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As tempted as you are to plant yourself on the trail and break the enemy this way, you cannot risk isolating yourself from your forces and the stolen cattle. You reply to Pronax’s inquiry, saying –
“No, uncle – we will fight them off from horseback and keep moving! Aim for their steeds – we must dissuade them from pursuit without sparking a war in the process.”
Pronax tilts his brazen helm in acknowledgement wordlessly, and you each slow your respective mounts so that you are between the oncoming Tegeans and the stolen cattle. Arion needs little oversight – you are free to angle your head and body as you ride, keeping your left hand firmly tangled amongst his mane, and with your right hand, you hold your spear ready. Your great brazen shield is strapped safely to your back – better this than trying to wield it and hold Arion’s mane at the same time. Pronax has made the same trade-off – his shield is strapped to his back, but unlike you, his steed is of more typical stock – he must limit himself to darting glances at the trail behind him as he keeps his horse on track.
You don’t have to wait long before your enemy comes into view – a team of two chariots, each drawn by four Tegean steeds, the beasts laboring and straining over the earthy trail. The lead chariot is driven by a tall and slender man – you cannot be sure of his identity, but the elaborate double-topped dark crest of his bronze helm suggests that it is Archigeiros himself underneath. He holds the reins in a practiced manner, and even from the distance, you see that he has an easy grace in the care of his chariot, and total control over his stallions – the man is an expert charioteer. To his right, a man of equal height and heavier build is brandishing a spear in your direction, and bellows confidently at you:
<span class="mu-i">“THIEVES! I WILL SLAY YOU FOR YOUR TRESPASS UPON MY FATHER’S LAND!”</span>
Well – you do not need to guess at his identity from the styling of his bronze, at least. He can only be Cleombrotor, a man ten years younger than you and accounted a fair soldier, although you’ve never had the opportunity to verify this yourself. The son of Archigeiros is still too far for a spear-cast, but you immediately discern that he is the larger threat of this foremost chariot – his father is too busy with the reins to attack you directly.
Immediately behind this foremost chariot, a second team rides – two figures in matching bronze with short white-crested helms, shorter than their elder brother and obviously too slender for the bronze that they hastily have donned. These can only be Kleobis and Evandros; the younger twin sons of Archigeiros. You know little of them besides their names and their ages – they are only fifteen summers old, barely men at all. Nonetheless, they have kept pace with their father and elder brother, and so must have some talent at the reins as well, although how well they can angle a spear-cast, you don’t know.
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