《Fury: Chronicles of the Titanomachy》


 Fury: Chapter 1.1 - Karson

    Volume I: Fury


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    Chapter 1.1


    Karson


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    Funerals mark the end of a life. It is the final farewell, not for the deceased, who is beyond caring any more, but for those who have loved them. It is a closing of a door, a way for the bereaved to have one last moment before the earth swallows the dead. It is definitely not known for being a beginning. But for me and my brother, it was a beginning.


    I grew up in the ghetto of Detroit, a few blocks from Gratiot Ave, in the infamous ¡°Red Zone.¡± My earliest memories were of crawling around a filthy room, my half-brother Ax crying in his high chair, looking for food. Our mother was on the couch, a needle sticking out of her arm and not moving. I must have been four at the time. That was when Kabiri came into our life.


    Kabiri was an ex-banger, a reformed gang member who went to prison, got a degree in social work, and hit the streets. He was the one who called the police when my mother stopped coming out of the house for more drugs, and he was the one who offered to foster us when none of her relatives came to claim either us or her body. Without him, we would have grown up to make the same mistakes that he had made, thinking we had no other options.


    And despite all the hell we gave him, from wanting to join the gang-of-the-week to stealing his car to go joyriding, at the end of the day, he was our father. Ax and I used to go with him down to Manning Street during the day, and watch him talk to the gangsters. He wore jeans and a button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, so that all his gang tattoos were showing. But he never wore any color other than white. He didn¡¯t want to be mistaken for a gangbanger, or anything other than what he was. Kabiri was an evangelist.


    Every day, he talked to people. He spoke about the present and what was happening between the gangs, and how hard life was. He talked to worried mothers about their sons, he talked to girls about their boyfriends, and boys about their girlfriends. He talked to clergy and he talked to the police, social workers and parole officers. But more than anything, he talked about the future. Kabiri wanted every gang member to know that they could have a future, one that didn¡¯t rely on the whims of gang leaders or a lifetime in prison. Kabiri didn¡¯t care if it was the Seven Mile Bloods, the Hustle Boys or the Maxout 220. He didn¡¯t care about race, color, ethnicity or gender. Kabiri was a humanist in the truest sense of the word, and he was respected for it. He was untouchable.


    So when Ax called me, shock literally took me to my knees.


    ¡°Bro, I got¡­¡± Ax¡¯s voice broke for a moment. ¡°I got bad news. Kabiri is dead. They killed him. Some sick fuck killed him.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t even fathom the news. Who would touch Kabiri?


    ¡°Wha¡­. I mean, what happened?¡±


    ¡°I dunno. Got the call from the precinct, Officer Stevens. You remember him?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Ax,¡± I said through a tight throat. ¡°I remember him.¡±


    ¡°We gotta claim the body.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± Kabiri¡¯s mother had disowned him and cut off all contact when he went to prison. She refused to believe he could reform himself. She had moved here from Lebanon with nothing, working as a maid and dishwasher to keep Kabiri fed and a roof over his head. She was a hard, stubborn woman. Her unyielding ways had cost her a son, but had taught him how to persevere.


    I left my apartment in a rush. I had just moved to a nice two-bedroom in a new complex, my first real place after starting my job as a high school history teacher. Ax was working at the docks as a welder, so his place was closer to Kabiri¡¯s than mine was. I drove to the precinct and parked behind Ax¡¯s new truck.


    Ax climbed out from the driver¡¯s seat. We were half-brothers, with no idea who our fathers were. Ax was stocky and muscular, from long hours in the gym in high school, and from heavy lifting in his job. He wore a company polo shirt and jeans, his hair cut neatly. He contrasted against my slimmer build, because no matter how many hours I lifted with him, I could never bulk up.


    I nodded, seeing his red-rimmed eyes matching my own. We walked into the precinct and after only a few minutes, were met by Officer Stevens. He was older and fatter than I remembered, probably nearing retirement age. His eyes had the look of someone who had spent decades on the streets of the most dangerous zip code in Detroit.


    ¡°Ax, Karson, good to see you again. Sorry it had to be like this, though,¡± said Stevens.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± I said gruffly. ¡°Do we have to, you know, identify him or anything?¡±


    ¡°No, we used fingerprints. It¡¯s him. You don¡¯t want to see him like this, anyway.¡±


    ¡°Like what?¡± asked Ax.


    ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go somewhere private.¡±


    I expected he was going to take us to an interview room, like they have on television. But instead, he took us to what looked like a break room. Lockers lined one wall, and a counter on the back had dozen of radios being charged, another dozen chargers laying empty. Two small break room tables with chairs scattered around them occupied the center of the room, one of them with a coffee cup still sitting in front of a seat, forgotten. The room smelled vaguely like a locker room, with the scent of stale coffee on top.


    ¡°Sit down. We should have a few minutes before next shift starts arriving.¡±


    We took seats, and Officer Stevens sat across from us with a sigh.


    ¡°Well?¡± asked Ax impatiently.


    ¡°A few weeks back, Kabiri stopped me on patrol, flagged me down. Word on the street was that people were going missing. Junkies, mostly. Maybe a few low-level bangers. No word on what was happening, or why. Not a gang thing, as far as he could tell. After the Red Zone raids a few years back, the gangs are keeping a low profile. I kicked it up the chain, but you know how it is.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re not white or rich, and no one is screaming in the press. Just another dead junkie, so who cares?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well,¡± said Officer Stevens uncomfortably. ¡°I let the other patrols know too, so they could keep an eye out. But if no one up high says anything? Not much we can do.¡±


    ¡°But Kabiri kept looking into it?¡± asked Ax.


    ¡°That¡¯s what I hear. A few informants have mentioned it, but that¡¯s, you know, Kabiri being Kabiri. He¡¯s gotta help everyone, whether they want it or not. Then this afternoon, get the call. Some high school kid found Kabiri¡¯s body in an alley off Linnhurst. I asked a few folks I know, but everyone is clammed up tight.¡±


    ¡°They all respected him, why didn¡¯t they say anything?¡± fumed Ax.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    Stevens cleared his throat. ¡°That isn¡¯t all. He was, ummm, he was tortured. A lot. Didn¡¯t even recognize him at first. It was a message to the gangs, I think. Mysterious group that no one knows, and the only person asking about them turns up tortured and dead?¡±


    ¡°Those bastards,¡± said Ax angrily. ¡°You guys are looking into this, right?¡±


    I put a hand on Ax¡¯s arm to calm him, but I was every bit as furious. But now was not the time or the place.


    ¡°Yeah, detectives assigned and everything,¡± said Stevens. ¡°So, umm, we arranged transport to McCleary¡¯s Funeral Home. I just need a few signatures, you know.¡±


    After we left the precinct, Ax stalked ahead of me to his truck. I ran to catch up.


    ¡°Hey, Ax, slow down a minute.¡±


    ¡°Karson, this shit can¡¯t stand,¡± he said, whirling on me. ¡°Those fuckers are going to poke around for a day or two, then give up.¡±


    ¡°I know it,¡± I replied. ¡°And you know it. But what they don¡¯t know is that we still know everyone in the neighborhood. We can ask questions, too, and we¡¯ll find those assholes.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said with a huff. ¡°Alright. After the funeral.¡±


    The funeral itself was surreal. The church was packed to the rafters with people. I saw Hustle Boys and Seven Mile Bloods sharing the same pews, police officers seated next to 6 Mile Chedda Grove bangers. I saw crying old ladies in their Sunday¡¯s best being comforted by ex-bangers in their nicest t-shirts and hats. I saw ministers and social workers in the mix, too. It was a truce of sorts, and all sides abided by it. Today was to bury Sayid Kabiri, and nothing else.


    At the graveyard, the crowd was much smaller. It was mostly police and social services that worked most with Kabiri, but some of the older gangsters were there too. I knew that more than a few had managed to move out from ¡°the life¡± with Kabiri¡¯s help. The graveside service was mercifully short, and the crowd began to break up at the end. Ax and I stood unmoving as the priest said a few meaningless words of comfort to us, watching as the cemetery workers began to lower the coffin into the earth.


    ¡°Hey, yo, Ax, Karson,¡± said a voice behind us. I turned to see a young banger I didn¡¯t recognize.


    ¡°Deon? Is that you?¡± asked Ax.


    ¡°Yeah, man, listen, so sorry about your boy Kabiri. I was talking to him, you know, about finding a real job, you know, maybe going back to school.¡±


    I nodded encouragingly. Deon seemed a little skittish.


    ¡°I just lost a lot, you know, and don¡¯t want to..¡± he trailed off for a minute. ¡°Anyway, I wanted to tell you, I saw him. That morning, I mean.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± asked Ax. ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°He been asking ¡®bout a purple cargo van with tinted windows. I told him I saw it. Said they¡¯ve been jacking junkies right off the street. I told him where I saw it. He said ¡®don¡¯t you go back there, they are doing bad shit¡¯. Anyways, that was the morning. I thought he¡¯d go tell the cops, you know? I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d go himself.¡±


    ¡°Where did he go?¡±


    ¡°Man, you ain¡¯t gonna go like he did, right?¡±


    ¡°No, not like him,¡± said Ax confidently. Kabiri wouldn¡¯t have gone armed. Ax and I had no such qualms. We were out for blood.


    It was near midnight, and we were sitting in Ax¡¯s truck a block away from an old, abandoned warehouse. We¡¯d seen a few people sneak into it while we watched, but none of them were coming back out. Finally, we saw a purple cargo van pull up. Someone jumped out, pulled open a big bay door, and let the van drove in. The door closed again, but the person stepped back into the shadows to act as sentry.


    I looked at Ax. ¡°I think it¡¯s time. Let¡¯s do this.¡±


    ¡°Like we did at Burnside?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± We¡¯d pulled a few things that Kabiri hadn¡¯t known about, and definitely wouldn¡¯t have approved of, when we were younger and stupider. We both put on gloves, and Ax fitted a pair of brass knuckles onto his right hand. Technically, I guess they were iron or steel, since they were black and silver, but hey, names have staying power. I pulled out two new hunting knives and handed one to him. I tucked a Glock into my belt, which got me a look.


    ¡°What? It¡¯s backup. In case things get noisy. No worries, it¡¯s clean.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t shoot your dick off.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, asshole.¡±


    We slipped out of the truck, pressing the doors quietly to close them, and Ax left his keys on a magnet under his wheel well. No sound. We slipped into an alley, and crept around to the warehouse. From here we could see the sentry watching the road, but he wasn¡¯t looking our way. I tapped Ax, pointed at him, then pointed at the sentry. Ax nodded and swept forward.


    The sentry didn¡¯t notice Ax until it was too late. He turned and started to reach for his belt, but Ax clocked him in the head with his brass knuckles. The sentry was down without a sound. I got there just as Ax stomped on his head. I gave him a look, not sure he could see it in the dark.


    ¡°What?¡± he whispered. ¡°Just making sure he doesn¡¯t get back up again.¡±


    I bent over and plucked a handgun from the body and handed it to Ax. ¡°Not after that he won¡¯t.¡±


    The door behind the sentry was unlocked, so we slipped in. We could hear weird chanting from the back. There were old boxes piled around, letting us sneak closer to the chanting. The back of the warehouse was lit, but it was an odd, flickering light.


    ¡°Who are you?¡± said a voice to my left. Without hesitation, I leapt toward it, and stabbed with my knife. A hand grabbed my wrist, forcing it away, so I swung my head forward in a vicious headbutt. By now, Ax had jumped in and grabbed him from behind. My knife hand was free. I stabbed forward again, and was rewarded by the feel of it sinking into flesh. Again and again I stabbed, until the man collapsed, and Ax released his grip.


    Ax clapped me on the shoulder, and I shuddered. I had just stabbed someone. It had been a long time since I¡¯d dealt in violence. Blood begets blood, whispered Kabiri¡¯s words in my head. But my desire for vengeance was stronger than Kabiri¡¯s words. We stalked forward, and could finally see what was happening.


    Nine men in purple robes stood in a circle. Their hoods were up, and the robes were tied with gold ropes. Candles gave the area an uncertain light, but it looked as though they were standing around a well of some sort, with eerie purple light pulsing from inside. Above the well was a young man, tied by his ankles and dangling over the well. He was stripped naked, and they had carved something into his chest. I couldn¡¯t make out the symbol through all the blood. His mouth was gagged, but he was struggling for all his worth to try and get his hands free.


    Behind them was the man who was clearly the mastermind. He stood outside the circle, on the far side of the well, and he was in a shirt and tie. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows, and his hands were bloody. The man¡¯s gaze was gleeful as he watched the strange ritual, a curvy dagger dangling casually from one hand.


    ¡°I think things are going to get noisy,¡± said Ax.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re right,¡± I said as I shifted my knife to my left hand and pulled the Glock from my belt. I turned off the safety. ¡°I¡¯ll take left. Let¡¯s go!¡±


    As plans go, this one was a little light on the planning and heavy on the ¡®dive in without thinking¡¯. In hindsight, and I had plenty of time for hindsight, we should have taken more time for planning.


    In the time it took us to pull out our handguns and get ready, they¡¯d had time to slit the throat of the poor bastard hanging over the well. The chants rose to a crescendo, as we rushed forward. A dozen paces back, we stopped and took a shooter¡¯s stance and opened fire. The chanting stopped abruptly as the first few cultists were struck and fell. Several ran away, and three of them ducked behind the well.


    Bereft of other targets, Ax and I turned our guns on the man in the tie. Here is where things got even weirder. The bullets bounced away, as if he had some sort of invisible shield. Then we were out of bullets, and we were outnumbered. I dropped my gun and readied my knife as Ax charged in. I followed a half-step behind him.


    A cultist tackled me from the shadows, and I stabbed blindly. I shoved the cultist off me, to see my brother smashing a cultist in the face before turning to stab another. The man in the tie didn¡¯t look gleeful anymore. Now he looked angry, and he was running straight toward Ax¡¯s back. I raced to intercept, but didn¡¯t quite make it in time. Ax tumbled forward and over the edge of the well.


    I dove after him, grabbing blindly before grasping his forearm. Ax grabbed my arm with both hands, but the sudden weight pulled me completely off balance. I flailed with my other hand, trying to grab something, anything. The well below was was a swirl of dull, purple light.


    I grasped cloth; it was thin, like a rope, so I clutched it tight.


    ¡°Release me! Kronos will not be denied!¡± rasped a voice, and I realized I had grabbed tie-man by his tie. I held tight, balanced precariously on the edge of the well. If tie-man pulled himself free, we would both fall. The tie-man clawed and scratched at my hand. I glanced back and saw him turning purple. Then I saw the fanatical gleam in his eyes as he started to lose consciousness. He stopped fighting, and leaned over the well. He was willing to fall with us.


    I saw the light in his eyes die, and the purple well of light below us shattered at the same time. We fell into a mass of color and chaos, and I felt true agony for the first, and possibly last, time in my life.

 Fury: Chapter 1.2 - Karson

    Chapter 1.2


    Karson


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    The warehouse dissolved above us. We were falling, but now we were falling in chaos. I clutched tight to Ax¡¯s arm so that I couldn¡¯t lose him in the madness. The rainbow cacophony of light and color was blindingly disorienting, the endless sounds and sights and smells assaulting our every sense.


    It felt like my flesh was melting away in frozen pieces at the same time it was burning. After a time, my eyes and ears stopped working, too damaged to function. But that didn¡¯t stop the chaos from buffeting me from all sides, assaulting me to my very soul. I focused on Ax, holding onto my brother, to keeping him with me. I had a half notion that somehow I could pull him to safety, but he had to be in the same agony as I suffered.


    We had to be dead now. I couldn¡¯t remember the last breath I¡¯d drawn, or the last time my destroyed vocal cords had screamed in agony. We could only be souls now, but could two souls cling together? What was the soul, after all, but a collection of who and what you are as a person? As I thought about souls, a deeper understanding of what they were infiltrated my brain. This new understanding of how souls interacted with the universe, and how they tied to the essential magic of existence bloomed within me. The philosophical debates of my college classes seemed meaningless and ignorant now, when I truly understood.


    But what was the soul without the body? The body was a necessary conduit for the soul to interact with existence. No disembodied soul could truly impart its wills and desires anywhere. In fact, a disembodied soul could easily get distracted by the minutiae of existence, and that existence, as I was learning, was quite painful if you wound up in the wrong place. Just the thought of pain reminded me of my own agony, so I focused once again on holding tight to Ax, trying to ignore the renewed assault.


    Some time later, my attention wandered back to the body, and I thought over how a body worked. The chaos around me seemed to like the order my brain, or perhaps my soul, was seeking. My knowledge of biology came through, and how the essence of existence tied the soul to the body became clearer. I understood how magic could heal or harm both body and soul, for they were linked as long as the body remained alive. Only here, in the chaos, could a strong soul survive by itself, at least for a time. But with that knowledge came relief. It was a relief to know that the agony would end, for even the strongest of souls would perish if they couldn¡¯t find an anchor in reality somewhere. I flailed for an anchor even as I wished for the end of my existence, for Ax would need a safe haven even if I could not endure.


    The nature of magic became my next distraction. It really was hard to maintain any one focus, for the pain would flare stronger at the least moment of inattention. I started to understand how magic could interact with the physical world, how it could be imprinted into places and things, to make places of power. Why was our reality so devoid of magic? It was barren, or almost so. Tie-man had some minor magic, but he had died in the end. I hoped he was suffering at least as much as I was. Ax. I had to hold on to Ax. Is this how a mind goes insane? Realities. I¡¯d thought realities. There must be more than one. A glimmer of knowledge began to seep in that there were a great many, and how they interacted with Primal Chaos. I began to wonder how they were made.


    Then the pain ended.


    ¡°What have we here?¡± rumbled a voice as old as mountains. I could sense the words more than hear them, for I¡¯d gone blind and deaf so long ago. ¡°Look what I¡¯ve caught in my net. I¡¯m a fisher of men!¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    The voice laughed at his own joke. I could sense that he was a powerful being of some sort, and he was holding me aloft to examine me. His gaze was palpable.


    ¡°I see. Two souls that have wandered a few octaves too deep. And you¡¯re going through time in the wrong direction! That must be painful. It¡¯s a wonder you¡¯re still in such sturdy shape. Holding tight to each other, too. Ah, brothers. If only all such familial bonds were so strong.¡±


    I blinked as my eyesight came back, as did my hearing. I couldn¡¯t move and couldn¡¯t turn my head to see Ax, but I clutched tighter anyway. Standing before us was a giant of a man, wearing a greek outfit of some sort, that was clasped only at the shoulder. A leather belt was tied around his waist, and leather sandals were tied up his calf. He looked straight out of some sword-and-sandals movie, complete with the curly brown hair and black eyes. He laughed at me.


    ¡°Yes, but you are the one out of time, not me,¡± he said.


    Is he reading my thoughts?


    ¡°I am reading your soul,¡± he corrected. I understood immediately.


    He regarded me carefully, thoughtfully. ¡°So what do I do with you? I see you reached deep within the Chaos, and the fire of vengeance burns strong. Your love of your brother carried you through. But are you strong enough? Will you sow what you reap?¡±


    The god, for that¡¯s all he could be really, turned to Ax. ¡°And you. Your loyalty is both your redemption and your downfall. Yet you are not unlike your kin. You are Kabiri, through and through. You have fire, held tight in bonds of steel. What will you build, with a fire that burns?¡±


    He wandered around the black bubble of space we occupied, puttering around doing unfathomable things and muttering to himself. ¡°Not there, the Atlanteans turned away. I foresee only doom. Hmm, yes, and adding them will cut it to less than a century instead of ten. I won¡¯t treat with the desert ones, those jackals. Thessaly, yes, that is good. The Devourer shall see the fruit of his bitter seed soon enough. As does the father, so does the son. Ah, yes, there. That¡¯s logical. That will have to do. Hmm, yes, she will play an important role. Strange bedfellows, these times do bring.¡±


    ¡°I have decided to help you,¡± said the giant man.


    Great, I thought. A muttering madman wants to help. We don¡¯t even know who he is.


    He laughed. ¡°Ah, the cynicism of your age and realm is most refreshing. I do so love seeing all those wonderful innovations from your world as well. Mankind is so endlessly inventive. It¡¯s your true gift, you see. No other mortal race is quite so¡­ adaptable. I am Prometheus. I like to come out here to think, to plan. I don¡¯t go swimming the way you did, of course. That would hurt. In fact, it might just kill me. There are Rules for a reason, you know.¡±


    Prometheus. My mind raced. The Titan who gave fire to men? The one who sided with Zeus against Cronus? My head swam at the implications. Those stories were mythology.


    ¡°I see you are a bit overwhelmed,¡± said Prometheus. ¡°No matter. Your understanding isn¡¯t necessary. You just need motivation. Kronos did indeed arrange for those cultists to gather in your city. His High Priest, Asphalion, is breaking all the Rules, trying to build new anchors for Kronos in many realities. Thus, Asphalion is the one who is directly responsible for Kabili¡¯s death. Is that motivation enough for you? Good. Go to Dodona. You will find allies there.¡±


    That bastard. At that exact moment, I didn¡¯t know if I was angrier at Asphalion for killing my father, or at Prometheus for turning hollow the victory we¡¯d had by killing the head cultist in the warehouse. But Prometheus was right. My anger was far from placated. I also understood exactly how those anchors were being placed, and how to break them. My vengeance would be had.


    ¡°Excellent. I suppose some healing will be necessary. You¡¯re both in terrible shape! If we were in a reality, you¡¯d both be dead!¡± He laughed again, amusing only himself once more. ¡°I guess we¡¯d better put a little knowledge in those brains of yours too, or you¡¯ll be killed before you learn the language.¡±


    Prometheus leaned over to where Ax was, just out of my line of sight. Then he came over to me. ¡°Remember me fondly, won¡¯t you? I don¡¯t foresee us ever meeting again.¡±


    He tapped my forehead, and an explosion of information burst into my head, tearing its way painfully into me. At the same time, I started to regain sensation in my body, and the agony struck me again. Mercifully, I passed out.

 Fury: Chapter 1.3 - Ax

    Chapter 1.3


    Ax


    <hr>


    That bearded prick wouldn¡¯t shut up. It was amazing that some guy that powerful would feel like monologuing like that instead of just getting on with it. You can¡¯t put your foot in your mouth if your mouth is closed, Kabiri used to tell me. Translation for teenager ears: don¡¯t talk trash and you won¡¯t get in any fights. Too bad I didn¡¯t listen much when I was a teenager. I got into a lot of fights.


    I passed out after he touched my head. But then I slept. I slept deep and hard, and after all the pain and agony, it was beyond amazing. It gave my poor, tortured brain a chance to really put together what I¡¯d experienced in that¡­ place. Chaos, Prometheus called it.


    For me it was all about pushing through the pain. Feel the burn, my gym coach used to say. Oh, I could feel it, alright. The brass knuckles on my hand were the most agonizing part for me. I could feel the metal turn red hot, burning into my skin endlessly. Then it would go the other way, getting colder and colder until my arm would go numb. Back and forth, back and forth. I would spend hours thinking about that metal, and how it worked, and why. The more I thought about it, the more I knew. It was incredible my understanding. That led me to thinking about other things like metals would work. Stone or minerals, obsidian or quartz or slate. My understanding of the earth seemed to grow and grow.


    Then I realized that I didn¡¯t really understand how the metal was getting hot, or how heat played a role. Before long, I was thinking deep and hard about fire, oxygen to fuel ratios, how flames could burn long and low, or hot and fast. I understood what made something flammable, and why the company I worked for used arc welding instead of oxyacetelyne torches. I even began to understand how the energy flowed, and how electricity and heat could be interchanged in certain conditions.


    The big picture of connecting all the dots of earth, fire and energy began to form, and how I could manipulate them to accomplish things began to form. There was an underlying force that allowed these different things to be changed, and I could do it, I was confident of that.


    Then I woke up, and I was falling to my knees in the dirt. I was stark naked, and my tattoos on my forearms were gone. I looked down to see my chest was perfectly sculpted muscle, my beer gut was gone. Had Prometheus just remade me completely? It was hot and sunny, and I heard gasps of surprise around me. I looked over to see Karson next to me, just as naked, and just as ripped. Karson had never been ripped like this before. He had also never gotten any ink, but that wicked scar on his back from climbing over a rusty fence when he was twelve was gone. He looked over at me and gave me a ¡®what the fuck¡¯ look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know man, I just got here,¡± I said to him.


    We stood up and looked around. We were in a village of some sort. Third world type, from what it looked like. Rudimentary houses of wood and mud lined the streets. Most of the houses had flat roofs, and most had narrow staircases leading up to them, although I could see some larger homes with peaked roofs at the end of the street. Well, I guess ¡®wide dirt path¡¯ was a better description than what I thought of as a street. We were surrounded by mostly men, and a few women. None of them had much in the way of clothing. Several of the men wore only a rectangular cloth, draped over one shoulder and pinned on the other. The cloth was plain and not dyed, and was clearly the only thing they wore. It¡¯s a chlamys, I realized, kind of like a cloak. Others wore only loincloths. These must be the poor, or slaves. How did I know this? Karson was the college boy. I worked for a living. That bearded prick must have done something to me.


    Others were wearing chitons, or tunics that were pinned only on the left shoulder, and belted at the waist. In the back of the small crowd were a few women, wearing colorful peplos. The peplos were rectangles of cloth folded over then pinned on both shoulders, before being belted at the waist to make a dress. It was a simple fabric to manufacture, and artfully done to look more complex than it was. I¡¯d seen modern dresses that looked similar.


    I bet that breathes pretty well in this heat, too, I thought. Several naked toddlers took off across the street, followed by a harried old woman. The clamor of the children seemed to break the spell of the crowd.


    ¡°They fell from the sky, out of nowhere!¡± said one of the men in awe. They were speaking Ancient Greek. Holy shit, I understood Ancient Greek. Although, seeing as we were all alive and talking, I guess it wasn¡¯t so ancient. Perspective and all.


    ¡°They must be sent by the gods!¡± cried another man. ¡°Tell us your names, Exalted Ones.¡±


    I exchanged a look with Karson, who shrugged. In English, he said, ¡°When in Rome?¡±


    I looked at the expectant crowd. I almost gave my full name of Alex Weyland. But I always went by Ax.


    ¡°I am Ax..erios.¡± For some reason, I knew that I couldn¡¯t sound too exotic. I¡¯d almost introduced myself by my nickname, but a compulsion made me spit out Axerios.


    Karson looked at me in confusion, probably feeling the same compulsion. He said, ¡°Axio..korsos. Son of Kabiri. But we are not demigods, you understand?¡± He smiled conspiratorially. ¡°It wouldn¡¯t do for any to know.¡±


    The crowd seemed to relax at this. One of the better dressed men stepped forward. ¡°Axerios and Axiokorsos. Are you brothers? Are both of you sons of Kabiri?¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± I said. ¡°Please, call me Ax and him Korsos. It prevents some confusion.¡±


    The man nodded eagerly. ¡°Of course, my Lords. I am Erxandros, I am the master of this village. Come this way, I would be most honored to host you in my home.¡±


    I looked at Karson, who shrugged again. ¡°Do as the Romans¡± he mouthed.


    We followed the man to one of the larger hovels in the village. I was being unfair. This place was already nicer than the neighborhood we¡¯d grown up in. The air was fresh, the sky was clear and sunny, the sun high in the sky and feeling like late afternoon. The houses were well kept. I could see goats and chickens wandering around, and at the end of the road I could see cultivated fields of wheat following a narrow dirt path leading away from the village. A stone well with a wooden lid sat in the center of the village, a bucket tied to a rope next to it on the ground.


    As we walked down the path between the houses, I noticed a distinct lack of transportation. There were few carts, all sized for men to push them, and no horses or donkeys. As we walked, I saw occasional faces poke out from houses. Few of the houses had actual doors, mostly lengths of thick wool fabric. The women were quick to hide away when I saw them, and the children all ran around as if this were an event. Although, in fairness, this probably was something they¡¯d talk about for years. And despite what a lifetime of nightmares of being trapped naked in school told me, no one seemed to care that Karson and I were bare as newborns.


    When we got to the large house, we were escorted through an actual wooden door, into a room with a rough stone floor and piles of mats on the floors. The building was split into two rooms and a courtyard, with a peristyle overhanging into the courtyard to provide shade. From the courtyard, a narrow staircase with no railing led up to the roof. The courtyard had some rudimentary cushioned stools, to which Erxandros directed them.


    If I¡¯m going to play along, I thought, might as well own it. I sat in the chair as if I didn¡¯t have a care in the world. To his credit, Karson did the same. Erxandros sat down nervously.


    ¡°Your timing is auspicious, Lords. Today is the Feast of the Great Mother. Even the slaves have a day of rest to celebrate the gods. It has been a good year; my family was even able to sacrifice a goat this year. It has been roasting since the offering this morning.¡± He smiled proudly at his pronouncement. ¡°It will be ready soon.¡±


    My stomach growled in anticipation. I¡¯d never eaten goat before, but how bad could it be? As I wondered that, a young boy carrying a large clay bowl full of fruit came into the room. It had grapes and apricots in it. He set it down on the floor before scampering away. Erxandros didn¡¯t comment on him at all, instead waving at the fruit.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    ¡°Please, enjoy.¡±


    I snagged an apricot and a small bunch of grapes, happy to eat. I could see Karson burning with curiosity though. He took a few nibbles of grape, before he couldn¡¯t contain his questions anymore.


    ¡°So, Erxandros, can you tell me about your village?¡±


    ¡°Oh, sure. Not much to tell, really. We grow grain and olives mostly, although the basilius who owns these lands had us start planting grape vines a few years back. You¡¯re tasting the first of those vines, actually. There are about sixty people in the village, if you count the slaves. Only about twenty-five or thirty if you don¡¯t. That¡¯s about it, really.¡±


    ¡°Slaves?¡± I asked. I didn¡¯t study much about ancient Greece, so I was a bit surprised by the casual mention of slavery. Then it clicked. He was the master of the village. It was his job to supervise the slaves. I frowned. ¡°Why so many? Why don¡¯t they just escape?¡±


    ¡°Escape, my Lord? Why would they want to do that? They get well fed, they have homes that don¡¯t leak when it rains, and I don¡¯t beat them unless they are lazing about. What more could they ask for?¡±


    Karson laid a hand on my arm and stepped in. ¡°Those are fair points, Erxandros. The gods only know how hard it is to earn money in these times. Freedom doesn¡¯t fill the belly.¡±


    Erxandros nodded firmly, and Karson caught my eye and gave a subtle shake of his head. I settled back and let the subject drop. I was going to have a talk with him about it later, though. Conversation grew more relaxed as Erxandros found Karson to be a rapt audience. They discussed crop yields, weather and births, all major subjects in a small village such as this.


    Finally, food began to arrive. The young boy was back, carrying a small table. Behind him was a young woman and a teenage girl, carrying a large platter with what looked to be most of a roasted goat on it. The young woman couldn¡¯t have been more than twenty-five, considerably younger than Erxandros. She was attractive enough, clean and wearing a colorful linen peplos. But my eyes were caught on the beautiful girl. She was so pretty that she seemed completely out of place in this small village. She couldn¡¯t have been more than eighteen, and she was a knockout. Erxandros would have his hands full keeping the boys away.


    ¡°Lords, this is my wife, Klymene, and my daughter, Latona. Klymene is my head wife, after my first head wife passed on two years back. We haven¡¯t yet managed a child together, but I have hopes of another some day. Latona has become quite fond of her.¡± Erxandros waved the two women away.


    As they left, Klymene began coughing. It was a deep, wet, nasty cough that had her nearly bent double. Erxandros seemed mildly embarrass.


    ¡°Apologies, my Lords. Klymene came down with the lung illness this past winter. I also think she may be infertile. Despite all that, I¡¯ve grown quite attached. If I truly want another child, I will probably take another wife. Even still, Klymene has been good to me, so I won¡¯t divorce her even if she can¡¯t bear a child.¡±


    ¡°That is very kind of you,¡± said Karson diplomatically.


    Our host pulled a dull-looking bronze knife from the platter, and began to saw at the meat. I could sense immediately that the knife had many issues. It itched at me, the wrongness of the blade. Erxandros, for his part, didn¡¯t seem to notice how long it was taking to cut through perfectly tender meat. Finally, I could take it no more.


    ¡°Erxandros, if you don¡¯t mind?¡± I held out my hand for the blade. He looked confused, but handed the knife to me. The blade was a solid six inches long, double-edged and tapered in a triangle from the hilt to the tip. I ran my fingers down the tang of the blade.


    ¡°The alloy is unbalanced. There is too much tin, and too many impurities,¡± I said. I could feel power bubbling to the surface inside me. I let it go, and cupped my hand as if to pull the impurities out. Amazingly, a ball of tin and various trace metals began to pull off the blade. The blade shrank slightly, losing perhaps a quarter-inch of length, but was now slightly misshapen. I dropped the tin to the ground, and used my magic, for that¡¯s what it clearly was, to reform the blade to its original shape. As a finishing touch, I ran my fingers down each edge to hone it to a razor edge. I held the knife back out to Erxandros.


    Our host¡¯s jaw was dropped, and I could see that Karson was equally astonished - he just hid it better. He took the knife, and marveled at how easily it sliced through the goat meat. He served us each a plate of roasted meat and a generous helping of large, black olives. A few minutes later, the young boy was back, this time with a clay wine jar and several simple cups.


    ¡°Will your family be joining us for dinner?¡± I asked.


    ¡°That would hardly be proper. They will eat in the women¡¯s room, with the boy to attend them,¡± Erxandros said. Then he looked up with a sly look on his face. ¡°Perhaps you are looking for a wife? I can pay a handsome dowry.¡±


    ¡°No, no,¡± I backtracked immediately. ¡°I was merely curious. We have our own tasks ahead of us.¡±


    With any luck, the vague answer would come across as mysterious. Considering the primitive village we were in, and that we were hailed as gods, that could work.


    ¡°I understand,¡± he said with a nod. ¡°It is probably for the best. She has had her eye on the slave boy, Polybius. He¡¯s a reliable sort, and he¡¯ll be able to buy his freedom with the dowry, and provide well for her. I may even adopt him, if I have no sons of my own.¡±


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t want to interfere with any such planning,¡± said Karson diplomatically.


    Finally, the endless meal came to an end. The women came back out once again, this time to clear away the food. This time, however, it was Karson who interrupted.


    ¡°If I may, Erxandros? I believe I may be of some assistance to Klymene¡¯s malady.¡±


    ¡°Oh, could you, Lord? That would be a blessing,¡± said the woman.


    Erxandros motioned for her to come forward, and Karson took her hand. After a few long minutes, she sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you, I am already feeling so much better. May the gods bless you!¡±


    Our host leaned over to his wife and whispered in her ear. She disappeared, and returned a moment later bearing two folded articles of clothing, and two leather belts.


    ¡°I couldn¡¯t bear to return your generosity with such meager hospitality,¡± said Erxandros. ¡°Please, take these. They are fine linen, and were to be part of Latona¡¯s dowry, but I can order more after the harvest.¡±


    We thanked him, and dressed ourselves in the chitons. I watched Karson as he dressed, and followed his lead. He looked as though he¡¯d done this a thousand times, swiftly pinning each shoulder so that the fabric covered his entire chest, before taking a belt around the waist. He pulled the fabric up over the belt slightly so that the tunic billowed slightly. I did the same, managing to not stab myself in the fingers with the pins or make it look like I¡¯d never worn such garments. The outfit wound up falling to mid thigh, like an overly long t-shirt that was belted at the waist. It was comfortable, but considering there was little enough fabric there, it didn¡¯t suit my modern sense of modesty.


    ¡°Thank you for these fine gifts,¡± said Karson. ¡°If you don¡¯t mind, after such a generous meal, my brother and I would like to stroll around your village to settle our meal. It looks as though it will be dark soon. We¡¯ll be back then, if that¡¯s alright?¡±


    If anything, our host seemed somewhat relieved to have a respite before settling us to sleep that night. We walked out of the house, to find most of the village was settling down for the evening. Few people were out, and many of the rooftops were occupied now that the sun had stopped baking everything. We wandered towards the path out of the village and the large fields of grain. Once I was certain we were out of earshot, I turned to Karson.


    ¡°Slaves?! Really?¡± I spoke in English.


    ¡°Yes, really,¡± said Karson. ¡°And this is an idea you might want to get used to. We¡¯re stuck in what appears to be the ancient Greek era. Slavery will persist in this region of the world for at least another few thousand years. But we have bigger problems than that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I suppose,¡± I said. ¡°Like why the hell are we here, and how do we get home?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± corrected Karson. ¡°We still need to find Asphalion.¡±


    ¡°Oh, shit. Yeah, that asshole has got to die. But do we have a way home? I don¡¯t really fancy the idea of shitting in a ditch the rest of my life.¡±


    Karson sighed, and rubbed a hand over his face, before turning to me. ¡°Ax, you might want to start thinking about what we should do if we can¡¯t get back. I don¡¯t think there is one. We are here by a fluke.¡±


    He was right. I hadn¡¯t really considered it, but Prometheus found us by accident. We should have died in Chaos. In fact, if I really thought about it, we had no idea how long we were in that mess. We were probably already listed as missing and presumed dead back in Detroit.


    ¡°So this is going to be like our plan to move to Wyoming, right?¡±


    Karson laughed. ¡°Well, that was our plan, once upon a time. But Wyoming is nothing like this.¡±


    ¡°I just mean the whole ¡®start over and leave the past behind¡¯ thing.¡±


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t have anyone waiting for me since I broke it off with Allison,¡± he pointed out. ¡°And I know you haven¡¯t dated in awhile.¡±


    ¡°I had a girl I was going to ask out, but I guess that¡¯s not happening now. So, a fresh start.¡±


    ¡°A fresh start, with magic,¡± he amended.


    I reached down and picked up a fist-sized rock. With only a little effort, I shaped it into a stone version of the knife I¡¯d repaired. It was heavier, but perfectly usable. The edge would hold well enough, although nowhere near as long as a metal blade.


    ¡°Here, take this,¡± I said, offering the blade to Karson. ¡°You need something to fight with, and I can do more than heal people.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can do a lot more than that,¡± he said darkly.


    In the dimming light, we heard low growling in the field ahead of us. A massive shape rose from the wheat. It was a two-headed hound, standing chest high to me. Each head was that of a wolf, but larger than my own head.


    I didn¡¯t even have time to warn Karson before it charged.

 Fury: Chapter 1.4 - Ax

    Chapter 1.4


    Ax


    <hr>


    The two-headed hound charged right at me, and I saw two little creatures following right behind it. The creatures were shaped like grown men, but standing little more than four feet tall, barely taller than the ripening wheat. Instead of normal heads, they had the heads of a jackal. The jackal men were wearing chest armor made up of bones tied together with leather, and carried little bows and short spears.


    I didn¡¯t wait for the beast to reach me, I charged at it. I really wished I had my brass knuckles. Even as I thought of them, they began to materialize around my right hand. Hell yeah, I can work with this magic shit. I could feel fire in my veins, urging on the fight.


    I tackled the hound just as it was gathering to leap at me, and we collapsed into a heap of snarling teeth and swinging fists. I got an arm around one neck, while the other turned to snap at me. I punched the biting head as hard as I could, but I didn¡¯t have a lot of leverage. The head yelped in surprise, then bit at my arm. I tightened my grip around the beast¡¯s other neck. If I could choke out the one head, maybe it would weaken the thing.


    I could hear snarls coming from the two jackal men, and my brother shouting at them. I could tell they were fighting, but couldn¡¯t take my eyes off the wolf head. I could feel the fire inside me pushing to get out. Magic, right, I had that now. I held my hand out towards the other head, palm first. A gout of flame burst from my hand, white hot, and burned into the snout of the wolf head. The hound bucked wildly underneath me, forcing me to lose my grip. I tumbled to the ground. Before I could regain my feet, the beast was on me. One head dangled uselessly from its muscular shoulders, but the other went straight for my throat. I managed to get my left arm up in time, as its teeth tore into my forearm instead of my jugular.


    ¡°You need to DIE!¡± I shouted at it, punching it repeatedly in the head. Over and over I hit it, pinned under the body weight. After a half-dozen punches, I realized that the hound wasn¡¯t moving. I shoved hard, pushing the body off of me. It was then that I saw that my brass knuckles had reshaped themselves, with four bloody spikes rising two inches off each finger.


    I looked for my brother, and saw that one of the jackal-men was writhing on the ground, his flesh looking melted. The creature was screaming piteously. Karson had the other jackal man pinned to the ground, stabbing it with his stone knife. After a minute, he stood up.


    ¡°You look like shit,¡± he said. Then Karson turned to the screaming jackal man, and gestured as if he were grabbing something. The jackal man jerked, then collapsed unmoving. A predatory gleam came to Karson¡¯s eyes. Then he turned sharply to look at the village.


    ¡°Come on, there¡¯s more of them!¡± He began to run back towards the houses.


    As we ran, I heard the shrill screams of a woman. Even as we rounded the corner to take in the narrow street, the scream cut off suddenly. At the far end of the houses was a small group of four men. One of them was methodically clubbing a body in the head, over and over and over again. The other three started moving our direction.


    These men were a solid six feet tall, thick with muscle. Their hair looked more like fur, growing down onto their shoulders and back, and their heads were wide with deep set eyes and heavy brows. They looked vaguely neanderthalic, with wide protruding jaws. Despite their barbaric look, they wore heavy leather breastplates made of bone and iron. Two of the three headed our direction carried thick iron clubs, and the third carried a labrys, a two-headed axe. Behind them, the fourth stopped clubbing the dead body, satisfied that he¡¯d completely crushed the skull. He started to follow his friends.


    ¡°Can you do the fire thing from back here?¡± asked Karson. ¡°These guys are going to be way worse than the dog people.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s find out,¡± I said grimly. I summoned up my magic, willing it to make a fireball that I could throw. I stuck my hand out, and a tiny ball of fire burst forth, flying at the axe carrier. The missile homed in on him with freakish speed, and exploded in a massive flame. At the same time, I saw a greenish-black spell hit one of the club wielders.


    Both started screaming in pain, one on fire an the other clawing at his face as it began to melt. It was an acid attack of some sort, and I shuddered to think how horrible that would feel. I had known someone who had accidentally spilled acid on their arm back home, and the scars he had to show for it were horrifying.


    But we had no time to celebrate, because the other two were running straight at us. They were surprisingly fast for their size. I fired off another fireball, but my target leapt to the side. The fireball struck a house instead, lighting the wood on fire.


    Then I was back in melee, as a club began to swing at my head. I jumped forward towards the man, trying to get inside that swing. It worked, to some extent. The man¡¯s fist that carried the club struck my left shoulder, making the whole arm go numb for a minute. That arm was already injured from the two-headed hound, and now it was useless. I punched with my spiked brass knuckles right at his face. The man turned his face down, so the spikes scraped across his forehead instead of landing a solid blow. He began to bleed heavily from his scalp. I took a blow in the chest from his empty hand, sending me flying back across the road. I tumbled and rolled a few times, before regaining my feet. My assailant was stalking toward me, wiping blood out of his eyes.


    I ran at him, hoping to get to him before he could bring that heavy club into position to hit me. To my surprise, he threw it at me. I aborted my charge, ducking to the side as the club narrowly missed me. Then I got tackled, the heavy man bearing me to the ground, his hot, rancid breath in my face. I only had one good hand to fight with. I took in a deep breath and reached for my magic again. I opened my mouth and breathed fire right in his face. It wasn¡¯t as concentrated as my blast against the hound, but it made the man loosen his grip enough that I could kick him off of me. I rolled back to my feet just as my brother tackled the man from my left, stabbing away with his stone knife. I jumped back into the fray, punching as hard as I could with my brass knuckles.


    A few frantic punches later, the man went limp. I pulled myself slowly to my feet, and looked at Karson. His clothes were a mess as he hobbled over to the beast man he had thrown acid at. Once again he grabbed nothing, and the wounded enemy jerked, before falling still. He turned back, his eyes dancing with energy.


    A bellow of rage came from down the street. A fifth beast man stepped out of a house, dragging a woman by the hair. This one seemed to be the leader, for his gear was better than his compatriots. The armor was thicker, and this one actually wore a helmet. The struggled in his grip, trying to escape. Without looking, he punched her. Her face crumpled as he fist actually crushed her skull. He dropped the dead body, and bellowed again. The beast man picked up a club from the ground, and began to run at us.


    Both Karson and I threw magic at him, but this beast man seemed to know how to handle it. Without breaking stride, the beast smacked my fireball with his club, knocking it from his hands as tucking his helmeted head down to his chest and running through the burst of flames. Then he dove into a forward roll, sliding under Karson¡¯s acid attack. Without losing hardly any momentum, he was back on his feet and charging both of us.


    I stomped on the ground, summoning some of the earth magic I¡¯d used to make Karson¡¯s knife, and a stone burst from the ground right under the man¡¯s feet. With an agility that would make a professional athlete jealous, the beast man leapt over the stone, twisting to regain his footing, and ran toward us again.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    My left arm had begun to regain its feeling, so at least I¡¯d have both arms for this fight. I was running out of energy. Mana, it¡¯s called mana, a part of my brain whispered to me. Fine, I was out of mana, I thought. Now was not the time, I had to focus.


    ¡°You go high, I go low?¡± said Karson.


    ¡°Done,¡± I said, and we dove forward as the man reached us. I leapt for his head, trying to wrap myself around his torso, as Karson tangled himself up in his ankles. We fell into a dogpile not unlike a football scrimmage where everyone was trying to grab a loose football. I punched blindly, my spiked knuckles scraping off armor more than anything else. Heavy punches landed repeatedly on my ribs, and I had no idea where that club had gone.


    I heard a squeal of pain come from the man, and a few minutes later, the struggle was over. I untangled myself from the body, to see Karson already on his feet. He was covered in blood from his head to his chest, and was panting heavily. He still held that stone knife, but the tip was broken off.


    My arm screamed in pain from the dog bite and the abuse of the fight, and I was pretty sure I¡¯d cracked some ribs. Karson was still limping, but seemed little worse for the wear aside from that.


    ¡°So you¡¯re not bad at combat, either,¡± I said. ¡°Got any mana left? I could use a little healing.¡±


    ¡°Some, not much,¡± he said. ¡°Let¡¯s see if anyone else is severely injured first. Yours aren¡¯t life threatening.¡±


    ¡°Good thinking,¡± I said. ¡°What the hell did you do?¡±


    ¡°I have soul magic,¡± Karson said. ¡°If they¡¯re near death, I can eat their souls. I can absorb some of their essence for a short time. I may be able to yank on their souls to distract them, but it is a temporary thing. Didn¡¯t get a chance to try it. I need to experiment more to understand what I can do. You have fire magic? I thought you were all earth magic and shit.¡±


    ¡°I guess I have both? I don¡¯t know, is that not normal?¡± I never got into any of that Lord of the Rings stuff back at home, I didn¡¯t know anything about magic.


    ¡°Beats the hell out of me,¡± said Karson. ¡°I just ate souls of creatures that shouldn¡¯t exist, in a different reality, after falling through Primal Chaos because we were fighting a cult in an abandoned warehouse. Right now, I¡¯m not sure what the hell normal is.¡±


    I laughed weakly, then sat my tired ass down on the dirt next to the dead raider. Around us, people began to peek out of houses to see if the raid was over.


    ¡°You¡¯re covered in blood,¡±I observed.


    ¡°Stabbed him in the femoral artery. He bled out over my face while I held his ankles. Broke my knife on his bone.¡±


    ¡°I think we need better gear,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not wearing bones,¡± said Karson.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not carrying a giant metal club, either.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck were those things?¡±


    ¡°I think they were gigantes,¡± said Karson, pointing at the dead beast men. ¡°Born of the blood of Uranus after Kronos castrated him. Often confused with giants, because of their strength and their name. But you can see, they are the same size as us, just a lot stronger.¡±


    ¡°And the things we fought in the field?¡±


    ¡°The hound was Orthrus. Well an orthrus, I guess. There was only supposed to be one, but I¡¯m guessing there are more, seeing as it was part of a small raiding party. The jackal guys were cynocephali - literally dog people.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not remembering all that shit. Two-headed hounds and cynos. Got it.¡±


    Karson shook his head. ¡°Toto, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re in Kansas anymore.¡±


    The villagers eventually came out. The house that I lit on fire by accident had burned itself out, leaving a huge whole in one wall. Karson went off to help the injured, leaving me to my own devices. Erxandros fretted about, generally directing people to do what they were doing anyway. I guess middle management is the same no matter what time period you are in.


    The gigantes had managed to break into three houses before we interrupted. The third house, the one I had accidentally set on fire, was interesting. A teenage boy of about sixteen or seventeen in a torn chiton dragged a dead gigante out, dumping the body next to the ones we had slain. He carried a long spear with him, the tip bloody. I was impressed.


    I began to systematically loot the bodies, stripping off armor, weapons and gear. I wasn¡¯t planning on using the armor or weapons as they were, but I had a glimmer of an idea of what I could do with them. The boy kept hovering over my shoulders as I worked.


    ¡°Either help or go away,¡± I finally snapped at him. He started, but set his spear down within easy reach and began to help remove armor. ¡°What¡¯s your name, anyway?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Lacedaemon, Lord.¡±


    ¡°What do you do here in the village? And how did you learn to use a spear?¡±


    ¡°I mostly help with the crops, tend the animals. I got conscripted into the militia last year, so I spent a season warring. I earned a bit of money, but haven¡¯t been able to make enough to buy armor.¡±


    ¡°Do a lot of villagers get conscripted?¡±


    ¡°I imagine so, my Lord. I know my unit was all conscripts.¡±


    So they didn¡¯t have much of a standing army. That made sense. Crops still needed to be planted and harvested, and armies cost a lot of money. If no major wars were happening, there wasn¡¯t really much need. I didn¡¯t know much of what happened in ancient Greece. Wasn¡¯t it a bunch of city-states that went to war with each other all the time?


    By the time Karson got back, we had finished looting the bodies. We had four clubs, an oversized labrys, six sets of breastplate, a helmet, one decent pair of leather sandals that I gave to Lacedaemon, and a small pile of misshapen silvery-gold coins with a crude crescent carved into it. Karson looked cleaner, although his chiton was still bloody. I introduced Lacedaemon, which seemed to surprise him. We really needed to talk soon. There seemed to be a lot of things he knew that I didn¡¯t.


    Karson reached over and grabbed my shoulder. I felt strange magic pulse through me. The ache in my ribs went away, and the bloody bite on my arm sealed up without a mark.


    ¡°That¡¯s the last of my mana,¡± he said. ¡°Can¡¯t do much else, but that should take care of the worst of it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said. That was an awesome bit of magic to have. I was slightly envious; at least until I remembered what I could do now. I really was looking forward to playing with it.


    The death toll turned out to be seventeen men, women and children. There were tears and and a little bit of wailing, but the villagers were quick to haul the bodies away. The bodies of the villagers were washed carefully, and anointed with oil. Karson later told me that they would bury or cremate the bodies after a brief lamentation period, not unlike modern funerals. The raiders, on the other hand, were casually piled away from the village. They would be dumped in a mass grave, or burned in a single pyre, to dispose of the remains.


    Erxandros came over to us, two young village women in tow. Each woman had a basket under their arms.


    ¡°My Lords, thank you for your gracious help in defending the village. You as well, Lacedaemon. I¡¯m sorry for your loss.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Lacedaemon, I didn¡¯t ask,¡± I said to him. ¡°Who did you lose?¡±


    ¡°My parents and my little brother,¡± he said.


    ¡°My condolences,¡± I said.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get you cleaned up,¡± said Erxandros. ¡°These women will assist you.¡±


    Lacedaemon remained back in town while we were led down to a deep creek on the opposite end of the village from where we had explored. There we split to separate portions of the creek. I was taken by surprise when the woman with me began to unpin my tunic.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± I said with a start.


    ¡°You are dirty, I¡¯m to wash you.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± I protested.


    ¡°Nonsense,¡± she said, unfastening my belt. My tunic fell. ¡°Get in the water and rinse. I will attend you after I set your tunic to soak.¡±


    Naked and suddenly feeling quite uncomfortable, I stepped into the surprisingly deep water, and rinsed myself. I dunked my head, and the warm water felt amazing. Karson had healed the worst of my injuries, and the bath was rinsing away the stress of the fight. At least, until I felt a warm body press against me. Soapy hands began to wash my chest from behind.


    I stood suddenly, and the soapy hands began to wash my back and shoulders. I half turned to see the woman behind me, wearing nothing. Her chest was generous, and water dripped down to her navel appealingly. She had a twinkle in her eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my Lord. We¡¯ll have you cleaned up swiftly. A brave man such as you should be taken care of.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t even know your name,¡± I protested.


    ¡°It is Xene,¡± she whispered in my ear as she pressed against me once again. Her hand slipped lower, and my resistance vanished. It was some time before I made it back to the village.

 Fury: Chapter 1.5 - Karson

    Chapter 1.5


    Karson


    <hr>


    Erxandros had done us right, providing new chitons and a short cloak, or chlamys, as well as some rudimentary sandals. The leather thongs tying them up over my calves felt odd, but I was glad to have some form of shoes on my feet once again. I wasn¡¯t into the whole ¡°walk barefoot¡± thing.


    What I really needed was time to think, and to study. This was a dangerous time and place, far more so than I think Ax even realized. I was amazed at the condition my body was in, and at the magic I seemed to have picked up in my trip through Chaos. But if we were to have our vengeance, and to have any sort of life in this time and place, we needed to be a lot smarter than we had been to date.


    In hindsight, we¡¯d acted rashly in chasing down Kabiri¡¯s killers. We had dove in fists first, without a plan. We had essentially achieved a Pyrrhic victory, winning at the expense of everything we had. Our old lives had ended, and we were strangers in a land typically hostile to anything foreign. We had to adapt, and quickly.


    Aketa disappeared into one of the houses, so I continued on my own to Erxandros¡¯ home. I heard Ax call to me, so I stopped and turned, waiting for him to catch up.


    In English, he said, ¡°Hell of a ¡®thank you¡±, yeah?¡±


    ¡°Not bad,¡± I said. ¡°Been a while for me, so it was great.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s the deal here? We show up naked, and before you know it, we¡¯re kicking ass and getting laid. Why didn¡¯t they run us off or treat us like we were perverts?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re benefiting from the ideals of heroic nudity, I think.¡±


    ¡°Which is? I didn¡¯t study any of this.¡±


    ¡°Ancient Greeks believed heroes and the divine had the peak human form, so were displayed in the nude in artwork. For the most part, there is little nudity in the society as a whole, but depending on circumstances or station, it was common and not looked down on. So us appearing out of thin air, ripped and naked, means culturally¡­¡±


    ¡°We are gods.¡±


    ¡°Or demigods,¡± I agreed. ¡°But there is something else we need to talk about.¡±


    ¡°Go on,¡± he said.


    ¡°We¡¯re not in the semi-civilized ¡°classic Greek¡± period where all the Greek philosophers and such came from. I¡¯m pretty sure, at least.¡±


    ¡°How can you tell?¡±


    ¡°Well, Erxandros referred to the landowner or local ruler, not sure quite which he is, as ¡®basileus.¡¯ In classic Greece, basileus meant ¡®king¡¯, and later, it became a title of the emperor in the Byzantine Empire. It wasn¡¯t a casual ¡®I own a village¡¯ kind of title. Also, Lacedaemon is the name of the guy who founded Sparta.¡±


    ¡°You mean, like, ¡®this is SPARTA¡¯ Sparta? All 300 and shit?¡±


    ¡°Well, that was classic Greek period, but yeah, just like that. But that¡¯s not good news for us.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°If you mix that with Prometheus out wandering around and Kronos being a factor, then there are two conclusions. We are probably just entering or in the Hellenic Dark Ages, and the Titanomachy is probably going to kick off at any time.¡±


    ¡°So Dark Ages sounds bad, but what is the Titanomachy?¡±


    ¡°It is the war between Kronos and the Titans, and Zeus and the Olympians. Zeus eventually kicks Kronos¡¯ ass and locks him up in Tartarus, but it¡¯s a war that takes ten years.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s a long war. But that means Kronos is powerful right now, and we want to go after his priest guy, Asphalion?¡±


    I nodded grimly. We¡¯d sure picked a hell of a tough target.


    ¡°That reminds me. I don¡¯t know how much my knowledge of the time period will help us. There are obviously big differences, seeing as gods and magic weren¡¯t a thing on our Earth. But if it hews fairly close, then this is the collapse of the Mycenaean Empire and the end of the Bronze Age. Remember, first, that we¡¯re in Hellas, and the people are the Hellenes. The Mycenaeans are from the city-state of Mycenae, who conquered all of Hellas. People identify with their city-state, not Hellas as a whole. Also, If we get to a big city, don¡¯t be shocked to see rich women walking around with their tits hanging out. It was the style for their dresses to be cut around the boobs, at least for a little while. Don¡¯t gawk, you might get your head cut off.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s fun,¡± he said. ¡°But all of the doom and gloom aside, I don¡¯t see us being here as a bad thing.¡±


    ¡°How do you figure?¡± I asked. We were modern city kids in the ancient past. How could this be a good thing?


    ¡°We have magic, which give us a huge advantage, once we figure it all out. We have modern knowledge, which we should be able to apply. We know what side of the war to be on, and wars are a great time to get a lot of power on our side.¡±


    ¡°Power? You mean, like, be warlords or something?¡± The idea wasn¡¯t unappealing.


    ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t have that thought specifically in mind,¡± admitted Ax. ¡°But why not? If this is the Dark Ages, than what better way to survive it than with a bunch of warriors at our back? I bet I can make us some armor and weapons, with a bit of experimenting. You have the knowledge to help keep us organized. We find the right people, and we go hunt down that Cult.¡±


    If he can make armor, that¡¯d help immensely. But what about magic items? All the stories and games and such referred to enchanting protections into gear. There were three hurdles to this line of thought. First, I hadn¡¯t figured out anything defensive. Second, I didn¡¯t know how to put that spell into equipment. Third, how would that enchantment be powered?


    We went into Erxandros¡¯ house, and he pointed us toward the courtyard where we had dined earlier. Now, however, a screen had been placed across the peristyle in front of the women¡¯s room, and two mats had been laid out under the overhanging roof by the front room. I laid down on one of them, pleasantly surprised to find it was stuffed with wool and comfortable. I untied my sandals and used my own cloak as a blanket.


    I had recovered a small bit of mana, and could see the glow of mana from Ax¡¯s bedroll as well. I didn¡¯t know seeing magic was normal; I¡¯d have to ask Ax in the morning. I¡¯d noticed it when I¡¯d instinctively cast the acid curse at the cynocephali jackal warrior. I could see the interplay of the magic with the world around it, the shape of it. It was like the augmented reality sets back home that sold for crazy amounts of money, the ones that let colleagues work on a virtual project together from over the Internet. I could see the magic, overlaid on top of the world around me. When I healed, I could feel the person¡¯s organs and blood vessels. Through the magic, I could sense and repair the damage.


    But even seeing magic wasn¡¯t the craziest part. I could see souls. More accurately, I could sense the shadow of a soul in something, and grab it. So far, all I could do was snag it for a moment before it would slip from my grasp. But if they were near death, I could rip the soul away and, for lack of a better word, consume it. I¡¯d done it with one of the cyno¡¯s in the first round of the fight, which heightened my hearing and sight and replenished my mana slightly. The second time was against one of the gigantes, making me feel stronger and rejuvenated. I didn¡¯t get any boost of mana from that one, but I¡¯d purposely sought out the essence of that soul. The first time had been nearly accidental.


    Since I had wanted the boost I had assumed the soul could give me, my magic channeled it that way. So by that logic, magic must be, to some extent, intent based. That meant it had consistent logic to it, not unlike software programming or electronic circuit design. I had tinkered with both, through high school and college. Ax had gone a bit further in circuit design at community college, before he found the trade school that taught welding.


    If I¡¯d accidentally gotten mana along with the sensory boost from the cyno, then it stood to reason that I could convert a soul into mana. That was of limited use, because an enemy would need to be near death, or a lot of people were dying near me. I wondered if there was some way I could store souls, or store mana. I¡¯d run out mid-fight, which left me scrambling. I also had the feeling there was a lot more to what I could do with souls, if I had a method of capturing them. I needed a soul trap of some sort. Could I hold onto a soul for a period of time? Was there a way to grab a soul from a creature, even if they weren¡¯t dying? What else could I do with it once I had it?A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    I¡¯d wanted to think more about the other aspect of my magic, the healing portion. Before I knew it, though, I¡¯d fallen fast asleep. I slept long and hard, without even moving a muscle. When I woke in the early dawn hours, I was surprised at how refreshed I felt. The air was clean and fresh, cool in the morning hours. I left the house and wandered down to the creek, where I washed my face and made an attempt at washing my mouth. After finding a convenient location for morning ablutions, I returned to the house.


    Ax was up, tinkering with the pile of loot, when I got there. Seated in the dirt along the side of the house in the shade, he looked up and motioned me to sit with him.


    ¡°Take a look at this,¡± said Ax. He was speaking Greek, so I knew it was a safe subject. He tossed me a silvery-gold lump of metal. I looked at it, and saw it was a very crude coin, with a square stamped into one side.


    ¡°A coin.¡±


    ¡°Yes, it¡¯s a gigantes coin. They trade with the towns, according to Erxandros. Not worth much, since it¡¯s an a mix of silver and gold.¡±


    ¡°Right, electrum. Can you do anything with it?¡±


    ¡°Stealing my thunder,¡± he muttered in English. ¡°Watch.¡±


    Ax took the coin back, and it began to hover and rotate between his hands. I could see the magic forming and constructing glowing gray lines and shapes around the coin. With a gesture, Ax pulled his two hands apart, and the magic malformed along with his movements, pulling the coin into two pieces. But then I looked closer, and realized it was in fact one silver piece, and one gold piece. Ax set aside the silver piece, and picked up a small fragment of gold that I hadn¡¯t noticed from the dirt next to him. With a motion, he joined the two together and examined it closely. With a frown, he pulled off a tiny amount and set it aside. Then with a few motions, the spinning piece of metal became a round, coin-shaped disc with nothing stamped into it. Finally, it dropped into the palm of his hand, and the magic extinguished.


    ¡°One gold drachma, worth about ten silver drachma. That¡¯s two day¡¯s pay for an artisan, which I¡¯m guessing is a high wage from the way Erxandros was talking.¡±


    ¡°Right, but it¡¯ll look odd if it doesn¡¯t have a mint stamp on it,¡± I said.


    ¡°Well, I could copy the one on the drachma that Erxandros let me borrow,¡± Ax said. ¡°But I don¡¯t like it. It looks weird.¡±


    I smiled, and drew the letter K in the dirt, then a second one almost on top, so the two letters overlapped. ¡°We¡¯re the Kabiri brothers, might as well own it. Kappa is the greek letter that starts Kabiri, after all. Make our own stamp, just make sure the coin weighs correctly.¡±


    Ax nodded. ¡°No one is going to get mad that we have our own coin?¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s the right size, shouldn¡¯t matter. If anyone questions, they can weigh the coin. The value is in the weight and purity, not the shape or symbols. Gold standard for the win,¡± I added the last in English.


    I watched in fascination as he worked, studying the magic. By the time he¡¯d separated almost all the silver from the gold, I¡¯d gotten a handle on the rough spell that did that work. I was almost sure I could do it myself, except I couldn¡¯t adjust on the fly the way Ax was doing naturally. When he was down to the last coin I gestured for it, so he handed me the coin.


    Carefully, I tried to construct the spell the way I had seen it. The coin hovered in the air and crudely began to pull into two pieces, before my rough casting fell apart. Interesting. So I could learn other spells outside my speciality. I just needed a reference to learn from.


    ¡°What was that?¡± laughed Ax in English. ¡°That was seriously half-assed. Give me that.¡±


    ¡°That was a test of magic, not splitting the coin,¡± I explained. ¡°I was watching the spell you were using, and figured out the rough outline to do it myself. I¡¯d have to practice, but I could probably learn how to do it.¡±


    ¡°Why bother? I can do it in about two seconds,¡± said Ax, and he demonstrated by deftly splitting the two metals. Then with a gesture, he pulled up the pile of silver balls from the grass, and pushed them into a single orb.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m definitely not going to bother,¡± I replied. ¡°The point was that I can learn other magics by seeing them. Can you see magic as it is cast? Like your own?¡±


    ¡°See it? No, I just do it. It¡¯s like picking up a pencil, except I¡¯m using magic instead of my fingers. I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s a part of me.¡±


    ¡°So it¡¯s sorcery,¡± I said. ¡°Unlearned but capable. Let me try something. Make the silver orb hover in your hands like you¡¯re going to split it up, but don¡¯t actually split it.¡±


    Ax complied, and while he did, I reached over and touched his shoulder. Using my own body magic, I willed his eyes to see the way mine did. After a moment, he gasped. ¡°That is SO COOL!¡±


    For a few minutes, he manipulated the orb in different ways, before he dropped the misshapen blob of silver back into the dirt. I released him, and his eyesight went back to normal.


    ¡°I wish I could always see that.¡±


    This would be a good test of enchanting, I realized. ¡°Make yourself a silver ring for one of your fingers.¡±


    Ax did, and handed it over. I reconstructed the change I had pushed into Ax, except now I focused that spell into the silver. Then I realized that the spell was incomplete, and needed a source. It was like a circuit that needed a power source. I constructed the spell so that it would draw mana from the wearer, if they had any. I didn¡¯t know if mana was limited only to spellcasters, but intuitively I suspected that was the case. The silver accepted the spell readily, so I pushed it in. As it went, I realized that the spell would wear off unless I really pushed mana into the creation. That made a lot of sense. It was like engraving, really. If you only scratch the surface, eventually your marks would wear out. But if you really pushed hard, it would make the marks more permanent. I took my time, patiently pushing each piece of the spell into the silver. I suspected I could get it done quickly, with a really powerful push of mana, but I didn¡¯t want to drain myself for just one thing. Not to mention if I went quickly it increased the likelihood that I¡¯d make a mistake and have to start all over. Finally, I finished the last piece of the spell and sealed it. I looked up to see Ax finishing the last of the coins, both silver and gold.


    ¡°How long was I working on this?¡± I asked, noticing the shade had moved and the air warmed up.


    ¡°About an hour, I¡¯d guess,¡± he replied. ¡°Did it work?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, give it a try.¡±


    Ax slipped the ring on his middle finger and picked up a coin. A moment later the coin was hovering, and Ax was grinning like a fool. ¡°That¡¯s still really cool. You just see like this?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t have to do anything at all. Is it draining on your mana? I made it so that it would store a little bit, so it shouldn¡¯t be constantly pulling.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, no, it hasn¡¯t drawn any yet. Maybe you charged it up when you made it?¡±


    I looked closely at the ring, and it did still have a good amount of residual mana. I was pleasantly surprised. But that also meant maybe I could make him something for healing himself, too. It couldn¡¯t draw mana all the time, since it would probably take all of it if he got injured in a fight. The day before could¡¯ve been fatal to lose his mana at the wrong time.


    ¡°Make another ring, sized for another finger. I¡¯m going to play with it later. Right now, let¡¯s see about breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± said Ax. He handed me a small leather pouch. In it were a dozen silver and gold drachmas, with the double-Kappa symbol stamped into it. ¡°I¡¯ve got my own pouch, I just split the finished coins. I¡¯ve got a bit of extra silver and gold, too, that isn¡¯t minted.¡±


    I nodded. We entered the house, but Erxandros was nowhere around. The young servant boy was waiting for us, however, and served us a nice breakfast of figs, fruit and bread. The bread was really heavy, far denser than the sliced wheat bread I¡¯d eaten at home. But there was a small dish of honey, so I spread it on the bread and figured I¡¯d better get used to it. I¡¯d had a little trouble eating the olives last night, too, since I¡¯d never been a fan of those. I had a feeling I¡¯d really be craving some fast food in a few days.


    After eating, we returned to our loot pile, and moved it into a different spot of shade as our original spot was now too sunny. I went ahead and unpinned my chiton, leaving it wrapped around my waist like a kilt. It was far too warm in the sun.


    ¡°Okay, let¡¯s talk gear,¡± said Ax, ¡°and our next steps. I want to get moving by tomorrow, if we can. We need a larger town to start making some money. Maybe there¡¯s a town near that Dodona place we have to get to.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± I said. ¡°Bronze armor was the name of the game all the way to Roman times. Iron was used mostly for weapons. Steel was extremely hard to make, and sheet steel was impossible for a long time. I don¡¯t remember why. These guys with iron bands strapped to their chest armor, that¡¯s unusual. Iron rusts, this gear won¡¯t last more than four or five years. Maybe they have access to iron, but no knowledge beyond how to make basic tools?¡±


    ¡°Okay, well, I learned a lot about metals while in trade school. I had a teacher who had a real hard-on for history. So I think I can figure out steel, especially with magic to help it along. But we have the same limitations. I might be able to manipulate some steel gear eventually, but it¡¯ll take time and research. So what else do we have for armor?¡±


    ¡°Well, linen armor was common. Glue a bunch of layers of linen together, you have a pretty solid armor against arrows, spears and cutting weapons. Bronze didn¡¯t withstand puncture all that well, but it was better than nothing. Brass is better, but the other metal in it isn¡¯t mined around here, I think.¡±


    ¡°Zinc.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that. Boiled leather, I think, rounds out the list. Also, we need spears and swords.¡±


    ¡°Well, for now, I¡¯m going to shape us some basic iron weapons. They¡¯re not much better than bronze, honestly, but we don¡¯t have any bronze to work with.¡±


    ¡°Too bad you can¡¯t just conjure up some metal.¡±


    Ax looked at me oddly. ¡°You know, I actually haven¡¯t even tried.¡±


    He focused sat there, thinking furiously and ignoring me. That left me to think about our plans once we got out of here. We had a decent amount of money, enough to settle somewhere. But we were magic users, so we had to be valuable. My healing skills alone should be enough to earn us some money. I didn¡¯t want to really spend a lot of time working for others. If I could make magic items, perhaps there was a market for that?


    My attention returned to my brother as he began to weave a new spell. I watched, fascinated. This was different from his metal manipulation. This spell had a straightforward structure, with concise parameters and conditions. When the construction was complete, mana poured out of Ax, draining him of his reserve. But in his hand was a ball of copper.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be damned,¡± he said. ¡°Wiped out my mana, though.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± I replied. ¡°We need to solve this mana issue, and fast.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.6 - Karson

    Chapter 1.6


    Karson


    <hr>


    It was Ax that hit on a solution to our mana shortage. He pointed out that if he could use mana to make fire, it stood to reason that you could use fire to make mana. That made perfect sense. Heat was used to generate electricity after all. This was just energy of a different type. Of course, magic also violated the Laws of Thermodynamics blatantly, but in this world they seemed to be more like guidelines than laws. At least if you had magic, that is.


    I spent the afternoon trying to figure out ways to increase our survivability. Theoretically, I posited that there must be some way to create a magic shield to deflect blows or stop them from hitting altogether. Perhaps some form of bubble around the caster. But I had to set that train of thought aside, because I couldn¡¯t envision how to make it happen with my limited understanding of how magic interacted with the physical world around it. Strangely, that line of thought got me onto how magic interacted with the fabric of the world itself, and how Chaos could be shaped. That actually made a lot more sense to me, but I couldn¡¯t think of any practical way to put it to use right now.


    Once again, I was back at square one. The most logical place where I could help right now would be to make our actual bodies more capable and durable. Sadly all of the boosts I¡¯d gotten from eating souls had worn off, so I couldn¡¯t study that interaction. I was also disappointed that I hadn¡¯t thought to examine either the cynocephali bodies or the gigantes bodies before they were tossed in the burn pit. I could have gleaned some really useful information, and some clues as to how to strengthen our own bodies.


    Experimenting it would have to be. But first, I had to figure out a few things that I knew we needed. I¡¯d had the thought earlier in the day to make healing rings of some sort. Also, the way the silver ring had retained a residual charge of mana from its creation made me realize that we could create batteries of a sort. If I constructed a spell correctly, I could give an object a pool of mana that could be accessed later.


    I had Ax split up the copper ball he had conjured into eight small ingots, which could easily fit into a pouch. One of those ingots I had him split into a handful of flat squares for experimenting. Another I had him make into a handful of copper rings, half sized for him and the other half sized for me. I was prepped, and Ax was off fiddling with iron and leather and such.


    First of all I had to focus on mana, as that was our biggest shortfall. We had enough for a handful of spells, but we¡¯d burned through what we had far too quickly. Ax¡¯s magic required a lot of mana to manipulate earth in a meaningful way during the fight, and he told me that he¡¯d run out with that last earth spell that had failed to trip the gigantes warrior. I¡¯d had a bit left that I used to heal the injured villagers.


    I thought first about what I¡¯d done with the silver sight ring that I¡¯d made for Ax. I had pushed mana along with the spell into the creation of the enchantment. That meant that enchantments could hold mana. I began the same enchantment again, weaving it in the air, and began to study the individual components of the spell. It took mana to hold a weaving in place without either completing it or enchanting it into an object. Thankfully, its mana draw was very low and wouldn¡¯t drain me very fast, which gave me time. I recognized the piece of the spell that actually did the heavy lifting. That piece was what modified Ax¡¯s vision so that it could actually see magic. That part was interesting but irrelevant, since I fully understood it. There was another piece that tied the spell to his mana pool, which I had woven specifically and thus ignored. The final piece was what bound the enchantment into the ring. This part was woven intuitively, and was what I needed to study.


    There was a portion of the binding that specifically indicated the ring itself. This binding was what had to integrate deeply into the metal, and had taken the longest to push in while I was enchanting. But there was a small piece of it that was designed to hold mana so that the binding had a chance to connect the various other pieces of the spell into the object. After close study, I realized that the whole enchantment would unravel and collapse without it. There is a few milliseconds in the casting between the initial weaving and the enchanting where the binding is no longer tied to the caster, in this case me, and is not quite tied to the object. Without a pool of mana, no matter how small, the entire casting would unravel.


    I extrapolated a new spell from this piece. My first weaving unraveled in my hands before it even made it to a test square of copper. My second and third followed suit. But my fourth actually held, and I was able to see a few places where the spell would fall apart over time. My fifth one held flawlessly. I had a square of copper that could hold mana. I pushed mana into it, and was pleasantly surprised at how much it could hold. I emptied my own mana completely into it, and it was still not full. I pulled my mana back out, and the enchantment held.


    I had tied the magic-sight ring to Ax¡¯s mana, but I didn¡¯t want to do that with this enchantment. I wanted these batteries to be able to charge off of the ambient mana around it. The environment all around me had diffused mana, and magic users recharged their own mana pools naturally by absorbing this mana. If I could make the battery work the same, it would recharge automatically. After a few experiments, I was able to weave a charging spell into the battery, and as an added kick, I added a linking spell that would tie multiple batteries together.


    After a few hours of work, I turned two of the small copper ingots into batteries, as well as two of the rings. I made the each ring the master link for four copper squares, so that the squares could be tucked in a pouch but still usable, and so that the wearer could simply draw from the ring as needed. Then I turned my attention to a healing ring.


    Healing is a very specific type of magic, and when wielded efficiently, is targeted to the injured area. It was a very intimate magic, sensing the insides of a person that you were healing. But without my brain to direct it, any type of healing could only be general and indiscriminate. I finally settled on a basic spell that sought to repair any injury it could detect. This I set to draw from the mana ring, but with a thought, could draw from the wearer¡¯s mana instead. I linked it to the mana ring the default so that it wouldn¡¯t deplete personal mana. I then gave the ring its own small mana pool, as the metal couldn¡¯t take very much, so that it could collect some energy on its own.


    Once I had the construct of the spell down, it took very little time to make two rings. The longest part was to steadily and slowly push the spell into the rings so that the enchantment would be strong and stable. When I finished, I looked up to see a small boy sitting in the dirt a half-dozen feet away from me.


    ¡°You doin¡¯ magic, milord?¡± asked the boy. He looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, scrawny and wearing only a loincloth. It was probably the only article of clothing he¡¯d ever worn. From the looks of it, small village children tended to run around naked until about this seven or eight. After that, the boys wore loincloths or chitons, and the girls wore undyed chitons or peplos, depending on social status. The boy was probably a slave, based on how scrawny he was and the poor state of his loincloth.


    ¡°I am,¡± I said. On a whim, I picked up one of the copper squares I¡¯d been experimenting with. The enchantment wasn¡¯t set very deep and it wasn¡¯t linked to the mana rings I¡¯d made, but it was one of my final tests with its own mana pool and mana absorption. It had a minor flaw, a quirk in the spell that I couldn¡¯t quite identify. But when I tested it, the healing had worked correctly. My assumption was that the enchantment would unravel in a few weeks. I tossed the square to the boy.


    ¡°For me?¡± asked the boy in sheer wonder.


    ¡°Sure,¡± I replied. ¡°How long were you sitting there?¡±


    ¡°Maybe an hour or two,¡± he admitted.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Consider it pay for guard duty.¡±


    ¡°Thanks! I got to go show my mom!¡± he turned and ran off before I could even tell him what it did.


    ¡°That was mighty nice of you,¡± said Ax from behind me. He¡¯d wandered off while I focused. His style of magic was far less esoteric and way more tactile.


    I shrugged. The copper square didn¡¯t matter much to me. We¡¯d be gone in a day or two anyway, so there was no harm in leaving some beneficial magic behind. Maybe it could help.


    ¡°Here,¡± I said, handing the fruits of my labor over to Ax. ¡°A mana ring, linked to that ingot. The ingot is a mana battery, it absorbs mana from the environment. You can draw the mana through the ring. The other one is a healing ring, that also draws mana from the ring. If you focus your intent on the healing ring, it can draw from yourself instead, but will revert once your attention is elsewhere.¡±


    ¡°Got it. I¡¯m getting to be quite stylish with all these rings,¡± he said. I laughed, as he was now up to three rings to my two.


    ¡°Erxandros has invited us to dinner,¡± he said. ¡°And afterwards, I have a few goodies for you, too.¡±


    Dinner was under the peristyle, only this time an awkward young man was sitting with us. This was Polybius, the suitor for Erxandros¡¯ daughter. Over the course of the meal, it became apparent that the boy was quiet and a hard worker, evidenced by how he was able to hold up his discussion about the village¡¯s business and the callouses already forming on his hands. The boy would do well, especially marrying into the village master¡¯s family.


    After the meal was complete, Erxandros began to look nervous.


    ¡°Alright, out with it,¡± said Ax. ¡°What is bothering you?¡±


    Erxandros reddened slightly, but said, ¡°Not to press you on your business, but I was hoping you might be able to share with me¡­ how long you intend to stay?¡±


    I laughed. Two days and we¡¯d already worn out our welcome. ¡°Guests, like fish, begin to smell after three days.¡±


    It was Ax¡¯s turn to laugh. He answered, ¡°we¡¯re hoping to leave either tomorrow, or first thing the day after. We¡¯re wrapping up our travel preparations. To that end, I was hoping I could buy some provisions from you. Also, here is that coin I borrowed this morning.¡±


    Ax handed Erxandros his silver drachma, and held up a gold drachma bearing our stamp.


    ¡°Is that¡­ gold?¡± said Erxandros in surprise.


    ¡°It is,¡± said Ax. ¡°Would that suffice for a supply of food and various sundries we would need to travel?¡±


    ¡°It would, err, yes, that is more than enough. I believe that would cover food, and perhaps some better sandals and traveling cloaks?¡±


    Ax smiled. ¡°Perfect. We are going to go walk to settle our food, and return at dusk. We won¡¯t be leaving the village.¡±


    I followed Ax out of the house, and around to the back where he¡¯d been working. There I found Lacedaemon and the woman who had helped Ax with his bath. Lacedaemon was busy with a dozen lengths of wood, each about eight feet long. He had an iron rasp and was smoothing the wood into long staves. Five were already finished. The woman, on the other hand, had a large clay bowl, and was working leather in it.


    ¡°Karsos, you remember Xene from last night,¡± said Ax. ¡°She is Latona¡¯s slave and part of her dowry. However, she is also a leatherworker, so I¡¯ve hired her to do some work for us. You remember Damon here, he¡¯s showing me how to make spear shafts as he learned when he was called up last year.¡±


    Ax picked up a pair of leather bracers from the ground where he¡¯d been working, and showed them to me. These had been reinforced with strips of iron across back of the hands, with thick finger bands like fingerless gloves going across the knuckles. There were thongs on the bottom that could be laced up to make the fit right. On the back of the forearms, where the leather was thickest, was two flat iron strips. Altogether, each bracer probably weighed a little over a pound.


    ¡°It¡¯s a start,¡± said Ax. ¡°We don¡¯t have what we need for steel, so these will do for now. Also, for you.¡±


    Ax picked up a set of knives, one long one and two short ones. The long bladed knife was about ten inches long, with a leaf-shaped double-edged blade, and a handle wrapped in leather strips. The shorter knives were simple iron shanks, with a rough crossbar and iron handle. ¡°I know you¡¯ve always preferred a blade. Xene will work on a sheath for them shortly.¡±


    Then he pointed at a pile of spear tips.


    ¡°Are those all for us?¡±


    ¡°No, three of them are for us. The rest of the spears are going to stay here in the village, so if another raiding party comes through, they can defend themselves.¡±


    I nodded. ¡°Sounds like we gather up supplies tomorrow and make last minute adjustments, and we hit the road?¡±


    ¡°Sounds like it. Have you figured out roughly where we are?¡±


    ¡°I have.¡± I had asked around about things nearby, and found out that the city of Passaron is five days¡¯ walk north, and the Temple of the Great Mother at Dodona is two days walk south, with the city of Assos just a bit beyond that. The trail out of the village leads up to a Mycenaean road.¡±


    ¡°Good, then you and Damon can navigate.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s coming with us?¡± I asked in English.


    ¡°He¡¯s got nothing left here,¡± said Ax apologetically. ¡°If we¡¯re going to start collecting followers, no better place than here and now. He¡¯s freeborn, we¡¯re not going to piss off our hosts or anything. God, this whole slave thing grinds my ass.¡±


    ¡°When we have the money, we¡¯ll start buying up and freeing the folks that we can. Offer them jobs and protection. But we have to get ourselves set first.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I get it,¡± said Ax with a frown. ¡°I offered Xene to help her buy her freedom, but she refused. She said she couldn¡¯t leave Latona alone in a new house.¡±


    ¡°Loyal,¡± I said. ¡°We are definitely strangers in a strange land here.¡±


    ¡°Make sure and tell the kid that he¡¯s welcome, okay? He¡¯s been waiting on your approval, since I told him we both had to agree.¡±


    I nodded and turned back to Lacedaemon. ¡°Welcome to the team.¡±


    Damon smiled, and Xene clapped. She was a pretty woman, and if I hadn¡¯t known she was a slave from Ax, her nice clothing wouldn¡¯t have given it away.


    ¡°Congratulations, Lacedaemon,¡± she said. ¡°That¡¯s so awesome for you! I hope you do well!¡±


    ¡°We need to try out that reverse-fire thing,¡± said Ax.


    ¡°Let¡¯s do it. Shoot some fire, let¡¯s take a look at what we have.¡±


    It took a few tries before I had a rough grasp on the magic involved. Ax was far more of a sorcerer than a wizard, it would seem, and struggled to grasp the core concepts of spell components and how they interacted. But I didn¡¯t need him to understand, really. I just needed him to be able to construct the reverse of his fire spell. After a bit of explanation and experimentation, he followed along readily enough. After all, it was no different than manipulating earth for him. Just like earth or metal could be conjured or banished, he could do the same with fire. But rather than banish completely, we needed to convert that fire back into mana. There would probably be a loss in the conversion, but even a fifty-percent efficiency would be better than nothing at all.


    After walking Ax through the spell itself, I had him hold the weave in place and I began to weave my own spell through it. I linked the converted mana into a new mana battery, and constructed a simple intent control to allow it to be turned on and off. Finally, I pushed the entirety of the spell into the iron bands on the back of the bracers. The iron didn¡¯t take the spell as well as the copper did, requiring nearly twice the mana to get the same level of permanence. I settled for a weaker enchantment, since we still had two more sets of bracers to do.


    It was surprisingly efficient to cast spells alongside someone else. The mana drain from maintaining the spell during its weaving was far lower, and the effort to push the finished result into the bracers was easier despite the material differences. I felt less drained when we finished, but despite all that, it wasn¡¯t something I wanted to make a habit of. The linking of two magics was soul-baring. Ax¡¯s magic was blunt and straightforward, much like Ax himself, and it gave deep insights into him as a person. I could sense his loyalty and the underlying ruthlessness, and no small portion of ambition. None of this was new, as Ax and I had literally grown up together and had been best friends for nearly as long. But just the same, I know that I had bared my soul to him just the same way, and he¡¯d likely sensed me the same way I had him. It was disconcerting, to say the least.


    When we finished the first pair of bracers, it was nearly full dark. Lacedaemon was tying the last spearhead onto the spear. Three of them also had butt-spikes, and were stabbed into the ground so that they stood upright on their own. The rest were neatly laid out in a pile. Xene had vanished, but the other two sets of bracers were completed.


    ¡°She¡¯s had to run off to attend her mistress,¡± said Lacedaemon. ¡°She said she¡¯ll be able to finish the rest tomorrow. Her mistress gave her permission to help you during the day.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good. We should be able to finish everything tomorrow, with your help, and be on our way the morning after,¡± I said.

 Fury: Chapter 1.7 - Karson

    Chapter 1.7


    Karson


    <hr>


    Traveling on foot was the worst. We had finished the bracers in the morning, and I¡¯d gone ahead and made a basic healing ring for Lacedaemon while we were at it. Xene helped make three oiled-leather packs. Really, they were very basic bags with two leather straps so we could carry them on our backs. Even still, if the leather hadn¡¯t already been worked into a usable shape by the gigantes, there was no way she could have stitched them together in just a few hours, despite her clear talent. We were able to get a few basic sundries, several loaves of the thick, heavy bread we¡¯d been eating, a few small baskets of olives, dried figs, and a water jug for each of us.


    We had prepared to leave after breakfast, and Erxandros had been both disappointed and overjoyed to see us go. On the one hand, we¡¯d saved his village and provided them with spears and a few tips on how to protect themselves in the future. On the other hand, he was pious enough to know the fickle nature of the divine. While we were just mere mortals, he and the other villagers firmly believed we were, at the bare minimum, demigods, and had done nothing to discourage that belief. To his mind, he wanted us gone before our presence turned from good luck to bad. We wished him good fortune, and congratulating him when he told us that Polybius had agreed to marry his daughter the evening before.


    We bade farewell to the various villagers we¡¯d chatted with over the previous two days, and Lacedaemon was wished good fortune by the people he¡¯d known his entire life. I spotted the boy I gave the copper talisman to, who waved cheerfully to me at the side of a woman in a plain chiton and an old woman. Xene came with us to the edge of the village, and Ax gave her five silver drachma for her work - artisan pay for a full day of work, rather than skilled labor pay. She was so pleased with the complement that she literally dragged him into the bushes to thank him. Lacedaemon and I sat on the grass under a tree and chatted idly while we waited for them to finish. When we finally got on the road, or the trail in this case, it was late morning.


    There was no rush, and we had no deadlines. The sun was hot, but the breeze was pleasant and cool, and the air was fresh and clean smelling. The trail meandered along field after field of cultivated ground, and I marveled at how much manual labor must have gone in to working that rocky soil into good farmland, and how much work it had to have to grow a crop. We spotted villagers in the distance every now and then, doing the various tasks that were necessary.


    ¡°They are preparing for harvest,¡± said Lacedaemon. ¡°Harvest should be happening in a week or two. The last trader that came through the village said that the Oracle is foretelling a cold winter. Once harvest is in, half the villagers will start adding to the village¡¯s woodpiles.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t work on the woodpiles all year long?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We always add to them,¡± he said. ¡°But there is only so much time in a day. There is a small grove of trees by the village that we use for cookfires and daily needs. We take down two or three trees in it each year, and plant new trees every spring. But for winter, we go north across the creek to a larger wood, and will take down trees for building and repairing homes, and for building up the stockpile for winter.¡±


    ¡°Tell me,¡± I said, ¡°what made you decide to throw yourself in with us?¡±


    He gave me an odd look, perhaps because of my phrasing. Prometheus had done Ax and I a big favor by putting the Greek language into our heads rather than just using magic to change English into Greek. Many of the colloquialisms and sayings of English simply didn¡¯t translate, so our manner of speech didn¡¯t sound too out of place. In fact, we spoke Greek with a native accent, not as someone who learned the language as an adult. Despite all that, I had noticed sometimes that either Ax or myself would phrase something differently than the natives would expect. I think it was because we simply thought differently. We were far better educated than the average Greek, especially for this time period, and had been taught to approach the world differently than they had, as well. It was a minor culture clash, but not one that did anything other than get us strange looks.


    ¡°My mother, she never left the village. My father went with the basileus a few times to Esea, but came right back. He was never gone for more than a week. I am one of the few in my village that has actually been to a big city, and I was gone for the entire season. We trained outside Passaron, then marched to Oxynia. We were allied with them, so we all marched together to fight against Potamia. The Potamoi had two mages, but Oxynia sent a mage to help. The Oxynian mage was able to dispel most of the magic sent against us, so the battle came down to which side was stronger. In the end, we won. The Potamoi withdrew from the field. Word came down later that they negotiated a deal, so we went home. It was the end of the season, so I got paid and sent back to the village.¡±


    ¡°Were you glad to be back?¡± I asked.


    ¡°At first I was, yes. I had spent my pay on some nice clothes for my family, and some vegetable seeds for my mother¡¯s garden. I brought home a new knife for my father, and a toy for my little brother. I was welcomed home, and one of the rich families in town saw my success and started to talk with my father about marriage prospects with their daughter when she comes of age. But I missed my unit. It was boring a lot of the time, but I had friends and got to go places. My family began to feel like shackles. And now they are dead. I thought myself a great warrior, but I couldn¡¯t even protect my family against one gigante.¡± He gave a bitter laugh.


    I said nothing, for there was no good response to that. He didn¡¯t want or need pity or sympathy. He had felt out of place in the village before. Now the place had to be intolerable. I had read about survivor¡¯s guilt, and suspected he was feeling it. Fortunately for me, Ax was there, blunt and crude though he was.


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re off to hunt the Cult of Kronos, so we might as well add the gigantes to the list. Nothing the three of us can¡¯t handle, right?¡±


    Lacedaemon gave a laugh. ¡°Sure, and while we¡¯re at it, we can add a tribe of Centaurs and a few harpies for good measure, right?¡±


    ¡°Might as well,¡± I added. ¡°They¡¯ll add variety.¡±


    He laughed again. ¡°Well, anything to keep it from getting boring.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get showered in gold by the time we¡¯re done,¡± said Ax.


    ¡°Wine, women and wealth,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not going to settle for anything less than a princess,¡± said Lacedaemon with a twinkle in his eye. ¡°Maybe two.¡±


    I laughed at that one. ¡°Not a bad goal. Not bad at all.¡±


    After the heavy conversation, topics turned lighter. Ax carried most of the conversation with Lacedaemon. The two seemed to get along quite well. I think Ax had more of a warrior mentality than I did, and Lacedaemon was very much a warrior, young though he was. They went on a long conversation talking about exercises and ways to increase strength and endurance. At one point, Lacedaemon actually made us stop to rearrange our packs so that he was carrying all of the leftover iron, of which there were a few pounds, and all the water jugs. He put on his new, much heavier pack, and immediately let out an ¡°oof¡± from the weight.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to do it all at once,¡± laughed Ax, but Lacedaemon waved him off, and carried the bag without complaint.


    As dusk began to set in, and our stomachs began to growl, we stopped at a small stream and set up a rudimentary camp. I found us some sticks and branches for a little fire, Lacedaemon used a bit of dried fig and a string to catch a fish, and Ax got the fire going and camp set up. By the time we ate and wrapped ourselves up in our traveling cloaks, it was fully dark. I drifted off to sleep wishing for a real pillow of cotton and memory foam, and maybe even a mattress. At the very least, a thick, padded mat like we¡¯d been using at Erxandros¡¯ house.


    I jerked awake at the sounds of running in the underbrush nearby. It was the middle of the night, and the fire had burned low. I saw Lacedaemon shaking Ax awake, looking out in the direction of the noise. I pulled out my long knife and reached for the mana in my ring. A surprising amount was available for me; far more than in my own personal pool. Adrenaline coursed through me, and I saw both Ax and Lacedaemon ready their spears. I¡¯d forgotten all about mine, it was laying on the ground next to where I slept.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Then two small figures stumbled into the camp. They were slight and leaning on each other.


    ¡°Lord Axerios? Lord Axiokarsos?¡± said one of them. Then it clicked.


    ¡°Xene?¡± said Ax before I could say anything.


    ¡°Oh, thank the gods,¡± she said. Lacedaemon moved to stir up the fire and throw on a few pieces of wood. Light flared in the campsite, and I could see Xene holding up Latona. Xene¡¯s peplos was torn and bloody, leaving her exposed and indecent. Latona had fared little better, her dress disheveled and muddy. Both looked like they¡¯d been through hell.


    We immediately moved over to them, Ax wrapping Xene in his long traveling cloak, and I wrapped mine around Latona. She seemed to be in shock. I guided her gently over by the fire, and led her down to sit. She began to shake and cry. Immediately, Xene came over and wrapped her up into a hug. Latona leaned into her and began bawling. Xene was tearing up and murmuring to her mistress, rocking her back and forth.


    Lacedaemon got the fire going strong and came over with a water jug. After a few minutes, they calmed down. He handed an extra clothing pin to Xene so she could make repin her dress, and she began to talk.


    ¡°Everything was going so well. Master Erxandros had announced Latona¡¯s engagement, and everyone was excited because there was going to be a wedding feast after the harvest. He decided to go ahead and adopt Polybius after the wedding. Then the monsters came back, only more of them. We had all your new spears out since Master Erxandros was handing them out, so we were able to fight back. It was madness. They were everywhere, killing everyone. I saw Odius grabbed by a two-headed hound and dragged off. The ones with the spears, they killed a few gigantes, but they got cut down. I ran to find Latona after Erxandros fell. We tried to sneak away from the village, but a jackal creature grabbed me. Latona smashed it in the back of the head with a stone. We ran into the fields and hid. I¡­ we¡­ found the trail out of the village and we ran and ran. I can¡¯t believe we found you. Thank the gods, we found you.¡±


    ¡°How many was it?¡± asked Ax gently.


    ¡°At least a dozen, maybe more. There were more of the jackal creatures and several hounds. I don¡¯t know what to do. We don¡¯t¡­ we¡¯ve never been out of the village before. How are we going to¡­ oh gods, Mistress Klymene¡­¡± Xene trailed off, fresh tears pouring from her eyes.


    ¡°Lacedaemon, you¡¯re on first watch,¡± said Ax. ¡°Karsos, put out that fire. It¡¯s a beacon telling people we¡¯re here. We don¡¯t want any scouts to find us. Xene, Latona, lay down and try to rest. We¡¯ll go look for survivors in the morning.¡±


    And just like that, Ax took command of the situation. I immediately went to the fire, and thrust my bracers toward it, cranking up the heat absorption to max. In seconds, the bracers absorbed the fire, and the mana battery in my belt pouch thrummed with a surge of mana. Lacedaemon went to stand under a tree, spear in hand. In the deep shadows, I couldn¡¯t even make out his outline anymore. I went to the packs, and pulled out the lighter cloaks that Ax and I had been wearing in the village. They weren¡¯t as warm against the chilly night air, but it was better than the thin chitons we were wearing. I handed one to Ax, and went to sit next to the girls. I made sure to keep my spear within easy reach, and kept a hand on my knife.


    The girls laid down together, Latona wrapped up in Xene¡¯s comforting embrace. Ax sat behind me, and we leaned against each other. I don¡¯t think either of us wanted to get too comfortable or sleep too deeply. I dozed uneasily, fear and the muffled sobs of the women keeping sleep at bay. The dark side of this horrible time was showing itself.


    Sometime before dawn, I got up and relieved Lacedaemon so that he could rest for awhile. I stared out across the empty fields, watching every rock and tree. I half expected the shadows to move, betraying someone trying to sneak up on us. But nothing moved. The cold night breeze had tapered off, and the stillness let me listen as well as watch. I had nothing to do except think.


    I had lost myself in learning my new magic over the last few days, enjoying the intellectual thrill of puzzling out new things. It was the same thrill that had drawn me into college, and had kept me going for an extra year of classes before settling on teaching for a living. It stimulated me in a way that nothing else could, and the possibilities were endless. But there was a price to having this whole new world of knowledge to absorb. A war was brewing, and not the type that Lacedaemon had witnessed the previous summer. This was total war the likes not seen in the part of the world, probably ever.


    If the gigantes were siding with Kronos and the Titans, then Kronos was probably targeting the followers of Zeus. I had seen many lightning bolt symbols carved in wood throughout the village, and a small altar by the creek had a crude stone symbol as well. If Zeus¡¯ worship extended into these parts, then the gigantes were on a mission of genocide. The fact that they were targeting villages meant they had dispersed their forces into raiding parties to scour the countryside, and doing so right before harvest meant that many survivors may yet starve come winter. Worse, towns and cities that depended on these villages would suffer, too.


    My conclusions brought me nothing for comfort, however. We could only do what we could do. All we could do was try to grow stronger. But it was more than just getting a bunch of warriors together to fight Kronos¡¯ Cult. We would have to have a safe place to call home, a place where our warrior¡¯s families could stay safe, and a place where we could stockpile food and weapons. We had deeper needs than simple vengeance. If we wanted to survive, we needed to build.


    Dawn broke to a camp where no one was sleeping. The girls washed up as best they could in the stream, and prepared breakfast. Ax and Lacedaemon began doing the spear drills that Lacedaemon had been taught by the militia he¡¯d been conscripted into. For the first time, I joined them, and resolved to join them every morning. I couldn¡¯t rely solely on magic for defense, and my street fighting style with a knife had no place in combat. I¡¯d just as likely get myself killed, especially against an armored opponent.


    What became very obvious was that fighting with a spear also meant you should have a shield. Spears were entirely offensive, with no good way of using it to block or deflect blows. I¡¯d seen some Chinese martial arts movies and competitions where spears were used in some amazing ways, but I didn¡¯t have the years upon years it would take to use a spear in that manner, nor did I have any idea if that method was even practical for real combat.


    Finally, we finished the drills, everyone ate, and we got back on the trail. This time, we marched at a rapid pace, the packs equally weighted again so that we could make the best time possible. Xene and Latona had no trouble keeping up, evidence yet again that we were in a different time. There are no couch potatoes in ancient times. If it had been back on Earth, my sorry rear would have been dragging in no time, seeing as I rarely saw the inside of a gym.


    Around late morning, we saw smoke in the distance. It was our warning, a precursor to let us know of the carnage that awaited us. It did nothing to prepare me. Most of the homes were on fire, although most had finished burning out. Bodies lay everywhere, torn and broken. Men, women and children lay scattered around where they¡¯d been caught. It had been a slaughter. The stench was unbelievable. I heard Ax throw up noisily behind me, and Lacedaemon looked a little green. Xene and Latona stumbled along in shock, no doubt reliving every terror-filled minute of the night before.


    In front of Erxandros¡¯ home was a knot of defenders and a few gigantes bodies. There we found the body of Erxandros, a broken spear shaft still clutched in his hands. My outrage continued to grow each passing minute. He had been a good sort; he looked out for his family, he tried to do right by his villagers. Latona sank to her knees next to his body, tears streaming from her eyes.


    ¡°Oh, father,¡± was all she said. She gently closed his eyes and straightened his limbs, carefully arranging his hands on his chest around the spear shaft. She then moved over to another body. Polybius, her fiance. She straightened him as well.


    ¡°Perhaps in the next life, husband,¡± she whispered. Xene went and stood next to her.


    ¡°Come, Latona, let¡¯s find your mother. We¡¯ll wash them properly and send them off to Erebus properly.¡±


    Latona nodded, and rose to her feet. We followed behind as they approached Erxandros¡¯ home, the only home Latona had ever known. It was still on fire, but the building had been built mostly of stone, so there was little to burn. We walked in to find what little furniture that had been there was smashed. Jars that had been neatly arrayed on shelves were thrown to the ground and broken. We walked through into the courtyard, and spotted the young slave boy¡¯s body under the peristyle, his head twisted unnaturally. Xene and Latona rushed over to him, straightening his body much as they had done for Erxandros. At last we went into the women¡¯s quarters. Torn fabric lay strewn around from where it had been torn from the walls, and on the low pallets in the back was Klymene. She had a massive gash across her chest, cutting through her dress and laying bare her ribcage. Xene rushed to cover the gruesome sight, but Latona merely sank next to her and began the task of straightening her limbs.


    A noise from outside drew our attention, so Ax and I went out to see a few villagers walking into the village. It was the young boy and his mother, his grandmother missing. They looked dirty and disheveled, but uninjured. Another woman walked into the village behind them, nursing an arm and limping. I went over to her and offered to heal her injuries. She nodded, but said nothing. I touched her arm, gently straightening the limb so that the magic could heal the broken bone. Then the magic coursed to her leg, healing a vicious scratch and sprained ankle.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, before wandering off to stare at one of the burned out homes.


    ¡°So this is our start,¡± I said to myself in English. ¡°A handful of refugees from a burned out hamlet in the middle of nowhere.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.8 - Ax

    Chapter 1.8


    Ax


    <hr>


    I was pissed off, but I did my best not to show it. This was hands down the worst thing I¡¯d ever seen in my life. I¡¯d seen abject poverty, gang violence, and drugged out kids. Kabiri had helped us climb out of that cesspool, and I¡¯d made something of myself with it. But I had never seen a slaughter like this before. Well, if I¡¯d had to build from nothing before, I could do it again. I just needed to get everyone organized. Three men, one boy, and four women. We could do this.


    I rallied everyone together. The boy, Alector, and his mother, Hegesandra, were tasked with locating all the bodies. The other village woman, Danae, I set to help Xene and Latona with washing the bodies for the funeral. I set Karson to putting out the fires, while Damon and I began moving bodies. We lined them up respectfully next to the deep burning pit that we¡¯d been at only a few days before. When Alector and Hegesandra checked in again, it was clear that the village was a total loss. Every home was damaged to some degree, most were burned to the ground. All of the villagers were accounted for, and only those with us had survived. I sent them back to the woodpile to start hauling wood. We would probably use most of the stockpile to do this right.


    We worked hard throughout the afternoon, but were unable to finish before dark. We gathered in the women¡¯s quarters of Erxandros¡¯ house, the least damaged room in the village. No one had much appetite, but I managed to force a chunk of bread down. It was important to eat something, even if it wasn¡¯t much, to keep my strength up. I had a feeling I would need every bit of it I could muster.


    It took all the way until the next afternoon to prepare all the bodies, then lay them out in the firepit. We lined the pit with huge amounts of wood, laid the bodies to rest, and then covered them with even more wood. A supply of olive oil had been located, so we drenched the pit with it as best we could, before I used my cast a column of fire into the pit. I poured mana into it until the mana pools in my batteries were nearly drained. Latona stood at the front of the villagers, bathed and dressed in a dark-colored peplos and wearing a dark brown cloak. She was dry eyed as she watched the fire burn away everyone she¡¯d known and loved.


    The next morning, I went out to do spear drill with Damon, to find Karson already stretching and warming up. Alector and Latona both walked over right after, looking uncertain.


    ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± I asked them. Phrasing, dammit. Karson had warned me about that. ¡°I mean, what¡¯s going on?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here to practice with you,¡± said Latona firmly.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said easily. ¡°Damon, you fixed the broken spears, right?¡±


    ¡°I did, but¡­ she¡¯s a woman,¡± he replied.


    ¡°So? Women die by the spear just as easily as men. She should be able to fight. Women are every bit as capable as men are.¡±


    Damon seemed a bit shocked by the idea, but he wasn¡¯t really ready to argue with me over it. I guessed that once he saw her learning, he¡¯d see that she could do it. Once they were handed spears, it became obvious they hadn¡¯t a clue what to do with them. That was fair, seeing as I¡¯d only been using a spear for a couple days myself. Damon was a good sport, and walked them through the proper way to hold a spear, how to position their feet, and how to move with them. We drilled the basics slowly, working hard to perfect the very minimum movements. We also practiced marching with a spear, propping it correctly on the shoulder so that the weight of the tip was counterbalanced so that you could move easily without being unduly burdened. Finally, we wrapped up with practicing a basic thrust.


    ¡°Latona,¡± I called at the end of the practice. ¡°If you intend to learn the spear, you might want to start dressing as a warrior would.¡±


    I pointed at her long peplos that went nearly down to her ankles. It was considered the appropriate clothing for a grown woman, but it had hampered her movements and her stance during the drill.


    ¡°Are you telling me to wear a men¡¯s tunic?¡± she said with incredulity.


    ¡°I am. You can hardly wield a spear correctly if your knees are restricted.¡±


    ¡°I will give it thought,¡± she said doubtfully. It looked like Damon wasn¡¯t the only one who was struggling with gender roles.


    After a simple breakfast of bread and figs, it was time to take stock and prepare. Since everyone was gathered for food, it was the best time.


    ¡°Everyone, we cannot stay here,¡± I started. The villagers looked at each other as if they hadn¡¯t even considered the notion. ¡°The raiders may come back through, and there are too few of us remaining to rebuild. It is time to move on. Karsos and I are here to strike at the Cult of Kronos. You are welcome to get your own vengeance along with us, if you¡¯d like. Or, when we get to a town, you can stay there while we move on. It is your choice. Only know that the gigante raids are just the beginning. A war has started, and we are building an army. We are taking the fight to him, no waiting for him to come after us.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming,¡± said Latona, her voice full of grim determination.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go with my mistress,¡± said Xene.


    ¡°They killed my ya-ya. I¡¯m going,¡± said Alector.


    ¡°I go with my son,¡± said Hegesandra.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go,¡± said Danae quietly.


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said. ¡°Then we need to see what we can salvage from the village. Did any of the carts survive? What food can we salvage? Clothing, knives, valuables, see if the raiders left anything at all.¡±


    ¡°We can check the big granary,¡± offered Latona. ¡°It¡¯s not in the village proper, so they might not have noticed it.¡±


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°The big granary is out in the middle of the fields. We store the grain and olives there to deliver to the basileus every fall. There are cattle and a big wagon.¡±Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°That sounds like a good place to start. Karsos, Alector, Danae and Hegesandra, start here in the village. Get what you can and take it to Latona¡¯s house. I¡¯ll go with Latona and Xene to the granary.¡±


    It was about a ten minute walk to the granary, through a big field of ripe wheat. The wheat was nearly up to my shoulder, with fat golden heads so full they looked ready to fall onto a plate of food. On the far side of the field was a large hill with a building protruding out of the far end. The walls were made of dried mud bricks and thick wooden posts, and a large fenced area stood next to it. Two oxen grazed in the pen, oblivious to the destruction that had happened nearby. They had horns protruding from the tops of their skulls curving forward, but the ends of the horns were sawed off and capped in copper. A massive, four-wheeled cart stood nearby. It had simple wooden wheels and a long wooden tongue extending out the front for the ox traces to be attached.


    Latona pulled open one of the doors to the granary, to reveal a single big room that was significantly larger than I expected. The granary actually extended into the hill, giving the room a cool temperature and an earthy smell.


    ¡°In the fall, the basileus comes by with five or six wagons that we load up, and we load up our wagon to follow him. What¡¯s left is ours. Some years, we¡¯ve even been able to sell an extra wagonload or two,¡± said Latona. ¡°The oxen and wagon belong to the basilius, but he leaves them with us so that we can be more productive.¡±


    There were several canvas bags of grain, and a number of large jars of olives. I found a half bag of figs, and several jars of honey. Xene located a small bag of apricots that had turned bad. In the back was a box of grapes, probably part of the first harvest. We loaded everything into the wagon, along with a pile of wooden and stone tools, a large ox hide, and four bronze scythes.


    Following Latona¡¯s advice, we covered the wagon with a thick canvas cloth and tied it down, before walking back to the village. The wagon was rarely brought to the village, and only when the harvest was done. There was no track between the two. The only track leading away from the granary headed to the same Mycenaean road we had been walking towards the day before.


    When we returned, Karsos pointed wearily at a pitifully small pile of goods and gave me his report. There was a box of coins, gathered from the dead gigantes and various hiding places that had been located around the village. A fair number had been found in a hiding spot in Latona¡¯s house. There was a pile of bread, several clay jars of rough ground flour, some of it burnt, vegetables, figs, apricots and grapes. There was also enough clothing that everyone would be able to dress properly and have a thick traveling cloak. Then there was the armor taken from the dead gigantes, and their weapons. For some reason, the gigantes left their friends where they fell, as if touching their fallen brethren was sacrilegious or something.


    I traded my thin belt for a thick one that had small pouches stitched into it, and noticed Karsos had already done the same. Otherwise, I took nothing. The pile was small enough that we would all be able to carry it all to the wagon.


    Latona tugged on my hand, beckoning me to the burned men¡¯s quarters. I followed, and she led me to a corner of the room where a burned rug lay across the floor. She pulled it back to expose the stone floor.


    ¡°I cannot lift this, but you can,¡± she said, pointing out a handhold in the stone floor.


    ¡°Sneaky,¡± I commented. I pulled the hidden trapdoor open, and it was very heavy. It was stone mortared against a heavy wooden door. Underneath was simply a hole in the ground filled with a big canvas bag. I pulled out the bag.


    ¡°My dowry,¡± she said sadly. ¡°My contribution to the group.¡±


    I handed it to her.


    ¡°Keep it,¡± I said. ¡°You¡¯ve contributed plenty.¡±


    ¡°Thank you,¡± she said, her eyes glassy with tears.


    When we returned, Danae and Xene grabbed Latona, and they disappeared. Hegesandra made a cookfire and put a pot on it, chopping up vegetables and tossing them into the stew, along with some flour. By the time the women returned, the stew was bubbling and thick.


    I was surprised to see Latona returning in a men¡¯s chiton. She¡¯d gathered it at both shoulders, and pinned it along the side as well. The fabric cloth had been intended for men, so instead of falling to mid-thigh as it would on me, it actually fell to her knees. Danae added to my surprise, however, by wearing the same. They both wore thick belts and sturdy sandals. Xene was dressed in a clean peplos, and all looked bathed and refreshed.


    ¡°I think we¡¯ll be ready to leave in the morning,¡± said Karsos. ¡°If you can make rings for everyone except Alector, I can enchant them with health.¡±


    ¡°We have enough leather,¡± said Xene. ¡°I can make bracers for Alector, Latona and Danae. You will just need to add the iron and magic. If I can ride in the wagon, I can take that oxhide you found and make leather jerkins as well. It would be better if I boiled it to shape, but we¡¯d need to stay here for another day or two.¡±


    ¡°Jerkins are good enough for now,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯d rather get some distance between us and the gigantes.¡±


    I settled down with the pile of gold and silver, systematically separating the electrum into silver and gold piles. I took the pure silver and formed rings, then fit them to the people who needed them. After I handed them off to Karsos, I took all of the coins and bits of gold and silver, and turned them all into double-Kappa drachmas. I also re-shaped the small silver obols, giving them the perfect circular shape and the double-Kappa stamp. It was always good to have small denominations when it came to money. In the pile, I found the five silver drachma that I had given to Xene. I picked them out and walked over to her.


    ¡°Can I speak with you for a moment, Xene?¡± I asked.


    She checked with Latona, who nodded that she would be okay. We walked outside, and I held out the five coins.


    ¡°Xene, you earned these coins. They are yours, to do with as you wish.¡±


    ¡°What use do I have for money?¡± she spat out in a heated voice. ¡°I lost my family to those monsters. Erxandros and Genoisa bought me off a trader when I was a girl, as a companion for Latona. They treated me well, clothed me as if I were a daughter instead of a slave, and gave me my best friend in the world. He even let me learn a trade. The slaver who sold me was a horrible man, always shouting and had a heavy hand. Erxandros was kind, spare with punishment and quick with praise. When Klymene became his second wife, she treated me well also. And Polybius, poor Polybius. He was a good boy, and would have made a good husband for Latona. He was much like Erxandros. All of this is now gone. And you offer me coins?¡± She gave a harsh laugh. ¡°No, do not give me coins. Give me my family back. Failing that, give me the heads of those who did it. I don¡¯t want money. I want their blood.¡±


    I was taken aback for a moment at her outburst, but it was a sentiment I understood, through and through.


    ¡°Karsos and I were raised by Kabiri. Kabiri had been a criminal. A thief and dealer. He was caught and punished. Once he finished his punishment, he spent his life convincing other criminals that they should become good men and women. He helped countless people find a better life. Before we came to this place, he was murdered by the Cult of Kronos. The Titan behind those actions is the one who sent the gigantes. Karsos and I want our pound of flesh. You want blood? Then stay with us. There will be plenty of blood, I swear it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not demigods, are you,¡± she said.


    ¡°No, we¡¯re not. We¡¯re mortal and angry.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re magoi. You have power. I have nothing, can do nothing. How do I get my blood?¡±


    ¡°No warrior can fight without food, weapons and armor. No warrior can fight without someone to help them. You already know about leatherworking. Put it to work. Help us make better armor, better weapons. Make us the tools we need. You are a craftswoman, skilled and capable. Help us, and you will get your blood.¡±


    ¡°Then you have my promise to the gods,¡± she said solemnly. ¡°I will help you armor yourselves, so that you may rend my enemies to death. So I swear to Zeus the lawgiver.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.9 - Ax

    Chapter 1.9


    Ax


    <hr>


    The wagon was as wide as a pickup truck, and about fifteen feet long. It had huge wooden wheels, something I was going to have to change at some point soon. Spoked wheels with iron rims would cut huge amounts of weight and drastically improve durability. It was time tested to the point that even a dumb welder like me knew it. In fact, I could spot a dozen places where I could improve it. But now wasn¡¯t the time. We had to move.


    So we loaded the wagon. We grabbed two empty crates from the granary, and used them to hold the clothing and miscellaneous things we¡¯d salvaged. In order to save room, I discarded the wooden and stone tools. Latona didn¡¯t think we¡¯d get more than a drachma for the whole lot anyway. I kept the blades from the scythes, and the money was split amongst all of our belt pouches. The small pockets on my belt were loaded with copper ingots, even though only two were currently enchanted.


    We got on the road, with only Xene and I riding in the back of the wagon. Alector acted as the driver, being the only one who actually knew how to rig the traces correctly and how to guide them. Among the clothes that Karson and his crew had found was enough wide brimmed felt hats to go around. I scoffed at the idea at first, until I put it on and realized how nice it was to have the sun off of my face and off of the back of my neck. I felt a bit ridiculous wearing it at first, but no one else seemed to mind, and I didn¡¯t mind a little extra shade.


    As we bumped slowly along, Xene began disassembling the gigantes armor. Every now and then, a piece of bone would go flying off the wagon, thrown over her shoulder as she worked. I focused my attention on the scythe blades.


    There were five of them, each blade long and thin. Roughly three feet long each, they were used to mow down the wheat in the field, and held a decent edge to them. I could sense they were of the same quality of Erxandros¡¯ knife, which had found a home on Latona¡¯s belt. With a few motions, I balled up the metal of each blade into an orb, to make them easier to work. I pulled out the impurities and extra tin, tossing the impurities and setting the tin aside.


    I noticed that reshaping them had lost some of the structural strength from the rudimentary work-hardening from when they had first been forged. I made a note to fix that once I¡¯d shaped the metal. It was time to make some swords.


    I took the first piece of bronze and extended it to two feet in length, then added another six inches for the handle. There was a good chunk of extra metal that I pulled off and set aside. I then shaped the blade and crossguard, and shaped the handle with a good sized pommel. I left the handle skinny enough that leather could be wrapped around it.


    ¡°Leave the pommel off,¡± said Xene.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Leave it off. I¡¯ll tie the leather up over the end, and you can put the pommel on over the knot. It¡¯ll keep the leather from untying and falling off.¡±


    ¡°Oh, okay. I can do that.¡±


    I followed her instruction, removing the pommel but leaving an extra inch of handle where it had been. I then figured out how to harden the metal, and in the process, discovered a spell to structurally reinforce the whole thing. Magic was awesome. Now why didn¡¯t I do this with the iron? Well, worked bronze is actually tougher and stronger than iron. It¡¯s not until it has been worked into steel that bronze gets left behind.


    Instead of casting the reinforcement spell, I passed the dull blade over to Xene, who was finishing up the bone removal on the last piece of armor. A pile of thin iron strips lay on the wagon next to her, and a pile of stinking leather to the other side. In front of her was the clay bowl she¡¯d used to soak the leather before. She¡¯d filled it with water from the well before we left, carrying it without complaint across the field while we loaded and reloaded the wagon. Some of it had sloshed out, but the bowl was tall and wide, so it still had plenty of water.


    Using a knife, she cut one of the leather armor pieces into strips, and dropped it into the bowl.


    ¡°Heat this water, please, until I say stop.¡± She kept her hands in the bowl, moving the leather strips around. I stuck a finger into the bowl, using my magic to heat it. After a few minutes, she nodded for me to stop.


    Then she pulled out the first strip and picked up the blade. I returned to my work, and by the time she finished the first, I was done with the second. We worked in tandem like that for some time, until the last blade was done. I put pommels on all of them as the leather dried, pressing the bronze as tight as I could over the knots. Then I sharpened the blades, and one after the next, I cast the reinforcement spell. I realized that this spell would also be a ward against banishment, since it wouldn¡¯t release the metal from its grip in favor of a banishing. That was useful, and something to bear in mind.


    Xene used one of the blades to create a mold for a sheath. Once she had the pieces, she began to punch small holes using a bone awl so that she could stitch the shape. I had a small bit of extra bronze, so I made a new awl for her, sharpened and hardened it, and then reinforced it. This extra mana from the mana batteries was tremendously helpful. I had to remember not to drain them, since we¡¯d need to enchant four sets of bracers at the end of the day.


    Hegesandra joined us on the wagon, wielding a bone needle and thread to stitch as Xene made her cuts. Xene ruined one length of leather with a poor cut, but just set it aside to use for strips later. With Hegesandra¡¯s help, the sheaths came along swiftly. By the time the stitching on the sheaths was finished, Xene was already cutting out the bracer patterns. She wouldn¡¯t be able to lace them until the next day, or stitch the palm wrap, but I was able to get the iron strips attached.


    I handed out the swords while the sheaths dried in the sun, with the instructions to carry them and get used to the weight. Specifically, I told Alector, Danae and Latona to lift the swords to shoulder height, to the front and to the side, every half minute or so. They wouldn¡¯t be able to do the exercise for long, but as long as they kept at it as often as they could, they would naturally strengthen.


    At the end of the day, we had barely made it to the stream. It was as good a place as any to camp, although we went without a fire. I used some of the iron to make eight camping mugs like hikers carried back home. I made the iron extremely thin, and coated it with the leftover tin, not unlike a tin can back home. It was a bit heavier and not quite as sturdy, but still more than good enough to use for drinking water or soup. So when we made a cold camp, I was able to heat a pot of water for stew, and everyone was able to grab a large mug¡¯s worth.


    ¡°The ease with which you manipulate metal is disconcerting sometimes,¡± said Xene. ¡°I¡¯ve been watching you play with metal all day as if it were clay. Yet I hold the end result and know it to be solid. The blades we are carrying are stronger than any we had in the village, yet I saw you take the bronze from the scythes we cut the fields with. I heard the complaints of the harvesters when they had to take a turn with a scythe as to how dull they were. It is a marvel.¡±


    ¡°It is my talent,¡± I said with a shrug. ¡°I¡¯ve always had a thing for metal. It is literally bound into my very soul.¡±This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    I summoned the brass knuckles, and they formed around my right hand. She gasped as they appeared, and four spikes protruded from my them. I left them out for a moment, then let them melt back into my flesh. I rarely noticed the extra weight in that arm anymore, not that I could do anything about it.


    ¡°Another marvel,¡± she breathed. ¡°Watching you and your brother work is incredible. Yours is a vibrant, fiery magic.¡±


    ¡°And my brother¡¯s?¡±


    His is¡­¡± she shuddered for a moment. ¡°Terrifying. I saw your fight with the gigantes that first night. You are a warrior, a brawler, underneath your magic. Lord Karsos¡­ his magic is brutal and kind, at the same time. What do you call that?¡±


    ¡°Paradox,¡± I supplied.


    ¡°Yes, a paradox. Life and death. My mother had the Sight. Just a touch, enough to see ghosts and spirits. I inherited that from her. Not enough to be a hedge witch or anything, and I¡¯m not bloodthirsty enough to follow Hekate. But in that fight, I Saw him rip the soul out of that gigante.¡±


    ¡°Our father always told us to stay out of fights. But he also said that if you have no choice, if you have to fight, fight to win and fight dirty.¡±


    ¡°Fight dirty? What does this mean?¡±


    ¡°Utter ruthlessness, no holding back, as fast and brutal as possible,¡± I explained. The culture gap struck again.


    ¡°I never knew my father. My mother, she died, and my uncle had no money, so he sold me to the slaver. He said he had no use for a girl child.¡±


    ¡°What an asshole,¡± I said. ¡°If we run into him, let me know. I¡¯ll stab him in the face for you.¡±


    Xene laughed. ¡°That¡¯s sweet of you, but I don¡¯t know what village I came from, what he looks like, or even if he is still alive. He was much older than my mother.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t sound particularly angry about it.¡±


    ¡°I was bought by a nice family. For a slave, that is all you can ask for. I could buy my freedom, but why would I? Latona is my best friend, like my sister. I take care of her and she protects me and gives me what I need.¡±


    ¡°And what about all those slaves who live in horrible conditions? The ones that are abused, taken advantage of, and beaten?¡±


    Xene¡¯s face turned dark. ¡°I don¡¯t defend slavery. I only say that I have a life worth fighting for. If you try to slap shackles on me, don¡¯t be surprised to wake with a knife in your throat.¡±


    After dinner, I took the four sets of bracers that Xene and I had finished in the afternoon and wandered over to where Karsos was sitting. He was staring off towards the stream and didn¡¯t seem to notice my approach. I cleared my throat, but he was still lost in thought. I dropped the pile of bracers in his lap, and he just about jumped out of his skin. I laughed.


    ¡°Asshole!¡± he said in English. ¡°The fuck did you do that for?¡±


    ¡°Hey, space cadet, I kept trying to get your attention. What were you thinking about so hard, anyway?¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ve had almost nothing to do all day except think. The possibilities of what we can do is almost endless. I¡¯ve got ideas about teleporting, various protection wards, and a really cool idea of how to expand space. I really need to get some paper.¡±


    ¡°You might have to invent it first,¡± I said dryly. ¡°Did they even have paper?¡±


    ¡°Papyrus, not paper. I watched a few videos online about how to make it, so maybe I¡¯ll start a paper mill some day. But for now, it¡¯s going to have to be whatever is available.¡±


    ¡°So you ready to do this?¡± I asked. ¡°I¡¯d like to get some sleep sometime tonight.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ You should be able to use the health ring to eliminate fatigue, if you concentrate. I tried it earlier, and I feel like I slept all night. Still mentally fatigued, but physically I¡¯m all set.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not screwing with sleep. I like it too much,¡± I said.


    ¡°You do you,¡± said Karson with a shrug. ¡°Let¡¯s get weaving. Start it off?¡±


    I began the fire conversion spell, and like before, he intertwined his magic around mine, adding to it, shaping it, and pushing it into the bracers. Except he had changed something. The spells were different, I just couldn¡¯t quite grasp what he was doing.


    ¡°Okay, what did you add?¡± I asked.


    Karsos smiled. ¡°I figured out a ward against acid spells like mine, and against death magic, so people can¡¯t get their souls yanked on. I¡¯m going to add those to ours. Also, there is a physical switch on these ones, so I removed the intent control. The mana feeds back to our batteries, too, as long as we¡¯re in range. If we¡¯re out of range, it¡¯ll just fill up its own mana pool and reinforce the core spell. If the pool is too full, it¡¯ll just overflow and radiate into the air around the wearer.¡±


    I saw all the bits and pieces he rambled on about, and once he explained them I fully understood what they were doing. I could probably even weave them if I tried a few times. But I couldn¡¯t even begin to guess how he¡¯d come up with all of this. If he ever got his hands on someone who knew what they were doing, his spellcasting would be totally next level.


    We completed all four sets of bracers, and updated the spells on ours, before I headed off to bed. Karson settled down by the fire in a meditative pose, several bits of copper in one hand. I wrapped myself in my traveling cloak. The garment was really an oversized rectangle of cloth, pinned at one shoulder with extra fabric that I could pull over my head as a hood. I found a convenient tree and dozed off as soon as my head found a spot to lean.


    I was wakened by Danae the next morning as dawn broke.


    ¡°My lord, we have breakfast cooking. Were we to do spear drill this morning?¡±


    She seemed eager to learn, having not participated the day before. Danae had marched with a sword in hand all day yesterday, the same sword that was sheathed at her waist now. She¡¯d switched to a thicker belt to help handle the weight better.


    Then Karson walked over as I stood up. I looked up at him, then did a double-take.


    ¡°Did you¡­ are you taller?¡± He had always been about two inches taller than me, right at six feet tall, but now it looked like he was even taller. His height and his curly golden hair really made him look right at home here. I was always shorter and stockier, with dark curls instead of golden blonde, but this was getting ridiculous.


    ¡°Just an inch,¡± he said with a smirk. ¡°I¡¯m planning on removing it tonight. I¡¯ve been playing with my body magic. I want to be able to get us to the strength of the gigantes, and as fast as those little shit cynos as soon as possible. Also, I have an idea on how we can start getting more metals for you. If we can push enchantments into objects, why can¡¯t we do the same with your conjuring?¡±


    The idea was brilliant. I hadn¡¯t played with conjuring beyond the initial attempt with copper. But the mana batteries changed that. I had gone from a relatively small mana pool for the entire day, to a steady stream of mana that let me work essentially as long as I wanted. Manipulating metal, at least the softer metals, seemed to do fine just with that stream, without draining the batteries much at all. So I knew what I was doing today. I would be conjuring different metals while Karson watched, so that he could understand the process. After spear practice, we hit the trail again. It was less than an hour before we reached the road.


    I was walking today, with Hegesandra and Xene staying on the wagon with Alector the driver again today. Lacedaemon liked to take point ahead of the wagon, spear on his shoulder and sword strapped to his waist. Latona and Danae walked together behind the wagon, and Karson and I took up the rear, a dozen or so paces back. I didn¡¯t mind the view. Danae was cute, but Latona was gorgeous. Her dark brown hair was braided down her back, and the shorter chiton she now wore only accentuated her figure.


    At one point, Latona stretched, pulling the fabric up to just under her rear. I think I might have drooled at the sight. She turned and looked over a shoulder at me, blushing slightly before turning back to her conversation with Danae. Unreal.


    ¡°I think she might like you,¡± said Karson.


    ¡°But wasn¡¯t she just about to marry Polybius?¡± I objected.


    Karson gave a shrug. ¡°She¡¯s eighteen or nineteen years old. Hormones are still raging, and Polybius was an arranged marriage.¡±


    ¡°I thought she picked him,¡± I said.


    ¡°Out of a small pool of candidates, where she was probably given an even smaller list of acceptable candidates. And her father could have ignored her choice if he disagreed.¡±


    ¡°Fair point,¡± I said.


    ¡°Also, these are hard times and life is fleeting. She¡¯s probably looking for something positive to help balance out the huge negatives lately.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t we supposed to be conjuring?¡± I said, eager to move on from the subject.


    That got me a laugh. Sometimes topic changes are necessary.

 Fury: Chapter 1.10 - Karson

    Chapter 1.10


    Karson


    <hr>


    Sometimes I really wanted paper so that I could take notes. I¡¯d had a dozen ideas throughout the day, but only one brain to think them through, and a limited amount of time to actually focus and try them out. Some of my more radical ideas were going to have to wait until we had a safe place to stay for more than a few days.


    My primary goal at this point was making our group more durable. The improved enchantment for the bracers was a great first step. I had some ideas about how to create a shield of magic, but would need to experiment to puzzle it out. I had plans for space expansion, so we could tuck away absurd amounts of material in small boxes or bags. I even suspected I could do something like that to create a little pocket dimension, assuming I ever figured out how to get us enough mana to do something like that. But all of these ideas kept slipping by as I focused on one thing or another.


    That frustration aside, supporting Ax in his enchantments made the most practical sense. His abilities were more readily useful without a lot of time commitment. We walked all day, with Ax conjuring bits of metal and tossing them into the wagon as we went. I watched carefully, and was able to figure out the core pattern in the conjuring spell. The material itself seemed to be mostly intent-based, like much of magic that we¡¯d puzzled out so far. Ax seemed limited to the elements under his control - earth and fire. Despite being able to see magic the way I did, courtesy of the ring I gave him, he seemed to lack the fundamental grasp of how magic worked.


    My understanding was somewhat intuitive, being able to recognize patterns and repurpose them, but without the true understanding of any one element. That is, unless you count the body magic that allowed me to heal, and the soul magic, which was still largely a mystery. But my ability to recognize how magic worked meant that over time, I would be able to make some really cool things that Ax could never do. He was a sorcerer through and through, while I was learning more every day.


    But that was no different than back home in Detroit. Ax got most of the way through a masonry trade school, lasting until about a month until completing the course. Then he learned that welders were in short supply, made two to three times as much money, and had a two-week class starting a few days later. He dropped masonry like a bad habit and moved on.


    I, on the other hand, had gone to college and stayed an extra year. Not because of freshman partying, either. There were so many subjects that fascinated me that I wound up taking an entire year¡¯s worth of extra classes simply because I wanted to.


    Both options worked out, at least until the Cult of Kronos derailed us, and both paths seemed to playing out here as well. This time, however, we would be working together far more than we had ever done before.


    Over the course of the day, Ax and I basically figured out that the mana cost and time cost of conjuring a material directly corresponded to its rarity. Iron, nickel-iron, and copper were extremely easy. Silver was challenging, gold almost impossible with our mana budget. Titanium was also pretty easy, although it required too much mana for Ax to shape like he¡¯d done everything else. That indicated that mana was substituting itself for heat when re-shaping metals. If we wanted to make titanium alloys, it would require a way to get temperatures hot enough to melt the materials. Considering true steel wasn¡¯t possible in this area of the world for another thousand years for this same reason, I saw this as a problem for another day.


    The end result was that I figured out how we could create a basic conjuring machine. We would need two, in fact. One to conjure copper, the other for tin. With that, Ax could make bronze for whatever we needed. I was planning on watching him make the alloy, so that I could learn the correct ratio and figure out the spell so that we could automate that part, too. We had six more days of travel at this speed, and I wanted us to have a full load of bronze to use or sell by the time we arrived.


    We took a break around midday, and Latona offered to help me fetch water from the stream running a dozen yards away from the road. The oxen needed several big buckets worth, and our water jars were all low.


    We used our swords to hack through the underbrush next to the stream so that we didn¡¯t scratch ourselves up. Once we were past the brush, there was a two to three foot step down to the stream bank. I set down the buckets, took off my hat, and scooped water to splash my face with. The heat had been brutal all day today.


    ¡°May I ask you a question, Lord Karsos?¡±


    ¡°Only if you call me Karsos, at least in private.¡±


    ¡°Very well, Karsos,¡± she said. ¡°Why did your brother decline my father¡¯s offer?¡±


    I loved being right. I laughed inwardly, covering my pause by splashing my face again.


    ¡°Well, we have our own goals, and couldn¡¯t be tied to one place,¡± I said slowly.


    ¡°Is it because I¡¯m too small? Xene says he loves how big hers are,¡± she said while grasping her chest in emphasis.


    So I was suddenly moved from ¡®friend zone¡¯ to the ¡®girlfriend¡¯ category, I thought. This whole thing was beyond amusing. I had to work hard not to smile or chuckle. ¡°He¡­ umm¡­ does like them larger¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± she said, and her shoulders slumped. Then she perked up. ¡°You made yourself taller with your magic. Can you make me bigger?¡±


    ¡°I guess? You really want to do that for Ax?¡± I had been thinking about strength and size, speed and agility. My own body modification was only a test. I hadn¡¯t even considered cosmetic applications.


    ¡°Well, I have to do something,¡± she said, as if I was an idiot. And perhaps I was. I was thinking with 21st century values and expectations. In the dark ages, having a strong husband was desirable, maybe even necessary for survival. The culture was far more primitive, although no less complex. And perhaps that desire was spurred even further, considering her current instability and recent losses.


    Well, this was a problem I didn¡¯t mind helping with. Ax was definitely going to owe me one.


    ¡°This is experimental magic,¡± I said. ¡°If you start feeling unwell, or wish for me to undo the changes, let me know.¡±


    ¡°Can you do it now?¡± she said excitedly. I nodded, and before I could even blink, she was unpinning the top of her dress. Her perky boobs came into view, and I had to concentrate on being clinical and not letting my blood run south. She didn¡¯t actually need to show them to me, but it made sense for us to be able to see them.


    I set my hands on her shoulders and let my body sorcery flow into her. Like I had done for myself the night before, I encouraged her body to rapidly grow under my direction. Her breasts swelled visibly. A few minutes later, she told me to stop. They were a few cup sizes larger, but still rode high and tight on her without being oversized. As an added perk for both her and Ax, I went ahead and increased their sensitivity as well. There you go, brother, have fun.You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    Latona was all smiles when she re-fastened her chiton. We filled up the water and returned to the wagon. After leaving the water buckets for the oxen, I walked past Ax on my way to grab more water jugs.


    ¡°Dude, you are so fucked,¡± I said in English as I walked by.


    ¡°What? Why?¡±


    I laughed but kept walking. He would find out soon enough. I saw Latona huddling with Xene and whispering. Danae came over by got roped in, who in turn dragged Hegesandra with her. I heard titters as I headed back to the stream.


    When I got back, the mood around the wagon was light and conversations were flowing like I hadn¡¯t seen since leaving the village. I didn¡¯t doubt for a moment that more tears would be shed for those that had been lost. But for the first time since the raid, it felt like everyone was focused on the future with hope.


    Xene and Hegesandra finished the first two jerkins that afternoon. One went to Danae and the other went to Latona, albeit with a few jokes about ¡®last minute alterations.¡¯ Ax still hadn¡¯t twigged to what was happening, but I caught him looking at Latona a few times. I think he noticed something was different, on top of her being just his type - even more so now.


    We began to notice others walking the roads in the distance behind us on the third day. We spotted them mostly from the tops of rises in the terrain, and they appeared to be walking on foot without any wagons or animals. When I drew Ax¡¯s attention to them, he looked grim and told everyone to stay sharp.


    ¡°I suspect they are refugees like us. We¡¯ll need to be extra sharp after we camp for the evenings.¡±


    I didn¡¯t doubt Ax¡¯s opinion, but it gave me an uneasy feeling. After conferring with Ax, we decided to double our watch so that two people were awake at night, instead of just one.


    Lacedaemon had taken to picking up odd lengths of wood as we went along, and in the evenings had been using a wedge of metal to shape it. On the third evening, he corralled Ax for some help, and between the two they turned the boards he¡¯d been carving into a square shield rimmed in iron. The shield was two feet wide and three feet tall. He had also collected enough material to make bronze, and I was able to observe the process. I was confident I could modify the conjuring machines and combine them into a more complex device that made bronze, so I set myself to work on that.


    Before I did that, I realized something obvious. We would need money, and probably a lot of it. We had used up an entire sack of wheat feeding the oxen, so I emptied the sturdiest crate into the bag. With Ax¡¯s help, I banded the box in iron, with a simple enchantment to fuse some of the extra iron around it, with a simple way to split or fuse the bands with a bit of mana. It was a rudimentary lock, but would have to do for now. I then took a piece of copper and had Ax attach it to the lid of the crate. After a bit of spellwork, we now had a silver conjuring machine that would conjure silver drachmas with our double-Kappa stamp on it. It was low-powered using whatever ambient mana it could pick up,and was able to produce a drachma every hour or two. Even at its slowest pace it was dropping twelve drachmas in a twenty-four hour period. By the time we arrived in Assos, we would have a decent stockpile.


    Ax kept himself busy forming simple buckler shields out of the bronze he made, while I improved on our bronze machine. It was far more rudimentary than I knew I could make. Each of the original conjuring machines was really a small block of copper. I tied them both to a strip of iron with some leather scraps that Xene gave me. The iron strip was enchanted as the alloy forge, and as the controller of the copper and tin conjuring blocks. I configured the spell to draw one part tin for every nine parts of copper, and to forge the two metals into bronze ingots of five pounds each. By my estimates, it would probably produce three or maybe four ingots a day. Each ingot could make a small shield, or maybe a helmet. This would have to do.


    By the time it was done and it was my turn to take watch, it was middle of the night. Hegesandra was on watch with Alector, so I woke Danae to go with me. We settled under the scrubby bush of a tree near the street. The sweet, sappy scent of the tree¡¯s branches permeated the air, the high moon giving us a decent amount of light.


    We sat in silence for awhile. This wasn¡¯t unusual for Danae, who was easily the quietest of the entire group. I attributed it to the loss of her family and friends, although she had not actually spoken about her own experience. The night was chilly, with a light breeze. I wrapped my cloak tighter around myself, and saw Danae shiver.


    ¡°Karsos?¡± said Danae tentatively.


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Did you really make Latona¡¯s chest larger? She wasn¡¯t pulling a prank?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± I said. Oh boy, I thought, here goes another one. She was lithe, with dark brown hair and striking blue eyes. But like Latona had been, she had a smaller bust. It suited her figure, in my opinion, but my thoughts on the matter rarely counted for such things.


    ¡°I was wondering if you could help me, too.¡±


    ¡°I see. You want to be big breasted as well?¡± I asked, feeling a hint of amusement.


    ¡°No! Absolutely not!¡± she said vehemently.


    ¡°Okay?¡± I said, now confused.


    ¡°It¡¯s been hard for me, the last few days,¡± she said, quiet once again. ¡°Everyone in mourning, missing their family and friends.¡±


    ¡°And you don¡¯t?¡± I asked.


    ¡°You know what I felt when I came back to the village, and found my family dead?¡± she asked. ¡°I felt relief.¡±


    ¡°Why is that?¡±


    ¡°My parents have been trying to marry me off for years,¡± said Danae. ¡°My father was doing well, his land productive and his herd of sheep growing. He made a nice dowry for me and my sister. He was even thinking of adding a second wife, since my mother hadn¡¯t borne him a son and he could afford two. But I never wanted a husband. I refused two suitors outright, so my father married me off without my permission. I ran away, living in the woods hunting. I returned to find the man had married my sister instead, and my father was beyond livid with me. Ever since, I¡¯ve stayed gone hunting for long stretches. I provide meat and hides to my father, who could barely tolerate my presence. My mother lectured me constantly when she was in a good mood, and beat me when she was not. My sister offered no comfort, and I had no friends who understood.¡±


    ¡°It must have been difficult,¡± I said. ¡°No woman should be forced into marriage.¡±


    ¡°I knew you¡¯d understand,¡± she said. ¡°When Axieros gave Latona a spear. You¡¯re not from Hellas, are you.¡±


    ¡°No, our homeland is very, very far from here.¡±


    ¡°Do you miss it?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve hardly been gone long enough to miss it yet,¡± I hedged. After a long pause, I continued. ¡°Yes, there are definitely things I miss about it. But there is no going back, only forward.¡±


    ¡°I miss the woods. They were my comfort. I even befriended a naiad named Melite,¡± she said. ¡°I don¡¯t even feel guilt for not missing my family or my village.¡±


    ¡°How did you escape the attack?¡±


    ¡°I had a fight with my father. He demanded that I stop with my ¡®childish play¡¯ and be a ¡®responsible woman for once¡¯. I refused again, and stormed out before he or my mother could beat me. I headed into the woods, but realized I¡¯d forgotten my bow and waterskin in my anger. I decided to wait until they fell asleep so that I could sneak back in for my hunting gear. I heard the screams from the woods, so I climbed a tree. Three gigantes passed underneath me only moments later. I stayed in that tree all night.¡± She shivered again, but not from the chill air this time.


    ¡°So what did you want of me?¡± I asked. ¡°You wished for me to do something.¡±


    ¡°I want to be strong and fast,¡± she said. ¡°Stronger and faster than any man, so that I may make my life as I want it.¡±


    ¡°You are asking for far more extensive changes than I did to Latona,¡± I cautioned.


    ¡°I know, Karsos,¡± she said. ¡°Is it too much to ask?¡±


    ¡°No, I wish to expand my abilities with my magic, so willing candidates are welcome. There is some danger that I could make a mistake and injure you, however.¡±


    ¡°Would you heal the injury?¡±


    ¡°If at all possible, yes I would. But there is still a chance--¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± she said, cutting me off. ¡°I would risk all to not be weak, to be free.¡±


    ¡°Those are not the same thing,¡± I said.


    ¡°They are to me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do it,¡± I said. ¡°Not while we are on watch, for neither of us would be able to keep proper sentry. I wish to study gigantes and cynocephali bodies, should we run into them again. This will give me insights. In the meantime, I can do what I can to help you achieve peak human strength.¡±

 Fury Chapter 1.11 - Karson

    Chapter 1.11


    Karson


    <hr>


    A bigger picture of the enemy¡¯s campaign against this region of Hellas became a little clearer the next morning. We got back on the road after morning drills. Danae, Latona and Lacedaemon had taken to carrying the rucksacks loaded with whatever heavy material they could find, in addition to the full kit. This came at Ax¡¯s encouragement, as he was a big believer in endurance training. However, it wasn¡¯t long before we spotted a column of smoke in the distance.


    Ax motioned for his recruits, for really that was what they were, to dump their sacks onto the wagon. Xene and Hegesandra began stitching double-time on the jerkin they were working on. Latona, Danae, and Ax were wearing jerkins by now. Lacedaemon had his big wooden shield, while the rest of us were using the smaller, twenty-four inch round shields, strapped to our left arms. He had been working on helmets, but hadn¡¯t yet been able to figure out the proper shape.


    In the distance, we saw an orthrus with a jackal-headed cynocephali on its back. Around it was a pack of its brethren. When we were spotted, we could hear excited yips and howls from the crowd.


    ¡°Xene, Hegesandra, get behind the crates like we practiced,¡± said Ax. ¡°Alector, be ready to shield yourself from arrows. Karsos, your on the front row with me. Lacedaemon, take the left, and be ready to help the wagon. Latona, take the middle rearguard, Danae take the right. Spears down!¡±


    I held my spear in my left hand with my shield, because I needed my right hand free. I noticed Ax had done the same thing. Three spears protruded past us, from the rest of the group. I wasn¡¯t about to ready the spear when I had a few new tricks that I¡¯d been dreaming up. By the time we were all prepared for the attack, the enemy had closed to about two dozen yards.


    I drew heavily on my mana ring and cast my first spell at one of the cynos that had a bow. My spell reached through my target¡¯s soul and corrupted its shadow. The shadow grew swiftly and contorted, taking shape and grabbing the jackal-headed beast by the wrist. A shadow limb grew and tripped its victim, and the panicking cyno fell to the stone road face first.


    Meanwhile, Ax aimed his own spell at the road in front of the charging orthrus rider. A series of holes opened up in the stone. One of the holes appeared right where the two-headed hound was about to step, giving it no chance to find alternate footing. The hound¡¯s leg sank nearly to its elbow joint, arresting it¡¯s forward movement, but not stopping its momentum. The creature tumbled then rolled, crushing its rider.


    My second spell went off at the same time the hound began its tumble. This spell was more of a curse, and flew through the air like a tangled, wispy ball. It struck a spear-carrying cyno, sinking into the creature¡¯s skin. I didn¡¯t get a chance to see if the curse did as I expected it would. I expected it to drain the beast of its strength, perhaps even to the point of not being able to hold up its weapons. But an arrow flew past my shield and struck my shoulder, distracting me from the result. I whipped my shield up in front of my face, and dropped my spear. There was no more time for spells. The cynos were right in front of us.


    Or maybe I had no more time for spells, but Ax had one more ready. A column of fire burst out from his right palm, looking for all the world like a flame thrower. The flames widened as they moved away from him, catching four of the cynos in their merciless flames, and lighting the orthrus on fire.


    Panicked, the two-headed hound bounded away with its fur and crumpled rider on fire. But even with all the ones we¡¯d disabled or killed already, there were still eight left. Four were busy shooting arrows, but shields and their own friends were preventing them from taking good shots. I thrust forward with my spear, catching one of the jackals in the belly. The beast fell, but he grabbed onto my spear as he went. Latona¡¯s spear flashed next to me, catching another that tried to skewer me while my own weapon was bound up.


    I dropped the spear and drew my sword, slashing at a spear heading towards Danae. I drove the blow down towards the road, then stepped forward and slashed at the wielder¡¯s head. The little beast was too swift for me, stepping to his left to avoid my blow. Unfortunately for him, this put him right in front of Danae and her spear thrust. She caught him right in the neck, and he fell with a gushing hole in his throat.


    Then the fight was over. There were two of the bowmen cynos left, both running. Danae took a step forward, her spear held like a javelin. A moment later, she flung it with a practiced motion. The spear flew true, striking the creature in the back and puncturing all the way through its torso. It fell writhing to the road.


    The last one didn¡¯t get far either. Ax threw a fire missile at it. The explosion knocked it from its feet and set it on fire. It screamed pathetically for a minute, before it died. Danae walked around to all the bodies, making certain they were finished off. The cyno that had grabbed my spear was laying on the ground, its breath rattling and wet. I reached out and grabbed its soul, ripping it away.


    Instead of consuming it immediately, I examined the soul with my magic. Intuitively, I knew I only had a few seconds. The soul had lost its anchor, and my spell couldn¡¯t hold it to this plane for long. I saw in the soul the various metaphysical organs that housed things like mana and essence, and more importantly, I spotted what anchored them to the body. The soul slipped from my grasp, fading from the world.


    Then my adrenaline crashed, and I realized I had an arrow lodged in my shoulder. My health ring had staunched the bleeding, but it needed to be removed. I looked around to take stock. Ax looked unharmed, his brass knuckles now wrapped around his fingers like metal gloves. He was kneeling next to Lacedaemon, who was bleeding on the ground.


    I rushed over to him, and saw he¡¯d taken a spear in his left side. The spear had been a direct hit, slicing right through his leather jerkin. I cursed myself for playing with soul magic instead of making sure everyone was okay.


    ¡°Crazy bastard turned to cover me with his shield, left himself wide open,¡± said Ax, distraught.


    I touched Lacedaemon, and could sense that the health ring was trying to help, but the damage was too severe for it. I immediately poured my own healing on top of it.


    ¡°Go ahead and pull the spear,¡± I said. Ax looked unsure, so I added, ¡°Now!¡±


    Ax yanked the spear out as gently as he could, and I put my own hand on top of the wound so that I could dump the healing directly on to where it was needed. The wound closed up under my fingers, the flesh stitching itself back together. Lacedaemon¡¯s pain-stitched face eased.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get him up into the wagon.¡±


    Lacedaemon was exhausted by the toll of his injury and healing, and leaned on us heavily. Xene and Hegesandra moved some cargo around so that he could lay down, with the feed bag of wheat as a pillow. He fell asleep almost immediately. Xene grabbed a hat and placed it so that it shaded his eyes.


    ¡°Are you going to pull that arrow?¡± asked Ax.


    ¡°Oh, right,¡± I said. ¡°Yank it fast for me, would you?¡±


    Ax looked at me askance. ¡°Fast?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, fast. It¡¯s gonna hurt, but I can heal it right away. Rip it out.¡±


    Ax grabbed it, and without warning pulled it out. The arrow tore its way back out, and a lance of pain shot through me. My vision swam and blackened for a moment. I gritted my teeth and poured healing into my shoulder. The wound stitched right back up without a mark.


    ¡°That¡¯s so freakin¡¯ cool that you can do that,¡± said Ax in English.


    We looted the bodies, collecting a handful more of electrum coins and a few actual drachmas. The bows were small, but I offered one to Danae. She tried it out and smiled. ¡°Not as strong of a pull as my old hunting bow, but it will do for now. I¡¯ll salvage the bowstrings from the rest of them. If we get some time, I can make a new one.¡±


    She managed to collect about two dozen arrows, and a quiver that she immediately tied to her belt next to her sword. After taking the time to toss the bodies off to the side of the road and filling in Ax¡¯s potholes, we were able to move on.


    About thirty minutes later, we came to the burning wreckage of a village not much larger than the one we¡¯d come from. The road was littered with dead bodies of men, women and children. A few fallen gigantes and cynos lay in the streets where the villagers had made a desperate last stand. I noticed the bodies of the villagers were emaciated from malnutrition.


    ¡°Put out the fires and look for survivors,¡± said Ax grimly. ¡°Danae, keep your bow handy and guard the wagon.¡±


    The enchantments on the bracers came in handy once again. But building after building, we found nothing, or worse, more bodies. In the last house we came to, we found a family huddled in a back room, trapped by the blaze. They were a husband and wife and small daughter, emaciated and suffering from smoke inhalation.


    After a dose of healing and a little food, they described the attack. It was depressingly similar to the one at Latona¡¯s village. By the time we had them fed and healed, it was late morning. We scrounged the smoldering ruins for food. In the back of the village, I found a stone building with a thick wooden door bound in iron and padlocked. It had a number of deep gouges in the door, but the gigante who tried to break in had given up in search of easier prey. I went to ask the villagers.


    ¡°It¡¯s the basileus¡¯ granary, milord,¡± said the man. ¡°Only the village master had the key, and he went off to see the basileus a few days ago.¡±


    ¡°Ax, can you help?¡±


    Ax easily broke the lock, pulling it off like it was playdough. Once inside, I was floored at the amount of food available. There were crates full of olive jars, baskets of fruits and dried fish. One corner of the big warehouse was piled with bags of grains. The villager who accompanied us didn¡¯t look surprised; rather he looked defeated.


    ¡°He was coming round to collect soon,¡± he said. ¡°We were barely going to meet the quota, else he¡¯d have sold some of the little ones off into slavery to make the difference.¡±


    I was livid with anger at the injustice. The villager flinched at the expression on my face, but before he could abase himself, I spoke.


    ¡°That bastard deserves a slow, painful death. We¡¯re going to take what we can carry, and I promise you full measure of your share so that your family can start over.¡±


    ¡°What about the basileus? Ain¡¯t he going to know we¡¯s taken it?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯ll think the gigantes did, don¡¯t worry.¡±


    And we did just that. After a little judicious reloading, we were able pile the wagon quite heavily with food and grain. Lacedaemon rode on top of the load, recovered enough to sit. Xene and Hegesandra squeezed onto the driver¡¯s bench with Alector, facing backwards into a small work area made in a gap between crates to finish the jerkins. The villager woman and daughter rode on a small lip on the back of the wagon, the husband walking behind them.


    It was late afternoon before we got on the road once more, but no one wanted to stay in the village. We thought about burning the granary, but if there were other survivors hiding in the fields, it would be better for them to have something to salvage. As it was, we picked up another family and a few stragglers from the fields who trailed along behind us. By late evening, we made another camp just as the sun was setting.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    This camp was different than what we¡¯d done before. Ax recruited a few villagers to stand watch, while our original group took turns guarding the wagon through the night. In addition, our group slept in a circle around the wagon. The precaution was sensible, but unnecessary. The new refugees were exhausted but fed, and they basically collapsed and slept the night through, except for the sounds of soft crying every now and then.


    The next morning took awhile to get everyone awake and moving. Once we did, we traveled at a decent walking pace. Children took turns sitting on the back of the wagon or riding on the shoulders of their parents. Ax worked is way through the crowd, learning names and faces, and talking about the future. He told me later that many just wanted a safe place to live, but a few were willing to join our crusade. Even more were willing once they learned we would be establishing our own fortifications.


    So our little caravan kept growing. We learned from the refugees that we could reach Dodona in about a half day¡¯s walk. Around mid-morning, we reached a fork in the road, where the stone-paved road continued in one direction, while a dirt track veered off to the east. We followed the dirt track, which was in decent condition. I could definitely see not wanting to be on this road in the rain, though.


    The road twisted and wound through some hills, until reaching a final incline. The hills were covered in scrubby grass and low bushes, giving the area a wild feeling despite it being in a settled part of Hellas. Once we crested the hill, we found ourselves on a flat area with a large temple made of stone and wood dominating the peak. The temple was perhaps a hundred feet wide, lined with pillars atop a tall stone staircase. The pillars extended out and curved towards us like wings to flank a wide open courtyard. Everything was painted a rich blue, with orange banners hanging down from the middle of each pillar. In the center of the courtyard was a stone altar looked sort of like the Olympic dais that the winners stood on, except the highest part was about six feet wide.


    This would have been beautiful and idyllic, except for the fact that a man lay bound and gagged on the altar, clearly ready for a sacrifice. Surrounding him on the lawn were a dozen bodies of women in blue robes. Ax signaled for everyone to stop where they were. The silence that followed was interrupted by the clash of metal against metal.


    ¡°There¡¯s still fighting inside the temple!¡± I called out.


    ¡°Lacedaemon and Latona, protect the wagon. Danae, you¡¯re with us. Move!¡±


    We raced up the stone stairs, swords in hand. Spears would only be in the way inside. The temple opened into a wide hallway that headed both to the left and to the right. Straight ahead was a massive room with a square hole in the ceiling and a bunch of tables lined up just under the ceiling. It looked like a cross between a conference room and a dining hall. The room was empty.


    Another clash of metal sounded to the right, followed by a scream of pain and a loud ¡°Ha!¡± of victory. We took off to the right, passing a few bodies of men and women in the hall. Once around the turn, we spotted a cluster of men in rough leather armor at the end of the hall. I couldn¡¯t see what they were trying to attack, but whatever they were fighting had their whole attention.


    As we ran down the hall, I caught a glimpse of a tall woman clad in gleaming bronze armor and helmet, wielding a curved axe in one hand and a sword in the other. Beside her was a smaller woman, armored in polished leather, carrying a sword two-handed in a stance that made clear that she knew exactly what she was doing.


    Just then, one of the men tried to lunge forward. The tall woman easily batted aside his blow, casually stepping forward to stab him in the neck before backing away again.


    ¡°Take that, you murdering swine! See how you like being on the other end of the blade!¡±


    ¡°Careful of friendly fire,¡± I said to Ax.


    He nodded. ¡°Gonna have to do this the hard way.¡±


    I threw a shadow trap at a random target as we charged, hoping to sow some confusion to give cover to our arrival. I caught one of the attackers in the back just as he turned his head, slashing toward his neck. He flinched away, so the blow struck his shoulder, glancing off the leather armor he wore. He began to turn, but I followed up with a stab which caught him in his side below the ribcage. This time, the armor couldn¡¯t turn my blow.


    Then the chaos of battle surrounded me, and I hacked and slashed at whoever I could. I found myself squaring up against a swordsman who was far better with a blade than I was. He easily blocked or diverted my blows. I was a touch faster than he, which was the only thing that kept me in the fight. Even still, I was hard pressed to keep ahead of his return strikes. I dodged several, and ducked another.


    Desperately, I threw the first spell that came to mind. He stopped for a minute, flailing wildly. The swordsman rubbed at his eyes as if trying to wipe something out of them. I didn¡¯t hesitate. I stabbed him right in the throat, then snagged his soul and consumed it.


    I could immediately tell how best to use my sword, and what I¡¯d been doing wrong in my fight against him. I reset my stance to correct my balance, and adjusted my grip. Another swordsman leapt at me, but I easily parried his blow. We traded strikes for a few rounds before I twisted my blade around his and sliced his fingers. He instinctively released the blade, leaving me free to slash at his face. When he backed up, Danae¡¯s sword caught him in the chest from my right.


    I looked at her, and she said, ¡°What? You were wasting time.¡±


    Then I looked around and realized all of our foes were down. The tall woman was grinning like a fool, the shorter woman looking cool and collected. There were more than a dozen dead men laying dead at our feet, and a half-dozen more on the other end of the hallway around the corner. Behind those dead men was an old woman in armor and two more men. It seemed we weren¡¯t the only ones trying to help the two cornered women.


    The battle seemed to be over, giving me a minute to catch my breath and take in the people we¡¯d help rescue. The tall woman wore an odd helmet, one that was flat in the front and curved high over her head, before arching back to cover the rest of her skull. It was made of polished bronze, with leather flaps coming down to protect her cheeks and neck. She wore a long-sleeved garment with polished bronze armor on top. The armor looked like a leather jerkin with hundreds of small bronze rectangles overlapping and sewn onto the leather. The armor split at her waist, extending down to cover her thighs, tapering down to a triangle above each knee. Beneath the armor she wore long pants that tucked into leather boots that came up to just below her knees. A large curved metal armor piece adorned each shoulder, and a sheath dangled in front of her right thigh from a strip of leather, tied to a belt wrapped around her middle. As I inspected her, she removed her helmet to reveal raven black hair. Her triangular face was adorned by tattoos on each cheek, and a band of tattoos dipped from her hairline and across her forehead like a diadem.


    The second woman was dressed similarly, except she wore a leather helmet that was more like a hat than a helmet. It came to a point at the back of her head, curving forward slightly, and edged with a thin strip of fur. The leather helmet wrapped around her ears, leaving them bare, hanging low to protect the neck and cheeks. Her armor was polished leather, hanging around her waist like a skirt. It was also split at the middle, and her bright green bants were also tucked into tall boots. Tufts of curly, dark red hair peeked out from under the helmet, her eyes green and gold. She slid her sword back into a massive sheath. Then I realized it was actually a quiver, and a half-dozen arrows protruded beneath the hilt. Above the sword and quiver, on the leather strap that tied it to her belt, was two small knives.


    ¡°None survived,¡± said the small woman sadly. ¡°I had hoped they would heed my words.¡±


    ¡°Serves the fools right,¡± said the tall woman. ¡°You¡¯d think a bunch of people proclaiming to be oracles would listen to your Vision.¡±


    ¡°They were blinded by their fervor and hatred of outsiders,¡± came the reply.


    ¡°So who are you, anyway?¡± asked the tall woman, looking at us.


    ¡°I am Axiokarsos, this is Axerios and Danae. Ax and I are traveling magi, and have helped Danae and a number of other refugees fleeing from the gigantes raids happening to the north.¡±


    ¡°Oh, they¡¯re raiding a lot more than the north,¡± said the tall woman with a dark laugh. ¡°They landed an entire army in Laconia. Mycenae itself is under siege.¡±


    ¡°They can organize an army?¡± I said doubtfully. ¡°The ones we ran across seemed little more organized than bandits.¡±


    ¡°Not all tribes are the same,¡± came the reply. The smaller woman cleared her throat and looked at the tall one pointedly. ¡°Oh, yeah, right, I forgot. I¡¯m Antiope of the Saka Skolotoi. This is Zahra of the Skula Skolotoi.¡±


    ¡°Are you Amazons?¡± asked Danae, her voice full of awe.


    Zahra scowled, but Antiope gave a hearty laugh. ¡°We have been called that before, yes,¡± she said. ¡°Your silly stories are so funny. Why would we live without men and kill boy children?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t?¡± said Danae in a confused tone.


    ¡°We are Skolotoi,¡± said Zahra, ¡°not monsters.¡±


    ¡°Should we see to the survivors?¡± asked Ax, breaking in at last.


    ¡°There are none,¡± said Zahra again. ¡°Antiope, these are the ones.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    Zahra stepped forward, blazing with magic. Before I could do anything, she caressed Ax¡¯s cheek, and gasped. She stepped back. ¡°You blaze with intensity and glorious purpose. Like all men, you aspire to greatness. Yet I foresee death dogging your steps. Sad.¡±


    She then turned to me, blazing once again. Her touch was gentle as she stroked my cheek. She looked up at me in surprise. ¡°I can see nothing of your path. Oh, such a relief! All I know of your future is what I can see through your brother. No wonder the Fates steered me this way.¡±


    I exchanged a look with Ax, but he only shrugged. ¡°We can at least free the prisoner on the altar,¡± he said.


    ¡°Oh, of course,¡± said Zahra. ¡°Antiope will ready our belongings for the trip. My retainers will help you free the prisoners caged out back. You will not be angry about the slaughter once you meet them. And Karson? You will want to collect what you find in the first room. It will be enlightening for you.¡±


    Zahra turned and walked into the room behind her, with Antiope moving to follow. Ax and I exchanged another look, and Antiope gave another mirthful laugh. ¡°Yeah, she does that. Might as well get used to it, looks like we¡¯re going with you.¡±


    The old woman and her two retainers stepped forward towards Ax. The old woman was dressed with an armored cuirass covering her chest, the cuirass covered in overlapping disks of steel, and a thick leather skirt extending down her thighs. Beneath the armor she wore leggings that covered her boots, and atop the whole ensemble was a silk robe tied at the waist. Her wrinkled face was distinctly asian, perhaps Chinese. Her two retainers were young men dressed in similar fashion. All wore three wore open-faced helmets with a spike on top.


    ¡°Lead the way,¡± said Ax, and they headed down the hallway. I turned to Danae. ¡°Go search the rooms, see if you can find anything of value. Be wary, keep your sword handy. I¡¯ll be in the first room.¡±


    I headed back down the hallway to see what was in that first room. I found a room filled with scrolls and books, with a bed in one corner and a desk in the other. Laying in the bed was a dead man, his head nearly severed from his body. The man wore purple robes that looked more European than Greek. I shrugged to myself over his violent death. Only here for a week, and I was being desensitized to mindless violence already. Survival instincts are strong, I thought. I turned to the desk to see if there was anything useful. Most of the desk was covered in papyrus, written in a language very similar to Greek. The letters were slightly different, and there were a few characters I didn¡¯t recognize sprinkled throughout. I puzzled over the notes for a few minutes, before realizing that the extra characters were numbers.


    Many of the words on the papyrus were in Greek. I was halfway through the page when I realized that the man had been working on puzzling out an enchantment. Suddenly I was very interested in what he had to say. I gathered the papers into a neat pile. On a shelf above the desk was four books and three glass jars of ink, corked with an actual cork. Next to the ink was several fountain pens, of the sort that shouldn¡¯t exist in Europe for several thousand years.


    I opened the first book, filled with actual paper instead of papyrus, and puzzled out the title. Then I got excited. It read ¡°A Listing of Definitions and Words of the Hellenes versus the Atlanteans.¡± It was a printed translation dictionary, and the dead man was from Atlantis. I set aside the fact that Atlantis didn¡¯t exist in our world, because I was looking at proof that they existed in this one. More, it looked like they had some advancements that weren¡¯t available to the rest of the continent, namely, some form of crude printing press, paper and fountain pens.


    The second book appeared to be the man¡¯s journal. I set it aside to read later. The third and fourth books were blank. All three had identical leather covers, designed to wrap around the pages completely to protect them from rain. It looked like he had planned on writing a lot of journals. When I went to close up the journal again, a key fell out. I looked around, and spotted a small chest under the bed. I pulled it out to find it was wrapped in heavy enchantments and locked. There were wards against banishment, lockpicking and physical blows. One resembled the reinforcement spell that Ax and I had come up with, but appeared to be far more complex and considerably superior to what we had done. But locks are meant to be opened, and I had a key. The chest popped open easily.


    Inside was another journal, and another magically warded box. This one had no key, nor any seams that I could find. I set it back in the trunk for future inspection. I then loaded the chest with all the books, all of the ink bottles, and as many papyrus notes as I could fit.


    A second, non-magical chest, much larger, was at the foot of the bed. In it I found a spare robe, a towel and sundries, and two long cloaks with actual hoods. None of them were magical, so I tossed them all onto the ground, and began to go through the scrolls on the walls. Many of them were of little interest. They were archaic observations of the natural world that I knew to be false, or medical treatises that were surprisingly sharp but also equally useless. But even ignoring most of the scrolls, I found dozens that offered glimpses of the arcane. These I carefully loaded into the second trunk, along with all the remaining papyrus notes. I did a last sweep of the room, before noticing a faint magic glow from one hand of the body.


    I debated if I actually wanted to pry a ring off of a body. But in the end, my desire to get stronger and more capable won out. I pried the ring off his finger, and spotted a bag sticking out from under his robe which I pulled free, as well. In it was a bracelet that was also faintly enchanted. A quick glance didn¡¯t really reveal what they did, only that they were really cheap and weak. The bag was a small money pouch, filled with gold and silver drachmas.


    After one last glance around the room, I decided that it would have to be good enough. If he had more goodies left here, they were going to someone else. I wished the dead man luck in whatever afterlife Atlantean souls went to, then started to drag the chests from the room.


    It was then that I noticed a trap door in the floor of the room, hidden beneath the large chest. There was more to this place than I had realized.

 Fury: Chapter 1.12 - Ax

    Chapter 1.12


    Ax


    <hr>


    I was really getting sick and tired of seeing slaughters. I had tried to pin it all on the gigantes, but this bandit crew that had cut their way through a temple of priests and priestesses proved they were no different or better. This was a violent, dangerous place where killing was routine and life was cheap.


    ¡°So what is your name, anyway?¡± I asked the old woman.


    ¡°I am Swordmaster Xia Fang,¡± she said. ¡°My retainers are Jin Song and Jin Hai. Our fallen brother was Dai Wen. He was guarding the front door when those bandits charged.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± I said. ¡°Did you know him well?¡±


    ¡°He studied with me for several years, and was happy to take the contract when it was offered. I will make sure his pay gets sent to his father.¡± Her Greek was heavily accented, but I could make out her words fine. I just didn¡¯t understand why the father would get the pay.


    I nodded as if I understood. I was over my head with ancient Greek stuff. Throw in weird ladies with funny hats, and Chinese bodyguards and I was completely lost. But I dealt in the here and now, so I could roll with the punches.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see about those prisoners.¡±


    I thought I¡¯d seen the worst when I saw slaughters. I was wrong. The prisoner pens behind the temple were true horror. Half of the pens had emaciated corpses in them. The other half had men and women in each, stripped naked and starving. Most had a glassy-eyed stare, barely acknowledging our presence. The men were hogtied in their cages, ropes around their necks tied to their ankles. Several had literally choked themselves to death, to weak to keep their own body weight from killing them. The women were bent over a bar, spread eagle in their cages. Their arms were tied to the bars, their legs tied to lengths of wood to keep them spread. Each and every one had a haunted, devastated look on their faces. Those haunted looks tore through me, their impotence and humiliation almost a physical blow.


    Two guards were asleep against a tree at the far end of the field of cages. Their swords were on the ground in their sheaths, and empty wine jars lay at their feet. I looked to the three Chinese bodyguards.


    ¡°Capture them alive,¡± I said tersely.


    Xia Fang nodded, and gave a few commands to the two men. Minutes later, both guards were stunned awake with blows to the head, on their stomachs with their arms pinned behind them. Jin Song and Jin Hai tied them quickly, in a modified hogtie from their wrists to their ankles.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get them free,¡± I said.


    Freeing the prisoners took the better part of an hour. I sent for assistance from the refugees, and had them scour the temple for clothing. I walked from cage to cage, releasing each prisoner. A villager would assist, by bringing water and clothing. I had another one prepare a pot of simple fish broth, and had them help feed the poor bastards.


    The women were in better shape than the men, at least physically. They flinched away from contact, but most began to recognize that salvation was at hand. The strongest of the women helped calm the most distraught, but all of them were overly cautious and scarred by their ordeal.


    The two guards swore that they had never done anything to the ¡®sacrifices¡¯ demanded by the Great Mother, the Titaness Rhea. I saw the way the women eyed them, however. I decided to let them sort it out. I handed swords and knives to the most physically capable of the women, and left the guards in their care.


    ¡°What happens to the guards is entirely up to you,¡± I told them. ¡°When you¡¯re ready, we¡¯ll be gathering in front of the Temple.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t do much to help alleviate their trauma. But I could give them vengeance.


    By the time the screaming of the guards ended, the villagers had finished scouring the Temple. Another wagon was located, empty except for a massive canvas tarp, as well as two more oxen. Several chests of goods were hauled out, including one chest full of silver drachmas. Long bolts of fine bleached wool cloth, more food supplies, and several crates filled with amphorae of wine was located and loaded up.


    The wagon was mostly empty, so I decided to make a covered wagon for the children. I had the crates loaded at the front to make a wall of sorts. The wagon was driven around to the front courtyard, where I gathered several iron strips from the first wagon. I shaped them into thin iron spikes, and drove them into the sides of the second wagon. From there, I conjured a long, thin iron bar that curved over the entire wagon bed, a frame for a covered wagon. I did this four times, making the ribs of a Conestoga-style wagon. I¡¯d seen Little House on the Prairie and a bunch of westerns before.


    The long canvas was pulled tight over the metal arch supports I made. I chopped up another iron piece into two dozen rough nails, which I used to tack down the canvas below the sides. With the cargo taking up the front behind the driver¡¯s bench, this left only an opening in the rear.


    ¡°Do not dally in Assos, Ax. It will not stand for long. Tekmon is more suited to your needs. The Strategos of Assos is a fool.¡± Zahra¡¯s words floated in the air behind me.


    I turned from the wagon to see Zahra and Antiope mounted on large warhorses. The beasts were light of foot and had simple saddles overtop colorful blankets. Both now wielded short recurve bows. Antiope had a wicker shield tied to her saddle on her left. Zahra looked positively regal, with a thick fur cloak cascading from her shoulders. In this heat, that armor and cloak would be boiling hot. I felt bad for her.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let Karsos know,¡± I said. Her creepy predictions freaked me out, and I was already dealing with a lot of weird shit.


    Her gaze darkened, then she turned to look at Antiope. ¡°Another fool. Come, let¡¯s see if the other one is smarter.¡±


    Antiope gave me an apologetic look, and shrugged one shoulder as if to say ¡®what can you do?¡¯ It was amazing how much body language was universal. They turned their horses to the Temple. I could see Karson and Danae pulling trunks from the front door. More loot was always a good thing.


    Karson stopped to speak with Zahra. I could see an animated discussion, complete with arms flailing and loud voices. I shrugged and turned back to our original wagon. It could use a cover also. Latona came over to me. She had shed her jerkin, and I could swear her boobs were bigger than they had been the day we¡¯d met. She smiled at me, and as usual, her smile was stunning.


    ¡°Are you going to make this wagon like the other?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I was thinking so. If we rebalance the load between the two, we can fit a lot of people in the back. Most of those prisoners can barely stand, much less walk for hours on end.¡±


    ¡°We have a solid ten men now who want spears and shields to fight with us. Xene is out of leather for jerkins, and we used up the last of the clothing on the refugees. There was enough spare clothing in the Temple for the prisoners, but we¡¯ll need to buy more in Assos.¡±


    ¡°We need to sell off some of what we don¡¯t need, the most perishable foods, and get some more rations, perhaps another wagon or two. I also need to buy a set of armor to use as a template.¡±


    ¡°Template?¡± I could swear she was subtly trying to flirt. I couldn¡¯t quite reconcile that with the fact that we¡¯d buried her fiance only a few days before. Karson was always better at understanding people¡¯s motivations than I was. Maybe he¡¯d point me in the right direction. Before I could explain what a template was, Karson called to me from the Temple stairs. Latona and I went over.


    ¡°Ax, I need your help in here,¡± said Karson. ¡°Latona, could you get someone to load these trunks in our wagon? They stay with our trusted people only.¡±


    ¡°Myrmidons,¡± I said. ¡°We need a name for our people, so let''s call them Myrmidons.¡±


    ¡°It is a name that is fraught with destiny,¡± said Zahra to herself.


    ¡°Names later,¡± said Karson firmly. ¡°I need your help now. I found more prisoners.¡±


    I followed him into a room that looked like a library, although a lot of scrolls were now missing. I guess they wound up in that chest he found. Then I saw the dead man in the corner, and a trap door open in the floor. I grimaced at the thought of seeing more of those poor, devastated souls. I climbed down the ladder.


    What I found at the bottom was a small room with a cage made of ice hanging in the air. It was attached to the ceiling by four small columns of ice, so that no part of the cage touched any solid surface. In the cage were four tiny beings. They were humanoid, about three feet tall with earthy brown skin and dark green hair. Their faces were wide triangles with large noses, but with an ethereal quality. It was three men and a woman, each with a metal collar around their necks. The three men wore similar clothing - brown leggings, tan tunics and green vests covered in pockets. The colors of their cloaks also varied from light tan to black. The woman wore a dress with a corset overtop it, but her pushed up cleavage was covered modestly by the dress. She wore a cloak that had been white once, but had seen better days, and a scarf around her head.


    ¡°Lord Magi, if you free us - ¡° began one of the men. But I wasn¡¯t going to make them bargain for their freedom.


    ¡°Where do I melt this?¡± I asked Karson, who had followed me down.


    ¡°Melt on this corner,¡± said Ax. ¡°The whole spell will unravel, and the ice should shatter under its own weight.


    ¡°Cover your heads and get ready to fall,¡± I warned the creatures. I made my right hand blaze with fire, and placed it directly on the corner. The flames seemed to shy away from that spot, so I poured more magic in, until I felt a pop. Then water began to pour from the corner of the cage, and the bars became brittle. I stopped the spell, and grasped the bars closest to me. With a wrench, I began to break off large pieces of the bars. The whole cage began to sag dangerously, so as soon as the hole was large enough, I held out my hands to help the little beings to the floor.


    They were surprisingly heavy, far more so than human children their size would weigh. The men went first, then shooed me out of the way so they could help the woman. All of them sagged in relief, and contact with the ground seemed to give them a vitality they had lacked when they were suspended in the air.


    ¡°You have our deepest gratitude, strangers,¡± said the woman. What are your names?¡±


    ¡°I am Axerios, and my brother is Axiokarsos,¡± I said.


    The woman bowed her head respectfully. ¡°Magus Axerios, Magus Axiokarsos. I will remember your names.¡±


    ¡°If you don¡¯t mind my asking, what are you?¡± I asked. Karson slapped my shoulder, but the woman smiled.


    ¡°We are the neblin, although humans often call us gnomes.¡±


    ¡°How did you come to be in that cage? The prisoners we found upstairs were captured to be used for human sacrifices, but you were hidden down here.¡±


    ¡°Our village was raided by cynocephali. They are an ancient enemy of ours, and their shamans have perfected spells that lift us from the ground to weaken us. We were sold to the Atlantean magus to be used for his spellcraft. These collars steal our mana, keeping us weak.¡±


    ¡°Do you need assistance in removing them?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said the woman. ¡°Tobias here is strong enough to break the magic, now that we are earthbound once more.¡±


    As if in answer to the question, one of the men touched the collar around his neck, and it fell off him and to the ground. He gave a deep sigh of relief, and through the magic-sight ring, I could see power pour into him from the ground. Tobias touched the collars on his colleagues, freeing them as well.


    ¡°We will spread the word of your kindness,¡± said the woman, walking to the wall. At a touch, a tunnel opened up. All of the gnomes entered, leaving the woman to last. ¡°Farewell, and safe travels.¡±


    The wall closed behind them, swallowing them up. Karson looked at me and said, ¡°I guess they don¡¯t need a ride.¡±


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t dispel that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, it was warded against dispelling, and I didn¡¯t have enough mana to overcome the wards.¡±


    ¡°What did you find, anyway?¡±


    ¡°A lot of scrolls about magic, a mystery box, a dictionary, and journals.¡± Karson brought me up to speed as we returned to the yard. He helped me rig the supports for our first wagon as he talked. Latona had gone ahead and had the cargo shifted around to balance it between the two wagons. The children rode in our wagon, while the former prisoners rode in the second wagon. We were only a day or so away from Assos, where we could regroup properly, which was good. At this rate, we were going to need a lot more food.

 Fury: Chapter 1.13 - Ax

    Chapter 1.13


    Ax


    <hr>


    We came around the bend in the road to Assos to find a major battle playing out in front of us. An organized group of gigantes was attacking the defenders of the city. The city itself was surrounded by twenty feet of stone wall, crudely built out of large rocks. Standing outside the gates was a large group of soldiers in formation, shields locked and spears forward. The gigantes fought as individuals, charging the wall as a disorganized mob. The soldiers were well trained, which kept the battle evenly matched, despite the strength advantage each gigante had individually.


    In front of us, a few hundred yards away, was a band of cynocephali who were busy firing arrows into the mix. They didn¡¯t seem to care if they might hit one of their allies, just as long as they were hitting the human soldiers, also. This could turn the tide of the battle, because if the line grew too weak, the mob of gigantes would rip that militia apart.


    I waved for Zahra and Antiope to come over to where Karson and I were standing. I had managed to arm our newest fighters, six men and four women, with spears. I didn¡¯t have enough bronze or time to make shields for all of them, so they were little more than peasant conscripts right now.


    ¡°We need to break that attack,¡± I said. ¡°If they win, they¡¯ll turn their attention on us. They need to lose, and the survivors need to run.¡±


    ¡°I have a fear effect that can scare those archers,¡± said Karson. ¡°But it would be better paired with a big blow so that they remember why they are running. I suspect that if they just get scared, they¡¯ll come back once the spell wears off.¡±


    ¡°I can throw fireballs at them,¡± I said. ¡°That¡¯ll light many of them on fire. Will that do?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Karson. ¡°But what about the main army?¡±


    ¡°We can attack them from the rear once the archers are out of the action,¡± said Antiope. ¡°The bodyguard and I can ride as lancers, while Zahra can pick them off at will.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t you be outnumbered?¡± I asked.


    Antiope smirked. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen Skolotoi cavalry in action. The mercs aren¡¯t too bad at mounted combat, either.¡±


    Zahra sat on her horse with her eyes closed. She spoke without opening them. ¡°I¡¯ve marked the keystones. Take them out, and the arch will crumble.¡±


    I looked out over the battlefield, surprised to see five gigantes with a faint red glow.


    ¡°Can they see that?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she replied. ¡°I included only our people in this Vision.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave half the myrmidons here to guard the wagons, and the other half will attack any cynocephali that flee this way,¡± I said.


    ¡°We still haven¡¯t agreed that we should call them that,¡± said Karson.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t agreed that we shouldn¡¯t,¡± I replied. ¡°Can your spell reach them from here?¡±


    ¡°It will.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    I turned and ordered our myrmidons into position. Zahra and Antiope lined up with their bodyguards, ready for the signal. It was time for me to kick this off before the jackal-headed beasts noticed we were there.


    I formed the biggest fireball I could, pouring mana into the spell as I launched it across the field. It struck center mass of the beasts, blasting through the line and lighting dozens of the cynos on fire. Immediately they turned, and those that weren¡¯t burning started to aim their bows our way. A mere fraction of a second later, panicked expressions crossed their faces, and they scattered like roaches in the light.


    As if that were a signal, Zahra and Antiope charged toward the main army with their bodyguards behind them, but I noticed one cyno standing still, yipping rhythmically and waving its arms.


    ¡°Crap! They have a mage!¡± I called to Karsos. But Karsos was way ahead of me. Behind the mage, shadows pooled, growing long chains that started to wrap around the mage¡¯s flailing arms. It was a moment too late. A fireball came flying at us, much smaller than the one I¡¯d cast, but no less deadly. I stepped forward with my shield into the spell¡¯s path. I was immune to fire, after all.


    The fireball hit my shield and exploded, blasting me off my feet and sending me rolling. I struck my head against the side of a wagon wheel, and my arm was hurting like crazy. The heat from the spell had bypassed my immunity, as my arm was singed red and blistering.


    Latona ran to my side, a panicked look of distress on her face. ¡°Ax! Are you okay?¡±


    My head swam as I sat up. Already, the healing ring was taking the edge off the pain, repairing my damaged skin. I was loopy, probably with a concussion. Unfortunately, the health ring was indiscriminate in how it healed. It tried to repair all damage at the same time, regardless of severity. So the light burns on my arm were healing and preventing the full healing from fixing my head.


    Latona crouched next to me, fretting with worry. ¡°I¡¯m fine, just got my bell rung.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re speaking your home tongue, Ax,¡± she said.


    ¡°Oh, sorry,¡± I said. My bell really was rung. ¡°Blow to the head. It will heal soon enough. Help me up.¡±


    Between the two of us, I got back to my feet. The rest of the troops were standing around, watching for any cynos trying to sneak around and get us from behind. Few had actually fled our direction, and those were already dead on the ground.


    I turned to watch our cavalry fight. It was a beatiful, deadly art that they practiced. Zahra and Antiope looked as though they¡¯d been born riding horses. They steered with their knees, darting in and out of combat too swiftly for a gigante to catch them. Zahra had a horn recurve bow, darting back and forth while firing arrows with incredible precision. Each of her shots struck a gigante in the head for an instant kill. Antiope stayed more with the bodyguards, racing back and forth at top speed and running down any gigante they could charge. I could see their game. For them to win, they couldn¡¯t stop. In a toe-to-toe battle, they would lose swiftly. But by playing to their strengths of mobility and speed, they could swoop in and deal a few strikes before racing off once more.


    Already I could see that only one ¡®keystone¡¯ remained. That one was near the front lines, leading his men against the wall of shields. But the militia were rallying. They¡¯d seen the archers get destroyed, and the cavalry attack, small as it was, doing real damage to the enemy¡¯s flanks. They fought with a renewed passion, for they had a new source of hope. We just needed to break that last gigante leader. Already, that leader had taken out three soldiers as we watched. The line replenished itself swiftly from the ranks behind the line, but there was only so long that they could keep doing that.


    Karson had spotted the problem, also. He began casting a spell, and with the mage-sight ring I could see he was pulling huge amounts of mana from his reserves. Then the spell was cast, a wispy cloud of a thing that darted across the battlefield. It struck the gigante leader square in the back. The leader stumbled, and seemed to struggle to lift its weapon all of a sudden. An enterprising soldier spotted the lapse and stabbed forward with a spear. The leader tried to dodge, but its gear seemed too heavy. The spear glanced off his armor, grazing a shallow cut across the arm.


    But now the soldier¡¯s friends next to him spotted the sluggishness of the leader¡¯s movements. Instead of dodging just one spear, now he was dodging three. It only took a few minutes after that before one of the spears struck home, striking the throat and dropping the gigante permanently. The remnants of the gigantes¡¯ attack shattered at that moment. Aggression was replaced by panic, and they turned to run. But running foes made much easier targets. The militia eagerly cut them down from behind as they fled, and our cavalry was eager to help. The gigantes¡¯ numbers fell radically as the militia charged after them.


    Finally, the strategos in charge of the militia sounded a horn, and the pursuit ended. I ordered the myrmidons to go ahead and plunder the dead cynos near us for whatever loot they could find. Following Karson¡¯s advice, I let them keep the loot. Of all the myrmidons, Latona was the only one who held back, staying with me as the last of the concussion healed. I had a slight ache in my head still, but I suspected only rest would solve that.


    Down on the main battlefield, I saw Zahra astride her horse with bow in hand, while Antiope gleefully stabbed any surviving gigantes and looted bodies. Jin Song and Jin Hai looted alongside her, while Xia Fang stayed mounted next to Zahra. After some time, they returned to our caravan. Antiope was busy retelling her exploits in the battle to Zahra, who remained composed and regal. She seemed a bit stuck up to me, and her so-called visions made no sense at all to me. Karson didn¡¯t seem bothered by it, but he was pretty unflappable like that.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    I decided to move us towards the city, clearing the roads of bodies as we moved along. Zahra¡¯s group rode on either flank, with our myrmidons in front. Karson and I walked behind the myrmidons but in front of the wagons.


    A small group of men on horses was milling around near the walls, watching the militiamen loot bodies and throw them into piles for burning. Already, work groups from the city were heading off to a nearby patch of woods, presumably to gather wood for pyres. When our movement was spotted, a lone horseman broke away and headed our direction.


    The man astride the horse was well dressed in a fine wool chiton under a polished bronze cuirass. His helmet was made of overlapping ivory and tied under his chin, and he held a spear awkwardly under one arm. Karson and I walked to stand in front of the myrmidon line. I was proud of the fact that they hadn¡¯t moved aside for the rider.


    ¡°I am Lord Nyphron of Assos. Which of you was the magi who routed the cynocephali?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°We both are magi, and we both aided in that. I threw the fire, while Karsos here caused them to panic and flee.¡±


    ¡°Your aide was most appreciated. Strategos Dadaces requests you come speak with him. He directs his soldiers from the east side of the gate there,¡± said Nyphron.


    A strategos was a military governor and general, so he commanded the town and the militia. Karson indicated that the best strategos were of military background, but politics always came into play. If he was nobly born, he may well have been given the title rather than having earned it. Peasants were rarely named as a general of anything, much less a town.


    ¡°We will be there soon,¡± I said. The nobleman nodded, and rode back to where the Strategos was. I could hear the man yelling across the distance, pointing and gesturing as he shouted.


    ¡°Remember, Lord Axerios, Assos is not the place for you. It is at best, a waypoint,¡± called Zahra from the left flank.


    Karson nodded, and spoke to me in English. ¡°She¡¯s right you know, this place barely held off that attack. We need a bigger place to recruit from and build our strength. We stay here long enough to prepare. Also, don¡¯t be humble. If we act noble, they¡¯ll assume we¡¯re noble. We don¡¯t want to be considered peasants.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so we¡¯re not staying long, and don¡¯t act like a peasant. Got it.¡±


    When our slow-moving caravan finally arrived near the walls, Karson and I walked over to the horsemen. Nyphron, the messenger, was to the right, while to the left was a grizzled warrior-type who held a spear confidently in his right hand. In the middle was the Strategos.


    The Strategos was a short man with thinning hair. He was dressed in even finer clothes than Nyphron, with armor inlaid with silver, and a sword with a jewel in the pommel. He had a helmet under one arm, inlaid to match the breastplate, but carried no spear. He was engrossed in a conversation with the warrior as we approached.


    ¡°My Lord Strategos, the magi who aided us in combat have arrived,¡± said Nyphron.


    Strategos Dadaces turned toward us and sneered his lip slightly, as if he could hardly stand the sight of us.


    ¡°Dirty Foreigners, the both of you. I can tell already you aren¡¯t from Tekmon. You have women carrying weapons? That¡¯s repulsive. Why are you here? No, let me guess. You and your refugees want to hide behind my walls.¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± I said. ¡°We have done well enough defending ourselves. We have goods to sell, and are looking for a bit of land to rent.¡±


    ¡°But you don¡¯t need to be behind the walls?¡± he asked shrewdly. I could see an evil glimmer in his eye.


    ¡°Not particularly. We are planning on moving on within a few weeks. We may even hire away some of those refugees, if you don¡¯t mind.¡± Dadaces seemed to like that idea.


    ¡°Only refugees,¡± he said. ¡°Don¡¯t go tempting my people into leaving.¡±


    ¡°That is not a problem. So can Assos accommodate us, or should we be moving on?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, we can assist. There is a three acre plot of land, atop a hill behind the city that I could let you stay on for, say, 1 minae?¡±


    Erxandros¡¯ lessons on currency came to mind. A minae was sixty silver drachmas, a theoretical construct as no one ever made a silver ingot that size. If you paid a minae, you had to shell out sixty silver drachmas. I heard a whoosh of intaken breath from the soldier.


    ¡°Perhaps that will do,¡± said Karson. ¡°If we might examine the property first?¡±


    ¡°Fine. But that¡¯s all I have to offer.¡±


    Karson shrugged. We had the money. ¡°We¡¯ll take it then.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. I¡¯ll have the surveyor show you to it. No more than five of your group in the city at a time, and no spears. I¡¯ll not have you confused with my militia and causing trouble. And none of your armed women, either. I don¡¯t want your foreign ideas spreading in my town.¡±


    ¡°Understood.¡±


    The property was in a terrible condition. Situated atop a hill as promised, the terrain was rocky and had little vegetation. At the base of the hill, but within the bounds of the land, was a copse of trees that we would be allowed to clear. On top of the hill was a run down shack made of mud brick. There was no cover to speak of, and it was fairly distant from the city gates. We were surrounded by farm fields mixed with stands of trees, and could see small houses scattered among the fields. Against the walls was a tent-city of refugees, clustered around the distant gate and stretching down the wall in our direction.


    On the plus side, there was a small, spring-fed pond at the top next to the shack. It was also close enough to the road for an easy exit when it was time to leave. We¡¯d have to clear some stone away to make a smoother path, but we also weren¡¯t immediately visible from the road, either. On the whole, we were in a decently out of the way place.


    Karson and I walked the site, and I was itching to try some magic. I¡¯d had an idea of making a power source for days now, and wanted to work on it. If it panned out, we¡¯d have more than enough power to outfit ourselves properly. By the time the wagons made it up the hill, it was mid afternoon. We re-arranged the wagons once again, loading all of the trade goods onto one wagon, and the things we wished to keep on the other.


    Latona came over to me after dinner, to sit and chat. This was several evenings in a row now, and was becoming something of a habit.


    ¡°Good evening, Ax,¡± she said with a half-smile, her head cocked coyly. I was convinced now that she was flirting with me.


    ¡°Hello, Latona. How are you doing?¡±


    ¡°Glad to be at a destination, finally. I¡¯m really hoping we can get some soap. That stream running off the pond would be a great place to bathe and wash clothes. I must smell like fouled fruit at this point.¡±


    ¡°A bath sounds wonderful,¡± I groaned. I¡¯d always been particular about showering daily, and now I was pushing two weeks with only a single bath. ¡°I hate not being clean.¡±


    She giggled. ¡°I always had Xene bathe me every night, weather allowing.¡±


    ¡°Sounds pleasant.¡±


    ¡°Indeed it was. She is quite comforting, as you know.¡±


    Was she saying what I thought she was? My mind turned to the thought of the two of them with limbs intertwined. I shook my head at the thought. Latona only sat there demurely.


    ¡°I spoke with Antiope and Xia Fang. They said that they¡¯d be happy to take over training the myrmidons. I¡¯m somewhat relieved, as I have little training myself.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great news,¡± she replied. ¡°I saw Fang and Antiope sparring with branches last night, and they are quite talented.¡±


    ¡°Unfortunately, I¡¯ll be tied up with my magic for much of our stay here. I still hope to have some time for at least some sword training.¡±


    ¡°And for speaking with me in the evenings, I hope?¡± she asked with batted eyes.


    ¡°Can I admit something?¡± I said.


    ¡°Go ahead.¡±


    ¡°You confuse me,¡± I confessed.


    ¡°How so, Ax?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve never been all that great at understanding women,¡± I said. ¡°Especially beautiful women.¡±


    ¡°You think I¡¯m beautiful?¡± she asked with a shy smile.


    ¡°Very much so. But we¡¯re in the midst of all this madness, and--¡±


    Latona leaned over and interrupted me with a kiss. The kiss turned deeper, before she broke it off. She sat back again, a smirk on her face at what was probably a very dopey expression on mine.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I like you, Ax,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯re a kind man, very strong and powerful. I have no one to help me find a husband now.¡±


    ¡°So you want me to help you find one?¡± I asked, now really confused.


    ¡°No.¡± She gave an exasperated sigh. ¡°I want you to be that husband. Do you not find me attractive?¡±


    ¡°I do, very much so,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯ve thrown a lot at me all at once. I¡¯ve never married before.¡±


    ¡°At your age? That surprises me,¡± she said.


    ¡°Why me?¡± I asked, ignoring the crack about my age. I was only twenty two, only a few years older than her. Age jokes didn¡¯t bother me.


    She looked troubled. ¡°Marriages are alliances, my father always said. He would say that finding a good partner means both people bring something to the table to help the family, and that they be able to work well together. You are a kind man who can offer me security. I can bring a strong dowry. I am well educated, and will soon be well trained at war. My family has always had fertile women, and I am loyal.¡±


    ¡°You make this sound like a business arrangement,¡± I said weakly.


    ¡°Is it not?¡± she said, with her head cocked in confusion. ¡°I like you quite a bit. I find your company quite engaging, and I see your eyes follow me through the day.¡±


    ¡°What about love?¡± I asked. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you marry who you want to marry?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯m trying to do!¡± she said with a huff. ¡°Love comes later, when you¡¯ve had time together. Family first, then love! You truly have never married before, that is plain.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± I said, getting my feet under me once again. ¡°Let¡¯s discuss this more tomorrow evening. I¡¯d like some time to consider it.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± she said. Apparently I¡¯d finally said the right thing? She gave me another dazzling smile. ¡°Until tomorrow.¡±


    She rose to her feet gracefully, heading to the wagon to collect her traveling cloak. I stared after her in a daze. I knew for a fact that I¡¯d handled that with the grace of a bull in a china shop. But she really was treating it as a negotiation. If a woman had proposed to me back home, and I¡¯d asked for a night to think about it, there would have been anger, tears, and possibly even a relationship-ending fight. Then it clicked. Karson knew already. I was going to kill him.

 Fury: Chapter 1.14 - Ax

    Chapter 1.14


    Ax


    <hr>


    The next morning, Karson took Xene, Lacedaemon, and two other myrmidons with the wagon full of trade goods, as well as a substantial amount of money. With any luck, they would return with more food and goods that we needed badly. But in the meantime, it was up to me to make this hill livable, defensible and a solid respite while we determined our next steps.


    I organized several work parties to get things moving. The first work party I sent down to the woods to cut down saplings for fencing, so that the oxen could graze and stop eating up valuable grain. I had to shape a few axe heads and shovel heads for them before they went off. Another work crew was sent out to haul rock. The hill was covered in medium and large sized rocks, which interfered with the wagons and could be used for construction.


    The third crew was tasked with emptying the wagon into the mud shack. The roof didn¡¯t look too promising, but I¡¯d have a better shelter for us soon. This freed up the wagon so that we could temporarily repurpose the thick canvas covering that was stretched over the wagon Conestoga-style. The crew was tasked to get some branches to make an awning for the convalescing prisoners. They needed food and rest. The sun and fresh air would help, too.


    Meanwhile, Antiope and Xia Fang got to work on the myrmidons, drilling basics on the field next to the shack, not far from where the awning would go. They were starting with very bare basics, including stance, how best to hold a spear, and how to walk with a spear in formation without dropping it or smacking their neighbor with it. From the looks of it, they¡¯d be working hard for awhile.


    Now that everyone was working, I was freed up to do some of the big things I¡¯d been thinking about. First, I took a large ball of copper, and stretched it out as wide and thin as I possibly could. I put the heat conversion spell on it and linked it to my mana ring, then placed it on the southeast corner of the shack. I wasn¡¯t nearly as good at enchanting as Karson, but we¡¯d done this one together enough times now that I had it down. Unlike the ones on the bracers, however, this spell was cranked up to pull every erg of heat from nearby, so that every bit of hot sunlight got turned into mana.


    This gave me an immediate boost to mana. Seeing as my mana batteries were a bit low, this was a good thing. I put that new power to work. Next to the shack, I placed my hand on the ground, feeling downward as far as I could go. Almost all dirt and rock beneath us as best I could sense, so I began to banish a hole in the ground. This hole was only three inches wide, and went straight down. The earth and rock weren¡¯t being excavated, it was simply being banished from existence. I went slowly, letting my new feed of mana to dictate the speed. There was no rush.


    I was banishing about a foot per second, so by the time two hours had passed, I¡¯d gone down about 7200 feet. Then I began conjuring a long, thin copper tube. At about an inch wide, but hollow, I enchanted it with reinforcement spells and the heat conversion spell. Then I widened it out at the top so that it was six inches around, and dropped it over the hole. I then began to stretch the pipe, conjuring more copper into the end so that the enchanted rod grew downward. This actually went a lot faster, since I was conjuring a small amount of copper rather than banishing a lot of earth and rock. Thirty minutes later, I could tell that the pipe had reached the bottom. I linked the heat conversion spell to my mana ring, and promptly fell on my ass. Apparently, geothermal energy could produce crazy amounts of mana.


    First order of business was to build a shelter. I walked out an area roughly fifty feet on a side, with three large rooms around a central courtyard. I summoned a piece of green slate four inches wide, eight inches long, and six inches tall, with four one-inch holes going all the way through. It was a natural stone version of a large brick. I stared at it for a few minutes, before nodding to myself. This would work perfectly.


    I commandeered several stones from the growing stone pile, and shaped them. The first I made into a simple hopper where about two dozen slate bricks. Then I fashioned a shallow ramp, with an arch over the top of the ramp. Then I set about enchanting the arch to summon identical slate bricks, and linked it to geothermal mana pump. Finally, I added a simple stone toggle switch to turn it on and off. I turned it on, and it began to crank out a brick every ten seconds or so. Once the hopper was half full, I turned it back off.


    Then I repeated my steps to make a new hopper, only this one produced one-inch nickel-iron rods that were twelve inches long. I produced a rod and tested it on the bricks. It was a tight fit, but with a little hammering, it¡¯d go right in. I turned on the bar machine and let it start filling the hopper. This one took about fifteen seconds, so I left it running.


    I then went and began to manually conjure columns on each corner, leaving a four-inch channel for the walls. I sank the columns deep into the ground for stability. That made me realize we¡¯d need long iron bars for spiking the bottom row into the ground, and some way to compact the earth so that the bricks wouldn¡¯t just sink in the first rain. I walked the length of each wall, manually sinking footers the whole length. It took a bit of figuring out, I figured out a way to compress the ground magically.


    By this time, the work crew that had been assisting the former prisoners was free once again, and they came over to see what I was working on. The head of that group, Crathis, was a wiry old man with ropey muscles gained from a lifetime of hard work. As I explained, Crathis understood immediately what I was after.


    ¡°Are we putting in any windows, milord?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Yes, we should have windows, but wide and narrow. We don¡¯t want anyone climbing in. Also, keep the doors no wider than your shoulders, to make them easier to barricade.¡±


    ¡°What about the wagons? Are they going in one of the rooms?¡±


    ¡°No, we¡¯ll park them in the courtyard for now. We can add a gate once the roof is up.¡±


    ¡°Very good, milord.¡±


    I picked up one of the bricks and one of the pegs, and demonstrated how to alternate the layers, and use the holes to bind the bricks together. I had made a few iron hammers with wide heads, and used one to tap the iron bar into place. Before long Crathis had the group working hard, and the brickmaking machine was running nonstop.


    ¡°Hey, what you guys doing up here?¡± asked Antiope from behind me. She had a wide, mischievous grin on her face. Behind her I saw a very exhausted group of myrmidons.


    ¡°We¡¯re building a house,¡± I said.


    ¡°Those bricks look heavy. Are they heavy?¡± Her question was perky and overly friendly.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    I smiled, catching on to her game. ¡°Indeed they are. About perfect for strength and endurance training, wouldn¡¯t you say?¡±


    ¡°Why, I would say! In fact, that looks like just the thing to help these poor, out-of-shape sorry excuses for real soldiers to become slightly less pathetic!¡± Her tone was bright and cheerful as she delivered the string of insults.


    ¡°Sadly, it looks as though Crathis and his men can keep up with this machine quite well,¡± I said mournfully, but with a sly wink to Antiope.


    ¡°That is sad news,¡± she said, and I could see the tired myrmidons behind her brighten up at the news.


    ¡°Oh! But I did manage to get my mana enchantments in place, so I could easily throw together a few more brickmakers for you! I could get, what, three or four times more bricks going?¡± Every myrmidon face fell at the news.


    ¡°What a wonderful idea!¡± she said. ¡°In fact, I¡¯m sure Crathis and his men would be happy to handle hammering everything together, if they only had someone to carry all those bricks.¡±


    ¡°Indeed they could. In fact, the house would go up much faster with all that help. We could catch two birds with one stone! I¡¯ll get to work right away. Give me an hour.¡±


    ¡°Oh, very well,¡± she said. ¡°Myrmidons, you get a short rest.¡±


    As one, all eleven men and women collapsed to sit or lay on the ground. I spotted Latona giving me the evil eye, but I ignored it. Strong soldiers didn¡¯t always make good soldiers, but all good soldiers were strong. That bit of extra strength might be the difference between life and death some day.


    I went to work on enchanting more brickmakers, and added another peg maker while I was at it. The amount of raw mana I had to work with was amazing compared to what I was used to. Every mana battery I had was brimming with power. The additional conjuring machines drew heavily on the feed, however, so it wasn¡¯t quite as heady as it had been when I first tapped it.


    By the time all of that was up and running, about forty minutes had gone by and I was starting to get hungry. I spotted Karson walking next to a very loaded wagon as it rolled up the hill. The three myrmidons with him walked over to the rest of their exhausted comrades with confused expressions on their faces. We were going to need to let the rest of them head into town over the next few days, to prevent resentment in the ranks.


    ¡°We had a good morning,¡± said Karson.


    ¡°It looks like it,¡± I said. And indeed it did. I saw many bolts of colored wool, a box piled with leather sandals, and wooden crates filled with dried food, fresh vegetables, and fruit. Then I spotted the armor. Ax had landed a full breastplate, helmet, bracers and greaves, as well as a shield. Now this I could work with.


    ¡°I see you spotted the big prize,¡± said Karson. ¡°And I picked this up for you. An engagement gift to give to Latona.¡±


    He held a small bag out to me. I looked inside to see a pretty necklace made of silver wire and roughly cut sapphires.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t believe you didn¡¯t tell me,¡± I grumbled. I had confronted him last night, but he had only laughed at me and told me to go for it.


    ¡°You only live once, and that girl is everything you¡¯ve ever looked for. She¡¯s capable, pretty, and seems pretty hardcore about the warrior thing,¡± he had said before we went to sleep. Well, he had slept. I had mostly mulled over the proposal.


    Now he was laughing at me again.


    ¡°Seriously, do it,¡± said Karson. ¡°Marriage for love is a very modern, western notion. In this time and place, it¡¯s very much an alliance. Hell, you lucked out that fidelity isn¡¯t even a big thing. If you get wealthy enough, she may even pick out a second or third wife for you.¡±


    ¡°The fuck?¡± I said in English. He switched to English as well.


    ¡°It¡¯s a status and prestige thing. Most stick with one, because you have to have wealth to have more. And you¡¯ll be getting a concubine out of the deal, too.¡±


    I must have blanked for a minute.


    ¡°Xene? You remember? Balled your brains out at least twice that I know of. Who knows how often really.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. But wouldn¡¯t that end with the marriage?¡±


    ¡°You really don¡¯t listen,¡± said Karson. ¡°Fidelity isn¡¯t expected. Providing, protecting, procreating, and prestige. Until the classical period, this is a very feudal society. The philosophers and strong city-states change things, and all of this starts to go away as city-state democracies replace kings. But we are just entering the dark ages. Power and prestige are everything.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re saying, just take advantage, enjoy it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying, that is the culture here, and nothing you say can change hundreds of years of status quo. I¡¯m saying that we can govern our own people by what standards feel right to us. But don¡¯t go expecting the Greeks to have your values, or to understand them.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not going to turn into some misogynistic asshole just because that¡¯s what everyone is doing,¡± I retorted.


    ¡°Good! I¡¯m not going to, either. I plan to treat women as equals like I always have, and I plan on buying and freeing slaves as soon as we can, too. We can make essentially endless wealth. So long as we don¡¯t crash the market with too much silver or gold, we can become quite influential. Maybe we can help end the dark ages sooner, and bring some modern enlightenment to the world. Or maybe we can be a bright spot in the dark.¡±


    ¡°So, be good, do good, and don¡¯t stress about things I cannot control.¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± he said.


    ¡°So any other surprises in the pile?¡±


    ¡°Plenty of cloth for clothing, leather for Xene to work, and a few sets of finished clothing for us. When we have some workers free, we can get them to work on clothing themselves. We¡¯ll look a lot less like refugees if we¡¯re not dressed like them. Also, a good week or two¡¯s worth of clothing. Also, I noticed a big lack of good tools in the market. If you find time to crank out a few shovel heads and axes, that¡¯d be great.¡±


    ¡°Oh crap, that reminds me,¡± I said. I led him over to my new geothermal mana pump. ¡°Link yourself to that.¡±


    ¡°What is it converting from¡­ holy shit!¡± he exclaimed. ¡°Jeez that¡¯s a ton of mana.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s shared between me, you, and five conjuring machines running full tilt,¡± I said.


    ¡°How does it work? I mean, I see the enchantments, they¡¯re basically what we¡¯ve been running off of for days. Where is the heat source?¡±


    ¡°I ran a pipe deep underground. It¡¯s converting geothermal heat.¡±


    ¡°That is fucking brilliant! Alright, do you need me for anything? I need a place to set up shop and get to work. I¡¯ve got shit to figure out.¡± I shook my head, so Karson headed off to the mud shack where our supplies were, leaving me to find someone to empty the full wagon.


    The afternoon kept me busy running the work crews. My wood crew was bringing up lengths of wood to split into rails. I made a simple metal platform with an axle and two wheels underneath, allowing them to tie an ox to a large log or a pile of logs. The wheeled contraption would co under the back, turning the entire tree into a temporary wagon to bring up the hill.


    My stone gathering crew was supplemented by myrmidons as it turned out you could have too much help for building a building. But I lost a few men and women from each of those crews to go back and start sewing, swapping out who was watching the children, and beginning cooking. For once, we¡¯d have a hot, comfortable meal.


    I spotted Zahra riding around the woods periodically, her bodyguards in tow. Xia Fang had stayed back with Antiope to help in training. Watching an old woman easily outperform the myrmidons made me wonder how old she really was. She seemed able to match Antiope¡¯s vigor without any issues at all.


    But my own running around kept me from the armor that I so very much wanted to work on. It was going to have to be my project for the next day. I also had a number of ideas about how to rebuild the wagons to be stronger, lighter, and better organized. If we could get a few more wagons, and more oxen, our next destination would be easier to get to. That is, if we could figure out where it was going to be.

 Fury: Chapter 1.15 - Karson

    Chapter 1.15


    Karson


    <hr>


    Finally, I had time and mana to work with. I hardly knew where I wanted to start. But there were a few things that needed to happen first, to get some basic practicalities out of the way. I had been studying the Atlantean chest I¡¯d picked up, and found a great many complex enchantments to learn from, and I wanted to put them into practice.


    I settled into a corner of the mud shack using a pile of crates as a makeshift desk. I tossed my jerkin aside and folded my traveling cloak underneath me as a cushion. I missed the crappy, twenty year old desk chair that was at my desk in the classroom. It had a squeaky wheel and wobbled precariously if you leaned in a particular direction, but it was mostly comfortable. Strange the things you miss, and what you don¡¯t.


    The chest was in front of me, opened so that I could examine the spellworks from the inside. The Atlantean magic was distinctive in design. The enchantments were built in pieces, like independent circuits or modules that connected to each other via wires of gold inlaid into the wood. I could see how this could be advantageous. Each module could be inscribed individually, allowing more complexity and a strong enchantment into each one. Each module was also covered in tightly engraved Atlantean runes that glowed with eldritch power. This indicated that the casters couldn¡¯t see magic like I could, so carefully laid runes helped build the spell, rather than weaving the components ad hoc and inscribing them like I did. It would take much longer that way, but probably had far fewer failures when trying something new or even from simply being tired and making a mistake.


    It kind of reminded me of early computers, where giant rooms full of huge, simplistic components connected to each other via wires wrapped around posts. Sure, they might have only been able to do simple arithmetic, but the potential was amazing. I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine what these Atlanteans would come up with after a few centuries of research and development.


    Regardless of my impression, their work was brilliant and far beyond my own abilities. I could definitely take cues, however, and adapt their knowledge with my style, or lack thereof. My own crude attempts at enchanting may have compared poorly, but I was a fast learner. I could see how the wards interacted with the physical world, and it gave me a ton of ideas about how to proceed. The reinforcement spell was particularly valuable, as was the ward against dispelling. The protection from physical harm could be adapted, too.


    I opened one of the blank journals and began to take detailed notes. I was careful about being thorough with my note taking, because every scrap of paper was invaluable, and I couldn¡¯t waste any of it with cryptic shorthand or doodles. I made a mental note to have Ax conjure me a thin slate chalkboard and some chalk.


    After I¡¯d observed all I could from the chest, it was time to start making improvements. I removed my health ring and cast a dispel on it. With the mana I could bring to bear now, the enchantment dispelled with depressing ease. I needed something more adaptable, and able to link to multiple mana sources. Ax had told me how his ring had healed his minor burns with the same priority as his concussion. I had to fix that.


    Puzzling out an improved enchantment took a lot more time than the hasty first attempt I¡¯d thrown together before. I built it in modules much like the Atlanteans, but didn¡¯t rely on the mana wiring to put it all together. The spell emphasized stopping external bleeding and head wounds first, followed by internal injuries. Burns, bruises and broken bones were the lowest on the priority list. In the end, I had to envision as many common injuries I could come up with, and run them through a logic test to ensure that the spell could at least stabilize the injury, even if it couldn¡¯t heal it. I added a module to ward against dispels, and a basic reinforcement to protect the ring from damage. Damage to the ring could destroy the enchantment, or at least the module inscribed where the damage occured. I built an intent control on top of it, so that the wearer could direct the healing. As an afterthought, I added a prophylactic effect as well. I didn¡¯t tie it to the intent control. To stop that, I¡¯d have to remove the ring, which would be a very deliberate choice.


    I finished weaving the spell and began to inscribe it into the ring. When it was finished, I put it on and immediately felt refreshed. I then moved on to a new spell. The ward against physical damage on the chest gave me an idea about how to create a magic barrier or shield against blows. Considering just the injuries from the past week, and we hadn¡¯t faced anything more than a handful of raiders or an unprepared group of archers, this would be essential.


    From my pouch, I took out a handful of gold rings that Ax had made for me. I hadn¡¯t enchanted gold before, but considering the differences between copper and silver, I thought it might hold the enchantments better. It was fairly obvious that materials mattered. I began weaving a spell to create a bubble of armor around the wearer that would catch blows but still allow normal interaction with the world. The mechanics were quite complex, and without the chest¡¯s ward as a guide, I¡¯d never have figured it out. But when I went to inscribe the ring, the ring slipped from my hands. I tried to catch it, but it bounced off the crate and onto the floor a few feet away. Trying to hold the spell weave, I fumbled for the ring. I stubbed a finger while groping, but got the ring in my grasp.


    Once I got it back, I saw that the weave had frayed and was precariously tilting towards unraveling. With a sigh, I released the spell. It unraveled swiftly, leaving me back at square one. I looked down at the offending ring in annoyance. Then it hit me, and I looked back over at where the ring had been on the floor. It was several feet away, but I had been able to bend over just slightly to grab it. I bent over to touch the spot where the ring had been, next to a bag of grain. It was a long stretch that I could barely reach from where I was sitting, not a short grab like I had done. I had bent space to reach it, and frayed my spell in the process.


    Before I got myself excited, I went ahead and finished two of the armor rings. I couldn¡¯t let myself go off on tangents, a discipline I¡¯d learned the hard way while in college and used to good effect while teaching. I slipped on one of the rings, and felt a hum of energy swirl into existence around me. I could see a faint blue outline of the bubble around me. I played around with bringing it closer to my skin, finally satisfied when the bubble outlined my body two inches away.


    I tossed a coin on the ground, and focused on reaching the coin without stretching to pick it up. I saw a glimmer of magic as space warped. It was like looking through thick curved glass, with the coin in perfect focus and the space around it bowed in like it had been compressed. I picked up the coin easily.


    If I could master this effect, could I make a bag or a crate hold more than it should? How would it affect weight? Could I make a bubble of space that simply attached to a door, like a tiny pocket dimension? What would happen if that door broke?


    I needed to test. I went and collected a few bricks from Ax¡¯s brickmaker machines. Back in the hut, I found two bags roughly the same in size. I then wove a new spell, that would expand the space inside the bag. I wasn¡¯t sure how much extra space I¡¯d get, but it was worth a try. The fabric didn¡¯t hold the spell well, requiring a long time to push the enchantment into the fibers. When it finally finished, I looked inside the bag.


    Inside the bag, the fibers seemed much larger, and the space much roomier. I put one of the bricks into it. When I looked in, the brick seemed normally sized against the abnormally large threads of wool. But the bag didn¡¯t feel like it had a brick in it. It felt empty, in fact. It didn¡¯t bulge at all. I put a brick in the other bag just for obvious comparisons, and it felt like a bag with a brick in it. I could fit maybe five or six more in, but they would tear through the fabric.


    I cast the enchantment again on the other bag with the brick inside. This time, when I opened the bag, not only were the fibers much larger, so was the brick. So the spell warped whatever was inside the spell to make more space. Whatever was inside kept shape and form in proportion to the spell, so this bag had less space.


    Then I decided to pull the brick out. The minute the brick passed the mouth of the bag, it shattered and the bag shredded. Bits of brick hit the mage armor protecting me at very high velocities, and a lound bang resounded as the spell explosively unraveled. Then the backlash hit, bypassing the shield and giving me an instant mana headache. It felt like the brain freeze you get from eating too much ice cream.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    It took me a few minutes to realize that I¡¯d turned a working spell inside out. It was the magical equivalent of a short circuit. I¡¯d made parts of a live spell connect to parts that should never have touched. Bits of slate were embedded in the crates all around me. I wondered if I could use that to make grenades. No, I didn¡¯t need more projects right now.


    The door to the shack opened.


    ¡°Are you alive in here?¡± came Ax¡¯s voice.


    ¡°All good!¡± I called back.


    The door slammed closed as he left. The thought about grenades made me realize I needed to do something to ease my spellcasting. Casting took too much time to get off more than one or two spells in combat. I was beginning to realize that if I were to be able to make full use of my abilities, I¡¯d have to enchant some weapons. But that would be a problem for after dinner. The light was waning and I was hungry.


    The next morning, I woke early and got back to work. I had Ax re-work my bracers with overlapping bronze plates, since the original metal strips were poorly enchanted iron. I cast strong reinforcement enchantments and wards on them, and tied them to the geothermal mana pump. I wasn¡¯t sure the range on it, but I was fairly certain that it would reach across town, at a minimum. I¡¯d have to build some pretty hefty batteries soon, to hold us offer as we traveled.


    I then tied in the acid spell and the strength sapping spell. Both were very handy in combat. They were both directional spells, so I made it so that it would cast at whatever target I was pointing at. Actually casting the spell would require my intention, as well. I then spent some time working out a few safeguards and ways to prevent accidentally triggering it. The bracers would automatically disarm if I removed them, or if I fell asleep. Once they were finished, I strapped them on for testing. I wandered down to the woods, and found an old stump. I pointed at it, and triggered the acid spell. The spell flew across the distance and acid began to bubble across the stump, eating away at the rotting wood. I tried with the other hand, with the same result.


    I tried from different distances until I was able to determine the range. I could hit a target from fifty feet away, which was pretty helpful. I also tried rapid-firing the spell, and found that I could cast roughly every two seconds.


    ¡°That is very impressive,¡± said Zahra. ¡°I have not seen a mage who can wield such powerful spells so swiftly. Is it an artifact you use?¡±


    ¡°I enchanted these bracers with the spell,¡± I said. ¡°I tied it to a power source, which gives the item the power it needs.¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± she said. ¡°Do you mind if I watch?¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± I replied. ¡°But I was just finishing.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± she said, disappointed.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind sitting and talking with you for awhile,¡± I said. ¡°To be honest, I¡¯m due for a break and wouldn¡¯t mind the company.¡±


    She brightened at that. Her dark red hair was tied back in a tight braid today, and she¡¯d left the armor and thick fur cloak behind, in deference to the heat of the late morning. She wore her leggings and the long sleeved tunic, which wrapped around her torso to form a v-neck. I could see a shift of some sort underneath it, covering her to her neck. In the distance I saw her bodyguards, close enough to be of assistance but far enough away to allow private conversation.


    ¡°That would be pleasant.¡±


    I pulled out the waterskin I¡¯d brought with me, and offered it to her. She drank a few mouthfuls, possibly out of courtesy, and handed it back. I drank deeply, still not accustomed to the heat.


    ¡°So what brings you all the way to this part of the world? That can¡¯t be a short journey, even for a sklotoi.¡±


    ¡°That is possibly the politest ¡®why are you here¡¯ I have ever heard,¡± she said with a smile. I liked her smile, it suited her.


    ¡°I was just trying to make conversation,¡± I protested. ¡°We all have our reasons for where we are.¡±


    ¡°I have no choice,¡± she said. ¡°I have to be here.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°What do you know of Oracles?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That they receive visions of the future, and some are cursed to never be believed,¡± I said.


    ¡°You already know more than most. Those who are chosen as Oracles by the gods also have their own Fate. But an Oracle who refuses to accept their Fate becomes cursed. Every word that comes from their mouth is thought to be a lie, not just their Visions.¡±


    ¡°So you follow your fate, so that you are not cursed. If you were cursed, no one would ever believe you again. And your fate is to be here?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± she said. ¡°I have had Visions of helping you and your brother.¡±


    ¡°And how can you do that?¡±


    ¡°Like all Oracles, my gift is information. Sometimes it is helpful, sometimes it isn¡¯t. But even with a Vision, I¡¯ve noticed most people do not have the fortitude to rise above the fate dictated by the gods.¡±


    ¡°How do you mean?¡±


    ¡°I was in a town on my journey. A drunken man stumbled out of a public house and ran into me. I could See that he was going to assault a woman down the street. Her angry husband would then beat him to death.¡± Zahra paused to collect her thoughts.


    I nodded encouragingly.


    ¡°I told him of his fate. He decided he would try to accost me instead. I tried to convince him to listen to me about his fate, but he continued to try and grab me. Antiope grew tired of his boorish attempts, and slew him on the spot.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like he got what he deserved,¡± I said.


    ¡°No doubt,¡± she said. ¡°But he also would not even think of changing.¡±


    ¡°So fate is determined by the gods, but sufficient willingness to change and adapt can allow you to escape your fate?¡±


    ¡°Essentially,¡± she said. ¡°What point is an Oracle¡¯s gift if it is only a prophecy of what must happen? It¡¯s a vision of what could happen. It shows you what the gods themselves believe will happen, and they are usually right.¡±


    ¡°And you see everyone¡¯s fate? Just by touching them?¡±


    ¡°To some degree or another,¡± she said. ¡°Sometimes I see a lot, sometimes I see very cryptic visions. I almost always see their end.¡±


    ¡°That must be difficult,¡± I said. ¡°To have horrible visions of your loved ones, even from something so casual.¡±


    She was silent for a long few minutes. I had just started to think I might have offended her, when she said, ¡°It is impossible. Ever since I was a child, I¡¯ve never known the comfort of an embrace.¡±


    ¡°That must be¡­¡±


    ¡°Lonely,¡± she admitted softly. Then she shook herself and said in a louder tone, ¡°anyway, I know you seek war against the Cult of Kronos, yet know not where to start.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s pretty much the gist of it. We¡¯ve been scrambling to not die for the last two weeks or so. The only clue we had was from Prometheus, directing us to the Great Temple where we met you. We know next to nothing about the Cult. I figured out that they are trying to establish anchors for Kronos in other worlds.¡±


    ¡°That is grave news,¡± she said. ¡°Few dabble in the affairs of gods, for the punishments for such things are quite¡­ extreme. But fanatics cannot be swayed by fear of such fates. Kronos and his Titans have never sought the worship of men. The fae courts and the underdwellers favor them, as do the sea peoples. But Zeus and his ilk have learned from Ra and his pantheon about how to gain strength and advantage from having a broad following. It has given them strength to rival even Kronos himself.¡±


    ¡°So how did Kronos wind up with his own cult?¡±


    ¡°Kronos is crafty. He fears death more than anything, and fears Zeus is fated to slay him as he slew his father Uranus. Gaia hates him for locking away her monstrous children and enslaving the Great Beasts, and mankind breeds like rabbits, giving Zeus more strength. His gambit is to steal away followers and slaughter those who will not support him. The dead only strengthen Erebrus, the Titan of Darkness and Death.¡±


    ¡°Can we find the Cult in Tekmon?¡±


    ¡°No, they are few and far from here. I have foreseen Axerios fighting them near Iolcus. They hide in the city, but their stronghold is hidden, and shielded against divination. I cannot foresee anything of it,¡± she said. While she spoke, she had glowed with magic. The magic dimmed as she finished.


    ¡°I think your gift is a curse, no matter if you follow fate or not,¡± I said.


    Her eyes brimmed with tears for a moment, but she blinked them away. The Royal Saka persona she wore slipped back into place. ¡°I do as I must. My people were born the strongest of the Skolotoi, and my mother is their Queen. Her blood helps me to bear even this terrible burden.¡±


    I leaned over and caressed her cheek, much as she had done to me in the Temple. ¡°You don¡¯t need to do it alone. You are among friends now.¡±


    She looked shocked at the touch, so I leaned back. Then she gave a shuddering sigh. ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Behind her, I saw Xene coming down the hill towards the guards. I nodded in her direction, to give Zahra warning. Zahra stood and fussed with her clothing, straightening her tunic and composing herself.


    ¡°Lord Karsos? Lord Axieros requests your help,¡± called Xene.

 Fury: Chapter 1.16 - Karson

    Chapter 1.16


    Karson


    <hr>


    When I got back to the top of the hill, I could see the house was nearing completion. The walls were up, and long wooden beams were tied to it to form rafters and roof trusses for a peaked roof. Stone wrapped around the base of each beam where it touched the wall, tying it all together. I could see Ax straddling a rafter, conjuring sheets of copper to use as roofing tiles. Two other villagers were up there with him, taking each sheet and laying it down to overlap the sheets lower on the roof, and hammering them down with small iron nails. Each sheet was being nailed only at the top, overlapping enough to cover the nails of the layer below it.


    Ax saw me, so he slid down the beam to the edge of the wall closest to me. ¡°Hey, can you make another trade run into town? Xene says we don¡¯t have enough money to make payroll and do some recruiting. I cranked out a few dozen tools this morning.¡±


    ¡°I can do that,¡± I said. Then I switched to English. ¡°Did we ever tie the coin box to the geothermal pump?¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± he said. ¡°Shit, no, we didn¡¯t. That would help, too, wouldn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°It would. Are you working on wagons today?¡±


    ¡°Within the next few days, yes I am. I need to get armor cranking, and I want to make some machines for that. Do you think we can get the machines to put basic enchantments on the armor, also?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, I didn¡¯t think of that. Maybe? Tomorrow, let¡¯s plan on working together on that stuff. I bet if we set the armor to absorb heat above, say, eighty or eighty-five degrees¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d have self-powering, air-conditioned armor?¡±


    ¡°Exactly,¡± I said. ¡°Especially with the helmets - I bet those get hot as hell.¡±


    ¡°Okay,¡± said Ax. ¡°After you sell off the tools, you want to swing through the refugee camps and see who we can add? Looking for craftsmen and soldiers. I¡¯m going to conjure stone bunk beds in here, so we¡¯ll be able to fit eighty, ninety people. I sent off Crathis to the local farms, see if there are any oxen pairs to buy. I expect we¡¯ll be up to a half-dozen or more wagons by the time we¡¯re ready to leave. All of that needs people to make the boards and do the construction.¡±


    ¡°No problem,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll fill you in tonight, I know where we¡¯re going.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡±


    Xene showed me over to a pile of tools, and I had to admit I was impressed. There were a half-dozen heavy splitting axes, a few broad-bladed chopping axes, saws, hammers and shovels. There were even two plowshare blades. I pulled out my magic sack and was able to load everything in except for the blades. I handed the bag to Xene, who was astounded at how light it was. The bag bulged only slightly, and weighed perhaps ten or fifteen pounds, even though it was filled with nearly four hundred pounds of metal.


    To my surprise, Zahra and her two bodyguards came over to us.


    ¡°I would like to see this town,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯ve seen little of the Hellenic towns.¡±


    ¡°You are welcome to come,¡± I said. ¡°I enjoy your company.¡±


    She looked a little surprised at that. ¡°Few people enjoy do.¡±


    ¡°I can understand that,¡± I acknowledged. ¡°But I am not most people.¡±


    She gave a small smile. ¡°Indeed you are not.¡±


    Since Jin Song and Jin Hai followed Zahra everywhere, that rounded out the five we were allowed to bring into town. None of Ax¡¯s myrmidons were getting light duty today. I saw them carrying rocks up and down the hills earlier. Antiope was among them, easily carrying rocks as if she could do it all day, laughing at one moment and shouting commands the next.


    We walked the distance to the gates, entering the refugee camp after about a half mile of walking. The camp was a mix of rough huts made of branches and tents of canvas. There was a scattering of wagons with donkeys or oxen staked nearby, and a few places that had actually framed a rough structure out of cut branches. Children scampered through the refugee camp, while the men and women sought to build what they could with the scraps available to them. If I was to guess, there were likely a few hundred of them, far more than we could help. What was painfully obvious to me was the lack of food. Odds were good that many would be starved by springtime, if they survived even that long. The war seemed scarcely begun, and the civilians were losing already.


    Zahra seemed delighted to watch the children¡¯s games, although I noticed that she¡¯d gloved her hands even in this heat and kept them crossed over her chest to prevent touching anyone. Her eyes watched everything, and she came alive as she talked with refugees. Her good humor carried her as we approached the gates to the city.


    ¡°What?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Nothing,¡± I said.


    Fortunately, we reached gate guards at that moment. I had no problems entering the town the day before, nor did we have trouble today. The militiamen were quite happy with us for taking out the archers the other day, and word was out that we had provided crucial support for ending the attack. We were waved through with a smile and a nod.


    The town itself wasn¡¯t particularly remarkable. It was surrounded by twelve foot tall walls, a mix of stone and timber. The walls were large stones up to a height of six feet, with the remaining six feet being made of rough hewn logs. There were no towers to speak of, and once inside, small platforms near the gates and periodically along the walls gave the only view from up top. The platforms were accessible by ladder, and some militia were posted along the wall, but there was no walkway connecting them, nor was there much space for more than one or two men at a time.


    The gates themselves were not particularly strong either. They were about four inches thick, secured by a crossbar and braces that slotted into two holes in the road. The braces would lean against the two gate doors, preventing them from opening even if the crossbar was removed. This did nothing against the gate doors themselves being broken, and did little to prevent the gates from burning. Fortunately, that weakness was not my problem.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Inside the town was mostly a collection of houses. The poorer part of town was near the gate we entered, and was made of crowded wooden structures. Every available surface was covered in buildings, and many extended up several stories. It looked as though more than a few shared walls, and dark alleys wove through the buildings to access even more that I couldn¡¯t see from the street. The town¡¯s main street ran from gate to gate, with a single road splitting off in the middle of town to run up to the megaron in the center of town, presumably where Strategos Dadaces lived and held court.


    Behind the megaron were the homes of the wealthy, with wide, spacious courtyards and elaborately painted and decorated houses. The road to the megaron wrapped around it to serve that part of town. In between the megaron and the poor part of town was the merchant homes and the marketplace. These homes were often a cross between a home and a shop, with a front workshop area and living quarters behind. Looming behind these homes were often barn-like structures for storing of goods and housing slaves.


    The marketplace was at the crossroads between the main street through town and the road to the megaron. A significant amount of open space had been left around the crossroads, giving space for carts and tables to be set up, and commerce to happen. Food vendors, craftsmen, wood workers, tailors and clothiers and the like all competed for space and customers in a cacophony of shouted dickering and dealing.


    Xene dove into the madness, leaving me and Zahra to trail in her footsteps. We wove our way through the crowd until we reached the far side of the market, closest to the megaron. It didn¡¯t take her long to find a table with a small assortment of crude tools and start haggling. I quickly lost interest in the negotiation, and my attention wandered to nearby vendors. I spotted a well dressed old man selling vellum and ink. I wasn¡¯t interested in the vellum, but the man was keeping himself busy behind the table by mixing oil, some granular black substance, and a bit of thick, goopy material.


    ¡°Are you making ink?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Indeed I am,¡± said the man cheerfully. ¡°Ivory black, in fact.¡±


    ¡°Fascinating. Is that glue?¡±


    ¡°Yes, just a touch. It helps bind the ground char to the oil. Exact mix is my secret, understand.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I understand. How much for a jar?¡±


    ¡°In better times, I was selling for four drachma per jar. These days, I¡¯m lucky to get two. Of course, I¡¯m lucky to get real ivory. I¡¯ve had to make do with animal bones. Truthfully, I can hardly tell the difference. It writes well enough, and doesn¡¯t fade,¡± the old man smiled as if he didn¡¯t have a care in the world.


    ¡°Oh no,¡± said Zahra from behind me. I hadn¡¯t even realized she¡¯d wandered with me, her bodyguards close at hand. I turned just as I heard Xene scream. She was being hauled by two guards from the crowd towards the megaron. I saw Strategos Dadaces and Lord Nyphron standing and laughing together, with two militiamen behind them.


    ¡°Oh hell no,¡± I said, and charged after them. I broke through the crowd only a few steps behind Xene and her captors. I immediately pointed at both of them, using my new bracers to fire the strength curse. Immediately they sagged. One dropped his spear, while the other released Xene completely. She twisted out of the other¡¯s grasp and turned towards me to run. When she saw me she ran over.


    Zahra and her bodyguards broke from the crowd at that point, too. I motioned for Xene to stand behind me. Behind her, I saw Dadaces had stopped laughing and was now glaring at me. He stalked over.


    ¡°Mage! What is the meaning of this?¡± he shouted as he approached.


    ¡°Me?! Your militia just tried to kidnap one of my people!¡± I said in outrage.


    ¡°Your people? This is my town,¡± he snapped. ¡°You just did something to my militiamen. Fix it, now.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said. ¡°It¡¯ll wear off in awhile.¡±


    ¡°So the girl is yours then? How much?¡±


    ¡°How much what?¡± I asked, afraid of the answer.


    ¡°To buy her, of course,¡± he said as if I were slow.


    ¡°My people are not for sale,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Nonsense. I won¡¯t go higher than twenty drachma, so don¡¯t bother trying to haggle for more. I know how greedy you mages are,¡± said the portly general.


    ¡°My people are NOT for sale,¡± I said again, gritting my teeth.


    ¡°Mmhmm. Well, think about my offer. I won¡¯t be this generous for long.¡±


    ¡°I can see your generosity, but my mind won¡¯t change.¡±


    ¡°My lord? The axes?¡± said one of the guards from the ground. He held up one of Ax¡¯s conjured axe heads in a trembling hand, before quickly dropping it back down again. I pieced it together now. One of the militia men must have spotted the high quality tool and brought it to Dadace¡¯s notice. He must have pointed Xene out as the source, and drawing Dadace¡¯s interest.


    ¡°Ah, right. This is quality work. No hammer marks, so you must have magicked it. I have need of smithing. Would you consider a commission? I need of more helmets and spear heads,¡± he said. ¡°And perhaps a new sword for myself.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to arm this man¡¯s forces further, but I also didn¡¯t want to alienate him enough to drive us away. We still needed a few weeks to organize before we moved on to Iolcus. I was itching to be on the road. Now that we had a lead on where to find those murdering cultists, I didn¡¯t want to wait. But poor planning had bit me in the ass before. I wasn¡¯t going to do that again.


    ¡°I believe that can be arranged, if you have metal enough. How many are you talking?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m conscripting another seventy men, to fill losses and expand. I¡¯ve got armor enough from the dead soldiers and so forth, but I¡¯m going to need forty helm and sixty spear. Can you handle that?¡±


    ¡°My brother could do that, if you have sufficient materials,¡± I said cautiously.


    ¡°I¡¯ll pay eight per helm, six per spear head. You buy the metal,¡± he said.


    ¡°Make it twelve per helm, ten per spear head, you provide the metal,¡± I countered. I didn¡¯t want to share that we could conjure any amount we needed. It might convince him to try and keep us around, even if by force.


    Dadaces snorted. ¡°Haggling mage. Typical. Eight per helm, six per spear, but I¡¯ll provide the metal, and give you two pair of oxen. Word has it you¡¯re in the market.¡±


    I had to give it to the man, he was sharp and well informed. We¡¯d only just started sending our people out to find more animals.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± I said. ¡°We¡¯ll make delivery one week after we receive the bronze.¡±


    He nodded, and I turned to go. But Zahra had other ideas. Her gloves were off, and she glowed with power. She stepped up to Dadaces swiftly, and caressed the side of his face.


    ¡°Your doom is upon you, Strategos, yet your fate is not sealed. Are you strong enough to defend your charge, or will you die upon your hollow throne? The choice is yours to make.¡±


    The blood drained from Dadace¡¯s face, and Lord Nyphron looked worried. Zahra stepped back again with a haggard expression on her face. Dadaces looked frozen in place for a moment, before his eyes focused on the sword at Zahra¡¯s thigh and the bow on her back.


    ¡°I told you to keep your deviant warrior women out of my town! And this one is a witch!¡±


    ¡°Oracle, actually,¡± I said mildly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care! Get out!¡±


    I nodded, and we left him in the street trembling with rage. We cut through the market and headed straight for the gates. I didn¡¯t want to be inside the walls if he decided to try and arrest us.


    ¡°Thank you my lord,¡± said Xene.


    ¡°No thanks should be necessary,¡± I replied. ¡°That was a horrible thing he tried to do.¡±


    ¡°Not many would stand up to a Strategos like that,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m grateful.¡±


    ¡°From now on, everyone in town sticks together,¡± I said. ¡°Either Ax or myself goes with the group. We can¡¯t let Dadaces try this again.¡±


    Xene nodded, and Zahra smiled at her. ¡°It is not your fate to stay in this town, Xene.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­ okay. Thanks?¡±


    ¡°Your welcome.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.17 - Karson

    Chapter 1.17


    Karson


    <hr>


    Over the next week, I made regular trips to either town or to the refugee encampment. Recruiting was surprisingly easy, and Ax had so many projects going that he didn¡¯t want to make a trip himself. Zahra accompanied me often, and I was truly starting to enjoy her company. I understood why she wanted to hang around. It was probably the first time she¡¯d been able to have normal conversations without her visions interfering. Sometimes, knowledge is a curse.


    So I settled into a routine of sorts. While mornings were for recruiting and spending time with Zahra, the afternoons were for working with Ax on enchantments. With the help of a helmet to model off of, he worked out a conjuration that would summon a standard-sized corinthian style helmet. It had a very Spartan-esque style, with long check guards and angled eye holes and noseguard. It left a small opening between the cheek guards, yet protected from all but a perfectly straight on blow. I was tempted to tell him he was a few centuries too early, but since they were superior in design to the Mycenaean style of helmet, offering better protection of the face and neck, I didn¡¯t object.


    Ax made a simple thin arch of stone with a flat base that we set on a table. Together we worked out a way to magically reinforce the metal and ward against physical damage, then tied it to a heat-absorption spell that treated the metal of the helmet as a mana battery. The heat absorption would cool the wearer and fuel the reinforcements. Each of the spell components and the conjuration was laid into the stone arch over the course of an afternoon, ending with a binding spell to tie them all together. Finally, we added a toggle switch to the side of the arch and tied the whole thing to the geothermal mana pump.


    The new helmet conjuration machine consumed a massive amount of mana, and took about thirty minutes per helmet. This appeared to max out our current geothermal mana pump. This led to our next project of improving the pump design. The bulk of the energy cost of creating the first one, according to Ax, came from the banishing of the earth and stone as it went down. He had made a hole far wider than the actual copper pipe that carried the spell. Also, he¡¯d only gone down about 7200 feet or so, and the deeper we could go, the better. Copper was the easiest metal to conjure, and held enchantments better than stone, so was still our best option. So instead, we made a six inch long spike of copper, and half an inch in diameter. It was attached to a six-inch by six-inch copper cube. With this spike, we wove an enchantment that would banish a half-inch diameter hole straight down, and conjure a pipe down to a depth nearly quadruple that of Ax¡¯s first design. The copper cube was a simple mana battery.


    After charging the mana battery overnight, we tested the new pump, placing it in the corner of the new house. It only took a few seconds for a small hole to appear, and the spike slid into it easily so that we didn¡¯t have to hold it up in place anymore. At the end of the day, the spell finished, and we had a new power source. When I tied into it, the amount of mana available was astoundingly high.


    With this new power source, Ax built several simple machines for making bronze arrowheads, spearheads, and butt spikes for the bottom of the spears. We built another machine to make bronze greaves, and a third to make bracers. Finally, once we¡¯d worked out all the kinks of the system, we started producing bronze cuirasses. This was the most complex part, and relied very heavily on the design of the armor I¡¯d purchased in the Assos marketplace. It was actually a multiple-part armor design with a front breastplate that was vaguely shaped to fit the torso, a back plate that curved to protect the sides, and two shoulder pieces that curved over to connect the front and back. Loops on the sides allowed leather straps to be attached so that the front and back could be tightly fitted, and holes at the bottom allowed a leather armor skirt to be riveted on later. A circular bronze disk protruded from the upper right chest of the cuirass where a cloak could be tied. We put our double-kappa symbol on the disk.


    Each cuirass took over two hours to conjure without any enchantments on it at all. Ax had to mold each one to fit the wearer, as we had men and women of all sizes in our growing myrmidon army. Xene and her new refugee assistants took over with the armor after they were conjured, gluing leather padding inside the helmets and sizing it to each of our recruits. Greaves and bracers only needed a few leather straps, so took little time. With the breastplates, they glued in a thin layer of leather after it had been sized, then several layers of cloth. Straps, shoulder padding, and armored skirts were added after that. Finally, I laid down the reinforcing spells and wards, heat absorption and mana storage enchantments. It took about six hours of work for each cuirass. Even still, we finished two a day, arming our original followers first.


    I also had been fine-tuning my space expansion spell. I employed two refugees as woodworkers, setting them to produce standard-sized crates. Several new refugees had experience as sawyers, so Ax banished dirt to form a sawpit for them to work in, turning out boards for our use. I was purchasing bags from town as well, basic grain bags that were roughly similar in size to each other, as well. My refined space expansion spell, once cast on the crates, increased the interior size by roughly five-fold. When fully loaded, the enchanted crates were only half as heavy as a fully loaded crate with no spell on it at all. The enchanted bags could hold nearly ten times as much, at the same weight as a fully loaded unenchanted bag. I couldn¡¯t figure out why there was a difference, as it was the same spell. Perhaps the fabric held the enchantment better than the wood. It was the only explanation I could come up with.


    My evenings were taken up with translating the Atlantean text and reading the dead wizard¡¯s journal. I made very slow progress on this, and spent much of my time actually studying the translation dictionary rather than the journal itself. The notes weren¡¯t much use until I could understand them, and I suspected it would take a few weeks of study before I could begin to puzzle them out.


    Thoughts of how I could improve my own personal sorcery filled in the odd spaces. My soul magic was the least developed of everything I could do. I¡¯d figured out a spell to pervert my healing sorcery, to act in reverse. But I only had vague ideas of what I could do with souls. They were metaphysical and fleeting, but what if there was a way to injure them? Could I cut them or burn them? What would happen to the person if their soul was destroyed? I turned those thoughts over and over, wishing once again to have a way to trap souls for study. I came up with a few ideas of what I could do, and even threw an odd new spell on my bracers, but didn¡¯t hold out hope that it would do much. Especially since I had so many demands on my time. All in all, I was working harder than I had ever done before in my life, and it was¡­ fulfilling.


    A week after the incident in town, I found myself walking down to the woods to where the stream came down from the pond at the top of the hill. I found a half-rotted log that no one had deemed useful enough to carry off. The woods had thinned considerably as our encampment grew. New refugees had streamed in steadily to both the refugee camp at the city walls, and from there to us. The hill was getting crowded, and I needed a break from studying Atlantean. I could feel that some deep secrets were contained in that journal that could help us, but progress was maddeningly slow.


    ¡°Karsos? Are you okay?¡± came Zahra¡¯s soft voice from behind me. Her alluring accent caught my attention yet again. ¡°You disappeared out of camp quickly.¡±


    I forced a weak smile as she came to sit next to me on the log by the water. She wasn¡¯t wearing her armor for once, and wore only a knit hat to cover her hair and her bow on her back. The cap was shaped much like her helmet, complete with cheek guards, and made her look adorable. I still didn¡¯t know how she could tolerate so much thick clothing in the heat, but the seasons were changing and the evenings were noticeably cooler now. I suspected we were enduring the last gasps of summer as the harvest was being gathered in.


    ¡°You look troubled,¡± she said. ¡°Tell me?¡±


    I stood and paced. ¡°I feel we are stuck in this place. I know, logically, that we are building and preparing both for winter and for moving in strength to Iolcus. If we show up in that city hat in hand, they will treat us no better than the refugees here, or even as Dadaces has treated us.¡±


    ¡°True. But you are still bothered?¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ¡°I feel like we should be doing more. Asphalion and his cronies are out there, unpunished and unrepentant for all the evil they do. They get stronger every day, and I¡¯m sure they¡¯re working with the gigantes and whatever other forces Kronos has to destroy this land. Yet I sit here, and make magic bags and enchanted armor.¡±


    Zahra came over and stood in front of me and placed a hand on my chest, halting my pacing. She smelled of lavender and spices, pleasant yet unidentifiable. She looked up and locked eyes with me.


    ¡°For as long as I can remember, I have had Visions. I see futures that could be, that will be, and that may never be. Part of my ¡­gift¡­ is to understand which is which, and if it could be changed. Of all those Visions that show a dire future, the ones who are doomed almost always share the same characteristics.¡±


    ¡°And those are?¡± I asked.


    ¡°They act rashly and without foresight,¡± she said sadly. ¡°Even when warned, they are so short sighted that they rarely look beyond their own thoughts and never consider the consequences of their actions.¡±


    ¡°What about those doomed in battle?¡±


    She laughed. ¡°Those are often the most avoidable, if it is possible to change your fate. A peasant forced to fight may not be able to change their path, for it is out of their hands. But even with a modicum of agency, a soldier could buy a new shield before his fails her at the wrong moment, or be wary of a certain enemy soldier who is more skilled than her. Being careful to wear a helmet instead of letting it rest, or scouting ahead instead of charging blindly.¡±


    ¡°So the soldier that buys wine instead of a new shield, or the soldier who doesn¡¯t wear a helmet, or the one who fails to scout, they bring their fate upon themselves,¡± I said.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± she said. ¡°They all share the same characteristic. They chose the easiest or most comfortable path rather than preparing ahead. It is more pleasurable to drink wine, the breeze is cooler without a helmet to block it, and charging forward is simpler than scouting carefully.¡±


    I nodded. She grabbed my chin and looked me in the eyes again. ¡°It is easier to rush blindly towards Iolcus, spurred by anger and ill-prepared for what comes. I cannot see your fate, but that does not make you immune to the pitfalls of others who doomed themselves.¡±


    Her words sank in, and soothed my restlessness. Kabiri¡¯s killers were out there, but I had time. They didn¡¯t know we even existed. Our father¡¯s death was on a different plane in a different time, incidental to their plans rather than instrumental. We had the element of surprise, an enemy they couldn¡¯t prepare for. Patience was a virtue that could only help us.


    ¡°Thank you,¡± I said as I felt my tension drain away.


    She leaned up and captured my lips in a gentle kiss, then stepped back a half step, her hand still on my chest.


    ¡°It is rare to find a man who listens to wisdom,¡± she said. ¡°You are an interesting man, Karsos.¡±


    ¡°You are a wise woman, Zahra,¡± I replied. It was the right reply, for she gave me a small, satisfied smile that warmed my heart.


    ¡°Wise woman. Wise woman,¡± crooned a creepy female voice from the trees. Zahra spun in front of me, her bow in her hands and drawing an arrow before I could even pinpoint where the voice came from.


    I spotted a giant bird perched in the low branches of a tree across the stream. It took me a moment to realize it wasn¡¯t a bird. The feathered creature was four times bigger than an eagle, with long wings instead of arms. It had a young woman¡¯s face, with feathers instead of hair, and its body was a mix of bird and humanoid. The torso was that of a bare-chested woman, its legs far too thick for a bird, but with long talons instead of feet. Feathers covered each leg, and long tail-feathers dangled from its back in a thick plumage. The face was twisted in a cruel grin that revealed monstrous sharp teeth of a predator.


    ¡°It¡¯s a harpy!¡± I breathed.


    The harpy cackled in laughter. ¡°Fresh meat!¡±


    An arrow flew at the harpy. Zahra was wasting no time. The harpy dove swiftly to the side, then spread its wings wide to get airborne. I cast my acid spell at the creature, but was a second too slow. The harpy spun gracefully as it dove toward the ground, snapping its wings wide and flapping hard to gain altitude and speed as it came straight at us. We were forced to dive to the ground to avoid its wicked talons.


    I leapt to my feet again and turned to find the harpy. It was circling near tree level, climbing with each passing second.


    ¡°We need to warn the camp!¡± I shouted to Zahra. We began to run back toward the hill. I drew the long dagger I kept on my belt at all times, cursing myself for not wearing my new armor. It was exactly the sort of short-sightedness that Zahra had spoken of. I resolved to never get caught out like this again.


    The camp was in uproar as we approached. High above, the harpy had been joined by two others, and I could see in the distance another half-dozen circling the town. Zahra¡¯s bodyguards materialized out of the crowd, flanking Zahra as she ran for the tent she shared with Antiope.


    Shouting refugees crowded towards the only solid building in our camp, where Ax and Lacedaemon were waving children and unarmed adults into the building. The myrmidons were gathering into formation, every one of them helmeted and carrying spears and square wooden shields. There were close to thirty now, much more impressive than the half-dozen we¡¯d started with.


    Antiope emerged from her tent with a fist full of javelins, falling into line with Zahra. I took up a position on the other side of Zahra, while her guards stepped in behind her. Antiope planted the javelins in the dirt, one in hand and ready to throw.


    The creepy whispers of the harpies kept us on edge, but they stayed outside of arrow range. I was beginning to think they weren¡¯t going to do anything. The refugees were safe now, leaving only armed and ready myrmidons outside with us. Then I spotted a small girl running up the hill, alone. A woman ran out of the house then, calling for the girl and starting to run towards the child.


    Up above, the harpies spotted the child. She was easy prey, nowhere near the armed soldiers and too distant to be reached. One of the harpies began its dive just as I started running towards the child. I needed to be there, now. I pulled mana and tried to replicate the space distortion trick I¡¯d discovered. At the time, I¡¯d only been reaching to pick up something I¡¯d dropped. Now, I needed to step all the way down hill. I had no idea if it was going to work, but I had to try. Failure meant the death of that poor kid.


    From my perspective, the world warped as I cast the spell. I flung myself towards the child. A single large step later, the warping wobbled then stopped, leaving me standing next to the girl, dagger in hand, just as the harpy got there. I shoved the girl to the side as the harpy squawked in surprise. The monster was going too fast to stop, plowing toward me instead of its intended prey. I grabbed at one of its talons, grabbing it around the ankle and stabbing at its leg as the harpy¡¯s momentum dragged me off my feet.


    The harpy tumbled to the ground, kicking and flailing at me. Its other leg kicked at me, the talons scratching along the bracers of my left hand where I was holding the monster. It was surprisingly light for its size, and far stronger than I anticipated. I stabbed again, this time sinking the blade deep into the leg. The harpy screamed in outrage, finally getting purchase with its wings. Another kick from its leg came, this time aimed at my face. I released the harpy and leapt back. The talons missed my face but scratched a shallow blow across my shoulder as I stumbled away.


    We both scrambled to our feet at the same time, but I wasn¡¯t about to try and fight this monster in anything resembling a fair fight. I pointed my bracers at it, throwing two acid spells in a row. The harpy dodged the first, but the second caught its wing. An agonizing scream came, and the outraged harpy tried to leap at me. Its wing was severely damaged, however, and its leap went wide.


    ¡°Watch out, Karsos!¡± called Zahra. I turned to see another harpy diving towards me from behind. I threw a flurry of acid spells, forcing the monster to swerve sharply. An arrow struck it in the head and it tumbled from the sky. As I was distracted, the first harpy dug its talons into my back. I howled in pain, but threw myself backwards to try and crush the creature by my body weight. The harpy was forced to release me, but it had landed a brutal blow. I was bleeding heavily, even as the magic of my ring tried to repair the damage.


    I cursed myself as a fool, and willed my ring to turn on my mage armor. I wasn¡¯t completely helpless. I spotted the girl child cowering nearby. Why hadn¡¯t she run while the harpy was distracted? Then I spotted the third harpy circling, looking for an opening. Up the hill, I could see Zahra ready with her bow to cover me, while Ax was running down towards me with a half-dozen myrmidons in tow.


    The harpy, as if sensing that it was doomed, gave me a cruel smirk. It dove towards the child. If it was going to die, it wasn¡¯t going to go alone.


    But I hadn¡¯t been idle. I cast my shadow spell. The harpy¡¯s own shadow grabbed it, dragging it down to the ground. The spell could barely hold the monster, much less kill it. I had no doubt that if I hadn¡¯t wounded it already, the harpy could have pulled free. I wasn¡¯t going to give it the chance though. I walked up behind where it struggled, and reached around with my dagger. In one fluid motion I cut its throat.


    High above, I heard the third harpy scream in protest, before it turned to fly away.


    ¡°Dead man walking!¡± it squawked, and I could feel the hatred in its words. I stared after it as it fled. It would be back.

 Fury Chapter 1.18 - Ax

    Chapter 1.18


    Ax


    <hr>


    ¡°Those are just the scouts,¡± said Antiope, a frown on her face. ¡°Their appearance is a harbinger.¡±


    ¡°A harbinger of what?¡± I asked as I watched Karson escort the terrified little girl and her mother up the hill.


    ¡°The harpies nest out on the plains where the Skolotoi tribes rule. We learned long ago how to fight them, but they hide behind the gigantes tribes. Now that the gigantes are at war, the harpies will fight alongside them. I fear they are the forward troops of larger armies.¡±


    ¡°So we are running out of time,¡± I said. It was my turn to frown.


    ¡°Yes, I fear so. How are our preparations? Will we be able to move soon?¡±


    ¡°I had hoped to have another few weeks,¡± I said. ¡°Do you have any idea how long we might have?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it is that long.¡±


    ¡°How are the troops coming along?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Slowly,¡± she answered. ¡°Too slowly. Most are green, although we have found more than a few who have been conscripted before. They help anchor the formation and teach those around them. It is little enough, but every bit helps.¡±


    ¡°We still need more food stockpiled. Karson¡¯s crates are helping with that. Crathis has been helpful, too.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he was a quartermaster before.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know that,¡± I said. It made sense, considering how well he was doing after taking over the organizing for supplies.¡±


    I looked around the hill. It was quiet now as dark approached, with numerous cook fires going. Few had chosen to venture back outside after the harpy attack. Nevertheless, it was still a beehive of activity compared to when we first arrived. We were up to a half-dozen wagons with oxen teams for all of them. I had ideas for how to rebuild them to be better, with leaf-springs and metal frames to increase their load capacity. There was no time now. It would have to be enough. The hill itself was transformed, with the slate brick house now sprouting several more rooms, and a low stone wall surrounding the top of the hill. A rough road of sorts led down to the refugee encampment, and the field surrounding the house was covered in simple shanties and tents. Myrmidon patrols marched along the perimeter, carrying shield and spear and wearing helmets. Too few had armor cuirasses yet.


    Karson disappeared with Zahra somewhere. The two seemed joined at the hip the last few days. I would catch up with him soon enough. It was time to start burning the midnight oil, and using that healing ring to burn off exhaustion. I had too much to get finished.


    Latona approached us then, carrying two bowls of food. Antiope spotted her approach. ¡°You need to resolve that, too,¡± she said. ¡°You¡¯ve delayed an answer long enough. Build your House, Warlord.¡±


    ¡°Is this really the best time for that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There is no good time,¡± she replied. ¡°Your ambition is obvious. You need your allies bound to you. Get your House in order.¡±


    I sighed. I wasn¡¯t cut out for medieval politics. Dark age politics. Whatever. Antiope nodded to Latona and walked away, giving us our privacy.


    ¡°Lord Axerios,¡± Latona said with a friendly smile. ¡°I brought you dinner.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Latona,¡± I said. ¡°Will you stay and eat with me?¡±


    She smiled. ¡°Gladly.¡±


    We ate in silence for a few minutes, and I savored the fact that no one was trying to interrupt me with questions or needing my opinion on anything. Then I noticed Xene standing in the distance, intercepting any who tried to walk our direction. It seemed everyone knew what needed to happen. I needed to stop leaving this in limbo.


    ¡°Latona, I¡¯ve been thinking over your proposal,¡± I said, then winced because it sounded so stiff.


    She nodded encouragingly. ¡°Have you made up your mind?¡±


    ¡°I have. I would very much like for you to be my wife,¡± I said.


    ¡°And my dowry is acceptable?¡± she asked, businesslike and calm.


    ¡°It is,¡± I said, although I had no idea what it was.


    ¡°You will find me to be a great ally,¡± she said. ¡°I will get our household in order while you build our army.¡±


    ¡°I hope we are more than just allies,¡± I said. ¡°I hope that we can be friends, as well.¡±


    Latona¡¯s cool demeanor slipped, and the young girl inside slipped out a little. ¡°I hope we will be much more than that,¡± she answered. She leaned over and kissed me gently. Before I could pull her into a stronger kiss, she sat back.


    ¡°I will need a household budget. We will need to retain personal guards, and I¡¯d like to offer Crathis the position of steward. He has been doing the job, but without the pay or prestige. Lacedaemon should be named Loxargos of the myrmidons. I assume Lord Karsos is your hyparch?¡±


    Her eagerness to prove her worth was apparent. She had been planning all week in the hopes that I¡¯d agree, and had clearly been taught what to do as the head of a household from a young age. I felt like I was in over my head. I had told Karson that this was a great opportunity, where we could possibly gain some real power. Times make the man, after all. I hadn¡¯t had a really clear picture of how to accomplish it. However, having a strong House, with a capital ¡°H¡±, was clearly an important part. Fortunately, Latona seemed to have a handle on this piece of the puzzle.


    ¡°Yes, he is. Make the personnel changes as you see fit, I trust you. What kind of budget are we talking about here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I¡¯d say two hundred drachmas a month should get us started. That will grow as you grow in power, of course, and doesn¡¯t include the costs for the myrmidons, bribes for officials, or retainers for allied forces. Crathis would be better suited to help with that part.¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    I was suddenly very glad that Karson had made the deal with Dadaces, no matter how much that asshole deserved a punch to the teeth. That would add 680 drachmas to our coffers. We had procured several sturdy chests, and I had inscribed one of them with our minting enchantment, but tied to the mana pump. It was producing enough to pay the myrmidons as well as covering food and materials. There was precious little left over from that, however. I hadn¡¯t attempted a gold mint, because it would draw huge amounts of mana and give very little output. Perhaps I should do it anyway. I could always sink another mana pump.


    ¡°Alright, we can do that,¡± I said.


    ¡°Excellent! There is a priest of Zeus in town. I will make the arrangements, and pay the dowry. Will this weekend be adequate?¡±


    ¡°This weekend? For what?¡± I asked.


    ¡°For the ceremony and the wedding feast. I will have to invite the Strategos and extend an invitation to the local nobles, of course. Do you think I could purchase a few extra slaves?¡±


    I frowned hard. ¡°Latona, my brother and I do not believe in slavery. It is wrong to force people to work without paying them. Would you want to work for someone, with no choice, no payment, and no recourse?¡±


    Latona looked confused. ¡°I¡­ have never even considered that. Should¡­ I mean¡­¡±


    ¡°By all means, if you find slaves that are able to do as you need, purchase them. But they will be immediately granted freedom and offered payment to do the work.¡±


    ¡°What if they decide to leave?¡± she asked.


    ¡°That is their choice. We can afford to lose a few people. I think that if your offer of pay and safety is good, most will gladly stay. You will also earn their loyalty. No one else will give them such a generous offer.¡±


    ¡°Bribing slaves is a common way of getting information or slipping in assassins,¡± she said knowingly. ¡°Gaining loyal servants is the hardest part of a household. This may prove quite beneficial.¡±


    ¡°What kind of training did your father give you?¡± I said, half in shock and half in pleasant surprise. Spies and assassins weren¡¯t even things that crossed my mind.


    ¡°We are a noble family,¡± she said primly. ¡°My father was the third son of a lesser noble. He was well positioned in Passaron to become basileus of the village when the old basileus moved up or died, and his merchant interests extended all the way to Argothea. These lessons are standard for all marriageable noble women.¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to have that knowledge on hand,¡± I said.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to worry,¡± said Latona fiercely. ¡°Our House will grow strong.¡±


    ¡°It will,¡± I said. I remembered the necklace then that Karson had gotten for me. I pulled it out of a pouch on my belt, and held it out to Latona.


    ¡°Is that for me?¡± she asked coyly. She looked pleased, and I was suddenly very forgiving of my brother for letting me flounder so much.


    ¡°It is,¡± I confirmed. ¡°An engagement gift.¡±


    Latona turned and pulled her hair aside, presenting me the nape of her shapely neck. ¡°Help me with it?¡±


    I obliged, tying the necklace in place neatly. She then leaned back into me, grabbing my hands to wrap around her. I embraced her gladly. It was still weird for me to approach marriage so transactionally, especially considering I¡¯d only been in Hellas for a few weeks. I¡¯d been consistently single back in Detroit, dating regularly but too tied up in working overtime to maintain a relationship.


    ¡°Can you help me with something?¡± Latona asked after a few minutes, her voice a little too innocent.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    She took my hand and lead me away from the campfire. Xene trailed behind us as we approached the house, continuing to wave people away. Latona led me through the fenced courtyard and through the only entrance. The original three rooms were the most heavily used, of course. The wing to the left was a men¡¯s barracks room, the wing to the right for women and small children. The middle room was a workroom during the day, and overflow sleeping quarters at night. At the back of the room, a new hallway had been cut, leading off into a warren of rooms. Storage, work spaces, and more sleeping quarters were wedged in. These rooms were considerably smaller than my original three, and the ones used for sleeping housed multiple families in conditions I would have considered barbaric in my previous life. Of course, a desire to not get killed in your sleep will do a lot to lower your standards.


    In the far corner of this warren of rooms, Latona took me to a doorway and pushed aside the cloth covering it. That alone set it apart, for none of the other rooms had a door or covering. Inside was a tiny room crammed with stone bunks, enough space for six people to squeeze in and sleep. Another doorway, also covered, was at the back. Latona pushed that aside to reveal another small room. It housed a single bed against the wall, small by my standards, but enough space for two if they were really cozy. A large chest was at the foot of the bed, and my armor was resting on top. Another cuirass lay on the bed itself.


    ¡°What is this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°This is your¡­ our quarters for however long we¡¯re here,¡± she said. ¡°I had Crathis build it for us. Do you like?¡±


    ¡°Very much,¡± I said. ¡°You said you wanted me help with something?¡±


    Latona gave a sly smile. ¡°This is my new armor, but it isn¡¯t fitted to me yet. I was hoping you could adjust it for me?¡±


    I nodded. She released my hand and stepped over to the armor. Latona picked it up and handed it to me. ¡°I¡¯d like it to fit me perfectly.¡±


    She undid her belt, and let it drop to the dirt floor. The chiton she wore billowed out. Then she unpinned the side, giving a tantalizing glimpse of skin. She wasn¡¯t wearing anything at all underneath. Both hands went to the pins on her shoulders, causing the chiton to ride up high, nearly revealing what was underneath. Then the fabric slipped and fell to the ground.


    Latona was breathtaking. Her body was beautifully curved, and she stood posed with one knee slightly forward and angled to best show off her figure. Her breasts were high and full, easily large enough to overflow my hands, with small, dark pink nipples. My eyes traced the lines of her body, drawing ever downward to the neatly groomed patch of hair between her thighs.


    I stepped forward as all blood rushed south, grabbing her with my free arm and pulling her to me hungrily. I kissed her long and hard, and her naked body melted against mine. Before I could make another move, however, she pressed me back and broke the kiss.


    ¡°Unh unh uh,¡± she chided. ¡°Work first. Who else will fit my armor for me?¡±


    I grinned at her playfulness. I could play that game. I lifted the armor over her head with a quirked eyebrow. She shot me an incredulous look, then raised her arms defiantly. I nestled the ill-fitting armor over her torso. I drew heavily on my magic, and pressed my hand against the armor where her stomach would be. The metal comformed to my touch like it was fabric as I pressed it to her lithe form. She gasped as the cool metal pressed against her, then again as it molded around her breasts. As I worked, my hands strayed casually to caress bare flesh. If the armor slipped away from her chest, I would tug gently on her nipples. When her chest was covered, my hands would stray to caress her ass, or brush against her nethers.


    I casually adjusted the back and shoulder pieces as well. Despite our play, I did make sure to leave enough room for padding to be glued inside. She wouldn¡¯t thank me later if she chafed all day in too-tight, unpadded armor. The extra room was actually a bonus, too, for the teasing foreplay.


    Finally I released my magic and caressed the sides of her thighs, gently brushing against the sensitive skin around her ass.


    ¡°Hmm, I think we should do a little more, don¡¯t you think?¡± I gave her a roguish smile.


    My wandering fingers found their way to the front, where I found her wet and ready. I teased around her entrance lightly, and she moaned.


    ¡°Perhaps we should look at your other gear? Make sure it is fitted correctly?¡±


    ¡°You better take this off of me right now, or so help me, I¡¯ll call Xene in here to finish what you¡¯ve started,¡± she said in a low growl.


    I laughed at her threat, but gladly stripped off the cuirass. Her hands unclasped my belt as I pulled the chiton off without bothering to unpin the shoulders. She wrapped herself around me, kissing me ferociously. I returned the kiss with a passion, then grabbed her by her ass. I lifted her with ease, sliding inside her in one motion. Latona locked her legs around me as we moved together with frantic need. In moments, she was moaning loudly in pleasure as we raced to orgasm.


    She began to shriek in pleasure, shuddering in my arms as she reached her climax. I laid her out on the bed and poised myself over top her. I slid into her even as she was recovering, not letting her slip too far from the edge. This time was slower and more leisurely, our gasps and moans the only noise we made. This time, after she came, she flipped us over and rode me hard. She was insatiable, and I couldn¡¯t get enough. It was many hours before we went to sleep.

 Fury: Chapter 1.19 - Ax

    Chapter 1.19


    Ax


    <hr>


    There was a noticeable shift around the hill in the days that followed. Latona stopped training directly with the myrmidons, but didn¡¯t stop training at all. She returned to wearing a peplos, but kept the hem above her ankles and the side unpinned to her thighs. Karson had completed her armor, so she wore that at all times, with a purplish blue cloak clasped from a hook on one side of her chest. Latona began wearing her father¡¯s knife and one of the new swords I was cranking out instead of carrying a spear, and her morning training was done with the old warrior woman, Xia Fang. In the afternoon, however, she began taking an active role in organizing the growing numbers of people coming into our camp. It was clear that she was asserting her position in our growing clan, and cementing my authority at the same time.


    I worked endlessly, for I had task after task to complete. The maze of rooms being added on to the rough shelter I¡¯d help throw up meant that I was being called on periodically to put up columns and support frames. I also had to reinforce walls. An early accident with a surprised ox and an errant trace line led to an ox-sized hole through one wall along and a bruised but uninjured ox driver whose ankle got caught in the traces. That showed that sufficient force could simply bash through my brick-and-post design. I had to go through each room, adding new columns every three feet or so to brace the walls. I was going to have to rethink how we did construction when we got to a place where we could build proper fortifications.


    I also had to work on the order from Dadaces. Tempers had cooled since Karson¡¯s run-in with him, which was reassuring. The bronze had been delivered as promised, and I had to make helmets to go with the spearheads that I was popping out. The problem was that I didn¡¯t actually need or want the poor-quality bronze Dadaces had sent. I could conjure far superior quality without having to take the time to purify the crap he¡¯d provided. I also didn¡¯t want to provide him the same helmets as I was equipping the myrmidons with.


    Instead I made a new machine. Using the helmet Karson had purchased as a model, I produced simple open-faced helmets with cheek guards. They were similar in style to the helmets Dadace¡¯s militia already used. Once that machine was working, I assigned a peasant to work it, collecting the helmet and piling for transport back to the town. That left only the problem of a full load of bronze I didn¡¯t need. I tried banishing it, to find it took just as much mana to banish as it did to summon. I spent an hour or so repeatedly banishing, before ordering the crates to be piled up against one wall. I had things to do, and didn¡¯t want to waste more time.


    Karson caught up to me as the workers finished unloading the crates of bronze. He stood next to me and watched as they worked.


    ¡°How long until the order for Dadaces is ready?¡± he asked in English.


    ¡°A few days. Spearheads are finished and crated. Just waiting on helmets to be finished.¡±


    ¡°How is married life treating you?¡± he smirked. I felt like smacking him in the head.


    ¡°I¡¯m not married yet,¡± I replied.


    ¡°Dude, you are so married,¡± said Karson. ¡°You¡¯re living together and she¡¯s taken over your household.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t seen the priest yet,¡± I said smugly. ¡°Not married.¡±


    ¡°Priests aren¡¯t required here,¡± he countered. ¡°Did she give you her dowry?¡±


    I frowned. That was a sore subject for me. It felt like like I was getting paid to take her in, as if she was a slave or something. It felt wrong. But Latona had insisted, then spent several pleasurable hours convincing me. I¡¯d accepted because I figured we¡¯d use it together, anyway. It turned out to be a surprisingly large amount of money, a few decent quality knives, several bolts of high-quality wool, and a smaller amount of linen.


    ¡°I did,¡± I said slowly.


    ¡°After you¡­ ahem¡­ consummated¡­ your relationship?¡±


    ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re married,¡± he said firmly. ¡°The priest blesses the relationship at the wedding feast, but it is more of a blessing for the happy new couple, not a formal ¡®join before God¡¯ thing.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re shitting me.¡±


    ¡°No, dude, I¡¯m serious. You¡¯re already married.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± I was flabbergasted. Was he just screwing with me?


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± he said with a laugh. ¡°If she moves out and takes her dowry with her, you¡¯re divorced. So, based on your track record, that¡¯ll be next week?¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± I said, and punched his arm while he laughed. Then his laughter quieted.


    ¡°So you¡¯re setting yourself up as a warlord,¡± Karson stated matter-of-factly.


    ¡°Yeah, it looks like it,¡± I replied. ¡°You know I¡¯m not trying to push you aside or anything, right? I look at this like we¡¯re partners, like always.¡±


    ¡°I know, dude. But let¡¯s face it. You¡¯re the leader-type, I¡¯m the bookish type. It¡¯s always been like that. You played football, I played chess. You had a gang of friends that followed you around, I was a nerd.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Yet somehow you¡¯ve always landed more tail than me,¡± I said.


    ¡°Women dig smart guys, especially confident ones,¡± Karson said. ¡°And I¡¯ve never been afraid of rejection. Confidence goes a long way.¡±


    I didn¡¯t disagree. Karson also understood them far better than me, much to his amusement. ¡°So we¡¯re cool?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, you do your warlord thing. I¡¯ll be your ¡®power behind the throne¡¯ or whatever. Just don¡¯t forget what we¡¯re doing.¡±


    ¡°Asphalion and his cronies,¡± I said darkly. Kabiri¡¯s killers would get theirs. Our adopted father¡¯s death would not go unanswered.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m not suicidal, I know we need to prepare. I know that we have a life to build here, too. We just can¡¯t lose sight of the goal.¡±


    ¡°No worries, brother.¡±


    Karson hesitated. ¡°I need to run something by you.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Danae.¡±


    ¡°What about her? I thought you were into Zahra,¡± confusion written across my face.


    ¡°No, not that!¡± he said. ¡°I am into Zahra. Besides, Danae isn¡¯t into guys. She might even be asexsual, because I don¡¯t think she¡¯s into girls either.¡±


    ¡°So what about Danae, then?¡±


    ¡°She asked me to¡­ modify her.¡±


    ¡°What, like how you made yourself taller? I noticed you haven¡¯t fixed that, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Not going to,¡± said Karson. ¡°I discovered I liked the extra inch. But yes, sort of like that. She wants to be stronger and faster. ¡®Able to overpower a grown man¡¯ as she put it.¡±


    ¡°So what are you asking me for? She¡¯s a grown ass woman. She doesn¡¯t need my input.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not about your input. Well, kind of. It¡¯s risky. I haven¡¯t done anything like this before, and I¡¯d be tinkering with how her body functions. I could fuck up, and she¡¯d be screwed. I don¡¯t know if I should even do it.¡± He looked down at his hands, worrying over the fact that someone was literally putting her life in his hands.


    ¡°Did you explain all that to her?¡±


    ¡°I did,¡± he allowed.


    ¡°Then it¡¯s on her,¡± I said, wanting to help ease his concerns. ¡°If she¡¯s willing to take the risk, and you think you can do it, within reason, then why not? Do you know what you¡¯re doing?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve studied the bodies of the gigantes and cynos when we got here. I looked at the harpy body the other day. I¡¯ve studied my own body, and I¡¯ve studied Danae¡¯s a few times now. I¡¯m pretty sure I can give her a boost.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what you want me to tell you. If she¡¯s willing to be a guinea pig, and you¡¯re willing to try, it¡¯s not my business.¡±


    ¡°Alright,¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯ll think on it. Probably going to do it.¡±


    At that moment, a group of myrmidons marched by with Antiope yelling the whole time. She looked like she was having the time of her life, running alongside in her full panoply of armor and weapons and barely sweating. The myrmidons looked exhausted. That woman was scary dangerous, and cheerful about it.


    ¡°Have you been doing any weapons practice?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have time for the whole ¡®drill til you drop¡¯ thing, and a spear just gets in my way.¡±


    ¡°You should join me in the mornings,¡± I said. ¡°Me, Latona and Lacedaemon skip the morning drill to practice swords with Xia Fang. That old lady is brilliant with a blade. She may even be better than Antiope.¡±


    ¡°What about recruitment and buying supplies?¡±


    ¡°How are we doing on supplies?¡±


    ¡°Fine. We¡¯ve stockpiled plenty of hay for the oxen, barrels of dried fish, dried fruits, beans, cheese and olives. The fresh vegetables and bread gets eaten quickly, but we¡¯re ahead of the curve. Another few days of buying, and we should have enough for the trip to Iolcus. There is a never-ending list of things from belt buckles to sewing needles, sandals and clothes, tarps and barrels.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Turn over the purchasing to Crathis. Recruits can come to us now, we¡¯ve got what we absolutely need. We¡¯re approaching 50 myrmidons. I¡¯ve been talking strategy with Xai Fang, and I¡¯m recruiting archers and slingers now. She thinks more women will sign up for that, which should help speed recruiting.¡± Despite openly accepting women into the ranks, we only had about one woman for every five men in the myrmidons. I had hoped for more, but cultural mores worked against me.


    ¡°That should free me up nicely. I¡¯ve been making headway with the Atlantean book. Did you know that mana can be measured and quantified? It is measured in thaums. The average Atlantean mage naturally can hold, on average, 500 thaums at a time. They estimate it takes one hundred fifty thaums to boil one gallon of water, or make a fireball of ¡®modest size¡¯.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­ incredibly boring.¡± I made a disgusted face, probably like what I¡¯d made in high school chemistry when they were teaching the scientific definition of Celsius.


    Karson laughed. ¡°Be bored all you want, I¡¯ve gotten hints of all sorts so far. They know how to make complex magic machines, including powerful weapons. It turns out Zahra has a knack for language, and is helping me learn the language. She says there are many pages filled with ¡®recipes¡¯ as she called them, detailed guides for using runes to create more powerful enchantments and wards, and theorycrafting on sympathetic magics.¡±


    ¡°I understood all but the last part.¡±


    ¡°Sympathetic magic is like how we¡¯re converting heat to mana, or how I heal an injury. Changing something from one thing to a different, but similar thing. It¡¯s interesting.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay, so you got spells, runes for different spells, and boring ideas about theoretical spells?¡±


    ¡°That about sums it up.¡±


    ¡°Well, bring me up to speed when you need me to help with something. No need to bore me to death right now.¡±


    Karson smiled but didn¡¯t rib me for once. I headed back in to check on the fletchers to make sure they had everything they needed for making arrows. A pile of finished spears and javelins were piled in one corner, and my production machines were all going at full speeds. Quivers, we needed quivers, and more armor. We were going to have to come up with a simpler armor solution for the archers. Perhaps unenchanted armor, or maybe unfitted armor? It would take too long to make enchanted cuirasses for all of them, at least right away, on top of what I needed for the myrmidons. At the pace of two per day, we were still three or four weeks away from equipping the whole platoon of soldiers, and that was before adding in new recruits and archers.


    But that was a problem for another day. For now, I had plenty of work to keep me busy. I spotted Latona across the room, listening carefully as a woman talked to her. She looked up and caught me watching her. She smiled warmly before returning her attention to the woman. I was already looking forward to tonight.


    ¡°Milord? If you have a moment?¡± came a man¡¯s voice behind me. I sighed, then turned and got back to work.

 Fury: Chapter 1.20 - Karson

    Chapter 1.20


    Karson


    <hr>


    The day of Ax¡¯s wedding feast came up quickly. Xene and Crathis had teamed up to organize the entire event. Construction on the house stopped, the brick machines packed up on a wagon for future use. Instead, effort turned towards organizing the hill and loading wagons in anticipation of leaving soon. We wanted to reach Iolcus before winter set in, and before the armies of Kronos arrived at Assos.


    The wagons were organized in two neat rows behind the house. The courtyard was emptied of crates and supplies before being turned into a large outdoor kitchen. The stones that had been collected from the rocky hill over the past few weeks were piled into a low stone wall, with split logs making a fence atop it. It only reached about four feet in height, but it gave the area the sense of an estate rather than an encampment. On the pond side of the hill, just outside the main fenced yard, was a simple split-rail fence setup for our oxen, and another for the horses. We¡¯d managed to collect a few more horses since we¡¯d arrived, although I hadn¡¯t been involved in any of the dealing. Some had come with recruitment, others through trade. Antiope had co-opted Zahra into training the riders in mounted combat. They had opted for teaching them to be lancers, since teaching mounted archery could take months, if not years.


    In front of the house was long rows of crude tables, with equally crude benches. We had spent a considerable sum of money on cordage, which had never occured to me before. It made sense that we would need large amounts of rope for practically anything we did, but I was a modern city kid at heart. Professional construction companies with heavy equipment built things, not brute force and rope. I added pulley design to my list of projects to work with Ax on.


    I still used the mud hut for my experiments, although it now boasted a better door and a repaired roof. The supplies inside had been moved out, a cot with wool bedding and a rough table moved in. The table was low so that I could sit on the ground, negating the need for a chair. That suited me fine. After walking through the camp, I knew it was time.


    I¡¯d been putting it off, but I wouldn¡¯t be more ready by waiting. I caught up with Danae as she supervised a small group of men and women at our makeshift archery range behind the wagons. As I approached, I was surprised to see that almost all of the archers were the survivors from the Temple. They had been imprisoned, waiting to be human sacrifices to Kronos and his ilk. They had been starved, dehumanized, systematically abused, and broken. Danae had taken a special interest in helping them, it seemed.


    ¡°Is it time?¡± she asked me as I approached.


    ¡°It is. Follow me.¡±


    We went to my hut, where Zahra was waiting. It never surprised me anymore that she always seemed to know exactly when I needed help. She could not see my future, but she could see hers and everyone around her. She once explained it as ¡°knowing where to be¡± more than ¡°knowing exactly what would happen¡±. She could foresee a fate, but that fate was mutable. If a person had sufficient will to act or change, they could alter their fate. Multiply that by every person she was around, and even tiny changes in decisions could mean she couldn¡¯t know all outcomes. But she could prophesy an individual¡¯s most likely path, and even foresee some of the bigger picture. It was both helpful and limiting, for if you know your path, would it cause indecision at a critical juncture? Would altering your path send you down a worse one? Or could it even cause harm to those you care about?


    Zahra escorted Danae inside to prepare. I gave them privacy for a few minutes, before Zahra called for me to come in. Danae was undressed and laying in my cot, her modesty protected by a loosely pinned chiton without the belt. It was my version of a hospital gown. I was concerned that if my changes modified her too much, the belt could cut into her and wound her even as I worked. The same with tight clothing. I just didn¡¯t know enough, so I was taking every precaution.


    ¡°Are you ready?¡± I asked.


    She nodded, too nervous to speak.


    I knelt down next to her and placed one hand on her arm, the other on her head. I knew, in theory, how the gigantes¡¯ muscles were stronger. I knew, in theory, why the cynos had such excellent reflexes. I knew, in theory, why the harpies were so light despite their size, making them so very fast. Now I had to put it into practice.


    I let my healing magic flow through Danae¡¯s body. I had become intimately familiar with every part of her over the past week, from the inside out. There was no modesty in my magic, for it examined the body in its entirety. I knew every muscle fiber, every organ, every drop of blood. Slowly, I began to work. To be stronger, she needed denser musculature. To support that denser muscle mass, she needed stronger bones. To move swiftly, those strong bones had to be stronger but lighter.


    So I worked from the bones outward, doing all I could to mute the pain response as I worked. I couldn¡¯t just make the bones solid, for then the marrow inside wouldn¡¯t be able to produce red blood cells to keep her alive. Instead, I borrowed the lattice design of the harpies to decrease the amount of bone required. I also borrowed the denser bone design of the gigantes, to strengthen that lattice. The entire time I worked, Danae was bathed in sweat as struggled with the pain. I could mute it, but not stop it. Zahra bathed her head with water, periodically allowing her small sips.


    When I finished with the bones, I moved on to the muscles. The cynos had remarkably strong tendons, which allowed them to move their limbs swiftly. The gigantes¡¯ muscles were incredibly dense, giving them strength beyond their size. The harpies¡¯ had a superior metabolism, leading to better oxygenation of the blood and better stamina. I blended these three traits together. Danae¡¯s flesh bulged and sagged, rippled and reshaped. At one point, I realized I would have to actually get closer than her arm and her head. I needed more direct contact so that I could feel as I worked, or I risked making a mistake.


    ¡°Do it,¡± gasped Danae when I explained. I didn¡¯t waste time, I pulled aside the chiton and placed my hands on her stomach. Her muscles ripped and rebuilt under my hands and she screamed. But the magic was working. As my hands passed along her skin, the muscles underneath stretched and changed. Like clay in the hands of a sculpter, Danae¡¯s body morphed at my command.


    Finally, I turned my attention to her senses. To keep up with the improved speed and strength, she would need better balance and better eyesight, both of which came from the harpies. My hands move to her temples. Compared to everything else, this was almost easy. I did not let my focus lapse, for when tired or nearly finished is when mistakes could happen.


    Then it was done. The tension in Danae¡¯s body relaxed. I looked down to see that she was in perfect physical form, every muscle in her body clearly outlined under her skin. I picked up the chiton and covered her, before rising from the ground. I was shaky from the effort, feeling exhausted even though I had not been the one to go through the process.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Danae slipped into a restful sleep, her exhaustion far beyond my own. Zahra shooed me away so that she could clean her up and tuck her in. I stepped outside to see the Temple prisoners standing around, waiting for me. All of them carried their bows and quivers, leather wristguards on their shooting arms. These men and women looked gaunt from their ordeal, and worried from Danae¡¯s.


    ¡°How is she? Did it work?¡± asked a young man. He was only in his early twenties, not much younger than myself, but had the eyes of someone far older. A scar cut from his cheekbone at an angle down to the back of his jaw.


    ¡°It was successful. She is sleeping peacefully now, and Zahra is tending to her.¡±


    Pleased noises came from the crowd.


    ¡°Milord, we¡¯ve all talked,¡± said the young man. ¡°We want you to do the same for us.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    The man took a step back, probably from the sharpness of my response. To his credit, though, he did not back down.


    ¡°We¡¯ve all talked. You know what we went through. None of us are important people. We were grabbed at a whim by a lord in Tekmon and sent to that¡­ place¡­ to die. We went through the tortures of Tartarus before you and your brother saved us. If you make us strong, every last one of us will swear personal fealty to you.¡±


    ¡°If I do this, you realize you won¡¯t be completely human anymore,¡± I said in warning.


    The young man looked back at the others, before meeting my eyes for the first time. ¡°Milord, as broken as we are, I don¡¯t think we¡¯re much human anyways. If Lady Danae can go through this, we want to get better, too.¡±


    It was a solution. I wasn¡¯t psychologist enough to know if this was a good idea or not, but these brutalized men and abused women wanted some measure of control over their lives. They were lost souls in search of a purpose, and I was in a position to give them the one that they wanted.


    ¡°We¡¯ll begin tomorrow. My brother¡¯s wedding feast starts in a few hours.¡±


    Immediately, the young man knelt before me. ¡°I swear my life to your service, to be your blade and shield.¡±


    He stood and stepped aside, and each of the other eleven followed suit. I had a personal guard.


    The encampment began to grow crowded as the early afternoon wore on. People from the town began to drift in; wealthy merchants, ranking militiamen, and lesser nobility. The smell of cooking foods drifted through the air. Strategos Dadaces and Lord Nyphron arrived in the company of a priest of Zeus, who wore a long white chiton with a gold pattern woven around the hems. The benches began to fill, and someone began to play a pan flute.


    I walked over to greet the Strategos as he wandered around. Lord Nyphron had gone a different direction, finding a seat near the head table.


    ¡°I will say, magi, you and your brother work swiftly,¡± said Dadaces. ¡°Are you sure I can¡¯t convince you to stay on here in Assos? I have a few empty estates within the walls that I¡¯d be willing to sell you at a significant discount.¡±


    I turned to survey what Dadaces was seeing, and he was not wrong. Our encampment had overtaken the entire top of the hill. The thick wood that we had access to was now considerably smaller, and organized work areas dotted the hillside. Dadaces was getting substantial improvements to this piece of land, making it far more valuable than it had been when we rented it.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid we must get on to Iolcus,¡± I said.


    ¡°Not Tekmon? That¡¯s unfortunate. I¡¯m quite fond of it. After all, I am of one of the most powerful families in the city. You would do quite well there,¡± he replied. This was a different Dadaces than I¡¯d seen before, reasonable and not nearly as pompous. It roused my suspicions.


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid not. We¡¯ve got reason to believe what we seek can be found in Iolcus,¡± I said apologetically. ¡°I¡¯m sure Tekmon would be quite lovely, and if we do find the opportunity, we will be sure to visit.¡±


    ¡°Well, do stay in touch. Friends are hard to find and easy to lose,¡± he replied. Dadaces then wandered towards Lord Nyphron and the jar of wine that he was holding up.


    The entire conversation was odd. We¡¯d had a very adversarial relationship with our erstwhile landlord. But now he was calling us friends?


    ¡°What has you worried now?¡± came Zahra¡¯s voice as a soft arm snaked around my waist. My arm settled over her shoulders.


    ¡°Dadaces,¡± I said thoughtfully. ¡°He is acting odd.¡±


    Zahra turned her gaze to the Strategos. She stiffened. ¡°Karsos, take a close look with that mage sight of yours.¡±


    I looked closely, focusing on Dadaces to seek out any trace of magic I could find. Even with my focus directly on him, I almost missed it. There was a spell of obscuring blocking my vision.


    ¡°How did you see that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°I saw it being renewed on his throne,¡± she said. ¡°Not the spell or its caster.¡±


    ¡°The Atlantean spell of Unraveling, will that work, do you think?¡±


    ¡°Perhaps,¡± said Zahra. ¡°In any event, it¡¯s our only real option. A powerful dispel would also do the trick, but will undo half the enchantments in camp.¡±


    I focused closer on Dadace¡¯s back, as he was faced away from us. Quietly, I wove the spell, using only small movements of my fingers to wind the magic properly. It was a reasonably simple cast, but I poured as much mana into it as I could without fraying the weave. The spell leapt away from me and tangled into the spell on Dadace. In moments, the spell on the Strategos unraveled and fell apart.


    Dadaces froze for a second, then took a sip of watered wine as if nothing had happened. He hadn¡¯t noticed. I breathed a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Do you have any idea what that spell was?¡± I asked Zahra.


    ¡°None at all.¡±


    ¡°Karsos!¡± called Ax. I looked over to see my smiling brother, slightly red-faced from the wine, waving us over to the head table. Latona was seated next to him in a new dress and with a veil over her face.


    ¡°Looks like it¡¯s time for the feast,¡± I said. I held out my arm for Zahra, an we made our way over to the head table.


    The ceremony of the feast was simple. Under Latona¡¯s tutelage, Ax knew all the right things to say or do. They made offerings to the gods, and offered money to the Temple of Zeus, to ensure a fruitful marriage. Once the prayers to the gods were done, Ax removed the veil from Latona¡¯s face to the cheers of the crowd.


    Platters piled with food were brought out, as was a large roasted boar stuffed with figs and apricots. Piles of bread, pastries and fruits were spread around. Roasted vegetables, venison, and goat meat were placed in easy reach. But before any eating could be done, the priest of Zeus stood and gave a hearty blessing to the new couple, assuring them that Zeus and his new goddess wife, Hera, smiled down on their union.


    As we ate, the best of the myrmidons, oiled and nude, took part in a wrestling competition for the entertainment of the guests. When a winner was pronounced, archers came out to compete in a competition of who could hit the furthest target. One after another, men and women took turns shooting at an apricot fifty yards away, all the while the pan flute player piped away cheerfully.


    When it looked as though there was a clear winner, however, a new archer arrived. The cloaked and hooded newcomer stepped up and easily split the apricot at one hundred yards. The other remaining archer bowed out, unable to hit at such a distance. The newcomer pulled back her hood, to reveal Danae.


    Zahra elbowed me and my grin was from ear to ear. She really was okay. Danae turned, and I heard gasps from the crowd. Her eyes had changed color to a vibrant, hawk-like gold.

 Fury: Chapter 1.21 - Karson

    Chapter 1.21


    Karson


    <hr>


    ¡°One week,¡± said Ax with a determined look on his face. ¡°We leave in one week. Agreed?¡±


    It had only been two days since his wedding, and I was beyond exhausted. I had boosted eight of the eleven remaining Temple survivors. My own personal soldiers, my Vanguard. Xene¡¯s leather workers were working overtime under Danae¡¯s direction to make armor for them. Boiled leather cuirasses shaped like torso muscles, with multiple layers of cloth glued inside it. They were dyed black, with thick strips of leather hanging down in a skirt to armor the thighs. Each of my Vanguard wore a pauldron only on their left arm, which held their bows, leaving their drawing arm loose to properly draw. They wore no helmets, wearing long, hooded traveling cloaks that were tied to the shoulder straps, and high boots instead of sandals.


    In the evenings, I had armor for the myrmidons and the Vanguard to enchant. I added protective wards to the cloaks of my Vanguard, spent hours on inscribing crates and bags, and whatever else Ax and I had to work on together. Sleep was a foggy memory, a few hours snatched here or there when Zahra convinced me to do so. In fact, a few hours before, Zahra had tricked me into a nap by pulling my head down to her lap so that she could play with my hair.


    ¡°One week,¡± I confirmed. My Vanguard would be ready, as would the myrmidons. Their formation work was vastly improved, and Lacedaemon was doing well as their Loxargos, or captain. He was a sponge, too, absorbing every bit of knowledge old Xia Fang had to offer. From what Ax had to say, it was quite a lot.


    ¡°You look beat,¡± he said in English. He was one to talk, I thought. He looked worn and haggard.


    ¡°Yeah, well, shit ain¡¯t gonna enchant itself,¡± I replied.


    ¡°We¡¯re done enchanting for the myrmidons,¡± he replied.


    ¡°We¡¯re not even halfway,¡± I argued. The long enchant times for the cuirasses still rankled, but we hadn¡¯t had the time or energy to improve the process at all.


    Ax shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re burning ourselves out. It¡¯ll have to wait until we¡¯re on the road. I have everyone fitted, and those who aren¡¯t enchanted yet can be on the inside of the formation.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll be lucky to do one over the course of three days while on the road,¡± I argued. We now had dozens of brick-sized mana batteries, enough for weeks of mana consumption, and a half-dozen geothermal pump spikes charged and ready to use. However, we¡¯d agreed to rely solely on the reduced mana feed of our personal armor and the mana batteries built into them while on the road. Drawing on the stockpile would be reserved only for combat. We had no idea when or where we¡¯d have a safe haven long enough to recharge.


    ¡°True, but necessary. You need sleep. I need sleep. We need to stop building and start packing. Time¡¯s wasting,¡± he said.


    ¡°Alright, fine,¡± I said reluctantly. He was right. My head was foggy from lack of sleep. My healing magic could only push me so far. My body could be healed of exhaustion, but that only added to the mental strain. I needed a solid night¡¯s sleep.


    ¡°The helmets will be finished tomorrow,¡± said Ax. The blank look on my face led him to clarify. ¡°For Dadaces. Our deadline, remember?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right. We need the money,¡± I said.


    ¡°Yes, the money. We have people to pay, things to buy. That¡¯s three months worth of income spending for our House.¡±


    ¡°Wow, dude, I could actually hear you capitalize the ¡®H¡¯ that time,¡± I said in English.


    ¡°Shut up, dick,¡± he retorted. ¡°Go sleep. Your last three Vanguard aren¡¯t going to be happy if you fuck them up because you can¡¯t focus.¡±


    I waved him off, but Zahra was suddenly there, looking worried.


    ¡°Come with me,¡± she said firmly.


    ¡°I¡­ have things¡­¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Okay¡­¡± I said weakly. It was hard to argue when I couldn¡¯t remember what I intended to do next. She led me over to the pond. Someone had built up a bathing area of several large tubs out of the green slate bricks, using fired clay to make them water tight. Canvas walls gave a modicum of privacy. Zahra led me into one of them.


    ¡°Strip,¡± she ordered, before turning to fiddle with a bag she¡¯d brought with her. Her tone made it clear that she was not to be argued with right now, so I did as she asked, then stepped into the tub. One of my Vanguard came in then, and took away my clothes and armor.


    The water was hot from the sun and felt great even in the heat of the day. I felt knots in my shoulders start to unwind that I hadn¡¯t even realized were there. Then Zahra was behind me, rubbing soap on my back and shoulders. I wanted to protest that I could wash myself, but her hands felt wonderful.


    ¡°Duck your head under the water,¡± she said, her words gentle. I complied. When I came back up, she lathered my hair and gently washed the beard that had grown in since I¡¯d arrived Latona¡¯s old village weeks ago. I felt legs in the water behind me - bare legs. I turned to see, but Zahra grabbed my head. ¡°Eyes forward.¡±


    She had gotten in behind me so that she could reach around and lather the rest of me. Once I was clean, I felt her leave the tub. I turned, only to see that she was wrapped in a towel. She eyed me furtively with just a hint of a smile.


    ¡°Sit on the edge of the tub, let me trim your hair,¡± she commanded. I sat on the edge of the stone tub, my mind blank. Zahra approached, her towel tightly tucked around her, making her cleavage bulge enticingly. She had a pair of scissors in her hand. Deftly, she combed my hair with her fingers, the scissors snapping away. Locks of hair fell around me and into the water. When she was finally satisfied, she trimmed away at my beard. Finally, she retrieved a small, sharp knife and began to shave me. It felt strange to have someone shave me, trusting them with a razor-sharp blade at your neck. But her movements were sure and smooth, and before I knew it, I was clean-shaven once again.


    ¡°Much better,¡± she said approvingly. ¡°Rinse quickly, and you are finished.¡±


    I cupped water in my hands, splashing away the loose whiskers from my cheeks and neck. Then I stood and turned to see Zahra almost completely dressed, wrapping her shirt around her but with her back to me.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    ¡°Dress,¡± she said, pointing at a clean chiton and belt next to her, before she walked out of the bathing area. I dressed swiftly and followed after her. I passed a peasant who headed in with a bucket to empty and refill the tub for the next user.


    Zahra was waiting for me. She led me over to the mud hut and inside. The cot seemed much larger than it had been before. Zahra kicked off her boots and unwrapped her outer shirt. Seeing her just in trousers and the thin chest wrap that she wore under her shirt pleased me in a very primal way. Then she slipped out of her trousers, leaving her clad only in a pair of underwear. She climbed into bed.


    ¡°Well, come on then,¡± she said.


    I untied my belt and let it fall before climbing into bed next to her. Without another word, she snuggled against my chest. I could feel the swell of her breasts pressing against me, the curve of her body where her legs parted slightly to make room for my own. In other circumstances, I would have loved to take advantage of the situation. As it was, though, the comfort of being clean and warm, snuggled in with a beautiful girl, was enough to lull me right to sleep.


    I woke late the next morning, clear headed and well rested. The bed beside me was empty. My armor was on the table, only it was no longer unfinished bronze. Someone had taken the time to paint it with black enamel. I didn¡¯t even know that they had paint that would stick to metal. My greaves, bracers and helmet were all painted black, as well. In addition, a crest of black horsehair had been added to the helmet, as well. The brown leather armor strips that formed the skirt had been replaced with ones dyed black. They must have co-opted Ax¡¯s help to adjust the helmet. My Vanguard was making a statement. The only bronze color remaining on the armor was the double-kappa disk that I tied my cloak to. A new cloak of black wool hemmed with white rabbit fur was piled up next to the armor.


    I dressed in full armor, and tied the new cloak to the disk. This left the cloak draped around my left side, with both ends tied to the disk. I flipped the cloak off my shoulder so that it draped down my back, almost to my ankles. I slid my knife and my sword into my belt, then double-checked the enchantments on my greaves. Acid spells, shadow traps, my new anti-healing wither spell, and the experimental spell I wasn¡¯t sure would even work. Good to go.


    Once I was dressed and armed, I left the hut. Four of my Vanguard were waiting, armored in their black leather armor with their hoods up over their heads. I had enchanted their cloaks with a variation of my mage armor, so that they had some protection from blows when the cloak was up over their heads, but none when they let it fall. They fell in around me as I headed out into the encampment. I spotted Zahra leading sword drills for my other Vanguard who were not in my escort, in full armor. Danae was drilling alongside them.


    When they finished, I said, ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you were so multi-talented.¡±


    Zahra blushed at the compliment. ¡°I¡¯m a warrior of the Royal Saka, daughter of the Queen. I am well trained in many weapons.¡±


    ¡°So I see. Shall we finish up with the last of my Vanguard today?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get it done,¡± she confirmed.


    ¡°Thank you for yesterday,¡± I said softly. Then I looked around at my Vanguard. ¡°So since when did I start getting an escort?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve had an escort since Danae woke. You¡¯ll get used to it,¡± said Zahra knowingly.


    She would know. I must really have been in a haze the last two days if I hadn¡¯t even noticed people escorting me around. We collected the three remaining unchanged Vanguard, and took them back to the hut. I had the process down smoothly now, and took them in one at a time. The transformation took about two hours, so I finished by late afternoon. I¡¯d found that with the prisoners, the starved, gaunt look went away, replaced by strong muscles. Most of the men gained close to forty pounds of muscle, while the women were gaining close to twenty or thirty, depending on their natural build.


    When I finished with the last, I stood and popped my back. I had burned through a lot of energy and was looking forward to getting something to eat. When I stepped outside, I found Xene approaching.


    ¡°Lord Axerios has completed the helmets for Strategos Dadaces,¡± she said. ¡°Can you take them to the town?¡±


    ¡°I can. Zahra, are you coming?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡± She fell in beside me, and her two bodyguards joined my escort around us.


    One of the wagons was a small two-wheeled horse cart, and was already set up and ready to go. The back was loaded down with crates filled with helmets. One of my Vanguard took the horse lead, and we began the long walk to town. I chewed on some bread that I¡¯d snagged on our way past the house, grateful for something to put in my empty stomach. I tried to be indifferent to the growing refugee camp outside the city walls. We had done what we could, recruiting as many as we could support and take with us from the camp. But the numbers kept growing.


    When I got to the gates, I was shocked to find a line. A squad of militiamen was processing refugees and allowing them into the city. A scribe was with them, writing down names onto a papyrus scroll, before allowing them entry. As far as I could see, they were turning no one away.


    It took some time for us to reach the gates. When we arrived, the bored scribe said ¡°Name?¡±


    ¡°Lord Axiokarsos and my personal retinue. We are delivering a shipment for Strategos Dadaces.¡±


    The scribe looked up sharply. Then one of the militiamen who was a regular gate guard leaned down and whispered inaudibly to the scribe.


    ¡°Ah,¡± he said. ¡°Very well, go on through. I¡¯ll send a runner ahead. I expect you¡¯ll need to go to the armory. If you head to the Megaron road, you¡¯ll need to veer to the right. There is a wide alley that twists around a few buildings, and you¡¯ll see the armory after the second bend.¡±


    ¡°Thanks,¡± I said.


    We trooped through to see a town transformed. The main road through town had always been busy before. Now it was beyond crowded. We moved slowly with the flow of traffic, and marveled at the number of refugees now crammed into alleys, rooftops, and any spot they could find. Militiamen wandered through the crowds on an obvious recruitment drive, and food vendors were shouting prices that were at least double what they¡¯d been a week ago. I looked at Zahra, who shrugged. ¡°Too many people, not enough food,¡± she said.


    That just confirmed that we needed to be gone as soon as possible. Once we made it past the market and up the Megaron road, I spotted the alley the scribe at mentioned. This end of the town was mostly free of refugees, and the alley was empty. We followed the directions, going past two bends that were nearly complete turns. A tall, windowless stone building was before us, with a dozen militiamen on patrol around it. We¡¯d found the armory.


    Upon our approach, we were halted by the patrol. It took only a few moments before one of them went into the armory, and returned with Dadaces in tow. He was looking much happier than the last time we¡¯d spoken.


    ¡°Lord magi! It¡¯s good to see you! Your brother and his new bride are well, I hope?¡±


    ¡°Indeed, though I must say he does look a bit worn out in the mornings,¡± I said.


    Dadaces laughed. ¡°He married a wild one, then! Good for him! I must confess, I had a wonderful time at the feast. I¡¯ve been feeling better every day since then. Did you magick something into the food?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m afraid our talents don¡¯t lie in that direction.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I thought you might have hired a hearth witch or something,¡± he said. ¡°No matter. I see you have brought the helmets and spear heads as promised. Let¡¯s get to business.¡±


    Several militiamen came out carrying a large chest between them. I had my Vanguard start unloading the crates. The militia quickly counted up the goods I¡¯d delivered, and nodded to Dadaces.


    ¡°Very good,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re leaving by week¡¯s end?¡±


    ¡°We are,¡± I confirmed. One of my female Vanguard went over and picked up the money chest easily, and placed it in the cart. I saw the two militiamen who brought it out exchange a look, much to my amusement.


    ¡°Very well. I plan to house as many refugees as possible on the hill once you¡¯re gone. It doesn¡¯t offer quite the protection of the city walls, but it is better than naught at all. I wish you all the best of fortune.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been our pleasure.¡±


    ¡°If you need anything from me, or hear word of the gigantes army, send word to me here at the armory. My Megaron¡­ feels strange to me lately. I¡¯m much more at home among my soldiers these days. Perhaps it is the times. Yes, dangerous times.¡±


    Dadaces nodded to himself, and waved us away as he turned to go back into the armory.


    ¡°I think we may have helped him more than we realized,¡± said Zahra. ¡°It¡¯s like he¡¯s a different person altogether without that spell on him.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.22 - Karson

    Chapter 1.22


    Karson


    <hr>


    We left the armory just as dusk was approaching, and headed back down the alley. My Vanguard watched every growing shadow with suspicion. We were carrying a fortune in drachmas now, so we had reason to worry. After we made it around the first bend and lost sight of the armory, I was gripped by the same worry my Vanguard had. I loosened my sword in its sheath and made sure my mage armor spell was enabled. Zahra carried her bow in hand, an arrow ready in the other. All of us felt the unease.


    Then I realized; the alley was too empty. It had few people when we traversed it before. Now it was completely empty.


    ¡°We¡¯re walking into an ambush,¡± I hissed as I drew my blade. ¡°Ready yourselves.¡±


    We made it to the next bend, only to find it blocked by a wagon with a big cage on the back. It had a half-dozen people chained inside it. The drover for the wagon walked around nonchalantly.


    ¡°Apologies, milord. We¡¯ve broken our traces, just need to replace them and we¡¯ll get out your way.¡±


    ¡°On the roof!¡± shouted one of my Vanguard.


    Zahra spun and fired an arrow in a blink, catching an archer in the throat. Then arrows were falling down on us. But all of us wore enchanted clothing. Zahra threw her fur cloak over her head before firing arrow after arrow.


    A dozen men burst out of one of the buildings, wearing mismatched armor and carrying a variety of large shields. Some of the shields were round, others square, but all of the men wielding those shields knew how to carry them. A large man in the middle was wearing the best armor of the bunch.


    ¡°Bandits,¡± hissed one of Zahra¡¯s bodyguard. ¡°Scum!¡±


    I threw an acid spell at the bandit leader, but he casually swatted it with his shield. His shield must have been warded against magic.


    ¡°Hah! We¡¯ve tangled with magi before. You won¡¯t aren¡¯t the first I¡¯ve captured, and won¡¯t be the last!¡±


    Finally, an opponent. After weeks of running, hiding, and building, I finally had a target to vent some of my fury. Bandits and slavers were standing right in front of me. Well, one was behind me. ¡°Thank you,¡± I told him.


    ¡°Huh?¡± said the bandit leader, confused. He didn¡¯t understand why we weren¡¯t acting scared to be outnumbered and surrounded.


    I threw my shadow trap spell behind me, and it grabbed the driver of the slave wagon.


    ¡°For the practice.¡± The slaver screamed as his own shadows ripped off his arms. His wails reverberated through the alley. ¡°Vanguard! Attack!¡±


    Zahra began firing arrows again, ducking behind the wagon for cover. I ignored the arrows that headed my way as my mage armor shrugged off. Instead, I concentrated on stepping to a place right behind the archer that had Zahra pinned down. I blinked behind him, and with a swift move, drove my sword into his unprotected back. Then I blinked back down to Zahra.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said, spinning in place to target the other archers.


    My Vanguard was engaging the bandits, but despite the strength and speed difference, the bandits were holding their line. This was where skill and experience weighed against us. The sword blows from my Vanguard were powerful, but being deflected or dodged. Zahra¡¯s bodyguard were actually faring better than the Vanguard, but they didn¡¯t have the strength to bash through the shield wall.


    ¡°Bastards are strong!¡± groaned one of the bandits.


    I had to do something. I targeted one of the shield carriers next to the bandit leader with a new spell I¡¯d devised. It was the reverse of a healing spell, causing the target to wither as their life essence drained away. The man began to scream as his flesh corrupted and aged. Then, just as he was about to die, I snatched his soul and consumed it. I gained a small temporary boost of strength.


    ¡°Cursed Erebrus! What in Tartarus was that?!¡± shouted one of the bandits.


    ¡°Leave the cursed guards and get the magi!¡± shouted the bandit leader. At once, the archers stopped exchanging fire with Zahra and began peppering me with arrows. I fired an acid spell, catching another of the shield carriers in the face. The bandit leader charged at me, giving me no more time to cast offensive spells. I hoped that the removal of the two shield carriers and the bandit leader from the line would help my Vanguard deal with the remaining bandits.


    Then the bandit leader was on me. His sword blew right through my mage armor and scratched across my cuirass. I stabbed at his face with my sword, but he easily blocked the blow with his shield. I drew my dagger in my off hand as he stabbed at me again. I slammed my own blade against his, knocking the blow away. But he was far more experienced with melee combat than I was. As I deflected his blow, he slammed his shield into my face.


    The shield clanged off my helmet, rattling me and making me stumble backwards. He pressed the attack, making me flail desperately to fend off his blows. He was herding me to the wall, to hem me in and stop my retreat, and I couldn¡¯t do anything about it.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to gut you slowly for what you did to my men,¡± growled the bandit leader.


    ¡°Good luck,¡± I said, before blinking behind him. I drove my dagger down to stab him in the neck, but he turned too swiftly. The dagger caught in his shield arm, instead. He growled at the wound and aimed a sword swipe intended to take my head off. I blinked a half-dozen yards back.


    ¡°Get back here, you coward!¡± he shouted. I fired off three acid spells at him. As he ducked behind his shield, I turned to see my Vanguards taking the advantage in the battle. Three more bandits were down, while only one of my Vanguard was sporting a wound. I fired a weakness spell at one of the bandits at random. It was a mistake on my part, for I¡¯d not paid close enough attention to the bandit leader.


    The leader smashed into me in a charge that sent me flying. My helmet flew off as I rolled across the ground, before skittering to my feet just in time to get my sword up in front of me. Blood dripped from my forehead from where I¡¯d scraped it on the pavement. The bandit leader bashed my blade aside with contemptuous ease, sending it flying across the alley and breaking my fingers. He punched me in the face with his sword hand, knocking me to the ground.


    ¡°Now you die!¡± he screamed, raising his sword. An arrow flew across the alley, hitting him in the back. Snarling, he whirled to see Zahra drawing back another arrow. ¡°Fine, bitch, I¡¯ll kill you first, then your pansy little mage.¡±


    A second arrow flew at him, but he cut it right out of the air as he charged her. Zahra drew her own sword. But this time it was the bandit leader that made the mistake. He turned his back on a mage. I cast my shadow trap, and his own shadow reached up to grab his arms. Howling in anger, the bandit wrestled against the spell. I wouldn¡¯t be tearing this one apart; he was too powerful. But that didn¡¯t mean I was helpless.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    I stood and began casting. I couldn¡¯t fire off my acid spell without risking Zahra, and the weakness spell didn¡¯t seem likely to stop this one. I cast the wither spell once again, pouring a huge amount of mana into it. The spell struck the bandit leader right in the back.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to enjoy eating your soul,¡± I said evilly as the bandit leader¡¯s flesh began to corrupt. He screamed in agony before collapsing to his knees. The shadow trap spell began to strangle him and pull his limbs even tighter to the ground.


    When he was almost to the point of death, I grabbed his soul and pulled it from him. I was infused with a rush of strength. Unlike previous times I¡¯d stolen essence from a soul, something about the power of this one was too strong to disperse. Instinctively I understood that I had absorbed it into my own soul.


    Newly empowered, I charged at the remaining bandits. I began to blink randomly around the battle, never slowing or staying in one place for long. Zahra took out the final archer, while the Vanguard cut down the leaderless and disorganized bandits.


    When it was down to just one, the bandit dropped his sword.


    ¡°Mercy, I beg you,¡± he said, falling to his knees. ¡°Please don¡¯t eat my soul!¡±


    ¡°Why did you attack us?¡± I asked as two of my Vanguard grabbed the bandit by the arms.


    ¡°We got tipped off that you had a big payday coming,¡± said the bandit, frantic to give us information and be helpful. ¡°We¡¯ve been waiting for days.¡±


    ¡°How¡¯d you know we¡¯d be coming?¡±


    ¡°We bribed the scribe to give you directions, so you wouldn¡¯t take the road.¡±


    I scowled. We¡¯d been played for fools. We¡¯d made an enemy somewhere, but for the life of me I couldn¡¯t guess who. If Dadaces was going to double-cross us, he¡¯d have done it at the armory, when we were trapped inside his walls with all his troops around him. He gained nothing by angering mages who were about to leave. No, an attack from him would be direct or it would be political. It wouldn¡¯t be bandits in an alleyway ambush.


    ¡°Who tipped you off?¡±


    ¡°Some noble, I don¡¯t know. Friendly guy, just the kind to stab you in the back when you ain¡¯t lookin. Poecas was only one who knew him, but you ate his soul!¡± The bandit was starting to panic.


    ¡°What is the punishment for banditry in Assos?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Whipping, for the first offense,¡± offered one of the Vanguard, ¡°so long as no one was slain.¡±


    ¡°Well, we are hail and mostly uninjured,¡± I said. ¡°Keep him restrained, we¡¯ll turn him over to Dadaces.¡±


    The bandit sagged in relief. A whipping was painful, but not fatal.


    I turned to the bandit leader, and began to go through the items on his belt. I tossed the sword and shield onto our cart, then found a pouch full of coin and a key. A key for what, I wondered? Then I facepalmed. The slave wagon behind us, of course. I tossed the bag of coin to my Vanguard.


    ¡°I¡¯m taking the bandit leaders¡¯ sword and shield. The rest of the loot is to be divided up amongst you all as spoils,¡± I said.


    ¡°I need claim none of it,¡± said Zahra.


    The Vanguard were efficient; one pulled out one of my enchanted storage bags, the others began stripping swords, knives, belt pouches and even boots and cloaks, stuffing them into the bag to sort later. They ignored the armor, instead stacking the shields on the wagon. It was then that I heard the deep horns blaring from the town watchtowers.


    I exchanged a look with Zahra. We were out of time. I blinked up to the tallest roof around us, which was high enough to see over the town walls. The town around us was in chaos as people panicked and ran to barricade themselves in their homes, while militiamen from all over the city were running for the gates. I could see men running into the armory to gear up, and Dadaces was mounted on his horse shouting orders. The grizzled veteran that I assumed was his Loxargos was at the armory gates, shouting just as many orders.


    I turned from the armory and looked out across the walls to see what was coming, and nearly fell off the roof in shock. In the distance I could see what I had been fearing; what we had known was coming. An army of gigantes was approaching, larger than the previous attack, along with two cohorts of cynocephali archers. But what I wasn¡¯t expecting was a company of centaurs in bronze armor, armed with swords and shields. And I really wasn¡¯t expecting the massive, forty-foot tall Titan striding in the midst of the army, harpies circling his massive armored head. They were perhaps a mile or two away, heading towards the main gate on the side of town opposite our encampment.


    It was late afternoon, and at the pace the army was crawling forward, I estimated they¡¯d be here in thirty, perhaps forty minutes. I could only hope that they would camp for the night, allowing us to slip away under cover of darkness. We couldn¡¯t afford to get bogged down in this fight. We were far stronger than we had been upon arrival, but we had many non-combatants, men, women and children that would get hurt or killed.


    As I watched, the Titan bent over and scooped a massive rock the size of a sedan from the ground. He took a few running steps before flinging it the entire distance into the town. I watched in horror as it flew over the wall, smashing through buildings and crushing several townspeople. A deep, horrible laugh echoed over the field, barely audible in the distance. It was time to go.


    I blinked back down to the ground, to see Zahra¡¯s bodyguards pouring the contents of the money chest into another of my enchanted bags. How many of those things did they bring with us? I shot Zahra a questioning look as she was unhooking the horse from the wagon, before slapping it on its rump to send it running off. ¡°What is it you call this? Plan Beta?¡± she asked rhetorically. Of course. We¡¯d never be able to get our wagon through the town. She was freeing the horse so that it had a chance to survive; it was certainly more likely now that it wasn¡¯t tied to a cart.


    Two of the Vanguard still held onto the bandit.


    ¡°Give me a sword,¡± I commanded. One of the female Vanguard pulled out a bandit sword from the bag and handed it to me. I walked over to the bandit, and he began to tremble in fear. I reversed the blade and held it out toward him, hilt first. ¡°Release him. An enemy army approaches. We have no time to mete out justice.¡±


    Unbelievingly, the bandit took the blade from my hands, not rising from his knees. ¡°Th-thank you, milord, for your mercy.¡±


    I waved him off and turned to the slaver wagon, fishing the key that I had found on the bandit leader from my belt pouch.


    ¡°Y-you need to disable the spell first,¡± said the bandit.


    I turned back. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°There is an explosive ward on the wagon, enough to kill all the slaves, if it isn¡¯t turned off first. May I?¡±


    I eyed the bandit for a long moment.


    ¡°He¡¯s one of the kind ones, milord,¡± called one of the women in the cage. ¡°He stopped the others what was wantin¡¯ to abuse us, he did.¡±


    ¡°Your name, bandit?¡±


    ¡°Exadius, milord.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Exadius, I¡¯ll trust you. But if this is a trick¡­¡±


    ¡°No trick, milord. Mercy begets mercy, my mum always said.¡±


    I nodded, and handed him the key. Instead of going to the lock, he went to the wagon wheel and fiddled for a moment. The door of the cage swung open, the obvious padlock still hanging from the handle. None of the slaves moved. Exadius went back around and reached in with the key, unlocking a chain that ran from the wagon bottom and through the collars around their necks.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, milord, I don¡¯t know the words to unlock the collars. But the chain should slip right out, at least.¡±


    I motioned for the slaves to climb out. ¡°Stay close, and you may come with us. We will protect you as best we can.¡±


    The Vanguard and Zahra¡¯s bodyguards fell in around me and Zahra, and we started to move, the slaves following behind. I was about to order two of my Vanguard to take the rear, when Exadius spoke once more.


    ¡°Wh-what about me, milord?¡±


    The sheer gall was astounding. He¡¯d been trying to kill us less than ten minutes ago. I turned to look at him once again, disbelief written all over my face. The slaves seemed surprised as well, but none of them appeared outraged.


    ¡°It¡¯s up to you,¡± I finally said, looking at the rescued slaves. ¡°He was your captor.¡±


    The slaves looked at each other for a moment, none willing to speak up. Then a dirty looking man in what was once a nice chiton spoke up.


    ¡°As Iphis said, he was one of the kind ones. He could have left us to die in the wagon when you showed him mercy. Should we leave him to die now?¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve wasted enough time. Exadius, take the rear, make sure none of these people get lost or seperated.¡± I also motioned for two of the Vanguard to the rear as well.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.23 - Ax

    Chapter 1.23


    Ax


    <hr>


    I slept hard, probably harder than I had in recent memory. Latona had dragged me to bed and made me lay down. I had things to do, but I saw how exhausted and run down Karson looked before Zahra dragged him away, and had no doubt I mirrored him. The healing ring cheat was no substitute for real sleep, and I had absolutely hit the wall. It reminded me of the night that me and a few buddies had stayed up late playing basketball, before hanging out and drinking all night. I had hit the wall just as the sun started to peek over the houses, before I crashed on my friend¡¯s couch. At least this time, I didn¡¯t have a hangover to deal with.


    It was actually the opposite, in fact. Waking with a hangover was painful at best, when a headache is the first thing you wake up to, or nausea and generally feeling like shit at worst. But the first thing I realized this time when I woke was pleasure. A warm, wet mouth was giving me a blowjob. I groaned in pleasure. Latona¡¯s technique had improved. Instead of the sloppy, amateur attempts she¡¯d made so far, it was far more skillful. I¡¯d have to complement her.


    Then Latona¡¯s arm flopped across my chest as she rolled over on the bed next to me. Her bare breasts pressed into my side. I jerked my eyes open and looked down to see a very naked Xene smirking up at me as she sucked me off.


    ¡°Xene?! What are you doing?¡± I hissed in sudden alarm as I struggled to sit up. Latona grumbled in complaint and flopped on her back, still asleep. Xene popped off my dick with an unrepentant grin.


    ¡°What does it look like?¡± she said in a sultry voice.


    ¡°Are you trying to get Latona pissed at me?¡± I retorted, still whispering and feeling panicked.


    ¡°Whose idea did you think this was? Well, I mean, technically, I was supposed to start with her first so we could wake you up together, but¡­¡±


    My mind felt literally blown. Latona had hinted and all but blatantly said that she slept with Xene from time to time, but my dense ass hadn¡¯t truly let that sink in. But Xene didn¡¯t sit there while I gaped. She nuzzled Latona¡¯s leg aside and wasted no time in licking her clit with obviously practiced movements. From the soft, pleasurable sounds coming from Latona, Xene knew what she was doing.


    ¡°Mmmm¡­. Xene¡­ naughty girl¡­. You were supposed to start with me¡­¡± moaned Latona, stretching her arms over her head as she woke. She opened one eye and looked at me. ¡°Why are you still sitting there? Go deal with our wayward concubine.¡±


    That brought me up cold. Concubine? Holy fuck, this whole culture shock kept getting me. But Latona had already closed her eyes as Xene continued licking her. Xene eyed me with a smirk, pulling her knees further under her and spreading her legs invitingly. Well, I may not understand the culture, but I¡¯d never had a threesome before. I didn¡¯t need to be told twice.


    I jumped out of bed and stood behind Xene, admiring her shapely ass and the explicit view of her sex. I slid into her, enjoying how tightly my cock was gripped. I sawed in and out of her slowly, drawing out the pleasure for both of us but without dislodging her from Latona¡¯s pussy with my movements. Before long they were both moaning in time with each other. Xene climaxed first, finally moving from pleasuring Latona as I slammed into her. I was getting close myself. Xene gave a little shriek as she climaxed, then pulled off of me before I could finish and rolled aside, still shuddering.


    ¡°Finish in her, not me,¡± she gasped.


    I didn¡¯t even respond, I just climbed between Latona¡¯s waiting legs and slammed into her. Latona gave an approving moan, and my own climax began to build even as Latona reached her peak. I shuddered and came inside her as she writhed beneath me, finishing even as I did. I sat back on my knees, gasping for air and sweaty with the exertion. I looked down at a very smug Latona, my seed spilling from her and onto the bed, her legs still spread. Xene bent over and licked her clean, eliciting a soft gasp and mini-orgasm from Latona.


    Finally, both girls sat up. ¡°What¡­ what was that?¡± I asked.


    ¡°A good start to the day,¡± quipped Xene. Latona giggled, and found a dirty chiton in the corner to wipe the sweat and cum from her body, and Xene began to dress herself. I just stared, unable or maybe not quite willing to believe that this was actually considered acceptable. I wasn¡¯t complaining, even in the slightest, but my luck couldn¡¯t be that good.


    ¡°I need a bath,¡± said Latona, wrinkling her nose at me. ¡°So do you. Xene, come attend us.¡±


    I just stared, still sitting there naked.


    ¡°What?¡± she said.


    ¡°That¡¯s it? You¡¯re okay with¡­ all this?¡± I asked.


    ¡°It was my idea, wasn¡¯t it?¡± she said, confused. ¡°It seemed like a good idea.¡±


    ¡°In my¡­ homeland¡­ women are more¡­ jealous?¡±


    ¡°Ah,¡± said Latona, finally understanding. She reached for a clean peplos. ¡°I¡¯m a noble woman, Axerios. You need not worry.¡±


    ¡°Can you¡­ explain that a bit for me?¡± I wasn¡¯t willing to let it go until I understood the boundaries here. This facet of their culture could seriously fuck things up for me if I didn¡¯t know the rules.


    She shrugged as she tied a belt around her waist, fiddling with the peplos until it hung right on her torso. ¡°You will take other women. I have always known this. Other wives, other concubines, maybe even occasional lovers. Noble men do this. But you are only to spill your seed in me until our first son is born. That is my right as your first wife.¡±


    ¡°And do you¡­ take other men as lovers?¡± I asked, my chest tightening in sudden jealousy.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± she said incredulously. ¡°How would I know which child is yours if I did so? I may sleep with our concubines or the other wives, if they are interested, but not men. I won¡¯t sabotage our House with such pointless dramatics. Houses have split and fallen from such selfish acts.¡±


    O-okay,¡± I said, feeling a sense of relief. Then my upbringing kicked in. That wasn¡¯t right. ¡°How is that fair?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Since when is life fair? It is what it is. I know you have a very singular view of marriage; you¡¯ve said as much. But we must build alliances, and that may mean you take another wife, or more, to cement the power of our House, whether you want to or not. What is that saying you have? ¡®Man up¡¯?¡±


    I climbed out of bed then, pulling my chiton on. My wife had just told me to man up and fuck other women. Unreal.


    ¡°Come on, I want to get bathed so that we can eat, and there is much to be done today,¡± said Latona imperiously.


    Xene gathered up a basket with soap and towels, leading us over to the bathtubs. Two myrmidons fell in behind us like bodyguards, only stopping outside the canvas wall of one of the bathing areas while we went inside. Latona stripped down and stepped into the tub, and I followed. Xene stripped down as well, but sat on the edge of the tub and proceeded to wash each of us in turn. Her hands lingered and teased, leading to some heavy petting amongst the three of us and another blowjob for me. Latona stood up in the tub and bent over.


    ¡°Finish in me, swiftly,¡± she said. ¡°We linger too long.¡±


    Despite already having slept with both of them earlier, I was so worked up that I had no trouble finishing again. Latona came also but it was much more muted than earlier, no doubt not wanting to put on a show for the guards on the other side of the curtain. We rinsed off once more, before getting dressed.


    Xene and Latona left the bathing area ahead of me, marching off towards the cookfires to get some food. I looked up at the sky and realized it was easily early to mid afternoon. I¡¯d wasted most of a day sleeping and fucking. I tried to feel annoyed about the lost time, but I¡¯d just spent most of the day sleeping and fucking. I was in a great mood. My stomach grumbled, reminding me I had to eat, too. I stepped out from the bathing area and ignored the smirks on my myrmidons¡¯ faces.


    I made my way over to the cookfires, to see Latona engrossed in conversation with Crathis while delicately eating an apricot. I spotted some bread in a basket, so took a small loaf and a few figs for myself. As I ate, one of the peasants walked over to me.


    ¡°Milord? The helms for the Strategos are finished and crated.¡±


    ¡°Excellent,¡± I said, my mind finally snapping back to the business at hand. ¡°Load up that little horse wagon with the spearheads and helmets. Send a messenger to the Strategos to let him know we¡¯re coming. Then find Lord Karsos and see if he is available to make delivery.¡±


    I sent for the last of the myrmidons that still needed their armor fitted. We wouldn¡¯t enchant the gear until we were on the road, but at least I could make it more comfortable. Xene and her assistants already had the lining and glue ready, so they¡¯d be armored once the glue dried. It was perhaps an hour or two later when I finished, to find the same peasant from before approaching.


    ¡°Did my brother leave with the shipment?¡±


    ¡°Not more than ten minutes ago, milord.¡±


    ¡°Excellent. Where is Crathis?¡±


    ¡°In the house with Lady Latona and Loxargos Lacedaemon, milord,¡± he responded.


    I walked around the house and in the front door, to find Crathis directing dozens of men and women as they packed and organized. There was surprisingly little left in the house, mostly just sleeping mats and blankets. I had a few machines to break down for shipping in the workshop area, but that would take no time at all.


    ¡°Crathis, how are we doing?¡± I called out.


    Crathis turned away from the person he¡¯d been issuing orders to. ¡°Milord, the wagons are pretty much loaded. Any food we¡¯re buying is being directly loaded now. The only thing left is bedding, your ¡®machines¡¯, and a few crates.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to hear, because I think we¡¯re out of time,¡± said Antiope from behind me.


    ¡°Why is that?¡± I said as I turned around. Antiope was in full armor, helmet and all. Xia Fang was equally armed and armored. Both looked worried.


    ¡°I spotted two harpies circling the town,¡± she said. ¡°They are very high in the sky, probably advance scouts for the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡±


    ¡°If we are truly lucky, I am wrong, and we can just treat it as a practice drill,¡± she replied. ¡°But we have pushed the luck of the gods already.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s go, start loading everything. Get the children in the wagons, and prepare for an emergency exit. Every myrmidon, archer and slinger is to gear up and be ready to move.¡±


    The room exploded into movement as I headed to my quarters. I needed my own gear. I ran into Latona going the other way, and caught her arm. ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± I said grimly.


    She nodded and turned to follow me. We helped each other into our armor and geared up. She tied her hair back into a quick braid before putting on her helmet. She wore the same helmet that the myrmidons wore, crestless and simple, but enchanted. My own helmet was like Karson¡¯s, with a black horsehair crest, only it was unpainted bronze. I held it under my arm after sliding my sword into place. My gauntlets with their new fireball and flamethrower enchantments were in place. I must have felt extra tense and worried, for my brass knuckles had not only showed up, they were coating my hand and forearm like a long glove.


    We walked outside to see organized chaos. Men and women bustled back and forth, moving anything and everything that could be loaded going, the square crates piled high on the wagons underneath the round canvas covers that each sported. I¡¯d improved on my earlier design, adding tie points so that the canvases could easily be removed or replaced, but it was otherwise unchanged. I turned back into the house and approached the machines. Only the weapon and helmet machines remained. Under the arrow machine, a bin half-full of bronze arrowheads lay forgotten. I had no time for anything fancy. I cut the link from the machines to the geothermal mana pumps, and used my magic to quickly slice them off the stone bins I¡¯d conjured. One of my peasants ran over with a normal crate, and I stacked each machine in turn into it.


    ¡°Time to go. Is there any word of my brother?¡± I asked.


    The peasant shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ve not heard word, milord.¡±


    I walked outside again, to see Latona standing with Antiope and Xia Fang. The myrmidons were mustering in an organized block, facing down the narrow driveway we¡¯d cut to the road. Crathis and two old men I didn¡¯t know were directing people as they ran back and forth, and I could hear the low bellows of the oxen as they were being moved to the wagons.


    ¡°Three more harpies spotted,¡± reported Antiope. ¡°That¡¯s five total.¡±


    ¡°Loading finished,¡± reported Crathis, even as Lacedaemon approached, looking fierce and deadly in his armor. Several soldiers came around the house, each leading two horses.


    ¡°The troops are ready, milord,¡± Lacedaemon reported. Warning horns sounded from the town, and another soldier shouted, ¡°Six more harpies!¡±


    ¡°Crathis, get the wagons and non-combatants moving. We¡¯re leaving now.¡±


    ¡°We cannot leave Zahra,¡± said Antiope as she went to mount her horse. Xia Fang was right behind her.


    ¡°We¡¯re not leaving her. Lacedaemon, take half the myrmidons and all the slingers to escort the non-combatants.¡± I turned to look Antiope in the eye. ¡°We are heading to town to collect my brother and Zahra.¡±


    Latona ran over, Xene right behind her. I turned to her. ¡°Latona, I need you to lead our House and our people. Lacedaemon commands the troops, you command Lacedaemon. We will catch up before you get too far down the road.¡±


    She didn¡¯t argue, merely grabbing my hand and placing a kiss on my palm. ¡°Be safe, husband.¡± Latona and Xene turned away, heading to the wagons. Crathis and his assistants followed.


    ¡°Mount up, we have extra horses,¡± said Antiope.


    ¡°Yeah, about that¡­ I don¡¯t actually know how to ride a horse,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯ll walk with the troops.¡±


    ¡°You¡­ all this time we¡¯ve been training and you don¡¯t know how to ride a horse?¡± Antiope said indignantly. ¡°Now¡¯s a fine time to tell me, when we can¡¯t do anything about it! Who doesn¡¯t know how to ride a horse?!¡±


    ¡°Not the time, Antiope, let¡¯s move.¡±


    And today had started so well...

 Fury: Chapter 1.24 - Ax

    Chapter 1.24


    Ax


    <hr>


    We marched down the hill, the myrmidon phalanx on my left. I didn¡¯t actually march in formation, for I had no shield or spear and would be casting magic if it came to a fight. The formation was five across and five deep, with the fifteen archers behind them in five rows of three. Antiope and Xia Fang rode on our flank behind me, the warhorses for Zahra and her bodyguards tied in a string behind Xia Fang. Anchoring the formation on the far side was the remainder of Karson¡¯s Vanguard, swords at the ready.


    Each of the myrmidons was armored in cuirass, greaves and bracers with an unadorned helmet. They carried a spear and short sword, and a large round shield with the double-kappa symbol embossed on it. The archers wore leather armor breastplates that included a left-shoulder pauldron, not unlike Karson¡¯s Vanguard, but no helmets so that their vision would remain unobstructed. They carried a bow, a quiver with twenty arrows, and a long knife in case the situation got desperate.


    I intended for each soldier to carry a pack with their own gear much like the Romans did, but we¡¯d not had time to procure that many bags, nor had we the time to make them. Instead, each soldier had a small bag with day¡¯s worth of food and a waterskin. I would be adding support squads much like the Romans, also. I didn¡¯t know a lot about the ancient Greeks, but I¡¯d loved watching both seasons of Rome and done a Wiki search on legions once or twice.


    The refugees from the camp were all crowding the gates, trying to get in. As we approached, it became clear that the gates were open. To my surprise, the militiamen were doing their best to calm people and let them through the gate in an orderly fashion, so that no one got crushed in a stampede. It was also equally clear that not only were we not getting in, Karson wasn¡¯t going to be coming out.


    Harpies were now obvious in the skies by the dozen. Their horrible laughs and screeching taunts filled the air. Fresh meat! This did nothing to help soothe the terrified refugees. We approached from behind them, but now that we were here, I didn¡¯t know what to do. If the harpies were in the skies, then the enemy army was marching across the field on the opposite side of the town. That gate would have the militia mustering in front of it, if they weren¡¯t already marching out. There was no way they would open for us now.


    Then it got worse. I spotted a giant rock fly through the air, and heard the crunch and screams as it landed somewhere in the town. Harpies began to swoop out of the skies, knocking militiamen from their platforms along the walls. I even saw where two, working together, managed to grab a random civilian woman from the streets, carry her up thirty or forty feet into the air, just to drop her again.


    We ended up stopping and watching the madness. Behind us, I could see the last of our wagons rolling down the hill, with a force of myrmidons as rearguard. Each wagon had several slingers standing on it, eyes on the skies with their slings loaded and ready. It had wound up that we had more slingers than archers, as a sling and a stone was simple and easy to make. Many peasants had learned how to hunt small animals with them, as it was a good way to supplement their diet.


    ¡°I need to get in there,¡± fumed Antiope. ¡°I should never have let her go without me.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯ll be fine,¡± I said. ¡°She¡¯s got Karsos and his Vanguard with him, and they¡¯re behind the walls.¡±


    Antiope scoffed. ¡°I could single-handedly take out all five of them, even after Karsos¡¯ magic boost.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hardly an accomplishment for you. They¡¯ll be fine against townsfolk.¡±


    Antiope didn¡¯t have an argument for that.


    ¡°Should we send out a scout to see where the enemy is?¡± I asked.


    ¡°No, at this point we need to be ready for¡­ that.¡± Antiope pointed. I turned to look. It was centaurs. Honest to goodness centaurs. An entire band of them, maybe thirty or forty, rounding the city and coming up behind us. They all wore bronze breastplates, only with strips extending down the entire front, and carried swords and large shields. They also wore helmets that covered the tops of their heads, but did little to protect the face or neck. This was the very definition of heavy cavalry, I thought.


    ¡°Formation! About face! Archers to the rear! Antiope, you and Xia¡­ do what you do.¡±


    The myrmidons did a remarkably swift job of turning around and forming up, letting the archers run through their ranks before locking their shields in place. Few spears tangled, and everyone was able to get into position.


    By now the centaurs had spotted us, and were looking to charge. They had the numbers and speed to try and flank us. With the town wall to one side, and a double-row of spears to the front, they were going to circle around to my side of the formation. Antiope and Xia Fang were headed out to do some circling of of their own.


    I immediately started casting fireballs at the left side of the centaur formation, directly in front of me and to my right. I hoped this would discourage them from circling, and drive them towards the waiting spears of the myrmidons. The new bracers worked wonders, allowing me to rattle off a half-dozen fireballs in just as many seconds.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    As I anticipated, the centaurs moved closer to the walls, away from the blasts of fire. They didn¡¯t slow down, however. They plowed ahead, hoping that mass of numbers and momentum would break our formation. I began to walk my fireballs through the middle of their charge.


    A half-dozen centaurs fell to my flames, further breaking up the charge behind the fallen and slowing them down. But then my fireballs started vanishing out of the air. I saw an older centaur at the back, gray haired and unarmored.


    ¡°Archers! Full rate of fire!¡± I shouted. Fifteen arrows arched through the air, and a second later, another fifteen followed. Then the centaurs were upon us. I switched to my flamethrower spell, roasting several centaurs coming at me. I spotted Antiope and Xia Fang circling behind the enemy formation, Antiope¡¯s lance at the ready as she charged in.


    ¡°Archers! Hold fire!¡± I hollered, but the sounds of battle drowned me out. I hoped we didn¡¯t hit our own people. But at this point, the archers had fanned out towards the wall, firing directly into the enemy.


    An enemy centaur loomed up in front of me. I blasted a fireball right in his face, but he managed to dodge. The seconds it took for him to dodge and come back at me gave me time to draw my own sword, and then we were fighting. The bastard had to be at least nine feet tall, but his reach was barely longer than my own. It still was hard, because he had a better angle to hammer down at me from, keeping me on the defensive. I stabbed down toward his legs, which were unarmored, forcing the centaur to dodge back. I blasted my flamethrower spell, managing to catch one of his legs. He hollered in pain, hobbling on three legs as he tried to come at me again. This time I didn¡¯t wait. I began rapid firing fireballs, but now he couldn¡¯t dodge nearly as well. He ducked a few, and managed to even smack one aside with his shield. But I had numbers on my side and he was injured. The fourth fireball struck him in the center of his chest, blasting into his armor and rocking him back as he screamed. The fifth struck him in the head, bringing him down.


    Then a shrill whistle sounded, and the centaurs broke off, darting away from the wall at a ninety degree angle from where we¡¯d been fighting. There were easily a dozen dead centaurs left behind at our lines, and another eight or nine that had fallen during the charge. We¡¯d cut their numbers by half.


    But it had cost us. I could see at least eight of our own were dead, and six more were wounded. But where had the enemy centaur mage gone? Antiope and Xia Fang rode back over to me as I saw the centaurs ride up the hill towards our house, before turning back around and restarting their charge.


    ¡°Half-Turn Right! Protect the wounded!¡±


    We struggled to get into position. A phalanx didn¡¯t move swiftly, even if it was a small one. The archers ran behind, pulling the dead and wounded back behind the formation. Now with the shift, fresh troops were on the line, and I was now on the left side.


    Antiope drew her sword, as did Xia Fang. I didn¡¯t see Antiope¡¯s lance, so I assumed it was sticking out of one of the dead centaurs.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the mage?¡± I shouted at her.


    Antiope¡¯s gaze turned toward the charging centaurs. ¡°There! In the back! He¡¯s casting something!¡±


    ¡°Archers! Full rate of fire!¡± I shouted. Again, fifteen arrows fired out. A gust of wind blasted the arrows from the sky, and another took out the next flight. That damn mage was controlling the wind! That was what he¡¯d done to my fireballs. He¡¯d pulled the oxygen out of the air around them. But he didn¡¯t have a geothermal mana pump within a half-mile of him feeding him endless mana.


    I began my barrage once again, hoping to catch more of them before they reached us. But the centaurs changed course and began to run towards the backs of the refugees. My archers continued to fire, and some of them began to land. I launched more fireballs between us and them, because there was no way we could physically get there in time.


    The refugees began to scream and panic. Their flight into the town had continued without end during the first skirmish, but there were still easily dozens of them outside the walls, perhaps more. A scant half-dozen militiamen armed with swords and helmets, but no armor, were along the perimeter of the refugees where they¡¯d been trying to help people line up to enter.


    My fireballs did little to slow the charge. A few centaurs were hit, and the archers hit a few more, but only a couple fell. I felt impotent rage as they bore down on the defenseless refugees. I decided to cast fireball, but actually cast it instead of relying on my gauntlets, and pushed as much mana into it as I could manage.


    The fireball flew across the field, the largest fireball I¡¯d ever cast. I felt a huge gust of wind, but it was too small to blow my fireball off course. It struck the centaur at the furthest back end of their charge, literally exploding the centaur into pieces before tearing into the ones in front of him. The explosion blew half the centaurs off their feet, and staggered the rest. I spotted the centaur mage running around, trying to put himself out.


    ¡°Aim at the shirtless mage!¡± I shouted. Fifteen arrows streaked towards the mage. Easily half fell short. But the other half didn¡¯t. A few hit the centaur in the back, two hit him in the torso. But it was that last arrow that hit the magic spot - in the spine, right below the neck. The centaur mage collapsed, still on fire.


    Suddenly leaderless, the centaurs milled around for a few moments. I caught a glint of metal in the distance, on the far side of the gate. The centaurs must have spotted it, too. They scattered in several directions away from the town and away from us. The last of the refugees continued filing into the city.


    Then, just as the dusk began to turn dark, I saw movement. There was another enemy army was marching along the edge of the city. It was pretty far in the distance and the terrain was unfriendly to seeing what was happening. But even still, I could tell. There were hundreds of them. The tell-tale glint I¡¯d seen was moving armor catching the last rays of the sun. By my guess, they were going to reinforce the army assaulting the other side of the city.


    The gates of the city clanged closed behind the refugees. A mere few seconds later, a rock the size of a minivan smashed the gate out from the inside and rolled down the road for a few dozen yards. I couldn¡¯t begin to guess how many refugees and townsfolk had gotten crushed by that boulder, or the force it took to throw something that large.


    I had thought the stone wall design I¡¯d come up with for our house on the hill was pretty strong, hopefully strong enough to shelter people if the fight had come to our hill. I was very thankful it hadn¡¯t, for that single giant stone was terrifying proof of how weak our position up there really had been. That stone would have flattened the entire building. At least our people were on the road and moving away from the battlefield.


    But that didn¡¯t mean that we were in the clear. We still had two enemy armies, a growing swarms of harpies, and something throwing giant boulders. On top of that, Karson and Zahra were still in that madhouse of a town somewhere.


    I looked up at Antiope on her horse. ¡°We are so screwed.¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.25 - Karson

    Chapter 1.25


    Karson


    <hr>


    We got the slave wagon moved out of the way from where it blocked the alley. It was a simple matter of having the horses back up a little, then turn to get to the side. Zahra swiftly cut their traces loose, and we formed up into a tight block. People were starting to fill the alley, cutting through to buildings to find places to hide. Men carrying random baskets or boxes of goods they considered valuable or escorting their families, women carrying children or dragging them along by the hand, even the odd militiaman running to fulfill some errand or another. All around was the sound of panic and fear, cries and screams.


    At the end of the alley, the road was even worse. People were running in all directions. Dozens were trying to dig people out of the collapsed house that the boulder had smashed. I could see the offending rock, partly embedded in the courtyard before the Megaron, dozens of yards away. Most were running or trying to run, a few were dirty and bloodied, either by the initial chaos and press of the crowds or injuries from the boulder crushing its way through town.


    Another boulder flew through the air even as we stood staring at the chaos from the mouth of the alley. This one struck the Megaron directly, smashing out most of a wall and making the building sag dangerously. Above I heard a sound that I hoped to never hear again. It was the shrill cackles of harpies. I looked up to see easily a dozen circling, and even more coming in from the direction of the main gates. ¡°Man flesh!¡± they cried.


    We began to edge our way down the road, our drawn weapons and armor intimidating the townsfolk into giving us as wide a berth as they could manage. They passed close to us, the number of people and the insanity of the street pressing people closer and closer to us the more we approached the marketplace. But that was nothing compared to what we encountered at the market.


    The crowd was pressed shoulder to shoulder in the market, screams and shouting never ending as people jostled to get from where they were to where they thought they could find refuge. Wagons were overturned, stalls were in ruins, and nothing had even attacked here yet. A panicked horse broke free of an overturned wagon and bolted through the middle of the crowd, leaving a trail of dead and injured in its wake.


    After twenty minutes of slowly forcing our way along the edge of the crowd, we had still made next to no progress. Every time a person escaped the madness, another two would join, and we were no exception.


    ¡°Hold here!¡± I shouted at Zahra, who tapped the shoulders of my Vanguard. They halted, and with a few hand signals, our little column halted as well. I blinked up to the roof of the tallest building I could find. I looked down to see the streets were utter madness, all the way to both gates. To my surprise, I realized the front gate was actually a double gate, with a killing field behind the gate I¡¯d seen before. Militiamen were arrayed outside, with the gate open just enough for a rapid retreat. Another company of militia was staged inside, and dozens of archers lined the walls. As compared to the other side of town, this side actually had walkways along the inside of the wooden wall, with barrels of arrows at the ready. The archers were in groups of six, two watching the enemy army while four watched the skies with bows at the ready to fend off harpies. No one patrolled the wall alone, making me feel conspicuously alone up here. I looked around for harpies, but none seemed to have noticed me yet.


    The enemy army was almost to the gates. Arrows from the jackal-headed archers was already falling on the militia, while the archers on the walls fired down into the gigantes¡¯ formation. The massive Titan was even larger up close, and he was half a town away. I was on top a rickety three-story building, and I doubted I would be any higher than his waist if he stood next to me. The Titan carried a truck-sized boulder under each arm, and had a club strapped across his back.


    I looked back down at the streets. There was no way we could get through there. I could see our group in front of a building, crowded in front of a closed door, with Zahra and the freed slaves against the building. Exadius, Jin Song, Jin Hai and the Vanguard stood in front of them, swords out and keeping the crowd at bay. I had an idea.


    A second later I blinked to the roof of the building they were on. There wasn¡¯t an easy staircase down. I looked to the next building that was heading in the direction we needed. As far as I could tell, the close-packed buildings of the poor section of town were close enough that we could hop from roof to roof, all the way to the wall. I walked around the edge until I found a steep ladder going down.


    I clambered down as quickly as I could, and stepped through a large window into someone¡¯s living space. Clang!  I stumbled to the side, something hard having struck my helmet. The blow wasn¡¯t hard, nor did it hurt much thanks to the helmet. I looked around quickly to see an old woman carrying a dented bronze pan, holding it out in front of her like a sword. I quickly held my hands up.


    ¡°I¡¯m not here to hurt you, I¡¯m just passing through,¡± I said. I fumbled in my purse and held up a gold drachma. ¡°Here, to pay you.¡±


    ¡°For what?¡± she said, eyeing the drachma. ¡°My friends and I need to pass back through to get to the roof.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it? You don¡¯t want to hide and eat my food?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s it. We¡¯ll be out of your way in five minutes.¡±


    The old woman considered it for a minute, then lowered her pan. ¡°Be quick. I don¡¯t want to unbar my door for long.¡±


    I flipped her the coin, which she snatched out of the air with a dexterity that belied her apparent age. Money wins again. The next room over had a door with a large chair in front of it. I slid the chair aside and slipped out into the hallway. Two quick flights of stairs down and I was unbarring the front door to the street.


    ¡°Quick, through here!¡± I shouted to Zahra and the escaped slaves. They retreated into the building, my Vanguard being the last through the door. I slammed the door shut and barred it again before the crowd could try and surge into the building. ¡°All the way to the top floor, hurry!¡±


    The old lady was true to her word, she didn¡¯t lock us out. I think her eyes got huge at the number of people going through her apartment and out her window. I shut her door and moved the chair back in front of it. I held out another gold drachma.


    ¡°Thank you for dealing honestly with me,¡± I said. She took the coin and mumbled something, but I didn¡¯t stick around to talk. I climbed out and followed my people up the ladder.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    ¡°So now we¡¯re trapped on a roof instead of the street?¡± said Zahra skeptically. She glowed with power for a brief second. ¡°Oh! That¡¯s brilliant!¡±


    Above, I could hear new cries of alarm from the harpies. I looked up to see dozens swarming around the city. They were dive bombing at the people trapped in the streets, and whenever they could get away with it, two or more would mob a single person to lift them high into the sky. I saw three different people plummet to their deaths like this. Occasionally a harpy would fall from the sky, transfixed by an arrow from the archers on the walls.


    ¡°Zahra, keep your bow ready! Vanguard, watch the skies!¡± I shouted. It was much easier to be heard up here. ¡°We¡¯re jumping across rooftops to get to the wall!¡±


    We worked our way across several buildings without incident. Several were like the one we were on - empty and flat with no easy way to access the top. Most, however, were piled with junk. Crates with odds and ends, broken barrels, old furniture, and some even had makeshift canvas tents with cowering refugees. They eyed us in terrified silence as we passed by, afraid to speak and to scared to follow.


    Then we came to a building that butted directly against the next, but the next building was six feet higher. Two of my Vanguard leapt easily to the top. A harpy dove at them, hoping to catch them flat-footed after their jump. The woman Vanguard snatched the bird by one foot and smashed it to the rooftop. I could hear the snap from the harpy¡¯s skull as it slammed into the wooden roof. She casually tossed the dead monster aside.


    ¡°That was impressive,¡± said Exadius. ¡°But how are the rest of us getting up there?¡±


    The other two Vanguard had it figured out, though. They grabbed each person at the waist and lifted them overhead, and the two on the next roof reached down and grabbed the person at the wrist to pull them up the rest of the way. It went so swiftly, in fact, that it took no time at all to get everyone up. I blinked myself up after everyone else had been assisted, and the last two Vanguard jumped up on their own.


    This building was fairly long, and by the end of it, I looked down to see we¡¯d made it halfway down the street. We had to stop three times to fend off harpies, killing two more of the monsters as we moved. It seemed as though the harpies preferred easy prey, as only a couple circled above us now. The bulk of them seemed content to attack the helpless townsfolk and refugees still trapped in the streets.


    I looked back to the main gate to see it was completely smashed open. The inner gate was still closed, and archers were clustered around the killing field firing arrows down as swiftly as they could draw their bows back. Then I saw the Titan rearing back to throw another boulder. Was this the first or the second he had been carrying? I didn¡¯t know.


    The boulder flew from his hands and angled in our direction. It crushed through two buildings before bouncing and landing on the roof of a third low building. The entire structure groaned under the added load. Seconds later, it imploded in on itself and the rock vanished as gravity dragged it through the doomed building.


    The Titan drew its club. No, I had to correct myself. It was a tree trunk. The Titan was using an entire tree as his club, and not a small one, either. The end of the tree-sized club was bound in iron. The monstrous being slammed the tree into the wall, and the wall was giving way. Already I could see gigantes climbing over the walls on either side of the gates. Several were already on the walkway, charging at the archers on top. They weren¡¯t getting far; the archers were holding the wall well. The six-man teams of archers was making more sense now. They were defending the walkway against climbers as well as against harpies.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the next roof?¡± I called, and we began to run. This town was doomed. At the end of the building, the next roof was easily a dozen feet down - to high to repeat our previous trick for getting up here. The alleyway between them was narrow. I laid down and peered over. There was a window in line with the roof.


    ¡°Find a way down!¡± I shouted. ¡°We can cross one floor down!¡±


    ¡°Over here!¡± shouted Jin Hai from the back side of the building. There was an easy stairway down. We raced down the steps and bashed through the door. It was a hallway lined with doors. I ran down to the end facing the alley, but there was no window in the hallway. I knocked hard against the last apartment door.


    ¡°Go away!¡± shouted a man¡¯s voice. ¡°I¡¯ve got a sword, I¡¯m not afraid to use it!¡±


    ¡°We need to use your window! I can pay!¡± I shouted.


    The door cracked open to reveal a young man with a long dagger in his hand, but he didn¡¯t move out of the way.


    ¡°Why do you need my window? Are you trying to escape the town?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s the plan,¡± I said.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want your money,¡± he said. ¡°Bring us with you.¡±


    I turned and raised an eyebrow at Zahra to get her opinion. ¡°A few more hurts nothing.¡±


    ¡°Deal,¡± I said swiftly. ¡°Gather only what you can run with.¡±


    The man stepped back and opened the door wide. We filed swiftly into the small apartment. The man was dressed in a simple chiton. Behind him was a woman in an equally plain peplos stood with a small girl clutched in her arms. The girl couldn¡¯t have been more than two or three years old. The toddler stared at me with wide eyes, curly blond locks around her olive skin. They had few belongings, mostly clothes and bedding.


    ¡°I have a spare bag,¡± offered Zahra, pulling out an enchanted bag. Seriously, did everyone carry extra bags when they went with me places?


    The young man took it tentatively.


    ¡°It¡¯s magic,¡± she explained. ¡°It holds far more than it appears.¡±


    He nodded, slightly awed. But it spurred him into motion, and his wife as well. They pulled up a loose floorboard and pulled out a money pouch, before stuffing the bag with clothes, bedding, and food. I spotted a small cloth doll laying forgotten on the floor. I picked it up and held it out to the child. She snatched it from my hands and hugged it tightly.


    ¡°Thank you, milord,¡± said the woman.


    ¡°We¡¯re ready,¡± said the man. He held a length of rope in his hands. ¡°I was trying to figure out how to escape through the window before you arrived.¡±


    I took the rope and tied off one end to a sturdy looking beam that lay exposed in the wall. After applying my weight to it, I was satisfied that it would hold.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take that, milord,¡± said one of the Vanguard. He clambered out the window and leapt easily to the other roof, which was only a few feet up. After a moment, he climbed back down.


    ¡°It¡¯s secure on the other end. If we tie it off again over here, we can have another handhold for the climb.¡±


    Once again, my Vanguard acted as the safety for everyone else to cross. Zahra and her bodyguards went across first, using the lower rope to walk on and the upper rope as a handhold. Two Vanguard hung out the window, using one hand and one foot to stay in place, while helping to brace everyone as they crossed. Hanging from the other side was the other two Vanguard, laying flat on the roof with arms outstretched. Those two wedged their fingers between boards on the roof, relying only on their immense strength to aid everyone else.


    A crash from the road could be heard, in the direction of the other gate that we needed to pass through. It sounded like the second boulder had been thrown. More lives had been senselessly lost. One by one, we made our precarious way over the thirty foot drop, until I lost my patience. I blinked over to the other roof and stood at the edge next to one of my Vanguard. The last of the freed slaves had made its way across, followed by the woman. Last of all was the man carrying his little daughter.


    An explosive crash rocked the building we were escaping from, making the rope wobble dangerously. It appeared the Titan had a third rock, after all. The man began to lose his balance, his grip on the upper rope lost. In a fraction of an instant, I saw what was happening. The little child was slipping from his grip even as Vanguards from both sides of the alley reached out to help the man. In one instant of horror, everyone saw the child slip, but none could grab her.


    Without thought, I dove and grabbed the child from the air. I curled her up to my chest as I twisted through the air and the ground rushed up to reach me. I had no time to cast a blink spell. No time to do anything except twist so that I cushioned the girl when we landed. No time...

 Fury: Chapter 1.26 - Karson

    Chapter 1.26


    Karson


    <hr>


    ¡°Ow,¡± I groaned loudly. The sounds of a little girl crying brought me back to consciousness. I¡¯d landed on my back, hard. I could feel the healing magic of my ring pouring into me, so I pushed more mana into it. I could feel the link to the geothermal mana pumps on the hill were stronger, so we must be close to the gate. I opened my eyes to see the little toddler sitting on my chest, bawling like the world had come to an end. She looked uninjured, not even bruised.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked. ¡°Are you hurt?¡±


    She shook her head, her curls flailing wildly. ¡°I lost my doll.¡±


    I moved my head around, and saw the doll a few inches from my hand. I picked it up and handed it to her. Her tears stopped immediately as she hugged the ragged toy to her chest.


    ¡°I¡¯m hungry,¡± she announced.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± I said. The healing had fixed whatever I had done to my back, so I sat up slowly. I ached all over. I looked up to see a panicked Zahra looking down at me, the rest of our group crowding around as well. The child¡¯s mother was crying and the father looked stricken. Then they all vanished from view.


    ¡°I think I¡¯ll just sit here for a minute,¡± I said. I fished around in a pouch on my belt, and found a small piece of bread. I handed it to the girl. She immediately stuffed it into her mouth, her toy dropped onto my lap and forgotten. I picked up the toy and put it in my belt, and just let the healing magic work a bit longer.


    It took only a few minutes for the entire group to get to the mouth of the alley. The child¡¯s mother flew at me, snatching up her child. The father was only a step behind her, grabbing them both in a hug. I stood carefully, just in time for Zahra to grab me in a tight hug.


    ¡°Ow,¡± I said. She immediately released me.


    ¡°Where are you hurt?¡± she demanded.


    ¡°All over,¡± I said. ¡°I¡¯m healing it right now.¡±


    ¡°The street is mostly clear. A boulder crushed a bunch of people and smashed through the gate. We can get out of the town.¡±


    ¡°Great, let¡¯s go.¡±


    I limped into the street to find my group waiting. The street was a disaster zone. A half-dozen buildings were damaged, and a few were on fire. Bodies were strewn everywhere. The building our newest companions had been living in now sported a giant hole that tore through two floors. Worse was that in the distance, I saw the Titan merrily stomping through town, swinging his absurdly large club. Every blow leveled a building, every step doubtlessly crushing helpless innocents and militia alike. If he was in the town, then so were his merciless soldiers.


    ¡°Ah, Menoetius¡­ You are so predictable,¡± came a melodic female voice. It wasn¡¯t shouted, nor was it loud. The voice was clearly distant, but at the same time completely audible. The voice was bone chilling and beautiful at the same time.


    ¡°Hades. You have a lot of nerve showing your face. Your little brother has made a mess. I¡¯m just cleaning it up.¡± The deep, gravelly voice of the Titan Menoetius boomed across the town with the sound of two mountains grinding against each other.


    ¡°I¡¯m not just showing my face, Cousin. I¡¯m here to kill you and destroy your little army,¡± her voice was full of confidence.


    We had to go. Two gods were about to throw down. Any place was safer than here.


    ¡°YOU!¡± shouted a man. I turned to see Lord Nyphron stepping out from an alley in front of us. He was glaring at me. Nyphron was wearing a blue robe with silver armor over top, a helmet on his head and a very familiar shield. It looked like the one the bandit leader had used, just shinier. He drew his sword.


    ¡°Are you escaping as well?¡± I shouted. ¡°The way is clear.¡±


    ¡°You may be powerful, Hades, but you are very small, and I am the mightiest of Titans. My army is destroying this town already. You will gain only your own death here tonight.¡±


    ¡°Escaping? No, you are not escaping. You and your witch ruined everything!¡± shouted Nyphron. I looked at Zahra just as she looked at me, and we both shrugged in confusion at the same time.


    ¡°What did we ruin? We¡¯ve been camped outside of town for weeks. How could we ruin something?¡±


    ¡°Ah yes, the hubris I¡¯ve come to expect from you. Tell me, cousin, did you scout for enemy armies before you sent all of your troops against the wall?¡± her voice was sweet and almost innocent, at the same time it raced down your spine. In the distance, I heard horns blasting and the sounds of a battle starting.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Your witch¡¯s stupid prophecy!¡± raved Nyphron. ¡°Then you unraveled my spell at the wedding!¡±


    Now I understood. ¡°You were controlling Dadaces. There¡¯s no point now! The town is in ruins! You have nothing to gain here.¡±


    ¡°You bitch! I will torture you for centuries for this! You better get used to being my bed toy, for that¡¯s all you¡¯ll be good for when I¡¯m through with you!¡±


    ¡°We had EVERYTHING to gain! All we had to do was open the gates, so that Assos was wide open for the Titan¡¯s army. But you ruined it!¡± Nyphron¡¯s voice had taken an odd, double-toned sound. His face was pale and a ghostly outline of blue laid overtop it.


    ¡°Why would you even want to do that?¡± I asked, motioning behind my back for our noncombatants to back up and away. If they could get to the edge of the street, they could sneak around the madman who was clearly fixated on me.


    The goddess¡¯s laughter rang across the town, a beautiful tinkling sound that felt like nails on a chalkboard. ¡°Oh, Menoetius. You should know by now that I shall never grace any male¡¯s bed. No, I¡¯m going to destroy you and take all that might you pride yourself in.¡±


    ¡°Why would we do this? Why would we want to keep the gods fighting amongst themselves? They are the problem! They must all be destroyed! And mages like you are part of the disease!¡± frothed Nyphron. Long gone was the friendly face that had chatted away with Dadaces in the market, who had wished Ax and Latona a long and fruitful marriage with lots of sons.


    No, we had made an enemy without even trying. We¡¯d fumbled our way into wrecking his plans, and apparently he wasn¡¯t a terribly sane individual. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the freed slaves and the family with the little girl edging along a building, getting just past Nyphron. Exadius was leading them out.


    ¡°I¡¯ll bring Atlas your head!¡± The Titan¡¯s voice boomed even louder, followed by a massive boom. I risked a look over my shoulder to see the Titan smashing away at someone on the ground.


    ¡°Oh, your brother doesn¡¯t care what you are doing. Athena leads Zeus¡¯ armies against him even now. He¡¯s too busy to worry about the colossal waste you¡¯ve made of your might.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you shouldn¡¯t be worried about them,¡± said Nyphron. ¡°You should be worried about US!¡±


    Nyphron stamped his foot, and a visible shockwave blasted out from his chest. It blew through us, knocking all of us from our feet. Nyphron leapt forward with supernatural speed, his sword already swinging at the neck of one of my Vanguard. But my Vanguard was just as fast, rolling away and to his feet before the blow could land.


    I flung an acid spell at Nyphron, full powered instead of using my bracers. Nyphron caught it on his shield and laughed. In a somewhat normal human voice, he said, ¡°Oh, little mage. I was a Hunter long before I made my bargain. Your little beginner spells won¡¯t work on me.¡±


    Then he reflected my own spell back at me. I dove back to the ground, the ball of acid flying over my head and splashing into the building behind me. I came up as he charged at me, my sword swinging. Still laughing, he batted my blade to the side and bashed me in the chest with his shield. I went flying through the air, smashing into a wall.


    I hit the ground with a groan, looking up in time to see him dueling with Zahra, who had drawn her own blade. He had both strength and speed, but Zahra had impressive skill. She couldn¡¯t block his attacks, but she could redirect them. She also couldn¡¯t move fast enough to press an attack herself, but she could parry his fastest strikes. They were stalemated.


    At least, they were until he blasted out another shockwave. Zahra went flying. He raised his sword to attack her on the ground as she lay there stunned. I began to cast shadow trap, but before the spell even finished, Jin Hai dove from wherever he¡¯d been on the ground, interposing himself bodily between the descending sword and Zahra. The blade sliced deep into Jin Hai¡¯s neck, nearly decapitating him. My shadow trap sprung, and Nyphron¡¯s own shadows began to wrestle him back.


    ¡°Very clever, little mage.¡± My Vanguard leapt into the fray then, trying to stab him while he was tangled up. But Nyphron continued to fight as if he wasn¡¯t tangled. He was much slower now, but still too strong.


    ¡°Ah ha!¡± shouted the Titan victoriously. Smashing sounds came as a fast moving object began to come from the buildings along the street, crashing through wall after wall. Then a body flew out of the building behind me and into Nyphron. My Vanguard stumbled back, but Nyphron went flying. My shadow trap spell broke easily.


    In his place was a woman who stood over seven feet tall. She had a ghostly beauty to her, with pale white skin tinged with blue. Her eyes were deep pools of black. Her hair was black and straight, hanging down the full length of her back. She wore tight, form-fitting leather armor with small silvery steel plates stitched across her chest, accentuating her slender form. In one hand she held a thin blade that was easily four feet in length, while in the other she held a sickle.


    ¡°Well aren¡¯t you the interesting one,¡± she said, her eyes locked onto mine. My blood ran cold as I realized that this was Hades. Not a god, but every inch a goddess. Why had she always been male in mythology? This reinforced that I wasn¡¯t on the Earth that I knew, even though I¡¯d been living and working with magic for weeks. ¡°I see the Chaos in you. Went for a swim, did you?¡± her voice was playful and creepy.


    I nodded dumbly as she walked over, sheathing her sword as she came. Nyphron chose that moment to come charging out of the wrecked building he¡¯d landed in. Hades casually flicked a finger at him, freezing him in place. ¡°Wait your turn,¡± she chided him.


    Hades stood before me, looking me up and down. ¡°Yes, there is much to work with here.¡± She tapped the gauntlet that had my experimental spell on it, in the exact spot I had inscribed it. ¡° I particularly like this one. Try it on your sword.¡±


    Then she leapt over my head in a bound that easily could take her over the buildings around us. I whipped around to watch her go, only to flinch in surprise to see the Titan was far closer to us now.


    My Vanguard came to stand beside me, as did Zahra and her one remaining bodyguard. Nyphron began to move again.


    ¡°Now it is time for us to finish you,¡± hissed Nyphron. Then two carbon copies of Nyphron stepped out of his body, and two more. All drew their weapons and began to glow with the same ghostly energy.


    I readied my sword just as an explosion rocked the street from behind us. The battle between Hades and Menoetius was drawing closer. It was time for round two.

 Fury: Chapter 1.27 - Ax

    Chapter 1.27


    Ax


    <hr>


    The boulder that blew out of the city gate caused an entire section of the wall to groan and sway erratically. Stones and timbers fell even as debris blew out onto the road from the sheer force and speed that the rock had flown. We approached cautiously, and I peered into the rapidly darkening town. Bodies and wreckage was everywhere. In the distance I could see and hear the battle between the giant man and some tiny woman. Their voices carried and rattled me down to my soul.


    ¡°We must press on,¡± said Antiope anxiously. ¡°Zahra needs me.¡±


    Even as she said it, a small group of gigantes came from a building along the wall. They were every bit as terrifying in appearance as when I¡¯d first fought them. They were solid muscle, with fur-like hair and caveman-like wide facial features. Their jaws protruded with large teeth, and their brow was heavyset with sunken eyes. All of them wore heavy breastplates of bone and iron, and carried the thick iron clubs.


    They were strong and deadly, but I was far more prepared now than I had been weeks ago in the village. I wasted no time in firing a barrage of fireballs at the charging enemy. Our group actually outnumbered them, and a few gigantes fell to my barrage. But the ones that made it through the fire were angry and really strong. I stomped my foot to quake the ground, disrupting the charge and tripping up several gigantes. I fired another fireball at the downed gigantes.


    Then they were attacking. Their iron clubs bashed into shields, spears stabbed into gigantes, and chaos reigned. We hadn¡¯t properly formed into a shield wall, but it hardly mattered in the cramped ruins of the gate. Antiope dismounted and dove into combat, and I had to switch to the sword when a gigante got in my face.


    The gigante facing me was much slower than the chieftain that Karson and I had fought in the village, and I was far better geared. He slipped a blow past my guard, but it bounced off my cuirass. The blow sent me back a few paces, but I was unharmed. I blasted the gigante with a gout of flame from my flamethrower spell.


    In what felt like seconds, the fight was over. I knew logically that the fight had taken longer, especially considering the shadows on the ground. We needed to get to Karson and Zahra, but we also needed to secure our exit. I turned to the myrmidons.


    ¡°Secure the gate, stop any gigantes that try to block our exit,¡± I ordered. ¡°I¡¯m going ahead with Antiope and Xia Fang. We¡¯ll return soon.¡±


    We left the horses with the myrmidons. With the amount of debris everywhere, they could easily get tripped up and lamed, and we¡¯d actually go faster on foot. As we left, we ran into a group of people with slave collars followed by a family with one little girl.


    ¡°Go ahead, my troops guard the entrance,¡± I said, waving them by. ¡°I have troops at the entrance. If you stay near them, they can protect you.¡±


    ¡°Do you know Lord Karsos?¡± asked one of the slaves.


    ¡°He is my brother, I¡¯m looking for him.¡±


    ¡°¡±Thank the gods,¡± he said. ¡°He is being attacked by a Hunter. He needs help.¡±


    We broke into a run. It was actually more of a jog, because of the wreckage all around us. A shockwave pulsed into us, followed shortly by another. The Titan and the tiny woman were battling and drawing closer. Then the Titan caught the woman as she ran across a rooftop toward him, hitting her full on with the massive tree trunk. She went flying through the air in our direction. I winced. That had to hurt, and the landing wouldn¡¯t be pretty.


    We kept moving, heading toward the bend in the road that would lead us to Karson and Zahra. We rounded the bend just in time to see a ghostly, glowing dude split into five. I didn¡¯t even know that was possible. Magic was seriously overpowered here. On the other side I saw Karson and his Vanguard. Zahra had one bodyguard with her. I didn¡¯t see the other. This must have been the guy the slave warned us about.


    ¡°That is a Master Hunter,¡± warned Antiope. ¡°Your brother is in grave danger. His magic is useless against such a foe.¡±


    Even as we ran, her words proved true. The Hunter-clones were easily keeping the Vanguard busy, while the Hunter-original was dueling with Karsos, Zahra and the bodyguard all at the same time. Not only was he keeping them at bay, it looked like he was winning.


    Antiope charged straight at the Hunter-original, while Xia Fang went after two of the clones. Seeing as they¡¯d already picked their targets, I went ahead and charged at the other two.


    The element of the surprise was a big leveler. I stabbed one of the clones in the back. Instead of falling dead, however, the clone dissolved. This let the two Vanguards go after one clone, and I went at it from behind. The clone had remarkable skill with a blade, far better than the Vanguard or myself, who had only been practicing for a short few days. But the Vanguard had strength and speed on him, and I was behind him. This clone dissolved to nothing in short order. I looked over in time to see Xia Fang cut down the last clone.


    ¡°ENOUGH! We are tired of you and your petty minions,¡± screamed the man. Was that Nyphron? What happened to the friendly little guy who hung around with Dadaces?


    A shockwave blasted out from him, sending everyone flying except Antiope. Somehow, she¡¯d used her sword to cut through the energy wave. Three of the Vanguard fell and did not get back up. Zahra sat looking stunned on the ground, and her bodyguard was climbing back to his feet next to her looking quite unsteady. I had no idea where Xia Fang went.


    As quickly as I could, I fired off a fireball at Nyphron. Instead of exploding, however, he caught it and sent it flying back at me. The fireball struck me in the chest and exploded. My armor easily absorbed the heat, but the concussive force sent me flying up in the air. I landed hard on my side, and felt a crack in my right arm just above the elbow. Agony lanced through me.


    ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t do that,¡± Karson called to me. ¡°He can throw that shit back at us.¡±


    ¡°Now you tell me,¡± I groaned.


    The fight between Nyphron and Antiope was insane. Both moved at impossible speeds, their weapons smashing into each other in a constant ringing of metal on metal that never seemed to end.


    ¡°We are surprised to see you here, traitor,¡± said Nyphron as they fought. ¡°You know you cannot stand against us. You rejected our gifts.¡±The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°I rejected the call for endless slaughter as a means to an end. You are the ones who are traitors, selling out our cause in a bid for power. I¡¯m surprised you dare show your face!¡± answered Antiope.


    Another loud rumble from down the street alerted me to the approaching battle between the tiny woman and the Titan. More buildings were falling as they duked it out. Each step of the Titan was capable of knocking down a building, and seeing how the woman was at least holding her own against him, she¡¯d probably knocked down a few also.


    Shrieks of protest came from the sky above us, and a harpy fell with a wet thud to the street next to me as I climbed back to my feet. I looked up to see dozens of winged women flying in the sky, blasting the harpies from the air with spells of fire that chased after their targets and gusts of wind that bound the wings of their enemies. A few of the women had whips that snapped with impossible speed. The harpies were getting crushed, unable to use the sky to their advantage any longer.


    ¡°Even your pets fall before me, Menoetius. Your army is in ruins, its survivors will be scourged from this town. Do you not feel it? I am your doom!¡± That woman had a seriously freaky voice.


    Antiope landed a blow on Nyphron¡¯s shield arm, drawing blood. In response, he managed to land a kick that sent her flying. She landed on her feet, ready to charge back in again.


    ¡°Armies are fickle things, Hades. I shall stomp yours into the ground once I¡¯m finished with you!¡±


    We had to end this fight. The Titan and Hades were nearly atop us. The last building that went down was maybe a hundred yards away, behind the street. I looked over to Karson and shouted in English. ¡°I¡¯m going low!¡±


    Karson¡¯s sword lit with a greenish flame. That¡¯s a new trick he hadn¡¯t shown me yet. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go high!¡±


    I summoned my magic and drew heavily on the link to the geothermal mana pumps. There were no machines draining away mana now, only Karson and I to use those incredible fountains of power. I conjured chains of stone anchored deep in the earth, with manacles to bind around Nyphron¡¯s ankles.


    Karson charged even as I was casting. Nyphron twisted to avoid a blow from Antiope even as the chains grabbed him. He stumbled, distracting him just long enough for Karson to stab him with his green flaming sword. Nyphron screamed a wierd, double-toned scream. The ghostly echo of him appeared to be trying to escape, like a ghost slipping through a wall. But the blade appeared to have pinned the ghostly thing inside Nyphron. Antiope stepped forward and with a swift stroke, sliced through Nyphron¡¯s neck. Nyphron collapsed in a heap. The ghostly thing kept trying to wrestle away, until the green fire consumed it completely.


    ¡°That worked far better than I¡¯d hoped,¡± said Karson nonchalantly.


    ¡°You look like shit,¡± I said.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been getting my ass handed to me all afternoon. Did everyone get away?¡±


    I nodded. ¡°I left Danae with the rest of your Vanguard and some myrmidons guarding the gate. Let¡¯s get out of here.¡±


    The Vanguards that had been blasted by Nyphron were okay, already starting to wake up from their headfirst blast into neighboring buildings. Karson sure made them sturdy. Zahra was leaning heavily on her bodyguard, but was alive. Xia Fang was found by Exadius, who carried her bloodied form out of a wrecked building. It looked like we¡¯d be in the clear.


    Then the Titan landed bodily across the road, right in our way. His massive form knocked down a half-dozen buildings and completely blocked our exit. Hades landed on his stomach and he gave an ¡®oof¡¯ as she slashed away at him with a long sword that glowed blue.


    We backed away slowly, unwilling to run too far from the exit we needed, but also unable to move around them. The Titan swatted her off his stomach and into a precarious ruin of a building, which collapsed on top of her. He got to his feet as she climbed out of the wreckage, a trickle of blood coming from her mouth.


    ¡°You grow weak, Cousin. Your foolish brother has brought about your death.¡± The guy¡¯s voice sounded like he gargled with gravel every morning.


    ¡°Tired, but never weak. You are slowing, Menoetius. Have you not noticed your strength sapping away?¡±


    The Titan got back to his feet. We kept backing away. The Titan¡¯s muscles bulged and grew even larger. Hades looked a bit worse for the wear. It was odd to see someone so small fight something so large. The size difference was like a toddler fighting a tall adult. She had some amazing power in that small package.


    ¡°Where¡¯d that little lady get so much strength?¡± I asked aloud.


    ¡°Little? She¡¯s at least seven feet tall!¡± said Karson.


    Shit. That put things in perspective for me. The Titan was even bigger than I¡¯d guessed. Hades cast a spell. The magic coming off of it was so complex and bright that I willed my mage sight to turn off to stop the blinding light. An energy bolt of some sort blasted into the Titan, and he staggered back.


    The stomping of boots behind me made me look over my shoulder. A company of men in bronze armor and shields was coming down the street, carrying swords and shields instead of spears. Above them, several winged women circled to guard against harpies. A band of gigantes came out of a building they¡¯d been looting and were swiftly cut down. I guess that second army wasn¡¯t the enemy, after all. I sheathed my sword.


    ¡°Put away your weapons. We don¡¯t want to be mistaken for the enemy,¡± I said. We made our way over to a broken wall on the side of the road to get out of the way. I turned my attention back to the battle.


    Hades was fighting the Titan once again, practically flying through the air with her leaps to slash at his torso and face. Menoetius couldn¡¯t swing the club fast enough to hit her, so was swatting at her with his other hand. Hades was dodging and darting, drawing blood with every blow. But then the Titan managed to grab her out of the air, and he slammed her into the ground. He put his immense weight into pinning her in place.


    ¡°It is as I said, Cousin. I am too mighty to be defeated by you.¡±


    That guy winning was probably a bad thing. I had a bad idea. A really bad idea. If it didn¡¯t work, we were probably screwed.


    ¡°Karson? How far away can you cast that green flaming thing?¡±


    ¡°I can do it from here, but it has to be on an object, not on a person,¡± he said. ¡°You¡¯re not thinking about getting involved, are you?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, get ready.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a really bad idea.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I began conjuring again, like I had against Nyphron. I couldn¡¯t hope to chain the Titan in place. I doubted I could even channel enough power to make something that strong. But I could loop a stone ring around his bare leg above his giant greaves. It took only two long seconds to conjure the ring as the Titan smashed Hades in the face with a powerful blow.


    ¡°Now!¡± I shouted.


    Karson cast his spell, and the stone ring glowed and burned with intense green flames. The Titan howled and scrambled to rip the ring from his leg. In his haste to rip off the stone, he released Hades. She wasted no time, and took full advantage of Menoetius¡¯ distraction. Her sword glowed a brilliant blue as she leapt straight up. The blade sank deep into the Titan¡¯s throat. She ripped the blade side to side, slicing open his arteries and windpipe as she did. Slash after slash dug into his neck as the Titan staggered under her assault. My broken stone ring was forgotten in his hand.


    Menoetius collapsed, taking down yet another building as he fell. Hades landed lightly in the street and walked over to her fallen foe.


    ¡°You brought your doom upon yourself, Cousin,¡± she said sadly. The sorrow in her voice nearly brought me to tears. Hades touched one hand to the body. She glowed with power visible even without mage sight. Then the body vanished. ¡°Give Erebrus my best wishes. I will be coming for his Domain soon.¡±


    A man in fancy armor stepped out from the group of soldiers on the street. Hades¡¯ eyes snapped to him. ¡°Clear the town of any remaining enemy, then make camp to the north. We leave at dawn.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Exalted One,¡± said the man. He turned and began to bark orders, and the soldiers began to move away.


    Then Hades¡¯ attention returned to us. ¡°Now what do I do with you?¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.28 - Ax

    Chapter 1.28


    Ax


    <hr>


    The woman walked towards us. I could easily see that she was at least seven feet tall, perhaps a bit more. She was the goddess of the underworld, or would be once the Titans were defeated. But if something like the gender of a god or goddess could be different, then could the outcome of the entire war be different? What if the future wasn¡¯t as locked in stone as we thought? Karson and I had been operating under the assumption that this world would follow the same path as the mythology of our world. But what if we were actually wrong? What if the Titans actually won? Had we chosen the wrong side?


    Karson went over to Zahra, his hands gentle as his magic washed away the wounds of the battle with Nyphron. He cupped her face gently for a moment, garnering a smile, before moving on to the others. When he got to Xia Fang, he sat for a moment before shaking his head. She was gone.


    ¡°So Chaos resides in both of you. Brothers, no less. You find such interesting things in the mortal realm,¡± said Hades. Her melodic voice no longer echoed through the whole town. She stood in front of me as Karson finished his rounds, looking expectant.


    ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know what to say to that,¡± I confessed.


    ¡°Why did you assist me in the fight? Menoetius could crush you without even a thought.¡±


    ¡°The Cult of Kronos killed our father to help Kronos. We oppose them, and Kronos, because of it,¡± I answered. I had no reason to hide my opposition to Kronos. Hades was his enemy.


    ¡°Yes, Kronos stands to destroy all who worship Zeus and his allies.¡± The way she said it implied that she wasn¡¯t among them.


    ¡°And you?¡± I asked.


    Hades looked at me sharply. ¡°And me.¡±


    Karson came over then. ¡°Xia Fang and Jin Hai are both dead. Zahra was injured, but I healed her. The Vanguard are bruised but okay.¡±


    ¡°Your spell was quite handy in irritating my cousin,¡± said Hades to Karson. ¡°You have my gratitude. Would you walk with me for a moment?¡±


    ¡°I.. umm, sure,¡± he said. Hades waved her hand, and a doorway opened before her. Karson followed her through the door, which vanished behind them. Now what the hell were we supposed to do?


    Zahra turned to Jin Song. ¡°Your honor has been redeemed, Jin Song. You and yours have fought in a battle of the gods, and acquitted yourself honorably. I release you from your servitude, and grant you leave to return home. Please bear my words to your l?ngd?o, and continue in your master¡¯s teachings.¡±


    Jin Song, silent as ever, bowed deeply to Zahra. He took up Xia Fang¡¯s sword, and bowed to her body, before walking to the gate alone. Zahra sighed. ¡°There were ten sworn to me when I left my tribe. He was the last, and the only one fated to survive.¡±


    ¡°You knew the others would all die?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Calamity and Fate are but two sides of the same coin. I saw it in their futures, as I see it in yours. They were fated to fall in my service.¡±


    ¡°And they could do nothing to avoid it?¡± I asked.


    ¡°There was much they could do to avoid it. They all sought to redeem their honor for crimes unknown to me. Their leader gave them the opportunity to serve, but did not force them. They chose the path they were on, and could have stepped aside at any moment to live a full life. I warned them that only one would live,¡± she said, her voice haunted.


    ¡°And they still chose to protect you,¡± I said, awe in my voice. Her silent protectors had been ghosts around our camp, speaking to no one. Yet each had known they faced almost certain death.


    ¡°They chose to live a life of honor,¡± she replied. ¡°They redeemed themselves in the eyes of their homeland, so will be remembered and revered.¡±


    Her words were poignant and resonated with me. A life where you are considered dishonorable and reviled by your own neighbors was no life at all. ¡°What shall become of Jin Song?¡±


    ¡°It will take him four years to return to his village. His beloved will be a widow by the time he arrives, living out her disgrace for her affair with him. He will marry her, and they will have many sons. When they are grown, he will become a village elder, and a great teacher. He has a happy ending. Too few do,¡± she said, a tear in one eye.


    ¡°Can you see with such clarity for everyone?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± she said. ¡°Those fated to a violent end will meet that end in many ways in my visions. Battles are chaos, and bloody actions can have ripples that change many things about your fate. Far easier to see are those who live peacefully, for fewer things can derail them from their path.¡±


    ¡°And can you see my future, and my brother¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Yours is clouded, and I have seen many ends. Few are peaceful. You are a man of action, of purpose. You seek out violence, and thus may it be done to you. I will not tell you the day of your death, Axerios. That is knowledge you do not want.¡±This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°And Karsos?¡±


    ¡°He is a mystery. Blank and unformed,¡± she said with a pleased smile. ¡°I cannot tell his fate.¡±


    I wanted to ask her more questions, but I spotted a familiar figure on a horse, leading several others also on horseback. Strategos Dadaces had survived. His armor was covered in blood and muck, his fine clothes muddy and his helmet sported a sizable dent. I waved to him and he began to make his way to us.


    ¡°Lord Axerios,¡± he called once close enough. ¡°I had thought you and your people would have fled by now.¡±


    ¡°Karsos was still in the town when the attack came. I sent my people on ahead with half my forces. The rest are holding the gate. Well, the hole where the gate used to be.¡±


    Dadaces dismounted and pulled off his helmet. His face was weary, his thinning hair mussed and sweaty. ¡°This is a calamitous day. I could find no building still undamaged. Most are destroyed, and all the people in them. Precious few can be repaired. I fear we will be gathering the survivors to flee as well. The enemy army may be defeated, but this town is gone.¡±


    I understood. The wreckage was near total at this end of town, and we had only had a few minutes of the fight between the Titan and Hades. I couldn¡¯t even begin to imagine the scale of the disaster.


    ¡°Will you take them to Tekemon?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Tekmon has been defeated also,¡± said Dadaces sadly. ¡°Those barbarians carried heads on spears as their standards. I recognized the Hyparch on one of them, my father on another. My father refused to exit the city walls. His world began and ended inside the city gates. There was only one way they could kill him.¡±


    ¡°We are headed to Iolcus. When you are organized, come join us,¡± I offered. ¡°We can prepare a place for you as best we can.¡±


    ¡°I think, my friend, that I may take you up on that. There is little to hold me here now, and the people here will need somewhere to find refuge.¡± Dadaces grasped my arm in firm agreement, before climbing onto his horse once again. ¡°I go now to see what survivors I can organize from this mess. If your brother could spare some healing, it would be most welcome.¡±


    We waited for two hours, before the doorway opened and Karson returned to us, alone. The doorway vanished the moment he was through, as if it had never been there. We had not wasted our time, for we had been digging in the rubble and pulling out survivors. I had all of our myrmidons and archers helping, and the Vanguard did the heavy lifting.


    We found more bodies than anything else, and those that did live suffered from all manner of injuries. We piled the dead in one place, and had cleared the street of rubble so that we could lay out the wounded. Their moans of pain and cries of sorrow filled the air. Karson went around and healed the worst injuries. He limited himself to life threatening or serious injuries and broken bones. We worked late into the night, before Karson came over and stopped me.


    ¡°Ax, you need to go to our people. They need you and the rest of the myrmidons. I will stay here with Zahra and Antiope, and my Vanguard.¡±


    ¡°I came in here to get you both!¡± I said, tired and exasperated. ¡°I¡¯ll be damned if I leave you behind!¡±


    ¡°You came and saved us,¡± he agreed, but he countered forcefully. ¡°But we are not in danger now. Our people, your wife, could be now. Do you think every last one of the enemy was slain? What if some of them regroup and attack the caravan? How will they do with only half the troops we planned for?¡±


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll go, but we¡¯re going to wait for you,¡± I said.


    ¡°Do not wait. We¡¯ll be on horseback, we¡¯ll catch up quickly. There are many wounded and injured here. I haven¡¯t even made it into the main part of town yet. I¡¯ll be healing for days at this pace. We¡¯ll catch up to you within a week or two.¡±


    I wanted to argue, but I couldn¡¯t. Latona and our people needed the extra protection I had here. They were probably still on the road, but wagons were slow. We¡¯d be able to catch them by mid-day if we left now, even allowing a few hours to rest at the house on the hill.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like it,¡± I grumbled.


    ¡°Go, Ax,¡± Karson said. ¡°We¡¯ll be okay.¡±


    So it was just me and my troops that wound up leaving Assos. We stopped and napped at the house for an hour, then lit up some torches and got on the road. We were all tired, every last one of us. We barely took the time to refill our water and eat the bit of food we carried. It was probably the single longest night of my life, and it didn¡¯t end with the dawn. We stopped only long enough to drink water and do morning ablutions, before marching on.


    My legs ached. My back was sore. My eyes itched, and I was tired of wearing armor. The sandals I was wearing were chafing at my feet, and I had no doubt that I smelled to high heaven. But we pressed on. In late morning, we spotted the caravan in the distance. It took us another hour to catch up.


    Latona came back to greet me with a hug. I took off my helmet and kissed her cheek, holding her close for a moment. Then she pressed gently against my chest.


    ¡°How did it go here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°We had to fight off a small band of centaurs,¡± she said. ¡°But they moved off in search of easier prey. What happened to the town.¡±


    She must have read the expression on my face. ¡°Lord Karsos? Lady Zahra?¡±


    ¡°Both are fine,¡± I reassured her. ¡°They are helping in town. Let¡¯s make an early camp, we should have no serious pursuit. The myrmidons are exhausted, and so am I.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one who marched all night,¡± she said. ¡°I¡¯m certain everyone here would be glad to rest.¡±


    A field was off to one side of the road, large enough for us to circle the wagons. We left the oxen in their yokes, bringing water and food to them just in case we had to move in a hurry. We had twelve wagons for nearly two hundred men, women and children. One wagon was dedicated to carrying children twelve and younger, with the older watching out for the younger. A second wagon was for women with small children and the smattering of elderly. These two wagons were rigged with a bunch of hammocks, for the wagons had no shocks and the roads could barely qualify as roads by modern standards. The hammocks, at least, would swing when a pothole or large stone was hit. The hammocks pulled double duty, for they were a comfortable place to sleep at night.


    Nine of the wagons were filled to almost overflowing with crates of goods, food, water and grain. They carried far more than it appeared because of Karson¡¯s reality-warping enchantment. It was mind bending for me. Like many things that I didn¡¯t understand well, like calculus or women, I accepted that it as it was and worried about more important things.


    The last wagon was for our House. It was the largest wagon, and carried the valuables. There were our money-making chests, Karson¡¯s chest with his books and scrolls about magic, and a crate containing the conjuring machines I¡¯d made. Personal belongings and extra weapons were stored here, and hanging above it were the hammocks for me, Latona, Karson and Zahra.


    We had planned on several more days of finishing things, buying more food, and getting the wagons prepared. But despite the urgent exit, things had gone according to plan. We had built up a fighting force, albeit a small and inexperienced one, in a period of a month. We¡¯d relied heavily on magic to do so, but we were ready now for bigger things.


    I just needed Karson to catch up, and we¡¯d be all set. It didn¡¯t even occur to me that I hadn¡¯t asked about his private meeting with Hades.

 Fury: Chapter 1.29 - Karson

    Chapter 1.29


    Karson


    <hr>


    The doorway was the most fascinating magic I¡¯d seen to date. It was divine magic, an easily an order of magnitude in strength above anything I could cast. But how it interacted with mana at a basic level, and how Chaos was woven in to make a passageway, was fascinating. When I passed through, I found myself in a cold, stone room. The room was massive, like a basketball arena but without the bleachers or gym equipment. Yet despite its size and complete lack of windows, the room was cozily lit from sources I couldn¡¯t find. I had no problems seeing everything around.


    The far end of the room held a massive throne made out of giant bones. Thick wolf furs covered it, giving it a primal look. Upon the throne was a dark Titan. It wasn¡¯t that his features were dark; it was more that the figure was permanently in the shadows, making it impossible to make out what he looked like. Surrounding him were souls of all varieties.


    ¡°This is the Titan Erebrus¡¯ throne room, in the Realm of the Dead, also called Erebrus,¡± came Hades¡¯ voice in my ear. ¡°Did you like my little doorway spell?¡±


    ¡°I.. yes, very much,¡± I replied. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯s given me ideas for future spells.¡±


    ¡°Not at all,¡± said Hades, walking next to me. ¡°Come, walk this way. I have a place we can speak.¡±


    Hades led me out of the throne room where Erebrus was holding court, and up into a tower. At the top of the tower was a much cozier room. The walls were lined with thick carpets of embroidered wool, and rugs covered the floors. A massive bed lay in one corner, piled with blankets, and a small golden throne occupied the wall opposite. Upon the bed lay two of the winged women, undressed and asleep, tangled with each other and under a silk coverlet.


    Without a word, Hades took her throne, and it suited her. She was regal and imposing, radiating with power. I stood before her, but was offered no seat.


    ¡°So I bring you here, to the heart of my power,¡± said Hades. ¡°My home is at the heart of Erebrus, yet I am fated to rule in his stead. He knows this, yet does nothing to move against me.¡±


    ¡°Why? Is he so resigned to his fate?¡± I asked.


    ¡°He is one of the Primordial Gods. His power may only be handed over willingly. I will only rule when he chooses to surrender it. I am no threat to him, nor does he care for the wars of Gods and Titans.¡±


    ¡°So your final words to Menoetius?¡±


    ¡°Were meant for Kronos¡¯ spies, as a misdirection. No doubt he searches even now for how he can stop my ascension.¡±


    ¡°No offense, Hades, but why are you telling me all of this?¡±


    Hades smiled a chilling smile. ¡°You and your brother meddle in the affairs of gods. You have Chaos in your soul, and walk the Path. It has been a long time since I¡¯ve had a proper Harbinger to anchor me. Your plans for vengeance mesh nicely with my goals of ruling the mortal realm.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t Zeus and Poseidon take issue with that goal?¡± I asked.


    Hades shrugged. ¡°I will let my fool brothers believe what they wish. Zeus doesn¡¯t wield half the strength I do. Poseidon is mighty but loves only the sea.¡±


    ¡°And as a Harbinger, what would I do?¡±


    ¡°Follow your path, but dedicate your victories to me. You will gain in power from this, and I gain a presence on the mortal plane.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand. You¡¯ll just give me more power?¡±


    ¡°In return for a favor,¡± conceded Hades. ¡°One of my favorite furies has been captured. She¡¯s the younger sister of my beloved, Tisiphone.¡± Hades pointed to the bed. ¡°And a dear companion to my beloved, Mageira. Find her and free her, and you shall find me a great ally.¡±


    ¡°So I free Alecto, and we¡¯re allies?¡± I nodded. I could do this. For more power to fight my enemies? I would need every edge I could get.


    ¡°You are better informed than I expected, Child of Chaos. You will be formidable. How did you know of Alecto¡¯s capture?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± I admitted. ¡°But my world knew of only three furies, and two of them are in that bed.¡±


    Hades looked at me sharply. I had admitted to being from another world, I realized. ¡°How did you escape the Chaos?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Prometheus fished us out before we were destroyed,¡± I admitted. ¡°He said we would never meet him again.¡±


    ¡°That only reaffirms my selection,¡± said Hades. ¡°None have the foresight of Prometheus. If he placed you here, it is for a reason.¡±


    ¡°But isn¡¯t he a Titan, the enemy?¡±


    ¡°And there is the typical mortal mindset,¡± said Hades with a sigh. ¡°You know that all Titans are gods, as gods of our generation are all Titans? Not all choose sides the same, not all are involved, and some, like Prometheus, will only reveal their allegiance once a clear winner is rising.¡±


    ¡°Okay, so I rescue Alecto, and I become your Harbinger?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°Indeed,¡± said Hades.


    ¡°We have a deal,¡± I said. ¡°Any thoughts on where to start?¡±


    ¡°Alecto was last seen near Eritium, between your location and Mount Olympus. I bid you good fortune in your hunt.¡±


    Then Hades held up a purple gem to me, roughly an inch across and shaped like an oval. I took it from her. It was cool in my hands.


    ¡°What is this?¡±


    ¡°The answer to a question,¡± she said. Then with a wave of her hand, a Doorway appeared behind me.


    ¡°Hades? Did you find her?¡± came a sleepy voice from the bed.


    ¡°Not yet, Tisi, dear. Go back to sleep,¡± said Hades in a gentle whisper.


    ¡°Come to bed, love. It¡¯s late.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be along shortly.¡±


    I waved goodbye to the goddess, and stepped through the Doorway. I looked back as Hades stood, watching me leave. The Doorway closed, and I was back in the madness of the ruined town of Assos. Ax and the Vanguard were busy shifting rubble to rescue survivors. Exadius, the rescued slaves, and the young family were trying to assist the wounded as best they could.


    Zahra came and hugged me, but didn¡¯t ask me about my talk. In fact, no one did. It was as if I hadn¡¯t spoken to the goddess at all. But I had no time to dwell on this. I instead threw myself into healing. Zahra and Antiope acted as triage, guiding me to the most seriously wounded.


    I healed broken bones, deep flesh wounds, and concussions. My magic stitched up flesh, healed crushed and pulverized bodies, and fixed failing organs. As midnight approached, we were approaching the point where Ax either had to commit to staying, or had to leave. If he were here in the morning, doubtless that Dadaces, or his replacement if he died, would conscript us, or at least our men, into helping permanently.


    After my conversation convincing Ax to leave, I returned to my healing. I had never pushed myself or my magic for so long or so hard. With Zahra and Antiope¡¯s help, we worked our way through town. Everywhere it was the same story. Building after building lay crushed into rubble, and only rarely were survivors being pulled out. People that had stayed in the street had been victims of the gigantes and cynocephali that had broken through the gate, but those that had hidden in buildings had been subject to the battle between two gods. There had been no good place to be during the battle.


    I spotted Dadaces several times, guiding work crews in digging through rubble, sometimes pulling out survivors, sometimes not. There were dozens of dazed survivors, wandering around looking for loved ones or frantically digging in one building or another. Everywhere were injured people. I healed axe wounds and blunt damage from clubs, arrow wounds and talon cuts. The bodies of gigantes and harpies were intermixed with the dead townsfolk, and I had no doubt the field outside the town was littered with the dead, as well. Hades¡¯ army had destroyed the invaders, after all.


    Throughout the next day and evening, I worked until I could move no more. As evening approached, Danae and the Vanguard escorted us back up the hill to the house. It was no longer empty. It had become the hospital and temporary headquarters for Dadaces. But the Vanguard had scrounged up enough supplies for a rough campsite out behind the building. A piece of canvas served as a roof, and our traveling cloaks made do as blankets. I slept hard, with Zahra using my chest as a pillow.


    The next morning, Zahra led me to the bathing area. Once again, she had me sit in the tub and bathed me. This time, however, she slid into the tub behind me. I felt the soft swell of her bare breasts against my back.


    ¡°Karsos?¡± she said, her face resting against my back.


    ¡°Yes?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Would you consider taking me to wife?¡±


    ¡°I would,¡± I answered. ¡°But why me?¡±


    Zahra sighed. ¡°At first, I was intrigued because you were immune to my power. It was refreshing to let me guard down, even if only for a little while, and be a normal person.¡±


    ¡°And then?¡± I prompted.


    ¡°And then I saw how dedicated you were to your people, even if you were using them as a means to an end. I understand your goals, and know how it might end. But spending time with you has made me happy.¡±


    I turned in the tub, and Zahra moved to cover herself. But I caught her hands and looked her in the eyes. ¡°You make me happy, too. I will gladly marry you.¡±


    Zahra looked uncertain. ¡°Even though I am an Oracle?¡±


    ¡°Why would that matter to me?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Because¡­ never mind,¡± she said hastily. ¡°Then I shall join your House and be your loyal wife.¡±


    ¡°And we shall work together, for our own mutual happiness, and I shall be your loyal husband.¡±


    Zahra kissed me then, pulling herself fully into my lap with her legs wrapped around me. ¡°Be gentle, I have not done this before.¡±


    And I was. We eased up onto the edge of the tub and slowly, gently made love. We had little time for a drawn out lovemaking session, especially in the midst of everything. But we took time enough to feel our connection grow stronger. I was falling in love with this woman, if I hadn¡¯t already, and she with me. It blunted my urgency for revenge, soothed my anger enough to make it bearable. It helped to know that she would be at my side as I crushed the Cult of Asphalion, much as Ax had Latona.


    Some time later, we dressed and went around to the front of the house. Someone had set up cookfires for stew, so we ate breakfast before seeking out the Strategos. He found us before we could find him.


    ¡°Lord Karsos, Lady Zahra,¡± said Dadaces. ¡°I would speak with you.¡±


    ¡°Strategos,¡± I said with a nod, and the three of us walked off to one side.


    ¡°As I suspected when I first saw the damage, Assos is utterly ruined,¡± he said sadly. ¡°I expect Tekmon to be in ruins, as well.¡±


    ¡°So you think to go to Iolcus?¡±


    ¡°Your brother did make the offer,¡± said Dadaces. ¡°I intend to continue searching for survivors for the next few days, before switching to a salvage operation. I¡¯ve sent people out to the outlying farms, to bring in the farmers and what harvest they¡¯ve made, and failing that, at least recover wagons and oxen.¡±


    ¡°I never managed to keep count. How many survivors do we have?¡±


    ¡°I would say we have easily lost three-quarters of the townspeople,¡± said Dadaces, grim lines engraved in his face. He hadn¡¯t seemed so old a few days ago. ¡°So we have around five hundred people, give or take.¡±


    ¡°The granaries in town should still hold significant amounts of food,¡± I offered. ¡°And likely most of it is unspoilt, if it was in crates and sacks.¡±


    ¡°Yes, that is one of the small favors. Another is that the vault in the Megaron is untouched, meaning we probably have twenty talents of silver and gold to help us when we get to Iolcus. They are unlikely to be friendly to five hundred refugees approaching without appropriate¡­ remuneration.¡±


    ¡°How can we be of assistance in this?¡±


    ¡°If you and your Vanguard can assist in the salvage operation, it would be very helpful. I am organizing work crews, food crews, and wagon teams. My surviving militia will be digging in the armory for weapons. We found a small cache of arrowheads left here in the house that will come in handy, as well.¡±


    He looked at me to see if I¡¯d object, but I said nothing. Instead, I said, ¡°We would be happy to help.¡±


    From down the hill, I could hear the sounds of horses climbing the incline. I turned to see twenty horse with riders making their way up the hill, careful to avoid running into any of the dispossessed townsfolk. All of the riders wore armor and cloaks, and almost all carried swords and spears. Out of habit, I put my helmet on and checked my armor. Zahra did the same, her bow in hand and an arrow ready.


    Dadaces stepped forward with the arrogance borne of nobility.


    ¡°Who are you, and why are you here?¡± he demanded.


    The two lead riders removed their helmets. The one to the right was a young girl who wore a rich peplos, dyed with purple and red and with a thick purple cloak tied to her bronze armor. The armor itself was inlaid with silver, much like Dadaces¡¯. Her brown hair curled down her back, slightly flattened from the helmet. She was pretty, and probably royalty of some sort.


    But it was the one to the right who truly caught my attention. I couldn¡¯t quite believe my eyes. She had short cropped hair and a strong jaw, one I¡¯d seen many times before. I didn¡¯t need to see her out of armor to know that she was incredibly fit, and knew without a doubt that she was dangerous.


    Before anyone could say a word, I looked up at her and said, ¡°Cris? Cris Murphy?¡±

 Fury: Chapter 1.30 - Karson

    Chapter 1.30


    Karson


    <hr>


    I took off my helmet as I spoke, and the woman looked down at me. I saw her jaw drop in disbelief. ¡°Karson Weyland?¡±


    ¡°Hi,¡± I said in English. It was a bit understated and brief, but hey, it seemed to work.


    ¡°How the hell¡­ you¡­ you¡¯re dead!¡± she exploded. She pulled off her helmet to reveal her hair still cropped short and spiky, but without the bleached tips she had always worn when we were in college.


    ¡°Nope, alive and kicking. My brother Ax is around here too. Well, headed to Iolcus. Get this, he¡¯s married now! I guess I am too.¡±


    ¡°But¡­ Ax? You mean Alex? He¡¯s dead too. Fuck!¡±


    ¡°Sorry to disappoint,¡± I said. I¡¯d dated her sister briefly in college. We hadn¡¯t made it past three dates before she¡¯d met her soon-to-be husband. Last I¡¯d heard she had a few kids. ¡°How¡¯s Jennifer? Still doing well?¡±


    ¡°No, of course she¡¯s not! Jesus, what an ass,¡± she said. ¡°Whatever.¡±


    ¡°So I take it you know her?¡± asked Dadaces wryly.


    ¡°We had some of the same¡­ teachers,¡± I said in Greek.


    ¡°I am Strategos Dadaces. I lead¡­ what remains of Assos,¡± said Dadaces. He had aged visibly over the last few days. His once shiny armor was grimy, his clothes soot stained with tattered hems.


    ¡°I am Princess Sparta of Laconia,¡± said a proud voice from the horse next to the one Cris was riding. I turned to look at her, only to realize that the armored woman was a true beauty. She had classic greek features, from her refined nose to her long, curly black hair and dark eyes. Her skin was soft and clear, and despite having ridden hard, her clothing appeared clean and well made. She wore a simple cuirass over her peplos and no helmet, but there was no mistaking her station by her bearing. ¡°I seek out allies for my father, King Eurotas. He who can help free Laconia from the centaur tribes that overrun it will earn my hand in marriage, and be my father¡¯s heir to the throne.¡±


    I looked around at the ragtag bunch of townsfolk and scattered militia. Danae stood behind me, my own Vanguard close by.


    ¡°You won¡¯t find that here,¡± said Dadaces. ¡°Nor in Tekmon. The city has been sacked.¡±


    Sparta frowned, her brow furrowed. ¡°Has mankind lost already to the spawn of Kronos?¡±


    ¡°Spawn of Kronos. Now that¡¯s a great term,¡± I said with a chuckle. ¡°Believe it or not, the battle here against the Titans was a victory, not a loss. Hades herself led an army against it, and supposedly Athena leads one against the Titan Atlas and his forces. My brother is even now heading to Iolcus to build up his own warband.¡±


    ¡°Then you will take me to him,¡± said Sparta imperiously. ¡°I cannot sway the gods, but perhaps your brother might be the warlord I need.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that.¡± Zahra gave me a questioning look, so I whispered to her, ¡°I¡¯ll explain later.¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°I have my own quest to complete before I join him,¡± I said.


    ¡°Then we will come with you,¡± she said decisively.


    ¡°You don¡¯t want to seek out other cities?¡± asked Cris, disbelieving.


    ¡°No. You shared teachers with him, yes?¡± asked the princess.


    ¡°We did,¡± came the cautious reply.


    ¡°So he must also be a demigod, as is his brother. The Fates have guided you to my side, and so to, shall this man and his brother lend aide to my cause.¡±


    Cris said nothing. I looked to Zahra, who stepped forward. She walked boldly over to the princess, and took her hand. Zahra blazed with power, visible even to normal eyes.


    ¡°What are you¡­¡± started the princess in shock.


    ¡°Bold you are, seizing the thread and fraying the weave. Your strength and virtue smooth impetuosity. Yet the fire and flame are ahead. The divine may lend support, but armies will rally to your name. A mortal heart will bear your cause and your banner. Look within when all is lost, and salvation may be found.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°An Oracle,¡± breathed Sparta. ¡°Thank you, Holy One!¡±


    Zahra didn¡¯t acknowledge Sparta¡¯s words, merely walking back to stand beside me. I took her hand and rubbed it soothingly with my thumb. I could see the vision shook her.


    ¡°Well, looks like we¡¯d better set up camp,¡± said Cris. She began to shout orders at the mounted soldiers behind her. She glared at me one more time, before they turned away.


    ¡°So who is that?¡± asked Zahra. ¡°And what is that quest you spoke of?¡±


    Her questions had barely waited until we were alone. I didn¡¯t blame her; we had been too wrapped up in the desperate search for survivors and healing the injured to talk. This morning had been far more personal, talk of our own relationship.


    ¡°Cris is a few years older than me. I¡­ courted¡­ her sister for several weeks, before her sister chose someone else,¡± I explained. I was trying hard to put modern ¡®dating¡¯ into terms that would work for Zahra. I¡¯d taken Jennifer on two dates, before she¡¯d politely refused a third. She had met Andrew, a dental school student, and fallen hard. Last I heard, they had two kids and a nice house in the suburbs. ¡°I was in a few classes with Cris.¡±


    ¡°So you didn¡¯t court her?¡± said Zahra suspiciously.


    ¡°No, she doesn¡¯t allow men to court her,¡± I said. ¡°In fact, she was well known for ¡®courting¡¯ as many women as she could.¡±


    ¡°So why was she so angry with you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± I said. ¡°But I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find out.¡±


    I then explained the details of my conversation with Hades. Zahra listened carefully, asking few questions until I completed my tale.


    ¡°If we rescue Alecto, you gain a goddess as your patron,¡± said Zahra thoughtfully. ¡°And that patronage will make you more powerful.¡±


    ¡°Exactly. I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but Ax and I both got kicked around pretty bad in that battle. Unlimited mana is great, but if what you can do is limited or negated¡­¡±


    ¡°...you have lost before the battle has begun,¡± finished Zahra.


    ¡°Which is why I must learn more magic, and gain whatever strength Hades is willing to give me.¡±


    ¡°We will travel this path together, husband. Now go, seek out this old acquaintance, and smooth over the bad blood. If her mistress is traveling with us, we cannot have knives at our front and our back.¡±


    Zahra¡¯s words were wise, as befitted someone who saw so many lives, present and future. I went searching, and found Cris with Princess Sparta setting up camp behind the house in an open area that we¡¯d set aside for the oxen teams. Tents filled the empty space in a circle, a new campfire in the middle of the ring. I approached cautiously.


    ¡°Cris? Can we talk?¡± I asked in Greek, to be polite to the princess.


    ¡°Go, speak with your¡­ friend,¡± said Sparta. She waved her hand imperiously to dismiss her. ¡°I cannot have my guardian distracted by the past.¡±


    Cris nodded and walked over to me. We walked a short distance away to gain some semblance of privacy.


    ¡°So how long have you been here?¡± I asked.


    ¡°Oh, two, almost three years now,¡± she said stiffly. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand how you are here.¡±


    ¡°Two or three years?! Ax and I just got here three months ago!¡± I sputtered.


    ¡°What?! That makes no sense. I was at your funeral! Kabiri was beside himself! He buried you right next to Alex.¡±


    ¡°Okay, slow down. Let¡¯s back this up. Kabiri got killed by some weird cult. Ax and I investigated it and fell into - ¡°


    ¡°Some kind of well, right?¡± she said. ¡°Yeah, I was SWAT team lead, we were raiding a murder cult¡¯s headquarters in a warehouse. I got tackled and fell into the well. It was the clues we found on your body that led us there!¡±


    ¡°Okay, so¡­ I don¡¯t think we¡¯re from the same world. You keep saying Ax is dead. When did he die? Did the cult get him too?¡±


    ¡°No, why do you keep calling him Ax? Alex died in eighth grade, got caught in a drive-by.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Ax grew up and became a welder in my world. We both fell into the well and wound up here.¡± I frowned.


    ¡°Did you marry Jennifer in your world too?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, we went on a few dates, but she met some dental student named Andrew. They popped a few kids, two or three I think. I lost touch with her years ago.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Shit. And I thought I finally had a handle on all the strange of this place.¡± Cris slumped, all the anger run right out of her. ¡°So that tanned chick you¡¯re with, who¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°My wife, Zahra. She¡¯s an Oracle.¡±


    ¡°Right. So this quest, does it have anything to do with getting home?¡±


    ¡°There is no way home, I don¡¯t think,¡± I said. ¡°The Cult of Kronos, led by a man named Asphalion, was trying to make anchor points on different worlds so that Kronos can¡¯t get killed. Ax and I are going to kill Asphalion and break the anchor points.¡±


    ¡°Revenge?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You know it.¡±


    ¡°Well, sounds like we¡¯ll be riding together for awhile. I wouldn¡¯t mind a piece of that revenge pie myself. They killed a few of my team during the raid, and trapped me here,¡± she said.


    I held out my hand, and she grabbed it in a firm handshake. ¡°Looks like we¡¯re on the same page after all,¡± I said.


    And we were on the same page. Ax and I had built ourselves the foundation we needed to strike back at our enemies, against all odds. Ax would build us a permanent base of operations out of Iolcus, and I would gather power working on behalf of Hades before meeting back up with him. Strategos Dadaces would be a great ally to the both of us, and looked like he would wind up being a vassal of Ax¡¯s when all was said and done. Cris and her princess may wind up our ally as well, if we could help her, too.


    We may be from a different time and place, and this world may yet kill us. But my brother and I were strong, and driven by our righteous anger at the wrongs done to our family. We would find Asphalion and we would kill him. By the time we were done, the gods themselves would know our names, and know us as Titankillers. We had sworn ourselves to this path, and come hell or high water, we would do it. The Kabiri brothers were coming.

 Fury: Afterword

    This story was one I really loved writing. As an author, some stories take a piece of your soul with every word. Other stories rip at your guts. Some are great stories but are a chore to put on paper. Then you get the odd story that is an absolute blast to write. This was one of those stories for me. It is a sword-and-sandals tale written in the first person perspective. It has blood and guts, graphic violence and graphic sex. All of these are things I rarely write, so were an exercise in stretching my own limits.


    I had failures that I recognized too late to fix, such as the poor characterizations of the main characters. I failed to do a good job of making them sympathetic to the reader, or really making them terribly interesting. I tried to fix it when I figured it out, but I was a good halfway through the whole thing at that point, so it was a bit too late in the game. I struggled with what was turning out to be an epic story, that was trapped in two viewpoints.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    So I learned a lot from the writing of this. I learned that I needed to work on my characterizations more. I learned that if I''m writing an epic story, I cannot trap myself in one or two people''s perspective, but need to pull the camera back a bit. But I also learned a lot about what I found fun to write, and that I can hopefully apply it in my other stories.


    But for the Titanomachy books, I need some feedback. I need to know if I should continue the series at all. I need to know if I should switch to the 3rd-person perspective if I do, or if I should just tough it out since I''ve already written the first book. I could also use as much feedback as people are willing to throw in the comments - good and bad. What did you like? What did you hate? What did I screw up but it was still ok to read?


    I will need to see a lot of interest for this story to be worth continuing. I have a limited amount of time and a lot of stories to write. So I leave it to you, dear reader.


    Thank you to everyone who has read this, and has stuck it out to the end. You are why I write.