Among the tribes(3)

Varaku was momentarily taken aback. Three thousand warriors, all clad in steel? The number alone was staggering. His first instinct was to dismiss it as an outrageous lie—boastful words meant to intimidate, as any trader might do to make himself seem grander than he truly was. But as his mind worked through the claim, doubts crept in.

The foreigner had not come empty-handed, nor had he made empty promises. The goods he spoke of—salt, wine, and steel—were not rare trinkets doled out in small amounts but things he had offered freely, as if they were as common to him as air.

He also said they had more in the ships. 

Steel was not something to be handed over lightly, yet this man had done so without hesitation, as though it were of little consequence. That meant only one thing: they had it in abundance.