Our journey to Crisa is as smooth as possible.

There are no storms, pirates, or sea monsters either.

Everything is perfect, mundane, and uneventful, except for one teeny-tiny detail.

My dearest little sister hid in our supplies, staying still for an entire day. I don't know how she did it, but it's too late to turn back when we find her, and she knows that too.

We have favorable winds, meaning the route back would be much longer and difficult, so she has to stay. Unless, of course, I drown her in the sea.

But no, I keep those intrusive thoughts at bay. This means I won't have time alone with Eumaeus, as it takes a while to master the ship. From Lieutenant, I finally became a Captain.

"What were you thinking, Ktimene?" The young slave scolds my sister in my stead.

I can already tell, she wasn't thinking at all. She fell out from a tight space between the amphoras.

Her entire body is stiff, and she is shaking from hunger as if she didn't dare to move and make a sound. With my beginner steering on the rough sea, it must have been quite uncomfortable.

"Someone has to keep an eye on this imposter." That's the answer she comes up with. The truth is on her face though, she is jealous. "You are all too naive, like my Mother."

Is it because I got an important mission or because Eumaeus followed me?

Well, it doesn't matter. It's the perfect opportunity to tame her a little if it's even possible.

"You care to join us on the hunt too, Ktimene?" I ask her when my shift at the helm is over. She scoffs rather than answering, so I bring food to warm her up.

Penteconters don't have a steering wheel like those classic sailing ships. There are two steering oars instead, one on each side, and both manned by sailors I get to command around.

Their skill makes up for any mistakes, but I have some experience in navigating, so we're on track.

Our stocks are in amphoras between the oarsmen, and we have a generous excess.

"Here, this will fix you up." I serve her some pork side and spicy hot wine, watered down because I'm yet to ask her age. "If you want anything else, let me know, little sister."

"Don't call me that. Until Gramps says it otherwise, my brother is still missing." She snaps, but takes both the food and the wine and devours them at record speed.

So I'm missing? I thought their story was that I went with Athene to train. Forget about learning about them, I should get a better grip on my backstory first, at least what they know about it.

"Why would Autolycus know?" I ask, even if it feels like I'm talking against myself.

I know he's a legendary grandpa with otherworldy abilities, and he gave Odysseus his name too.

She's not in the mood to answer questions though. Not for me anyway.

She is practicing her ugliest glances to shoot them at me whenever I get close.

Her only luck is that I always wanted a little sister. I imagined, how I would spoil her, and raise her as a tomboy. By the looks of it, she raised herself like that too.

She snuck out to practice with the spear or hide on the deck to go on an adventure. What is not to love? And it might be my bias, but she's a pretty girl, taking after our Mother.

The orange tint in her dark hair gives her a striking look, especially during the sunset. She's in good shape too, and her chiton doesn't cover much.

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It might be a problem since she's the only female on deck.

The oarsmen often steal glances at her, and I can't blame them.

Looking is all right, but nothing more, so I better stick close to her.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't be here for you. I'll try to make up for the lost time." I promise, rubbing her stiff shoulder, but she almost spits out the food, pulling away.

"Don't you dare to touch me! You are disgusting." She jumps on her feet, and stomps towards the other end of the small ship. "Come on, Eumaeus, let's leave this moron here."

That went well. It's a good thing that I have a thick skin. People in the boot camp used much worse names on me, but when it comes from my sister, it stings a little.

The family's slave looks apologetic, shrugging before following his master.

It's a good thing they sent him to keep me safe, now he has to babysit Ktimene.

After how she almost stabbed me with a spear when we first met, the two might be the same task.

Well, at least how she acts will keep those sailors away too.

Their self-isolation keeps up for the rest of the week. The journey goes by without me learning anything about them. I learned how to sail a penteconter instead. That will come in handy later.

Crisa is a busy harbor, closest to Delphi at the foot of Mount Parnassus.

It won't be famous for its oracles for a few more centuries, but its worship of Apollo makes it a sacred ground.

Before traveling back in time, the old hunter I ran into in Ithaca also introduced himself by that name. And then he disappeared without a trace.

What if Athena wasn't the only deity in there? Who else did she involve in this? It's a ten-mile walk from the port to the mountain, and we aren't in a rush, taking in the amazing sights.

The sailors stay with the ship or tour the city to replenish our supplies.

While Ktimene never answered my invitation, as Eumaeus came with me she followed too.

The three of us reach the sacred city before the sun sets, and stay the night there in an inn.

It allows me a long time to think, and there is a problem.

Ancient sources didn't specify where Autolycus lives, and this place is huge. That's when Glauca comes to the rescue. Athena's owl spent our journey circling the ship's mast.

It would only come down for food, and the sailors always shared their portions with it. I don't know how much that little bird could eat, but its size is deceiving.

Come morning, it flies ahead, and the three of us follow, hoping it knows the way. It turns into quite a mountain climbing trek, but by noon, we reach an unassuming hut.

A kid runs out and freezes when he notices us. He runs right back in and returns a middle-aged man. Would it be the wrong place? But Glauca lands on the roof and won't budge.

"Who are you people?" The man asks, grabbing a spear, but Ktimene finally makes herself useful too. She steps forward or almost rushes to jump into the men's arms.

"Uncle Aesimus, it's me, Ktimene." Yeah, I didn't get the same treatment. The man drops the spear to hug my sister, so it's clear they've met before. But he isn't Autolycus for sure.

"Are you Sinon? By the gods, you have grown." She pats the kid's head too, and after another hug, she points at us. "This is my Eumaeus. And that... We're looking for grandpa."