Chapter 39

Within a couple of hours the throne was complete and standing by itself, ready for the ladies with their cloth to start placing their drapes on the throne. John presented them with the tin of glue, and they soon decided how the cloth should be draped in making the throne into an impressive power statement.

When this emissary arrived, he would be in for a shock if he was expecting an undeveloped tribe of ignorant locals. John brought up this subject with his wives.

“Girls, if I am on a throne, should I be dressed accordingly: something fancy?”

His women looked him up and down, then glanced at each other. They seemed able to know what the others were thinking, without words passing between them. It was a sort of osmosis, for Numa spoke for them all.

“No, John. You are best in this case to look like a local chief. If you wore clothing not applicable to this time and place, that would indicate you as being an interloper of some kind. Present yourself as a local who has been given this throne by the defending army as a sign of your link to them.”

The other women nodded their agreement. Vicky added to it.

“John, you don’t want the invaders to realise that you are the primary cause of their troubles, for they would simply target you afterwards. Make yourself seem like a lesser person: a tribal Chief, but one who simply acts on behalf of the defending army that remains in the background. I think you should present yourself as a jumped-up local who imagines he is important as an intermediary, but is really a piece of cannon fodder in the front line. Do you think you can play that kind of role, without your true power showing through?”

John beamed. “Hey, girls; I like the idea. Pompous but ultimately powerless! I wonder what I can get the emissary to admit about his side, and what he is willing to offer the defending army as a sop, to allow the invader army to withdraw?”

“Numa, if I may make a suggestion?” said Raka. Numa stared at the younger woman and gestured for her to proceed.

“John, Do not wash between now and the emissary’s arrival. You shouldn’t smell of soap; that wouldn’t fit your appearance as a low-level participant. Sweaty is fine, as it is in keeping with most tribes elsewhere.”

John laughed, and said with a smile, “Uhh, yeah, baby. I does the stupid Chief fine!”

Numa grimaced. “Not like that, John. Your guise is to be clever enough to be Chief, but blinded by your selection as a representative of the defending army. By the way, shouldn’t this army have a name that we can apply to it from now on, so it is not so mysterious?”

“Yes, that is so,” John said. “What name do you suggest, anyone?”

Sheila offered as an opinion, “Nothing too formal, for it is an ad hoc body, put together to counteract the invaders. Let’s assume it is led by competent soldiers with a degree of superior technology. That technology is being retained by them and so not generally available to the locals around here. Having that as a background, what name is suitable?”

“Army of the north?” Vickie suggested. John showed ambivalence at the name.

“Continental army?” said Numa.

“Too pretentious!” John decided.

Sheila came up with, “Second Land Army?”

Numa exclaimed, “What? That sounds peculiar.”

“No,” John declared. “It has a lot going for it. It implies that somewhere there is a First Land Army, and also suggests that there might be a Navy somewhere. I like it.”

“What is a Navy, John?” Numa asked.

“A band of fighting ships; like an army, but at sea. Usually the ships have armament for throwing missiles at the enemy.”

“I see. So the one name suggests that there are three armies, with one being at sea? That is fiendishly clever, Sheila!”

John chortled, “When I am asked about the defending army, I can say I know little about it, except for its name: Second Land Army. I can declare ignorance about what that means, and let them draw their own conclusions!”

Vickie smiled. “I think you will enjoy this meeting with the Invader’s man!”

John asked anxiously, “Is there anything else we ought to do in advance? Have I forgotten anything?”

Numa insisted, “Yes. You must insist that you know nothing directly about the attack on their leaders. All you know is rumours that have come your way. Be vague about the attackers. Suggest it was a team of warriors that was sent by the Land Army, and you know nothing about them except that they seemed to be special warriors. And you know nothing about how many more bands of such warriors they have.”

Raka added, “And you have no idea how the warriors knew about the meeting details, though you can suggest that someone passed through from the Invader area, apparently carrying messages to the Land Army. That should make them think...”

Vickie giggled. “That one is worthy of John. It is the way he thinks: sneaky in the extreme.”

John now tentatively mentioned, “How did the throne get here from the 2nd Land Army? I must know, as it might be asked.”

There was a sudden silence, as this was being considered by everyone. John made things even more difficult by saying, “If soldiers appeared with it, we would know what they looked like, and how they were armed, wouldn’t we? I don’t want to be faced with that question.”

Noma, younger sister of Numa, spoke quietly.

“What if it simply appeared; was there when we woke up in the morning? Delivered during the night, possibly by some magical means? We can act as if we believed that such magical events could happen. It is then the enemy’s problem to explain it, not ours!”

“Great suggestion, Noma. It leaves me with a need to explain how I was appointed as a representative of the Army?”

Vickie laughed and told him, “Simple: an emissary from the 2nd Army turned up and explained things to you. He was incognito: dressed and looked like us, because he did want to be seen as an Army man as he travelled through the tribes to here.”

John smiled in turn and chuckled, “And he promised me I would get a throne so I would be seen as a genuine intermediary for them. That should cover it.”

Brando enquired, “Do you want me to be here, or should I get back to my own tribe?”

John was definite. “You have to be out of sight, in case the man visits the Farfarers at a later date and sees you there. We don’t want him to see that we are working together.”

“So I had best get away home. Can I take any of the tools, John and Numa? I am working on one or two designs I have put together.”

Numa looked to John, saying, “I am not a tool person, so John must decide.”

John took over.

“We have a number of these tools, Brando, and I want to see what you can do with them, so please take what you need with you. Just let Raka know what you are taking with you, so they are accounted for.”

“Including the large saw?” Brando begged.

“Yes. That will be fine,” John accepted the request.

Brando gathered all the tools in a makeshift hide bag, and set off for home.

The rest of the day, the ladies explored the possibilities of the sewing machine. Vickie and Sheila had to warn the other users that the motive power for the stitching mechanism was limited, so it had to be used sparingly, but there was a great interest in watching what the uptime ladies could do with the machine and cloth. Ideas were forthcoming about what the combination of cloth and machine could produce for the tribe, and then it became another seminar in clothes design and construction.

The most popular request was a piece of clothing for holding up a woman’s breasts in a comfortable way. The word ‘brassiere’ was soon introduced into the local language, along with its shortened version, ‘bra’, and the uptime ladies showed how such a garment could be made with the machine. The straps were made by folding over a strip of cloth, stitching it closed, and adding the straps to the bra. Vickie suggested that if any shortening of the straps was required, it would be simple to stitch a loop into each strap, with the loops the same size for each pair of straps.

By the time the light had been lost, several bras had been made for specific girls who had larger breasts than most. Their appreciation was voluble, and promises were made of making more bras to order in future days.

Numa warned that should the invader emissary arrive, the bras had to be taken off and hidden, as the cloth was identical to that draped on the throne – which was supposed to have arrived as a gift, so more of the same cloth in use would not fit that scenario. The girls saw the argument and promised to do that immediately, if the emissary arrived.

That proved to be good advice, for soon after daylight arrived, so did a runner from the fisher village.

“High Chief John, sir, I come with a message about the emissary of the invader army. He is close behind me, come to visit you without warning. Our Chief sent me off as soon as the man left with his guide, and I detoured round to get here first, to warn you. Please don’t let on that you knew he was on his way!”

“Thanks, young man. You did your job well. Report back to your Chief and tell him I was pleased with the warning. Grab a bite to eat before you leave.”

John passed on the word, and in moments any bras were replaced with their hide equivalents, and Numa was tidying the throne for John to perch on it.

The lad was not long gone when another young man appeared, and John recognised Ashoka, who genuflected before the imposing throne. Immediately behind Ashoka was a taller and burlier man, dressed in well-cut hides embellished by a coloured sash across his chest. He had the deportment of a man of importance, proud and secure in his calling. He spoke to John, who had relaxed on the throne.

“I take it I am addressing the High Chief John of John’s Tribe?”

John drew himself up to a standing position, so that his eyes were on a level with that of the emissary.

“You are, sir. Do you have a name and a title, yourself?”

“I am Duke Drago of the duchy of Gondwana. I am present as the emissary of General Carunno of the Army of Olmecan.”

John nodded and sat down again, leaving the other standing. “Thank you, Duke Drago. Very impressive title indeed; a Duke, even! An emissary from the army of Olmecan, you say? An emissary to whom? Important though I am in this area, I do not think you would have heard of me, much less want to treat with me.”

“That is where the connection comes in, High Chief. We asked who was the most important man in this general area, and your name was prominent among the replies, very prominent.”

“It was? How nice of them to recognise my position, for I was only recently moved up from Chief to High Chief. It was well deserved, you will realise, but still I do not speak for all the tribes in this area, just a couple of them so far, so why come to me?”

“High Chief, it was suggested that you may have some knowledge of the army that lies to the north of this location. Is that true? By the way, I like your seating arrangement.”

“Thank you. I am told it is called a ‘throne’, whatever that means. It was a present from the army to the north of us; generous of them, I thought.”

“That is very interesting. Why should they give you a present? They don’t appear to have handed out presents to other Chiefs.”

“They didn’t? Oh, I suppose, perhaps, it was because they wanted me to pass on information that I learned about you people; I presume it was you they meant. They described you only as as ‘invaders’. They don’t seem to know your army’s name. I suppose I can tell them now, for it won’t matter to you that they know your army’s name.”

“The request for information: how did that come about, may I ask?” The duke had drawn closer to ask this, and now his nostrils twitched as John’s body odour assailed him. John’s profile was immediately downgraded in the Duke’s estimation.

John admitted, as if hard of hearing or slow-witted, “What? About them contacting me for information? It was most peculiar in itself. A man turned up here one day and explained that he understood I was an important personage in the area - ‘personage’ sounds a most impressive term, doesn’t it? Anyway, he wanted to ask my help in passing on news about the army to the south of us. At the time I didn’t know there was such an army at all, but you will appreciate that news is often slow to travel in rough countryside.”

“What did this man look like? Was he wearing any special clothing that suggested he belonged to an army such as he claimed?”

“I was a bit puzzled over that question myself, for he wore the same clothes as the rest of us. He explained that he did not want to be seen as an army man, so he wore the local clothes. He did promise that if I agreed to be an informant, they would send me gift that would make it clear who he was acting for; important people I accepted, provided he explained in a bit more detail what they wanted.

It was quite simple. He just wanted me to gather bits of information that came my way, about the army to the south, and pass it on via a messenger. That is pretty innocuous, don’t you agree?”

“It is, I quite accept. And what have you heard recently? - if I am not being too bold to ask!”

“Not at all. It was mostly routine, about where your army had appeared among various tribes. Except...” John stopped, and studied the duke cautiously before continuing. The duke encouraged him to proceed. “It is all right, High Chief. Go ahead.”

“Thank you, duke. Well, the story came to me that there had been an attack on some of your leaders recently. I don’t know where or when, but the tale made it out to be professional warriors doing the attack. As none of our tribes have professional warriors, I presumed they came from the army to the north, but perhaps not, so I just passed on this message as requested.”

The duke nodded his head, “Yes, we heard the same thing, High Chief John. Who did you report it to? Anyone in particular?”

“No. I wasn’t given a name; I don’t know why. I was simply told my messenger should ask to speak to the Second Land Army, and in the end he would be taken to the relevant person. Most peculiar, don’t you think, duke?”

“Can I get this clear, High Chief? The Second Land Army?”

“Yes, that’s it. Why should I have to deal with a secondary army, and not the main one? Surely someone in my position should deal with someone more important, like a general such as you have? I was a bit peeved, but it was such a simple task that I really shouldn’t fuss over a lack of recognition of my position in authority.

Anyway, there you have it. Bloody messenger-sender; that’s me. At least they didn’t ask for contributions of food or weapons or people. I checked that right at the start, and the guy said they didn’t need any contributions like that; just information.

I just wonder how they got the information that enable them to make that attack I mentioned. Someone had to have told them where and when the meeting was going to be, if they were able to plan such an attack. I heard nothing about it beforehand. Do you think someone in your army was feeding them information like that? It seems stupid. Why should anyone do that, unless they were not being treated properly? I always make sure my aides are well fed and get anything else they need, including females. I have a number of wives, so I am not short in the availability of sex.” He grinned at the duke. “I hope you get your share of women, duke.”

Duke Drago smiled thinly. “I get my due as a duke, High Chief. May I enquire about how your throne arrived? Who delivered it?”

“Haven’t the faintest idea, my friend. We got up one morning and it was sitting there. All we had to do was move it into position. It is rather attractive, especially with the colourful drapery. My women say the drapery is very well made, in a consistent close pattern that they can’t match. I was pleased with it, I can tell you.”

“Unusual gift,” was all the duke could comment. “Now do you want us to send you some news to pass on to the other army?”

John frowned as he absorbed this statement, then he drew himself up to make his official reply.

“Duke, while I have no objection to learning such information, is it ethical for me to do it that way? It looks like cheating somehow. How can I be sure that what you tell me to pass on is accurate? You might be telling me tales to confuse the other side, for all I know.

No, I cannot act in that way. I must gather the information from other tribes, then integrate it to be sure it is as accurate as possible before I pass it on. That way I have reinforced the information and improved its reliability.

You don’t get to be Chief by being stupid, you know.

So I am sorry, I have to refuse your generous offer, with regret. Is there any other suggestion that I might consider?”, then added, “Of course, I would expect a similar gift for a similar service to you; not another throne, but whatever you thought might please me.”

Duke Drago told John, “I would have to speak with high officers in the army before I could make an offer, and I don’t personally know what to suggest as a present. Can we leave it that I shall consult, and come back later if I am in a position to make an offer?”

“Nothing just now, not even just to show willing?” John wheedled.

The other fiddled at his ornate belt, then his fingers of their own volition settled on a hilt. His eyes brightened.

“Would you be interested in having your own bronze dagger?”

“What in the name of the Earth Mother is a bronze dagger? A dagger of a particular colour of flint?”

“No. Much more interesting. A dagger whose blade is made from bronze: a special metal that is still rare. No-one else in this area would have one!”

“Now you are talking! But I hope it is more than talk.”

The duke drew his dagger and scabbard holder from his belt.

“This, my dear friend; inside this ornate blade holder is a special dagger of bronze, which I have much prized. Bronze is a rare metal that we import from far away, for important weapons only. That makes it special and valuable, High Chief.”

“Let me see it!” John demanded eagerly. “Is it as sharp as flint?”

“About the same, but if it gets blunted through use, you can hammer it back to a sharp edge again; over and over. You can’t do that with flint daggers.” He handed it over.

John ran his fingers over the decorated scabbard, then drew out the knife by the hilt and peered at the bronze.

“Wonderful! I like the colour – it looks warm and friendly; until it is used to gut a man!”

“Will that do as a keepsake until we can make a more permanent arrangement to show good faith and swap information? In the meantime, if anything interesting comes your way that you think we would like to know, send someone to ask for me or my men, and someone will take the message for me.”

John clutched the dagger to his chest, and waved the duke away.

“Fine, fine. We can work something out. Speak to your general Corner about it.”

The duke winced and said strongly, “General Carunno, if you please!”

“Ah, yes – Carunno. I must have misheard the name. Sorry, Duke. Farewell.”

The Duke stomped off, Ashoka leading the way, a cheerful grin on his face from what he had heard of the exchange. As soon as they were out of sight, John relaxed with a sigh of relief.

He turned to get sight of his family. “Did I do all right?” he asked them.

“Yes, you did fine,” they all agreed.

Numa remarked, “I was impressed by your balance of stupidity and cleverness, my John. You came over as genuine, surprising even me.” She came to him and kissed him soundly. This started a rush by his other wives to do the same for congratulations. John lapped it up with a cheesy grin.

Vickie was the only one to urge caution.

“John, do not assume it is over. Diplomats have a habit of returning unexpectedly, on the excuse that they forgot something, but in reality to see how you are acting when you think the interview is completed. Remember the TV detective, Colombo? - like that.”

“Good point, my love. Everyone, new orders: Behave as if the duke was still here, until Numa declares it safe to return to normal.”

Sure enough; ten minutes later, the duke reappeared, to find John lolling on his throne while one of his lesser wives brought him a drink to slake his thirst. He looked up in pretended surprise at the duke.

“Hello again, Duke Drago. This is an unexpected extra visit. Is there a problem?”

“Not on your side, High Chief. It occurred to me after I left, that your wives might appreciate a little something when I return. Is there anything in particular that they might prefer, of a general nature: adornment; clothing; or whatever?”

John looked around and pointed to Numa.

“My love, as first wife, can you answer the Duke, please?”

Numa put on a show of thinking, then looked around at her fellow wives.

“Necklaces would be nice, I think; visible indications of our status as the High Chief’s wives.”

“Excellent choice,” Duke Drago came out with. “How many is that?”

“We are not all here, and there are a few others scheduled to join him in the next year or two, so it had best be more than two hands in numbers, possibly three hands – if you can afford that, Duke?” she added shyly.

He blinked, either at the numbers and costs involved, or at Numa’s shyness; it was not clear, but he recovered his poise.

“Not a problem, my dear. High Chief John’s wives deserve the best. Farewell for now.”

John made a florid farewell comment, and wished his new friend a good journey home.

Duke marched off again, trying to give an impression of importance in his walk.

John and the others did nothing for the next few minutes except talk in inconsequential chatter, just in case the man appeared again.

He didn’t, so eventually Numa declared, “Right, formalities are over for now. Everyone can get back to what they were doing before the Duke arrived.”

The sewing machine was retrieved from the semi-darkness of the back of the outer cave, along with the bolt of cloth, to resume the sewing operations. The girls who had cloth bras took them back out of hiding, and donned them with pride, showing their preference for this new cloth.

“So, any further comment on our negotiations?” John asked.

“Are we really going to get necklaces?” Gerva questioned.

“Looks like it,” said John. “However, that could range from pieces of colourful seashell to precious stones. Much will depend on Drago’s own sense of fairness. If he wants us to feel like we owe him, then expensive jewellery can be expected, but if he thinks we don’t matter in any significant way, it will be the cheaper end of the choices. Some shells can be quite beautiful as well as ornate in a carved design.”

“But we might get necklaces with shiny stones?”

“Yes, that is possible, but shiny stones in my time were often made out of a hard glass – obsidian is a hard glass - so not real valuable gems.”

“So what is the difference?” Numa questioned.

Sheila told her, “The ones made out of glass can look almost like the real gemstones, so as far as looks go, there is no difference; but glass breaks fairly easily while gemstones tend to be tougher.”

“I don’t intend to break the shiny stones in a necklace, so it makes no difference to me,” she announced. “What do you mean by valuable?”

“Valuable means worth a lot more, usually because of rarity, but sometimes because of the craftsmanship that went into making it.”

“You mean, like a beautifully crafted longbow, or a beautifully sewn pair of moccasins?”

“Yes, that is the idea, but things made with rare gemstones or well-designed metal adornments made of silver or gold are usually valued much more highly.”

“Silver? Gold? Are these like bronze?”

“In many ways, yes, but silver is rarer and gold even more so. Bronze is made from two or more materials, the main component being copper. The rest is often tin, but can be several other elements. Elements are the basic building blocks of everything. Silver and gold are elements, and gold never tarnishes.”

“What do you expect then?”

“I would only be guessing, but if we are the only route towards the army of the north, they may be generous towards us. After all, they want to get information about the Second Land Army they have to go through us. As you know, they are not going to find any other method of contacting the Army!”

“Good. Will we have to do something else to put another scare into the Invaders – or the Army of the Olmecan, as they call themselves?”

“It is not important at the moment. We need to wait to see how the present negotiation plays out. If the Invaders start pushing us, then we may have to conduct another demonstration of their vulnerability. Otherwise, if they start to withdraw in any numbers, we can let well enough alone.”

“Hello, where is your duty guard?” a voice called.

They peered outside, and saw Fresno of the fisher village striding towards them. Numa blushed, and admitted, “I left off the duty guard when I knew the emissary was coming, as I didn’t want him to think we were armed and ready; then I forgot to reinstate the guard. Sorry.”

John greeted him, “Welcome, Fresno. We had a visitor, and we didn’t want him to know how well guarded the tribe was. What can we do for you? How are your two wives getting on?”

“The girls are getting to know each other, though they still want me to be with them one at a time for lovemaking. They alternate nights, but are happy for us all to sleep together. That is not why I am here, though. The Headman sent me with a message.”

John frowned in puzzlement.

“But Ashoka was here with the Invader emissary, telling me what was needed. Why would the Headman send you as well?”

“A conflict of interest, John. We had two emissaries; one was the one from the Invader army. The other was unexpected. He was calling on behalf of the merchants whose ship we recaptured from the pirates.

He wants to speak directly to you. He says they found things about the ship that made them think, and say that you are the only one to be able to answer. They ‘request’ that you come and meet with the man, but only after the invader emissary is long gone. He suggested it be in the morning, if you can manage that. I will take back your reply.”

John’s frown lessened, but he remained puzzled.

“Did the man give any indication of what exactly he wanted to talk about? It all sounds somewhat vague, to my mind.”

“He wouldn’t say any more, sorry. He said that he needed you to explain certain damage to the vessel, but he had no complaints; just needed an explanation.”

“Damn! He wants to know how I managed to cause the damage, as the known weapons of this time could not do that to it. It must be they took back their ship so swiftly that they failed to ask the locals about the conflict over it.”

“That may be so, for I saw what you did, and had a hard time believing what I saw!”

“Okay, Fresno. Go back and say I will call in during the morning and chat to the fellow. I have no idea what I can offer him, for you know that I only have one missile left; not much use to a fleet of ships.”

John went to explain to Numa what he was now faced with, but she agreed that he must go ... AFTER making love to as many of his wives as possible. “Pregnancy has made most us needy for your loving, my husband. Make sure you get back by tomorrow night.”

A tired but happy John embarked on his early morning walk to the fisher village, armed as usual and with a bag of trail food attached to his leather belt. Water he could find on the way.

Despite his close attention to his surroundings, he encountered no trouble at all. He wondered if the local predators had been killed off and not yet replaced by exploring beasts. That would be good for the sheep, but he was still have to keep training the dogs to be on guard for predators.

When he finally reached the vicinity of the village, no noticed that the treeless perimeter was wider than before, so wood was being used for something, perhaps building new fishing boats. The child watchers were around, though, and popped up to his side to welcome him as a friend. The normal child runner raced off to report his imminent arrival.

Fresno welcomed him to the fisher village. He apologised for the non-appearance of the Headman.

“With so many visitors recently, the Chief feels he should stay at his house and have all the visitors taken to him. It does make sense,” Fresno apologised.

“It does, Fresno. Let’s go see him. What of the merchant visitor? Where is he?”

“He keeps looking around the village, asking questions about what seafood we fish for, and what we do with it, in particular how we salt it or air dry it. He doesn’t know about smoking fish or meat. He was saying something about an exchange; that we could supply them with lobsters, crabs and shellfish, and in return they could provide deep sea fish to us. There is still the problem of trading all the extra fish before it goes off.”