A/N: My excuse this time around?
uh. My focus was on Unmasked? :D
...T-T I'm sorry. Poll on my profile says this is the one that needs focused on so off we go.
Into Damien's POV we go. Enjoy!
After about two weeks of being stuck on this Godsforsaken ship, I can hear one of Clyde's crew members crying out that they see land ahead of them. We all looked towards the front of the ship, indeed seeing a landmass approaching us.
I grin. That's Troy. I can feel it.
"Get ready to land and go ashore!" Clyde calls out. His servants and soldiers scurry around, trying to get things ready for our arrival. Several of them grab the small boats that we'll use to get ourselves ashore while the large traveling vessel will be steered into hiding.
Craig and Pip come up beside me where I stand, watching as we can start seeing the shoreline.
"Oh, this is wonderful!" Pip exclaims. "I haven't been anywhere since I was shipwrecked on Scyros!"
"Calm down, Pip," Craig mutters. "This is no time for celebration."
"Oh calm down, Craig," I slap his back playfully. "Let the lad have his fun. I'm pretty damn excited myself to see this whole thing play out."
"You're just excited for the bloodshed," he smirks.
I grin back, my tongue absentmindedly passing over my fangs. "Perhaps," I chuckle. "But no, I'm more interested in the way that this will screw with these royals' minds."
"How so?" he crosses his arms, leaning back slightly and looking back out to sea with me.
I laugh to myself. "These poor fools have no idea what they're in store for. It's going to be interesting to see them celebrate over Kyle's return before realizing that he's going to bring a whole armada with him."
"What a waste," he comments, shaking his head. "All those men wasted on a whore. May as well just send the gods in to save a turtle from being struck by a ship."
"He may be just a whore now," I remind him, "But he holds the key to vast amounts of wealth and power if we can free him. Not to mention access to being a general for one of the greatest armies in the known world, hm?" I elbow him slightly.
He smiles and nods a bit. "I suppose so."
"Boys, would you care to get into the damn boat so we can head off for shore already?" Clyde interrupts us. The three of us glance between each other before heading off with him towards the side of the ship. We look down below to the ship rocking on the waves and Pip gulps.
"Oh. Oh my. That's quite a ways down isn't it?" he laughs nervously.
"Get down there, Pip," Craig replies dryly. "You can't get down a boat, you can't fight."
Pip humphs, grabbing the rope lowered towards the boat and taking a deep breath before leaping off the side and catching himself against the wooden edge. He slowly starts inching his way down and I look from him to Craig, smirking at him.
"You're not gonna let him fight, are you?" I ask.
"Not a chance in Tartarus," he mutters before following down after him. I roll my eyes. Screw that. I close my eyes, feeling that strange pulling feeling in my chest before reopening them to the sight of looking up at Pip and Craig on their way down. Clyde hops in and shakes his head at me in amusement.
"A real man would have climbed," he states.
"I'm a Demi-God, Kingy," I lean back and smirk. "I'm only half the man you'll ever be."
He laughs as Pip jumps in, shakily sitting down next to me.
"You all right, Pippy?" I ask, watching him carefully.
"Just...just fine, thank you," he breathes out before clearing his throat and grabbing his oar as Craig joins us. He sits next to Clyde and we all grab our oars, starting to row away from the ship and towards the sandy beach ahead of us.
"Do you think they'll consider us a threat?" Pip asks as we keep moving.
"Perhaps," Clyde answers, "But Troy is known for hospitality. A bit shoddy of hospitality, but it's there nonetheless. They may be edgy, but they won't draw swords on us unless they find us posing a viable threat."
"We need to change that," Craig rolls his eyes. "We can't have them serving wine to the Spartans."
"The leaders of Troy aren't stupid, Craig," I say. "They'll know as soon as they see Kyle that they're going to be in a potential amount of danger."
"Let's hope to the gods you're right," he states. "And let's hope this oracle of yours was right as well. I don't want `to be dragged out here just for nothing."
"He's never failed me before," I state lowly, my paddle dipping into the water softly. We all fall silent and I keep my eyes set on that beach.
The oracle has been someone I've trusted almost all of my life. He's someone that's always dead on, even if his statements mislead myself and others in a number of ways. He's one of the only people that I can trust, and he told me that I'm someone that he trusts. Regardless of my abilities to perform feats of my own, I would be nothing without his guidance aiding me in my own training. When he told me that I needed to find Craig and Clyde and unite them against the Spartans, I truly could not see any other choice.
So far, he's been right on it. Kyle's living and escape, Craig's willingness to bring himself into the fight, Clyde's interest in the battle...my own involvement even though none of them are really so much of an asset to me that I feel the need to protect them if anything. Craig and Clyde have both been my 'friends' for years, they consider me as such even though I merely went to them in the midst of my boredom.
But I suppose were it not for them, this entire mission would be a fruitless endeavor.
Without Clyde's army and Craig's ability to fight...we wouldn't stand a chance.
We start nearing the shore and we each brace ourselves as we come up near the sand. "Get ready," Clyde states before we give a few more strokes of our oars and lurch forward as we hit the sand. We all look at each other before nodding and getting to our feet, jumping into water up to our mid calves and starting to wade up towards the shore.
We make it onto the beach, the scalding sand burning at our uncovered feet as we look ahead of us, gaping at the large stone wall up a ways.
"Talk about precautionary," Clyde says blankly.
"What was this theory about the Trojans being warm and inviting, King-boy?" Craig smirks at Clyde.
The brunette scowls at him, "You haven't met them yet!"
"Neither have you."
"All right, all right, break it up, Ladies," I roll my eyes, stepping between the two of them. "Let's get up there and see what we can see. We need to talk to the kings and their army leader."
"Right," Pip agrees.
"The oracle told me that getting through to the Queen is more the standing point we need," I tell them as we walk towards the large wall. "Apparently he makes more decisions than the King himself."
"Then why isn't the Queen the King?" Craig asks.
"How the fuck should we know, Craig, we don't work the system!" he snaps back.
"I've heard that it's just because the Queen is younger in this case," I input, ignoring the two of them glaring at each other evilly over me. "And you two need to calm the fuck down if you really expect to make any headway with any of them, you understand?"
They just growl under their breath, looking back in front of them. I shake my head and sigh with Pip.
Somehow I don't feel like this is the best team for me to be in.
We head up towards the large wooden doors, finding four guards standing there, looking nothing more than shocked that someone has come onto their shores.
"Hello," Clyde beckons to them. "I am King Clyde of Ithaca. These are Craig and Pip of Scyros and Damien of...uh," he looks at me questionably.
"Parts unknown," I finish, not really willing to give out my birth record at the moment.
"We have come to speak with your King and Queen," he continues. We watch as the eyes of the guards flicker between one another. "Fear not, we come in complete peace and a wanting for an alliance," he assures them.
One of them looks at him questionably. "That's why you brought your army, right, Sir?"
He smiles and chuckles. "Don't worry, they're under direct order to stay on the beach until further notice. We have a bit of a problem and we need to talk to your King and Queen about it."
The front man nods slowly, "Very well, Sir," he glances at his men. "Open the door."
They exchange looks before hurrying and grabbing a hold of the large door's handles. "Men, open!" he shouts for beyond the barrier. We watch in astonishment as they manage to open the gargantuan door.
"Gods," Pip whispers. The city appears right in front of our eyes nd it takes me a moment to realize it. A whole civilization completely cut off from view, from the entire world...
A guy could get used to that kind of lifestyle.
"Proceed," the head guard nods. We nod back and head in through the wall, our ears perking as we hear them quickly shutting the door back once again. We walk down the broken dirt path slowly, seeing us catch people's eyes as they stare at us, whispering.
"What do you think they're thinking?" Pip asks quietly, looking a bit intimidated.
"They probably think we're here to overtake their land," Clyde murmurs. "Poor wretches. They've probably never seen an ally in their life."
"They've probably never seen a creature besides a bird or a fish all their lives," Craig inputs.
We all nod and continue quicker down the path, looking up at the castle straight ahead as we walk.
"Not much of a palace," Clyde says. "These people...What do they live for? What do they fight for?"
"Each other," I reply. "Troy is known for being a closely-bounded community, it always has been. Keeping the citizens in the close proximity of each other just binds them together, everyone knows everyone else. They're proud of that fact."
"I suppose it is a useful asset," Clyde states. "Our general will know which of his soldiers will be the best to put at the front lines then. Those without much family or those who are the strongest."
"I don't think that matters," Craig states. "We're going to need them all." We fall silent, coming up towards the doors of the palace, finding them opening for us. We look at each other before stepping through and looking to find two men, a brunette and a smaller blonde staring at us from down the hall.
We stop as we step inside and stare at them before each of us bows. I glance over to see Craig gritting his teeth a bit in anger at his being forced to bow, but he knows how important this is for all of us.
"Please, that's more than enough," a voice speaks. We stand back up to watch the men approaching us. They both bow shortly and the blonde smiles. "I am Gary, he is Thomas," he gestures to the taller man.
"Pleased to me-SHIT meet you," he says. We blink in surprise before Gary laughs a bit.
"He has unexplainable outbursts like that," he explains. "Had them since we were children working the fields," his face noticeably falters slightly and I watch with a slight smirk.
I know who he's thinking about.
He clears his throat and looks back with his grin in place again. "We've been told by our runner that you hail from Ithaca, Sir?" he looks at Clyde.
He nods, "Yes, I do."
"Lovely land, so we've been told," he smiles. "Our diplomat passed through on the way to Corkyra."
"Well we try our best to keep it up," he chuckles. This is going much better than I expected.
"Well, we expect you have some form of business to speak with us about?" he asks.
"Yes, we'd like to discuss something that may be impending on both of our homelands," Clyde answers.
"Very well," Gary nods.
"Let's -DAMN talk in the dining -SHIT hall," Thomas suggests.
"As you wish," Clyde smiles. The two of them turn on their heel and start leading us from the hall down towards another set of large doors. Servants pull them open, bowing as each of us pass by. We silently make our way towards the large table set in the middle of the room, Gary gesturing for us all.
"Please, sit. Wine!" he calls out. A separate servant rushes out, a large platter with glasses and a jug sitting on his shoulder and hand. He places a glass in front of each of us as Thomas and Gary sit on the opposite ends of the table. Craig and Pip sit on one side with myself and Clyde across from them.
We wait for the servant to finish pouring our wine before Gary smiles and nods at him. "Thank you, we'll call you if anyone needs more."
"Yes, Sire," he bows before quickly running back from the direction that he came from.
There's a moment of tensive silence before Gary takes a small sip of his wine and sighs, looking at the four of us. "What is it we're discussing that may be impending exactly?"
Craig takes a gulp and stares him straight on. "War," he replies bluntly.
Gary blinks, looking at Thomas who looks tensive. "...War?" the brunette repeats. "What means o-FUCK of war?"
Clyde looks at the both of them sternly, "Sparta is on a rampage. Something has been taken from them."
Gary's face drops in shock. "Kenneth...," he whispers, looking at his wine glass nervously. "What...what has been taken?"
"Property of the king," I answer. "He's absolutely furious and he's going to come back for it."
"Kenneth would...would never steal like that," he looks at me questionably. "He's...a prince! He knows the boundaries! And he's neve-"
"There's a first time for everything," Craig interrupts. Gary looks at him in shock before back down to his wine glass, his fingers clutching around the stem nervously.
"We're here to help you," Clyde tells him. "I've brought my thirty best men to prepare with yours in the fight against the Spartans."
Gary and Thomas look at each other again, terror spreading through their eyes. "We...," Gary looks around nervously. "We are not the strongest allies in the rage of war," he admits.
"Perhaps not, but your land is the target," Clyde emphasizes. "Look, we're not asking you to become the greatest soldiers in all the land right away, but we're asking if you'll assist us in defeating the Spartans. It's going to be on your land, Sire, you have little choice."
He looks at us skeptically. "Why would you help us?" he asks. "I would think that Ithaca and Sparta would be allies. Two very powerful lands?"
"Exactly," I begin. "Sparta and Ithaca are powerful, the Kings would both be fit to show which one was more supreme than the other. It's the royal complex, isn't that right, Clyde?"
He nods, "He's right. The King of Sparta and I have never gotten along."
Gary's quiet for a moment. "Is it Cartman?" he asks lowly. We stare at him for a moment before he bites his lip and nods. "We heard a rumor. We heard he took over shortly after we left. But he doesn't know where we went...but I suppose since Kenneth was there...," he trails off and sighs. "He never did like any of us. He'd be more than willing to fight us I suppose."
Clyde nods, "He and I have had one encounter. Let me tell you it was not lovely. Tried to offer my diplomat his favorite virgin of all things to win our affections," he rolls his eyes. "Needless to say, our lands have never been the best of friends."
"Why do you -FUCK want us to help?" Thomas questions. "What goo-SHIT good is it to you to fight with -COCK us?"
"Allies are a wonderful thing," Clyde smiles. "We can fight in the war together and perhaps if you're willing to lend us your land, some food for our men, and just the training needed to prepare them all for war, Ithaca will always be open to help you in some way."
Gary and Thomas both sit back and stare at each other, each taking a sip of their wine and sighing. Gary's hazel eyes flicker up to me and Clyde. "Do we have much other choice in the matter?" he asks with a sad smile.
"Don't worry, with your wall protecting your civilians, they'll be safe," I state, reading that worry all over his face.
He smiles a bit more, chuckling. "I've always hated that wall," he says dreamily. "Now I suppose that will be our greatest advantage in the midst of this war."
"It'll be easier to shatter their offensive," Craig states, finishing off his wine with a loud sigh. "Arrows from the top will easily take out at least a few hundred men."
"I suppose that is a good thing," he nods. He shakes his head and sighs again. "How could Kenneth do this to us?" he asks quietly. "He knows better."
"Trust me," I say lowly. "What he brings back with him will completely change your mind on how valuable it is."
"What is it though?"
"In due time," Clyde answers.
He sits back again and sighs. "He still should have known better...but if it was Kenneth's doing, then it must have been important."
"You don't know the half of it, Sir," Pip says.
"Well...I suppose we should let your people in, hm?" he states. "We'll inform Stanley of the new recruits and do what we can."
"One thing," I jump. "Don't tell the men of the impending fight."
"And why not?" He blinks.
"It'll give them the disadvantage of fear," I state. "When they're thrown into it, instinct will lead them, right, Craig?"
"Right," he nods. "They'll be more apt to fight viciously if they're thrown into the fray with no warning."
"Oh...all right then," he says slowly. "But we may tell Stanley, our militia leader, correct?"
"Yes, but word it carefully. Just let him know that it's a threat. Don't let him show any fear to his men," Clyde states.
"All right," he nods. "As you say, you're more trained in this way than I, my friends."
"That's right," Clyde stands along with him and Thomas. "Come, I will show you our fighters and you'll see the force that we have up against those damnable Spartans." We all get to our feet and they, Craig, and Pip all start heading out.
I follow them slowly, not able to ward off what the oracle told me so long ago.
'The night will fall, and the sun will rise. But with the loss of night will come the loss of a royal figure of Troy.'
Royal figure gives me four different men in which can be taken down in this battle. The only problem is that I don't know which of them we will be losing.
I sigh, watching my feet as we walk out towards the front doors once again.
I guess all we can do at this point is wait.
A/N: Sorry for the wait, yaddya yaddya yaddya, you know I'm always sorry T-T
Thanks for R&Ring!