Author's Games: History

Task Two: Entries

Instead it was in flames.

"What..." Heiron gasped, staring out at his city with anguish. He murmured unintelligently in Greek as he slowly sank to his knees, Elanor placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I have no clue what could have happened," Peter murmured. "This is far beyond anything I could imagine. This is bad... really bad. We need to find someone and figure out what happened."

"I can help," Heiron said desperately. "I speak Greek. These are my people. I do not want my city to burn." He ran off down the hill, and Peter gestured for the group to follow as Heiron approached a person fleeing the city.

The two spoke in quiet Greek, the man, wearing a beige tunic and carrying a dagger glinting with blood, gestured wildly as he explained to Heiron what was going on. The rest of the group stood by, straining to pick out bits and pieces of the conversation. Peter could understand none of their quick speech except for a single repeating word.

"Hold on, Heiron," he said, grabbing the Greek's arm. "Who is Alexander?"

"Alexander the Great," Heiron responded. "I do not know of this man, but he is described as a strong military leader who has taken over much of Europe. He conquered Greece and was said to have almost died of the swamp fever or malaria."

"He didn't die?" Peter screamed. "Heiron, Alexander The Great was known as a conqueror of much of Europe. He was supposed to die in 323 BC. His empire would crumble and the world would evolve into its current state. He needs to die, Heiron. If he doesn't, everything will begin to change."

"What do we do then, Peter?" Elanor asked. "Must he die?"

"If you want us to return to the future intact, yes."

"How do you believe this happened in the first place?" Anne asked, frowning delicately.

"I have a guess," Peter said, "though my explanation must not take up too much time. We need to hurry and reverse this. The scientists that traveled here likely brought medicine to reverse the effects of common diseases so that they would not get sick during their mission. Those scientists never went back, so it was assumed this was just another failed mission, though I think they might have been captured."

"By Alexander?" Heiron gasped.

"Yes. And he must have taken the medication for himself to cure him of his ailment before he could die. Now his empire will only continue expanding until it is unstoppable."

"But how will we find him?" Anne asked. "If he has taken so much land, he could be anywhere." Peter stared blankly at her for a moment, shaking his head slowly.

"Look around you," he sighed. "It's obvious where he's been recently. I read that, in the past, Greece tried to rebel against Alexander, though he put them in their place. This might have been the case when they found out he survived his ailment, though this time, he decided to take out the city as a whole. I have a feeling they wanted to fight back while he was weakened, but he wasn't as frail as they assumed."

"My people are strong," Heiron growled. "They would not give up this easily."

"I don't think they did. This looked like an impossible battle for them to win. Alexander's armies were massive."

"If his armies are so massive, then how will we find him and assure that he is dead?" Elanor queried.

"I do not know," Peter murmured. "I think it would be best to split up. This journey will be lengthy. To find Alexander, it will take time. We must find out the full story of this battle and hopefully these people will lead us to him."