Investigation

Kristen said; we can not set such a plan into action, unless we are certain about the information we have got. We need to go there and investigate for ourselves. There were not really any objections to that. Both Harald and Thorleif knew there could be great mistakes and great consequences. After a short discussion, they had the journey planned and got ready for it. Kristen brought a priest and a solider; Thorleif brought Erik, a trusted warrior, the interpreter, and two natives that knew about the Mayans.

Once they had decided, they were all eager to go. This mysterious land and its people would finally be revealed to them. They sailed for three days southwards until they reached the entrance of the gigantic gulf. Once there, the native guides recommended crossing the entrance in south-west direction. They had to sail for two more days across it until they finally reached the shore. They did not want any encounters, but they would most certainly see a city.

One of the guides recommended a nearby Mayan town called Tho, mainly because he had family there. This was a good opportunity for the explorers to get first hand information. The inhabitants were mostly fishers and farmers and the land was good. Once there, they were heart-fully welcomed. The explorers did not understand what the natives said. They figured it was basically was polite small talks, and some curiosity about the strangers. The natives seemed to lead a happy life. The visitors took their time to give the impression that they were tourists that they were interested in culture. After eating, there was time for the men to talk. First they let the natives talk as much they wanted about their own interests. The visitors were shown corn, beans and squash, which Thorleif remembered as the gifts to him from the Cherokees.

The natives told that the Mayans used to be very kind, but had grown harsher the past generations. The natives believed that it was due to new spoiled generation of rulers. There was also a priest cast arising that was taking more and more control of politics. This caught the priest interested. He asked for more information. They were told that there was a pantheon religion of nature gods. That included the sun, the moon and even the rain and corn. The priests were responsible for the rituals and ceremonies. Failing to participate was considered a serious crime, especially if the rain failed. Such farmers were held responsible, tortured and even killed for that. The farmers believed that it was a cover-up for the priests own lack of divinity.

Kristen wanted to know more about the cities. The hosts told them that there were probably 60 cities in the inland. There could be five to fifty thousand inhabitants in each. The capital hosted 200.000 people and the population in whole could be as many as two millions. Sure there were pyramids in most cities, especially after the priest class had gained power. They were building pyramids to honor their gods. There were also ceremonial center, temples, palaces and courts for games. The Mayans used hard volcanic glass for tools to build. That information made the Christian priest wonder; could this also be a gateway to Hell?

Kristen and his team wanted to see a city for themselves. The hosts did not want to go with them, though. Lately the guards had become very skeptical to foreigners and intruders could be arrested and imprisoned without questioning. However, the Cherokees were willing to go along, which was sufficient guidance. They only needed a map that showed the path to the nearest city. The host willingly made it for them. They use paper like the Egyptians do, Kristen commented. They went early to bed that evening to be well rested for the next day’s journey.

They had to walk for almost half a day. On the hill in front of the city, they made a turn and followed a path around. From the hillside they saw the magnificent city. They figured it must have been twenty thousand inhabitants. All the major buildings that the host described were there. The five religious pyramids were obviously the major buildings in addition to the temples and the palace. Kristen thought; this minor city alone is a considerable force. He did not even dare thinking what threat the Mayans could make if they came to Europe and assisted the Egyptians.

They were sitting and watched the city life for hours. There was no doubt to anymore; this was not merely a tribe, a town or a rumor. This was a huge empire of pyramid builders. They did not discuss any plan, but had some mixed feelings about knowing that they probably were some of the last people to see it in its full splendor.

The guide insisted on going back after a few hours. He did not want to be around when the night fell on them. Fortunately, it was much easier to go down to the village than up to the city. Once down at the village, they were served food and offered beds for the night. They were all thinking about the sights that night and how friendly they had been treated by the peasants.

The next morning, Kristen said that there was no more for them to do at that place. They should rather go back and decide on whether they should take the plan into action or not. They had gathered detailed maps that showed the land, the gulf and the cities. Now, that they had everything they needed, there were no obstacles or uncertainties left. There was only a final decision to make.

In the open sea, at the entrance of the gulf, Kristen simply said; I am going to do it as soon as possible. Kristen thought there was no time to waste. There was a permanent risk with the possessed ones. Most of all, he could not wait to be finished with this burden. There was one major change in his plan though. He had realized that it was not a Mayan land, but a Mayan empire. That called for greater ammunition. Therefore he wanted to load all the three ships with people to be the human Trojan horses. At first he asked Thorleif kindly if he could spare fifty persons of his tribe. Don’t even bother to ask, was the reply. Kristen realized that it was much easier to convince Christians than Asirs. There is no honor in such warfare, Thorleif said. Then make it honorable, Kristen frowned. Thorleif considered it to be impossible.

Please do not make me take drastic actions, Kristen started. Thorleif just looked at him. You know how easy it will be to row the boat to the natives’ camp. You know how easy it will be for us to capture natives and set them off by the cities. You know that I am going to have it my way anyhow. So please, do not make the costs greater than necessary for yourself. Thorleif was about to realize that he did not really have any options. He was not a person to give in for free, though. After thinking about it, he said to Kristen. I will get you forty people, on one condition. He let Kristen get used to the idea of winning, before saying; you swear by your god that all go along with them. The deal is that I am guarantied not to ever see you and your people again. There was a dark look in Kristen’s eyes. I really think you should see for yourself that everything goes as planned anyway, Thorleif added. There was some sense in that. Kristen said; I swear by the almighty God that we all go on this glorious crusade and fight till we all unite with White Christ. Then he said; I expect to see forty persons here tomorrow morning, along with you and Harald to convert a city. Agreed, Thorleif said.

Thorleif and Harald appeared with forty people the next morning, as agreed. They had also brought their own people for their mission. It had been a hard night for them. They had to lie to Hans about it. He believed there was going to be a fight, although he wondered why they did not need their own weapons. Thorleif told them truly about concur an enemy at the size of Roma, and that they were certain about winning with their secret weapon. Hans were imagining they had something like Mjolner, Thor’s hammer. But Hans accepted that Thorleif could not reveal the true secret for anyone.

Thorleif told nothing about being unarmed and practically being bait for demons. He was worried that it would not be considered brave enough for getting to Valhalla. But Hans thought he understood. He had heard enough to get an idea of what it was about. He simply told his people that the attack would be putting a Loki practical joke on a fierce enemy. To Thorleif’s surprise, several people of the Cherokee tribe wanted to join in too. They disliked the Mayans for all the mischief they had caused during the years. In fact most of them were driven out by the expanding empire. Altogether, twenty people of each tribe volunteered.