Spirits Forged in Fire

Paris halted his horse when Achilles raised his arm in the air. The two men had been traveling for a few hours, searching the few places where an entire army could hide, unseen. With no luck, the two men had pushed just past the outer boundaries of the Trojan territory, and were now facing a rocky climb, treacherous in the darkness. Achilles had been silent thus far, allowing for Paris' mind to travel in every direction possible. Now, he finally spoke.

"What lies beyond this?" He said, tersely, his voice hoarse with unuse.

"Just past these cliffs there is a small cove. It would be a tight fit, but if the Greek army wanted to remain hidden, this is one of the places. I only came here once, several years ago. I had gotten angry with my father, and decided to see how far I could get. Hector caught up with me just at the top of this incline. There is a small beach, but it is large enough to get the boats to shore."

"Then we will climb. Dismount, we will tie the horses over there and go up on foot." He said, already swinging his leg over his weary bay. Paris followed his example, and climbed down. After securing their mounts, the two men walked over to the base of the steep incline. Because it was difficult to see anything in front of him, Paris crouched over and felt for footholds with his hands, trusting his sense of touch to act as his eyes. He had understood Achilles desire for stealth, so he didnt insist on any sort of torch, although now he began to doubt his surefootedness on the shadowy climb. Just as he began to pull himself up on the first rock, Achilles hand on his shoulder made him pause. When he turned to look at the older man, Achilles just shushed him with a hand, and flattened himself up against the rock wall. Two figures could be seen making their way down rocky path, leading their anxious mounts beside them.

"But my Lord, Menelaus has not given the order to move yet. Why are we mobilized?"

"Because I have directed you."

"But do we not serve Greece?"

"Yes, and that is the very reason that we move. No more questions." The two figures came closer, and Achilles nodded at Paris. Understanding the signal, Paris crouched, ready to spring at the men now closing in on them. When Achilles lunged at the first man to reach the bottom, Paris grabbed ahold of his companion. Not expecting the ambush, the unsuspecting Greeks were quickly overpowered. Achilles had his knife up against the throat of his captive when the man spoke.

"Achilles, wait..." Quickly stepping back in surprise, Achilles lowered his weapon.

"Odysseus, what are you doing out of your camp?" He asked quickly, recovering from his surprise at seeing his old friend.

"We must talk, you and I." Came his terse response. When Achilles motioned to Paris, the young prince released the soldier that he had pinned, and the two strangers stared uneasily at the other. "Gracus, I want you to wait here with the horses. I will return in a moment." The young soldier did as he was told, and the threesome walked a short ways away.

"Now Achilles, you must under-"

"Where is Briseis?" Achilles shot out quickly, grabbing the King by the arm.

"Briseis? But surely-"

"We have been friends for a long time Odysseus, but I will not hesitate to barter her life for yours in you do not tell me where she is." Recognizing the concern behind the warrior's angry voice, Odysseus replied evenly.

"She is not here, Menelaus has made no such order to find her. I will tell you though, Kale left this afternoon, with no warning of where he was going. Even now, Menelaus too is searching for him. I will not keep you long, for I realize that you wish to find the young priestess..."

"My wife" Achilles said quickly. In a sign of empathy, Odysseus placed his hand over top of Achilles, which still rested on his shoulder.

"You know as I do that Kale is a dangerous man, but he is not a rash one. If he has her, he would not have killed her immediately. Yesterday, one of my men saw him returning from the east, perhaps he had scouted out a position then. What I need to inform you though is that your water supply has been tampered-" This time Paris interrupted.

"A boy saw the men poison the well, no one has consumed any of it." Odysseus smiled wearily at the young prince.

"I am glad to hear of that. Menelaus is sending men in though tunnels beneath the city, he knows where to find them."

"But the women and children of the city are in those tunnels!" Paris exclaimed.

"I think that Menelaus knows we would try to put them out of harm's way. That is his intention." Achilles said slowly, his hands balling into furious fists.

"He intends to send me and my men in first. I am offering my services to you, Trojan Prince. The men of Ithaca do not wish to fall prey to another King like Agamemnon. We would serve Greece better by seeing him destroyed, rather than allow him to slowly suffocate us all. Troy is only the first of many." The moment that Odysseus finished his offer of treaty to Paris, Achilles unsheathed his knife and bolted past his two companions. Within moments, sounds of a scuffle were heard as Achilles tackled someone hidden in the darkness. Dragging the soldier back towards the two men, Odysseus' shoulders fell as he recognized the face of one of Menelaus' own personal guards.

"This man has no doubt been sent to spy on me. I fear I may have been found out." He said slowly. "I must return to camp before this man is missed. My men are still there, and may be in danger."

"I understand old friend. Go, we shall hopefully meet up in the streets of Troy. See to your men, and do not let your intentions be found out. Paris, you need to return to Troy and clear the women and children out of those tunnels. I am going to find Kale." Achilles said, his back stiff in anticipation.

"Take my horse prince, he is well rested. I shall ride yours back to camp." Paris nodded in gratitude, and grasped Odysseus' arm in appreciation. With a nod to Achilles, he walked over to where the other soldier still stood, and took the reigns of one of the horses from him. He mounted quickly, and wheeled his horse around in the direction of Troy, and took off. Achilles and Odysseus embraced, and turned to go in their separate directions.

"Achilles?" The king said, turning back towards his friend. "I hope you find her. May the Gods be with you."

"And with you as well, Odysseus." Achilles said, mounting his own horse once again and headed off to the east. Odysseus approached his companion, leading Paris' horse.

"Lets return to camp Gracus. There is nothing more we can do tonight." As Odysseus took the reigns, he watched Achilles gallop off.

"Was that Achilles?" the younger soldier queried, staring in the direction of the retreating hoofbeats in the darkness.

"Yes, that was he."

"Then perhaps we may come out of this alive after all." He said, his voice hopeful with the naive fascination of a young boy with a hero.

"Yes, perhaps" answered Odysseus, much less enthusiastically. Then he imagined his reaction if Penelope were in the same situation as the Trojan woman, and shuddered. He prayed that Briseis was in fact still alive, for her death would destroy the brave Achilles, and their cause would be lost.