Enemy of Old

A Week Later

I looked up from the stone wall I had been re-stacking. I loved rocks and even more so the crafting of them into either art or functional use.

It was an escape in a way from the heavier thoughts of essentially ruling a kingdom. I had never intended on being a king of this place, but to move forward and get stuff done leadership had been called for and so here I was.

When everything was going right, I was rarely consulted, but when things went wrong I was the one they came to. Now was such a time as I watched Ofunai and three of the colonists close in on me. From the universal worry etched across all their faces I immediately surmised that the issue they were bringing to me wasn't related to any ethnic relational conflict between the differing people groups that made up our community.

That pretty much left one thing, the increasing hostility of the Portuguese towards us being here. Peter spoke for the group, "Well, they've done it. They've halted the supply ship. A native runner just brought word."

I nodded, "Well we've known for some time that was likely going to happen."

Peter shook his head, "That's not all though. Apparently there were three ships worth of our kin who were bound for here and mistakenly let out the word as to who they were. The Portuguese heard it and have imprisoned the lot of them. The native runner says there to all be sold as slaves within the week."

My jaw clamped tight for a moment at the brazen lack of respect and human indecency on their part to do such a thing to women and children. Whether I liked it or not, war had just been declared.

Glancing to Ofunai I asked, "This runner is he known for being trustworthy?"

"He is." Ofunai affirmed.

I nodded and paused for a moment. There really was nothing else to do but fight then. If it was a fight they wanted, then I'd much rather have it take place on their land as opposed to ours.

I didn't care at all for the thought of having to rebuild this wall again or of losing our crops to invaders.

"Prepare the canoes and martial out over half of our force. We go by boat for one day and then we cut across the land at the Ria Varga. From there we take out all four of their inland trading posts. Then we proceed overland and surround the colony where they're holding our people and they'll give them back.

"How are you going to convince them to give them back? They far outnumber any force we can muster Mahlon. Besides, wouldn't they just hold on to the prisoners as ransom?"

"No, you see, because we're not going to steal any of their stuff at their trading locations. If they don't release our kin to us, however their trading posts will go up in smoke with all their goods. The loss to them financially will be catastrophic. Money is all these people want, and so that is what we must bargain with. They'll never have enough of it and so we need to threaten them with taking away some of what they already have in order to get back something truly priceless in return."

Peter and the rest nodded their heads and started to head off without any further question as to my plans for pressing the war to the enemy.

I called out, "Ofunai, I want you to stay here and help Tyree manage the city should there be an attack on us here."

"Not likely. My scouts report no troop movement."

I nodded but said, "Just the same I'd prefer it for you to be here just in case."

Ofunai nodded without a further word and even though I could tell he didn't like it, he nevertheless went along with my plan.

~~~~~~~

Anna

Anna watched her husband steadily fade from view down the river. It felt like he was taking her heart with him.

She didn't feel at all that what he was doing was wise and yet he was a man of action. He had to do something in the face of such a provocation, but to her that was just the problem.

She understood his reasoning, but she also saw where there was room for deception. Here at Arn her husband's position was entirely defensible and yet at the outset of this war with a great colonial power he was going on the offensive.

She didn't like what she sensed. It didn't fit with how the situation should go somehow.

Now, as she watched him depart, she wondered if she had been wise to remain quiet about her objections to the course of action that he had set himself upon. Feeling over her womb, she felt at where she knew a new life had already begun to form.

Would her baby still have a father within a day or two days' time? Closing her eyes as Mahlon and the other canoes were no longer visible she began to pray in earnest for the protection of her husband and for the men with him.

Then quietly the voice of her Maker spoke into her spirit, "You are right my daughter to be concerned."

Anna's eyes flared open at the words spoken into her mind. Silently she questioned the spiritual voice that had spoken into her mind, "Do you confess that Jesus the Messiah has come in the flesh?"

"Yes, I do."

Anna's eyes opened again at the spiritual confirmation she had just received. Feeling tears gather at the corners of her eyes, she whispered, "Why did you not alert Mahlon to this trap?"

"He did not seek My counsel as you have done so. You are wise to do as you have."

Her lips quivering, she begged out softly, "Oh please bring him back! I... Oh please!!!" She said at the last with a fervency of passion that she had never used to intercede on behalf of her first husband.

"Pray for him. Pray that he will seek My counsel and not trust in the strength of a man's insight. For what is a man's strength or his wisdom for that matter? He is here today and gone tomorrow."

Nodding her head at the glimmer of hope that was being offered to her, she breathed out, "Thank you!"

Hope or not she felt despair blossom at the reality of how strong-willed her husband was. Would he see reason before it was too late?

She could but hope and pray that he would!

She felt a presence at her side and opening her eyes she took in Tyree and Ofunai. Both wore looks of sympathy and were no doubt about to express sympathy and encouragement to her that everything would be okay, but she was not having any of that!

Shocking both men immeasurably she stepped forward to grip them both authoritively. Tyree by his shirt front and Ofunai by a tribal necklace he always wore. "Alright now, I want you two to get this, so listen well! God has revealed to me that this first strike action on my husband's part is not a wise one. The surprise attack which my husband thinks to make upon the enemy will instead likely happen here!"

"My scouts report...."

"I don't care what your scouts have to report! What are they to the Almighty God in heaven! Now this is going to be the way of it! You are going to keep the fighting men that are left in readiness to defend the settlement from attack. All the women and children of the natives and colonists must be relocated within the compound walls now! We will proceed with as much of a normal activity as possible as to lay to rest any suspicions by an enemy of our readiness for an attack. The gate will remain open, but have men concealed close by in order to close it at a moment's notice should the need arise. Ofunai I want you to pick out four of your warriors who have never been scouts before and send them out. Tell them that they are by no means to have any contact with your other scouts. Now go and do all that I say if you want even one man, woman, or child to survive!"

With her final quite uncharacteristic demand made she let go of the two stunned men and started for the palace within the confines of the compound's walls. Hesitatingly Tyree called out, "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to pray that my husband sees the common sense of all the things I held back from saying to him as to my reservations in regards to his course of action and hope that before it's too late that he gives up before he throws his life and all of the lives of the others away."

Anna moved on and Tyree and Ofunai were left alone to stare after the fiery dynamo outfitted in linen skirts that had just bathed them with intense heat to the point of being scorched. Finally, they glanced at each other.

Ofunai was the first to break the ice, "Mahlon left you in charge."

Tyree shook his head as resolution not usually found in one of his age affirmed his voice to say, "No, we do what she says. Everything she said!"

"You really think her God talks to her like that?" Ofunai asked with genuine curiosity.

Tyree looked after Anna and thought for a moment of all that he knew of the character of his brother's wife before saying, "Without a doubt He must have, because Anna is not one to lie and she's too careful of an individual by nature to be one who is easily deceived. No, we do as she says."

Ofunai nodded and then sub-commented, "My gods never speak to me so. Maybe I need her God instead."

Tyree glanced at him and said, "I highly recommend it! I had my doubts, but not now. Anna's helped me to see more than I used two of the spiritual realm just by being who she is. Come on, let's get to work getting everybody moved into the compound." Both men headed off quickly, then to the accomplishment of a lady's command.

~~~~~~~

The jungle moved. A body of warriors glided through the shadowed understory of the jungle in virtual silence.

They were skilled in all the ways of the hunter. They had to be as they were hunters of the most dangerous animal of all, man.

In their wake they left the freshly cleaned off bones of three men behind to whiten and molder into powder on the forest floor. They had eaten well, but they were still hungry.

Not only were they hungry for more man food and for women to rape, but they were also hungry for the weapons and trade items that had been promised to them if they should overwhelm and destroy the encampment of Ar'mora. Such a task was all the more appetizing to them as their kind hated the Ar'morians.

Even to this day tales were told of how the Ar'morians of old had pushed their kind to the brink of extinction and that the only way the headhunters had survived was to flee to the darkest parts of the jungle.

Now they were back and they had no desire to flee once more to the darkest parts of the jungle where no sunlight broke through to light the jungle floor and where the flesh of men was scarce. No, they would destroy this incursion of outsiders once and for all and profit from doing so.

Their numbers had never been so great and once the other native holdouts to their way of life were destroyed or enslaved they would rule the jungle uncontested. Their roving band was but one of many, which were all, even now, converging upon the city of Arn.

The scouts of the city had been bought off handsomely by the Portuguese for their duplicity in the deception that had lured the main body of fighting men away from the largely impregnable compound city walls of Arn's inner city palace complex. The bought scouts would never collect on their promised payouts, however, because as a way of tying up loose ends the Portuguese had been very specific in outlining that they enjoy the scouts as a sort of pre-invasion snack.

They had done so with relish, but now as always they hungered insanely for more as the regular flesh of animals was nothing to them as they preferred the taste of their own kind far more. Soon they would feast, but first they had to wait until all the tribes were gathered. They continued to glide onward an entirely lethal force adeptly skilled at preying upon their own kind.

After their passage a native warrior stood up from a hidden alcove beside an old fallen over tree. His eyes wide and his actions fearful since he'd had to listen to the act of men of his own village being eaten alive, he began to head back towards Arn on as much of a non-intersecting course with the group of headhunters as he could. He was not as skilled in the subtleties and need for stealth to be a scout as the others had been or else he would of wisely remained hidden for a little while longer.

As it was he let out a terror pitched scream of fright as a barbed headhunter arrow pierced his shoulder and sent him stumbling to the ground. He had no chance to even rise before the hunters of men were upon him.

His shrieks of warning and anguish alerted no one at Arn as to the eminent threat that was gathering in great number in order to do great evil.