Chapter 43

John’s visit to the fisher village was one of these non-events that the world knows and loves to build into a performance.

He was welcomed, and when he explained what he wanted to do in the near future, they relaxed. The Headman told him, “Of course we can do that for you. We can combine it with a fishing trip and see what the fish stocks are like in that location. You don’t know if there is a fisher village nearby, do you? We would not want to encroach on their fishing grounds.”

“I agree. I would like Corvo to make an initial foray to spy out the land; and then we will be better prepared for our visit.”

The Headman regarded John with interest. “A visit, eh? With how many colleagues, did you say?”

“I don’t know yet. My wives will work that out, depending on how many are now competent with the longbow.”

“Ah.” The Headman was illuminated. “I understand. The ghost army strikes again.”

John allowed his surprise to show. “I didn’t think I was so obvious.”

“You aren’t. It is simply that we view you as a weapon of destruction on our enemies, so hearing about the disaster to the invader officer encampment made me think of you. Suggesting another visit to an invader-controlled location made me automatically put two and two fingers together and make a hand.”

John smiled. “You are a very perceptive man, Chief.”

“My friend, as many boats as will carry your archers, you will have available. Corvo; well, I think he thought his work for you was over, and he is settling down to family life. However, if we provide a boat and take him there, I am sure his curiosity will get the better of him. We can return and collect him at a prearranged spot. I take it he is needed to locate your target?”

“That is the plan. Corvo knows what he is doing and is adept at seeing without being seen, and that is all I require; his eyes-on report of what is there. He is a good man to have as a friend.”

John described the coastline that he wanted Corvo to visit and look around for signs of the invader army. The Headman nodded, and said that he recognised the spot. “It is not on our regular fishing routes, but my boat was pushed by a storm as far south as that location, and it is memorable enough for me to know it. I will find Corvo and tell him that you would like that location searched – quietly - and reported on. I presume he will know what would interest you.”

“He will. Many thanks. That allows me to return to my family, so I had better ask for another sack of salt; a smaller one this time, so that I can pay attention to my surroundings. Last time my head was down because of the load, and I nearly got killed by a stripie due to my inattention.”

“That is easily solved; just half-fill one of our sacks. They are all the same size: it makes the making of them simpler.”

“I get you: standardisation. It is good concept, applicable to many containers. Your purchasers will soon know that the contents are always of the same quantity, provide you fill the container to the same extent every time. It is a help if someone is appointed to check that the filling is always done consistently; your purchasers will appreciate that help.”

“There speaks a man who could fit among the merchants who we are starting to see more frequently. Thank you, John, for your advice.”

John rapidly obtained his salt and started off towards home. This time he was on the lookout for stripies or any other predator, man or beast, but none appeared during his walk home, and the weather remained mild.

He was treated as a good husband when he unloaded the extra salt, and his early return was also a matter of favourable comment. More of the women wanted to display their new cloth bras that had come from the sewing machine, and that wonder by itself was praise as a magic tool. Anything that did wondrous things was naturally magic; so John did not attempt to dissuade them of that viewpoint, for it made it easier to have the ‘magic’ tool put out of sight if strangers were visiting. The down side was that the cloth bras also had to vanish for that period of time, but this simply meant that versions made out of other materials had to be devised to take their place; to be nominally the ‘standard’ breast supports. In the past there had been nothing except the hide clothing to give some support, and the new ‘invention’ of the bra was catching on among the women. It had also become a status symbol. There was obviously a decision made that a bra was a signifier that you were a women and not a girl.

The day after John got home, Brando and several others showed up, pushing barrows that they had made to Brando’s design. Each of the barrows contained trade goods from the Farfarers, but much of that was soap, but there were a surprising number of artistic carvings.

Brando explained this to John.

“Once we had the set of tools you gave me, several people of an artistic nature asked to try them out, and they started carving figures of animals and people. The people carved were not recognisable men and women, just generic versions, but they way they represented poses and movement appealed to me, and I thought, ‘These could have a market as trade goods.’ This is why I brought them here. Your people can have first pick, and the rest can be traded to the first travelling merchant that come your way. We have more back at the Farfarers, and new ones being carved every day.”

“Good thinking, Brando. What about your barrows? They are wonderful machines. We could use some here, for our day to day tasks that involve transporting objects. You could perhaps think about a version for carrying babies and small children, when their parents are on the move such as visiting relatives or deciding to move to another tribe.”

“Baby carriers? Now that you mention it, the women may very well be keen on such a contrivance. I will think about adapting the design: higher sides so the child doesn’t fall out; perhaps ties of some kind to restrain the baby near the centre. How about a hide sling that could hold the youngster, with attached leather straps that fix to the barrow sides?”

John was astonished at how quickly Brando’s agile mind took an idea and ran with it.

“Sounds like you have another winner there, Brando,” he said.

“You manage to stimulate my mind, John, just with your suggestions. I find it always interesting to listen to you talk. I don’t know where your notions come from. You go off at a peculiar deviation at times, then you say an odd thing that strikes my mind with a new idea for making another device.”

“Past experience, Brando, in a far away country that I shall never return to, for my home is here. But more important, you have a talent for making new devices, such as the three-wheeled barrow; that contraption works really well on our narrow tracks.”

“Narrow? The tracks are not very narrow; they are well-defined now and two people can pass without trouble. Of course, I made the barrows narrow enough that they should not clash even if two are passing in opposite directions.”

“Sorry, Brando; it was me comparing our tracks to the routes between populated areas in my home country. These were immensely wide, for we used much larger wheeled vehicles that you could sit inside, and they were powered by another device onboard; a possibility that will not arise here for many generations to come. The best we can hope for is a larger barrow pulled by a large animal.”

They were interrupted by Chief Numa.

John; Brando; Vickie has asked that a new latrine be made, and this time with a protective top to keep any rain off the people using it. She also suggested a walkway from the cave to the new position. Is that a manageable proposition?”

Brando went to speak, then deferred to John. John responded, “It is perfectly practical, Numa. It is just a matter of designing it before we start.”

Brando joined in, “We’ll need a row of posts to support the roof, but I don’t know what we are going to do for a roof; we don’t have enough large-leaved plants to cover a long stretch.”

“Brando, we have more of the material we used for the throne. That could do for the roof, provided we angle it from front to back to keep the rainwater from landing on the user.”

“That flat wood with the insulation? Is it able to resist rotting from the water?”

“I am led to believe it is quite resistant to damp, but we can always give it a protective coat of stuff that is like a resin. The containers came with the wallboards, so I think it is intended for that use.”

“Oh? I hadn’t heard of that material? Is it based on tree resin?

“It isn’t, actually, but nearly. It is scraped from the surface of a lac tree, but is excreted by a bug that lives on the lac tree. It is known to us as shellac, and comes as a solid that has to be dissolved in alcohol to make it runny and useable. There is another treatment, called lacquer, that is a genuine tree sap that contains a proportion of shellac. I will have to look at the containers to discover which of these treatments it is. Both are excellent at protecting wood surfaces, as they dry into a hard shell on the wood surface.”

“And you think you have at least one of those?”

“I hope I have ... I will need to check it out. Are you willing to stay and help build this facility?”

“I am willing, but my wives may not be happy about the delay in my returning home. How long do you need me for?”

“If I can promise you that you go home tomorrow, will that satisfy you?”

“John, you need magic to cut all these logs, transport them to site, install them in the ground, then fix that roof on top by tomorrow!”

“We have magic tools for cutting the logs, but we also can share the load. Vickie, Sheila and Jean can do the varnishing of the wood after we cut the sheets to size. If I show you where the new latrine is to go, can you calculate what we need to do the job?”

“Yes, I can do that. Show me the site right away, so I can start thinking.”

John showed him the position for the new latrine trench, hoping that the ground was soft enough to take the depth. He then asked the ladies to go to the store room, open it and remove several spades for digging the trench; plus a power saw for tree lopping, complete with a charged battery.

His next requirement was selection of trees for the logs. His warriors were deputed to find suitable trees and mark them for cutting.

As soon as John had a spade in hand, he started digging the trench, and asked for volunteers to shovel the spoil into the barrows Brando had brought. When the barrow was full of soil, they were to trundle it to the current latrine trench and tip the spoil into it, then return for more.

After making a good start on the trench, John asked Brando to take over from him and continue the trench in the same line while John took the power saw and starting cutting the logs.

“How long should each log be, Brando, compared to me?

“The height should be a little more than your height, plus the length of your leg from ankle to knee: that is the bit to be in the ground. Any slightly shorter logs can be used for the back supports for the lower lever of the roof. We can dig them in as deep as the need to match in height.”

By the time light was departing, most of the logs were identified, marked; then cut and denuded of branches. Dragging them was going to be a problem until Brando suggested that temporarily his barrows could be used to carry a log, with a person at each end to steady the log as it moved. More people were found to be needed, for all the post holes had to be dug at the designated spots. Moving spoil dirt was solved by using hides and two people at a time to carry the dirt-filled hide across and dump the soil into the old trench.

Brando asked if new seating was to be provided for the latrine. John had assumed that the existing structures would be simply moved over the new trench. Seeing Brando’s opinion clear in his expression, he asked Brando, “Do you think you should construct new versions?”

Brando succinctly told him, “Yes. I can do better, and your new tools mean I can finish the seating surfaces more smoothly, making shitting a more comfortable activity. BUT, this will mean another delay, so I would ask if you would accompany me home and explain that it was your technical needs that delayed me, not my own choice.”

John saw the sense in that argument, and nodded. “I will do that for you, Brando. I will use it as another opportunity to visit with Chief Maranga. She can tell me how well Balgo is doing as camp manager.”

“From what I have seen, he is an excellent choice for the post, but you will want Chief Maranga’s views on him.”

John had to ask Numa if in the morning they could have the use of all able-bodied adults to complete the task of building the latrine shelters and the walkway there. He pointed out that someone was going to need the latrine to be ready very soon, and it could be uncomfortable until the construction was complete!

She accepted the argument and issued a decree to all the tribe that volunteers were needed tomorrow for a number of tasks. This was received with aplomb, as everyone needed to have access to good latrine facilities. It was surprising how quickly the tribe had expected such a facility to be the norm in tribal life. In past years it was a case of ‘go outside and shit somewhere’; now it was ‘don’t dare shit or pee anywhere except in the latrine; we are a civilised people.’ In the morning there was a stream of volunteers ready to do anything except step into the old trench! Logs were rapidly moved from the surrounding forest to the post holes beside the new trench, where John sawed the base end to a rough point; then he and a couple of other men levered the logs into position and tamped down the soil around the log to ensure it continued to stay vertical.

Brando worked on the new toilet seating, based on logs that crossed the trench. The new raised seating was fixed on to these logs with the new iron nails that John provided to him. Once the first ‘two-holer’ was made, it was ready to be slid into position and the next one started. A male peeing stretch was simpler to construct, as no seating was needed.

The walling in the store room was hauled out by a strong team of healthy women and brought to the sunlit section, where the three up-timer ladies marked the panels for roofing use, to the sizes that Brando wanted, ready for a power saw to cut them.

With all the labour able to be applied, the work speeded up and by mid-afternoon it was almost complete. All that was left to do was make a walkway from the cave to the latrine trench, and that did not need Brando.

John asked Numa if he could now leave with Brando and go to the Farfarers, so that he could support Brando against his probably peeved women.

She retorted, “So, instead of some loving with your wives here, you will go and makes things well with Brando’s family and then you will make Chief Maranga happy instead? Get back here as soon as you can tomorrow, and be nice to your wives here: understood?”

He smiled at her severe face. “Yes, dear. Your command will be obeyed.”

John asked Brando if he wanted to stay for the evening meal, or depart early for home.

“The meal is a kind invitation, but getting home is a higher priority for me, High Chief; if that is all right with you?”

John told him, “If the cooks can give us something the eat on the way, we can head off for the Farfarers shortly. I’ll go ask about that.”

The cooks were quick to offer strips of dried meat, to chew on the way, and a small bag of nuts to eat before or after. John thanked them and accepted both offerings for him and Brando. Finally he dared to tell Numa that he and Brando were going to the Farfarers in a little while, and that he would return the next day.

Chief Numa commented, “We ladies will manage to complete the walkway without your help, John; but thank Brando for all his efforts on our behalf.”

“I will do that. I will tell him that our whole tribe will be thankful for the new latrine and its shelter. Perhaps I can suggest he organise a similar facility for the Farfarers.”

“The women of that tribe will certainly like the improvement it brings. Shitting or peeing in the rain is not my idea of fun. Perhaps I should have got you to hold a protective hide over my head while I used the latrine. Pregnancy makes you pee more frequently. You don’t have that problem, my man.”

“Umbrella,” John blurted. Numa exclaimed, “What?”

“We had a device called an umbrella, for protection from the rain if you are out walking.”

“Sounds like a good idea, but did you have to carry it all the time?”

“The device we used could fold down when not I use. I don’t think we have the mechanism to manage that at the moment, so it would have to be a permanent covering, held up by a wooden pole. Think about the small wheels that Brando uses for his barrows, and scale them up, so that the wheel is an arm’s breadth across, with the wheel turned flat and covered with hide. The pole would be fastened to the centre.

The biggest problem would be the weight. It would have to be made of strong but hollow wood like thin bamboo, and a bamboo handle. It may be difficult to make light enough to be easily carried for some time. I think I should forget that idea for a while, Numa.”

“I agree. Go and get Brando, collect your trail food, and get on your way. Have you washed up after your work today?”

“No. It can wait until we arrive, then I will get a decent wash before I get to sleep.”

“Make sure you do. Chief Maranga will not want a smelly husband tonight.”

At John’s request, they left the barrows with John’s Tribe, and John and Brando walked the route to the Farfarers Tribe. Their walk proved uneventful, again reminding John that predators seemed to be disappearing from the area. After they had reached beyond halfway there, he asked Brando if the hunters had said anything about it.

“It is not something that crops up in casual conversation, John, but no-one has mentioned coming back with one or more Stripie furs for a while; not that anyone goes out looking for Stripies!”

“Hmm ... that suggests we are losing predators faster than new ones can arrive. Can it be that tribes everywhere are destroying Stripies on a large scale? That is reminiscent of the sabre-tooth tiger.”

“I have never heard of that animal, John. It must have been back in your own land.”

“It was, but a long, long, time ago. We only knew it from finding ancient bones in the ground. We didn’t have Stripies at all; just something similar that we called a tiger, but they did not hunt in packs. This world is not just an earlier version of my home land, but a world with variations in its development. In my own past, our world did not have a civilisation capable of building large ships when the rest of the world is in the stone-using period; at least as far as I know. We never found wreckage of such ships from the far past.”

“Should all civilisations be at the same level of development, John?”

“No. There can be huge discrepancies, and a developed civilisation often discovered whole continents that were less developed, but for my timeline that was many many generations farther on than our present. It was a case of some civilisations developing faster than others, depending on local resources and contacts between competing civilisations. Such competition pushed tribes and countries to change faster, especially when they learned secrets of smelting metals and making tools and weapons out of these metals.”

“Does that mean you know these secrets, John?”

“Secrets are often known in detail by a restricted group of people, Brando. You probably know little about the secrets of preparing hides for clothing, or cooking specific cuts of meat or how long to cook a particular vegetable to make it tender for eating. Do you?”

“Of course, not; I am a Maker.”

“In the opposite direction, most people do not know the secrets of the Maker: right?”

“You are correct there. I don’t tell everyone my trade secrets!”

“It is the same with metal smelting and casting. I know that copper is smelted at a much lower temperature than iron, but I could not say WHAT temperatures are involved. I know the very basics about metals, but not enough to be an ironsmith or coppersmith.”

“I see; that makes sense. You are a soldier not a maker of any kind.” He hesitated, then asked, “If someone is able to Make big ships; wouldn’t that mean they have access to metal tools?”

John was startled by Brando’s clear view of the presented facts.

“Hey, you are right; that is logical. Construction of large ships means tools that are designed for the task, so most likely metal tools, for most flint doesn’t flake in sizes suitable for such intensive woodworking. Shipbuilding is a trade on its own, so another trade must make their tools for them. Altogether, this suggests a more developed civilisation somewhere on the planet; somewhere that the sea-going merchants have come in contact with.”

Brando was not so happy, for he foresaw some bad news.

“John, if an advanced civilisation comes in contact with a less advanced civilisation, what is the likely result?”

John was forced to tell him the truth.

“In all the history I have read; the stories I have been told by our history, the less advanced one comes off worse, one way or another. Either the technology overwhelms them, or the newcomers bring diseases that are unknown and that the local people do not have the resistance to these new diseases that the new arrivals have. Either way, it is usually a disaster for the indigenous people.”

“What about this invading army from the south?”

“If they were completely new to this continent, disease would already be spreading and we would have heard about it. That tells me that they are from another part of this continent, so they have encountered the same diseases as the local people here, and so the locals are not much affected.

Their technology is not very different either, from what I have been able to ascertain, so that means they can be countered by the local tribes if the locals have the fighting ability and the numbers to resist effectively. Armies of similar strength in numbers are dependent on their fighting ability, superior weaponry, adequate military training, and good leadership. Any of these factors can swing a battle to the side that can apply them best.”

“So what’s your estimation of the current invader army?”

“They have the numbers on their side; their weaponry is not much better, if that, compared to ours. Their training is abysmal: we have better trained warriors and archers. Leadership depends on a strong individual who can make decisions, but their command seems to be a joint leadership, probably based on a composite army made up of groups from various tribes or cities. That is bad leadership unless they appoint an overall commander to decide on strategy.

Last of all, fighting ability is a direct result of training and confidence in their weapons and how best to use them. Confidence in your leaders also comes into it. If you expect to win because you know you have a good leader, that helps your ability to fight. If your fighting men’s confidence is shattered, their fighting ability is much diminished.

Overall, their only major asset is numbers and lack of effective opposition. Our tactics have been to use small-scale attacks to prove that our side is competent and their side isn’t. So far it is working, for they have made no attempt to advance since we became involved.

I talked about undermining the confidence of the fighting men, but I have used what is known as psychology to undermine the confidence of the invader leadership. I have spread disinformation about an army to the north of here assembling or preparing for an attack, and yesterday I added to that by getting the seagoing merchants to report seeing a naval force to the north. That information was passed to a messenger – sent to me by the invader army – and so the invaders have to worry about a fleet offshore that might attack them in their rear. To counter such a threat, they need to strengthen their army behind them. That means taking warriors from the front line to protect against an imaginary army attacking them from the sea. That will prevent any forward advance by them for a while.”

“Wow. You have thought about this a lot, haven’t you?”

“I was in an army unit that taught its soldiers to be almost self-sufficient. That meant teaching us tactics and strategy as well as fighting techniques, so we studied the history of warfare and applied what we learned to any action we were involved in. One strategy was to mislead the enemy about where you are and where you might attack, so that the enemy has their forces in the wrong place when you finally do attack. Your forces remain as before, but their forces are diminished. It makes it easier to beat them that way.”

“John, do your forces include our warriors in the Farfarers?”

“In theory, yes, but my need so far has been for a small number of archers that could attain a specific standard, and I found enough of them in my own tribe for my last expedition. If we want to mount a larger mission, I might need help from your tribe, but I would prepare them well for the attack, as I don’t intend for my forces to be injured or killed if I can possibly avoid it.”

“Does that mean you would take warriors to your tribe for training, or would you do it at our tribe?”

“To begin with, it would be at the Farfarers, then the whole team would need to be together for the final training sessions, so that they all knew exactly what to do and when to do it.”

“Great. Tomorrow, before you leave, will you have a look through my workshops and tell me which of my makings are worthwhile, and what I should drop? I keep getting new thoughts and start making whatever has come into my mind. I overheard you talking of an ‘umbrella’, and that was a new concept, so I’d like to play with that one if that is all right with you?”

“Yes, that would be fine. I couldn’t think of any way to make it a practical proposition that you would carry with you; so that’s why I dropped it with Numa.”

A few moments later, they were walking through the tribe’s entrance and were welcomed by the duty guards. A boy was immediately despatched to tell the Chief that High Chief John was here, while Brando explained that John was coming with him to his home for a few minutes before going to meet with Chief Maranga.

They were there shortly after, and Brando was welcomed by his women. His long-term wife hugged him before complaining about not returning last night.

John intervened, “Garma, Brando’s delay was my fault. I asked him to assist with designing and building a replacement latrine for my tribe. He did a great job, so I promised I would come along and take his kicks if he needed punishment. You have a wonderful man for a husband.”

Garma simpered, “I didn’t realise he was helping you, High Chief. That makes all the difference. Girls, have you met High Chief John? He is the man above our two tribes, and he is also married to both Chief – Maranga and Numa.”

John greeted the three ladies, noticing that they had been comfortably absorbed into Brando’s family.

“Nice to see that you ladies have settled in with Garma. She will be a good guide to you on any subject, including what Brando likes in the way of lovemaking. My own Numa acts in the same way for my own wives at home. Every woman has talents that she can bring to a family, so don’t be shy about any help you can offer to Brando and Garma.”

The women were delighted to be treated with respect by such an important man, and one spoke for them all, “We are grateful for your willingness to assist Brando after he assisted you. Will this mean Brando will arrange a similar new latrine at the new campsite?”

John looked questioningly at Brando, who shrugged.

“I wouldn’t mind doing the same for our tribe. Weather can be as nasty in this tribe as in yours. Are the arrangements made for the move?” he asked Garma.

“It is all arranged, just waiting for the Chief to give the word to start. The ground has been cleared, and most of the new huts built, and the defensive trenches dug. Curiously, I don’t think the latrine has been prepared yet, so you can use John’s tribe’s facility as a pattern for ours.”

Brando was surprised. “It hasn’t been made yet? Why not?”

“There was some mention of a shortage of barrows for moving the dirt from the deep trench, and they were waiting for you to say where it should go.”

Brando slapped himself on the forehead.

“Stupid, stupid! I should have told them: use it for the garden plots where we are going to grow vegetables. John has seeds for a number of vegetable that we can try growing. His site has very restricted space for a garden, what with his new animals in their pen. He even has dogs in training for herding the animals so that they can be controlled easily.”

Then he stopped speaking and faced John with a blush on his face.

“Sorry, John. I just assumed you would give us some of the seeds that are in your store room. I apologise for making such an assumption. Will it be possible for you to offer us some of the seeds?”