Simple Men

You decide to head on down to the city. You never paid any attention in Ancient History class, but you figure there's likely going to be thieves on that road there.

Wait a second, do you even have anything of value?

You look down at yourself before things go any further here. Well, okay, you seem mostly human...all your limbs are intact, anyway...

You're still wearing those darned robes and sandals...you find that your mobility in them, a marked contrast to your usual, more constraining clothes, is making you nervous. You hope it doesn't show when you get in the city.

You check your hands... and then you make your discovery.

You're wearing a ring on your right hand. A ring made out of some glossy black material. At first, you figure it to be some kind of stone, but when the setting sun's light hits it, you gasp.

The black color itself is simply a lacquer or paint. The ring itself is made out of gold!!

You immediately try to yank it off, despite the fact that you really wouldn't have anywhere to put it.

Well, it doesn't really matter anyway. It's not coming off, you find.

You growl to yourself. Aw, maaan! I'm only coming IN here to make sure I don't get robbed or killed or anything, and what's happening now?! I'm going to be a dadgummed thief magnet!!

An odd thought enters your head. Well, maybe they haven't invented thieves yet.

You don't have a choice either way. You just start walking into the city. The streets are filled with people, many of them chatting with each other, and you find, if you listen hard enough, that though they're not speaking English, you can understand some of what they say!

You decide to see how far your luck will hold you, and maybe you can try to find some way out of this mess. You liberate yourself from most of the crowd, then walk over to what appears to be a huge barrel, one side of it broken, the feet of a man protruding out of the broken side.

You stick your head in the barrel. "Um...excuse me..." you say, only to find that you actually ARE speaking in Greek.

Indeed, there is someone inside the barrel, a man who appears to be rather old, but somewhat practical, a long staff leaning against the wall of the barrel, his eyes closed and his hands behind his head. He opens one eye, looks at you, then sighs, turns his eyes skyward, and looks back at you. "What?"

"Um...I, uh...I'm not from around here," you say. "And, ah, well, can I ask you what year it is?"

"You may, although I may not answer," the old man replies.

What the...oh, a smartass, eh? you think. "Well, what year is it, first off?"

"It is a year of life, my man. And a year of death. Things here in Corinth go on much as they have for ages past, so what difference do the numbers make?"

You draw back a little. Well, that's one of your questions answered, granted, it's not the one you asked, but still. Okay. You're in Corinth.

You frown just as quickly. You have no idea where Corinth is...or, was, or...oh, hell.

"Um...okay, well...look, I'm not from around here, sir..."

"Such is rather obvious."

"Well, the thing is, I'm from the year..."

"Boy, it seriously does not matter where you are from. What you want to ask me is how you are to get back there."

You frown down at the old man. "What, can you do that or something?"

"Do what?"

This fellow's got a knack for knocking you speechless. "Well, manipulate time, or, ah..."

The old man finally rolls his eyes. "Oh, that's it, then. You're from the future."

"Ah, yeah, exactly."

"I would have though you were from the land of the Dog-People, although I've never been to or heard of such a land."

You frown. "Dog-people?" For someone who's been verbally toying with you, this guy's starting to seem a little nuts now. "What are you talking about?"

"Your ears, boy. Even if you are from another time, I doubt you could go all of your life and miss those."

"My..."

Hesitantly, you begin reaching your hands upwards, up towards your ears...only to find that your normal human ears are simply not there. What are there, however, are a long pair of triangular dog-like ears, covered in what feels like fur.

"I'm thoroughly surprised you've not attracted any attention to yourself yet," the old man continues.

You don't listen. You just start screaming.

Written by Dark Aries (edited by wanderer)

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