[BTS] Writing in Gunpowder

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 3
The Quest Part 1

The Party looked at Nina

Ezzard clears his throat and their attention shifts.
Eclipse approaches wearing a fine Robe, draped over his shoulders was a large sack of grain.
Ezzard my Friend! You've made it! And you've brought Friends, I'm so glad.

Yes of course we were just telling each other stories to pass the time. Oh I see, I have a story I could share, shall we gets some accommodations for the night, or have you done this already everyone?
Ezzard shakes his head no and with that they turned to the tavern.

Eclipse looks at Ezzard and says, I bet your wondering what all of this is?
No, I just assumed there was a good reason to send for me.

Well I'll get to it then, I have been called upon to find your Father.
Ezzard said "My Father"! We were with him just before we left for this trip, is this real ? How could it be?

Do you recall a messenger passing you in the Forest? He did not stop when he saw your party because he did not know who the person was in the message, He just knew to find me.

Yes, we thought he was running hard to get somewhere important.
He was, he brought the news.

What has happened to my Father and who sent this message?
Relax, If I understand correctly he is in no immediate harm and I'm pretty sure I know where they are keeping him.
Who are they and where do you mean?
I think there is a tribe just North of Paris, and from how it sounds they are less fortunate and are probably seeking knowledge, they'll want to treat him nice to get anything he's willing to tell.
No! we must go now! if this is the case I know my stubborn Father and he'll not be so open as you might think.
OK, I understand but the hour is late and traveling at night is difficult not to mention Dangerous.
Ezzard regards Eclipse's words and brings over a chair to join the others already seated.

Whats going on Ezzard? Amorphis asks.
Ezzard staring at the wall snaps out of it and says, "My Father has been Captured by someone.
Overhearing this Nina says we just saw him?
Eclipse says it happened just when we left.

Fulbert says, So we're leaving at first Light?
The group looks at Ezzard and he nods yes.
Well then says Fulbert, where did we leave off in the story?

The Woman's man died, thats where we were, right Nina, said Lazare, looking embarrassed because he was so interested.

Nina bats her eyes at him and says yes, but if anyone wants to add anything here I'll just get a draft of whatever this place serves.
Yes I think a Round or two is just the thing. Ezzard waves at the owner and points in a circle around the group and bangs on the table for survise.

She glares at him and looks over to one of the guests who immediately stands up, catching this Fulbert waves down his hands at him and says "He's OK, he is just a half bubble off plumb, I mean the table was.

Now realizing the Tavern is quite busy Eclipse stands as the Hurrying girl deposits the Drafts down on the table, he hands her a gold piece and promptly toasts the Tavern and the fine serving wench heading back to fill some more mugs. We’ll need rooms for this party as well.
They all drank deeply, not wanting to be the last one done or the first to stop

Eclipse drains his first and sets his down and again circles the group and on Queue, the busy girl sets up another round and delivers them promptly.

Eclipse slaps his hands on the table and the group scoot their chairs in like attentive youths.
Eclipse smiles and said, So where were we? Nina only partially focus snaps out of it and says “We were as far into French history as the last two survivors were fighting for their lives.Oh yes. I hear there is many different versions of this story over the years and I have it on faith, I have the True story, everyone looks around and laughs
Yes, what exactly does everyone know for sure to this point? Asks Eclipse, ready to fill in some blanks.

The woman spends her last few minutes with her husband before he dies, says Séraphin.
Nina smiles at Séraphin

 

[Nighthawk419]

Chapter 5 – Rubin Filaro

Rubin Filaro sits in what used to be the French Prime Minister’s office pondering life. He wears jeans and a hoodie sweatshirt with the hood up, the shadows covering most of his face. This is how he prefers to dress, with others not able to easily see neither his features nor his razor sharp teeth. He is not immortal, not by any means, but he is not of this world, either.

He is troubled. In the vast silence that engulfs most of the world now he’s able to think more clearly and something isn’t right. On its face there doesn’t seem to be any problem. Just like all the other times, he was able to get himself involved in the politics of the world, causing mass world wars and ultimately nuclear winter. It’s not like it hasn’t happened before – nuclear winter has always been one of his favorite ways to bring about the end. But this time it was remarkably easy. In the past, sometimes he has failed and sometimes he has succeeded, but every other time someone has opposed him. Whether it has been the gunslinger himself, or one of his cronies, or some being that represents the gunslinger in that world, someone representing the White has gotten in his way.

This time it was so easy it almost wasn’t fun. Just push a few politicians here, make some religious remarks there, and then watch from the sidelines as the mushroom clouds fill the sky. No one countering his moves, no one shooting at him from the crowd, nothing. He keeps going over what happened, over and over again, trying to figure out if he dispatched his opposition without even knowing it, or what could be yet to come that would bring him about.

It’s during this time of sorting through his memories when he realizes there’s something different, and it has something to do with Spain. Any memories having anything to do with Spain seem so new, so fresh compared to the other memories. The French line of Prime Ministers and his work as their trusted advisor feels as it should – like it happened a hundred years ago. But his time running Spain in the place of an old and dying Queen Isabella XVII was even farther back, yet the memory seemed so fresh it was like it happened last week. Something was up with Spain; he just can’t put his finger on it.

He eventually decides that brooding on the matter isn’t going to give him any results, so he gets up and decides he is going to head over to the Pentagon in Versailles. Some of the machinery there is still working, running on backup generators, and the French had the most advanced technology of the day before his lovely mushroom clouds appeared. Maybe he will do some scans and see what’s happening with those few humans that are left.

***​

It didn’t take him long to scan through some recent readings to see a clear outlier: a massive energy surge in the southwestern suburbs of Madrid. Chances are it was nothing but a power surge as some advanced machine blew a fuse, but after his paranoia from this morning, the fact that it happened in Spain made it worth looking in to, even if it is a long drive. As his GPS indicator in the Hummer gets closer and closer he realizes he is entering a sleepy beach town, definitely not the type of place he would expect to see a surge like he did.

Rubin Filaro pulls up in the driveway of Antonio’s beach house, putting the car in park and looking up at the house. It was nothing special, not even beach-front housing. It was two stories, kind of small and with only enough space for one car to fit in the driveway. (What Rubin failed to realize is that his Hummer is a very large vehicle for this day and age.)

He goes in through the unlocked back door and looks around. He sees lots of empty bottles of Jack Daniels, and the scent was still there, too, fresh. But nothing else of note, the place was a mess, and there was no power in the house. He thinks that one of the wandering survivors must have found a cache of the alcohol stored here and proceeded to get blasted for a few days.

Heading upstairs, he walks into the room Antonio has been calling his “lab” – really just a spare bedroom converted into an office and work area, with a small couch for napping on. Rubin quickly goes to the machine which was clearly made from spare parts of other broken down machines and on inspection realizes what the surge was. This was a time machine. It was not working now, anyone could see that. But the pieces all fell into place in Rubin’s head. His memories of Spain were so fresh in his mind because they were fresh! Someone traveled through time, or may still be in the past yet, and changed history in some way involving Spain. He couldn’t prove it exactly, but the evidence was overwhelming. This right here had to be his opposition.

The problem was there was absolutely no sign of anyone being in the house or even having lived there other than recently finished bottles of whiskey. Either the time traveler was still in the past somewhere, or had moved on after the machine broke, and there was no way to know for sure where or when he was. And now that the world was moving on, time would be funny, there’s no guarantee the traveler would show up here again anytime soon, or at all.

Rubin decided to leave and head back to the Pentagon. He now had a goal in mind, something to do – build a time machine that he could control. He could do a lot of things that might look to normal humans like magic, but travel through time is one thing he could not do on his own. And he also had research to do. There was no way of knowing when this person had traveled to, so he was going to have to try and find some of the more… interesting… characters in history and pay them a visit. He would start with Spain, of course.

What Rubin failed to notice was the old and dirty notebook left on Antonio’s desk. If he had flipped to the most recent entry he would have seen the most recent passage, scrawled almost illegibly by Antonio, which would have told him that all he had to do was step three feet to his left to find him. Really, Antonio was lucky that he was so lazy and did not clean his living quarters very well. He was also lucky that he didn’t care that his lab notes were contained in a beat up old notebook with some of the pages about to fall out. If he had been a neater or more hardworking guy, he might just be dead right now.

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 4 The Man

Well I think with little uncertainty there’ll be little sleep tonight, with that Ezzard stands and greets his friends good night, they look at him and are will to follow him out if they are needed. Ezzard opens his hands as if to say stay.

Eclipse and the rest watch him walk out the door, soon to follow a maiden in pursuit. Nadia looks around the group in confirmation of what she spotted and then looked at Eclipse as everyone else did.
Well if you were talking about the woman than you must know she conceived right then and while she was been attacked by a single wolf. I don’t know what to think of that said Amorphis. Well the story goes on about that but more people are interested in how they beat the wolves, they did win the day or there’d be no France today!

Most people say it was the Storm, it was so violent and on top of them that even the waves of the coast contributed to the Hell they faced. Lightning strikes were so close you could smell singed fur I remember my Great Grand Pa telling me. It was not quite Dawn but the lighting and as often as they came much like daylight but the contrast when it was calm an eerie situation. The wolves at this point had moved in closer still making more and more difficult for the man to reach for the right sized stone, but he managed and was holding them at bay. Some would try a lunge but were stopped just in time with a stone to their head or occasionally a good thump to their body. It was the Packs’ leader that stood for the final show down. The rest held their position ready to jump when the Alpha dove.

The man seeing this turned in cowardliness and landed on the mans back, the weight threw them forward with much force, as the man was pushed he too added his strength to the fall and leap toward a large sharp stone jutting out of the stony landscape. With the head and teeth of the Alpha on his shoulder he raises up his left arm and gives the wolf a reversed headlock pulling his head down and causing it to be what breaks their fall. In a flash of lightning and the sound of thunder the throat of the wolf catches the sharp stone. The wolf’s scream from a mortal blow became choked as the blood flowed. The bucking of his claws dug into his sides and the rear into his legs but he hung on until it was silenced.

Laying there with the full weight of it squared on his back was almost to much to bare but he laid their as long as he could, drawing a knee up and then his right arm, he pushed himself to a position where he could try to stand, firm carrying the weight of the wolf on his left shoulder he lifts to his knees, just then the wolf’s moves for the last time and bites into his left ear tearing off part of it. From the wolves advantage it looked as if their leader had won the prize and all would get their turn to feast but the man again moved, lifting the dead wolf on his back. The blood his and the beast’s ran down his chest and the dumb beast thinks the have joined. Mother nature provided the theatrics as another lightning strike pulse a shock the wolves paws as they stood in the outbound wave. With a lung forward and sinking his knees into the ground the man screamed, his adrenalin peaked. The Wolves cautiously steps back and he turns toward the woman.

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 4: The Woman

He sees her, her eyes flicker in the flash but her expression as cold as the water they lay in, she rises and stands straddling her dead husband, he looks at her then at the man and drops his gaze, he is sure what has happened and in that moment realizes it is just the two of them left. The last wolf climbs the hill and looks back, the man stomps his foot in a puddle of water and the wolf flees over the hill.

She looks at him and then over to where the young girl once laid and back to him, he in turn looks at the dead man, they conclude without doubt that if they were the last humans on Earth there’ll be no union between them. She leans down and puts a hand under his head and removes the necklace he was wearing, setting his head down and grabbing him under his arms she began to drag him to higher ground, a few steps later she tires and looks at her fellow survivor, the expression he must have worn was probably not a good one because she refused to look at him again as she steady herself for the task. About 50 yards higher on this beach hill the rocks gave way to a normal sandy beach, she looked at the morning tide and decided she was far enough. Gently laying him down she began to scoop away the sand and she began to weep, as the sandy area began to take shape, her tears became sobs and to whaling misery as she rolled him into the hole, he lay face down now and she loses the last shred of composure, she struggles to lift him, to turn him on his back but she is so tired. She looks at the man his eyes glazed over just stands there, he remember her leaving his side when the wolves attacked. She remembers him throwing a stone but not at the wolf that broke the little girls neck. As if this story would soon come to an end the Storm centers on them and they are in the Eye of the Storm, the wind dies and glimmers of the sun wash over them. Behind them the largest wave of the storm approaches the beach. It engulfed the man and pushes him up the beach as his foot is caught between a stone and breaks his leg. The wave raced up the hill and poured into the shallow grave, horrified she reaches for him and lifts his head out of the water. As the water receded she began splash out water remained and began cover his feet and legs. She laid him down and said goodbye as she pushed the last of the sand over him.

The scene did not depict two future Lovers.

With one last look to burn his face into her memory she stands and walks up the beach and into trees opposite of where the wolves had gone. He stared sitting there holding his leg as she walked away out of site. He sat there for some time and decide he must move somehow, he must make a shelter of some kind and dry himself in the morning sun, as he began to look around he looked towards the wreckage and saw a piece of wood he might be able to use to help him walk and as is was not long ago the back side of the Storm came and with it a pound Hail storm. I’ll tell you now folks it’s time for another round because those that know this story well will tell you that this hardship, this New Beginning is going to get far far worse. Said Eclipse. Nina’s wipes away a tear as she lifts her Graft hopping no one noticed but Amorphis did but said nothing. Nina apparently had’t heard this version of the story and is ready to question Eclipse why possibly she Hadn’t and she does. Also where did the woman go and how’d she survive if she went off alone.



Edit; When we continue we'll find that the man is first to settle some resemblance of a shelter and names it after the woman, he names her and it Paris, but before that, the backside of the storm washes many of the others onto the shore and a frantic but disabled man fights to save a life.

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 5
Napoleon's ascent

As a Child Napo showed great promise, He was very Organized and Charismatic
plowing fields twice as fast as others nearby using Tribalism methods rather than the growing trend of Slavery.

His Charismatic character grew widespread through the region while no other Frenchmen could compete with his popularity.
Standing only shoulder height to most grown men he is still looked up to.

But with growing Popularity and responsibility he becomes Napoleon. He builds his first building dedicating it to the great warriors to come, naming it a Barracks
The first group of Warriors finished their training and were immediately promoted to Woodsman, while La Hire earned his promotion the hard way and proclaims he is far better than the Barracks trained Warriors but now realizes he is out numbered two to one.

So you win today Napo but any unhappy population may be persuaded to follow me.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Chapter 6 - Ancient Madrid

Antonio cautiously walked through the forest with his gun drawn. Being in ancient times was not as easy as one would think, even with a gun. The trees in this forest were huge, larger than any he had ever seen even in movies, with trunks wider than he could stretch his arms. He hadn’t noticed any predatory animals yet, mostly just deer (again, bigger than he’d ever seen at the zoo) and various other small animals. From what he remembered from his first visit, even though he has a gun and the ancient people had nothing more than clubs, they were extremely fast and agile. He was sure they would have great instincts and hunting abilities and could ambush him easily. He was taking a risk being in the woods like this, but he had no other choice. The beach was empty and if he was going to find Isabella he needed to go to Madrid, which meant going through the woods. It took a lot longer to go the 5 miles on foot than it did driving a car!

He had arrived on the beach in what seemed to be the same spot as the first time. Again he woke up on the beach not sure of where he was, that feeling of memory loss again, except this time it was night. The amount of stars you could see in the clear sky at night without even post-apocalypse lighting was incredible to him. He assumed he was in the same spot as his beach house in the future, and his guess was he probably appeared in thin air up high (his lab was on the second floor) and fell to the beach. He decided that if he ever does open another wormhole next time, he’ll be sure to build the machine on the first floor.

He had been walking through the woods all night and as the day brightened up, he let down his guard. If the early Spanish warriors were going to get him it would have happened by now. As he emerged from the woods the sight was breathtaking. At the edge of the woods was a small stretch of grassland which led to a river. The river flowed right to left in front of a large clear hill with a very steep side. At the very top of the hill he could barely make out a few huts that could only be the earliest villagers of a place called “Madrid” with a beautiful sunrise behind it. Antonio had an interest in military history growing up, and strategically he could see why they had chosen this area. The housing was in clear view, however at least on this side the hill was steep. He couldn’t imagine it would be easy to traverse the river and attack up the hill even with a modern military.

He decided to just go straight at it. If they were going to attack him as a stranger, they’d probably kill him no matter how he approached the village. After a long climb he approached the top of the hill and realized the village looked deserted. The huts were made up of animal hides and large pieces of wood, with what looked to be the remains of campfires in front of some of them. The town was larger than he had realized, the huts were spread all over, but there was no sign of a living being anywhere. In the center of the town was a large open area with a large rock in the middle, some sort of town common he assumed. Past the common was a large building actually made out of stone, with a few stairs too! Based on looking around, he assumed that was where the Spanish leader resided.

Antonio sat on the large stone in the town common and thought. The town was deserted, and even if it wasn’t he had no idea how he would find the little girl he met on the beach that was the first Isabella. There were hundreds of huts. Anyway, the town was deserted, and he had no plan, no food, and no idea how long he would be stuck here.

Completely stumped, he decided he would go explore the palace. He might as well check out the sights while he pondered the best course of action. He walked up the stairs and entered into a large gateway area with an area that could only be called a doorway (with no door though) that went around some other large rock walls. As he went through the doorway he entered a grand room with a stone throne, and on it, all by herself, sat a very old woman, fast asleep.

 

[Hawklord]

Chapter 2
A group of workers building pig pens south east of Lisbon were the first to see the strangers. They were well armed with weapons as advanced as our own. They looked much more dangerous than the normal nomadic tribes we have seen around here before. Reports from the foreman of the working party tell us that they were aggressive and arrogant in their approach to the workers. He had difficulty understanding them at first but it turned out that they had some understanding of the traders’ dialect. From what he gathered they were demanding the return of some countryman and were swinging their clubs in a way that left him in no doubt that it was a threat. Barbarous sent a fast runner to the palace to alert us of the strangers’ presence.

The Hawklord sent Lord Fabian with our own Home Guard to see what could be done. Lord Fabian marched out to the hill overlooking the Pig Pen meadow and made an appraisal of their strength. Lord Fabian could see that these Frenchmen were no match for the Portuguese warriors but he was under orders to avoid conflict if possible.

In the interest of international relations he decided to ignore the initial threats and sent a runner to invite the strangers to a feast where they could show their own strength and persuade these Frenchmen to back off. He had also been tasked with seeing if any trade might be possible. The French officer it seems was called La Hire.

The meeting

The Frenchman La Hire and his officers entered the tent where Lord Fabian and the Portuguese officers waited. They are welcomed and offered a place to sit. Lord Fabian stands and welcomes the French to Portugal. The interpreter translates this to the traders’ tongue which is translated into French by one of his men. The conversation goes something like this:
Lord Fabian says “Barabarous tells me you are claiming to be looking for one of your Countrymen here.”

La Hire: “Yes my Lord Napol has tasked me to find him and since we are encompassed by the Sea to our South he sent me North logically. And so far you are the only tribe I’ve seen, Now you’ve introduced yourself as a Lord suggesting you are our equal. Never the less it makes perfect sense to inquire here. His name is Natuland, about this tall and last seen unarmed, Have you seen him? If so I’m here to escort him home.”

Lord Fabian: You are the first Frenchmen we have met. We have seen no others. If your countryman wandered into the Northern Wastes he could be in big trouble. There is nothing but wolves, bears and wild tribesmen in the tundra. Our scouting parties have seen only small bands of nomadic tribesmen in the North but it is a vast area and he could easily have passed by without anyone seeing him. We will tell our scouts to keep a look out for any sign of his passing.
We will of course be happy to give him any aid he requires should we come across him.

He pours La Hire another glass of ale and continues.
Lord Fabian: “The High Hawklord has tasked me to inquire about your lands. He would be most interested in seeing if we have anything you would be willing to trade for. He looks forward to a long and mutually beneficial future.”

La Hire: “I see, well to be honest we did not cover the great vastness of this land and thank you for your offer to aid him if he is found. I sincerely apologize for my attitude previously; I can tell you are a Honourable Man. Oh yes thank you for the Ale, it's very good. I will not burden you with my presence any long and will take my leave. Thank you for your Hospitality.”

After the meeting the Home Guard gave the French warriors an escort to the border in the East. Unfortunately they were set upon by a pride of lions and in the ensuing confusion lost sight of them. They did find tracks heading North into the wilderness but were forced to head back South to get the men’s wounds looked after in the new fishing village of Oporto.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Chapter 7 – Isabella I

Antonio clears his throat, “ahem…”

With a jolt the old woman wakes up. Opening her eyes, she rubs them, then smiles at Antonio. “You came back. I knew you would.”

Confused, Antonio asks, “Came back? Who are you? You aren’t Isabella are you?”

The woman smiles again, “Yes I am. You saved my life on the beach when I was a little girl. It has been countless days since that day, but I will never forget it. It’s because of you that I sit on this throne today.”

A: “Wait, wait, wait… this can’t be right. It’s only been a week since I’ve been here. By Allah, you look eighty!”

I: “Who is this Allah you speak of? And what is a week?”

A: “Allah is God, the one who created us. At least that’s what some people believe. And a week is seven days. It doesn’t matter. Something is very wrong here. Where is everyone?”

I: “I know not of this ‘god’ you speak of, but if he created us he must be a good man. The men of Madrid have left on a quest to introduce our people to the people of a village out on the plains past the wild fields of corn. We have seen their fires burning in the night and wish to ask them to join us here on the hilltop, where we are safe from the wild beasts which roam the earth. With the men gone, we have little ability to defend ourselves, and so the women and children of Madrid have hidden away in their homes to make the town appear deserted. Our lookouts spotted you heading our way from the great woods and so our people are in hiding. Surely you must understand such basic needs for survival, oh great one.”

A: “Oh great one? I’m no one special believe me.”

I: “Surely you jest, you have a thing capable of killing another man from a distance. You are my savior. The people of Madrid have chosen me as their leader because they believe I have been chosen by the earth and have a protector who shall arrive when my life is threatened. I have tried summoning you many times, but I’ve realized I can’t bring you here myself…”

A: “Oh… Uh… Well. I don’t really know what to say about all that. I am from the future, do you understand future?”

I: “Yes of course. It is that-which-is-yet-to-come. Our people pray for a glorious future daily.”

A: “Right. Well I am nothing but a simple man from the future who found a way to come back in time to here. This… when. I did not expect you would have been so old though. It was not my intention to take so long to see you again.”

I: “It’s ok. Our people have been brought together through their belief in you as my guardian. They believe my daughter to also have a guardian, although from what I can tell she is simply much faster than I was. I knew in my deepest heart that you would come back and see me again, even if it was on my death knell. I needed to say thank you for saving my life. You saved not only my life but the lives of countless people who would have died under our old traditions. You have my and their deepest thanks.”

A: “Whoa, wait, are you dying? Please say it isn’t so…”

I: “Yes I am; I can feel it in my bones. These are my last days. And then my daughter shall be granted access to the throne. Tell me you’ll visit her, will you?”

A: “Y-yes. Sure. Of course. Is she here?”

I: “No, she does not live in the palace here with me. But I have told her the story of how you saved me and will tell her of our meeting today, for I see you must leave me again.”

A: “What are you talking about?”

Antonio looks at his hands and again they are shimmering and fading from existence.

A: “Wait, please no not yet, there’s so much more I need to know. Isabella how will your daughter know it is me? Will she believe me?”

As Antonio begins to fade away he hears Isabella’s final words, although they sound farther and farther away as she speaks.

I: “I shall have our people carve a monument in your honor so they all know who you are. Bring your killing machine. Whenever you return, the people will know you and will honor you; I’ll make sure of it. My daughter…

And with that her words become so quiet he can no longer make it out. There is a floating sensation in his stomach, like he’s on the world’s biggest rollercoaster drop. Then suddenly he is back on his couch, quickly grabs the nearest waste basket and throws up.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Chapter 8 – Antonio’s Lab Notes, Continued

Friday? June 28, 2367

I have returned… and survived. I was only gone about 12 hours by my calculations, yet when I arrived back the sun was setting; something doesn’t match up here. With no power left in this desolate world, I have no way of knowing for sure what day it is, but I’m thinking it’s no more than a couple days from when I left to go through the wormhole. At this point it doesn’t really matter, the experiment worked and if I can continue impacting the past like I am, I may be able to change the course of history to prevent global nuclear destruction.

I was not able to accomplish much, however I did manage to meet Queen Isabella I, who was the little girl I saved on the beach during my first trip. Apparently my interference made the ancient people think of her as protected somehow, and they made her Queen, what appears to be the start of a long lineage of her bloodline. She already spoke to me about her daughter, who will rule when she dies, and some quick research into history confirmed this. I also noted during my research that the common religion “Islam” was apparently founded in approximately 2920 BC, which is much, much earlier than my memories had, although now I couldn’t tell you when it was originally founded because those memories are fading fast and no history of the original founding of Islam exists. I can tell you that it was founded well after 1000 AD, which makes me think that my mentioning of “Allah” to Isabella caused acceleration in the development of religion.

Anyway that’s beside the point – it is just further proof that I truly do have a wormhole to the past on my hands and can impact the future; my present. Now the question is where do I go from here? The time machine appears to be broken for good, no matter what I try it will not start up again and a few key parts appear to be melted. I do have this one wormhole, but how can I dramatically impact the destruction of the world through nuclear armageddon by interfering with ancient people?

I need to rebuild the machine and create another wormhole to a different time period. I don’t have the parts here, so I must travel into Madrid and see if I can find the parts I need to create a new wormhole. I would need a new laboratory anyway, I have no idea what the impact of multiple wormholes near each other would do to the fabric of space-time. Isabella mentioned her daughter, and that they would build a statue in my honor… maybe I will look around downtown and in the museums to see if any statue still exists. More work needs to be done, and more research into history to see at what point I would need to travel to truly impact the present in a grand way. I don’t even know how to control when a wormhole would take me, more research that must be done.

I am leaving these notes near the machine and the wormhole for any travelers who may come by in the future. If they are still here and the world is still mostly empty, then I have failed or moved on. If you wish to follow me, continue on into Madrid and look for me or my notes in the Ministry of Science building, I expect it is there I will find what I need to create a new time machine.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Chapter 9 – Welcome to Spain

We have spent a lot of time with Antonio and a little bit of time with the mysterious Rubin Filaro, but what about ancient Spain itself? Over a thousand years have passed since Antonio met with Isabella the first, what have these ancient people been doing? Here we begin the story of ancient Spain, after Antonio’s meddling changed things…



Here we see ancient Madrid, circa 2120 BC. After Antonio saved Isabella’s life on the ocean front, the tale spread through Madrid like wildfire when she returned. Within a few days she was considered by the populace to be “blessed and protected” from the evils of the world around her. By her 16th birthday she was anointed overseer of Madrid and the Spanish people.

She did not wish to see the harm that could have been done to her done to other people, and so the Spanish became peaceful, almost too peaceful. The warrior-men of the tribe were looked down upon. After losing their power with the people these men and their families set out west to wander and live the nomadic life of their ancestors. These men killed most daughters that were born, and boys were immediately trained from birth with the club to join the warrior-men. The remaining girls were raised simply to be child-bearing and continue the line of the warrior-men. And so the “Spanish Horde” was born.

The Horde continued west, following the setting sun, and did spot a few outlier citizens who called themselves “Portuguese”. However with no formal emissaries in the area the Horde simply passed them by, content to live their nomadic lifestyle. For generations they travelled this way, only recently deciding to turn south after mountains in the distance and colder weather made the western track look less appealing to them. Here we see this Horde on its travels, approaching a pack of lions and preparing to defend themselves. They call themselves Spanish, however they have lost all contact with their home village of Madrid years and generations ago.



Back in Madrid, the peaceful people were content to work the lands, learning the ways of agriculture, which allowed them to farm the wild corn which grew in droves down the river. Antonio met Isabella I again in her old age on her throne, during this period which most of the citizens were out in the corn fields, and with no notable defenses, the rest of the people stayed in hiding, attempting to make the village look abandoned.

Isabella I was not much longer on this earth, but the Spanish tradition continued – the line of the blessed must still lead, and so following Isabella I’s death, her daughter, Isabella II, took the throne, with the people believing she inherited her mother’s blessings and protection. For generations this tradition continued, with the first-born daughter of Isabella inheriting the throne. The overseer Isabella was required to have a daughter to continue the tradition, and would take many suitors until this daughter was born. The first-born was always named Isabella, in honor of the first.

When Antonio visited the second time in Isabella I’s old age, two things happened. First, she told him she would erect a monument in his image so her ancestors would always recognize him. This monument was designed by Isabella I before her death, and passed on to her daughter, who completed the monument before her death. The stories of Antonio continued, and with the monument erected they would truly recognize him if he returned… however for thousands of years he did not return, and the stories became myth, and then legend. The overseer Isabella may have used the stories to retain the throne, however her belief in Antonio faded with each passing generation.

The second thing that happened was Antonio’s mention of the famous “Allah” – the Islamic term for God. Islam was not formally founded this early, however with the mention, Isabella I decreed that her people shall follow Allah, and so Islam was founded in ancient times. There had been previous whisperings of a higher power, however with the formal mention, the people began believing in one God named Allah.

Madrid itself thrived mightily under the rule of the overseer Isabella’s. The corn fields provided more than enough food for the population, and in fact, Spanish herbalists found a new herb in the forests outside Madrid which resulted in better treatment for ills, causing an even greater population boom. However with greater population comes strife and disagreement, all of which could not be solved by even the blessed Isabella in power. Some of those in disagreement elected to leave Madrid and head west, following the famous Horde of legend. These people were not warriors though, and eventually set up their own village called Barcelona on a hilltop just past the corn fields.



Feeling that she was losing control of her people and living in fear of Barcelonians returning with the club, the overseer Isabella XX allowed the warrior-men to return as protectors of the city, since Antonio was only legend at this point. She also reached out to those in Barcelona, who agreed to remain on peaceful terms as long as they were their own independent city-state. Madrid also built a barracks, which you can see was placed perched on the edge of the steepest bank of the hill, to be used for defense as well as training of the warrior-men to protect the city. No longer would the look of an abandoned city work for such a large populous. A squadron of warrior-men was also sent to defend Barcelona in thanks for their continued peace agreement.

Unfortunately even with these measures, Madrid and its wildly growing populous remains too much for Isabella to control, even up to our current date of 2120 BC. Another group of people in disagreement, seeing the success of the Barcelonian group, decided to leave the city as well. This time with a group of their own warrior-men to protect them, they headed southeast into the unknown. There were rumors of tribes which called themselves “Germans” and “Dutch” supposedly spotted in this area, but the group set out with protection and were confident they would find a place to call their own home. We see them beginning their travels here.



Isabella continues to have problems with the large population of Madrid, and now will have two independent city-states which call themselves Spanish to deal with on both sides of her town. The majority of the populous embraces Islam as that which resulted in overseer Isabella being blessed and protected, and so she hopes the building of a large Islamic temple for worship will help to control the masses. Only time will tell if her decisions and the decisions of her ancestors, and maybe even the meddling of Antonio, will lead to a better future.

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 6
La Hire

The decorated Hero La Hire returns from locations not yet undetermined, we know his travels were in the North but beyond that he will not say!

Napoleon had commissioned La Hire several months ago to locate and bring back another Local Hero Natuland, who surprisingly vanished without a clue. Returning without him causes Napoleon to confront the man, La Hire currently in Stocks has not said a word since he was bound in place for all to see and torment. Face to Face Napoleon asks him where he's been and La Hire fixes him with a glare and says nothing. Outraged at his subjects insolence, he pulls from his belt a thin stick and proceeds to thrash La Hire's face and hands all the while La Hire's glare remained fixed and focused on Napoleon. Napoleon stops abruptly and screams at him "Why are you defying me? Again La Hire says nothing, Napoleon reaches down at La Hire's feat and grabs the Warrior's own club and proceeds around behind him and raises the club for a full swing and the gathered crowd gasps, sensing what was going to happen next, he fights the stocks' grip to no avail, he begins to jerk left and right with much strength and Napoleon yields, lowering the club, walking around to face him once again knowing that he had proved his point and this could be bad for the Warrior if he did not say something. He begins questioning him again.

This inhibited standoff between two highly respected men takes a turn as the towns folk begun to chant, but they are not chanting for Napoleon, nor are they for him to thrash the disrespected Warrior, but a single world which would mean to us "Speak".

Napoleon's response to this was felt, believing he alone deserved the highest amount of respect after Self Proclaiming himself Leader of this tribe long ago, once again raising La Hire's own club to administer a final blow. Seeing this in time La Hire again fights the stock's grip and begins to relentlessly jerk from one side to the other. Napoleon tightenings his grip on the club and brings the club down aiming for the Warrior's head. Just then La Hire screams a War Cry! and with a last effort twists and lifts the stocks out of the ground sending him unbalanced closer to the deadly blow. The crowd again let out a great gasp as a wood on wood thud was heard as it struck the thinnest center arch just a few inches from his head, both now in an unbalanced battle ballet falling into each other as the upper half of the stock broke free with the first impact on the ground and then falling onto his back with a twist, the full weight of the remaining structure lightly pinning him to the ground.

Still bound at the wrists, his neck pressed between the splintering edges of wood now gapped enough to tear his head loose, Napoleon regains his footing and steps forward stepping heavily on the main beam with his Right foot, letting go without thinking his left hand to swing the club one handed in an arch to crush La Hire's leg between the blow and the beam when with a quick and powerful downward push of La Hire's arms sent the stock south freeing his head and throwing Napoleon off balance and to the ground. Now with one arm free he grasps under the cross beam and twists his legs for purchase, lifting himself and pivoting partially bound, tumbles over onto Napoleon, the combined weight trapping the squirrelly leader. Lying Face to Face, an object of pure cruelty between them, La Hire speaks for the first time, as he does he shifts his weight to properly subdue him until he was done.

"I have not found Natuland! The World is vast and it is wild, he could be anywhere or now nowhere! it is the hands of the Gods! I have met another tribe that call themselves the Portuguese. Napoleon begins kicking and struggling and La Hire responds by pushing down on the wood when a large sliver of wood dislodges from La Hire's neck and with it a stream of blood, and La Hire falls limp.

Mummers from the crowd spiral over them, as La Hire's consciousness fades.

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Schreiben in Schießpulver – Zhe German Story​

Zhe Prologue

This is the beginning of the history of Germany, one of the greatest civilizations to ever exist, harboring the potential to bring forth many extraordinary people, both good, creating joy and love for all of humanity by writing wonderful pieces of art and science, and evil, bringing yet unknown horrors over the planet while ruthlessly crushing everyone they deem unworthy under their steel boots. Only time will tell which way the German people as a whole will walk.
Speaking of which, let us start this story by following the adventures of the first German Scout group. For centuries they have wandered, the elders perishing over time as the younger replaced them, only to be overtaken later by their own children. A life of healthy exercise and unhealthy animal attacks made sure that only the best of the best and the strongest of will and body survived...

“Are we there yet?”
“No Hans, like my father told your father and his father told your grandfather and his father told your great-grandfather, we are still not there, also halt einfach die Schnauze.”
“Geez, sorry that I want to go home mein Führer.”
“Just in case you haven´t noticed, you don´t have a home. None of us do.”
“That´s just it! Maybe I don´t want to waste my whole life aimlessly wandering through the wilderness. Maybe I want to settle down and stay in the same place for more than just a night.”
“You can rest all you want when we get back to Berlin.”
“If we get to Berlin. We don´t even know if it still exists, or if it ever existed at all for that matter. Maybe our ancestors made it up so we have something to look forward to.”
“I don´t see why they should, everything in our oral lore so far seems to be correct. We found woods where we have been told they were, we found mountains where we were told to find them, I am sure we will come across the Dutch every day now and I am confident that we are going to have half of our way home behind us in some years.”
“Which is incredibly motivational considering that the first half has seen three generations pass since our ancestors decided to return to Germany. Hey, maybe my great-grandchildren will get to see Berlin, if they don´t get eaten by some animals first that is.”
“Hans, you haven´t even found a mate yet.”
“Well have you seen our group Heinz? We have only like two dozen women, half of which are related to me”
“What about Heidi? I think you two would make a great couple.”
“She´s my mother!”
“Hey, do you want to reproduce or not?”
“Was ist dies ich tu nicht einmal...”
With Hans being to flabbergasted to carry on with the conversation, Heinz reverted his attention forward, hoping to find traces of human existence in the forest the group just entered. And indeed, not fifty meters in they ran into a hunter, trying to talk to her.
“Well hallöchen there Fräulein, we are a group of German Scouts trying to find the way home, would you by any chance know where we can find the Dutch?”
“Wat is het? Het spijt me, maar ik kan u begrijpen.”
“Jep, sounds Dutch to me,” Hans commented, followed by Heinz deadpanning “Gee, really?”
“Anyway...” he continued, gesturing to everything he said, “WE want YOU to WALK US to YOUR HOME. Verstehe?”
Apparently understanding his intent, the hunter motioned them to follow her and led the group deep into the dark and frightening wood...

Will she bring the Germans to the the Dutch? Does she lead them into an ambush? Will Hans marry his mother? And most importantly, will our brave nomads ever find their way back to Berlin? All these questions and many more will never be answered, because I don´t feel like continuing this plot ever. So sucks to be you I guess.

 

[Nighthawk419]

Interlude – The Spanish Horde meet a Portuguese Scout
Written by Nighthawk and Hawklord combined



The Spanish Horde travels south after defeating a group of hungry lions in the forests west of Lisbon. The fight was a new experience for many men of the Horde, and having lived and fought valiantly for ages in the forest, they have become true men of the woods, able to use the trees to their advantage when fighting an enemy. While taking a rest to make use of the carcasses of the lions, lookouts spot a small group travelling west behind them. They appear to be lightly armed and travel lightly, able to move quickly.

Ivan, leader of the Horde, sets out with a group of his best warrior-men towards the small group, yelling out towards them as they approach:

Ivan: “Stop right there you insignificant pests before we remove you from this earth, in the name of the Spanish Horde. Who are you and what is your business in this area?”

***

Lord Davi, leader of the scouts on seeing the battered Spanish warriors: "More foreigners. Barbarians this time."

Jorge, second in command: "What language is that?"

Lord Davi: "Never heard it before. I don't think we should get any closer; they are better armed than our boys. And whatever that big bruiser said it wasn't friendly."

Looking at Jorge: "Send two of our fastest runners to warn the palace. If they see the French warn them too. At least they're civilized."

As Davi watches the barbarians two runners are sent off back to the city. "Come on boys, we're on an important mission for the Hawklord. The Home Guard will sort this lot out."

As the strangers start towards them the troupe of scouts head of across the grassland easily outdistancing the slower barbarians.

***

Upon hearing no response from the lightly armed scouts, Ivan turns to his men: “Come on boys, let’s get them!” With a battle cry the small group charges towards the scouts, who quickly turn and run through the trees ahead of them. After an hour of chase, the trees finally open up onto grassland. With the open land and lighter packs, the scouts quickly outdistance Ivan’s small party.

Ivan stop his men, quickly turns around and says “Turn around men, let’s get the rest of the Horde. We will never catch them in the grasslands, but we will take our time and hunt them down properly and show them the meaning of a true man.”

In the ensuing years, the Horde made chase in the direction the scouts had gone, however as Ivan and his men died off and were replaced by younger faces, the memory of the meeting was quickly forgotten. However it is from this meeting that the Horde changed direction, now heading northwest into the wilderness which grows colder and colder…

A Small Update – The Founding of Seville



In approximately 2000 BC, the city-state of Seville was finally founded on the southern coast of the Fisuk Sea. (pronounced “fisk-hook”) Located southeast of Madrid, it is protected by warrior-men closely due to its wide-open location in the grasslands just on the edge of a small desert in front of a large peak. With food in short supply, the populous does its best to survive in the wilderness apart from the rule of Isabella, hoping to one day begin upgrading the land around the town.

Back home, Isabella’s people complete the construction of the first Islamic temple, a vast building meant to distract the angry people with worship of a little known god. With its construction, there is cause for great celebration and dancing in the streets. The large populous of Madrid is pacified… for now.

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 7
The Messenger

Sensing this, Eclipse looks at the group and says, “The hour is late, let’s check on our friend Ezzard and we’ll meet again in the morning”. With that the Group pushed out their chairs and dropped a few tokens of appreciation on the table for the Maid.

The accommodations were made up of 2 connecting rooms, one for the girls and the other for the Men, Amorphis you're with the Men. Amorphis smiles and nods.

The ringed candles flickering in the cool draft gave the party the idea it wasn't going to be the comfortable night they had ever had.

Just then, below them in the tavern the front door opens with a crash and a man gasping for air enters, the Tavern wench recognizes him a drawls him a draft and hands it to him, and with a quick drink polishes it off and claims "Napoleon has put La Hire in stocks and nearly killed him with La Hires own Club"

Eclipse, Ezzard, Amorphis, Séraphin, Fulbert, and Lazare look up as Nina and Nadia burst threw the connecting door.

Amorphis as usual seeing the girls ushers them toward his straw mat. The girls in unison put him in his place.

What do you make of this Eclipse says, Nina says first, "I think its a show of Power", wait who is Napoleon asks Lazare?

Ezzard explains that Napoleon has self appointed himself Head Tribesman of the French tribe and La Hire is a Promoted Warrior just as worthy for the position as Napoleon.

Looking threw the cracks in the floor and listen to the conversation below they come to the conclusion that La Hire wasn't killed and there is time to get there in the morning

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 8
The Quest Part 2


The Party in Paris

Before first light Amorphis wakes and makes water in the corner and the others wake to it and shame him.

One of you give the girl's door a knock a let's get this party going. No answer, not a sound, he tries the door but it is latched from the other side, he walks out their main door to theirs a sees they are already gone and he calls to the others the update.

The Tavern lays on the South side of Paris and Napoleon's makeshift Palace and Natuland's Hut is on the North side and it wasn't long before they arrived to see the Stocks standing empty and a small bit of fresh Blood stained the base. So what do we do? said Fulbert to Lazare, why you ask me? he says. Because your supposed to be the thinker of this group Mr Researcher!

Boys! Nadia exclaims. Lets look for La Hire, He's the more popular of the two Leaders, lets start there.

Not long after they receive word that a few of the local people took him in and washed his wounds. The party arrives there shortly after and is gestured in, they Greet a well rested strong warrior and immediately exchange hand shakes and the normal exchanges "haven't seen you in a while"

La Hire smiles and tells them he had been tasked to travel North to find Natuland who had been abducted recently.

Wait when was this? asked Ezzard. More than a Moon ago he said.

That doesn't make any sense, he just disappeared right? That's what the Messenger said right?

Somethings fishy and they all look at each other.

Well for one thing for sure, said La Hire, I'm going to have a word or two with this short twig carrying Tyrant.

And they all follow out the door and around the front of a recently finished Barracks.

Whoa, I wish I had one of those when I was trained, no free promotion was given to me! I got mine from killing countless Predators in the Wild

But you do not wear your Promotion? someone in the party asks? Napoleon stripped it from me last night. He was trying to elevate himself to my level or bring me down to his is a better way of saying it. I can't wait to meet him without the Village Stocks to protect him!

 

[Eclipse4449]

Chapter 9
Who am I

The cold breeze tenses his bare back just as another barbarian kicks him. Day after day he’s tortured, some days he is fed but this is a mere formality to keep him alive. What do they want from me? I know nothing. I wouldn’t tell them anything if I did.

It is night and I am left alone in this Tundra with nothing but the remains of today’s fire. I have wandered off I remember, but I awake right back here as if I am found and brought back. My body is wasted who am I, where am I from?

Somehow I know to tie a new knot on my hide each night that I’ve been here but do not know why,
I can no longer count, I cannot stand without falling and I almost understand what they are saying.
I cringe at the words Bam-Bam because I know they will hit me with their clubs again.

One Barbarian now is always watching while the others are away, he just stands outside of his hut hidden in the trees until relieved or it becomes daylight and they all emerge. The Barbarian who stood watch through the night is the first to beat me.

When he is brought food it is by one of the women of the camp and he has learned to not look at them or the men are far more Barbaric, hitting him in the head full on with their clubs only to wake days later. Who am I, where am I from? Why can’t I remember?

Today it is the coldest it has been but I remain outside without shelter, but today the fire is bigger and will remain burning through the night. The ground so cold, I must keep turning for the fireside is warm but the other so cold. Behind me I hear a snap echo off the mountainside, as I turns I see my guard hadn’t heard it and I continued turning, on my first pass I see nothing but somehow I know someone or something is there.

Just before a full turn again I see him, a man dressed in civilized clothes. The green he wears hides him well where he is standing. And another full he is gone but on the next he is closer, close enough to be heard but he says nothing. His clothes are like mine only Green, his expression is one of curiosity

 

[Eclipse4449]

Saved

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

What good is a Hamburger without beef?

“Good news, everyone!”, the chieftainess of Berlin loudly proclaimed in the town square, bringing all other activities to a halt as the Berliners silenced to hear what she had to say. After having secured the attention of the public she continued: “Well, technically I have both good and bad news. First things first: Messengers from our colonists have showed up and reported that they finally found a nice place to settle down. They decided to call their new city Hamburg, apparently because after decades of living on a sparse nomadic diet they could not think about anything but our Scouts´ tales about the massive herds of delicious cattle that await them. This brings me to the bad news: Their störrischen Russian neighbors hoard all the cows for themselves, denying the Hamburgers access to meat, thus robbing all meaning from their name. This is simply unacceptable! Our friends ask whether they should take a more direct approach to the problem, seeing as they have probably enough men-at-arms to deal with some grumpy cowboys, and I say yes, let´s show 'em that you don´t mess with Germans! Who is with me?” The greater part of the crowd cheered enthusiastically, some throwing their fist up in the air.
Obviously satisfied, the chieftainess carried on: “Excellent, I shall let the Hamburgers know that we approve of whatever course of action they choose. If you wish to volunteer as a Warrior in the reinforcements we plan to send the next weeks, please apply at our Barracks. Thank you for your attention meine Damen und Herren.”

Gee, Germans preparing to go to war against Russia? Never seen that one before.

 

[Imperator Knoedel]

Kraut Metal

Frederick, Führer of Berlin and therefore over all of Germany, couldn't be happier. He was practically swimming in gold, had all the delicacies he could dream of, and an army of slaves fulfilled his every wish. He enjoyed luxuries from as far away as Amsterdam and his subjects seemed mostly complacent with his rule. However, not everyone shared that sentiment. In fact, one of them was entering Frederick´s throne room this very instant, not waiting for a slave to announce his arrival. His name:

“Odoaker, welcome! You know, most people would wait until the Ankündiger properly introduced them, then they would enter the room and respectfully bow before me while saying what an honor it is to speak with me personally.”
“Most people haven´t led an army into Russia to hold the Muscovies off until Munich could be established.”
“True enough, and I don't suppose I could imprison a war hero for something as trivial as ignoring protocol, would be bad for publicity.”
“How fortunate for me then that you haven´t gone completely crazy yet.”
“Speak your piece, I have better things to do today than exchanging smalltalk with you.”
“Very well, you remember the reason we want to war with Russia in the first place?”
“Yeah, it´s because you Hamburgers have a weird obsession with cows and they wouldn´t let you borrow their´s. We supported you because it gave us the chance to capture some slaves and solidify our borders, which is what we did when we built Munich. After that we made peace and the Russians have been our biggest trading partners ever since. As far as I am concerned the operation was a total success.”
“Except that the cattle is still in Russian hands.”
“We have been over this already, the local farmers feel more loyal to Moscow than Hamburg, and I really can't blame them, considering how you enslaved half of them.”
“And? We could invade again, enslave the other half, and let the population of Hamburg itself tend to the cows.”
“With what army? We only won the last war because we had the element of surprise and your skills to let us appear more powerful than we really are. As it is we barely have enough troops to keep the Dschunglers from threatening our trade routes, never mind conquering a city like Moscow.”
“Don´t you see? We could kill two birds with one stone! Let me lead an expedition into the Jungle, we can train our army and maybe even recruit some of the Dschunglers for our cause!”
“INTO THE JUNGLE? Have you gone mad? Do you know what happened to the last men we sent to explore it?

I´m sorry, but I can´t allow you to go, it´s suicidal, and despite our differences I can't stand the thought of knowing you dead. Please, Odoaker, for the sake of your wife and your children, do away with this nonsense, retire to your cottage in Hamburg, or maybe take command of the guard patrolling our trade routes, heck you can even spend the rest of your life in Munich if you feel masochistic, but just don´t do anything foolish. I can´t see another war in the near future.”
“But the cattle-...”
“Beef isn´t everything, Odoaker. All of our foreign trade runs along the Muscovy River, not to mention that our complete stockpile of gold is of Russian origin. We´d have a lot to lose if we invaded again, and if we don´t completely conquer Russia it is unlikely that they will open their borders ever again.”
“So what you are saying is, we need to crush them if we want to profit from a war.”
“Precisely. Either we wipe them out or we gain nothing and lose everything. So unless you´ve got a decisive military advantage up your sleeve, this conversation is over.”
“Very well then, thanks for the talk anyway. It was good to see you, old friend.”
“The pleasure was all mine. Make sure you walk along the coast on your way home, Berlin´s got a lot of fishers and sailors with all kinds of interesting stories.”
“I shall.”

With that Odoaker departed and made his way out of the Palace, through rows of cottages and down to the beach of Berlin. It was only afternoon, so most fishers were still out on the sea, but for some reason there was a commotion around a ship that apparently took heavy damage during its voyage. He wanted to find out what happened, and since most people recognized him, he was the second-most powerful leader of Germany after all, he easily passed through the crowd to see:

“An axe?”
“Oh we've got a lot more where this came from, Herr Odoaker”, answered the ship´s captain, holding the aforementioned item, “if you care to take a look, you will see that our ship is filled with precious Copper. Or at least, it was, until we got into a heavy sea current and were forced to throw some overboard.”
“Tell me, sailor, where did you find this rare ore?”
“As you are probably aware, there is a big island in the sea between Berlin and Moscow, one might even be able to see it from one of the higher hills on the other side of the city. Only few fishers have sailed out far enough to properly examine it, but I and my crew have decided to take a closer look. So we set sail and journeyed for days until we set foot on it, and what did we find?”
He leaned closer and said: “Copper. Lots and lots of copper, more than the eye can see. Plains filled with it, easily enough to supply an army if one could build a fleet large enough to transport it. What do you think, Herr?”
“A decisive military advantage indeed”, Odoaker whispered to himself, and replied: “Sailor, I think you and me have an appointment in the throne room.”

In case you don't get it, the title is supposed to reference the interest for both Gold and Copper the Germans have in this chapter.

 

[Eclipse4449]

His breath steaming in the cool morning air catches in his throat as the bears thrash the Portuguese scouts, turning to run, he is caught by a full swing of claws. The cold temperature replaced by a warm dream