A/N Thank you once again for the reviews - they do mean a lot to me.
So here we are at the penultimate chapter. I hope it's ok. Don't forget to let me know if you like it! I love reviews...
For anyone who knows Hellenic history can I please apologise - I may have played a bit fast and loose with the Samothracean Mysteries. I did some research but I'm not entirely sure I got it all right...
The room that the merchant Dakos had taken at the inn was simpler than Pythagoras had been expecting but his belongings were far more opulent. Richly coloured and embroidered silks peeked out from inside an ornately carved and inlaid wooden chest in one corner and other clearly expensive belongings were dotted about the otherwise fairly plain room. As Hercules leant against the wall near the door and started to sharpen a knife and Jason plonked himself down at the table in the corner, the mathematician began to pace about the room, too full of nervous energy to settle. As he stooped to examine a decorated casket Pythagoras' sleeve caught on a beautiful candle holder and sent it crashing towards the floor. With a speed normally more reminiscent of Jason he reached out and caught the edge of it before it could fall too far, juggling it awkwardly before finally getting it into his hands. It was with some pride that he replaced the candle holder back on the small shelf and turned back to his companions keen to see whether they has seen his success. He was disappointed to find Jason was staring into space, mind apparently turned inwards once again, his hands unconsciously playing with his necklace which, Pythagoras noted with some surprise, he had taken off and was winding around his fingers. The young genius frowned. To his knowledge his friend had only ever removed the scrap of metal and leather when he had briefly given it to Ariadne during the Pankration. Somehow Jason didn't look right without it. The blonde looked towards Hercules to find the big man watching him sardonically.
"You're not supposed to be playing with Dakos' things," Hercules noted.
"I wasn't," Pythagoras protested.
Jason nearly growled with frustration at their sniping. If he had thought he felt fairly awful before it was nothing to how he was feeling now. His stomach churned and throat burned. Every joint ached and he had a blistering headache. Silently he prayed that the merchant would appear soon because he knew that he would not last much longer; would not be able to hide his illness from his friends; would not have the strength left to finish this. He sighed silently. His foot was hurting again too – probably because he felt so damned tired and downright ill he thought – the throbbing providing an unwelcome counterpoint to the pounding of his head. He fought to stifle a cough that threatened to bubble up from his chest and was gratified to successfully achieve this. He really needed to focus right now – a thing made more difficult by his headache – and the constant pacing of Pythagoras combined with the grating noise of Hercules sharpening his knife were not helping; were making his head throb even more; were setting his teeth on edge.
"Shouldn't you be looking for somewhere to hide?" Jason muttered, not even bothering to keep the irritation out of his voice.
Pythagoras blinked in surprise at his tone.
"Oh," he answered, "Perhaps we could hide under the bed."
Jason looked incredulously from Pythagoras to the small, low cot against the wall and then back again. He resisted the urge to either drop his face into his hands or perhaps smack the mathematician around the head. For someone who was supposed to be a genius Pythagoras could be frighteningly dense at times.
"I'm not sure you'll both fit under there," the brunette pointed out. "If it was you and me maybe, but I'm not sure about you and Hercules."
"Oi," Hercules responded without any real rancour. "I'm not fat, I'm big boned!"
His two companions grinned at each other at his somewhat predictable response.
"Well maybe Hercules could hide on the far side of the cupboard then," Pythagoras said sensibly.
A sudden noise on the stairs outside sent both Hercules and Pythagoras scuttling for cover. Jason closed his eyes and swallowed, trying not to wince at the soreness in his throat. Opening his eyes again, he took a deep breath to try to settle his nerves. All they could do now was await the arrival of Dakos.
Dakos stumbled up the stairs blearily, trying and failing to focus his eyes. He wasn't quite sure when the time had got away from him or when he had apparently consumed so much alcohol that he couldn't even see straight. He tripped over his own feet twice on the stairs, catching himself both times on his hands, pushing himself up and trying desperately to walk in a straight line. Still, he had been lucky at dice – had left the bar with plenty of money in his purse – and had a firm agreement from Meriones that they would meet again in the morning to discuss business. The fool wouldn't know what hit him. All in all it had been a very successful, albeit unexpected, evening and he found himself almost grateful to the tardy serving girl who had failed to bring his meal to his room earlier. Not that his gratitude would stop him from accepting the free flagon of wine that the landlord had offered in compensation for the girl's mistake, however – nor would it stop him trying to ring further concessions out of the man in the morning.
From the main bar Meriones watched the merchant mount the stairs, stumbling as he went, with increasing amusement. The drug he had slipped into the man's drink was clearly taking effect already. He smiled to himself. Dakos was puffed up with his own pride and sense of good fortune – something that Meriones and his boys had fostered even further by quite deliberately losing almost every round of dice to the man – he had been set up for the fall perfectly. The huge man laughed silently to himself. He had not had this much fun in years. Now all he had to do was wait a little while before going up to the rooms to see that the final stage of the plan was put into good effect.
Dakos finally reached the top of the stairs and fumbled for a while at the door to his room. Somehow he couldn't seem to get his hands working in co-ordination with his eyes and brain. Eventually the door sprang open and he almost fell into the room. Pulling himself up on a piece of furniture, he turned and pawed at the door, making several unsuccessful attempts to get it closed before finally succeeding. He turned back to face the room, blinking owlishly. Someone was sitting at the table in the corner. Dakos squinted muzzily, aware that he should be concerned that there was another person in his room but unable to remember why. As his vision cleared slightly, he felt his blood run cold. He knew the boy that was sitting there; he knew he was dead.
"You," he gasped in horror.
The boy in the corner stayed silent, watching the merchant with burning eyes. Dakos looked again. There was no mistake. The figure was pale and gaunt and unearthly looking, and the merchant was suddenly in no doubt that he was in the presence of a restless spirit – a spirit whose sole purpose was apparently to haunt him. He scrambled backwards, the blood draining from his face as he scrabbled behind him for the door latch.
"You cannot be here," Dakos said desperately, his breath coming in short gasps. "You cannot be real. You are not real. You are not real."
He turned to the door, clawing at it in his panic. As he did, Hercules emerged from behind the cupboard, a large metal dish in his hand, which he used to clobber the merchant over the back of the head, stepping backwards out of the way as the man fell unconscious to the floor. Jason frowned. He had never quite worked out how there always managed to be a large metal dish on hand whenever Hercules needed to knock someone out but under the circumstances he wasn't going to complain. Pythagoras emerged from under the bed, smiling and rubbing his hands together.
"Right then," he said brightly. "Everything is going according to plan." He crossed the floor and crouched down to check on the merchant. "Did you have to hit him so hard?" he asked Hercules, frowning. "The idea was to stun him for a while not to knock him out to the point where he will not wake up for hours."
"He was going to get away," Hercules defended himself. "There wasn't time for anything else."
The big man opened the door and whistled. A few moments later Meriones entered.
"Gelo and Kerkyon are waiting with the cart below the window," the enormous man said.
Hercules nodded.
"Help me with him then," he answered, starting to heft the merchant up and across the room.
With plenty of huffing and straining (and the odd curse word thrown in) the two large men lowered the unconscious body of the merchant through the window and down into the cart below. Hercules turned, still panting slightly and made his way out to help Meriones' two men secure the merchant in the cart. Pythagoras moved to join him but paused in the doorway.
"Are you coming?" he asked Jason.
"Go ahead I'll join you in a minute," the brunette answered, smiling. As the mathematician left, the smile drained from Jason's face and he slumped slightly in his seat – almost wilting towards the table. The sooner this night was over the better. A noise from the window made him look up and he was startled to see that Meriones was still in the room watching him shrewdly as he crossed the small space to join the boy.
"You are not well," the huge man noted.
"No," Jason admitted.
"You have not told your friends."
Jason smiled wryly.
"They would worry too much," he said.
"They will be angry," Meriones stated flatly. He reached out a hand and touched the young man's arm, frowning at the heat he felt radiating back. "You should not be here. You should be in bed."
"I know," Jason answered softly but firmly, "and the sooner we finish this the sooner I can get to bed."
Meriones nodded.
"Alright," he said as he gave the lad a hand to get to his feet, helping him to cross the room and descend the stairs, making their way to the back door where the others waited in the cart.
As the cart rumbled through the largely deserted streets of Atlantis, Pythagoras tried to peer at Jason worriedly. The night was cloudless and dark, the odd torch lighting the entrance to a tavern or lamp in the window of a house the only things that punctured the inky blackness. The pervading gloom frustrated the mathematician's efforts to gauge his friend's condition visually and all he could really see of the brunette was a huddled shape curled up against the back of the seats. The brief flares of light that did manage to illuminate the wagon scarcely helped – they flashed by too quickly for Pythagoras to get more than a glimpse of his friend. He tried to shift a little closer to Jason but the press of bodies in the cart made this impossible. Whilst the flagons of wine that the wagon had transported to the tavern had been left behind, it now carried empty wine jars – stacked haphazardly around the cart's occupants – and the addition of Meriones and his two men, plus the unconscious Dakos, made the cart cramped and the journey uncomfortable, the horse plodding along slowly, straining under the additional weight it was pulling. Pythagoras sighed crossly. He very much needed to see Jason right now – could not shake the fear that something was wrong with his friend. Jason had seemed off before they had left the house this evening and it had only got worse once they had got to the tavern. He had been wincing and rubbing his forehead when he thought no-one was looking, and was as pale as the ghost they had asked him to pretend to be. The mathematician bit his lip. He should never have allowed the brunette to leave the house tonight; should never have allowed this to go ahead. Every so often he noticed Meriones, sitting up front next to the carter, turning around and trying to look at Jason too – and wondered what had passed between the two at the tavern after he and Hercules had left the room. His concern intensified.
Jason passed the cart journey almost in a haze. He could feel Pythagoras trying to look at him - caught glimpses of concerned blue eyes whenever they went under a torch – and knew he should be trying harder to convince his friend that he was fine. He had almost reached the end of his strength, however – was almost at the point where there was no way he would be able to maintain the pretence that nothing was wrong – and there was still so much to do tonight. He curled in on himself a little tighter, allowing his mind to drift through hazy dreams, half-asleep, trying to conserve as much of his energy as was left as possible. He knew Meriones was turning to look at him occasionally and knew that that would worry Pythagoras even more, but there was nothing he could do about it at this point. He had been honest when he had told Meriones that he knew he should be in bed – in fact there was nothing he would like more at this precise moment than to rest his aching body on a soft mattress (or at least on what passed for soft in Atlantis) – but until the plan was complete he could not afford to falter. The brunette lad stiffened as he felt another cough threaten to bubble up from his chest and ruthlessly fought the urge to let it out – knowing that if he started he would be unable to stop. Meriones had been right. Both Pythagoras and Hercules were going to be cross with him when – and by this point he was willing to acknowledge to himself that it was a when and not an if – they found out he was ill again or at least how ill he suspected he actually was. He sighed.
Hercules looked out at the inky black night, his thoughts bleak, turning every so often to make sure the merchant who lay alongside him was still unconscious. Pythagoras had been right. He had hit the man harder than was strictly necessary but when the moment had come he had been unable to fully contain his anger. He had also perhaps been a little less careful than he could have been when he had lowered the merchant through the window and into the cart but he felt that he did have some justification. This was the man who was ultimately responsible for everything that had happened to Jason; who was responsible for the hell that the lad had gone through; who had caused all the fear and worry and pain that both his boys had suffered over the last few weeks (the one on behalf of the other). The big man had been forced to watch as Jason had fought for his life; as the lad had struggled through pain and fear each day; as Pythagoras had grown pale and tired with anxiety, his worry written permanently on his face – and by the Gods he was going to make the man pay! Hercules was not by nature a vengeful man but in this case he felt he could make an exception. He looked at Dakos' prone body again with barely concealed hatred, before turning back to look out at the streets. He frowned as his thoughts turned once again to his two boys. Contrary to popular opinion, Hercules was not completely stupid and was far more aware of the needs and emotions of the two lads than either of them actually realised. He knew full well that Pythagoras was riddled with worry once again – both about the success of tonight's plan and about Jason's well-being – and that Jason was trying to hide something from them both again. Really it was getting to be a bit too much of a habit for Hercules' liking. Sooner or later he thought he might have to sit the dark haired lad down and have a long and very serious talk about keeping secrets – particularly secrets that could be detrimental to his health – from his friends. Hercules sighed. That was not a conversation he could see going particularly well – Jason was apparently open and friendly (at least to a point) but there was also something very guarded about his nature – he had just a few too many defensive walls – and was likely to react badly to any perceived attack on those defences. The big man was startled out of his thoughts as the cart juddered to a stop. They had arrived at their destination.
At a sign from Meriones, Gelo and Kerkyon jumped down from the back of the wagon and hoisted Dakos up between them, carrying him through a door that their enormous employer had opened for them. The small warehouse they stepped into was even darker than the streets outside. Meriones made his way over to a small table in the centre of the room by memory rather than sight and carefully lit a small lantern. As Hercules looked around he saw that the room was largely empty. He turned towards his giant friend with an eyebrow raised.
"It is a new acquisition," Meriones answered his unasked question modestly. "Soon it will be full of the finest wines from around the Aegean, fabrics from Phoenicia and spices from Persia."
"All obtained legally of course," Pythagoras murmured.
Meriones rumbled with laughter.
"Let's just say that I would prefer it if the city guards continued to believe that this warehouse was empty," he said. "I pay enough tax on wine into King Minos' coffers as it is."
Jason, meanwhile, had made his way over to a large crate in the corner and pulled himself up onto it, removing the cloak that Pythagoras had loaned him and tucking it out of sight behind himself as he had done in Dakos' room as well. His crutches he carefully slid to the floor alongside the crate, hoping that they would not be noticed. Half drowsing, the brunette lad let his head rest back against the wall as he listened to the conversation of the others. Hercules slipped over to him softly, frowning. The young man had been too quiet all evening – although the big man supposed that that could be the result of nerves.
"If you want to have a bit of a nap I'll wake you when he starts to come round," he said gruffly but quietly, so that no-one but Jason could hear him.
He was rewarded by a grateful look from the dark haired lad followed by a quick, almost unnoticeable nod. The big man smiled slightly as Jason's eyes slipped closed – the boy was clearly very tired.
At the table, Meriones lifted the merchant's head and peeled back an eyelid, looking clinically at the eye that was revealed. Nodding to himself he allowed the man's head to drop back onto his arms that were resting on the table and turned to pick up a cup of water. Reaching under his robes again, he removed the small bottle, unstoppered it and added another dose of the hallucinogen it contained to the cup, swirling it around to mix it.
"A simple drug," he said in answer to Pythagoras' quizzical look. "It will not harm him but will make him very suggestible. He is far more likely to accept anything we tell him under the influence of this and when it wears off he will continue to believe everything that he thinks has happened tonight."
Pythagoras nodded. He did not like to ask where Meriones had obtained such a drug or what he normally used it for, but he was not unhappy with its use tonight.
Hercules crossed the room again and joined the mathematician, sitting down on the steps that led from the street into the room. He stared hard at Dakos. Now all they could do was wait for the merchant to awaken.
Consciousness was not kind in returning to Dakos. His head ached abominably and his mouth felt parched – as though he had swallowed a mouthful of sawdust. More concerning, however, was the fact that he had absolutely no idea where he was or how he managed to get there. Warily he looked around himself as he blinked blearily and tried to focus his fuzzy vision.
"Ah my friend," a jolly voice boomed, making him wince at the volume. "I worried you were not going to wake."
"What's going on?" Dakos asked sullenly. "Where am I? What have you done with me?"
Meriones came from behind him and sat down at the table. He looked puzzled.
"Done with you?" he asked. "I have not done anything with you. You had a little too much to drink and returned to your chambers. Once you had left the bar I realised that you had left your coin purse behind. My man went to your room to return it. He came back to fetch me saying that you were raving about a spirit haunting you. Kerkyon was truly worried about you, my friend. He said you seemed to be out of your mind. I returned with him to your chambers and found that you were indeed screaming and raving about a ghost. You passed out. I had my men bring you here because I did not think you would want the whole of Atlantis discussing your behaviour – it could prove... unfortunate... in your future business dealings."
Dakos passed a hand over his face.
"I remember the spirit," he admitted. "It was horrible."
"It was no spirit," Gelo interjected suddenly. "You were drunk and had listened a bit too much to Kerkyon's ridiculous stories."
"I suppose you might be right," the merchant conceded.
Meriones smiled kindly.
"Have some water," he encouraged. "It will help you to clear your head."
Dakos sighed and took the proffered cup, draining it in one go. He looked around the room more earnestly. Suddenly his eyes caught on something in the corner and he squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing. He started, horror growing.
"No, no, no, no, no!" he exclaimed in terror as the figure came in to focus. He clutched the arm of the man nearest to him, who just happened to be Meriones. "Can't you see it?" he implored.
Meriones turned to see what Dakos was looking at. He turned back to the man, face puzzled.
"See what?" he asked.
"The boy," Dakos responded in agitation, eyes wide and terrified.
"The boy?" the enormous man repeated. "What boy?"
"In the corner."
"My friend," Meriones said, "there is nothing but a crate in that corner."
"You cannot see him," Dakos whispered. "Then he really is not real – he really is haunting me."
"What are you talking about?" Gelo asked irritably. "I thought this man was supposed to be a sensible businessman," he added turning towards Meriones. "He's as mad as old Cleodaeos was. Throw him out and have done with it."
"Gelo!" Meriones admonished. "We have all shared wine together and swapped stories. The least we can do is listen to Dakos' story now." He turned to the merchant expectantly.
Dakos swallowed hard.
"Many months ago I acquired an... item... of great worth. There were many people who sought this item – who would pay handsomely to acquire it. I believed that there was a fine profit to be made from it's sale," he paused, swallowing hard again and casting another fearful look into the corner.
"I'm guessing you didn't obtain this item legally," Gelo said sharply.
"No," the merchant agreed. "I heard of it's whereabouts by accident. It was in the possession of an old woman – had been kept by her family for years. It was not hard to deceive her. I posed as a long lost relative. Flattered her while my man, Aegon, slipped into her house and robbed her of it."
"You tricked and robbed an old woman?" Kerkyon asked, unable to keep the disgust out of his voice.
Dakos snorted derisively.
"She was old and poor. What possible use could she have for such a treasure?" he asked. "That is beside the point, however. Many months later I discovered by accident that there was another searching for the item I had acquired. He was a man of dark reputation; a man who delighted in blood and torture. He had searched for this item for many years and had found out that I had... obtained... it from the old woman and that I had travelled to Atlantis – although he did not yet know who I actually was."
"What's all this got to do with you seeing things?" Gelo asked roughly. He turned to Meriones. "This is a fine fantasy he's creating but I say let's get rid of him and get back to business."
"I was just getting to that," Dakos snapped irritably. "Some weeks ago I had need to leave Atlantis for a while. To travel to Helios on business. I was warned by an... associate... that the man – Galanus – searching for me had found out that I had need to go to Helios for a time and that I would then be returning to Atlantis. My trip could not be delayed but I had no desire to risk myself at the hands of this man. My contact led me to believe that Galanus still knew nothing about me save for the fact that I would be travelling to and from Helios at a certain time. My contact had been told that Galanus was, in his own twisted way, an honourable man. He had informed his men that once he had found his 'thief' anyone found in his company would be let go. Imagine my dilemma, my friends. My business in Helios could not be delayed but I knew that if I left Atlantis I would be invariably risking my life. I had to find a way out; had to provide Galanus with an alternative; with someone other than myself to focus on." he paused again.
"Go on," Meriones said softly.
"It was then that I encountered a piece of good fortune," the merchant admitted. "It was the night before I was due to leave for Helios and I still had not found anyone suitable to use as a scapegoat. Aegon and I were in the tavern talking to some other merchant's about my upcoming trip to Helios and my need for a new porter and how I had as yet not found anyone I was happy with. I told the men in the bar that I needed a decent, honest, relatively strong lad who would not back away and run at the first sign of trouble. There was a boy sitting alone in the corner of the room – he had just come in but from the way he was patting himself down it did not look like he had the money to buy himself a drink. One of the other merchant's pointed him out to me and told me that he was the young man who had killed the Minotaur. It seemed almost too good to be true. The boy fulfilled everything I required and was clearly short of money. I went over to his table and, with Aegon's help, persuaded him to stay and share a drink with me." He sighed almost reflectively. "It was all too easy. The boy was young and naïve. He took everything I told him at face value and accepted the job eagerly. He told me his name was Jason."
Still sitting on the steps Hercules growled almost inaudibly. A firm hand on his arm restrained him gently and he turned to look at his companion. Pythagoras' face was set with grim determination, his eyes unusually hard. Hercules nodded his acknowledgement. The merchant was as yet unaware of their presence and it was better to keep it that way – at least for the time being. They turned back once again to listen to Dakos telling his tale.
"The journey to Helios was easy," the merchant said. "I had sent Aegon to Pathmos on business. He was to sell the item I had acquired to a business associate there and then return to Atlantis as quickly as possible to await my return. I believe he has betrayed me and run off with the money. As soon as I have leisure I will be tracking him down and dealing with him. Anyway, that is beside the point. I slipped a jewel into Jason's coin pouch so that it would be easier to convince Galanus that the boy was the thief if we were attacked on the outward journey. I removed it once we arrived in Helios. It was simplicity itself. The boy was too trusting," he paused again. "Actually I liked him," he admitted slowly. "He was friendly and polite and did everything I asked without question. In the evenings he would tell me how he had arrived in Atlantis – a stranger in a strange land – and about how his two friends had taken him in. He talked about them a lot. I think he cared for them a great deal. In return I told him stories of the lands I had visited; of the gods; of the old legends. He seemed to love stories. He would sit there and listen for hours with those wide dark eyes. I began to wish that Galanus would not find us; would not attack the caravan on the way back to Atlantis." Dakos sighed. "I still slipped the jewel back into the boy's coin pouch as we left Helios though," he admitted. "We were two days into the journey back to Atlantis – had settled down for the night – were all asleep – when Galanus struck. I followed my plan. I betrayed the boy. Gave him to Galanus knowing that the man would stop at nothing to get what he wanted from the lad – and it was information that Jason simply did not have. I knew he would be tortured to death. But it was him or me and I had to save my own skin whatever the cost. And now he haunts me. Follows me. His ghost was there in my room tonight and it is here now. Not speaking. Just watching me with those burning eyes," his voice rose once again in panic.
"It is no ghost," Gelo insisted. "It is only your conscience."
"I feel no remorse for what I did," Dakos snapped at him. "It was either the boy or me. I cannot regret an action that saved my life."
Meriones struggled to keep his face impassive as he fought down the waves of anger and disgust that threatened to overwhelm him. The merchant was amoral; a disgusting creature not worthy of his pity. He was also clearly terrified. It was time to finish this – time to put an end to the man's actions.
"It seems you do indeed have a problem," he said, nodding. "I believe you are being haunted by this poor restless spirit. And I do not think he will be content to just watch you forever. He will follow you; torment you; and sooner or later cause harm to you. You must find a way to appease his spirit."
"How?" the merchant asked desperately.
"I do not know," Meriones shrugged.
"I think I might know of a way," Kerkyon started slowly. "You must appease the goddess of the crossroads, Hekate. You must implore her to intercede on your behalf. But what you have done... she is not likely to look upon you favourably."
"Then I am doomed," Dakos said in despair.
"Perhaps not," Meriones said thoughtfully. "There is a place I have heard of..."
"Where?"
"Samothrake. I believe that to appease the goddess - to ask her to intercede on your behalf - you must travel to the Temple of the Great Gods. You must give up your worldly possessions and become an initiate of the Samothracean Mysteries. Only then can you be absolved of your sins."
"Give up all my possessions?" Dakos asked incredulously. "You must be mad."
"If you do not do this I fear it is your destiny to be destroyed by this spirit," Meriones stated earnestly. "Come, we will help you." He turned at the sound of a noise from the stairs. "Ah Hercules. Pythagoras. It is late for you to be visiting me. What can I do to help you?"
Hercules stalked across the room, barely containing his rage. Pythagoras, on the other hand, allowed his face to drop into an open and apparently guileless smile.
"The frankincense you employed us to guard is safely on it's way to Athens," he said lightly. "We came to let you know... and to get paid."
Meriones smiled.
"Of course, of course," he said starting to count out some money.
Dakos had shrunk back from the two approaching men. Meriones turned to him in apparent surprise.
"Is there a problem?" he asked solicitously. "These are two men who have worked for me in the past. It is a little business that I will soon have dealt with."
"Hercules and Pythagoras," Dakos whispered to himself. "Those were the names of the Jason's friends."
"You know Jason?" Hercules growled. "Our friend," he clarified in response to Meriones' ostensibly quizzical look. "He went away to work for a merchant more than a month ago and disappeared. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?" he asked the terrified Dakos threateningly.
"Hercules," Meriones gently remonstrated. "Dakos is an acquaintance of mine. A guest in my property. You must treat him with respect."
"You know what happened to him don't you?" Hercules loomed over the merchant, allowing some of the rage he felt to bleed through into his voice. "Where is he?"
"I did not harm the boy," Dakos said desperately. "His fate was not in my hands..."
Hercules roared in anger as he punched the merchant full in the face. Dakos fell backwards to the floor, stool tipping over, and tried to scramble away from the enraged wrestler.
"Help me," he implored Kerkyon, the closest man to him.
"I'm going to kill him," Hercules yelled, drawing his knife from its sheath and advancing on the merchant.
Gelo and Meriones stepped in quickly and disarmed the burly man, holding him back seemingly with difficulty.
Dakos looked between the furious Hercules and Jason silently staring at him from the corner, his terror growing.
"Help me," he said again. "Get me away from him. I'll give you everything I have – just help me to be free from this. Help me to get away. I want to be initiated in those mysteries you were talking about." He withdrew his heavy purse from his belt and threw it on the table. "It's all yours," he reiterated.
Meriones flicked his eyes at Kerkyon, nodding slightly. Kerkyon nodded his blonde head in response and clobbered Dakos over the head with the butt of his knife, adding an extra blow almost clinically to make sure that the merchant stayed unconscious. Hercules, released from his two 'captors' walked over and kicked the man solidly in the ribs.
"That's for Jason," he said. He added a second kick. "That's for Pythagoras." He kicked the prone merchant a third time. "And that one's for me," he added, spitting on the unconscious man for good measure before stalking away.
Kerkyon and Gelo lifted the merchant between them.
"You know what to do?" Meriones asked.
"Yes," Kerkyon said laconically. "We'll take him to the docks and I'll escort him to Samothrake. When he wakes up I'll tell him that he fainted again... I should be back here in a week or so," he turned to Gelo. "Just make sure there's a flagon waiting with my name on it."
Meriones laughed and clapped his man on the shoulder. As they left he picked up Dakos' heavy purse, examining the contents.
"Gods, I haven't enjoyed myself this much in years!" the enormous man stated expansively. He smirked suddenly. "I will 'dispose' of the contents of his room – I should make a reasonable profit from most of his possessions – and this should more than cover what you should have been paid for the journey to Helios," he added, hefting the purse as he looked over at Jason.
The brunette boy nodded vaguely at him. He had been struggling to keep track of the conversation for a while and was glad that his part of the plan, important as it had been, had not involved anything more than sitting in silence and staring hard at Dakos. Jason finally allowed the cough that had been building in his chest to escape, thin shoulders shaking as it racked his frame.
"Can we go home now?" he croaked hoarsely, as he slipped off the crate and stood, swaying slightly.
Both Meriones and Pythagoras started towards him, worry written all over the blonde mathematician's face.
"Pythagoras?" Jason said vacantly. "I really don't feel very well."
As Pythagoras reached him, his eyes rolled back in his head and he crumpled to the floor.