Prophecy of the Most Beautiful (28 page)

"If I never do that again it would be too soon," Dropper commented, using a handkerchief he'd procured in New Elysium like some aristocrat to dust himself off. She laughed and helped him clean up. She saw Strafford watching her but she pretended to ignore him.

"Where are we?" Ace questioned after asking if anybody was hurt. No one was.

"I saw a wagon before ya'll came," Chloe replied and pointed, "It went that way. The people on it, a family, were dressed in tunics and headed somewhere festive, I think wherever that music is coming from. They said something about Aphrodite and I think they were speaking Greek."

Strafford's expression fell flat. "Greek?"

"Yeah. Fluently."

He and Swindle shared a look. "Which way did you say they went?"

She pointed again. "That way. Along that road over there." She hadn't even finished speaking before Strafford started heading in that direction. They all followed.

When Strafford had made sure the coast was clear, they walked up the road in the direction she had pointed out. The dirt lane led up a small hill and it wasn't until they made it to the top that they could see what was on the other side.

The sight of it left them all in a state of complete silence.

It was a city, a crowded metropolis of houses, temples, and people that was overrun with activity. The far west of the city was comprised of numerous rows of mud brick huts, while the east of the city consisted of scattered villas spread along the coast bordering a vast body of water. The larger of the city's temples were surrounded by a massive high stone wall at the highest point in the town. It was the
acropolis
, the Knowledge told her, the temples dedicated to the gods and the most highly guarded part of the city. The city itself was surrounded by defensive walls and the dirt road they stood on led right through the city gates and into the agora.

The rectangular
agora
, the city marketplace, was teeming with people, carts and animals. Wagons, curtained litters, and people on donkeys and mules flowed through the city gates where the cheering masses and merry music welcomed them. From the west, people came on foot, dancing and celebrating. From the east, people hung out of their litters, waving and laughing and throwing rice on the happy souls whose job it was to carry them. The entire city was in celebration and now that she could see it, she was sure the pandemonium could be heard for miles.

"Where are we?" She breathed.

Strafford didn't answer, but pointed at the gleaming blue sea of water to their right. "Tha's the Aegean Sea. If you cross it, you'll dock in Athens." She could see a stretch of land in the far distance and felt a tickle in her chest knowing it was
the
Athens. To the far left was another body of water. "Tha's the Ionian Sea." He looked at her. "On the other side of it is Delphi...and the Temple of Apollo."

The site of the Oracle, my site,
she thought. She bit her lip. "Is that why we're here?"

"I hope not," said Swindle, "You're forbidden to visit any oracular sites––past, present or future––by decree of Zeus and on pain of death. For
all
of us." He pulled a thick, rolled scroll out of his pack.

Strafford's eyes narrowed as he read the piece of papyrus Swindle had unrolled for him. "
Bloody melter
," he growled and shoved the paper into the Ace's outstretched hand.

Swindle nodded. "You should really stop avoiding the
Enlightener
, Strafford. You've got to keep up with these things. The
Enlightener
is our kingdom's newspaper," he explained to her, showing her the front page.

"It's a bloody gossip mag," Strafford grumbled.

"It's not. It's an informative, credible piece of literature that keeps us updated on everything that's happening in
Myth
. If I wasn't subscribed to it, I don't think any of us would know a
blerrie
thing."

"Well, we're lucky to have you then," She said.

"That's what
I'm
always saying."

She smiled. "So, where are we?"

Strafford rolled his eyes. "I thought tha' was obvious, wan.
Ancient Greece
."

Judging from what she'd just seen, though awed, she wasn't surprised. "Ancient Greece. Right. Now what?"

"We're going in."

"Okay. You know the way?"

He smirked. "Unfortunately, yes. I've been here before."

"What?"

However, nothing was more surprising than the Dropper, who had been very quiet, stepping forward and saying, "I believe, so have I."

*****

XX. Chloe

The city was
Corinth
, an ancient coastal city-state located on the
Isthmus of Corinth,
the stretch of land that connected the Greek peninsula
Peloponnesus
to the mainland of Greece. That particular day marked the beginning of
Aphrodisia
, a week-long festival in honor of Aphrodite, the patroness of Corinth. The Billows had brought Strafford to ancient Greece once before during a mission years ago. He refused to go into any details about it beyond having to row his way across the bay that formed part of the Aegean Sea from Corinth to Athens to escape a gang of renegade centaurs. Dropper had no idea what connection he had to the city, only that he knew there was one. His memory was still as blank as ever.

Strafford wasted no time locating a hidden side entrance into Corinth that he knew of. They couldn't go in through the main gates looking like they did without being interrogated at sword point first. What could they say? That they had come from a time that hadn't happened yet––a few thousand years in the future? That they'd slipped up and fallen out of the clouds and landed safely right outside of their city? It sounded ridiculous even to Chloe, and she knew it was the truth.

The entrance had two men standing guard.

Strafford said something in Greek as he walked up behind them. The guards turned…and Strafford uppercut one, then cold-cocked the other. One hitter quitters. Catching the men before they hit the ground, he and Ace dragged them into a small thicket of trees nearby. Swindle pried open the barred door, and they entered the city from the west, the peasants' village, leaving them in the midst of the rundown mud brick houses she had seen from the forest.

The shabby houses were practically built on top of each other with obviously little care for whether the houses were strong enough to keep from collapsing in on their inhabitants. Serious cracks ran up and down the bricked sidings, roofs were half caved in, doors were missing or broken, and disabled wagons blocked the tiny dirt roads forcing people to turn sideways and pass them one at a time. The air smelled of spoiled cabbage and sour milk and in the summer heat, the putrid odor was intensified. Chloe held her breath as much as possible and when she couldn't do that, she breathed only through her mouth.

The peasants' village was only semi-deserted so they made sure they kept a low profile and took shortcuts through empty huts whenever they saw a chance to. Not knowing what they were even doing in Corinth or what they were looking for, they ducked inside the first unoccupied respectable house they came across on the outskirts of the peasants' village to discuss their options.

It was a large, mud-bricked domain with several rooms and not enough windows. It was pretty dim inside for it to be such a bright, sunny day, but she could make out all of the house's features. They entered into a stone courtyard that contained a water well and a small altar that Strafford said was dedicated to
Hestia
, the goddess of Hearth and Home. Surrounding the courtyard on the bottom level, was a storage room filled with ceramic jars of food and other cooking supplies; a kitchen with a smoking hearth and a couple of wooden tables for preparing meals; a washroom with a simple terra cotta tub and basin; and what Swindle said was the
Andron
, a room where men of the house had their drinking parties. Upstairs had simply furnished bedrooms and a room for women to weave and sew in, but it was in the slaves' quarters that they found their way into the heart of Corinth.

"It's too hot to wear these," Ace complained, holding up the brown wool robes they had discovered. It seemed a slave had been preparing to wash the robes or had just finished doing so, but the project had been abandoned, as they were sure many chores and daily duties had been, so they could celebrate in the festival.

Swindle sniffed the one he had picked up and frowned. "Definitely unwashed." Dropper's nose wrinkled in disgust.

"Well, they're all we've got," Strafford said, throwing on a robe over his t-shirt and jeans. "We're going into the city to have a look around."

"Does Corinth look familiar to you at all?" Chloe asked the Dropper. "Does it bring back any memories now that you've walked through part of it?" She thought maybe his memories could be possible matches to any of the numerous ones in her head.

"I cannot say that it does," He replied, clearly thinking hard about it. "However, I must say again, I do feel like I should know why we are here. But unfortunately, I still do not." He looked as disheartened as she felt, but she smiled to let him know that everything would still be okay.

"From what I've studied about our ancient cities, Corinth was known for its lax ways," Swindle said, pulling on a robe. "I think we'll be able to look around without getting hassled, even with the festival going on."

"Except for in the east part of the city," Strafford said, "The nobility and wealthy merchants live there and they will have beefed up their security with all the outsiders travelin' in. Stay out of tha' part of town."

"Why? Are we splittin' up or somethin'?" Ace asked.

"Aye. You and Swindle will go to the acropolis and see wha' you can find out. Start with Aphrodite's temple. It'll probably be mad in there today of all days, but play it cool. The purification of her altar would've been done at dawn, so at least most of the priests would've gone back to their respective temples by now. The townspeople won't even notice tha’ you seem extra curious."

Ace circled his heart with his fist. "Okay, and wha' will you three be doing while we're snoopin' around in the temple?"

Strafford smirked. "We'll be at the agora, o' course, right in the middle of Aphrodisia."

*****

Chloe absolutely refused to put up the hood of her smelly robe in the stifling heat of Corinth. Strafford didn't really have a valid protest against it since half of the people in Corinth were visiting from nearby towns anyway. The city was full of strangers and they wouldn't stand out, even Strafford with his pierced lip.

After burying their packs for safe-keeping in the garden of the courtyard, Ace and Swindle headed to the acropolis and Strafford, Dropper and herself, to the agora. Strafford navigated while Dropper tried his best to find something to jog his memory back to life. From his many exclamations, she could conclude that the city looked very familiar to him, but he just couldn't recall how or why he would have been there. As they neared the agora and the ensuing festivities, she could tell his confidence was waning and the dismay of not being able to remember anything of use to them wore heavy in his expression.

Music and laughter had swallowed up every other sound in the agora. People flashed dove charms and amulets around to ward off any evil that might ruin their good time. Several men carried a giant, constructed sea shell on their shoulders representing Aphrodite's miraculous birth off the coast of Paphos and women in colorful tunics donned pearls around their necks to symbolize Aphrodite as their prized jewel. Groups of men carried and played instruments like the
lyre
, which looked like a small harp that players plucked with the fingers of their left hand and a plectrum in the right, and the
flute
, which was a double-piped instrument that looked like a wooden clarinet. Others played cymbals, hand drums, and castanets. There was no order to it, but no one cared and they danced to it all.

Merchants sold breads, cakes and pastries from wooden carts. Seafood––dried fish, steamed prawns, and raw oysters––was being consumed by the pound. Sliced duck was served on handmade ceramic plates and bits of goat had been skewed onto little twigs to make kabobs. Spiced wine was being poured from large ceramic jugs the size of barrels and people drank it out of little ceramic mugs or dipped their entire heads into the wine and came up wet with their thirst clenched.

She had no idea what she was supposed to be looking for as they became swept up in the chaos that was Corinth's agora, and soon she was drawn up in the theatrics, the true purpose of their being there almost forgotten. Children tried to play with her and egg her on to chase them. Women kissed her face and threw dozens of strands of pearls around her neck.

"They think you are beautiful," Dropper told her, eyes twinkling, "They give the most pearls to the women whose beauty best resembles that of Aphrodite's."

As she blushed, Strafford said, "How did you know tha' fella? Thought your memory was shot."

Dropper shrugged, seeming surprised himself. "It is not exactly a memory. It is what I know."

Strafford helped her remove a few of the pearl necklaces that were becoming heavy around her neck and she studied Dropper like staring might help her learn something about him. It was becoming clear that he had indeed been a part of this world at some time and knew much more than his memory would allow him to recall. She wished she knew the key to unlocking it all.

Without warning, a chant rose up in the crowd. Strafford translated for her: "May our goddess find pleasure in such crude acts as this, May our great Lady grant us fertility and sweet marital bliss, May our patron be content with the festivities amiss, How we wish to look upon her lips and seal our fidelity with a kiss!". Then...they started kissing each other.