Odyssey Journey (II)

Two days later, right on schedule, Alexios and his brother neared the coast, the salty, damp air blowing in from the shoreline. This brought a sense of novelty to the two brothers, slightly dulling the grief of their comrades' deaths.

Ahead, an endless blue ocean stretched before them, with several figures circling in the sky above.

Lycurgus pointed at the sky and said, "Look, Zeus's eagles. They're watching us on behalf of the King of Gods."

Alexios had sharper eyes; he knew they weren't eagles but vultures, though he didn't bother telling his brother—he'd see for himself soon enough.

After a while, they finally reached the coastline. There, the brothers noticed three youths on the beach, building a massive wooden raft that was nearly complete.

Around them lay the corpses of seven or eight boys, vultures greedily pecking flesh from their bodies and gulping it down.

Lycurgus asked curiously, "Why so many bodies?"

A slightly hoarse voice, cracking from puberty, came from the side: "Because those people tried to steal their boat."

The brothers immediately tensed, turning toward the source of the voice.

From beside a boulder on the shoreline stepped a youth. He was somewhat thin and small, with yellowish, tousled hair, dressed in coarse linen and a worn leather vest. On his back was a trident, and two javelins were tucked into his belt.

Ignoring their wariness, he continued, "Those three built that raft. Several groups saw it nearly finished and came to take it—stealing's easier than building."

"But none of them succeeded. Those three are skilled, especially the big one with the two-handed battle axe. He killed quite a few who tried to take it. He doesn't look under sixteen with that build."

"If you're thinking of robbing them, don't bother. The other two aren't weak either."

Lycurcus sneered back, "An axe is just a woodcutter's tool. The two of us could take all three."

Alexios remained on high alert and probed, "Why are you telling us this?"

The youth shrugged. "I'm probably heading back anyway, so I'll give you some advice. The Angel never said we couldn't walk back on our own."

Alexios smiled knowingly. "And your teammates?"

"Dead. One got bitten by a venomous snake while sleeping, another was killed while we were building the boat. We lost the boat too."

"When there were two of us, we could still try. Now that I'm alone, I can't build a boat or defend one."

Alexios saw through his intent. "You want to join us, don't you? The Angel only said three people—never said we couldn't form our own group."

"But you're not a Lasidream, and you're small and weak. Bringing you along does us no good."

The short, blond youth perked up and replied, "Not necessarily. Look at my trident—I was born by the sea. I learned to swim before I learned to walk. Sailing and handling a boat are second nature to me. You Lasidreams have probably never even seen the ocean before in your lives."

"You dare insult a Lasidream warrior? You're asking for death!"

Lycurgus was enraged.

But his brother reached out to stop him.

"So you think we should take you for that reason? We know what this journey entails, and we've learned to row."

The blond youth laughed. "Row? You clearly know nothing about the sea. Rowing all the way to the Angel's Sanctuary would exhaust you to death. Do you have any sailcloth? Or are you planning to use your red wool cloaks? One storm and those cloaks will be a pile of wool."

Alexios thought it over. Indeed, three was better than two. And the youth claimed to have grown up by the sea—his salt-corroded linen clothes and sunburned skin backed that up. The next leg of the journey was by sea; having an experienced hand would make things much smoother.

Alexios made his decision. He planted his spear into the ground and extended his right hand.

"My name is Alexios, and this is my brother Lycurgus. We are both Lasidream warriors. You can join, but you'll follow my orders."

The blond youth grinned and shook his hand. "I'm Gorgias. A fisherman."

And so the team was three again. They had no intention of stealing someone else's boat—they would build their own.

The three headed into the coastal forest to pick timber. When they found a grove of fir trees, the brothers pulled out axes to chop, but Gorgias produced several wire saws from his pack.

When they hauled the logs to the shore and prepared to bind them with vines, Gorgias demonstrated expert knot-tying skills. During a break, while the brothers ate protein ration bars, Gorgias gathered shellfish and seaweed from the sea and made a stew. This changed the brothers' opinion of this heretic who worshipped the Emperor.

The three worked hard to assemble the raft while searching for and storing fresh water. They found a source, filled the collapsible plastic water tanks from their packs, and carried them back.

Gorgias also showed off his specialty: he fished with a hook by the shore, gutted and prepared the catch, and smoked them into dried fish.

A few nights later, after another day of work, the three gathered around the fire, eating the berries they had picked and drinking a stew of fish innards and seafood scraps. The raft was nearly finished; as long as they raised the mast tomorrow, Gorgias would hang the sail he had hidden away, and then they could set off. Things were gradually moving in the right direction.

Gorgias took a sip of the fish soup and spoke up:

"Those axe-wielding bastards set out three days ago. Lately, I've been spotting figures in the distance nearby every now and then. We're facing the same problem they had back then—once the boat's almost done, someone comes to snatch it."

Alexios replied quite calmly:

"This kind of situation was foreseeable from the start. We just have to hold out until the raft is fully built."

Lycurgus wore a proud expression:

"Let them come. My bow won't make it easy for them."

Gorgias sighed, feeling these two were far too overconfident:

"In any case, tomorrow is the critical moment. If we can't hold our ground, we're dead for sure. Even if we do, setting out to sea on a raft like this is a gamble with nine deaths out of ten."

"Tonight, you two get some extra sleep. After all, you're the more seasoned fighters—tomorrow, we'll be counting on you."

Just then, Alexios noticed that on the hillside behind his brother, silhouetted against the starlight, there indeed seemed to be a figure watching them.

Alexios thought to himself: if they dare, let them come. The spears of Lasidream's warriors will poke them full of holes like a sieve.