"What? Longship Tribe, you want to stay?"
The wooden hut was low and squat. A faint tobacco scent lingered at the tip of the nose, along with the fresh, earthy stink of crocodile. Hearing Priest Tomatl's words, Chief Water Splash widened his eyes in surprise and opened his mouth, his face full of disbelief.
Priest Tomatl was calm and unhurried, a faint smile on his face, ready for negotiations. Chief Water Splash's shock was exactly what he had expected. Only, when the other man spoke next, it was utterly different from the conversation he had originally imagined!
"Ah! Priest Tomatl, you want to bring the Longship Tribe and join our Mayari Tribe?"
Chief Water Splash scratched his head, looking slightly troubled, then showed a sincere smile.
"Mm, with several hundred able-bodied men joining us, the tribe's food and huts will be a little tight. But that's all right! With so many more able-bodied men, we can divide off stems and open up a new cassava field! Once the new cassava is planted, I reckon it'll only take eight months to grow and be harvested, and then we can keep gathering it, for many years..."
"Oh right, you also have those long longships, so you can go fish in the deeper sea. I know a few bays to the north where the fish are plentiful and fat! ...Oh, and your thatched huts, once the rainy season passes, in September or October, we can cut grass and build houses. To the south, on the higher ground by the little hills, the house sites are already there. I'll call everyone over to help work on it together..."
Chief Water Splash counted on his fingers, thinking item by item, and the words came faster and faster from his mouth. Priest Tomatl had only recently