Book 1: Chapter 11 | Ibimus

“Single File! First the bundles, then the horses, then you."

The shouts of Regulus and Marcus as they are assisting lines of the elves, all of whom were carrying large packages and bundles and boxes of material onto horses, mainly—as they are walking up to a massive ship looming proudly over a sea of trees.

The outdoor square where the feasting and symposium were held is now the drydock and port for Pliny’s great expedition off the island.

This ship, Pliny told her, was smaller than most of the vessels he has had to command, with most having 5 decks and hundreds working oars and sails. But for most of the Elves, it's was the largest structure they have ever seen, save for the metal spires.

Those don’t count, they are simply a part of the terrain.

But this felt different, Barbara walked along the upper deck of the ship, testing out the different stairs, pulling at the ropes, the railings. It was theirs. It wasnt a mythic dream or magical device. It was built by them.

She looks down from the deck to her right. She sees the caravan walking towards the ramp, and on each side is Regulus and Marcus, each with wax tablets, asking what is in each bundle and directing them to specific spots.

The elves then move them off the horses, some are carried by the elves, others placed on a platform to be lifted by one of the many cranes. The horses are led away to help carry more things. Even the elves looked different. They were heartier, tougher, the nameless children only existed in faint traces now, in what was becoming a dreamlike memory. She felt her hands against the wood of the rail.

Below deck on the ship itself were, Pliny and Arachne standing and yelling on the lower decks, directing the bundles and telling them which deck they were going to.

The crane is on the ship, with Elves now lifting the platform on the ship, teams prepare to pounce on the cargo, but Arachne has to bark them away like a dog guarding its territory. She looks at the materials on the platform then gives orders to the specific pieces.

Pliny is making careful note of the weight of all of the objects and ensuring that the ship is balanced as they move, overriding some of Arachne’s orders so as to adjust for weight. This occasionally leads to spars.

Opposite to her on the deck was Alexander and Pompanianus. Pompanianus was exhausted. Having spent the past several months carrying out Alexander and Pliny’s plan had visibly aged him. His youthful skin weathering from the sun, and soft widows peaks formed along his forehead. But for once, he was relieved of duty allowing Alexander and Pliny to take command, but he still kept an eye on things, fretting something could go wrong. Alexander was looking out at the ship and the road ahead.

Beyond the bow of the ship and its battering ram is the dioklos. The long iron and rust track, cleared of overgrown trees, brush and grass. Beyond was a straight line of manicured landscape, a canal allowing them to can see miles ahead into the dark forrest..

Even if they cannot see the shore, they know it's there. They've already cleared the path.

Many of those logs were then used to help make and fortify the ship itself.Those logs that were not of use were then used to make simple fortifications around the trail itself, or simply left there.

Alexander looks out and smiles, and he turns to Barbara.

"I can finally see it, After all this time, It's real."

Barbara looks on, and while she nods in agreement.

"It's amazing that we've gotten this far,"

She speaks her truism but her mind is elsewhere.

Part of her is beginning to have lingering doubts.

Why am I having doubts now. I agreed to this.

All those months ago to the creation of the ship, now she's in her heart of hearts starting to doubt.

Would we have just been happy in this town that they built?

This is their home. We built that too.

This is where their family…

was.

As she's been completing her duties to prepare the ship—scouting the perimeter, ensuring the path is clear—she's felt herself wrestling with possible regret.

Is this actually genuine regret, or is it that there is something unfinished?

Is she simply scared that they are entering somewhere new and unknown?

Well, not entirely.

She then thinks again.

She reflects back to what "known" was for them for so long. How the two strangers at the time brought them into the unknown without bringing them to a new place.

But still, they're bringing themselves to a new place.

She thinks to herself, that is new, and new is scary.

Pampinianus approaches them in long commanding strides.

“Barbara, are you sure the forest has been cleared properly,”

His eyes looking at the mast and the wall of the ship surrounded by the logs and barriers.

"Aeneas and I have both scouted the area.

Over the past three days, there have been no changes to any of the checkpoints.

In addition, we have added several markers along each Roman mile.

So unless something has grown within the next two days, there should not be any impediments to the ship."

“Any changes?”

“Just one, we painted some logs yellow and black every Roman mile down. We know it's not going to do very much, but we figured it would help us as we're moving down the path.”

“Do the colors mean anything?”

“Yellow sectors have very few Blemmyes. Black is near a major hunting or mating site.”

“Considering that our escape from the monsters is monster powered, all information is potentially useful. That was prudent.”

Crash

"No, no, no!"

They hear a shrill scream below them. They look below decks.

They see Arachne, who is getting frustrated at two of the Elves, with a broken crate, even though they can barely hear her.

They can see her excitement and frustration through the rapid hand gestures as she's instructing the elves to adjust the crane.

Alexander says, "Arachne's skill with ropes has translated to a skill at sea.”

“Indeed, she has become one of the better sailors on our scouting craft, perhaps its a natural extension of her dexterity, and abilities with ropes.”

Barbara looks on at her with them.

”There's more than the rope going on here. This is a matter of pride to House Pliny.”

"We know that our father was a great sailor, and so as such, we believe that it's our job to be so as well. So we'll try as best as we can. Even..”

Barbara holds her stomach at the memory, and groans.

"Pliny was a naval commander because that is what Vespasian asked him to do.

There was a lack of good commanders to control the sea.

Pliny was a good leader, and so he took on the role.

Don’t worry about being a good sailor, just be good enough to not cause any damage.”

Marcus and Regulus come up to the stern of the ship, hauling large slabs of animal meat and fish, placing it on the hook behind the three.

Alexander tests out the swivel crane, as he swivels the crane the hook moves to where it is just dangling above the edge of the boat. On the opposite end of the crane arm was a hook were a torch could be placed.

The smell of the meat is strong, deliberately so. And wafted through the deck immediately with pungent fermented odor.

One could say, not necessarily fit for human consumption, though it could, if you held your nose.

“Barbara held her nose.” Pampinianus, looked at the contraption with disgust mixed with amusement can be seen by the twisted smile.
“I have to admit, son, I've been on many ships in my life, and merchant ships as well, but I think if I was to tell any sailor about this plan, they'd probably think it was ridiculous,"

“Nothing that works is ridiculous, Father."

"Many things that work are ridiculous. That's what makes them more ridiculous."

Meanwhile, Barbara is thinking to herself. She watches as Marcus and Regulus leave, with their meat hooks and slabs of fermented flesh. They're preparing to take the meat over to the gate so that the Blemmyes can eventually barge in to help push the cart.

We let them into our home in order to push us out of it. The one we built. The Camp we reclaimed from them.

Finally, she says something out loud,

"We've spent so long trying to keep them out. We built these walls, this, the city we lived in, the trees. Now we're going to let them in! Have we gone insane?"

She looks out at the wall, then back to the looted Camp, where the only thing remaining was the tree. She places her hands behind her back for lack of other places.

Alexander is about to laugh, Pompanianus silences him.

"No, no, you have not gone insane. What you've done is you've grown.”

Barbara paused, she looked at Pompanianus and cocks her head to the side.

I know Pliny has told you all about hounds right?

“The creature like a small horse with sharp teeth?”

Yes, back home, we used them for many things, and many noblemen owned them.

My family had dogs, and I was always afraid of them as a child, their snarls, their loud barks, they terrified me.

But at some point, I was taught how to train with the dogs, how to feed them, how to take care of them, and I learned not just how to avoid danger with them, but how they could take care of me.

Later, once I owned my own house, I became the master of several dogs, and I would use them for war, for guarding, and companionship. I no longer feared the dogs."

“I’ve never seen a dog, but you always made them sound like graceful creatures. How can you compare the headless ones to them?”

"Because these are your dogs.

This is a world stranger than mine, and you're going to face greater threats than these creatures.

And there will come a time where you will look back at these creatures and they will feel like nothing to you."

“Barbara are you ready?”Alexander asks Barbara if she's ready for the final preparations.

She takes a pause and she nods to Alexander, looking out at the road ahead.

“Then wait for the signal from the whistle.”

“If the gate opens before the whistle, alert us.”

He asks her if she feels comfortable with the self-launching platform.

She says yes and that she and Aeneas have used it several times already.

And Alexander says, "Good, but if you for any reason, do not feel that it is safe, don't use it.

Run to the trees, and we will wait for you to arrive to the shore."