Isocrates's Diary

Chapter 3 - It gets worse!

I travelled in the second motorized vehicle, with err... I need some temporary names for them... Cloaky, Normal, and Animal - I wonder how close I am with that? I don't have any experience with Barbarian names. 

In the first went, Cordelia, the Queen, Creepy (from time to time he seems rather gaunt and pale - looks like a bad condition... I hope it is not catching!) and Mikato (the dog) - I can't believe I know the dog's name... 

There was a lot of stopping and starting and travelling barren wastelands. Even the wastelands look strange! I think I may have the idea on how to operate these devices now that I have had plenty of time watch Normal... Now that I think about it, I think I heard Cordelia call him Hou-jin. I wonder what that means, in Barbarian talk? 

We stopped for a rest and supplies. I think I am already losing my sanity. That tentacled creature was not upsetting me as much as it should. Maybe I was too hungry to care? Why would I normally eat something served by a monster? I guess I am taking my cues from the Barbarians, who didn't seem to mind it so much. I got a Burger, which was a curious dish and then I am told that they are eaten everywhere. Obviously not in the known world, but I am not in known world anymore... 

I wish I was back in Athens. 

All this strangeness is getting to me. The motion of the motorized vehicle, the lack of anything interesting has failed to distract me from what has been happening. Yesterday morning I was sailing on the Aegean sea. The cool air, the wind in the hair, the distant calls of sea birds. 

Where am I? Where are we going? What are we doing? Why are we here? I need something to distract me, these are akin to the ramblings of a mad man. 

The military base we reached wasn't what I had in mind. I chose to stay in the vehicle, I had enough of change. Everything was change, everything was chaos! I feel helpless. If everything will be change, then I will quite happily stay in this little bit of change. I've been in it for awhile and it hasn't changed colour and it hasn't started talking, which is unfortunately a rather short list of items from which to derive normality - after finding dogs can talk, I'm wondering what else is waiting for its chance to assail me by defying logic and reason. 

A frightening noise awoke me. I was still in the vehicle. That sound was coming from everywhere. I thought I was doing to die. I ran for the controls to the vehicle, but nothing would work. To my despair, there is still something I'm missing. None of the square panels responded. What kind of world is this where a terrified scholar can't even hit magic panels and for something to at least happen... even an "ouch!" would have been preferable to being ignored. 

I had to quickly empty by bladder near the truck. Everyone was running, with a sense of urgency. It seems that awful sound scares them as well. I wasn't surprised to notice that this was a base of Barbarians. I had no time to consider anything else before we had to race off in the vehicle. I was glad we got away from that sound. 

I wasn't glad about where we went. 

It is called the black road. Strange name as most roads are kind of blackish anyway. The army lined up, I had never seen so many motorized vehicles! Considering that I hadn't seen even one until yesterday, I suppose that is not saying much. I am sure Alexander could have conquered the world much more quickly if he had these! Shortly after they started firing at the black, seething, writhing mass that was the black road - I blacked out... 

I wish it had stayed that way. I woke up with a tremendous headache. To my horror, I discovered that we were going through the black road! That was a bad idea. Something hit the vehicle. Everything was a blur, but I recall grabbing my blade and attacking something big, something black, something worm. Things got very clear when it spat on my leg. Agony, like falling on a broken bone. I guess it was acid. 

It seems Cordelia has tended to my wound, with another device which I have never seen before. I feel so helpless. I tried to protect the others from harm, and I was the one who got hurt. I am so useless. What was I thinking? The swords had no effect. I can't fight, I can't communicate, I can't understand - I'm just getting in the way. Baggage like that would have been left for the dead by the Macedonian army. I recall Cordelia mentioning something about needing to be part of the family in order to walk the Pattern. I still haven't fathomed what really means, but maybe she mistakenly believes we are related? 

The Monster talked about a war. What was she thinking bringing a scholar into a war? 

My head is starting to spin... I'm going to sleep...