Kairos 33: King's Jest

The Foresight crushed trees as it walked, a giant beast prowling the woods.

Kairos watched from atop the deck, as the Foresight sent beasts and birds fleeing. Thick, crablike legs tossed oaks aside and made the earth tremble. The crew’s women wielded fire rods nearby, ready to unleash projectiles at anyone within range; the deck had transformed into a platform, granting them the benefit of elevation. The cargo hold, meanwhile, echoed with the noise of animals, the transformed men keeping company to the petrified amazons that the crew kept captive.

“We are nearly home,” Chloris said at his side, with the human-looking Andromache and Cassandra both keeping close attention to her. Though the young amazon had been freed from her chains, one wrong move and the Scylla’s spells would slay her where she stood.

“I see nothing,” Andromache said, while Rook, Horace, and their other fliers watched the area from above. The griffin had recovered enough to fly again.

Neither could Kairos. He could only see a sea of woods, tangled thorns, and flowers as far as his eye could see.

“Great magic protects the city from unwelcome eyes,” Chloris explained.

“I do not sense it,” Andromache said, skeptical. “If you lied to us, girl…”

“I have not mistaken you,” the amazon insisted. “This is the place.”

Kairos gave her the benefit of the doubt, but glanced at Cassandra when she didn’t say anything. His first mate had been oddly quiet since his speech to the mutinous crew yesterday. “What is on your mind?” he whispered to her.

“You’re really going through with a second election?” Cass whispered back, worried.

Kairos frowned. “Yes, I am. I need it to build legitimacy.”

“What will happen if you’re not captain anymore? You’re bound to the Foresight, so you will have to remain part of the crew too.” Cassandra shook her head. “Your wife and Lycean allies will not accept you stepping down, and there will be consequences.”

“I know,” Kairos said, before glancing at his crewmates. “But if I can’t convince my own men to follow my lead, how can I hope to become a pirate king?”

She had no answer to that.

“I see movement, Kairos!” Rook said from above. “Over here!”

Kairos had the Foresight stop its advance, with his crew preparing for battle. Indeed, he noticed movement among the wild grass and the leaves. The plants shifted as if touched by the wind, but the Travians couldn’t see anything.

As it turned out, Kairos wasn’t the only one capable of using [Invisibility] on the island.

“Tell them that we have the others in the cargo hold,” Kairos told Chloris. “If they try anything, my ship will devour them and go on a rampage. We will also detonate bombs hidden within, and burn this forest to ash.”

Chloris shouted a few words in her native tongue, and other voices answered. Kairos didn’t make a move, his spear ready. Andromache’s fingers tightened on her staff, while Cassandra prepared to draw her sword at the slightest provocation.

“Sisters say they can shoot you with spells and arrows before you can break us,” Chloris said, slightly worried.

As if to illustrate this point, an arrow surged through the skies, and barely missed Rook. The griffin let out a screech and hastily landed to safety on the deck, while the Stymphalian birds dispersed.

Kairos forced himself to keep a straight face, answering with a threat of his own, “Then they will have two ghost ships to contend with,” the Travian [Hero] replied dryly. “And as you can see, mine can march inland.”

“And I shall pave the way with blood,” Andromache warned, her gaze deadly. “I will devour all in my path. Mothers and daughters, the old and the young alike. His life is mine alone, and those who dare take my due will pay the affront a hundred-fold.”

Chloris translated the answers, and a tense, deadly silence answered.

“Kairos…” Cass’ hand tightened on her pommel.

“Chloris, tell them to inform Thalestris of our presence,” Kairos insisted, raising the cursed ring of Achlys high above his head. The ram-shaped magical item shone under the sunlight. “That we are here to bring back their gift.”

The amazon followed through with his demand, though the tension only grew heavier.

After a few minutes of a difficult standoff, the amazons surrounding the Foresight dropped their invisibility spells. Kairos counted hundreds of archers and spearwomen on all sides, many of them pointing their weapons at him. They also had veiled witches and stranger creatures with them, naked women of incredible beauty; their hair shone like fire, and while one of their legs was made of brass, the other belonged to a donkey beast.

“Empusas,” Andromache sneered.

Kairos kept a straight face, though some of his crewmates didn’t. The enemy had enough numbers to overwhelm them in a direct confrontation, and cut off all possibilities of escape. As for Empusas, if they were truly ascended witches of Achlys, then it meant the false Circe would inevitably hear of this conversation.

Only the sound of the transformed Nessus leaping from below deck to join his captain added some levity. “Ah, what gallant company,” the ram asked as he glanced at the amazons. “Such a shame, if they had seen me in my true form, they would have gladly welcomed us with open arms!”

“They haven’t attacked yet at least,” Kairos answered.

“Is ram beast a wise spirit?” Chloris asked, surprised that the [Hero] would talk to such a beast. Nessus answered with a bestial sound, and the amused amazon petted him behind the horns. “Oh, he understands what I say! No transformed male can!”

Kairos supposed that [Beast Tongue] also worked in reverse, allowing animals with that Skill to understand humans. Nessus clearly enjoyed the attention, licking the oblivious amazon’s legs.

“There, Kairos.” Cassandra pointed at an amazon older than the rest and heavily guarded. She was a statuesque woman almost two meters in height, muscular, flat-chested, and with shoulders to rival an ox’s. Long grey hair fell from behind her wrinkled face, with an eyepatch covering the right eye; the left one was purple, dark, and fearsome.

Like her fellows, she wore little clothing, but also a wealth of magical items. Kairos’ [Magical Knack] identified a strong belt multiplying her strength by ten, a bear pelt cloak capable of repelling arrows, boots hastening her speed. She wielded a two-handed sword with her right one alone, the blade sharper than any razor.

Kairos immediately used [Observer] on her.

Thalestris, Amazon Queen

Legend: All-Slayer (Hero).

Race: Human (Amazon)

Class: Fighter (Epihipparch, Mounted Archer, Heavy Cavalier, Charioteer, Warmaster, Myrmidon, Shieldmaiden, Tactician, Champion).

Level: 60.

“Do you speak Lycean?” the amazon queen asked the crew in that tongue, her voice coarse by age. She looked past fifty, with many scars on her olive skin marking her as a veteran of countless battles. “Your male bears a Lycean name.”

“I do,” Kairos replied, happy to finally open communications with someone directly. “Though it seems strange to negotiate in your enemy’s tongue.”

Thalestris completely ignored him. “You, sister,” she said while pointing her sword at Cassandra. “You’ve got our sisterhood’s blood in your veins. You have the traits.”

“My great-grandmother came from Achlys,” Cass replied in Lycean, her hand still on her pommel. “Our Travian ancestors came from numerous horizons.”

“If you were true to your blood, you would have chastised your male. In Achlys, they never speak in public unless invited to. Even [Heroes].”

“Perhaps,” Cassandra said, “but in Travia, men and women are equals, and Kairos is our leader. He speaks for us.”

For now, at least, Kairos thought, while Thalestris shrugged. “You come to our doorstep on the back of some monstrous beast with a ring that belongs to us, threatening the lives of our sisters,” the amazon queen said. “What else should I call you, but a foe?”

“The wronged party,” Kairos answered.

Thalestris answered with a burst of savage, mirthless laughter, echoed by some of her soldiers. “Not only do you speak out of turn, but you waste your words on inane things.” She smiled, her grin as sharp as a sword’s edge.

Kairos waved the Achlys ring at her. “Your ambassador offered me this, and when we came to hunt the Argo, it rose from the depths to get it back. Your witches then tried to finish us off, only to fall to the undead.”

“Aye, that ring was reported as stolen,” the amazon queen said, unconvinced. “Which makes you a thief, and a liar.”

“Less than you,” Kairos said. “You let Medea use her aunt’s name and hide her behind your citizens. Each night Jason clamors for her head, as he did when he nearly sank our ship.”

Thalestris’ lone eye widened, her face undecipherable. The Empusas exchanged discreet glances, though the veiled witches among them seemed more confused than anything.

The highest-ranked witches knew the truth, and all of them could understand him. He even noticed one of the Empusas muttering words of power, which his [Magical Knack] identified as a message spell.

They didn’t have much time to negotiate.

“You survived a fight with Jason of Iolcus?” Thalestris asked, skeptical.

“We survived a fight with Heracles,” Kairos boasted on his crew’s behalf.

Even though they couldn’t speak Lycean, many amazons recognized the fearsome [Demigod]’s name. Chloris in particular looked at Kairos’ crew with shock and awe, while Thalestris’ expression turned from disdainful to calm and focused.

“Prove it,” the amazon queen asked. “What were the undead captain’s classes? What was Heracles’ [Legend]?”

“Jason was a level 60 [Fighter], with the [Raider], [Dread Vanguard], [Deadlord], [Avenger], [Champion], [Necromaketes] and [Witch Hunter] specializations,” Kairos answered. “Heracles’ Eidolon had the [Witchpyre Fist] [Legend]. Magic bounced off Jason like pebbles on a shield, and he could burn men with a glance.”

“And women,” Cassandra mused, glancing at Andromache. The Scylla frowned, unable to understand the Lycean tongue.

Thalestris had lost her tongue, and Kairos noticed that a few of the witches seemed to have understood the conversation. Chloris, in particular, briefly bowed at Kairos with great reverence.

“Perhaps I misjudged you, male. Few can boast surviving a fight with those shadows, and be lucky enough to survive with only a few holes in their ship.” Thalestris pointed at her eyepatch. “My hole, Jason of Iolcus dug it here.”

Kairos was thankful that his ship could regenerate. As it was, it made his crew’s defeat to the Argo’s look far less close than it had been. “He killed many of our friends,” the Travian admitted. “And more of yours.”

“Obviously,” Thalestris snickered. “Why have you come to Achlys, Travians? To hunt the ghost ship for glory?”

“My first mate Cassandra,” Kairos turned to look at his second-in-command, “received a Quest to take down the Argo.”

“Like many before you,” Thalestris said. “You were no more successful than the rest.”

“We believe the Quest can be solved without violence,” Cassandra spoke up. “We are trying to find an alternative solution. One that will stop the senseless deaths of your people. We don’t believe Jason can be killed, at least not through violence.”

“Oh no, he can’t,” Thalestris said, mimicking a slicing motion with her sword. “I cut his head off, but his headless body just picked the skull and put it back on top of his neck. We know a way to put him down, but… we can’t.”

They already figured it out, Kairos thought. Just as Cassandra had guessed, they couldn’t allow their witch-queen of a [Demigoddess] to perish, even if it meant losing so many people. “Perhaps there is another way, and we can help,” Cassandra said.

Thalestris scoffed. “I don’t believe you.”

“What do you have to lose?” Kairos asked. “At worst, we can at least exchange information. Perhaps you will learn something useful from our tussle with the Argo. At best, we are correct and this nightmare can finally end.”

The captain worried his words might fall on deaf ears, but in spite of her bluntness, Queen Thalestris had the wisdom to listen. Even if she didn’t believe in another option, she was at least willing to entertain the possibility of being wrong.

Thalestris glanced at the Empusas and exchanged words in their native tongue. Kairos couldn’t hear the discussion, but while the amazon queen didn’t raise her voice, her tone turned sharper. The amazons, who outnumbered the witches ten to one, tensed up; some seemed ready to raise their weapons at their own spellcasters. Chloris’ face strained.

“You, male, and that woman with a Quest,” Thalestris said, glancing at Cassandra. “You may come. The rest of your warrior-women stay outside the city, including that… that ship-shaped beast.”

“Not without your oath that no harm may come to any of us,” Kairos said.

“Swear first,” Thalestris said, glancing at one of the cowed Empusas. “This priestess will be the gods’ witness. Swear to free your hostages and cause no trouble.”

“I swear on the Furies,” Kairos said immediately. “If we are granted safe conduct, protection from harm and death during our stay in Achlys, then I shall release my captives from the stone and let them go after we are done; we shall also respect you as our hosts, as per the rules of Xenia. If you are not true to your word, our hostages shall never see the sunlight again. May the gods strike me down if I lie.”

A chill went down his spine, as the priestess listened to his words on the gods’ behalf.

This seemed to please Thalestris, who followed through with an oath of her own. “I swear on the Furies that all of you shall be treated as my guests and those of Achlys until you leave the island, so long as you follow through with your promise.”

And so, Kairos secured his crew’s safety, at least for a time. He could see the sighs of relief among them as Cassandra announced the news, though with one exception.

“I cannot stay behind, my other half,” Andromache insisted in Greek, so the others wouldn’t understand. “You need me. Now more than ever.”

“I do, but I need you here,” Kairos replied in Greek, holding her hand. “The crew will be vulnerable in our absence.”

The queen’s protection was a powerful shield, but the witches had already played tricks on them before. Kairos wouldn’t take any risk, especially with him and Cass away to negotiate a way out. Neither did he forget the deserters. “I need someone I can trust onboard,” he told Andromache, “in case the hostage trade fails, and people lose their nerve.”

His mistress frowned. “I do not like it,” she said. “Cassandra… Cassandra, I trust, but this is a den of serpents. These witches have bound themselves to a higher power, and I sense darkness in them.”

“He has me too,” Rook said, as he hoped at the couple’s feet. “I can come, Kairos?”

“Sure,” Kairos replied. The amazons didn’t say anything about pets.

“Can I come too?” Nessus asked, though for far less noble reasons. “Being a ram is a nice change of pace, but I feel gelded without my bow.”

“Get down from that monster and bring Chloris,” Thalestris interrupted the discussion, having lost patience. “My soldiers will keep an eye on—”

The Stymphalian birds above screeched a warning, as two terrible shadows danced over the Foresight. When Kairos raised his eyes, he could scarcely believe what he saw.

Two giant, winged snakes made circles above the gathering, one with gleaming golden scales that seemed to melt under the sunlight, with metallic feathered wings of the same color. The other was the color of silver, with steel wings. Both were colossal in size, almost fifteen meters in length, though the silvery one was smaller. Though he had never seen these creatures in the flesh before, Kairos immediately recognized them.

Dragons. Winged dragons.

And as the two creatures descended upon the group, Kairos realized that both had riders. A woman for the golden one, a man for its silver counterpart.

The latter, Kairos immediately recognized; for though he wore elaborate armor of purple scales with silver linings, his purple face remained exposed. Cassandra gasped in shock, upon identifying him.

Mithridates.

As for the woman, she was regal, a queen wearing a golden crown. Her thick black hair flowed with the wind, alongside a dress of silvery silk. Though she was no great beauty, she was striking and shapely; her presence reminded Kairos of his mother Aurelia.

But when her large black eyes noticed Kairos and Andromache holding hands, her bored gaze turned into pure, distilled rage.

“It’s her,” Andromache whispered, astonished.

“Circe?” Kairos asked, though he knew it was stupid.

“Medea.”

The Empusas had warned their mistress, and she had listened.

Kairos attempted to use [Observer] on Medea, but his Skill came up with nothing. The witch-queen must have used powerful magic to hide her true nature. More worryingly, he couldn’t help but notice a vague physical resemblance with Mithridates in her facial expression. Something in the eyes.

This didn’t bode well.

The two dragons landed in the forest, one on each side of the Foresight. Though panic spread through both amazons and Travians, the living ship didn’t flinch. Neither did Kairos, for he was too busy shaking in rage at the sight of Mithridates.

And the Poison King dared to smile at him.

“My, if it isn’t my good friend Kairos and my dear Cassandra!” His thunderous, Thessalan words sounded like a screech to Kairos’ ears. He barely noticed all the witches and a third of the amazons bowed to Medea. “I thought you had perished.”

“Not for lack of trying,” Cassandra said in the same tongue, drawing her sword.

“Enough!” Thalestris shouted, her voice overshadowing everyone else’s. “I shall not have guests kill each other before my eyes.”

Neither Kairos nor Mithridates hid their distaste. “Guests?” the latter asked.

“I did not give my leave for this.” Medea’s voice was so soft, yet so sharp, that though Kairos could barely hear her he understood every word. The witch-queen spoke to Thalestris in the Achlysian tongue, both their tones heating up with anger.

Kairos whispered into Chloris' ear, while keeping his gaze firmly on Mithridates. The Poison King’s smile had transformed into a blank, lifeless mask. “What are they saying?”

“Witch-queen wants you and friends slain, so we can steal [Legend],” Chloris answered, clearly intimidated. “Warrior-queen says no, you are guests. Guest-slayers are cursed by the gods.”

“She hasn’t changed,” Andromache said, narrowing her eyes at Medea. “In all these years, she’s remained the same.”

By now, the two queens of Achlys no longer looked so regal, outright shouting at one another. The tension simmered among their troops, spellcasters eyeing warriors warily, while archers no longer aimed at the Travians. The atmosphere was one of civil war.

In the end, it seemed that Medea relented, though the witch-queen didn’t hide her anger. Even she wouldn’t dare to challenge the Furies. “You will regret this,” Mithridates told Thalestris with a displeased frown. “They are false, and I am true.”

“Says the man who backstabs his former friends and makes them his foes,” Kairos mocked him.

“I thought your men were not allowed to speak out of turn?” Cassandra asked, looking at Mithridates.

The lord of Pergamon chuckled darkly. “Kings are an exception.”

“Your petty quarrels do not concern me,” Thalestris replied firmly. “The first to attack, I shall put down. Even if you run, we shall pursue. My word is made of steel, not air.”

Medea scowled, but gracefully climbed down from her dragon and the amazons lowered their weapons. Mithridates remained seated atop his, silent as a tomb, while Chloris let out a sigh of relief. “You can go,” she told the Travians. “You shall be safe.”

Kairos felt Andromache slipping a small gemstone inside his palm. “For you, my other half,” she whispered. “To call me, if the snakes try to bite you.”

“Everything will be fine,” the captain promised his lover, before kissing her on the lips. It felt as if Andromache would suck the air out of him, but eventually, she let him go with heavy regret.

Kairos could feel Medea’s glare on him, as he hid the gemstone in his pocket. The Travian captain climbed down the deck, with Cassandra, Chloris, Rook, and the transformed Nessus in tow. The last one did his best to keep his head down and avoid Medea’s fiery gaze the best he could.

“Kairos,” Mithridates called the Travian, Kairos stopping dead in his tracks. “I shall have a word with you, Man to man.”

“You forget yourself, male,” Thalestris said, sword raised. “I warned you.”

“You wish to slay me on your way out?” Kairos asked his nemesis, while Rook hissed at the Poison King. “We have nothing to say to each other.”

“I think otherwise,” the Poison King said before glancing at Medea. The witch-queen whispered a few words to Thalestris, who shrugged in return. “No more than a few minutes, don’t worry.”

Kairos glanced at his allies, tightened his grip around his spear, and approached the Poison King on foot. Mithridates didn’t climb down from his steed, and the silver dragon eyed the [Monster Reaver] warily. Rook glared back at the much larger beast, more than ready to fight it to defend his own partner.

“I thought you disliked animals?” Kairos asked the Poison King, examining the dragon. The beast with [Observer]. “Though I guess you made an exception for some.”

Heliocles, Sun’s Glory

Legend: Sun’s Steed (Hero).

Race: Dragon (Winged)

Class: Monster (Divine Beast, Dragonsteed, Sun-Touched).

Level: 60.

The dragon’s fangs dripped with venom. The same one that slew Critias.

“Did you enjoy my wedding gift?” Mithridates asked too low to be overheard by others, having read his rival’s mind. “It took me great pains to set it up.”

The Travian [Hero]’s eyes turned dangerous. Did he wish to gloat? “Critias was a child.”

“Yet it is your hand that slew his family, while I had nothing to do with this murder.” Mithridates’ voice lied, but his fiendish smile told a different tale. “It was a mercy that King Critias died so early. At eight, he should pass on to the Elysium Fields; if he had grown older, he would have lost his innocence. Orthia will be better served under my friend Antipater, I guarantee you. Boy-kings are the bane of any realm.”

Kairos sneered. “We could have been allies, if you didn’t arrange for that Orthian fleet to strike us.”

“Would we have, truly?” Mithridates’ eyes turned as deadly as a serpent’s. “You lusted for my wealth, and the fertile lands of Thessala since the moment you set your eyes on them. Harsh lands breed hard men, and you Travians are a merciless lot. Aye, perhaps we could have been allies for a while, but you would have wanted more than what I was willing to give.”

“I only wish for my people to prosper,” Kairos replied. “And to make allies abroad. I am true to my friends.”

Mithridates frowned. “Tell me, Kairos, do you love your land, barren as it is?”

What a stupid question. “Of course I love Travia. Everything I do is to see it prosper.”

“What would you do to protect your country from invaders?”

The Travian’s answer was swift. “Anything.”

A brief flash of respect broke through Mithridates’ cold gaze. “So would I,” he replied. “Fractious as it is, the Thessalan League is the heir of an ancient legacy. We have raised many monuments and cities, our culture overshadows other countries’ like the sun with the stars. My line goes back to before the Anthropomachia. In terms of achievement and history, few can rival our nation.”

“Age means nothing,” Kairos replied. “The Thessalan cities might have been a glorious lot once, but now you are a wilted garden. Your people waste the advantages you inherited from your ancestors. You are flies fighting over a dying beast.”

“And vultures like you, Sertorius, and Dispater are looming above, waiting to swoop in at the first opportunity,” Mithridates replied with disdain. “So long I draw breath, that moment will never come. Do not misjudge me, pirate. It is not greed that drives my actions, but necessity. This world is full of beasts, many more savage than Travia. Lyce’s hunger cannot be quenched, Alexandria is barely better, Vali will follow their lead, and one day the merfolk might turn their eyes to the surface.”

“You did more damage to your own country than anyone else,” the captain pointed out. “You hired my uncle to slay an allied [Hero], organized the destruction of Orthia’s fleet, and now you will wage war on the city of Thessala. So far you’ve only fought your own compatriots.”

“All for a purpose,” the Poison King replied. “I have a vision of the future, where the people of the world live freely; where no nation is powerful enough to conquer others, but each country is united enough to resist external aggression. I want a Sunsea with many heads, much like the hydra you took as your symbol. But a head shouldn’t argue with itself. For the Thessalan League to survive, it must unite. Neither Thessala nor Orthia see the storm ahead, but I do. So it falls on me to steer this ship and protect our way of life.”

“Through deceit, murder, and treachery?”

“If fewer people suffer now than they would tomorrow, then that is a victory. Would you rather choose the alternative?” Mithridates’ eyes shone with a burning passion. “Lyce’s vision of the world is a desert, with their wolf banner blowing to the wind. At least you Travians have the excuse of poverty to raid your neighbors, but Lyce already prospers. The wolves will conquer my people in the name of greed. They will raze our cities, enslave our women and children, and destroy our culture to make us ‘proper citizens.’ And then, when they have devoured us all, they will turn their eyes to other nations, or war between themselves for supremacy.”

Kairos listened carefully, and found himself surprised by the depth of the man’s passion. He could have been lying, to hide his secret, selfish motivations; but the Travian trusted his gut. Mithridates’ eyes did not lie. He believed in his own rhetoric.

The Poison King would do anything to protect his homeland, much like Kairos himself.

“It is a pity you backstabbed me first,” the captain said. “We have gotten along otherwise. You miscalculated.” Though the Travian [Hero] hated the Poison King for all his schemes against him and Histria, he couldn’t help but respect his motivations.

“There was no other way.” Mithridates observed Kairos closely. “I knew the moment I learned your name that you would choose Lyce. Wolf pups always run back to their pack in the end.”

“Mayhaps I will lead one to Pergamon,” Kairos warned.

“You are welcome to try, if you live that long.” The Poison King wiped dust off his scale armor. “Anyway, I came to say farewell. I have a dinner with King Antipater planned, and with luck we will never meet again. But I will pray for your success on my journey home.”

“We both know you won’t.”

“No, but it costs nothing to be polite,” Mithridates replied, amused by his foe’s bluntness. “Do not mistake my intentions, Kairos. If you had prevailed against Orthia and proven a truer ally, I would have arranged a better match for you than Sertorius’ whore of a sister.”

“Careful,” Kairos warned. “I shall not let anyone speak of my wife in such terms.”

“And yet, that woman will be the death of you, while the one I had in mind would have ensured your country’s independence.”

Kairos fished for information. “Queen Teuta? Or perhaps Medea?”

Mithridates smiled, refusing to confirm anything. “You are not without instinct, Kairos, and you have some low cunning. But you are too passionate, and you let your grievances influence your judgment. I have no personal enmity for you.”

“You’re poor at showing it.”

“And yet, this is all theater and politics. Kings have no friends, only followers, and foes.”

“Your life must be lonely indeed.” Though he was ruthless, Kairos had true friends among his crew. Cassandra, Nessus… even Rhadamanthe once upon a time. He hadn’t closed his heart to all. "As for a truer ally, you said it yourself, you only have followers. Did you expect me to crawl back to you after you schemed against me?"

Mithridates clearly couldn’t care less. “My realm requires it. Remember these words, if you ever hope to rule.”

“I will,” Kairos warned, the silver dragon hissing at his words. Though the Travian [Hero] should have gotten along with monsters, that one seemed too devoted to his master to care. “There is a reason I chose the hydra as my flag, rather than the wolf. You can cut off my head as many times as you wish, another will grow back to take its place.”

“We shall put that boast to the test,” Mithridates mused, before losing patience with the discussion. “Goodbye, Kairos of Travia.”

The silver dragon expanded its wings and flew away, Kairos redirecting the winds to avoid a cloud of dust to the face. Mithridates nodded at Medea, and didn’t spare a glance to anyone else.

“Don’t eat food or drink, except our own rations,” Kairos told Cass upon rejoining her. “He has allies here, and he wasn’t afraid of killing under a Lycean magistrate’s roof. We aren’t safe, even with an oath.”

Cass nodded, glancing at Medea’s dragon. “I think the witches gave Mithridates a poisoned gift of their own, to fight Lyce with.”

Medea raised her hands, and trees seemingly shifted away to reveal a path forward. “Themiscyra awaits,” Thalestris told her guests, having her amazons escort them under heavy surveillance. “Come.”

With one last glance at Mithridates’ dragon vanishing beyond the horizon, and at the Foresight waiting for him, Kairos took a step forward and walked into the woods.

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A/N: chapter made possible by you, dear patrons. 

Thanks for your kind words yesterday. I hope to be able to continue with publishing two chapters of Kairos a week, at least until the first volume is concluded. We'll see.