heading down the northern hallway, Teshna grabbed his hand before he reached his room, pulling him close. “Your speech… it was inspiring.” “Thanks,” he said.
“Do you have a woman-where you are from?” she asked in a rush, as though she had rehearsed the question.
William looked away. “I used to,” he said, with a shrug. “I guess it’s been over for a while now.”
“Good, then you have no reason to leave,” she said. Teshna gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, spun around, and skipped down the hallway before he had a chance to say anything else.
He was about to mention that he needed to get back at least for his mom’s sake. There were also the modern conveniences he had grown accustomed to. The thought of no HDTV the rest of his life was a big concern. He watched Teshna stroll down the hallway, focusing on the curves of her body until she was out of sight. William stumbled back to his bed, yanked off his headdress, and kicked his sandals across the room. He felt confused. For the first time since he had arrived William began considering the possibility of staying there.
Chapter Eight
The following morning, William and Betty had their share of rations-a meek helping of dried fruits, tortillas, and peppers-and came across Yax, Teshna, Priest Quisac, and three other elderly men conversing in the courtyard near the great ceiba tree. Intense and brooding looks emanated from their faces. William remembered the men from the night before-the guys with jaguar capes.
“Balam… Bati… please join us,” Yax said.
Teshna gave William an inviting smile. Betty took notice of William’s prolonged stare. “Easy sailor,” she said, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.
Yax gestured to the men in the jaguar attire. “Balam, these men are ambassadors from the kingdom of Kohunlich. On the morning of the harvest, I sent our runners with a message to King Snarl Tooth, requesting that he hear our plea-to stand with us against Calakmul.”
“You present a persuasive argument, Lord Stone Frog,” said the eldest of the three ambassadors; William thought he had to be in his eighties. “However, we have good relations with both your kingdom and Calakmul. King Snarl Tooth merely sent us here out of respect to your father, the Great Jade Owl, and to verify the stories of your… unusual guests.” He looked at William and Betty for a moment before returning his attention to Yax. “Our king does not wish to become involved in a feud between your two cities.”
“However,” Teshna said in a feisty tone, “you continue your trades with Calakmul. You provide resources and free passage through your territory. From our perspective, you are indirectly supporting this advancing army against us.”
“Careful, Teshna,” Yax said, warning her. “Let us not make more enemies this day.”
The youngest of the ambassadors-perhaps in his thirties-was about to speak, when a large branch from the ceiba tree snapped and fell; it crashed onto a mat where fruit had been curing in the sun. Servants rushed over to clean up the mess. The ambassador looked back to Teshna with a hint of pity in his eyes. “What you say is true. We continue our trades and good relations with Calakmul. It’s a delicate situation-our territory borders with theirs. King Aztuk made it quite clear that we should not alter our relations with them… nor should we offer assistance to you. Calakmul would turn against us as well.”
“Then stand with us so we can fight them together,” Yax pleaded.
“We will carry your message to King Snarl Tooth,” the elder ambassador said. “There is nothing more we can do.” The three men bowed and departed.
The ambassador who had not spoken during the conversation stopped and turned around with a look of concern. He was a tall man, somewhere between the ages of the other two ambassadors; he wore a jaguar headdress that went well with his spotty jaguar cape. “For what it is worth, I will attempt to impress your word upon our king. But he is a stubborn man, who fears for his people.”
“Then he is a wise man, Ambassador Chen-Uk,” Priest Quisac said, “for the stars also tell us that there is much to fear in these times, across
Ambassador Chen-Uk tilted his head in thought; even the jaguar face of his headdress seemed to be considering something. He nodded and joined the other ambassadors as they exited the palace.
“What the hell was that all about?” Betty asked. William gave her a brief explanation.
Yax exited the palace with the others following him. “I must go to the men training in the fields, to show my support. We will meet at sunset to discuss our battle plans. I will call in the captains of the royal guard. Teshna, inform Subiac that his counsel will be required.”
Once outside, Yax turned to William and said, “Balam, I ask that you and Bati go with Teshna to where the weapons are being prepared. You must better understand the resources we have available for battle.”
“An excellent idea,” Teshna said, her face lighting up.
“I will be in the temple for meditation, my Lord,” Priest Quisac declared. “There is much that I must contemplate.”
“Until dusk then,” Yax said as the group went their separate ways.
William and Betty followed Teshna a short distance east of the King’s palace to a remote plaza overgrown by the jungle, where the ruins of a crumbling building served as their weapons refinery. Dozens of women-and many older children-worked in an assembly line manner, separated in groups that were focused on specific tasks.
A clanking sound drew William’s attention to a mob of women pounding on chunks of black rock. They hammered their stone mallets against the shiny obsidian, chiseling the pieces into triangular blades. They tossed the finished fragments into one of several different piles, depending on its size.
One team took the medium-sized obsidian blades and attached them to their assortment of long poles, where a collection of spears began to accumulate. The smaller fragments were taken by another group; they did some final shaping before attaching them to arrows. Even the odd-shaped pieces of the black rock could be utilized by inserting them into the sides of, what looked like, wooden baseball bats to make rustic swords.
Amidst the workers, a hunched-over Mayan stood out; he looked as withered as his worn-out headdress. He supervised the workers around him-barking orders at them in his scratchy voice. William remembered the old man from the morning after the ball game-the guy with a nasty scar on his face and missing his left ear. Upon seeing Teshna and the others, he toddled over and gave them a polite nod, his hands clasped together.
“Good day, elder Subiac,” Teshna said with a bow. She studied the large pile of obsidian. “I am surprised to see this much black rock remaining. I had thought our reserves were less.”
“Indeed, it is from a fortunate trade transaction in recent weeks,” Subiac said, “with Ixtepeque merchants, for a significant measure of jade in return. It was at the request of your uncle, not long before his death.” He coughed out a chuckle.
“The only wise decision he ever made,” Teshna grumbled. She pointed at Betty. “Bati will help where you may use her.”
Subiac snatched Betty’s left wrist and twisted her hand up, studying her palm through his twitching left eyelid. He mumbled to himself for a time and then released her hand. “She will work with the bows.”
“Excellent!” Teshna said. “The bow is my focus too.”
“What’s up?” Betty asked, rubbing her wrists. She seemed annoyed after being grabbed like that. William explained that they could use her help to make bows, and Betty agreed with a shrug.
“Before you get started, Subiac, please explain all our weapons to Balam.” Teshna said.
Subiac’s eyes lit up and he motioned for them to follow. He stopped by a collection of spears, picked one up, and held it in a throwing posture. “The tepoztopilli!” he said with a devilish grin, exposing his missing teeth. “To throw, or,” he held the blade lower, “to thrust… and slash.” He waved the spear around, jabbing at invisible enemies.
“Right, a spear,” Betty said, unimpressed. “Okay, moving along.”
He went on with the tour, demonstrating a number of different weapons, until he threw his back out while swinging the maquahuitl sword-the weapon that looked like a blade-studded baseball bat. Subiac’s enthusiasm tanked a bit from the pain in his back. He went on to point out the daggers, clubs, blowguns, and shields. Finally, he showed them the arrows for the bows and the short spears used for the atlatls.
