Stone on Stone Chapter 22

"Damon…" Xenophon looks down at me while I stand out the door now ready to ride back to the Agoge. "In these two months, all your skills have improved and you have even won Baukis over." My face turns surprised and Xenophon heavy hands my hair messing it up. He begins to laugh and we then enter our carriage riding back.

"Have you enjoyed your time Damon?"

"Yes, Xenophon." Xenophon begins to smile and the rest of the ride goes peacefully. Eventually, we make it back to the Agoge with everything being the absolute same. Everyone seems to already be back and engaging with each other happily.

"Whoops, it seems like I held you too long!" Xenophon hands out a firm handshake and I accept. I hop off and he rides away and then looks back. "Next time we see each other you will face me as an Olympic participant! Also don't you dare get into any trouble or I am liable."

Xenophon then continues until I can see him no more. I look forward and see my group running towards me.

"Damon! You got so much taller, how?" Georgios motions his hand over his height vs mine. Next to Nikolaos Georgios stands a literal foot shorter and Nero stands several inches over him as well. 

"We ate meat regularly my friends! As you all know, a high protein diet in turn makes you grow better."

"You talk way too much about diet man." Nikolaos laughs while Nero and Georgios seem to take my words very seriously.

"So what have you guys done since we last saw each other?" Nikolaos and Georgios smile at my question while Nero's face turns upside down.

"Nero, what's with the sour face?" Everyone turns to Nero as he does not show any form of amusement.

"Well over my break my erastes just had me constantly clean his armor and he consistently had me swimming with him. After the two months, all I have learned to do is chores, cleaning armor like no other, and I'm a pretty good swimmer I think?" Nero scratches his head as Nikolaos holds in a cruel laugh showing some courtesy.

"It's okay Nero, mine wasn't much better. I had to climb trees every single day to bring him his favorite foods. At first, it was fun but eventually, it became relatively nerve-wracking when having to climb a steep mountain for a handful of olives. Yet he did allow me to constantly race him despite him losing most of the time after the first month." 

"Speaking of running… Georgios, would you like to be an Olympian?" Georgios's eyes pop out of his head and so does the rest of the group.

"Georgios an Olympian?" Nikolaos let's lose a loud laugh making Georgios's face turn red.

"Yes, I'd love to be an Olympian! I want to run the boy's stade." Georgios confirms my theory and seems to already gauged the details of the Olympics.

"Alright well, it's my turn. Basically in the two months, I got close with the princess herself! I also learned more about fighting and ummmm"

"Is that it?" Georgios questions and Nikolaos nods his head with everyone now turned to me.

"What did you do Damon?" Nero asks, nudging me.

"I trained in formalized hunting, archery, horse riding, and wrestling. I also have come to the conclusion of entering the Olympics for wrestling!"

"Damon, one of those things is not useful. The Athenians use their long-range firing sticks to avoid danger. We are Spartans, not Athenians!"

"Nikolaos what if one day those long-range sticks fire rounds of sharp projectiles and can kill anything in sight?" Everyone laughs at my outlandish comment I must now look like a buffoon.

"They already made that Damon you must not have been paying attention but we were taught about that form of weapon. I believe it was created just 3 Olympics ago by someone is Syracuse. It's still very much just a theory weapon though…" Oh yes, I completely forgot! Early forms of the ballista are becoming present yet still, they have not been properly used in war.

"Well, what if that theory can one day be held by a man's two arms… A much smaller version you can call a gun instead of arrows it's a small lead ball!" I have no clue how to invent a modern-day gun yet in theory I should be able to create an early form. With the proper resources and engineers helping. I look around and all my allies just look confused perhaps my idea sounds ludicrous.

"I don't quite understand all that but it's great to be back with you guys!" Georgios laughs and pushes us around everyone smiling.

"Silence!" Eiren Tobias yells bringing everyone's attention onto him. He begins to walk in front of us with a poker face. "Congratulations all of you for now making it to year 12 of the agoge. As a gift, you all will now receive this year's new cloak!" 

Assistants come out of the shadows bringing out carts full of the classically famous cloaks. My own cloak is in tatters, especially this year as it has transformed into a brown-colored mess with a large cut that almost makes it completely divided.

"About time." Nikolaos takes off his own cloak which has seen just as much abuse as mine and everyone else follows.

We all take turns taking the cloaks, all being one size fits all. Making Nikolaos's cloak look more like a cape and Georgios being completely wrapped up. Eventually, everyone picks up a cloak and the Eiren stops dozing around.

"This is not the only reward though… Starting tomorrow all of you will spend the whole year in the wilderness! You all will be transported into a carriage with your heads covered. With your garment for this year being the only thing you have not even any of your classmates! You will know when the year ends based on your own tracking of each day. Paides you may now all partake in today's soup. Do know though that this is your only meal for the whole day."

Every boy's face is of a different tone and expression, many frowning, some turned pale, some smiling, and some with their eyes popping out. Our group heads in line and eventually receives the soup. We then head to our quarters and lay on our old beds. Nero holding a frightened expression and Georgios massaging his head.

"Hahahaha we just saw each other and now we are going to be split again!" Nikolaos laughs at the irony but then his face flips with a frown which he quickly covers with a hand.

"We can't be split up again?"

"We won't!" Georgios quietly yells, taking the words out of my own mouth.

"I agree with that statement, Georgios. What ideas do you have?" Georgios nods at my response and now everyone in the group eyes him including myself.

"My cloak is too big, we all know that." He eyes Nikolaos as he chuckles with his hand over his hair. "That means if we can cut pieces of my cloak and smooth it out after we can throw it over on the path. If we do this sporadically we can track the cloth all the way back to the agoge and meet back with each other."

"I understand what you are saying and I agree we should do that." I smile at him and he smiles back with Nero nodding in likely agreement.

"What if they see though?"

"We don't travel by the paths they take us. We travel by the forestry so they can't locate us. For us to locate each other I will climb on top of trees to help group us together."

"Huh, you're a really smart Spartan to be Georgios!" Nikolaos puts Georgios in a headlock messing up his hair.

"I agree Georgios, I couldn't have thought or dreamt of a better idea!" Given time I might've but Georgios is highly smart so it would have taken too much time. The group being together can allow us to work on multiple tasks like catching food, finding a safe place, and a stable drinking source. 

We feast on our measly-sized soup with enough nutrients to grow but leaves us all still hungry. Eiren Tobias appears with another man around his age meaning he is likely our new Eiren.

"My time as your Eiren is up for your 11th year. Your new Eiren is Eiren Damian." Ex-Eiren Tobias walks out and our new Eiren with a strict posture begins to walk around us.

"Today is a recess day." He then walks out leaving us to do any activities for the day.

"Man, I can kill for more food!" Nikolaos groans his growing body must be much more unsatisfied compared to the rest of us.

"It's not that ba-" Georgios stops speaking he must've realized as well that his consumption probably has a 1,000 caloric difference compared to the man-sized boy.

"Let's go get food and we can sharpen rocks for cloth cutting," I tell the group and begin walking outside with the rest following. We head into the deciduous forest and split off.