Chapter 67: Chapter 67: The Legacy of Orcus

The trip back to the village was fraught with more anxiety than it had been when they first departed. Evios went on ahead, leaving Praxis and Lysandra to their thoughts as the harshness of the mountain started to give way to the lush valleys of central Arcadia.

Lysandra seemed to be the one most distraught at what they might find back in the village.

“We’ve spent this whole week being on the cusp of death and now that we’ve earned a little bit of freedom, we need to be worried again about someone trying to kill us,” she said, kicking a few rocks out of her path in frustration.

“I don’t think Medios will try to kill us,” replied Praxis. “At least not directly. And it’s no secret that Orcus wasn’t the most honorable of men. My guess is that his death will only be met with hostility from Medios and that’s it. The rest of the village will be happy he’s gone.”

“He deserved what he got,” said Lysandra fiercely. “I just hope that we don’t have to pay the consequences of it.”

Praxis hoped so too but he still wondered what Medios would do when he found out. With the trials now over, perhaps it was a good time to start thinking about leaving the village? But to where? Where would they go next?

Messenia?

He was interrupted from his thoughts as they spotted the village for the first time that morning. Evios had raised the cheer amongst the villagers and by the time Praxis and Lysandra arrived, there was a small crowd waiting to see them. At the very front of the crowd was Demetrios and Rastus, neither of whom could contain their excitement for very long.

“You did it! You absolutely did it! You completed all three trials!” said a joyous Demetrios. “For the first time in generations, we have someone who’s finished the ultimate test!”

“We knew you could do it all along,” added Rastus with a typical young man’s bravado. “You two are heroes!”

Luckily for them, Demetrios and Rastus brought along their clothes, which allowed Praxis and Lysandra to regain a measure of modesty before they confronted the rest of the village.

“Job well done! Simply splendid,” said Lasos, who followed it up with warm embraces. He was joined by his daughter as well, the same woman they’d rescued from the warrior-priests at the temple of Ares.

Even Medios managed to look grudgingly pleased. The white-haired man offered his respect to Praxis when it was his turn.

“True to our word, you’ve completed the hardest trials we could think to give you,” said Medios, shaking his hands vigorously. “To that end, you’re allowed to stay in our village for as long as you please. You’ve earned it with your show of courage, skill, and intelligence.”

Praxis tried not to let his anxiety show on his face as he shook Medios’ hand. “There is something we need to discuss first—”

“Bah,” replied Medios, waving his free hand. “Not today. Today we will celebrate you like the rightful heroes you are. You will want for nothing now, my young friend.”

Unfortunately, their newfound respect wasn’t bound to last, especially once Evios shared the news of what happened on the descent, telling all of them what Orcus tried to do as well as his fate at the bottom of the mountain.

Praxis watched as Medios’ mood changed from muted exhalation to sheer fury in a matter of moments.

“They killed my son!” he raged, pointing his finger at Praxis and Lysandra. “They’re murderers! I knew we shouldn’t have let them go through the trials!”

By this point, Demetrios and Lasos stepped in to mediate the situation further.

“Did you see what happened, Evios?” asked Lasos. “Did you see Orcus try to attack them on the way down?”

Evios shook his head sadly. “I did not because I was too far away.”

“See!” yelled Medios to the crowd. “There are no witnesses! Just the word of these two Argives! How do we know they’re not lying?”

“Have they lied to us yet?” asked Demetrios. “They’ve been nothing but honest with us this entire time.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” retorted Medios. “Your son is not dead, Demetrios!”

“But I still know what it feels like to lose a child,” shot Demetrios coolly before turning to Praxis. “Praxis, are you willing to swear to the gods that Orcus attacked you first? That you were only defending yourself?”

“I am,” replied Praxis as he handed over Orcus’ weapons. “These were found on Orcus before he fell from the mountain. He hid behind a rock and his plan was to sling rocks at our heads to knock us out. When that didn’t work, he tried to use the dagger on me. He nearly succeeded at that.”

“It’s most unusual for Orcus to be in the mountains in the first place,” said Lasos as he glared at Medios. “What was your son doing up there?”

“And how is it possible that my son didn’t notice him?” asked Chilon, giving a long stare at Evios, who promptly turned red.

“It doesn’t matter what he was doing up there!” replied Medios. “All that matters is that he is now dead, and his murderers stand in front of us!”

“I think there is more to the story than that,” replied Lasos, shaking his head. “We all know the kind of man Orcus was. The story I’ve heard holds true with what I knew of the man. I do not believe these Argives killed him for no reason.”

“He wanted us dead so he could take the house,” added Praxis. “We all saw how much he coveted Demetrios’ house. If we died on the trials, Demetrios would die as well, leaving the house to Orcus. My guess is that his desire for the house pushed him to take drastic action.”

“Indeed,” replied Chilon. “Well, we will still investigate this matter but I believe the version we heard just now to be the truth. It is my vote that Praxis and Lysandra will go free. They’ve completed their trials to my satisfaction.”

“And mine as well,” added Lasos.

The rest of the village elders added their approval as well, except for Medios who still stewed quietly. Once the matter had been settled, he pointed his finger at Praxis again.

“You’ll get what’s coming to you someday, Argive,” he growled. “I’ll personally make sure of that!”

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Medios stormed off, leaving only the four of them alone together once more. Praxis turned to look at Lysandra.

“I think you were right. We’re going to have to watch our backs from Medios moving forward. At least as long as we stay here.”

Demetrios shook his head, looking upset. “I’m sorry, my friends. I’ve failed you. I hoped that with the trials being over, we could take the targets off your back but it looks like I can’t even do that.”

“You didn’t fail us, Demetrios,” replied Lysandra quietly. “Orcus got what he deserved but it looks like we’ve been dragged into his fate. Blessed Demeter, he tried to kill us first thing in the morning after all! There was nothing we could have done to avoid it.”

“I agree with Lysandra,” said Praxis. “Perhaps we should start thinking about moving on from the village. It looks like we might never be safe here.”

That was the worst thing that Demetrios could have heard. His face became sullen.

“You don’t have to go,” he said. “Rastus and I enjoy your company. It’s brought life and laughter back to my house. You don’t need to let Medios scare you away.”

“Perhaps not but we won’t be able to live in peace as long as we’re here,” replied Praxis. “I also worry about you two. You’re now tied to us. We almost got you killed once and I’ll be damned if we have to do it again.”

“Maybe we should sleep on it,” suggested Demetrios. “I understand your reasoning but I think you ought to reconsider. We’ll accept whatever you decide but you must still be tired. Why not get some rest?”

To Praxis’ surprise, Lysandra beamed with a smile. “Now that’s the best thing I’ve heard all week.”

*****

“Oh, Praxis! Right there! Right there please! Keep going, keep going, keep going. Oh, fuck yes!”

Lysandra’s moans echoed through the tiny house later that evening as their bodies moved in unison. Praxis was thankful the house was currently empty save for themselves, or it would have been hard to look Demetrios in the eye later. Rather, the two other housemates had given them some privacy after sleeping for most of the day, and Lysandra was quick to take advantage of it.

“Oh gods, what are you doing to me?” she moaned, thrusting her lower body back at him. “I love how you fill me. Please don’t stop fucking me.”

Praxis did his best to honor that request, pounding her body with long, deep strokes until she was writhing in pleasure. It was perhaps the best sex they ever had—a not-so-quiet celebration of all that they’d accomplished in completing the trials.

And it was very much long overdue.

“Cum in me, Praxis!” she urged, grabbing his hips. “Fill me with your cum! Shoot it all deep inside my body, baby!”

Praxis sped up his movements until he reached the point of no return, filling her with every drop of his seed. As his body was spent, he fell to her side, and Lysandra willingly cuddled against him.

“Think you can go again in a few minutes?” she asked hungrily, stroking his member once more.

“You would think I’ve been neglecting you with that kind of hunger,” teased Praxis. “Were you really this horny?”

Lysandra giggled. “It was all I could think about that first night on the mountain, especially as we held each other naked. I’ve been waiting for the right moment to take advantage of it.”

“Please take advantage of me all you want,” replied Praxis. “I won’t ever say no.”

Lysandra grinned as she threw her leg over his body. In the process, a small drop of his cum fell from his pussy and landed against his pubic bone. “Oh, I fully intend to take advantage of you as much as I can.”

They had sex twice more that evening before Demetrios and Rastus came back. By the time their privacy ended, they’d at least managed to get dressed (although it wasn’t like everyone hadn’t already seen them naked from earlier).

When Demetrios entered the house, he looked more distraught than he did that morning.

“What’s wrong, Demetrios?” asked Praxis. “You look like you’ve heard terrible news.”

“I haven’t heard the most promising news,” replied Demetrios. “Someone spotted the Spartan army on their way home from Corinth. The city has been razed and captured, and a new king has been installed. Corinth is once more firmly back in the Spartan camp.”

Praxis swallowed heavily as he thought about Corinth and his friends in the city. “Any news about King Cypselus? What happened to him?”

“I don’t know, Praxis, but I doubt it’s very good news if there’s already a new king,” replied Demetrios, shaking his head.

That was true enough, and Praxis began to wonder if Cypselus might have gotten away. What about Agemon? Had he gotten away or perished in the fight?

What was the chance that both of his friends were now dead?

“From what it seems, the Spartans have near total control of the Peloponnese,” said Demetrios. “Only Messenia and Elis exist outside Spartan control. These are dark days for Greece. I fear what would happen if both of those states fell.”

“We would enter a new dark age,” whispered Lysandra as she looked at Praxis. “And I’m scared of what would happen to us in the process.”

“It won’t happen if I have anything to say about it,” vowed Praxis. “The Spartans are owed a reckoning. I intend to give it to them.”

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