12-21-2020, 10:16 PM
Joseph looked up at Mary riding the tired donkey and struggled to maintain his pretence of sureness.
The snowstorm had taken it's toll on all three of them and the surrounding night proposed little in the way of support.
He'd estimated the eight miles to Bethlehem would be fairly easy and yet the journey so far, had taken them most of the day.
The snow had started in the afternoon and as the evening settled in, the anxious looks from his wife became more and more
of a concern to her husband and leader of the struggling animal.
"We can't stay out much longer" Mary said, the wind snatching the words away. Joseph nodded and pulled the donkey on through
a large drift. The lantern in his other hand spluttered and struggled in the blasts as his cajoling copied the gale-struck illumination.
The white downpour showed no indication of slowing up and Joseph whispered between his coaxings to the donkey, a prayer that
they were still on the road to Bethlehem. They had passed a half-hidden sign earlier, so Joseph guessed he wasn't too far off track.
It was just as Joseph contemplated any hope that a building could be found close by to wait out the snowstorm, when he saw the
three figures emerging from the darkness. At first, Joseph thought it was a man and his family, the little figure would be a son and
the long haired person struggling to keep up -would be the taller one's wife.
But if there is such a things as fate, Joseph and the son-of-God's mother were about to meet Ninurta, Boy In A Dress and Tibbs the
Vithian. We can only hope the yet-unborn baby will have mercy on their souls!
With a relieved wave, Joseph felt the chances of surviving this night improve greatly and he could see on Mary's face that she was
thinking the same. The donkey gave out a small bray to greet the newcomers as they stepped up to meet in the maelstrom.
"Greetings strangers, we seek shelter from this snow storm..." called Joseph as the wind increased, "...my wife is about to give issue
and we seem to be lost". He attempted a smile, but all the weary soon-to-be-father could only manage a grimace.
Mary's face also changed from a meek grin into a look of horror as she saw The Boy In A Dress in the the lantern light.
But before the shawl-wrapped woman could give voice to her terror, Tibbs took command of the situation.
"Fear not sweet lady, the person you see is a harmless creature, an accident at birth left him with this cursed disfigurement" Tibbs
announced and bowed slightly. During this act, the little man winked at BIAD and glanced at Ninurta who had neared the donkey.
Joseph watched the taller man with the strange clothes and the odd apparatus strapped about his waist as he stroked the beast's
nose and the carpenter pondered if this was a possible robbery.
"You're in luck Missus, I spied a building about a few hundred feet of here" Ninurta said easily and patted Mary's ass.
Joseph looked out into the blackness and wondered how the stranger could see anything out there, this dangerous-looking man
would certainly need watching.
Joseph guessed that the dwarf to be a sage or wise man, possibly the leader of the trio and so, Joseph turned to him, leaning close
to the bearded figure. "We are here to give birth to the Son of God and we are in fear of our lives from Herod's men" Joseph's voice
was low and yet firm.
Tibbs nodded and said "We are here to assist good Sir" and with that, the group moved off into the night.
Ninurta took point with the reins in one hand and the other resting on the jutting butt of the pistol in his belt.
...........................................
As Ninurta led the donkey along, the entire unlikely crew in tow, he pondered the situation. Sure, he was aware of the legends,
but never had much thought about a basis in reality.
If this WAS, in fact, a reality.
These little magic trinkets had dropped him into some unusual situations of late. On top of being some sort of cross-dimensional,
or cross-time, or cross something-geegaws, they seemed as well to somehow translate languages with a certain flair.
Not wanting to get too deeply into an over-analysis of things (Margo always said he had a tendency to over-analyse) Ninurta decided
it was sufficient to agree with whichever 20th century writer had said that any technology sufficiently advanced would be indistinguishable
from magic.
That settled it - it was all magic, and magic was real. No need for further explanations in the Gunman's mind.
He could move on to other things.
This Joseph fellow had insinuated that there might be trouble brewing with some petty tyrant's military muscle.
Ninurta strained, but couldn't quite recall the specifics of the legends. Something about a whole lot of kids being killed, and here he was
in party with a woman about to give birth. To a kid.
Eyeing the raging snowstorm, he figured that an imminent attack was the least of their worries.
Soldiers were soldiers, and they'd be loathe to get out into a mess like this when they could just as easily slay young-'uns when the storm
slacked up. That left shelter to be found.
Ninurta had noticed, from the top of a hillock as they had trekked through the snow to meet this couple, a farmstead in the distance,
a bit further along the road. It was towards that goal that he led the tiny one-assed caravan. Most primitive societies had pretty stringent
rules as to hospitality, and he was hoping this one was no different.
Nearing the farmstead, he was surprised to note that the looks of it up close suggested that it was probably more of a way-station, which
brought him a bit of relief. No need to worry about hospitality when it could be had for a price. Upon arrival, the Gunman found a place in
the lee of a building that would keep the worst of the wind and snow off of the travellers while accommodations were being negotiated.
"Come on, Joe, let's go get some rooms. Once we get everyone settled, we can come back and look after your donkey".
The bearded man wearing a dishtowel on his head just blinked and said "Who?" evidently unaccustomed to being referred to as "Joe".
"Whaddaya think you are, an owl? YOU! Come on, let's get it done. Yer missus has been out in the cold long enough."
With that he set off for the hostelry, not even looking back to see if Joseph was following. Joseph scrambled to catch up, and the
two reached the door simultaneously.
Inside it was a seething mass of humanity, packed wall to wall with travellers. Forcing a way through the crowd, Ninurta found the
proprietor, with Joseph right on his heels to take advantage of the holes in the crowd the tall man made.
"Sir! Sir! We need a couple of rooms. Got two separate parties traveling together, but two rooms ought to do it - one apiece".
He hefted the coin bag that he had "liberated" from a bounty hunter from another yarn, for emphasis.
The Inn Keeper eyed the bag. He was loathe to turn away hard coin, but he just didn't have any rooms left.
This tall lunatic ought to have been able to figure that out just by looking around. "I'm sorry, sir, but I've got nothing left. As you can
see by looking around, I'm packed full. It this damnable census."
"Every man and his brother -and wife, and kids, and stock -well, everyone -is converging on Jerusalem. I've been slammed by it."
The man looked haggard, and sincerely apologetic, but it appeared there was nothing he could do.
"Well, I might not have made myself clear. There's a pregnant woman in the party, and she's nigh on to bustin'. Looks like she's about
to deliver at any moment. We really NEED at least one room."
The Inn Keeper looked even more morose, but simply shifted from foot to foot, and shrugged. "Sorry, sir, but I REALLY have nothing
to spare." He gave his best helpless look along with the shrug.
Ninurta shifted gears. Maybe if this fellow saw a sale leaving, opinions may change.
"Alright, boss. How far to the next Inn? We might be able to make it in this... storm..." he left the thought trailing. The Inn Keeper looked
even more helpless, if that were possible.
"You're not likely to find much of anything. The whole area is slammed with outlanders in for the Census, as I said before.
The storm, well, it's got ALL of them looking for lodging. I daresay that everywhere is booked solid.
This is not even Jerusalem - this is Bethlehem, and you've still got a few miles to go to Jerusalem. It'll only get worse closer in."
He shrugged, again. That was getting annoying to the Gunman. He bit down on a response, considering the number of bodies between
himself and the exit and simply turned toward the door. "Let's go, Joseph. This cat ain't no help at all." and started toward the exit.
"Cat?" Joseph echoed, and started off with Ninurta. He really couldn't see any feline qualities to the Inn Keeper at all.
Seeing a sale about to walk out into the storm, the Inn Keeper had a sudden epiphany. "Wait!" he shouted, gaining the attention of the
pair. Ninurta abruptly turned at the hail, and Joseph, preoccupied with the imminent birth, nearly ran into him, then turned back to the
Inn Keeper himself.
"Speak..." the agitated Ninurta commanded the inn-keep. "...I've not got all night to find lodgings."
"Well..." stated the inn-keep, "...that's why I stopped you. Now, it's not much, but it could be at least shelter from the storm.
I've got a stable out back, a place where we shelter the livestock when the weather is inclement. You might be able to work out a place
in there, to at least stay out of the snow."
The Gunslinger's gaze darkened, and the Inn Keeper hurriedly added "Of course I'd not charge you the full price for an actual room."
Ninurta cut him off right there by leaning toward him and stating, just above a whisper, "If you shrug again, I'm gonna break both of
your shoulders." Somewhat more loudly, in a conversational tone, he continued "We've got one donkey. I'll pay you shelter and board
for two donkeys to let us stay there, not a damned dime more."
The inn-keep, not sure what a 'dime' was, started haggling immediately. "Well, now, I'm not sure I could go that low..." and tall man
in the strange garb cut him off again by leaning towards him and adopting the whisper again. "I'll bet you by God you CAN go that low!"
and he grinned that disturbing grin of his.
The Inn Keeper blanched. "Well, yes, of course. I see just what you mean. After all, it's not exactly world class accommodation...
I can probably accept that deal..."
Ninurta leaned back, and put on his lopsided grin, which was only slightly less disturbing.
"Alright, it's agreed then. We'll pay full price for meals, and what we've agreed to for 'lodgings'."
He dropped a couple of the strange, off-world coins into the innkeepers hand. The innkeeper looked at them, didn't recognize them,
but was well aware of the many unusual and foreign sorts of coin that came his way in this business, in this place.
He started to shrug, looked at his new guest, and thought better of it, merely pocketing the coins. "They'll do" he said, with an
obsequious smile. "Stables are out back. I'll send someone round later to see that you've settled in, and find out if there's anything
else you'll be needing."
Ninurta turned on his heel, and made for the door, with Joseph again in tow.
...........................................
(To Be Continued)
The snowstorm had taken it's toll on all three of them and the surrounding night proposed little in the way of support.
He'd estimated the eight miles to Bethlehem would be fairly easy and yet the journey so far, had taken them most of the day.
The snow had started in the afternoon and as the evening settled in, the anxious looks from his wife became more and more
of a concern to her husband and leader of the struggling animal.
"We can't stay out much longer" Mary said, the wind snatching the words away. Joseph nodded and pulled the donkey on through
a large drift. The lantern in his other hand spluttered and struggled in the blasts as his cajoling copied the gale-struck illumination.
The white downpour showed no indication of slowing up and Joseph whispered between his coaxings to the donkey, a prayer that
they were still on the road to Bethlehem. They had passed a half-hidden sign earlier, so Joseph guessed he wasn't too far off track.
It was just as Joseph contemplated any hope that a building could be found close by to wait out the snowstorm, when he saw the
three figures emerging from the darkness. At first, Joseph thought it was a man and his family, the little figure would be a son and
the long haired person struggling to keep up -would be the taller one's wife.
But if there is such a things as fate, Joseph and the son-of-God's mother were about to meet Ninurta, Boy In A Dress and Tibbs the
Vithian. We can only hope the yet-unborn baby will have mercy on their souls!
With a relieved wave, Joseph felt the chances of surviving this night improve greatly and he could see on Mary's face that she was
thinking the same. The donkey gave out a small bray to greet the newcomers as they stepped up to meet in the maelstrom.
"Greetings strangers, we seek shelter from this snow storm..." called Joseph as the wind increased, "...my wife is about to give issue
and we seem to be lost". He attempted a smile, but all the weary soon-to-be-father could only manage a grimace.
Mary's face also changed from a meek grin into a look of horror as she saw The Boy In A Dress in the the lantern light.
But before the shawl-wrapped woman could give voice to her terror, Tibbs took command of the situation.
"Fear not sweet lady, the person you see is a harmless creature, an accident at birth left him with this cursed disfigurement" Tibbs
announced and bowed slightly. During this act, the little man winked at BIAD and glanced at Ninurta who had neared the donkey.
Joseph watched the taller man with the strange clothes and the odd apparatus strapped about his waist as he stroked the beast's
nose and the carpenter pondered if this was a possible robbery.
"You're in luck Missus, I spied a building about a few hundred feet of here" Ninurta said easily and patted Mary's ass.
Joseph looked out into the blackness and wondered how the stranger could see anything out there, this dangerous-looking man
would certainly need watching.
Joseph guessed that the dwarf to be a sage or wise man, possibly the leader of the trio and so, Joseph turned to him, leaning close
to the bearded figure. "We are here to give birth to the Son of God and we are in fear of our lives from Herod's men" Joseph's voice
was low and yet firm.
Tibbs nodded and said "We are here to assist good Sir" and with that, the group moved off into the night.
Ninurta took point with the reins in one hand and the other resting on the jutting butt of the pistol in his belt.
...........................................
As Ninurta led the donkey along, the entire unlikely crew in tow, he pondered the situation. Sure, he was aware of the legends,
but never had much thought about a basis in reality.
If this WAS, in fact, a reality.
These little magic trinkets had dropped him into some unusual situations of late. On top of being some sort of cross-dimensional,
or cross-time, or cross something-geegaws, they seemed as well to somehow translate languages with a certain flair.
Not wanting to get too deeply into an over-analysis of things (Margo always said he had a tendency to over-analyse) Ninurta decided
it was sufficient to agree with whichever 20th century writer had said that any technology sufficiently advanced would be indistinguishable
from magic.
That settled it - it was all magic, and magic was real. No need for further explanations in the Gunman's mind.
He could move on to other things.
This Joseph fellow had insinuated that there might be trouble brewing with some petty tyrant's military muscle.
Ninurta strained, but couldn't quite recall the specifics of the legends. Something about a whole lot of kids being killed, and here he was
in party with a woman about to give birth. To a kid.
Eyeing the raging snowstorm, he figured that an imminent attack was the least of their worries.
Soldiers were soldiers, and they'd be loathe to get out into a mess like this when they could just as easily slay young-'uns when the storm
slacked up. That left shelter to be found.
Ninurta had noticed, from the top of a hillock as they had trekked through the snow to meet this couple, a farmstead in the distance,
a bit further along the road. It was towards that goal that he led the tiny one-assed caravan. Most primitive societies had pretty stringent
rules as to hospitality, and he was hoping this one was no different.
Nearing the farmstead, he was surprised to note that the looks of it up close suggested that it was probably more of a way-station, which
brought him a bit of relief. No need to worry about hospitality when it could be had for a price. Upon arrival, the Gunman found a place in
the lee of a building that would keep the worst of the wind and snow off of the travellers while accommodations were being negotiated.
"Come on, Joe, let's go get some rooms. Once we get everyone settled, we can come back and look after your donkey".
The bearded man wearing a dishtowel on his head just blinked and said "Who?" evidently unaccustomed to being referred to as "Joe".
"Whaddaya think you are, an owl? YOU! Come on, let's get it done. Yer missus has been out in the cold long enough."
With that he set off for the hostelry, not even looking back to see if Joseph was following. Joseph scrambled to catch up, and the
two reached the door simultaneously.
Inside it was a seething mass of humanity, packed wall to wall with travellers. Forcing a way through the crowd, Ninurta found the
proprietor, with Joseph right on his heels to take advantage of the holes in the crowd the tall man made.
"Sir! Sir! We need a couple of rooms. Got two separate parties traveling together, but two rooms ought to do it - one apiece".
He hefted the coin bag that he had "liberated" from a bounty hunter from another yarn, for emphasis.
The Inn Keeper eyed the bag. He was loathe to turn away hard coin, but he just didn't have any rooms left.
This tall lunatic ought to have been able to figure that out just by looking around. "I'm sorry, sir, but I've got nothing left. As you can
see by looking around, I'm packed full. It this damnable census."
"Every man and his brother -and wife, and kids, and stock -well, everyone -is converging on Jerusalem. I've been slammed by it."
The man looked haggard, and sincerely apologetic, but it appeared there was nothing he could do.
"Well, I might not have made myself clear. There's a pregnant woman in the party, and she's nigh on to bustin'. Looks like she's about
to deliver at any moment. We really NEED at least one room."
The Inn Keeper looked even more morose, but simply shifted from foot to foot, and shrugged. "Sorry, sir, but I REALLY have nothing
to spare." He gave his best helpless look along with the shrug.
Ninurta shifted gears. Maybe if this fellow saw a sale leaving, opinions may change.
"Alright, boss. How far to the next Inn? We might be able to make it in this... storm..." he left the thought trailing. The Inn Keeper looked
even more helpless, if that were possible.
"You're not likely to find much of anything. The whole area is slammed with outlanders in for the Census, as I said before.
The storm, well, it's got ALL of them looking for lodging. I daresay that everywhere is booked solid.
This is not even Jerusalem - this is Bethlehem, and you've still got a few miles to go to Jerusalem. It'll only get worse closer in."
He shrugged, again. That was getting annoying to the Gunman. He bit down on a response, considering the number of bodies between
himself and the exit and simply turned toward the door. "Let's go, Joseph. This cat ain't no help at all." and started toward the exit.
"Cat?" Joseph echoed, and started off with Ninurta. He really couldn't see any feline qualities to the Inn Keeper at all.
Seeing a sale about to walk out into the storm, the Inn Keeper had a sudden epiphany. "Wait!" he shouted, gaining the attention of the
pair. Ninurta abruptly turned at the hail, and Joseph, preoccupied with the imminent birth, nearly ran into him, then turned back to the
Inn Keeper himself.
"Speak..." the agitated Ninurta commanded the inn-keep. "...I've not got all night to find lodgings."
"Well..." stated the inn-keep, "...that's why I stopped you. Now, it's not much, but it could be at least shelter from the storm.
I've got a stable out back, a place where we shelter the livestock when the weather is inclement. You might be able to work out a place
in there, to at least stay out of the snow."
The Gunslinger's gaze darkened, and the Inn Keeper hurriedly added "Of course I'd not charge you the full price for an actual room."
Ninurta cut him off right there by leaning toward him and stating, just above a whisper, "If you shrug again, I'm gonna break both of
your shoulders." Somewhat more loudly, in a conversational tone, he continued "We've got one donkey. I'll pay you shelter and board
for two donkeys to let us stay there, not a damned dime more."
The inn-keep, not sure what a 'dime' was, started haggling immediately. "Well, now, I'm not sure I could go that low..." and tall man
in the strange garb cut him off again by leaning towards him and adopting the whisper again. "I'll bet you by God you CAN go that low!"
and he grinned that disturbing grin of his.
The Inn Keeper blanched. "Well, yes, of course. I see just what you mean. After all, it's not exactly world class accommodation...
I can probably accept that deal..."
Ninurta leaned back, and put on his lopsided grin, which was only slightly less disturbing.
"Alright, it's agreed then. We'll pay full price for meals, and what we've agreed to for 'lodgings'."
He dropped a couple of the strange, off-world coins into the innkeepers hand. The innkeeper looked at them, didn't recognize them,
but was well aware of the many unusual and foreign sorts of coin that came his way in this business, in this place.
He started to shrug, looked at his new guest, and thought better of it, merely pocketing the coins. "They'll do" he said, with an
obsequious smile. "Stables are out back. I'll send someone round later to see that you've settled in, and find out if there's anything
else you'll be needing."
Ninurta turned on his heel, and made for the door, with Joseph again in tow.
...........................................
(To Be Continued)
Edith Head Gives Good Wardrobe.