Chapter 3: Rumors of War

[cybersavant]

Andrew


"We'll talk more of this after we see the King." Andrew follows the other two as they head over to where the King is.

[tibbius]

It was late in the day when they met with King Alec. His fishing trip had been bounteous and his father and brothers and sons were sorting the still-flopping fish into baskets to be shared out among the people of the kingdom. Himself was busy outside the royal hall, scaling and gutting. "There'll be good roast Μπακαλιάρος tonight," he said confidently as he flicked guts from the long slender bronze knife onto the dirt. "You're welcome, all three ... what did the elders have to say?" he asked abruptly, with a little anxiety.

[Leitz]

Bran nodded. "They bickered a lot. Andrew here read a scroll, there used to be a store of weapons and shields in Aegium. We spoke of risks, and needs. It is clear that the lycanthropes need to be dealt with, but we also need to see if Rododafni is involved, or if that was another lie. I spoke of letting Temeni people join us, and Marcus and I think a stronger alliance with Elaionas would be good."

"If we can find those weapons, I think the question will resolve itself."

[Mr Stereo1]

"Indeed." Marcus agrees with Bran, casting an eye to the bountiful catch. Aegium did indeed have the fortune to take in their needier neighbors. "With the stores recorded in the scroll our militias would be the envy of the region."

"As for the Elders, I believe they have come to see things as we do. They question, as it their place, but they did not speak ill of you. They seemed to approve of our reasons in the end, and we saw they were reminded of your virtues and character."

[tibbius]

"Well!" said King Alec with a brief laugh of relief, "I'm glad to hear that. So, you speak of making sure whether the wolfmen truly rest in Rododafni? That's a good idea. I would like to send my most trusted friends to check that out ... hah. Here you are." He smiled a little grimly at Bran and Marcus. "Maybe if you bring a foreign visitor with you, it could be explained that you are showing our guest the surrounding lands. Do you think that would pass?" He looked inquiringly toward Andrew.

[cybersavant]

Andrew

"Well, that is true. And what i told to each of your neighbors."

[tibbius]

"Good then!" said the king. "Soon, now, we will have roast fish. Then we will discuss a plan for the next few days. There are many things to be done. Someone must find the cache of weapons of which Bran and Andrew speak. Find out whether the lycanthropes dwell in Rododafni. Gather and refresh the militia's training. Establish a firm alliance with Elaionas, and offer shelter to Temeni. Who will do these things, and in what order? I welcome your suggestions. It need not be all you, if you can think of others whom you trust and who could serve."

[Leitz]

Bran looked away, for a very long moment. Past the fish, to the ocean. To the opportunities.

He turned back to the group. "Andrew, you know that these men are dear friends to me. They have seen my best, and my worst. I find your insight valuable, and will treat you as a friend. Hopefully most of my embarrassing mistakes are behind me."

Bran took a deep breath, and blushed slightly. "Not all of them, I'm sure. Life is changing, we are embarking on actions that change how we live. You two," he pointed at Alec and Marcus "have wonderful families. I trust and love my parents, but my mind is on starting my own family. Finding a woman as good to me as your wives are to you."

"We have beautiful women here, but physical beauty and strength of spirit are not always found in the same person. The tasks before us will take us away from home for a while, and wives will see to the fortunes of the family while we are gone. For me, however, it is slightly different. If we succeed, and I will do everything I can to ensure that happens, it will be easy to find a politically advantageous wife, or a beautiful one. It will become difficult for me to find a wife of good spirit, and that is the type of person I want to trust my family to."

His glance went from Marcus to Alec, and back. "Sosan is beautiful, and that means my thoughts are not clear on her spirit. What do you know of her? Is there someone better for me to marry? I want someone who will work alongside me as we serve Aegium. I would like to go to Temeni and Elaionas, if that would suit you, sir. I have four cows that can produce milk, and more cows. I would offer food and shelter to those in need, in exchange for working the gardens and cleaning the buildings that I'm going to ask you for. I would like at least one of the buildings to set up another carpentry shop, and I will train those who want to apprentice. When we are not on the field, being drilled by Marcus."

"It's been on my mind a while," Bran said, grinning. "Took me a while to figure out how to say it, though. I want to serve Aegium. I know that doing so may make my fortune and position better, and I'm happy about that. But it is the service, and our shared success, that I am after."

He laughed. "And a wife."

[Mr Stereo1]

"I think myself best suited to prepare the militia, King, or perhaps to negotiate terms with Temeni or Elaionas on how to marshal our combined forces." Marcus accepts, then gestures to the bounty of fish around them. "Perhaps we might begin with a gift of this bounty that would win some friendship with the hungry in Temeni, and make the offered shelter here more welcoming?"

Sorry Leitz, I had this tab open for a long while before i posted so I only caught your post after.

EDIT: "As for talk of marriage." Marcus grins to Bran, a soft chuckle sounding from his throat. "I fear you overthink things, as all scholars do. There is no great science to a happy home. You only need to approach your joined life with goodwill and find someone who will do the same. Perhaps a man like you needs a wise woman to match you besides, but some can be found I am sure."

Marcus' smile turns slightly darker, though it does not fade. "You might have a better time courting once the war is done, though. Women are known to love a man who can fight for what is his."

[tibbius]

Alec laughed. "Young men dream of marriage," he said, "old men have to live with it. But it's not so bad! Come, help make the fire and Lydia will season the fish."

During dinner, among "small" but significant talk of fish and masonry and children and courtship, the king added in bits:

"Marcus, find a relative to guide Andrew round the town. He and Origen are the only ones who can read those old scrolls. If I had a stash of weapons, I would hide them in a cellar and have someone record where they were kept. By name. Andrew can read the names, Marcus, your cousin or whoever can bring him to those households.

Lydia, well done with the spices.

Bran, I grant you all the empty buildings you desire. No, you'll eagerly overexert yourself, and nothing good will come of it. Take three of the sturdiest ruins for your new shops. Find as many others as you think good men could make suitable for living. Go to Temeni and offer those, and the fallow upper fields, to King Xanthos. Mind you, to the king - not to the people. He'll understand what we're after, but this way he won't be offended. Continue to Elaionas and offer alliance to Stelios. Inform him we are looking for the lycanthropes, and ask his aid to hunt them when we find them.

I tell you, Poseidon blessed us with this catch.

Marcus, that means I will need you to scout out Rododafni. Once the weapons are found, go with Andrew as his escort to envision a new land. They may think you're spies, they may not welcome you as guests. That in itself would tell you enough to return. If you can. Remember that you are my champion and due the honor of a challenge for free passage, though it would go ill for all of us if you should fail one.

Lydia, more wine. Thank you.

Once we've formed alliance with Elaionas, offered shelter to Temeni, found the weapons and the wolves, then it will be time to train for the hunt. ... Questions?"

[cybersavant]

Andrew


"Thank you King Alec for your hospitality. I will return to the scriptorium. There is a lot of work to be done; but now i think i may have figured out how the scrolls are kept. There is no catalog of subjects, and they are not sorted by letter. I will start with boxes and shelves that have pictures. Then check what appears to be older ones, as those would be most likely to contain the information we require. With only Origen and myself, it could take quite a while to find what we need. Are they any others in town versed in written language?"

[Mr Stereo1]

Marcus thought heavily. His father, if he could be convinced, would likely be of most help to Andrew. He was old and blessed with sharp memory. More he was a carpenter, so he might have been called to work in the home where the cache was kept or be able to spot signs of it's hiding.

"I'm afraid he can't read but I can leave you in capable hands, Andrew." He said to the scholar and the others with a fond smile at the thought of his patriarch. "My father knows the village well, and is old enough to remember names I wouldn't know. Just be careful of his temper. He's not a man to take offense, but he's not one to suffer foolishness or being asked twice."

He'd best remind the old man Andrew was a guest, now he thought of it. The younger man and his mentor were both doing a great deal to help Aegium, and were owed a goodly debt for it. Maybe gratitude would convince the goat to hold his tongue? One could always hope.

[cybersavant]

Andrew

Andrew returned to the Scriptorium and started to put aside all the boxes marked with a picture. He arranged them by size and made sure the symbols were clearly visible. Then he stacked the unmarked ones near the reading tables, to be sorted through later.

"Origen, have you been to many other communities? Why would they have forgotten something so important? Even if not everyone reads, wouldn't they have passed the knowledge down orally?"

The next day he left Origen to look through the unmarked boxes and add labels to them. Andrew went to the shelves and searched for what appeared to be the less used scrolls.
[1d6] = 4 [1d6] = 5 [1d6] = 1 [1d6] = 6

Andrew started to sort through the dustiest bins first, as he figured since the knowledge of the weapons was lost, the record of them must be somewhere than no one has used for quite some time.

[Leitz]

Bran nodded, looked at Alec, and smiled.

"King Alec," he said; his tone blended the due respect for a king with the love one had for a trusted friend. "my only real question is to myself: Can I serve Aegium fitting the trust you offer? It is a challenging question, and one I will answer with my best. Thank you."

After the meal together, Bran walked towards his home. His parent's home, he mentally corrected himself. He was now granted buildings to make homes for others, and to make a home for himself. To build shops so that things could be made, so that his homeland could be made better. But was Aegium really his homeland? Grandfather came here from elsewhere, and Bran's family traditions were not quite Aegium's.

He paused, the stars were brilliant tonight. Stories about them abounded, yet Bran wondered about those stories. They were good, they built good, but were they real? He laughed, and shook his head. Marcus was right, Bran over thought things sometimes. Aegium was his homeland, he knew no other. His heritage gave him strength, joy, and enough difference that he felt unworried about becoming too boring. A wife would be treated with the love and respect Grandfather had spoken about, and she would be given a large portion of the work, as was her due.

His steps took him to his parent's home. His home, for the nonce. "Mother, Father. Please, may we wake Grandfather? I would like to speak to you of something that weighs on me."

The small family gathered, Grandfather's creaking joints could be heard. Mother lit a small lamp, it's faint warmth turned the home into a loving gathering. Bran spoke respectfully. "Aegium asks me to serve again, and I have promised to do my best. I will be away for a few days, at least. Maybe longer. At least you won't have to feed me for a while."

"Yet there are two things I would like your help with, and your blessing. I would seek a wife; someone who can work alongside me as Grandfather says wives worked where our family is from. Please help me do so. Perhaps our ways are not exactly what Aegium or her people always expect, but there is something else my wife will need to be capable of. King Alec has granted me three buildings that I may make into shops, so that we can train others to build as we build. Further, I go to Temeni to offer them homes here, should they desire. Aegium will open her arms to her friends, and I will be a part of that. It will be hard work and long days, but we will build. We will find buildings that can be made suitable for homes, and we will grow. Aegium will grow."

"Grandfather, I hope that I have learned well from you. Not just how to build, but how to lead. I had long dreamed of returning to our family's home, your home, and helping them rebuild. Yet now, perhaps that dream is to be set aside. Aegium needs us, and she has treated us well. Aegium is my home, and I will build her. I will build here. I ask your blessing, guidance, and help in doing so."

[tibbius]

The House of Bran's Parents
Bran's family listened attentively as he explained his thoughts about marriage and fortune. When he finished, there was a long pause. Then his mother threw her arms about him. "We have been hoping that you'd give us grandchildren," she exclaimed. His father laid a hand on his shoulder. "You have thought well about this matter," he said firmly. "There is a woman of the village whom I've thought for a while would be good for you. I know her father well. Her name is Sosan. Her father Efimios has a herd of goats and an orchard of olives up in the hills. He is an eloquent man who would appreciate your ability to speak. She has two brothers who work hard, a sister, and her mother ... well, your mother would know her reputation better. Do you notice her?"

Bran's grandfather said nothing, but smiled softly, showing his gums and his blue eyes sparkling amid the wrinkles of his aged face.

The Scriptorium
Marcus' father Bakchos left his work grudgingly, extracting from Andrew a promise that it would only be for a short time. "Got other boats to mend and caulk," he grumbled. "Han't set a roof beam in years." But it turned out he was of great assistance. As Andrew diligently reviewed the muddled script on the scrolls, the old man delicately picked up each scroll that the young scholar set down. He carefully examined not the writing, but the diagrams and symbols. In mid afternoon of the second day, he said, "I know this sign. It's over the door of this old building on the hillside ..." and he described with exactitude a half-ruined white stone building much like the scriptorium. Over its door, he said, was a carving of a serpent wrapped around an axe.

We'll handle the finding of the arms, and other matters, in Chapter 4.

[Leitz]

Fortunately for Bran, the faint light hid most of his blush. "She is easy to notice." He eventually blurted.

A deep breath. "Her grandfather, Ohannes, spoke with strong wisdom at the meeting of the elders. Marcus, and the foreign fellow Andrew supported Ohannes' thoughts, and they may lead to a significant boon for Aegium. I look forward to helping. But Ohannes words struck me, and in truth, spoke well of the family. If they think like that, and Sosan grew up in that, then she will be even better as a wife."

He shrugged. "Which is why I ask not only your blessing, but your help. It is easy for me to make a young man's decision. I want a life-long decision."