Hey! Open your eyes! Look at me!

How long have you been hiberdating?

You’ve forgotten about me!

My coat is turning brown!

Wake up! Groom me now! Human!

Aethon whined, nuzzling and licking on Matea’s head until she woke up. She had overslept and the sun had risen and shining bright.

Nah, we'll scratch your back for ya!

Keep your filthy mouth off my back! You two!

Aethon wasn't getting along with Black and Brown, when the two tried to scratch its withers, Aethon neighed and nipped them.

Ouch! Hey! Don't be like that! We're in a herd!

No! I'm a noble steed! I shall only be groomed by a good curry comb!

She was supposed to groom the horses at dawn. When she saw Aethon, she immediately pulled herself up and saw Arete and Agave were sitting under a tree with Pryne. They brought some food to her.

"Farming is not difficult when you have the right tools. The basic ploughs, mattocks and hoes need a metal part. I’m afraid the obstacle is that we need to trade them with the nearby Mycenaean settlement." said Arete.

"Our village is poor and might not be able to afford the tools." Pryne added.

"Well, no worries, Pryney! I've sent the carrier pigeons to request for resources from Thebes.”

“But we cannot depend fully on that and it takes months." Arete replied.

"It would be cheaper and faster if we buy copper and tin from a nearby town and forge our own tools." Arete added.

"All of my belongings, it should be enough to buy some materials, seeds, and cattle to rebuild our village." Pryne handed her a heavy bag full of jewelry.

Arete received the bag and uncovered them. Those were some beautifully carved gems and jewelries.

“Wow! Shinny!” Agave was surprised.

"But I need them to be crushed and deformed before they are sold." said Pryne.

"Why? Aren't these worth more? The craftsmanship looks pretty intricate! They could be from the hands of a master jeweler! We can sell this with a higher premium to buy a complete set of forged farming tools!" Arete questioned.

"Those… I… I stole them from the temple!" said Pryne.

"What?" Arete was staggered.

“You’re the real filthy rich! Pryney! That’s a lot you’ve stolen!”

"It is best not to trade them directly. I don't want anyone to identify those jewelry."

Arete knew it was not the proper time for her to lecture Pryne for what she had done. Without the design, those precious stones and metals could only be worth three times less than its finest form.

“Well, they will only be worth about a half thousand of gold stater without premium.” Arete lightly waved the bag of jewelry, trying to estimate its weight.

“Hah! I win! I’m still the richest amongst you all! I got a total of twenty gold minae with me!” Agave boasted. (20 minae = 1000 stater)

“It should be enough to buy some bronze, some good seeds, a few working cattles and food supplies for the villagers for a few weeks.” They carefully separated the gemstones from the gold parts, and put them in different drawstring bags. Agave then hacked the gold parts in the bag with a large stone to deformed them.

While their hands were working on the jewelry, Arete took the opportunity to gather some information from Pryne.

“Since you mentioned the temple, have you heard about the Teleios of Eretria?”

“What… What is Teleios?” she stuttered and asked.

“Hah! Let me explain! Cuzie! The Teleios is the perfect! It is the highest title given to a noble lady of a city-state! I, Agave of Thebes, is the greatest example, you see! I am the Teleios of Thebes!” she said with a tone full of pride.

“I see, pro… probably my position in the temple wasn’t high enough to know about this Te… Teleios…”

Arete noticed that something was not right when Pryne replied with constant stutter.

“Well, after we get the bronze from a nearby settlement, we still need to make them into farming tools. The only skilled blacksmith in the village is the one who's afraid of fire. Hephastos. If you could convince him to heat up the forge again.”

She tried to divert the topic! She must know something!

When Arete was about to twist the sentence to question further, four pieces of broken hipposandals (ancient horseshoe) dropped in front of her. Matea has just finished grooming Aethon. The hipposandals had worn off. They had not been repaired since they traveled all the way from Syracuse.

Arete took a deep breath.

If she refuses to say anything now, it is not wise to push her further. I might get nothing in return. I need to build up her trust first.

“Why is a blacksmith afraid of fire?” Arete followed her direction on the topic. She needed the service of a blacksmith to repair Aethon's hipposandals.

"If he doesn't want to do it, I can do the smithing! See! I made this thyrsus all by myself!" Agave showed her golden thyrsus. It shone and reflected the light while they all stared at it.

"No! This is my precious! It is not for sale!" Sensing their strange expression, Agave pulled back her thyrsus.

"The temple guards burned him while he tried to help me escape from the temple. That's how he got his scars and fear of fire."

"Wait! Which version of the story is true then?" Agave interrupted.

"You accused him of stealing from the temple, that's why he placed you far away from the village and never wanted to speak to you again?"

"Or the version that he only discovered that you look like a toad after you two successfully eloped and he felt cheated and kept you far away…"

Arete was annoyed. She covered Agave's mouth with both of her hands.

"I am sorry about what she just said. She had no clue at all! We know that those are just rumours. I apologise for her immature behaviour."

"It doesn't matter at all."

"Right now, they keep relying on Agave's resources. Definitely won't be a good idea to let her forge the farming tools. I agree that we should help Hephastos to forge again. Else we won't be able to leave."

"Why do you want to leave?" Asked Pryne.

"We have our mission to accomplish. Once the villagers are getting better, we have to move on with our journey. It is best for the villagers to be fully self-sufficient." Arete replied.

Pryne slightly turned her head. While everyone was unable to see her under her veil, Arete did observe her gesture and listen to her tone.

"Matea, go collect some woods and bring them to Hephastos place. I'll need him to fix Aethon's sandals." Arete ordered.

She noticed the direction where Pryne was looking. And she did concerned about the rumours she heard.

"Yes Ma'am." Matea replied and she left them with Black. The choice was obvious as if the horse was to help carry the woods, their coat might get dirty again.

"Wait, Mate! I'm going with you!" Agave ran after her, taking Brown along.

"I'll be heading to the nearby town for the resources with Hephastos. We have half talent of gold (1500 stater). If there’s enough, should I hire a servant for you?" Arete jumped onto Aethon and she lightly stroked it to calm it down. She needed to keep it on a relaxed gait since it was bare footed.

“No thanks, it won’t be enough, a skilled servant might cost a talent.” Pryne replied.

“Well, that’s not right. A good skilled servant only costs 600 drachmai (0.1 talent). I believe a talent is the price tag for a lifetime service of a hoplite.” Arete replied with a smirk.

“The irony is, Aethon here, I bought him at 5 talents from the city of Larissa.” she added, knowing the ridiculous condition of the system, they left.

To be continued…