In Ancient Greece many a monster roamed the land. You could meet the fearsome Cyclopes or the towering giant. The bandits hiding behind the corners and bends in the roads were terrifying and deadly should you cross them. The road to Athens from the city of Thebes was by far the most dangerous. This was the road that Aetios was walking down. The grass was short and brown on the edges of the dirt track and the nineteen year old hadn’t seen another person for at least a mile now. He had been walking for almost a day; he wouldn’t reach a town for three miles and his water was starting to dwindle dangerously low. His sandals slipped on the on the rough gravel and his knees where starting to ache. The waves slapped on the side of the cliff and the yellow rock had turned brown, as it had become waterlogged. There was a faint sight of white sails on the horizon. The ship, or boat really, had just passed the massive statue of the god Zeus. He was holding the lighting bolt scepter high into the sky. The white marble glinted in the sun and Aetios flicked his long hair out of his face, the better to see the curly white hair or the god. Aetios could see his beard and the blank white of his eyes. The boat had sailed past the outcrop of rocks about three lengths away from the shoreline. The rocks soared nearly half way up the cliff face and the boat only just missed them as it navigated the treacherous waters. The seas were calm today; it seemed that Poseidon was on the sailors’ side but only for the moment. The amphora in the bottom of the ship clinked, loud enough so that Aetios could hear them. Aetios could also hear the shouts of the seven men aboard the vessel.
Aetios was on his way to Athens, he had got the notice two days ago. He and several others from his town had been called up to join the navy. The war with Corinth was going badly and the Greeks needed young men to fight and die for their country. Aetios was happy to go, he had trained all his life for this moment and had been about to leave for Athens anyway. He had packed food and water and little wine in leather sacks; he had tied his sword around his waist and set off down the road. He had passed the small town of Aphidnae about four hours ago and he had to get to Rhamnous by nightfall or risk the night bandits and terrifying monsters of the Athens road.
The sun was falling below the horizon as Helios road his chariot down. Aetios sped up, he could just see the outline of buildings and the pillars of the gates. A blow fell against the back of his neck; Aetios stumbled but managed to turn around, feet slipping of the sandy ground. Aetios tried to draw his makhaira out of its leather scabbard. He didn’t get it out fast enough and the bandit was swinging his club around for another hit. The club landed on Aetios’s head; he heard his nose crack and felt the blood flow freely from it. Aetios gritted his teeth and scrabbled at the handle of his sword, he drew it and from the sky, that had turned black with storm clouds, a bolt of lighting lit up the scene. The bandit’s eyes widened and he fell on to his back in his hurry to scramble away. Aetios was too stunned to do anything but stare up at the sky. What in the name of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon, was that? He thought. Aetios was still standing outside the gates to Rhamnous, makhaira in the air and mouth open. He stood like that for at least twenty minutes before a moth flew into his mouth and hit the back of his throat. Aetios spat the moth back out coughing; he shook his head and carried on the road to Rhamnous. He passed through the archway and onwards to the inn at the end of the agora. The stalls were void of their products now; the agora was largely empty; there were only three people still milling about and the various animals were quiet in their stables. There was a slight wind, blowing the foul air in from the public loos. Aetios wrinkled his nose and pushed on through to the inn. When he got there the inside of the room there was a man standing behind a wooden table. Aetios walked up to him and put down four denarii; the man looked up at him and pointed to a wooden staircase. Aetios climbed up the stairs and flumped on his bed. The ceiling of the room was covered in tiny green spiders. Aetios pulled the sheets up to his chin and tried to get to sleep.
