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To your surprise, the woman is skilled in the theatrical arts – Endeïs’ speech is patterned and rhythmic, and her voice’s range pleasing – she tells you of yesterday’s deeds in the six-beat lines of a poet! Her tones are confident and smooth – whether she arranged these lines herself and rehearsed them as you slept, or is gifted with the power of spontaneous composition, you cannot say, but you listen raptly all the same. First, she tells you of events that occurred shortly after your exit from the arena in the hills – that Hyperbius was close behind you, that Dadaces and Faibokranef had attempted to bring the twins down outside the arena walls through ambush. Dadaces, you learn, was so badly beaten by the return blows that his life is in danger, even now, and Faibokranef was forced to retire the field, unwilling to assault the Sardinians or the Theban alone.
<span class="mu-b">“Now, swaggering Hyperbius, straining up the hillside,
Peering down upon the gigantic διογενής*,
His heart grasped firmly by Δειμος**' claw,
And leapt below, a fearful wolf stalking careless prey…”</span>
Despite your initial joy in the poetry, the content of these last lines soon fractures your face into a harsh grimace. Hyperbius, after a series of blows, managed to fell both Sardinians yesterday afternoon, in addition to yourself, and was never struck in return at any point. He was the sole competitor to reach the victor’s stand, and personally defeated three of his peers in the process. Eurykratides awarded him a golden bull pin, the mark of the challenge victor, before Hyperbius addressed the crowd of nobility present. Endeïs goes on to quote his short victor’s speech - self-congratulatory vaunting and vituperative remarks, mostly directed at you.
A man of no repute did this.
A <span class="mu-i">Theban</span> man of no κλέος, bringing you, ἀμύμονος Hippomedon of Argos, to the humiliation of public defeat.
To be driven into the earth by Capaneus in a private “sparring” match and suffer the barbs of your uncles is one thing – but to be overturned and mocked by a boy of no deeds? Your rage explodes; collapses into itself, freezes into an empty abyss. Your ears ring, your fists strangle the bedding, seeking the Theban’s throat - sparking torment flashes down your side; a reminder of your shame.
Endeïs, blind to the chaos within you, continues - at the penultimate moment of last night's feast, Eurykratides revealed a second Oetian Games’ prize from his collection – a scorched club, huge in size, rescued from the ashes of Heracles’ apotheotic pyre some decades ago…
The Thaumakian woman falls silent for a moment, as you digest yesterday's strivings.
>Oetian Games Standings
>Hyperbius: 5
>Hippomedon: 4
>Faibokranef: 3
>Halocrates: 2
>Nicodromus: 1
>Dadaces: Retired.
*born from Zeus - underselling their heritage. Endeïs is impugning Hyperbius/the twins with her word choice. **Terror/spoiler]
