>>5599012The shrine is an expansive edifice, a whole building dedicated to it on the northern end of the palace complex. Finer-built than most all temples you have seen, the building smells of incense, wine, and blood. Offerings to the household gods must be given amply here. Hestia, Zeus, Hermes, and Apollo are the traditional gods of the home, but the king has both the resources and the need to make offerings to all the Olympians at some time or another. On your journey you made the customary libations and meal-offerings to the major gods as you needed to.
The lesser votive statues interest you as well. A number of them are clustered around Zeus- Themis, Nike, Thetis, and others you are incapable of identifying. Others clearly represent local daemons- the spirit of the hill the palace is built on must be among them. Every single one of them has at least the remnants of a recent offering. Does Agamemnon have a priest on his staff?
Footsteps patter behind you.
There is a girl. She cannot be very much younger than you. She wears a veil and holds a jar in one hand with several lit sticks of incense in the other. Even through the veil you can tell her hair is as black as the king’s.
“Stranger who stands before the many altars of the gods, what are you doing here? You are no man of the staff, nor could you be a suitor of mine unknown. A new guest of my father’s more like, to what end?” You begin to consider how to respond but she cuts you off, her voice excited.
“No, a giant like you must be a man of war- however, the only great noble I know of with such a stature would be Ajax. You cannot be he, for my uncle is yet off visiting him. A minor noble then, no bannerman of my father’s either for otherwise I would know of you. So then, minor noble from northern Hellas, explain yourself!” She points at you now. This last part is said with an uncompromising air of authority, one you find unfit to such a girl.
You don’t immediately know how to respond. She must be a daughter of the king, but as Agamemnon has three you know not which.
>Answer her question straightforwardly- who you are, and why you’re here at the palace, both in the context of the mission and the broader war. Best to obey the princess.>Say who you are and then turn the tables on her by asking who *she* is to be questioning your purpose. It is profoundly unwomanly after all, to challenge a man in this way.>Say who you are but turn on the charm to avoid explaining the mission. You don’t know if Agamemnon’s broader household is privy after all.>Lie. Lie about who you are, why you’re here, what color your socks are, lie so hard that the girl won’t be able to make any headway through the bullshit.>Something else? 