiar feeling of nausea crawled up his gut. Let’s just say Kumah and heights aren’t the best of friends. This is ironic since his vessel manifested as an ea
The Zulu territory…. "Sipho, try not to sit near the edges of the canoe alright?" Sarh said moving his long brown hair out of the way as he prepared his fishing net. "Sure, thing Sarh." Sipho replied shifting away from the edge of the canoe "I can tell you're really excited." Tamba said paddling the canoe with carefully rehearsed strokes. "Well, yes this is my first fishing experience." Sipho laughed. He placed his hand in the water and let out a happy gasp. The cold feel of the water tickled his fingers and he watched his reflection dance to the rhythm of the water. Sarh and Tamba were young twin fishermen who have been fishing since childhood. To be honest they only brought Sipho along with them because of his vessel. He could smell any living thing from a mile away. This was accompanied by an usual large nose. There were only few Afikans born with parts of their body as vessels They have been finding it hard to catch f
Kumah woke up in canoe with two men and a young boy who was too close for comfort. Out of shock from seeing his wide eyes and his unusual large nose, Kumah tried to move away from him but only to be greeted by a sharp pain in his chest. He screamed. His scream drew the attention of the two men who were paddling the canoe. ‘’You shouldn’t be moving.’’ Advised Sipho ‘’You’ll open up the wound. Sipho handed over the oak bottle to Kumah who hesitated. He looked at the strangers with suspicion. ‘’Don’t worry.’’ Sipho said. ‘’It’s just water.’’ Kumah took a good look around. A net full of fish and some basic supplies. They looked like harmless. If they wanted him dead, he’d be dead already. But that’s not a reason to trust them. ‘’I’m not thirsty.’’ He said. He laid down quietly in the boat. He didn’t know who these people were but at least they weren’t wearing black robes with guns. And what’s with that boy and his nose. His bald head really makes his nose
Kumah slowly opened his eyes. He squinted as the sunlight hit his eyes through the holes in the ceiling of the hut. He waited for his surroundings to come into focus and sat on the bed he laid on. He groaned at a slight headache and placed his hand on his head. It was bandaged and so was his chest. He looked around the room. There was an empty bed next to him followed by a little girl who laid on the bed next to the empty one. She looked very sick. Little drops of sweat rested on her forehead and her breathing was heavy, like every breath she took was a titanic effort to draw in oxygen. To her side were small pots filled with herbs and water. A familiar figure walked in, it was the girl from before, Amahle. She carried a pot of water on her head holding it steady with her right hand and a basket of fresh herbs in her left hand. Kumah couldn’t recall such herbs growing in this region. She gave Kumah a disapproving look, like he should be resting and not be awake by now. Dropping the
Hi, before I continue, I would like to explain what a vessel is. I know I should have done that a long time ago but things don’t always go as planned. Anyways so a vessel is basically anything that allows a human to use super-natural abilities. Vessels are given to the Afrikans by the gods they worship but somehow the westerns have found a way to harvest the power of vessels through science. There are types of vessels and what you’ll normally see as the story progresses is the Animal vessels and the object vessels. The animal vessels allow the possessor to inherit the abilities of that animal. So, if you have a snake as a vessel. You’ll be cunning, you’ll have the ability to shed your skin and stuff like that. You get the point, its not rocket science. Vessel holders can summon their animal vessels as and when they see fit. The object vessels are, you guessed it, objects that allow you to use superhuman abilities. So, you ca
A bucket of cold water gave Kumah a rude awakening. He let out a loud gasp and shivered. This was the third time he’d pass out and it was not good. That was the least of his worries though. He was tied onto a dirty pole in the middle of the village and the ropes made his wrists sore. He struggled to break them but they looked like they were designed to tie down a Zulu. They were thicker than usual ropes. The villagers surrounded him in a circle and he looked around searching for Amahle. In front of him, the seemingly perfect circle of people broke into two and a man walked through the path with guards and Amahle on his right-hand side. He wore a cloth made from bear skin and golden chains dangled from his neck. His presence was intimidating. He had a tiny nose accompanied by a contrasted broad chin. He had a muscular body which would put a body builder to shame. On his left arm was a golden brace vessel which complemented the diamond rings on his fingers. The people bowed at