Return Journey

The Alliance's warriors spent a sleepless night amid the ruins of the settlement.

It was still the latter half of Mexico's dry season—early February by the Gregorian calendar—so no rain fell through the night. Early the next morning, Xolotl rose from beside the campfire and went to fetch water with Tercer.

In the rainforest, the most important supplies were food and fresh water. A semi-hunting settlement could not possibly have much food stored away. The warriors merely searched out some smoked meat and cornmeal, showing no interest at all in the unfamiliar wild vegetables, dried fruits, and insects.

Using sturdy Sisal Rope, Olorosh strung the Captives into two parallel lines. Then he personally led Xolotl and Tercer, with half the party clearing the way ahead while Marli and the remaining half guarded the rear.

Rainforest paths were always rugged and difficult. Towering trees blotted out the sky, while brilliantly colored venomous snakes lurked among their branches. Swamps and mud pits lay everywhere beneath their feet, and poisonous frogs, mosquitoes, and flies hid in the Water Grass.

This was a green desert. Every stagnant pool concealed parasites and poison.

Fortunately, Olorosh was not only a valiant Jaguar Warrior, but also an expert at surviving in the jungle. He smeared everyone with pungent medicinal ointment, then quickly found a river. The group followed its relatively open banks, winding southward.

Walking along the muddy riverbank, Xolotl carefully kept his distance from the "deadwood" in the water, wary of surprises such as American Crocodiles. As he walked, he curiously asked Olorosh.

"Teacher, where does this river lead?"

"This river is called Tampico. Following it upstream, we will pass through two Alliance city-states. In just over half a month, we can return to the Holy City of Teotihuacan. And three days farther south lies the capital city of the great Alliance, the home promised to us Mexica People by the Sun God—the City in the Lake, Tenochtitlan!"

"That is a magnificent and beautiful city! It has a thousand Canoes laden with goods, a thousand Chinampas planted with Corn, a thousand districts filled with Mexica Warriors, and a thousand Great Temples piled high with massive stones! It is the Alliance's greatest city-state, and the center of the whole world. My family and yours both came from there!"

Xolotl nodded, his thoughts drifting far away. Tenochtitlan was the capital of the Aztec Triple Alliance, and its richest and most powerful city-state. This grand City in the Lake would ultimately be destroyed by Spanish colonizers, marking the extinction of Aztec Civilization.

Upon Tenochtitlan's ruins would rise Mexico City, which submitted to God's Cross.

Xolotl imagined the capital city's prosperity and beauty for a while, then asked curiously again.

"Teacher, have you ever been to the lower reaches of the Tampico River?"

This time, Olorosh sank into memory. After a long while, he finally answered softly.

"Many years ago, I followed the great Moctezuma I to campaign against the People of the Clouds and the Huastec city-states. From here, following the Tampico River downstream for over twenty days, one crosses the mountains and reaches the plains. At the end of the plains and forests lies the Huastec city-state of Cuxicapan—Otter City."

"Beyond that city-state lies a boundless Great Lake. The Great Lake is the end of the world, yet it also leads to every corner of the world. Many distant islands lie within it, and the tribesfolk from those islands come in small boats to trade Feathers, pottery, and cotton cloth. Legend says that north of the Great Lake lies a land of endless forests, inhabited only by Wildmen. Every year, terrifying Divine Calamities come, using white ash to kill all living things."

Xolotl froze before realizing that the Great Lake was the Caribbean Sea, its islands the Caribbean Islands, and the continent of forests and snow was North America. No mountain ranges ran east to west across North America. Whenever winter arrived, terrible cold currents swept down from the Arctic, destroying every settlement and repeatedly wiping out budding Civilizations.

To the Aztec People of the late Stone Age and early Bronze Age, the city-states of warm Mesoamerica were the entirety of the world. In a rainforest without roads, carts, or horses, walking for three or four months—at most five or six hundred kilometers—was the limit of the known world.

In this world, the Maya cities of the southeastern Yucatan Peninsula were distant foreign lands beyond reach. The Caribbean islands in the East Lake were tales passed down from ancient times. The Indian tribes of North America and the Inca Empire of South America were unknown legends. Not to mention the Spanish conquerors beyond the ocean, whose arrival no one knew when to expect.

Thinking of the unknown world and the future, Xolotl fell silent and simply followed Olorosh. The rainforest's difficult paths also greatly drained his strength, leaving him unwilling to speak much.

During the march, the party stopped once. The reason was that the scouts had discovered a wild deer drinking by the river.

Olorosh ordered everyone to keep quiet. He went forward alone, took out a two-meter-long wooden Throwing Spear, and set its feathered end onto a foot-long spear thrower. Then he gripped the thrower in his raised right hand and, shielded by the trees, bent low and moved forward without a sound.

The Jaguar Warrior seemed to merge with the mountain forest. He stalked until he was twenty meters from his target. The wild deer suddenly stopped drinking, lifted its head, and looked around, as if it had sensed something. In that instant, a shrill tearing whistle came straight at it. The deer crashed heavily to the ground, struggled weakly for a moment, and then lost its life.

The warriors all cheered, shouting the name of the Jaguar. Even the distant Captives could not help revealing frightened expressions.

Xolotl stepped forward to inspect it. The sharp Throwing Spear was embedded through the deer's heart in its chest and belly, splashing bright red blood. Its force had been so great that it had pierced clean through the body!

The youth was shocked by the precision and power of this ranged spear throw. Half admiring and half envious, he asked.

"Teacher, that Throwing Spear is amazing. Can I learn it from you?"

Olorosh wore a pleased expression as well. He smiled and nodded, then shook his head.

"I can teach you, but spear throwing cannot be mastered in a year or two. There is really no need for you to learn it! Soon, you will enter the Temple and begin a Priest's training. The Alliance never lacks a Jaguar noble warrior, but every Priest is sacred and important."

With that, Olorosh set up camp by the river and lit a fire. He had Tercer prepare the deer carcass, skin it, and smoke the meat. He also sent half the warriors into the woods to hunt and replenish their food supplies. As for himself, he took out a small Obsidian knife and reshaped the spear's point beside the fire before baking it over the flames to dry and set it.

In sharpness, wood-and-stone weapons might rival early Bronze Weapons, but in durability, they were as far apart as heaven and earth.

And so the group traveled for two or three days. The elevation gradually rose, the trees grew sparse, and their view opened up.

From afar, Xolotl finally saw a thin wisp of cooking smoke rising. Sparse Corn grew across broad fields. The slash-and-burn farmland had only a vague outline, while a fairly large village slowly emerged at the edge of his vision.

As the warrior party approached, sharp flute calls suddenly rang out from the village.

Xolotl saw disorderly figures gathering within the village, while Olorosh led the party to stop in the open ground about a hundred meters away. Twenty warriors stood holding shields and war clubs, quietly waiting.

After quite some time, the village's forces finally poured out in a swarm. More than two hundred able-bodied men carried all manner of wooden clubs and Stone Spears. A dozen or so hunters held crude, easily broken self bows and slings. At the very front, an elderly man wearing Feathers and silver ornaments was surrounded by the crowd.

The village elder looked at the Jaguar attire, and an unmistakable trace of unease immediately appeared on his face.

He hurried forward with several villagers, bowed, and said.

"Honored Jaguar warrior, I am the village elder. May I ask what orders bring you to our village? We Huastec People have submitted to the great Alliance for more than ten rainy seasons! We make tribute four times every year without delay. This year's first tribute was paid early as well. It is not yet harvest season, and there is neither grain nor fur in our storehouses—"

"The great former ruler Axayacatl has returned to the realm of the Sky God! His brother Tizoc has ascended as the new Tlatoani. A grand coronation ceremony will be held this year!"

At the mention of the coronation ceremony, Olorosh gave the village elder a deep, meaningful look.

At those words, a trace of terror appeared on the village elder's face. He immediately prostrated himself on the ground and pleaded aloud.

"Honored Jaguar Warrior, we Huastec People have never wavered in our loyalty to the Alliance! We are willing to offer more tribute to celebrate the great ruler's accession!"

"Good! As long as you remain loyal to the Alliance, you will not become offerings for the sacrificial rites. We have just returned from the northern jungle, having captured offerings."

As he said this, Olorosh bared his teeth in a grin and pointed at the distant Captives.

"Now we need ten days' worth of food for a hundred people. Most of it must be Tortillas, and the rest black beans!"

Hearing such a demand, the village elder's face turned exceptionally ugly. For a long time, he gave no reply.

"Of course, we will not take it for nothing!"

Olorosh looked at the more than two hundred armed village men nearby, and his tone softened slightly. After considering for a moment, he took out a bulging little cotton bag and handed it to the elder.

"Here are two palm-sized pieces of cotton cloth, and two handfuls of Cacao Beans. We have just returned from capturing Captives and are in a hurry to get back to the city. We will not stay in your village!"

Those words were like the final weight that tipped the scales. The village elder finally nodded bitterly and accepted the small cloth bag. The valuables within were far from enough to cover the village's losses, but there was nothing else to be done.

The elder returned to the villagers and shouted several orders. A small commotion immediately arose among them, but it was quickly suppressed beneath the elder's rebukes. Then two villagers went to the largest building in the village, carried out two large bundles of Tortillas, and approached with a large pottery jar each.

Xolotl watched them lower their heads and fearfully hand the Tortillas and pottery jars to the warriors. Yet when they returned to the villagers, their faces turned indignant again.

Grinning, Olorosh weighed the Tortillas in his hands, then opened a pottery jar and tasted the Black Bean Paste inside. Finally satisfied, he nodded to the village elder and waved a hand behind him. The warriors slung their Obsidian War Clubs onto their backs and strode away with the food and Captives.

After walking for a while, Xolotl looked back at the distant village. The Huastec villagers still seemed to be gathered together with their crude weapons, watching the warriors depart. Cooking smoke continued to rise slowly from the village, and beneath it, flames seemed to be smoldering in secret.

Note: The "Jaguar" here was ocelotl in Nahuatl. In a Nahuatl-English dictionary, it is defined as: "a jaguar, or an ocelot; a warrior; a calendrical marker; also, a person's name, a tiger." In Nahua Language, Jaguar, tiger, and high-ranking warrior were all the same word.