A Guide for The Princess

Astra responded, "And what use would that be, seeing that my country is being destroyed? I do not doubt your courage. The fact that you have not been able to beat the Silver Horsemen in five years is proof to me that they cannot be beaten by brute force. But if I can find out more about their master, I may be able to cut the head of this monster off."

Copernica replied, "But you do not understand. The minute they see you, if they do not know you, the cold welcome that the Silver Horsemen did to you here will look like a triumphal entry. Nobody ever comes back from Hyrcania."

"I intend on coming back."

"It took you five years to come back from the Shreken."

"If it makes you feel better, I would be willing to take one other person. But can you let my mother know?"

"After you are gone. She will try to prevent you from leaving. And I dread telling her."

"You were only following orders, Captain. I am assuming the risks."

The captain said, "Yes, my lady. If this is a good thing to do, then it is better to do it fast. I will try to get you underway tomorrow."

The ancient Paula had finished her duties for the day, and was drinking a glass of sugared wine at an inn near the Hespanian consulate. There was a maroon-coloured glass face down on the table. Within a few minutes, a short Hespanian in the uniform of a petty officer of the Hespanian infantry came in, and sat by her table.

"Hello, Paula. What news do you have from the Captain? She is doing well, I hope."

"The Captain is weary, but doing well, Namak Agha. She has a favour to ask."

Namak bent down and whispered, "If it is the type of favour that I anticipate, my boss will be happy to fulfill it quickly. It would do him some good. The Overseer General from the cavalry has an appointment with him this week, and he could use some cheering up."

Paula said, "So could my lady. Sadly, this is going to be a difficult favour. A certain person needs to go into Hyrcania for two weeks, and she needs an escort."

Namak said, "With or without the official approval?"

"Without."

"No chance. It is not a lack of will. My boss will do whatever is possible for Copernica. You know that. But, as his batman, I will just have to save you time and tell you that there are some things that cannot be done, and this is one of them."

Paula nodded her head, and said, "I know, Namak. It was not the Captain's idea. Let us just say that someone very dear to Copernica just has to go to Hyrcania. Two weeks. She just needs to visit a few places, and leave quietly."

"Paula, they will not even let us go in. I would recommend trying to get a recommendation for her, and let time take its course."

Paula whispered, "Namak, I trust you. If word of this ever gets out, I will blame you, and the shattered hosts of Aqualaria will find you and make your life nasty, brutish, and above all, short. The lady that I am talking about is Princess Astra."

Namak grunted. "There is no need to be harsh, although I wish that you had not told me. I am certainly not going to tell my boss. It is probably better for us that she leave Themyscira, but Hyrcania is not the place she should go. I will try to find an escort, but I cannot use anyone from our company. The Silver Horsemen would be making our lives nasty, brutish, and short, as you say. But, as the lady of which wyou speak is headstrong, do I have you word of honour that you will not take revenge on us infantrymen if she happens to get killed?"

Paula replied, "You do. Because I think that she is going to get killed, and it would not be fair to hold you responsible for a task that I see as impossible."

Namak said, "I am afraid that you are right. I need to think. Come back to this table before the last call, and I will let you know if I have any ideas."

Namak was a batman for the infantry commander of the Themyscira district. He was from a small town in the province of Tenge. He was charming enough to stay on good terms with many of the humble residents in his new and involuntary homeland, and wary enough not to attract the attention of the Silver Horsemen. He was also a very good batman, able to acquire victuals, dry goods, and services for his boss and the company of infantrymen by driving good bargains. Some of the provenance of those supplies was dubious, but as long as the Silver Horsemen did not complain, Namak's boss did not see any point in asking for details.

Paula and Namak were also the intermediaries between Captain Copernica and his boss. The Captain and the Commander had inconveniently fallen in love with each other, and so ancient and batman had to arrange matters so that an indiscretion would not cost them their positions, or worse.

Namak wiled away some time playing cards. On this night, one of the other players was Sabok, a wandering minstral. Namak had never taken much notice of Sabok before. Namak had always thought of him as the good- natured but naive bard. As the game went on, Namak's view of Sabok changed. Sabok was good-natured, and in some ways simple. But he was clever - people enjoyed losing money to him. He also had a romantic streak, and a willingness to engage in adventure. After the game, Namak had a proposition for Sabok. He left out the fact that he would be escorting a princess, and not just any lady, into the forbidden district of Hyrcania. Namak was able to describe to Sabak the beauty of a woman that he had never seen and made a life-threatening adventure seem like a worthy sport. Sabok was shrewd, a romantic, liked to ramble and knew the country to up to the borders of Hyrcania. Most importantly, Sabok was not an infantryman, and therefore if he were caught, he could not bring the blame on Namak's boss. Sabok may have been the only man in Themyscira that would agree take this assignment.

Paula joined Namak and Sabok at the table. Namak said, "This man is willing to accompany your friend into the west, as we had discussed."

Paula turned to Sabok, and said "Why are you doing this?"

Sabok replied,

1. "The lady that Namak describes intrigues me. She must be spirited to take such a perilous journey."
2. "Curiousity. There is supposed to be something out west that is fantastic. I wish to see it."

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