Chapter 5.13: The Besieged Border Fort
A month after your successful revolution, you departed Babylon quietly. Sekhenun remained behind to guide the new king, a young, malleable noble by the name of Nabuchasar, in the direction the both of you had decided to take the empire in. He was assisted by the best men and women you could find - pragmatism prevailed over ideology for now, and you selected the most capable administrators regardless of their previous allegiance. All you required was that they were loyal to the new ruler over their former god. It wasn't hard - most of the capable administrators were a pragmatic sort who had gotten where they were in the previous administration by knowing which way the wind blew.
For now there was little unrest; Shulgi's cultists were given the recognition they had desired for more than three hundred years, and though some malcontents gave voice to louder ambitions, their fear and respect of the newly revealed god, the Dread Master, son of Ereshkigal, ally of Shulgi, who reputedly destroyed the temple of Marduk with a single wave of his black sword, and feasted on the flesh of the guilty after they were judged in the underworld, kept them in check.
You had to hand it to Sekhenun - she could really spin a tale if she wanted to.
Marduk was called an impostor - you dredged up your memories of the old legends and beliefs of the Sons of Marduk, and claimed that the real Marduk was still sleeping in the west, awaiting a bigger catastrophe when he would return and aid the other gods. There were a few old adherents of the Sons of Marduk who had not been rewarded when Marduk rose to power, and they were only all too happy to spread the new word.
Your departure was done incognito. Had you marched from the gates of Babylon with a thousand men, you knew that the cities around Babylon would be tempted to attack. Control over the empire was tenous at the moment, particularly with the Assyrians to the north becoming eager to avenge their humiliating defeat and free themselves from the yoke of Babylonian rule almost a hundred years ago. Sekhenun assured you she would try to keep the peace and maintain the current status quo as best as she could. Only time would tell whether she could succeed. With her you left the remainder of the army that had been judged to be loyal - those that you and Sekhenun found untrustworthy were relieved of their position.
You also brought in Gudersu and his Gutians, hiring his warriors to bolster the Babylonian troops. On one hand, you would be able to stop him from further acts of banditry - the Gutians had been such successful bandits that there was little else competition in the area right now, and on the other hand, you would have men that you could trust your back with within Babylon. The village that they had temporarily settled in was granted to them permanently, putting them under the aegis of Babylonian protection. Sekhenun had advised you that settling them in Babylon proper would create clashes with the local population, and from what you had seen of Gutian behaviour, you agreed. You had Nabuchasar bestow upon Gudersu the title of War Chief of Babylon, a nominal title that pleased the Gutians. Kingship, they cheered, would surely come soon after that, and Gudersu was toasted as the most successful leader of their tribe in a hundred years.
Gudersu himself was overjoyed to see you again - the bandit who overthrew a god, he called you. You told him that you weren't going to stop until you killed said god. That pleased him plenty. Iltani, as always, seemed to scowl whenever she saw you, and she did not speak a word to you, even as you were leaving.
So, hoping that you had left Babylon in good hands, you left to rescue Egypt.
***
Tjaru was besieged.
The great chasm that you had opened still yawned dizzily across the landscape, but beyond it, past the rivers of crocodiles, it was besieged from the Egyptian side. All the way here, you had rode against a flow of refugees, ignoring the low thrum of dark hunger that you had become used to, but in recent days the flow had trickled to a halt, and now you know why: the most accessible land pass into the Nile Delta was blocked off by Greek soldiers. The fort was apparently still held by the Egyptians, but from what you could observe, there were a couple hundred Greeks camped outside it.
You could be able to sneak past, or even cross the crocodile-infested rivers, but should you help out the fort? As you were pondering what to do, you felt a familiar presence behind a nearby rock, which had been noticeably shadowing you for the past few days.
"You really are a tenacious girl, Iltani."
She lets out a small gasp, but remains where she is.
"Look, hiding behind the rock isn't going to magically make my awareness of you disappear."
Reluctantly, she steps out from behind the rock. She was dressed simply, in loose travelling clothes that hid her figure so that she could possibly pass for a short and feminine boy. A sword hung from her waist.
"Before you ask, I'm here because I owe you."
"You want to repay a debt that you owe me? I'm not sure how you think you're going to repay it."
"I was supposed to repay it by marrying you, but you have not brought up the issue once since we arrived in Babylon, and Father thinks it is my fault for not being attractive enough. He respects you far too much to pressure you on the matter, unfortunately."
"Oh... uh..."
You didn't really have any words to respond to the situation.
"So, I'll repay you by helping you out with your secretive mission, and once I have, I can proudly tell Father that the debt is repaid, and you won't have to marry me. Before you ask, no, I'm not going back, and you can't make me."
She was right - short of dragging her back to Sumeria yourself and wasting valuable time, you were stuck with her for now. You looked back to the fort. Screams and cries had started up again - it looks like the Greeks had begun another attempt to take Tjaru.
***
A. You go to help the Egyptians at Tjaru - it is the perfect spot to revive your persona of Runi. You will look out for Iltani, but she will have to defend herself as best as she can should things go wrong at the siege.
B. You sneak Iltani and yourself past the siege. Your primary goal is to defeat Ares and rout the Greek armies, not waste your time with every fort you see. With your ability it is no problem getting another person across. Having her at Tjaru would put her in harm's way, and you dread having to explain to Gudersu how you got his precious daughter killed in battle.
