"I was kinda hoping so." The young man chuckles, before nodding to show he got the hint and leaving. The possible demigod has some time to ponder her situation in silence, noting the way the ship rolls with the waves, before she's rocked - the whole ship is rocked - by some powerful impact.
Luckily, a glance back shows that Callirhoe doesn't have to worry about the chimera's other heads, as they're engaged by Bellerophon and Medusa. The added shaking means she has to hold on tight to stay on the beast's back, though.
It had been a while since Talpharos had last visited the port, but as far as he could tell nothing much had changed – the crowds were the same, the smells were the same, the ships were as numerous and varied as ever... and after asking around he was able to find a few that would bring him to Calydon.Aphara leans in close, the smell of her perfume rising up to his nostrils, and he feels her lips on his for just a moment. She pulls back, smiling. "Good luck, son of Aphrodite. I hope we meet again." From her demeanor, it seems like that's more or less a pretty normal way of bidding farewell here, and not an overt show of affection.
Talpharos has a long hike ahead of him, marching along the long, thin causeway that connects Athens to its port at Piraeus through the great walls of Athens. Finally, he arrives, seeing a mass of ships along the harbor, with a huge, diverse crowd walking and doing business along the docks.
Asking around the waterfront, he finds three ships headed to Calydon, or at least close by. There are:
View attachment 6521
A great trireme on official state business. The grizzled captain says that he's headed to a city near Calydon, and would be willing to drop Talpharos off nearby - the drawback being that he'd have to help row, and in the case of a fight with one of Athens' enemies, join the fray.
Captained by a strange, dusky skinned foreigner, this ship carries spices from the Eastern lands to Greek ports. The captain says she'll allow Talpharos aboard and give him passage to Calydon. In exchange, he'll help unload the ship at their destination, and accompany the captain as she sells her goods, to make sure nothing shady happens.
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Crewed by a strange group of fair skinned, red headed barbarians, Talpharos has trouble understanding what exactly this strange ship's purpose is, but the mention of Calydon is responded to with nods and inviting gestures. The old man Talpharos assumes to be the captain has to fetch his daughter, whose Greek is still pretty patchy, to translate, and it seems like the barbaroi will let him aboard for free.
Myrtoan Sea - One Day Later:
Well, that didn't take long... Talpharos sighed as he heard the cry. Let's see if they will attack us... Mentally he prepared for the possibility of having to fight. While he could use a break from the rowing, this was certainly not what he had had in mind, but he had no choice but to play his part...
Talpharos blinks as his eyes adjust to the sunlight as he rushes out on deck. Looking straight ahead, he sees a ship nearly torn in two, sinking slowly as it takes on water from a gaping hole in its side, sailors leaping overboard - some swimming towards the Athenian vessel that destroyed their own. A javelin landing at his feet forces him to shift his perspective, however, as he turns to see a ship alongside his own - a bireme a little smaller than the Athenian ship. The enemy have assembled themselves into a line of spears and lambda crested shields, with men throwing javelins behind them, a few slingers throwing rocks up in the rigging, and several men rushing forward to lay ramps down over the gap between the two ships, presumably so the Lacedemonians can cross over and board Talpharos' ship. Looking at his own side, he sees the Athenians are positioned in a mirror formation to their enemies. None of the combatants wear heavy armor, since it would drag them to the bottom should they fall in the sea.
As her head hits the bedroll, the bodyguard knows something isn't right. The ship begins to shake and rock unnaturally, moved by something more than normal waves. Somewhere along the hull, she hears the sound of timber cracking.
"I-I... You were touching me, my king." She gulps, trembling at the feeling of his hand.
As Rhea rushes to protect her charges, she feels the ship shake again, and suddenly the hull begins to crack directly beside her. A tide of water crashes against her, sending her head colliding with the wall, and everything goes black.
She didn't remember much of what exactly had happened or how, as she tried to gather her surroundings. She remembered the ship cap sizing and then...she didn't know what. She slowly rose to her feet as she tried to survey the area. She didn't seem to badly hurt all things considered, but she had more important things to think about. Trying to figure out where exactly she was, she looked to see if her charge had washed up anywhere near her or anyone else. He knew how to swim, but that wasn't much of a reassurance for suddenly finding yourself underwater in the middle of the night.
Seeing the woman move toward him Talpharos took aim at her right shoulder and fired, hoping to disable her primary arm, or at least make it hard for her to use her sword so that he would have an advantage in melee. If she made it to him he would use his spear to try and keep her at a distance.Talpharos hears the dull thwang of his bowstring over and over as he looses arrows, sending several of the men perched on the enemy's rigging crashing down to the deck. Before he can celebrate, however, the Spartans shift their strategy. Seeing that they're losing the ranged fight, they begin sending warriors to leap the gap between ships and flank the Athenian shields. One such Laconian warrior fixes her eyes on Talpharos, moving with deadly intent.D100: 57+20