The Deviant Path to Olympus

Chapter 9

Astrin shrugged, "I'm still with the theory that the kids just ran away. Dumb little bugs don't know the difference between home and the bottom of the ocean."

They reached the end of the forest clearing. Dusk finished settling in, the tree leaves became night as they left the brush said and faced the clear hilltops at the end of their destination. The air was cool. There was a slim chance some animal could come and disturb them, but that was what Brutus was brought along for.

Mimoza said, "we're here now. Lower your voices. We scout around first to see who's in the area, and only close in after we're sure we can't be surprised. If it's bandits, let's hope they don't recognize us as guardsman. We want the element of surprise on our side no matter what."

"Guardsman and guards woman," Granit commented. "Seriously Mimoza, you mistake yourself for a man far too much. Are you sure there isn't a sack hanging in between your legs?"

Mimoza tossed her bat at him. To which it quickly scratched at his nose before bouncing back into Mimoza satchel.

"Aye!" He yelled loudly.

"Shush," Astrin and Mimoza hushed back at them.

Granit rubbed at his face, but stayed quiet as they spread out. The tall grass bristled against their movements but the strong wind carried any noise away through the array of moving grass. Brutus followed behind Granit while Mimoza and Astrin moved away from them. Brutus grumbled a bit, signaling that he was putting away his playful attitude.

They snuck near the forest clearing to avoid immediate detection and blended into the forest like animals. They checked the edges and brushes surrounding the hill, looking for any traps and scouts that might've been in place to guard the area. Mimoza's bat flew away, disappearing again like a stray cat.

"Do you really think there aren't ghosts there?" Astrin asked trailing behind Mimoza. It seemed that fear of spirits was very real to Astrin as well. Mimoza couldn't blame him. With all the unexplainable anomalies in the world, falling back on Gods and spirits for answers was typical for the men and women of Greece.

"Honestly? No. Gods don't kidnap children with such trickery. I'm certain there's a bandit camp settled here, and they're just using scare tactics to hide their intent"

Granit met with them at the other side of the treeline, finishing the scouting of the perimeter. "There's a cottage on the far side from here. It has a grape vineyard and everything. No doubt they're the ones behind the reports."

Mimoza asked, "Was anyone in there?"

"I didn't see anyone, but we won't know for sure until we knock. I'm pretty sure someone has to live there, the garden needs to be tended by someone."

"See Astrin? Not ghosts, just people. Just another kidnapper hiding at the outskirts of the city."

"Well that's a relief," Granit commented. "I was worried I'd have to start dancing like an ass to scare spirits away."

"By the Gods. Now I'm hoping spirits will come."

Astrin asked, "does anyone own property here? It could be a clue as to who the kidnappers are."

Granit shook his head, "Not that I know of. Thing is, the cottage itself looks absolutely harmless, and I wouldn't be surprised if some elderly couple lives there. It would make sense that the kids all disappeared there, but hard to believe such a harmless little thing could stir up trouble."

Mimoza shook her head. "We go over, ask the residents questions. If no one's there, we break in to search the house and search for clues. Keep your guard up  just in case."