I toil, i toil, i slave, i slave, water in the ground disappeared long ago, and yet here i toil, dead wheat to reap and dead wheat to sow. I am the man who works the land and wakes the call of the dawn, yes, it is me. I rule this land and yet i rule nothing at all. I sing to the rhythm of the river and it does not sing back. I am this god his maker and yet god has left me here. I am the sufferer of this land and i control what happens.
— Hark!
Who goes there? It is a person at my field. What does this man need.
— Dromio, sufferer, vacant shell of the man, god has a use for you. Strip away your tired life, strip away your vacant skin and regain the birds in the sky and the water on this arid [land].
What purpose must god have for me? I am but the humble toiler of this land.
— That may be so, and if i am to be mistaken, god has no purpose for you. Yet how will you know without seeing his offers?
I look at the husks of grain and i turn back to this man. Yes sir I will fulfil god his command and i will recultivate the land with beauty and green. What am I sent to do?
— Kill the dragon of uvis sumur.
O weary traveller! I am but a man, nay, not even a man, a sufferer. What am i to do against uvis sumur? I cannot control my destiny, so what am i to do against the lord of the underground?
— God has chosen you, and it is your duty.
So it be. There is nothing for me to care for to distract my attention from god his word. My sheep are long dead, my wheat long dried. The hut I call home is not one that is needed to live. All I need are the clothes on my back. Yes i will vanquish him.
— So it be. Come o sufferer, the city awaits.
And so it was forty days and forty nights before the city was in view. The large tree walls blocked our entrance, but the traveller his lapis teeth [sharp wit] let us in. As our steps reverberated around the city, lowly citizens and loud merchants alike praised my name.
— Dromio, dromio, you must save us from uvis sumur, it is your duty and we thank you for it.
And I asked strong kumat (for that was the traveller his name) for what reason they knew my name, he laughed and chortled out in incredulity before dignifying my question with an answer.
— Sir dromio, every man, woman, and baby cradling this land knows of god his will unto you. You are our saviour, sir, and you must do this for us.
I closed my sullen eyes and opened them again. The trees, they swayed, dancing like the girls of the capital, the clamours of the street thundering rain and wheat[?] across the city, the rivers red from rock like blood, stone houses billowing with smoke from their little bonfires, the great bonfire hosting the roast. If this was what uvis did to this land, then how much better is god able to make life?
— O dromio, this is sheer poverty. Life was so much better. The city was golden and beautiful, and kings were poor compared to the sufferers of this city. This is the city of gods dromio, and we were like gods before uvis sumur.
I suppose if god wishes for me to unclasp this city from the grasp of uvis sumur then i must.
— Hurrah!
The people cheered and sat me down at the bonfire. Boars, chickens, the ripest of figs and dates, most delectable of beers. We drank and feasted and combined the reign of masculinity and femininity for five days and nights before the journey was to begin. It was as if this city was perfect even after uvis sumur’s conquering. What had god blessed this land with before? The riches and wealth [of knowledge[ and joys [of life[ almost seemed to fantastic to be a truth. Yet uvis sumur was meant to be vanquished and it was so that i was the one meant to vanquish.
And so by the time i and kumat headed to begin our arduous journey, the people of the city song praises of us as we left, and we began our journey with water and food and comforts alike, all we needed to reach the heart of the deep forest to vanquish uvis sumur. And so we set off, our feet clambering across dirt and stone, walking and walking to the next town, when it became known that