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THE QUEST OF THE MAGICAL DAGGER
Emmanuel Yeboah-Mantey
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THE QUEST OF THE MAGICAL DAGGER
Copyright 2003 by
Emmanuel Yeboah-ManteyEmail: [email protected]
Printed by
Printed in Ghana. All rights reserved under
International Copyright Law. Contents and/or
cover may not be reproduced in whole or in part in
any form without the express written consent of theAuthor.
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DEDICATION
To my dad Rev. Kwame Yeboah-Mantey,
To my mom Mrs. Susana Yeboah-Mantey,
To my precious sister Susana Yeboah-Mantey Jnr.
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Chapter One_____________________________
In the far part of the Black Volta lies a mysterious
land. I happened to come across this land when I
was crossing to the other side on a hunting
expedition with my friends. Though the expedition
was exciting, many lives were lost, due to theproblems we had to go through before we could
come back home.
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My name is Nana Yaw. I was the chiefs son.Because of my position as the prince of Nbaso, I
had many friends, and was also highly respected by
the people. I attended Nbaso Junior Secondary
School.
It all happened when we finished writing the Basic
Education Certificate Examination. I felt it was
boring being in the house without doing anything.
One day I decided to go on a hunting expedition
across the river. I told ten of my friends who had
also completed school with me.
We agreed to make a boat that could contain us.
We decided to carve the boat in the ancestral forest
so that our expedition would be a secret. Theancestral forest was a forbidden place. It was
believed to contain evil spirits.
My friends and I brooded over those strange stories
told about the forbidden forest as lies, calculated to
prevent people from going there. We secretly went
to the heart of the forest to carve the boat, out of
the searching eyes of people. Four days later our
boat was completed. It was such a beauty. It wasbig. We named it
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On the set date we set off. We packed some
foodstuffs and our hunting tools, which consisted
of bows, arrows and spears.
None of us informed our parents of where we weregoing because we never thought of any disaster
befalling us since we planned the expedition for
only some few hours. We just told our parents we
were around the outskirts of the town, playing hide
and seek.
The ten friends who went on the expedition with
me were Kusi, Yeboah, Akobour, Ahmed, Mensah,Paapa, Osom, Obuoba, Ayitey, and Kwashie.
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Chapter Two_____________________________
In the forest we pushed our canoe onto the river
and began to paddle to nowhere in particular, with
all our strength, but in excitement. Our journeyprogressed smoothly until the unexpected
happened.
Unknown to us, that day was the day for the river
goddess. It was a day no one went for fishing.
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Most people who went to fish in the river on that
day are known not to have come back. They are
believed to have been killed by the river goddess
and her cohorts. Because of these stories, nobody
even went near the river on that day.
It was when we had almost gotten to the middle of
the river that I remembered that day was a sacred
day of the river goddess. This sent shivers through
my spine. My friends became scared and pale
when I told them. I regretted for telling them.
The town crier always gives the messageconcerning the sacred day, but none of us heard the
town crier the following day because we were busy
working on our canoe in the forbidden forest.
We decided not to continue with the expedition for
fear of the unknown. We were afraid for three
reasons. First, we had entered the forbidden forest
without permission.
Secondly, we have gone to the river on a sacred
day. And thirdly, our parents would be furious
about our stubbornness. My problem was even the
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worse because as a prince and a highly respect heir
to the throne, I should have know better.
In the process of turning the canoe toward home a
strong wind blew at the canoe that nearlyoverturned it. One person fell into the river. He
was Ahmed. He was drowned instantly. At the
sight of one of us drowning, we became scared to
the bone.
Hardly had the storm died down when a whirlwind
lifted our canoe overturned it. We were all thrown
into the river.
Those who could swim swarm for their lives.
Others who could not swim fought helplessly to
stay on the surface. In the midst of all these, I saw
the canoe, which was some, few meters away from
us split into two, and then it broke into many
pieces. I was tired from swimming for such a long
time that I lost consciousness.
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Chapter Three___________________________
When I opened my eyes I was on a beach. I got up
and looked about, then I realized I was on anisland. Lying a few meters from me was four of
my friends; they were lying unconscious.
As I looked behind me I saw an empty calabash. I
picked it up and fetched some of the seawater and
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sprinkled it on the faces of my friends to revive
them.
They got up with a start, but calmed down when
they saw me. We did not know where we were butwere surprised we were still alive. Those who
survived the disaster with me were Yeboah, Kusi,
Osom and Mensah.
We sat down on the beach and deliberated on how
to find our way back home. We started on a river
in a canoe but now we find ourselves on seashore,
on an island. What a mystery! How would we gohome, and what are we going to tell our parents
and the whole community, especially about our
dead colleagues?
On the beach of the island were coconut trees.
Feeling very hungry and as we had our knives on
our bodies, we climbed the coconut trees, plucked
some fruits and had our first meal since we left ourhomes.
After our meal of coconut, we decided to cut some
leaves from the nearby bush to make beds as it was
getting to the evening. We chose a spot that was
soft and sandy to make our beds. After making our
beds I turned to take a proper look at the island.
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As I turned my sight from the beach to the other
part of the island, I saw a sight that made me shout
to my friends to come to see what I saw. I saw that
one side of the island was dark while the other sidewas bright. It was a terrifying sight that kept us
rooted to our feet and left dumbfounded
momentarily.
This terrifying sight stared us in the face, and I still
remember that sight till today as I write. The irony
of the whole scenario was that in spite of the
imminent danger, we were feeling sleepy becauseof the hard day we have had.
We prepare ourselves to sleep come what may but
not until we prayed to God to help us overcome
any other calamity that was about to fall on us.
Our resolve before we slept was that we would
fight and defend each other to the hilt, since we
couldnt afford to lose any of us. We made ourknives ready by our sides and lay on the leaves and
slept.
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Chapter Four____________________________
Nothing happened in the evening as we slept. It
was at dawn that we were awakened by an unusual
noise. We got up instantaneously and got ready
with our knives.
We realized the noise was coming from the dark
part of the island, and it sounded like a heavy
stamping of footsteps. We became afraid, and
were about to hide when something monstrous we
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have never seen or heard of before came to stand in
front of us. The monster was about twelve feet tall.
It had twelve eyes and had a club in its hands.
Upon seeing me it charged at me. It gave a mighty
blow with its club. I bent down in time to preventthe club from hitting my head. One of my friends
Yeboah sensing danger removed his knife and
when the monsters back was turned, quickly run
towards it and stabbed it in the back. A green
substance oozed from when the knife penetrated.
After Yeboahs brave attempt, the others followed,
attacking the monster from all sides.
It was a hell of time for the beastly thing as it
became confused from our attacks, and was
bleeding profusely from the many wounds we have
inflicted on its body.
Suddenly, it took Kusi by the head and was about
to swallow him when I jumped and held its neck to
detract it from swallowing my friend.
While it fought to free itself from my grip, my
other three friends were busily cutting branches
from an oak tree to use as clubs to hit the monster.
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I held on to the monsters neck and used my knife
to make an incision in the throat, while the monster
still held on to Kusi, trying to swallow him.
The cut in the monsters throat was so sharp anddeep that it gave out a loud deafening cry and it
threw Kusi away unconscious. This sudden turn of
events also saw me falling down from my grip on
the monsters neck.
With its pride wounded, it made a last minute
attempt to grab and tear me apart, but for the
timely intervention of my two friends, who hadreturned with their clubs, hitting the monster
mercilessly.
The wound in the monsters throat and the beating
from Mensah, Osom and Yeboahs clubs were so
devastating that it fell down and died. We
immediately went to Kusi, who was still
unconscious, and revived him. We congratulatedourselves for the teamwork that enabled us to kill
the monster.
In the evening I kept watch for two hours while the
other slept. After the two hours I woke up the nextperson to keep watch while I also slept.
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Chapter Five_____________________________
When I woke up the following morning, I found
my feet and hand tied, and in a dark room. I turned
and saw my friends in the same situation. I askedmy friend near me what happened. He narrated
that he was keeping watch during his turn when he
was hit by an object that made him unconscious,
and he only woke up to find us all in the same
situation.
As we were talking to ourselves, the door burst
opened, and before us were people weve neverseen or met before. We realized from their
gestures that they were kindhearted people.
Luckily for us Yeboah understood their language
so he served as our interpreter. These kindhearted
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people, who were natives of the island, took us to
the chief.
We were received and welcomed to the island also
as natives. The chief told us we were one peopleso there was no need for us to think of them
differently. They however told us not to kill or eat
a pig because it was a taboo. They claimed it
served as a link between them and their gods, and
as such claimed it sacred. We had already killed
some of the wild pigs before we got to know it was
a taboo.
Though we were accepted as one of them, we were
not allowed to live with them. We were giving a
land on the outskirts of where they lived. The
elders of the place monitored us closely to see if
we would go against the rules they set up for us.
One day we decided to go and search forsomething to do for fun. We were giving bows and
arrows by the people. We walked up to a hill and
stopped to rest.
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After resting we climbed the hill. The valley was
filled with wild pigs. We decided to shoot to see
the one who could kill the biggest pig. After we
shot the pigs, loud squeaks could be heard from the
pigs that escaped.
Unknown to us one of the elders was following us.
He went back to tell the chief what he saw. When
we got back a message was brought to us that we
were needed urgently at the chiefs palace. When
we got there, all the natives had converged at the
palace, waiting to hear what the chief would say
about our breaking the taboo.
Before then, we had planned of making a canoe
that would take us back to Nbaso. We got all the
materials needed ready with the help of the natives.
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Chapter Six______________________________
When we got to the chiefs palace, there was
talking here and there among the people. The chief
got up and motioned for silence.
The chiefs face showed anger and disappointment.When I looked at him I felt something bad was
going to happen to us. Standing behind the chief
was the sword bearers. They were dressed as if
they were going to war.
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A chair was brought to us and we sat down.
Ahem, the chief cleared his throat. Young
men, he said, You came from a far land
unknown to us, to this land. We did not harm you
nor did we leave you empty handed. We fed youwith our food and made you to be highly respected
by the people. None of this treatment this
treatment have we given to any of our people, and
they are not complaining. There was a murmur
from the natives at this juncture. Order, shouted
the sword bearers. The atmosphere became dead
silent.
In spite of all that, we did for you, continued
the chief, you were brave enough to go against
our taboos.
When you came to this land, continued the chief;We read all our rules, regulations and taboos to
you. Why do you do this to us? the chief queried.
You have brought shame to us, and the
punishment to this crime is death, declared the
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chief. There were shouts of Ooooh from the
crowd. Keep quiet retorted the sword bearers.
But, continued the chief, We have decided to
give you a task to do for us. We became a littlerelieved for we gathered from the chiefs last
statement that we were at least, not going to be
killed.
The chief continued, If you are able to perform it
well you will be allowed to go to your land without
any hindrance or trouble, and we will even help
you make a canoe that can take you back to yourcountry, the chief sounded candid.
This is your task, continued the chief. There is
a magical dagger on a hill in the middle of the evil
forest. One of you will be made a captive and will
stay here to make sure the rest of you do not
escape.
But beware, continued the chief, You have tobe armed for this quest, because you will meet all
kinds of dangers. Do you have any questions?
he asked. Weapons will be given you. You will
start out early at dawn, the chief finished amidst
pandemonium among the crowd.
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We left the palace feeling very miserable and
uncomfortable. We later learned that the dagger in
question had magical powers that guarded any one
in possession of it.
We were told that the dagger was first in the
possession of the natives, which gave them power
over the evil forest. One day, the inhabitants of the
forest captured the chief of the island. In return for
the chief the inhabitants of the forest asked for the
dagger in exchange. Since then no one has been
able to venture the evil forest. They had wagedrelentless warfare to regain the magical dagger to
no avail.
The last time they sent a strong army for an
onslaught, only one survived to tell about the evil
forest. The survivor survived two days after his
escape. Ours was the sixth batch to be dispatched
on this quest.
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Chapter Seven___________________________
The night before our departure to the evil forest, I
could not sleep. I was thinking of all the
dangerous things they have told us about the forest,
and all the dangers that would befall us.
As I slept, I dreamt of meeting a monster I cannot
describe. It had three eyes, four horns and a
ferocious face. I was running and it was chasing
me. It was about to catch me when I felt a tap on
my shoulder. I turned to see Kusi.
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The chief is here, Nana Yaw, he said. I got up
and dressed up. When I went outside the chief was
there with his people. They came with spears and
bows and arrows.
Time was up for us to go, and since Mensah was
the youngest, we decided that he should stay
behind.
We took the bows, arrows and spears, mounted the
horses the chief and his people provided, and got
ready to embark on the quest. We were four innumber.
At exactly 5.00am we started our journey through
the evil forest. The place was very quiet. Only the
hoofs of the horses could be heard. Unknown to
us, we were closely being watched by the savage
people who made the forest evil. They were
cannibals.
We hadnt gone far when we heard strange noisesfollowing us. We realized without any shock that
the savage people in the forest were following us
on horseback.
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Their riders were holding spears, bows and arrows.
They were twelve in number. They followed us in
hot pursuit.
.
Suddenly they started shooting arrows at us. Wetook our bows and arrows and shot at them. Three
of them fell down dead from their horses.
We kept on aiming arrows at them. We thought
we had killed them but we realized to our dismay
that four of them were still closely pursuing us, but
there was a little distance between us.
We negotiated a curve and tied our horsed behind a
big tree completely hidden from the assailants. We
waited in the bush and decided to give them a
surprise attack, as they will slow down round the
curve. We got our bows and arrows aside and
prepared our spears for the attack.
As they rounded the curve I gave the signal for theattack. I quickly ran towards the first horse, pulled
its rider down and gave him hefty kicks, which
dazed him. Then I pierced him with the spear,
which killed him instantly.
Looking back I saw that my men were not finding
it easy. I rushed to the aid of one of them who was
nearly overpowered.
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We came out with flying colors by killing the four
assailants. We untied our horses and took off.
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Chapter Eight____________________________
We did not get far when we heard a loud noise that
sounded like the screeching of car tyres in the air.
We looked up only to see a giant-like bird with
three heads swooping down on us.
Sensing danger, we laid flat on the ground.
Suddenly I felt myself rising. The bird had gotten
hold of my dress with its claws.
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Upon realizing my fate, Kusi jumped and got hold
of my legs while Yeboah simultaneously shot an
arrow straight to the chest of the bird. This shot in
the birds chest made it to release me from its grip
after it felt the pain. The bird immediately flewaway without turning back.
We thanked God and praised Yeboah for being
very skillful in using the bow and arrow. He
replied that as his father was a hunter, he was used
to using the bow and arrow.
We hadnt gone far when we hear that samescreeching noise. We looked up and saw the same
bird with the arrow in its chest, but this time with
two other similar birds.
This time, we didnt lie down when they swooped
down. We picked up our spears and decided to
attack them one on one while our remaining
colleague gives a helping hand to each of us.
I positioned myself to face one of the birds. I
threw my spear aiming at the chest. To my
amazement, the spear rather pierced the head. This
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made the bird to fly in an awkward way. It ended
by crashing into a big baobab tree.
I run after it and beheaded it to prevent it from
rising up again. After beheading the bird, I turnedand saw that my other friends had also killed the
two other birds in the same fashion.
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Chapter Nine____________________________
We went for about a mile when I heard a noise atmy back. I turned only to feel a heavy blow on my
head. I fell down and went off.
When I regained conscious, I realized my hands
and feet were tied up. I turned round to see my
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two other colleagues also tied up. I was later told
of what happened.
After killing the three birds we thought that was
all. Unknown to us more of the savage peoplewere following us.
We were three people who were captured. The
other person was able to escape.
In the room where we were kept, there were two
skeletons there. They had also been tied up like
how were tied.
When the three of us were captured, Yeboah was
able to escape. Those of us captured were badly
beaten and tortured by the people.
After the people took us to where we were being
detained, Yeboah did not know what to do, as he
later told us. He then devised a plan to save us.
He immediately put his plans into action. He
picked up his knife, dagger and the bow and
arrows, and left the spear behind.
As he neared where we were being held as
captives, he saw a man near the path to the room
we were in. He was sure the man was a guard.
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He hid in the bush to make sure the man did not
see him. When the mans back was turned to him,he removed his dagger and ran noiselessly to the
mans back. He held the man very firmly with his
left hand and covered the mans mouth. Then he
pulled him into the bush and stabbed him in the
chest.
There was a tall and big tree by where his first
victim had first stood. He looked to his left andright, and not finding any one, climbed the tree.
On top of the tree, he could see everywhere and
everything that was going on. There were only
three guards who were guarding us. The rest had
gone in search of our colleague who escaped.
As he had succeeded in killing one the guards, itwas now left with two more guards to contend
with.
The second guard came and stood by the tree.
Realizing that the other guard was not there he
began to call him. Yeboah took out his bow and
inserted an arrow into it, then he pulled the string
and pointed the arrow to the guard, then he
released it towards the guard. He gave out a loudcry when he was struck by the arrow and fell down
dead.
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When the third guard heard the cry he rushed to the
tree. He was also killed immediately he got there,by Yeboah.
As Yeboah came down to open us from our prison,
he saw the hill the chief told us about, which
contained the magic dagger. The dagger was
placed in the middle of the hill. With much
difficulty, he was able to remove it.
When Yeboah opened us and cut the ropes that
were used to tie us, we heard the clattering of
hoofs. Looking outside, we saw the search party
coming. They were still a little far from us.
We saw our three horses tied to a tree. Johns
horse was not there. Now we were four and there
were three horses. We immediately agreed thatYeboah should ride with me.
As we mounted our horses and began to leave, the
search party saw us and started to chase us. We
took out our bows and arrows and shot at them.
Every time we shot a man fell down.
They realized they could not catch us so they
stopped chasing us, to stop us from killing them.
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We reached the other side of the island safely. The
people, including the chief were surprised to see usback without any wounds or bruises. They were
even more surprised when we handed the dagger to
the chief.
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The chief told us to follow the river wherever it
went until we got to a place, which was dark.
Here, according to chief, we have to close our eyes
and when we open we would be at Nbaso, our
home.
After showering us with gifts and praises, we left
the chief and his people and the strange island and
paddled our canoe to the deep of the river.
We followed the chiefs instructions, and when we
came to the dark place, as the chief told us, we
closed our eyes. When I opened my eyes I realizedI was on my bed. It was a dream
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