Domitian had caught his breath from the previous rapid-fire burst. He took the bow again without speaking.
“Then why haven’t we heard more from the creature, Egyptian?” demanded Crispinus, as four more arrows slapped from the Emperor’s bow. The microcephalic dwarf was staring at N’Sumu and was pulling his own lips outward as if to draw them into a ring-shaped sucker like that of a lamprey. “Why haven’t there been reports of more farmhouses ravaged, travellers massacred—that sort of thing?”
“Masterful, lord and god! Incredible! Divine, truly divine!” twittered the crowd.
“It learns quickly,” said N’Sumu. “And I have no doubt that the beast was indeed injured, as your Lycon says—though I doubt he can imagine just how much punishment a, a sauropithecus can withstand and live.” The bronzed face twisted into a too-wide smile that was uncannily reminiscent of the dwarf’s contortions a moment before. “Live and live to kill again, I should emphasize. They are very aggressive. But not so aggressive that this one could not find a cave to hide in, to limit itself to small game while it recovers its strength. They are very clever, for animals.”
“How are you going to breed them?” asked Domitian suddenly. He was breathing heavily as he handed the bow again to his loader. “Unless you already have another, you’ll need to return to Africa to capture a breeding pair.” The pads of Domitian’s right thumb, index finger and middle finger were callused, but even so the long morning of archery had turned them an angry red. “Best to recapture this one for the arena, and if the sauropithecus provides as entertaining a spectacle as has been reported, then you and Lycon can journey to Africa and bring back a shipload of the beasts.”
“Lord and god, such will be most difficult,” the Egyptian said with an obsequious tilt of his head. The guards were still a bronze-breasted wall between him and the Emperor. “The sauropitheci come from beyond the upper reaches of the Nile, from the very heart of Africa—a long and uncertain journey to be sure. Moreover, these creatures are exceedingly rare—a severe drought in recent years has all but annihilated their natural hunting grounds.”
“I’d understood the creature was from the Aures Mountains,” Crispinus interjected, to show his determination to protect the Emperor from charlatans—and anyone else whom imperial whim might decide to add to the court circle along with the dwarf, various sorts of prostitutes—and Crispinus. “And as any educated man knows, the Nile flows across Africa and into the ocean on the other side. The Phoenicians found species of crocodiles there identical to those of Egypt. Are you sure you know what you’re talking about, Egyptian?”
“Quite sure,” N’Sumu said. His eyes focused on the courtier as if Crispinus were a slab of meat on a butcher’s block. Still staring at Crispinus, the Egyptian went on. “If I may have your leave, lord and god, to proceed in informing you?”
“Granted,” said Domitian softly. He was beginning to smile also, though no one around him could be certain of the reason. Crispinus was beginning to perspire heavily, as if he too had been a participant in the archery.
“Doubtless this sauropithecus was driven far to the north by this same drought I have described,” N’Sumu continued, smiling again and toward Domitian now. “There it was captured, almost certainly in a weakened state, by the Numidians. Now, the sauropitheci invariably travel in pairs, but no doubt the other one died from starvation, and just this one survived. From the description I’ve heard, there has been no mention of the striking red crest and the long curved horn in the center of the forehead that characterizes the male of the species. So it is the female which survived, and she is almost certainly gravid. They breed very actively, these sauropitheci, and the female continues to lay fertile eggs through several broods. All we have to do is capture this one, provide her with a secure place for parturition, then wait for her to produce chicks.”
The Egyptian paused. With a smile whose humor only the Emperor himself seemed to appreciate, he added: “And we must provide her with food, of course. Considerable quantities of food. But the meat need not be slaughtered before we offer it to the creature—and your divine excellency will not find these feedings dull.”