>>5597139So you tell him. Not quite from the beginning, but from when you discovered his disappearance in Phthia. Agamemnon expresses some sympathies at Peleus’s outburst- something along the lines of “The northern dog has no respect for the blessed gods or men, a shame you had to endure his toothless wrath.”
He is intrigued when you describe how you deduced Achilles’ location with the help of a common soldier and a prostitute, although you clumsily leave out exactly *what* details led you to the conclusion that Achilles must have been on Skyros. A word of thanks is given when you describe killing the bandits- Agamemnon evidently considers even the status of the lands of the Magnesian lord Philoctetes to be a matter of his own concern.
When you mention offhandedly the delays and perfidy of the merchants you hired, he expresses his own distaste for the mercantile class- they’re hard to tax, and harder to punish when they can evade the authority of a local lord by flight at sea. You detail the run up to the tournament at Skyros, including the encounter with Thetis, which he frowns at but offers no commentary on. You describe crushing the local nobility and Achilles at Petteia factually- such a victory needs no embellishment. Once you say you outed Achilles right after that, Agamemnon begins to guffaw. Once he masters his laughter, he speaks.
“A crossdresser! At the behest of his mother! And worse at Petteia than a child and a geriatric! By Zeus that is too ridiculous to be a fiction. After that he came with you here?”
You nod.
“I see. An interesting story lord Nikandros, a very interesting story. But one thing leaps out at me- why Skyros? His divine mother could have hidden him anywhere in Hellas, so why a backwater kingdom that is relatively close to the lands they intended to hide from?” A bolt of panic runs through you. You think fast. Too fast?
“His wolves my lord. Immortal hounds, red-maned like the prince himself. They live on Skyros.” He pops an eyebrow.
“Wolves? Immortal wolves? Which live on a random Aegean island separated from their master, which nobody have ever heard of, far outside of the natural territory of such predators?” His tone grows increasingly skeptical.
“Yes!”
“Do you think I could see them?”
“No. They are invisible to those without potent divine ancestry.”
“Ah, a pity. Well Nikandros, you are an exceedingly clever fellow. A fellow my brother might have use for.” He rises from his throne and approaches you. This next part he says more softly.
“I invite you to stay with at the Royal Palace, until my brother returns so that he can pitch you on his venture himself.” Intriguing.
“And if I may be so bold my King, what is this venture of his?” He answers in an almost conspiratorial tone.
“A diplomatic embassy. A last gasp attempt at stopping the war. I will leave the full explanation of the matter to Menelaus himself.”
