Tallis woke to the sound of someone pounding on his door. Staggering from the bed, he made his way across the courtyard, dagger in hand. “Kaleb, I didn’t expect to see you so early.”
“Do you think I’m so old I can’t get up before the sunrise? I’m not over the hill, yet, Tallis.”
“Of course you aren’t, sir. I didn’t expect to see you until this afternoon for some reason.”
“Get dressed and come with me. I want to share something with you and your men. I’ve decided to make a few changes.”
After putting on his uniform, Tallis followed his Centurion along the street toward the marketplace, wondering what he’d done wrong. Would Kaleb fire him in the front of the citizens of Hammath? He and his soldiers would become the laughing stocks of Galilee. How would he tell Abigail? Would Zosimos hire him? Never. The Decanus felt heavy weights pressing down on his shoulders. The same feeling he’d had when Ektor and Nava received their whipping by the Romans. God, help me.
As they entered the marketplace, Kaleb stopped and raised his hand. The crowd encircled the pair. “We’ll wait until your soldiers join us. I had Priam’s men fetch them.”
Tallis could feel the sweat running down his forehead. His eyes burned, and as his breathing became labored. Priam joined the pair, standing on the other side of their Centurion, smiling. Why did his men need to witness this? Who’s on patrol? Is Nikolaos tired of his inability to prevent the increase in civil disobedience in Hammath? Will my troops lose their jobs or suffer the same fate I face? In the distance, Tallis heard the voices of some of his soldiers as they trickled into the marketplace. He felt nauseous and light-headed.
“Good morning everyone. My name is Kaleb. I am the Centurion responsible for protecting Hammath and the surrounding countryside. Let me begin by apologizing for what occurred to your marketplace the other night. The responsibility is mine for not providing you with enough soldiers to protect your community. I am sorry, but I am making a few changes to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
Tallis rubbed his head, hoping the pain would leave. I suppose it doesn’t matter if I’m dead.
Kaleb paused and glanced around the crowd. Tallis felt his body begin to quiver and told himself to hold still. “My first order of business this morning is to remove Tallis from his position of Decanus.” The Centurion looked at Tallis and smiled. “I am replacing him with Bazak, who will become the Conturbenium’s new leader.” A gasp erupted from the crowd. Someone yelled, “No.” Others groaned. Tallis felt his face getting hot, burning. He wanted to hide, but where could he go? “Priam and his Conturbenium will work in Hammath fulltime. From this day forward twenty-two soldiers will protect your community. More than enough to do the job.”
Tallis wanted to wipe the smile off Priam’s face. Kaleb must have told him in advance since he didn’t look surprised by the announcement. What am I going to do? My chest hurts. I need to sit down.
“Next—I’m adding another soldier to Bazak’s Conturbenium to fill the vacancy created by his promotion to Decanus. I am also adding a new leadership position. “Tallis.” Did someone call my name? “Hurry up. Step forward. I don’t have much time. I am appointing you to the rank of Triplicarious. In your new role, you will supervise Bazak and Priam.” Kaleb grabbed Tallis’s arm as he stumbled. He’s promoting me? “Congratulations young man, I expect you to perform your duties with distinction.” The slightest breeze would knock the new Triplicarious over, and Abigail would be proud of her husband. The crowd began to cheer. Tallis grinned.
“Thank you, Kaleb. I thought you were going to dismiss me from the Army.”
“Why would you think such a thing, Tallis? You did your job well considering the circumstances and your staffing level. I’m not going to let you fall on your sword for something I did or didn’t do.”
Tallis wanted to hug his superior officer but realized Kaleb wouldn’t appreciate the emotional outburst with so many people milling around the marketplace. In an instant, his headache, sweating, and dizziness floated away, as friends and neighbors continued to cheer. Tallis raised his hand and waved to those applauding him.
Kaleb leaned toward his new Triplicarious and whispered in his ear. “Your pay is double your previous salary. Tell your former Conturbenium to go home and get some rest. Priam and his men will patrol Hammath until sunset when Bazak and his soldiers return to duty. … I’m proud of you, young man. I’m sorry your father couldn’t join us this morning.”
Tallis found himself walking in a daze toward the synagogue rather than going home to sleep. The stress from this morning had disappeared from his shoulders like an anvil from Zosimos’s shop falling to the ground. He could dance. Greek men loved to dance. So did Jews. This was a good time to dance, but the people milling around the marketplace would think he’d lost his mind.
The folks inside the synagogue stopped what they were doing when Tallis entered the building. Seeing someone in a military uniform inside a place of worship was rather unusual, but Abigail saw him before he spotted her, and she rushed to his side. Kiva, Nammi, and his mother followed along behind his wife.
“What are you doing in God’s house wearing a uniform, Tallis? You’re supposed to be home, resting, and why are you smiling? What’s the matter? Your eyes are watering.”
Kiva asked if everything was okay before Tallis had an opportunity to speak. “I don’t know how to say this, but Kaleb came to our door and demanded I go with him to the marketplace. He ordered my soldiers to join us. Then he announced I would no longer serve as the Decanus of my Conturbenium.” Abigail hugged her husband and began to cry. “The news stunned me. Next, my Centurion told everyone he was adding a second Conturbenium to help protect Hammath, and Bazak took my place as the new Decanus.”
Abigail’s eyes widened as the shock set in. “How can you smile when you need to find another job, Tallis?”
“Be patient, dear. There’s more to tell you. Kaleb created a new position, and he promoted me to the rank of Triplicarious. In my new role, I supervise Bazak and the new Conturbenium’s Decanus, Priam.” Cheers rose throughout the synagogue. Tallis tried not to blush.
“God blessed you today, Tallis.”
“Thank you, Kiva.”
“May I have everyone’s attention, please? We must give thanks for this great news. Today our God blessed this young man, honoring him for a job well done.” Kiva turned toward Tallis and smiled. “And He will bless you, more when you follow His heart. Make God and us proud.”
“I will do my best to keep everyone safe. Thank you, Kiva.” Once again, Tallis could feel his body trembling, but this time, he didn’t care. He hugged Abigail, bent down and kissed her cheek. The pressure disappeared. Kiva had prayed for him, a young man who is half-Greek and half-Jew. He would remember this day, the Rabbi’s prayer, and his kind words forever.
When the excitement subsided, Tallis excused himself under the pretense of going home to get some rest. Leaving the synagogue, the Triplicarious changed directions and headed to Bazak’s house instead. The newest Conturbenium leader would be celebrating his promotion, but the two men needed to discuss a few things.
“Congratulations on your promotion, Bazak. I’m proud of you, my friend. But, we need to talk. May I come in? I want to share some things with you.”
“It’s a beautiful day so we can talk on the roof, Tallis. You realize God blessed both of us this morning. Though I don’t understand what we did to deserve our promotions, who am I to complain.”
“I’m as surprised as you. Over the last few weeks, Kaleb kept leading me to believe I would face a demotion or discharge should we continue to have problems in Hammath. When he knocked on my door this morning, I thought my army career had come to an end, and my life was over. I didn’t know what to do.”
Bazak smiled at me. “It could have been worse you know.”
“How?”
“Kaleb might have arrested you and sent you to Gavius to serve as another example. I know I worried for you when our Centurion
announced you would no longer serve as our Decanus. His words felt like somebody thrust a knife into my heart. Then Kaleb said I was replacing you. I didn’t know how to respond. My soul wanted to cry out in pain for you, my friend, while my body felt like dancing for joy.”
“I thought my life had ended when Kaleb announced to the entire town I would not lead my men anymore, and my body trembled. I’d lost my job, future, and Abigail would disown me. I felt worthless, Bazak.”
The two colleagues stood looking at each other for what seemed to be an eternity before Bazak spoke up. “What does my Triplicarious want to share with his new Decanus?”
“Do you know anyone who owns a boat and is trustworthy?”
“I have several friends who fish for a living, Tallis, but would I trust them with issues dealing with supporting Herod or Rome, can’t say.”
“We both realize the men who damaged our marketplace slipped into town from the lake. I also found out people watched us from boats last night while we patrolled the village. I find this discomforting.”
“How in the world did you figure out people spied on us? It was dark. Did you spend the night staring out at the lake?”
Tallis studied his friend’s face, trying to decide how much information to share with Bazak. “An old man told me.” The Triplicarious turned and walked across the roof and watched the water flowing south, pushed by the winds whipping across the lake. “I hope another storm hits tonight, Bazak, so we have a night without incident.” Tallis faced his new Decanus. “I would like to find some men we can trust to support our efforts to protect Hammath. Otherwise, Kaleb may dismiss both of us if we fail to restore and maintain peace.”
“Tell me how you plan to save our village, and I’ll think of some men we can use to help us.”
Tallis spent several minutes explaining how he had a friend who kept watch over Hammath, serving as his ears and eyes. The man spotted the boats and those studying their every move during the night. “They leave before the fishermen push off in the morning. My friend tells me we can see them from our rooftops. We must remain vigilant, Bazak.”
The two soldiers sat for several minutes digesting the information. “Tallis, what if we remove our men from the street nearest the lake and position them on nearby rooftops? They would remain out of sight, and our spies couldn’t figure out our patrol patterns. We could still attack them if they attempted to come ashore.”
“Let me think, Bazak, but not to change the subject, I still want to find a few boat owners who might help us. How long would this take you?”
“Give me a day or two. I want to make sure we can depend on the people we select to maintain confidences.”
“Sounds reasonable. It’s critical we partner with honorable men.” The pair continued to gaze at the water, watching a few seagulls floating on the air currents, heading toward the Jordan River. “After I found out people spied on us, I thought it might be interesting to take one or more boats and circle around behind them. We could sneak up and find out what they’re doing. What do you think, Bazak? We could get lucky and take one or two of them, prisoner. Then we could interrogate them.” A look of surprise crossed Bazak’s face.
“They’d see us coming, Tallis. If they can see us standing on the shore, they won’t have a problem spotting us rowing in their direction. Anyway, the only people I know who own boats fish from early morning until midday or until they catch their fill. They may not want to spend the night on the lake then work a full day also, and anyone volunteering to help may face repercussions if our enemies figure out who they are.”
After discussing the use of local fishermen to assist them for several more minutes, they ended up deciding to wait for one or two weeks before reconsidering the idea. “I wish we had more time to sit and relax like this, Tallis. Life is becoming too stressful for those of us serving Herod. … Let me share something else with you if you don’t mind. The past few days, we’ve made an effort to speak with and get to know the people living in our community, right. I’m thinking we should ask them to help us capture whoever is trying to destroy our businesses and way of life. Do you believe we could pull this off?”
The Triplicarious found Bazak’s comment intriguing, but he still wanted his soldiers to continue building relationships with their neighbors. By inviting people to help them, life may become more complicated for his troops in the long run by speaking with individuals who oppose their presence since they represented Herod. “Let me give your idea some thought, my friend.”
“Do you believe we should wait for our neighbors to come tell us what we need to know? So far our citizens haven’t helped us deter our enemies.”
“We need them, Bazak, but do the benefits outweigh the risks? I don’t know the answer to your question, and I don’t want to create more problems for ourselves than we have now.”
“What do you suggest, then? Keep doing the same things while hoping for a different outcome?”
“Over the last few days, I’ve convinced a couple of people to work for me. They spy on various individuals who may have connections with our problems in Hammath. At this moment, we’ve become pawns in an elaborate game, but I don’t want anyone directing our moves. It’s time for us to become the aggressors and take charge of our own circumstances.”
“How did you manage to find people you could trust for such a mission, Tallis?”
“I approached two acquaintances and asked them to spy for me.”
“Did you tell Kaleb what you’re doing?”
“Not a chance. Kaleb would turn around and report everything I said to Nikolaos and Herod’s advisors. Soon everybody in Palestine would know what I’m doing. Everything must remain confidential between the two of us. I don’t want to lose my job or life for performing my duties to protect our community.”
“True, but God promised to send us a Messiah, Tallis. He will deliver us from our trials.”
“Abigail and my brother tell me the same thing. What I don’t understand is how one man can drive governments as powerful as the Romans and Herod from our land. It’s too much for one person to do.”
“Some things may be too big a job for a man to achieve, but with God, anything is possible according to the Law and the Prophets.”
“Several people keep trying to convince me this Messiah is coming, but I don’t see anything happening soon, my friend. Where will he come from? Will he walk into Caesarea one morning and announce he’s the new king? What will Rome do? Pack up and go home without a fight. What a crazy thought. The Romans would enjoy a good laugh and then kill the man. They would do so in some cruel way to make a point, so other people won’t try to revolt in the future.”
Tallis thought his friend didn’t want to discuss the topic with him any longer when Bazak sighed.
“You may be right, but I hope not. I would love to watch the Romans leave with their tail between their legs. Herod, I can live with. After all, he pays our salaries. Should something happen, and the Tetrarch finds himself removed from power, what will happen to our families and us Tallis?”
“Why are we arguing? God provided us with jobs and good pay. I enjoy what I do most days, and I know you do too, Bazak. Please don’t share our conversation with anyone. People count on you and Priam to help regain control of our community so we can live in peace with our neighbors. We don’t want to disappoint them. Besides, we could face charges of treason for talking like this.”
“I’ll keep our conversation a secret, Tallis, but remember, God is good, and He watches over us.”
“God is good indeed, Bazak.”
“When did you start believing in God?”
“Right after Kaleb fired me and then gave me a new job.”
Chapter 16
Watch Your Back Page 15