>>5602371By the next morning your chest is largely pain-free. A blessing of your divine nature. Your mind remains foggy though- it seems the blood of the gods is insufficient for fixing damage to one’s brains in a timely manner.
Electra visited you earlier to remind you of the terms of your agreement. She did so matter-of-factly, giving no overt orders but reminding you of the importance of your task. Iphigeneia told her about your apparent memory loss. Her worry for your wellbeing is truly heartwarming.
Now you wait for Menelaus to arrive. The King of Sparta is making his way back to Mycenae from the isle of Salamis, the fortress masquerading as kingdom ruled in power by Telamon Aeacides, brother of King Peleus.
A knock at the door. In steps a man with auburn hair and ruddy cheeks, of reasonable stature and handsome features. His chiton is fine linen, but he otherwise is undecorated. He smiles broadly at you.
“Lord Nikandros I take it? Looks like ol’ Tydides did a real number on you. Stand up that I may regard you rightly.” You oblige the man who must be Menelaus, his loose speech somewhat surprising you.
“By Zeus, what a specimen! A veritable Atlas! You’ll do well for my purposes. Agamemnon told you about the mission I’m planning, did he not?” You affirm that you have a loose notion of the idea. He takes a deep breath.
“Now I understand you might be skeptical son, either of the possibility of the operation’s success or of the very concept of peace itself. I know when I was your age war appealed to me as the source of riches and fame.” He shakes his head theatrically.
“It isn’t worth it. Peace is the way, and I mean to have it. To do so I need both shrewd negotiators and brute intimidators. These Trojans don’t know what kind of a people their prince angered- a people descended from the gods themselves, a race of conquerors. To that end I have secured the services of Great Ajax, who you no doubt know by reputation.” You do. Ajax is famed as the commander who threw the Heraclidae back into the sea, a titan of a man wielding a magic shield.
“I might have invited you based on your stature alone, but my brother also told me about that affair on Skyros. Brilliant work! Such intelligence will fit well alongside my other primary advisors, Palamedes and Odysseus.” Palamedes is known as the wisest man in Hellas, a polyglot whose inventions range from arcane mathematics to new styles of gambling. Odysseus is similarly famed as genius negotiator who orchestrated the Oath of Tyndareus. Nominally meant to settle the marriage of illustrious Helen, the Oath has also served as the de facto defensive treaty which more-or-less ended the decades of upheaval following the ruinous exploits of Heracles.
