Dear diary, I am on top of the world

“So what do you think?” Kuro asks.

“Well, this is definitely Earth, but I was a bit off on my Rome command. I am pretty sure Alexandria is in Egypt.” I say while eating breakfast. Somehow, Kuro managed to get some of the local coins, and I don’t really want to ask how he got it.

“Do you know much about it?” Kuro asks.

“Not really, It was not really covered in my history lessons. All I remember is that it should have a very impressive lighthouse.”

“Well, that is at least something to look at,” Kuro says.

“Agreed, so we go look for it then,” I say as I stand up.

Finding the lighthouse is not that difficult. We just have to go to the coast, and then it is not hard to spot. The massive structure jutting up high into the sky. On a platform some distance in the water.

“Okay, that is kind of impressive,” I say.

“Is it? It looks like a bunch of stacked rocks to me.” Kuro says dismissively.

“I mean, sure, but it was made entirely by hand without any power tools. That is at least a bit impressive.”

“I see, so not only what is built but how something is built can make it impressive.”

“I guess so. Yeah, I mean, building something by hand is always more impressive than letting a machine do it.” I say, looking at the thing.

“So, should we try to get in?” Kuro asks in a mischievous tone.

“We should at least give it a try,” I say with a smile.

We start to head towards the lighthouse, following the small bridge towards the massive structure. From up close it is even more impressive. The thing was towering high above us. There are soldiers all around the small wall surrounding the structure.

“Halt, what reason do you have for coming here?” the soldier at the entrance asks.

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“I was told to take a look out at the top of the lighthouse,” I say with the best smile I could muster.

“Right then, in you go, the stairs are to the right.” He says, looking at me with concern but not voicing whatever thoughts he has.

I smile and walk inside, heading straight for the stairs, if you can even call them that. I guess the translation skill still has some flaws. The actual structure is more akin to a ramp that slowly slopes up to the top of the building. The ramp is rather wide, probably to accommodate the transport of whatever material they are using to burn at the top. Now, though, it allows me to stand easily aside when other people come walking through.

Once we get to the top, the view is great. There is some kind of basking at the top where a fire most likely burns during the night, but since it is the day, the fire is out. I lean over the balustrade taking in the view of the city as the wind plays with my hair. All the ancient buildings almost seem to shine in the sunlight as the small ancient sailing ships float in the harbour. I guess this is one of those good things about travelling and seeing wonders.

“Traveller?” I am brought out of my revelry by Kuro's concerned voice.

I walk to the other side to inspect what he is up to. And am surprised there is a fleet of ships outside of the city floating in some kind of formation encircling the harbour. Sure, it does not block anyone exactly from leaving, but you have to sail between the ships to leave.

I frown. It looks costly, and the way the city is built would not be easier to post a guard at the little opening into the harbour. I am not sure canons have been invented yet, but I am pretty sure the bow and arrow have been invented. You could even use the lighthouse as a place to shoot from.

I take another look at the city, this time more at the surroundings of it. Outside its walls, I can see camps being set up and soldiers moving around. This is not a guard patrol at all. It is a wall making sure no one can help the city.

“It’s a siege,” I say with a frown.

“What is a siege?” Kuro asks.

I look at him, surprised, then just shrug. “Well, at this time, the weapons of war are not that advanced, yet we would still be fighting with sword and shield. So, having a wall that you can defend gives you a huge advantage. Since you can’t easily blow it up or circumvent it. So the attackers have to put themselves at a high risk to take over the city.” I explain.

“So the city would hold the advantage if the people from outside of it were to attack?”

“Exactly, so what the attackers do instead is lay a siege, basically blocking any traffic in and out of the city. By doing this, they hope the city will run out of food and be forced to surrender without them having to attack the walls.” I say.

“Then why don’t they pretend to surrender and attack when their guard is down?” Kuro asks while observing the ships.

“That I don’t know, but I assume they have thought of it before at least, so they probably have some kind of reason.”

“So what do we do now?”

“I don’t know. There is not much that we can do. I mean, I don’t want to fight in any conflicts, really, and I don’t remember how this one turns out.”

“Okay, so we lie low until the abacus is charged, and then we leave.”

“That sounds like the smartest plan; with a bit of luck, we get out of here before anything goes seriously wrong.”

“And what if something does go wrong?”

“We improvise our way out of it,” I say, noncommitting. “First, let's get out of here before we get drafted into the military.”