The cardinal flew over the treetops and landed on the branch of a fruit tree in the village. Falcons circled in the sky, searching for small prey that emerged. And the gray-yellow earth road stretched, under the watchful eyes of the birds, from the densely populated Apa Plain all the way southwest to the mountains.
The earth road between the mountains, although also a Second Level county road, was obviously somewhat bumpy, with few ordinary villagers and passersby. Those responsible for maintaining these mountain roads were primarily the local Tecos tribes organized into flag teams, the Tlaxcala flag teams that migrated eastward years ago, and several patched-together mixed unit flag teams.
