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Around the CampfireWhere the good stories are told. |
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Around the CampfireWhere the good stories are told. |
Gaius was beginning to resign himself to taking much longer on this trip than he anticipated. Further, with the threats he had gotten from his last encounter, his place in Rome may no longer exist. Thus, he should not have to worry about his trip taking longer than expected. He was not quite sure what he would find at the slave market in Campania anyway.
His excuse was to find more house servants, and this often implied finding a wife. However, he did not believe that he would actually purchase any slaves on this trip. However, if his shop was destroyed, he might perhaps purchase a smith or two. Nonetheless, his main purpose was to get out of Rome until the demands from Crassus died down. With his most recent treatment of Crassus's messengers, it may be wise for him to stay away longer than planned.
He was beginning to resign himself to experiencing some sort of adventure on a daily basis, when he made it to the first stop without incident. He also made it to the second waypoint without anything occurring. Certainly, something would happen before making it to his goal for the day. He was shocked when he rested at the inn on his final stop for the day, and he did not have to kill anyone. Moreover, he did not even encounter anyone who knew him or wanted to speak with him.
He was quite shocked at that string of non-events. It had been quite a long string of days with something happening, he was taken aback by the uneventful day. He was extra wary the next day. He was thinking that perhaps all his tasks had been completed when a distressed traveler came onto the road.
"Help!" the panicked man cried. "Help!"
"How can I help?" asked Gaius calmly.
"Some men are after me," the stranger replied.
"Why?" asked Gaius.
"I think they want to rob me."
"Is that so."
"Yes. So are you going to help?" asked the man looking around nervously.
"I will see what I can do."
"Great! Lets go!"
"We are not going anywhere?"
"What? I thought you said you would help me."
"I certainly will try, but what does that have to do with getting out of here?"
"They will be along any moment."
"And?"
"And ... I do not want to be here when they come."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"You said you would help me."
"And I will, but what does that have to do with running away?"
"They will kill me."
"I guarantee that they will not."
"I hope the gods will keep you to that because here they are."
A group of twelve men came onto the Appian Way. Three of them were mounted, but the remaining nine were on foot.
"At last we caught up with you Servius," stated one of the mounted men.
"You best leave," stated Servius boldly. "I am under the protection of this man."
"Step aside stranger," replied the mounted man. "This is none of your affair."
"He has given me his word that you will not kill me. He has sworn by the gods, and he has defeated many opponents in groups larger than yours!"
Gaius looked at Servius with a cocked look of wondering. However, he continued to be silent. The mounted leader waved toward his men, and the men began to flank the pair of men. However, they did not attempt to completely surround the two men.
"You will not bluff your way out of this one Servius."
"We are not afraid of you!" shouted Servius. "We have been in tougher spots than this."
Again, Gaius looked at Servius with a raised eyebrow.
"Why is it that we have never seen you with this man before?"
"We fought together in the war. We were just catching up when you and your men arrived."
"War? Which war?"
"Why the Third Servile War of course."
Gaius stared hard at Servius. Had he known this man before? He did not recognize him, but he could have been in one of the ranks. Most of those that fought, knew him, but he certainly did not know everyone. He was trying to place him as the conversation continued.
"Yeah! Sure! What side did you fight on? The slaves? Were you two both close personal friends with Spartacus?"
"Of course not! We fought under the Consulship of Crassus. The senator will vouch for us."
"Enough of this!" shouted Gaius who now knew that Servius was bluffing. "It is true that I have given my word that you will not kill him. Thus, if you wish to say something -- say it and be gone."
"Your lapdog can speak," shouted the leader of the group.
"You should see him fight! I watched him as he personally killed forty men by himself."
"Get them!" shouted the leader.
The unmounted men cautiously moved towards the two men. They had their swords drawn. The men on horses stayed where they were. Gauis pulled his scimitar and put his horse between the advancing men and Servius. With a flourish of his weapon, the men stopped their advance.
"By the gods, I said you will not kill him!" shouted Gaius pointing his sword at Servius.
Gaius, spun his horse and the men looked towards the mounted men for orders. However, before anything was said, Servius's head was separated from the rest of his body. The body collapsed with a thud and his head rolled a bit away. The men stood there in awe as Gaius wiped his blade off.
"Your hunt for this man is over," stated Gaius. "You may go."
"Do you know who that was?" asked the leader.
"I only met him moments ago; however, his lies did not go unnoticed."
"There is a big reward for his head," replied the leader.
"Then take it with my compliments."
"May I ask your name?"
"No you may not," replied Gaius as he made his way past the men and continued his journey.
The village behind Theena and her ragtag group of militia was burning. Thick gray smoke billowed up into the air. Ares and his bloodthirsty horde had just overrun the village. The farmers turned militia was no match for the god of war and his minions of cutthroat mercenaries. The attackers quickly overcame the village's defenses and the defenders fought tenaciously hoping to buy some time for the women and children to evacuate south.
Now all that remained of the village of Knopso's defenders was Theena and six militiamen. The tired warriors hurried south ahead of the ravishing army of Ares. It appeared that Ares was taking his time heading for Zakrostas torching every village and hamlet on his way. The war god's scorched-earth policy did not even spare the fields of ripening grain or the livestock.
It appeared that Ares chose this route over that used by the previous invasion by the minotaurs and cyclopes because the villages were untouched. He had deliberately gone out of his way in order to wreak as much destruction as possible.
Theena looked at the sky. The sun burned in an ominous blood red through the smoke obstructing its view. Black ravens and gangly-necked vultures were gathering across the countryside for the meal that the god of war was providing. It was no mere coincident that Ares and vultures were associated together. Because often where you found one, the other was not far behind.
"Teukros," Theena ordered. "Run ahead to the next village warn them that Ares is on the march and his bloodlust runs high. Ask if they have any militia that would help us to slow down Ares advance. Then make sure that all refugees head for Zakrostas or Atlantis itself."
The young teenager looked at Theena with a tired expression on his blood-smeared and soot-stained face. He still held the spear he had fought with in Knopso it was his only weapon. The youth nodded his head silently; he was too exhausted to speak -- let alone to run to the next village. Yet Teukros summoned the last reserves of his strength and began to lope down the trail to Thelos the next village.
Theena looked at the five men that remained. They too were all exhausted and more farmer than soldier. However, they knew if they failed in slowing Ares' advance, their family and loved ones would be put to the sword.
"There is a pass through the Tekos Hills further south of here. We may be able to slow them down there if we hurry," Theena said.
The farmers accepted Theena's authority. Even though it was not common, women sometimes fought next to the men in combat. With all the village leaders either dead or fleeing, Theena quickly took control of the strategy of the combat. Because of her able command, the farmers actually succeeded in slowing down the advancing horde long enough for the villagers to flee. However, it came at a high price. There were now only seven combatants left out of the 136 that began the fight.
Pheidas rode along with his band of bandits that owed their allegiance to Ares. The war god was always good at providing valuable plunder when he set out for war. Even now, a horde as never seen on the continent before was marching southward to destroy the Atlantean city of Zakrostas. The rumor was that they might hit the Atlantean capital itself -- the city of Atlantis.
The pillaging and plundering would be great. For centuries to come, the poets would tell the story of Ares and his army of mercenaries, bandits, and renegades. Pheidas planned to earn himself a line or two in the epic poem that would inevitably result.
For the moment, Pheidas and his mounted men were to scout ahead of the main advance. The village of Knopso surprised everyone with how effective the farmers fought. The outcome was a forgone conclusion and all the farmers did was to prolong their agony.
Men trotted their horses along the dusty trail. Many of the bandits wore a mask over the face. It was not to hide their identities, but to filter out the smoke and dust that choked the air. If Pheidas pushed hard enough, his men could make Thelos in time to pillage it before they lost the sun. He had the numbers and the men were eager. Hence, he started to pick up the pace and kicked his horse into a gallop. The band following him did likewise, kicking up huge cloud of dust in their wake.
Theena looked to the northwest where the road turned from Knopso. She could spy the telltale cloud of dust of a cavalry unit on the gallop. She signaled to the three men on the opposite hill by raising her spear and waving it back and forth. Then she dove behind a boulder and looked towards the two men with her.
"Do you think this will work?" asked a burly farmer, he had a dirty and bloody bandage on his head.
"Iamenos," Theena said. "There is no guarantee. But, this should slow them down."
"If the gods are willing, we may actually survive," Oros a smaller and older farmer replied.
"Forget the gods," Theena spat, "they have forsaken us. We must look to our own devices."
There had not been as much time as Theena would have liked to prepare. Nevertheless, she put the men to work as soon as they reached the pass. The men surpassed themselves by working so hard and quickly. They had to be on their last reserves of strength. They had fought a pitched battle, undergone a forced march, and still were able to accomplish many of the tasks that Theena demanded of them at the pass.
Pheidas rode his mount hard. He had hoped that his men would be able to overcome a few straggling refugees from Knopso before they reached Thelos. Although, they did not have much time, they could still squeeze in a little fun before they sacked the village.
Pheidas smiled when he saw the pass for it marked the midway point between Knopso and Thelos. The men were making very good time and the horses were still strong enough to gallop even further.
The bandit leader raised his spear over his head and circled the tip before aiming it to the pass. The men gave a loud cheer and race after their leader. Their bloodlust was at its fever pitch, and the men could not wait to ransack another village.
The pass was only a quarter of a mile long and Pheidas was just coming out the other side when a rockslide tumbled down in front of him. Pheidas pulled his horse to a halt and nearly ended up unhorsing himself in the process. Dirt and rocks rained down between the bandits and the exit.
Pheidas wheeled his horse around; he scanned the hilltops for any partisans. What he saw was a spear flying towards him, and then striking him in the chest. His blackened bronze armor did little to halt the force from the spear. Before he tumbled from his horse, he witnessed a woman on the hill smiling to see her aim was good. Pheidas fell from his mount and spilled his lifeblood into the thirsty road.
The other bandits gave a cry and some tried to leave from the other end. However, another rockslide closed it off as well. The riders wheeled about on their horses, the hillsides of the pass were too steep to climb quickly and a few spears and arrows rained down on them.
Several men were unhorsed as the projectiles pierced their armor leaving them dying in the dirt road. The bandits were desperate and some dismounted and tried to scrabble up the rocky slopes. Logs, rocks, and few arrows fell upon them killing many. However, their numbers were too great and they were eventually able to reach the summits.
Both sides were exhausted from the efforts to either gain the top of the hill or the attempt to forestall the ascent of the bandits. A fierce hand-to-hand combat resulted when the two sides met. Even though they again fought tenaciously and gave better than they received, the militia was finally overwhelmed.
The views around Terracina were well known. The area was very much coveted by many wealthy patricians who had villas in the area. Further, there were the famous mineral springs known as Neptune's waters. There were lots of places Gaius wished to see while he was there; however, he was behind schedule so things would have to be sacrificed.
Gaius left at dawn in the hopes of making up some time. He had just begun his journey when he noticed he was being followed. It was a group of six well armed men. When he slowed, they slowed. When he went faster, they kept up. They were definitely not travelers. Without a doubt, they were following him.
There was only one thing for Gaius to do, and that was wait until they made their move. He would know what they wanted soon enough. He would have to be careful. They could be setting him up for an ambush. He would ride with all of his senses on alert. If the soldiers behind him began to close in, he was determined to be ready.
He went along for a while when he noticed two men waiting along the road. The men behind him kept their distance. Nonetheless, Gaius was poised for whatever would happen next.
"Gaius Cornelius Ferrarius?" shouted one man.
"Yes," replied Gaius as he stopped his horse.
"Senator Marcus Licinius Crassus sends his regards."
"If you get the chance, you must return my good wishes to the Senator," Gaius replied as he noticed the armed men behind him had also stopped.
"We shall certainly do that."
"Very good! Then I shall be on my way."
"Not so fast Ferrarius -- or should I say Apollodoros?"
"You can say whatever you wish. No one is stopping you."
"The Senator was hoping that you would reconsider his offer."
"That is very generous of the Senator; however, I prefer the way things currently stand."
"You do not seem to understand the danger you are currently in."
"Apparently not, because I do not see anything dangerous."
"Do you not see the six men behind you waiting for our signal?"
"Those men? They are yours? They do not look dangerous to me."
"You are out numbered eight to one."
"Do not leave my horse out. She is very sensitive about these things."
"To joke in the face of mortal danger shows great hubris."
"I am in mortal danger?"
"The Fates will bring you down because of your hubris."
"I work for the fates. This is something the good Senator refuses to acknowledge. He cannot outbid the Fates."
"He can destroy all that you love."
"No he cannot."
"You feel nothing for the smiths under your employ?"
"Why would I care for slaves?" asked the lying Gaius.
"Do you not care for your dwelling in Rome?"
"Surely you jest! Have you seen that hovel?"
"We can expose you as a runaway slave Apollodorus!"
"You do not seem to understand. The Fates took all that I have ever cared about. Nothing means anything to me now. I do only what the Fates wish. Working for Senator Crassus would require me to stop working for the Fates. This is something I just will not do."
"No matter what you do or where you go, the Senator will track you down."
"I am sure that is true."
"Not to mention that you are an easy man to track. We just follow the trail of corpses that you leave behind."
"It is the nature of things when you work for the Fates."
"We have been instructed to not let you continue without agreeing to the proposal."
"There are two problems with that statement. First, I already said that I would never agree. Second, you are unable to stop me."
Before the Senator's messenger could draw his sword, he and the silent envoy were cut open by Gaius's scimitar. They fell to the ground with a thud.
Gaius looked back at the soldiers that were following him. They looked confused. They had not been given any sign to advance, and the leaders of their group were not longer visible. Gaius decided to ride towards them.
The confusion played into Gaius's hands. With their indecision, four of them rode away from the advancing Gaius. The remaining two were frozen with indecision. Gaius rode between the pair with his sword drawn but across his lap.
With a puzzled look on their faces, Gaius swung his scimitar and sliced them both open. With a few more paces, he smacked their horses on the rear. The dieing men on horseback went galloping off. After several steps from their horses, both men fell. Gaius watched over his shoulder.
The four men that galloped off, obtained their desired distance and turned around. They watched as their comrades fell from their horses. Three of the men drew their swords and charged at Gaius. The remaining man galloped away.
Gaius stood his ground as the three men rode hard towards him. Closer and closer the three men galloped. The mounted Gaius remained where he was. The three men roared at him. Gaius stayed quiet. At the last instant, Gaius pulled his horse to one side. He remained out of reach of the soldier's short swords. However, one man was within reach of his longer scimitar.
That man's arm was cut from his shoulder to his wrist. He dropped his sword and screamed in pain. He pulled on the reins, and his horse threw him to the ground. The remaining men, turned around and watched as their colleague tumbled off his horse. The impact with the ground and his head killed him instantly. His comrades once again charged at Gaius, and once again Gaius stayed where he was.
Both men had their swords in their right hand and the reins of their mounts in the left. Thus, as Gaius sat between the men, only one could possibly reach him with a short sword. Thus, Gaius parried the thrust of the man with the sword close to him and sliced open the neck of the other rider.
The remaining fighter witnessing this, attempted to ride off. However, Gaius took off right behind him. The tired mount was no match for the somewhat rested mare under Gaius. Gaius caught up with remaining soldier and cut him down.
Gaius was getting tired of all the battles with no reward. Thus, he gathered up the horses, and led them to the next waypoint. He made a tidy sum of money when he sold them to the local innkeeper. He was tired, but he decided to ride to the next stop along the way before resting for the day. He was going to be in trouble once Crassus heard the news, but he was not going to worry about that for the moment.
For the next several Fridays, we're going to bring you something special.
The American soldiers and some of the British sailors, or Otherworlders as the locals called them, had done much in the last week to clean up the rubble of Zakrostas. The army cleared the streets of debris and rebuilding had begun. They also removed the huge numbers of corpses by either burning or burying them.
The citizens of Zakrostas were at first hesitant as to what to make of these strange people from the sea. Mina did much to help win them over. She quoted the old prophecy of men in iron boats and told them that one of the ship's names was the Olympus. After that, the people of Zakrostas welcomed their liberators as heroes, some even as gods.
With the lack of housing, due to the utter destruction of the city, tents were set up as temporary shelters for the citizens to live in. As more refugees returned to their city, housing was becoming a crisis. There were few buildings left undamaged from the recent battle.
The language barrier was a big obstacle at first. However, between Lt. Greer and Mina many of the Otherworlders and the people of Zakrostas learned the other's language well enough to get basic ideas across. The language schools that were established proved very popular.
General Crist wasted no time in repairing the breach in the wall and laying out the best defensive measures possible. Although, they had plenty of rifles they did not have enough ammunition to press an offensive. It would be some time before they would be able to manufacture their own bullets not to mention grenades and shells for the tanks, the artillery, and the ships.
Crist also strictly rationed the activities of all vehicles to conserve as much fuel as possible. The only oil they had was in the tanker and they did not have any refining facilities. Some of the engineers believed that they could convert some of the vehicles to burn alcohol.
The men were proving to be very ingenious. They already had a blacksmith shop with a Bessemer converter to make pig iron into steel. The introduction of the modern saddle, bridle, and stirrup proved extremely popular with the Atlanteans. Another group had already begun construction of a watermill on the Skalandos River south of the city. The mill would prove extremely valuable in powering the first factories planned for the city.
General Crist had no problem assuming control over the city. It appeared that the city's leaders were the first to evacuate and headed for the capital city of Atlantis. The remaining military forces of Zakrostas were eager to learn from the Otherworlders. The U.S. forces taught them how to fire the rifles and modern military tactics.
"We've been knocking over every latrine looking for saltpeter," one of the soldiers in charge of making gunpowder explained to the general. "Until we can get better facilities up and running we will be only able to make black powder. This I believe will be in conjunction with the introduction of the muskets planned to be manufactured."
Crist nodded his head. The muskets would be the easiest weapon manufactured at this time. Plus, the more weapons made and put into the hands of the local military the better off they were. He had already concluded that only the Otherworlders would use the M1s unless there was an invasion.
The removal of the latrines was also proving to be expedient in another matter. The medical staff on the Respite determined that the sanitation conditions of Zakrostas were deplorable. The construction of a modern sewage system was already in progress with the reconstruction of the city. With it was planned running water in every household.
Corporal Manders kept watch on the south wall. The sun was high in the sky and its hot rays beat down on him relentlessly. The smell of human and animal waste permeated the air. The corporal mused that Homer never talked about the omni-present smell of sewage. He would rather be anywhere but on sentry duty. However, it was his turn and so he stood on the wall looking to the south.
At first, he thought it was just a cloud, but then the dust cloud grew larger as time moved on. Corporal Manders called for the officer on duty to confirm what he was looking at. Captain Miller took out his field glasses and focused on the gathering dust cloud.
Down the road marched about five hundred men wearing bronze armor and armed with the long spear. One man rode a horse in front of the small army. Behind him marched a standard-bearer with the symbol of a double-headed axe on the standard.
The captain quickly called his superior who then passed it on to General Crist. The general wasted no time in mounting the wall to observe the procession himself. By now, the army was within half an hours march to the city's southern gate.
The general quickly assembled some men to prepare to meet the delegation outside the gate. For a show of force, he would ride in one jeep, Greer and Mina would ride in another and two M4 Sherman tanks would drive along with them. The hastily assembled reception party drove out of the gate fifteen minutes after Crist noticed the delegation approaching the city.
As the quartet of vehicles approached, the advancing army stopped. The man riding the horse had a hard time retaining control over the terror-stricken animal. Even some of the soldiers hedged back waiting for the first chance to run.
Sergeant Maxwell the general's driver halted the jeep several yards in front of the Atlantean army. The tanks pulled up next to the jeep and halted as well. General Crist and the two guards riding along with him and the driver left the vehicle. The guards had their Garands ready in case they needed a show of force. Although the tanks would be much better at it than two men with .30 rifles.
Lt. Greer hopped down from his jeep which was parked behind the general's; as usual, Mina escorted him. They walked a few paces behind Crist and the guards. When the five people were a few paces away from the man on the horse they stopped. The well-muscled rider wore a kilt and a bronze breastplate, under his highly polished helmet with a long black horsehair plume the dark tan face of a man in his thirties looked down on them. His hair and short-cropped beard were black and his piercing eyes were brown.
The man on the horse said something to the Americans, and Greer quickly translated, "Greetings, God killers! I am King Podaistas and I welcome you to my kingdom."
General Crist spoke to the king through Greer and Mina, "Greetings king, I am General Crist and we come in peace and friendship."
"I hear that you and your metal monsters have defeated the army sent by the gods to punish us. I also hear that you have slain the mighty king of the seas, King Poseidon. My people have been spared and all owe you their lives," King Podaistas said in a mighty voice.
Crist smiled and said, "Your Greatness, it is our sworn duty to protect the innocent from oppressors. On our world, we were embarking on such a mission. We ended up in your kingdom by mistake. Yet our mission is still the same."
The king high on his wide-eyed mount looked down on the general and his men. Then in a loud voice for all to hear the king stated, "In payment for your deeds I grant you the city of Zakrostas and all the lands north of the Skalandos River and east of the city to the land of the Asgards of the kingdom of Ragnarok east of the Dragonspine Mountains."
