Book 1: Chapter 7 Icarus

“Make sure to stand still,” said Julius Plinius.

Barbara now wore a modified form of her mother’s old flight suit, no longer wearing the Roman armor, another reason she preferred the Horse over the Wingsuit, but she will go as duty demands, and in this case duty’s name is Alexander.

Barbara nodded and stepped onto the leather platform and sat down. Behind her was the impossibly tall and impossibly smooth spire which stood outside of the old research camp. She looked at Julius who kept himself busy checking the different cords, ropes and latches. He began turning one, and Barbara slowly moved up the pole on the makeshift swing. Once she had reached the first stage, she pulled the whistle out of her hand and stepped onto the next leather platform. She heard the whistle blast from Julius. That meant she had 2 minutes based on his sand glass.

She whistled her acknowledgement and ran over to the next platform, where Aeneas Pompanianus stood. She sat down with her legs tucked in her knees. She held the ropes tight, and stood perfectly still. For the first leg it was a precaution, the second a necessity. Aeneas inspected her form, and checked her cloak for airworthiness.

Aeneas like her had found regular use of the flight suit, making him the official “Aviator” of House Pompanianus, most expected a rivalry to form but neither particularly felt that strongly about it.

Aeneas whistled twice. Barbara held onto the pulley system attached to the Metallic Pole. She thinks about how much more convenient this is from having to climb it on her own. She thinks about how she and Aeneas have used this contraption a dozen times. She tries to think about what the Pompaniani are up to.

None of those cure the butterflies in her stomach.

Far below, various horses move on the wheels and she can hear the wooden machine clicking and cranking, she sees Julius salute her, and tug at the whistle. Aeneas whistles.

30 seconds.

She braces herself, taking a minute to prepare herself. She hears the stretching and whispers of the spidersilk ropes as they tighten, above her a counter weight dangles off to the side connected by a collection of pulleys. She hears a long whistle, the the crack of wood.

Now.

She braces.

A counter weight falls, and the platform shoots her up the tower she doesn’t look, knowing better than to move her neck and prepares to feel the pressure. She feels the tug and holds onto the rope for a brief second before letting go. She is flung like a catapult. The whistles and rattles on her shoulders hum and wheeze. An indicator of her high speed.

Off in the distance, she can see the location, a circular clearing in the woods.

She carefully unfurls her suit while pointing down, then allows the air to fill it. She is gliding.

She flies in zig zag patterns, the location isn’t so far as to require her top speed so she waits for the whistle to go silent, and the rattle to slow down before she begins her circle around the location.

The designated spot had multiple platforms on which she could land. She mentally chooses one to the north, so that the sun couldn’t get in her eyes.

I met them here. Pliny and Pompanianus.

It was a common spot, Now they used it to hunt the Blemmiye. She circled around a platform that had been built on the spot and landed there on the canopy platform.

She packed light, but the platform had everything she needed for the hunt, darts, javelins, sling stones, torches. She glides gently onto the platform. Alexander is likely not far behind, She grabs the quiver and straps it behind her, placing some of the Javelins on her back and cords on her belt.

We feared them once, they haunted our lives, we couldn’t even find most of our parents because of them.

Now the village had a regular debate about using them for menial labor. Now that Pliny showed how easy they were to manipulate.

She heard Alexander galloping through the trees whistling a tune.

She repeated the last four notes using her whistle, showing that she understood the plan.

Behind him and Bucephalus were a throng of hungry Blemmiyae, chasing after the carcass of a deer his horse was dragging. . He slowed down and began circling around the area.

He tossed the rope to her and she hung the deer on the platform. Just within sight and smell for the creatures, but just outside of reach.

The cord was already marked with the spot for the knot.

She watched from above as The Blemmiyae began to divide their attention between the meat and Alexander. Who raced around in circles.

Barbara quickly moved around the "arena" here torches were already wrapped in leaves and flammable cloth. She used her steel and flint to light and dangle down around key spots. After hopping around the arena palisades, and placing the torches around the key entrances. The arena was now closed, meaning Alexander and Barbara only had to deal with the 10 that had followed him.

"We only need 1"

Alexander says, before pulling a dart pulled from his saddle he tosses it at one of the blemmiyae, which landed squarely in its head and fell. The creatures twitched as if it was going to try to pull it out, then fell over.

"Shall we make it a competition?" He say.

"Shall the Bird, triumph over the Beast?"

Barbara shouts as she circles around the trees, looking for Blemmiye to kill. Alexander continues to circle around dear Horse with a javelin in one hand and the Sword of Pompanianus in the other.

He prepares to line up another shot at the creature, only to have Barbara's dart land to destroy the creature instead. Alexander laughs

"You couldn't pick your own target? Not very sporting."

She giggles, and the two continue their challenge with her and he weaving between the shuffling brutes and eliminating them.