"What?! Do all you can and try for me? Try?... Gods above! This great matter concerns my life and death, and yours as well! How can you only say 'try'?..."
In the underground prison of the Water Fort, Priest Pap widened his eyes, his expression vicious as he berated the Maya merchant Tikalo. He furrowed his brow, menace on his face, and his hand pressed once more to the dagger at his waist. Yet this angry reaction was, in fact, a sign that he had begun to trust Tikalo.
If, in his answer just now, Tikalo had said something like "I'm fully certain," or "I can definitely persuade His Highness"... then Pap would never have believed him. He would only have thought the man was boasting and deceiving him to escape. And the result that followed would have been Pap drawing the Obsidian Dagger and simply slaughtering this untrustworthy fellow as a sacrifice with one slash!...
"Ahem! Let the ancestors witness! Let the Main God witness!..."
Seeing Priest Pap's reaction, the Maya merchant Tikalo's thoughts turned, and his heart eased slightly. His expression was solemn as he looked into Priest Pap's eyes and asked in a deep voice, "Honored Priest Pap, do you believe in light?"
"Uh? What?! Believe in light?"
"Mm... In the myths of us Maya People, 'light' is a holy symbol, and also the guidance of the gods. It is the direction of fate, and also the world in every person's eyes!... In my view, light guides your fate, coming from the eastern sky and going to the western coast. And the revered prince of the west has long been standing upon the towering God Mountain, waiting for you for a very long time!..."
"Damn it! Don't talk to me, a priest, in those priestly metaphors... Speak