The Chronicles Of Otis Swift

Adebunmi Akinkuotu

Professor Sandridge

Greek Literature

15 September 2007

The Chronicles of Otis Swift

This is the account of the adventures of Otis Swift, famed strategist in the War of Ragnarok. One of the few American soldiers to survive the war, Otis was sidetracked by problems with his brigade’s ship. Therefore, he and his team were forced to travel on land vehicles in search of the nearest airport, where he and his fellow men could safely return to their loved ones. However, along the way, Otis and his men endured many hardships, and unfortunately, Otis was eventually the lone survivor, stranded in the dwelling of Giselle on the island of Cyprus. After narrowly escaping her clutches after several years, he finds himself stranded in a foreign land. Amidst the presence of a king and his people, he is forced to reveal his identity in order to better his chances in returning home. Now, the story begins.

“Stranger, why are you being so secretive towards us?” said King Hakim. “We of the land of Zamunda are intellectuals by nature, so little escapes our sight. I do admit, at first glance, I assumed you were a lowly Westerner with the reasoning of mongrels, but after your performance at the Academic Bowl, you revealed that there is some intellect residing within you. So, tell us, who are you, and what is your story?” “King Hakim, I appreciate your courtesy in welcoming me, even as a stranger, into your kingdom,” spoke Otis. In return for your kindness, I will gladly tell you of my excursions.”

First of all, my name is Otis Swift, swift in body, spirit, and mind. I was known as the greatest strategist of all the soldiers at Ragnarok. For a decade, nations from around the world were in battle over the fortune of the Garden of Eden, a hidden treasure that would grant the discoverer untold riches. In the end, my men and I were able to outwit the other nations and claim the treasure of the Garden of Eden as our own. At the conclusion of the war, my squad and I were to return to America by ship, but one of our rivals, Britain, inflicted severe damage to our ships, and Germany, using updated technology, disrupted our jets. We called out to our superiors in the mighty Pentagon for aid, but they were at the time dealing with one of our traitorous men, Sergeant Bush, and could not reach us at the time. Our only transportation was the leftover ATVs we discovered in an enemy base. So we set off to find an airport in which we would take flight and return home. However, without our radar, our task seemed impossible, yet we fearlessly took off.

After several days of wandering, we landed in a small village known as Jericho. The villagers appeared to be a peaceful people, and I was eager to ask for their aid, but my men recklessly invaded the village and robbed them of their goods. I told them that since we were in foreign land, the enemy could ambush us at any moment. However, they did not heed my warnings and in their drunken stupor, they carelessly fed off the villagers’ goods. Unknown to us, one of the villagers escaped and warned a neighboring village of our actions. The neighboring village was a land of skilled warriors, and when the sunset came, they retaliated, and their numbers quickly overwhelmed us. Sadly, we were forced to retreat after losing several of our men.

The following day, my men were tired and hurt from yesterday’s ambush. So I sent a few of my men who were the least injured from the battle to scout the area and locate an area where we could safely treat our wounds. Yet for three days, no word from the scouts came to us. I was concerned and was about to go search for them when one of the scouts returned the following afternoon. He stated “Otis, the scouts are in trouble! After fighting off some wild animals, we found a small town known as Tyre, which was filled with peaceful people. Being tired and wounded from battle, we asked if they had anything to treat our wounds. They gave the other scouts a medicinal powder; they called it вЂ?angel dust.’ The people said it would free us of our despairs. After ingesting the powder, the scouts’ wounds were less troublesome, but they lost their desire to return back to camp. It was as if they had lost their memory.” I asked him to quickly show me the location of the town, where we found our men in a forgetful daze. As I tried to revitalize their spirits, some of our men were tempted to take the medicinal powder, for their wounds were painful. However, with the aid of a few men, we forcefully took them out of the city before they took the “angel dust” and set camp nearby an oasis.

For a week, the fruits from the plants at the oasis sustained us, but my men complained that the food was no longer pleasing to them. So we set off during the cool night, and traveled until we came upon a shining city. We came upon a huge hotel in the land of Syria, and upon entering, one of my men noticed that the place seemed inhabited but there was a cafÐ"© filled with an abundance of food. I told him, “Fetch some of the fruits we have leftover from the oasis. We’ll make him a fruit basket while we dine here as kings!” My men were delighted to hear this, and we feasted for the rest of the night. The following morning, some of the men stated that we should take what little goods we could store on our vehicles and take off, for they feared having to fight in battle as we did in the land of Jericho. However, I ignored them and stated to my men, “The place is desolate! Why do you worry? Besides, if there is a resident here, we must thank him for the great food that we’ve have. So, just relax, and I’ll share with you some of my wine that given to me as a gift from Commander Caesar.” With their spirits at ease, they continued to party and dine throughout the day.

The next afternoon, the sound of lumbering footsteps woke me from my slumber. When I opened the door, I could not believe what was before my eyes. There was a man, who almost eight feet tall and carrying dogs the size of me! I gathered my courage and spoke, “Greetings, sir, what brings you here to this place? I take it you must be the owner of this grand hotel. Will you allow us to stay here longer so we may fully recuperate from our injuries? We have a fruit basket here to repay you for your kindness.” The behemoth laughed and replied, “Greetings,