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You wrestle with your thoughts as you chase down your quarry – is it better to force an alliance with Palamedes, or allow him to come to you while the council is ongoing? If you test the man, would he later betray you? He does not seem to have the same streak of murderous anger that you’ve glimpsed in Odysseus, but surely, the man is dangerous is in own way.
As the golden chariot of Helios ascends in the sky, you elect not to push further with Palamedes. Years of command in the foothills of Olympus has provided you with some small measure of wisdom when interacting with men – if you push too hard, some men will fight you on principle – and these same men can become loyal footsoldiers if you provide them with the time to come around and exercise restraint. Palamedes pretends to be lost in thought himself – but more than once, you catch him looking at you with a calculating light in his eyes.
You make for an unusual pair, as you wend your way through the nooks and crannies of the hills – two men of vastly disparate size, wearing bronze panoplia. Despite your location and companion, you do feel at home – hunting in the hills is both your pleasure and your duty as a Thessalian.
You hear the bleating of the goats before you see them; your pulse quickens.
Standing at the bottom of a shallow depression between hills, you remove your crested helm, and crouching low, you carefully ascend until you can peer through the verdant grasses.
Perhaps a half-stadia distant, you see a ruined temple on the next hilltop, well-illuminated in the morning light – the paint on the columns has chipped away, the roof has toppled in, and the western and southern walls must have been laid flat against the earth and are hidden by grass. Or perhaps the stone has been pillaged for some other purpose, you cannot see from your angle. The goats that you have tracked are penned against the structure – by your count, twelve of them. You immediately note the presence of six men on the exterior of the ruined temple – while their mode of dress is foreign to you, they are obviously native Lelegians, and given their height – commoners. They’re armed with the rudimentary spears and bows that the common folk create for themselves. Together, they give the picture of a leisurely rest. No sentry is posted.
They are not prepared.
You descend slightly from your vantage point and summon Palamedes closer, and report what you’ve seen.
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