Kairos 32: Burden of Command (Patreon)

The morning amazon patrol came earlier than the last, and they had brought a yellow tiger bigger than a horse.

Hidden under the cover of an oak tree and a veil of [Invisibility], Kairos watched his foes move like panthers in the tall grass, the dawning sun high in the skies. He counted four olive-skinned amazons with spears, swords, and chains; and a fifth woman, a witch covered head to toe in heavy robes. A hood and a scarf covered her face beneath the eyes. Kairos once thought Achlysian witches used these clothes to hide their mouths, but the truth had been far more disturbing.

Two nights had passed since the shipwreck, and the Travian captain had learned a few things about Achlys’ people since.

What the forest’s beasts hadn’t revealed to him, his own investigations did. His [Invisibility] and [Sneak] combination made the [Hero] nearly undetectable. Only the tigers which the amazon patrols loved so much risked smelling him, for though [Sneak] protected Kairos from their acute hearing, it did nothing for his scent. In the end, he had learned to hide himself by redirecting wind with his [Anemoi Spear]. He was a specter, a ghost.

A [Rogue]. Kairos had almost forgotten why he chose this class over [Fighter] so long ago.

After the disastrous fight with the Argo, Kairos and Cassandra had decided on a cautious course of action. Since the last Achlysian they met tricked them into a deadly confrontation with a ghost ship, the crew avoided all contact with the locals and observed them from afar.

Amazons wore very little, and instead used light clothing whose colors allowed them to blend in better with their environment. Kairos couldn’t say the same for their hair though. They loved to dye them red, blue, pink, the brighter the better. Perhaps they had grown so confident in their skills, that they could afford some coquetry. They favored bows and hunting spears, though they used other weapons too. The witches among them were surprisingly rare.

And from what he had seen so far, the amazons didn’t like their spellcasters all that much.

Their patrols came from the west, animals having warned Kairos of an Achlysian settlement there; though Horace couldn’t see anything from the skies. Kairos had considered following the patrols back home, but decided against it. If the witches could hide an entire city from sight with magic, they might see through his invisibility.

The amazons had also completely abandoned the shores, and for good reason. Kairos had glimpsed the Argo sail along the coast north to south two nights in a row, and Cassandra guessed that the ghost ship probably circled Achlys in search of prey. When they didn’t find any, the undead randomly burnt the shore with ghostly fire or bombarded it with golden arrows.

Though Kairos had seen two amazon patrols since dawn, the one he stalked right now was special. Andromache had noticed someone scrying the Achlys ring at dawn; since Jason only did so at night, Cassandra had figured out this might be the Daughters of Circe seeking to recover their poisonous gift.

This time, the Travian captain intended to take prisoners, to gather information from the amazons directly.

His [Anemoi Spear]’s magic created a bubble around the amazon patrol, preventing the tiger from sensing Cass’ group waiting in ambush. A Stymphalian bird watched from above, hidden among leaves.

Kairos examined that group carefully, watching them discuss in a dialect he couldn’t understand. The tiger’s tamer, a woman so muscled she might break a tree in half with her bare hands, stopped abruptly to talk to her beast. “I don’t smell or hear much, mistress, and that’s odd,” the big cat said. “It’s too quiet.”

Kairos wondered if the tamer could use [Beast Tongue], and her reaction seemed to confirm so. She said strange words, and the tiger answered, “Mayhaps a daemon chased the animals. I smell rotting flesh nearby.”

So he had picked up the lure. Kairos watched the group’s discussion, as the beast tamer talked with the witch. The warrior seemed to advocate turning away; the spellcaster, to carry on. Other members of the patrol supported the tiger tamer. Tones rose in anger, and the witch manifested flames within her hand to threaten her allies.

Kairos had seen a similar scene with the last patrol, with the warriors in the group clearly chafing at following orders. Cassandra told him the Daughters of Circe ruled over Achlys, but it didn’t seem like their people respected them.

An amazon spoke with something close to a Travian accent, and Kairos instantly focused on her among the group. That woman was young and lively, no older than twenty; and though she didn’t shout at the witch, she didn’t seem intimidated by her magic either. Her amber eyes remained serene, and when the spellcaster threatened her she simply adjusted her green braid. Kairos’ eyes wandered to the two daggers around her belt, which he immediately identified as poisoned.

Chloris, Daughter of Antheia

Legend: None.

Race: Human (Amazon)

Class: Rogue (Hunter, Cutthroat, Archer).

Level: 17.

In the end, the witch managed to get the group to follow her lead through threats. Kairos could see the resentment and doubts in the warriors’ eyes though.

Even the amazons faced morale problems. Kairos felt less alone in his plight.

He stalked the patrol from behind, until they reached the ambush site, a grove of thorny red vines and colored leaves. Oaks and stranger trees surrounded an unrecognizable human corpse eaten by carrions, a bony ring on its finger. The tiger carefully examined it, while the amazons stayed at the back. Chloris grabbed her daggers, the witch prepared a spell.

Wise. Cassandra hid nearby alongside Dag the raider and Opis, ready to ambush their targets.

The tiger moved the corpse on its back, revealing it as that of an amazon; a birdlike beast—Horace—had plucked out the eyes. “She’s a day old,” the tiger said, chasing away flies and a rat eating the corpse’s flesh. “She bled out from a blow to the chest.”

The manticore that slew her had been pretty nice to talk to, too. Kairos hadn’t even needed much convincing to make her give up the corpse; much like a cat with a mouse, the beast had ambushed a lone amazon scout for the sport.

No wonder the amazons were all armed. Their island was more fertile than Travia, but just as deadly.

The beast tamer reported her pet’s words, the group tensing up. They started arguing again, and from what little Kairos could understand, the witch ordered the amazons to take the ring off the corpse’s finger. But none wished to do so. Perhaps they thought the ring cursed.

And they were right. Jason scried the ring every night, and Kairos had to hide it far away from their hideout to not give the undead ideas. The ghostly captain must have thought Kairos’ crew evacuated deeper inland, away from his reach; though the Foresight’s crew held their breath anytime the Argo approached the cove where it almost sunk them.

Kairos feared for Andromache’s safety in particular. Jason hunted [Witches] with a passion and could bypass her invulnerability. Maybe he could find a way to detect the Scylla with time.

The Achlysian witch kept shouting at her group and didn’t give up. Kairos noticed the warrior women’s hands tighten around their weapons. Chloris in particular seemed to strongly consider shoving her daggers in the spellcaster’s throat.

The witch raised her fiery hands, the beast tamer whistled, and the tiger roared.

The big cat moved so swiftly that Kairos could barely follow his movements. One second he was inspecting a corpse, and the next he was making a new one. His sharp claws ripped the witch’s head from her shoulders before she could react.

The hidden Stymphalian bird let out a rough screech, and Kairos struck.

Still under the cover of invisibility, he unleashed a fearsome blast of wind at the amazons. The surprised wind blast tossed half of them to the ground, Chloris among them, and the other against the thorny vines. The tiger leaped away in surprise, his head rising up in alarm.

“Now!” Cassandra shouted from a tree’s branches, pointing a staff at the tiger from above. A purple light swallowed the big cat whole and turned him to stone. The same fate befell his trainer, and two amazons, as the hidden pirates targeted them with Andromache’s magical staves.

Only Chloris was spared from this fate, as the pirates only had two staves with two charges each. The young woman had reached for her daggers, only for Kairos to drop his invisibility veil and point his spear’s tip at her throat.

“Do you speak Travian?” Kairos asked his captive, as Cassandra and two other women climbed down from the trees. They drew their blades as their staves crumbled to dust, and Chloris dropped her weapons upon realizing she was outmatched.

Though the amazon refused to answer, he saw a flash of recognition in her eyes.

“Dag, you bind and blindfold her,” Cass ordered the other pirates. “Opis, make sure the witch is dead. You never know with them.”

Dag the raider took her name from her favored weapons, and indeed she promptly stole Chloris’ daggers for herself. Kairos hadn’t paid her and Opis much attention to her before the shipwreck since they usually scouted with Nessus, but with the satyr transformed into a beast, the captain had to command them directly. “Do we transport the statues too?” she asked her superiors.

“Leave them here for now, we’ll move them back to the base later.” Cass grinned ears to ears, as Dag bound their captive and Opis stabbed the dead witch repeatedly. “That was easy.”

“Your plan worked perfectly,” Kairos flattered her.

“Our plan,” his first mate said with a smile. “We couldn’t have done it without your intel and spear.”

“Hey, chief!” Opis called her superiors. “Look at her face!”

Kairos already knew what to expect when the raider removed the dead witch’s scarf; a patch of chalky skin where the nose and mouth should have been. He had seen another witch pull off her hood while stalking a patrol, though he wondered if he had hallucinated.

“She doesn’t have anything between the legs either,” Opis explained, disturbed. “Just white skin. I’m not sure if it’s even a woman.”

“They’re monsters.” Dag shrugged. “I’m not even surprised.”

“We’ll carry her to Andromache for autopsy,” Kairos decided. If they left the corpse here, animals would devour it within hours.

Achlys overflowed with life. The sheer number of medicinal herbs and poisons made it an alchemist’s daydream. Food was plentiful, though one needed very specific Skills to separate the bad from the good. Without [Poison Brewer], the Foresight’s crew might have perished from disease and toxins.

Kairos’ crew wouldn’t starve, which was good. An army marched on its stomach, and with the crew’s morale at an all-time low, starvation would have caused a mutiny.

“Andromache said the daylight divination came from the west too,” Kairos told Cassandra as they walked back to the hideout. Dag dragged their prisoner, while Opis carried the dead witch’s corpse on her shoulders and their Stymphalian bird carried the ring away. 

As for nightly divinations, Jason usually cast his scrying spells from the north. It seemed that the Argo usually rose near Moros, probably to ambush ships near the port city.

“The western settlement will eventually send a larger force to find out what happened to the missing patrol,” Cassandra replied with a frown. “We must either evacuate somewhere else, or cover up the disappearances until the Foresight recovers.”

Kairos glanced at his other crewmates, noticing the doubt and tension at the edge of their eyes. The calm water hid strong currents underneath.

When they returned to the entrance tunnel, hidden beneath a small hill near the coast, they found four statues standing near it. Kairos recognized them as Astraea, a swordswoman, and three other sailors from his own crew. Horace the bird stood on the petrified Astraea’s shoulder, while Rook and Nessus the ram waited at their feet.

“Eagles are the worst!” Rook complained to Horace. “They’re so arrogant, even if I have legs and they don’t!”

“I get what you mean,” Horace said with a shrug. “Ever since humans put them on all their flags, eagles have thought themselves superior to all other birds. I don’t get why either. I mean, they’re bald, and their feathers don’t shine.”

“Why don’t humans like us?” Rook complained, wings down. “Even Kairos put a hydra on his, instead of me.”

“Yeah, and hydras are dumber than cows. No taste at all.” Horace glanced at Kairos and his crew, and especially at the witch’s corpse. “Is this the dinner?”

“Kairos, welcome back!” Rook immediately leaped at his friend. Though his wing hadn’t fully recovered yet, the griffin no longer limped. “Was the hunt good?”

“It was,” Kairos replied while scratching his pet’s back, while Cassandra and the other pirates frowned at the statues’ sight. “What were you talking about?”

“Bird racism,” answered Nessus the ram. “About this, oh my captain, how is it that all beasts speak the same tongue? We humanoids never do, and yet I understand birds like my fellow goats.”

Kairos had no answer to this conundrum. It was probably the System’s doing.

“What did the ol’ satyr say?” Dag asked with a snicker. “Another stupid thing I bet.”

“I’m not so sure,” Kairos replied, before glancing at Astraea. “What happened?”

“They tried to run away while you and dear Cassandra were gone,” Nessus shrugged. “But Andromache caught them.”

“Only because I shouted a warning,” Horace said obsequiously, hoping to get a treat.

“Yes, yes,” Nessus replied dismissively. “Your Scylla [Petrified] them, and kindly warned the crew that she would eat any other coward trying to follow their lead.”

Andromache meant well, but she had the kindness of the stormy sea, which was to say none at all. Though she cared for Kairos and Cassandra to a lesser degree, she still looked down on other humans. Fear might maintain discipline for a time, but Kairos wasn’t blind; he saw the glares and heard the whispers whenever he walked through his camp.

“Deserters,” Kairos explained to Cassandra, Rook following him like a dog. “Andromache turned them to granite as punishment.”

“That’s what I feared,” Cassandra sighed, before whispering so the other pirates wouldn’t hear. “We will need to address this, Kairos. They were the boldest, but I doubt they’re the only ones having considered running away.”

“You could always replace them with that lovely creature,” Nessus said, upon noticing Chloris. “She is a bit young, but if you need to teach her life, I’m your goat.”

“A new friend?” Rook innocently looked at the amazon. “Oh, she has the same hair braid as Cassandra? Are they related?”

“They look nothing alike,” Nessus said. “Though they are both lovely in their own way.”

“All humans look the same,” Horace grumbled. “Which is to say, ugly. Ugh, their lips are disgusting.”

“We will leave you to your debates,” Kairos said, as Cassandra and the other raiders walked inside the tunnel. “Keep watching the entrance.”

“No one is getting past us, Kairos!” Rook said proudly, showing his chest. “Andromache said I should be able to fly tomorrow, and when I do, I will peck any undead that tries to move in!”

“What your bird said, but there is something you should know,” Nessus said, his tone much less enthusiastic. “Tiberius the boar—though he should have been a dog—told me he overheard sailors debate putting dear Cassandra in power instead of you. They considered threatening you into giving up power, but the conspiracy petered out when one pointed out that Andromache would murder them if they tried.”

Kairos sighed, not truly surprised. “When was it?”

“This morning.” Nessus marked a short pause. “I stand by you, captain, but you aren’t popular anymore I’m afraid.”

That was one way to put it. Kairos couldn’t blame them. The crew had lost a third of its people not so long after the disastrous victory over Orthia; though they had prevailed against Andromache, Boeotia, and the Cetus, the new gods hadn’t smiled much on them since.

If only that cursed ring hadn’t summoned the Argo so close to the Foresight… they would have sailed to Moros and gathered more information. Perhaps they would have learned of Heracles’ presence on the crew then, and realized that a direct confrontation with the ghost ship was hopeless.

But that was in the past, and he had to deal with the consequences now.

Kairos walked through the tunnels and into the tidal cavern, finding the sailors roasting food, while the transformed men among them tried to help the best they could in animal form. Andromache was busy applying severed parts of the Karkinos’ chitinous armor to the Foresight in her Scylla form when Opis all but dumped the witch’s corpse at her feet. The raider then joined Cass and Dag as they climbed the deck, to imprison Chloris within the cargo hold.

The Foresight had changed in his absence. Though it hadn’t fully recovered from the heavy damage it took from Heracles, with the deck still damaged, it was quickly ‘regrowing’ the lost parts. A layer of chitinous armor inherited from the Karkinos covered the hull, and three retractable, lobster-like limbs had grown on each side of the ship.

Legs.

The Foresight had legs the size of tall trees now. It couldn’t swim yet with the gash in its deck and the remaining holes in its hull, but it could walk like a crab. And even stranger, Kairos noticed a thin line at the front beneath the ram. It reminded him of a beast’s closed mouth.

Kairos walked towards his mistress, trying to ignore the glares he felt on his back and the whispers around him, both from women and beasts.

“I do not see my stone staves, my other half,” Andromache said, as she lowered her human torso so Kairos could lightly kiss her on the lips. “Did you lose them?”

“No, but the hunt was fruitful.” He glanced at the Achlysian witch’s corpse. “As you can see.”

“I hope it was worthwhile, my love. I can only craft so many of them with the resources at hand. They are experimental.” Andromache gave a cursory glance to the corpse, and spat. “A Mormo.”

“A what?”

“Failed Empusas,” Andromache explained, ripping the corpse’s clothes to better examine her. The dead witch’s skin was white as chalk, her breasts ending with fanged mouths. “Young witches could try a ritual to increase their powers by binding themselves to the goddess Hecate, becoming powerful creatures called Empusas. Those who failed became husks with magic.”

“But Hecate is dead,” Kairos pointed out. “Did the false Circe use a variant of the ritual to bind others to her?”

“I will examine her,” Andromache replied before dismissing the subject, and glancing at the Foresight. “A fearsome beast it will become.”

Indeed. The Foresight looked less like a ship and more like a sea monster now. “A ship for monsters,” Kairos said, though he wasn’t certain if it was for good or bad.

“Better than humans anyway,” Andromache sneered while glancing at the crew. “My harpies did not squeal half as much as these piglets.”

“They bled for me,” Kairos said. “They’re right to be angry.”

“You don’t need them, my other half,” she said. “The fool Jason staffed his crew with undead servants, and so did Lady Euryale. Now I understand why. The dead do not ask questions. Once I have learned my mentor’s secrets, I will make you another crew, my love.”

Kairos remembered the end of his battle with Orthia’s fleet, and how he ended up surrounded by corpses and acclaimed by Stymphalian birds. “I have no desire to live in the land of the dead,” the captain said. “I don’t want to surrender my humanity for comfort.”

“You are a [Hero], above common men,” Andromache replied. “These small people will live in the world you make.”

“That doesn’t make them worthless or worthy of contempt,” Kairos replied. “I will address the crew later to deal with the deserters. Can you unpetrify the four statues outside? I’ll give them a fair trial.”

She didn’t like it, but agreed. “As you wish.”

Afterward, Kairos climbed into the Foresight’s cargo hold, which the crew had partly converted into a jail. The benches that once allowed oarsmen to sit and row had been replaced with food containers and amphoras, while Chloris had been chained to a wall by Cassandra.

Most importantly, Rhadamanthe’s skull and those of the other dead crewmates had been gathered here, along with their ashes. The Travian captain bowed before them as he passed; while he couldn’t protect them in life, he would bring their remains back home whatever it took.

Kairos’ first mate had already been interrogating the prisoner when he arrived, having removed the blindfold and gag. “She can speak Travian,” Cassandra confirmed to her captain when she heard him approach. “But not well.”

“I speak little,” Chloris answered uneasily, her grammar broken. “But I have understanding.”

Good. Kairos sighed in relief, happy to finally have someone to interrogate. “Your name is Chloris, that is correct?”

She nodded slowly. Though she was clearly uneasy at being a prisoner, she didn’t panic nor fight back.“I own that name. What is yours?”

“Cassandra Bato,” Cass introduced herself.

So did Kairos. “Kairos Marius Remus.”

“Kairos.” Chloris frowned, as if she didn’t understand. “Right hour, it means?”

“A moment in time,” Kairos shrugged. “How can you speak Travian?”

“My father Grabos came from the land of Travia,” Chloris answered. “Mother carried him away when she was young.”

Kairos frowned. “Abducted, you mean?”

“Abducted? Like stolen?” Chloris asked with a frown. “Don’t you use that word when the stolen person is unwilling? My father wanted it. Though mother had to carry him again twice, when Aunt Ilya tried to steal him for herself.”

Kairos couldn’t imagine the family dinners, but that meant the Achlysians could prevent men from transforming into beasts. “How has your father not turned into an animal?” he asked.

This time, Chloris’ attitude shifted from agreeable to defensive. “I am not saying secrets to enemies. I will not betray my land.”

“We are not your enemies,” Kairos said. “The Daughters of Circe sent you to recover the ring?”

“Yes, that is true.”

“That ring summons the undead harassing your shores and killing your fellow amazons,” Cassandra explained. “It was given to us as a sign of friendship, but instead it summoned the Argo to our location. We had to fight and escape.”

Chlorine blinked a few times, as she registered the words. “The… ring brings the dead? But why?”

“Because it once belonged to them,” Kairos said. “We think the undead are after your queen, and her alone. She sent us to die in her place.”

“Many of our own died because of this betrayal,” Cassandra said. “We only want justice though.”

Chloris shifted uncomfortably, but she didn’t seem all that surprised. “So rumors were true… magicians summoned the dead, but cannot send them home.”

“You know the curse’s source?” Cassandra interrogated her captive.

“Elder Antiope said that witch-queen infuriated the dead by committing a great crime, so witch-queen accused her of lying and stole her life,” Chloris explained. “She said she would send the dead back to Tartarus, but she couldn’t get the victory. So more elders talk behind her back, and warrior-queen is not happy.”

Kairos frowned at her words. “If I understand right, you have two queens?”

“Yes, two who share power. Warrior-queen for warriors and mothers, who is named Thalestris, and witch-queen for magicians, who is named Circe.”

Kairos glanced at Cassandra, who shook her head. “I do not know what to say, Kairos,” she said. “Achlys is isolationist, so my intel may not be entirely correct. I thought the false Circe ruled alone.”

“Witch-queen rules over all yes, but warrior-queen commands the army, and each elder advises one tribe;” Chloris explained. “But there is anger among the tribes. Lady Petra defends Moros, but the dead will bring down the magic walls soon. Warrior-queen is gathering troops to help, but witch-queen says it is safer to flee the city like the rest. The dead cannot walk on land, she says.”

But that would mean all but cutting off all contact with the outside world. Kairos could understand why Thalestris wasn’t so keen on giving up the shores. Besides the economic fallout, it would make the amazons more vulnerable than ever, and unable to affect Sunsea politics.

And much like Kairos, the idea of giving up after the Argo killed so many of her own probably left a sour taste in her mouth. “Is that why your group killed the witch among you?” he interrogated the amazon.

Chloris kept her tongue.

“You’re free to speak your mind,” Cass insisted, her tone warm and friendly. “We don’t like them any more than you do.”

“They tried to kill us,” Kairos added. “When we were trying to help.”

This got the amazon talking. “The dead go after witches first,” Chloris admitted. “Many have seen. But the witches say we must defend them, even if it costs ten warriors. We are not lambs for sacrifice.”

Kairos thought of his crewmates outside, and how they felt about him. “Where could we meet this Thalestris?” He tested the waters. “Does she speak Travian?”

“Warrior-queen and witch-queen rule from the city of Themyscira in the west.” Chloris beamed. “You want me to say a message to her?”

Sharp girl, Kairos thought. “Maybe, though not without surveillance.”

“I do not know if warrior-queen Thalestris understands what you say,” Chloris admitted. “But I can carry a message, if you free my tribe-sisters from the stone.”

“We’ll think about it,” Kairos replied.

“If you truly want to be friends, you will,” the prisoner said stubbornly. “They are parts of the tribe. Blood will be paid with blood.”

Kairos exchanged a glance with Cassandra. “Could Thalestris lift the curse on our men?” his first mate asked.

“Can’t you lift it yourselves?” Chloris glanced at Kairos, until her eyes widened in recognition. “Or are you a [Hero]?”

“I am.”

“That is great news,” Chloris said with a smile. “We have lost many warriors, we need more children with strong fathers. You could stay.”

Cassandra exploded in laughter, while Kairos winced. He was thankful Andromache wasn’t present to listen to this. “I have no intention of becoming a broodmare,” he said.

“No, broodmares are only female,” Chloris replied, confused.

“Answer our question, please,” Cassandra asked softly. “And be honest, if you want us to trust you.”

Chloris considered her next words, with Kairos wondering if she thought of lying. In the end, she spoke her mind. “Only witch-queen can lift the man curse.”

Damn.

“Thank you for your answers, Chloris,” Cass said, before putting a hand on Kairos’ shoulder. “Can we talk alone?”

The captain nodded, leaving Chloris chained in the Foresight’s cargo hold and under tight surveillance. The duo moved to the deck, which was slowly recovering from the damage taken.

“The Achlysians aren’t as united as I thought,” Cass said, sitting on the deck’s edge and looking at the sailors below. “For tensions to have reached such a boiling point, the Argo must have raided their shores for a while.”

“I think so too,” Kairos said as he sat next to her. “Remember what she said about Moros? She said that the false Circe wanted to abandon it like the rest. I didn’t understand why we didn’t see any fishing settlement or ship near the coast when we first arrived, but now I do.”

“The Argo has rained fire and arrows on the coast until the Achlysians abandoned it,” Cass whispered. “This means… This means the Argo has been haunting them for at least a season or two.”

“But how could they hide something that big for so long?”

“The only Achlysian port allowed to trade with the outside world is Moros,” Cass explained. “From what Chloris told us, magic wards protect it from attacks. Since the witches control who gets in and out, they could have easily silenced outsiders trying to spread the tales beyond their borders. And even then they couldn’t keep the secret forever, since Sertorius and others heard of it.”

“Probably because the Argo’s repeated assaults on Moros weakened the wards,” Kairos theorized, guided by his [Magical Knack] Skill. “Jason himself could shrug off magic, and cancel Rhadamanthe’s spells. Maybe he’s slowly doing the same with Moros’ protections.”

“And traders must have bypassed the witches’ information embargo and spread tales of the Argo’s presence in Achlys.”

“This could be the opportunity we have been looking for,” Kairos said, as he sat next to Cass. “If Queen Thalestris is so eager to see the Argo gone and isn’t so happy with her co-ruler, perhaps we could make a deal with her.”

“I agree, we should contact Thalestris, though with caution,” Cass explained. “She can’t get rid of her fellow queen, so we’re far more expandable than she is.”

“Why?” Kairos asked. “The false Circe is a [Demigoddess], but she shouldn’t be invincible either. Not as much as Heracles at least.”

“The amazons have no choice,” Cass explained. “This ‘Circe’ lifts the curse as she wills. The magic protects Achlys’ from invading armies by cutting their strength in half, and the witch-queen can control who gets to have children by selectively lifting it. It doesn’t matter if people dislike her, so long as they need her.”

“Is that why I’m still alive?” Kairos asked, glancing at his crew. Most avoided his gaze. “Because they need me to return home?”

Or perhaps [Leadership 3] magically maintained troop morale?

Cass frowned. “You’re thinking of the deserters?”

“What should we do with them?”

His first mate sighed. “Aurelia once told me that Lycean legions practiced decimation for deserters. They were separated into groups of one and nine, with the latter killing the former. Those who suffer through it never break ranks again.”

“Somehow, I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Besides, Kairos didn’t feel he could force his crew through such a gruesome trial. They didn’t break rank when the undead battered their shield wall, and they fought bravely against an unbeatable foe.

“I was joking,” Cass said with a strained smile. “Truthfully, I have never been in a similar situation, but I don’t think we have reached a point of no return.”

Kairos crossed his arms. “Nessus told me that some of them wanted to make you captain.”

“Me?” Cassandra asked, a bit surprised.

She still didn’t believe in herself after all of this? “You organized and guided the crew while I was comatose,” Kairos reminded her. “You have been First Mate long before I took command, and you are older. I lost their respect, but not you.”

“Right now, they doubt and they fear you,” Cass corrected him. “Or rather, they fear the company you surround yourself with. None are stupid enough to pick a fight with you and risk angering Andromache. They might overwhelm you, but they can’t even scratch her.”

It was a common saying that fear was better than love. Many books on powerful rulers exalted this maxim.

But Kairos knew the full quote that inspired it. “‘A general should inspire fear in such a way that, if he does not win love, he avoids hatred,’” the captain quoted. “‘Because he can endure very well being feared whilst he is not hated.’”

“Who said that?” Cass asked with a raised eyebrow.

“A Lycean commander who perished stabbed by his own guards.”

Cassandra chuckled, before putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “They are scared and confused, Kairos, not hateful. Though it was costly, you did defeat an Orthian fleet thrice our numbers, brought wealth to your colony, and raised me from the dead in front of hundreds of witnesses. This defeat hit us hard, but you are still a [Hero]. What they want from you, Kairos, isn’t victory. It’s protection, compassion, and leadership in the storm.”

Kairos remained silent, as she shared more wisdom. “Captainship is a social contract,” she said. “The crew owes you service and obedience, so long as you can provide for them. It’s a really tough balance to maintain and… why I never dared to become captain myself. I think Astraea and the others tried to desert because many believe that you consider them disposable.”

“They aren’t,” Kairos protested. “What happened with Lysander was plainly my fault and arrogance, I will admit it, but the Argo ambush was bad luck and sabotage. We did all we could to prevent the undead from boarding, and we couldn’t outpace them at seven hundred meters of distance.”

“I know, and we came here for my sake too,” Cassandra replied. “But it’s not excuses or reasons they will want. It’s actions.”

Jason’s words echoed within Kairos' mind: you are a [Hero], but not a Hero yet. “Then what do you suggest?”

Cassandra thought about it for a moment. “That you earn back their respect through your deeds,” she said. “That you show compassion, but not weakness. You must maintain discipline or else the crew’s cohesion will crumble, but you must show fairness and understanding. That you remind them why they chose to follow you in the first place.”

Kairos listened carefully, then reached a decision. “Gather everyone,” he said. “I will speak to them.”

Cassandra simply nodded, before hugging him good luck.

Half an hour later, Kairos faced his crew, women and beasts, in the Foresight’s shadow; the petrified mutineers stood trial before them. Cassandra and Andromache stood each at his side, the latter lifting her spell with a wave of her staff.

Astraea and her cohorts blinked upon returning to flesh, glancing fearfully at Andromache; though she had turned into human form at Kairos’ behest, the Scylla didn’t hide her disdain for the deserters.

“Astraea, Eris, Aris, Dana,” Kairos spoke, his grip on his [Anemoi Spear] tightening. “I was told you tried to flee with stolen supplies in my absence. Do you deny it?”

To her credit, Astraea didn’t try to lie. Though she wasn’t tall nor especially strong, her amber eyes shone with defiance. “We didn’t steal anything,” she replied. “We just took back our stuff.”

“If you back out again, I shall slay you,” Andromache angrily declared in Travian. She pointed her staff at the Astraea, who flinched. “I shall not spare you this tim—”

Kairos interrupted his mistress with a raised hand. “Why did you run away?” he asked the mutineers.

“Because you’re going to get us all killed!” said two of them at once, other crewmates whispering in approval. “Like Rhadamanthe!”

“We shouldn’t have sailed to this cursed place,” another raider in the crew said. “Sorry, Cass, but making you a [Hero] isn’t worth my life.”

“If we could win at all, that would be great,” Dag the raider said with crossed arms. “But you can’t fight Heracles. Nobody can.”

“We won’t fight the Argo, no,” Kairos said. “But the Quest can be fulfilled without a battle.”

“Yeah, we heard your theory.” Dag shrugged. “But even if you’re right, I’m not sure you’re the person for the job anymore.”

“It’s Cass’ Quest,” Astraea said, sensing an opportunity. “She should lead.”

“I swore my sword to Kairos,” Cassandra replied with a frown. “I will not betray him.”

“You swore your sword, but not your freedom,” Astraea countered, turning to the onlookers. “Cass for captain!”

“Cass for captain!” a few others shouted, but most remained silent. Many glanced at Andromache, whose fearsome gaze could slay the weak of heart. The Scylla remained silent as a tombstone, which felt ten times more oppressive than any word.

“Now is not the time for an election,” Cassandra said. “We’re surrounded by enemies, and we can’t afford to show disunity now. As for the battle… it was not a mistake that brought it on, but treachery and bad luck.”

“We came to help free Achlys’ shores of the ghost ship that infests it, and instead, we were rewarded with sabotage and treachery,” Kairos explained. “The Achlys ambassador gave me an item knowing it would lead the Argo to us, trying to set us up for destruction. Only by working together can we—”

“Working together?” Dag the raider raised an eyebrow. “It hasn’t worked wonders for us.”

“You don’t care about the together part,” Astraea countered, others voicing their support. “You only think of yourself!”

Kairos squinted at her, suppressing his anger. “Artas.”

The mutineers frowned in return. “What Artas?” Astraea asked.

“Penesta of Lissala.” Kairos stopped for an instant before continuing. “Narensi of Lugal, Crixus Backbreaker, Eos, Baris Clubfoot, Sasai, Doclei, Phaidros One-Hand, Tekla…”

He kept saying the names one after the other, in the rough order of when they perished. By the time he was half-done, many looked away, and Astraea had at least the decency to look ashamed.

“Breuci the Black, Azali, Jasi Longmarch, Daun the Leal, Leto, Hypatios…”

At long last, he finished on the latest name.

“Rhadamanthe.” Kairos straightened up. “I memorized the names of everyone who served on the Foresight since you elected me as captain. I will not pretend that I was friends with all of those who perished… but I remember them. I remember the dead, I remember those who left. So do not pretend that I do not care. Can you name all those who perished fighting the Argo?”

Only silence answered.

“As I thought.”

“That’s just lip service,” Astraea found her tongue back. “Your uncle would never have taken these losses.”

“We took just as many,” Cassandra replied sadly. “Though over a longer term. That’s Travian life.”

“I loved my uncle, but I never remember coming back home with a full belly, while you are all well-fed,” Kairos pointed out, raising his tone slightly. “Why did we take losses in the first place? To secure Histria, and make sure your families never starve again!”

He sensed he had struck a point, his [Speech 3] Skill causing his words to echo like thunder.

“Grains now flow back from Histria to Lissala, and the wealth of Boeotia fills your purses,” Kairos continued. “Instead of living in shacks, builders are raising houses of stone for you at home just as we speak.”

“Because you sold your soul and cock to Lyce!” Someone shouted among the crowd, though Kairos couldn’t tell who.

“And for one hell of a cunt!” Nessus joked irreverently, though only the transformed men laughed.

Kairos ignored the jab. “I didn’t sell anything. I made an alliance. Did a legion come to put you all in chains? Were you forced to speak Lycean, pay tributes to foreigners, or prostrate yourselves? Yes, I paid this alliance with a marriage; but never with our freedom.”

“If we’re free, then why do we have to follow you?” Astraea asked.

“Because once, some of you here voted me as their captain.” Kairos straightened up. “I have tried to lead us in a direction that I felt was the best. Perhaps I was wrong. It will be up for you to decide, after we make it through our current situation. I swear I will get you all home.”

“You cannot guarantee it,” said Dag the raider.

“No, but I swear it all the same,” Kairos replied, before making an important decision. “But you are right, you should have the right to choose the captain you deserve. And you will.“

“What do you mean by that?” Astraea asked with a frown.

“Once we have left Achlys, you have my solemn word, on the gods old and new, that I will let you vote whether you wish to keep me as your captain or elect someone else.”

There, he said it. His declaration was met with whispers and surprise, none more surprised than Cassandra herself. Andromache looked at her lover as if he had lost his mind, but said nothing. She understood he needed to prevail by his words and deeds.

Some didn’t believe him though. “And if we elect someone else?” Dag the raider asked. “You will just follow orders?”

“Yes.” Though he wouldn’t like it. Kairos let a few seconds pass after his declaration, before silence the whispers with new words. “Until then, I will keep the command until we are safely back home. The situation is too dire for infighting, and desertions threaten everyone. Runaways might lead our foes to our location, or weaken the whole crew at a moment when we are vulnerable. You will be free to leave the crew after we return home safely.”

He glanced at the mutineers.

“So today, the four of you will return to your post with a warning,” Kairos said. “But Andromache will apply a tracking spell to locate you, and the next deserter I catch, I shall petrify myself. Am I understood?”

Astraea hesitated, but nodded slowly. Her fellow deserters did the same, though he could tell the doubts remained heavy in their minds.

Kairos had ensured they wouldn’t break ranks, for now. But he needed victories to reaffirm his hold over them, and he had only delayed the Sword of Damocles. The success of this mission would determine not only whether Cass would ascend to [Hero], but Kairos’ captainship as well.

“Then what’s the plan?” Dag asked with reluctance.

“I will defeat our foes, the only way they can ever be,” Kairos declared, glancing at Andromache. “By making them our friends.”

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

A/N: chapter made possible by you.

Read the last chapter's comments, and I am taking them into account. I'll rewrite the start of the arc for the purpose of the complete volume (when I have the time) and break some of the trends you identified.