Chapter 3

[Patras, Patrae-Vasíleio]

[9:15 AM]

Lucas waits in the courtyard of the palace compound, leaning with his back against the stone wall next to the main gate into the building. He is a few feet to the left of the large doors. At this angle, direct light from the morning sun showers him with a warm glow. His cycle is behind him, its gray metal shielded from the sun’s rays by Lucas’s shadow. It was brought into the compound after he left the meeting with Eleanor.

From around the far corner of the palace, Lucas can hear the clopping of hooves. A figure rounds the corner: Wren mounted on a horse approaching the center of the front courtyard. Her left arm is raised to be perpendicular to her body and a raven rests upon her elbow. Lucas converges to meet her, guiding his bicycle down the steps of the palace.

Wren has changed her attire since Lucas last saw her. She now wears a dark purple shirt of thick yet loose fabric. It extends to her waist, at which point padded, forest green pants extend to her ankles. The sleeves of this shirt terminate shortly past her elbows. Around her left upper arm is a leather strap not unlike the one on her left elbow. It acts as a holster for a round metal stake about one foot long and one and a half inches thick with sharpened ends. The ends of the pants are tucked into black leather boots. On her hands are black, tight-woven gloves with small metal plates on their backs. Her short hair is left untied. Lastly, a small, black backpack rests upon her shoulders. Lucas guesses that this likely carries parchment, ink, a quill, and some drachma.

The raven on her arm is fitted with a parchment tube for sending and receiving messages. The royal coat of arms is burned into the leather fittings.

All of this prepared gear has Lucas thinking about what he plans to wear for the coming job. He adds this to the list of things to remember when he’s back at his house collecting equipment and supplies.

“The Court approved the use of this horse for your commission.” Wren’s voice reaches through his thoughts.

“Actually, I had planned to bike this job” He responds, slightly shaking his cycle next to him.

“But Homer is on horseback. If we’re going to catch up with him, a horse is our best option.” She scoots forward. “Hop on, there’s room.”

“I disagree.” Lucas places a foot on the pedal of his bicycle and begins to tamper with the machinery of the seating and gears. “I started thinking about it after the briefing. Homer is already an hour ahead of us. Plus, the fact that one of your scouts caught up to him and gathered the information in that letter implies that Homer was stopped in Agios, tending to the aforementioned wounds. His horse had that time to rest and so he’s probably going at full speed. This will be a long-distance chase, in which human endurance trumps a horse’s speed.”

Having finished altering his bicycle, Lucas takes a step back and presents the machine to Wren. It is now elongated and sports two seats. Visually, it is clear that this configuration is meant for efficiency. Wren looks at Lucas, absorbing his evaluation of the situation. She then turns her attention to the contraption beside him.

“Alright.” She slides off of the saddle in one smooth motion. The raven on her elbow flaps its wings as she descends, then settles. “Eleanor told me that you’re experienced with these sorts of things: tracking and hunting. I trust your experience. But I act as an extension of the Court so, in the future, I ask that you heed my recommendations.”

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“Whatever you say.” Lucas climbs onto the bicycle and tests the handlebars and pedals, expecting to hear Wren chastise his lack of respect. Instead, he is surprised to hear no such thing. He looks up at her and throws a thumb behind his back, motioning to the seat behind him. “Hop on, there’s room.”

With Wren seated, Lucas becomes situated and prepares to ride out of the courtyard. In the cycle’s current configuration, the rider must lean forward to reach the handlebars, which are two vertical bars about six inches apart. The frame of the machine is thick and intricately crafted to support the weight of more than one person and distribute it efficiently. When Lucas pushes off towards the open gates ahead, both he and Wren feel as though they each ride as a single person. The pedaling is smooth and the gears hold up well. By the time they are outside of the courtyard, Lucas is leaning with his body nearly flat against his extended seat. Wren does the same, lying nearly on top of him with her hands on a non-steering set of handlebars. The raven takes off into the sky and follows them out of the city.

# (scene break) #

[The following scene is unfinished.]

For nearly thirty minutes, Lucas and Wren proceed down road 8A, the major road stretching northeast from Patras. Every now and then, Wren looks back to see the palace progressively shrinking in the distance until it disappears behind the foot of the mountains. She also looks up to make sure the messenger raven continues to follow.

This path runs through dead ruins from a time long ago. Vegetation has since reclaimed the land, but shells of brick and cement houses still stand out. This is backdropped by the crystal blue gulf of Corinth.

Lucas makes a sudden turn off course, taking an exit on the right. Wren looks ahead then to the left, down the main road they are meant to be following.

“Agios is back that way.”

Lucas decreases their speed and raises his upper body so that he sits up straight. “I need to grab my gear. It won’t take long.”

“You’re unarmed?” Wren’s voice possesses a mixture of surprise and anger. “You went to the capitol looking for an assignment without any equipment?”

Their speed decreases further as they approach a cluster of white-bricked houses. The wild trees become fewer and fields of olive trees begin to replace the natural scenery around them.

“Of course not. I have a small knife. But, as you can see, no protective clothing.” Lucas shifts his weight and begins lifting himself over the frame of the bicycle. At this speed, he is able to walk alongside it while holding the handles. Wren also decides to dismount and walk behind Lucas. “To be honest, I was hoping to walk out of that room without this job.”

She has no time to respond before Lucas abruptly stops the bicycle next to a wooden sign. In painted white letters, it reads “Platani”. They have arrived at a small settlement of no more than fifteen buildings, all previously in ruins. The white bricks have been cleared of vegetation, the buildings have been refurbished, and the ground has been laid with slates of stone to create walkways.

“Two minutes.” He says, already beginning to walk into the settlement.

[This scene is unfinished. Below is a summary of what happens in it.]

[This scene starts with Wren and Lucas biking along the main road. Lucas takes them off course towards Platani. They have a short exchange about how Lucas went looking for a bounty to hunt without equipment. Lucas implies that he was never genuinely hoping for the job. He enters his house and tells his mother about the job. His mother is happy for him. He assures her that he isn’t acting as an assassin. He leaves the house in proper attire that is protecting but not movement-inhibiting. When he returns to the bicycle, the people there are giving Wren nasty looks because of the crest on her sleeve. Lucas explains that his settlement isn't a fan of the Court. They leave.]

Lucas and Wren, having descended the hill, continue along the elevated road. To the left are a continuation of abandoned and destroyed houses. Lucas’s pedalling slows as they draw near to the town labelled “Agios”. It is named for documentation purposes, despite being uninhabited and in much similar shape to the architecture around it. Wren marvels at the view of the sea from the current vantage point while Lucas keeps his gaze fixed on the area ahead. Now considering his hunting assignment as having begun, he kicks his senses into gear.

Suddenly, Lucas’s eyes widen. He grasps the breaks and turns the chassis of the bicycle so as to skid to a stop. Wren is jarred but keeps her wits about her.

“What’s wrong?” She turns her attention to the road ahead, reasoning that Lucas stopped because of something in front of them. There is nothing but the normal scenery.

“The letter described that one person was killed here.” Lucas rises off of the bicycle, locks the front wheel, and reaches into his satchel. All the while, he is subtly sniffing the air. He removes his hatchet and turns towards the left edge of the road. After one last whiff, his eyes narrow. “But there’s more than one body.”