Apollas was already sitting at the table when the old man came struggling through the door.

He toke the seat opposite Apollas and placed a package wrapped in cloth on the table.

"Why are you here Belator?"

The old man, named Belator, was still catching his breath.

"Me? Why do think I'm here?"

"Answer me!" Apollas demanded.

"This is how you treat me? So long we haven't seen each other and this is how you treat me. I am very disappointed."

Apollas didn't reply he just gazed at the man, there was nothing to say until Belator answered.

The old man took off his hood revealing a horribly mangled face, there was not much left to remind the observer of its human origin.

Scares covered the face, thick patches of them right under the brow, where once an eye sat.

The other one wasn't in much better condition as an infected sack of flesh pulled the lower eyelid down, the eye itself was completely yellow with thick red veins and a grey shimmer on the middle.

Apollas concluded he must be blind and there likely were people outside which have lead the cripple here, but he remained calm and continued listening to the old man.

Belator merrily continued.

"Well obviously I am here to present you with a gift."

He pushed the bundle over to Apollas side of the table.

"Don't you want to open it? Wasn't easy to get a hold of."

Apollas heart started pounding like a war drum.

The bundle had the size of a short sword, but it was impossible.

Where could he have found it, in his state.

He removed the cloth where the swords hilt would have been, he immediately folded the cloth back as he recognized the all to familiar shape.

The ivory hilt braced in gold with an eye of lapis at the bottom.

His heart nearly stopped and even though he was master over his outward expressions of tone and muscle, Belator picked up on something only the heightened senses of the blind can spot and an evil toothless grin came over his face.

Theos and the other kids were watching the men gracefully jumping down the cliffs, spinning through the air, putting jealousy in to the hearts of the creatures of the sky.

On long poles they had many colored flags blowing in the wind, it looked like dream up there.

Theos had never seen it before for a long time he was captivated watching them jump again and again anxiously waiting for the next man to present his skills, but his attention was not held for long, not for lack of spectacle, but from the side he felt a thing, like warm air.

He turned and for what felt like an eternity he caught the beautiful eyes of the young girl from earlier.

As she realized he answered her gaze she quickly turned away as if she was embarrassed, boys and girls sat separated and while they all talked, they didn't talk to each other.

And since his first violent contact with the kids, Theos knew that he didn't understood them really well, so he tried to fit in and didn't try to talk to the girls.

But he also knew he wanted to talk to this girl, the one with the beautiful brown eyes.

"When we are 14 they teach us too, some of the older boys are with the men sometimes, but I don't see them jump today. Maybe they jump somewhere else."

Atosk said since his scuffle with Theos he had become much more friendly.

"My brother said there is a training spot further down He was there a couple of times, he showed me."

"He didn't! You never were this far away from the village without your mommy."

Another replied.

"Take that back you dirty pirate."

Thoes saw a chance to prove himself and maybe get the attention of the girl with the beautiful eyes.

With affected calmness he said.

"Why don't we jump from here, too?"

The kids looked at him, as if he suggested they run off to challenge a god.

"What are you talking about? We are not old enough."

"Well these cliffs aren't that high and the water at the bottom is deep and free of stones. Why not?"

Annoyed by Thoes poise Atosk replied.

"Well you talk much, if you're so brave then why don't you try?"

Theos stood up and went to the cliffs edge.

Everyone was looking at him.

The cliff was higher then Theos imagined and the prospect of hitting the water from this hight scared him more then he expected, as did the dark abyss below.

He looked back.

Atosk seemed sure Theos was scared, he was their leader and this was his moment to expose the new kid, show him his boundaries.

Then Theos caught the girls glance, he flashed her a smile, turned around and jumped off the cliff.

The other kids jumped up and ran to the cliffs edge, stumbling over themselves to catch a glimpse of his jump.

It wasn't as perfect in form as the ones the men performed, but he did manage to spin two times before he hit the the waters surface, feet first straight into the abyss.

The frenzied kids above were craning their heads over the cliffs edge, with held breath they searched the dark abyss for a sign of Theos.

When his head finally broke the waters surface Theo took a few heavy breaths, drawing in as much air as his small lungs could hold.

The children above him were screaming and the first thing his gaze searched for was a beautiful pair of brown eyes starring back at him admiringly from the cliffs edge.

All he could do was smile.

Eliyana felt more and more comfortable between the village women, in the back of her mind she already made plans for her next visit.

She rejoiced in the presence of these women feeling a sort of content she hadn't felt for a long time. She talked about unimportant things, how she handled the house, the animals and her husband the most ordinary thing and as the women shared their stories, she felt invigorated.

"So why is your husband this devoted to the horned god? In the times of Kition when the furnaces didn't stop burning day and night there was reason to plea for his blessings. But today no one mines anymore. Not even your husband. He is neither a miner nor a blacksmith, so why is he offering so generously to the horned god?" one of the women finally asked, with genuine curiosity in her voice.

"And he doesn't even do it properly. You talk of goats and blood. I still remember my father taking me to the temple. I'll tell you what the horned god liked. We offered him whine and us young girls danced at his feet with flowers in our hair. There were the priests though. What they did? Who knows. But your man wasn't a priest, was he?"

She sighed.

"Well I don't really know, but it is important to him.

We have to pray every day to the horned god and sometimes we sing."

Eliyana went silent as she heard a screaming group of children approach from the cliffs. And her face went white as snow as she saw that they were carrying the seemingly lifeless body of her son up the small path.

"How did you find me?"

The toothless grin reached its apex.

"Isn't the better question. Where did I get it?

Or why did I bring it?"

"How did you find me?"

Apollas repeated through his set teeth.

"So single minded."

The man leaned back enjoying that he had the upper hand now.

"My memory isn't the best anymore! My skull has been broken 4 times you know?"

His voice changed were there was cool superiority before, furious anger broke through this surface.

He leaned on the table and saliva was slowly drooling from the corner of his mouth.

"So maybe I forgot who told me where to find you and why he gave me the sword!"

He was screaming now, droplets of saliva were hitting the table.

"My body was broken by more people then I can remember and you know what? In these dark cells, forgotten dungeon, when I lay on the naked stone in a puddle of my own blood, rotting away.

I swore I will stay alive to make you pay. And I hoped you found a good life for yourself. So there is more which I can take away!"

He broke off in a coughing fit blood running freely from his mouth now.

Apollas muscles tensed, one motion and the sword would be out of the cloth and in the brain of the old cripple, but he controlled himself, he had to know why he has here.

"One night. One night I came to terms with it all. I forgave you. Hard to believe. But while my rage kept me alive, deep down I knew you weren't to blame for my fate.

Don't be puzzled. I did forgive you I forgave them all, but don't worry I found a new reason a stronger on to hate you even more! I learned of what you did. Thirteen years ago. At this very place. I heard the rumors, the heinous deed I know you committed.

And then there came the sword and with it came the man that found it, searched half the world for it, searched half the world for you.

He was in Kremnos. I don't know if he still dwells there. I don't know why he gave me the sword and why I should deliver it to you I don't know either. There is your answer."

Apollas was ready to strike the cripple down, not with the sword but his hands, but then there was the screaming from the outside.

He ran to the door and looking outside he saw 4 man and his wife followed by a small group of people approaching.

His wife ran alongside the man, which carried his son, whose limbs hung lifeless from the linen his small body was wrapped in.

But before they could meet, a hail of arrows took out the man without touching the boy.

One arrow made Apollas its mark, but only grazed his calve, though the man carrying his son were dead, the work of expert marksman.

The crowd behind them fled in terror.

For bowman came from a small mountain range to the east of the estate.

The old man limped out of the hut laughing and coughing up blood at the same time.

The bowmen were undoubtedly Lukka, skilled mercenaries clad in cuirasses of hardened leather straps, layer over layer, like waves, with their tips meeting in the center, running down the body in successive tiers.

Flexible yet effective protection of the torso, but what really marked them were their feathered crowns, the color marking their rank.

Three wore red feathers, marking them as seasoned fighters, but one bore purple feathers, either plucked from some exotic bird in the south and sold by the dark skinned merchants of Kush or colored in, with the rare ink of the sea snails in the west, either way, costly headwear, signaling a leaders rank among the Lukka warrior cast.

The Lukka leader turned to the old man.

"Is this him?" he demanded.

"Yes, yes it is!" Belator screamed, while trying to suppress his cough.

"Are you sure old man?" the Lukka questioned him again, in disbelieve.

"Ofcourse I am! I could never forget him!"

An arrow embedded itself in the old mans chest.

His deformed body instantly came crashing to the ground.

"Why would he send four of us capture a simple peasant?"

One of the Lukka questioned in a language unfamiliar to Eliyana.

"Why should we care he pays good." another Lukka replied.

"Shut up!" their leader commanded.

"They can't understand us." one of them abjectly pointed out.

"Maybe he can." their leader replied out of of his gritted teeth and pointed at Apollas.

"Are you here to capture or kill me?"

Apollas answered in their language, as he raised himself to his full impressive frame.

"Kill if we must, capture if we can. What do you think?"

"Better kill me dogs, as long as you can still try."

The man were master bowman, but they did not count on the impressive agility Persitus possessed even in his advanced age.

Arrows were whistling trough the air, close to Apollas head, but he evaded them, he accounted for all the bowmen and their respective positions and angles, but one arrow still found its mark, Apollas calve, but it didn't impede his advance.

The closest of the Lukka was so surprised, he hadn't found time to drawn his dirk, Apollas did and cleaved his head clean from his shoulders. The other two threw the bows down and entered into closed combat drawing their dirks.

Even though their skills with the bow were impressive their swordplay skills wear fatally lacking.

In the beat of a heart, their limbs flew freely through the air and jets of crimson sprayed the ground.

The last man left was their leader struck by by disbelieve.

He had nocked his arrow aiming at Apollas, who nonetheless approached like a lion ready to deal the death blow to his wounded pray.

"Impressive for an old man, then at least we must have found the right man." he mocked.

As the Lukka tried to loosen the arrow, the bow flew out of his hands, Apollas had thrown his sword like a projectile, with such force and accuracy it had split the bow and dealt at deep cut into the bowmans hand. A moment later the bowman felt the tight grip of iron fingers around his neck, as Apollas closed his hands and crushed the bowmans trachea.

When Apollas rose from the Lukka leaders strangled body, he heard a gurgling laughter from the house, he realized the old man had not yet died and still might possess useful information.

Apollas approached the almost lifeless husk of the man know as Belator.

"Fate is good to me... You have finally fallen out of the gods favor Apollas."

These were his last words, for Apollas crushed his skull under his sandaled feet.

First Apollas checked his son searching for arrow wounds or other signs of harm, but he could find nothing but a purple bump above his ankle, the tended to his arrow wound while Eliyana anxiously explained what happened.

"He jumped off the cliffs?"

"You weren't supervising him?"

"He was with the other kids!"

"I should have never let you go!"

"Apollas he has been poisoned by a stone fish! We have to bring him to Kremnos before he dies!"

"I will go, but you two will stay here."

"What! This is madness when you are back he will be dead already."

"You will stay here, just as I say!"

"No! We will bring him together to Kremnos the Apothecary will know a cure."

"I let you go to the cliffs. Look what it got us! You will do as I say! You don't even understand what is happening here!"

"He will die Apollas!"

"Enough."

Apollas wrapped cloth around his wounded leg, took his cloak, grabbed the golden sword and concealed it under the folds of his cloak.

"I will be back tomorrow." he barked as he walked away.

Eliyana look after him in disbelieve, she had never seen him like this.

What did he mean when he said she didn't understood what was going on?

Sure she didn't knew the strange men and why Apollas spoke their strange language, but how could it possibly relate to his poisoned son?

Why was he refusing to safe his own sons life?

Time was running short, Eliyana didn't care waste time pondering these questions, nor did she intend to worry about what was to be done with the bodies of the dead men scattered around her home.

The cart had to be prepared, there was a long day and an even longer night ahead.