We ported in Attica early in the morning. The sun hadn’t come up yet. I was cold, despite wearing winter clothes. A light, unpleasant breeze was coming from the vast sea behind us. We descended the ship and were greeted by people dressed in white mourning clothes. There were three of them. An older man with gray hair and a short gray beard. A man with a sword at his waist, who I assumed was captain of the city’s militia. And a young man dressed in a white robe with a red rope tied around his waist – the priest.
“Greetings, Vetulonians,” said the older gray haired man with a low voice.
“Good day to you, Atticans!” Brutus answered and looked with confusion at them, but not saying anything else.
“I see you’re puzzled by the absence of our king. I have very sorrowful news, the king perished two days ago,” said the priest with a timid voice.
“He’s dead? How?!” Brutus acted the part, and by gods, he was good at it!
“A severe illness that took him swiftly,” the priest bowed his head.
“Oh, stop it! He got drunk and choked on his own vomit. The guards found him like that in the morning. They barged into his room after getting no response,” the gray haired man waved his hand through the air.
Brutus remained acting confused, but then asked:
“And the funeral?”
“Yesterday. So now you’ll be speaking with me,” answered the gray haired man, “I was the boy’s second cousin and now the new king. My name is Achillies Adamos.”
Brutus and I both bowed our heads and introduced ourselves.
“Please, Vetulonians, follow me. Captain, Brother, you are both dismissed.”
The captain saluted, the priest bowed and they both left. The new king, Brutus and I walked towards a nearby hill where we’d have some privacy. The two of them talked trivialities until we were far away from the port, ascending a barren hill.
“A horrible way to go,” said Brutus.
“Well, I disagree. The boy got drunk, whored for half a night and then passed out. His last night on this earth wasn’t that bad.”
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“You’re right, the more I think of it,” Brutus agreed.
“And you Vetulonians can relax now…” smirked the new king.
“We can?” Brutus smiled with obvious cynicism.
“Well, yes. The boy was quite enchanted with the League and its ways. He would have steered Attica away from Vetulonia right into Alec’s hands. But not me…” The last words king almost whispered, while looking to the horizon. He then continued:
“I’ve been to Abydos. I’ve met with Alec. And I know what kind of man he is. There are also whispers, vile whispers of his unholy ways. Talks of sorcery. And the plebs there, gods, they don’t have any rights, no constitution, nothing! People have to abide or they disappear, and every rebellion gets squashed brutally. You probably know of the Argos rebellion?”
“I do, but my pledge perhaps doesn’t know the details, so please go on.”
The king looked at me and smiled.
“Argos is the League’s most eastern province. It’s a lush country. Green rivers, beautiful and countless waterfalls, lakes, forests, fields! Beautiful! Attica traded with them. When the League started building that monstrosity of the city, Abydos, they needed coin which they did not have at that time. So Alec and his lot squeezed everything they could from the countryside. Almost every seed of grain was exported to Megalopolis and Elves, leaving the people starving. They didn't care what effect their policies would have on their fellow countrymen. The Argos province realized what was happening and rebelled. They managed to muster an army of five thousand. Not enough. They got squashed. Other provinces, by the time they realized what was happening, were too starved out to do anything…
I’m an old man now, with no family of my own, and Alec is to blame for that… I mentioned Attica traded with Argos quite lively. I traveled there all the time. I met a local woman, Iris, and we fell in love. We didn’t see each other as much as we’d have liked. She loved Argos and I didn’t want to leave Attica. Yet still, I think I'd have eventually left everything behind, start a family with her. But she was taken from me in that rebellion. Countless others died from starvation. In some cases people even started eating their children, can you imagine that? I miss Iris every day and I still have her letters that I read when the wounds of my heart begin to howl. I curse the League and Alec!”
He took a deep breath and continued:
“I’m glad my idiot of a cousin died. His father spoiled him, gave him too much. The best rulers are the worst fathers… Vetulonia doesn’t have anything to worry about. Attica will stand by your side no matter what. And the plebs feel the same as I. But if war erupts, or better said, when it does, we will need military aid. Our militia is good for keeping peace on the streets and fighting off bandits, but they’re not warriors.”
“Vetulonia will protect you, my king. And together we will make things right again,” said Brutus with a serious voice. The two men then hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks.