His feet hit the soft, wet sand as the second explosion went off. He was exhausted. His legs felt like rubber. He looked at the others. Their fight was over. Hearing the explosion on the ship, the four remaining badly wounded soldiers threw down their arms. Marcus called over to him, a tinge of worry in his voice, “Hey John, are you ok buddy?”
John spat on the sand. “Hollywood fucked me! There were no galley slaves to be set free to help us with the fight! Just more than a hundred sailors, all pissed that I knifed their drummer! Fuck! No wonder Eli never had anything good to say about squids.”
The others were trying to hold it back, but the laughs kept coming. They all knew he wasn’t a little kid, but to hear those words coming out of a little kids mouth... with all the stress and tension that had built up over the last five minutes since news that a ship had arrived and the last forty-five seconds of pure terror... and now this... oh it was too much...
Finally, John was laughing too, “Oh sure, it’s funny NOW... you don’t think someone could have told me? Fuck! I need to get laid...” he just left the beach. Everyone just let him go. His team figured he had earned it. No one else wanted to be the one to get in his way. Helena and Syria were indeed thrilled to have him back.
Priorities
Deeper Understandings
Magus Ries sat with Chief Teppo and Chief Dorien after the resulting chaos of the cleanup was drawing to an end. The sheer lethality of the fight had stunned everyone. Of the one hundred and seventy man compliment of the trireme, thirteen men were taken captive and expected to recover from their wounds. The entire fight didn’t last a full minute, and while there were others involved, three men, or two men and a child, did all the damage. Eli, Marcus, and John. A hundred and seventy men, including a war trained magus, six archers and two dozen fully armored Hippolyte. If these stories were told about Hercules himself, who would believe them? They asked each other in wonder. Would we have believed it had we not seen it with our own eyes?
Chief Teppo shook his head. “But this has put fear into the heart of the one called Eli. Not confidence.”
Chief Dorien nodded solemnly. “He had been content to remain on the island for a matter of years and build strength slowly. His ‘development plan’ he said the words in English. Now, he fears being too small to resist. Now he has children to consider...”
Magus Ries stood and raised his voice. “Enough, our fates are tied to his. Lucky for us, he and his people are so strong. They have completely dismantled the ship,” he chuckled, remembering as Marcus explained the term chop shop to him. “Even though it was from the navy of a distant city, if others come looking for it, they will not find it. If you choose to use the wood for his wooden aqueduct or not is a decision for the chiefs but whatever you choose to do, remember all of our fates are tied. Offer a sacrifice for his success and pray to whoever will listen for favor. How a people as powerful as theirs could be in this world and not already rule it, I don’t know, but as he ventures off our island, his success will be our successes, and his failures will most assuredly be visited upon us as well, so support him however you can. That is all the wisdom I have for either of you. Now I must sleep. I travel out to his hall tomorrow to report on the final status of the ship.”
Magus Ries walked off into the dark, deep in his thoughts. Behind him both chiefs felt destiny land upon them. For good or ill, the world was going to change again.
About The Author
Vlad ben Avorham
I started to write books because I wasn't finding what I wanted to read. I like books that make me think, that inspire me to fill out the world with what could be done there. Tomorrowverse is a series of novels and short stories to explore the technological innovations that are preparing to throw us into an unknown and in many cases unknowable future.
Much like Star Trek did for generations of young viewers, I hope Tomorrowverse can give a positive vision of what can be, even as times seem dark. We stand at a pivotal moment in time, where we can enter a future of unparalleled success and prosperity or go down the dystopian nightmares of Orwell's 1984 or Huxley's Brave New World.
It is my fervent hope, that if people have the time to think about what kind of world they want to build, we can reclaim our future from those who would censor, and silence, and eventually eradicate true diversity of thought, and diversity of world view. If I can in some small way help present the choices for a brighter future, then I will have done what I can to bring about a brighter world.
More importantly in the short term though, is for you to enjoy, think about, and join in the magic
World Wright Incorporated (World Wright Inc. Book 1) Page 16