The messengers reappeared. They could all return to their homes, they announced, if they agreed to deliver annual tribute to an overlord, who would be one of the newcomers, people from a place called Castile. “What was the tribute?” they asked. A certain number of woven blankets, gold pieces, and turkeys, as well as a goodly supply of corn. Smoking Shield considered his options. He sent the emissaries back to get more specific numbers and to work out an exact measuring unit for the corn, a basket size that both parties recognized as the right amount.
