Chapter 467 - First Contact Part II (1/2)

The cold breeze of the early spring spread throughout the fresh North American air. Berengar stood in a watchtower that had been established within his frontier fortress, breathing it in with a broad smile on his face. This bountiful land had yet to be tainted by the stain of industry or the changes brought forth by advanced agriculture.

Though these things were necessary for societal advancement, there was something beautiful in the primal nature of the North American landscape. As he gazed upon his surroundings with awe, he noticed the approach of a group of natives. As the young King witnessed this sight, a smirk appeared on his princely face. The local tribes had finally decided to show themselves to him and his host.

Immediately Berengar began to ring the bell, signaling the troops to assemble. He had no idea if this was a native Warband or a peace delegation. Despite the overwhelming advantage that his soldiers had in terms of training and firepower, it was best not to underestimate the tenacity of the Native American people.

The bell resounded throughout the encampment and the surrounding area; as it did so, the mysterious sound spooked the native delegation, as they witnessed dozens of soldiers clad in strange uniforms rush to the ramparts of the wall, and bear their rifles towards the presence of the unknown native tribesmen.

To the Mohawk people, the fortifications they witnessed were alien and intimidating in design. Thus, they approached cautiously, with their weapons held in a docile position. Their orders were to establish communication with these pale-skinned foreigners, and therefore they had no desire to instigate a conflict with the men inside this timber fortress.

As the Mohawk tribesmen approached the village, Berengar stood on the ramparts with his MP-22 loaded and ready. His fortress was set up like that of the star forts back in the fatherland, the difference being it was constructed of timber and lacked any means of sufficient artillery. Aside from a few 60mm mortars and MG-22 Water-Cooled Machine Guns, this fortress lacked explosive firepower.

Despite the lack of overwhelming Artillery, Berengar was sure that his company of marines could hold this fortress against an army ten times its size; after all, they were still issued with bolt action rifles and machine guns. However, despite the slow approach of the Natives, Berengar did not sense any form of hostility from them; as such, he raised his hand, halting his soldier's actions as he issued an order.

”It appears that they might be peaceful, do not open fire unless you are opened fire upon. I would very much like to see if we can establish some form of communication with these natives...”

The soldiers under Berengar's command looked at him with confusion; just what could these savages provide to the great Kingdom of Austria? Despite this, they were given orders by their King, and thus they followed them; the soldiers lowered their weapons from an offensive position while keeping a close eye on their surroundings in case they were to come under assault.”

As the Mohawk delegation closed in on the fortress, the gates swung wide open, revealing Berengar, Honoria by his side, and a few grunts to protect them. Their weapons were lowered, so they were not overtly hostile but could be rapidly deployed if necessary.

Eventually, the Mohawk tribesmen stopped roughly fifteen feet away from Berengar and his group; they gazed curiously at the camouflaged parkas in use by the German soldiers. They had never seen such strange clothing before; of course, Honoria's deep blue sailor outfit and indigo hair confused them even more.

Eventually, the Chieftain's daughter, who went by the name of Kahwihta, stepped forward and attempted to introduce herself in her language.

”I am Kahwihta, daughter of the great Chief, Okwaho; we come bearing gifts, please accept this corn as a token of our friendship.”

Neither Berengar nor the people beneath his command understood a word that the woman was saying and instead gazed curiously upon her as she spoke the words. However, when they brought out a few wicker baskets filled with Corn, Berengar immediately noticed that they offered a gift. He said in German as he ordered his troops to stand down.

”They come in peace; lower your weapons!”

Kahwihta was surprised when she heard the German tongue being spoken for the first time; not only was it a completely foreign language that she had never heard before, but it sounded incredibly aggressive, so much so that the warriors under her brother's command immediately flinched, thinking that these men were about to become hostile.

However, upon noticing that the Austrian Marines had slung their weapons over their shoulder and accepted the gift of maize, the Mohawk warriors sighed in relief. Though neither of the two people could understand each other, they knew by their actions that there was no hostility between them.

Berengar smiled and nodded his head as he accepted the token of friendship with gratitude; as he did so, he thanked the Mohawk delegation in his language, which though they did not understand, they could make an educated guess as to what he was saying.

The Austrian King immediately opened up a path to the fortress and, with a gesture, led them inside. Unfortunately, since there was no direct translation between the Iroquois language and German, Berengar would have to start from scratch. He used the most basic forms of establishing contact: pointing to objects and exchanging each other's words for what represented said object.

As Berengar led the Mohawk tribesmen into his makeshift fortress, he took notice of  Kahwihta's natural beauty and leered at her from afar. This action immediately caught Honoria's attention, who sighed heavily as she witnessed this. Did her man seriously not have the ability to keep it in his pants? She was amazed that he had managed to avoid having relations with his sister for so long.

Of course, while Berengar was checking out Kahwihta, the men who had followed her were doing so to Honoria; her pale skin and indigo hair were alien yet appealing at the same time. Of course, they could guess that this woman belonged to one of the men in this fortress, and thus they did not make any advances.

Eventually, Berengar led the delegation into the building constructed to house both him and his wife. He pulled out several golden chalices and filled them with his favorite beer as he did so. Since these people had so kindly brought him one of his favorite foods from the New World, he would share one of his favorite drinks from the old world. After filling the cups with the dark brown liquid of the doppelbock beer, Berengar handed it over to his guests and proposed a toast in German.

”To our newfound friendship!”

Though the Mohawks had no idea what they were saying or what this strange liquid was, they were brave enough to take a sip. The hearty flavor of the doppelbock was something that not everyone would enjoy; especially if they were unfamiliar with alcohol. As such, several members of the delegation wanted to spit it out upon tasting its flavor but chose not to do so to avoid offending these foreigners.