Acropolis

Phillipi

But I did see my father cry in my sleep before Andelko woke me. My nights have been dreamless since the vision of a red planet steaming with mist and white shapes of horses moving between plumes of smoke. Until this one. I almost forgot the nightmare until then—when I saw Andelko's contorted, leathery face.

Another thing I saw before opening my eyes—Kazimir locked in a cage, a cage locked in a tower, and a tower locked around a ring of fire.

I had no time to dwell on dreams.

I wonder why the dreamcatchers, then, didn't catch them.

Andelko snapped his fingers. "It's time now to move, I spotted our friend not fifteen leagues away. First thought it was an antelope."

"What could he want?" I asked.

"Perhaps he is Jason's or Anton's spy, but perhaps he is just catchin' some food. I wouldn't go beggin' in the dark, though."

In the quiet cacophony of crickets, only I could hear Andelko's breathing, but above all else, my heart.

It beat exponentially higher, and with each ringing in my ear, I could hear the knock of a gavel. The dream flashed. This was the last finish from the dream—first the sound of my heartbeat, then the syncopation of the gavel.

Your hearing is overdue, the words reverberated. Your hearing is overdue.

And the noises became louder and louder until I couldn't hear anything. Blackness, freedom into the empty night. Freedom from thought. Freedom from self.

Andelko started back toward the cave. An unsurprising and unsurpassed number of travelers snored. The cave was shrouded in fog from festivities—fog like the early grey of dawn. It was worse fog than that which came after the ten day's feast that stretched from mountain to mountain over the entire Land of Jewels.

Andelko knelt and took a flint and some moss, trying to ignite the group's attention. Acacia, catching on to Andelko's habits of waking people, decided to pound and pummel the dull glimmer of cavern wall with stones.

"What are you—?"

"Andelko, a fire will grab more unwanted attention than rocks, but your right, the better suggestion would be to sit atop these lazy bums."

"Thinking like a pirate..."

"Now work like a pirate." she jested gruffly. "And make some noise."

"Um, hey, Borjio, how are you this evening?" Andelko said to Borjio as the other traveler shook his head out from under his fleece. Andelko could not muster him still so he shook Borjio's fleece.

Acacia went on to the rest of the group who uttered some stirs, sighs, coughs, complaints, and moans.

It took balance of restraint and command to keep the group subdued enough as to not frighten or catch too much-unwanted attention from Milko. It takes much balance and restraint to set a trap.

Last, came Chiron and Circinus to their senses, although Acacia thought the unicorn should be first to wake and lead the group.

"Things were comfortable, and boring at ease, yet boiling under the surface which is the worst possible existence," said Acacia. "I don't desire to go back."

"You are right and centered," said Chiron, "but what's boiling at home now?"

"You can't mean because I left that everything has expired?"