The Laughing Gods

by Wilbur Arron

  I explained briefly and told her I needed some help to get Melanthios back into the polis’ dungeon. We could question him there in private and with security. She got four large polis guards, and the five of us rode for the location I had left my guest. Before we got there, I reached out in my mind and told my friends to leave so no one else would see them.

  Melanthios was still there unconscious. The four guardsmen bound him tight, and we all left for the polis. Once inside, we immediately took him to the guardhouse where we threw him into the deepest dungeon cell and chained him to the wall. Philie went to find Melina and Theresa, and we all met there. I explained what happened. Melina was relieved and kissed me openly. Philie was satisfied, but Theresa looked shocked. I figured she was not used to the more unpleasant tasks of being a ruler.

  “I am going to wake him,” I told the others.

  After a little more Life Magik, I could feel my prisoner starting to stir. I used a bucket of water to complete the process.

  “DAAAAGGG,” he gagged and shot to his feet. He started to run away, but the chains pulled him back. He looked around and saw where he was.

  “Welcome to Korpolis,” Philie said with a smile. “I have waited a while to talk to you.”

  “Where are they?” he cried out and looked around.

  “Who is that?” Philie asked.

  “The monsters who were following me,” he said, still looking. “They looked like two huge wolves.”

  “Those would be my friends, Melanthios,” I added. “They are not here now. Allow me to introduce myself. I am Alexio Sopholus. The large lady is Philie; she is in charge of the garrison. The other two are my wife Melina and Oligarch Cleon’s wife, Theresa.”

  Melanthios’ black eyes glared at me with hatred. “You, I should have known.”

  “Since I know you work for Pallas from the two now-dead associates you sent to spy on me, care to tell me who ordered you to kill me?”

  The nearly naked figure folded his arms and went mute as if that would impress me.

  “Melanthios, I am going to get it out of you,” I said.

  He laughed. “How, As soon as Pallas learns I am here, he will order my release?”

  “If he knew you were here,” I said. “I did not tell him yet, and I am not going to. You will be just one more person who disappeared without a trace into the Forest of Allund. Now tell me who hired you.”

  “Or what, you will torture it out of me? That may take a while,” our guest said grinning.

  “Oh no,” I said, feinting surprise and shock. “I am not going to hurt you. I am going to release you.”

  That got everyone’s attention. “Release me?” he questioned.

  “Yes, release you,” I repeated. “I will bind you tightly, and several guards and I will take you on horseback into the deep forest. There I will cut you loose, and you can try and leave. Of course, my friends you met before live in the forest and will be waiting. Unfortunately for you, I will not be there this time to stop them from eating you alive.”

  Philie started to laugh, and even Melina smiled broadly. Only Theresa remained motionless. I waited a few moments to let what I said sink in before I went on.

  “So, what will it be, Melanthios? Do I get Information from you, or do I invite you to be guest of honor at my forest friends’ feast? I frankly do not care.”

  He stood there impassively for a moment before he spoke up. “You can be persuasive, Master Mage. What do you want to know?”

  I grinned openly. “Start with the basics. Who hired you, Pallas?”

  “I work for more people than just Sysgros, Master Mage Sopholus. You would be amazed just how many people want you dead. Right now, the list stands at the ethnarch and his son, Zilar, and your own Brotherhood. Even the temple priests have said it would be better if you were with the gods on Olympus rather than on earth causing them trouble. Take your pick.”

  I was morbidly curious about one thing. “What is my head worth, if I may ask?”

  Melanthios seemed glad to provide that information. “Zilar said he would give twenty talents of gold and the position of tetrarch to anyone who brings him your head. The ethnarch has not put a price on it yet, but he definitely wants it. Your Brotherhood and the priests talk a lot and made it known that whoever kills you will be held in their highest esteem.”

  “What of your contact inside the palace?” Philie asked. “I want to know who that bastard is.”

  “You would be surprised,” Melanthios said again with a huge grin.

  There was an eerie silence in the room for a moment before Theresa spoke up. “I am his contact in the palace.”

  I thought I could not have heard that correct. We all gazed intently at Cleon’s wife. “Melanthios has told me I have to help him if I want my father to live.”

  “Your father was killed by Lycus when he took over Tyros,” Melina said as if not sure.

  “Lycus tortured my father almost to his death, but you killed him before he could finish. When Pallas helped retake our polis, he took my father back to Arginnia where the ethnarch’s physician healed him the best they could.” She pointed to Melanthios. “Pallas has told me through this slug here that the only way to keep my father alive will be to provide him with information. Otherwise, he would torture my father to death.”

  What a gift of the gods Pallas was turning out to be. I should not have stopped at one archon dead—I should have gone for another. I turned to Melanthios. “Is this true?”

  “Of course,” he said.

  “Well, that stops now,” Philie said angrily and took out one of the mage steel fighting knives I made for her. She walked over to the prisoner and put the knife at his throat. “I ought to cut your heart out myself. The gods would bless me for it.”

  I held up my hand. “Philie, no,” I pleaded. “Much as I like to watch you do that, this is Cleon’s decision not yours or mine. We will keep him as a prisoner here out of sight from everyone.”

  “You still do not understand, Mage,” Melanthios said, shaking his head. “For all your vast intelligence and great power, you have failed to realize the one critical item. I am not the prisoner here. You are!”

  “What?” I said, holding my arms up. “I see no chains here.”

  “Your chains are the money many are willing to pay for your hide,” he said calmly as though he was enjoying this. “Oh, you are powerful, but you are not invulnerable. You can die. An unexpected arrow or a knife stoke in the dark, and you are just as dead as I soon will be. Too many people want you dead, Mage. Just how many people do you think would pass at the chance of untold wealth? Who can you trust to forgo that much power and money? That assassin can be around any corner, behind any tree, be any stranger on the road. He or she can be anywhere. Can you stay on your guard all the time? What about your wife and friends? Many would gladly use their lives to get to you. I know both women are pregnant. Most assassins I know would have no qualms about using their children to get at you. The only place you are safe is in that forest of yours with all your freaks as friends. Step out of it, and you are dead. As I said, you are as much a prisoner now as I am. Get used to it, Mage.”

  At that point, Melanthios started to laugh loudly, almost hysterically. He was still laughing when Philie put her right fist into his face. The laughing abruptly stopped, and the body fell to the stone floor of the dungeon and lay still.

  “That should quiet him and his foul mouth,” the Amazon said with a grin of her own.

  “Yes, his mouth is foul,” I told all of them. “That does not mean, however, what he says is not true. If those around me are going to offer that much for my head, then Melanthios is right; none of you are safe.”

  “I do not believe that for an instant,” Melina said. “The people here love you. You saved them twice.”

  “Yes, but how deep does their gratitude run?” I asked. “Is it deep enough that they would turn down wealth beyond measure and a title? Just who would you trust with that much gold at stake?”


  “What can you do?” Philie asked.

  An idea glimmered into my head. “I have to make sure we have a level field to play this game. When do the next dispatch riders stop here?”

  Philie thought for a second. “One should be here in two days going south. The one going north will be here tomorrow.”

  “I need the one going south. I am still Advisor for the Ethnarch,” I reminded them. “Well, it is time for me to give a little advice.”

  I went back to the palace, and I borrowed Cleon’s study for a while to draft a letter.

  To Ethnarch Sysgros of Argina, Greetings:

  I have been speaking with a member of your household. His name is Melanthios. If you do not know him, ask your eldest son about him. I have learned much about what is going on in this vasíleio thanks to him and the recent failed attempt on my life. I have also learned about the imprisonment of Tetrarch Theron and the attempt to coerce his daughter into providing information about me. Neither act is worthy of an ethnarch. You should release Theron now and return him to his daughter. I will be very angry if you do not do this. These continued plots against me, along with the schemes of my former Brotherhood and the archiereas, are also making me angry. You are forcing me to make a choice in this conflict, which I did not want to do. I will not choose your side if this continues. I never wanted power, as I have repeatedly told you. If you continue to threaten me, my family, and my friends, you will force me to take that power. As your advisor, I strongly suggest that you and your eldest son stop this foolishness, and instead, spend your time combating the Zilar. My former Brotherhood and the archiereas should do likewise. I would appreciate it if you told them that for me.

  I wish you a long and prosperous reign.

  Alexio Sopholus

  Both Philie and Melina looked over my letter. It was Philie that spoke up.

  “You have such a nice way of putting the fear of the gods into people,” she told me.

  “The ethnarch will not take that lightly,” Melina said. “Now, what do we do?”

  “We leave,” I said to my wife. “I doubt if Melanthios is alone. In the forest, I can protect you. Here I cannot. Philie, you will need to have a guard accompany you everywhere you go for now. Also, you need to look after Theresa closely. She does not go out in public alone.”

  “I do not run from threats,” Philie said, looking at me with disdain.

  “There is one good reason to do this,” I said and put my hand gently on her expanding belly.

  She took in a deep breath. “I understand,” she said resigned to the new situation.

  “I still say my place is here,” Melina said.

  I shook my head, no. “If it were just the Zilar we were fighting, I would agree. Here, we do not know how many people we are fighting. We cannot count on the next attempt on my life, or anyone else’s, to be performed as badly as the first.”

  “He is right, Melina,” Philie said. “I can handle this. If we need help, I will set a signal fire on top of the watchtower. Aetos or one of the others can spot it and tell you.”

  “Very well,” I said, looking outside. “We will leave tonight through the secret passage that comes out in the old dried up creek bed. It will give us the most cover until we can get into the deep woods.”

  We left after dinner, and it was completely dark. People normally did not travel in the woods at night. We took the passage and came out in the darkness. As soon as we were clear of the bank and into the open, I called out mentally.

  “It is Alex and Melina; can anyone hear me?”

  “We have been waiting for you,” Alkos said. “The Old Ones want to talk to you. There have been others looking through the forest near here. They are not there now, but several men have come searching for something. Alkina and I stayed back to wait for you. I think there is trouble.”

  Now that was an understatement if I ever heard one.

  CHAPTER SIX: INVASION

  With help from Alkos and Alkina, Melina and I made it back to our house just before dawn. Alkos had told me that three men wearing green and brown clothes had been searching the forest near where Melanthios had sent his people to kill me. As soon as we were back, I asked both of them to go back and see if the three men returned. I went into my cave, got the Speaking Stone out of my hidden compartments, and charged it fully.

  “This is Alex, I have returned,” I called out to the Old Ones. “You wish to speak to me?”

  “Yes,” came the instant reply. “Many men have traveled along the path to the east. They did not get past where we blocked the path. They have all left now and are back at the place where they came from.”

  That struck me as odd. I knew they would have problems getting past any barriers the Old Ones put up, but I thought they would at least try to remove them. “Why did they leave so quickly?”

  “We rolled rocks down on them from above,” the Old Ones said as if it was nothing. “They left soon after that.”

  A simple solution but direct. “That is good,” I told them. “You have all done well. Let me know if they move from the fort.”

  “We will do this,” they told me and their presence disappeared.

  Well, that part of the invasion was going nowhere; if only the army camped at the base Zilar built along the north coast could be handled just as easily. There was likely several thousand there now. I gave Melina the good news.

  “We should send word to my brother,” she said.

  I was not eager to return to Korpolis with three possible assailants wandering in the woods. “Let us stay here for a while until things quiet in Korpolis. Just because the troops in the North Pass are back at the fort, does not mean they will stay there.”

  Melina reluctantly agreed, and we went back to being farmers for a few days. The fields needed weeding and watering, and we supplied the plants with both. It was three days after we returned that I heard once again from the Old Ones.

  “Alex, many men leave the fort going north, however many are also marching into the desert toward where Dysiasty is.”

  “How many go to Dysiasty?” I needed to know.

  “Twenty groups of ten,” they told me.

  That seemed far too small of a force to take the polis. Maybe they were going to try a surprise attack, but it was wide open out there. A blind man could see them coming unless they approached at night.

  “Do you have any more of that red cloth?” I asked my wife. “I need to send another message to our friends in the west.”

  I had Aetos drop the message from the air that night. That was all I could do for Dysiasty. I had Lycos and Lykina watch the area near where I defeated the Zilar force going on two years earlier. No one came that way, which was good for them. During this time, Alkos and Alkina both told me the three men they saw did not come back to the forest. They either found what they were looking for or gave up. I just wished I knew if they lived in Korpolis. I do not like being stalked by unknown assailants. There was no further word from Korpolis, so I assumed everything was alright.

  Another six days passed in relative harmony before Aetos alerted me, “Three men ride from the desert aerie toward you. They are alone. They wear blue and not yellow.”

  That meant Zila and her people. It also meant they survived any attack the Zilar made upon them. The Old Ones never said anything about anyone returning from Dysiasty, so I assumed there were few, if any, survivors from the attackers.

  I had Melina and my friends get ready, and I waited for the travelers by the orchard. Three men rode into the forest; one of them was Gyras.

  “I see you are alive and well,” I said and held out my hand.

  “Thanks to your warnings,” he said, getting off his horse. I noticed the start of a beard on him. I also noticed he was limping.

  “What happened?” I asked and led them toward the house.

  “The polis was attacked by Zilar troops, their very best. They sent their Scouts after us. They would have caught us unprepared without your warning. As it was,
there was a big fight. They managed to sneak up on us at night and killed some of the guards on the walls. The extra guards we posted saw them and sounded the alarm. They had greater numbers, but we were also ready for them. My mistress and our other two mages used magik on them. Most of the Scouts died, we captured several, and the rest fled into the desert. We lost nearly twenty people with a thirty more wounded. If they had surprised us, we might all be dead. My mistress sent me to say thank you.”

  “This whole thing is odd,” I told them. “I knew over a thousand Zilar troops all started to go into North Pass as we expected, but my friends blocked the pass and forced them back the way they came. Only then did they come after you.”

  “I know that now,” he said. “We managed to get a few of the wounded to talk. They told us the plan was to invade through the pass and then spread out and do as much damage as possible to the poleis and to burn all they could throughout the eparchia. The Scouts were to form into small groups and use hit and run tactics to tie up as many of your ethnarch’s troops as possible. After they heard about the main invasion, they were all to fight their way to the coast for pick up. Most of the troops looked at it as a suicide mission, but Zaleck, Zilar’s son, ordered them to go or else their families would all be killed.”

  “Zilar and his family are some really nice people,” I said sarcastically.

  “It gets better,” Gyras went on. “After they resupplied at the fort, they all marched into the pass and followed it until they came to a narrow valley between two high peaks. There, many large boulders blocked the path. There was no way around them, so the force leader ordered all the men to try and clear a path through it. As they were working, someone rolled more large rocks down on top of them. Many died, and the others panicked and fled back to the fort. When they got back to the resupply fort, Zaleck was so angry he ordered them to all march back to the coast for punishment, except for the Scouts. He called them all cowards for being his best troops and running away like sheep. As punishment, he told them to attack and kill everyone at Dysiasty or else. He also told them if they did not succeed, they were not to come back. What happened to those who survived I have no idea.”