Inferno Ascended

Glax devoted the next two days to accompanying the Archigeos on his visit to Stimhena with the governor of the province. The Archigeos demanded support for the villagers and a reassessment of the ore mining activity. They went to what was left of the factory, and then to the place where Sarpedon had built his house. 

Looking at the dilapidated place, the Archigeos looked thoughtful.

"Sarpedon was really the son of an ancient god. He must have done all that. Only the purpose confuses me."

"He convinced Damiamon that he was who he said he was." Glax pointed.

"Legends say that he died for the first time in the famous Trojan War, trying to defy fate and fight someone beyond his capabilities. But being a demigod, he was privileged with a special embalming, with a substance that prevented his body from decomposing. And he was given over to Death and Sleep… Then he was taken to another place. Well, that's what the old poetry tells. Perhaps that was why he could come and go to Old Invisible's court at will. Pamphilos knows this whole story, of course." The Archigeos ended his account with a smile.

Glax knew Demophon loved tales and stories, and it wasn't surprising he knew the most interesting ones. The Valosian was thoughtful, reflecting on this curious story. 

While waiting for the altars the clan chief had erected on that hill to appease the offended gods to be ready, Demophon invited,

"I am going to Pharys. And I must pass through Valosia. Why don't you and Rasmus come with us? We can stop by your old house."

"I should? I feel I have a lot of things to sort out regarding the special squad." Glax couldn't say he wanted a few days of vacation and head back to the capital to find out where the hell Nikandros had hidden Chriseis. As much as he had tried to get around the subject of the bizarre motive behind Nikandros' actions, the Archigeos gave him no room to advance.

But now he knew Demophon had been on his way to Pharys from the start. Glax thought there was something else behind the invitation for him and Rasmus to accompany him. 

"Of course you two should come. You haven't visited your town after becoming the Exalted of Armorion. Your father must be proud…"

'Look at him talking this without a blink, uh. Alexander has already confessed to me that his father confirmed I should be the Emperor's son. What does he want with all of it?' Glax wondered internally. But he spoke instead.

"Oh, I can't wait. I was a bad ambassador for Crona! I left my town to do business and failed completely! My dad can't be too excited!"

"Your father was secretary to a Prince, and a Pharysian man of culture. He must have a greater vision than that of an ordinary mayor, if I can say that."

"He will be pleased to hear that the Archigeos holds him in high regard. I'll prepare everything to leave with your entourage tomorrow!" Glax spoke. 

The Archigeos nodded, releasing him.

Demophon watched the horizon and the mountains to the east, towards Valosia and beyond, the capital of the Empire.

Glax could see that the clan leader was constantly worried, but perhaps Demophon still didn't trust him enough to say why.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"I never did something like this!" Thersos looked at the detailed drawing Glax handed him. 

"Maybe not, but you can even find a village helper, someone who makes boats, perhaps."

"I'm not Marcus. I am a gunsmith! I understand guns! Everything else… I only helped Marcus a few times."

"Don't limit your mind, Thersos! It's not a complicated project and you even have a template." Glax insisted, swinging his gold bag. It was all he had. He was probably even going to have to get a sponsor or ask for money from loan sharks in the near future. 

Because the pay of a Kroton Captain at the beginning of his career was enough to have a dignified life with a small family. But not to invest in extravagant projects. And he didn't really want to squander the assets he'd inherited from Chriseis. He felt it was wrong and immoral.

"Boss... I'll need to find the right merchants too... Some of this stuff needs to come from the south... This is just an advance, right?" Thersos scratched his head, grabbing Glax's money bag.

Uniq was haphazardly fiddling with the tools scattered around his brother's new workshop in Stimhena. She took a long pincer and played with it, glaring at her older brother. "Thersos, Thersy, my dear… You would be pretty screwed if weren't for Lord Glax. We know you need to eat and support two families, but you shouldn't be greedy… 'When a Cyclops doesn't blink, the splinter gets into its eye.'" She recited some sort of proverb, and slapped the pincer shut violently.

Glax knew the caress of the warrior lady's hands, and preferred not to know the power of her punch. 'What a mobster lady!' He became totally empathetic with Thersos in the face of the threat with the pincer.

Thersos replied. "Yes, Uniq. Don't be so bossy, gal. Also, the boss said I'm going to work for the special unit. And I will have a fixed payment for it."

Glax nodded, arms crossed over his chest and a satisfied smile.

"Thersos is a foreign technology consultant now, Uniq. Just like Parin. By the way, Thersos, I suppose Parin has some contacts and knowledge that will come in handy in this parallel project to your official work. Let's talk to her, I want to know what she thinks about my drawing."

The trio left the armorer's new house in Stimhena, and walked a few yards to Parin's small house. Atos was sweeping the sidewalk and smiled when he saw them. 

"PARINNN! Lord Glax has come to lunch with us! Should I get beer?" he yelled into the door.

They smelled food and Glax thought maybe he should have come some other time. But now it was too late!

"Lord Glax! Thersos, Uniq! Glad you came for a meal!" The young horologist exclaimed with a smile when she saw Kroton arriving with friends. She wiped her hands on her apron, and handed her brother some money. Atos asked impatiently.

"What should I buy? Can I keep the change?"

Before Parin could answer, the Valosian said, embarrassed,

"I made a mistake and invited them to come with me to show you something. I didn't realize it was lunchtime. It's because I'm leaving tomorrow…" Glax apologized, but Uniq nudged him, whispering.

"I don't know what Valosia is like, Lord Glax, but let's have lunch! Or are you not friends with Parin?"

Glax didn't imagine he could just drop by for a meal with his friends without warning. Normally common sense would say otherwise, but he had just discovered that apologizing for coming was what was inelegant. 

But in the end, all the guests contributed some money for a hearty meal. And Atos found Rasmus and Alexandre shopping at the small fair, just to help refugees trying to get back to normal. And the boy brought them to lunch with the group.

The room was small, so they put the table in the street. They spent time talking loudly, drinking and eating, and chatting about anything. It was a great time with friends. 

Glax found out that Uniq's friend and Thersos' first wife, Aryn, was planning to open a business in the north. She wanted to create a branch of the cosmetic and healing ointment companies Uniq and Thersos' mother owned in Stapolis. And he also heard that Lord Zotikos had liked the idea, and they were both often walking into the woods enough to gather herbs together.

The comment was meant to tease Thersos, and the gunsmith really didn't like the idea at all!

"If you liked her, you'd have found a way to send a message!" The armorer's younger sister grimaced at her brother's grim expression. "Or make up your mind at once. If she chooses someone else like you did, you better not mess with them. Or are you going to mess with me, brother!"

They spent good hours together. Later, even Tychos and Pydna showed up, learning that the group was assembled and confirmed that Zotikos was 'sponsoring' Aryn's apothecary. 

Tychos was getting better, and he played them some songs on his Pan flute. 

Glax felt like he was at a party with friends, and he wished he could extend this moment as long as he could. Unfortunately, he knew that 'time' had a limit to be stretched before it was gone forever. 

And that was what made it so precious.

It was dark when they said goodbye to Parin, and Glax couldn't even have actually shown her the drawing. But Thersos has promised to do that later. As they said their goodbyes, the girl asked him,

"Lord Glax… I know your mind will be occupied with many things on your trip. But may you have the opportunity, would you be able to do me a favor?"

"If it's within my reach, Parin, of course I will."

She showed an object that was in her apron pocket.

It was a small clock too, inside a crystal globe. It was double-sided, or rather a clock with two sides. The sides measured different times. The object was a fascinating work of art in its own right, but Glax realized that all the pieces including the crystal were Valosian. Both its clockwork and artwork matched the artifact that Glax owned. Also, one of the clocks wasn't working.

"Master Arsaces made his first clock while he was still in Valya. And this is the second one he also did there. He learned it in the workshop of one of the best horologists in that kingdom! But look… The clock on this side should be in sync with Valya's time!" Parin pointed out.

Glax glanced at the clock again, puzzled. "What's the use of having a clock with Valya's time?"

Parin lowered his head. "I know it's a whim. That clock has been broken for a long time. There is another clock with Valya's time in our realm, my master said. He's at the former Vselys Academy in Pharys, where they taught the Iatromancers. I thought…"

"Would you like me to go there and set the clock?" He smiled.

She nodded shyly.

"I guess I don't need this…" His smile intensified as he spun the globe, finding the pin to set the hands. Parin's eyes widened in surprise and wonder.

Glax let his intuition guide him. He was sure he knew how to do this.

When the clock synchronized with Valya, Glax lost control of himself for a moment.

END OF SECOND ARCH