"Chief tztil, I will need your answer by this week. And I hope by then, will have at least 10,000 n ready to march. Any later, and I will look for other options."
tztil recalled Alexander's tight deadline as he slowly made his way back on the horse, the details of the new deal still tucked inside his coat.
And recalling all the things that had happened, a range of complex emotions played inside him.
He had co here with his war paint on, readying to snatch all that was promised to him. Yet, he left with 'mixed' results.
The eting with Alexander had been a very interesting one, to say the least, opening his eyes to so many different perspectives.
Among the many things that Alexander said, the ones that particularly stuck with him were the statents made about the state of the natives and the impossibility of their dreams.
Although tztil hated to the bone to admit it, Alexander was right- wishing to get back to their old ways was little more than a pipe dream.
And besides, why would they?
Before the natives had the Margraves as the enemy, it was not like they were peaceful, white as driven snow saints.
The law of the jungle had been there long before the others ca to the island, only back then, it was the various tribes that were busy tearing each other apart.
And sotis they were even more brutal to each other than the outsiders, acting little more than like mindless animals.
It was hardly the utopian place that most common natives were taught to believe.
And tragically, this culture even existed till now.
You would think after a few centuries of oppression, these tribes would band together and point all their aggression toward the one single group that was pushing them to extinction.
But nope!
The reality was quite the opposite.
The scarcity of resources like food and land among the natives ant even more intense competition, causing even more strife among the tribes.
Even tztil's own tribe was intimately involved in such conflict, and only got to the top of the food chain by taking advantage of the bloodshed.
During tztil's father's generations, they had allied with a few other tribes to attack the previous top dog and swallow large swathes of its land.
However, the general natives were sick and tired of such infighting, and so even if they were given the chance, tztil doubted whether his people actually wanted to go back.
Perhaps it was only sothing they pretended to believe in, nodding in front of their shamans to put on the facade of reverence.
And even those that truly wished to remain 'untainted', found it very hard. All the shiny and new things were too dazzling.
Most people could not resist having these goods.
If they could, tztil would not have had to ban trade with the outside world. The people themselves would have enforced it.
However, they appeared to have beco enamored with the outside world and wished to beco a part of it.
And frankly, who could bla them?
As the chief slowly paced through these lands, even he found himself very impressed by all the sight around him, feeling a slight longing to belong here.
By now, tztil had left Lord Janus's impoverished territory and crossed into one of the most prosperous areas north of Caira, and the architecture here did not disappoint.
The stone paved roads, the huge marbled temples, the lavish bathhouses, the resplendent city centers, and the bustling markets, all sparkled with irresistible allure for the chief.
Even the ordinary large, tall, wooden buildings that lined the streets proved to be a marvel for tztil, as they dwarfed even the hut he lived in, the biggest and most prosperous in the tribe.
It made the man wonder how anyone could have built so many such impressive structures.
Many of these buildings were built so close to each other that it looked like one giant rectangular block.
And around these was a sea of people, all bustling with great purpose and movent, as if they did not have a single second to waste.
They intensely argued with each other over various things or with the traders strewn all across the street, haggling over things that were known and unknown to the natives.
On one side, tztil recognized the sale of all kinds of food - be it fruits, nuts, grain, fish, or at, so of which the man recognized and others he did not.
While so distance away, there were blacksmiths selling- knives, axes, hamrs, nails, plows, and many other tools.
In one corner, there were nurous bolts of clothes in srizing colors of red, blue, and yellow, that stunned even soone as privileged as tztil, one who had the best clothes the Helvati had to offer.
And lastly, there were various other paraphernalia and babbles scattered all about, too nurous to na, including clothed dolls, wooden toys of many animals, religious charms like beads, leather items like pouches, bags, shoes, and belts, and even a small shop that sold bits and piece of glass.
Even though this was not the first ti tztil had seen this, the sheer prosperity on display still left him stunned, for such huge gatherings and business volu only occurred during their annual celebrations.
And even then, perhaps there would be even one tenth of the variety present there.
Yet, this was a normal day for the 'outsiders'.
The amount of people here as well as their wealth left tztil feeling a bit sad over his and his people's lack.
He called Alexander's words and confird indeed they were the minority here.
Then suddenly, after salivating at the wealth on display for a while, tztil's thoughts turned from regret to greed and envy, wishing to take all that was for him.
No wonder the people were so excited when they heard about the deal- the prospect of getting so many things for 'free' was too great an opportunity to pass up.
It was only after coming out of his tribe on his excursion that tztil finally understood their zeal.
And at so point, tztil even felt rueful that he had not haggled with Alexander a bit harder.
If he had known about the wealth here, tztil would not have definitely tried to exchange so of that 1,500 sq. kiloter land for a city like this.
However, deep down, the chief also knew his request would have been very unlikely to be granted.
And even if he did, they would most likely not know how to operate it. Lord Janus was indeed right.
It was amidst these thoughts that night fell for tztil and his entourage, and so they decided to take lodging at the only inn there was in the town they were in.
Continue your journey on m|v-l'e -
As said earlier, the distance from Gaint City to the northern border was around eighty kiloters, and even on a fast hour, it needed two days to complete.
And given tztil had left the manor after a hearty lunch, the only way they would have been able to reach his place before dusk would have been by cars.
However, as soon as they entered this inn in the city, tztil and his n's distinct appearance quickly brought many unkind eyes, with many of the patrons instantly recognizing them.
The natives and those from northern Sybarsis looked very distinctly different and even though tztil had rubbed off his war paint from his face, it did not even take a second glance to know who they were.
Instantly, various whispers of derogatory nas for the natives were hushed out by the village folk, be it- thieves, bandits, barbarians, uncouth, or mad dogs, you na it.
Alexander was wrong to assu it was only the natives who labeled others.
The fault went both ways with the Sybarians also having little love for these raiders who regularly attacked and looted their possession.
This was not the first ti tztil experienced xenophobia, nor would it be the last.
Thus the man simply ignored the hostile eyes, while the hostile also reluctantly turned away, not willing to antagonize a group as tough looking and ard as tztil.
If it had been anything else, these people would have surely robbed the entourage, if not worse.
They knew the city guards would never bother to co after them for a bunch of 'barbarians'. In fact, they might even help them take care of these 'nay do wellers'.
tztil's nacing appearance and bold, fantastic armor, allowed him to freely enter the inn and after witnessing the most forced, ugly smile from the innkeeper got the best rooms and ordered a hearty supper.
If the owner was not scared of having his neck snapped, he would have certainly pretended he was full.
tztil wondered how his people would be protected from all this as Alexander had promised.
tztil reached his tribe the next day near dusk, having pushed his horse to its limit. And imdiately sought his wife, letting her know of the result.
"Hmmm…. this is better than I expected." And after hearing everything, surprisingly, this strategist did not sound too disappointed.
Rather, she optimistically comnted, "There will might be a way out for us. As that Alexander said… we need to sell this properly."
Let us say no to piracy! Don't take part in a cri! Don't patronize thieves!
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