Pivot of the Sky

Chapter 52: We Understand

Metatro attracted a lot of attention when he showed up at the square in front of the shrine, riding a horse with his shining ornate armaments. Mayor Tich quickly strode towards him through the whispering crowd and bowed politely, Dear foreign knight, are you here to help us rescue Princess Sissila?

Metatro got off the horse and returned his gesture with a salute. My name is Metatro. I come from the family of Krutu in Bablon City. Admiring the feats of the heroes from legends, Ive practised hard to be a warrior of the fourth level, and have travelled across the country to serve my king and the people. When I heard that you are recruiting braves, I came immediately to see if theres anything I can do.

Some prostitutes were in the crowd as well. A stunning girl told those next to her proudly, Look at that handsome hero! We were together with him last night!

Metatro was dressed like a supreme warrior. It was a bit disappointing to hear him that he was just a fourth-level warrior, but Tich still felt glad to see him join. Every man was valuable in such a moment, especially one with such fine weapons. As a fifth-level warrior, Tich thought he was the only advanced warrior in town. Now, he had company.

Mayor Tich took the reins for him and said, Dear sir, you shall have gratitude from me, my town, the state and the Kingdom Does this brave young man come with you? He noticed Amon, who was walking behind Metatro, leading another horse.

He, hmm, he is a friend of mine, a warrior of the fifth level. He is a modest gentleman, volunteering to rescue Princess Sissila.

He didnt want people to mistake Amon as his attendant. Usually, knights travelled with more than one horse, and Amon walking behind him leading another horse appeared to be an attendant who took care of his horses. From the perspective of a servant, Amon was well dressed in a pair of nice leather boots and a fancy leather robe. It had been Metatros idea to disguise Amon as his attendant but when it came to the time to introduce him, he changed his mind.

A fifth-level warrior! Tich was more than surprised. He went to Amon and said, Welcome, dear sir! You have the bearing of a hermit with virtue. Your righteousness and bravery have earned you gratitude from us and the state. My town and the Kish State will certainly do everything we can to reward you. Please come and take a rest at the shrine. My clerk will brief you on our plan. Dont worry about your horses, they will be taken care of.

Seeing Metatros sudden change of plan, Amon just gave a smile, then entered the Shrine of Marduc in Arcade with him. The clerk showed them to a room and instructed the servants to wait upon them. The team wouldnt depart until after dinner and while recruiting was still going on.

Dinnertime came. Amon and Metatro went to the grand hall in the shrine. Tables were already laid out. He picked up a piece of pancake and devoured it with the broth while Deuke, the clerk of Arcade, started to tell them about the details of the plan. Being advanced warriors, he and Metatro were revered among the team members. Deuke was actually just repeating the plan to them for their sake. Amon was just about to ask something when he suddenly caught sight of a friend and froze. Actually, it was not a friend he had seen but a deity he was familiar with.

In the middle of the hall was, of course, a huge statue of Marduc, the major deity of the shrine. Beside the statue, there were also sculptures of various deities carved high on the walls. One of them was the goddess Mourrin. Since there was a shrine of Mourrin in Duc, Amon was familiar with her statue but after the disaster, he chose to hide the memories of Duc deep within his mind.

Today in the shrine of Marduc, the sculpture of Mourrin jumped out at him. It was like a key that opened a door, old memories flooding out. Amon suddenly understood one thing: why he found Inanna familiar when he first met her. She looked exactly like Mourrins statue that he had seen in Ducs shrine! Perhaps the word exactly was a bit exaggerating, since the solemnity and majesty presented in the statue in Duc was lacking in the smiling shepherdess. However, physically speaking, her face and her posture was like the statue in Duc, but alive instead.

Amon had been thinking about Inanna the entire time since he rescued her so he immediately noticed this similarity. Doubts arose in his mind. Why did Princess Sissila look so similar to the Goddess Mourrin? Could it be just a coincidence? The royal family of Bablon called themselves the descendants of the deities. Did it mean that Princess Sissila was Mourrins offspring? That could well be an explanation.

Amon was lost in thought when a group of men came to the square in front of the shrine. Walking in the front was a middle-aged mage holding a staff. Following close behind him was another younger mage and three armed warriors.

Mayor Tich ran to them through the crowd and cried, My dear lord! Please forgive my negligence! I was not informed that an esteemed mage was in our town Are these esteemed mages coming to help us rescue Princess Sissila?

The mage in the front answered, You must be the mayor of the town. Youve done a great job. Im Gekait from the capital. Im a sixth-level mage. This is my apprentice, Elitt. Hes at the third level. These three advanced warriors are friends of mine. We heard that Princess Sissila was in danger when we settled down in the hotel and that the mayor was calling for hands. As one who has benefited from the grace of God, it is my duty to serve the royalty.

Speaking of his identity, Gekait took out a special plate. It was the token of tutors of the Bablonian Academy of Magic, an emblem that also doubled as access to the Academy itself. It was a magic artefact too.

The ecstasy almost gave the mayor a heart attack. Yesterday he thought he was the most unfortunate person in the world, and today he found himself to be the luckiest one. What were the odds that two esteemed mages and five advanced warriors happened to be in town when he had only one day to call for help!

The town Arcade only had one advanced warrior, which was Tich himself. In the shrine, there was a third-level and a first-level mage. But just in one afternoon, the strength of the rescue team soared to a strength that he hadnt dared imagine. And there was the dear Lord Gekait. He was a teacher of the Academy, which made him different from ordinary advanced mages.

Sixth-level mages could already perform supreme magics. They were just one step away from the supreme level. According to Gekait, he was travelling from the capital to the Euphrate River. It had not been long since the big fight Gilgamesh and Enkidu had against Humbaba. He had invited some friends to admire the battlefield. According to their original plan, Arcade was their last stay before their exploration along the river.

At sunset, a strange caravan set out from Arcade. The materials they carried were similar to what a big clan would carry when migrating to another city. The drivers and bodyguards were all armed warriors. Camels and horses trotted behind the carriages. The whole caravan moved at a high speed. Everyone looked serious, some even excited.

Normally, a large sum of materials should be carried by two-in-hand coaches. However, cabriolets constituted most of the caravan. There were also some lighter coaches that could move really fast with good horses. Every ten miles, one of them stopped and stayed behind the caravan, with a warrior keeping watch.

This was Tichs idea. If they had to fight the giants to rescue the princess, they must send her back to safety in the town as soon as possible. A knight could ride a horse, but for someone as majestic as the princess, a carriage was necessary. It was also for the worse scenarios where the princess may not be in good condition. The light coaches were hence left so that the princess could be transferred as quickly as possible back to the town.

Watching the orders being implemented, Amon was impressed by the mayor. Facing a crisis that could end his career and potentially even his life, he dealt with it calmly and carefully. With what he had been given in the situation, he had done his best with a thoughtful arrangement.

Amongst the important persons of this team, the most revered were the mysterious guests led by Gekait, and the most impressive one was Metatro with his shiny armour. Amon just kept his head down and followed behind. Tich was at the front of the team, riding a horse. Apart from the anxiety and nervousness, there was also a hint of excitement deep down in his mind. Before he knew who she was, he was already enchanted with her youth and beauty. He even had an impulse to court her.

When her identity was revealed, he believed that the fantasy in his head had ended. But now, a chance seemed to appear before his eyes. If he could save her with his current team, he might earn favour from her highness and become a hero of the kingdom. Though he was not stupid enough to compete with Gilgamesh, the appreciation from the princess would already be a great honour that could change his life, not taking into account the potential reward from the King.

It was actually a common thought in many of the team members heads, which gave a shot of excitement beside fear and apprehension. For a moment, they felt like they were just like Enkidu on his way to slay Humbaba.

The two horses that Amon and Metatro had were good horses. Most carriage horses were unable to be used in battle, but the good ones could scantily bear a long journey. Fortunately, Mayor Tich offered them a third one to take turns so the horses could be kept in good condition.

Another thing that Amon had noticed was that there was a special young man among Gekaits fellows. Appearing to be a servant, his dignified manner made him remarkably different compared to his companions. He was obviously regarded with reverence. Whenever they took a rest to change horses or to drink, he was the one who had priority.

The young man called himself Uledo. He claimed to be a warrior from a noble family in the capital. But Amon believed that his real identity was nobler than what he pretended to be. Amon told Metatro about his new discovery. If Metatro hadnt changed his plan and still called Amon his attendant, their behaviour might have already given themselves away.

At dawn, they took a short rest, having breakfast before they resumed. Amon soon learned the reason why most vehicles were cabriolets. They were barely thin enough to pass through the dangerous narrow mountains roads. Sometimes they still needed to stop at corners and be pushed to help it make a turn.

At noon, when the sunshine came to the warmest of the day, the caravan took another break for lunch. They were now deep in the mountains on a small path between two steep cliffs. The valley between them was just beside the road. The more they advanced, the deeper it was, reminding them how high up they were. Looking up, the remote rolling peaks were the only things in sight. They looked like motionless giants standing afar, watching them silently, bringing a pressure that made them speechless. Tension accumulated in the caravan. Subconsciously, the travellers lowered their voices and put their hands on their weapons.

Weather on the Syah Plateau was much colder than in the Valley of the Euphrate River. Every once in a while, chilling wind swept down between the cliffs, passing around the cabriolets. The higher they went, the colder it became. The indigenous people on the plateau were taller and stronger than common people in the plain. They were not cut off from the outside world. Many of them were recruited as mercenaries by Assyr and Bablon and learnt about body arts in the army, including the two giants who had attacked Gabriel in the desert.

However, these highlanders were not that different from other people, just as the cavemen in Lynks tribe were not dwarfs. The harsh weather and food habits made some of them much taller and stronger than the others. The army of the Kingdom of Assyr even had small crack battalions that comprised exclusively of these giants. They received specialized training in body arts and were experts of joint combat techniques. They were Assyrs trump card in melee battles.

During the wars, some of the giant combatants lost track with the troops in battles and chose to go back to their own tribes. The techniques they learnt from the army and in the battlefield were passed down from generation to generation. The more there were, the tougher they were to deal with.

Princess Sissilas bodyguards were quite a military force, but since her expedition was just for enjoyment instead of ambition, it was impossible for her to persuade a supreme mage to follow her all the way. She had two advanced mages, eight advanced warriors and one seventh-level warrior, who was the one to deliver the message. The major difficulty that they were facing, according to the message, was that the giants used bows and arrows. With their great strength, the range of the bows was incredibly large, putting mages in immense danger.

The giants were not as well trained as their ancestors in the army. Only a small part of them had the luck to go on the path of body arts. One thing that was strange in this affair was that the biggest clans on the plateau seemed to be united and had acted together.

Dont fight an open battle with the giants to avoid being encircled and dragged into a battle of attrition. Dont put yourself into the range of more than one bowman. Dont let yourself be cornered. Mayor Tich was instructing the whole team on how to react in some situations he knew and the things that required attention when fighting with the giants. Fortunately, they hadnt met any of them on their way, not to mention starting a fight.

In the afternoon, the caravan struggled to climb up a steep mountain road. At last, they reached an open field, where they saw the giants. They were indeed enormous, all of them looking as strong as Enkidu did at a glimpse. Every one of them was holding heavy weapons like big clubs, hammers and axes in their hands, wearing messy leather clothes. Seeing the caravan, they broke out in a hail of cheers.

Mayor Tich got off the cabriolet. Amon and Metatro got off their horses too. With them aside, the mayor steadily stepped towards the giants. Gekait the mage followed closely behind them. The others also came to the ground and stood in front of the caravan.

Tich shouted, Are you the clan that dares assault the Princess of Bablon? We have brought you the things you have demanded. Please tell your leader to speak with me!

The crowd of giants shouted back in a loud but muffled voice with a terrible accent, We are the leaders. You good you bring us the things. Give them to us!

Tich shook his head, Thats not the way things are done. You abducted our people. I have travelled all the way here with what you demanded. We have shown our good faith. Now its your turn. You need to let me see the princess is safe, or I wont let you have anything.

The princess? He wants to see the princess. No he wants to talk, you idiot. Yes, we are here to talk! Lets talk to them!

The giants whispered with their loud voices for a good while. Then they shouted again, Yeah we are going to talk, right? We know the rules Come. We talk in the tent.

Not only Amon was confused, even Mayor Tich, who had dealt with the giants countless times in the past, was befuddled as well. What was their agenda? Since they were already here, there were not many choices left. The four of them followed the giants into the tent. The young man called Uledo wanted to join the discussion too, but Gekait ordered him to stay with the caravan.

On their way here, Tich had assigned missions to the members of the team. Uledo and his fellows were to escort the princess once they managed to retrieve her. Metatro and other warriors would cover their retreat. The mayor also perceived that Uledo was the actual one with higher status among his fellows.

The tent was beside a brush not far from where they met. It was huge and round. Made of fur from the elusive and highly rare snow leopards, it looked like a giant monster standing in the snow scaring wild beasts. At a closer look, it was badly sewn, probably with some bone needles.

Tables were placed in the tent. Some exotic meat and dry fruits were placed on a big, heavy table made of unprocessed pine logs. A chubby man stood up from the table and walked towards them, Welcome, my dear guests. You must be Mayor Tich, of Arcade. Im Ussir. I speak for the three clans union. Have you brought us the things we demanded?

Finally, someone who can talk with reason! He doesnt look like the dummies who roughed us towards the tent. The mayor was muttering to himself in his mind. The man was in fact about as tall as they were, but appeared chubby when standing among his giant fellows. He wore a round head, a round nose, a pair of round eyes and a face that looked like it always wore a smile, which made him appear funny compared to the fierce-looking giants waiting outside.

Amon noticed that Ussir had a club at his waist that looked like a fat staff. After casting Detection Eye, he confirmed that it really was a staff. Crude as it was, it could be a handy weapon to a primary mage.

[List of Characters]

Gekait: A teacher in the Academy of Magic in Bablon City. Sixth-level mage.

Uledo: A noble young man who travelled with Gekait.

Elitt: Gekaits apprentice.

Ussir: Leader of the giants.