Callirhoe blink two times not sure if she really talked to stranger or just to herself. She shakes her head and decided to focus on running away from Lysimachus, to direction of gymnasium, not thinking if it was a trap. She really didn't have any better options.
As Prince Cleon closed the door of his chamber, he considered the case. Thankfully he managed to get the entire confession. The herdsman did not have now the money his wife stole... Hmm... he guested it will have to be paid back in cattle... or, have his wife enslaved and sold on the market, then use the coin of this to compensate the neighbour. Remembering how the herdsman and the widowed neighbour were looking at each other, Cleon had little doubt which they would choose... "Mother." Cleon bowed respectfully. Then he frowned. "What did the emissary from Egypt say that she wants?" he asked, wondering if there was something except the trade. Of course, he would follow his mother's orders - the diplomat would cum out her secrets into his fingers, as she begged for release. As he grew and so did his skill. Some even came specifically to have some fun with him... it was a source of great pride to him, but also natural, that the wenches threw themselves at prince's mercies. The next sentence through, was a shock to him. "What?" He asked surprised. "How... when... That means, I..." He was truly shocked by the revelation, as it struck directly into his very lineage. He was proud of being prince, his entire self was based on this fact... and yet... it was a lie? Was he herdsman's spawn? Ir some random soldier's? Maybe result of his mother's nightstand - a forgotten adventure? He looked up at her sharply, and before she could realise, the young man was upon the Queen. His hand coiled around her throat, choking her lightly, as he pushed her against the wall. "Who?" He asked, his voice dry... almost a whisper.
Talpharos listened to the unknown woman's voice as she chased after the noblewoman. That is, until the knife at his throat made him pause. He froze in place and raised his hands up in a non-threatening manner as he listened to the voice in his head. Alright, I'll try... He followed the instructions as best as he could, focusing and trying to match his aura to hers as he began speaking. “Please, there is no need for this, my lady. I mean you no harm. I am Talpharos, Elegus' temporary assistant. He sent me to speak with you. His exact words were calm her down, promise her anything it takes.” The orphan explained. The one good thing about having a knife at his throat was that it made it easy to not get distracted by the woman's body. “Please, may I at least know your name, my lady? Elegus was in such a hurry to send me he did not tell me who you are...” He tried to sound friendly and make it clear that was just doing his job.
"Not...bad..." The man chuckles. "But the deck was stacked against you from the start. Ares! I call upon you! Give me strength, and in return I offer you every life in this house as sacrifice." He bellows, and as she looks at him, Rhea sees the man begin to change. His skin grows grey, eyes flashing red, as his veins burn with liquid fire and his plume shines with ethereal light. Velicus moves to shield his mother, as even Rhea is taken aback by the sheer bloodlust the corrupted warrior exudes. Spoiler: Combat Roll Rhea: 49+ 20=69 (nice) Servant of Ares: 38+30 (Ares' blessing)=68 Servant of Ares HP: 39-1+10 (Ares' blessing)=48 Rhea's strategy is cut short as the warrior presses forward with a series of lightning fast stabs, forcing her to reel back and block for dear life. She recovers, pivots and stabs, her speartip cutting the warrior's arm, finding the skin harder than it should be. He intends to feint with his next move. A deep, monstrous voice says from nowhere, and Rhea suddenly sees the warrior sending his speartip through her throat, before she blinks and feels her neck, finding it whole. He will feint low, and then attack high when your guard is dropped. The voice speaks again as Rhea's vision fades.
"Aye aye!" The helmsman responds, as the crew begins to row. Spoiler: Sailing Roll D100: 86+20 (Sailing Skill)=106 (Crit) Pelagia throws herself into action, observing the waves and the wind and utilising both to gain speed for the Syntychia, rather than expending the energy of the oarsmen. The pirates begin to recede in the distance as the galley closes in on the small island. The captain notes that the singing is indeed real, and quite beautiful. Spoiler: Awareness Roll D100: 74 Pelagia realises with a wary eye that her men, her trained, disciplined crew, are slowly changing course, bringing the Syntychia in the direction of a small cove. Looking back, she finds it hard to see what the pirates are doing, as they've been reduced to a dark spot on the horizon, but she thinks they're changing course for the same heading.
The young woman feels her lungs burning as she runs through Thebes and up a hill to a complex of buildings on the green, by the acropolis, her pursuers remaining doggedly behind. She's not alone, seeing groups of male and female runners sprinting and jogging around the complex. She darts through a group, pushing over some unfortunate sprinters on her way. She runs inside the gymnasium itself, seeing the training field where athletes and warriors train, most doing some sort of wrestling or weapons training, with a few strong men making a show of walking while carrying wooden logs on their shoulders. Callirhoe looks around and starts to panic - all the entrances inside the building are closed, meaning she's stuck in the courtyard with its one entrance and exit. Turning, she sees the Sacred Band warriors moving through that very same entrance. Four abreast, the warriors form a phalanx, blocking the exit with a small wall of shields and spears, as Lysimachus steps forward, dropping his weapons and grabbing a wooden training sword from a rack, swinging it around a little to get a feel for it. "The wood of these is hollow, you know. They're filled with lead - makes 'em much heavier than a regular sword, so a recruit can get used to the weight faster." He says victoriously. "A wooden sword might not be lethal, but in many ways it can hurt much worse than a blade can. The commander once made a joke about spanking you for your foolish ways. I think he should have taken that offer more seriously. Now, cooperate, and I won't hurt you too-, oof!" A dark shape flies past Callirhoe from somewhere behind her, crashing into Lysimachus' breastplate and knocking him on his ass. As it rolls away, the thief sees that it was one of the logs - Hades, it looks more like a whole tree. The sacred warrior wheezes and gasps desperately for air, and Callirhoe wonders for a second if he's dying - he has a massive dent in his armor. He manages to breathe, however, as Pelleas rushes to his side. "Who dares assault a member of the Sacred Ba- oh fuck." Callirhoe becomes aware of her foes and the athletes alike backing off warily, as she hears loud footsteps approaching from behind. Turning, her jaw drops as she sees a seven foot tall mountain of pure muscle, the most famous man in all Thebes, except perhaps King Oedipus himself. Callirhoe finds herself looking at the grinning face of Herakles. "Off with you." He says in a low voice, and the Sacred Band members help Lysimachus up and scatter - Herakles trained several of their number, so they know what he's capable of. "Troublemaker, huh?" He laughs and gives Callirhoe a light punch on the shoulder that nearly knocks her down. "You're the girl, right? The one I was supposed to show the ropes to?"
Queen Thalia groans, her eyes widening in shock as her own son chokes her. "He's...a god. A primordial" She manages, her voice barely audible. "Tartarus, lord of the pit, jailor of the titans." She grips his wrist, pulling his hand away. "So no, your blood isn't royal - it's divine."
"Tartarus!?" The prince choked out surprised. He was not expecting another shock like this. Prince Cleon frowned. Having divine blood was better then royal... but still... he would prefer both... and yet, could he spread it around? He allows his mother to pull his wrist away - he felt betrayed... he moved his hands up and carefully, yet firmly, he started caressing her cheeks. "Why tell me about it now?" He asked as he was still pinning her to the wall. Was she his mother at all, or was it a lie as well? He wondered. How many more lies was he told? "Did he forced himself on you? Or have you-?" He could not bring himself to finish the question.
Spoiler: Persuasion Roll D100: 54+10 (Perfume)+10 (Aphrodite Charm)=74 The woman holds the blade at his throat still, but her expression softens. "Selene. My name is Selene." She pulls her knife away and sheathes it. "Very well, I suppose I can at least let you speak. So...?" Ooh, well done! Now that you've learned that trick, why don't you practice it some more? I'm sure with some delicate wordplay she'll be putty in your hands.
Callirhoe doesn't know why she run into gymnasiums and getting herself into a trap. She grab wooden sword and turn around to Lysimachus. "Look I think you overreacting, for such trivial matter. Calm down and I'm sure that we can talk about it." She said when suddenly Lysimachus get throw down by log. Callirhoe look at mountain who turn in the men. "Wait, what? I mean thank you for your help, but I had these under control and it was misunderstanding, Mr Heracles." She speaks fast and nervous. "Wait, what ropes? No, nothing really serious happen, there is no necessary to go for such manner." She said slowly stepping back, wondering if spanking by Lysimachus wouldn't be better option. "I could clean your armor or stables... Wait, stables you already clean, but I'm sure it won't be necessary whatsoever you are planning."
The queen reaches out to touch his cheeks as well, catching her breath. "I decided not to tell you - I feared it would increase the risk of someone discovering that you're not related to the last king of this island by blood. After...well, after it happened, Tartarus told me he would have need of you when you were a man, so I figured I could spare you the truth through your childhood." She smiles. "I don't think Tartarus would have accepted a 'no'. But it was irrelevant, since I didn't say no. I knew the child a god could give me would be greater than that of any mortal, even a king."
As the Queen spoke, prince Cleon smiled. He planted a chaste kiss on her lips then hugged her. "I'm sorry for overreacting, mother." He said as he hugged her. He wasn't sure if there was more that she hid from him... not yet. She betrayed his trust... and it hurt. He was surprised how much it struck him. He stepped away from his mother. Harlot who was unfaithful to her king! A small voice whispered, but he ignored it... for now. "Then, I guess I should go to Tartarus' shrine to ask about guidance... and then, meet the diplomat? Or other way around?" He asked gently, as his arms still caressed shoulders of his mother.
"Ah, don't worry - I have to show the boys who's boss every once in a while, anyway. I'll make it up to Lysimachus later. That Pelleas don't look too bad neither." Herakles chuckles. "Don't be afraid, girl. I'm not going to hurt you." He seems a jovial sort - strange, given the stories Callirhoe's heard about him killing his own wife and children. Though she did hear a rumor that it was a god who drove him temporarily mad and forced him to do it. "...You don't have a clue what this is about, do you?" He sighs. "Fucking gods, I swear by Zeus... Shut up, old man!" He looks at the sky and bellows, and Callirhoe wonders if the madness of the hulk in front of her isn't quite over yet. He slips a massive arm around her shoulder and guides her out of the gymnasium and onto the grounds. "You, my friend, have been chosen by the gods for some very special tasks. Why, you ask? Well, because like me, you're a demigod."
The queen hugs him back happily, tears emerging on the edges of her eyes. "It's a lot to take in all at once, my son." She smiles. "Now that you know your true nature, it shouldn't be long before your powers begin to show themselves. I have a shrine beneath the palace, though, if you'd like to seek guidance first. Otherwise, the diplomat is in the largest of the guest chambers.
Callirhoe face told everything about state of her mind. Round eyes and open mouth in disbelief, suprise and rejection. "Wait, what?! Are you kidding me? I'm not demigod, both my parents are alive and live together." She said certainly that her eyes and nose are after father and mouth and ears are after mother. "I can't be demigod. They always have something special from their gods parents, but I'm nothing special. I was almost kicked out the army, it was miracle that it didn't happen before end of duty. Which god I would be child? No way, there isn't any who fit! "
The young prince nodded his head, and smiled. "Thank you." He said, his voice wavering a little. "I shall first go to the shrine... then meet the diplomat." He bowed his head and walked to the shrine that was prepared. His mind was a mess. His thoughts around his mother - did he had right to condemn her? If it was not a god, he would not hesitate... yet still, such an act... and what did it mean for him? Was he prince still? He shook his head as he entered a room with the shrine dedicated to Tartarus inside one of the palace's temples. He walked up to the altar... and stopped. How did one pray to Tartarus? What gifts would he accept? Not being sure, he took the wine and spill it on the altar, then took out his knife and spill some of his own blood on it. Then he knelt, before the altar. "I... am here... Lord Tartaus... father..." He said, quietly, waiting for a sign...
"Oh, kid, I was just like you, once." Herakles says sympathetically and gives Callirhoe's shoulder a squeeze, as they walk the hill, the city of Thebes stretching out beneath them. "Actually no, I wasn't. I was always exceptional. I killed two snakes as an infant and knocked up Thespius' 50 daughters before I was even a man grown, but I'm special even among demigods. Most of us aren't aware of our talents until we learn our heritage. Still, you've got some of your father in you even now. You think it's normal to be able to sprint across an entire city and outpace elite warriors trained by Herakles himself?"
He finds the shrine deep underground through a secret passage - Tartarus must enjoy the proximity to his own realm. The young man sniffs the air - is that...are those a woman's juices? In the gloom, he makes his offering. There's silence for a full minute. "Godspawn... The time has come for you to take your place as my servant. As more than a man." A deep voice echoes across the chamber.
{nice touch with the smell} As he sniffed the air, the young prince understood, what kind of offering to bring next time. As he knelt and listened, he shivered as he heard the deep voice. Godspawn. It sounded like a curse, as if he was called bastard... a servant? Him? A prince?... but it was god's will... "I listen, my lord-father." he said slowly. He never spoke to god... nor did he spoke to father... it was making him... nervous. He was not really sure what more to ask... not wanting to offend one of the first gods.
Callirhoe listen to these news with open eyes, following Heracles. " Well, I always was pretty good in running away from punishment for some my sins. And some what I was blamed, even when I was inocent. " She said and stopped counting. She run pretty fast. Something always push her to steel. And she was decent on the market. " Wait, don't tell me that my parent is Hermes? "
