Book 1: Chapter 10 | Anabasis Alexander

“So tell me the story!” A young woman exclaimed.

Barbara stared at the wine dark liquid in her goblet, lost in thought.

“Did you kiss?”

She looked up to see the eager face of Arachna, she had left her couch and was jumping up leaning towards her.

“No Arachna, we just went and gathered the Blemmiye.”

Barbara is very slowly drinking her beverage, promising to herself that she would not get inebriated tonight.

“Did he tell you about his plan?”

“No, Arachna, just that he needs it and…” She stopped herself.

He needs me for it.

Barbara grew a mischievous smile.

“Its a secret, I'm not allowed to tell, remember?”

She was trying to figure out what Alexander had planned.

They are all in a roman style dining arrangement with woven mats as recliner couches around a set of wooden tables. She remembers how when they lived in the trees they always ate sitting up. Why? No one knew, maybe their parents did and they forgot. Whatever the case, everyone had grown accustomed to the Roman way of eating, and drinking. Though it made it harder to talk with multiple people.

On her left was Arachna, sitting between her and Pliny, on her right was Castra with Pollux behind her. Pliny and Arachan were speaking to each other, while the twins had left, likely preparing for the dinner. Both leaving her to think on her own.

On the opposite end of the ceremonies were the masters of ceremonies: Pompaninus and Alexander.

Alexander receives a nod of approval from Pompanianus and then gets up to speak.

“To commemorate this feast, I thank our Playwrights and actors, I thank my father for providing us with this feast, and I dedicate this feast in honnor of Pliny.”

Pliny glared at Pompanianus, Pompanianus lifted his glass in acknowledgement.

Why is Alexander speaking in common?

It wasn’t quite common, there were plenty of Latin words where the common tongue fell short, additionally the rhythm was different, the style was more like Latin. Alexander had all of the elves’ attention.

“In honor of his vision and his boldness, and his good fortune. By Pliny’s name and example I bring a bounty that is a taste not of present prosperity but of future.

Castor and Pollux race out with carts out with them on wood and leaf fishes, crabs, and other edible shellfish.

The smell of garlic and fish was overwhelming at first to Barbara, but she savored the chance to try some. Normally these feasts are, by necessity, more vegetable than meat, often fine soups or portions of birds. But they offered her a whole fish, and she took two.

Hunter had always prided himself on being able to bring the necessary food to her and others, then it was just gnawing at the few pieces of cooked meat from a small animal.

Even now The Roman village was still in direct and losing competition with The Blemmiye for control of the dwindling deer and wild horsemeat on the island.

Barbara grabbed a fish steak onto her plate, turning on her couch to face Pliny, who, then slowly and deliberately, as if putting on a demonstration to her and Arachna, opened the fish with his hands and ate the pieces of meat inside.

Barbara followed his example. It was delicious.

She turns back to Castra who had now seated herself with her own plate.

“How long did this take?”

Castra smiles as she is opening a crab leg.

“To catch or to prepare?”

“Aeneas and I camped on the shore for several days gathering the fish”

“These are days old?!”

“Some” Castra explained, “which We then prepared via Pliny's food preservation methods.”

“Barbara, grab the little silver ones,” Pollux takes Barbara’s plate and puts a few on.

“Those are my favorite.”

Olivia comes back around with a pitcher of strong drink, Barbara gets her glass filled, forgetting that she promised herself to stay sober.

Oh well one more couldn't hurt. The food was a little salty after all.

Alexander holding his cup, more for theatrics than actual drink.

Barbara wondered if there was actually any alcohol in his before taking another gulp of hers.

Alexander waits for everyone to reach a point where they have finished some of their plate before speaking again.

“I have asked my Father about this, just as many of you have: “What was your city like?” And he told me. He said it was crowded, it was filled thousands of thousands of people, all well fed, the streets were paved smooth, where great buildings and temples of stone stood to honor the great men of the past. It was a city with no walls, for none would dare lay a hand against it.”

So we are doing more construction

Barbara listened to the crowd murmuring along, muttering, pouring themselves cups.

“We all have heard of this. Pliny has told us of the Great Vespasian, and Pompanianus of the Great Senate. But then I asked him,

“Father what about 600 years ago. What about when That Tree was still an Acorn.”

Silence filled the square. Someone dropped their cup, all else was still.

Alexander strode around the room.

“He told me, it was smaller, quieter. A wall was built by and ancient king. There were dirt roads, there were small houses, and there were few great buildings.”

So we can do that too…in 600 years? That doesn’t sound right, Alexander is too impatient for that.

“If Rome, he was told that in that amount of time Rome went from a collection of small squat huts to a city of countless beings living in a grand city of marble. What about the city of our Parentes? Who we were told about so long ago?

How much more wondrous? How much larger? Must Urbs Tacissi be now!”

The crowd began to mummer along, she caught some fragments, each of the elves began speaking of the tiny stories they remember from childhood.

“My Father said, they had machines that could turn cloth into clothes! And there were baths! Every house had a bath!”

Arachna spoke excitedly to Pliny, Pliny calmly tried to ask about the details of the machines, but Arachna admits she didn’t know.

“I, like all of us, had long ago abandoned the dream of seeing our ancient city again, even if we did not say so with our mouths, we have all told it to our hearts.”

Alexander begins walking towards them, Barbara puts the fish down lest she gets asked to speak.

“But we have been given a gift from the gods in Pliny, Pliny not only the master of plants, and stones, but a “Naval Commander.” He walks past barbara and turns to pliny, who turns to watch while picking at the fish.

“Lord Pliny, please tell us what a Naval Commander is?”

Pliny looks around at the crowd.

“I once commanded Rome’s Ships, and the crews that made them work.”

For those outside of House Pliny this was new information, for those inside, it was all but forgotten information. Barbara grabs the fish again and absentmindedly bites it.

The fish…Pliny…By Tacissius.

The realization dawned on her, and she watched the crowd as she waited for it to dawn on them too.

“Pliny has the experience to construct, to manage, and to sail, ships that once carried hundreds! We will build a great ship worthy of his command, and with all of us and our possessions. like those of Rome and use it to bring the entire tribe with us. We will find new places and we will travel the world.”

How?

“How!” Barbara shouted her thoughts out loud. Alexander paused and turned to her.

“How are we going to build a ship, we are on the middle of the island.”

The crowd is starting to deflate, Alexander won’t allow it.

“There is a great road of iron that runs along the course of the island, leading directly into the sea.”

Alexander stares down her incredulity.

“This way of rust will carry our ship through the use of carts.”

Barbara looked incredulous and scoffed, turning to Pliny for support. To her surprise she didn’t receive it.

“You cant carry a ship that far.”

“To the contrary, Barbara, the Greeks carried it once much further than our small island.”

Barbara put her head down, as the elves muttered around themselves.

“Thanks for asking Barbara, I was wondering that too.” Pollux added.

“What about the Blemmiye?”

Another voice in the crowd spoke out.

“Surely the monsters will not let us push it to the shore.”

Alexander smiles.

"Not only will they let us. They will help us"

Everyone laughs until stepped back. Aeneas came with a cart holding a Captive Blemmiye, everyone gasped. Alexander calmed them.

They took it off the cart which alexander then got on. After Aeeas had sufficiently anchored the creature. Alexander grabbed one of the fishes off of the table and removed the torch from one end of the cart. He then held up the fish to the Blemmiye. The creature blindly began to move itself towards the cart pushing it forward.

Is he crazy?

“I Admit they have never done something like this before, but the Blemmiye will inadvertently push us to shore for us.”

Alexander puts the torch back on and the hood is put back on the creature, which is then carried away by Aeneas.

Now it was Arachna’s time to speak.

“Why leave if this is our home and we just finally got it to be nice.”

Alexander then gets serious.

“I could talk to you in fear. I could talk about how much harder it is to find dear and animals for meat. I could tell you that the Blemmiye populate still grows despite our efforts. I could tell you that we lack the iron or materials to build a real city.”

He lets that sentence hang in the air, a little fear.

“Bu I will not, I will speak of our hopes and destiny! We have been given a chance to finally return to hour home.

I will speak too of our benefactors.

Pliny and Pompanianus came here not to babysit us! They are here on divine commission! Like Tacissius before them they are on a mission to save this world, and it is our destiny to help them.”

The Murmuring that had once formed a hum under Alexander’s speech fell silent. No one wanted to assent or dissent. As though if they were silent enough, Alexander, and the problem he proposed, would go away.

“Fortune favors the Bold,” he pleaded which sharpened to rage, “Is that not us?”

Barbara now gets up with alcohol assisted tears.

"I don't want to die next to that tree!"

Barbara sniffed and dried her eyes, the came down again as she looked up at alexander.

The Elves, Pliny and Pompanianus for the brief moment saw the Proud commander and “star pupil” melt away, back to ‘Hic Barbarae,’ back to ‘Scout,’ back to the little girl trapped in the big scary forrest. This smallness didn’t shrink the words she said however, they only made them louder, as though to damn them all.

"I will join your ship Alexander."

Pollux joins her,

“As will I.”

Arachna follow Pollux,

Castra follows them.

A chorus forms of cheers for the plan.

“To The City!”

Alexander smiles and turns to look at Pompanianus and Pliny, both looking at each other from across the semi-circle.

Pliny then stands to speak, he gestures for silence, and receives it.

“I will begin establishing teams for the creation of the ship. We will begin in two days.”

Barbara felt her heartbeat quicken.

If we work quickly We will be able to build the cart and the craft within 90 days,”

Is it happening?

and sail before midsummer, when the Blemmiye become intolerable.”

We are actually going to leave?

There are drunken cheers and revelries. Barbara slumps on her reclining couch, pushing the wine away. Arachna gives her an embrace from behind. Pollux comes over to try to comfort her.

Pompanianus gets up.

“Well you heard them, our great campaign will begin in two days, so that gives you all at least one to recover. Finish the food, and drink up, the next feast will be somewhere new!”