I don't know what I expected, but it wasn't this.

The third man to exit that mountain hut is someone I've seen in my childhood.

No, that's an understatement.

I spent my entire youth with him as my only living relative to take me in after my parents' death in the early 2000s. Well, my parents might never even existed in that timeframe.

If they date the myths right, we are twelve hundred years before Jesus was born.

It's about a 3000-year difference, yet he looks the same as I remember him, my uncle, Anthony.

"Odysseus, you have returned." He greets me with a smile, recognizing me as fast as I remember him. Another time traveler? Wouldn't Athena tell me about it?

"You can't be serious, grandpa." Ktimene protests right away, bumping into the old man. Well, he isn't that old, if I squint, he looks the same age as Laertes, my Father. Grandpa, she said?

"It's obvious that he's an imposter. Look at him. He's nothing like you." She tries to convince him, and I can attest to that. His short hair is white, the only sign that he's older.

But he is muscular, vigorous, and well-shaven, unlike all the other mythological figures.

He's exactly how he was when we last met before my deployment.

Wait. Did I ever see my Uncle Anthony get older? I wasn't focusing on his looks back then.

I was busy trying to find anything about my parents or why they named me Odysseus.

I should have spent more time with the people around me. But he doesn't act or speak like my uncle did. That much is clear. He was much slower, quieter, absent-minded.

"What are you talking about? He looks like his father without a beard. Yes, he needs to grow that back. And he got his hair from my daughter, and the eyes too. Of course, he is Odysseus."

Grow back my beard? I never had one.

This makes no sense, but he doesn't hesitate to give me a warm, welcoming hug, unlike how my uncle always treated me.

It doesn't mean he was cold, but he felt distant like his mind was elsewhere.

He is very present now and introduces the other two.

"This is my son, Aesimus, and his youngest, Sinon." Those are direct descendants of Autolycus. And my sister called him Grandpa, so there is no doubt about it now. "Care to join us?"

"We will hunt down a boar." The kid he called Sinon claims with pride.

"Do you have a boar tusk helmet yet? It would be the perfect opportunity to collect the tusks for that." The man tries to convince me because I'm too shocked to say anything.

Right. Boar tusk helmets. The classic hoplite helmets of the Greek soldiers are still far in the future.

Well, the hoplites too. The warriors of this era wore felt hats reinforced with boar tusks.

"I don't have one yet," I confess.

Laertes would have given me a set of armor and whatever I needed, but we left in a hurry and didn't think about asking.

"I don't have weapons either."

"Let's help with that first." Autolycus offers, heading back into his little hut with my protesting sister in tow. Yeah, even if they look the same, these are different people.

I have no doubts about it. He is the legendary thief Autolycus, the son of Hermes, but why does he look like my boring, quiet Uncle Anthony? And what was that about the beard?

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

When he next appears at the door, he has a spear in his hand and throws it at me without warning.

I catch it in flight in the last moment before it pierces me right through.

That sure wakes me up. My chest almost bursts, and he laughs like it's the most natural thing to do.

He has a point. There's no time to get lost in thoughts when I have a present to focus on.

"There were some sightings up north, and now that we have so many of us, it will be easy to drive out the wild boar." He explains, already on the move, and the rest of us follow.

He doesn't waste time, and while I said I'm on the clock, he's even too fast for me.

Eumaeus and Ktimene come with their spears, which seems a poor choice against a boar.

Why not a bow? A crossbow would be even better, but who knows if they already invented it?

I won't hope for a gun, but with a single spear, and no armor, it feels naked out here.

And that Sinon kid is no more than eight, and my sister and her slave double that. This can go wrong in many ways, but we must hurry to keep up with the 'old man'. He's enjoying this.

"Ktimene, you go left and Aesimus right. Odysseus, you're with me in the center." He issues the orders like it's second nature. Isn't he supposed to be a thief? "The boar should be over that hill."

"All right, Father, we'll meet in the middle." His son doesn't hesitate, and the six of us spread out to prevent the beast from escaping. Damn, he is fast. We only got here minutes ago.

I spot Glauca circling above, but Autolycus grabs my shoulder when the others are gone.

"How many times does this make it?" He asks, providing no clues about what he means.

"When Athena told me about her plan, and your potential futures, I didn't believe her."

"What do you mean?" It must be something about time travel.

"She took you when you were only two, and gave me instructions for the far future. But I met you again, not long after, and you already had that bushy beard. So is this the second time?"

"What? No." He confuses me even more.

"I never had a beard. And what do you mean we met? You were by my side all this time. How long ago are we talking about?"

"I sailed on the Argo so two decades ago? It was a little after Athena took you." He scratches his head, looking confused too. "I haven't met you since, so you say it didn't happen yet?"

"Y-you know about the time travel?" But he isn't a time traveler himself?

And he has no recollection of being my uncle either? I have so many questions, but no time to ask.

We hear a scream and it's a high-pitched one, a woman.

And it comes from behind that hill from to the left. The only woman in the area should be my sister.

"Ktimene!" We yell at once and move in unison. Old man or not, I have to sprint as fast as I can to keep up with him. As we reach the summit, I spot her on the ground.

There is a Squeaker, a tiny boar at arm's reach from her, but that's not the issue. It's the mother boar, charging at her from behind. There is no time to think, I move on instinct.

"You protect her, I take the boar," I yell back to Autolycus, and dash with my spear raised.