There was panic among the Garrison… Everyone was unsettled.
Patrols have been going missing.
'A routine patrol, that's all it should have been. Had they fled? No, a foolish thought. This had happened thrice now. Once a patrol and another an investigation and then once again another patrol this time in an entirely different location. An enemy? The Trojans? Perhaps…'
Odysseus biting his fingernail decided the only way he would know for sure was if he went himself. Should he take others? Probably. But if it was the Trojans then it was best to remain hidden to investigate, too many numbers would attract attention.
They also hadn't trained in stealth and tactics with the literal Goddess of wisdom.
"What fate has befallen my men?" he muttered, half to the wind and half to himself.
Odysseus geared up, taking a light amount of Armor and a cloak. As he began to leave he stopped for a moment, his eyes locking onto a certain bow laying on his bed, one that was gifted not long ago.
…
It was almost haunting. It was still bright out and yet he felt the same as being drowned in darkness. That same chilling feeling crept on his shoulders. The further he travelled the more unsettled he felt. He reached the patrol area yet he did not know at what point his men had vanished. He simply had to walk the same path they had.
He kept an eye on his surroundings, even the rustling of leaves was enough for him to draw his sword. He kept watching the dirt, even just for the smallest grain of red.
An hour had passed quickly with nothing in sight.
He inspected the ground closely. His eyes narrowed as he discerned a trail. A torn piece of fabric, then a shredded piece of armor.
'Finally something!'
He followed the trail, leading to more and more damaged equipment and the smell of rust.
'It wasn't the Trojans. They would know better to hide their tracks and not waste such spoils in war.' Odysseus thought as he picked up a off-looking shard. It was milky white, unlike all the other pieces it was unique…
'Bone? Or perhaps it's shedding? A Python? Perhaps its a fang that was splintered from metal. Or perhaps its left over from my Men…' Odysseus thought as his emotions quickly flared to anger. He stood up, looking around.
'Farm land. Cattle. Horses. Sheep… A monster would not have let such a splendid meal go to waste… What am I missing?!' Odysseus shouted in his mind as he clenched his jaw.
His gaze drifted to the horses again, specifically the few odd ones that looked slightly out of place. They looked as if they were just standing, waiting, no movement beyond that whilst the healthier horses ate their fill. A sinister idea flickered for an instant in his mind. He looked down at his bow.
A call of instinct surged through him. An unspoken echo urged him to consider the horses more closely.
'Athena? No. That's just my imagination…'
Determined to test his theory, Odysseus sought higher ground. He climbed onto a solid branch, one that would not sway. As his gaze returned to the Horses, something unsettled him greatly.
He strung Hercules's bow, the wood groaned in response. How he wished he had done so sooner, not wanting to ruin the gift with stress. The bow snapped taut as he raised it, pulling back the string slowly, as if that would stop them from approaching.
Several of the horses stilled, their muscular forms frozen like statues carved from granite, and their heads started to turn, slowly, mechanically almost. They locked onto his position like a hawk. Each of them staring at him with now red beaded eyes. Their forms suddenly seemed more sunken.
'OH HELLLL NO!' Odysseus screamed mentally, looking at the dozens of horses staring at him without even blinking, not even a single reaction. He quickly armed his bow, yet they did not move. Even with the bow in his hands he felt like prey waiting to be feasted on.
Odysseus felt his heart quicken and his skin crawl. How he wished this was just some sort of prank from Poseidon.
His hands were shaking as he tried to calm himself.
He pulled the bowstring back further, his resolve as sharp as he prepared an arrow for their sinister visage. With a steady breath and a steady hand he let go and the arrow flew. He could not even see it as it left the string.
*Squelch*
It struck its target in an instant, as if at the speed of light. A brief impact, a burst of liquid and an eye being ripped out of the back of the monster's head, its body toppling down where it stood.
It not only shocked him but all the other Monsters around it. Especially since it was over a hundred meters away.
As the other horses reacted, his theory was proven true. Their forms distorted violently, becoming more skeletal, more rabid…
The Mares of Diomedes.
These horses had eaten his men, his soldiers. Camouflaged as steadfast steeds before feasting upon their flesh. A cruel trick.
Odysseus nocks another arrow immediately, determined to reduce their numbers as fast as he could. And before he could even let another arrow fly, hundreds fell from the sky.
...
Silence... and then an echo.
"There is no business here for a Man. We are here to teach the young ones to hunt simpler monsters. And yet you arrived, adorning yourself with the Bow of Hercules. Is that a message of war?" A voice emerged from the trees as a graceful figure appeared, the rest hiding within the shadows with glares of contempt.
Odysseus was just a man, he simply sighed a breath of relief, in the end he was a fool. He was not sure if holding his arrow would have been better. Those monsters would not let him flee, however instead he antagonised them.
If he focused perhaps he could have shot them all down, but dozens with in a span of a 100 or so meters? No chance. It was hard enough to pull back such a bow and he wasn't that competent with it to begin with.
'That shot was entirely luck as well.'
"I didn't come here to steal from your hunt! I simply wanted to find my fallen brethren" Odysseus protested, sensing the building tension. Yet that did nothing to appease them.
"I shall not believe a single word out of your putrid mouth, especially whilst you hold that bow. In fact, if you feel so remorseful for trying to steal our prey… Burn it. Then you can go free. If not then you shall die and then we will leave your corpse here to rot."
'... I prefer the horses…' Odysseus cried in his mind as he felt the glares boring into him like daggers waiting for his decision.
'Please give me back the creepy horses…'
"Enough! Hold your tongue!" Athena's voice thundered through the forest, commanding respect and attention.
'Athena! It really was her earlier… But why do I feel so… babied like an infant?'
"You seek to punish this man for a minor transgression. Is it not the purpose of the hunters to slay monsters that threaten man? You wish to humiliate my student merely because he was the one to do it first? If that is the case then instead you should be questioning your lack of skill. I know exactly why you have targeted my student, Zoe Nightshade." Athena spat, glaring at the suddenly trembling Hunter.
"You are simply a hypocrite to target him for holding a weapon of Hercules whilst you do the same."
"That is not the case Lady Athena! I merel-"
"SILENCE! To pursue justice is noble, but Odysseus acted to defend, to protect. Is that not your purpose as well? Odysseus, did you intend to disrupt the Hunt and their ways?"
"Never. I would never intentionally offend the Hunt." Odysseus shook his head rapidly. He wasn't even a man yet, just a teen. He was also only Mortal, he would not dare to offend the Gods.
Artemis materialized like a spirit, her presence felt rather than seen. "And yet it is my very Domain you tread on this day, mortal. Your choices have repercussions."
Her piercing gaze landed on Odysseus, then shifted to Athena. "But I also understand wisdom should temper our decisions. Although not intentionally, he has intruded on an important lesson. It is not easy to find such monsters to hunt, ones that hide in plain sight, ones that require a strong heart and mindset to vanquish rather than physical strength, strategy or skill."
Hearing that Odysseus felt an arrow pierce heart. His expression was dark as his thoughts consumed his mind.
'If someone doesn't require strength, strategy or skill, what does that make someone like me who was about to be flattened by a stampede…'
"When my Hunters join, they become more than the average man. They are blessed, but it is exactly that blessing that brings arrogance. Hunters without proper guidance, instead of gaining skill and discipline, gain nothing at all. Never knowing pain, only arrogance. That gets them killed.
…Simple beasts like the Mares of Diomedes alter that mindset."
"I see…" Athena held her chin thoughtfully being giving a brief but small smile.
"Then lets have a game, Artemis. One of your Hunters against my Warrior. One on One combat, if you should win, you can do what you'd like with the Bow. And since the battle should be equal, it should have equal stakes, correct? Then a weapon of Hercules for a weapon of Hercules. The very one that Nightshade carries." Athena extended her hand as Artemis adopted the same thoughtful look.
After a brief moment The goddess of the hunt nodded.
"... Those conditions are acceptable. Zoe, would you like to defend your honor? I do not believe you would be willing to trust another Hunter when it comes to those weapons."
"I would trust my sisters with my life. But this is something personal, my Goddess. I would like the chance to fight. However If I would win I want that man to bury his head into the dirt and beg for forgiveness." Zoe Nightshade adopted a cold smile as if imagining right this second.
Athena nodded as she clapped both hands together.
"Then we have an Accord. Oh and if you lose, naturally you would have to do the same Zoe Nightshade" Athena grinned as the Hunters suddenly looked slightly more nervous but still confident of their victory. After all how could they lose to a man? A mortal man at that.
'What the hell just happened?' Odysseus looked towards Athena who wore a smug expression, similar to the one Odysseus wore when he won their duel.
'ATHEEEEENAAAA!?'