The Journey
After the visitors left the people felt very enlighten by the experience. However, they
soon realized that their question had not been answered. They confronted the shamans about
this. The shamans looked at them with frustration. They explained to the people that the
visitors were clearly sent by the Gods. Then they explained to the people that the whole
experience was a revelation. The people still did not understand so the shamans explained
what it meant.
The message was as follows. The visitors had come as fierce and evil spirits. They were
to conquer and kill all of them. They weren't impressed by the fire, the food, the jewels, or
even King Tut's gold. But, when they were introduced to the merryone everything changed.
They became happy spirits, they became friendly and everyone was able to understand each
other. The Gods had sent the Incas their most fearsome foes and with the power of the
merryone, there was peace. The Gods approved of the Incas expanding their business to new
lands. They wanted the Incas to see that no strangers shall harm them if they offer them this
mystical herb.
After the interpretation, the town elders instructed the men to prepare for the journey.
They would leave in the morning and start their trek to the Great River. The villagers cheered
and celebrated. They threw more merryone into the fire, continued eating and dancing and
thanked the Gods for this powerful vision. They all went home to pack their belongings at the
end of the night. In the morning they would travel to the lands unknown.
The elders woke everyone long before the sun rose. The men sprang out of bed,
grabbed their gear and lined up at the forest's edge. The women and children bid them
farewell and wished them a safe journey. The men were in good spirits after what the God's
had shown them. As well as supplies, they each carried a bundle of merryone on their backs.
They all smoked the herb and prayed to the God's to give them strength. A hundred men
strong, they marched out into the jungle. None of them knew what may lie ahead, but they
were eager to find out.
They ventured away from Inca. Their first task was to stop by the local villages to pick
up their canoes, weapons and other supplies. Dready had never seen another village before, he was quite excited. However, when they got there he was not impressed. They were more of
slums than villages. They were basically just groups of shacks in the woods. All around could
be found old burned down huts. This was the work of the Ninkumpoops. They would raid
these small villages for food and supplies then burn them down out of amusement. It was sad
though because these villagers were very kind. They were also very hard workers, building
everything themselves. They were also known to be strongly religious. They cared very much
for the forest and did not believe in clearing land for farming. They simply hunted the wild
game and picked food from the trees to eat. They also never let any of their food go to waste
and used every part of the animals that they killed.
After picking up their supplies, the Incas marched on towards the river. Each canoe was
designed to carry two people and it also took two people to carry them. They walked through
the jungle with their canoes over their heads. It was hard work, but it became convenient
when it rained that day. It was entirely too wet for them to walk up and down hills, so they
waited out the storms under the canoes and this kept them dry.
When the rain stopped, they continued hiking. The ground was still muddy though and
they were slipping everywhere they walked. If one person fell, those in front of or behind them
fell as well. This made the hike a lot more difficult. It also made the hike take a lot longer than
it should have. They did not reach the river until that after noon, but they had heard the
roaring water for hours.
They approached the river slowly and with caution. Dready had never seen so much
water moving like this before. The Incas were taught to swim at a young age, but swimming
against this current would be impossible. As they made their way down the riverbank, a few
men slipped and fell into the raging waters and disappeared. This made everyone quite
nervous.
They lowered their canoes into the water slowly. They climbed into their boats one at a
time, while a third person held onto a rope. This worked very well and many people were soon
making their way down the river. Dready was in the back of the line though. When it was
finally his turn, he had no one to hold the rope for him. He decided to tie the rope off onto a
nearby root. However, this root was not strong enough and when he put one foot on the boat,
the root snapped and his boat floated away from him. Dready almost fell into the water, but was able to regain his balance. He
watched as his friends and fellow tribesmen floated down the river and out of sight. He was all
alone.
He stood there in panic, trying to decide whether to chase after them along the
riverbank or just start walking back home. He knew they were traveling much faster than he
could run, but he also knew he would be shunned if he returned home without the others. Then, all of a sudden a giant crocodile emerged from the water. Dready jumped back and was
able to avoid its attack, but he fell on his back while the creature continued to run towards him.
So, Dready did the only thing he could. He reached back, picked up his paddle, drew it forward
and smashed it over the creatures head. The crocodile stopped dead in its tracks. Dready let
out a sigh of relief. This didn't kill the crocodile though it was only stunned. Seconds later it
was charging at him again. Dready struggled to get to his feet, when he accidently pulled a
boulder loose from the embankment. It rolled down the hill and right over the crocs head.
This time Dready knew the beast was dead. Its skull had been flattened and the body
was completely still. He approached the creature and stared at it in amazement. He had never
seen a crocodile before and he couldn't believe he had just killed one. He studied the
creature's body and wished his friends had been around to see it. That's when he got an idea.
He rolled the beast to the water's edge and pushed it into the river. It started to slowly float
away. Dready ran and leaped on the creatures back. Dready had found himself a new boat.