The Source of "The Ombongo"
(Part 8)
Last Episode... As the party of tired adventurers and their African porters settle down for the night, Nathaniel Mason strides off as usual into the bush to relieve himself before nightfall. However, some time later, another member of the group does the same, but this time, obviously not wishing to wake the others, he sneaks away from the camp-fire far more furtively and stealthily. What is he up to? And where has he gone?
"...Most of the natives and three of the remaining Europeans were already dozing, only Sir Alexander remained alert, on guard, and attentive. However, as each of the adventurers eventually fell prey to their own exhaustion and then to sleep, not one of them saw him pick up his rifle and creep stealthily away from the fire-side. Nor did any of them realise he had left them completely unprotected, as he tip-toed silently away from the camp and into the darkness of the bush…"
And Now...
“Where’s Sir Alexander?”
(Note 23)
By morning the camp fires had burned low, and Nathaniel Mason, who had drawn the final guard duty of the night, had begun stoking them again with broken branches and pieces of wood he had collected from close by. The remainder of the party meanwhile, slowly began to awake from their slumbers, thankful to have gained their first full night’s sleep in days, and looked forward greedily to devouring the only meal they expected to get throughout the day.
Only when Adam Grant had finally scraped his plate bare of food did he finally look up and detect that Sir Alexander was unexpectedly missing from the group, and was nowhere to be seen within the glade.
“Where’s Sir Alexander?” he asked of Nathaniel Mason.
“Oh, he went off about half an hour ago, just as it was coming light. He said he wanted to check over the first part of our route, to see if he could pick up any further signs or evidence that the Professor was still alive.” came the reply, “Hope he’ll be OK though. He left without eating anything.”
The outcome to this speculation was not long in coming. Within five minutes Sir Alexander had reappeared, and with a broad grin radiating all over his face.
“Well, luck is at last with us gentlemen. I’m now certain of our route, and I’m pleased that I can tell you all, that it finally leads out of this wretched jungle at long last, and onto some easier going – I hope!. Now, where’s that damned coffee?”
It did not take long for the members of the expedition to be on their way again, and from the very start their path appeared to be a great deal easier. Fewer vines and undergrowth meant that they were able to make good progress and allowed them to travel a great deal quicker. Adam Grant and Bradley Dempsey both took their turn with the bearers in carrying the Major and his litter, however, Nathaniel Mason cried off this particular chore because he complained that his neck spasm was still troubling him. For well over an hour they continued, more light hearted now and certainly more optimistic than before. Adam Grant even tried out a little of his conversational French on one of the bearers, but, because of the fellow’s native accent, he could not fully grasp exactly what the porter was trying to explain to him. It seemed to be something important though, because the chap frequently punctuated his words with peculiar gestures and strange hand signals.
Unfortunately, Grant was unable to make much of these erratic communications and gave it up after a while. Anyway, it was shortly afterwards that Sir Alexander stumbled upon the footprints! (Note 24)
A Sudden Surprise!
According to Sir Alexander's expert eye, the footprints were extremely fresh and had obviously been made by a band of natives running bear-footed and travelling at some speed. In amongst the jumble of tracks however, were others, traces of which confirmed that at least some of them had been made by western footwear, and in the case of one particular print showed that it lacked a sole and had been worn by someone who was struggling to keep pace with the rest.
The muddle of prints, and a row of trampled grass and undergrowth, led in a direct line away from the jungle’s interior, unswervingly from where the trees were thickest and most crowded together, through dappled sunlight which filtered down from above, on towards the edge of the forest. Beyond, under clear sunshine, and with an increasingly exposed and improving landscape unfolding before them - the like of which none of the explorers had seen since they had first landed in Africa – the spirit of the entire party began noticeably to lift and improve. (Note 25) Following the trail, now without the hindrance of overhanging trees or the matted undergrowth of the deep forest, the group found their march becoming a great deal easier, and almost without realizing it, had been able to cover five or six miles without too much effort. Conversely though, tracking became all the more difficult for Sir Alexander, and on more than one occasion he required additional help, calling for the Major to be brought forward on his stretcher in order to confer with him, and deliberate over exactly which direction to follow.
Four or maybe five hours duly passed, and although the going had become less strenuous, they were now exposed to the unrelenting African sun, remorselessly beating down upon them and sapping their strength. Since finding their way out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of the forest only the native porters appeared not to be effected, the white men however, including the Major on his stretcher all began to show signs of fatigue.
But then, just as the procession of explorers passed around the massive form of a granite-like boulder which had abruptly emerged like some painful blister out of the flat landscape all around them, the party suddenly stumbled upon something quite unexpected and, without doubt, totally unforeseen - a large pool of what appeared to be fresh, clear, cool water.
To be continued... (Note 23)
By morning the camp fires had burned low, and Nathaniel Mason, who had drawn the final guard duty of the night, had begun stoking them again with broken branches and pieces of wood he had collected from close by. The remainder of the party meanwhile, slowly began to awake from their slumbers, thankful to have gained their first full night’s sleep in days, and looked forward greedily to devouring the only meal they expected to get throughout the day.
Only when Adam Grant had finally scraped his plate bare of food did he finally look up and detect that Sir Alexander was unexpectedly missing from the group, and was nowhere to be seen within the glade.
“Where’s Sir Alexander?” he asked of Nathaniel Mason.
“Oh, he went off about half an hour ago, just as it was coming light. He said he wanted to check over the first part of our route, to see if he could pick up any further signs or evidence that the Professor was still alive.” came the reply, “Hope he’ll be OK though. He left without eating anything.”
The outcome to this speculation was not long in coming. Within five minutes Sir Alexander had reappeared, and with a broad grin radiating all over his face.
“Well, luck is at last with us gentlemen. I’m now certain of our route, and I’m pleased that I can tell you all, that it finally leads out of this wretched jungle at long last, and onto some easier going – I hope!. Now, where’s that damned coffee?”
It did not take long for the members of the expedition to be on their way again, and from the very start their path appeared to be a great deal easier. Fewer vines and undergrowth meant that they were able to make good progress and allowed them to travel a great deal quicker. Adam Grant and Bradley Dempsey both took their turn with the bearers in carrying the Major and his litter, however, Nathaniel Mason cried off this particular chore because he complained that his neck spasm was still troubling him. For well over an hour they continued, more light hearted now and certainly more optimistic than before. Adam Grant even tried out a little of his conversational French on one of the bearers, but, because of the fellow’s native accent, he could not fully grasp exactly what the porter was trying to explain to him. It seemed to be something important though, because the chap frequently punctuated his words with peculiar gestures and strange hand signals.
Unfortunately, Grant was unable to make much of these erratic communications and gave it up after a while. Anyway, it was shortly afterwards that Sir Alexander stumbled upon the footprints! (Note 24)
A Sudden Surprise!
According to Sir Alexander's expert eye, the footprints were extremely fresh and had obviously been made by a band of natives running bear-footed and travelling at some speed. In amongst the jumble of tracks however, were others, traces of which confirmed that at least some of them had been made by western footwear, and in the case of one particular print showed that it lacked a sole and had been worn by someone who was struggling to keep pace with the rest.
The muddle of prints, and a row of trampled grass and undergrowth, led in a direct line away from the jungle’s interior, unswervingly from where the trees were thickest and most crowded together, through dappled sunlight which filtered down from above, on towards the edge of the forest. Beyond, under clear sunshine, and with an increasingly exposed and improving landscape unfolding before them - the like of which none of the explorers had seen since they had first landed in Africa – the spirit of the entire party began noticeably to lift and improve. (Note 25) Following the trail, now without the hindrance of overhanging trees or the matted undergrowth of the deep forest, the group found their march becoming a great deal easier, and almost without realizing it, had been able to cover five or six miles without too much effort. Conversely though, tracking became all the more difficult for Sir Alexander, and on more than one occasion he required additional help, calling for the Major to be brought forward on his stretcher in order to confer with him, and deliberate over exactly which direction to follow.
Four or maybe five hours duly passed, and although the going had become less strenuous, they were now exposed to the unrelenting African sun, remorselessly beating down upon them and sapping their strength. Since finding their way out of the claustrophobic atmosphere of the forest only the native porters appeared not to be effected, the white men however, including the Major on his stretcher all began to show signs of fatigue.
But then, just as the procession of explorers passed around the massive form of a granite-like boulder which had abruptly emerged like some painful blister out of the flat landscape all around them, the party suddenly stumbled upon something quite unexpected and, without doubt, totally unforeseen - a large pool of what appeared to be fresh, clear, cool water.
(Note 23) Let’s see what “Mythic” conjures up for this new episode. The Chaos score was lowered from 7 to 6 because nothing really unexpected happened in the last scene and Mythic’s FAS dice roll comes up with: (55)Close A Thread, (21)Release, & (23)Balance (Mmm, looks like “Mythic” wants me to change the narrative in a new direction, and try to get the expedition back into some kind of order – OK, well whatever Mythic wants, Mythic gets. Here goes).
(Note 24) I still had some “leftovers” from the last scene: “(79 Tracks or Footprints)”, so I wanted to get those details into the story as quickly as possible. (If I can’t fit everything into one scene or episode I try to fit in any “surplus” elements as soon as I feasibly can.)
(Note 25) In order to expand the scene further a couple of picks from the “African Colour & Atmosphere” List gives: (112) Dappled Sunlight, (13) A clean Pool of drinking water without danger. (No problems with this, and it gives me a way to give Mythic the boost it needs to alter the story.)
(Note 24) I still had some “leftovers” from the last scene: “(79 Tracks or Footprints)”, so I wanted to get those details into the story as quickly as possible. (If I can’t fit everything into one scene or episode I try to fit in any “surplus” elements as soon as I feasibly can.)
(Note 25) In order to expand the scene further a couple of picks from the “African Colour & Atmosphere” List gives: (112) Dappled Sunlight, (13) A clean Pool of drinking water without danger. (No problems with this, and it gives me a way to give Mythic the boost it needs to alter the story.)
Characters:
Professor Binns
Adam Horatio Grant (Assistant)
Sir Alexander Cadogan (Adventurer)
Mr. Bradley Dempsey (Millionaire)
Nathaniel Mason (Journalist)
Major Robert (Bobs) Stewart
Native Bearers (Porters)
Dr. Heinz Breigan (Dutch Archeologist)
