Chapter 6

The soldiers were anxious but waited until we got to the top of the steps. One man took part of my burden and said, "What happened?"

He was overcome with what he saw. His breathing rate increased. I think it was just excitement."

Two men wanted to leave and took a few steps when I said, "Do you really want to die that much. They stopped and put their hands on their swords and so did some of the others.

I just looked calmly at each of them and they took their hands away from their weapons.

I moved closer to Sextus and said, "Give him a seat and his wine."

The soldiers were reluctant to follow my orders until Sextus yelled at them with a weak voice, "Do it fools."

When Sextus was seated, I touched him. He flinched but I continued, "Woden, please allow your servant to heal this man of Rome. His heart is weak and he needs your help to survive."

Sextus got a jolt of pleasure that lasted a full minute until he came down with a smile on his face. "Your gods are certainly powerful. I had heard that you could heal but I was not sure. We hear so much about new gods and about how old our old ones are."

"You hear a lot and from many reputable sources but you have seen and felt a miracle while the others talk about what was supposedly done long ago. Blind men have been made to see. The deaf now hear like they did as children. The scarred are now whole. The wounded have their wounds closed. The cripples now walk. The plague is even bested if the people get to me in time."

"I have heard this too but I did not believe."

"Ask those that saw this with their own eyes. Do not let hearsay lead your thoughts. Woden is a benevolent god that wants to see all of us prosper."

One of the officers had a scar on his face and I walked in front of him. "Would you like Woden to remove that scar? It is painless. I only ask in return that you speak truthfully about me and our god."

The man was unsure but in a moment agreed. "You may do this if you will."

I held the man's hand to interface then said, "You had best sit. When Woden enters your body you feel a bliss that nobody can imagine."

The man sat on a chair and I interfaced once more and gave him the joy and his features went slack. I started his body into repairing itself and directed it to work harder on the scar. When I pulled back the man was still slack jawed.

Everybody including Sextus was watching the man. It took a few moments until he recovered enough to shut his mouth and look around in wonder.

"Woden touched me. I felt it." His hand came up to touch his scar but found it still there.

I said, "Woden told your body to remove the scar. This will take about six days or so. He also had your body clean itself. Baring fights you should live to be a vigorous old man."

The man now smiled wildly but said nothing.

One more man complained of a recurring pain. I found it to be a tumour and cut the blood off to it.

When the man recovered, I said, "You are lucky. It was a tumour. Woden cut off the blood to it and it will now die. You may bleed a bit but it will be minor as your body rids itself of the growth. In a week you will be fine and in two there will be no sign of it." They did not know of my wish for a week to be made up of ten days, so I spoke to them in the terms they would be familiar with.

The men left after they accepted Woden's blessing. From the rest of the house came my guards. KhAvar even had a knife in her hand but I was sure it was to protect me.

I hugged KhAvar and said to all of them, "We have to get going soon. Sextus will tell of the gold and he or others will be forced to come here and take it."

KhAvar acted unlike a Persian woman and said, "Why did you let him see it then?"

"I had to get him alone for a few minutes."

The rest nodded their heads but KhAvar could not understand.

More people were put on the ships and I even helped putting a new mast into the place a shorter one had been. The insides of the ships were cleaned out and made as comfortable as possible. The decks now had structures on them that would house more people because it was going to be impossible to carry everyone at one time.

Mithridates was sent out as soon as his ship was finished with a very full crew and a lot of gold to purchase more ships if he could find them. When he would return was anybody's guess.

KhAvar shared my bed every night now and I think she was waiting to catch if she could. I said to her before going upstairs on night, "We have to talk."

She could sense that this was important and hung her head like a dutiful wife. "Yes, Master."

I kissed her and said, "Do not be too worried."

I got a small smile and then I started to talk about Patricia and how I felt about her. KhAvar was worried and I tried to get her to understand my position.

"KhAvar, I love Patricia and I think I love you. I am too young yet to marry. A woman has the right to say no to a suitor. We can stay together until you want to leave me..."

She hugged me tightly. "I will never do that."

"You have the choice and so does Patricia. When I am older, and if we still feel this way, we may make a family if we can. Men of your country may have more than one woman."

She smiled now then frowned. "Woden wants one women to each man."

"That is true. If I am able to keep you then we will not be able to be married."

She hung her head now and remained quiet. I was sure she was going to weigh the shame she would get against staying with me. I added, "I do not think I will marry Patricia either. It would not be fair to you."

I got a larger smile this time and she squeezed me tighter.

"I am lucky that my god has given me the power to please more than one woman."

"Will you please this one now?"

The ships were all finished and they went out for trial runs. When they came back they went out again loaded with people. They spent a day on the water and returned. There were a few adjustments to make when carrying this many persons.

With everything in order I had the pirates with no redeeming qualities executed. The rest were going to be slaves until I could sell them. I didn't like slavery but again I could use this to take the place of jail.

The whole town was in the dumps now because they knew the men and they forgot most of the harsh treatment the men had done to them. Again, it was human nature.

A storm lashed the town for the next few days but the ships had made it back safely ahead of the gusts. I was worried about Mithridates and the ships he went to purchase. He was an experienced sailor though and figured he could handle a storm.

I didn't always stay inside but there was enough time spent to keep KhAvar happy. She was even learning to make me happy. She had turned out to be a passionate woman.

One morning I cuddled in bed with her and talked about Clovis and our/his family. She laughed about the way Frisian women acted. I told her about Forni and she seemed to understand. The cadets were listed next and when she gave me a worried look I told her how they were not lovers.

The story went on until I was captured and taken to the Rhine, then I said, "Tell me about your family. You avoid the subject when it comes up."

She collected her thoughts and said, "My father had two wives. He was kind but he did not have that much time for his children. He died in a battle when I was young. My mother's brother now watches over our family."

She turned to look at my smile and said, "I have seven older sisters but only one living brother. He is fighting the Romans like my father did. Two others had been born but they got sick and died. We get along fairly well and our mothers are very quick with some harsh words if we are naughty.

"We have a very nice home with servants. We have tutors and learn what my uncle wants us to learn but my brother ShahrvarAz is given more training."

I interrupted by saying, "Do you want more education too?"

"Do you want me to?"

"I think it is very important that you learn. The world is changing very quickly now and the more you know the better it is."

"I will learn what you want me to know."

I gave her a kiss and in a moment she continued, "I learned to sew. Do you want me to make you a beautiful suit of clothes?"

"If you have time then I would be happy to wear it. Now go on with your story."

She talked about her childhood and I saw that she enjoyed hers. She got more serious after a while and said, "Four months ago my uncle arranged a marriage for me." She paused then said, "The man lives in the east but was at the moment near... Tyre. I was put on a ship with some guards and my dowery." She had another long pause then said, "We were attacked by pirates."

KhAvar started to cry now and I just held her until she calmed down. She was not better in ten minutes so I said, "Get up, sweetheart. We are going for a ride."

"It is raining."

"Are you coming?"

She hung her head in shame but she still smiled. "Yes, Master."

We dressed lightly and went to the stables. The guards wanted to come but I dressed with my weapons and told them to stay. In twenty minutes we were soaked and in the hills. In ten more minutes we found a grass filled meadow and stopped. After helping KhAvar down I tied the horses where they could eat.

"Master, why are we here?"

Her dark hair was plastered to her head but she still looked beautiful. I undid some of her fastenings and she got the idea and smiled. She was soon helping me then assisted me in getting my own clothing off.

We spent hours walking naked in the rain and making love on the grass. We did not get much walking done but I wanted to make this more memorable because both of us.

KhAvar had a sore mons by the time we were done and we still had to go back to the town. I found I could heal her and at the same time put an extra tingle into her. I continued and she found the energy for one more orgasm.

We rode back toward town naked and only put the clothing on when people would see us. KhAvar was scandalised but excited. The excitement though had to be relieved.

When we got into the stable I helped her down then stood on a wooden platform and kissed the saddle where her mons had been. KhAvar turned red and smiled her widest and I was sure she would like to try out the hay in the barn next for a bed.

The next day Mithridates came into the harbour. He had his ship and five more that were at least his size. All of them were old.

The rain continued and we worked on making the ships as comfortable and as safe as possible. This continued through the night because I wanted to be off as soon as we could.

Mithridates complained of the deals he got but I saw that he did fairly well. He also told me of his problems during the storm with not enough crew considering the number of ships he had.

The ships were prepared for storing people but I hoped they would be better than the slave ships of later years. The smaller ships were slower and we filled these first with people and sent them off to wait a kilometre off the island. It took two more hours until all of the ships were filled.

The booty taken from the pirates was on my ship. Not everybody wanted to go to Persia but all of the slaves that stayed had their brand removed. They could pass for freemen. They were going to stay here and trade while spreading the word of Woden. I gave them all a nest egg to make sure they had a good chance.

All of them were warned about a warship coming later and trying to find out what happened to the booty. I mentioned the Roman methods of gaining knowledge. The families knew enough to flee until the storm had past.

The ships were cramped mainly with children so I told stories of my Frisian past for entertainment value. Anybody that could play an instrument was encouraged to do so. The other ships were close and we would play music to each other and there was clapping after I did this. Not all the ships were close enough to hear this though.

The available seamen were spread thinly between ships and I had to do my duty too. I talked of the future of transportation in detail and everybody that could hear me was enthralled. When I said that we had the railway and were working on experimental gliders they nodded their heads as if this was the way it should be.

We were making a hundred and twenty to a hundred and eighty kilometres per day. We did not stop and anchor at night though the winds died considerably.

We made Cyprus in five days. We put in for shore and the tax collector wanted money. This I knew hindered the tourist trade. "We are leaving in a few hours. We want to stretch our legs and buy food and water."

It was when he learned of my identity that he relented and let us pass. As usual I had a sermon and the men read from the scriptures after I healed a few of the locals.

Mithridates went looking for a larger ship and heard of one on the other side of the island. We filed back on the ships with only a few stragglers. None of the ships we found were suitable and we made do with food and water.

The pirates had few duties to do but all the scut work was theirs. I kept them on the ship with me for safety. I did not want them to do anything that could possibly damage the ship.

We were close to Syria here and Lebanon but at the moment, Lebanon did not exist as a political unit though it did before and after this period. It took a day and a half to get to Syria. We headed south then and came to a large promontory with a large harbour.

Mithridates headed into the bay and we followed. Soldiers came when they saw the warships but the rails filled with children and women said we were not out to fight. I again had to talk to the tax man and only had to pay docking fees.

We were in the city of Latakia. The city was nice but the beaches were beautiful. I would have loved to come here in my previous life. Mithridates looked for another ship and this time we found one. It took hours to inspect the craft and we managed to trade in a ship that was of the least value to us.

We set up camp on the beach while Mithridates went looking for information about King Sapor II. We kept our quest quiet for the most part. I did not want our own people to know exactly what we sought for fear of getting their hopes up.

KhAvar was encouraged to stay with the group and I went to see the local Roman authority. Once my identity was known, I was invited into the man's office. I sat in a comfortable chair with some wine in my hand.

"I am looking to find King Sapor II."

The commander was now worried. "We are at war with the Persians."

"I am well aware of that. I want to stop the war and come to a peaceful agreement. That cannot be done without finding the man."

"If I knew where he was I would get the information to Constantius as soon as I could."

"Then, will you tell me what you know of his armies? Perhaps I can find him."

The commander brought out some maps and with a finger he told me where trouble spots were and when they first happened. Fighting looked to be intensifying at the moment. There seemed to be more disturbances to the south and I could only go so far with a ship.

We stayed three days with me giving a sermon in the morning and the afternoon. KhAvar was very happy and very sated too. I was beginning to love her as much as Patricia.

The former slaves spent most of their time getting drunk and giving my money to the whores. I at least got quantity discounts before I turned the men loose.

The women were given an allowance and so were the children. Being a father figure to so many was very expensive.

KhAvar and I searched through the markets. She bought an odd looking hat and some plain clothing. She wanted to wear this as opposed to the brighter cloth I found for her. She bought cloth for me though and mentioned her promise of making me good clothing.

Mithridates used his own contacts and came back usually empty handed. I went to the fort a few times and helped the soldiers and tried to pick up more information. Very little was new to me.

We boarded ship again and this time I had another send off party. We travelled down the coast and put in at various places along the way. I usually went alone to the Roman forts to ask about Sapor. They were courteous but not too helpful.

The next good port was at Berytus. I assumed this was Beirut but I was not sure. It was supposed to be the 'Paris of the East' but it didn't quite look that way now. It did look like Lutetia but that city was not much different than any other. The Mediterranean was just as nice though but with less of a beach.

Mithridates went out again to search for any leads to finding Sapor. I had been slowly shifting the management of the people to other hands as I tried to carry on my own agenda.

Again I went to the Roman authorities to learn what I could about the Persian military movements. I learned nothing new. The commander had heard a lot about me and I asked him to get those men under his control that could be spared to come to a sermon tomorrow morning. It was Spring now and the noon time was quite warm.

I found that Berytus had a law school that was famous and I figured I should take a look to see what it was like before I had to leave. This law was a good structure to keep but it had some poor laws designed to let the rich escape justice. In reality this happened in my time too but there was little I could do about it.

KhAvar and I, along with a few guards walked through the city and checked out the market. It was interesting but nothing new was found, though some I had only talked about before.

I talked to beggars in more or less private and asked if they were really hurt. Some had obvious missing limbs and scars and I just did some preliminary healing. Most needed a good diet to support regenerated flesh and bone.

A man that had a torn retina in one eye and a cataract in the other screamed in joy to the crowd that he could now see. The crowds got thick but they moved further back usually so we did not have to push.

I was running into leprosy now and had to work on them with more skill and time because the bacteria was hard to control. A leper colony was near and I went to see what I could do for them. Some people were very far gone but I still did what I could.

There was a monk helping the people of the colony and he walked around with me but he could not see any difference right away. It took a bit of persuasion but the man sat and I looked through his body. He was a good man it seemed and no matter what the religion, they were needed. He had many problems with his body. I spent less time on him than on the lepers. The surge of endorphins made his eyes almost blaze.

I said, "You are a good man. The gods like to see people like you helped." I handed him a handful of gold coins taken from the pirates and said, "The lepers will now start to heal. They need more food as their bodies fight the bacillus. I know that more lepers will come once they hear that they will be healed here."

The man finally looked from my face to what was in his hand and said with a breaking voice, "Bless you my... bless you."

KhAvar hugged me closer but said nothing. Her religion preached much the same tenets that I was trying to do. It was a gentle faith that encouraged men to do good. Zarathushtra had tried to do much the same a thousand years earlier.

This was the closest we could come to the military action and still have our ships. The ship was full of gold and I did not like idle hands. They usually found their way around a jug of wine and then a weapon.

With the base commander's help, I bought a large piece of land outside the town proper. It was on the northern edge and had a slow moving river flowing through it. I had to buy an existing farm and then decided to buy a few more. The owners were anxious because of the war.

A few of us dug a place to hide most of our booty and hid it well. In a way I was not concerned too much for the gold. I was also quite sure that none of the men that knew of this location would ever tell. They were the closest I had to fanatics.

A rocky section that was not good for the fruit trees was picked for a warehouse. Finding lumber was not as easy. This was part of the famous fertile crescent and there were trees to be had. Stone was even more readily available and I started to dig a deep basement in the rocky soil. Since there was a hill this too could be entered directly from this level.

KhAvar wanted this to be our home instead of a business but was not pushy. With the help of the local smiths I made a bucket that was used to dredge the bottom of the river. The soil I took out was put in low areas and the stones were stored in a large pile. I wanted docks here and I wanted to accommodate large ships.

The ground shook one day then a few more aftershocks occurred. I had to tell everybody what had really happened. This also influenced how I was going to build my buildings now.

Mithridates was finding no luck locating current information about Sapor and I didn't either. Since there was nothing to do but wait, Mithridates took the larger ships to find lumber and stone for me. He would also ask questions in his travels.

I heard that the famous Cedars of Lebanon were nearby but were now protected by the Augustus. They had gone into a Jewish structure but I could not recall the name from memory. Mithridates was going to go shopping elsewhere.

The Jews were still out of favour with the Romans at the moment. They were just too obstinate to work with the Romans. Jerusalem was denied them. They could go for a visit and that was all. All the area was now called Palastine.

I conducted services in the city and I was happy to see that nobody was begging that didn't want to. Men that had been crippled all their lives were getting around but needed a lot of physiotherapy yet. Others has to wait for limbs to grow.

Many people came by to help even if it was for no pay. I sent some off to the leper colony to put up some additional shelters though they had less need now. Lepers would find a home there until I cured them.

Like Lutetia, I sponsored sporting events and made sure that teams were made to play soccer. Making the balls were still difficult even though we knew how to now.

The fort and the Romans in general were asked to participate. They not only had to sponsor a team of men but had to do the same thing to three teams of children. I did similar and gave names that gave some comradery to the population by blending Roman and Persian terms. The priest was given more money and the job of making a team with a Christian motif on their clothing. The Jews were hesitant about joining but this would change in time.

KhAvar was quite shocked when she was given money and orders to form some girls teams. "I don't know the rules and the girls will not play. It is not right."

"You will make the teams and they will be called the Frisian Tigers, the Persian Elephants and the Roman Lions. If there are more then you will have to make suitable names."

More notices went up in the city and I did not think that there were too many children not competing. Even the cripples were not as crippled anymore and some had a chance to be on a team.

Mithridates had come back three times already with wood and no encouraging news. I had heard more news of Sapor but only told Mithridates. The information about a battle was not good.

A small nondescript man came up to me but not close enough to stir my guards into action. He said, "My lord, I have been sent here by my master to see if you would wish to meet with him."

Many rich people came to me this way and I asked, "Who is your master?"

In a much lower voice he said, "The King of all Persia. The..."

I interrupted by getting closer and whispered, "Sapor? How far away is he?"

"One or two days."

Now that the summons had come it was almost anticlimactic. "I will come. There will be twelve men accompanying me. I will be bringing a wagon so the route requires a road of some sort. How long will it take with the wagon?" I did not ask where the king was on purpose so that I would not be denied the information. The length of time was important though.

The man said, "Three days if you hurry and four if you do not."

"Will you provide security?"

"Security?"

"A portion of your king's army to keep bandits away."

"Nobody will attack us."

"Then let us leave in the morning. There are many arrangements to get ready."

"It is important that we leave now."

"I am not going now. Even your king knows that some marshalling has to be done before men can travel."

"My king commands this."

"I am going at dawn. You may come with me now or see me in the morning. I offer you and your men food and drink and a place to rest before our journey."

The man was angry and said, "I will meet you in the morning."

I turned to the men with me and said, "You will accompany me if you want. I need a strong force left here to protect my people."

We had been using the wagon for a lot of tasks and now greased the wheels and made it ready for a journey of three days. There was a lot of water available and three days travel would not put us in the desert.

My weapons and armour were brought out and the armour polished until it was bright. A similar suit made for a man was in a box and would be a gift along with some swords and knives. A second suit had been dipped in copper sulphate. The action of the acid on the iron caused a thin coating of copper to form on it. It would burnish up very well.

The cast iron stove that weighted so much was finally going to be unloaded but so would a half dozen smaller units suitable for use on a campaign. Steel utensils with pots and pans accompanied this. I worked hard to give a lot of nonlethal hardware but I could not just have this.

When I finished I sat with KhAvar and said, "I am going to see some people. I will be gone at least a seven days but probably up to four of my weeks."

"I will translate for you. Who are they?"

I smiled and kissed her. "No, you will stay here and take care of the family. They respect you. The man I hope will be a businessman."

"You need me," she said worriedly.

"I do need you but I need you here. Now are you going to bed with me?"

"But Master," she hung her head, "it is that time."

"Then we will wash after, unless you want to frustrate me?"

She smiled but still hung her head. She needed to be reassured and this was good for both of us.

KhAvar turned into a tiger when we got into bed. She was usually docile until she got worked up. I think people on the other side of the Mediterranean heard how good she felt.

After kissing a crying KhAvar goodbye the next morning, we finished loading the remainder of our burden and the fourteen of us left. Mithridates had demanded a place and came too. He had done so much for me that I could not deny him.

We were met by five men and the one that I talked to frowned at the additional man. I said, "You know who I am but you have not told me your name."

He had to think on this for a while. I guess the man was a good soldier but took things too literally.

"BamshAd," was all he said.

We began our trip and the man seemed to know the area well and routed us the best way. I was sure that we could get where we were going much quicker with just horses.

At our first stop I used one of the stoves and cooked some of the food. Our own people were used to this but the Persians were just very interested in out tools. They did not eat our food though even though I tried to be friendly.

We made camp that night and all of us were happy to get out of the saddle. Mithridates was not used to this form of transportation and I had to work on the blisters he had then do the same thing for the small discomforts our men had.

BamshAd only watched but said nothing. I went to the horses and looked to their needs. They had worms again and I had to interface through the horse and then kill the worms almost individually.

The Persians were watching me and finally BamshAd said, "What did you do?"

"The horses eat grass that has the eggs of small worms in it. The worms hatch in the horse and eat its food. I killed the worms in them and will have to do this again as soon as the eggs that are in them hatch."

"You can kill with your hands?"

"I heal with my hands but, yes, I can kill too when I must. My men are not used to riding much and needed to be healed."

"We have heard that you may be able to do this."

"Watch the horses tomorrow. You will find dead worms in the morning and through the day."

I did not set guards but I kept my subconscious on the job during the night. There were lots of noises but none were threatening. I thought of my recent nights with KhAvar and had to suppress an uncomfortable erection. It took time but I brought my body back into balance when I had no women near me.