After the memorial ended, the heroes did not rush ashore. Instead, they sat together on the deck of the Argo, letting the ship hide itself in the shallows along the riverbank.
Before landing and heading to the Kingdom of Colchis, they had to first discuss their plan for obtaining the Golden Fleece.
After the battle with the Amazons, the Argonauts were badly weakened. Although new members had joined, their strength still fell short of their former peak.
And from their observations along the river, they had witnessed firsthand the prosperity of the Kingdom of Colchis.
A kingdom of that scale clearly possessed strong military power.
Combined with the existence of the dragon guarding the Golden Fleece, such strength forced the heroes to thoroughly deliberate before taking action.
At this moment, as the one who truly needed the Golden Fleece, the leader of the company, Jason naturally had to speak, while the others sat neatly in their seats, listening.
"My friends, I do have some ideas on how we should obtain the Golden Fleece," Jason began.
"But their success depends on all of you. Seeking the Golden Fleece is a mission we all share, so everyone should contribute their opinions. But allow me to speak first."
The heroes nodded one after another, and Jason continued.
"In my view, attempting to seize the Golden Fleece by force would be extremely dangerous.
I'm sure all of you remember the outcome of our last battle with the Amazons.
Compared to obtaining the Golden Fleece, I would much rather see every one of you return home with me.
Therefore, I believe we should avoid direct conflict whenever possible.
My plan is this: all of you remain here on the ship, weapons ready but silent, while I take a few companions to King Aeetes' palace.
When I meet him, I'll first test him with words, see whether he'll yield the Golden Fleece for the sake of courtesy, or rely on his own strength to deny our request.
Once we understand his weaknesses, we can decide whether to resort to force or to adopt another, more advantageous strategy."
No one voiced any objections to his proposal.
Thus, Jason chose to take Phrixus' four sons along with two other heroes to the palace of King Aeetes in the city of Kutaea to negotiate.
Aside from the four sons of Argus, the two heroes Jason selected were Augeas, King of Elis, and Telamon, son of Aeacus.
Augeas was the son of Poseidon and a distant cousin of Aeetes, son of Helios.
In Jason's view, having Augeas present would help establish a closer connection with Aeetes, allowing them to negotiate on more equal footing.
In addition, Telamon and Peleus were both sons of Aeacus, grandsons of Zeus. The two brothers, who had murdered their half-brother out of jealousy, were rash and impulsive by nature.
Though Jason himself lacked great skill or strength, he did possess a certain cunning.
If Jason were to bring along the most capable Argonauts, such as the future Gemini constellations Castor and Pollux, or the future Lyra heroes Amphion and Meleager, or even a true strategist like Alaric.
Then these far stronger and wiser heroes would undoubtedly overshadow Jason. In front of King Aeetes, Jason, the supposed leader of the Argonauts, would be reduced to a mere supporting role.
He chose the four sons of Argus because, although they too possessed notable lineage and joined the Argonauts midway, they were far less competent than the other heroes, otherwise they wouldn't have been added so late.
Furthermore, while they were newcomers, they were also Jason's relatives.
Among the Argonauts, Jason was the only person they could rely on, making them his most loyal followers.
He chose King Augeas because, though Augeas was Poseidon's son, he was foolish and lacked strategy, no threat to Jason's spotlight.
He chose Telamon because the grandson of Zeus was notoriously hot-headed.
Jason could use Telamon to provoke King Aeetes, let Telamon play the "black face" while Jason played the "white face," thereby winning King Aeetes' favor.
When it came to stealing the spotlight, Jason was second to none.
Alaric paid no mind to Jason's petty calculations, because he understood the true significance of the Golden Fleece in Colchis.
When Aeetes, son of Helios, received the Golden Fleece, he had also received an oracle stating that his life would be bound to the Fleece. Losing it would mean losing his life.
In other words, anyone seeking the Golden Fleece was essentially seeking Aeetes' death.
This was the foundation upon which the gods sought to undermine the magic pantheon by targeting the Golden Fleece.
In truth, on the island of Colchis, the Colchis Kingdom and the Mystra Academy were not a unified force, but two clearly distinct powers.
The secular rule of the Colchis Kingdom usually had little to do with the Mystra Academy.
The academy did have vast logistical needs and would acquire mundane supplies like food, timber, and minerals from the kingdom, but in reality it did not depend on Colchis for anything essential.
With its unrivaled high-tier magical knowledge and its ability to produce countless magical artifacts, the Mystra Academy could easily trade with every kingdom across Greece, accumulating immense wealth and resources.
Whether Colchis existed nearby or not made no difference to them.
To put it bluntly, the Colchis Kingdom existed on the island only because Alaric had granted that land as recompense to Aeetes' mother, the Oceanid Perse.
Thus, Aeetes was allowed to establish his kingdom near the Mystra Academy and receive its protection.
But protection was not the same as guardianship.
The academy would not intervene in every disaster that befell Colchis, only in matters threatening the fate of the entire kingdom.
In lesser troubles, Aeetes merely needed to hire academy mages using his personal wealth.
As for the Golden Fleece, it concerned Aeetes' very life. Naturally, the Mystra Academy would intervene.
Otherwise, why would the academy have loaned Aeetes the Colchis Dragon, guardian of the Academy, to watch over the Golden Fleece?
After all, under Alaric's leadership, the Mystra Academy had always remained extremely low-profile. It demanded no territory and stirred no trouble.
Ordinary mages prized ley-lines, but with the Goddess of the Weave presiding over the magical network, the academy had no need to fight over them.
The mages of Mystra spent their days sequestered in their workshops, single-mindedly pursuing truth, never causing chaos.
Against such an organization, the Olympian gods were like mice trying to bite a turtle, unable to find a way in.
The Golden Fleece was their only logical point of attack.
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