The auntie did not seem in a great hurry to begin trading, but Broneslav had grown up around merchants, so he knew to bide his time. It still made him impatient though. He wanted to see where his treasure map would lead him, not spend time socialising. Reining in his impatience, he followed the auntie to one of the nearby huts. It was a long wooden hut on stilts with palm leaves for a roof, and a roofed veranda all around. There were windows along its length. Under some of the huts, he could see people cooking over open fires. There was no glass in them but there were shutters on the outside. All the other huts in the village were almost exactly the same.
Inside, the windows were wide open and a fresh breeze blew through, cooling the warm air. One end of the hut was curtained off, but the rest was open with wide benches on either side. Bedrolls were packed against the wall. It looked like whole extended families lived in these huts with no separate rooms and no privacy.
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| A typical Thanegiothian hut based on descriptions given by the great explorer, Broneslav Torenescu. |
The auntie headed for the only chair in the whole place and sat in it, The chair was towards the curtained off end of the hut facing down it, like a throne compared to the rest of the fittings here.
"Broneslav, come and sit here near me on my left side."
She waved him to a place on the bench near her. He sat as indicated with Captain Decentius beside him. Four men took up places on the benches to her right and a gaggle of children gawped through the windows at the strangers from the north. They giggled and pointed.
"Bring food and drink!"
The auntie clapped her hands and several younger people ran off to do her bidding. Before long, the hut was filled with the smell of baked fish. Broneslav was passed a wooden cup of coconut milk.
"To a profitable trade for both of us!" the auntie announced, "Let me introduce myself formally now that we are about to begin. I am Chieftain Tiaru. To my right, you see the clan elders."
She pointed at each in turn, "This is Ruan, then Gak, then Yavi and finally Tomia. They are my advisors. Together we form the council that rules Tanaroa."
Broneslav made the formal introduction required of himself and Captain Decentius, even though he had informally introduced himself before. He was then encouraged to eat and drink. Watching how Tiaru and the elders did this, he did his best to copy them, hoping not to offend anyone. It appeared that he succeeded, because he soon found himself discussing trade with an open and welcoming Tiaru. After giving her and the elders small gifts from the cargo, the dickering began in earnest.
A couple of hours later, he gave the order to unload all the cargo. The villagers had agreed to pay almost double its value in gold and goods! Moreover, they were eager for him to bring more goods here. In return for hard to find iron and steel goods, they would harvest the local pearls and provide other goods that were only available here. A bargain was struck that Broneslav would ship in goods at regular intervals and Captain Decentius left with the elders to order and oversee the unloading and distribution of the cargo, while Broneslav and Tiaru relaxed in the hut and talked.
Wow, those were some good reaction rolls!
After a little idle small-talk, Broneslav was finally able to turn the conversation to what most interested him.
"One thing that I would like to know is about the city at the centre of the island. I came into possession of a map and description of this city that made me curious."
Tiaru looked at Broneslav thoughtfully.
"Do you mean the City of the Gods? There was a ship that arrived her not so long ago. The crew were not traders though and showed great interest in it."
"Yes, that's the one. The ship returned to Karameikos and I encountered the last survivor from that crew. He had been set upon by thugs and died of his injuries, but gifted me with a map and a description of his voyage here."
Tiaru told the tale then of how the Gods had built a great city at the centre of the island and furnished it with all a god could want. However, the island itself was inhabited by many dangerous creatures, which is why the Gods built a wall for the villagers, so that they could live safely in their home. When the Gods departed, the hostile creatures repopulated the whole island. Any journey to the city would be fraught with danger.
She looked doubtfully at the young warrior, "I fear for you if you insist on journeying to the City of the Gods. It is probable that you will not return."
"I would just like to investigate a bit. It will take my crew and your people a week to unload the cargo and load the goods from here. If it will not offend you, I shall head towards the city and see what I can find. It was my main purpose in coming here. My captain can deal with the essentials here while I am gone."
Tiaru acquiesced reluctantly.
"Great. I shall set off tomorrow and shall aim to return as quickly as I can."
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