Page 25 of Phoenix Chosen 3
“Look,” Tyler interrupts. “We’ve had areallyrough day. I nearly got my ass carried away by a harpyia, my friend here is on the verge of passing out, and my mate… Do you know what being ‘hangry’ is? Because he’s getting hangry, and we don’t want to deal with that.”
“You encountered the harpyia?” the old man asks. “And lived?”
“Not just lived, grandfather,” I say. “We killed it.”
“I-impossible,” he says.
“It’s true!” Airos pulls out the essence stone and holds it up high.
The old man sees it, and in his shock, he lets go of the bowstring. The arrow buzzes by us and thwocks into a tree.
Tyler ducks his head. “Jesus.”
“Apologies!” the old man shouts. Then he turns, waves, and whistles. Three other men, all just as ancient as him, emerge from hiding spots along the path. They’re carrying rusted old things that look more like farming tools than weapons.
He approaches us, bows, and looks closely at the stone. “Incredible! It’s real!”
The old villagers surround us, murmuring excitedly. “The Gods have answered,” says a bearded man in a gray chiton. “Our heroes have come!”
“By the Gods’ blessings,” the bowman says with a happy grin. He gestures to the others to introduce them. “This is Lukas, Lasos, and Kristos. I’m Markos. Come, come! Rest and recover.”
They lead us up the road and we enter the village. It’s old, with several houses on the outskirts taken back by the land, but ahead on a hill is a beautifully kept vineyard with many rows of grapevines loaded with fruit.
Airos perks up. “You have a winery.”
“Indeed we do!” Markos says. “It’s our pride and joy. Metsova wine is the most popular in Aelonos.”
“Then I’ve likely filled my cup with it.”
“It is my honor! Then you’ll be very pleased to know that we’ve just finished a new batch. You are very welcome to as much as you’d like. And, of course, there will be supper as well.”
I exchange a look with Airos. As a mercenary, I know he has the same question on his mind as me: What do they want from us?
I’m about to say something when Tyler clamps my hand tightly with his fingers.
“We’reveryhungry,” he says. “We’d love some supper.”
Right,I think.Eat first, ask questions later.
12
TYLER
It seems like the entire village has come out to see us as we dine in the winery villa. The dinner is roasted goat meat with aged goat cheese, olives, some kind of pickled root that reminds me of radish, various styles of bread, and deliciously rich red wine. The food is super simple, but it feels like the best thing I’ve ever eaten. All of us are fuckingfamished. It’s the first real hearty meal I’ve had since leaving the Great Phoenix’s tower. Crazy.
I could eat more, but I notice that Airos and Kalistratos are reserved about accepting too much from them, so I follow their lead. I get it. There’s usually no such thing as a free lunch, and I’ve gotten the sense that this place has seen better days, even though the vineyard is thriving and gorgeous. The villagers are friendly, but they seem weary and a bit nervous.
They remind me of the shop owners in a plaza I used to work at that’d been hit by a series of armed robberies. Even though they always put on a good customer service face, I could tell the experience had deeply scarred them, and they were always afraid of who might walk through the front door.
“Howdid you do it?” an elderly woman named Phyllis asks. “That beast has killed every being that has attempted to cross through its territory.”
“We’ve been cut off from the east for nearly five years, ever since that damned harpyia roosted,” Markos explains to us. “It meant we could not do business in Athenos. We hired hunters to try and kill the monster. They never returned.”
“Why didn’t you just go around?” I ask.
“I’m afraid it’s beyond our capabilities now. We’re much less durable than we once were.”
“And,” adds Kristos, stroking his gloriously long Santa beard, “now we cannot go south either. Thank the Gods you showed up.”