Yes, I am posting this a day later than usual, but that was by design. My work travel arrangements have shifted slightly and as such Thursday is my best day to devote to writing (or revising what I’ve already written earlier in the week). I’ll take a lump for being a day late, but this is the new schedule I’m going to try to stick to!
Today we continue the story of Aržak and his pals in an alternate ancient Earth. We are reunited with Chobo at long last. I’ve missed the little guy.
The Characters (so far)
Aržak – A Parthian (modern day Iran) Scholar enslaved by the Romans
Sigeberht – A warrior of the Anglii (modern day Denmark)
Meleke – A merchant from (modern day Guinea/Mali) beyond the deserts south of Mauretania
Euphemia – A Greek woman from Aržak’s slave group.
Chobo – A strange little creature with even stranger hair.
Zarl – The “chief” of a tribe from another world.
Chapter 5
The tent that hid the tunnel was close to the inside of the fortress wall, about fifty feet away. Close enough that the guards on the wall, armed with javelins and bows, could easily hit anyone that approached it. The original plan didn’t include the fortress on full alert.
The majority of Aržak’s group had taken shelter further away, avoiding the wrath of the wall sentries.
“We’re stuck.” Aržak lamented.
“No.” Sigeberht bellowed. “I’ll make a run for the wall. I’ll draw their attention. You all run for the tent. The supply tent is huge, most of you should fit inside. They won’t know why you’re going there. They’ll probably think you’re just hiding, but with no way to escape.”
“And what about you?” Meleke questioned.
“I’ll come in behind you once it’s safe.”
“They’ll kill you.” Aržak said.
“It’s possible. But we’ll leave that for the gods to decide.”
Meleke gripped Sigeberht’s shoulder to hold him back. “The gods have whispered their words to us, that is their sign. No longer will we wait for them. We go together to distract these villains while our people escape.”
She then took a deep breath, threw her hands forward, and cried out in the mysterious language that they had all been hearing. A shimmering light appeared before her hands and expanded out, several feet in every direction. “Go to the tent!” She shouted.
Meleke then began to move forward hurling insults to the sentries, her hands still stretched forward. They launched their missiles, but stared helplessly as the weapons bounced away from the shimmering light.
Sigeberht sprinted forward and picked up one of the spent javelins and threw it back, hitting one of the archers square in his chest. Aržak ran behind Meleke and did the same, only his strength and aim was nowhere near Sigeberht’s, and his javelin fell short of the wall.
Sigeberht laughed as he grabbed another of the javelins. “Leave this business to me, don’t waste the spears!”
Angered by Sigeberht’s mocking, Aržak heeded the whispering chants, shouted the words running through his head, and instinctively pointed his hand toward one of the sentries. A bright flash emanated and struck the sentry, causing him to howl in agony, smoke rising from under his armor. He fell over and continued to writhe in pain.
With that, the sentries retreated.
“That was easy.” Sigeberht said with a smile.
“For now.” Meleke cautioned as she brought down her arms, causing the shimmering light to vanish. “Those soldiers weren’t startled by Aržak’s power. They recognized it and retreated, because they knew they couldn’t contend with it. That means they’ve seen it before. Either in here, or out there.”
Aržak gathered up two of the javelins and handed one to Meleke. “Then I suggest we leave before we see if someone else in here can contend with us. We’ll take our chances that whatever is out there is friendlier than the Romans.”
“And if it isn’t?” Sigeberht questioned.
Meleke poked Sigeberht with the butt end of the spear. “Then we sacrifice you and hope they leave us alone.”
Sigeberht laughed “I don’t like this plan.”
“Crystals! Crystals!” Chobo demanded.
“Not yet!” Aržak whispered as he stared, impatiently at the exit to the tunnel. “We’re waiting for the big man. If he doesn’t make it out, you get nothing!”
The rest of the group, other than Aržak and Meleke, had already weaved their way clear of the wall, but with no sentries in that section, there was little chance of them being spotted.
“That wasn’t the deal!” Chobo whined. “Chobo watched the tunnel. No metal skins.”
“Go in and fish him out. He may be stuck.” Meleke said as she pointed to the tunnel.
Chobo understood her gesture, despite not understanding her words. He scurried into the tunnel. A moment later Sigeberht’s muffled voice could be heard from within. “Ow! Ow! Careful! Not there. Ow!”
Within a few minutes both emerged. Sigeberht looked shaken. He took several deep breaths, and then leaned over to kiss the ground. “Never again!” he exclaimed.
Chobo’s hands were caked in mud. “I dig good. Dig bigger hole. Big man was stuck.”
“You kept your word, Chobo.” Aržak said as he handed over a bag of crystal fragments. “Now, there’s quite a bit there, so don’t—”
Chobo upended the bag and poured them into his mouth, chomping away with disturbing efficiency. He flexed his muscles until a look of disappointment came over him. “Still not enough. Chobo still tiny and weak.”
“Thanks for your help, Chobo.” Aržak began. “Good luck with—”
“What?” Sigeberht questioned. “We’re leaving him? He comes with us.”
Aržak and Meleke looked to each other puzzled and then to Sigeberht. “Why?”
“Look at this little guy. All alone. He’ll keep going in there until the Romans catch him and eat him. We can’t let that happen.”
Chobo couldn’t understand Sigeberht, since Aržak’s magic didn’t extend to him, but he inferred from Sigeberht’s tone that he was protesting. Chobo looked to Aržak and Meleke and made a sad face. Despite his grotesque appearance, it seemed to work.
“Well, now is not the time to be making enemies.” Meleke admitted. “Ask if he knows of any safe places around here. Far from the Romans.”
“Aržak repeated Meleke’s question and added “And far from the—bigger versions of you?”
“Yes! Yes!” Chobo said excitedly. “We go to other river, way of sleeping sky fire. Up up! Find the dog men.”
Aržak said nothing as he attempted to process whether the magic was failing him, or if Chobo’s mind was so strange that even the gods couldn’t comprehend him.
“What did he say?” Meleke asked.
Aržak sighed. “He said we go west to another river and then north to the—to some other men. I guess we’ll find friends there. Whatever is there, it’s better than this swamp. Let’s be off.”
Chobo climbed up Sigeberht’s leg and perched onto his shoulder like some sort of demented monkey. He tapped the larger man on the head and pointed west. “Go! Go!”
EDIT (2024-10-02): Circled back to add links to previous chapters to all these older entries.
Armchair Screenwriter 
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