“And that my friends is Mijerno, the closest Emoran city to the Penti River and Neuhderland! Or at least that’s what my guidebook says.”
Ercole snapped the small book shut as he turned back and smiled at the rest of the group as they overlooked the small walled city.
“I thought books were expensive,” Shani sniffed, “how did you get to take one from your fancy library with you?”
“Oh, I just bought some papyrus and found some scraps of leather to make a little abridged copy of my own.”
“And you say that so casually…”
Ercole raised an innocent eyebrow. “What’s so special about it?”
“Most of us here can’t read Ercole and I don’t even know what ‘abridged’ means. Making a book, even out of scraps, is not something we ‘just’ do.”
“Ah—” He covertly put his book away looking almost embarrassed as he did, “I kind of… Forgot about that.”
Dyo cleared his throat, “I can read a little.”
Ercole’s eyes brightened up like lanterns as even his horse turned with him as he flicked round to look at Dyo. “You can!? How much?”
“Uh- I can read a few signs, some prices, my name, and some prayers.”
“Oh-” His eyes dulled a little, “Well, I suppose that’s better than most people…”
Shani let out a short chuckle, “Does that mean you’ll have to ‘educate’ him?”
“I’ll have to educate you all at this rate.”
Shani seemed almost taken aback by it while Agrippa’s eyes shone. Agrippa had changed forms once again and was now in the body that was the portrait of a fine Emoran woman. They now had flowing long locks of light black hair, grey eyes, eye-catching perfect light olive skin, and a slim body. Though so far, they seemed to be a little embarrassed for choosing it over their more usual plainer looking forms…
Dyo pulled his focus back to Ercole, “Can we save that till we’re inside the city?”
“Oh sure, sure, there’s plenty of interesting things inside there!”
“Hopefully all ones that don’t need too much money…” Shani muttered.
Ercole’s eyebrows raised, “Is this about the horses!?”
Shani stroked the mane of her horse as she trotted it up to Ercole’s. “This is very much about the horses. Wasn’t the money we spent on these meant to be the money we used here!?”
“Well, it was more of a top-up—”
“Ercole these are Massians and you just dumped the bag on the merchant’s table when you got them.”
Ercole crossed his arms, “What are you suggesting?”
“I’m suggesting we need some way to get some money.”
“Like?”
“Like maybe Dyo uses his magic to fix some people’s wine for a fee, that’d get people paying us!”
Dyo was about to open his mouth when Ercole scoffed, “That’d only get us a few Flosaens! And anyway, the wine merchants wouldn’t stand for that and start asking questions.”
“And they’d do well not try and stab or question their patron god’s son! But what else can we do? Other try using less money and getting a cheaper inn—”
Ercole looked almost gobsmacked, “I’m not going to take a cheap inn, not after that wine in the way station and especially not with the beds they have in those budget or traveller places!”
“Awww, is it not rich enough for your blood Mr Pharoh?” Shani laughed, clutching her belly.
“Why do you keep calling me a Pharoh!?”
“Because you’re certainly petulant enough to be one and it creates some fun reactions like that little pout.”
She smirked and gave Ercole a little pinch on the cheek before trotting away a little further up the crest of the hill, watching the burning flush of embarrassment come across Ercole’s face with a laugh.
“Do you want to get dumped in this town!?”
“Ah, ah, ah!” She raised a finger, “I think that’s something Dyo decides not you, I said I was following him back then, not you.”
“Fine…”
“Well then almighty Pharoh, did that book tell you anything about good drinking spots here?”
Dyo sighed and drew away from the two’s conversation, it might be fun to listen to Ercole and Shani bicker in short bursts, but sometimes it got tiring for him like now. Instead, he pulled his horse to look out at the city by the crest of the hill where Agrippa and Hreysti had retreated to, who were probably feeling the same.
The city certainly wasn’t the largest they’d seen but it was certainly impressive.
Nested like a crown upon the crest of a hill lay the city. Around it was a sturdy, thick stone wall reinforced at its base and divided by towers, with one tower connecting the city to a small aqueduct. The steep slopes of the hill around the walls made the climb to the city look arduous and probably improved the defences considerably. Even around the foot of the hill where farmsteads and their fields started to fill the landscape there were notable earthen ramparts splitting the fields, roads and houses apart. But back up inside the walls of the city, there was yet another fortification. At the very centre of the city was a palace of sorts that looked to have originally been a classical Emoran villa before being built up over time with extra wings, and then fortified with defensive towers and strengthened foundations.
The entire place was solidly built up to take and attack by the looks, even more so than Pygus, and that made Dyo wonder what it’d be like on the inside. Maybe it’d have guard posts on every corner with even the baths fortified?
He chuckled to himself. No, a city wouldn’t need that many guard posts, even if the Imperial Emoran pretenders were knocking at the gates.
Hreysti turned to him with an eyebrow raised, “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing really, just thinking of a few stupid things of what could be in there.”
“Do you think your horns could be a problem?”
Dyo was taken aback, “Why would they!?”
Hreysti’s eyes hardened as he stared at him, “You never know who will want to harm you for who you are.”
Dyo’s throat grew a little dry as he mulled those words over in his head. He was now back in the Republic and the guards at the bridge were a lot more respectful of him because of his heritage but- But there could be others like the prince and others still who may see a demigod are more of a threat… Something that would be dangerous. There was something else that pushed back, however.
Pride.
He was not going to be putting on another gods damned cloak in the Republic of all places and hiding himself! It had been too long since he’d been able to walk around the streets without one and he wasn’t going to let fear get to him now. Anyone who dared to harm him or his friends for being a demigod would simply have to face the consequences. If he could bring himself to see those consequences…
“Hreysti, I know people might, but I’m not going to cover them. If anyone wants to do anything to us, I’m not going to let them, okay? If they come after us and try to ruin our time here, I’ll give them the message that I’m not running.”
“And I’ll stop them too!” Agrippa chirped up, “I could get some wolf claws and strike people away if they try to attack us!”
Hreysti sniffed, the end of his mouth twitching up almost like he might smile, “You’ve gotten braver.”
They shot Hreysti a smile, “I’m not going to let anyone down and I don’t wanna hang back so much now!”
Dyo pulled his horse up beside them and placed his hand on each of their shoulders with a smile now forming on his face too. “Then we’re not going to go in with any fear then? Just a bunch of magical people walking into the city?”
Mayor Necia Opsius Ennius gripped the arms of her gilded seat as she read through the repulsive letter. She was the head of the Opsius family by right of being the eldest of the Ennius yet the repulsive disgraced imperial cock suckers in the Nepotianus branch continued to be an eternal thorn in her side! By hells damned Hapasian though the latest leader of their branch was a bigger fucking cunt than usual. In perfect writing and flowery prose, the man had insulted the prestige of the true branch of the Opsius, swore revenge for their fall, and told her that he was visiting her city today.
If she could have them arrested just for that she’d have the city’s contingent of Circuitusati and Armatae meeting them at the gates to stop their charade there and then.
But it got worse, as right at the end of the letter the man started to ramble on about Vibius Opsius Ennius’s lost treasure and that he was “reclaiming it now that the Ennius branch has lost all its former honour”!
Damned Republican laws. It’s what binds us and what allows for these men to go unpunished. And he was certainly not finding any of that gold before she did…
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