By the first dawn, word had reached every corner of the central kingdom that if the three were not delivered, three thousand would be killed. Everybody was understandably scared at the possibility of being one of the three thousand. The choice was clear at first, especially for the youth; the three would have to be given up for the sake of the many. The older generation was more hesitant to arrive at that conclusion for fear of the gods' wrath. And yet no one wanted to die. The more immediate challenge was how to locate the three. To make matters worse, almost no one could definitively identify them! Mulinzi had been seen a few times near the king but the focus was always mostly on the ones that truly mattered; Welaba and the king.
At the end of the second day, most of the north, south and west as well as a little of the East had been searched yielding no results. By then, the general feeling was that the three had to be found first before anything final could be decided. Some were beginning to wonder if the tall man was not simply seeking a reason to murder three thousand people. They wondered if the three had not perished along with everyone else. Even with all those doubts, no one disputed that three thousand would be killed if the three were not found. They were running out of time.
On the third day, it was decided that all search efforts would be concentrated in the east. Large groups of people from all the other regions converged there in the largest of all regions. They scoured inch by inch with great diligence and yet they seemed to be bound for failure. It was by sheer luck that a boy, herding goats, saw them resting by a stream. The boy could tell who they were from their attires which they had not thought to change. Abandoning his flock, he rushed to the searchers as the bearer of good news. The searchers were relieved to hear what the boy had to say even when the doubts still lingered.
The searchers chose, from amongst themselves, several capital dwellers to go ahead and confirm the identities of the three. The chosen unanimously confirmed the goat boy's claim. It was indeed Mulokozi and the king's two surviving sons-at least judging by their clothes. At first the way forward was very obvious and then it wasn't anymore.
Mulokozi and the boys stopped at the stream which flowed through the middle of the Eastern region to freshen up and quench their thirst. It was a narrow stream with yellow, white and grey pebbles at its black bottom. There were all kinds of colourful wild flowers on its banks emitting their calming scents into the air. Numerous birds sung from nearby trees and shrubs as if to thank the gods for such a wondrous gift. Sunrays bounced off the shivering surface of the water giving it a distinct appearance of the gem it was. Each dug their palms into the stream to draw a gallop of the sweet water. After their thirst had been cured, they splashed some water onto their bodies to remedy the heat. That was all for a short instant, a few minutes at most, Mulokozi was not fooled by the serenity. She knew that even in that calm scenery, danger could still be lurking. The kingdom was enemy territory and they were no longer welcome there-if they ever had been.
They began to move again, each on their own feet. She seemed to have concluded that it would not be just to continue treating Mulinzi better than her own son. Mulinzi at first tried to protest preferring to be carried just as before but Mulokozi assured him that he would be left behind if he did not walk. Mulinzi was convinced of her seriousness when she set off without lifting him off the ground where he had chosen to sit. They had barely moved a few metres when he came running toward them to Mulokozi's relief and Zabu's giggles as he struggled to contain his laughter. Mulinzi swore in his heart that he would report them to his mother, the lowly peasants. As the journey went on, Mulinzi made more demands and was turned down just as often as Zabu. His mother's change of heart made Zabu suddenly feel more equal to Mulinzi and once again more hopeful that a better life lay ahead.
The searchers had a heated discussion with the older ones arguing that it was not a question of the few or the many but of right or wrong. The youth however held a different view stating that the many should be given more importance. In the end, there was little doubt about who would win the argument seeing as the youth were a lot more represented in the search party and in any case, they were physically stronger. The day was ultimately carried by the young ones who decided that the three would be hunted down, captured and handed over to the new king-all for the greater good. The elders remained worried that the blood of the three would be on the hands of the citizens, a permanent stain that would never wash away.
By luck or perhaps an act of the gods, when all three were extremely hungry and very exhausted, they found an old lady who had set up a food stall just by the side of the road. The stall was well stocked with all kinds of treats; fresh fruit, fresh meat, dried fruits, boiled corn, roasted corn , dried meat, smoked meat, water skins and gourds full of milk. It seemed to be targeting travellers. There was no doubt that everything was for sale and yet Mulokozi did not have any currency on her. All the same, she approached the stall hoping that perhaps a second miracle might occur.
'The gods bless you, lovely lady.' Mulokozi greeted her.
'Haha…may you be well, dear child.' Responded the old lady, 'If the gods haven't completely abandoned this land.'
From those words, Mulokozi could tell that word of the misfortune had already travelled that far outside the capital. She instantly became worried that if they were searching for them-which they were-word would have reached that far too! For a moment, she was lost in thought and hence forgot about her mission.
'Is there any way I can help you, dear child?' asked the lady, 'It might be the only option left to us.'
'Yes. I need some food and some water too.' Mulokozi answered.
'Haha…I am here to serve you,' The old lady said gleefully, 'Dried fruit is twenty cowries, fresh fruit is nine cowries, corn is…'
'Wait,' Mulokozi stopped her, 'I don't have any cowrie…'
'Haha…hmm,' the old lady paused to think, 'You must have something of value.'
'Nothing,' Mulokozi answered crestfallenly, 'Except for our lives.'
'Haha…I can't take those!' laughed the old lady, 'They can't be traded anyway.'
'What about your garments? They look quite valuable and they seem tradable…' she suggested. 'I will give you three pieces of smoked meat and three fresh fruits.'
'No. No, thank you.' Mulokozi refused.
'Haha…okay, six pieces of smoked meat, nine fresh fruits and some water.' The old lady countered.
'No.' Mulokozi answered candidly. The old lady could not understand the anger in her voice and neither could the two boys who were very hungry.
'Haha…what about this; nine pieces of smoked meat, three pieces of fresh meat, two gourds of milk, six fresh fruits, nine dried fruits and three gourds of fresh water. Surely, that's a good enough deal?' retorted the old lady. The two boys were hoping Mulokozi would accept this time. Mulokozi however, was finding the old lady's interest in their garments a bit strange.
"Let's go." Mulokozi said to the boys grabbing their hands and leading them away. The boys would have cried if they had any water in their skulls. Which kind of wicked person would lead a starving person away from food and for what reason?
'Haha…wait,' called out the old lady, 'I will trade you…for everything on my stall, how about that?'
Maybe Mulokozi was the greatest negotiator in the entire central kingdom.
'You could offer me all the food in the world as I lay dying of hunger,' Mulokozi swore, 'And I still wouldn't walk around naked for it!'
'Haha haha haha!!' Laughed the old lady, 'Please come back, dear child. I thought that might have been the issue from the start. I will trade you my whole stall and some bark gowns. I will even give you some palm leaf bags to carry them in. my son will give you a lift in his ox cart to wherever you're going. Will you trade me your magnificent gowns for that much?'
Mulokozi and the boys were dumbfounded. They thought there was no way such a good thing could be happening. Perhaps the old lady was not serious, maybe it was only a dream.