"Worrying tidings, King." Marcus grants with concern, after a respectful return of Xanthos' friendly greeting. "Did those young men have any history of quarrel in the village that might have made them flee? I did not know Alexander well but I shall ask when I return home. I can think of only one band runaways might look to join, and that prospect troubles me."tibbius wrote:Xanthos waves and greets the companions cheerfully. He seems to have put aside his suspicions as he watches his people work the field. Soon the latest crop of onions and carrots will be pulled, the little mounds will be weeded, and they will spend the rest of the day resting and waiting for dinner. He is glad to hear that they were welcomed by Stelios, concerned to learn that Alexander has gone missing. "I hope the young man is well," he says. "We have had a couple go missing as well, within the past six months. Same thing. The families went to sleep, and when they woke up their sons were gone."
"I do not seek war, but I believe it has found us." Having kept quiet to let Bran make his report uninterrupted Marcus steps in with his thoughts before Alec departs. "You sent us to see if our neighbors spoke from hunger or greed, and it was hunger, but also from anger, grief and fear. Anger for what was stolen, grief for lost loved ones and fear that the Lyncanthropes shall come again." Marcus raises a hand to the village and it's people going about their business around them, looking at their unwalled village and unarmed citizens. "This is well warranted. There is no way for any of us to do a day's work and keep a guard strong enough to defend from a band as large as theirs at a moment's notice. They say a wolf once fed will come again until it is slain or driven off. Whatever you decide as your champion I say we would be lucky to bleed so little, or harm them so harsh, as Donat's men did were they to strike us from ambush. We need to take the initiative and bring our allies to bear to ensure our own safety."tibbius wrote:Alec frowned. "I will think about this while I fish," he said. "There is no direct route from here to Rododafni, so to speak of war ... it would be difficult. I think one must go a day up into the mountains and another day back, around the head of the deep stream. My uncle will know better, he was a hunter. Go to him and ask him at his house. I will be back at sunset."
"Yet, as always, I respect your authority and that the decision as yours." Marcus allows, having have his petition. "As you make it please do me the favor of considering some tactics that occur to me. We might wait for a ship, like the one our scholar guests arrived on, and hire it's captain to take our men across to Rododafni. We might ask those same scholars to visit, as outsiders who know the band's faces, to see if they truly settled there. We might build a raft or carry a small boat to the stream on a moonlit night and ferry our force across in small bands. Finally, we might try to set a trap with tales of wealthy traders or caravans packed with trade goods to lure the wolves to a spot of our choosing."
With that Marcus finally allows the King to depart and sets off to search for Alec's uncle. The fear and urgency of looming conflict calls him from a happy return home. As a champion and friend, a husband and father, a brother and son, Marcus' first duty must be to spare the lives of the men who trust in him and their women and children whatever hardships he may.
"So my friend, we must do as our King suggests, but do any others come to mind?" Marcus asks Bran contemplatively. "I would speak with the scholars. If we are to ask such a favor of them as I suggest, and rely on their word, then we must take a full measure of them. My father might know more of the village's boats, and you might see a way to carry them in parts to the stream if the path is too hard to take it whole."
