This choice: Onward to Athens (RESERVED) • Go Back...Chapter #7Onward to Athens (RESERVED) by: a   Mere hours later, and the ship pulled in to the docks of the city. Athens was vast and housed many people that Kassandra considered to be friends. But they could wait. For now, she had drachmae to make. Kassandra went to the marketplace, searching for anyone that was in need of assistance. Much to her surprise, she had little luck. She checked a nearby bulletin board in hopes that something would be posted there. She'd been searching for an hour and had come up with nothing. At this point, Kassandra would even be willing to help a farmer lead their missing sheep back to them. Nothing close to even that was available.
Frustrated, Kassandra began to turn back to return to the Andrestia. That was, until a voice called out to her.
"Misthios?"
The voice was frail and high-pitched. It was a wonder that she could hear it over the noise of the bustling market.
"Yes?" Kassandra replied without even knowing who was asking.
She turned towards the voice, and saw a decrepit old woman sitting on a bench. The woman was tiny, nearly buried in her robes that covered her body and the top of her head. "You are the one they call the Eagle Bearer?"
Kassandra smiled and made a triumphant pose, hands on her hips and puffing out her chest. "There are some that call me that. But most people I know just call me Kassandra."
"Kassandra," the old woman repeated. "I wonder...would you be willing to help someone in need? I can pay, of course."
"I wouldn't do it if you couldn't," she joked. "Tell me, what do you need?"
The woman sighed. "There is an island, just south of Athens. My family lived there for generations, but because of the war we were forced out. We got almost everything dear to us, except for a ring. It belonged to my great great grandmother. This was perhaps the most valuable possession we owned. Many tried to steal it, so we buried it in a cave on the island."
"And you want me to get it and bring it back to you?" Kassandra asked.
"If you can find it. How does three thousand drachmae sound?" she asked, pulling out a bag filled to the brim with coins.
"It sounds good to me. So I know you aren't lying, why not pay me half up front? As motivation?" Kassandra proposed.
The old woman shook her head. "I think not, my dear. We both know that you wouldn't venture to the island if that were to happen."
"Ah, you're as wise as you look. Very well. I'll return to you as soon as possible!" she said, turning to go back to the docks.
"I'll be waiting!" the woman called back.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Barnabas, do you know of an island to the south of the city?" Kassandra asked.
The captain thought for a moment, scratching his beard. "I believe I've seen it in passing a few times, but I can't say that I've ever stepped foot on it. Why do you ask?"
"That's were we need to go next. I'm helping a poor old woman in need."
"Out of the goodness of your heart, I presume?" he smiled.
Kassandra smiled back. "Of course. The three thousand drachmae reward doesn't hurt either."
"I hope you're planning on sharing some of that with the rest of us!"
"Of course, Barnabas."
Shortly after, they had reached the island in question. It appeared to have once been the home of a small village, but that was some time ago. Now, it was nothing but a collection of burnt buildings. Indeed, war had ravaged this place.
Kassandra stepped foot on the sand and looked around. A large rocky hill rested in the middle. Where could a cave be here? She glanced up and saw Ikaros circling above her. Kassandra whistled, and the faithful eagle swooped down to a nearby roof.
"There you are. Can you help me find the cave?" she asked.
Ikaros cawed and took off to the skies, flying over the island. Within moments, the bird made another noise, indicating that she should follow along. She was led to the back of a house that had fared better than most of the others there. Once she got behind it, Kassandra was able to make out a small hole on the side of the hill. It was just big enough for her to crawl through.
Kasandra got on her knees and made it to the other side, where she was met with pitch blackness. She quickly lit a torch and got a look at her surroundings. It was a fairly small space, but now that she had some light she could see the deep water that was mere feet in front of her.
"I'm glad I lit this. Otherwise I'd be soaking wet right now," she muttered.
With a sigh, Kassandra took a deep breath and dove into the water, tossing the torch aside. This wasn't her first time looking for something underwater in a cave. If this was like the other times, then the ring would be at the bottom. As it turned out, she had good intuition. There was something shiny that was half-buried in the rocky floor of the cave. Kassandra swum to the bottom, and eventually she got close enough to it to get a good look at it.
The object was the ring she was looking for, and appeared to be made of silver with a sapphire embedded in the center. She plucked it from the sand and made a fist around it. Kassandra swam back up and took a deep exhale as her head pierced the water, letting the refreshing air fill her lungs.
Back at the ship, she stood by the wheel, wringing the water out of her hair. Barnabas stood beside her, a smile on his face as he looked her way. The Andrestia was already on the way back to Athens.
"Find what you were looking for, Kassandra?"
"Indeed," she replied, opening her hand to reveal the piece of jewelry.
"Oh. Pretty," he shrugged.
"For as much drachmae as she's paying me, I would hope so."
If she was being honest with herself, Kassandra was a little disappointed at how easy the task seemed to be. This certainly wasn't the first time she had to retrieve an item for someone in need, but there always seemed to be a catch. Either some bandits would be waiting nearby, or perhaps the person requesting her help needed what she would bring back to them for nefarious reasons.
Could this really be so simple?
There was only one way to find out. The Adrestia pulled into the docks of Athens once more, and Kassandra returned to the market to meet with the old woman. She would have, if the woman was actually there.
The bench was now empty, and after briefly looking around the market, Kassandra could find zero trace of her. She thought to ask the nearby traders by if they had seen her, and each claimed that they had never seen such a woman. It seemed that the woman was gone, and her reward, more importantly.
Stumped, Kassandra sighed and uttered a phrase that had become quite common to her. "Malaka!"  indicates the next chapter needs to be written. |
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