A small group of horsemen rode slowly through the Ishtar Gates into the city of Babylon. At the front of the group one man carefully held the reigns of anothers horse
"Well Polyxenidos, we are finally back in Babylon."
"Yes, it still smells the same, I can catch the faint odour of poppy behind the
."
"Well, we are near your house, the smell probably lingered"
"..."
"Can you see anything, the day is bright, I have to cover my eyes from the sun."
"No, nothing. I guess I have to face the fact I am blind. My career as a Strategos is over, I will never lead an army again. I am useless, I may as well go back to my old ways, passing the day with wine, poppy and prostitutes."
"Look, we both know you were useless as a general, we got lucky near Asaak. The reinforcements coming from the city meant we were able to surround the brigands, even then your orders lost us more men than we should."
"You have a strange way of trying to cheer me up Heronius."
"I'm not trying to cheer you up, I am making sure you don't start to wallow in self pity. You are a woeful general, but you are a more than capable politician, look at how you stirred up the last council meeting with your opposition to the sacking of Alexandria and your edict to vote in the Basileus' heir. You thought you would lose your head over that but here you are, alive. You are known now, you could become a force in Seleukeia, the Basileus knows you as a man of ideas not a man of courage and tactical nous."
"You are right, again. Seleukeia is not far, perhaps my career is not over. Perhaps it is only just beginning."
The horsemen rode through the city, the blind man more confident in his movement back in the city he had lived most of his life.
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