Chapter 146- Shadows in the Streams
Wasike began his investigation the following morning, moving through the villages like a whisper on the wind. Wanjiru pulled him aside before he left the edge of camp, her eyes sharp beneath the linen wrap that covered her hair.
"Be careful," she warned. "You may walk with Nuri’s colors, but you’re in enemy territory. Not everyone here has accepted our help."
Wasike nodded once. "I’m not here to step on pride. Just find truth before more die."
With Bakemba as their translator and guide, Wasike led a small team—two mkono wa giza medics, four Watchers, and a pair of Nuri soldiers—into the heart of Buganda’s countryside. The days blurred into one another, a slow rhythm of questioning villagers, inspecting food stores, mapping wells and latrines, and tracing the flow of rivers and rainfall.
Bakemba, ever vigilant, smoothed interactions with local warriors and spiritual leaders. Some Buganda warriors accompanied the group—not as friends, but as watchers and reluctant students. The presence of Nuri’s famed Watchers unnerved them, but Wasike made it clear: this was not conquest, but caution.
For a week they listened, probed gently, and learned what they could without prying into the deeper layers of Buganda’s pride. Wasike avoided sensitive questions about rituals, politics, or the royal family. Anything that could be mistaken for espionage was kept far from their tongues.
But the limits became clear quickly. Villagers gave vague answers. Some offered silence. A few spat on the ground and turned away. The language barrier remained a stone wall that could not be scaled—at least, not by stealth.
"We can’t even eavesdrop properly," Wasike muttered to Tiriki one night as they reviewed their notes beneath firelight. "Every clue we chase dies in translation."
He stared down at the hand-drawn map, frustration gnawing at his restraint. "If Khisa were here, he’d have solved it in two days. Man speaks every tongue like he was born in them."
Tiriki chuckled softly. "You’ve forgotten the limits of mortals, Wasike. Prince Khisa spoke languages he has never even heard fluently. He just told us the ancestors blessed him."
"I speak four languages," Wasike said with a sigh. "Buganda isn’t one of them."