5. The Singer on a 'Boar'ing Quest


The Erymanthian boar had built itself a reputation for the destruction it could wreck. But Harvi had nothing to fear. His snake oil income ensured he had the money to buy the most sophisticated hunting gear against which the boar’s might would be but a joke. But availability of capital and technology alone did not guarantee the success of a venture. The regulatory framework also had a critical role to play. And that was the constraint here. If he tried something funny he would fall foul of Diana again as the boar was a wild animal and would fall very much under her domain. And even a Goddess does not fall for the same trick twice. So he had to think of an alternative.

He remembered one of his friends mentioning a site called oDesk where you can hire freelancers for your projects. He logged on to the site using internet on his mobile phone and posted the hunting assignment. Now he just had to wait for someone to pick up the project. He would outsource the dirty work to them while he relaxed. When the job was finally done, he just had to front end with the aliens for the final presentation.

Computers seem to have made people too lazy. Everyone wanted only desk jobs. There didn't seem to be any takers for field assignments. However one French team finally agreed to take up the assignment. They would be arriving there for the briefing next morning. But there was a small catch. They did not want to be paid in cash. They instead wanted some of the boar meat as payment. This was going to be a challenge but he would cross the bridge when it came.

The Frenchmen were dressed in odd looking clothes and looking likes buffoons escaped from a circus. One was a huge fellow with a large belly, thick red whiskers and long red hair braided into pig tails on either side. The other one was a spunky little one with yellow hair hidden by a helmet, thick yellow whiskers, a leather pouch hanging from his belt and a sword by his side.

The smart one spoke up, “Greetings, friend. I am Asterix and this is my friend Obelix. We hail from Armorica, a  little fishing village in the land of Gaul.

And this is our friend Dogmatrix. He just loves trees”, added the large one pointing to the little dog accompanying them.

Harvi checked his Google maps and gave them directions to Erymanthos. As he saw them disappear into the jungles, he began to wonder if he knew these guys from somewhere. They looked oddly familiar. Then suddenly it came to him. Ah! The comic he had seen in his friend’s room the other day was about these guys only. Asterix and Obelix, eh?

If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” He remembered his strategy professor's favorite Sun Tzu quote.  He knew himself too well, the scoundrel that he was. So he would definitely not succumb in every battle. But in order to ensure victory every time, he had to know the other party as well.

He decided to put the waiting time to good use: researching about these two guys. He searched the internet for all Asterix comics available on bit torrent and downloaded them. By the time he had been through 4-5 of them, he knew everything he needed to know.

These guys had a magic potion which made them invincible. The big one had fallen into a cauldron of magic potion when he was still a baby. So he was superhumanly strong though a bit addled in the head. The smaller one on the other had was goddamn smart but needed to take swigs of the potion for invincibility. These Gauls had two ruling passions: one of them was boar meat. That was the problem. The other passion: the solution lay there. But he had to take a gamble. And a gambler he was, indeed. Only the gambler, who went all in blind, raked in the big bucks. Having made his plans, he waited. He did not have to wait  too long  however. It was not long before he could hear the stomping sound of Obelix’s large feet and Dogmatrix’s barking in the distance. These guys seemed to real pros who knew their business well.

Here is your boar, friend. We are hungry. Light up a fire and let us start the cooking.

Harvi had his answer ready, “Be patient, friends. Let us have the feast in Mycenae. My friends are waiting for me there with the cooking pot ready. I also have an additional surprise waiting for you there.

As they neared Mycenae a glorious spectacle greeted them. A huge Roman army was arrayed there with an impressive leader at the head. This was exactly what Harvi had been hoping for. He had been right in assuming after Cleopatra, the alien would assume the form of Julius Caesar. The gamble had paid off. Obelix let out a whoop of joy on seeing the Roman army. He dropped the boar and rushed headlong into the army. Asterix also took a quick drought of the potion from his pouch and rushed after Obelix. Soon Roman soldiers were flying in all directions. That was the other passion of the Gauls: bashing up Romans soldiers!

Harvi made use of the opportunity to retrieve the boar and slip in through the lines to the leader of the army who was cowering at the back.

He handed over the boar to Julius Caesar. “Here is your Erymanthian boar. Four tasks down, eight more to go, eh?

The alien was still too stunned from the bashing they were receiving from the Gauls to even say something. The battle had been carried to the aliens now. They must now be realizing how grossly the had underestimated the human race.

Next Part of the Story         : Singer in a Dirty Picture
Previous Part of the Story   :  Singer on a Wild Deer Chase
First Part of the Story         :  Singer on the Roof 

Picture credit : Boar Picture

21 comments:

umashankar said...

This is getting curiouser anf curiouser. The Sikh has unleashed the Gauls on the Aliens, all thanks to the Internet. Vodafone is going to rot in hell if they don't select this saga.

DS said...

Twists and turns happening now. The plot seems to be getting thicker too!! This Harvi guy is just too cleverly thought out.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot, umashankar for continuing to support this series. I need all the support I can get to motivate myself to keep going on this.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, DS, Hope it is not getting jaded yet. I was a bit scared if story is sagging a bit.

dvirada said...

Solution to each maze is getting superlative than the previous one.

It's amazing how incessantly you have penned down the posts within a short period of time with unfading enthusiasm.

After Diana,Asterix, Obelix, Cleopatra and Ceaser, I am wondering who will greet us in the next post? The curiosity is surely killing me like it did to the cat:)

It's quite apparent how deep and profound your knowledge about mythologies is. You have beautifully woven all of them in the right places and at the right time. Kudos to your efforts:)

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot, dvirada. I am trying to maintain tempo to write a long story. Been doing only short ones for too long. Hope I am able to pack in some more surprises in the next episode as well.

RioZee said...

astonishing zeal and vigor, clearly shows. hats off, dude. keep it up.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, PL. Look forward to your support till the end to help me maintain my zeal and vigor.

Ghumakkar Punit said...

Every take is just superb...Awesome man! You surely are a word-magician... 4down, 8 to go...later for me too :))

Someone is Special said...

Uff.. I'm curious.. Let me read the next..

T F Carthick said...

Do check out the others also and let me know what you think, SIS.

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot Punit for the superlative praise. Do look forward to see you till the end of the series.

indu chhibber said...

PHEW! I HAVE JUST READ ALL THESE POSTS IN ONE GO,I HAVE NO SUPERLATIVES FOR THEM,,THIS IS A DIFFERENT CATEGORY ALTOGETHER-YOU ARE GOING TO WIN,OF COURSE!

T F Carthick said...

Thanks a lot, Indu. Your superlative words of praise make me happy. By the way, this is not the end. There are 5 more after this.

C Suresh said...

Getting better and better. Lovely idea that bringing in Asterix into Greek mythos via the Internet:)

T F Carthick said...

Thanks, CS. The moment I though boars, Obelix came to my mind.

Princess Poo said...

Woah! Awesome :D.
Loved the use of Odesk ;) :P :D.

The twist and turns are too great :D.
Love the way you have thought of all the aspects before writing ;).

T F Carthick said...

@Princess - I got the idea of Odesk from you only.

Vikas Khair said...

awesome and each installment better than the next .. I am reading them all in a go but haven't slept after the night shift so may have to stop and continue later. Awesome TF

T F Carthick said...

Thanks Vikas. Hope you come back and finish it later.

Unknown said...

Who said Sikhs aren't cunning! Good episode. :)

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