Chapter 2: Kephallonia
Kassandra woke with a sharp exhale, as she looked around her home. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she groaned closing her eyes she brought a hand up to her head in the hopes to stave off her migraine. The nightmare or memory was already fading to the recess of her mind to torture her another day. Giving herself a moment to relax her stiff muscles, she finally got up to start her day.
It has been fifteen years since that day and a lot has changed. Kassandra managed to survive her fall and left with only her Grandfather's broken spear, she found a small fishing boat and escaped from Sparta with no intent to ever return. It was only due to her training in both lives that she has managed to survive long enough to be stranded on the first Island that she saw, which was Kephallonia. When she regained consciousness after passing out from hunger and thirst on the beach, she was met with Markos. Markos was a slimy and manipulative man who reminded Kassandra of con artists from her previous life, but he was a con-artist who took her in when she was too young to take care of herself. After many years by his side, she even began to care for him as a jovial Uncle who gets her into trouble but would drink with her later after she is safe from said trouble.
Ten years after she first arrived on Kephallonia, a little girl who reminded Kassandra of herself named Phoebe joined their family of two and the rest was history. Markos became the Uncle of the family, Kassandra the protector of the trio and the closest that Markos would ever come to having a daughter and Phoebe's mother/sister figure. Kassandra saw Phoebe as the annoying little sister that she always wanted, though sometimes she felt more maternal toward the girl. If she weren't so sure that she never wanted kids, she would claim her as her daughter, but Kassandra was and still is in denial.
Over the years she became a Misthios or Mercenary to provide for herself and her small family. The use of her skills that she gained from both lives aided her in becoming not only a highly dangerous Misthios to her enemies, but a respectable and favored one to her friends. Kassandra was known to help for either drachma or favors and luckily for her clients, it was reasonable favors like shelter for the night for her or Phoebe and food.
After finishing her morning chores, Kassandra took a break and hung out on the roof of her home, calmly sharpening her beloved spear. Humming an old lullaby that she remembered her Mater' humming to her long ago, she couldn't help but feel a sense of DeJa'Vu. It wasn't until she heard some angry strangers shouting at her that it clicked where she remembered why this seemed so familiar. This was Kassandra's opening scene from Assassin's Creed Odyssey video game.
"Hey Shitface! Get down from there! The Cyclops is looking to have a word with you!" The gravelly voice of one of the two thugs of the Mercenary the Cyclops shouted from below growled. Deciding to put off her revelation for later, Kassandra slowly and carefully pulled two of her daggers from their sheaths on her thighs, she angled her body to make it seem like she was listening. Before the men could open their mouths, she let her daggers fly, embedding both of her daggers into their throats before they even knew what hit them. After all, she remembered where she heard this particular dialogue from and she had no interest in a repeat. Photographic memory can be the mother of all spoilers, Kassandra groused to herself.
Once sure that they were dead, Kassandra thought more on the situation she found herself in as she waited for Phoebe to arrive. So, it turns out that I have been reborn not only in the past in Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian war, but in the world of a video game. Kassandra thought incredulous at the situation, still having trouble believing it no matter how long she has been alive in this life and the evidence before her. It took her years to get over the fact that reincarnation is real, and she was living proof of it, but she got over it and accepted it. But now with the revelation that she is living in her favorite videogame as the protagonist was a bit too much for her to accept. Thankfully, with her photographic memory, she remembered everything there was about the game. Well, everything that I had played and researched, anyway. There was things that I didn't bother doing in the game and I didn't even bother playing the DLC's besides the first episode of the Fates of Atlantis, I hope that doesn't come to bite me. she thought ruefully as she pet Ikaros, her Eagle companion who had landed beside her as she thought about everything.
"The Cyclops again huh?" Phoebe's voice pulled Kassandra from her thoughts, she glanced toward Phoebe who had climbed her house to join her on the roof. Giving the girl a small smile, she lightly rolled her eyes as Ikaros abandoned her for the younger girl much to Phoebe's delight. Kassandra hummed in agreement as she felt Phoebe's curious eyes on her as she turned toward the bodies of said men.
"Honestly, this happens so much, that I might as well just kill the Malakka just to stop this shit from happening again." Kassandra grumbled to her friend as she rose to discard the bodies before they started to rot. Kassandra had no desire to deal with whatever animal would come crawling around for the meat on the dead men's bodies, never mind the fact that she could do without the stench they will cause. Phoebe smiled at Kassandra at how annoyed and just done Kassandra sounds. Giving the older woman a chuckle, she followed Kassandra from the roof and helped her move the bodies. After pilfering through the corpses for any drachma or treasure to add to her hoard from her previous victims, they heaved the bodies into the ocean for the sharks.
Heaving an exhausted sigh, Kassandra cracked her neck and smiled at Phoebe in amusement as the girl started to do cartwheels. Ikaros gave a caw as he started playfully chasing Phoebe much to her amusement. Chuckling, Kassandra shook her head at their antics and headed inside for a drink. Once inside she grabbed the pitcher of wine, and poured herself a generous amount, giving the room a glance.
Over the years, Kassandra had collected a bunch of trinkets of her time in Kephallonia. When she wasn't being a Misthios, she was a hunter. Hence the bear rug on the floor, the wolf pelt for her bedding, the feathers for her quills and ink, the dried goatskins parchment. Everything in her home was built by Kassandra's own hand, only the house itself was something she saved her money for to purchase. Kassandra had one of her previous clients who was a woodcarver teach her how to make furniture and once she learned, all of the furniture in her home was crafted by herself.
The weapons rack outside was filled with weapons that she had taken from bandits and mercenaries. The trunk on the roof contains all of the treasures and trinkets that she had also taken from her victims. All of her drachma was hidden in a chest beneath her bed, under a stone that can be removed and covered. It was her little bank as she calls it, which she was doing now dropping off the drachma from her recent victims in. Kassandra had a bunch of chickens, goats, and a small garden that she employed some of children and elders to look after to make some coin. Overall, Kassandra likes the home she had made for herself and is sad that if she is correct and this is the beginning of the plot for the game, she will have to leave it and Kephallonia.
"Kassandra?!" Phoebe called, breaking Kassandra from her thoughts. Giving herself a shake, she refilled her now empty glass of wine and left after locking the house, already having her gear and weapons ready for her inevitable adventure. Once outside, she saw Phoebe and Ikaros picking at a plate of fruits that Kassandra had left out for her feathered friend. Already having a feeling of what Phoebe is going to ask her, Kassandra wasn't disappointed.
"Do you think Zeus will bless me with an eagle like he did you with Ikaros?" Phoebe squirmed as she stared hopefully at Kassandra who had a smirk on her face, arms crossed as she leant against the bench where she sat feeding Ikaros. Kassandra was just about to deny Phoebe's belief of Ikaros being a gift from Zeus, when she remembered her mother's words from her birth. Kassandra distinctly recalled her mother proclaiming her a daughter of Zeus, which left her confused. According to the game, there are no gods, just Isu. Also, according to the game, Kassandra is the daughter of the immortal Pythagoras who was just an immortal descendant of the Isu. But things were already different, she was dead and now reborn in the past in an alternate version of a videogame. Kassandra supposed she shouldn't consider what she knew or even though she knew to be facts and just keep an open mind about everything.
Realizing that Phoebe is waiting for an answer, Kassandra ruffled the girls hair, smirking when the girl complained, chuckling she replied, "sure." While Phoebe celebrated, she left to pack a bag for the travel to Markos's vineyard as she interrogated the girl. The conversation went just like the videogame just with more snark from Kassandra and giggles from Phoebe. Once the bag was packed, she hefted it on her shoulder and grabbed her bow, the arrows already secured on her back with her spear which she never leaves without. After ensuring that Phoebe had some drachma for the road, she departed from her home and Phoebe and left to start her new adventure.