Malakos was dumbstruck as he lay upon the cold stone table with only a thin fur sheet with which to cover himself, and a bundle of hay to cushion his skull. “So, while I was unconscious, essentially on death’s door the entire city fell into an uproar. There were multiple attacks on the convoy and assassination attempts both on the Scholar and his retinue… Then Leucena was kidnapped and there was a war in the slums that has the entire city on the verge of riot… It’s a lot to get my head around.” As he lay there, the man couldn’t help but imagine the amount of work waiting once he returned. His fingers pressed firmly against the forehead trying desperately to smooth out the lines of worry building.
“I have a few questions, and one that I really want to know is why? Why did you save me? You could have left me there on the street, left me to die and no one would judge you for it… We are strangers you and I; you had no reason to help me and spend your precious coin.” By the midpoint of Malakos’s question Gylippos was already shaking his head back and forth.
Gylippos was honest, stating that in that moment he would have helped anyone in that situation. Assisting a dying person was akin to therapy, a way to soothe his fractured soul. He had more difficulty giving up the one gold coin he possessed to the doctor because it acted as the last tether to his sister’s memory. Otherwise, he had been prepared to die that very day, roaming the streets either to be killed or to find his place to die.
He spoke at length about his sister, his father, his entire family situation, how him ending up here came about in the first place. It was the reason why he could read and write, speak at the level of a common citizen, because he had been taught before his families decline and eventual fall. Tears streamed down the sides of his face as he was reminded of the past, his mother’s face barely a memory at this point, the struggles of life overwriting childhood. His sister had been his rock, the hut in which he took shelter from the storm, and both his father and the deceased Argades had taken that from him. Now they both lay dead upon the streets they called home.
“I saved you because that is what my sister would have wanted… and the Vodione in her dark brilliance granted me my revenge. The goddess gave me what I wanted; and your friend Leucena was the key, forcing Argades to make a decision that he would never normally make. Without her, without the people of the slums rising up, and without the arrival of the Scholar and Scyllans, none of this would have been possible. Now we are free, the world appears brighter on the horizon, and I have a future away from this place which has only brought me misery and pain.” Gylippos finally allowed a smile to grace his lips, it was as if a great weight had been lifted from his chest.
A few seconds passed before his fingers came to an abrupt stop, eyes staring emptily at the dull stone ceiling. “Thank you for telling me your story. It is clear your life has not been kind; I can understand you to some extent. I also seek Vodione’s blessing, perhaps she will grant me retribution for wrongs committed against me. For that I have something I must ask… what news do you have of the red-light district… the one which rested upon neutral ground?” upon witnessing the change in Gylippos’s demeanor and the dark look on his face, Malakos didn’t need to be told what would come next.
“Nobody knows what happened, but in the area that I found you a massacre occurred. There weren’t any bodies found, but there was plenty of blood and damage indicating a struggle. None of the guests who had visited the Retia’s Embrace that night had returned. We only know some of this because people talk, some people fled at the first sign of fighting, they got home, anyone who stayed haven’t been found.” Malakos listened attentively, closing his eyes as he processed the new information.
“My name is Gylippos, we have yet to refer to one another by name, but I think we are close enough to do so now at least. If you hadn’t told me that you were a member of the Scholar’s retinue and showed me the sigil you carry, I would have said my goodbye’s as we part ways. After all I have every intention of joining the Scholar on his journey now that I have put to rest all aspects of my past. There is nothing left for me here after all, only pain that I wish to forget.” Malakos turned his face to the younger man and smiled.
“The name is Malakos, and you’re right, we should get going, but there’s no rush. You say the Scholar left that very same day following the attack on the western slum. Knowing him, it was to get out of the city as I’m positive they needed a day or two of rest for the survivors, especially the women. Give me a day or two to recuperate, with a pair of fast horses we should have no trouble catching up to the cumbersome convoy.” Gylippos spent a few seconds thinking before shrugging his shoulders, agreeing that it would be safer if the two traveled together.
“Right Malakos, I had one last question? At the time I had no idea that you were affiliated with the Temrenosian convoy, so I hadn’t spoken about you to anyone there… In fact, I was coming here to let you know about joining the convoy and parting ways. I mean if you were missing, would your twin brother not be worried and send out a force to find you, the same way they did to find Leucena?” As soon as Gylippos spoke of twins Malakos scrunched up his face in utter confusion. Little by little the reality had begun to dawn, memories of that night resurfacing, and horror quickly replacing confusion.
“Gylippos listen to me carefully and answer to the best of your abilities… Did my twin look exactly like me? If you look at me now, do you notice any differences between the two of us… could it be someone who simply looks a little similar, or are we exactly alike?” Gylippos didn’t even need to think on the question, he answered almost immediately. Stating with absolute certainty that the man he saw was an almost identical twin, it was only a brief moment, but he was absolutely sure. The two hadn’t been introduced and since they did not get a chance to talk, the conversation had naturally never leaned toward Malakos.
“That thing you saw is not my twin, it is not even human. It is a monster masquerading as me and was the reason I almost died that night. Everything makes sense now, I was never the target, I was merely a route to the target. It is waiting for an opportunity to get isolate the Scholar without Maatilani around. Together the two of them could cut down that beast, but a surprise attack might succeed.” At this point Malakos was mainly talking to himself, speaking openly of monsters and magic. About plots and assassinations, how the regular attacks had helped, inhibiting the most dangerous assassination attempt from having a chance to be sprung.
“If the Lord extended to you a hand of friendship and expects you to join them at Shadowmoon cove after settling your affairs, then he must have granted you a method of communication.” Malakos was mumbling beneath his breath, but upon reaching the end of his train of thought his eyes shifted throughout the room, eventually landing on the visibly startled Gylippos.
“A sparrow, did the Scholar give you a sparrow? If he did then we have a chance of avoiding catastrophe… but we must hurry! Every second wasted is the difference between life and death. So, hurry and bring me the bird and the paper you were given, also bring me some ink and a feather. Come on, don’t dawdle!” The tone of voice was frantic, bordering on the hysterical. The formerly calm and collected Malakos has suddenly had completely flipped, yet it wasn’t madness but conviction that Gylippos recognized in that desperate gaze.
Gylippos chose to trust the man whose life he saved, for he had already come this far and done this much. What was another task in the grand scheme of things? A thought process that would leave him wholly unaware of how important this one action would be in the distant future.
