"This port is even busier than Crisa." My sister notes with a whistle.

She rushes forward, chasing Athene's restless owl, and I can't attempt to follow.

I have to be careful with my leg.

Still, I half expected to find an empty field here. Homer writes how Odysseus follows the traces of the lost sheep to this city in his notes, but coming here is a gamble.

According to archeologists, Messene is only established after the 8th century BCE. And yet, here we are, four hundred years early. Seeing the bustling port, it looks like the myths won.

"Let me support you, young — Odysseus." Eumaeus stays behind, and almost calls me that cursed word before my glance silences him. "I'll carry your spear too."

"Thanks. Keep an eye out before someone sells her into slavery though." I nod towards my sister and hand over the weapon. The sword stays by my side, and a shield would be nice too.

He laughs. We both know, that no kidnappers would survive the morning if they touched Ktimene.

Not, unless we intervened to save them from her.

There are many shady people in this place, let's hope Homer was right about the thieves too. But his songs skipped the solution, and this city is larger than I expected for a town that shouldn't exist.

"So where are we going now?" Ktimene asks the real questions, and I have no answer.

Looking over the harbor, plenty of merchants arrive from every direction. Something is up.

"Let's look for an inn first, and then explore the place." It's best to play it safe, we have time.

The docks are full of half-built penteconters. Are they preparing for war?

There is tension in the air, too many soldiers on the streets, and huge traffic in the port. One ship unloads hundreds of pounds of copper, a notable export from Cyprus.

On another sail, I recognize Apollo, which might mean they have come from Delos. And I saw those trade guild markings from Chios too. Those cities are famous for their slave markets.

"Say, Eumaeus, would you recognize the missing shepherds if we ran into them?" I ask the swineherd, quiet enough so my sister wouldn't hear it, and he nods.

There are too many coincidental clues, even without Homer's notes. I read about the slave trade when I got sidetracked in my search for my namesake in Greek mythology.

"We wouldn't graze on the same fields, and I don't know all the names, but I'd recognize most of them." The family's slave claims, and sure enough, we find chained men on the next street.

Shit, I remember why Eumaeus sounded so familiar. I stumbled upon his name as a noble slave from Syra, kidnapped by his nurse and sold by the Phoenicians.

In that story, he somehow finds that nurse later, and when she reveals his true identity, he goes on a tragic journey. How did he end up with Laertes instead? I better not tell him about this.

"Don't reveal it outright, pull on my chiton if you see anyone." Keeping my voice low, I instruct him instead. I should focus on the quest anyway. Something is fishy in Messene.

They want to get rid of the stolen goods, and I have to be careful with this many soldiers in the area.

My leg healed but still weak, and I have my people to protect.

I won't even tell my suspicion to Ktimene first, she is way too temperamental.

While she looks for a place to stay, we pass a group of slaves, and Eumaeus pulls on my clothes.

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Acting like I didn't notice, I dedicate their faces and every detail to my memories. Their guards carry shields with the same symbol I've seen everywhere in the city. We are right on track.

"How about this one?" Ktimene asks another street away, stopping by an inn. I nod, absent-minded, looking for the city's palace. I can only see the walls, rather than what's ahead.

And that's how we bump into each other.

The man, carrying a bow walks right into my injured leg, and I yell like a wounded animal.

If I don't, he might carry on, but my voice startles him.

"What happened?" He asks surprised, supporting me.

Eumaeus misunderstands, thinking it's a robbery, and raises his spear.

The innocent situation escalates into an armed standoff fast.

The nearby guards also stop to see what's going on. While I'm busy cursing inward, people draw their weapons, and we cause quite a commotion. Ktimene serves the icing on the cake.

"How dare you point your spears at Odysseus, son of Laertes?!" She demands, and I finally realize what I got myself into. And here I wanted to avoid drawing attention.

"Wait, hold on, it's my fault." Trying to de-escalate the situation, I pat the arm of the man I collided with. "I hit my wrong leg, and he helped me steady myself. Eumaeus."

The swineherd's face becomes red with embarrassment. He lowers the spear, and the Messenian soldiers do the same. Fuck, now they will sure to remember our faces.

Or, if nothing else, the fact that Ktimene yelled out my name. This has an immediate effect because the man won't let my arm go anymore. He looks like he saw a ghost.

"Odysseus?" He asks, then slams my shoulder so hard, I almost fall over.

"I couldn't recognize you without the beard. Fancy running into you here."

Eumaeus is about to raise the spear again before I stop him. The soldiers are still nearby, and one commotion is enough. But who the hell is this guy? And this beard thing again.

"I never had a beard, and I'm sorry if I kept you." Bowing my head, trying to back away, he keeps me in his arms like a vice. Is this like a Mycenaean scam? "Um, if you would let me go."

"You don't recognize me?" He hollers, and it sure sounds like a scam. "Well, of course. Your father was with us the entire journey, but you only came and went, Odysseus."

A journey he says? I'll regret asking, but I get a Deja Vu feeling from what Autolycus asked right before the boar incident. The beard, the mention of a journey, it must mean something.

"You were on the Argo?" Quick, try to recall the fifty Argonauts. My Father and Grandfather are two. Jason. Heracles. Orpheus. No, he has a bow, um, let's shoot a wild guess. "Clytius?"

"Hahaha, almost. I'm his brother, Iphitus." He introduces himself at last, and the name rings a bell. Why do the Argonauts know me? And why with a beard? "You didn't age a day."

"It must be the beard." I roll with it, as my brain goes into overdrive. But before I let it wander too far, I remember Messene and my current quest. "And why are you here?"

"Stolen brood mares. Twelve of them, and the mules they had." He lowers his voice, but still won't let me go. "The traces led me here. What about you, brother?"

"It's funny you should mention." I raise an eyebrow and continue leaning even closer.

"Also looking for stolen goods. Sheep and their shepherds. Mind lending a hand, Iphitus?"