Kairos 22: Begin Again (Patreon)

“You want us to watch and listen?” Horace asked.

Kairos nodded, as a hundred eyes gazed at him. After the battle with Orthia, word of his ‘generosity’ had spread to the Stymphalian birds like wildfire. The few dozen birds that followed Horace had grown into a flock of hundreds; one so large, that the [Hero] had to meet with them outside Histria not to cause panic.

The night wind brushing against his face, Kairos examined this army of feathered fiends. Most were as big as adult herons, and some as small as ducks. While he originally intended to use them as mere scouts and messengers, the size variations made the Travian warlord consider subtler options.

“I want you to observe what happens around the island,” Kairos explained himself. “Inform me if the great beasts of the north cross the forest, if you notice activity in the Garden of Stone, or if you see foreign ships near the coasts.”

“What if there’s nothing to report?” one of the birds asked. “Do we still get paid?”

“Your food share will depend on the quality of the information,” Kairos said. “You do nothing, you get nothing; if you lie and give false news, you’ll never receive food from me again. I will also pay you for transporting goods and messages on a successful delivery.”

There were protests among the flock, but Horace silenced them with a deep, bellowing cry. “I won’t spit on work where I just have to sit back and listen,” he argued. “It’s still easy food I don’t have to hunt for.”

“For hunts, you will help our men chase beasts too big for you,” Kairos said. That way, they could contribute to the food supply instead of just depleting it. “I also have a special job for the smaller ones among you, who can avoid being seen. Instead of surveying the island, you will oversee Histria itself.”

“You want us to survey your nest?” Horace asked, a bit confused.

“Yes. I will teach you the basics of the Travian and Thessalan languages, so you may report to me what people say.”

This plot would serve a double purpose. First, Histria’s population would learn to coexist with monsters; while Stymphalian birds were fearsome, the smaller ones wouldn’t feel threatening.

Second, most people didn’t think birds could understand them. Considering the resentment brewing among some of his followers, and the inevitable conflict with Mithridates, Kairos wanted to develop a solid information network. He couldn’t allow a plot to develop in his own home.

“If our young spend time learning your language, they won’t help us adults to hunt or repair our nests,” Horace pointed out. “Unless you feed them yourself, like your griffin.”

“I will,” Kairos confirmed, many of the younger birds screeching in happiness. “My architect, Thales, is already designing Histria’s aviary. You’ll eventually share it with griffins, but it shall protect you from the rain, the cold, and the wind. In time, you might consider it a secondary colony.”

“And we can use it all the time?”

Kairos answered with a nod. Ever the greedy bird, Horace haggled over the food supply given to the young, but eventually, a bargain was struck. The Travian warlord had the feeling these birds would prove an invaluable investment, in spite of the logistical challenge they presented. The island was rich enough to feed everyone.

Afterward, Kairos returned to Histria finding most of his people asleep. Only night patrols kept watch over the camp, looking over the wooden palisades with bright torches.

The [Hero] moved towards Cassandra’s tent, located not so far from his own command center, and immediately noticed Castor slipping out of it. The tributary captain scowled with a dark look on his face. Kairos activated his [Invisibility] to avoid being seen, and then dropped it once he entered Cassandra’s home.

Like his other officers, Cass’ tent took more space than the average one; though it lacked amenities besides a warm bed and a small desk, it was tall enough one could stand inside. Kairos found his first mate sitting on a stool, facing a metallic bowl full of flaming coal. Though she wore leather armor, Cass had fearlessly put her naked hands into the fire.

The flames licked her skin without harming it.

“You’re immune to fire now?” Kairos asked, the irony not lost on him.

“I also resist most physical ailments, like [Poisoned] or [Diseased],” Cass replied, smiling thinly at her captain. She didn’t look surprised to see him. “Maybe I will get around to drinking hydra venom like Mithridates one day.”

She had recovered enough confidence to joke, so Kairos took this as a good sign. “How do you feel?”

“As well as someone who died,” she replied. “One instant, I was with you on the Foresight, and the next…”

Cassandra moved her hands away from the fire, though she kept watching it. Perhaps she wanted to escape her memories of the afterlife? Kairos put a hand on her armored shoulder to reassure her, and he felt warmth through the leather. “Was the Underworld that terrible?”

Cass looked at her captain’s hand with a kind smile, thankful for the gesture. Though she had only recently risen from the dead, she looked more alive than ever. Kairos suspected her [Health] and [Vitality] Stats had greatly increased with her resurrection.

“I don’t remember it well,” she admitted. “It’s all blurred. I remember drinking from a river of black water, flowing deep inside an underground cave. Ash covered the ground, shadows surrounded me from all sides, and the air… it burned my lungs when I breathed. Next thing I knew, flames swallowed me whole, and I woke up on the pyre.”

“A river of black water?” Kairos repeated, crossing his arms. “The river Lethe?”

“That was my thought as well,” Cassandra said with a nod. “It is said the dead must drink its water to forget their past life, if they wish to reincarnate. I suppose the rule also applies to those revived by magic.”

Kairos had hoped his dead family members might have passed him a message through Cassandra, but he was happy to have his confidant back at all. “I’m glad you’re alright,” he said, his relief palpable in his voice. “I worried your stay in the Underworld might haunt you.”

“Am I not haunting the world enough as it is now? I died, and you brought me back like an undead shade.”

“Except I can feel the warmth below the skin, and the undead are cold lifeless things.” Kairos changed the subject, as he could tell Cassandra felt conflicted about her experience in the afterlife. “I saw Castor leave your tent.“

“He’s leaving the colony for his hometown of Kratul,” Cass explained. “He asked me to come with him; he believes you will be the second death of me, and the doom of everyone who follows you. When I pointed out that I swore my sword to you, he offered to introduce me to Queen Teuta instead.”

Introduce Cassandra to Teuta? Well, the pirate queen did try to collect powerful warriors for her crew and Kratul was her harbor, but Kairos smelled something fishy. Teuta focused her wrath on Lyce’s ships, just like Castor. If they knew each other...

Could Castor have been working for Teuta? Did the pirate queen send him to keep an eye on a potential rival? Kairos had the feeling something was happening behind his back. “I assume you refused?”

Cassandra looked at her captain as if he had said something stupid. “Was there any doubt? Even when he outright proposed to me on the spot, I had to deny him.”

“He could have been a good husband,” Kairos said. Though he disliked admitting it, the man seemed to care for Cass on a personal level even before she earned a [Legend].

“He could have been,” Cassandra agreed, “but he’s not the man I owe my life to.”

“Cass, you’ve already done more than enough for me. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Kairos, be honest.” She locked eyes with him, giving him no chance to correct his expression. “How would you feel if I had sacrificed a priceless artifact to raise you, instead of Panos or anyone else?”

Kairos sighed. “I see what you mean, but you don’t have to feel that way. There’s no debt to pay.”

“I don’t have to feel that way, no. But I chose to.” She glanced at the flame with a sorrowful expression. “I… I know how much that feather meant to you. It was your only chance to see your siblings again, and… and I still don’t understand why you used it on me, rather than them.”

“Though never made official by law, you are family as much as my siblings,” Kairos replied, gazing at the fire slowly dying out into embers. “Someone told me I should learn to live in the present, rather than the distant past or future, and... I simply cannot imagine the future without you fighting at my side.”

“Careful, Kairos,” she said with an amused look. “Next you will declare me your flame.”

Kairos chuckled. “That wordplay was terrible.”

“No, it was good.” Her smile faltered a little. “Rhadamanthe told me you sent two letters. One to Orthia, and the other to Lyce. You’re going to accept Sertorius’ proposal?”

“There’s no other way to develop the colony,” Kairos said with a sigh. “It’s a compromise, but our battle with Orthia taught me how easily things can go wrong.”

“It will mean a conflict with Mithridates as well. Or at least, a more direct one.” Cass crossed her arms. “You could also aim for Queen Teuta. She has consorts, but no husband. As Travian [Heroes], you could join forces and create a pirate dynasty.”

Was she trying to convince him to escape a marriage with Lyce by jumping into another? “Queen Teuta is a warlord,” Kairos countered. “Piracy is an end in itself for her, while it is a means for me. She is not interested in reforming Travia.”

“I’m just pointing out that you have options as far as marital prospects go.”

“So do you, now that you have a [Legend],” Kairos replied. “Though I don’t understand why your Rank didn’t increase. You were already an [Elite], you should have become a [Hero].”

“It’s because I haven’t done anything worthy of a [Hero].” Cassandra raised a hand and examined it, as if she could see invisible flames swirling around it. “I have a [Legend], but it’s a weak ember. I don’t even have a Legendary Item like the Foresight. If anything, you raised me, so I’m piggybacking on your own glory.”

“That ember will grow into a blaze with time,” Kairos argued. “What about the Quest the Fates gave you? It should have granted you a [Legend], but you have one now.”

Cassandra shared a System screen with him.

Quest Trial: Destroy the Argo

The hero Jason of Iolcus perished a broken shell of a man, consumed by sorrow. His vengeful spirit sails the Sunsea on the ghost ship Argo, terrorizing the innocents in his doomed quest for revenge, and enslaving the souls of the strong.

Give the Argo and its undead crew death’s sweet release.

Reward: 10 Skill Points, and ascension to [Hero].

“The rewards changed,” Cassandra explained. “Destroying the Argo will allow me to ascend to [Hero] now.”

Perfect. If she completed her quest, the Foresight’s crew would have three [Heroes] to rely on. “Once we have secured the colony and ensured it can defend itself without our direct supervision, we’ll hunt that ghost ship for you and visit Orgonos for Andromache. We’ll complete both Quests at once.”

His first mate chuckled. “They already call me Cass Twice-Born.”

“It does have a nice ring to it, you’ll agree.”

Cassandra remained silent for a few seconds, before gesturing at a second stool near her bed. Understanding the message, Kairos sat on it, both of them facing the dying fire.

His first mate had something to confess.

“You know the main reason why I stayed with your uncle for so long, Kairos?” Cass asked after breaking the silence. “In spite of all the problems we faced as a couple?”

“Love?” Kairos asked hesitantly.

Cassandra shook her head. “I stayed with him, because I thought I would never earn a [Legend] of my own.”

“But you took a Quest to do exactly that.”

“Which I never dared to complete,” she replied. “How could I? Even as a living corpse, Jason remains a [Hero] with a whole crew of undead horrors. How could I challenge someone like him and hope to prevail? I’m nothing special. Not like you, or Panos.”

“You undersell yourself, Cass,” Kairos argued. “You’re a brilliant woman, as a warrior, commander, and administrator.”

“Being a good second-in-command is nothing to brag about.” She let out a sigh. “Greatness is for a few select people only, and… I thought that if I couldn’t stand on my own feet, I could at least support someone bound for glory. I thought Panos would be that person, and when he died, I chose to follow you next. And not only you are a [Hero], but you granted me a [Legend] of my own. You are not only great, but you lifted me up.”

“Thanks, but you are wrong,” Kairos replied. “We lifted each other up. I wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for your support.”

“I’m not so sure,” she replied sorrowfully, the fire now nothing but warm embers. “I’m the one who cultivated the Mithridates connection, and I pushed to accept the Boeotia deal. Eos and countless others perished because of my foolishness.”

“We were both present, Cass. It was a common decision, and as the Foresight’s captain, I bear the lion’s share of the blame.”

“I… I guess I feel guilty for all the lost souls I send to Persephone,” Cass said with a heavy sigh. “You granted me a second chance, and I… I don’t feel like I deserved it.”

“You deserve it more than me,” Kairos replied. “It’s my overconfidence that killed you, Eos, and countless others. I underestimated the danger ahead, and didn’t consider the consequences before acting. While the Foresight is my Legendary Item, I didn’t show much of it.”

“Yes, but you’re young and I’m older. I should have realized it was a bad idea.”

“Youth doesn’t excuse everything, nor does age make you infallible. You’re also the one who organized the Pelopidas raid. Though it cost us much because of Uncle’s decision, I could only ascend thanks to you.” The [Hero] shook his head. “You’re not piggybacking on my success, Cass. You made it possible in the first place.”

“Is that why you brought me back? To pay back a debt?”

“I brought you back because you’re not only family and a valued member of my crew, but you’re also my most trusted confidant.” Kairos looked at his first mate dead in the eyes. “While it feels unearned to you, I don’t regret using the feather on you. And I won’t.”

Cassandra responded with silence, and then a light tap on the back of his skull. “Ouch,” Kairos protested with mock outrage.

“You will sweet-talk any woman out of her clothes if she listens long enough,” Cass replied while rolling her eyes. “I pity your future wife. She will never be the only one.”

“I just hope it will go well with her,” Kairos admitted. “I don’t marry for lust or love, but that the scandal part worries me a little.”

“Now, you understand how your father felt when he married a werewolf. And it turned out pretty well for him in the end.”

Kairos said nothing for a while, slightly embarrassed, before rising from his stool. “Rest well, Cass,” he said, “I think we both deserve a peaceful sleep.”

“I’m grateful for the second chance, Kairos,” his first mate said. “So, I’ll make an oath tonight. Not the magical kind, but I will abide by it all the same. It doesn’t matter what the future has in reserve for us, I will always be at your side. I will always support you, even if you decide to storm the Underworld itself.”

Kairos chuckled. “This sounds like a marriage vow, Cass.”

She exploded into a burst of warm laughter. “You literally defied death to keep me in your life, so I’ll stay in it. I hope you won’t regret it.”

No, he wouldn’t.

-----------------------------------------------------

After a long, tiring day, Kairos collapsed on his bed.

It was a simple floor mattress of griffin feathers at the back of his command tent, with a goatskin blanket. The [Hero] always kept a knife hidden beneath the pillow and the [Anemoi Spear] within arm’s reach, in case he had to defend himself in a pinch. Rook was already sleeping in a corner, snoring on his back next to an olive oil lamp providing the ‘room’s’ light.

The battle and everything that followed had drained Kairos of his strength, and so it felt great to undress and bury himself beneath a warm blanket.

Unfortunately, his work wasn’t done yet. Instead, the [Hero] took some time to study a scroll provided by Rhadamanthe: Treatise on Petrification by Chiron the Wise.

Kairos needed to find a way to save his men trapped in the Garden of Stone, both because they didn’t deserve such a gruesome fate, and because he faced a manpower shortage. Yet, while the document contained a wealth of information on the [Petrification] ailment, it didn’t provide a cure for a gorgon’s stone gaze. As far as the author knew, short of the gods themselves, only the dreaded creatures could undo their own magic.

There had to be another way though. Kairos knew he could discover it with research, but he struggled to focus. Instead, his thoughts always turned to something else. To Orthia, to his future wife in Lyce, to Mithridates, to Cass and Teuta, and all the troubles he would have to face in the near future.

He couldn’t relax even in his own bed! Perhaps a night bath would help?

He heard footsteps enter his ‘bedroom’ from the central throne room, Kairos noticing a vaguely feminine shape approaching. It was hard to see with only a small oil lamp for lighting. Probably one of the guards. “What is it?” Kairos asked without raising his eyes from his scroll, “It better be impor—”

“[Silence],” Andromache’s voice answered. “[Sleep].”

An invisible force choked Kairos’ throat for a few seconds, only for another, stronger magic to push it back.

[Silence] ailment negated by [Speech 3].

Kairos calmly put his scroll to the left side of the bed, and glanced up at the intruder. Andromache stood in front of his bed in human form, wearing a green chiton and carrying her serpent staff. Rook remained deeply asleep, probably thanks to her second spell.

“How did you get past the guards?” Kairos asked the witch.

“[Silence]!” she snarled at him, but her spell couldn’t bypass his Skill-granted Resistance. “I don’t want to hear you speak.”

“You’re doing a poor job at it,” Kairos replied, unimpressed. “How did you get past the guards?”

“I put them to sleep for hours,” she replied, pointing her staff at him. “Though yours will last forever.”

“I didn’t know you could cast ailment-based spells,” the Travian admitted, squinting at his crewmate. “I guess a witch never reveals all her secrets. Cunning.”

Perhaps she had waited for an opportunity like this one since the day he captured her. And now the oath didn’t protect the Foresight’s captain anymore, she was taking it.

“Why?” Andromache asked, the tip of her staff burning with power. Kairos didn’t bother to call the alarm, since no one could help against the invulnerable Scylla. “Answer me.”

“I told you before.” Her staff almost touched his chin, but Kairos stood his ground. “You can ask me the same question as many times as you want, Andromache, the answer will stay the same. You deserved freedom, so I gave it back.”

Her angry gaze only turned fiercer. Were it not for her unnatural beauty, Kairos might have mistaken her for a Fury coming down to earth to punish him for his sins. “I didn’t ask for your pity, human! I didn’t ask for you! If you hadn’t come into my life… if you hadn’t come...”

“If I hadn’t come, you would still be on that island, flogging yourself over a crime you didn’t commit,” Kairos argued. Though he was naked and in a very dangerous position, his own calmness surprised him. If she really wanted to slay him, she would have already. “I’m not the one you should be angry at.”

“Who else?” Andromache snarled. “Circe perished long ago, her blood tainting the sea red as your kind slaughtered the heavens. You humans… you ruined everything. Everything.”

“It wasn’t a human that turned you into a squid for the crime of looking nice.”

She hit his right cheek with her staff, like a rod for disciplining children. Kairos’ skin hurt, but his gaze didn’t waver.

The furious Andromache dropped her staff to the side, sat her legs on each side of his chest, and then put her hands on his neck. Kairos felt the monstrous strength in her fingers, powerful enough to choke him to death, but he didn’t move an inch. This position might have been vaguely erotic, if she didn’t threaten to rip his head from his shoulders.

“You’re the only one I can get revenge on, Kairos,” the Scylla said, her expression a bestial, vengeful snarl. “Circe, cursed may she be, rots in the Underworld, but you… you still draw breath. You, who burnt my skin, captured me, carried me across the sea—”

“You want to kill me, Andromache?”

Kairos’ hand moved beneath the pillow, and brought out a hidden knife. The Scylla’s eyes widened in surprise, but instead of striking her, the Travian shoved the knife into her left hand.

Then, he pushed the edge against his chin, within an inch of drawing blood.

“Then do it. Don’t threaten me. Do it.”

He had no idea how long they looked at each other, the Scylla keeping the weapon pressed against the human’s skin. A slight push, and the Kairos’ life would end in seconds; Andromache’s right hand remained around his throat, and he could feel the tension in her fingers. The hesitation. The fear.

It all came to a head in an instant.

Andromache raised the knife, and stabbed the pillow. The knife’s edge fell within an inch of Kairos’ ear.

She had cast her white flag before him.

“Why?” Andromache hissed through her teeth. She was still angry, but only at herself. “Why can’t I do it?”

“Because I’m the only one who’s shown you genuine kindness,” Kairos replied, his tone softening. “It drives you mad because it clashes with your idea of how the world works. But you shouldn’t feel angry, Andromache. It won’t solve anything, and it won’t make you happier.”

“Lies!” she snarled angrily. “You can’t… I don’t believe you. Why? Why do you want to help me? For my power? Because it is a game to you, you cruel, petty man?”

“Because a captain looks after his crew,” Kairos replied honestly.

“Lies,” Andromache repeated, droplets forming in her eyes. “If you truly wanted to free me... you would have killed me.”

Overcome by compassion for the poor, confused creature before him, Kairos raised his left hand and softly wiped away her tears. Andromache let him touch her without a word, utterly crushed.

Kairos raised his back until he faced the Scylla still kneeling on his lap. He put both his arms around Andromache and hugged her tightly. He could sense a shiver of disgust race through her skin as they touched, but eventually, she rested her head on his shoulder. His own body shuddered at the physical contact too, but not out of disgust. Though vicious and fearsome, Andromache was beautiful, and Kairos was so very tired from everything. He hadn’t shared a girl’s bed in awhile, and their current position didn’t help either.

“Death won’t change anything,” Kairos whispered kindly, her hair smelling of saltwater. “You deserve to live.”

“Then why?” Andromache asked pitifully, though the meaning had changed. “Why? Why am I still like this?”

“Because the old gods were cruel and deserved to be overthrown. No more no less.” He held her tight, hearing her heartbeat. Though she was far stronger than him physically, she felt so weak in his arms. “Andromache, what was done to you was wrong and unjust, and I am truly sorry for it. But you don’t have to suffer alone anymore, or to take your pain on others. We’ll break that curse together.”

“What if he says no? What if the Moira lied, like Circe?” Andromache broke the embrace, though gently. Her tears had dried, but she had never looked so vulnerable. “I… I have enough of lies.”

Kairos looked into her eyes for a moment, trying to find the right words. In the end, he spoke with the heart. “I accepted you as you are, Andromache,” he said. “It won’t change, even if the curse remains. Scylla or nymph, you can still rebuild your life. I will help you... if you let me.”

Andromache stared into his eyes, her lips open. He felt her warm breath on his face, like a gentle summer breeze.

Kairos’ heartbeat accelerated. Maybe it was the leftover tension from the battle, his body craving release and warmth. Maybe breaking the oath had removed a barrier that stood between them. Maybe it was her sudden vulnerability that awoke an instinct buried deep within him.

“Prove it,” Andromache said, daring him. “Don’t say it. Prove it.”

His right hand moved to the back of her head, and pushed it closed to his.

The kiss was cold at first, as Andromache tensed in surprise when their lips met. Perhaps it disgusted her that a human dared to kiss her, and that she might come to enjoy it. But her resistance quickly faltered and she answered his desire with her own. It felt strange as their tongues touched, due to her fangs, but Kairos had seen worse.

Then he realized what he was doing, and abruptly broke the kiss. Andromache glared at the [Hero] with dissatisfaction.

“I’m sorry,” Kairos said immediately, removing his hand from behind her hair. “I shouldn’t have.”

“No,” she replied. “That wasn’t enough.”

“Andromache, I—”

His speech died in his throat, as the Scylla removed her robes and threw them away. He had seen her naked before, but never this close. His eyes wandered to her lush curves, and the sweat glistening on her skin.

All of Kairos’ objections faded away as Andromache’s arms surrounded his neck in an unbreakable embrace, and she resumed the kiss. Her chest brushed against his, and before he knew it, he was holding her too. He lost all rational thoughts, his body moving on its own. After everything that happened, they both craved human warmth.

His hands brushed against her legs, finding them as cold as a squid’s skin. Much like the Scylla’s shapeshifting didn’t change her sharp fangs to normal teeth, her magic couldn’t fully hide her monstrous nature. And yet, Kairos didn’t care, as his hands moved to her back to pull Andromache closer. He forgot everything but her.

She joined him beneath the goatskin blanket, and they made love while Rook snored a few feet away.