Markos

As she ran to his house she had ran past the few odd citizens roaming the streets. The odd wandering ram munching on some nearby grass or Bush. She had also killed another ram. A brown and white one, she could only admire its beauty as she bent down and once again. Looted the dead animal. Blood coated it's fur. This time she got 37 soft leather. She rounded the corner to see another dead ram. Though this one she had not killed. Maybe another person has killed it. Or maybe her eagle had decided to join the fight and help her. She bent down once again. And collected the fur. 35 soft leather pieces. "there you are, let's see what trouble you've gotten yourself inot this time markos." she said as she saw it in the distance. "guess this is the vineyard. Straight ahead..."  she was running in kephallonia, land of the lost dreams. And kassandra. She was raised to be a mercenary. Before confronting markos she claimed up the wall of a house and saw a chest. She new she would have to steal whatever was in it. Within seconds she had opened it and had obtained some athenian sandals and shark teeth. Maybe not the best things but certainly worth something. She walked down the stairs to see markos and this other guy talking. "boss... I keep telling you, you can't do that" the farmer said to markos. "why? Its my farm, I can plant where I want" he said "the grapes will die here...all of them!" he protested. "you have to forget what you know about the past, my friend... Together, we will revolutionise wine making, believe me, you will look back on this day and..." he was goung on and on as kassandra walked up being the old man, markos failing to notice. "kassandra, thank the gods, phoibe found you in time." he says. The farmer mumbles as he walks away "Thinks he can tell me all about grapes..." markos looks at him "I can still hear you" he turns back to kassandra "I was worried sick, the cyclops sent his scum to find you. I think they mean you harm." he says trying to protect her. Kassandra unfolded her arms "I wish you would have told me that before they hit me, but that's beside the point. You bought a vineyard? Markos? A vineyard!" he shrugs. His voice still optimistic "why not? I like wine, you like wine, everybody likes wine, everybody buys wine, why not from me?" he asks the woman. "because you don't know how to grow grapes or make wine" kassandra replies with a hint of amusement in her voice. "I'm a fast learner! You grow grapes on the vine, then you get some wine!" he nods. Kassandra let's out a short laugh. "it's that simple, is it?" she said. "you know me better than to think I don't have a plan, markos always has a plan" he says enthusiastically. Kassandra leans into him a bit and folds her arms once again that day "alright, do you have the money you owe me?" she asks. Markos just repeats it "do I have the money I owe you? Of course, of course. Well no, not at the moment" he says shaking his head. "then - get -it." kassandra says slowly. He holds his hands up in defence "instantly, my friend, instantly, but... Maybe you should do that, there is a merchant in sami, I'm not very good at these things as you know." he said. "you want me to collect my own debt?" she asks in disbelief. "it's just waiting for you in sami, my friend" he chuckled. "who's the merchant?" she asks getting straight to the point. "duris, you know duris. He's very nice." he says. Kassandra looks at markos "duris? How stupid can you get. Stop giving him money!" she says frustrated. "he always pays me back" he defends. "after I threaten him!" kassandra complains. "exactly, everybody benefits, duris gets his money, I get my interest. And you have your work" he smiles. "kephallonia is wonderful is it not" he smiles more. "he'd better have my money markos, I'd have to have to sell our vineyard" she said, mildly threatening. "of course he will, oh, after there's another matter I want to discuss with you. After." he says. "fine, but I'm taking a horse, it's too hot and too long a walk to go on foot" she turns and starts to walk to the nearby stables. "but..." markos tries to stop her. "think of it as interest markos, everybody benefits" she smiles. He bids in return "of course. My friend. You shall have your pick"

Three horses stand tall and proud in the wooden, man made stables. There was a grey horse on the left. A brown and white horse in the middle, and a white horse on the right. "tell me about this one" she says pointing to the grey horse on the left of the stable. "the skyros, you have an eye for sturdy stock, my friend! That horse can cling to mountain passes like a goat" he says. Kassandra looks at the other two. "the one in the middle. Tell me about it" kassandra says. "ah! You have picked a beauty, my friend. Thst horse is from thessalonia, bred for its courage" he replies. "I like the look of the one on the right" she comments. "ah, the makedonian, these are bred for battle, a true warriors horse" with that it was time for kassandra to decide. She looked at length at each horse. She was fixed to the one at the right. It's pure white coat glistening in the morning sun. I guess it was true when they said a knight in shining armour had a white horse. "I've made my choice" she said. "which one will it be?" markos asked. "that one, on the right" she says pointing to it. "a.. Uh... A fine choice, but this particular breed has a few... Quirks that you might not be aware of, I wouldn't want you to take an unworthy horse" he says "this is the one I want" she says once more. "are you sure because..." he said "I'm sure, markos!" she says beginning to get fed up. "everybody benefits" he says with his hands on his hips "especially you, you've chosen the great phobos, he's never let me down" markos says happily. Kassandra walks over and stands in front of the white horse "phobos" she repeats. "remember, meet me at the temple in sami when you have, uh, your money from duris" he says. Kassandra leads the horse out of the stable by its reigns. A woman comes running up and markos smiles "ah euterpe, there's plenty of wine left to buy, don't fret" he grins. The farmer throws her hands in the air "not now you fool, phoibes been taken" she said, making kassandra alarmed "by who?" she immediately asked. "thugs of the cyclops, who else? Snatched her right off the main road" kassandra walks forward "tell me where they went" she demands. "in the direction of ktimene beach" she says. "the beach. Can she swim?" markos asks concerned. "ill get her" kassandra says confident. "yes, go! But don't forget about dear duris, kassandra" he warns gently. With that markos walks away and she mounts the horse at her side. From her knowledge of the land she knew that the bandit camp where phoibe was being held was only 493 metres away give or take. She gently kicked the horses sides and trotted along the path. "off we go now" she says. She passes lake abythos on her journey, managed to skillfully kill a few rams on horseback and collect their resources. She grows nearer and nearer to the site and keeps in a low crouch.