Tallis heard footsteps drawing near.
“What happened, Tallis? There’s a nasty gash on the side of your face, and blood everywhere.” The soldier kneeled and touched his hand.
“Bazak, is that you? My head throbs, and I can’t open my eyes. I ache all over.”
“It’s me.” Bazak looked at the soldier standing next to him. “You better get the doctor, Tam. Bring him here quick. … Shet, I need you to go to Tallis’s house. Fetch his horse and wagon so we can move him when the doctor gives up permission, or in case we have to transport him to the physician if he can’t come to us. … Quit moving around, sir. Help is on the way. You’re going to be alright. What happened?”
“Four runners. I remember following them when they headed toward Tiberias.” Bazak touched his shoulder when Tallis struggled to sit up. “My arm!”
“I’m sorry, Tallis, but you need to lie still until the doctor examines you. … Where else did you injure yourself when you fell?”
Ula pulled a cloth from his belt and doused it with water from the sheepskin bag he carried with him before washing the blood from the cut and his Decanus’s face, trying not to reopen the wound.
“What else can you tell us, sir?”
“I don’t recall much, Bazak.” Tallis winced when a sharp pain tore through his head like someone driving a spike into his skull. He groaned, and Ula stopped cleaning his forehead. Tallis moaned as tears filled his eyes, and flowed down his cheeks.
“Relax, Tallis. The doctor will arrive any minute. You’re going to be fine. Quit moving around and hold still.”
“How long have I been lying here? I’m feeling dizzy, and hearing strange sounds, like a horse coming toward us.”
“Shet’s bringing your wagon so we can move you after the doctor gives us permission.”
“My head hurts, and I can’t open my left eye. Where am I? Abigail!”
“Your wife wasn’t home, Tallis. Don’t move so Ula can finish washing the blood off your face. At least you’re not bleeding anymore. The doctor is on his way. He’ll take care of you. I can see him walking through the north gate right now.”
“Thank you, Shet. Abigail stayed at her mother’s house last night. … What time is it?”
“It’s passed the second hour. When you didn’t meet us at the marketplace, Bazak turned and saw something lying on the highway. We came to check and found you, lying here, unconscious. You woke up when Bazak touched your hand. It’s possible someone used a sling to strike your head with a rock. There’s a stone lying nearby. With luck, you’ll survive. Quiet now. The doctor’s here.”
The local physician kneeled over Tallis and examined his injuries. “That’s a nasty cut, young man, but it appears you managed to turn your head, so you didn’t receive a direct hit. Otherwise, you’d be dead. Lucky for you, it looks like nothing more than a deep bone bruise though you may suffer some memory loss. You’ll also experience some headaches off and on for a few weeks, due to the blow, but those will subside over time.”
“My head hurts, but I’ll tolerate the pain. How long will this take, doctor? My men and I need to reach the fortress before the third hour begins.”
“I suppose your soldiers will arrive late today, but you can’t go with them. You need rest, so you will stay home. Now, hold still so I can apply this ointment to your wound. We don’t want an infection to develop. You have a severe gash above your left eye, but it’s not life threatening. I recommend you don’t travel for several days, at least until after the Sabbath. Your colleagues can go to Tiberias without you.”
“My Centurion won’t be happy if I miss his meeting.”
“He’d be more upset if you were dead. Follow my directions, and you’ll recover within the next two or three weeks. Now, let me help you sit up. If you don’t experience any dizziness, your soldiers and I will help you stand and see how you handle walking.”
“Tam, I want you to explain to your Centurion what happened. Shet and I will get Tallis on his wagon and take him home.” Tam nodded and directed the remaining soldiers to line up two abreast.
“You’re idea makes good sense, Bazak. Once we get Tallis home, I will clean his wound a second time and apply a new dressing. A stronger ointment will reduce the chances of an infection setting in.”
“Do you remember anything else from last night, besides getting hit in the head?”
“I’m not sure, Tam, but I hope my memory improves soon. I’ll tell you what I can remember.”
Tallis shared as much as he could, saying he’d seen five men run into town, but only four retracing their steps toward Tiberias. He wanted to follow them, and find out where they lived and who they are. “One more thing, Tam. The tallest runner looked like the same man I saw leaving town the night Kush, and Masa died. The other three men were much shorter.”
“What else do you remember? There must be more, sir.”
“My head hurts, and my thoughts are foggy. I don’t know how much time elapsed between the men jogging into town and returning. Five or ten minutes, at the most.”
“Our Centurion will ask, what happened to the fifth man?”
“I didn’t see him, Tam. I suppose they went to his house, and he stayed home.”
“What if they saw you hiding behind the pillars as they approached Hammath and the fifth man snuck around behind you and used a sling to hit you in the head?”
Bazak interrupted. “This morning I found you lying here. You must have spent the entire night in the middle of the highway. Can we take him home now, doctor?”
“Good idea. Enough talk for now. I need you and Shet to help me get Tallis on his wagon. I don’t want him to walk and get dizzy. He might fall and reopen his wound. The other men can report to the fortress. We won’t need their help.”
Shet and Bazak carried Tallis to his wagon, helped him climb aboard and took him home. Once they got him in bed, the doctor cleaned the wound a second time. This time washing the cut with wine containing a higher alcoholic content, applied a new and stronger ointment and secured a new bandage that wrapped around his head so it wouldn’t come off if the patient tossed and turned in his sleep. Next, the doctor mixed a concoction of wine and myrrh together.
“Here. Take this, Tallis. It should ease your pain and help you rest. I’ll return sometime this afternoon or tomorrow morning to check on you. I don’t want you moving around. Do you understand me?” Tallis nodded. Turning to Shet and Bazak, the doctor directed them to make sure their Decanus rested and stayed off his feet.
“Thank goodness Abigail isn’t home. If my wife saw me like this, she’d have both our mothers coming to check on me every few minutes. I’d never get any rest, and they might insist on staying with us until I recover.”
“She’s going to find out you’re hurt when she gets home, Tallis. But, you need to rest. Bazak and I will patrol the streets and check back on you later. Follow the doctor’s orders,” Shet said as the two headed across the courtyard and out the door to the street.
Tallis woke up when he heard a door slam. Bazak and Shet walked in. “Sorry to disturb you. The town’s secure, but when we passed the place where Kush used to live, we found the door open. No one responded to our knock, so we stepped inside. Somebody had ransacked the dwelling. Most of his furnishings and dishes lay smashed on the floor, and his clothes are missing. We split up and hoped to find anyone who saw what happened. Tell Tallis what you learned, Shet.”
“The women and children I spoke with said they didn’t see or hear any unusual noises, so I assumed the runners you saw last night did this. Then I met an old man who claimed he’d seen some young fellows enter the house belonging to Kush. He mentioned hearing loud sounds coming from inside the building, like shattering vessels and splintering wood. I also learned the men carried off some items when they left, and clothing too. The old fellow said they weren’t there long. Only a minute or two at the most. He thought they were Jews, like him. He tallest man had Jewish features and gave the orders. He didn’t recognize anyone in the
dark.”
“Did the old man give you his name?”
“He told me his name was Addai.”
Tallis wondered where he’d heard the name before. He couldn’t remember meeting him. “I want both of you to secure the damaged house. I’ll find out who owns the property when I’m feeling better. Our colleagues will return from Tiberias soon. Then we can plan our next steps. We’ll figure this out. Mark my words. We better or Kaleb will skin me alive.”
Tam and the other soldiers had arrived from Tiberias before Shet and Bazak returned to check on their Decanus. “How are you feeling, sir? You had us worried earlier.”
“My headache’s beginning to ease. How did Kaleb react when you described what happened to me last night?”
“He didn’t say much. His words were “you must have a hard head to survive such a blow.” Kaleb also mentioned the deaths of Masa and Kush.” Tam’s voice cracked as he spoke. “Our Centurion said they were good men, and he hated to lose them. He told me to tell you to duck next time.”
“I hope there won’t be a next time.”
“I have something else to tell you, sir. Kaleb said the four new soldiers would arrive in the next week or two at the latest. This will return our Conturbenium to full strength, and he asked me to give this letter to you.”
Tallis broke the seal, unrolled the parchment, and read the document.
Tallis:
I am pleased to hear you survived your head injury. I want to remind you, it’s ill advised to work alone, and you better not do so again. You know what happened to your father when he decided to travel alone at night.
I also expect you and your troops to prevent all criminal and civil disobedience within your assigned area without excuse. These are Nikolaos’s orders, and mine. Failure to do your duty may lead to your removal from the rank of Decanus. Herod’s patience wanes. Our Tetrarch will not tolerate any more occurrences like what happened during the past two nights in Hammath. Use whatever actions you choose to control and end further disruptive behavior in the town you protect. Continue to lead your squad with distinction, and you will succeed.
I trust you will follow my orders without question from this point forward. You and your men face grave consequences should you and your soldiers fail to quell the discord in your region. I wish you success in your efforts to bring and maintain peace in Hammath and the surrounding countryside.
Kaleb
How can my Commander write me such a letter? I’m stunned. Herod isn’t pleased with my soldiers or me. If we aren’t doing a good job, why doesn’t he recruit and train more troops so we can protect our community day and night?
“What did he say, Tallis? It can’t be good news. Your face lost color as you read.”
“Our expectations remain high, Tam, and Kaleb expects this Conturbenium to prevent future attacks from occurring in Hammath. We can’t afford to lose any more men, nor can we have any situations like the night before last. The letter also confirms what you said regarding our new replacements, though he didn’t say give a specific date. In a week or two. Too bad, we need the help now.”
“Ten soldiers can’t protect our village and the surrounding countryside, much less the six of us,” Bazak said. “We aren’t able to be everywhere day and night. What’s he thinking?” Bazak said clinching his fists.
“Patrols will continue in the region until the troubles end. We can’t guard specific locations any longer, like the night Kush and Masa died. We need to keep moving throughout the village in pairs and patrol in the open. By creating a visible presence, I hope we can discourage anyone wanting to cause trouble.” Tallis looked at each man as I spoke, searching for signs of disgruntlement. “Everyone must embrace our mission. We will meet in the marketplace at sunset. Have your weapons sharpened and carry your horns with you at all times. With luck, our new troops will arrive in time to help us. Now, go home and tend to your personal responsibilities.” My head hurts worse than before.
“You need to rest, Tallis. Doctor’s orders.”
“Rest can wait, Shet. We have a job to do, soldier.”
After his troops had left, the Decanus read the letter a second time. The contents troubled his soul. For the last five years, his superiors had praised him for performing with distinction. They said he had the ability to help people work through their differences. My men and I must prevent civil disobedience within our community, but how? Kaleb threatens to take away my opportunity for promotion and destroy my future at the first sign of trouble. He might demote me, or, who knows. Tallis vowed to not let this happen. He and his troops would crush whoever tries to disrupt the lives of those they swore to protect. Failure wasn’t an option.
Six soldiers reported to the north gate as ordered. “Tonight, we will form three teams. The first team will patrol this gate and the five streets, running east and west, closest to the gate. A second team guards the five streets in the center of town and along the entire lakeshore. The remaining pair of guards will protect the south gate and the last five streets in our village. Sound the alarm should trouble arise. Any questions? Good. Let’s get to work.”
Each team headed toward their assigned areas while Tallis walked toward the lake. He reminded himself, people need to see us patrolling the streets. At the same time, he didn’t want to lose the element of surprise should outsiders slip into town. A night without trouble would be a blessing.
Reaching the lake, Tallis paused and listened to the waves slap the shoreline before rolling back to deeper waters. With a star-filled sky and a pleasant breeze, he could hear families talking and laughing on their rooftops. Turning south, the Decanus walked down the street until reaching Hammath’s south wall. From this location, he observed two soldiers guarding the gate.
Following Tallis’s direction, each team reported to the marketplace after completing their rounds three times. “I want us to continue patrolling along our assigned routes. So far our community remains peaceful, but you know what to do if you run into problems. Otherwise, carry on as before.”
“How are you feeling, sir? You know the doctor wanted you to rest for a few days.”
“My head hurts, Tam, but each of us has a job to do. I’ll be fine.” As he walked away, Tallis wondered what his supervisors felt regarding the current predicament in Hammath. There’s more going on than my men, and I know. Acaph and Mered had joined their team, hand-selected by, Nikolaos. On the same night, two soldiers died, and Acaph and Mered disappeared into the darkness. Yet Kaleb didn’t seem too concerned. Something’s not right.
Tallis turned and walked to the north gate. He could see Ula and Tam standing in the shadows as he approached their position. “How is everything going so far?”
“The north end of town remains peaceful, Tallis. Many folks appear to enjoy spending time on their rooftops this evening.”
“Thank you for the update, Tam.” The Decanus turned and walked down the first street toward the lake. He decided not to go inside and lie down when he walked by his house.
When he reached the tower, Tallis spotted two soldiers approaching his location. Both men announced the center of town and the lakeshore remained quiet thus far. Was it possible their visible presence discouraged the runners who’d visited the community the past two nights from reentering Hammath?
“Thank you for the update. I’ll check back with you before midnight.”
As Shet turned to leave, he spoke. “Isn’t this close to the time those men attacked Masa and Kush? We need to pray for their souls.”
Tallis smiled. “You and Bazak take whatever time you need to remember our fallen comrades. I’ll stay while you pray.”
When the soldiers completed their prayer, the pair turned and walked back along the lake, before turning, and disappearing up one of the streets toward the center of town. A hush had fallen over Hammath, and the waves crashing on the shore was the only sound Tallis heard. Tonight, their village had remained peaceful, and they’d performed their duties well. This would please Kaleb,
and Tallis hoped life would return to normal.
Chapter 5
Watch Your Back Page 4
