Kairos 66: Dangerous Encounters

True to their word, Vali’s royal family afforded their guests every honor possible. Each member of the Foresight’s crew received quarters of their own, and the king of Vali would receive its captain for a private audience. Kairos barely had the time to leave his belongings in his comfortable chambers before being ushered into the king’s own private solar, with Andromache, Tiberius, Agron, and Cassandra as his only company. None were allowed to carry their weapons in the king’s presence.

Kairos didn’t miss the fact that with the exception of Tiberius, the king only invited people with [Legends] to meet with him. Vali’s royalty was clearly interested in currying favors with more [Heroes], perhaps to scout them for recruitment. Or maybe the king simply wanted to size up the strength of potential allies.

Neither had Kairos’ crew been invited to a public audience in the throne room. This implied that their host wanted to discuss things that shouldn’t reach his court’s ears.

Located in the upper levels of the unfinished tower, the king’s personal apartments proved to be a breathtaking sight. Massive columns of red marble supported a roof of finely chiseled obsidian with the occasional diamond here and there. The whole design mimicked a night’s sky, with the diamonds representing the major constellations. Beautiful hunting tapestries dangled from the walls next to stone statues of ancient kings and generals, while comfy carpets of lion pelts covered the ground. Myrmidon soldiers in heavy armor patrolled the complex and protected tall doors of carved wood.

“Why are there no human guards?” Cassandra asked, courteously holding Tiberius by the arm. The two looked almost married already.

“My father shares his chambers with his sixteen wives,” Prince Hadad explained to his guests, as he and his sisters guided them through the king’s apartments. “Myrmidon guards cannot impregnate human females in the king’s absence, and are a more humane alternative to eunuchs.”

“Sixteen?” Kairos almost choked. He regretted Nessus’ absence. The satyr would have probably burst out laughing.

“Well, he has fourteen more than you,” Princess Asherah replied, though Andromache answered the joke with a scowl. “Truthfully, my sister Anat and I don’t share the same mother as our dear brother.”

“Vali takes its name from the fallen New God who created it, but the original kingdom collapsed with his demise when he chose Alexandria’s side during her war with Lycaon,” Tiberius explained. “His empire shattered into countless tribes and successor states, which the current royal family reunified with the help of their myrmidon allies.”

Prince Hadad confirmed the story with a nod. “The current kingdom is not as strong as its ancestor, and the king rules with the consent of the tribes. As such, he is expected to take a wife from each clan, and arbitrate disputes between them before they can escalate.”

“I suppose the pacification campaign you mentioned earlier was one such ‘arbitration’?” Kairos guessed.

“Indeed,” the prince of Vali replied with a laugh. “Tribes always feud about some patch of land or some half-forgotten issue, and some even rebel when the monarchy doesn’t rule in their favor. Sometimes, diplomacy isn’t enough to enforce peace.”

“Unlike our royal father, our brother prefers to solve his problems with a sword than with his cock,” Princess Anat mused.

“I will have to do both,” the prince replied with a sigh. “My father is getting old and some of his wives are younger than me. I might have to marry some of my mothers-in-law when I take the throne.”

“I dare not imagine your genealogical tree,” Andromache said while tightening her grip on Kairos’ arm. The situation probably hit too close to home, considering he had similarly married Julia for political advantages.

The prince and his sisters led them to an audience room facing a door to a terrasse outside, where the king awaited. Unfortunately, he was already granting audience to someone else, and a golden myrmidon waited for his turn before Kairos’ delegation. “We will have to leave you here,” Prince Hadad declared. “But I would be glad to meet with you tomorrow. I plan to organize a great hunt to celebrate my latest victory, and I hope you could join it.”

“It will be a pleasure,” Kairos said.

“Great,” Princess Anat rejoiced with a smirk. “We’ve never hunted with a griffin rider before.”

Prince Hadad offered the delegation a courtly bow. “I bid you good luck with my father, and I look forward to meeting you tomorrow.”

“We as well, Prince Hadad,” Kairos said while returning the gesture. The royal family walked out of the waiting chamber, leaving the Travian delegation alone with myrmidon guards and their golden compatriot.

“A hunt?” Agron said with a grin. “Finally a noble activity I can get behind.”

“I suspect we will hunt lions or monsters,” Tiberius said. “None will be a match for you.”

The minotaur responded with a shrug, while the golden myrmidon that they shared the waiting room with observed the group in silence. After a moment of consideration, the insect engaged in conversation.

“Greetings,” he said with a buzzing voice in perfect Travian. “I am ambassador Pericles, of the Firespear colony. I assume you are the second Travian delegation?”

“We are the only Travian delegation,” Tiberius replied, trying to downplay Teuta’s importance.

“It is a long story,” Cassandra said, “but I doubt a myrmidon would be interested in foreign internal politics.”

The giant ant shook his head. “Internal politics affect external ones. Both are interesting.”

“You are unlike the rest of your kind,” Kairos noticed. Having had the opportunity to observe the myrmidons more closely in Vali’s palace, the pirate captain hadn’t found them any different than giant-sized ants with one exception: their forearms ended in five chitinous fingers and all too human palms.

This one though looked more like an ant centaur, with a torso and proeminent forearms.

“I am a specialized worker, bred for diplomacy,” the myrmidon replied in perfect Travian. “Each myrmidon caste is divided into a specific role, with different Skills and Stats at birth. I was born an [Elite], unlike my [Common] cousins, our soldiers have greater [Strength] than [Intelligence] compared to our engineers, and so on.”

“Is it true you descend from men?” Cassandra asked curiously.

The diplomat shook his head. “We descend from common ants,” he explained. “In ancient times, the goddess Hera punished one of her husband’s bastards by ravaging his kingdom with a plague. This antediluvian king prayed to Zeus to help him repopulate his island, and so the god of gods turned the local ants into the first myrmidons.”

Andromache snorted. The tale probably sounded very familiar. “Do you worship the old gods then?”

“Do you worship your ancestors? We respect Zeus for creating us, but we do not particularly honor the gods. There is nothing they can give us that we cannot obtain on our own through toil and efforts. Some of our engineers do turn to the worship of Asterius, the master of mazes, but they are a minority.”

Andromache relaxed at these words, and they made Kairos all the more curious. “How do your colonies work?” he asked the myrmidon ambassador. “Or maybe you only have one?”

“All colonies are ruled by an independent queen, but we myrmidons do not make war on one another. We have found that competition and warfare are a suboptimal use of our resources, especially since our human partners can provide us with additional food to cover our needs. Each colony minds its own business, trades with its neighbors, and ally against the occasional monster incursion.”

“We heard you were hopeless at agriculture,” Cassandra said with a frown. “But why is that? You appear as advanced as any human kingdom. Crop farming shouldn’t be difficult for you.”

“Truth be told, we could always dedicate part of our colony to develop agriculture on the surface,” the diplomat admitted. “But why bother? We feel more at home underground, where fungi agriculture is difficult and cannot produce even a thousandth of sun-raised crops’ yield. Our human partners are ready to take care of it in exchange for our mineral wastes. This alliance benefits us more than trying to do everything ourselves.”

Kairos’ [Barter] Skill activated, informing him that the people of Vali had chosen the path of economic specialization to maximize their efficiency. However, he noticed a glaring flaw in the whole set-up.

“You achieved prosperity through trade,” he said, “but you put all your eggs in one basket. What if your gold dries up and you can’t pay human farmers anymore? What happens if your population grows too much for Vali’s crops to cover your basic needs? Importing food from the outside is costly, not to mention risky.”

“That is indeed a long-term problem,” the diplomat replied. Though his tone remained neutral, Kairos could sense he had hit a sensitive subject. “Which is why our queens are considering alternatives.”

Tiberius sensed an opportunity. “Our island is currently underpopulated, very fertile, and rich in unexploited mineral resources,” he said, and Kairos thought the same. “You could settle part of your population there.”

The diplomat nodded. “Indeed, we are considering moving colonies to other islands to reduce the strain on local resources. However, since our standards for cities vary greatly from humanoid populations, we are looking in priority for unsettled areas. Travia and its colonies are very underpopulated and friendly to non-humanoids, but also dangerous and full of monsters. Some of the queens are interested in emigrating there, but not without support from a strong local government.”

Ah, that explained his interest in Travian delegations. Kairos wondered if the ants had already approached Teuta.

“We would gladly welcome a colony to settle on our island,” Kairos declared, catching the bug’s full attention. “We need new immigrants eager to work with us, no matter where they come from. We have slain or assimilated most monsters in our region, so you could settle safely…  as long as you submit to the laws of the land.”

The ant diplomat considered the offer carefully, and Kairos regretted that he couldn’t read bug facial expressions. “We myrmidons prize ourselves in our autonomy,” the ambassador said, “but our queens could accept to pay tribute and fealty to a high king who does not interfere in a hive’s day-to-day affairs.”

Oh, great. That was pretty much the same deal Kairos had offered to cities interested in joining his Travian federation. “That can be arranged.”

“Excellent. I will report your proposal to the queens’ assembly for consideration.” The doors to the terrace briefly opened, a myrmidon guard slipping through to call his fellow bug for the meeting. “I will contact you again.”

The myrmidon diplomat left for the terrace to meet with Vali’s king, and the doors closed behind him.

“I hope I did not overstep by making this suggestion, Lord Kairos,” Tiberius said to his superior, anxious at his reaction.

“You took the right initiative,” the pirate king replied with a shrug. He didn’t fault his officers for having good ideas before he did.

“You did great,” Cassandra added. “You might have even landed us a deal.”

Tiberius responded with a sheepish smile, but his joy—and Kairos’—was short-lived.

For the doors to the terrace opened again, and Queen Teuta walked through.

Having seen her face on the coins she had minted in Travia, Kairos instantly recognized her. He had always imagined this paragon of the Travian people as an imposing force of nature, and somehow the reality exceeded his imagination. He only reached up to her nose, and only Agron exceeded her in height. She was as muscled as an experienced warrior of her caliber could be, a castle on legs with armor to match. Hers was made of hard steel plates lined with gold, topped by a cloak of feathers taken from a dozen monsters. Her long hair was black lined with strands of white, and a scar cracked her tanned skin on her left cheek. A crown of shark fangs rested around her head.

A companion followed her, one whom Kairos recognized from statues in some temples. General Zama of Vali was a [Demigod] of tactics, and thus a popular patron among some Travians warlords. He was smaller than Teuta, but radiated an invisible pressure that dwarfed the pirate queen’s. His hair had turned white with age, his skin wrinkled, but he moved like a panther in golden hoplite armor probably inspired by Athena. His right eye had been replaced by a glowing sapphire, while the other glared at Kairos with undiluted hatred.

Teuta Tomyris, Lioness of the Sea

Legend: Pirate Queen (Hero).

Pantheon: Diadochi.

Race: Human.

Class: REDACTED (blocked by [Amulet of Secrecy]).

Level: 60.

General Zama Hanno of Vali, the Master Tactician

Legend: Undefeated General (Demigod).

Pantheon: Diadochi

Level: ???

Diadochi. Mithridates' [Pantheon].

This didn’t bode well.

The two groups faced each other for an awkward moment as the doors closed behind them, the air rife with invisible tension. Andromache appeared ready to cast a spell, Agron flexed his muscles, and Zama’s glittering artificial eye seemed to shine with an otherworldly glow. The myrmidon soldiers in the room raised their spears, threatening to intervene.

Thankfully though, Queen Teuta made no hint that she would escalate the standoff to a fight. In fact, she simply appraised Kairos the way he had observed her beforehand. Her grey eyes reminded him of his mother, a cool calculating gaze that hid a natural aptitude for bestial brutality.

“Kairos Marius Remus,” Queen Teuta said with a deep, imperious voice. She conveniently forgot the ‘king’ part. “We met at last.”

“Teuta,” Kairos replied with the same tone, refusing to call her a queen. “I didn’t know you had the audience before ours.”

“Nor did I know you would follow after us,” she replied with a shrug. “I see Vali’s king is careful in weighing his options.”

Kairos didn’t believe for a second that this encounter was an accident. Vali’s king Philip had organized his audiences’ timing so that the two Travian groups would cross paths. Much like a merchant, he probably hoped to foster competition between his potential ‘partners’ to increase concessions.

Agron broke the silence first. “We take it outside or what?” he said, glancing at the myrmidon guards. “They won’t let us settle this here.”

“I have no desire to shed the blood of my countrymen,” Kairos declared. “Not today, nor in the future if possible.”

“Neither do I,” Queen Teuta replied to his surprise, while Zama squinted in disapproval. “It may not be too late to come to an agreement, especially since we are both under the protection of Xenia. Did you know that the prince intends to organize a hunt tomorrow?”

“So we heard,” Cassandra responded, trying to defuse the situation before it escalated.

“Good. We will talk then.” The pirate queen glanced at General Zama. “Will you follow?”

“I want a word with him first,” the [Demigod] said before glaring at Kairos.

Queen Teuta nodded slowly before taking a step forward, daring anyone to stop her. Nobody did, and she walked out of the apartment escorted by myrmidon guards.

Kairos faced Zama, before gently pushing Andromache aside, to her chagrin. “My other half—” she started.

“It’s alright,” he interrupted her before facing the [Demigod]. “He can’t harm me here. Not under his own king’s roof.”

“Thankfully for you,” the old general replied with bitterness.

Why such animosity? Kairos didn’t remember offending the old [Demigod] in any way. Even if he had thrown his lot with Teuta and Mithridates to form a [Pantheon] with them, the dislike in his voice sounded awfully personal.

The general led Kairos in the room before the waiting one, with only silent, paranoid myrmidon guards for company. The pirate king exploited the opportunity to analyze Zama’s artificial eye with his [Magical Knack] Skill. As he had suspected, it turned out to be an artifact.

Eye of Athena.

Rank: 5 (priceless).

???

Kairos remembered a tale Euryale once told him about the Anthropomachia, about how Vali had killed Athena herself by ripping out her eyes. As it turned out, he also transformed them into divine artifacts.

“I see it now.” General Zama examined Kairos from head to toes. “You look exactly like your heartless bastard of a father.”

Kairos squinted, containing his anger. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I do.”

“Is that what it is all about?” Kairos asked coldly. “Some unfinished fight with my late father?”

“A fight?” The general looked fit to gag. “Your father didn’t fight me. He slew my brother and wife before running away back to Travia.”

Kairos flinched, not having expected that answer. “I…” He cleared his throat, regaining his composure. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Is that so?” Zama’s artificial eye seemed to shine brighter for a moment. Did it allow the general to detect lies? “I guess it is up to me to enlighten you then. Many years ago, political rivals here in Vali hired Travian mercenaries to get rid of me. Your father was one of them, but it wasn’t the gold he wanted.”

The [Legend]. Kairos’ father Chron had been after the general’s [Legend], hoping to gain power and glory from it.

“What does it have to do with your family?” Kairos asked, unwilling to face the obvious.

“What do you think? I was surrounded by soldiers, so the pirates abducted my helpless wife to lure me into a trap. My brother Mago and I ambushed him and his allies at sea trying to get her back.” Zama clenched his jaw, his gaze turning distant and remorseful. “My wife fell overboard and drowned in the confusion, while my brother took a poisoned Travian arrow to the face meant for me.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Kairos apologized. “For all it was worth.”

“Your words are worth nothing.” The [Demigod] responded with a sneer, telling Kairos where to put his apology. “At the height of the fighting, my flagship faced your father’s Foresight while my allies surrounded it. He could have boarded us and fought honorably, but instead, he prioritized his own survival over glory. He rammed into my ship, sunk it, and broke through the encirclement.”

Kairos remembered what his uncle had told him, when he had narrated that story to his nephew. “My father had a wife and children at home,” he replied. “We were poorer than you can even imagine, and my father needed to take any job to keep us fed. That’s why he backed out, so we wouldn’t be fatherless.”

“So it made it justifiable to massacre my family to save his own? My wife never hurt a fly.”

Kairos struggled to keep his mouth shut.

“Answer truthfully,” Zama all but ordered. “I’ll know if you lie.”

“Yes,” Kairos replied coldly, remembering why he had chosen to sign Orichalcos’ death warrant. “If a man is a man, he will do anything to make sure his children are safe and better off than he is.”

The general spat on the ground. “Spare me your excuses, your father had none besides ambition. And his caution only granted him a few more years of life. My only regret is that he died before I could kill him myself.”

“With all due respect for your losses, General, I had nothing to do with what happened between my father and you,” Kairos pointed out. “I am sorry for what happened to your family, but I am not my sire.”

“I thought the same once, which is why I let you be.”

The general locked eyes with Kairos, his black one ablaze with bitter hatred.

“And then you killed her,” he said, his words dripping with cold fury.

Kairos frowned in confusion. “Killed who?”

“You don’t even know her name.” General Zama’s face twisted into a sneer. “You left so many corpses in your wake, you can’t even remember them all. Even those you massacred only a few days ago beneath the sea.”

Kairos immediately put the two and two together. “Orichalcos…” he whispered. “You had someone there?”

“My Doris saved my life that day. I would have drowned if she hadn’t brought me to shore, and I’ve loved her ever since.” The general’s scowl deepened into one of pain and sorrow. “I waited for her to show up on the shore, because she had finally agreed to come live with me. But she never came. And when I consulted the [Eye of Athena]... it showed me what you had done.”

“I did what was necessary for our survival,” Kairos replied, standing by his decision. “There was no good way to resolve that situation.”

“You sold an entire city to the Cetae,” Zama accused him. “Your father was a monster, but his crimes pale before yours. My Doris never wished harm against the surface, but your storm killed her all the same. Your throne rests on the ashes and bones of thousands.”

Kairos faced the general’s glare, unrepentant. He had signed on for the raid, and would shoulder the burden. “I did what I did for the good of my realm. The merfolk wanted to bring back the Old Gods and enslave us all. You are a general, you know wars are never clean. It was them or us.”

“So you don’t regret your crimes?”

“I regret the innocent casualties,” Kairos admitted, knowing they were past the point of diplomacy. “But at the end of the day, I am a father and a king. My personal feelings don’t matter. The safety of my subjects and future children comes above everything.”

“Then you’re just like your father,” Zama replied with contempt. “A greedy pirate cloaking his ambition under a veil of reason.”

“And you think Mithridates is any better? He has no allies, only slaves and enemies. Nothing good will come out of allying with him or his agents. If you truly cared for your kingdom, you would understand that too.”

“Mithridates hasn’t sacked cities beyond his borders,” Zama replied. “My duty as a general is to annihilate existential threats to our kingdom, and you’re one of them. The only reason you are alive right now is that violating Xenia would bring ruin to our kingdom. But make no mistake.”

The general pointed a finger at Kairos’ heart.

“I swear before the gods old and new,” Zama declared, his voice dripping with hateful venom. “I shall never be a friend to Lyce or to you, Griffin King. I will not rest until I have made you expiate for you and your father’s crimes against my house with your last breath. I will drag you off from your throne and burn your rotten pirate kingdom to ashes.”

The air grew thick with tension, as the oath carried a magic of its own. The gods had taken notice of the general’s promise, and would hold him up to it.

There was no turning back from this.

“Do you understand what you have done, you fool?” Kairos asked with anger. “You made this a fight to the death.”

“Yours first.”

“Many have tried to kill me,” Kairos replied defiantly. “And I’m still here. As I told your friend Mithridates, cut the hydra’s heads as many times as you want, it always gets back up.”

“You have survived many foes,” the general replied, his artificial eye glowing. “But you have never fought me. Pray that we do not meet on the battlefield, Kairos of Travia, because this clash will be your last.”

“And pray you don’t face me either,” Kairos returned the threat with one of his own. “Or I’ll finish what my father started.”

Having said his piece, the general stormed off to rejoin Queen Teuta. Kairos watched him leave with a scowl, knowing that the general would already plot his demise. Only one thought crossed the pirate’s mind and formed on his lips.

“Shit,” Kairos cursed.