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Scourge of Byzantium
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Scourge of Byzantium
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Sample Chapter:
Yaakov stared off at the setting sun feeling angry. The beauty of the scene unfolding before him was doing little to brighten his mood. Still he had to admit the stunning beauty of the reds, oranges, and deep purples was a majestic site. The fading rays of the sun caused the horizon to shimmer. God was making the end of this day absolutely breathtaking, he thought. All day a stifling breeze had been blowing from the core of Arabia, but now with the Sun setting a gentle and much cooler breeze was blowing from the West. The breeze helped to cool Yaakov’s sweaty skin. The occasional bleat of his family’s sheep let him know that all was well with the herd.
As he stood watch over the herd, his mind drifted back to how he ended up here out in the desert herding the family’s sheep this fine evening. The herd struggled to find sustenance from the sparse vegetation of the area. The terrain alternated between sand dunes and a harder rocky surface. Neither surface yielded up much vegetation. The sheep would have to make due. There hadn’t been much rain this year and this was one of the better spots.
Yaakov closed his eyes and thought back to what had gotten him banished to watching over the herd. “Gadi had tricked him again the lazy bastard. How is it that every time there is money to go to the tavern with Abba, Gadi screws him? Gadi always seems to connive a new way to ensure it is he that goes with Abba! Damned frustrating is what it is, especially since it is he that does all the work around the farm! Gadi typically spent his days creating mischief, or disappearing to who knows where. The disappearances always seemed to coincide with the most dull or strenuous chores of the day. I am going to get that bastard yet!” Yaakov thought silently to himself.
The day had started well enough. That morning they had sheared their sheep and took the wool to Udruch to sell at the market. He along with Gadi, and Abba loaded up the wagon. Abba then hitched that old nag Zarabeth, and headed north to the market. They arrived at Udruch about mid-morning. The village of Udruch was without walls and consisted of dozens of squat white washed mud brick structures clustered around a well. On the north side of town was a small market place where the craftsmen of the village, and local farmers came together to trade. The trio rode through the town and into the Udruch market place. Their wagon creaked to a halt. Abba looked around, taking the scene in. Across the marketplace he noticed the two merchants that usually purchase wool and struck off in their direction.
Yaakov left the wagon and their wool with Gadi to look around. While Abba negotiated with the merchants for the best price, he had a rare bit of luck and ran into Sarah. Yaakov had been in love with Sarah since he was a young boy. She was so beautiful. She was the reason why he looked forward to helping Abba bring the family’s wool to market in Udruch. There were so many things he loved about her. Her smile, the way she looked at him, the amazing way she always smelled, the list seemed endless. Every time he heard her voice his heart stopped. He loved the way her round cheeks complimented her green eyes, brunette hair, and full lips. She was a rare beauty and he adored her. Today she was wearing a simple blue dress that hugged her curves perfectly.
They managed to sneak behind the Date Merchant’s Stand and found a great spot between his wagon, still hitched to his mule, and the stand itself. They smiled at each other and kissed. As their tongues intertwined Yaakov felt a stirring in his groin. “She tasted so good”, he thought. It was at that moment that everything had started going wrong. His brother Gadi had gotten a friend to watch the wagon. He then followed them and yanked the string of Sarah’s dress from the back when they kissed. Startled by the sudden pull she became off balanced and fell backwards dragging him with her. She landed squarely on the hoof of the Date Merchant’s mule still connected to the cart. The startled mule let out a cry and ran through the Date Merchant’s stall with the wagon still attached. The resultant collision flung dates everywhere! Abba of course couldn’t help but to turn and see that Yaakov was now clearly visible on top of Sarah! Unfortunately, so did the date merchant whose stall was just destroyed. The mule, still attached to the cart ran headlong into the Spice Merchant’s Stand, effectively destroying the stand. Fortunately the expensive contents where well bottled and packaged. For the most part they were launched straight up into the air and deposited in a rough circle around the broken remains of the stand. Once the mule cleared the Spice Merchant’s Stand it broke into an open street. The mule continued running up the street until it managed to get the cart stuck on the well in the middle of the road. Yaakov thought. “I will get Gadi back and make this up to Sarah somehow.” Abba had argued with the Date Merchant and Spice Merchant for what seemed like an hour before they settled on a reasonable sum for the damages. Most of his money now gone, Abba had to head back to the house with the two dejected boys. Abba was so disgusted with Yaakov that Yaakov was given the task of watching the sheep for the rest of the night. The only thing that went right was that Sarah’s Abba was not around to see the end result of Gadi’s prank. Yaakov would not have long survived that moment.
Yaakov heard the bleat of a distant sheep off to his left. “Far too distant.” He thought. Yaakov sighed and started walking towards the bleating sheep. “It would be just my luck if I lost a sheep tonight. Abba is already pissed at me and this would further darken his mood.” The bleating turned into a scream of terror! Yaakov pulled out his sling and grabbed a stone from his pouch. Once armed, he started running towards the sound. The sheep had ascended a nearby hill and made its way to the downward facing slope out of his point of view. Moments before he crested the hill an overpowering smell of decay and death washed over him and the sounds of a million flies filled the air. As he crested the hill he looked in horror at the scene. The sheep was no more than a puddle of blood. Bits of it was disappearing into the mouths of several creatures surrounding the puddle. They were completely oblivious to him as they feasted on the flesh of the sheep. The creatures or people he wasn’t sure which all wore clothing in various states of disrepair. The majority of them seemed to be wearing the deep flowing white robes of the kind favored by nomads of the deep desert. Yaakov froze stunned at what he saw unfolding before him.
During the time he stood stunned Yaakov failed to notice a creature running towards him across the hilltop to his left. The creature dove at Yaakov’s legs and managed to grab his left leg. The creature sank its teeth into Yaakov’s calf muscle. Yaakov was completely surprised by the creature. His left calf muscle screamed in agony as a result of the creature’s attack. “Something bit me!” He thought. He looked down and saw a creature feasting on his calf. The creature focused on its meal, was completely oblivious to him as it devoured his flesh. Yaakov stomped on the creature’s head with his right foot. The creature’s head collapsed from the blow and it stopped moving. Yaakov pulled his left leg free from the creature’s mouth and began limping to get away.
Another creature crested the hill behind Yaakov. The creature let out what could only be described as a groan. Yaakov looked back at the creature. The creature had blood running down its chin and bits of the sheep stuck in its teeth. The creature saw him and began to give chase. His calf was bleeding profusely and he began to feel faint from blood loss, but he limped on as fast as he could trying to stay ahead of the creatures.
Yaakov again looked back as he ran. What he say chilled him to his very core. There were now dozens of creatures lurching after him. Yaakov turned to look back in front of him and focused on staying ahead of the creatures. One foot in front of the other it seemed like every new step was more painful than the last. He managed to limp about three hundred feet and turned to look back towards the hill which had originally hid the creatures from his view. More and more creatures crested the hill each second and gave chase. The nearest creatures sensing victory ran faster towards him!
All of sudden his body was wracked by pain. His blood felt like it was on fire! His body no longer his to control, he stumbled and fell to the ground, his body turned numb. The edges of his vision turned to blackness. He felt an extremely intense feeling of hunger in his stomach and then nothing…