The Serpent Passage

by Todd Allen Pitts

  A look of concern crossed Yax’s face. “I see there is doubt. I open the floor for you to voice your concerns. Who will stand on the platform below me and speak.”

  A man walked up the stairway, standing on the lower platform, and he bowed to the King. “Lord Stone Frog, I represent the merchants. We also wish to defeat this approaching threat. Yet we have never seen battle. How can an army of common men defeat a superior number of trained warriors?”

  Another man approached the platform. “Lord Stone Frog,” he said, with a bow. I represent the farmers, and we share the same concern. I must confess that there has been talk… the people speak of leaving this poisoned land.”

  A third man approached the platform and bowed. “Lord Stone Frog, I represent the hunters. We are skilled with spears, bows, and the blow pipe. We trust in the stars, in the gods, and in your judgment. You were saved by Balam—sent by the gods—that led to this moment. What says Balam of this?”

  Scattered voices cried out through the plaza, “What says Balam?”

  Yax looked over to William, gesturing for him to take his place on the platform below and speak to the assembly.

  “Oh crap,” William muttered. He turned to Priest Quisac. “What should I say?”

  “You will know when you step on the platform. You are bound with the bloodstone. It will focus your thoughts and convey the needed message to the people,” the Serpent Priest said. The assembly continued calling for William to speak. “Hold the bloodstone in the hand used during the Ritual of Binding and your words will be heard by all.”

  “Are you sure?” William asked.

  “I am a Serpent Priest, Balam. I am always sure.”

  As William made his way to the steps, he glanced over to Betty; she gave him a big thumbs-up in support. Teshna stepped forward to hold his headdress while he removed the bloodstone necklace. With his headdress back on, he went down to the lower platform, gripping the bloodstone in his left hand. He faced the immense crowd, feeling a little nervous from all the attention.

  “You all say that I was sent here by the gods… maybe that is true,” William said. “I want you all to know that I am just a man—no different than any of you.”

  William gazed across the assembly and noticed three nobles that he did not remember seeing before—dressed with jaguar skin capes, gawking at him from the base of the steps.

  “When I saw that King Stone Frog was about to be sacrificed that night at the temple, I didn’t know he was a king. I thought he was just a boy. I would have done the same for any of your children…. because it was the right thing to do!”

  While pacing back and forth on the platform, trying to gather his thoughts, William heard scattered voices in the crowd repeating his words, “the right thing to do,” in Yucatec-Maya.

  He put his hands up; an immediate hush followed. “As much as I miss my family back home, the reason I stay—the reason King Stone Frog and all the nobles stay is to protect the future—to protect our children’s future—to end this threat once and for all!”

  William moved a few steps forward, gazing across the crowd again. “People of Dzibanché, the reason we stay… is because it is the right thing to do!” The assembly chanted, “the right thing to do…” again and again, escalating to near deafening levels. He took a quick glance back to Yax and the others on the platform above him. They seemed pleased with his speech.

  “People of Dzibanché,” he said, holding up his left fist, with the chain of the bloodstone dangling before him. “I ask you as one man to another… will you stay and fight beside the King for your own future?”

  “We will! We will! We will!” The assembly blasted the words through the night air.

  William returned with the others to the royal palace, still feeling high from his moment in the spotlight. While heading down the northern hallway, Teshna grabbed his hand before he reached his room, pulling him close. “Your speech… it was inspiring.” “Thanks,” he said.

  “Do you have a woman—where you are from?” she asked in a rush, as though she had rehearsed the question.

  William looked away. “I used to,” he said, with a shrug. “I guess it’s been over for a while now.”

  “Good, then you have no reason to leave,” she said. Teshna gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, spun around, and skipped down the hallway before he had a chance to say anything else.

  He was about to mention that he needed to get back at least for his mom’s sake. There were also the modern conveniences he had grown accustomed to. The thought of no HDTV the rest of his life was a big concern. He watched Teshna stroll down the hallway, focusing on the curves of her body until she was out of sight. William stumbled back to his bed, yanked off his headdress, and kicked his sandals across the room. He felt confused. For the first time since he had arrived William began considering the possibility of staying there.

  Chapter Eight

  The following morning, William and Betty had their share of rations—a meek helping of dried fruits, tortillas, and peppers—and came across Yax, Teshna, Priest Quisac, and three other elderly men conversing in the courtyard near the great ceiba tree. Intense and brooding looks emanated from their faces. William remembered the men from the night before—the guys with jaguar capes.

  “Balam… Bati… please join us,” Yax said.

  Teshna gave William an inviting smile. Betty took notice of William’s prolonged stare. “Easy sailor,” she said, jabbing him in the ribs with her elbow.

  Yax gestured to the men in the jaguar attire. “Balam, these men are ambassadors from the kingdom of Kohunlich. On the morning of the harvest, I sent our runners with a message to King Snarl Tooth, requesting that he hear our plea—to stand with us against Calakmul.”

  “You present a persuasive argument, Lord Stone Frog,” said the eldest of the three ambassadors; William thought he had to be in his eighties. “However, we have good relations with both your kingdom and Calakmul. King Snarl Tooth merely sent us here out of respect to your father, the Great Jade Owl, and to verify the stories of your… unusual guests.” He looked at William and Betty for a moment before returning his attention to Yax. “Our king does not wish to become involved in a feud between your two cities.”

  “However,” Teshna said in a feisty tone, “you continue your trades with Calakmul. You provide resources and free passage through your territory. From our perspective, you are indirectly supporting this advancing army against us.”

  “Careful, Teshna,” Yax said, warning her. “Let us not make more enemies this day.”

  The youngest of the ambassadors—perhaps in his thirties—was about to speak, when a large branch from the ceiba tree snapped and fell; it crashed onto a mat where fruit had been curing in the sun. Servants rushed over to clean up the mess. The ambassador looked back to Teshna with a hint of pity in his eyes. “What you say is true. We continue our trades and good relations with Calakmul. It’s a delicate situation—our territory borders with theirs. King Aztuk made it quite clear that we should not alter our relations with them… nor should we offer assistance to you. Calakmul would turn against us as well.”

  “Then stand with us so we can fight them together,” Yax pleaded.

  “We will carry your message to King Snarl Tooth,” the elder ambassador said. “There is nothing more we can do.” The three men bowed and departed.

  The ambassador who had not spoken during the conversation stopped and turned around with a look of concern. He was a tall man, somewhere between the ages of the other two ambassadors; he wore a jaguar headdress that went well with his spotty jaguar cape. “For what it is worth, I will attempt to impress your word upon our king. But he is a stubborn man, who fears for his people.”

  “Then he is a wise man, Ambassador Chen-Uk,” Priest Quisac said, “for the stars also tell us that there is much to fear in these times, across all the lands.”

  Ambassador Chen-Uk tilted his head in thought; even the jaguar face of his headdress seemed to be considering somethin
g. He nodded and joined the other ambassadors as they exited the palace.

  “What the hell was that all about?” Betty asked. William gave her a brief explanation.

  Yax exited the palace with the others following him. “I must go to the men training in the fields, to show my support. We will meet at sunset to discuss our battle plans. I will call in the captains of the royal guard. Teshna, inform Subiac that his counsel will be required.”

  Once outside, Yax turned to William and said, “Balam, I ask that you and Bati go with Teshna to where the weapons are being prepared. You must better understand the resources we have available for battle.”

  “An excellent idea,” Teshna said, her face lighting up.

  “I will be in the temple for meditation, my Lord,” Priest Quisac declared. “There is much that I must contemplate.”

  “Until dusk then,” Yax said as the group went their separate ways.

  William and Betty followed Teshna a short distance east of the King’s palace to a remote plaza overgrown by the jungle, where the ruins of a crumbling building served as their weapons refinery. Dozens of women—and many older children—worked in an assembly line manner, separated in groups that were focused on specific tasks.

  A clanking sound drew William’s attention to a mob of women pounding on chunks of black rock. They hammered their stone mallets against the shiny obsidian, chiseling the pieces into triangular blades. They tossed the finished fragments into one of several different piles, depending on its size.

  One team took the medium-sized obsidian blades and attached them to their assortment of long poles, where a collection of spears began to accumulate. The smaller fragments were taken by another group; they did some final shaping before attaching them to arrows. Even the odd-shaped pieces of the black rock could be utilized by inserting them into the sides of, what looked like, wooden baseball bats to make rustic swords.

  Amidst the workers, a hunched-over Mayan stood out; he looked as withered as his worn-out headdress. He supervised the workers around him—barking orders at them in his scratchy voice. William remembered the old man from the morning after the ball game—the guy with a nasty scar on his face and missing his left ear. Upon seeing Teshna and the others, he toddled over and gave them a polite nod, his hands clasped together.

  “Good day, elder Subiac,” Teshna said with a bow. She studied the large pile of obsidian. “I am surprised to see this much black rock remaining. I had thought our reserves were less.”

  “Indeed, it is from a fortunate trade transaction in recent weeks,” Subiac said, “with Ixtepeque merchants, for a significant measure of jade in return. It was at the request of your uncle, not long before his death.” He coughed out a chuckle.

  “The only wise decision he ever made,” Teshna grumbled. She pointed at Betty. “Bati will help where you may use her.”

  Subiac snatched Betty’s left wrist and twisted her hand up, studying her palm through his twitching left eyelid. He mumbled to himself for a time and then released her hand. “She will work with the bows.”

  “Excellent!” Teshna said. “The bow is my focus too.”

  “What’s up?” Betty asked, rubbing her wrists. She seemed annoyed after being grabbed like that. William explained that they could use her help to make bows, and Betty agreed with a shrug.

  “Before you get started, Subiac, please explain all our weapons to Balam.” Teshna said.

  Subiac’s eyes lit up and he motioned for them to follow. He stopped by a collection of spears, picked one up, and held it in a throwing posture. “The tepoztopilli!” he said with a devilish grin, exposing his missing teeth. “To throw, or,” he held the blade lower, “to thrust… and slash.” He waved the spear around, jabbing at invisible enemies.

  “Right, a spear,” Betty said, unimpressed. “Okay, moving along.”

  He went on with the tour, demonstrating a number of different weapons, until he threw his back out while swinging the maquahuitl sword—the weapon that looked like a blade-studded baseball bat. Subiac’s enthusiasm tanked a bit from the pain in his back. He went on to point out the daggers, clubs, blowguns, and shields. Finally, he showed them the arrows for the bows and the short spears used for the atlatls.

  “Used for the what?” William asked. He had not heard that weapon name before.

  “The atlatl,” Subiac said. He waddled over to the group of women carving rounded grooves into long poles, and he grabbed one. “The atlatl enables the spear to travel further than can be thrown by hand.” He demonstrated the throwing technique, moving the atlatl over his head with a wrist-snapping action at the end.

  “Oh, like what Priest Quisac uses,” William said, recalling the day of the ball game when he killed the guy running off with the bloodstone.

  “Yes, but the Serpent Priest uses a shorter version,” Teshna said, “with smaller obsidian darts instead of a short spear.”

  “An interesting adaptation, but it does not match the distance of the classic atlatl,” Subiac said with a huff.

  They arrived at the station where bows were being made, and Subiac spoke with the women on the team. They all turned at once and eyeballed Betty from head to toe.

  Teshna picked up a bow and a handful of arrows. She told William that she was going to practice near the ballcourt, and for him to join her after getting Betty started. She skipped off with the enthusiasm of a kid about to try out a new kite.

  The Mayan ladies seemed delighted to have Betty’s assistance. A heavy Mayan woman chewing on a big wad of gum approached and ushered Betty over to work on her first bow. She showed her how to use the obsidian knives to cut notches at the ends, and to attach the strings that had a somewhat greasy texture. William translated until Betty understood what to do.

  “At least I can help with something,” Betty said.

  “It’s also good for us to get to know these people better,” William said, “since we’ll need their support.”

  Betty smirked. “It seems you’re getting to know these people pretty good already, if you ask me… at least some of them,” she said with a raised eyebrow.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Ah, come on, Will, I wasn’t born yesterday. I can see something’s been going on between you and Teshna. It doesn’t take a Serpent Priest to figure that out.”

  “Yeah, I know. I do like her… a lot,” he said, backing away. He didn’t want to discuss girls with Betty. “I’m gonna go watch Teshna practice now.”

  Betty became serious. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to get too attached to anyone here, William. It’ll just make it harder to leave.”

  He left with a heavy sigh, his head hanging down. Betty was right, of course. He would have to be careful to not become too close to the beautiful Mayan Princess—to stay focused on their goal of returning home. Then he ignored that thought and ran off to see Teshna.

  They all met later at sunset as planned, inside a chamber of the North Palace—the same building where William had made his speech on the steps just the night before. Yax, Teshna, Priest Quisac, William, Betty, Subiac, five captains of the royal guard, and two other nobles sat on animal skin rugs in a semi-circle of the war planning room, each munching on their dinner rations; fruit, beans, squash, and rabbit meat seasoned with spicy chili peppers.

  “Let us feast in honor of the Maize god, Yum Kaax,” the Serpent Priest said prior to the meal, “who assisted in our delay of the demon, allowing us to be sustained another day.”

  As William ate, he could feel Teshna’s attention upon him, and he couldn’t help but to glance her way. He tried to remain serious, to match the look of the men around him. Yet the moment he caught eye contact with her, he couldn’t help but smile. She did the same; her exotic jeweled teeth sparkled in the flickering light of the burning torches. Teshna’s beauty stood out dramatically in the chamber, especially in contrast to the room’s wall paintings of bloodshed and sacrifice.

  William recognized the buff guard that had been glaring at him the oth
er day, before they went to the ball game. He shifted his gaze between Teshna and William, his pointy teeth clenched.

  Yax stood, attracting everyone’s attention. “The nobles and captains in this room were chosen because of their loyalty to me.” He turned to the group of rough-looking royal guards sitting together on one side of the circle; each warrior had scars and injuries that clearly indicated their experience on the battlefield. “You did not bow down to my uncle. Even after I was captured, and all our forces had surrendered, you still remained opposed. You were willing to sacrifice your lives for me.” Yax shifted his gaze to the other side of the circle where Priest Quisac, Subiac, and the other nobles sat. The King sighed. “Yet I am not resentful at those who had conceded to my uncle’s authority. It appeared that the gods had made their choice, and most the people believed that my sacrifice would strengthen our kingdom. In the end, I began to believe it too… until Balam and Bati arrived.

  Betty jabbed William in the ribs for him to translate. He leaned over and whispered a summary of what Yax said.

  Yax pointed to the chubby man across from him, the heavy man with a bone pierced through his nose. “Noble Lamat, tell us of the final inventory of our supplies.”

  “Yes, Lord Stone Frog,” he said, clearing his throat. He explained the details of the harvest, the hunt, and the slaughter of their raised animals. “We even collected beetles and other insects that we could find—roasting them for final rations, if necessary.” Lamat cringed when he mentioned eating the bugs. The thought of having cooked beetles and ants for dinner didn’t appeal to William either.

  “What are the final calculations, Caban?” Yax asked the noble seated beside Lamat; he had a long face and big, beak-like nose.

  Caban’s eyes darted back and forth, recalling the figures. “Based on our current population, our supply will expire in ninety-three days.”

  Yax’s face tightened as he swallowed the rabbit meat he had been chewing. He had a drink of water and set his cup down. William could see he was trying to hide his worries. “What about the extended surveys?” Yax asked.