anny b. howard
CASTLE CITY MANIFEST

If ignorance is bliss, give 'em hell.
_ccm vog 04

local settlement date 35,992

Don't worry; it doesn't help.

King Namor Zujahrah

21 up river


Barbaralba had, in six days, become a relatively wealthy woman. Her name echoed throughout Sun Temple City. Havatara. She had become a cult. Most of her fans had never seen her but they had taken hold of one or more of the stories about her. "Today, when you have beaten the last of your opponents, you will win a place in Sun Temple."

"Sun Temple, Sanskis, has begun to fall. It is not a place for a fisher. I would rather shoot fish than keep the company of the prostitutes of war and plunder."

Sanskis was happy to hear Barbaralba's dislike of the highest priests.

Namor had watched all of Barbaralba's fights. Most of her opponents were in awe of her. No one could predict what she would do. Sometimes she seemed to float around them. She had broken the knee of half of them. Few manage to hit her. Her fights on day six had left her one leg numb. She had Namor rub around her old scar until he fell asleep with his head on her stomach.

With just a little of Barbaralba's winnings, Namor and Sanskis had reserved a riverboat. The priests had become aware of the possibility that a woman had captured too much of the masses admiration. Curses against the men's club temple often could be heard in chant.

The end of the seven days of celebration would bring on instant Halt to the fight festival. The city would return to work and regard for the priests would return regardless how many had to be hung on the temple wall.

The gate was open behind the seats of the high priests who had graced their citizens with an open appearance. The bright light of the inner temple gave the priest the visual illusion of magic beyond the believable.

Barbaralba was called to her first fight. A million citizens tried to watch. Most of a hundred thousand managed to see Barbaralba fight a man that had the power to crush her head with his hands.

That was his first intention. Barbaralba kicked him so hard in the groin that his hands went loose as he gasped for air. She took one of his hands and pulled it down as she brought up her knee and broke his elbow. Before she jumped back, she broke his nose with her elbow.

She had taken too much and stayed close too long. Her opponent swung his fist with all his force, catching Barbaralba in the stomach, knocking her to the floor. She could not find her breath or the surface.

Her eyes went back in her head. She felt the roaring crowd straining to keep her from fading out. She felt the angry steps of her opponent. She heard Namor begging her to move. With a short gasp of air, she rolled over just before two feet landed where her head had been.

At the moment all the pressure of her opponent's jump was forcing out on his knees, Barbaralba dove, half stumbling, with her shoulder to hit one knee side on.

He grabbed her head and tried to smash it into the floor. But he could not reach the floor over his broken knee. Barbaralba punched him in the groin and he let her fall to the floor. With his good leg he managed an off balanced kick to her stomach.

He stumbled after her and took Barbaralba's heel on his already broken nose. Barbaralba spun around like she was looking for another fish and landed her foot on the side of his head. He fell over and did not get up. Barbaralba could not focus to see what was happening but managed to stay on her feet.

The crowd cheered. Then they settled into a chant. The name of Barbaralba was heard throughout the city.

"They really love you. Mad Barbaralba."

"Namor, my patient King. I think we should go now."

Namor let out a gentle sigh of relief that brought a tear to each eye. Barbaralba smiled and kissed him then put his arm around her and let herself be led out through the crowd with Narnok and Sanskis helping to hide her. With her hooded robe, she was soon lost in the crowd.

It took them all morning to get to the river. The owner and his woman were enjoying an illegal smoke with the river clear of patrol priests or those who liked to supply authority with news of breakers of the law.

For the rest of the day, law was suspended.

"You are early."

"We would like to depart now. If it is not too much inconvenience."

Barbaralba sat down and let her hood fall back revealing some bruises and scraps on her face. She could hear her name being called from the city. She was happy she was not there to fight. Her air had run out. The game had reached its end.

"Hello, you have met my friends. I'm Barbaralba."

The boat was crawling up river.

Narnok took care of driving the boat while its owners decided on a reaction. Barbaralba's name continued to follow them up river, fading out eventually under the sound of the ceramic steam engine and the turning of a small wooden water wheel.

"Hello Barbaralba. I am Dana."

"I am Bech."

Namor was looking at the pipe in Bech's hand. He was not wondering about it. Just focusing. Until he saw it moving toward him. He looked up. And took it. To taste something that he would recognize.

The boat progressed up the river slowly. They had time to see the city from the center to its fringes. Its obvious poverty was clear the first day. The river stank of waist. Children swam among their own waste and that of millions of others. The entrails of animals. And anything else discarded.

For Barbaralba and Namor it was not normal. It was an ugly an terrorizing sight and smell. Namor understood the depravity of Barbancor. They had lost all regard for the rest of the world and themselves. The illness was critical.

He sat silent in the boat for the rest of the day watching the vile decay. It was worse than a lie sold as the truth. It was an attack on life. All of it. Reckless abandonment.

On the second day, they stopped along the bank of a land covered in smoke. It was almost impossible to breath. Sanskis wanted to show how rebellious she was by stealing coal for the boat engine.

"They use this coal in the priest's restaurants and sun temple. It's smoke burnt trees. Slowly smoldering to give the wood a rich flavour. Give the food a rich flavour. At least that is the story told of these smoke fields."

"Why not use the wood."

"People use whatever they can. Whatever burns."

"Why isn't waste used to make gas for cooking and humus for the soil. Why is the river a flowing vile waist dump."

There was no answer for that. Many questions Namor had, received no answers. Just blank faces.

"Are there any lands beyond Barbancor."

"I don't know. I think not. I've never heard of any. But I also didn't know of Castle City until they attacked us."

By the second night, the air and water were almost clear. Namor explained about the possibility of building a space ship to visit the space ship that circled overhead. He talked to who would listen but he knew he was mostly talking to himself. Trying to distract himself from what he had seen since he jumped off the burning schooner.

Barbaralba had seen enough to believe him. She knew it would be hard for anyone from Barbancor to believe in such strange tales of truth when they had spent so many generations serving an insane lie that had been made sacred by the criminally insane who enjoyed the luxury won from enslaving the fellow creatures and inadvertently sending the rest on the path to extinction.

Barbaralba could see that Namor was being tortured. She knew he would have trouble finding someone with influence over the citizens, interested in protocol. There was no real structure beyond servitude to the laws of the priests. Laws were interpreted and used freely by the priest patrol.

______ . . ______


Dana and Bech had gone into a small town for supplies. Narnok, Namor and Sanskis loaded wood coal and wood into the boat. Barbaralba had just finished her bow that she had been building as they traveled up the river. She was without her goggles or metal files and stood on the opposite side of the river trying to shoot a fish.

There was no law against shooting fish. No one ever did it. There were laws against women showing skin. Not a clear law for someone who might want to swim. Barbaralba had little of her skin covered when a priest patrol happened by.

She heard them as she dove into the river to retrieve her arrows before they floated down river. Returning to the bank to try again, she saw 3 priests holding and examining her bow.

Across the river she saw the boat being ordered away from the dock so that a small army of priest could stand with spears.

"That's my bow you have there."

"You are under arrest."

"You will soon be under attack."

The river was no longer dirty or deep enough to disappear. Barbaralba let herself be taken out of the river by four priests. Eight hands held her arms. One hand removed her metal fish knife from her leg sheath.

"What is this."

It was obvious to all the priests who they had. Her name had arrived many days before her. Stories had been told that she was not from Barbancor and that she had used evil magic to win her fights against men of reputed strength. They tied her hands behind her back for their protection.

Even as they walked to the hall of incarceration, hands went under her leather, between her breasts and between her legs.

"Where is our money."

"I gave it to the rebels."

"Rebels. There are no rebels. You have thrown away the money that might have bought your freedom."

Hands were searching for money until they had brought her to her cell. She was untied and stripped of everything then given a black robe to wear. In the cell were many men. They watched her put on her robe.

She looked up at them after figuring out a way to rip and tie the robe so that she could move freely.

"I'm Barbaralba. Does anyone want to fight me."

They all knew who Barbaralba was. There had been a day of rioting after her disappearance. Anyone who looked like they might have been associated with her was hanging on the sun temple wall.

The high priests had declared her the incarnation of evil, a threat to national security and the Barbancorian way of life. The stage where she would be burnt before the temple gates was being constructed. The day of her execution would be made holy. Remembered every year with seven days of celebration.

"I will fight with you."

A young boy stood up from the corner he was huddled in. He walked over to Barbaralba and knelt before her.

"My life is yours. Tell me what you want me to do."

Barbaralba smiled and pulled him up.

"No, your life is yours. Give me the pleasure of telling you my story."

Barbaralba told her captive audience her story. She told of the Drave King that had come out of Castle City to change the history of the planet. She also told them that she would return with a host of angels to destroy sun temple.

Her story found its way out of the cell and spread through the town. Patrol priests found themselves being attacked and killed in the streets. By nightfall, Namor had organized an army of several hundred from every dwelling within half a day's run. There were no ultimatums made. The army came with stone axes and hacked down the walls of the house of God and prison.

It was quickly plundered. The dead priests were quickly thrown into the river.

Barbaralba collected up her leathers and weapons and walked out to meet Namor with her army of prisoners.

Anyone who saw her looking at Namor was certain that they had seen an angel. Anyone who had seen Namor was certain of the same thing. And anyone in that town that day were certain to tell everyone they met what they had witnessed.

"I would ask you to be more careful but I have a feeling this is all beyond our control. The Barbancorians need to see that we are real."

"You would soon grow tired of a lover who was careful."

Barbaralba smiled, took Namor's arm and walked with him back to the boat. They were followed by everyone who had been awake that night. Except for a few priests not yet dead, hanging onto a piece of wood floating down the river. On their way to tell the story of the hoard of demons that had destroyed the sanctuary of the priests. The holy house of God.

"Tell our story so that you are ready for our return. One morning before dawn, we will come with many ships to bring down sun temple."

They were back on the boat. The fire was hot enough to make the steam needed to turn the wheels. To push the water.

"You have a talent for being theatrical."

"Thank you. They have been waiting for a little theater with a new story. It would be unkind to keep our story to ourselves."

Namor smiled and waved at those still watching them from the shore. The shore of one of the first villages of Barbancor without priests.

chapter 22