"Ah, I think that's the name. Yes, Sillabot? What do you know about him, Hikesias?"
"Why, only that the sailors whose ships managed to escape from the region report. He shouts' Sillabot! Sillabot! '" Hikesias did his best version of a cavernous voice, and the two women laughed, patting the top of his bald head.
"That's why they call it that!" he completed, trying to dodge their hands.
"Don't they know where it came from?"
"Sailors make up a lot of stories..." Hikesias spoke dismissively.
'What do you mean, he doesn't want to tell? He's not the type who refrains from talking nonsense!' Glax was surprised, but it was Aryn who started to speak, pouring more wine and leaning on the noble Kroton.
"I heard Sillabot is not the only monster. One of our clients is the daughter-in-law of the provincial governor. She told me that in other northern provinces there are stories of monsters. Metal monsters!"
Glax blinked. "Metal monsters? Robots?"
"What's a robot?" Hikesias asked. "And I also heard stories from my countless traveling clients. Many provinces are just uninteresting places, and they make things up that don't exist. How could there be a metal monster? Is it not a man terrorizing a village dressed in strange armor?"
"Your idea makes sense, guide." Uniq stretched. "I also heard a lot of stories about monsters that don't exist. Creatures that plague the roads and cause a lot of damage. Then heroes appear to free the region. After all, many can boast of having noble blood and some even claim to be children of gods! In the end, it's just a scam to get money out of the city! They sew various parts of different animals and present the chimera as proof of their deed!"
He was going to ask more questions, but he had to put Aryn on his arm because she was asleep. And at that moment, he saw Chriseis entering his field of vision!
:::::::::::
Chriseis appeared in Wolf's Castle suddenly, and accompanied by her escort. As it was very late, there were few customers. Only one musician played his lyre for an audience of drunks.
Thus, the general's gaze crossed the entire torch-lit room to the table where Glax and his companions were.
'Is this Game Over?' Glax swallowed. But showing fear would not help.
General Kroton crossed the Wolf's Castle hall in five or six strides, stopping in front of the table, and directly behind Hikesias. Her shadow came to cover Glax, who looked up in admiration.
"Chriseis! How did you get to me so fast?"
"Who is that bitch clinging to you?" Chriseis snarled, her eyes sparkling and her fists clenched. One of them was actually at the hilt of the sword.
"General Chriseis!" Uniq recognized the new arrival and exclaimed, with respect and terror.
Chriseis only acknowledged the readhead, but focused her gaze on her husband again.
And Glax figured that saying 'it's not quite what you are thinking ...' was not the best speech option at the time.
"I don't think everyone could handle Rhytosia's wine, my dear Chriseis! But it's good that you arrived! My new friends are telling me about Sillabot." Glax tried to straighten Aryn on the seat next to her, but she was limping. The best she did was smile and wave to the general, and slur some words.
"Wow, General Chriseis! You are a friend of our friend! This is ... WOW! I hardly believe that I am meeting important people!"
Hikesias stood up not to stand between Chriseis and her sword, and the rest of the table.
"Did you come running ahead of me for THAT?"
"Yes, to find out everything I could about Sillabot, my general..." he made his voice as sweet as possible. "Hikesias, Uniq and Aryn told me about rumors of metal monsters. And you came so fast! I thought I was on a fast ship!"
"But Temnos lent me his best battleship, as they promised. And the men rowed non stop. While you were drinking and eating and..." She sat across from him, still with narrowed eyes and contracted shoulders.
"General Chriseis! I am so impressed!" Uniq exclaimed, drawing attention to herself again. "You're my inspiration! I always wanted to join the Echelian Army, but ... my family is humble. I know a simpleton like me can only enter the army with my own armor. I was 16 when I managed to save some money and start paying for my armor... " The girl was speaking quickly to tell her story to the famous Echelian general.
Glax leaned forward, interested, and Aryn fell over to the other side, causing great satisfaction to Chriseis.
"You can still enroll in the capital in early spring, anyway. You are not that old. If you pass the exams, you can be accepted." A little annoyed at being interrupted, but also showing a little empathy for the cause of the red-haired girl, Chriseis condescended to an answer to the commoner.
"Oh, but my husband... He stole my money and sold the parts of the armor I had ever bought, to pay his gambling debts." Uniq narrowed her eyes as he remembered what had happened.
Chriseis turned to her, asking sharply, "What about you?"
"I killed him. What else could I do?" Uniq rubbed and clapped his hands in justification. Glax's eyes widened.
"Ahhh! Well." Chriseis smiled, looking significantly at her husband.
"And you were not arrested?" Glax asked.
"He was a disgrace to his mother, and she publicly forgave me, so I wasn't arrested."
The laws of the Echelians were very peculiar, but Glax was learning fast.
"Please give me advice to be a better warrior!" Uniq asked like a child speaks when asking an idol for an autograph. Glax looked again at the woman he had been married to for 40 hours. She looked tired and bored, but she smiled for the first time. She spoke softly.
"Eh… Make the best use of your vision. And you must use your flexibility and…"
"WHERE'S THAT MASKED SON OF A BITCH?! I don't care who he is, he messed with the wrong man!"
Medon's angry scream at the Wolf's Castle door made a statement of his current mood. The general's companions became uneasy, and she frowned.
"Who is he?"
"A guy who thought he could bury me in the mud, and found that it's not so easy." He gave his best smile.
At that moment, Medon and an absurd number of minions easily got rid of the tavern's security, and burst through the door. The attendants began to collect the pitchers and everything that was breakable, in despair.
Medon's gaze was so fixed on his target that he seemed blind to everything around him. The Rust owner was covered in soot and sweat, his eyes bloodshot with hatred. To Glax's surprise, neither he nor his men carried firearms. At least not apparently. They had spears, swords and clubs.
Glax doubted that he had wiped out all available weapons, and his bet is that they were avoiding using firearms around the city perimeter.
Glax and Chriseis stood up at the same time, realizing there would be no conversation.
"How?! HOW?!" Medon screamed, spitting out the words and saliva at the same time.
"Let's say I had intervention from above... And so I came here to drink. It's not every day that a Kroton is served as dinner for crabs, hehe."
Glax's mocking response made Medon blink. Then the smuggler looked around. Echelian soldiers looked at him with curiosity and disdain, but with their hands on his gladiuses. Finally, the gaze fell on the couple, and Glax saw Medon's left eye twitch.
"Do you owe this man anything?"
"Actually, we made a bet, and when I won, he decided he wasn't going to pay me, Chris… He ruined my Nike sandals by throwing me into a dark, deadly place. You see ... I just wanted to have a fun night before going to face Sillabot with you ... But Medon decided to feed me to his pets. BUt I couldn't agree to it. So, I came here to drink and eat, instead. Because I thought... 'I have an obligation to the clan... I'm going to have to settle with Medon when I get back.' I owed my friends a round of wine, so we came here..."
"But I think he's in a hurry, love."
"But I'm not. Medon, can you expect my wife and I to kill Sillabot for whatever you have in mind?"
"FUCK SILLABOT, you bastard. You burned my weapons!" Medon raised his machete towards Glax.
SWOOOSH! A red arc cut through the air, splashing blood on the table. Glax wiped the unmasked side of his face before he heard Medon's muffled groan.
"Mnnfgh!"
The smuggler took two steps back, staggering and holding the arm that once raised a knife. Glax didn't see where Medon's knife and hand went. He just saw with the corner of his eye the sword of Chriseis flying and stabbing the smuggler in the face.
A brief moment passed when the opposite sides of the dispute faced each other.
Glax didn't know who made the furious cry, and then the fight started.