The early light of dawn illuminated the trail, guiding the brothers, the merchant and his lone cow on their travels. The chirps of birds called for the fading of the night and brought forth a new day. There was a light breeze and the sky was only lightly dotted with clouds. The horizon's crown over the southern edge was well visible today. This seemingly cheerful atmosphere did nothing to dissipate the dark cloud seeming to hang over Herodotos' mind. He and his brother were situated behind the wooden cart being pulled by the cow. Troy was next to his "lady" as he liked to call his beast, walking next to it. The two brothers kept themselves out of earshot while conspiring quietly together. "And you're certain, that's what the innkeeper said?" Herodotos didn't wish to believe the words Telamon was uttering. His brother grimaced and nodded his head. "There's no doubt about it. Troy sold us out to the city guard." Herodotos mulled over his brother's words with a grim expression. "And what do we do now?" Telamon didn't reply, but wore a conflicted expression. He hesitated to speak and after seemingly overcoming an internal struggle, he whispered a few words. "Father would probably want us to..." Telamon trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. Herodotos shuddered when he heard these words.

  With wide eyes and a quivering voice, he asked his brother. "You don't actually mean to say, you want to... to kill him?" He was only able to whisper the last few words, as if he didn't wish to believe in them. His heart pounded in his chest, and his vision narrowed, stars appearing in his vision. His breathing got ragged and all he could hear was the rushing of his own blood. With a scared expression he searched for guidance in his brother's eyes, only to be met with uncertainty. They had been prepared for the eventuality, yet now that they stood before the possibility, they had never imagined it would come to this. "We could... just let it be. Act as if we didn't notice anything." Telamon shook his head upon hearing the hopeful words spoken by his brother. "He would surely talk with the city guard of the western city. We've got some time after catching up to and bribing the messanger, but this merchant is too big of a loose end. We can't risk him running around." Herodotos scratched his chin, while contemplating different options.

  "We could pay him off. Or we could tie him up and leave him in the wilderness." Telamon was about to respond, when from in front of them, the merchant called out to them. "What are the two of you talking about back there? By the expressions the two of you are wearing, one would think you are plotting a murder." The merchant laughed a deep bellied laugh, his shoulders relaxed and in a carefree posture. "Come on you two, lighten up. It's a beautiful day today. No need to spend it looking so gloomy." The merchant, who had turned back to face the road, looked over his shoulder to gaze at the two brothers. His smile seemed to freeze for a second. "Hey now, you're looking at me, as if I'm some kind of beast from the outer wilds. Relax you two, I'm not going to do anything." Herodotos' heart caught in his chest, the world narrowed down only to the slight smile of the merchant, a smile that didn't reach his eyes. His palms were sweaty and his legs involuntarily trembled. He looked to the side, seeing Telamon bear a grim determination. Telamon gave him a small nod. Herodotos clenched his jaw and closed his eyes while taking a deep breath. Before he even opened them, he heard something cutting though the wind. Opening his eyes, he realized that the merchant had sent a spear flying at him.

  Instinctively he actived his powers, pushing the spear to the side. The spear, instead of hitting the heart where it had been aimed at, only grazed Herodotos' ribcage. The spot flared up in Herodotos' mind, but he didn't even feel any pain. His muscles were trembling with the amount of energy stored in them, and he felt like he could lift a boulder even without his powers. The merchant had already crossed the distance, bronze blade in hand. Telamon had his own obsidian knife in hand and swung at the merchant. The merchant deftly leaned to the side, letting Telamon overswing, exposing his side. Just as the merchant was about to plunge the blade into Telmaon's side, he found himself unable to move the knife. A shocked expression briefly flashed across his eyes, before they darted over to Herodotos.

  Instead of seeing a skewered corpse as he expected, he saw the young man holding out one hand. Gritting his teeth, the merchant's demeanor shifted. If previously he had been casual, almost relaxed, his eyes were sharp and focused now. He let go of the bronze blade, letting it float where it was. Turning, he punched Herodotos squarely across the face, making him stumble onto the ground. The merchant then side stepped, narrowly avoiding the slash from Telamon. Rotating his hips to gain momentum, the merchant threw another powerful jab at Telamon. Telamon narrowly blocked it, yet winced when he felt the force of the jab impact his old wounds left by the winged wolves. Telamon attemped another stab at the merchant, yet he pushed his arm to the side making him miss. He then grabbed Telamon's overextended arm, pulling him forward past his hip and hurled him to the ground. Telamon went tumbling and splayed over the forest undergrowth. The merchant scurried forth and grabbed the bronze blade that was lying in the grass. During the few seconds that it took the merchant to send Telamon to the ground and gather his weapon, Herodotos regained his surroundings and got up once again.

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  Shaking the dizziness out of his eyes, he sent his sword flying at the merchant. The man parried the blade, before closing the distance and thrusting the blade at Herodotos. Unfortunately for the merchant. His legs lost contact with the ground and he started floating in the air. Herodotos wiped the blood from his nose away and glared at the man. The merchant let out an animalistic growl and threw the blade at him. The blade stopped midair, before dropping uselessly on the ground. The merchant's expression morphed into one of fear, as he hovered in the air, unable to free himself. "So you are his son, huh? But what are you doing all the way out here? Last I heard-" Herodotos didn't allow him to speak, hurling him instead into a tree trunk, letting him collapse to the ground below. Telamon, who had previously been on the ground, stepped next to his brother and gazed apathetically at the man.

  The man on the ground raised one arm and spoke hastily. "Wait! You're Mundus' offspring, right? Let's talk things out. I'm sure we can come to an agreement which would satisfy all of us." Telamon exchanged a glance with his brother, before spitting a moutful of blood into the dirt. He had previously bit on his tounge when he went tumbling earlier. Telamon picked up his dropped knife and gestured at the man on the ground. "Hold him down." Herodotos numbly nodded his head, using his powers to slam the arms and legs of the man into the ground, pinning him face down. The man struggled desperately but was unable to break out of his bindings. "Hey now, wait. If you let me go, then I can get you pardoned. You will no longer have to be on the run." A glimmer of hope ignited within Herodotos' heart. Was there a chance this could end without bloodshed? Yet just when he was about to speak, Telamon answered first. "Lies! All you do is lie. We can't trust your words." He slowly approached the man and knelt down on the ground, placing a knee on his back. The man got even more desperate. "I promise, I have the means to make sure you'll never get bothered again! I'm the-" Telamon grabbed the hair of the merchant, tilted his head upwards and with one clean movement slit the throat of the merchant.

  There was a weird gurgling noise that came from his throat. Red seeped into the green underneath. Herodotos' head felt light. The red flowed into the green as if a lazy river, meandering between the stalks of grass. The chirps of the birds was so loud now, it was drowning out any other sound. Chirp chirp, it was as if the birds were mocking him. The morning sun was too hot, the light blinding him. He felt a tightness in his chest and he could vaguely hear his brother's voice, as if from a long tunnel. The red around Troy's neck was shimmering, as if it were still alive. Herodotos' arm was pulled, making him suddenly regain control of his body once more. Confused he blinked at his brother, who was holding his arm within his hands. "We need to move the body. We can't leave it here on the road. Come on." Herodotos' absentmindedly nodded his head, noting how white his brother's face seemed. He wondered idly whether his brother was all right, considering how pale he appeared.

  Herodotos redirected his gaze to the body once more, however something immediatly caught his eye. The ground around his body was still shimmering as if alive. Suddenly out of the Troy's body stood up a younger version of the old merchant. This Troy was translucent and almost invisible. It was easier to observe him through the corner of the eye rather than trying to look at him directly. The shimmering erupted into many translucent tendrills, guiding the translucent Troy into the ground. Before the light of realization could appear within Troy's eyes, he was suddenly whisked away, dissapearing underground, as if sucked in by a huge vortex. "What?" Herodotos stumbled backwards, collapsing onto the ground. Telamon turned to him. "We need to hurry. Someone might come from the other direction. We need to hide the body now." A hand appeared before Herodotos. Herodotos' gaze wandered up the hand, seeing an elbow, a shoulder and finally his brother. He seemed just as scared as he was feeling, and yet here he was, being the one to offer his hand to him. He grabbed the hand, feeling strength well up from within. "What was that? Those tendrils?" Telamon sent him a confused glance. "What tendrils? You meant the roots of the trees? Doesn't matter, come on we need to hide the body." Herodotos was about to say something, but stopped himself. "Yeah, you're right. I'll bring the body to a good location where we can bury it."

  A few moments later the two brothers were standing before a freshly dug grave. Telamon shifted uncomfortably. "We should head back. Let's not linger for too long here." Herodotos nodded absentmindedly before following his brother back to the trail. There they found the cow standing anxiously before the cart. The brothers exchanged glances, unsure of what to do. Telamon was the first to break the silence. "We can pose as travelling merchants when entering the city." Herodotos grunted in agreement, his mind wandering. His gaze flickered around the green scenery. He almost couldn't remember what had happened. The brothers approached the cart and took a look underneath the tarp. There they found various travelling equipment, some large dried fish, and a few pieces of leather. Herodotos picked up a piece of dried fish, inspecting it. After giving it a sniff, he put it down. The fish had an overpowering smell, not too different compared to the smell of red. But how did red smell again? Of course, it was the scent that clung to the air as soon as... Suddenly Herodotos doubled over and quickly turned away, vomiting on the side of the road.