B127MZ asked, "Can you read?" JonMo said, "No, it is forbidden and only the king and his barons are allowed to read. My mother did teach me the alphabet and numbers when I was young. We kept that secret. I don't know how she knew that stuff." "Well, JonMo", B127MZ stated, "This is going to be the first order of business. I will teach you to read and and a give you basic understanding of technology. The king has put a bounty on capturing you, and he must not learn of me or this place anymore than he knows or suspects. Your parents have been put on Latrine Patrol, but are doing reasonably well considering that. Your brother ManMo and sister DranMa and their families have not been punished. They continue as they were. They all miss you and think you are dead. Until you are ready, you need to stay here and become educated"
So the time passed. JonMo was tired when the sun went down every day. B127MZ taught him reading, writing , math, and physics in the morning. After lunch, B127MZ quizzed him about what he had learned that morning and reviewed previous lessons where his knowledge was weak. JonMo applied himself to learning and made great progress. In the later afternoon, B127MZ would spar with him, teaching martial techniques mostly for defense, but also adequate for offense as well. An hour before his supper was dedicated to learning the outpost's technology, including how to listen to almost anywhere in the kingdom. Along with the solar energy-gathering trees, there were bushes with organic listening technology. All of these bushes connected to the energy trees underground and the trees relaid the sounds the bushes picked up. B127MZ had alerts that he set up to catch information that indicated problems, news, deaths as well as births of children.
Meanwhile, FonMo and CwanMa, being the good people they were, submitted cheerfully to their difficult task of gathering sewage. The mules even seemed happier as they were treated with appreciation. When BusmanNo, FonMo's former supervisor, saw them it made him more grumpy. Gluttony had soured his disposition and he thought that no one should be happier than he was. He mused, "If they are so happy as latrine subjects, they can do with less food rations. The rations of meat, bread, and vegetables were fixed by a strict formula and it was a large offense to alter that. Yet BusmanNo thought himself safe as people knew it was not productive to cross him. His mean-spirited vengeance was well-known and feared. That kept people from complaining.
Yet he went overboard with FonMo and CwanMa. Their rations were cut by a quarter. As they still went about cheerfully, he cut it again to half of what they were allowed. They did not complain, but they did start to droop in their daily work. They had a mandatory number of houses to empty of sewage, so they doggedly carried on.
B127MZ became aware of their plight and took action. He baked some well-balanced cakes that were high in protein as well as carbs and other nutrients. B127MZ had dedicated part of the outpost to hydroponic gardening. He would also go out at night to gather protein from the small game that JonMo used to hunt. This was processed into very nutritious cakes.
JonMo, tired from another full day of learning and physical exercise, went to bed early. B127MZ left the outpost using his technology that turned him invisible. He made his way very quietly to the house of CwanMa and FonMo. He entered the home very quietly and noticed them sitting together over a very meager meal. He held her hand tenderly and gave more of his portion to her. She protested, but he just smiled. B127MZ's disembodied and commanding voice spoke, "Do not be alarmed, and do not speak." JonMo's parents were startled and afraid and feared that death was coming. They did keep silent as they shivered in fright. Then B127MZ had them close their eyes, and they obeyed. He then put two of his nutritious cakes in front of them and commanded them to open their eyes. "You must tell no one, repeat no one of these cakes. They will sustain your health. Eat all of them at night and do not save for the next day as you may be discovered. Hide this bag containing a month’s supply. The bag will keep them fresh. Eat only one per night. Neither the king nor anyone else can know of this. Agreed?" CwanMa and FonMo nodded their heads affirmatively. B127MZ added one more thing. "JonMo is alive and in hiding. Tell no one." He then left as silently as he came in.
FonMo and CwanMa let joy fill their hearts and shed many tears. After they ate the cakes, they tidied the kitchen, hid the bag in the top of a small closet, and went to bed full for the first time in months. They faced the next morning with vigor and happiness, which put BusmanNo in a powerful snit. He was determined to break them.
B127MZ monitored this situation. He also focused on the king, who had sent men to dig on his "sacred hill". The Outpost was at least 10 feet below the hill surface with a lot of rock above. This meant the king's diggers did not get far before hitting the rock. This caused them a whole lot of work for very little progress. The night after their first foray into digging the hill was a busy one for B127MZ. Hid did not need to sleep, and he used the night to fill in the entrance that JonMo had originally been lured to by a robot pig. He could not allow the diggers to discover that entrance, so he removed the apparatus and backfilled it with rock and dirt. After covering it with leaves, it was not detectable. This king was becoming a nuisance and B127MZ decided that it was time for JonMo to go on a mission.
B127MZ informed JonMo the next night. It was after a long day of training. "JonMo, your education and skills have progressed very nicely. It is time for you to take on a mission. The king continues to have an insatiable desire to discover the secrets of this outpost. He cannot be allowed to do that. He needs a fright. You will go to him in the night and deliver a message and an ultimatum. I have a device you will wear to make you invisible. This device is contained in a belt you wear. You will also have a pistol that can shock and stun an assailant, but not harm them permanently. Use this on King EdianaPo. Queen NanavakPa is not in the king's chambers as she is visiting their daughter and grandson. Just go in there and blast him. He will wake up and not be able to speak. Deliver the message that I will give to you." JonMo, who had plenty of reason to dislike the king, took on this challenge with relish.
That very night he put on the invisibility belt and had his stun gun in a holster. B127MZ took him through a tunnel that he had constructed right after the seven explorers left, 2700 years before. This tunnel allowed B127MZ to make many trips into the land without ever being detected. It ended within the Great Forest.
They went up a ladder, B127MZ first. The robot used a portable device to check the listening bushes for a mile out. Nothing but small wild animals were detected. The leafy-topped trap door opened and they both stepped out in the cool night air. "Mark this location well," B127MZ stated. "I will know when you are coming back and will be here to let you in. If for whatever reason you are in danger, just cry for help and I will come quickly. The bushes are always listening."
JonMo activated the invisibility device as B127MZ went back down the ladder and the leafy-topped trap door closed quietly. JonMo thought that B127MZ thought of everything.
It took him two hours to hike to the king's castle. He walked past the sentries at the castle's front gate using the quietness skills B127MZ had taught him over and over. He carefully walked on the stone path to not leave footprints. B127MZ had given him the layout of the castle. He went right to King EdianaPo's room. It was unlocked. He quietly slipped and in the dim light saw the sleeping king. He heard his snores first. JonMo pointed the pistol and fired. The king's body thrashed and went still. His eyes got big and he tried to speak and move, and could not. "King EdianaPo. This is your only warning. You must pay attention to being good and fair to all of your people and forget about what you call the King's Hill. If you do not do as told, there will be serious repercussions." With that, JonMo went to the king and threw the blanket over his head. Before he left, he shot the king again. Thrashing was reduced by his previous temporary paralysis, but JonMo knew the effect was just as shocking. He quietly slipped out the door and went back back a different path to the Great Forest. He found B127MZ near the spot he left from. The humanoid robot pushed a button on a handheld device and the leafy-topped trap door swung open. They both descended into the tunnel.
B127MZ asked him how it went. JonMo replied, "I shot him twice as you told me, and between those I gave him the message. The look in the king’s eyes was total hatred, so I don't know if he will do as he was told." B127MZ said, "He was warned." Then they walked back to the Outpost.
The next day the king was apoplectic. He screamed, spittle flying from his mouth, to Chief Captain MadaPo, "Get three of you best archers! They are to be in my sleeping chamber all night. I had a terrible visitor last night who warned me against digging in my hill! The archers are to shoot towards the voice of the visitor and above me as I will stay low in the bed. Three of your archers will be on this watch every night until we kill that visitor."
A week went by with three bored archers watching the king snore. No visitor had come and they strove to stay awake. If one did, another would smack him. Once a sleepy soldier’s yelling woke the king. They all had to do 100 pushups; they learned to take the smack quietly.
The digging did not stop on the King's Hill. He was even more obsessed with discovering its secrets. B127MZ had a plan though. "You must make another visit to the king tonight. Three of the best archers of the king's soldiers will try to shoot you as soon as you speak. Therefore, you must wait until you hear they are distracted, for I will provide a distraction that they will have difficulty ignoring. Shoot him as you last did, but five times. He will be incapacitated for three days. Warn him that anyone trespassing on this hill will be similarly dealt with." With these words of B127MZ still fresh in his mind, JonMo left through the tunnel to go on this mission.
He made his way as he did before, taking a little different route. The gate guards looked bored and one was sleeping. Shortly, he was outside the king's room. Next came three loud wails of shock and dismay from the soldiers. The powerful laxative that B127MZ had put in their food had taken effect right on time. Their wails woke the king and he was shouting at them to stay put despite the unbearable smell and discomfort of the soldiers. King EdianaPo got on his feet and was erratically dancing and yelling. Carefully JonMo entered the room, but not careful enough to not bump a chair. The king screamed, "Shoot you fools, He is here!!" JonMo ducked as arrows whizzed. In the dark and confusion, one struck the king in his heart, and he silently fell dead. JonMo left the room as fast as he quietly could. Servants came running and found the very sorry state of affairs. After much explaining while still in their dripping stink, the three were sent to clean up. The Queen NanavakPa spared their lives, but they were put on the night guard duty shift in addition to their daily shift. It was rugged.
When JonMo got back to the Outpost, he was out of breath. B127MZ had some knowledge but he let JonMo tell the whole story. He said, "This is an unexpected turn of events. The king has no sons. Though it was not this way in the beginning, now only men were allowed to lead. The kingdom will now go to his oldest grandson who is presently four years old. We will have to see how things shake out, for a steward must be assigned. The male leadership rule is allowed to be altered briefly, for the mother of the new king gets to choose the steward.
While the kingdom was in mourning, Baron BusmanNo had been busy. He had been to the home of the king's daughter three times. He wanted to be chosen as the steward. His most ingratiating conduct was offensive to the dead king’s daughter. He had been summarily thrown out on this third try. As he made his way back to his home mumbling and swearing, he saw FonMo and CwanMa talking and laughing as they made the rounds with their cart. Good judgment completely left him and he swore he would make them pay. These subordinate people did not have the right to be happy while he suffered.
He called his sons BuMo and BubuMo to him. They were aware of their father's irrational hatred of FonMo and CwanMa and were eager to share in it. His smarter son, BubuMo, was given an assignment. Tonight, in the vacuum of kingly power that he perceived, Baron BusmanNo sent his evil son to burn down the house of CwanMo and FonMo. This was a very serious offense as fire in one home could harm many others. The Baron did not care.
B127MZ had paid close attention to the Baron and his family. He suspected something and had used a bush close to their secret conversation to discover their intent. He quickly sent JonMo out to prevent this tragedy. JonMo was in a panic to get his gear ready, including his invisibility belt and a device B127MZ had given him to disguise his voice. JonMo had practiced with it and chose the dark and menacing voice setting.
He ran most of the way, turning a two-hour walk into a one-hour run. He went back to a quiet walk as he entered the town. The guards on watch seemed to be jittery, so he was extra quiet as he went by them. He imagined that they were now extra careful about what they ate. As he arrived near his home, he was shocked to see BubuMo entering his home with a bucket in hand.
BubuMo poured oil from his bucket on the floor in front of the hearth. To his surprise and horror, some of the oil had fallen into the fire and there was immediate combustion. He had to get out of there fast!
JonMo saw the fire blazing in the background of one window and knew he was too late. Then he saw a panicked BubuMo almost exiting the door. He went into action and punched BuboMo hard in the nose. This surprise punch had thrown BubuMo back into the house. He tried to exit and was whacked by a stout stick that JonMo had picked up. In his sinister voice he commanded, "BubuMo, if you do not confess, you will burn!" BubuMo tried to run out again, but a vicious crack on the head again moved him closer to the encroaching flames. A small crowd had now gathered and was mesmerized by the scene.
In a complete mindless panic, BubuMo shouted, "I set this house on fire! My dad made me do it! He cheats on food rations all the time, that is why he is so fat." The crowd heard it all. BubuMo staggered out of the burning house and was taken into the custody of the king's guards who had shown up and heard it all too. JonMo had exited the scene as quietly and as fast as he safely could. He had to dodge people running to the spectacle. The fire brigade with their six-horse team came pulling a water tank wagon.
Judgment was swift. Many witnesses at the burning house of FonMo and others who had been shorted or otherwise mistreated by Baron BusmanNo came forward to complain of shady dealings.
The queen and her young grandson were the judges. No steward had been chosen yet, so the law allowed this. The judgment had to come from the mouth of the young king and his grandmother made sure the four-year-old had the words when judgement time came.
Baron BusmanNo complained of how happy FonMo and CwanMa were in their lowly station and how they had no right. It was a stupid thing to do.
In crisp words, the final judgment came down after a recess and a conference between the queen and her grandson.
The little king had been taught to read and this was the judgement. Baron BusmanNo would be stripped of his title and become BusmanMo. He also lost his house and previous job. He and his sons would now take FonMo's and CwanMa's place on the district's Latrine Patrol. There they could seek the happiness that they saw in FonMo and CwanMa. Even disparaging words in the future toward CwanMa or FonMo would result in a sudden trip off a cliff into the raging sea. They would now be on 80% rations. They, if they did their Latrine Patrol job very well without complaining, would get to 90% after the first year and 100% after the second.
FonMo became Baron FonNo and took over the distribution of food rations. One of the king’s scribes was assigned to teach them to read and to do basic math. FonNo and CwanMa were given BusmanMo's home and BusmanMo and his sons were given a small vacant home near the Putrid Pond. The people of the district were very willing to watch them and report any faults. After a few warnings and some abuse from the king's guards, they gave up and settled into a routine of outwardly cheerful work on the Latrine Patrol.
JonMo was back at the Outpost. He and B127MZ reviewed what had happened. JonMo was particularly pleased with the turn of events that got his parents into a much better state of affairs. He wondered what he should do next and that was answered by B127MZ. More studies, weight training, and martial arts. It was time to lie low and let his legend grow, which it did.
The people could not talk enough about the strange happenings that had upended BusmanMo and not all of them could be explained. This of course led to much speculation. The Queen and her grandson had also stopped all surveillance and digging on the King's Hill. They had even decreed that the name be reverted to Hill. The Queen had impressed the all-male advisors and she had been declared the Steward of the Realm. It was unusual, yet the advisors did not want to cross the Queen or have her look too sharply into their doings. They quietly went about making amends for their actions that were not above board.
So several months passed with a general improvement hovering over the kingdom. The people were happier and everyone seemed to feel prosperous. Even the blacksmith’s son was happier as he was reassigned to be a small- game hunter.