- Late one afternoon in early spring 586 BC, Carchemish, where the Euphrates crosses the present Syrian-Turkish border -

"Molat, I got your money!" Bardylla burst into Molat's tavern in Carchemish, a lawless border town that paid nominal homage to King Syennesis of Cilicia, a small state that eked out a tenuous existence among the major powers of the region: Babylonia, Media, Lydia and—far to the south, but with dreams of rebuilding its Near Eastern empire—Egypt.

Bardylla saw that the tavern was empty, except for an unfamiliar face, Phoenician by the looks of him, behind the counter. She strode up to the counter and dropped a sack on the ground. "Where is Molat? Where is everybody? And who are you?"

"Molat went to the market. 'Everybody' is with the Babylonians down in Judah. I'm Arsames, from Tyre."

"Bardylla, from Lydia." She eyed Arsames' muscled arms, leaned over the counter to check out the rest of him, and noticed two hardwood spears with double-edged blades at each end on a low shelf under the counter. "How come you and those aren't with the Babylonians down in Judah?"

"I've contracted to the Medes. I'm due in Amida at midsummer."

"The Babylonians pay better."

"I don't fight for Babylonians."

"A mercenary with scruples. You're in the wrong line of work."

Arsames shrugged.

Bardylla heard a commotion at the door behind her.

"There you are, thieving bitch! Where's the money you stole?"

"Stole?" Arsames chuckled, "from that trash?"

"My father left me with debts from here to the pyramids, including to Molat," Bardylla whispered in a low voice. "I had to get the money from somewhere. How many of them are there?"

"Five."

Bardylla's left hand dropped to the two-handed longsword hanging from her belt. "Are you ready, handsome?"

"Uh, gentlemen, we're closed actually," Arsames called out. "You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Keep out of this, fuckface," the bandit leader snarled. "This isn't your fight."

Arsames looked at Bardylla and blew her a kiss.

"Later," she grinned, ducking.

Arsames grabbed one spear and flung it over Bardylla, impaling the bandit captain and one of his men who stood behind him. He grabbed the other spear and leapt over the bar as Bardylla drew her sword. Brandishing his second spear as a polearm, Arsames and Bardylla charged at the remaining three bandits, who barely had time to draw their shortswords before being dispatched.

Bardylla grabbed Arsames and kissed him.

"Get a room. We have lots." Molat and two other employees entered the tavern, stepping over the dead bandits.

Bardylla tossed him a purse of coins. "For my Dad. We're even, and then some."

Molat looked inside the purse. "Yeah, we're even." He motioned to the pile of dead bandits. "Your work?"

"And his," Bardylla pointed to Arsames, who waved.

"On behalf of King Syennesis, Carchemish thanks you for your service," Molat declared. "Now beat it, both of you, before relatives of theirs come looking for revenge."

Arsames retrieved his first spear, took a sack from behind the counter while Bardylla took hers, and led her out to his camel, which he had tied up behind the tavern. He untied the camel and barked a command; the camel knelt.

"Now might be a good time to leave for Amida," Arsames said. "Wanna come?"

"There's a caravan leaving for Tarsus tomorrow that I'm riding longsword on."

"More debts to pay?"

"To King Syennesis, no less."

"The staging point is a few miles upriver, by the ford. Wanna ride?"

Bardylla looked from the saddle to Arsames. "Sure."

Arsames adjusted the saddlebags, tied on Bardylla's sack and longsword, climbed into the saddle, and pulled up Bardylla to sit in front of him. He barked another command; the camel stood up and started off into the twilight, following the river north.

As soon as they cleared the town, Arsames put his arms around Bardylla's waist and kissed her neck.

"What took you so long?" she muttered, craning her neck around to kiss him.

Arsames slipped his hands inside Bardylla's tunic, caressing her breasts with one and reaching into her wet sex with the other, stroking her clit.

Bardylla moaned; she felt Arsames stiff cock pressing against her ass and pushed back against it. She pulled frantically at her skirt and raised herself up.

Arsames hiked his tunic, freeing his cock, and sat back just as Bardylla plunged down and took him inside her. They humped, rocked, shouted and grunted until they both came.

"That was...mmm..." Bardylla muttered, slumping back against Arsames. "Hold me."

"Gladly," Arsames replied. "Are you sure you can't come to Amida?"

"My father's debt to King Syennesis is the last one. Once I pay it, I'll be free."

"To do what?"

"Look for you, of course."

Arsames hugged Bardylla tight.

"But we mustn't get sentimental," she said. "That's not good in our business."

"Maybe it's time to look for another business?"

"Maybe. Once I pay Syennesis, I'll come back east, to Amida, to Carchemish. We will find each other; I don't think the gods are done with us just yet."

The camel plodded on until it reached the staging point. Bardylla climbed off and took her things.

Arsames continued north along the Euphrates.

- May 28, 585 BC (Halys River valley in what is now central Turkey) -

The Medes had occupied a broad field on the western bank of the Halys River and were intent on reinforcing their position. The Lydians were equally intent on driving them back. Warriors in the forward positions traded insults while Pharaoh Apries’ envoy met with the Median and Lydian monarchs in a last effort to end the war between Egypt’s main Asian allies.

A Median warrior tapped Arsames on the shoulder.

"What?"

"Look at the Lydians on the left there."

Arsames, leaning on a spear, looked and immediately spied Bardylla.

The Median waved to catch her attention. “Come to give the Lydians some balls?” he shouted.

Bardylla flipped him the fig and caught sight of Arsames.

The Median grinned. and tapped Arsames' spear with his axe. "My friend here wants to stick you."

“Tell him I’m not impressed by short blades,” Bardylla yelled. “No staying power and lousy penetration!”

Arsames’ comrades roared with laughter.

Horns sounded on both sides. Word quickly spread that the Egyptian efforts had failed and that battle was now inevitable. The rival kings each gave the order to attack; the two armies surged forward.

Arsames and Bardylla made straight for each other.

Arsames made a series of lightning jabs at Bardylla’s upper body. "What are you doing here?"

The nimble Lydian avoided each lunge, contorting and twisting to dodge the lethal blades. “Syennesis sold my father's debt to Alyattes!”

Arsames suddenly stabbed lower.

Bardylla gasped as the cornel wood shaft slid against the crotch of her short leather pants.

Arsames leered.

“Dream on!”

“I've been dreaming for the last year.”

Bardylla spun around, pivoting on her left leg, and slashed at Arsames, cutting his shoulder and drawing blood. She thrust at his legs.

Arsames sidestepped her lunge but overextended his subsequent jab. He tottered, momentarily off balance.

Bardylla threw her sword arm around Arsames to steady him. She thrust her free hand into his groin. “Almost as hard as your spear.” She kissed him and threw him back.

Arsames stabbed at Bardylla’ shoulder, tearing her jerkin and exposing bare skin, including the upper part of one breast. “Ha,” he yelled, “Something to dream about!”

“Make it good,” Bardylla shouted, bringing her sword down hard on the shaft of Arsames’ spear, snapping it in two.

Arsames, wielding half a spear in each hand, stabbed, jabbed and lunged, forcing Bardylla back.

As she retreated, Bardylla noticed that the warriors around them, from both sides, were throwing down their weapons and that many were looking upward in terror. She glanced at the sky and stuck her sword in the ground.

Arsames stopped short.

“Look!” Bardylla pointed at the sky.

“Oh shit, what is it?”

The left side of the sun was obscured by a black disk. As the two armies watched in horrified silence, the sky gradually darkened as the black disk seemed to swallow up the sun. Soon it was completely dark. The stars twinkled; crickets chirped.

“The gods are angry,” a Lydian priest wailed. “They don’t want us to fight! Peace, the gods demand peace!”

Cries of “Peace! Peace!” echoed through the ranks of both armies.

Horns sounded on both sides, calling each army back to camp. Bardylla sheathed her sword and, looking from Arsames to the sky, followed the rest of the Lydian army. Arsames watched her go before joining his comrades.

Profoundly shocked by the total solar eclipse, the Lydian and Median monarchs readily agreed to the Egyptian envoy’s proposal to reopen talks.

– The next morning –

Kings Alyattes II of Lydia and Cyaxares of Media embraced, to the cheers of their assembled armies. The Egyptian envoy read out the terms of the agreement, according to which Alyattes’ daughter Aryenis would wed Cyaxares’ son and heir Astyages, and the Halys River would be the boundary between the two kingdoms. He also proclaimed that their royal majesties had declared a three-day festival to thank the gods and celebrate their alliance. 

The Egyptian had barely finished speaking when Arsames turned and headed to the Lydian camp. A Lydian warrior approached him.

"Are you Arsames of Tyre?"

"Yes."

“Our apothecary requests that you come at once.”

“Apothecary?”

“The blade that cut your shoulder was coated with a deadly poison. You need the antidote, now.”

“But I feel fine.”

“By sundown, you won’t.”

“After you, then.”

Arsames followed the Lydian through his camp.

The Lydian pointed to a particular tent. “In there.”

Arsames entered the tent

Bardylla, wearing a long tunic, grabbed his face and kissed him, matching her tongue to his.

Arsames squeezed and caressed her ass and pulled at her tunic.

Bardylla steered him backwards to a pallet overlaid with sheepskins, which they toppled onto.

Arsames kissed her breasts through her tunic and pulled at the garment.

"I have others," Bardylla gasped.

Arsames ripped her tunic to expose her breasts, which he kissed, teasing her hard nipples with his tongue.

Bardylla tore the rest of her tunic down to the bottom, exposing her sopping pussy. She pushed Arsames backward, sat up and tore his tunic, freeing his hard cock, which she grabbed and kissed before lying back and spreading her legs.

Arsames tongued her clit and lips and climbed over her as he kissed up to her tummy, midriff, and breasts before thrusting inside her.

Bardylla grunted and clenched her legs around Arsames. She grabbed at his back, bucking her hips to match his movements as he repeatedly withdrew and thrust into her. They rocked and shouted until Arsames groaned and spasmed, filling her with his fluids. His movements tipped Bardylla over the edge; she dug her nails into Arsames' back and cried out as she came.

They lay together in silence, savoring each other's company.

"You said the gods weren't done with us," Arsames mumbled after a while, "but that was amazing."

"Me, or that thing with the sun?"

"Um, both?"

"Good enough. Do you have to be somewhere else right now?"

"By the gods, no."

“Good.” Bardylla snuggled up to Arsames and laid her head on his chest. They soon fell fast asleep.

Arsames woke a few hours later to Bardylla applying a poultice to the wound on his shoulder.

"When he wasn't grifting," Bardylla said, "my father was an apothecary."

"That's a useful skill."

"Indeed. There. In a few hours you'll be as good as new. We wouldn't want to damage those arms." Bardylla took bread, figs, cheese and a skin of mead from a chest. After their meal, she lay back down next to Arsames.

"What did you mean by 'short blades,'" Arsames asked, "and 'lousy penetration'?"

"I had to say something ribald for the occasion."

“Ah. You know,” Arsames said, running his fingers through Bardylla’s hair, “The hot rumor is that Lydia, Media and Egypt are all going to gang up on the Babylonians next spring. Can you imagine what it would be like, sacking Babylon? We would be rich beyond our wildest dreams! We could quit being mercenaries.”

“‘We’?”

“We make a great team. I think we should join together.”

“Me, join you…in the sack?”

“Um, yeah.”

"How long have you been working on that?"

"Since I woke up."

“Where’s my sword? I will run you through.”

Arsames laughed and pulled Bardylla onto his rapidly hardening cock. “Why don’t I run you through’?”

“Ooh,” she gasped, “Much better idea.”