Quoted By:
Your orders do not surprise Argyros – you’ve demonstrated this same trick successfully numerous times in the past, and most recently two years ago, against a band of Phocians who had camped in the northern Argolid. That time, you had not actually come to blows – your presence alone and the sudden appearance of your honorguard was enough to prompt immediate surrender and escort from the Argolid – but here, violence is a near-certainty. As a giant in burnished bronze, you can’t help but draw significant amounts of attention – especially when bellowing like a frenzied bear. Your current panoplia is well-maintained and effective, but otherwise unmarked. Some men encrust their panoplia with jewels and other such things, becoming instantly-recognizable, but to be frank, you currently neither have the extreme wealth nor the inclination to decorate your bronze in this fashion. The financial expenditures required have never seemed practical, in your eyes. At any rate, anonymity serves you – the Dorians may choose to simply flee if they hear your name, and letting them escape would not be looked upon favorably in court.
Argyros and the men of the <span class="mu-i">Inachian Honorguard</span> scurry off the trail when you are three stadia distant from the Dorians - dipping into the brush alongside the swamps and fens. While not expert huntsmen, wet rucks through the marshes of Lerna are guaranteed of any military enterprise in the Argolid – they scurry through the vegetation with only minimal noise, hoping to assault the camp from behind, and quickly disappear from your field of view. As for yourself, you tie your lead horse’s reins to a cypress tree by the trail when you are still out of sight of the Dorians – your first thought was to stand astride the chariot and demand their attentions, but this would unnecessarily risk the lives of your precious steeds.
As you pass a copse of yet more cypress trees, you catch first sight of the Dorian camp – Chabrianos reported their shoddy campsite with accuracy – no sentries, no fortifications, multiple paths of entry, poorly arranged tents, and refuse scattered beyond the unmarked boundaries of their campsite; all signs of poor discipline. You catch sight of some of the Dorians immediately – rugged men with poorly-maintained gear, lounging in repose, and many with a lean look about them. If you had to guess, they’ve lingered too long in the Argolid, run short of supplies, and are now committed to the lazy and low banditry of robbing travelers until they have sufficient stock to travel to their hidden ship. Furthermore, you have reason to assume that their commander is either lost or stupid – he’s wandered quite close to your estates, and you are well-known as one of the deadliest men of the Argive royal family.
>cont
