The two had finally arrived in Sparta, or the Land of Warriors, some might say. There were statues of past kings, including King Leonidas I, the great leader of three hundred men. The monument was giant, sculpted out of the finest bronze in Greece. There was gold that represented his armor, it was the first thing you noticed on the statue, which was the first thing you noticed in Sparta.
“I’ve never seen such a lavish place.” Sam said with a wide mouth.
“Yeah, I know what you mean.” Liliana replied.
They followed the road through the city, the citizens didn’t seem very welcoming. Intimidating faces were leering at the two outsiders, children and their mothers leaving the roads and backing into their houses. “I don’t think people were expecting to see us, Liliana.”
“Just keep quiet, the King’s castle is just up the road.” Liliana said with haste.
There were men everywhere, the city was predominantly male. It was said that spartan men were more common than rodents in Okyra. The King’s castle was surrounded with men in bronze armor with red cloaks on their backs. The armor was smooth and the cloak was softer than a baby’s backside. “Stop! Who are you two. What business do you have with the King.” A brawny man asked with vigor. Liliana stood in front of Sam, feeling the tension the men gave off, and feeding on it like freshly roasted venison.
“We’re here to speak with King Leonidas II. We need help with a matter back home and he is the best candidate for supporting us.”
“And what might that be little girl.”
“I’m no girl, I’m a woman of 15 years.” Liliana replied with confidence. “Please let us speak with the King,” Sam stepped in and asked.
“Ah, look who we have here. The famous boy who slain the Wolfman of Praya. HAHA, I’ve heard stories of what you did to that beast. If you didn’t arrive in time, those cowardly Prayans would’ve ended up as wolf feed.” The man said with a cynical smile.
Then the man had an expression on his face of sudden realization, “You’re the boy who defeated the Cyclops!. HAHA. Men, we have a little hero on our hands.” The men around him started to laugh and smile with approval. “Come on, Let me introduce you to the King himself.”
The man escorted the boy inside, with Liliana following them. “By the way, I am Kleitus. Spartan commander, these are my men. We have been in many battles together, they are good men.”
They arrived in the King’s throne room. There were many servants, all of them were women, attending to every need of the King. The man was a giant, standing at seven feet tall. His muscular build was the ideal shape of any man, he was the peak of what men wanted to reach. His armor was crafted of gold, different from his soldiers’ bronze armor, with the brightest red tunic revealing his toned legs. His golden helmet only revealed his brown eyes, or the color of wet sand. He noticed that his commander had brought him visitors, he proceeded in removing his helmet. The man had a jaw you could sharpen an axe on, with short dark hair. There was a large war wound on his left cheek.
“Kleitus! Who have you brought in my chamber!” The king grabbed his nearby sword, and commanded him to approach the throne.
The tension was growing in the room rapidly, Kleitus was quieter than a rodent in a Hall of Worship. He approached the intimidating king, not saying a word.
“My king, I have brought the hero of Praya, and the slayer of the Cyclops of Athens.” Kleitus replied with angst.
The king suddenly erupted in a ball of laughter, “Hahahahaha!”
“Well, Kleitus, you have brought me a real treat today. The slayer of the Wolfman and the Cyclops. I see you have brought his trusty red sidekick, she must be a Tzarian. A fairly weak people in my opinion, but hey, in any Spartans’ eye, everybody is weaker. So what do
I owe this honorable presence?”
The king sat down on his ebony crafted throne, and waited for a response from his guests. Sam finally walked forward, and began to speak, but was interrupted by the king. He commanded one of his servants to fetch him a ripe plum. The woman came back with a bright purple plump plum. The king quickly started to devour the plum, only stopping to tell Sam to “SPEAK.”
“Sir, we need your help. Our homes have been taken from out beneath us. Our family has been slaughtered. The Hooded Man has taken my family away from me and is building an army of men. Me and my friend have been traveling for a while now, and we need your support.”
The king stopped savaging his plum, the purple juices were spilling down his chin, “What exactly are you asking for boy?”
“We would like it if you would send some of your soldiers back home with us. We need more people to fight along side us. We thought that your men were the best fighters in the land.” Sam said with eagerness.
“Let me get this straight, you want me to give you some of my men, to fight in a war that has nothing to do with Sparta?”
Liliana stepped up to plead her case. “Lazarius isn’t just going to stop in Okyra and Tzaria! He will come here as well, we need to strike him while he’s still building.”
“Fine....”
“My king, what is your answer?” Kleitus asked.
The king raised from his throne, and flung away the remains from the eaten plum. “You heard me Kleitus. Our tensions with the Athenians have been growing, we don’t need other enemies getting in our way. We will give you 400 of our men, that will be enough to settle in opposition. My only condition, is that when your war is over, you will fight along side me, if the Athenians make their move. I would love the hero of Praya fighting along us Spartans. What do you say boy?”
Sam hastily accepted the king’s proposal.
“My men will leave tomorrow, we will get our weapons and armor sharpened and upgraded. You may stay in our quarters or leave now. That is your choice to make. May Ares look over you while you’re fighting.” King Leonidas II left the throne and entered his private quarters.
Sam and Liliana left early. They wanted to get a head start. When they were leaving, men were already preparing to depart.
“Good job Sam, we now have our support. We have a chance to get our home back, from The Hooded Man.” With all the excitement building up, she put her arm around Sam. Smiling, she pulled it back awkwardly...
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