"Huff..."
The heavy Stone Hammer came howling in with a terrifying sound of splitting air! Death descended in an instant, and Zuwaro shuddered all over in fright. He nimbly tucked in his body and swiftly stepped back. If that blow landed solidly, forget human bones—even the collapsed earthen house beside them would have a hole smashed through it!
"Huff!..."
Maha Aguda swung the great hammer like a bear, his thick arms stirring up a tigerish gale. Zuwaro dodged again and again, quick as a monkey. The warriors on both sides in the camp finally reacted as well. The five Kingdom Warriors who had entered the camp drew their Copper Axes, while a dozen Fish Skin Tribe warriors raised Stone Hammers and bone clubs. Just as a slaughter was about to begin, the two leaders had already decided the outcome!
"Huff!!..."
"No!!..."
Zuwaro fell sitting to the ground, his eyes filled with both terrified fury and the fear of death. Amid his shocked, angry shout, the heavy hammer came howling down, knocked away the Priest's feathered crown, then abruptly stopped several inches above the crown of his head. The Fish Skin Great Chieftain, Maha Aguda, held the Stone Hammer still with one hand as if it weighed nothing, gesturing with the other as he shouted his question.
"Speak! Ship-User Headman who can't fight! You showed up here because you covet our camp, didn't you!..."
"Damn it! Damn it!! You stupid Chichimec, you crazed Fish Skin barbarian!... We have rich and vast territory of our own! We have not the slightest interest in your barren, freezing swamp woods!!"
"You're lying! You're plotting to take our camp!..."
"I'm not! I swear I'm not!..."
"Then why are you going south? Why must you make contact with the great tribes in the south!..."
"That is