The Black Pear

The Oba placed the crown on his head and picked up his battle axe. “Son of Ogun, Cousin of Sango, Priest of Osun.” chanted the witch doctor. Oba Olusegun mounted his steed followed by his personal guard. His people cheered as he led his warriors to war.

For many years the Yoruba had fought among themselves. One village against the other, one kingdom against the next until the ascension of Olusegun after he killed the rightful ruler of Asebi village. Then the village became a kingdom as his appetite for war and conquest grew. Truly the son of the Ogun, he thirsted for war!

His kingdom stretched further than his ancestors could reach. He had united all the Yoruba kingdoms of the West and his eye now was on the Southern kingdoms.

****

Damijo, the Oba’s father, was the most powerful and reputedly wicked witch doctor of any age. The people say his power came from his black-hearted alliance with the devil. Damijo craved only more power. When he began his quest, which resulted in the crown, his heart was set on the throne. His quest had brought him to all the pieces he needed. He gathered the shards from the heart of Sango, the iron of Ogun, and the tears of Osun. He fashioned the crown of gold and set the gems before performing the final incantations. This activated the power within each relic and bound them to the crown. Having completed his task, he set the crown before the altar of the gods.

He saw a mist trail from the altar and begin to swirl around the crown. As it began to glow and shine, the spirits told him the one who wears the crown shall be more powerful than ten kings and would be immune to poison. No traitor shall be hidden from him.

He eagerly reached his hands to lift the crown.

The spirits warned him that if he wore the crown, he would be killed by his ambitious son. The crown, they told him, was for his son or he would die. His son’s ambition included ruling over any kingdom within reach and the spirits fed off him.

****

The Olu of Warri and Oba of Benin were warned by dreams and premonitions as if they did not have their witch doctors to serve the same purpose. They agreed to join forces to meet this threat. They consulted with their generals and the soothsayers. After all was said and done, they agreed meeting the enemy on the way was their best chance of victory. The Yoruba Oba must not be allowed to reach the Delta.

****

Oba Olusegun was certain his was the largest army ever seen and he would make quick work of the Southern Kings. As they reached the valley of the forgotten they were suddenly assailed by thunderstorms. Lightening and whirlwinds tore through the ranks of the Yoruba soldiers as they marched. The screams of the men and animals were drowned by the storm as their witch doctor quickly cast spells to shield those that remained. The storms eventually died out to an eerie silence and the Oba instructed his people to make camp, and tend the wounded but leave the dead.

With roughly a quarter of his troops decimated, Oba Olusegun realized he may have a tougher battle than he expected. He had heard the Southern kings had great powers but till now he had thought them exaggerated to scare the faint-hearted. Nevertheless, he would make quick work of them!

That night his army being badly shaken would rest fitfully.

They were still two days from the adversary’s position.

At dawn, they saw two men walking toward them from the hills with the sun behind them. They could not believe it was the Oba of Benin himself and the Olu of Warri with their armies trailing about a hundred meters behind them.

******

Craig knew there was something to this tale after he heard it. Unlike the others, he fancied himself an Indiana Jones type sans the moral compass. He preferred to be handsomely paid for his efforts. He knew though that getting to that village would be no mean feat. He would have to work with Newton, Coin, and the Snake, Donald King. Of the three, he hated the snake the most but he was useful…or at least his money was.

The heart of the village was deserted. For some reason, the people actually believed the story. Well, people are always superstitious and this will turn out to be a coincidence surrounded by mysticism and a heap of stupidity. Candy from a baby, I tell you. Candy from a baby!

The place gave off a certain vibe but they shrugged it off guided by greed and something else. They were fascinated now and wouldn’t let anything dissuade them from getting in there. They noted the pears all around the place. There were pear trees all over the place “The pear is the one thing that makes it sleep. Malik had said. The black pear! It is not meant to be taken from this place!”

Crossing the ‘field of pears’ was one thing they had to be careful about because the villagers were watching them. They didn’t mind if these white men wanted to die but they saw no reason to commit suicide with them.

Inside the yard was like a pear plantation with the trees everywhere they could find purchase on the red soil. Interestingly, the few pears on the ground looked fresh just like the ones outside. It seemed that part of the tale was true unless there was some way someone got in and placed fresh fruit from time to time and took out the spouted ones…. Inside the hut, the air was still and old. It was as though you could taste the centuries past. The air seemed to change in smell and taste and in its gentle flow too. It would blow in a gentle way to the west then stop and a few seconds later blow to the east as it was the breath of a sleeping giant.

The darkness was another thing though. It was thick like treacle and felt like a cross between silk and smoke with a hint of ash but that was their imagination, was it not? They pulled out their flashlights and trained the lights everywhere. It was more than a little creepy now. Craig trained his light on the back wall and saw the box. It was wooden with some digits and other inscriptions on it and he heard some of the men gasp or did he as well? Above the box floating in thin air as if suspended on some invisible string was a single deep red pear. It can only be described as blood red. Were there red pears on this planet? He had never heard of any. Was this place getting to him as well? No, it’s time to brush off the insanity and get the treasure.

Creeping gently toward the chest he barely breathed as he tried to decide if he should take the pear in his hand or knock it away. A hand snatched it from beside him before he could speak and threw it aside. “Are we here for a fruit or something else?” Craig hated the man but he was right.

He lifted the lid and sprang back with a yelp. Inside the box was a large assortment of snakes but they appeared to be either comatose or sleeping….

When they carried the box, they got to the door and found they could not take it out the door.

“Maybe we should remove the crown first?” Craig suggested. And as he spoke, he saw as if in a dream:

Coin asked one of the guides to do it.

He shook his head. The other said “Our job was to bring you here and take you back. Nothing more.”

Coin opened the lid and started to take the snakes out one after the other. They stayed on the floor like a pile of clothing. As he picked up one of the last two, someone gasped and pointed to the spot where he had been placing the snakes. They were gone! The one in his hand suddenly awoke and latched on to his face. As he screamed and started flailing to get it off his face. Craig screamed and one of the guides reached to pull the snake off Coin. The second snake sprang from the crown and latched onto his neck. Snake grabbed the crown and fled out the door as the other snakes reappeared and began to strike at the men in the hut.

Craig ran after Snake as he went out into the field of pears.

He shook his head as he came back to himself. As he looked around, he realized it hadn’t happened. While he wondered if he was hallucinating, he heard one of the guides suggest that they clear the pears away first. The Americans thought it silly but couldn’t explain much of what they had seen, so they all went outside and removed every pear from the vicinity of the hut. It took them a few hours to clear them all away. As they entered the hut the air seemed different or was it the heat starting to affect their minds. Dehydration could cause hallucinations, couldn’t it?

The Americans took the box and stepped out warily.

They looked around and saw the villagers had gathered and watched them silently from afar. Strange! None of them moved. The silence seemed to deepen as Craig and his group looked around waiting to see if anyone would approach them or ask them to return the box but no one spoke. They turned and ran with the box between them.