A spasm of annoyance flowed through her veins, and she had to close her eyes, breathing deeply to not shoot every last one of them. Perseus's words came into the forefront of her mind, which oddly set her slightly at ease.
"Aye, I could make such weapons. It'll cost you though. 100 drachmas. Each."
...
Artemis couldn't help but the small choking noise that came from her throat. The number was astronomical. She recalled conversation with her half-sister Athena, of the currencies the Athenians had devised decades past. She had said 'a drachma a day' was the standard daily wage in everyday life. The blacksmith must have seen her hesitation, and he gave her a smirk.
"Of course, if payment cannot be made, I'm sure other means would suffice for such a forging of your special request." He sneered at her, swinging a hammer slowly, his eyes travelling over her body. There was a chorus of smiles and laughter from the Macedonians around him.
She snarled in surprised disgust. Her hand tightened the yew bow that was strapped across her chest, twitching to swing it off and shoot the disgusting beast in front of her.
To even fathom what the man suggested would have sent her into rage of such that the very air around her would have caught fire with the powers of her divine form. She did not possess coin, and she moved to walk swiftly out of the tent when a sudden weight at her waist gave her pause.
She glanced down, to see a heavy felt pouch hanging from her belt. It was considerable in weight, and she reached down, feeling its contents. The resounding jingle of coin met her ears.
She quickly untied the pouch from her waist, noticing a metal signet that kept the bag seal, which was embroidered with a small olive tree. She sighed heavily in relief. 'Athena, I will forever be in your debt.' Artemis ground out, fiery anger clouding her thoughts.
"Here." Artemis snarled quietly, shaking the felt pouch at the blacksmith, the jingle of coins making her lecherous grin turn to another common male expression: one of greed.
The other Macedonians looked disappointed at the prospect of a transaction of coin, but Artemis threw them from her thoughts. The blacksmith eagerly reached for the felt pouch.
"Not so fast. The hunting knives first, and they better be of a good quality. Then you'll get your… deserved payment." Artemis seethed quietly, jerking her hand backwards from the craftsman. She stayed only to see his nod before whisking herself out of the open aired tent complex and back on to the maze of roads within the army encampment. As she left, she heard several lewder comments from the Macedonian soldiers. She vowed a vengeance upon the Macedonian soldiers once she had regained her powers, which was the only thing that kept her from putting an arrow in every cock of every fucking Macedonian.
Artemis felt Cinder nudge her hand, seeking more attention from her now still fingers. She laughed lightly at the meager begging expression from the alpha wolf. Around the firelit clearing, there were several yawns from her hunters.
The time had flown by in her long recounting. The stars above shone brilliantly, along with a full moon that illuminated the ground in a rich silver hue. Artemis glanced around the clearing and saw a mix of sleeping hunters and the remaining ones amused and entranced by the story.
Phoebe and Zoe were asleep, resting against one another. So too were Angelina, Christina, and Mara, all jumbled together on a particularly soft patch of grass. Elizabeth and Victoria were awake, with Kathleen slumped in sleep between them. Anna seemed to be asleep as well, entranced in the milky way above. That left Winifred, Emily, Jennifer, and Sarah who were all wide awake.
"My Lady… we didn't want to disturb your story, you were very relaxed and had your eyes closed, almost as if you were living the memories… but some of us seemed to have pasted out." Jennifer started.
"I can't believe those wretched Macedonians were that evil. Even Perseus! I'm glad you punched him My Lady." Sarah remarked, meeting Artemis's eyes with a hard glare.
Artemis nodded slowly, shaking her head to remove herself from the depths of her mind, "He and I did not see eye to eye for a long time. Of course, I can look back now… but it matters not. What's done is done. However, he was never like any of the revolting Macedonians I spoke of in my travels. He never stooped to such a level, even in his worst moments. That is one of the reasons why I…. why I fell for him." Artemis looked up to meet many sad smiles from her still conscious huntresses.
"You should get some rest my hunters. We travel at daybreak. I'm sure your fellow hunters will want to hear what happened while they were asleep, however." Artemis remarked dryly. She heard Victoria and Elizabeth snort softly as they gently put Kathleen down upon the ground.
Artemis smiled as she watched her remaining hunters settle down for the night, and she felt Cinder nudge her hand once more. The wolf whined in contentment as Artemis wove her hand in the scruff of the grey wolves' fur. Minutes passed as the hunters fell one by one into sleep.
It was only then where she let herself fall into sleep, with his face alighting her dreams. Him sailing on a ship at Tyre, looking at ease with the world, like he belonged exploring the world. Along the Nile, dueling Gods at her side. In the city of Babylon, where she had first realized that something dangerous was taking shape between them. In India, where she confessed her feelings to him. And against all odds, he had returned them. And finally, upon returning to Babylon, where he died, fighting to the end.
The rush of emotion and memories surged within her mortal form, a power that she was all to familiar with. She hurriedly got it under control, fighting back the pain, the loss, and the heartache. She realized that her hunters didn't know the half of it. Her tale. They would, in time, and the thought of that completion raised her spirits in a way. It was cathartic, to relive her adventures, akin to drawing basilisk venom from a wound.
And with that thought, she entered the grey mists of the realm of Morpheus.
Against all odds, she heard Angelina trying to wake her up. She felt herself fading from the blissful serenity of the tranquil mists and opened her eyes, seeing the dim, orange pre-dawn sky. And Angelina's face hovering over her. Another face was next to the girl, her ever faithful wolf, Cinder, whose tongue was really to early to be that excited.
"I am so sorry Lady Artemis… I would still be sleeping but someone wanted me to go with him to go on a scouting party at a forsaken, ungodly, ludicrous, diabolically, profoundly, idiotic hou…." Artemis snorted from her prone position, and she quickly sat up, springing to her feet in her agile twelve-year-old form. A quick glance at the rest of the clearing revealed that it was indeed a forsaken time as every other wolf and hunter was having what Artemis had heard called a 'slumber party.'
Artemis turned back to Angelina, waving her hand absentmindly, "It is quite all right, I'm assuming you wanted to inform me that you would be gone, in case I awoke?"
Cinder wriggled at this, brushing up against Angelina's hip. The young hunter scowled, before looking back to Artemis, "Yeah, I figured I should. I did this sort of thing with my mom all the time when I was a kid, and this isn't much different."
Artemis immediately scowled, "Well that's observant of you Angelina. However, unlike your mother, I do not impose strict bedtimes. Quite the opposite in fact, I am going to make you stay up with Mara tonight after we move camps for a night time watch rotation."
Angelina's impish grin dropped into what Artemis could only describe as a wolf being told that it would not be getting steaks that night.
"Right, I should not be sassy… I should not be sassy…. not be sassy." Angelina's muttered mantra faded away as both she and Cinder jogged softly into the nearby undergrowth. Artemis nodded in satisfaction, allowing herself to smile a little. She needed to slowly focus Angelina's efforts and mentality to a more serious level, but she appreciated the small humorous moments the energetic hunter put forth. In many ways, her entry into the hunters had revitalized both her and her veteran hunter's spirits. She recalled seeing Zoe and Phoebe laugh more times in the past couple of days that in an entire year.
Artemis stretched lightly, and checked her gear, making sure everything was in order, including her bow, arrows, and his sword buckled firmly on her hips. It was about an hour before dawn, and the hunters would have to travel another long stretch today, but she thought a proper hunt was in order. The Cumberland gap was a heavily wooded area, so she closed her eyes, dropping into a crouch to feel the earth at her sandaled feet. She cast her aura outwards, feeling the air, and the surrounding forests, and the life within it. There were no powerful monster's auras nearby in a strong presence, but that didn't mean that nothing was there.
She quickly found Cinder and Angelina, and she shut them out along with her other hunters. For a full minute, she searched the forest, and then, around five miles into the wooded foothills, she found was she was looking for.
There was a drakon nest, nestled up in a cave, with the strong aura of two drakons. She could not see their size or type, but their scent was unmistakable. Two drakons had been a bit larger of a target than she was aiming for, but her hunters could handle the threat. Her thoughts went back to Angelina, and another one of her younger hunters, Christina.
Artemis recalled that neither of them had ever faced a drakon before. Artemis thought they were up to the task. Drakons to kill, then on to the next campsite in the Chesapeake Bay area. Then hopefully finding an errant twelve-year-old demigod somewhere in the hundreds of miles spanning the Eastern Seaboard.
...
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