Chapter 11

A man sat at his desk in a building just outside of Bickenstadt harbor. He was the police captain in charge of keeping the docks safe. His men were out mediating disputes and arresting wrongdoers. He took a sip of his beverage, a drink made from beans imported from the Assai’id confederation. He found that drinking it in the morning made him more alert, and it didn’t have a crash nearly as bad as when Parm wore off. As he took a sip of what the Assai’iders called ‘Qahwa’, someone burst through the door to his office.

“Sir! There are some weird boats coming!”

He quietly put down his cup.

“What do you mean ‘weird boats’?”

“I don’t know, they look like oversized canoes! They’re coming right towards us!”

The police captain grabbed the musket leaning against his desk.

“Do they look hostile?”

“I don’t know! They mostly just look weird!”

The captain got up from his desk and gestured for the policeman to lead the way.

At the docks, the captain agreed that the boats looked weird. They did look like big canoes, but they had sails and it looked like a building in the middle of the deck. They looked like a mix of the longships Orkney sailors show up in occasionally and those giant ships the Wako used. The captain walked over to the docks the ships were entering and waited for someone to come out. As the boat lowered a plank to the dock, a strangely dressed man flanked by what looked like two servants walked over it. He wore what looked like a gray tabard lined in red twine, though it covered only his naked body instead of the plate armor a tabard was usually worn over. On his tabard was a strange drawing of what looked like a dog walking under the sun. On his back was attached a large paddle with jagged black stuff attached to the side. In his right hand he held a staff, a golden eagle sat atop a strange platform, a snake dangling from its beak. The platform was a very vibrant green, and appeared to have small spines sticking out of it.

On his head we wore a very strange hat. It was what looked like a mass of green feathers attached to an intricately woven headband of various different colors. It gave off a similar effect as the plume he had seen on the Baron’s brayherd ally’s helmet, though his faced forward, and this one was horizontal. His face was sharp, angular, and fairly attractive. He had beautiful cyan color face paint, just in a rectangle over his goatee and underneath both eyes. On his feet were a simple looking pair of sandals, and on his shins were planks of wood with strange symbols carved into them, edged in that beautiful cyan paint on the man’s face.

Flanking him on either side were people wearing what looked like simple tan tabards, symbol sandals, and nothing else. Their hair was tied up in a ponytail. At their waists were simple looking daggers, though the blades were made of that strange material on the more impressive looking man’s strange weapon. The man strode forward with all the haughtiness the captain would expect from an Empire noble. The man spoke, his voice was very deep.

“Niltse! Niitotlacochcalcatl coyotl! Pipiltin miakpan Itlakah in Amoxtli! Nikpia tlahtoki nik mo tlahtoani!”

The captain stood there in silence. He had never heard any language even somewhat similar to this, and he had heard many working in Bickenstadt harbor. If they spoke a language he had never heard before, then he was most likely from somewhere far away where they knew no Reikers. He noted with no small amount of anxiety the interest the man showed in his musket.

“Do you know Reikers? Reeeiiikeeerrs?”

The man tilted his head to the side.

“Tlen ka Reeeeiiiceeerrrs?”

The captain now knew for a fact that he did not speak Reikers. At this moment, the captain knew what he had to do: Find the Baron and make him deal with this. The captain gestured for the man to stay where he was and prayed to Auftragter that he understood.

“Stay here! I will find my boss!”

The man nodded slowly and spoke to his attendants.

“Kinikneltoka techneki nik ka nikan?”

His attendants nodded and he gestured for the captain to leave. Thank the gods, thought the captain as he scrambled off towards Castle Bickenstadt. Just a few steps out of the harbor area, he saw a giant man wearing incredibly bright armor. He’s here! He sprinted over to the Baron and almost slammed into him.

“Baron! There’s a weird guy at the docks! He speaks a language I’ve never heard before! Do something about it!”

The Baron looked vaguely incredulous.

“How do you mean ‘weird guy’? Is he acting strangely?”

“He looks weird! Go look at him! He’s got like a plume on his head! And some really nice paint!”

“Nice paint? Did he offer you paint?”

“No! Just, come on! Deal with him! He seems important!”

The Baron sighed and checked the pistol in his left breast holster.

“Alright, lead me to him.”

The captain breathed a sigh of relief and pointed over to the docks.

Oh my God. He’s an Aztec! The Baron was amazed. There was nothing in any literature he had read in this world, before or after being reincarnated, that mentioned any Aztec like civilization. He walked over and the man at the docks bowed to him slightly before speaking. Luckily for the Baron, he had the gift from the gods that all reincarnations had.

“Hello! I am Tlacochcalcatl Coyotl! Pipiltin of much of Tlanzoma! I have been sent by my Huey Tlatoani to learn of the outside world!”

The Baron responded back in perfect Nahuatl.

“Good meeting you, Tlacochcalcatl. I am known as the Baron von Bickenstadt.”

Tlacochcalcatl’s eyes widened in surprise.

“You speak Nahuatl? Where could you have learned this?”

“I have the gift of translation, given to me by God above.”

Tlacochcalcatl smiled.

“A fine gift indeed! If only Moteuczoma above, or maybe the Teomeh above him, saw fit to give me such a gift! You are truly blessed! Would you happen to be the Huey Tlatoani of this land?”

Moteuczoma? Like Montezuma? The actual guy?

“I am not quite a king. My position is named ‘Baron’. I am the owner of a province of the Empire.”

“Empire? You are just one part of an Empire? Surely this is the capital city! It is almost as large as Tenochtitlan!”

So it’s the same as in my old world? I wonder if their societal structure is the same as well? Thought that won’t help me at all.

“Actually, this is not the capital. The place is known as Bickenstadt, simply one of many Imperial cities. Before we continue, would you like to sample our hospitality? I imagine we have much to discuss.”

The man nodded sagely.

“Kema, That would please me greatly.”

“Then come! Follow me to Bickenstadt castle!”

Tlacochcalcatl looked to be enjoying the food provided to him. It was a delicious dish for how simple it was. It was a salmon filet pan fried in butter alongside various herbs and spices, served with a side of lemon.

“The food of your land is delicious! Though I do prefer Tlanzoman tomales. We have much to learn from each other, of this I am sure!”

“I am glad you enjoy our food. Now, please answer my query: Why have you come to my humble city?”

“I hail from the great Tlanzoma empire! I have been sent here at the behest of my Huey Tlatoani, and he has sent me out at the behest of great Moteuczoma above! He has ordered that we are to learn from the outside world! Moteuczoma told our priests to learn of a strange powder we saw some Dwarves using as they trespassed on sacred lands.”

“Oh? Would you mind describing this power? I have a feeling I know what it is you seek.”

“Moteuczoma described to our Tlamacazqui a coarse black powder which creates a large flash and loud noise when it comes into contact with fire of any kind.”

“Ah, it is as I suspected. You are describing gunpowder.”

“You know about this Dwarven powder?”

“Of course. I use it quite often. It is used in a weapon known as a gun.”

“Will you teach me about this ‘gun’ you describe?”

The Baron smiled and scruffed his chin.

“Of course! I would be happy to. If you provide me with something as well. I am sure you have knowledge we do not, and vice versa. I would like for us to learn from each other, on a large scale.”

Tlacochcalcatl tilted his head to the side.

“Vice Versa?”

“Oh, it’s a brayherd saying, it means ‘the other way around’.”

“Brayherd?”

“Oh, yes. You most likely do not know of them. Tell me, have you ever seen a goat?”

“No.”

The Baron sighed.

“Well then, I will just have to show you.”

He called over a servant and sent them to get Gaius.

“He should be here shortly. Now, as an academic, I would love to learn what your people have to offer. And I am sure that you feel the same way. I suggest that we create a Tlanzoman quarter. A center of Tlanzoman knowledge on this continent, if you will.”

Tlacochcalcatl nodded his head.

“This is a good idea. I like it! I will send word to Huey Tlatoani informing him of my mission’s success, and a request for scholars to come live here. Incidentally, do you happen to have a map of the world? My goal was to arrive wherever the sea decided I would end up, but I have no knowledge of outside the Tlanzoma Empire.”

The Baron gestured to another servant.

“Of course. Could you please retrieve a map. And maybe my son if you come across him?”

The servant ran off and the Baron had an idea to pass the time.

“Say, Tlacochcalcatl, would you like to see a gun? I can explain how it works.”

Tlacochcalcatl nodded his head emphatically.

“Of course!”

The Baron unholstered his pistol and set it on the table, opening up the flashpan and emptying the contents onto the table.

“That is for safety. This is known as a pistol. You fill this, the flashpan, with black powder, and then cover it with frizzen. Then, you pull back the hammer. The hammer has a small piece of flint on it, and when you pull the trigger here.”

The Baron pulled the trigger and the hammer fell, sparking again the frizzen.

“The flint produces a spark, and that lights the powder.”

“I fail to see how this is used as a weapon.”

“I’m getting to that. I showed you just one part of the weapon system. Before I show you the rest, I would be interested in learning about your weapon.”

Tlacochcalcatl immediately grabbed his weapon and began speaking.

“This is known as the Macuahuitl. It is a club with obsidian blades set into the edge. We have enchanted it so that the obsidian never breaks. We have found that the Macuahuitl is more effective than the weapons dwarven expeditionary party use. Their sharpened metal has nowhere near the cutting power of obsidian. A properly made Macuahuitl has been known to tear through the weapons and armor of those dwarves.”

My, so that’s why they’re still around. The weapons the conquistadors used to destroy the Aztec Empire are less impressive when you introduce magic into the equation.

“Thank you for the explanation. I prefer my steel, simply too used to it at this point. Ok, onto the rest of my pistol. This part is known as the barrel. You fill the barrel with black powder, followed by a bullet.”

The Baron produced a bullet from a pouch at his side.

“You put this in with some wadding and then ram it down into the barrel. After that, when the hammer strikes the frizzen and ignites the powder, a small channel allows that flame into the barrel, which ignites the powder in there. The powder explodes, sending the bullet flying far faster than any bow is capable of. Many people in the Empire still use bows, but I have found that an entire regiment of guns does far more damage than any amount of bowmen.”

Tlacochcalcatl looked contemplative.

“How widespread is this weapon?”

“Oh it’s everywhere. I carry at least six on my person at all times. I field just over 200 men armed with them.”

As Tlacochcalcatl looked bewildered, and slightly impressed and scared at the same time, Gaius entered the room.

“Baronis, I have heard you called for me.”

Tlacochcalcatl looked even more bewildered, and slightly more scared.

“You are large! You do not have the face of a man!”

Gaius looked at Tlacochcalcatl and then to the Baron.

“What is he trying to say to me?”

“He has never seen a Brayherd before. He is simply a bit surprised.”

“Ah. I see. I suppose it would be wery strange to see someone like me, if you have newer encountered anyone like me before. Wait, you can speak his language?”

“Gift from the gods.”

“You lucky bastard.”

Tlacochcalcatl tore his eyes away from Gaius.

“What is it saying?”

“What he is saying is that he understands why you would react the way you did. He is just as intelligent as you or I. He just happens to have a goat head and goat legs.”

Tlacochcalcatl was calming down, seeing how the Baron was describing Gaius so calming to him made him realize that Gaius was not a monster.

“I have never seen something so…inhuman. Dwarves and Elves at least look like me, to an extent.”

“You get used to it. Ah, here is my map.”

The Baron gratefully took the map from the servants hands and spread it out on the table. It was a map of the world, though the entire western continent had only very vague labels, things like ‘elves?’ and ‘dwarves’, and for almost the entire southern part of the continent was just a single question mark. The Baron pointed to Bickenstadt on the map.

‘You are currently here. Bickenstadt. A province in the Empire.”

The Baron pointed to the area with a large question mark.

“Since we have never even heard a small mention of you, I assume you come from here. Our cartographers have figured out the basic idea of the continents, using information from other countries, but we are largely ignorant of what is actually there.”

Tlacochcalcatl looked contemplative.

“The world is far larger than I knew.”

He fully bowed his head to the Baron.

“I look forward to our people’s cooperation and learning. I hope we can become friends, your people and mine. Also, please tell your brayherd…Gaius? That I apologize for gawking.”

“Oh, it’s ok. He’s used to it. Gaius, my guest here, Tlacochcalcatl, apologizes for looking at you strangely. Also, you may leave should you.”

Gaius bowed to Tlacochcalcatl and put his hand over his heart.

“I accept your apology. I will be off then. Jean has been wanting to paint me.”

“Really?”

“Yes. See you in the future, Baron.”

The Baron turned to Tlacochcalcatl.

“Now that I think about it, can you actually get back to your homeland?”

“I am unsure.”

“Excellent. Alright then, we will work together to pinpoint where you are to sail to, and perhaps I will send along some of my men to help you navigate. We would need to work on translation, though. I cannot come with, I have much to attend to.”

Tlacochcalcatl bowed his head gratefully.

“I thank you, Baron von Bickenstadt. Now, before we discuss getting home, I feel we should discuss the details of this so-called Tlanzoma quarter…”

Wolfgang, as usual, was stuck figuring out the logistics of the things the Baron promised without consulting him. Creating housing was easy enough, but this was going to essentially be a diplomatic quarter, so he needed it to be perfect. Jean was a great help, but without any information as to what their architecture looks like, he had to make Imperial style housing for people completely unfamiliar with the Empire. It was very possible this would turn into a diplomatic nightmare.

“I doubt they’d even be useful for our revolt…why would he invite strangers to live in our city without even consulting me? What if they dislike our revolt?”

Wolfgang said out loud to no one in particular. As much as he hated his father’s arbitrary decision making, he had to begrudgingly admit that it turned out pretty well most of the time. As As Wolfgang filled out official paperwork which would begin construction on the diplomatic housing, the Baron quickly opened the door to his study, standing in the threshold.

“I’m not going to bother you too much, just letting you know Tlacochcalcatl has finally departed. We estimated it would take him around six months to sail home, get the permission of his king, gather the personel, and then sail back here. So, you have plenty of time. Oh, also, I don’t plan on involving them in our plans, so don’t worry about that. After you finish the paperwork for the building though, I do plan on starting a diplomatic mission to the Assai’id soon, so we'll have to figure that out. Goodbye.”

The Baron shut the door, leaving Wolfgang alone to resist the urge to kill his father with his bare hands.