Quoted By:
Something is amiss.
The murdering sons, the avenging father - the plans of Theban fortifications, the emergency of the burning oak... The coincidence of it all begins to curdle in your mind.
No, more than one thing is wrong here. You tally the inconsistencies - first, Charrados speaks of revenge against Thebans, but now speaks as though he wishes to save them. He says that his brother Iladros had the plans on his hip, and he had only just escaped from his father, but now his Iladros claims to have hidden them before Charrados fled - shouldn’t Charrados have known this? Why would a mason have had a buckler and linothorax to begin with? And finally - Polynices never had a chance to hold the Cadmeian throne, having been ejected by Eteocles beforehand. How could Koximos and his three sons have been exiled by Polynices prior – would Polynices have even had the authority to do so as a prince of Thebes? And finally, the urgency of the burning oak, giving you only tense moments to make a rushed choice…
Any one of these peculiarities might have been overlooked, but together, the whole tale presented to you is a ragged hide: full of holes. This is a sham - some deceit is being perpetrated upon you! You immediately set your spear and shield at the ready, and dance away from Charados and his father on agile feet, scanning the shadowed treeline for ambushes. You’re careful to keep the men in your view, and despite their pleading, keep your spear at the ready. This scenario has been laid before you in the hopes of making you choose a side; righteous father against betraying sons. You sense the trickery of a daimon or deity at work; you’ve never had the displeasure of such an experience before, but there can be no other conclusion.
Well, you will play along with this deceit no longer.
A pair of Argive stunners rest on your belt; the third lies somewhere on the trail outside Archigeiros’ estate. At this close range, shattering the shins and ankles of these deceivers will be trivial.
In a single rapid motion, you plant your spearpoint into the earth, grasp a stunner, and throw at Charrados – the heavy ball snaps his left ankle like a twig; he topples bonelessly to the grassy earth with a choking hiss. Your second throw, whip-fast, takes Koximos in the side of the right knee as he turns to flee - you hear the dull creaking of the joint as it breaks loose from its moorings inside his flesh. Unlike his son, he immediately unleashes wordless howling, full of scorn and poison. You stride forwards, and with your sandaled foot, you stomp upon the good leg of each man – they shriek in agony as you thoroughly cripple them, and weeping, they wail and cast vile curses as soon as they catch their breath.
>cont
