Chapter 17

Day 4

This morning, Zinchyta and I were married. The ceremony was short, consisting mainly of an explanation of what was expected of both the husband and the wife, which I found was remarkably like the ceremony by the Hawaiian priest. Afterwards, there was a huge feast for everyone involved.

There was no honeymoon, although we’d done a good imitation for the last three nights.

Instead, I spent the afternoon inoculating two hundred of the first thousand troops going with us to face the Conquistadors.

Days 5-12

We spent eight more days at Quispiguanca. Each morning and afternoon I inoculated two hundred troops, some of whom would remain here when we left or would begin traveling throughout the Empire to inoculate people.

In my spare time, I began healing people. The line grew each day as word spread. My wives waited on me while I did, making sure I had food and water to help me maintain the energy level I needed. I noticed that my healing power was increasing, and it was taking me less time to perform each healing. I wondered if the ability was increasing because I was exercising it or was the effect of the additional necklaces. Hell, it might just be because we were in a different dimension.

During another nighttime visit to the empty home of this dimension’s Tribunal, I learned that the increase in ability had been granted to me by the first gold skull. That ability was now a permanent part of me and no longer required the presence of that skull.

I spent time talking to their healers about ways to keep the people healthier, including boiling all water before drinking or cooking with it.

In my studies, I’d found that the Incas had used plants with saponins for soap, so I spent three afternoons demonstrating how to make soap from fat and hardwood ashes, yet another ancient skill I’d learned. Barely.

I also discussed medicinal plants that I knew grew in the area, but they already knew about most of them.

Then I began Lua training for the troops going with me. I’d waited this long to make sure I was acclimated to the thin air. At first, the troops were skeptical since these were the best of the troops from this area. Their skepticism ended when I fought against one of the men they chose to fight me with bare hands. He lasted less than a minute. Then, they were eager students. One thing that helped speed the training was that these men were already in excellent physical shape and experienced fighters.

The people who gathered to watch wondered if we were performing a dance to honor Viracocha. I had to explain that it was practice for a form of hand-to-hand combat. They were surprised that a priest and priestesses would train to be warriors. Yeah, Mele and Kiana practiced with us. They’d begun to practice with me back in our world. They were good enough that I was confident they could deal with anyone trying to bother them in our world.

Seeing me practicing with my atlatl, Huayna Capac had several people make me fifty more darts, each tipped with an obsidian point. I was confident that my modern, broadhead tipped darts would penetrate the Conquistador armor, but not as sure about obsidian points. I’d heard people claim that they had tested them. Some claimed they would penetrate, and others asserted they wouldn’t.

I knew that our HK-33s and AR-15s would penetrate if necessary.

We also knew that Moraeka was pregnant. She had her first two visions three days ago. The first was a vision of our son. The second was a vision of my confrontation with the Spanish, but she wasn’t able to tell anyone about that one.

We knew they were legitimate because Zinchyta had the same two visions. She couldn’t tell me about the confrontation, either. Neither seemed worried about it, which made me feel better.

Day 13

Our expedition was ready to leave this morning and we began our lengthy trip north by first heading west towards the coast. I was grateful that we were taking the coastal route, not looking forward to a trip of more than three thousand kilometers at the altitudes found in the Andes.

When we left Cusco, Huayna Capac’s son and designated successor, Ninan Cuyochi, accompanied us since the eldest son of the leader was expected to command the army. Huayna Capac also accompanied us, ostensibly because he preferred Quito to Cusco. Kiana and Mele went with me, as did Zinchyta and Moraeka. They were hardly the only women with us as many wives of the troops went with us. The women cooked, and repaired clothing as we marched. A lengthy train of llamas carried supplies and weapons.

One extra job I had during the trip was healing anyone who was injured or ill, usually several people a day. I kept lots of fruit and water in my dimensional pocket to replenish the energy I used healing people.

We even had a small group of priests with us. Normally, they were along to pray for victory and to cast spells on an enemy.

By the time the warriors from the southern suyu joined us eight weeks later, the original group had mastered the basic Lua forms. The warriors from the eastern suyu were taking the mountainous trail and would meet up with us later.

Our march to Quito took almost eight months, but much of that time was due to the training sessions each morning. What I learned when we reached Quito gave me a better idea of the year. Based on the age of Ninan Cuyochi, I’d estimated the year as around 1513-1517.

Learning that the Spanish had recently built a second city along the coast to the north, I figured that it was 1515-1516, meaning that the Spanish wouldn’t reach Inca lands for several more years. However, the diseases would precede them, spread by traders going from village to village.

The Inca soldiers wore an armor of sorts. Their tunics and leggings were quilted cotton sandwiched between cloth and/or animal skins. The cotton could be up to two inches thick.

I added a new twist to their body armor. Water was boiled, and salt added to it until no more salt would dissolve. The quilted cotton was soaked in the water overnight and then laid out in the sun to dry before being reinserted between the cloth or animal skins. Like the Aztecs had learned, with the salt absorbed by the cotton, the tunics made great armor. The salt made the armor much more resistant to punctures, even to the Conquistador’s musket balls.

With the troops being from four different areas, each group used different weapons. One group used the estolica, similar to the atlatl. Another preferred the bow and arrow. One used bolos, and the fourth group preferred slings. All of them used spears, and each group carried some sort of melee weapon, normally a wooden club called a macana with a star-shaped object like a rock attached to the end.

Since these were among the Inca’s best troops, the men had a skin-covered wooden shield and a dome-shaped wooden helmet. Some of the officers had copper helmets. I had originally suggested making bronze helmets since the Inca knew how to make bronze, but we couldn’t make them as we marched. Besides, even though bronze is partially copper, tin wasn’t as plentiful here as copper, or gold, or silver. The lack of tin would make the bronze helmets far too expensive.

I found it humorous that bronze was so valuable in an empire with so much gold available.

After a week in Quito, I found myself in front of the Tribunal. This time, however, instead of an empty room, it was this dimension’s Tribunal.

“You need to continue north and forge alliances with the Chibcha tribes,” was what they told me. They also warned that there would be a short delay before we left.

When I awoke in the morning, I knew the route we should take to reach the first of the Chibcha-speaking tribes.

Huayna Capac didn’t bat an eye when I told him. If anything, he seemed pleased. He was even happier when I warned about the delay. Eight days after our arrival in Quito, Moraeka delivered our son. Even though I was a wreck, I had the presence of mind to heal both mother and son. Part of the healing was making sure that she couldn’t get pregnant for the next three years. I assumed that I’d be back in my own time by then and her body would have time to recuperate from carrying a child and giving birth. There is a difference between being healed and recuperating after giving birth.

Once he finished his first meal, I held him. Moraeka removed the Viracocha pendant I was wearing that was meant for him and put it on him. We all watched as it shrank to fit. “His name will be Johnny, after his father,” she said with a wistful smile.

We were ready to leave two days later. Moraeka insisted that since I’d completely healed her, she was ready to accompany us. When we stopped each evening, I’d hold my son for an hour or so. I could tell by looking at my three wives that there would be some serious discussions about having children once we returned. Each of them fawned over Johnny Jr. They also spent plenty of time fawning over me, especially as we slept.

Once we were ready, I continued north to act as an emissary to the tribes in what would be modern Colombia. A hundred of the military troops accompanied me, enough to act as an honor guard but not enough to cause undue concern except to small villages. I chose men from among the troops from the northernmost part of the Inca’s territory to accompany me. When my women insisted on accompanying us, so did the wives of many of the troops.

The remainder of the military troops continued practicing what I’d taught them, and the brass workers began making brass helmets and shields.

Our trip north into territory controlled by Chibcha-speaking tribes was faster than our trip north to Quito. The roads beyond Inca territory weren’t as good, but they were well maintained since they were heavily traveled due to trading between the various cultures.

A few days out of Quito, I realized that we were passing within a two- or three-days’ walk of the site of my first dig. The site was already gone since it was a pre-Inca site--probably one to two hundred years before the Inca controlled the area.

The first non-Incan village we reached was duly wary when we approached. I entered the village alone, having learned their variant of the Chibchan language in my dreams.

I explained that we hoped to ally with their tribes to drive out the Spanish. They had already heard about the Spanish and the diseases they brought with them. They’d also heard about the way they treated anyone who opposed them, and about the vicious war dogs the Spanish used.

Once I’d demonstrated my power by healing the sick and injured in the village, they agreed to ally with us and to send messengers to other nearby villages. At that point, the soldiers with me began inoculating the people in the village. I explained that these villagers could inoculate people from other villages beginning in thirty days so they could spread immunity to the diseases carried by the Conquistadors.

At each subsequent village, the process went smoother with one exception. The number of people in each village hoping that I would heal them grew. As word spread, people rushed to villages ahead of us. The crush of supplicants slowed us down. As I healed people each day, the troops with me practiced Lua.

One good thing that came from the notoriety for healing people was that representatives from the Muisca, probably the largest and most organized group of the Chibcha-speaking tribes, met us on the trail. They were curious about why Incas cared enough to fight the Spanish in Chibcha territory and why they hadn’t sent more troops.

“We didn’t send more troops so the people here wouldn’t worry that we were trying to subjugate them. The Spanish will spread throughout this land like the diseases they carry. They have already conquered large territories north of you. They will begin to arrive here in larger numbers and will invade the area looking for gold and silver. They will kill any who oppose them or refuse to surrender what the Spanish consider treasure. Many who don’t oppose them will die from their diseases or will be taken as slaves.

“Once they have subdued this area, they will continue their march south and confront the Inca. While the Inca can defeat them, we would rather stop them before they establish cities they can use as strong points. Hopefully, they will decide that the cost in lives is too great, and they won’t return,” I explained.

After giving permission for the main body of our troops to enter their lands, the Muisca representatives continued with us, curious about how we’d defeat the Spanish. Messengers were dispatched to Quito to discuss an alliance.

The Muisca introduced us to the Embera-Wounaan who lived in the area where the Conquistadores were currently living and conquering. They were ecstatic to get help.

They had already driven out the original detachment of seventy Conquistadors that settled on the east shore of the Gulf of Urabá, but it had been costly in terms of lives.

The next group of Conquistadors, along with the survivors from the original group, had settled on the opposite coast of the same gulf in an area where Balboa had already met the natives. This time, the Conquistadors arrived with more troops and war dogs than the original group and successfully founded the town of Santa María la Antigua del Darién.

When we reached the town, ships bearing another two thousand settlers had arrived from Spain and were unloading people and supplies. The Spanish had also heard about our approach and were hurrying to have everything unloaded. Balboa had been on an expedition to native towns and villages looking for gold and slaves. Warned of our approach, he hurried back with his men.

In addition to our four thousand Inca troops, a similar number of Muisca and Embera-Wounaan troops had joined us. We had taken the time to inoculate all the Embera-Wounaan, and for me to heal those troops who needed it, as well as more than three hundred civilians, including many who had already been infected with measles or smallpox.

The Spanish met us outside the palisade around the town. Fifteen hundred troops, some three hundred of whom were mounted, and a hundred war dogs awaited us. I’d dispatched some of the local troops to sneak around the town so they could attack the Spanish from the rear.

I approached alone, close enough that they could hear me. I’d already put on the helmet and modern body armor, including Kevlar lined shin, knee, and thigh guards that I carried in my pocket because of what happened in Turkey. The girls wore theirs, too. “I am offering you one chance to surrender. If you do, everyone here will be allowed to board the ships in the bay and leave here safely. If you choose to fight, the few survivors will be enslaved,” I warned.

After getting over my ability to speak their language fluently, the leader laughed at me. “Your pitiful army will run when we release our dogs,” he scoffed.

“Really?” I asked, and then whistled. For several seconds there was a chorus of growls and then shouts and screams among the Spanish troops as the dogs chewed on their handlers and several nearby troops before escaping and running past me. The leader grinned smugly until the dogs took up positions behind me instead of tearing me apart.

“How...” he started to ask right before he was drowned out by the barking of another group of dogs that had rushed out from the town and right to me.

“Still, your weapons are no match for our steel weapons and armor,” he boasted. “And what of the harquebus?” he asked, holding one out.

“Your harquebus is a crude and inefficient weapon. The Inca have much more powerful ones,” I replied, pulling one of the HK-33s from my dimensional pocket.

The leader crossed himself when he saw what I did.

“You didn’t know that we can use magic?” I asked condescendingly as I also pulled out a Glock. “As for your armor, it won’t do you as much good as you think.” Lifting the Glock, I fired one shot, neatly perforating the chest of his cuirass.

Another man fell and a moment later, the sound of one of the girls’ AR-15s reached me.

“Would anyone else care to try?” I asked. “If not, carefully set your weapons on the ground and step back away from them. Those of you on horses, dismount!”

“Now!” I shouted to get them moving. Most were still stunned by the suddenness of the deaths of the two men, one of whom had been their commander.

Several minutes later, the Inca warriors came forward and collected the weapons.

“Now the armor,” I told the prisoners, motioning to the ground.

Once they had been stripped of their armor, they were bound. Then we entered the city. Our first stop was the dock where a ship was still tied up. We’d watched as supplies had been unloaded late yesterday.

I sent one of the Spanish troops aboard to warn the sailors what would happen to them if they didn’t start putting their weapons on the dock immediately. He was to tell them to watch the uppermost handle on the ship’s helm. When most were watching, Mele fired one shot and splintered it.

They rowed to the other twenty-one ships and told them the same. Several shots rang out when one of the ships began raising their anchor. Half of the men making the attempt died at their post. Several of the others were wounded, although I eventually healed them. That stopped the rest of the ships from trying to leave. Every sailor was forced to abandon their ship and come ashore in rowboats.

For the next week, the ships were emptied. Travois were built so the horses could carry everything we took from the city. The cannons were dropped into the middle of the bay. As much as I wanted the metal, I didn’t want to have to drag all those cannons three thousand kilometers.

We even stripped the ships of anything useful, sails, rope, compasses, spyglasses, tools, you name it. Even the furniture and row boats were confiscated. I especially wanted all the lamps aboard the ships to encourage the Incas to duplicate them. Only one ship was left with rigging. I let the sailors load enough food and water for thirty days. The other ships were burned nearly to the waterline. Black powder left aboard the ships exploded when the fire reached it and made sure the hulls sank. Wood-eating worms that abounded in the tropical water would devour what remained.

The slaves taken by the Spanish were freed and healed, allowed to return to whatever remained of the villages they’d been taken from. Several had no homes or family remaining. I convinced a handful of them to travel to Cusco and to act as interpreters. Several of the Inca troops from the northernmost suyu could speak the Chibcha dialect used by the Embera-Wounaan and would translate into Inca.

Everyone in the city was forced to begin the long march to Cusco. Every craftsman took his tools. The heaviest items went into the handful of two-wheeled carts that the Spanish had already built. While carts would help along the coast, they would be of little use once we reached the mountain roads as those roads had steps instead of slopes. Even if they had ramps, they were too steep in many places for wheeled carts to navigate.

Gold and other valuables from the city were returned to the local Embera-Wounaan, even though most of the owners had died. The row boats were also given to the locals since I didn’t want to carry them all the way back.

Everything of value that could be carted off or carried away was taken from the town. Valuables included cookware and dishes, as well as tools and weapons. Even the glass windowpanes were removed from the buildings. Grudgingly, I left the furniture since we didn’t have enough animals to carry it after I loaded the things I thought were more important.

Aside from tools and skills, the most important thing we took was the livestock. The cattle were herded away, many of them hitched to a cart so the horses could pull a travois. The blacksmiths thought I was crazy when I insisted that the small herd of cattle be shod before leaving. They didn’t realize how far they would be walking. The small pigs were caged and carried in carts, although they’d be closing in on a hundred kilograms by the time they reached Cusco.

Chickens were caged and loaded onto travois. The adult pigs and half of the chickens were left for the locals. Enough of the local Embera-Wounaan who’d been enslaved knew the basics of caring for them.

I explained to Ninan Cuyochi what the chickens, pigs, and cattle were for. I had two of the Spanish demonstrate the value of using the cattle to plow a field to convince him to make sure the cattle made it back to Cusco alive. I also explained the value of the chickens and pigs as a food source-and not just on the trip back. They would add sources of meat into the diet of the Incas without the need of hunting them.