Survivors of Corrica

by Courtney Bowen

  She explained some of those ideas to Lapida, who shook her head. “It sounds too bizarre for a mountain to change in such a manner and grow hot.” Lapida said.

  “I know. If I hadn’t been there and witnessed everything myself, I would’ve doubted the same. Be that as it may, we had to leave everything behind and come down to the City of Elders just so that we could survive.”

  “How is it here for you?” Lapida asked. “Has it been difficult, the transition?”

  “Yes, very difficult.” Geneva told her. “We barely scrape out a living for ourselves. We’re looking for work and living in a small apartment. I miss my home, the farm we used to have before it turned bad.”

  “I know the feeling well.” Lapida nodded. “I, too, once had a home far away from here in a peaceful village before I was forced to leave it and come here, looking for work.”

  “We’re worried, too, about what Mogame says will happen to the mountain. That it’ll get much worse, bad enough to destroy everything surrounding it.”

  Geneva told Lapida about Mogame’s predictions about the explosion and clouds of ash and gas. “That’s monstrous!” Lapida gasped, shying away from her. “How could he believe such a thing will happen?”

  “I know it’s terrible. I don’t know if I believe everything he says will come to pass. But I believe something’s happening up there on that mountain. If it comes down into the city, we’ll have no choice but to leave it behind, too.” Geneva said.

  “Leave the City of Elders.” Lapida frowned, staring at the fire in her forge. “How do you plan on doing that?”

  “My family and I have considered Mogame’s words and we’ve made a pact. If Mogame or someone’s willing to help us, we’ll pool together all of our money, and buy ourselves a boat or two with a crew to man them.”

  “A sea voyage? That sounds extreme. Such voyages can be deadly.”

  “I know, but it might be our only option if the rest of the island of Corrica is ruined by Mount Harmony’s destruction. We’ll have to sail away from the island and find another plot for us to settle down upon, a better place where we can start again and farm the land for ourselves.”

  “Where will you go?” Lapida asked, turning to her. “What city, port, island, or continent?”

  “We don’t know where we’d go, precisely.” Geneva looked down. “So many areas are worse than what Corrica provides for us, in terms of the quality of the soil and land for farming. We don’t know where we’d be welcomed if Corrica and the City of Elders were gone.”

  “Surely there must be some territory suitable and safe enough if such a thing were to happen. We have an entire empire full of islands and many trading partners besides.”

  “Corrica has built up our trade and empire on the backs of others.” Geneva said. “We worked our farm and couldn’t afford to hire any other help, but many here have slaves, taken from other islands. If we were to lose our fortune and prestige, our force and might, we’d be vulnerable, worthless, and at the mercy of others.”

  “You really think it’d be that bad if something happened to the City of Elders?” Lapida asked.

  “I hope it doesn’t happen, for fear of what might happen to me and others. But we’ve got to be prepared as well, in case such misfortune befalls us.”

  “Well, I’m glad I had this talk with you, Geneva. You’ve opened my eyes.”

  “Thank you, Lapida. May the gods bless you and your family.” Geneva bowed her head as she left.

  Lapida frowned to herself, considering Geneva’s words, when suddenly a voice behind her asked, “Is it true, Lapida? What she said?”

  Lapida turned around and faced her husband’s younger brother. “I’m not sure, Corr, but we might have to entertain such a possibility.”

  Corr nodded, disturbed by such a thought as he and Lapida went back to work.

  ℜℜℜ

  Wilama took Wintha to the infirma hospit where a friend of hers, Anya, worked. Wintha studied the building as they went in and nodded, thinking it’d do just fine. Anya tended to the girl, who spread a story of fire and smoke raining down upon the city.

  Wilama shook her head. “The poor girl’s been mumbling on like this for a while now.”

  Anya sighed. “I’ll do everything I can for her, but we’re busy. There have been some incidences in recent days of hot springs and baths burning swimmers, and quite a few people have come in, ill and poisoned, too.”

  “The fire and smoke are already affecting them.” Wintha whispered. “There’s nothing you can do for them. You must take to the sea in your cousin’s boat.”

  “My what?” Anya asked, staring at the girl. “How could you possibly know—Wilama, have you mentioned anything to her?”

  “Mentioned what?” Wilama said, confused.

  “My cousin’s a sailor. He commands a boat, currently docked in the harbor.” Anya said, turning to Wilama. “Did you tell her about that?”

  “No, I don’t know anything about this cousin of yours.” Wilama said.

  “He commands the winds. The sails will fly open for him.” Wintha said, turning to Anya and Wilama. “The children of the mountain have already come to him, asking for safe passage. The shadow scholar leads them. Others will join us as well.”

  Anya frowned, glaring at the girl and Wilama. “This is very suspicious. I better ask him if he knows what’s going on here.”

  Anya stomped off while Wilama faced Wintha. “How can you say such things, and scare off the people trying to help you?” Wilama asked, pleading with her. “We only want to make sure that you stay well.”

  “I’ll be well when we’re away from here, sailing with the breeze.” Wintha turned away, staring off in the distance. “You’ll see, Wilama, when the earth shakes and stone will crack, breaking the face of Loqwuano.”

  “How dare you.” Wilama gasped. “I won’t tolerate such words. Loqwuano’s steadfast, he holds strong when all else fails. He won’t break.” Wilama told her, and left Wintha alone in the infirma hospit.

  Wintha grimaced. “They never believe me the first time around. It’s always tiresome when they doubt.”

  ℜℜℜ

  That evening, Lapida and Corr welcomed home Hasbas, Lapida’s husband and Corr’s older brother as they embraced and shook hands. Hasbas was a milite, a legionary, one of many that served the empire. Today he’d been patrolling the protest outside of the Elders’ Hall, watching the crowd for any sign of unrest beyond the norm.

  “There were so many of them.” Hasbas shook his head as Lapida and Corr served out food. “They must’ve come from all over the city. I swear, there were more than aerarii, capite censi, or proletarii, but some of the adsidui or nobiles were among them.”

  “Really?” Lapida asked, studying him. “Do you think we should be concerned?”

  “I’m not sure how bad these riots will get, but if some concession isn’t made to the people, then the situation might get worse.” Hasbas said.

  “Tell him about the woman with the horseshoes in your shop today, Geneva.” Corr added, eager to share their own story.

  “What woman?” Hasbas asked. Lapida informed him of what she said, and Corr supplied other details, but Hasbas frowned. “That sounds ridiculous. What kind of lies is she spreading, trying to upset people like that?”

  “I don’t know if she was lying.” Lapida said, turning away. “She seemed grave and sincere about her tale.”

  “It’s just the sort of thing that--” Hasbas started to say, when suddenly the ground trembled beneath their feet.

  They were thrown off to the side, knocked back against the wall, while furniture shook and fell over, narrowly missing them as they avoided such objects and sheltered their heads as best they could. Finally the vibration stopped after a few seconds, perhaps a minute, though it felt like longer as they lifted their heads, gazing at the cracked walls surrounding them and the roof that creaked threateningly over their heads.

  “What was that?” Corr asked.

 
“We must find this woman Geneva and that scholar friend of hers.” Hasbas murmured, staring. “Perhaps if we hear more from them, we’ll know what to do about this situation.”

  “Right.” Lapida nodded. “Of course. I’ll ask around for Geneva. Perhaps some of the neighbors might know where she and her family from Mount Harmony are staying.”

  “He was at the Elders’ Hall yesterday, according to her? Perhaps Marko might’ve seen him, heard him speak.” Hasbas said, thinking.

  “Are we going to leave here soon?” Corr asked.

  “I’m not sure if we can stay the night inside this house.” Hasbas said, looking over everything. “Perhaps we might sleep outside, away from the walls and ceiling.”

  “The forge might be okay. I better check if it’s damaged.” Lapida said, getting up.

  They got out of there as the earth quivered beneath them again, not as bad as before, but still menacing everything.

  ℜℜℜ

  Across the city, the earthquake damaged hundreds of buildings, trapping people inside, or crushing them. At the temple of Loqwuano, Wilama raced across the grounds, praying to the god as she confronted his broken statue, and gasped.

  “How could Wintha have known?” Wilama asked, gazing upon Loqwuano’s cracked face.

  The infirma hospit where Wintha was staying remained standing, as she knew it would, but had to deal with so many patients that Wintha helped out with them, or else she’d be forced back out onto the streets. She couldn’t leave this place just yet, not when Wilama and Anya were her best chances of escaping the nightmare that lied ahead.

  She might be able to see the future coming, but she couldn’t do anything to change it, especially this particular event. The only thing she could do now was to get out and take as many people with her as would be willing to believe and follow her. So far their numbers were small, but that’d grow, she knew.

  Mogame had been in his office at the library, writing down everything he’d experienced at Mt. Harmony, when the earthquake began. He braced himself and slid under the desk, hiding and cowering down there until it stopped. He waited a few more minutes for any aftershocks, but when nothing major followed after, he crawled out.

  He’d hoped they’d have more time to prepare for what was coming, but now that the tremors had come this far out from the mountain, he knew it was only a short while before the volcano burst. He clutched his hands and wept, wishing he’d gotten through to those obstinate Elders, but it was too late.

  They were done for, and the only thing left to do was leave. He’d meet with Geneva’s family and the sailors in the morning, hoping they’d be able to work out some kind of deal now to get out of here.

  Geneva and her family took shelter inside their apartment, murmuring amongst themselves, as they tried to hide the fear they all felt. Geneva, for her part, helped count out all of the money they had and tallied how much more they could earn, selling off everything they possessed. It wasn’t enough, she knew, not to charter a boat for all of them.

  Meanwhile, Memba frowned to himself as he felt the earth move, bracing himself against a doorway, while Zeldos was nearly trapped down in the servants’ quarters. By the time Zeldos crawled out the next morning, still fearing the building would come down upon his head while others cried out behind him, Memba was waiting for him.

  “What do you make of these disturbances, rhapsode?” Memba asked, staring at his servant.

  “Perhaps that scholar was right. Maybe there’s something wrong with Mt. Harmony, and it’ll affect the entire island.” Zeldos said.

  “No. I’ve waited too long, struggled and risk so much, pooling so many resources together to become dictator over all of the tribunes, only for it all to be risked by some—fringe coalition that spouts theories of doom and gloom, on the eve of my ascension.” Memba said. “This isn’t any graver than the earth shaking, perhaps to contend with any miscreants who refuse to believe in the powers of the gods.”

  “Yes, sire. You’re probably right about that.” Zeldos told him.

  “I want you to come up with some clever lines, recounting how I helped rescue people here at the palace and throughout the city. Can you do that?” Memba asked.

  “Of course, sire.”

  “Good. You may go.” Memba walked away from him.

  Zeldos scowled, but didn’t say anything more. He moved on through the palace, fuming to himself and wondering how he’d get out of here.

  ℜℜℜ

  Soon after, the centurion Marko, currently stationed at the palace as commander of the guards, met up with Hasbas, his former aide when they used to campaign together. “What’re you doing here?” Marko asked, bemused as he hugged his comrade. “Shouldn’t you be back at home with your family, making sure they’re safe?”

  “No, I want to talk to you about that scholar who met with the Elders yesterday. Mogame, I believe his name was?” Hasbas asked.

  “Ah, you’ve heard of him and the…information he told us about.” Marko said, leaning forward. “I was wondering if he told others.”

  “Do you believe him now?” Hasbas asked.

  “I’m not sure. Admittedly, it’s not a complete coincidence all of this happened so soon after Mogame presented his findings. Yet I wonder if the conditions are as dire as he says. If this spells disaster for everyone and everything. Perhaps this event was the extent of the damage, and it won’t get any worse.”

  “You don’t believe we need an escape route?”

  “Perhaps we might be a little upset and paranoid right now, and that can strain our thoughts and cognitive abilities. But if things do go further downhill, perhaps that’s something we should consider. Not just if Mt. Harmony explodes either. If Memba’s rule does become a debacle and an uprising tries to take control of the city, we might need to flee and protect our families.”

  Hasbas nodded. “That might be a good idea then. I’ve heard there’s already a small group of people, including Mogame, who came down from the mountain, and are trying to arrange passage on a boat off of the island.”

  “That’ll be a good resource. Perhaps we can talk to them, negotiate our own berths on the vessel, in exchange for security and provisioning.” Marko said. “We have enough stores here that we can spare a little for a long voyage.”

  “Where’d we go, though?” Hasbas asked, contemplative. “I’ve tried to think of any safe harbor that’d take on refugees from Corrica, especially if the city’s destroyed. The empire would be thrown into chaos then, trying to calm down any of our rivals or revolts, that we’d be hard pressed to find shelter.”

  “We’ll think of that when the time comes, if there’s a necessity for it. Right now, we’ve got to arrange a meeting with Mogame and his associates, determine what their plans are, and if we can fit with them.” Marko said.

  “Can I join you all?” Zeldos asked, coming out of hiding.

  “Zeldos! What’re you doing here?” Marko asked as he and Hasbas turned around.

  “I was just wondering if an invitation could be extended to a friend, who has little in the way of lucre or property, not even his own freedom, but who’s got the ear of a tyrant if otherwise denied.” Zelods said.

  Marko flinched, contemplating reaching down for his sword, but Hasbas wagged his head imperceptibly, just enough to get his point across. He turned back around, facing Zeldos, looking him up and down.

  “What else do you have?” Hasbas asked.

  “I was a gladiator in my youth before I was trained in the bardic arts. I can still fight if given the opportunity.”

  “Would you be bound to us, if not Memba?” Marko asked.

  Zeldos grimaced. “I’d be willing to side with you all if we left Corrica behind. I’m not promising more than that.”

  Hasbas glanced at Marko, who shrugged. “Perhaps we can use you if you swear not to betray us.” Hasbas said. “You’d be condemning yourself as well as us, after all, if you tell Memba our plans.”

  “I won’t breathe a word to him. J
ust give me time to prepare to leave.” Zeldos said, slipping away from them.

  Marko turned to Hasbas. “Can we trust him, though?” Marko asked.

  “I’m not sure, but at least he’s another body, perhaps another arm, if it comes down to a fight out of here.” Hasbas said.

  Chapter Three:

  Leave-taking

  Anya climbed aboard the vessel, barely able to breathe, as her cousin Porran turned to face her. “Gods, how hard are they treating you at the infirma hospit?”

  “I’m fine enough.” Anya said, sinking down onto the deck of the penteconter, a long vessel with twenty-five banks of oars on each side of the ship that could have up to fifty rowers manning them. “It’s the people, Porran, you should’ve seen them. The horrible things that happened to them because of such a terror and they just kept coming to the infirma hospit throughout the night.”

  Porran nodded. “I’ve seen sailors who couldn’t walk or rise again after the tragedies and accidents that happen aboard ship, but I must admit, seeing all those affected by that earthquake last night was hard to bear. You must be exhausted after tending to them.”

  “Porran, have you been approached by anyone who wanted to leave the island? Who might’ve come to you with a wild tale?” Anya asked.

  Porran sighed, staring out over the water. “Yes, I’ve heard a tale or two in my time, but this morning a group of people came straight here, they said, after seeing the mountain burn and experiencing the earthquake last night. They want to go. I said there was no way I could practically hand over the entire vessel to them, along with my crew, without a steep price. They swore they’d come back and match the offer soon.”

  “What do you think about them and their story?” Anya said.

  “I might raise the offer, or I might abandon all hope, urge as many people as I can aboard ship, and on any vessel I could find, and get them all out of here.” Porran said.