No one in a place like Hasawa would expect someone to step inside a tree. Had anyone been able to follow the two Yuiquerus who did so, he would have been even more surprised to see them descend a series of spiral steps and finally pause before another doorway. This one was flanked by a pair of warriors armed not with spears and hunting bows but with neuronic rifles. One versed in such matters would have noted immediately that they were of familiar Commonwealth manufacture.
Beyond the door, a large meeting chamber awaited their arrival. The chamber had been constructed outside the tree, beneath the water. During the short dry time, when the water receded and the land was once more briefly exposed to the air, it would look from the outside like a cluster of dead logs. It would not fool anyone on close inspection. But by that time, Aniolo-jat was sure, its exposure would not matter.
A dozen other Yuiquerus had assembled in the room, swinging solemnly back and forth in their hanging chairs. In place of the traditional central gap open to the rain, an artificial column of falling water had been installed. At the far end, Sakuntala who had received and passed various forms of advanced training were busy operating modern communications equipment. They were in touch, Aniolo-jat knew, with other branches of their organization in towns and villages throughout the Viisiiviisii. His own portable communicator rode comfortably in the holding pouch secured to one of his chest straps. Everyone else in the room was similarly equipped. And armed.