The Seed of Sarothen - Chapter 4

Satronus was still finishing supper, enjoying the last morsels while
sipping his wine, when he saw it flash through. He choked as he gasped,
gulping down wine in huge quantities amidst fits of cough.

A thin, silver beam of moonlight was sparkling down from the ceiling,
filtering through Zeus' immense crown, past his huge shoulders and
hitting the open sceptre in a brilliant halo of blinding light.

Satronus rushed outside and saw the full moon - just above the horizon,
winking through the clouds. He rushed back inside and called out to one
of the priests to bring a ladder.
"It's on its way - we've seen it too!"
"Quick!"
"We're getting it as fast as we can Satronus!"
"Well get it faster!"

When the ladder finally did come though, Satronus took a long pause and
then thrust it against Zeus' left shoulder and sprang on it like a cat.
He was panting by the time he reached the sceptre's open cavity but the
sight he looked upon took all his breath away.

The edges of the shimmering ambrosia had risen from the cavity to form
a liquid dome, penetrated by a single sliver of moonlight. Hovering a
few inches above the ambrosia itself was the Seed of Sarothen - caught
at a point where gold met silver, not very different from the gold and
ivory statue of Zeus.

Satronus turned his eyes away from the blinding brilliance. He blinked
for a moment or two and called down to the gathered priests -
"I think it's ready. Should I touch it?"
"You should know, Satronus!"

Satronus took a deep breath and turned towards the light. With a
quivering hand and a pounding heart he approached the silently rising
ambrosia dome, expecting the ceiling to collapse or something equally
disastrous to happen the moment he touched the ambrosia.
But nothing did happen. To his immense relief, his fingers passed
through the dome, the cool ambrosia licking the sides of his hand.
Satronus closed his fist around the Seed and slowly withdrew his hand,
giving a fleeting glance at Zeus' face who appeared as unperturbed as
ever. The ambrosia dome gave a sighing gurgle and fell back into the
cavity; and the shaft began to withdraw into the sceptre till the eagle
once again closed out the cavity.

Satronus climbed down the ladder and spoke to the priests waiting below
-
"I must leave now!"
"May the Gods help you in your task, Satronus. But remember what we've
always said - what Perellius told you - do not use the Seed. Remember
Satronus. Do not ever forget our words!"

Satronus nodded, putting the Seed into the small brown bag hung under
his apparel around his neck. He patted it and said -
"Do not fear. I myself shall die long before the Seed is unlocked but I
shall note your words; as will my successor."
With that, he turned and disappeared into the darkness.

***

The members of the caravan coming from Athens were just waking to the
first beckoning rays of the sun when they saw him stumbling over the
dusty terrain. His haggard, weather-beaten face made him look much
older than his 41 years. To the merchants' surprise, he was heading
towards them with astonishing rapidity. Instinctively suspicious, their
hands went towards their scabbards - they had silks from India and
Persian rugs which they had no intention of being robbed of; though
they realized that a robber probably wouldn't single-handedly rush
towards his victim; but it was still quite dark and they had their
doubts.

But as the man came closer, it was starkly apparent that he couldn't
even rob a child. His face and arms were covered with dust, his clothes
were shredded to bits and there were painful abrasions all over his
body as though he'd been dragged around. He was walking with a limp and
his eyes were lustreless, sunk deep into their sockets.

"Water!" he cried as he almost collapsed onto one of them, who backed
away as quickly as he could.
An earthen cup was brought, the contents of which the stranger drank
like a dying fish. The merchants herded him into their tent and gave
him some more water and some food. Their duties of hospitality
fulfilled, one of them spoke -
"My name is Kaizad. I'm a merchant from Arabia. Who are you,
stranger?"
The man struggled to speak. In a cracked voice, he said -
"S-Satronus"
"What happened to you? Were you attacked?"
Satronus nodded.
"Filthy thieves! My gold - all my gold!"
"You were carrying gold! What for?"
"I was given it to complete a task."
"What kind of task?"
Satronus was silent for what seemed an endless moment.
"I - I've forgotten! Oh my God! I've forgotten!" he screamed with a
note of hysteria in his voice.
The merchants forced him to sit as he frantically tried to get up,
turning his face away from them.
"Relax my friend, calm down. You won't be able to remember if you think
too much about it. Surely you can recall some little detail."
"No!" screamed Satronus, the hysteria in his voice now almost
theatrically emphasized.
"Where you were coming from - um - maybe where you were going. Come on,
something!"
Satronus paused. The merchants held their breath. In a barely audible
whisper Satronus said- "Halicarnassus. I have to go to
Halicarnassus."
"There!" beamed one of the merchants, slapping Satronus on his back.
"It's coming back to you! Do not despair, my friend, for good always
follows bad. There is light after every darkness. We are headed to
Marmaris; we can drop you at Halicarnassus on the way. Perhaps you'll
remember the rest when you get there."
"Speaking of light after darkness" said another "do you realize the sun
is high above the horizon? We have to start moving on!"

Satronus soon found himself facing a monstrosity better known as a
camel, ironically named 'Jamil' which was Arabic for beauty. Jamil
deigned to bare its teeth and grunt at him; and a few minutes later
Satronus was gripping its hump in sheer terror as he felt mountains
heaving under him; the camel turning its head back occassionally and
snorting at him to remind him who was boss.

***