Hepu interrupted, Master, dont listen to his quibbling. Please give him what he deserves! Otherwise, he will beco an unruly example to others. More and more
Shut up! Amon shouted him down, Let him finish his story. There was a magical, majestic power in his voice. Hepu felt his consciousness waver, and he nearly fainted. He naturally stopped talking. And thus Aesop began his story about Pythagoras
Pythagoras was seen as a mysterious savant even by those who lived with him. Born in a high noble clan, he enjoyed a wealthy life in his early years, but he later chose to distance himself from it. He and his disciples ford a sect and led an ascetic life. He was an excellent healer as well as a supre mage. So even said that he had contact with the gods and knew their secrets.
On one occasion, Pythagoras went out with one of his slaves to buy food. He accidentally dropped a parangon while paying, and his slave picked it up for him. The shopkeeper noticed it and shouted, Look at your slave, Pythagoras! His hand touched the parangon. For this, one of his fingers should be cut off! Let lend you my knife!
Pythagoras simply took the parangon from the slave and said to him, How can you be so careless yet again? Just how many fingers do you owe now?
The slave answered, My dear lord, I owe you thirteen fingers.
Pythagoras told his servant, Note this down. He owes a total of thirteen fingers.
The shopkeeper was surprised, Pythagoras, why arent you cutting his finger off?
Pythagoras answered, As my property, I decide when and how he will be punished. Ive already noted it down. Dont you see?
The shopkeeper shouted, But nobody has thirteen fingers! He only has ten! And you say he owes thirteen? Its absurd!
Pythagoras replied with a cold smile, You ruthless and ignorant person. You want to take pleasure from the misery of others, right? The greed for violence dulls your reason. If a man who has ten coins can owe thirteen coins, then why cant a man who has ten fingers owe thirteen fingers?
Amon smiled. Sihathor thought for a while before he realized the point of the story, Note this down! Aesop owes ten fingers and Ill decide when to cut them off later.
It was just a simple trick to bypass the law. The first to co up with it was a genius, the second who followed it was rely Sihathor. Aesop bowed to his master, Thank you, my kind master. A finger on my hand is surely more beneficial to you.
The manager beca the embarrassed one. But he couldnt find any way to retort. Amon received his reward. Sihathor also finished dealing with the aftermath of the attack. They parted in the shop. Before he left, Amon saw Aesop harnessing the horses. He walked up to him to say goodbye and thank him for his company in the last two days trip around the city. He asked, You said that you saw Pythagoras when you were younger. Was that true?
Aesop nodded respectfully, Yes, I saw him when I was just a child. I was not Master Sihathors slave back then.
You said that Pythagoras had contact with the gods and knows their secrets. Was that true as well?
Thats just what I heard from others. He was a mysterious savant, with many disciples and followers. There were even rumours that he was the son of a god! But rumours are only rumours.
Oh. Amon beca more interested, So, where is this son of god now? Do you have any idea?
Aesop pointed north, From this city, proceeding northward, you will see the sea. If you take a ship and cross the sea, you will find another land and nurous islands. Amid them is a peninsula, where many city-states are united and the people call themselves the Hellenes. The last ti I heard news of Pythagoras, he was building an estate outside the city of Croton with his disciples. I think it was called Pythagoras Manor.
Amon engraved the na in his heart. If he had the chance to cross the sea, he would certainly pay a visit to this place. He rembered that Aristotle, the gentleman who had helped him in Duc, was also from the land of Hellen. It was indeed a place that was worth visiting.
He thanked Aesop. The latter asked, I wasnt telling you anything special. Why are you thanking ?
Because what you told might be very useful to .
Aesop continued with curiosity, Are you keen on the secrets of the gods? If so, I have so advice for you.
Oh? What advice? Amon was surprised.
Aesop pointed at the high do of the shrine in the city, Rumours are rumours, legends are just legends. They arent reliable. Legends about the gods are hearsay as well. If you want to learn more about the gods, why not go ask them directly? If they exist, they will be among us In so legends, gods appear in the world now and then. They might even stand before you and speak with you.
Amon smiled. He thought of the shepherdess he had t at the riverside grassland. He replied, I have to thank you again for your advice. I will consider it.
Aesop bowed low, You once saved my live. You also gave the chance to speak for myself. I should be the one who says thank you.
Dont you rember? The first ti we t, you shouted to from the coach, telling to hide from the sandn. You were trying to save my life. You cared about a bypasser even when your own life was at stake. I thank you for your courage and compassion Aesop, may I ask you another question? What is the dearest wish deep in your heart?
Aesop answered earnestly, Freedom.
Freedom? Are you wishing to be a freeman?
Not exactly. Although I am a slave, when I watch the stars at night, I almost feel as if I am flying freely among them If only my spirit could no longer be bound by the shell of my body and could travel in and out of the world. That! That is the true freedom I yearn for.
Amon was shocked. He didnt expect such a profound ambition from a slave. He smiled and said, Perhaps only the deities can enjoy the kind of freedom you are longing for. I think I have to thank you again, Aesop Take good care of yourself. I hope you can experience that kind of freedom soday.
Amon had been thinking of buying him or helping him beco a freeman. But Sihathor needed Aesop. And deep in his heart, Amon prefered to travel alone for what he was going to do. So he gave up on this idea.
Amon went back to the hotel, packed up, and walked to the east of the city, where Lord Rod Dricks mansion was located. He ca to the splendid building and spoke to the gatekeepers who proudly stood in front of it, Good afternoon. Ive co from a faraway place. I have sothing important to tell Lord Rod Drick.
There were four gatekeepers and six armored soldiers. Amon didnt know whom to talk to, so he just asked the one closest to him. The gatekeeper squinted at him, You must submit an application at the Shrine or go to the Court. The Great Lord is busy. He shouldnt be bothered with miscellaneous personal affairs.
Honestly speaking, this was an impersonal yet official answer. If a commoner wanted to see the governor of the sepat[1], he had to submit an application and wait. If he wanted the governor to give a verdict on an affair that concerned him, he had to go to the court of justice in the city. Amon explained politely, What I need to tell Lord Drick involves official business as well as a personal affair. The clerks in the shrine and the court might not be able to deal with it. It is better for Lord Drick to hear it himself and decide. Would you please convey this ssage to Lord Drick?
The other gatekeepers approached him. One of them said, Foreigner, you dont know the rules here. You think the Great Lord is soone you can call for? The Great Lord is not here. And even if he is, you have to wait just like everyone else. If your information is indeed urgent, you should speak it out clearly. Tell us what it is, and we will decide if it is so important that the Great Lord has to hear it.
Another gatekeeper reminded him in a low voice, You can wait here till the Great Lord returns. Then the butler will accept your ssage. If the Great Lord wants to see you, you will be called But if you make the Great Lord angry, not only you but all of us will be punished. So you know, we need so compensation first.
Amon didnt have the experience to pay a visit to a high lord like Rod Drick. It was clearly different from visiting a neighbor. Even if Amon was also nobility, he would only be invited to a eting room and still have to wait for Lord Drick. Common strangers didnt usually have any chance to et with a high lord. Nor would many nobles want to et a commoner in the first place. Most would bla their gatekeepers if they were disturbed. Now the gatekeeper was even indicating that Amon had to bribe them in order to see Lord Drick.
But before he stretched out his palm, he found to his embarrassnt that Amon had turned around and walked away. The disappointed gatekeeper muttered, What a stupid kid! Its a waste of ti talking to these idiots.
It wasnt that Amon was too stingy to bribe the gatekeepers. He had simply changed his mind after seeing the gatekeepers attitude. What if the people inside the mansion had the sa attitude? He was going to present an extrely precious staff to Lord Drick. What if the Great Lord decided to retain him along with the staff? That would be serious trouble!
He had run into this kind of situation several tis in the past. Fortunately, he had been strong enough to resolve those problems on his own. But if it ca down to it, he wasnt confident that he would be able to safely escape from the mansion of the Lord of Cape by using force.
Amon went to the Horus Shrine that was situated in the center of the city. He had ascertained that, as the Oracle of Cape, Lord Rod Drick would publicly host a sacrifice ceremony nearly every month at the shrine. And today was the day the ceremony of the festival of Khoiak[2] was taking place. So if Rod Drick wasnt at ho, he had to be at the shrine. After hearing the gatekeepers words, he had originally planned to wait for Rod Drick to return ho. But then he decided to go to the shrine and take out Neros staff in view of the public.
When Amon arrived at the square in front of the shrine, the sacrifice ceremony had just recently concluded. Several priests were still standing on the steps to the shrine. People were walking out between the high pillars of the gate of the shrine. Rod Drick was surrounded by his bodyguards, walking to a carriage. The crowd parted to give way to the Great Lord.
Suddenly, a voice arose, Lord Rod Drick! I co with the last words of Lord Nero Ramose, forr Oracle of Cape, to return his staff to the Shrine!
The voice was so loud that even the priests on the steps heard it. Everyone was surprised and began to look for the source of the voice. So even asked the people beside them, Who is Lord Nero Ramose?
The explanation ca imdiately, The Ramose clan! Lord Nero Ramose was the Oracle of the sepat thirty years ago. He was a supre mage. It is said that he died for the Empire
What a surprise! After so many years, his staff has been brought back!
I didnt even know that Lord Neros staff had been lost!
The crowd parted, but a young man stood still. He held a staff over his head with both hands. He was the source of the previous voice. The bodyguards quickly took out their weapons and shielded the carriage. If Amon hadnt shouted out, he would have already been arrested for carrying a staff near the governor of Cape.
Rod Drick halted in front of the carriage. Two n behind him walked up to his side. Amon recognized both of them. They were Fayol the clerk and Aristotle, Rod Dricks adviser. Amon dropped to his knees when he saw Rod Drick and continued holding the staff over his head. It was the standard gesture to offer a tribute. The bodyguards relaxed and turned their staffs and khopeshes away from him.
The onlookers automatically cleared out a space for Lord Dricks n and Amon. The priests on the steps and in the shrine ca forward as well.
Aristotle found Amon familiar at first sight, but he couldnt quite rember where and when he had seen this young man. It was not that this young savant was forgettable, but rather because Amon had changed a lot in the last two years. So of his facial features remained, but he was a grown man now.
Rod Drick was about to approach and question the young tributary when Judah Fayol suddenly stopped him, Please be careful, my lord. He could still be an assassin.
Aristotle gathered his robe, walked through the bodyguards and ca to Amon. What are you here for, young man? He asked gently.
Amon replied loudly, As Ive just said, I am here to return Lord Nero Ramoses staff. According to his last words, this staff contains his final ssage. He hoped that this staff would be presented to Lord Drick, the governor of Cape.
Aristotle took the staff and asked, What is your na? How did you obtain Lord Nero Ramoses staff?
My na is Amon. I co from the mountains at the other side of the desert. I found so writings and so items in a cave while chasing prey. According to what was written, they were left by Lord Nero Ramose, the Oracle of Cape. He wished for his staff and other belongings to be found and returned to Cape. The staff should be returned to the new Oracle of Cape and his belongings should be returned to his family. And he promised that the ones who receive them will reward the finder. I traveled a long way here, across the mountains and the desert, in order to fulfill his wish.
Amon? Aristotle was startled. He seed to rember sothing, but he said nothing. He turned around and went back to Lord Drick with the staff.
The priests were standing beside the Oracle of Cape now. An old priest looked at the staff in Aristotles hand and cried out with excitent, It is the staff of the Oracle of Cape! Lord Nero was carrying it when he left the city thirty years ago, and he never ca back! I didnt expect to see it again in my life!
The staff was made of a kind of yellow-brown wood. It was a solid and durable material, having not the slightest sign of rot even after thirty years. At its top was a precious Terroculus, which was inlaid in a unique way as if the wood had naturally grown and wrapped around it, with only a few of its vertices still exposed.
The surrounding people could see it clearly. Everyone who had ever seen it could tell that it was the very staff that Nero had used. Rod Drick, the current Oracle of Cape, could also tell. The young foreigner was telling the truth. This staff had belonged to the Horus Shrine of Cape for centuries, and only the Oracle and chief priest could possess it.
It had been lost along with Nero. His successor was Rod Dricks father, the then governor of Cape. Several years ago, Rod Drick inherited his fathers title as the potentate of Cape, and later beca the Oracle of the Horus Shrine of Cape as well as the chief priest of Cape. The Drick clan had asked a great artificer to make another staff, but the substitute was not as powerful or aningful as this one. Was the original a gift from the gods?
Carried by a foreigner across the mountains and the desert, the old staff was returned to the shrine at the beginning of the Khoiak festival. It could signify many things.
As a canny bureaucrat, Lord Drick quickly grasped the chance. He took the staff and held it high. Then he turned to the shrine and kneeled down, Thank the almighty Horus! Thank the rcy of Isis the great! Thank Your Majesty for guiding the staff of the Oracle of Cape back to its owners hand!
Following the Lord, the surrounding onlookers dropped to their knees as well. Everyone fervently prayed to the gods. The voices from thousands of people converged, forming a marvelous chorus. Seeing this heart-shaking scene, Amon knew that he had made the right choice.
But he found it funny that everyone was praising the almighty God Horus. Two years ago, the parangon he had found was taken, and the ones who took it thanked Goddess Isis. Now, the staff he had found was taken, and the ones who took it once again thanked the gods. Both tis, he was ignored.
[1]sepat : An Ejyptian territorial division with a relatively independant governor. Equivalent to a state in other kingdoms.
[2]Khoiak festival : An Ejyptian festival commorating the fall of Osiris and the rise of Horus with the help of Isis. It took place in winter and often last for about a month.
[List of Characters]
Pythagoras : A mysterious savant in Hellen.
Rod Drick : Governor and Oracle of Cape.
Nero Ramose: Forr Oracle of Cape who had been ordered to pursue Bair thirty-two years ago. Amon had found his effects along with Bairs and decided to bring his staff and other belongings to Cape.
Aristotle : Rod Dricks adviser.
Judah Fayol : Rod Dricks clerk.
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