The smell of incense had still not faded inside the chamber as the rays of sunlight moved away from the shrine. The young man had left and the priestesses dared not return for a while after this meeting. It was said that the trail of divinity left behind after a god had entered the world of mortals was sacred and should not be disturbed. They would wait until it naturally dispersed.

Thanks to that fact there was nobody inside the immediate area. All but one.

“Do you enjoy eavesdropping on my business, Hermes?” The statue spoke in a less booming voice than before. The blue fire of its eyes had died out, but something else seemed to replace it. The deep gray eyes of a woman.

“I was just resting my weary feet after a long run and thought it would be rude to interrupt.” The messenger of the gods stepped out of hiding from behind a pillar.

The blue robed body of the goddess of war melted out of the statue that was bearing her likeness and the next moment she stood in the middle of the chamber, posing with awe inspiring confidence. Her helmet reflected the last rays of light that were still strewn about inside her temple, giving her an even more divine appearance.

In stark contrast to that, Hermes was just laxly resting against the pillar; wearing nothing but a common tunic (even he wouldn’t traverse the city in the nude). If it wasn’t for his handsome recognizable face, nobody would have been able to tell it was him.

“You are rude nevertheless. What brings you to my temple?” She was questioning him briskly, but with less antagonism than he expected.

“I was passing through and wanted to give my regards.” He replied with a smile.

“Hermes.” She squinted her divine eyes.

“Considering your words to that mortal just now, I apparently have one more delivery to make as well. Charon will not be pleased. He dislikes the ride to that ghastly place.” Hermes tapped his elbow and thought of that gloomy ferryman. They got along, didn’t they? He just could never read that man. An ashen face below the dark hood with black blotches were eyes should be. It was not easy to discern his feelings, much less so when he acted like a mute.

“Lysandros’ soul should be wandering the ocean.”

“Thank you for the advice. I will be looking.”

“Where have you been the last few days?”

“Hear hear, someone missed me up there!” He clapped in joy.

“Zeus wanted you to deliver a message to Poseidon.” She shattered his delight with all too much satisfaction.

“Figures.” He shrugged. “As you will inevitably press it out of me all the same, I shall surrender. I have been paying a visit to Sarpedon.” He admitted with an emotionless look.

“Sarpedon again?” Athena seemed disgruntled. At the same time this information seemed to suit her well. “Then have you seen a priestess of mine? Her name is Eugenia.” There was no worry in her voice, but certain indignation.

“Yes I did.” He nodded and then pulled down his cap to put his hands through his curly hair. “She is doing quite well for herself, I was somewhat enamored.”

“The Gorgon did not harm her?”

“Not in the slightest.” He replied instantly.

“Why did you not take her off that island?”

“Ah, it must have slipped my mind.” He averted his face to avoid her penetrative stare and exhaled.

She was dissatisfied with that reply, but chose to keep her displeasure contained this once. Showing emotion so readily was unseemly, even if he had met her on a particularly unhinged day. His sister was most known for her tacit composure and occasional stone-faced sharp remarks.

“Say, do you really care all that much about her wellbeing?” He asked as if he was talking about the weather.

“What is it you truly want to know?” She didn’t play along.

“Let me be frank. Is she not just another of your experiments?” His eyes turned sharp and his smile faded.

“Hermes, your attitude towards humans is problematic. Will you repeat this mistake again?”

“Do not misunderstand; it would not bother me if you really did just play with her for the sake of your studies.” He assured her with a raised hand. “I do feel compassion for humans, but I have no obligation to help every last one of them. This is just some personal curiosity. You rarely bless humans like this, even rarer for it to be out of pure sympathy. We all play favorites; there is nothing to hide, right?”

“I never hide my thoughts. My mind is logical and just.” She said proudly. “Eugenia was born blind. I gave her the blessing of enhanced hearing, something she can adjust at her own will.”

“She is making good use of that talent.” He confirmed.

“I wished to see how far the human mind has come. If I enhanced a sense beyond its capacity, if I tuned them to the higher spectrum, what would one devoted to my cause achieve with it?” She spoke with a distant fascination, something she had felt long ago apparently.

“The results?”

“Disappointing of course. She could not handle much beyond the normal human limit. I gave her an opportunity to advance her species, but she decided to live in the shadows of others. She was unable to use her gift even to save her bearer.”

“You watched and let them die?” Hermes asked neutrally.

“I already handed her the tools to create her own miracle. There is nothing more I owed them.”

“I understand.” He lowered his gaze thoughtfully. “Is that when you stopped watching over her?”

“No, I did watch her until a few summers ago. But-”

“There was nothing more to learn from her example?” He cut her short. Athena nodded. “I did wonder how she could end up in such a perilous situation if you had still watched over her, but now it makes sense. Unsupervised, she went on an expedition to slay a monster that petrifies one with her gaze. It seems like they were made for each other.” He smirked sardonically.

“If she had been a man, perhaps she might have used this to her advantage in slaying the Gorgon.” Athena agreed.

“Instead she managed to see something only a blind woman could.”

“What are you insinuating?”

“Hm, just some idle thinking, do not mind it.” He deflected calmly. “Do you intend to free her from her imprisonment?”

“What happens on Sarpedon is none of my concern anymore. That was part of our arrangement.” Athena denied his suggestion matter of factly. “I cannot even observe her now.”

“There must be ways to do it if you put your mind to it.”

“There is an option I have considered.” She had already made a plan while they were talking, nothing less of Athena. “For now it should be enough to know her state of being. I thank you for the knowledge you imparted on me.”

“It was mere coincidence, truly.” He humbly dismissed her thanks and put the cap back on his head. “You do trust the Gorgon more than I had thought possible.” He added as he left for the exit.

“Nonsense.” Athena said with a frown, before fading away inside the statue’s eyes.

Hermes passed the halls without making a single sound. The priestesses that walked past him did not even notice his presence. One of them shivered a little as if she had felt a breeze across her ankles, but that was it.

When he passed a partly opened door he stopped in his tracks. The sound of sobbing echoed inside the halls, becoming louder the closer he put his ear to the slit. Curiosity piqued, he entered the room without making any noise and looked at the back of a young priestess and her superior, Akacia.

“It can’t be… hic… Lysandros would nevar do something hike dis!” Her words were blurred from crying, but he still understood enough.

“The letter has his handwriting. You confirmed it several times. We must face reality.” Akacia was rubbing the girl's back, but could not ease her worries beyond that.

“But… but! He said he would wait for me to make my choice! Lysandros was a gentle person- Y-you knew him head priestess! He would not destroy Lady Athena’s precious trees!” She clung to Akacia’s sleeve and looked up to her with desperation.

“I know that.” She clicked her tongue. “When he appeared here seven nights ago he was looking pale and desperate. Perhaps he was in monetary trouble; he must have gotten drunk as well. There are many reasons for men to lose their mind, girl.” She spoke from experience, but the young priestess did not want to hear it.

“Not Lysandros! He never… touched wine… He only wanted to study and… and…” She succumbed to her tears again. It was clear that she had loved this man dearly. “If only I hadn’t hesitated…”

“What did he tell you? Why can you not say it? Perhaps I could have put my word in for him.” Akacia said something rather cruel now, but she was clearly stressed. Her insistence made the girl curl up into her tear soaked sleeves.

“He said… he loved me.” She admitted and put her face into her hands. “And that I should forget about him.”

“That foolish mule.” Akacia turned away and gritted her teeth. She must have known this Lysandros quite well. Just as she looked up, the messenger who had stood at the door was gone.

Now that the sun was setting, Hermes sat atop a spire on the Cecropia’s walls. The view of Athens from up here was something even the greatest poets sometimes found hard to describe. Enjoying such a thing at his own leisure was the prerogative of a free spirit.

Although the hustle and bustle of the city was slowing down as daylight faded, he could still hear quite a few commotions, be it fights between merchants having crashed into each other’s wagons or the occasional fistfight between early drunks.

Between all those things he could hear the distinct rhythm of one pair of sandals. Despite having only heard it once he had already memorized it completely. This deliberate way of walking had been distinct enough to be etched into his mind.

With a quick jump he hopped over the walls of the Acropolis and descended into the city. In seconds he reached the low streets of the agora, a public space were many citizens would mingle, discuss and trade. The dark alleys at the edges were looking forlorn, but there was one person walking towards the shadier district.

The young scholar looked around, probably having heard someone’s footsteps behind him, but there was nobody.

Eventually he reached the location he had been looking for and sat down on a bench. It didn’t take long for a second man to appear, completely covered in scarves and a hood. Only his eyes were visible.

“Athens is like an owl’s nest…” The scholar said with exasperation.

“…but who is the one caging it?” The covered man replied with the second half of the password.

“Well met.” The scholar smiled.

“Such a pretentious line.” His fellow grumbled.

“People in these parts are quite fond of such things. It is very apparent that you are from Thebes.”

“It’s quieter there, that’s for sure. No stupid babbling from philosophers, least not when I walk by.”

“Yet you are fond of our owls as well, no?” The scholar pushed a bag filled with clinking coins into the hooded man’s pocket. He didn’t even look at him while doing it.

“Business is business, even if I got almost burned.” He coughed on cue, as if he still had some dust in his throat.

“Did you recover the corpse?”

“Sure, ain’t lookin’ pretty though, what with all the bloatin’. Drowned ones are nasty.” He dropped his professional attitude now that his contract had ended.

“I hope you gave him a proper burial.”

“Do I look like some grave digger?” He spat out, but then realized that he really did. “Let my men take care of it after the burning. Messy thing that, almost got caught by the guards in Piraeus.”

“Everything went smoothly then. I hope we can come to another agreement in the future.” The scholar rose from the bench and stretched his arms. “Until then I am counting on your discretion.” It sounded almost amicable, but there was a hint of a threat in there.

“’course, sir. We ain’t anything if not discrete.” His coarse laugh was grating.

“Say, do you know of some pickpockets that can steal even a person’s clothes without them noticing?”

“That a local legend or somethin’? Got those in every big city.” He didn’t seem to pay those much mind.

“I would like to meet such a person one day. They say that these men would be able to sneak up even on their own shadow.”

“What do you need sneaky feet for?”

“I am thinking of taking them along on my travels.” He said with a smile.

“For protection?”

“Just to save a friend from an overly cautious guard dog.”

“’fraid I never met them. You'll hafta ask a local.”

“Thank you. I just might.” He put his arms into his tunic and let his cape flutter behind him in the wind. The hooded man stuck around for twenty more minutes before leaving in the opposite direction.

The northern exit of the city was leading into a plain that reached as far as the eyes could see. Only few carriages and wagons were still moving at this hour. There was only a half moon at the firmament, so light was sparse.

Hermes walked slowly towards the direction of his next destination. The words the Gorgon had given him for her sisters were still deeply ingrained into his mind. After delivering them, he would turn back and guide a lost soul to its final punishment.

All of this was just a job, nothing more. Another ‘goal’ set for him, dictated by others. He had no wish to change this and no need to bend the way things worked.

He was a messenger, delivering the wishes and wills of others.

No more, no less.