Escape from an Ancient Civilization Ch 123

Chapter 123

All that could be heard in response was the sound of faint, even breathing.

“Don’t tell me… he’s asleep?”

After all that conversation just now, Nataek had fallen into slumber in an instant, as if struck by a tranquilizer dart. Medeus let out a disbelieving laugh. Then, walking more briskly, he carried Nataek back toward the residence.

The quiet quarters were unlit and dim. With care, Medeus laid Nataek upon the bed. He slipped off his shoes and brought his hands up to his chest to remove his outer garment. As Nataek’s chest rose and fell with each breath, a deep sense of fulfillment swelled inside Medeus. The fact that Nataek lived and breathed right beside him, trusting in that safety enough to fall asleep peacefully—it filled him with an overwhelming joy.

“Do you… want to go back there again?”

If I were to ask you the same question I once asked my mother… what would your answer be?

“Don’t go…”

“Don’t go, Mother.”

Medeus slowly bent forward, pressing his cheek against Nataek’s chest to hear the beating of his heart. He placed Nataek’s hand gently on his own head and wrapped his arms around Nataek’s waist.

“Don’t go, Teresi.”

Afraid that the answer might indeed be a wish to return, Medeus could not bring himself to ask the question outright—even to Nataek in sleep.

Ah… I’m exhausted.

Once again Nataek realized just what a weakling he was when it came to alcohol. After only one cup of geshtin last night, he already felt wretched from the morning. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed his dry face.

“I told you to stay in your quarters.”

“Coming outside feels better.”

Because he had fallen asleep drunk without even washing, it felt as though the blankets and pillows had been steeped in the smell of wine. The attendants had already taken away the bedding, and he had scrubbed himself clean the moment he woke, but he could not erase the lingering heaviness in his mood.

“My back aches for some reason. I feel as if I slept with something heavy laid on top of me.”

At that, Medeus glanced at him in sudden alarm.

“…You must have slept in a strange position.”

That was odd. When Nataek woke, he had been lying perfectly straight.

Frowning as he thought about it, Nataek quickly shook his head.

“Anyway, what did we come to buy?”

He had followed Medeus on impulse when he said he was going to the market, hoping the fresh air would help. Only now did he realize he had never even asked why Medeus was going.

“You’re only curious now?”

“Yes. Well…”

The real reason was not what Medeus intended to buy but his own need to breathe fresh air outside.

“I wanted to see if anyone sold goat stew. Maybe buy some fruit as well. Last time, I noticed that your hangovers tend to linger.”

He was surely referring to that time in the tavern of Uruk, when Nataek had collapsed. The memory, one he wished erased, now came back to slap him in the face, sobering him instantly.

“So you’re going just because of me?”

“Partly that.”

“Ah…”

So, in truth, it really was because of him.

“You should just ask the attendants.”

Nataek scratched his head awkwardly.

“I could, but you seem especially reluctant to make the attendants do anything that concerns you personally. You seem to find it easier to ask me instead.”

It surprised Nataek how perceptive Medeus could be, even in such small details. Hearing not one but two considerate remarks from him right from the morning chased away any remaining drowsiness.

“You really don’t need to go this far for me…”

“Oh please. Shouldn’t I be calling a physician for you?”

Before Nataek could respond, noisy voices interrupted.

“Whose noble son is this, eh?”

“Never seen his face before. His clothes look strange too… Doesn’t seem like a Kish man to me.”

Up ahead, a group of people had gathered, murmuring to one another. In their midst stood a worn-out kunga.

“Looks like something’s happened.”

“Let’s check.”

The two tall men had no trouble seeing over the crowd as they moved closer. On the ground, separated from the kunga, lay a figure in extravagant attire.

“Take me… to Kish’s ensi…”

The half-collapsed man reached out weakly into the air, mumbling.

Asking to see the ensi?

From speech to dress, everything about him screamed unusual. Without hesitation, Nataek and Medeus pushed their way through.

“Please, make way.”

Breaking through the crowd, they reached the fallen man. On his cloak was embroidered a distinctive insignia.

The moment he saw it, Nataek knew. This was a southern emblem—specifically, from south of Uruk. Combined with the lavish jewelry adorning the man’s arms and neck, the truth was plain.

“Take me… to Kish’s ensi…”

No doubt about it—this was a noble of Ur.

At the very instant Nataek was convinced of this, the system responded.

[Main] “The Spy of Kish” storyline has begun.

His heart leapt. Lagash, Delam, Kish, Uruk, Umma… leaving only Ur as the final city-state. The system’s notice meant the beginning of the last stage.

“Can you stand?”

Medeus asked the man.

“Take me… to Kish’s… ensi…”

His jewelry was crusted with blood, dirt, and filth. Clearly, he had suffered humiliation and hardship long before reaching here.

“Medeus.”

Nataek shot him a glance. Without a word from Nataek, Medeus nodded. He knew it too—the fallen man was an Ur noble.

“For now we should take him to the residence.”

Agreeing, Medeus hoisted the limp man over his shoulder like drying laundry. They had to hear why Ur’s noble sought Kish’s ensi. Above all else, the fact that he heralded a new main storyline demanded investigation.

And so, the fresh, clean bedding meant for Nataek and Medeus was soiled by the dirt-covered noble.

“I’ll fetch a physician. Watch him.”

Determining the man posed no immediate threat to Nataek, Medeus left swiftly.

Wasn’t this supposed to be a mere hangover cure outing? Damn it all.

No sooner had Medeus left than Nataek dragged a chair over to the bedside.

Let’s see… Ur… Ur…

He was now at the final step toward unification. Every final stage in every city had come with difficulty, but the hardest of all were Delam and Ur. He had barely scraped through Delam earlier, but…

Recalling the path to conquering Ur, Nataek’s expression darkened. A difficult city, with the difficulty now even higher. And if he failed this time, there would be no second chance. More alert than ever, he steeled himself.

“Ughhh…”

The noble groaned. Nataek wiped the man’s forehead with a dry cloth and sank into thought.

“What was Ur’s storyline again…”

Knock, knock, knock—

Someone rapped on the door. Impossible for Medeus to have returned so quickly with a physician. A priest, perhaps? Could word of the stranger’s arrival have spread already? He hadn’t learned anything of Ur yet.

And if they came demanding the man’s release…

Full of apprehension, Nataek opened the door cautiously.

“Feeling any better?”

The smiling figure was none other than the Soothsayer. His face glowed with unusual radiance, though his clothes looked as if he had only just crawled out of bed.

“How did you even know I was here?”

“How else? This place is crawling with attendants—I just grabbed one and asked. Yesterday you looked completely wrecked! I brought pear juice—it’s the perfect cure after drinking.”

Only now did it strike Nataek. After losing himself to a single cup of geshtin the previous night, he hadn’t even thought about what became of the Soothsayer after the banquet.

“Come on, drink it.”

Without warning, the Soothsayer shoved a bottle of pear juice into his hand. Where on earth had he found pears in this land, and how had he juiced them?

“You’ve no idea how much I sweated last night, stuck all alone. Do you realize? One wrong word to Samuagon could get your head chopped off. I worked myself to death keeping him pleased.”

Yes, and I risked my neck spending the whole time beside him. Spare me.

“And that wasn’t all! At Umma too, I labored to persuade their ruler. Sure, he listened to my prophetic words—though it was all lies. Do you even know how hard that is?”

“Y—yes.”

Nataek answered half-heartedly. Since arriving here, every day had been a struggle of survival built on lies. Lies at the front lines of conquest, no less. The Soothsayer’s complaints fell utterly flat.

“And even knowing that, how could you pass out on me like that yesterday? Come on. We’re compatriots from the modern world—I couldn’t just abandon you there. Now drink already!”

As if the one who dragged me here in the first place had any right to lecture me.

While Nataek stared at him, bewildered by his shamelessness, a groan sounded from inside the quarters.

“Ughhh…”

The man they had brought in stirred again. The Soothsayer’s ears caught the sound instantly.

“What’s that? Someone’s inside? Don’t tell me…?!”

Medeus? Did Medeus get hurt?

The Soothsayer paled, lowering his voice in fright. He looked terrified that his single lifeline for escape might have been harmed. Nataek quickly explained.

“It’s not Medeus. This morning in the market, we found a man collapsed and brought him back. This man…”

Wait. Shouldn’t I be discussing Ur with the Soothsayer too?

“Who is it, then? He sounds half-dead.”

“Look, are you busy right now?”

“What busywork could I possibly have, here in a foreign land?”

“Then come inside for a moment.”

“Why? You just said there’s a sick man in there. Why do you want me—inside?”

The Soothsayer hesitated, stepping back. Self-preservation was always his first instinct.

“Nothing’s going to happen to you. I just need to talk. So get in here.”

Nataek seized the Soothsayer by the collar and yanked him inside.

“Waugh!”

Footnotes:

1. Geshtin (Sumerian) – literally meaning “vine” or “wine,” referring here to alcoholic drink, most often wine.
2. Kunga – a hybrid equid used in Mesopotamia, part domesticated onager and donkey, valued as draft and chariot animals.