Fully ten percent of the unit must stand watch at any one time. This ensured that the walls were manned well enough that it would be impossible to sneak through the Skutatoi standing guard. Whatever horses the Tourma had would be kept in the center of the camp just outside of the officer’s central area.
While making the unit more vulnerable to attack, the two gates were erected to give the 5th Parthica flexibility for counter attacks or an escape route if they were attacked while within their night fort by a superior force. The tradition of the marching fort had saved many a Roman Army at slumber dating back nearly a thousand years to the time of the early republic.
Fires began springing up around the camp as men returned to their unit’s assigned position within the fort. Their position, roughly the same as their permanent fort in Damascus, never changed. This ensured that everyone knew their place with maximum efficiency. As a final punishment, Athos, lacking a tent half, would get to spend the night under the stars. Looking up at those stars he thought, I don’t care about not having a tent. I’m so tired I could probably fall asleep while on fire.
Nikas summoned the Kontoubernion leaders, the Dekanoses, to his tent in officer country for the nightly briefing. Before long, Athos was awoken by the sounds of laughter drifting from Nikas’ command tent. They must be enjoying the wine. Bastards. He sighed, looked up at the moon, set his head back on his arms and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 7
August 2nd, 636 Arabia Province, Byzantium
Several hours after Nasir and Maarika’s northward journey on the Aqaba road began, sweat glistened on their foreheads. The heat from the merciless Sun above made them feel like they were slowly cooking in a large fire. The road, nicely paved and showing little wear, despite its nearly five hundred years of service, had received little maintenance.
This marvel of Roman Engineering was surrounded on both sides by tall cliffs. The cliffs, loomed over the road and were varying shades of brown with the occasional patch of reddish looking stone. Fortunately for the pair, the cliffs provided shade from the Sun’s rays, and they avoided the worst of its effects.
As the pair walked, Maarika turned to Nasir, “Have you ever heard of the prophecy of the hungry?”
Nasir nodded, “Aye, it was said that one day the people would turn away from Bismillah. When that day came, a horrific plague would be released upon the land. The accursed disease would make the people forever hungry. Husbands would eat their wives. Mothers would consume their children, and the living would become a feast for the dead. The hungry ones would ravage the world until the people turned back to Bismillah. When that day comes, a hero will emerge to put an end to the people’s curse of hunger.”
Maarika smiled, “I’m glad you did not lose touch with your people as you served the Romans.”
Nasir, grinned, “The Romans are very accepting of other peoples and cultures. As long as you recognize Emperor Heraclius as God’s Vice Reagent on earth, equal to the Apostles and that you follow the true faith as laid out by the Council of Nicaea.”
Maarika pondered Nasir’s words for several moments, “This God the Romans are obsessed with, is he greater than our God Bismillah?”
Nasir responded, “In my heart, the answer is yes. Though if you ever gather a group of twenty priests and ask the same question, you will get twenty different answers.”
Maarika snorted derisively, “These priests should spend more time working and less time pondering I think.”
“Aye.”
“I guess you Romans are rich beyond imagination if you can afford to have so many not work.”
Nasir laughed, “Indeed, I’ve never really thought of it like that. Sadly, all the priests seem to do is think up reasons to divide us.”
“That seems silly. How can such a rich people be so stupid?”
Nasir shrugged his shoulders, “If we ever figure that out the Empire will become truly unstoppable.”
The two fell silent as they pondered the wisdom of the other’s words. They continued following the trail of what they had come to call the hungry ones. As they followed the Roman Road to Aqaba, they came upon the occasional body part or random piece of flesh. These pieces of the hungry were not the result of violence but seem to have just fallen off of their own accord.
After a while, Maarika broke the silence, “The legend said that the hero would be of pale skin and come from a place far to the north.”
Nasir pondered this for several moments then asked, “Did it give any more details?”
Maarika sifted through her memories trying to remember bits and pieces of the story that seemed just out of reach. She hadn’t heard this story since she was a little girl, “The place would have mountains.” She pondered another moment and added, “Not like our mountains barren, brown, and lifeless, but mountains with immense trees upon them.”
“I’ve heard about several places that fit that description. The closest is a part of a land called Phoenicia. At least it used to be. There aren’t many trees left in those mountains now.” Nasir said.
Maarika shook her head, “Hmmm, that name doesn’t sound familiar at all.”
Nasir sifted through his memories of conversations he had with officers from the North, “The next possibility is part of a land called Armenia.”
Frustrated, Maarika said, “I just don’t remember what the hero’s homeland was named in the story.”
As the Sun set, the pair found an outcropping of rocks to sleep beneath. This spot ensured that they were out of sight should some of the hungry reverse their course and come upon them in the night. After eating a meal consisting of warm water from their water skins and the fresh bread that Maarika had baked earlier that morning, they fell asleep.
The night was filled with faint sounds of the wind pushing through the cracks and crevices of the cliffs. They both slept, their dreams filled with the horrors they recently witnessed. Fortunately, no other being or creature bothered them that night, only the imaginary ones of their nightmares.
The following day around noon they emerged from the mountain pass. They did not have any encounters with the plagued ones that morning but continued to see evidence of their passing as they walked. As the pair emerged from the pass, they saw an imposing stone structure off in the distance set upon a hill. The structure, along with several smaller ones, was surrounded by a stone wall. The wall, crumbling in places, was about as tall as two men. The hill, like the surrounding terrain, was filled with various shades of tan and brown, comprising equal parts of sand and gravel.
Nasir frowned at what he saw, “Odd, usually there are guards on the wall.”
Maarika replied, “Look at the trail of the hungry. It leads right toward the city.”
“That’s not a city. It’s a fort.” He pointed at the front gate. Still, barred shut, despite no evidence of occupants, “Why is the gate still locked and barred if the fort has fallen?”
Maarika pondered for several moments then replied, “I know not the answer to that question.”
Nasir gazed over the rest of the fort. In addition to the imposing central barracks building, the fort had a smithy used to repair armor and weapons. Next to the smithy was a supply depot that stored food. The food supplied both the occupants of the fort and the various border posts in the region, which included Nasir’s. Also, of interest was a large set of stables.
“We need to get in there and see what happened,” Nasir said.
Without waiting for a response, he set off in the direction of the fort. As they drew close, they could hear the buzzing of thousands of flies. The battlements had several corpses laying where they were struck down. The fort’s walls at one time was covered in limestone and shear. The passage of centuries had caused the limestone to decay in many places and the underlying bricks now shown between the remaining patches of limestone.
Nasir and Maarika arrived at the imposing gate and pushed on it. It refused to yield. The stout wooden doors, cracked and pitted from many years in the des
ert, was barred from the other side.
“How do we get in?” Maarika asked and then added, “Do we even want to try?”
Nodding Nasir said, “Aye, I must find out what happened and check for survivors. Surely someone survived the onslaught of the hungry. With luck, we can obtain some horses from the stables and try to get ahead of the hungry ones so we can warn Aqaba of their approach.”
Nasir started to walk to the right of the imposing wooden door. Looking up, he saw a spot on the wall not too far from the door where the limestone had fallen off in a giant sheet. This had exposed the bricks underneath the limestone layer. Years of scouring by desert sands had done their work on the exposed bricks and worn away much of the masonry around them. This caused the surface of the wall to be rough and uneven.
“Do you think you can climb the wall and open the gate from the inside?” Nasir asked.
“Yes, that surface looks easier to climb than some of the cliff faces I climbed as a child.”
Nasir smiled and pulled his dagger out of its sheath. Handing it to Maarika, he said, “Great.” Pointing to his right shoulder, he added, “I took a spear in my shoulder some years back during a punitive expedition. Damned camel thieves. Now I can’t lift my arm above my shoulder so I don’t think I can make that climb.”
Maarika laughed at him, “It’s a good thing I came along when I did. Many more months of living with nothing but other men and you would have fallen completely apart!”
Too late Maarika realized she had reminded Nasir of his fallen men. Unable to hold back the pain any longer Nasir dropped to his knees and started weeping. He pounded the sands with his fists over and over asking one question, “Why God?”
Maarika knelt down beside him and put her arms around him. The metal bands of his armor dug into her as she held him, but she ignored the pain, “Shhh I’m sorry. Please forgive me for causing you pain.”
Nasir continued weeping for several more minutes but drew tremendous comfort from Maarika’s embrace. During the exchange, they had become oblivious to the world around them. They didn’t notice the creature until it snarled and leaped on them. The hungry one crashed into Nasir’s back, wrapped its arms around him, and pulled his neck toward teeth eager to rip his flesh.
Maarika screamed in surprise at the sudden attack. Without thinking she grabbed the dagger off the ground and shoved it into the mouth of the plagued one a moment before its teeth would have sunk into the soft flesh of Nasir’s neck, where it joined his right shoulder. Impaled, the creature let out a fearsome noise which rattled in its throat.
Nasir grabbed the undead and threw it on the ground in front of him. Before it had a chance to recover, he drew his Spatha and slid it into the plagued one’s left eye socket, “Thank you for saving me once again.” Nasir said.
Maarika smiled, grabbed his face with both of her hands, pulled him close and kissed him passionately, “You’re welcome. The least I could do after reminding you what befell your men.”
Nasir smiled, “Think nothing of it. I should be stronger than this.”
Maarika replied, “My brave soldier, you are strong and mighty indeed, but at the end of the day you are still an imperfect being of flesh and blood.”
“I know but-“
“Shhh, you couldn’t have saved them. You would have simply died with them and where would that leave me? Steel yourself for battle soldier. I’ll climb the wall and unbar the gate.”
“Be careful, I know we just met two days ago, but I don’t think I could bare to lose you too.”
“I will be.”
Maarika placed the dagger in her mouth and began scaling the wall. As she quickly shimmied up the wall, Nasir admired her posterior. When she reached the top, she disappeared over the top. A moment later, she screamed.
Nasir horrified that he was going to lose her, tried to climb the wall himself. He clawed at it uselessly trying to pull himself up the wall and yelled, “No!”
Maarika’s head peaked over the top of the wall, “Sorry when I hopped over the wall I landed on a half-eaten soldier. It frightened me.”
“For a moment I thought I had lost you, please.” His voice trailed off, and he held back a sob.
Nasir struggled for several moments to bring his emotions back under control. During that time Maarika had found her way down to the ground. After a few more additional moments, she located the wooden bar that sealed the gate. She placed both of her hands on the bar and started pushing up. It didn’t budge. The sounds of her efforts attracted the unwanted attention of one of the fort’s residents.
Maarika continued trying to force the bar of the gate upward so that she could open it. Crazed by hunger, the creature, now only ten feet from her exposed back, let out a triumphant growl as the smell of her sweet living fleshed overpowered its senses. Upon hearing the noise, Maarika whirled around and saw the hungry one bearing down on her. The thing was in full chain mail, its lips stuck into a permanent leer, making the face all the more sinister as its teeth clicked together continuously.
Maarika lunged to her left just as the thing crashed into the door where she had just been a moment before. The abomination instantly recovered and turned swiftly to face her. Getting back to her feet, she grabbed the dagger Nasir had given her as it charged. A moment before its clutching hands grabbed her, she fell to her knees and slashed at its exposed knee. The slash partially severed the hungry one’s leg.
She then rolled away again to her left as the creature reached for her as it toppled to the dirt. She came out of her lunge, regained her feet, moved behind it as it struggled to reach her, and stabbed it in the back of the head. The plagued one, now on its knees, fell forward making a crashing noise as its armor struck the ground.
Nasir called out, “Maarika!”
“I’m fine love. Shush now so you don’t attract anymore.”
Maarika looked around the fort to ensure that the commotion had drawn no more of the hungry. Finally, able to look around she took a deep breath and let it out. The courtyard of the fort was a house of horrors. It was dotted with spots of dried blood that had turned black in the merciless Arabian sun. In addition to the blood, there were body parts in various states of decay, and empty suits of armor were everywhere. Some of the suits of armor still had the bones of the soldiers that wore them in life within.
As Maarika took in the courtyard, she gasped out loud at the horrors her eyes beheld. She squeezed them shut, just wishing it would all go away and that she was back in her family’s tent. She imagined being a little girl again and being rocked gently to sleep by her mother.
The moment of reflection was interrupted by Nasir, “What’s wrong, are you ok?”
“I’m fine. The site of this place scared me is all.”
Confirming that no other plagued ones wanted to make a meal of her, she turned back to the task at hand. Once again, she pushed up against the bar that held the door fast with all her strength, she couldn’t budge it. Alright now what?
She turned around and leaned up against the door to catch her breath. As she did so, she looked around the courtyard for a solution. Her eyes settled on the gladius, still in its sheath, of the hungry one she had just slain.
Maarika slowly drew the weapon from its sheath so as not to make a noise. She then slid the blade between the bar and the iron latch of the right door that held it in place. It took her several minutes to work the blade into place slowly.
Growing impatient with the delay Nasir asked, “Is everything ok? What’s going on?”
“I’m fine love. Just trying to get this bar off the thrice cursed door. It’s stuck, and I can’t seem to budge it,” Maarika replied.
Nasir pondered for several moments, “You might be able to find an ax in the smithy.”
“I’ve got a gladius up under the bar between it and the latch holding it in place. I’m going to try and use it as a lever.”
“Clever girl.”
Smiling at his compliment, she grabbed the pommel of the gladius
with both hands and pushed up with all her strength. Nothing happened. She paused and took a minute to catch her breath after her unsuccessful effort. Again, she put all of her strength into pushing up onto the pommel of the sword. The bar moved a quarter of an inch.
Exhausted, she leaned up against the door to rest. She glanced over her shoulder to ensure no hungry ones were trying to sneak up on her. There weren’t.
“I think using the sword as a lever is going to work,” Maarika stated.
“Good,” Nasir replied with an edge of impatience in his voice.
Maarika pushed up on the pommel as hard as she could. Once again, she felt the bar moving ever so slightly upward. Without warning, the blade loudly snapped in two and fell to the earth. The voice of a plagued one echoed off the fort’s walls as the sound woke it up. She whirled around and saw it stumble out of the stables.
Maarika frantically looked for the dagger Nasir had given her. It was still embedded in the back of the creature’s head that she had slain several minutes prior. As the hungry creature stumbled toward her, teeth clicking together rapidly in anticipation of the feast her juicy soft flesh would soon provide, she yanked on the dagger trying to pull it free. It was stuck fast in the skull.
She glanced up at the thing that was approaching her. It was dressed in the tattered remains of clothing typically worn by stable boys. She yanked again on the dagger. It refused to yield. The hungry one had drawn within ten feet of her as she glanced at it again.
She had one final opportunity to pull on the dagger and get it out. Gripping the pommel of the blade as hard as she could, she pulled with all her might. Her strength, fueled by the adrenaline rushing through her system failed. It still didn’t come out.
Byzantium Infected Box Set Page 9
