As promised here is the next chapter!! Happy Holidays!
Chapter 9
Earlier at the mercenaries campsite
Icos watches his small troop of men ride in line before him. He listens to the orders called out by his two captains to quickly hustle in formation. Each captain was given charge of 10 men to lead in the attack against the Macedonian camp. The strategy was to flank and encircle the Macedonians from three sides to prevent any attempts of escape. Having noticed the men are in order before their commander, Icos rides up to face the group of mercenaries.
Looking out upon his motley crew, he takes in the various "types" of men before him. Some are older soldiers who have fought along Icos in other missions and battles and others are so young that the commander's own sword was older in age. With a sigh of slight pessimism, he sits up upon his horse and nods to Aetos to call them to attention.
Icos tugs his horse forward, "Men our goal is simple and if all goes well we should have no blood shed. We are to capture the Macedonian King without any harm to his person," calls out Icos, as he rides up and down the line and catches sight of his brother, "I will personally drive my sword through anyone who tries to even slice a strand of this Boy King's hair. Once we have surrounded and captured the campsite we will deal with the others accordingly. But NOT before! Now you have your orders men stick with them and we will fare well today!"
Icos then raises his arm to signal his captains to lead out their men. All of a sudden, the sounds of riders are heard racing up behind them. Immediately, the commander and his captains turn with their swords unsheathed to the unexpected approaching horsemen.
"They are the scouts we sent out earlier sir." shouts out Aetos as he identifies the lead horse, "We had sent them out to inspect the campsite and the main roads to ensure there were no earlier movements."
"Quickly, call them over!" instructs Icos as he slides his sword back into his belt. Eagerly and with anticipation, Icos stare out towards the horsemen cantering in the direction of the commander.
"Sir a small band of riders has been spotted on the local roads this morning." Quickly replies Cottus, the highest rank solider among the men, "Since our orders were to observe the Macedonian camp site first, we did not catch sight of the riders until we had reached the bottom of the hill facing the road." Staring to weigh his commander's reaction, he continues, "We immediately rode back here to inform you of the situation and wait for further instructions."
"To Hades Tits!! How many, Cottus?" questions Aetos demandingly, "Are you certain they are from the Macedonian camp?"
"I am not certain sir, as they were riding swiftly ahead of us on the main road. I would approximate perhaps 5 or 6 riders sir," replies Cottus, "They were dressed plainly and appear lightly armed. The fog was thick this morning, but if I were to guess I would say more likely they came from the Macedonian camp."
"I will not take any chances!" counters Icos, "I do not care who they are. As I cannot spare any more men, go and take two more with you. Be sure they are archers to help gain grounds should it be required. You are to find and kill them all! I do not want any word reaching the main camp of the Macedonian Army of any possible danger to their king."
"Yes sir!" quickly nods Cottus
"Cottus, how far do you think these riders are from us?" queries Icos,
"I would gauge they are now about 1 stadias ahead of us." responds the older soldier, "But we will ride ahead up through the hills and cut them off near the plains."
"Good, I do not want any stragglers or survivors Cuttos. Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, Yes Sir!"
"Oh, Cuttos, what of the Macedonian site?" barks out the commander once more.
"As we left, they were beginning to break camp." Explains Cuttos, "They appear to be going about their business very quietly sir!"
"Good!" exclaims Icos, "Aetos gather your men! We move out now!"
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Having ridden for almost half a day, Seleucus draws Ptolemy's attention to the King. The older general looks down to an almost unconscious, yet motionless body atop the large horse.
"We should stop for a moment and look into Alexander's wound" calls out Seleucus. "We can pull up towards that clearing there near the logs." Directing his companion's attention to the grassy plain ahead of them nestled between a few scattered trees.
Ptolemy nods in agreement and then turns to the riders behind them, "Thanos! You and Pietr ride back to the stream we passed along the way and refill our sacks with water." orders out the older general, "Do it with haste. I do not wish to stay here long."
"Yes sir!" responds Thanos as he reaches out for the companions' water sacks. The young recruit motions for the other guard then tugs his horse around and swiftly urges it back to the nearby woods.
Slowly the companions assist their King off his horse and carefully settle him under a large oak tree. Ptolemy kneels down to gently untie Alexander's cloak to unpin the right side of his chiton to inspect the wounded area. As they feared, the injury had slightly reopened and blood was steadily trickling out. The older general reaches into the King's medicine bag to pull out the last of the salve. It was Ptolemy's hope that the herbal concoction would clog the opened gash to cease the bleeding. Moving from behind Ptolemy, his fellow companion hands him a small sack of undiluted wine. Seleucus then kneels onto the ground to reach out and guide Alexander towards the wine. The King had been unable to retain any liquid during the ride; it was the general's hope that the momentary rest stop would encourage Alexander to drink. Seleucus tips the sack up to Alexander's lips in order that he may take down a generous portion of the wine; but the King is unresponsive.
"Alexander you need to wake up and take a drink." Calming states Ptolemy, "It will help with the pain."
As if waking from a deep slumber, Alexander gradually gains consciousness. The companions watch anxiously as the King's eyes begin to flicker open, "Phai!" breathlessly whispers Alexander, his words are almost inaudible." I … I…had this terrible…. dream you… had left… me."
Without a word, the generals throw each other a worried look. Once again, Seleucus leans forward to gently elevate Alexander's head and tilts the sack into his mouth. As he drinks, the King opens his eyes to take in the sight of those who sat before him. With an distressed expression, Alexander coughs out part of the wine as he tries to comprehend the situation around him.
"Where are we?" mumbles the King as he again tries to catch his breath, "Where is Hephaestion?"
Both companions look upon the almost unrecognizable King. His once tanned skin had lightened to a ghostly pale white, his eyes had sunken within him heavy with fatigue and his body trembled as it struggles to fight off the infection overtaking his wounded area. The companions hold back any confirmation of their concern and find themselves looking away to avoid any misconstrued eye contact.
"Again I ask, where are we?" questions the King in a soft hoarse voice, as he sits up with his eyes closed and a raised brow, taking in a deep breath, "Where is Phai?"
"Alexander, we are near the Mesogeios coastline. I would hope we are about 3 or 4 stadias away from meeting Philotas." replies Ptolemy in a calm and monotone voice, "We are more than half way to the expected meeting place."
"Philotas? I gave no such order that he meet us on our ride?" replies the King as he moves to settle against the tree trunk. "Why would he be meeting us? We are going hunting! Again, I order you to call over Hephaestion?"
"He does not remember!" nervously whispers Seluccus, "He appears to be confused!"
Ignoring his friend, Ptolemy refastens Alexander's pin and re-ties his cloak. "My King, you have been injured and we are now heading back towards the main camp. Philotas has been given orders to meet us to ensure that your return is made with no outside resistance."
"Are we not going hunting Ptolemy? Did I not order you to make the arrangements?" moans the King trying to comprehend the reason for the terrible pain radiating in this chest. "My patience wanes thin general…. I will not ask again… where is Hephaestion?!"
"Sire, we were attacked by mercenaries during our hunting excursion" quietly explains Ptolemy, "You were seriously injured in a skirmish against them. And…" The older general pauses thoughtful upon his next words, "Hephaestion …. Well.. he ….has stayed back ….to face the mercenaries …in hopes that you would safely return to the main army."
The words finally sink into the King and suddenly his memory of the entire hunting trip comes to mind. His face goes dark as he comes to understand the promise he had made to his lover. "Yes," sadly whispers Alexander, "I remember … now," dropping his head in sorrow.
"Alexander! We cannot stay here long." anxiously states Seleucus, as he hands Alexander another swig of the wine sack. He turns to his companion, "We will wait for the guards to return with the water, but I highly recommend we leave shortly thereafter."
"Yes they should be returning soon!" replies Ptolemy turning to look at the distant woods. "There is no excuse for their delay!"
"Generals!" interrupts the King, "Help me up, I need to stretch my legs. Lead me towards my horse and let us then move out quickly."
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Thanos leads his fellow guard towards the small stream and quickly jumps off to refill the sacks. He fills the first bag and hands it to Pietr, who then hands another empty bag.
"Your friend, Elias is very brave!" announces Pietr, as he leans forward with one more bag, "I knew his brother Leon. We were assigned to the same battalion in Pella. Leon was an excellent soldier." Pietr looks down at Thanos with a slight grin, "I know Leon is smiling proudly at his younger brother.. for his bravery".
"I thank you for your kind words Pietr." Softly responds Thanos, "Elias will appreciate your comments."
"I do not think I would have agreed to take part in such a dangerous plan", continues Pietr, "He places his life on the line posing as the King. I mean if the mercenaries were to find out…" Before he is able to realize the impact of his words, he gazes down to see Thanos frozen in his place with a half empty bag, wide eyed with his pain grieving upon his face. Pietri frowns at his insensitivity, "I am sorry Thanos, I am sure he will be fine. The Gods are with him."
"He will be fine!" whispers Thanos as if to convince himself of the fact, "He promised to come back to…." His words are cut short when an arrow swiftly flies through the air to strike Pietr directly in the neck. Thanos watches in horror as his friend is knocked off his horse and falls dead into the stream. Immediately, the young recruit looks up to see riders approaching rapidly behind him from the steep mountainside. Discarding the sacks, Thanos immediately jumps upon his horse and kicks it into full speed back to the King.
The young recruit swerves through the wooded terrain dodging the rushing arrows aimed at his back. He turns only briefly to determine that the riders are about a quarter distances behind him. He finally pulls out of the wooded area into the clearing screaming at the top of his lungs. "Mercenaries!!' yells out Thanos, "Mercenaries!!" A loud swishing sound flies towards Thanos to finally make its mark, almost causing the young solider to fall off his horse.
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As he carefully secures Alexander back upon his horse, Ptolemy turns towards the far off sound of a frantic voice muffled behind him. Now tying the reins to Alexander's hands, the older general looks towards the direction of the woods to see a single rider waving frantically at him. Placing is hand to his hilt; Ptolemy focuses further to finally recognize Thanos screaming at them. Unable to make out what he is saying, the general immediately distinguishes the arrow embedded in the young guard's thigh. Hastily, Ptolemy calls out to Seleucus of the imminent danger and gives a hard slap on Burcepleus, and screams, "Go Boy ride fast. Get Alexander out of here!"
At once, Ptolemy leaps upon his horse and urges forward swiftly to ride along the King's side. He turns to make out four riders trailing but gaining high speed behind the young recruit. The general pushes forward to catch up with Alexander to secure his rear and to act as a body shield against the incoming arrows aimed at the King.
In hopes of not making himself an easy target, Thanos rides low upon his horse as he observes the riders gain ground behind him. He slides his hand to his thigh and breaks the arrow protruding out. Once again, he jolts his horse even harder and to his relief it moves faster ahead away from the mercenaries. By the blessing of the Gods, Thanos finally reaches up to the rear of the King's party and moves to guard the opposite side of Ptolemy.
The King and the riders dash through the plain towards a small cluster of trees. Seleucus leads them into the forest in hopes of deflecting the heavy onslaught of flying arrows. They turn sharply and veer through the rough terrain of the heavily wooded forest. Ptolemy looks upon the King, and is surprised to find that Alexander has gained new found energy and is leading his horse with ease and control. As they ride, the neighing sound of rider less horse is heard screeching through the air. Seleucus checks to see it is the guard nearest to him. The Macedonian men swerve through the forest, jumping over large logs and docking under low branches, in all appearance it would seem that they were being swallowed by the trees and scrubs around them. But suddenly, as if being guided by the god, Apollo, the sun breaks through the forest and a clearing is made leading the Macedonians out of the tall trees hanging over them. But the mercenaries are closing the gap between them. Before they ride out of the forest, another guard is struck and falls dead beside Seleucus. Without hesitation, the general turns to inspect the others around him, to his relief he finds his King and Ptolemy unscathed, along with Thanos.
They ride out of the forest towards the coastal cliff and push their tired horses around the ridge of a wide mountainside. The long chase was takings its toll on the already exhausted Macedonian riders. As they make their turn, a dust cloud can be seen in the distance and a loud thunderous sound is heard rumbling in the sky. The bellowing sound shakes the ground beneath them. The strong wind of the coastal sea mixed with the dust cloud momentarily obscures Ptolemy's vision. He focuses intently ahead of him, and to his extreme delight, instantly identifies the flags of Alexander's royal insignia flapping in the wind. Suddenly the road clears and the companions recognize their fellow general and waves vigorously towards him. Ptolemy spins to see Alexander has pulled up aside him and watches as the King quickly pushes back the straw hat to reveal himself to his army.
Philotas cautiously watches the small group of horsemen rushing towards them and the small band of men gaining behind them. Unable to make out the riders approaching them, Philotas deems the situation to be a hostile confrontation, and motions for his archers to take aim at the advancing riders. But as the horsemen draw closer; he instantaneously recognizes the black horse and the blond haired rider on its back. He stands down his archers as the other men on horseback come into full view. Philotas smirks in amusement as he becomes aware that the others are his fellow companions waving animatedly towards them. Having finally made sense of the scene before him, the young general comes to understand that the King is being chased by hostile forces. With a loud cry Philotas motions the first three lines of men to charge forward to the King's direction. As the King and his companions cross with the army, Ptolemy yells towards his fellow general, "Get them Philotas they are mercenaries! But try to spare one!!" Without losing speed, Alexander and his companions rush through the rows of cavalry men merging themselves until they reach the main body of the troop and out of range of the mercenaries' arrows. The older general looks up joyfully as the waves of arrows fly above him directed at the four mercenaries. The torpedo sounds of the arrows are shortly followed by the distant battle cries of Philotas' troops attacking and destroying the enemy.
Ptolemy then pulls forward to Seleucus holding onto Burcepleus' reins, the older general's expression soften as he sadly rides up to an almost unconscious King. "Where are we?" murmurs Alexander, "Where is Phai? He sits up momentarily as if to look around, but finally succumbs to his injuries and collapses to his side into Seleucus' arms.
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"Ioan, they are trying to outflank us!", bellows out Hephaestion. "We will need to split up and divide the men. I want you to head towards the forest and do not turn back."
"Sir, I will take the center and you take the left. It would appear that the men count on that line is much smaller."
With only a nod of acknowledgement, Hephaestion motions Elias to follow and pulls his horse towards the left flank of the approaching mercenaries. Fortunately for Hephaestion, Memnon's men are still a distance ride away, allowing for them to ride swiftly pass the enemy up towards the forest. The mercenaries had not expected the Macedonians to be ready on horseback as they rode down the hillside. Consequently, their approach towards the camp had been slow allowing ample time for the Macedonians to ride a distance away from them causing them to scramble and break formation.
Realizing that the Macedonians are escaping and creating a huge gap before them, Icos orders his archers ahead, "Aim for the riders going towards the forest, but keep your arrows away from the man with the golden hair." calls out the commander, "I expect accuracy men!"
The sudden whistling sound rumbling towards the forest alerts Elias in time to dodge the rolling waves of incoming arrows aimed at them. He immediately pushes his horse further ahead to move out of the line of fire of the approaching arrows. As he rides forward, he turns to his side excepting to see Hephaestion; but finds himself alone and frantically searches around him. He stops his horse and spins in all directions trying to locate the general. He finally catches sight of Hephaestion and to his dismay finds him curved upon his horse with an arrow lodged through his left shoulder.
"Hephaestion!" screams Elias, pulling his horse towards him. "Hephaestion!"
"No! Keep riding, I am fine!" orders the general, as he sits up to break the arrow in half. "Keep riding towards the forest. We must maintain our distance! I am ….fin…."
"Hephaestion!!"
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Somewhere near the Mesogeios coastline
As he sits near the camp fire trying to warm his cold hands, Philotas looks over at his tent, which is now occupied by the King.
"Mercenaries, are you sure?" questions Philotas, as he tries to compile and gather the new information being thrown at him by his companions. "Amazing, I have never known anyone to be able to hurt the King… well perhaps Hephaestion in wrestling." continues Philotas, staring across campfire in the direction of his obviously worn out companions. "Again, what was Hephaestion's plan? You mentioned it briefly Ptolemy?"
The older general looks at Philotas with a smile. "It is strange to see you so concern over Hephaestion?" teases the older general, "Where do you find this sudden love towards Amyntor?" trying to lighting the seriousness of the situation. Having finally settled and stabilized the King into the camp, the generals had spent most of the day apprising Philotas of the events that have transpired during their hunt. Together the three men had desperately tried to conjure solutions to the dire situation at hand; but to no avail, they had come up empty-handed. Unfortunately for the Macedonians, they were unable to spare any of the mercenaries who had given them chase. All of them had been killed in the line of fire. Without any further details of Icos and his men's whereabouts or any sight of their companion, the generals were lost to develop a suitable plan.
"Come now, we are men now," smirks Philotas, as he takes another sip of his wine cup, "I have outgrown those juvenile antics. Beside I am a changed man and if you recall it had always been Cassander, who had found reason to detest Hephaestion. I am not a cold and malicious person as you all make me out to be." raising his cup again to empty its contents.
Seleucus and Ptolemy exchange a mocking smile between them, until Seleucus speaks up, "I am sorry Philotas, you have changed how since our youth?" as he tries to hold back his laughter, "I seem to recall a couple of fights between you and Hephaestion at Mieza. Phai had a way of making you enjoy one dirt mean after another... after your many "confrontations" with him."
"It was not I who tried to rile Hephaestion when he first arrived to Mieza!" exclaims Philotas as he tries to defend himself, "It was Cassander who had his head knocked out … Hephaestion has some strong thighs.." The general finds himself almost falling over in laughter.
"Beside I have made my peace with Hephaestion many times over" comments Philotas, "He has proven to be a valuable solider to this campaign. He was a good warrior".
Suddenly the laughter dies down, "He is NOT dead!" interjects Ptolemy, "His plan though risky… was well thought out and by the Gods he will be joining us soon enough!" Unable to contain his annoyance, the older general, finds himself standing up prepared to engage in a physical bout with his fellow companion.
Philotas expression goes somber having realized the fault in his idiotic comment, "I know he will be back. I only meant to compliment him and…." Quickly replies Philotas, sitting up straight, looking sternly at his friend hoping to defuse the situation that was growing quickly out of hand. "He is still a valuable general to this army."
"Come Ptolemy! Sit your ass down, you are tired and …. your temperament is growing thin with age." calls out Seleucus as he reaches up to try to pull his comrade's hand down, "Philotas is right, he has become good friends with Hephaestion. I have personally heard his apologizes and praises directed to Phai. Now sit Ptolemy, we should be focusing on Alexander's recovery and drawing in on our own plans to find Hephaestion."
Sensing the reason in his Seleucus' words, he looks down and softens his expression, "When have you become so level-headed. How many cups of wine have you had" jokes Ptolemy as he calmly allows himself to settle back onto the log, "There might be some hope to you yet!"
"It's a good thing, Philip, decided to ride with us" interjects Philotas, desperate to change the subject, "Having the King's personal physician among now has proven to be very useful."
"Aye" responds Seleucus, "It is good that Philip is an adventurous man and was looking for a ride out. I do not think Alexander would have been able to endure another day's ride back to return to the main camp."
The sound of the flaps from the King's tent turns the attention the companions towards the approaching physician. Anxious for a status as to the King's condition, they all stand to await Philip's assessment.
"Well Philip?" questions Philotas restless for a response, "How is the King?"
"He has lost a lot of blood and his condition is critical. He is weak and will need to rest for a few days." Calmly responds the doctor, "But he will survive." He looks across to Ptolemy and Seleucus,, "You may have saved his life. The cauterizing was well performed. The infection was inevitable without the proper salves."
"It was Hephaestion who sealed the wound." bleakly states Ptolemy, "He knew exactly how to properly treat the King's injury."
"Well I should be congratulating him. Where is our fine general?" grins the doctor, unsurprised to Hephaestion's vast medical skills, "I would like to tell him that his King owes his life, once again, to his friend."
"Can the King be moved?" interjects Philotas "We have a limited amount of supplies Philip!"
"If we can get him to sleep continuously through the night, then perhaps we can move him. But not by horseback." Sternly informs Philip, "He will need several days of rest to fully recover from this injury."
"A few days!" counters Ptolemy, "We do not have a few days. The mercenaries are scheduled to move out to meet their ships in six days."
"I can assure you Ptolemy whatever grand scheme you fine generals may be concocting will not involve the King." snides the doctor, "Apparently the hunting trip did not satisfy your need for blood. The King will need to rest for at least two weeks, if you wish to see him fully recover." With that last statement, the doctor nods and walks away abruptly back to the King's tent.
"Once we return back to the camp, we will need to call a council with the other companions" states Philotas, "My father will know what alternatives we will have to find Hephaestion.'
"I do not think Alexander will wait to recover to find Hephaestion." adds in Seleucus, "We all know he will not rest until Hephaestion is safely back with him. He would die first before giving up on his search."
"Aye" responds the other generals in agreement. The atmosphere around the campfire is filled with melancholy and shallow hope. Each man was aware of the dire situation at hand and none was wishing to confront their king when the time came to apprise him of their situation. Time was against them and it was slowly escaping away from any advantage they may have had with it.
The evening passes in silence until each general slowly dismisses themselves to retire for the night.
TBC
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I hope you enjoyed it! Have a fun-filled holiday everyone and take care! P.S. Drink Responsibly!! :} And for those who are interested, a new Chapter of Life of Warrior will be posted in a week!
