THE FIRST ANCIENT GUARDIANS
Part 2 - 23 B.C. 6 months later
“SEE HERE! People, SEE THIS MAN! This BIG and STRONG man!” Chrysanthos showed himself off as I presented him, straightening his back to his full height. “He stands here as tall as a doorway! Just with a glance you can tell he’s a descendant of Hercules!” Our little show was taking place beside an unfinished house, which was perfect for what I had planned. “This man could be YOURS! People. If you are cunning enough YOU could be the lucky master of this slave. We’re literally GIVING him away! ALTHOUGH FIRST you must try to recognize his power with your eyes! You must bet ON HIS STRENGTH! Just HOW strong do you think he is?! NOW SEE HERE!” I pointed towards a circle we had drawn in the dirt, beside which Winoc was sitting. “Once the person who names the HIGHEST price is chosen, he will put his bet IN this circle! THEN! THAT PERSON will CHOOSE a suitable block of stone behind us! And IF THIS SLAVE cannot LIFT that stone; the person will take BACK what is in the circle and become this slave’s new MASTER! IN OTHER WORDS: IF your bet is correct, you will have won this slave for FREE!” At that moment there were a few enthusiastic whispers in the crowd. “If you are WRONG though, your bet will STAY in the circle, and we will proceed with ANOTHER bet! SO, will you WAIT to see what he can do?! Or will you take a chance to WIN HIM before someone ELSE?!” With my experience in the Athenian political assemblies, convincing the crowd was easy. Already some were discussing their prices. “NOW! NAME YOUR FIRST PRICE!”
The crowd suddenly got restless. Who would speak first? One man raised his hand in the middle, saying: “30 mina!” Another suddenly on the left. “2 talents!”(1 talent = 60 mina) Then one in front. “10 talents!” The crowd only whispered.
“10 talents?!” I said. “Does anyone have a higher price?” Silence. “My good man, you are CHOSEN!” I gestured for the man to come forward. He didn’t wear a robe, so I had to assume he was just a poor little man hoping for a break. “Now put the talents in the circle and choose your stone!”
The man shyly came towards Winoc and dropped the ten pieces into the circle. Then he took a simple look towards the stones and pointed at the biggest one he could see. “I-I choose this one!”
I went to the stone he pointed and put my hand on it. “This stone?” It was at the level of my chest, and just as wide, but for Chrysanthos it only got up to his hip.
“Yes, that’s right.” The poor man answered.
I nodded and called Chrysanthos over. “NOW SEE HERE! THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!”
Chrysanthos grabbed both sides of the stone. He faked a little struggle and by just straightening his back the rock lifted off the ground like a piece of wood. The crowd gasped and the poor man was astonished. Chrysanthos pulled the stone over his head, roared and threw it to the ground, the slam surprising the crowd.
I looked at the man who had bet the talents. “My apologies, but it seems your bet was wrong!”
He had a sad look in his eyes. He slowly left towards the road, the silent crowd heightening the clacking sound of his sandals.
I let a few moments pass for the people to come back to their senses. They started whispering. Just as I was about to resume I noticed Winoc about to take the 10 talents from the circle to put them into a pouch and came up with a brilliant idea. “WAIT!” I raised my hand to stop Winoc from taking the talents. His hand froze over them. “Leave them there!” Winoc’s hooded form seemed shocked. Well, he never seems like anything but I could almost see a difference in his face so I assumed he was shocked. The crowd had also become silent. “NOW it becomes interesting! NOW if you WIN the slave, NOT ONLY do you take your bet BACK, you also take the PREVIOUS BETS! NOW you get the slave AND the talents!” The crowd let out a few ‘Oh’s’ and became more frivolous than before. Winoc nodded and took his hand away, finding the idea to his liking.
Chrysanthos whispered: “Not bad, Acacius.”
“NOW!” I resumed. “NAME YOUR SECOND PRICE!”
The numbers came so fast we barely heard them all. “20 talents!” “25 talents!” “40!” “50 talents!” “70!” “ONE HUNDRED TALENTS!” Sudden silence gripped the people as that booming voice screamed.
I pointed to the possessor of the voice. “You! The bearded man in the back! Step forward!”
The bearded man came to the front. He wore expensive clothes and looked like an artist or a consultant with a sharp look in his eyes.
“Since it seems like there are no higher bets, YOU are chosen!” I gestured towards the circle.
The bearded man walked to it and dropped his load of talents in it. “Your tricks won’t work on me.” He said. He then walked towards the stones and stepped behind them. “The biggest stones are hidden in the back of the house.” He looked around and eventually found was he was looking for. “THIS one is the largest.”
Chrysanthos and I, along with the people in the crowd, went to the man’s position, where he was standing on a stone almost twice as big as the first one.
“Let’s see your slave lift THIS stone!” He proudly said as he stepped down from it.
The crowd became noisy, making me eager to finish this. Chrysanthos had already stepped in front of the stone and clapped his hands together. “NOW!” I screamed. “THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!”
Chrysanthos bent his knees. He could barely put his arms around the rectangular stone but still managed to put his hands on each side. He slowly lifted his arms and the stone followed, leaving the ground and going up to his knees. The crowd was speechless yet again, including the bearded man. At that moment, Chrysanthos’ muscles tensed, his body suddenly straightened and he shoved the giant stone over his head and let it fall behind him. The people were dazzled by his strength and the bearded man was lost for words.
I faced the man and pointed him. “You’re bet was WRONG!”
He simply couldn’t believe it. “It’s impossible! No one can have that kind of strength; it MUST be a trick.”
Now he was just being irrational “You CHECKED the stone yourself!” I told him. “You saw it with your OWN eyes! We ALL did. By all means, leave now while you still have a shred of dignity.”
The bearded man lowered his head and hastily left our sight.
Now instead of talking and whispering, the people in the crowd were simply silent. After all, Chrysanthos had just lifted the largest stone there was here. “Does no one ELSE have a price? There is 110 talents in the circle now! A great amount to go with this obviously powerful slave!"
There was no answer. A long pause ensued, which was suddenly broken by the tiniest of voices. “500 talents.” Everyone was in awe as a short, stubby man dressed in fancy robes and jewels stepped forward, probably no less than a lord. He had a tired look on his enlarged face, as if walking was an effort.
I saw that Winoc was looking at him intensively and Chrysanthos bore a frown over his eyes. I looked the short man in the eyes. “Are you sure, sire? 500 talents is a heavy bet.”
His expression never changed. “Yes…I am quite sure. Of course, along with this heavy bet I have a heavy task for the slave.” He gestured at his servant in the back, who brought and emptied a whole bag of talents into the circle.
“And what may that be?”
“I want him to lift the two previous stones at the same time.”
That was going too far. “Sire, you can only choose…”
“I don’t think you understand my meaning.” He interrupted; his tiny voice even more annoying. “Your slave can obviously lift any stone there is here. I’m the one giving you a choice now: either you accept the task and have the slave lift both the stones or I call the city guards and have you arrested for swindling.”
Winoc swiftly stood up, startling the little lord. I raised my hand again and he stopped. One simple look out of the corner of my eye made him understand. He sat back down reluctantly. “…Fine.” I said. “THE TASK IS ACCEPTED!”
The crowd livened up and the short man gave me a nasty smile. “Good choice.” He whispered.
I patted Chrysanthos on the back as he sighed. He went to get the first stone, lifted it as easily as before and put it on top of the big one. He then took some sand on the ground and spread it on his hands. Everyone was silent, waiting.
“NOW! THE MOMENT OF TRUTH!”
Chrysanthos bent his knees again and wrapped his arms around the stone for a second time. He tensed and lifted as hard as he could. Veins popped from his fore-arms and shoulders. The stubby man’s smile vanished as he saw, like everyone else, the stones leave ground slowly but surely. Chrysanthos grunted, shifting his hands under the stones for better grip. His knees were now straight and the stones were at the level of his head. The small lord shook his head, dumbfounded. Chrysanthos gave one last push upward and held the stones over his head. We could already hear the crowd clapping but he wasn’t done. He cried out and threw the stones as hard as he could and made them crash into the unfinished wall of the house and making it crumble.
Half the crowd was scared and ran away. The other half was just paralyzed in awe. The short man was sweating all over, realizing what had happened.
I went up to him and put my hand on his shoulder, giving him the biggest smile I could manage. “Your bet…was wrong.”
The man came back to his senses and brushed my hand away, angrily leaving with his servant.
I gestured for the rest of the people to leave. “The betting is over now! Thank you!” After they were gone I went to see Chrysanthos. “Wasn’t destroying the wall a little overboard?”
“How often do I get the chance to take down walls by throwing giant stones? I wasn’t going to miss that opportunity.” He answered.
I nodded. “Makes sense.” Winoc was busy packing the 610 talents with our other stuff. “I’ll go check on the lady before we leave.” I told Chrysanthos.
“Don’t take too long.” He said.I crossed the road and headed to the lady in the blue clothes surrounded by children.
They were all laughing their hearts out as Marina played with bubbles along with them. She saw me coming and let the children play alone to greet me. “What was that quake just now?”
Wasn’t the greeting I was expecting. “Oh, just the wall coming down.”
“So have you got anything this time? After your fire-breathing failure you better have succeeded.” Her blue eyes were as sparkling as ever.
“Of course I have! We have plenty to get information from the guards now, even some spare to pay for those damn tolls.”
“Good, but if we have to do this again try to make less of a commotion. We don’t want to draw too much attention.”
“We probably won’t have to, it’s only the first time we ran out of jobs and that’s only because people don’t trust us here.” I pointed out.
She sighed. “Babylon sure is a terrible city for travelers. The laws are strict and the tolls are high.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll be fine now."
She smiled her irresistible smile. “You would’ve been a good provider in another kind of life.”
“Let’s make haste now.” I grabbed her hand and we left the playful children to join the others.