Cortez was determined to meet with emperor Moctezuma - even if Moctezuma had made it more than clear that he wanted nothing to do with him. To do this, he would have to march over land to Tenochtitlan but getting there would not be easy. Between him and the Aztec capital stood the mighty Aztec city of Cholula and the land of the mysterious and ferocious Tlaxcalans. Cortez would have to negotiate his way past both before he reached his goal.