A New Crop
When Dready awoke the next morning, the scene was the same as the day before.
Everyone in his village had fallen asleep around the fire. However, when the elders woke up
this time they were not upset, they were joyful. They announced to the village that this was a
magical and powerful plant. Everyone agreed and thanked the Gods for this gift. They picked
up branches and danced around with them. One of the elders walked over to Dready and gave
him praise for discovering this wonderful plant. He then picked a bud off of the plant, broke it
open and showed the people that inside there were seeds. He told the people that they would
harvest the rest of the plants in the valley and use these seeds to start a new crop in Inca. The
people cheered. Then he gave the plant a name. He called it "Merry-one", for it brought great
joy to the people.
After a few weeks they had harvested all the plants in the valley. They planted all of the
seeds that they collect atop a high mountain ridge called Machu Pic cu. They fertilized them
with manure from their livestock and also created perfect irrigation systems, which kept the
roots of the young plants moist at all times. The plants grew rapidly. Within a couple of
months the crops were full and ready to be harvested. After studying the plants, the elders had
determined that the true power of the plant was in the bud itself. The people learned to
harvest the bud and trim the plant to allow it to continue to grow. After a few harvests the
village realized how plentiful this plant was as they began to stockpile a huge surplus of its
buds. They decided to introduce the merryone to the surrounding villages for trade. It was
instantly a big hit and they began to profit greatly. They were smart about it though. They
broke open each and every bud picking out every seed they found and putting them aside.
They did not want other villages to gain the ability to grow this plant themselves. They wanted
to keep control of this market. In fact, the plant was much more profitable than their old cash
crop, the bubble yum tree. The demand also became so high that it quickly surpassed the
amount being produced. The Incas began plowing more and more fields for cultivation. The
plant had given new life to the Incan economy, making everyone wealthy and happy. People
really liked Dready now. They respected him and showed him much kindness. Dready's
hairstyle was once frowned upon but now others in the village began to wear their hair this way
as well. First just the young men did it, but after a while even the elders were doing it. They
named this hairstyle the "Dready-knot." With all of this new respect and popularity, Dready
grew quite confident in himself. He finally had the courage to talk to Dabooty and they soon
began a love affair.
Months passed and the town grew very rich. The people had also learned new ways of
ingesting the plant that were more practical and less wasteful. They used timber or clay to
make pipes, or they would wrap the bud in the leaves of the plant itself. They also learned to
use it as a spice in foods. As much as they enjoyed the effects of the merryone, the scent too
became very desireable. After bathing some would rub it all over their bodies like a perfume.
They would also make necklaces and carry the smell with them all day. Lastly, the bud was
rumored to carry supernatural powers. It could heal any illness or injury, as well as ward off
bad spirits and preserve youthfulness.
The village began to only produce this crop. They stopped farming everything else.
They focused all their time and attention on this plant. They attained all other goods and
services through trade with other villages. After months of plowing fields and building new
crops, they finally had enough of the bud to supply everyone in the region. However, they
knew they were capable of supplying an even larger market, so they began planning a venture
further into the jungle to search for more customers.
The land to the south was inhabited by the barbaric Ninkumpoops. They were notorious
for raiding and destroying local villages. The Incas always had guards on high alert to watch for
these savages. If any were spotted the Incas would sound an alarm and prepare for battle. The
Ninkumpoops would usually run off though before any fighting would take place, for they were
far out-numbered.
To the west was a steep cliff that dropped into the rough open ocean and the east was
believed to be just miles of thick jungle. To the north however, it was rumored that there was
much civilization. This however meant that one must cross the Great River. The current was
much too strong though so the only way to cross the river was to ride it to its end.
The town elders decided that this was where their business needed to expand. They
ordered canoes to be built by some of the local tribes and they informed them that they would
be completed within the next couple of weeks. They also bought many weapons and tools that
they felt would be necessary for the journey. They conversed with other tribes to try to map
out the best route of travel, but no one had that much knowledge on the subject. Nonetheless
the elders were quite intrigued by the idea of this new business venture. The other men of the
village, however, were not. They believed it to be a gamble of their lives.
They were plenty wealthy and didn't see a reason to continue expanding. Dready too
was beginning to hate this idea because he had just recently asked Dabooty for her hand in
marriage, but the ceremony was to be put off until after the journey. There was much
disagreement on the subject and everyone decided it may be a decision to large for them to
make on their own, so they decided to inquire with the Gods for advice.