This and all parts of the story (c) Remo Kurka 2025
Arc IV: Fire on the Coast
The Road to Nsamankow – January 1824
Ashanti drums beat again. But this time, so do the British bugles.
The empire of Osei Bonsu loses its architect — and finds itself at war again.
Kofi – Now a senior advisor to King Osei Yaw Akoto, watching history repeat itself.
Osei Yaw Akoto – Young king, newly crowned, under pressure to act boldly.
Aputai – Rebel ghost, who watches both British and Ashanti with venom in his veins.
Ama Baa – Guerilla loyalist, her faith in Aputai wanes, but not in the cause.
Governor Charles MacCarthy – British leader, decisive, ambitious — and about to be undone.
J.T. Williams – MacCarthy’s colonial secretary, the only man fated to survive.
Ensign Wetherell – Young officer, eager and untested.
Fante Allies – Reluctant pawns in a greater game.
Kofi – Former soldier, now royal advisor, quietly managing power behind the scenes.
Prince Adu – Intelligent and dutiful, stepping into leadership before time.
Osei Bonsu – Ailing king, still formidable in spirit, but tethered to memory.
Aputai – Rebel turned myth, whose hatred has grown colder, sharper.
Ama Baa – The conscience Aputai refuses to listen to.
Charles MacCarthy – British Governor, preparing for a different kind of diplomacy.
Court Elders – Torn between tradition and rising paranoia.
Kumasi – Early January 1824
King Osei Yaw Akoto kneels before the Golden Stool. His robe is red-gold. His face is calm, but beneath it — lightning.
Behind him stands Kofi, weathered and wise.
Kofi:
“Your father’s ghost still walks. But his enemies now wear scarlet coats.”
Osei Yaw Akoto:
“Then we will dye the river with them.”
The young king is surrounded by war chiefs. The court has changed. The era of cautious diplomacy is gone. Now there are only maps… and spears.
Kofi (to himself):
“The boy is not the father.But the storm will not wait for him to grow.”
Southern Gold Coast – January 15, 1824
Governor Charles MacCarthy stands over a hand-drawn map. His finger traces a dotted line along a tributary of the Pra River.
MacCarthy:
“Divide and converge. Four columns.We will surprise them, cut the beast at its neck.”
With him:
80 Royal African Colonial Corps (RACC)
170 Cape Coast militia
240 Fante warriors
The others — led by auxiliary commanders — are days away.
Still, MacCarthy marches, unaware: the jungle breathes war, and he is alone.
Assin Jungle, January 18
From a high canopy perch, Aputai watches the British column. His hair is streaked with gray now. His knives are still sharp.
Ama Baa:
“They’re not looking for us. They’re hunting Kumasi.”
Aputai (grimly):
“Let them.The snake and the lion deserve each other’s teeth.”
He turns to a young boy carrying a powder horn.
Aputai:
“But if the lion dies... we’ll bite the jackal next.”
January 20, 1824 – Camp at Nsamankow
MacCarthy’s column rests. Rain falls in sheets. They build fires with difficulty. Some Fante allies murmur about the size of the Ashanti force ahead.
MacCarthy:
“Nonsense. Our allies will hold.And we’ll make a show of unity tomorrow. Play ‘God Save the King’ — the Ashanti respect ceremony.”
His secretary, J.T. Williams, looks uneasy. Nearby, Ensign Wetherell sharpens his bayonet.
Wetherell:
“Sir, what if they don’t defect?”MacCarthy (smiling):
“Then we’ll teach them the price of choosing the wrong side of history.”
January 21, 1824 – 2:00 PM
Pra River tributary
MacCarthy’s column moves forward. The jungle opens.
Drums.
Not British. Not friendly.
Ashanti war drums. Ten thousand strong.
Williams (horrified):
“They’re not defecting.”MacCarthy:
“Play the anthem. NOW.”
"God Save the King" rings out, trembling across the clearing.
The Ashanti respond with a scream — a thousand horns, war cries, shields slamming like thunder.
The red storm begins.
3:00 PM
Ashanti troops surge forward, crossing the river on felled tree bridges. British volleys rip into the front ranks — but the Ashanti keep coming.
Suddenly, a courier returns — the ammunition bearers have fled.
Panic sets in.
They open the last resupply chest — macaroni.
Wetherell (furious):
“Macaroni? MACARONI?”MacCarthy:
“Hold the line. God in Heaven — HOLD THE LINE!”
4:00 PM
Fante militia flee en masse. Some Cape Coast men die in place.
The Royal African Corps is overrun.
MacCarthy is hit by musket fire — his leg shattered. Bleeding out, he drags himself behind a log.
MacCarthy (to Williams):
“No capture. Not for me.”
With the last round in his pistol, he ends his life.
Wetherell tries to shield the body but is killed.
Later that night
J.T. Williams is dragged through the bloodied mud. He expects death.
But an Ashanti chief recognizes him — from an old treaty parley in Kumasi.
Ashanti Chief (to his men):
“This one showed honor once.
He will live… among ghosts.”
Williams is locked in a mud hut, forced to sleep beside the severed heads of MacCarthy and Wetherell.
He doesn’t sleep.
Kumasi – Weeks Later
A golden-rimmed skull is placed before the Asantehene, Osei Yaw Akoto.
Kofi (quietly):
“MacCarthy’s.”
The king nods.
Osei Yaw Akoto:
“Let the drums sing. Let the British know:
We remember.”
British humiliation echoes across London.
The African Company collapses in scandal.
In Kumasi, Williams remains a prisoner… and witness.
Aputai watches the collapse of one enemy and begins to turn toward another: his vengeance against Kumasi.