Chapter 27
Sami led us into the village to meet the Elder. As we walked, he explained that each village had an Elder who was the one who settled disputes with other villages, conducted outside business on behalf of his people, and greeted newcomers. While we tried to get across we just wanted information on someone, he politely declined, saying we needed to speak to the Elder first.
He led us to the largest building in the small village. For such a small village, the buildings were clustered close together, and there were maybe 20-30 structures total. However, the Elders home was by far the largest ‘house’ in the village.
Sami knocked on the door, and it swung open. A stunning woman of maybe 20 years opened the door, wearing a dress of a variety of colors. She had a shawl draped around her head, obscuring her features.
“Good evening Zahra, is Mohammad Omar here?” He asked, still speaking English. It was surprising to me, having never been around foreigners, how well he spoke.
Zahra looked at us, then back to Sami nodding and gesturing inside the door. Sami led the way, and we followed him into the home.
It was immaculate. For living in basically the middle of nowhere, it was clean, and pristine. The floors layered with rugs and mats of a variety of textures and colors. While not modern by any stretch of the imagination, it was well taken care of, and cozy. I could see incense burning, but because the rig lacked taste or smell, I had to imagine it was some sort of toasty smell - like maybe Cinnamon?
We followed Sami into what I could only assume was some sort of meeting room; there were small mats arrayed in a circle. He stopped, turning to us.
“Please wait here, I will go get Mohammad Omar. It should be only a minute.” He turned and walked through another door, leaving us alone.
“Well… I guess we should take a seat then?” Slampa said, taking up one of the mats. We followed suit as we waited.
As promised, it wasn’t much of a wait, and Sami came back shortly with a short, elderly man. He had a long, flowing white beard, and wore a dark tunic and clothes. His turban was a start white, contrasting his dark features. On first glance it was extremely obvious he was related to Sami in some way, maybe his grandfather?
“I would like to introduce Mohammad Omar. This is James, Zachary, and Kimberly. “ He gestured to each of us in turn.
As Mohammad took his seat he nodded, “Thank you, Sami. Welcome to our humble village, travelers. Forgive my manners, I would offer you some food or drink, but we have not had a bountiful year, and I would like to conserve what we have.”
TRAINEE MILLER TO PARTY CHAT: Safia said that this is generally against custom, but because no taste and smell are programmed into Theodore, this is a general ‘excuse’ the NPC’s give to not provide food or drink. She said just politely agree and move on.
Slampa took the lead here, nodding emphatically. “We understand sir… Mohammad? What should we call you?”
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He smiled gently at Slampa, “Mohammad is fine, and thank you for understanding. What brings you to our fine village?”
“We are looking for someone by the name of TJ Adam’s. He was traveling with another American in this direction, he's part of our team and we lost him. We had… a disagreement with some other Americans we met up with, and they ran after a fight.” Slampa explained.
Mohammad nodded, almost expectedly. “I would like to help you, but you must answer some questions for me first.”
Slampa looked puzzled, “Like what, Mohammad?”
He gestured at us, one at a time as he spoke. “Why are you wearing garb of the Islamic Republic?”
We looked at one another, then back to Mohammad. “Why do you ask?” Slampa asked, skeptically.
Mohammad frowned at this, “We do not want any trouble. We are a peaceful village. We have no quarrel with the Americans, nor the Islamic Republic.” He shook his head, “We want no part in this… War. We just wish to be left alone, to raise our goats, and our children.”
Slampa looked confused, “We uh… don’t want to harm you. We just need to find the other two. To answer that question would be a… long story, and one you probably won’t believe to be honest. Just trust me when I say we are on this side because we had no choice in the matter.”
Mohammad looked lost in thought, then nodded knowingly once again. “Yes, I understand that young one. You chose a side you left no other choice than to join. Much like we have no choice but to defend ourselves, when necessary.”
He looked to Sami, “Show them.”
Sami nodded, then moved to a rug hanging on the wall. He pulled it aside, and there they were; three M-4 rifles and an AK-47, along with a smattering of ammo crates, and a few grenades. “Your friends appeared on the outside of our village this morning. They looked extremely disoriented, but we could tell they meant no harm. We brought them in, and they asked us many questions, and we provided answers as best we could.”
We nodded along, listening.
“Not soon after, one of the American patrols came to our village. They asked if we had seen anything, or anyone, out of the ordinary. We said no, as we always do. Usually the patrols leave, but today… today they were rude. They asked again, and again, and again. And we kept saying no.” His eyes took on a look of sadness.
“My son, Hamid, lost his temper. Telling them to leave us in peace.” He shook his head, “They shot him in cold blood. Allah be praised!”
Sami repeated the words, looking to the sky, and Mohammad continued.
“After they had left, TJ and his friend Bryce, followed the patrol from our village. Many hours later, they returned to tell us they had taken revenge for my poor Hamid, and handed us these weapons. They told us to defend ourselves.”
We were stunned. They had looted our weapons… to give them to a bunch of NPC’s? But why not ask us, why attack us?
I was the first to speak, the silence deafening, “Ok… that explains why they took our weapons. Can you tell us where they went?”
Mohammad nodded. “We gave them directions towards the American base. We call it Base Abbas Ghar. It is approximately 15 miles South-Southwest of here, back the way you came.”
We groaned, that mean’t way more walking the direction we had come. How did we not pass them on the way here, then?
Mohammad smiled, “If you are friends of TJ and Bryce, we can drop you closer to the base. Sami here will drive you in our town truck; its not much, but we can get you much closer with less walking.”
“Well how did they get there without walking?” I asked.
Sami laughed, answering this time. “Well, theres a reason we only have one truck now!”