Chapter 58: Chapter 58: The First Trial

It was a restless night for just about everyone in Demetrios’ house after the visit by the village elders. Demetrios was pacing well into the night, and every time Praxis looked at Lysandra, she seemed almost paralyzed by fear.

It was almost midnight when she asked the fateful question.

“What do you think they’re going to have us do?” she whispered in bed. “How bad is it going to be?”

“I wish I knew,” replied Praxis. “But I don’t think it’s a good thing that no one has survived the trials in recent memory. I think they’re going to do everything possible to ensure we fail.”

Lysandra let out a deep sigh. “I had a feeling you were going to say that.”

“Sorry,” he said, pulling her closer. “I wasn’t trying to upset you.”

“How did we get ourselves into this mess? Sometimes I wish we could just go back to Argos.”

Praxis nodded. “I’d like that too. I only wish it was possible right now.”

Lysandra let out a small moan of approval and burrowed her head against his shoulder. In just a few minutes, she was asleep. Praxis wished he could join her, but he found that he just couldn’t get there.

Dawn came way too soon.

At least the elders didn’t keep them waiting for long. They were spotted trudging up the hill, once more led by Orcus with his father just behind him. This time, they knocked on the door however, and waited until it opened before barging in.

“Have you decided?” asked Demetrios once they were all inside. “What are the trials going to be?”

“We’ve come to a consensus,” replied Medios. “And there will be a total of three trials. I have to warn you though—they are the toughest trials that have ever been given. These won’t be easy.”

“We didn’t expect it to be easy anyway,” said Praxis. “What are they?”

“You’ll only be told the first trial today,” answered Medios. “Successful completion of the first trial will result in the details of the second and so on. For today, you only need to concern yourself with the first one.”

That made Praxis uneasy, especially if he somehow managed to survive the first or second trial. He felt it likely that they would give him a task for the last one that was impossible to complete if only to ensure his death. But then again, he thought there was a high probability that the first trial might just kill him as well, so what did it really matter?

“Your first trial will be a matter of vengeance,” continued Medios. “Not much more than ten miles from our village lies a temple of Ares. It is a rural temple, situated on an open plain that is remote from any other village. That temple is guarded by a caste of warrior-priests, those that devote themselves to the god Ares. Within the temple itself is a small statue of the god made entirely of gold. At one time, that statue belonged to this village, but it was stolen by the warrior-priests in order to adorn their temple.”

“Your first trial will be to recover that golden statue using whatever means at your disposal,” continued Medios. “Ordinarily, we wouldn’t advocate for violence to accomplish these tasks but seeing as there is a grudge against these warrior-priests, we will allow you to decide their fate. Bring back the statue in one piece and you will have completed the first trial. Do you have any questions?”

“I assume we’ll be allowed to take all of our weapons with us, right?” asked Praxis. “If I’m to fight a bunch of warrior-priests, I intend to be well-armed.”

“Weapons are allowed as is your armor,” replied Medios. “Trust me, you’re going to need them. These are no ordinary priests. At a young age, they are taken from their families and dedicated to the god, Ares. They spend their days training their bodies in an effort to boost their martial prowess. They won’t be easy opponents.”

“How many of these warrior-priests are there?” asked Lysandra.

“At least ten of them,” answered Medios. “But possibly more. We do not know because we cannot get close to the temple. As soon as they spot us, they kill us.”

“Ten men?” she asked incredulously. “And you expect Praxis and me to take on ten men on our own?”

Medios shrugged. “That is the task in front of you. You knew the risks when you agreed to take the trials. If you go back on your word, we will kill all of you today instead. I should also mention that if you choose to run from the trial, you will forfeit the lives of Demetrios and Rastus. They will be our collateral to ensure that you follow through. Do you still wish to go through with this?”

“We will accept the first trial,” replied Praxis, before giving an encouraging look at Lysandra. “We will retrieve your golden statue.”

“Very well,” said Medios. “You will have twenty-four hours to complete your task. I suggest you both get moving now. If you’re not back by this time tomorrow, your trial will be considered a failure and Demetrios will suffer the consequences. Are we understood?”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement which caused Medios and the others to leave the house. For his part, Orcus could barely restrain his glee, lingering a moment too long to look around the house.

“Get out of my house, you animal,” barked Demetrios.

“Your house for now,” said Orcus, grinning wickedly. “But my house after you die. I’m looking forward to seeing them fail.”

You are reading story The Argive at novel35.com

The beady-eyed man left a moment later, earning a cascade of obscenities to erupt from both Praxis and Demetrios.

“How do you feel about this?” asked Demetrios finally. “What they are asking you to do is incredibly demanding considering the wounds you’ve suffered recently. Are you up to this?”

That was a great question, and one that Praxis wasn’t sure he wanted to answer honestly. Though he’d seen a great improvement in his mobility ever since coming under Demetrios’ care, he knew he wasn’t back to normal. And if these warrior-priests really knew how to fight, this might just be the biggest test he would face yet.

“We don’t have any other options besides this,” replied Praxis. “I guess it’s time to see just how well you’ve patched me up.”

Demetrios nodded his head reluctantly. “Then hopefully the gods will show you their favor today. Maybe not Ares, but the others.”

There wasn’t much more that needed to be said. Praxis and Lysandra took a few moments to prepare before they set out in the direction of the temple, which was on the other side of a midsized mountain chain that ran north-south.

Though they had ten miles to travel, Praxis wasn’t about to let the time go by without a little more preparation. That was why he took a small shield that had belonged to Demetrios and gave it to Lysandra as they walked, alongside a spare sword.

“I wish I had more time to train you,” said Praxis as they started to ascend the mountain. “But if you’re anything like your brother, you’ll take to using a sword as well as he did.”

Lysandra grabbed the sword without the least bit of hesitation. Praxis watched as her fingers gripped the handle like she’d done it before.

“You’ve handled a sword before, haven’t you?” asked Praxis, watching her movements carefully.

Lysandra nodded her head. “When you’ve lived with Lysander for as long as I have, it’s hard not to pick up on some things. He used to make me hold a sword and try to block his thrusts—nothing too major but this isn’t my first time.”

“I can’t tell you how relieved I am to hear that. We’re going to need all the training we can get. How about we go through some movements while we walk? At least that way, you can get a feel for attacking instead of defending.”

There was fear in her eyes. “Do you really think I can stand my ground against these men, Praxis?”

“With a little bit of training and confidence, you absolutely can,” he promised. “That’s the best thing about using the sword. It doesn’t matter the size of your opponent as much as it does his movements. If you can beat him with your moves, you can defeat him easily. We just have to teach you a few moves.”

And so it began. For the next two hours, Praxis went over a beginner course with Lysandra designed to give her basic fighting skills. He taught her how to properly attack with the sharp edge of the sword, a weapon that favored stabbing thrusts instead of swinging cuts. He taught her how to use her shield in tandem with her sword, raising it to absorb a blow while she attacked with her other hand.

Mostly, he taught her a series of movements that she could easily remember as well as the spots on the human body that were most vulnerable when pierced.

“Aim for the gut if you can,” he advised once they crested the mountain. “If you can pierce a man’s guts, he’s not long for this world. Any man can survive stabs to the arms or legs and even the upper torso will take a long time to bleed out, but the gut gives you the best chance of a quick death.”

“What if I stab them in the throat?” countered Lysandra.

Praxis grinned. “I’d say the throat works just as well. If you can get it.”

She smiled back at him, and he felt better to see her not so anxious about the thought of battle. Though she was still very much a beginner, he at least had confidence that she could stand her ground as long as she didn’t succumb to fear at the first sight of danger.

But truthfully, that was always the part he worried about the most, especially on the battlefield. You could teach a man to fight for weeks, months, or years, but you never knew what he was going to do once someone was in front of him trying to kill him.

Praxis only hoped that Lysandra was ready to stand her ground.

By the time it was getting late in the afternoon, Praxis spotted the temple for the first time. Like Medios had said, it occupied a flat plain that was nestled on the other side of the mountain. The temple itself was nothing impressive. Just from what Praxis could see, it was probably no more than three or four rooms inside, with exit points on the front and the rear end.

While the building itself didn’t seem too complicated, it was the human component that put Praxis on edge. He gestured for Lysandra to hide behind a large rock near the temple so that he could observe the warrior-priests in their daily habits. And the more that he watched, the more anxious he became.

Finally, he swore under his breath which caused Lysandra to take notice.

“What’s wrong? What do you see, Praxis?”

He could only shake his head as he looked her in the eye. “This place is well-guarded and the warrior-priests are taking their watch very seriously. This is going to be nearly impossible to pull off while staying alive.”

You can find story with these keywords: The Argive, Read The Argive, The Argive novel, The Argive book, The Argive story, The Argive full, The Argive Latest Chapter