Quoted By:
Traveling the well-patrolled lands of the Argolid is typically an untroubled affair – as one draws closer to Argos, the safety and security of the region increases dramatically. By early next afternoon, you and your men are drawing close to the city itself; the swamps give way to meadows and farmland. Field slaves and Argive freemen become common sights, as they labor to feed your nation – the trails become broader before evolving into double-lane dirt paths, and your party is soon being passed by chariots, carts, merchants and minor nobility with frequency. Despite the fact that you live on the periphery of the Argive nation, returning to Argos always has the feel of coming home – the steeds of your quadriga seem to know it as well, returning to the place of their birth, stepping lightly. The men of <span class="mu-i">Inachian Honorguard</span> are in high spirits, singing tuneful ditties and mocking each other’s combat performances the day previous. It is another hot day; Zephyrus herds his fluffy white sheep through the sky.
Passing over a hill, the prosperous city of Argos is laid out before you – it is the finest settlement in Hellas, thickly walled, and nestled between the two hills, Larissa and Aspis. It is beloved by ox-eyed Hera Αργεια, wife of Zeus; a city of oaths and marriage, fidelity and trust. The city floats atop rich fields of wheat and valleys filled to the brim with fat cattle; even now, endless streams of substance flow into the city to feed and enrich its people. Crime does not exist here; even men of common birth hoard their pride and self-respect like gold and silver. As a result, Argives themselves are the best of the commoners of Hellas - they are a pious folk, and Hera’s love for your people is returned tenfold to her. The shafts of Apollo rarely trouble your people; disease is both rare and fleeting. The stone temples, palaces and even personal residences are daubed richly in reds, blues, and purples – flags of all sizes and hues ripple in the breeze. The great theatre of the city is an ivory bowl; visible even from your vantage point.
Outside the gates, the unclean merchants hawk their wares in wooden stalls to the passersby. As for material wealth, the teeming hordes of Mycenae may claim that as the residents of the capital of Hellas, they are the richest and most cultured, and subjects of High King Agamemnon besides - a superior race, they boast! But Myceneans have been known to sell their wives and sisters into slavery for wine and a night’s pleasure; such base greed offends the Argive spirit. Argives all know that material wealth comes to those who hold true to the manful virtues - these are the true currencies of a wealthy people! Although, you note that your family certainly has gold aplenty as well. Regardless, it has been your duty, your honor, your privilege, and your fierce pleasure to shelter this jewel of the Peloponnese from all those who covet it.
>cont, might be some delay before I can finish...
