Zeeniya stepped inside the camp. In front of her, the tribe's leader sat on his raised seat. Like the others, his skin was pale and the dark circles around his eyes were light — he looked surprised when he saw Zeeniya and asked, "Who are you, girl? How and why have you come into our underground world?"
Zeeniya replied, "I've come here with the help of one of my powers. I'm a friend of Tarzan. Tarzan is very worried because some animals in his jungle have gone missing, so he asked me for help. Using my power I discovered that the animals are here, so I came to rescue them. But I'm very curious — how and why do you all live beneath the ground?"
The tribe leader said, "We are the Zartash tribe. We live peacefully and we love animals. But now we have a very big problem — because of it we are forced to make the animals disappear from the jungle."
Zeeniya asked, "Please tell me what the problem is. Maybe I can help."
So the leader began to tell Zeeniya: "Many years ago our tribe also lived above ground. We were happy, laughing, and content. In our tribe lived an old wise man named Jardoon. He was an expert in magic and rituals. He used to live a quiet life and practiced spells carefully — he wanted to become a great magician. But then something changed in Jardoon, as if a demon had entered him. He began doing strange magic and acting oddly, harming the people of the tribe with his spells.
"When complaints about him grew, I called him before me. When Jardoon came, I asked why he was doing these harmful things. Jardoon told me he wanted to gain a powerful magical force — that once he had it, he would become a great wizard. Because of that, he said he had to perform those rituals. I ordered him to stop; if he didn't, he would be expelled from the tribe."
Hearing this, Jardoon left. But a few days later two men in the tribe were found dead, their bodies hanging upside down from the trees. Fear and anger spread through the tribe because everyone believed these were the result of Jardoon's dark magic.
This time Jardoon did not speak much. He only said, 'Let me do my work,' and the tribe, furious, banished him. Not long after, Jardoon returned to the tribe strangely changed — as if he had vanished and then reappeared. He came up to me, shouted loudly, and said, 'Chief, I told you to let me do my work, but you did not listen. You insulted me and threw me out of the tribe.'""I have now succeeded in becoming a great sorcerer. I will surely take revenge on the tribe for insulting me!" Saying this, Jardoon the sorcerer began chanting a spell, and it felt as though an earthquake had struck. Within seconds, the entire tribe — their people, tents, and animals — were swallowed into the ground. Jardoon himself was not there, but his voice echoed in the darkness:
"People of the Zartash tribe, now you will live here forever. You did not let me live on that land, so you too shall never live there again!"
And with that, his voice faded.
"That is why," the chief explained, "for many years we have been forced to live this way because of Jardoon's curse. We cannot see the light of the sun, nor the light of the moon."
Zeeniya then asked, "But why have you gathered so many animals here with you?"
The chief replied, "The people of the Zartash tribe worship a sacred stone. Long ago, there were two stones, but Jardoon stole one and took it away. Now we can only perform our rituals with the single stone that remains.
We also have an ancient globe, which has been passed down from our ancestors for centuries. With its help, we can see glimpses of the jungle and know its condition. It is through this globe that we learned how our curse could be broken.
The globe revealed that on the night of the full moon, when a lunar eclipse makes the moon appear very large and blood-red, a ritual must be performed: nearly 200 animals must be gathered, and their blood poured over the sacred stone. As soon as this ritual is completed, the curse will break. But such a blood-red full moon comes only once every twenty years — and it is going to occur this very month.
That is why we have gathered the animals from the jungle. Since bringing them here by hand was impossible, the globe also showed us a spell written in our ancient religious texts. By chanting that spell while pointing at an animal through the globe's vision of the jungle, the creature is instantly transported here. Since discovering this spell, we've also been able to summon jungle fruits and vegetables for our food.
Now, only two days remain until the full moon, and we have nearly gathered the required number of animals. Then, by completing the ritual, we will finally be freed from our underground prison forever."
Zeeniya exclaimed, "But this way, so many animals of the jungle will be destroyed! Isn't there any other way you can be freed?"
The chief fell silent for a while. Then he spoke slowly: "There is another way… If, on that night, the rays of the full moon could fall upon the sacred stone, the curse would break as well. But since we cannot bear the light of the sun or moon, it is impossible for us to perform it ourselves."
Zeeniya said firmly, "If I help you perform this ritual, then?"
The chief nodded. "That would be wonderful."
Zeeniya promised, "On the night of the full moon, I will come here, take the sacred stone with me, and place it under the moonlight. Then the curse will be broken."
The chief bowed his head in agreement.
Then Zeeniya used her power, commanding the King of Sandail to return her to the jungle. In the very next moment, Zeeniya was standing back in the jungle.In the next moment, Zeeniya was standing in the jungle. She went straight to Tarzan and told him everything. Hearing this, Tarzan was greatly astonished.
Two days later, the full moon arrived. With the help of the King of Sandail, Zeeniya reached the underground place where the tribe lived. Just as she was about to give an order to the King of Sandail, she heard a thunderous voice:
"Stop, girl! You cannot go to the people of the Zartash tribe. It will be of no use, because I have already snatched the sacred stone from them through my magic. Now they will remain prisoners forever!"
Zeeniya called out, "O sorcerer, what you are doing is not right. Hand over the sacred stone to me!"
The sorcerer stared closely at her and said, "I have come to know that you possess a very great power. If you give me that power, then I will hand you the sacred stone."
Zeeniya thought for a moment and then said, "Alright, I will give you my power. But for that, I must perform a ritual that will take only a few seconds. After that, you will become the master of this power."
She added, "But I must perform this ritual in private."
The sorcerer agreed but warned her, "Very well, but if you try any trick, I will vanish with the sacred stone at once!"
Zeeniya nodded. Then she went to a dark spot among the trees and whispered an order to the real King of Sandail: "Create a false King of Sandail exactly like yourself."
At once, a copy of the King of Sandail appeared in her hands. Zeeniya quickly hid the real one inside her robe.
When she returned, she handed the fake King of Sandail to the sorcerer and said, "Take this power with one hand, and with the other, give me the sacred stone."
The sorcerer was overjoyed. In his heart, he thought, As soon as I receive this power, I will imprison the girl too, and then I alone will be master of all powers!
But the moment he took the false King of Sandail in one hand, Zeeniya swiftly snatched the sacred stone from his other hand. With great speed, she raised it high into the air so that the light of the full moon fell upon it.
As soon as the moonlight touched the sacred stone, fierce winds began to blow, and the earth trembled. Zeeniya saw that the Zartash tribe appeared there — their families and all the animals were freed as well.
The sorcerer stood there shocked and confused. In truth, he had believed that the curse could only be broken by pouring the blood of animals upon the sacred stone. He had no idea of the second method.
In his panic, he commanded the false King of Sandail: "Destroy them all!" But the false one did not obey.
Meanwhile, Zeeniya quickly put the real King of Sandail around her neck and gave the command: "Imprison this sorcerer forever in the underground!"
At once, a brilliant light burst forth from the King of Sandail. As it struck the sorcerer's body, he vanished into nothingness.
The chief of the Zartash tribe came forward and thanked Zeeniya deeply. Everyone rejoiced, and the animals were set free.
Zeeniya then returned to Tarzan with her friend Manku the monkey. Tarzan was overjoyed and expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Zeeniya.
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