The Chief's longhouse was an elegant architecture, more sober and austere as compared to the extravagant outlooks and complex designs of the structure of the temple that stood beside it. It was almost half the size of the temple but it was not small by any means. It still had a large castle gate that was guarded by two halberdiers on either side of it. The gate looked like a misfit, perhaps because it was ordered and installed after the rest of the building was readied or perhaps because it was the only gate or door in the entire establishment. All the rooms had nothing but curtains at the entrances with a guard posted outside. The longhouse opened into a church like auditorium that spanned from the gate to the far wall that bore the seal of the Chief under which the throne was placed. The space between the gate and the wall was enough to place at least a couple hundred benches facing the throne but they kept only fifty benches with excessive distance among them. The hall was used as a court where the Chief heard the everyday disputes of the village and the allied tribes. At the either side of the throne, there were two doorways that led to the inner rooms of the longhouse that were strictly personal to the Chief. Those personal rooms included two expansive bedrooms, a study, a wine cellar, kitchen and a spacious hall that was reserved for display of his family's invaluable belongings and heirlooms. Only one of the bedrooms was used by his mother. The display hall had the wooden mannequins of his father, grandfather and so on, wearing the armors and royal attire that they wore at the time of their reign, along with their ashes in a decorated and etched urn in front of them. A doorway led to the corridor that led to the stairs to the upper floor and the basement. The gloomy basement had the wine cellar and it was used to store anything from food, crockery, furniture to the junk that the servants couldn't gather enough courage to dispose of. Upstairs were the bedrooms, study and the kitchen. The Study contained a vast collection of literature, books on war strategy and the archives of the village and the tribes including the genuine copies of the treaties and guarantees, and the room was often used as a meeting or conference room so a suitable long conference table, along with several chairs was placed there. The entire expanse of the longhouse, except the bedrooms, had a guard standing in every ten meters. The entire building except the basement was so extravagantly lit that it looked as if it was daylight that illuminated the rooms. There was a royal order that had prevailed through the generations that there mustn't be a shadow in the temple. In the earlier years, the longhouse had been a part of the temple and the chiefs had been capable Shamans themselves. But in the last few generations, the longhouse had to be rebuilt separately and a full-time Shaman appointed, for the newer generations were less passionate about the religion.
In the Study, the Chief stood still going through the archives of all the appointments and other details of all the Shamans that had served the Chiefs when he was joined by a guard that informed him that his guest had arrived. Baka instructed the guard to send him in without looking up from the papers. Moments later, a monstrous entity emerged into the Study. A man wrapped in rags and robes with only his eyes left bare, stood at the door like a seasoned soldier.
"Have a seat, Boa" said the Chief in a tired, flat tone.
The beastly looking man moved effortlessly to the table and sat down with his eyes fixed on the Chief. White Boa stood a staggering seven feet tall with a body that was as muscular as a bull. He was an Albino among his tribesmen of darker skin which had also played a role in enhancing his frightening appearance. A rare medical condition had deprived him of all the hair on his body including his eyebrows. A stroke of war paint on his hairless pale body struck paralyzing fear in the hearts of his adversaries. He had been the best tracker and hunter in the entire village and had been used to get rid of the troublemakers in the village and the allied tribes by the previous chief. But since the previous chief's demise, he had been on vacation as the new chief had sworn to govern the village without violence. The astounding height didn't cause him any hindrance in agility. He moved quicker than all the fastest elites in their army. He was in his early forties but looked and moved like someone not a day older than twenty-five. The only feature that gave away a hint of his real age was the deeply etched wrinkles on his face.
Boa almost laughed as he heard the young Chief call him that. He hadn't been called by that name since the demise of the previous Chief. Boa had quite literally raised the boy as he was so closely trusted by his father so the young Chief had always called him Uncle. But the sudden formality alarmed Boa that something troubles his Chief.
"How did your vacations go?", asked Baka, now looking at Boa. Boa was a proud and patriotic man who loved to be in the company of his Chief, no matter who the chief was. He was very happy to be back in the longhouse once again.
"Quite Boring", he said with a hint of a smile. The Chief liked and respected him from the bottom of his heart. He was just not of any use to him until now.
"I might have an entertaining task for you today", said the Chief with a smile.
Boa gladly gathered all the information he needed for the mission and leapt out of the longhouse eager to carry out the task assigned to him and make the Chief proud. Baka was alone again in the Study. He finished his reading and went to bed. He knew the Shaman was desperate to end this circus of failures so the Chief had come with a plan of his own sinister thinking. It was quite late in the night and the Chief expected the Shaman to send a least formal and disrespectful invitation to him early in the morning, after all this was all that they had to do for the last few days. No courts were being held in his longhouse, since the preacher affair had started. It was not that his people had run out of problems all of a sudden. They were just too easily distracted. He felt sad for his people. The villagers had a serious long-persisting starvation, medical and social problems that could have been solved decades ago if only the leaders had been a little compassionate towards the people. Once the neighboring tribes killed each other for the pettiest of reasons and one thought if the solution lied in unity. It didn't. as soon as the tribes united, they joined forces to fight against others and the villagers were easily hypnotized into picking up weapons for some other reasons and forgetting about their malnourished sons and daughters, quite conveniently for the leaders.
A similar situation had occurred in front of him as the people had forgotten their issues of literal life and death to celebrate the hunting down of an outsider preacher whom they didn't even know a few days ago. He had noticed this shortcoming of his people and had decided to cure it in a slow and steady manner but the deterioration of political situation that he had witnessed in the past few days was alarming and he understood that if it remained in that downward trajectory, his people might suffer irreparable losses. He knew that he had to step up to the task and take care of it once and for all.
The deliberate systematic deprivation of the people of the village and nearby tribes, from education to outside exposure, had just started to backfire. People were ready to jump from a cliff if some religious showman convinced them it was the will of the gods. The disastrous fruits were ripe on the tree of ignorance, ready to be plucked by anyone with the craft to use them.
The Chief suddenly sat up and lit the torch of his room. He called out to his servants. One turned up with his eyes struggling to stay open. Luckily it was the one burdened with the outdoor duties. The Chief ordered him to invite his childhood friend from the tribe of the wolf. The invitation was for the next day. The servant quickly left the room and went to work.