Chapter 11

It looked like Iulius and Atrius had taken their time but I realised that they would not. Helvius and Curtius had come back and gave me a price they had found but it sounded quite high to me. The tax collector had left but one man stayed behind to make sure nothing entered Gallia untaxed.

Rufus and I continued to play chess. Helvius and Curtius moved over to the stevedores and talked to them as Manlius was doing. It would be something to find some converts here. The men were little better than thieves and thugs and a belief, no matter what it was, had to have something to bite onto.

A few hours later and a few cups later I said to Rufus through some oddly working lips, "Is the food of Paris as bad as its wine?"

"You mean Lutetia again. If anything, it is worse."

"Let's see if they deliver."

"What is that?"

"You call a restaurant and order your meal. They drive over to deliver it and you pay then."

"I never heard of that before. Is that from the land of the gods?"

"Ya, you just look in the phone book and push the numbers. Have you ever had Indian food? I hated curry but it kinda grows on you. Chinese food is better and I like their hot sauce. Did you ever try that?"

"Who are the Indians and the Chinese?"

"Forgot, we haven't got there yet." I realised again that I was not helping matters so I concentrated on my liver and tried to get it to process the alcohol a bit faster.

Somehow we got a meal and I had to assume it was our own men doing this. Chess was not working for us but Rufus wanted to see how he faired with me with our practice swords. I slipped the rest of my drink into his cup and Manlius took the bottle and said, "Should you be doing this?"

"It is just a bit of fun. My liver will work better if I am moving around a bit I hope."

"If you say so."

When we got the practice swords Rufus said, "These toys are made for children. Let me get my own."

Manlius and Helvius blocked him for some reason so Rufus had to use the one he had. He tried to brain me and my sword moved out and slapped him on his large belly. He stopped to look at where it had hit then tried to hit me again. I hit him again but on the thigh. I was not as fast as I should be and my shoulder was hit and a glancing blow across my arm.

Rufus called time to drink then came at me again. It was not long before Rufus was fighting like a wild man. I hit him time and again but some of his blows somehow got through. The match must have stopped because Manlius was holding me back and both Curtius and Helvius were in front of Rufus.

We were given seats then Manlius washed the blood from me and examined the wounds. I think he said, "You may need stitches."

"The gods will heal me. Watch."

I concentrated on the damaged area and constricted the vessels to slow down the haemorrhage until I knew that it stopped. Manlius wiped away more blood but then stopped.

"You are right. It just stopped."

"Told'ya"

"What does that mean? It sounds like a foreign tongue."

"I told you it would work."

I saw the Rufus though was in worse shape. He was on his back and people were around him. I moved to him and had to push some people aside to see. The man must have fallen down. He was bloody all over and had bruises on his face.

I got close to the man and bent down. There were some ripped skin too. I said to nobody in general, "I need my medical kit," then had to repeat it in a language they understood.

I cleaned the first wound on his cheek but it would not stop bleeding. I put my hands on both sides of the wound and concentrated on Rufus' body and then this particular wound. The blood stopped in a minute but the reaction time was slow.

Another area on his thigh was bleeding and thought to stop this before taking on my tailoring duties. I seemed to get the hang of it and the blood stopped much quicker.

Curtius directed me to a wound on the scalp and I moved there and stopped that too. When I reached for my sutures, Curtius said, "Let me do it. I have not done this much and need the practice."

"Ok," I said then had to say it in Latin.

In a moment I was being fed though I was not hungry but it felt better to do this than argue. Manlius led me over to my pallet and I decided that a rest was a good idea.

I was dreaming of a cruise Nora and I took when I was awoke by a hand on my shoulder. I turned and opened my eyes. Iulius was there and looked serious.

He said, "I leave for a while and you act like a child. You have to get up. We have company."

I pushed myself erect. My head pounded and tried to fix this but just deadened the pain instead. The dock was covered in soldiers and on second look all of them were officers. It was dark but there were a lot of torches now.

Iulius held me for a moment then I gained my centre and stood unaided. When Iulius moved forward I took my cue from him until one man was in front and above us.

"Jón, this is Julian Constantius. Caesar of Gaul, Hispania, Britannia Germania Superior and Germania Inferior." He went on to give a few more titles but I knew he was going to be the Augustus or what was commonly known as the Augustus soon. He was clean shaven but I think the coin I saw had him wearing a beard. He looked to be in fair shape. I knew he lead from the front not the rear when it came to fighting.

Iulius did not go into my heritage but said that I was the messenger of Woden. This was better than all the other bullshit anyway.

The effects of the alcohol were leaving now but I had to keep my defences up because of my headache. I moved forward when Iulius finished and reached up with my right hand and said, "Glad to meet you Julian Constantius, Caesar of Gaul."

Julian had to bend over but took my hand in his and after I squeezed he did too. I hated limp handshakes even from women.

"I am glad to meet the messenger of the gods too. What happened here?"

"A fat blood sucker kept me from unloading the cargo I was bringing you. The Captain and I had some 'Nectar of the Gods' while we played chess then he wanted a lesson in oriental swordsmanship."

"I can see that he taught you something too."

"I have not got drunk before and I guess I will have to watch myself in the future. My head hurts and I guess Rufus' must too."

"What is this 'Nectar of the Gods'?"

"Better to try it." I turned around and Rufus was not in sight so I turned back and said, "You may as well come aboard. I am getting a sore neck talking up to you."

The man came aboard but ordered his men to stay on the dock. There was not a lot of room on the ship. Manlius went to fetch the bottle and I presented it to Julian.

The man took the large bottle and admired one surface at a time before turning it to the next.

Rufus must have been awakened and came forward with a stagger. He stood as close as I was to Julian and said, "That stuff came from the gods. It burns with a blue flame of truth and destroyed my reason."

I said, "Caesar, this is Rufus the Captain and owner of this fine ship."

Julian just glanced at him but said nothing. Julian finished examining the bottle then went to the paper tag around the neck. He tried to read the inscription but had to move to some better light.

"What is this symbol here? You better tell me what all of it means."

I stood beside him and said, "That symbol means percent. One half is fifty percent and a fifth is twenty percent. The label tells where the brandy was made, the name of the winery and then the date."

"What does the percent mean here?"

"Wine has something in it that makes us do stupid things. It is called ethyl alcohol. There are a lot of different kinds but they are all poisonous. My headache tells me that this one is too. Wine is usually five to twelve percent though it can go higher with selected yeasts. That is the plant that eats the sweet part of the grape juice and produces the alcohol."

"How come yours says, eighty percent?"

"We take good wine and remove the water. This is new brandy and if it stays many more years in oak barrels then it gains the flavour of the wood and is not as rough as what you hold in your hands."

"What does it taste like?"

Rufus quickly said, "Are you a man or a mouse?"

The men on the dock thought this an insult and put their hands to their weapons. Julian said, "I would call myself a man."

"Take a mouthful like I did and see if you squeak like a mouse or stand like a man."

Julian thought for a few seconds and worried loose the cork and took a good mouthful. He was not as bad as Rufus because he swallowed it quickly. When he recovered he said, "This nectar may well be poison. It warms the stomach and burns the throat. How can a man drink this stuff?"

I said, "In a moment take a very small sip."

Rufus quickly said with a slur, "Like a mouse."

This sounded like a dare and Julian took a small sip and savoured the taste. "It is not bad."

Rufus stood tall and banged his chest like a Frisian and he said loudly, "I am..." then in a small voice, "a mouse."

Julian smiled and said, "I may be a mouse after all."

He handed the bottle to Manlius and asked me, "What have you brought me?"

"More armour and weapons like we sent you before."

"That is splendid. There is no better swords or armour anywhere in the world."

"We brought a wide range of our products. Some have to be seen to be appreciated."

"I would like to see them."

"I have to be blunt like Rufus and ask if your officers will help. A good portion of this is military equipment but not all. I can teach them about a hoist but then they have to carry the boxes off the dock to make room. We have three ships to unload."

"Did you bring... any of those other weapons."

I understood what he meant and said, "We have to have a serious talk first. I was given a glimpse of your fate unless we can change it."

"What is it?" he asked eagerly.

"Do you want me to talk to you on a dock about your future?"

"Perhaps not. Tell me what you want done."

"The crates on the dock have to be moved to solid ground and room made for the rest of the cargo."

Julian gave his orders and his men started to help but they didn't like doing manual work.

I called out loudly, "Those crates contain death to our enemies. Drop them and they will take your lives too." This worked. Now they had fear even if it was of the unknown.

Julian looked at our crane and the rope falls then had to try himself. He got to try for a while until Rufus wanted to push him away. I got Rufus' men to keep him away before he hurt someone or himself.

It was an hour past dawn by the time we were done. I saw that little water had leaked in and none of the crates appeared to be damaged. Rufus' head was now pounding and he just sat with his hands over his ears as if this would confer protection.

I vaguely remembered stopping the bleeding and walked over to him. I put a hand on each side of his hairy head and thought at him. In a moment I got his body to hide the pain. He would be cured naturally in a few hours.

Rufus looked at me with a stunned look and slid off of his seat and knelt before me. His voice was soon able to say, "You healed me."

"You are a friend. I took away the pain only. You will heal naturally."

"You healed me."

I put my hands down and pulled him up. He saw this and helped far more than I could do. I said, "You do not kneel to me. A man kneels to a god and a god alone. You should be courteous to a man. If the man is of high rank and needs a bow then do so. Only kneel when you have to work within the customs of a land that require it."

"But, you healed me."

"Rufus, you dolt. I said I removed your pain. Is that so hard to get through your thick Roman head?"

"No... I guess not."

"Good. I handed him the leather bag and said, "The ships did not leak though it was close for some. You have your bonus."

"I do not need a bonus, my lord."

"Rufus, I am going to box your ears. I am Jón. That is all. If there are a lot of Jóns around then you can say Jón of Germania."

"I will remember, Jón of Germania. I do not feel that I should take the silver."

"You will take the silver or I will be angry with you." His hand then came out and took it reluctantly.

I said to him, "I am not telling you how to handle your life but I want to build some real ships. If you are going to trade along the Rhine then you could carry back a cargo of copper, brass, bronze, silk and all the hemp and hemp seed you can get your hands on."

"I will do that. I do not want to go back with an empty hold."

"When you trade, you may want to get some brandy. Trade it in very small amounts and charge a lot of money for it."

"I will do so my... Jón."

I shook hands with the man and turned around to see everybody staring at us or at me. I shook hands with all of the crew and climbed to the dock. Julian was waiting and we walked to the pile of crates. The crane was already there and waiting.

Julian had obviously given orders and a long line of wagons were ready to be loaded. I checked each of them and directed what I wanted on each of them. Some were large but far from being sturdy. The chemicals were fairly light but I didn't want to risk them being damaged if an axle broke.

The officers rode their horses and Julian rode beside me as I rode shotgun on a cart.

"Jón, what did you do to the Captain?"

"It was something new. I never tried healing anybody before. It just never occurred to me. When I was feeling the effects of the alcohol I tried to heal Rufus. He was pretty drunk when we fought and he got hurt. I controlled his bleeding. When he had his headache I cured his like I did my own by just suppressing the pain and letting the body do its work."

"I heard that your gods cured you but today you said the gods would heal you again. You had many wounds yourself."

I thought of how to say this and said, "The power of the gods flows through me. I can work on my own body too now."

"That is amazing. Have you done it before?"

"The gods showed me how to heal myself after I was captured by the Gauls. I suppose you have heard of what I was like?"

"Oh, I have heard many reports and from many witnesses."

I made a face and said, "You still have a lot more spies than I have."

"How do you know this?"

"I have few people around me. Most are those I gather until the last year when they have come to me to hear my story. You on the other hand have a legion around you. To add to this, I am a prince of a small group of Germans. You have a very famous family."

"We can talk of this later. Tell me about your paper, books and what I am told is printing."

"That has to wait for later too. How about we talk about a smith with the arms of Thor that can swing a five hundred pound hammer thirty times a minute and do it continuously for day after day."

"I would love to hear of this man. He has to be one of the gods."

We talked of steam now and how it could do work. We had a few small steam hammers but none were up to five hundred pounds yet but they were in the planning stages.

Julian asked, "Do you have any here?"

"Too big and heavy but everything I have is heavy. It is the little toy boats I have to work with that are the bottle neck."

"What has a bottle's neck have to do with this?"

"Sorry. Liquid will not pour out of a bottle well because air has to go the other way and because it is narrow the liquid cannot flow quickly."

"I understand, now our boats are small?"

"I talked to Rufus about the same thing. Some ships are one thousand five hundred feet long. They weigh..." I had to think. The amphora was eighty pounds of wine. The weight of a quadrantal was the weight of an amphora full of wine. The only larger weight was twenty amphora called a culeus. "Are you familiar with the word million and what it means?"

"I have heard of it. I think it means a thousand thousand."

"Good. The gods have weights that are large but we play with small things. One large ship empty weights seven and a half million quadrantals. Its cargo is another ten million quadrantals."

The driver was listening and now looked at me. So did Julian.

Julian said, "I cannot see that size. It is simply too great."

"That was a large ship but they sometimes got much larger. Most are smaller though but some that are used for cruises are a thousand feet long and a hundred feet wide."

"That is very large too but what does a cruise mean to you?"

"When you have some time to relax, you pay for a ride in an aeroplane to fly a major sea port. You get a room on a cruise ship and sail thousands of miles and stop and many places that look very nice. The people riding take a small box out and this records what you are looking at as if an artist drew a picture of it. You come home and look at them and show your friends and family where you have been. The same is done when you have the images taken of your children as they grow up. Relatives don't mind seeing a few once in a while but the neighbours do not care and find excuses to go if they can."

"I understand going some place to rest. We do that here. The paintings are hard to understand."

"If you had a thousand great artists around you all the time you could stop once in a while and see something that looks beautiful. It may be a girl or a magnificent horse. Mountains look good and so does the seashore. You just tell an artist to draw where you point and he will do it. That is what photographs are like."

"So a man can take thousands of paintings?"

"If he wants. They are very clear and just like what you see with your eyes now. They are also very cheap to make. Even the poorest can afford some photographs."

"The gods have poor?"

I had stumbled here and said, "Not all gods are driven to succeed. Some take simple jobs with less rewards but they are happy with this. Did you think the gods are so different than us?"

"I just never thought of it like that. I only hear of a few."

"It is like the Persians or what you call the Parthians. They know of the Romans but do not know many of them. The ones they do know are the ones that are either important or who have talked to them for business of friendship."

"Enemies too I am afraid."

"That is true. The result is that the Persians do not know exactly what a Roman is like, only the few they meet."

Julian nodded in understanding.

I said, "I am afraid you are going to meet Sapor II at the Battle of Ctesiphon."

"I am?"

"We can talk later. I and my people are going to be there this time."

"This time?"

"Sorry, that was bad of me. You will be there and so will I. Again this is from what I have seen in the land of the gods." I paused and thought for a while and said, "Can you set up a tent away from everyone? No servants and just you and I will talk. Did you know that people can read lips?"

"I have heard of that."

"Good then we stay away from people."

"What about the man beside you now?"

The man was now worried and I said, "I basically watched what I said. He knows of ships and this is good. He knows of the gods and this too is good. He also knows you are going to win a battle with the Persians and I see nothing wrong with this. There is nothing he can say to hurt you."

"Alright."

On another note, I said casually, "Did you know that I am changing the Roman army?"

"You have already done so in many ways."

"Ah, in that way yes but I am also teaching them to fly."

Julian looked at me seriously. "This is like your strong smith?"

"A little. One Roman commanding a fort on the Rhine has a thinner skull than most Romans. He learns fast."

"Tell me about him."

I discussed Horatius Postuma and his efforts to gain a mastery of the sky.

"Can we really fly one day?"

"Not one day but within five years on a small scale within twenty where you feel like you are really flying. It will be a long time before you can do anything but look down and see an enemy as you count faces that are looking up."

We eventually came to a sprawling villa. There was not enough room for all of us to fit in the court. In the distance I saw a palisade of logs that could only be for a full legion.

Julian had large tents brought and pitched close to the walls. Poles were put on the ground inside the tents and our cargo was placed in this area so it could be protected from the elements.

When everything was unloaded and the crane dismantled, Julian had a feast served. Our men washed their hands and faces and then some of the officers did too. Julian was surprised by my small prayer of thanks. Our people intoned 'Thank you, Woden' at the end. The meal was good and from what I had heard of what some rich Romans ate, this was simple.

Meals like this took quite a while but when we were done Julian said, "Perhaps we can have a talk now."

"Let's go for a walk to work off the good food then."

Julian kept his bodyguards close but out of hearing range. We also looked away from everybody. I handed the man a leather tube and said, "This is a gift from Lucius' son Tertius. There is more to show you when you meet."

Julian opened the case and I took the leather as he examined the brass telescope. I directed him to look through the small end and I could see him start as he understood what this was. He scanned the horizon then the camp and finally looked at his bodyguards.

"This is... I would have to say magical."

"Just the natural forces of nature being used. I gave you this so you can have your trusted men reading lips of your enemies. Soon they will have this device and they will read your lips too."

Julian smiled at this and said, "Ah, but it will take a long time before they get theirs."

"Don't count on that. Lucius has them and is selling them to the officers up and down the Rhine. You have yours before any could make their way to Rome but they will arrive."

Julian seemed to understand then said, "Please tell me my future."

"When I was in the land of the gods, I looked through their books of ancient times. Men wrote letters and these were sometimes saved. Some religions preserved these and even copied them when they were getting old and crumbling. Men a thousand years later read the letters and studied all they could about the Roman empire. They wrote books just as I have done about the land of the gods.

"What this all means is that I saw a reference to you. I was studying battles and your name came up. Now before I say more I have to say that time is like a stream. If I walk in it, the water will flow around my feet as if I was not there but some small particles of dirt are stirred up and fall further down the stream.

"If I was important and did a lot to the stream I could dam it up or dig a channel and eventually the water could change course and go somewhere completely different."

"Are you saying that you can change what will happen?"

"Yes. I already have but I want to dig that channel with your help."

"Why would I help you?"

"I will give you the history as I understand it. This was before I even walked in the water."

"I understand."

"I do not have to go through your history. I know your family was killed and then your brother. You got this job because of a relative that wanted to help you. Constantius II hoped to just keep you here so he could take care of the Persians at the other end of the empire. Does this sound correct even if it is stated simply?"

"Yes, though you have not given names."

Constantius II has troubles in the east and his advisors do not like you. They plot just like all the other people that practice intrigue. Constantius II figures he can reduce your popularity. He makes a deal with the Alemmani to fight you. This I think is coming soon. You are decisive and win. You capture the king and he tells you how your cousin tried to hurt you.

"This makes you angry but you do nothing much. Don't forget that I do not know much. I have to go by the letters that survived for a thousand years not the ideas in your head."

"I understand. Please go on."

"Before this, Constantius tries to take all your good men. This is half of your army. Apparently your men have a deal that they have to stay in Gaul. Constantius either doesn't know or care. He sends a delegation to collect the men. You have a dream about an old oak falling to make room for a young oak. I forget if this is before or will happen. Anyway you refuse to allow your men to leave. Your men are impressed and put you on a shield and make you accept the title of Augustus."

Julian looked at me sharply.

I said, "This could have been a plot by you all along or something that just occurred to you. I do not care, because I want you to accept."

"That is treason."

"So? You of that time, sent a letter to Constantius explaining what really happened. He falls into a rage and orders you to only do the duties of a Caesar. Constantius makes some quick treaties with the Persians and comes here to deal with you. This is the time he gets the Alemmani to attack.

"You hurry up the Rhine and follow the Danube. A small force travels to Italia and three thousand men continue with you. You send letters to the Senate and to important cities. The Senate give you permission to try to become Augustus but warn you that you will probably fail. Constantius dies on the way to battle at the end of the coming year. You go to Constantinople and then to Rome and become the Augustus.

"You ask for a barber and find a man that is very wealthy ready to cut your hair. Constantius gave away gold like water and is beggaring the empire. You stop this. Constantius was a Christian or pretended to be. You get angry at them and want the old gods brought back. Christianity is not quite banned but it is suppressed a bit so the old religion can return. Persia now gives you problems. You lead an army there. It get hot and you take off the armour from your back. A Persian spear kills you. I do not think a Persian threw it. I think it was a Roman in the pay of the next Augustus."

We were quiet for a long time and he said, "How long was I Augustus?"

"Two years."

"If you know history, why did you pick me?"

"What I know is changing all the time. If I wait ten years then the small things I have done will change events so much that I will not know what will happen then. The same is true about the battle. If you are not killed then all of the history I know will then be useless to me."

"I do not kill Constantius then?"

"In the old history I do not think that you did. You may have sent an assassin but you appear to be a man that likes to learn and you do not appear to be a very devious person. I do not know you except from what I had read in the books and what I was able to find out from others in the present.

"Constantius may have been angry one day at you and slipped and fell then died. Now he may be even angrier and not slip so he does not fall and die. I do not know the reason for his death."

"Is their more?"

"Small facts like you dismiss most of the old people of Constantius and keep a small staff of your own. You are a just man from a reference to a governor of Gaul. When you defeat the Alemmani you share the wealth with the men not the rich. When taxes come you see that they are unjust and recalculate them with the true numbers of the people here. All this makes you look good and your cousin is very angry at you for this."

"You could be lying to me and this could be a trap."

"Yes, I guess, it could. When the men come to take the best of your troops then you will learn one statement that is true. When the Alemmani attack you will have to fight. If you capture the king you will find the truth. I think you used trickery to get him before. This time I want to capture him fairly. I want your word to be seen as true even by your enemies."

"It is still possibly a trap."

"Do you think that I spoke to the gods? You have not seen yet what I have brought. No man alive could have made these devices. Even the telescope in your hand was not seen before."

"I believe."

"Then let's open some of the boxes. Some are for you and some are not. I am opening a mail order store here and need floor models."

"I don't understand that."

We went back and opened the boxes of armour and Julian was told some of the differences.

Iulius was the one to answer. "Steel gains strength by being quickly cooled. More strength is acquired by being deformed and small crystals made. This was done by a smith and was very tiring work. We now have devices run by the power of steam that hammer so powerfully and so quick as to be both deafening and frightening."

"I have heard you mentioning this steam hammer. Please go on."

There are only a few sizes of armour needed for almost any man. Patterns are made and one man and a steam hammer can make thousands of parts in a day. Other men put the parts together. Swords when worked with a steam hammer as these new ones have are even stronger. We have started a new science called metallurgy to just study the strengths and other features needed of different kinds of steel."