Chapter 6: The Land of The Pharaohs
The party had changed ships in Alexandria without issue. It was a gorgeous city, and reminded Freya much of Alfeim with its beautiful, tall structures. Everywhere she looked was white brick, sandstone, and gold. Lining the port were the most bustling city streets she had ever seen. People, animals, goods, going up and down each street and dock. Water was the lifeblood of the city, merchants and performers littered the waterfront. The people here were much darker in skin tone as well. Many of the merchants and higher ups wore dark paints around their eyes and brows too she noticed. Much unlike her homeland though, everyone here were merely normal, mortal humans. No elves, dwarves, giants. All one race.
The city surely had its darker sides though. Thoth had given warning of how vital the market of slavery was in Egypt. The beautiful pyramids standing in stark contrast to the winding desert hills far in the distance were built entirely on their backs. An abhorrent thing Freya detested, but as Kratos reminded her, it is not their home. They are here for a purpose, not to free another land's people. Still though, it broke Freya's heart to see half starved, broken people, children even, in chains being led in lines through the streets.
She was staring at a group of slaves toiling away at one end of a small bridge as their ship passed by when she felt Kratos' strong hand on her shoulder.
"We can do nothing for them."
Her fingertips rose up to gently meet his hand. "I know…I know." The remorse in her murmurs was solemn and heavy.
It had only been another day's sailing south before they arrived at Giza. Another crowded, lively city, but far more contained then Alexandria was. The structures were not as tall, and the city did not seem as thrown together. At the peak of the city leading inland was the main temple. It had very tall columns and arches. Large figures and paintings of what Freya presumed were different deities for these lands, as she recognized the falcon faced Ra and crocodile headed Sobek among them. At the apex of the central gateway into the palace however, was the ibis representing Thoth. Apparently this was his palace. The sun was setting soon, and the white stones of the buildings looked almost otherworldly in the orange dusk's light as they passed into the courtyard.
A far cry from wooden huts in mountains of snow for sure. This is the country in the cooler season? I can only imagine how unbearable it must be in peak summer. The sweat on my body is so thick my clothes are glued to my skin, I need a bath for days.
A tall, bronze skinned man was standing at the stairwell's apex for them with open arms and a big smile. His beard was slim, hanging from the bottom of his chin in a little braid. Dark makeup surrounded his eyes in pointed wings. His face appeared old, older than Odin's or Thoth's had. A multitude of wrinkles lined his brow and eyes.
"Welcome my friends, thank you for joining us and welcome to Egypt!" While the face was no longer beaked, there was no mistake, this voice belonged to Ra.
"You use this form around them?" Kratos grunted, nodding his head towards mortals sweeping the base of the steps out of earshot.
"Shhshh," Ra quickly hushed them. "The mortals in our realm are not the same as yours. Very few are aware of most of our presence and existence among them. Mainly the pharaoh and high court."
"You hide in your own homeland?" Freya exclaimed in shock. Suddenly the human visage Thoth had maintained for the voyage around the crew made that much more sense.
"Come, come, I'll explain more as we walk," Ra promised with a wide smile and waving arm.
"You see, my kind are very old. I have grandchildren of grandchildren even I do not know. So many gods, demigods, and the like. Long ago we made our presence known to mortals, and they flooded us with gifts and prayer. Then there were wars, invasions, conquerors. We realized that it would be best for our prolonged existence for conquerors to not know we were here, plainly speaking. We could slay them, surely, but it grew tiresome constantly meddling with the mortals after thousands upon thousands of years. We are not the north, my friends, there are simply too many mortals and too many wars for us to intercede with."
They rounded a corner and continued their ascent up flights upon flights of stairs. "As I said before, I am very old. I feel my time is coming quite soon where I will join my brother Osiris in his kingdom of the afterlife. Until such time though, I must maintain this world here, and I have found on occasion, it is best to leave my hands untouched to the comings and goings of mortals. Ah, here we are."
The party arrived at a secluded wing with a row of open doorways. "Do you not have doors in your land?"
Ra clasped his hands and slightly bowed. "Not in most citadels and pyramids no. You'll find each of your rooms has a curved entryway as you enter, giving you privacy and easier access for the mortals for cleaning and such. With permission of course. Freya your room shall be this first room on the right, Kratos you are down two on the left."
Before Freya could voice a word, Kratos spoke up. "We will share a room, Freya can take the bed, I will need only a mat on the floor."
Ra looked taken aback and gazed back to Thoth, who nodded shallowly. "Very well, as our guests wish." He snapped and told one of the mortal house servants to make the accommodations.
"We shall have supper brought up to your room as it's already past nightfall, and tomorrow we feast!"
Freya and Kratos entered their room and after inspection took to resting upon the bed and a chair, respectively. The bed was rather grandiose in size and the comfortability of the dressings. After a few minutes she heard Kratos speak. "I'm sorry for speaking for you. I just, we are here at their request, but I still do not trust them fully."
Freya pushed herself onto her elbows as she looked down at Kratos near the foot of her bed. "No, no, it's fine. I agree. With no doors, it seems it would be easy to silently enter without alarm if one was alone."
The spartan grunted in approval. The pair talked for a while, sharing opinions of the city and people.
"It seems so foreign to me, to… hide, from the mortals that worship you. Not aid them when they're conquered or at war."
Kratos ran his fingers through his dense beard a few times before sighing. "The gods of Olympus did not hide, so much as they remained up on their tall mountain away from the mortals' problems. They only sauntered down on their whims when they wished to be bathed in love and gifts. I suppose hiding with a hands off approach is a touch kinder than outright manipulation, in some regard."
Freya stood now raising her hands. "Well regardless, I feel sweatier and more disgusting than I have in decades. Gods know how they stand this heat here. The bath in the next room reminds me of the one you had built for our home. So if you don't mind I will be in there for the next..decade, if I can."
Kratos smirked, "Feel free."
Another half hour later, some servants arrived with silver platters of delicious smelling food. One brought in some wrapped up white cloth as well. "Excuse me, my lord, but the master requested I bring these to you. For the pair of you to wear for the feast tomorrow, and they'll be better suited for the heat then the fur and leather you wear now."
Kratos paused for a moment, but then grunted in acceptance as he took the clothes from her. He poured himself a cup of wine as he picked at some type of grilled bird on one of the larger platters. He had not had wine since the preserved jug he had found in Tyr's vault with Atreus years ago. It was not as good as Lemnian wine, but it served. Then, Kratos thought he heard movement behind him so he spun. This resulted in knocking the metal pitcher of wine from the table to the floor, splashing it across his legs in the process. There had been nothing there, and now due to his clumsiness and unawareness of his surroundings, he was not only sweaty and hot but sticky from wine as well. The spartan shook his head in frustration, he was certain he had sensed something moving, and his reward for acting on instinct was now a very uncomfortable feeling across his legs in unpleasant heat.
He approached the bath doorway hesitantly. "Freya… are you there? Awake?"
"Yes, Kratos. I heard a crash, is everything alright?" Echoed out from within the room.
"Yes I just, I… spilled wine. May I use the hand washing basin to clean it off of me? I do not wish to intrude, I'll only be a moment."
"Hah, you spilled wine on yourself? The god of war lost a battle to a cup? You may enter Kratos, it's fine."
With that, he walked in, not looking in the bath's direction in equal parts embarrassment and not wishing to intrude upon Freya's privacy. He grabbed the cloth from beside the basin and swirled it around in the shallow water.
"So, what would you say is deadlier, a cup of wine? Or that little squeaky ball of doom we found in Vanaheim years ago?" The goddess light heartedly jeered from behind him.
Kratos grunted in shame as he spun around. "It was a mistake, I-"
His words caught in his throat as he realized he was now looking upon Freya, naked, in the bath. The god immediately spun back around, not looking up from the water as he set to work wiping his legs. He had not seen anything, truly, the rim of the tub shielded anything below her shoulders. She had been leaning forward, chest against the bath's edge, looking at him. All their years working together and Kratos had never even seen her bare shoulders like this, let alone the knowledge nothing else was covering her.
"It's interesting, seeing you shy and at a loss for words. You walk around all day with your chest and torso bared. It's so shameful to risk seeing mine, even at a glance?" She posed with the most savage of smirks.
"I.. no, it isn't. I am just..intruding upon your bath, and did not…wish to see anything of your, private time in solitude," he stuttered, unsure of what to say.
"Kratos, I'm hundreds of years old, I'm not a child. We can have a conversation despite me being without clothes. I recall something similar happened a few weeks ago when I walked in bloody on you in the bath. I don't remember you being so.. bashful, then." Freya was enjoying this perhaps a touch too much.
Who knew all it took to break down the impenetrable wall of silence and stoicism of the Ghost of Sparta was a nude woman in the bath?
"Well I hope the food is good at least," she changed topics to ease the god's silence as he wiped his legs down.
"I only had a piece but yes, quite." Kratos replied plainly as he wrung out the cloth back in the basin.
Have I pushed too far in my taunting?
"Kratos, I..I'm sorry if I teased you too harshly. Truly, it's fine. I was relieved when you asked to share living arrangements for our stay. I don't want you to suddenly regret that," she apologized in earnest. She felt strongly for the Greek god, and it was not often she felt like she was the one with an upper hand in their dynamic.
"No need to apologize. I'm sorry, I haven't been in a situation like this since, my wife."
Oh well now I feel absolutely terrible. "Kratos, I'm..so sorry."
"No, no. Again, it is fine. I know you were being light hearted. There are many situations I am not… skilled at handling. Things like this were always her advantage over mine. She knew what to say, how to jest, how to steer conversation. Some day, maybe I'll have a fraction of her skill in situations that need a…not as stern touch," Kratos lamented. Even from the tub she could see the ever subtle dip in his shoulders.
"You are far better at it than you were when we first met. In fact, some of the things you've said over the last few weeks were dangerously close to jokes!"
Kratos scoffed, "Hrnph. Yes, well, I suppose warmer environments may help with warming hearts as well."
There were a few minutes of silence as Kratos finished up. "Why don't you go back out and see what else we have to eat, and if there's any more wine. I'll dry and join you in a moment."
The god left, and Freya was left with her thoughts. Perhaps, this trip won't be as unfortunate as I was expecting. Maybe after a few trips for fun down here he might..