Chapter 23

Bravura suddenly saw his meaning.

“Oh, I see. You want them to treat each other kindly, unlike the regime of Gobango?”

“Exactly. That is why I think Travana is the best choice in the end. Are you upset at me not taking up your offer, Bravura?”

“Not now. I am happy for you to take Travana as a demonstration to the tribe, if she is willing.”

She swivelled to look to Travana. Travana had her mouth open, but now closed it before speaking.

“If I can do something to help my husband, I will,” she submitted.

“Great!” said John. “I’ll let Chief Numa know, and we can prepare for the journey.”

“High Chief?”

It was Cormoro the wandering shaman, wanting a word with John.

“Yes, Cormoro?”

“I had an amendment to my vision of a cape. The cape stretches over a mountain, I was led to believe, though I didn’t actually see any mountain; just my mind’s concept of a mountain being within the cape’s coverage. Does that make sense?”

“Cormoro, I am about to return to the Mountain tribe where I recently became Chief. I intend to resign that position in favour of a local man. Does your vision suggest that my connection will continue in some way?”

“I would guess that to be so, but the meaning is as vague as ever. If you became High Chief to that tribe, that would give you some continuing authority in that tribe. Am I right?”

“In that I would be the external advisor for the tribe, yes.”

“In that case, I would advise you to become the High Chief for that tribe, if that appears possible.”

John screwed up his mouth in indecision. “It is not a simple decision, Shaman Cormoro. The tribe have to offer me the position and I have to suggest that it might be so, then we come to an agreement on how I assist the tribe. It appears simple in outline, but has many questionable aspects. The views of the tribal council, representing the people, are vital in this. The best solution is where the tribe is already friendly towards me. I shall have to work on that aspect when I get there.”

It was two days before John and Travana walked into the outskirts of the Mountain tribe. They were challenged at the gateway.

“Who are you, and what is your business with this tribe?” demanded the guard on duty. He was alone, John noted.

“I am Chief John, here with my wife to visit with temporary Chief Gomoro. Is he at home?”

“This tribe is run by the tribal council. We do not have a Chief at present.”

“Then you are misinformed, for I am the Chief, ever since I disposed of Gobango. Now that this is calarified, what is your name?”

The guard was nonplussed, being faced with two opposing statements given to him. He tried again.

“My name is Chaco. The tribal council sent me here as the gate guard.”

“Then you have done your duty; you have guarded the gate. Now you will admit your rightful Chief.”

“I have not been instructed on who should be admitted.”

“In that case, you would not be able to admit anyone at all, and that would be silly, eh? Clearly it has been left to you as to who should be admitted, and who not. As Chief, I have made myself clear: I have instructed you to admit me; now stand aside. You have done your duty to the misguided council, Chaco; now do your duty to your rightful Chief.”

“I should say that you are here,” He tried to restore his position.

“Did the council give instructions about announcing visitors, Chaco my friend?”

“Well, no; just to guard the gateway. That was all I was told.”

“Then if announcing visitors was not among your instructions, you must remain here on guartd while I go and do the reporting by myself. That is logical, is it not?”

He was indecisive as before. “I suppose so. I have followed my instructions, as they were given me.”

“Thank you, Chaco. My additional instructions are that you should find another guard to share the work load, and appoint a boy for sending with any news of visitors. That will make for a better gate guard in my tribe.”

John thereupon marched forward and walked past the confused guard, Travana at his heels.

Chaco now realised who the woman was with John.

“Travana, is that you?”

“Yes, Chaco. My husband is the Chief as he says, no matter what you may have been told. Pay attention to Chief John, for he is a powerful man, and VERY dangerous if annoyed.”

Chaco gulped, for he remembered Travana only as an argumentative teenager, disliked by most of the tribe. Now she was dutifully following her husband and supporting him. This was new!

He waved her on, to join Chief John, saying nothing, as he remained confused as to tribal authority.

John waited for Travana to catch up, then spoke softly to her.

“I suspect an attempt at overthrowing the temporary Chief. Things may get nasty, so be prepared to use your knife for protection if I get occupied in a fight. I will try to avoid bloodshed, but I must impose myself on this ‘council’ at once. We go first to the Chief’s hut, to see what is happening.”

“Yes, John,” she accepted smartly, and they moved on.

As they walked through the village, John was struck by the sullen atmosphere within it. The people were not happy, that was evident. Any that saw them, stayed clear and silent. They got to the Chief’s hut, and John swung the curtain aside and stepped inside, the point of his spear preceding him.

Inside, there was a small fire in the centre, giving light to the interior, supplemented by daylight from behind him.

The four women was sitting together, sewing clothes quietly, guarded by a man with a spear. John gave him no chance to speak. He pointed with his spear.

“Outside, you. I need to speak with these women, alone. Stand guard at the doorway and don’t move from there.”

Startled and also confused by this stranger, the guard meekly did as this authoritative man ordered, wondering who the man was; but he seemed familiar.

John walked over to the women and greeted them.

“Ladies, I have returned. Where is Gomoro?”

They looked up at him in surprise, and one declared, “Chief John! You are here; thank the Earth Mother!”

Another volunteered, “The tribal council took over, saying he had not been correctly appointed Chief. They have him held somewhere; we have not seen him for days. Please do what you can for him, Chief John!”

“I see. Right, where do I find this council, ladies?”

“It is the large building, down the slope from here. They meet there frequently, but we don’t know what for.”

“Thank you, ladies. Travana, stay and look after Gomoro’s wives. They are your personal responsibility for now.”

“Yes, Chief,” she replied, and hurried over to the women, grinning all the time, keen to tell them she was now Chief John’s wife.

He marched back out, tapped the guard on the shoulder and faced him, telling him, “Your orders have changed. You are now responsible for guarding these women from harm. Let no-one else inside. They are under my protection!”

Ignoring the startled man, he strode down towards the indicated building, which had smoke seeping out through the thatched roof, indicating a large smoky fire inside. John walked to the doorway, but did not venture inside. Instead, he called out loudly, “Who is in charge, here?”

There was a flurry of talk and movement inside, at hearing this peremptory demand, then eventually a man came to the door and peered out, demanding, “Who asks?”

“I do. Chief John of the Mountain tribe. Where is the assistant Chief, Gomoro? I need to have words with him. I am not a happy man at this moment. Who are you, sir?”

“I am Denovo, the current Chief Elder of the Council.”

“Then, Denovo, it is your task to answer my question. Where is Gomoro? I must speak with this man over a matter of dereliction of duty.”

Thinking that this meant that Gomoro was in trouble, Denovo revealed, “He is inside, under our supervision until we can decide what should be done. It is taking much longer than I expected, but perhaps you can speed things up.”

“That is useful to know, Denovo. This tribe is not adequately guarded from outsiders. Bring him to me for me to quiz him. I presume you are the instigator of his council custody?”

Denovo drew himself up, proudly.

“I am, Chief John. The Council appointed me to act for them, and I did.”

“Have him brought out, then, Denovo, and I will have questions for him to answer.”

Denovo slipped back inside, and started issuing curt commands. Within two minutes, Gomoro appeared at the doorway, being shoved out by two guards, with his hands tied in front of him. He blinked in the bright daylight.

“Who is it? Chief John, is that you?”

“It is. I have come to demand answers to several things that have upset me. First of all, why is this tribe not properly protected? At the gateway there is a single guard, with no alternate to relieve him, and no adequate instructions as to what he should do on the arrival of strangers. Are you responsible for this pathetic arrangement?”

Gomoro gave a small smile, as he saw where this might go.

“No, Chief John. I had nothing to do with the posting of guards at the gateway. That was and is a function of the Council of Elders.”

John glared at the two guards, who had been listening carefully.

“You men! Go inside and bring Denovo to me at once. I must get to the bottom of this!”

The two men smartly vanished inside. John immediately whipped out his knife and sliced through Gomoro’s bonds, freeing him. John grinned but put his hand over Gomoro’s mouth, indicating silence. Gomoro nodded and replaced his hands in the postion they were when he was bound.

The two guards returned, pushing Denovo in front of them. One announced, “Chief Elder Denovo, Chief John.”

“Thank you, men. That was swift action; well done.”

The men beamed at the unexpected praise. John glared at Denovo.

“Is it true, man, that posting of a guard at the tribal gateway is the responsibility of this Council?”

Blinking in surprise at this question, he answered, “Yes. It always has been. Why?”

“For a very simple reason, Denovo. Incompetence! When I arrived there was a single guard on duty, with no replacement organised should he need to go for a meal or a shit, and no runner to deliver messages about visitors. The lack of a runner means that the gate must remain unguarded while the guard reports the visitor. You see why I was so upset at such bad organisation? That is no way to protect the tribe.”

Denovo’s mouth hung open in shock.

“This was what you wanted to ask about? The gateway?”

“That was my first question, yes. I accordingly blame you, as Chief Elder. The second matter was not being welcomed by my assistant Chief when I came into the camp. Gomoro should have been ready to receive his Chief and report his performance in my absence. Who prevented this formal duty? Who was responsible for such incivility to the Chief?

Denovo was starting to see his mistaken actions taken in this way, and Gomoro remained silent while trying not to grin.

“Gomoro was invited to the Council to explain certain matters which disturbed the Council, so he happened to be unavailable to report as he would normally do,” Denovo declared, trying to put a gloss on his actions.

John pointed to one side. “Gomoro, stand over there while I converse with the Chief Elder. I have not finished with you.” Denovo smirked at this, then lost his smile as he noticed Gomoro’s hands were free.

John now returned to Denovo, having spotted Denovo’s glance at the lack of binding.

“Chief Elder, should you decide to ‘invite’ me to a Council meeting, would I be expected to have my hands tied? Is that how you would behave towards me?”

“Ummm... “ Denovo was thinking fast. “Of course not. You are the lawfully appointed Chief.”

“But you think it correct to tie the hands of my assistant; my assistant who REPRESENTS me in my absence? You think it is valid to treat me, in the person of my official representative, as less than worthy of such respect? Would you treat an emissary from another tribe as someone to be treated as other than representing the Chief of the other tribe?”

“Oh. I had not thought of it in that way, Chief.”

John went on, “Do you think that I should treat you the way Gobango would have treated you if you had tied the hands of Cravallo? What would Gobango have done to you? From what I have heard, he would have slit your throat, and that of every Council member who supported you. Am I right in that assessment of the deceased Chief Gobango?”

“Perhaps it may have been so, Chief. We thought you had left us, and without a validly appointed Chief, the Council felt obliged to ... take steps ... to investigate the situation.”

John grinned evilly at Denovo.

“If I follow your dubious reasoning, Denovo, whenever I go away you will regard that as abandoning my post as Chief? If I take a walk in the forest without informing you, you will treat that as abandoning my position? If I go to visit another tribe, is that me leaving my post vacant?”

“Uh, no, Chief.”

“Then your basis for treating Gomoro as anything other than my representative while I visit elsewhere is nonsense. I did not leave the tribe in the hands of the council; I left it in the hands of Gomoro, and he should have been accorded that honour.

Any deliberation your Council has been having over Gomoro is now at an end. Such deliberation, and any resulting decision is now, by me as Chief of this tribe, declared invalid and as if it never happened. Is that clear?”

A whitefaced Denovo nodded disconsolately. “Yes, Chief.”

“Go inside and announce my decision to the Council, and inform them that if they ever try such a trick again, I shall act like Gobango and delete them all from the tribe. Now go!”

As soon as he had gone back inside, John spoke to the grinning guards who had enjoyed every word.

“Guards, you are both witnesses to my words. Go inside and listen. If Denovo says other than what I have instructed, you are at liberty to use your spears on him as a liar, and if he still lives, bring him to me for final justice by my knife.”

“Yes, Chief.”

They quickly rushed inside to do their witnessing.

John faced Gomoro, shaking his head.

“You didn’t do well, did you, Gomoro?”

“No, High Chief. I admit I did not do well, but I was fearful for my new wives, as Denovo had threatened them with harm if I did not cooperate. They mean a lot to me. There was nothing I could do as long as they were under threat. I hoped you would return before anything drastic happened.”

John saw his argument.

“You were in a nasty position, Gomoro. It is a pity you have no ability to enforce your will if challenged unfairly. The solution is to train your wives to become warriors in your defence.”

“I can’t teach them that, John. I know little about fighting.”

“I do. I will teach you and your women the basics of dirty fighting. That will give you more protection against attempted takeovers, for that is what this was. The council would get you to resign, in order to get your women released, then appoint their own leader as Chief. I am sure that was what Denovo was aiming for. The man is a cheat, a loudmouth, and a fool as well. He forgot that I would return to confirm your appointment.”

“I am so sorry, Chief John, for having failed you. I will resign from the post at once, now that you are back in charge.”

“Oh, no you won’t. You don’t escape that way, Gomoro. This was a learning moment for you and your women. Being a Chief is a tough job, so you have to be tough to keep it. You have had a kick in the bum, so now you pick yourself up and learn to do better. For the next couple of days, you will pick up from me the basics of what I used to call ‘street fighting’; how to win when normally you wouldn’t.”

Before the day was out, John was giving the family some basic information about sensitive spots on the body where you could hurt someone very easily. He made sure the women knew about kicking a man in the balls, and Travana added playfully that she was paying close attention.

“If I had known this before, Gobango would have suffered!”

John warned her, “If you had done that trick back then, he would have killed you with a knife the next day, to stop you doing it again. This assault is best used where you are trying to get away and don’t intend ever to be back; such as an encounter with an intending rapist on a trail on the way home. Once home you tell male adults about it, and they can seek out the intending rapist and punish him if they find him, so that he won’t try ever again; probably by removing his male equipment.”

Gomoro was interested. “Can a man use that resistance technique on a man, John?”

“Yes, but you have to be careful to protect yourself from the same type of attack. Your opponent will see the move and use it in response if he gets a chance, so you must be sure you will be effective and remain in charge.

Once hit in the balls, it can take a long while to recover enough to just move around, so if you are the victim of that assault, you lay yourself open to being killed. Always be the winner. Never let your opponent recover enough to get back at you, as he will want to hurt you intensely. It is often better to finish him off completely.”

He warned them about hitting the Adam’s apple in the windpipe, as it can occasionally lead to death by stopping the ability to breathe.

“Treat it as a last option, if you fear for your life. Use the heel of your flattened hand, like the sharp edge of a hatchet, and hit very hard on the spot; as hard as a woman can manage. That strike may save your life, and may end his.”

They all picked up his vicious tricks for protective fighting, and John moved on to knife fighting. He demonstrated the various ways of holding a knife for fighting, depending on what sort of strike you intend to make, and how each style of holding told you how your opponent would use it. Next, he explained the effects of each kind of knife strike to various parts of the body, and which were more likely to be fatal. Striking then pulling the knife out causes more severe blood loss; leaving it in place causes less harm to him as it allows time for medical aid.

Travana asked, “How can we practice these knife thrusts, John?”

You can make a pretend human body, with leather tied to look like a human body without arms and legs. You tie it up so that the fake body hangs at about the level that a man’s body would be if standing opposite you. You try stabbing it with your knife from various directions as if there was a fight. Note that you do such practicing inside a hut, not outside where you can be observed. The low level of lighting inside means you know how to fight in twilight.

The intention is for you to learn these moves without anyone seeing you learning. If you have to use any of these knife moves, it must come as a surprise to the person threatening you.

Using a spear correctly is common knowledge in my other tribes, so any of my people can teach you the moves. Travana, have you learned any of them yet?”

“I have watched some of the women training, so I know from watching, but I have not had a chance to train myself in wielding the spear yet.”

“Get the others to teach you when we are home again.”

“Yes, my husband,” she said meekly.

One of the four wives of Gomoro exclaimed, “Is this the Travana who always argued with everyone?”

Travana snapped back, “It is, but I respect my husband. He is a good man, and proved it, so I listen to him. You should do the same with your husband. He accepted his bondage by the council, solely to protect the lives of you women, so he is a hero!”

This got through to them, and they gasped, all four of them. They had not realised how dangerous their position had been before John arrived and rectified the situation. In moments, Gomoro was swarmed by his wives, wanting to kiss and cuddle him in thanks for their deliverance.

John and Travana looked on with interest as Gomoro tried to hold all four at the same time, failing entirely; there were too many women for that task to work. He at last gasped out, “Ladies! Give me a chance to breathe; I can only manage to hold one of you properly at a time.”

John intruded, “You’ll have plenty of time to show Gomoro your love, ladies. My wives have sorted out who I get to make love to and when. You will need to agree on a rota for loving your Gomoro, whether it is a kiss and cuddle, or full-on fucking to try and make a baby.”

Travana added, “I get John to myself during this trip, ladies. On his last trip, Cramona was with John and made full use of the opportunity. She learned a few new things, she told me.”

The four women immediately looked interested, but John disabused them of their imaginings.

“What Cromona learned, most importantly, was how to control and use one of my cutting tools to fell a tree. Travana was teasing you women; I am sure you already know all you need to know about pleasing your man.”

The women, all much older than the teenage woman, pretended to be offended by Travana, who simply blushed, and said, “I have learned to use humour rather than anger towards other people. I am sure you prefer that.”

The ladies immediately praised her for the change, and that led to hugs with the women. She told them that the contrast between Gobango and John made her reassess her attitude to life.

“John tells me it is mostly his magic that changed me, but it is really his loving approach to his wives that had the most impact on me. He was so considerate to us victims of Gobango. It was unbelieveable at first, for he was concerned at what terrors had been done to us, our bruises and other injuries, and he even produced medicine to get rid of what Gobango and Cravallo had forced into us. If I get pregnant now, I know who the father will be: my loving husband.”

John gestured to Gomoro to come together to discuss something, so Gomoro gently disengaged from his wives, and motioned John to a quiet corner.

John started the discussion.

“You now have to impose yourself on that council, such that they will not imagine they can push you around. You can tell them, in the privacy of their hut, that you and your women have been taking lessons on how to fight off such attempts in future. Inform them that they may end up injured or dead if they tried. I will go with you to tell them that what you say is correct; that I speak as a former warrior in a large army, trained to kill our enemies.”

“Should we do that right away, John?”

“Good idea; strike when your enemy is off balance. Let’s do that now.”

He turned back to speak with Travana and the others.

“Ladies, Gomoro and myself are going to have strong words with the council about any future activity. We should not be very long, but remember the things you have just learned and have your knife handy at all times. Travana will show you the fighting stance to use in advance of striking; practice it.”

He and Gomoro walked quickly back to the council hut, leaving the warrior outside the Chief’s hut, still detailed as guard for the women. As they approached, they could hear a continuing argument inside, and John smiled gleefully.

“They are divided, Gomoro. That is much better than them all being persuaded against you. That Denovo is a rabble-rouser who uses twisted words to get people to his point of view. He has been undermined by my arrival and your release, so he is in trouble with his followers. Let’s slip in quietly and watch for a while.”

The council were so intent on the points being argued that another two arrivals went unnoticed, so John and Gomoro sidled to the rear and listened.

“You said one thing to us before, and as soon as Chief John returns, you say something different, Denovo. That is being two-faced, as someone else said. I agree with that!”

Denovo responded smoothly, “I was simply adapting to the circumstances. If I had declared an interest in becoming Chief, would I have survived the next hand of moments? I was forced to repeat to you the instructions of Chief John. Passing on his declaration is merely moving with the pressures of the time, just as ‘persuading’ Gomoro to come and be judged was him moving with the pressures that were on him; his concern for his wives. We should be looking at what pressures we can bring to bear now, in the new circumstances.”

Another speaker said, “You are doing what you did before: trying to undermine the Chief’s position in the tribe. You have failed to look ahead further than you can throw a stone. What if you successfully undermined the holder of the Chief’s post? If you later became Chief, the position would still have been undermined, and you would not have the authority you are seeking to hold. The people of this tribe are not with us on this, man! No Chief can survive for long if he does not have the support of most of his people. Having the support of the council is fine in the short term, but, just like Gobango, staying in power by pressure of any kind is not a good long-term approach for any tribe. You have to do things as a Chief that are for the good of the tribe, NOT things that are good for the Chief.”

Denovo argued, “Once I am Chief, I can do things that the people will be happy with. There is a tribe not far from here that is smaller than our tribe, and is not prepared for defence. We could take them over and our people will have slaves to do their work for them, and things that the others used to have will be ours, for we are the most important tribe in the world.”

“Now you are talking warfare, Denovo. What has war ever done for a people except lose something in the process? Good people can die in wars, even if your side is stronger. The cost in materials and equipment is immensely more than could be had in peaceful living. And what if you win? How do you keep captured warriors as slaves, without great efforts to supervise them and their work. If you don’t supervise them closely, they can do things to their work to spoil your power: poison your crops, make your goods defective, a thousand other ways that can only be prevented by constant supervision. Where is the saving in your time for doing things if you have to spend almost as much time supervising the work of slaves? The only real power you can have is in depriving them of food, and if they die, you have lost another slave and are no better off. The only effective method of keeping slaves as assets is to treat them well, trust them, and reward them, to the extent that they essentially become a valuable part of your tribe. They remain slaves in name only, and slowly become powerful men in your tribe; men such as yourself, Denovo.

Warfare and its results are not good for the tribe over a long period, man.”

Denovo was enraged.

“It is not about warfare, old man. It is about power; gaining power over another tribe.”

A plaintive voice intruded, “That is not what you told us before, Denovo. You said it was about control of the tribe.”

“Control and power are much the same thing, my friend. You should have realised that.”

The plaintive voice returned, “Well, not to me they aren’t. You don’t have my backing if you are talking about power through controlling other tribes. I have a friend in that tribe and I don’t want to go to war with him through your need for power.”

Another speaker complained, “If you have a need for power, does that mean you want complete control over this council? I thought that the council had control over the Chief, and over you. That was the way you put it about Gomoro.”

Denovo shot back, “That was just a bit of confusion. Chief John is the real Chief, but I was under the impression that Gomoro was just a temporary stand-in without a Chief’s powers.”

“Well, Chief John made it clear that his temporary replacement had full powers to act: you reported that fact yourself not long ago.”

“Confusion; that is all. Do you all think now that the council has no powers at all over the Chief?” he challenged.

“Not once the Chief is appointed, or inherits the position. I didn’t hear you complaining about Gobango not being properly appointed. You were quiet then.”

“It was too dangerous to quarrel with him; he was a killer, and would kill anyone who disputed his position as Chief. He killed the parents of two of the women he nabbed for sex.”

The other retaliated, “Did you, Denovo, say anything about such killings when they happened? No. It is only when you think you can get away with it that you raise questions.”

Denovo tried again, “It is the function of this council to question dubious actions of the Chief, but the council did not ask for Gobango to be challenged over his killings, and anyway I was not your leader then. If you had been willing to question Gobango, your representative would have had the power to demand an explanation.”

A sardonic voice suggested, “If you had been our leader then, would you have been willing to take on Chief Gobango?”

“The question does not arise, for I was not the leader. The question is what happens now?”