Reincarnated to Earth 26: Thracian Overture (1)

Reincarnated to Earth
Chapter 26: Thracian Overture (1)

-VB-

I ended up doing a lot of work once I had a day’s worth of rest. Surprisingly, Ureya took charge of that day and made sure that my new slaves were settling in, fed, and sheltered.

Once I had my break, I got to work, which finally involved using the literal piles of shit I’ve been stocking up on like a hoarder stocked useless plastic trinkets.

It was, unfortunately, dirty work, but I refused to let the fertilizer go to waste. I spent hours in my fields, instructing the slaves personally, and when I came home, Ureya complained about the smell of shit.

Also, I slept on the proverbial couch that night because Ureya didn’t want me to stain our bed with the smell even after I cleaned up.

But it took no more than two months, right before fall, that we saw the fruits of our labor.

I watched Ureya stare incredulously at my roughly thirty meter by thirty meter vegetable farm plot. I cackled in victory while staring at the vegetable garden that brimmed with … everything!

Now, had I lived in South America or something, I would have seen potatoes and planted as much as I could. I didn’t live there, so what I did was plant as much cucumber, beetroot, garlic, onion, and carrots. Compared to the other vegetable farm plots and gardens sprinkled around the village?

It was bountiful. It was beautiful. It was glorious!

Even the slaves were smiling and moving through the farm plot, plucking my produce.

“But … why?” Ureya asked confusedly. “How does shit make vegetables better?”

“Well, they just need different food,” I replied. “I don’t think you can understand the study behind it without some background knowledge, but suffice to say, plants and people don’t eat the same thing, and our poop contains some of the things they need for their food.”

She looked up at me before narrowing her eyes. “How different?”

“Different enough that you will become sick in weeks if not days from not eating properly.”

She looked at the vegetable farm plot… and then to the barley plots beyond.

And the barley plots were the true success of my fertilizer efforts. If my calculations were correct, then I actually had enough barley here to feed Ureya and myself, all of my slaves, and have surplus to trade.

Of course, I would be giving the chief a significant portion, as per tradition of a newly established household, but I would still have surplus.

Ureya sighed in exasperation. “I think I will have to get used to the idea that I will always be surprised, so I shouldn’t be surprised that I am getting surprised.”

I laughed. “That’s wise!”

To be fair, my farm was not the only farm to see success. Thanks to my new wells and water drawing infrastructure, a a lot of the farms that had been further from the river saw their cropa do better than years before. What I had in advantage was the slaves. With extra manpower, i was able to make more farmland and make more food.

The immediate benefit of the slave owners saw was not insignificant, and I saw that as a problem. It was doubtful that I had any power to completely stop slavery in the tribe, nevermind the tribes and clans beyond. The only thing I could do was make slavery unprofitable…

...if I was still thinking naively.

It was an unfortunate fact of life, but there were many people who just wanted the feeling of authority and power of owning a slave.

If you killed your slave over a slight, then no one was going to complain. If you raped your slave, then no one was going to complain. If you tortured your slave, then no one was going to complain until the screams got too annoying or the appearance of the slave became too horrifying.

There was emotional power that came with knowing that to your slaves, you could do anything and get away with it.

…

"Alan, you have that thinking look on your face."

I looked down at Ureya, who looked up at me with concerned eyes.

"Just thinking."

"Is it about the slaves?"

I nodded. I shared a lot of things with Ureya, and one of those shared things was my viewpoint on slavery.

"I still find your people weird. Slaves have been a thing since the gods created the world."

"Doesnt mean I have to like it, Reya. Especially when I know some of them are getting ill treatment."

"Well-"

She stopped and looked at something behind me. Curious, I turned around and saw a tribal warrior come up towards us. Armored in a well-padded poncho and armed with short spears and a crescent shield, he wasn't a face I recognized.

Ureya seemed to recognize the outfit.

"What is a T'raci peltast doing here?" she muttered quietly.

I blinked in surprise. My memories jumped at her words. T'raci sounded a lot like Thraci, which was what the Romans called the Thracians, people who lived in the Thrace region of the Greek peninsula and Istanbul.

They were also one of the proposed peoples who made up the "Sea People" said to have been one of the reasons why the Bronze Age ended.

Peltast was a title for light infantry from Thrace and Paeonia regions - aka northern Greece- during the Greek Archaic Period.

A light infantry that made use of javelin, short spears, and a shield.

A perfect fit for raiders.

My eyes narrowed, and I slowly moved to meet the supposed warrior.

"Greetings, stranger!" I called out.

The man stopped looking around and saw me. He spoke but i didn't understand him.

I turned to Ureya. "Did you understand what he said?" I asked out loud so she could jear me from twenty meters away.

She shook her head.

I turned to my slaves. "Do any of you understand this man?" I asked again while keeping the Thracian peltast in my peripheral vision. He seemed relaxed and not too concerned.

Two of the slaves, men named Ziyan and Soraltias, stopped plucking cucumbers, handed the basket they held to another slave, and walked over to me. Both of them stopped and bowed to me, and the older of the two, Ziyan, spoke. "This one understands T'raci."

"Translate for me, then." I turned back to the "T'raci." "Welcome to my farm, stranger. Who are you?"

Ziyan translated for me and the warrior spoke to him.

"He says he is part of the Istrois tyrant's retinue. He says that this tribe will sooner or later become part of the Istorian Kingdom… and demands that you hand your land over to him, master."

… the fuck?

Are you serious?

I looked to Soraltias, a auburn haired and tanned young man barely out of his teens, and quirked an eyebrow. He nodded hastily

I could hear Ureya angrily shriek behind me. I looked to her. "Go and talk to your father, Reya. Ask him to explain what the hell is going on!"

She did, but as she passed by the protest, he tried to grab her. Ureya saw it coming and tried to pull away, but the man took steps forward to grab her.

I wasn't having that.

We may have been at least five meters apart, but I was in front od him in less than a second. He barely noticed my new position before I drew my sword from its scabbard on my hip and sliced his offending hand off.

He screamed but I wasn't done. I punched his chin from my right to left. His head turned vertically for a bit before he keeled over unconscious.

"... It hasnt even been a fucking week, goddamnit!" I shouted angrily.