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Chapter 4 by Elrompeortos2000 Elrompeortos2000

Was the food at least good?

Of course Arbos knows his stuff.

Chapter 3 pt.2:

The walk back to the farm was mostly silent apart from Ikaro and Iris’s sibling fights and arguments about mundane things on the farm. Arbos chimed in occasionally to add his opinion or stop them from bickering. Compared to them, I spent most of the walk lost in thought, consumed by the mystery surrounding me. Who am I really? Is Kayn even my name? These questions filled the silence, gnawing at me like an unshakable shadow.
After a while, we returned to the farm. Arbos and Iris began preparing food and setting the table, while Ikaro motioned for me to follow him. He wanted to show me the room where I’d be spending the night after dinner.

“So, this is it.” Ikaro says as he opens the door of the room revealing a small room, more like a closet in size compared to the room I woke up in “Sorry about the size can’t do much about it, I rather you spend the night here than the barn or the stables. I mean it’s not that bad you have a bed and a… hmm some night companionship?” Ikaro says pointing at the ceiling where some spiders had their webs.

“Well, at least they don't snore.” I replied, trying to lighten the mood with a joke of my own.
“Ha! Didn’t think you had it in you,” Ikaro said with a grin. “I thought you were all moody and serious all the time. Then again, I haven’t seen this other side of you.”

“What do you mean other side? This is just who I am.” I answer truthfully

“I mean no offense, but you haven’t talked a lot on the way back… and we don’t know much about you in general besides you live in the stars or something like that.” Ikaro says with a smile but also a small serious tone.

“Oh. Sorry. I guess I was just… thinking about everything,” I admitted, scratching the back of my head. “I didn’t mean to come across as distant. It’s just that the whole ‘you might be a god’ thing feels… overwhelming. And honestly? I’m not even sure who I am anymore.”

“Hey, no problem. I get it,” Ikaro said, his grin softening into something more thoughtful. “Not knowing who you are can… mess with you. Sometimes, I think about leaving this place. You know, just to figure myself out, see who I am beyond all this.” His voice dropped, carrying a weight I hadn’t heard before.
After a pause, he perked up again. “Anyway, we should see how the others are doing. Let’s help set the table before Dad has our heads.”
“Right. Your father would kill us if we didn’t,” I said, matching his smile.
“That’s the spirit!” Ikaro replied, leading the way to the dining room.

As we approached the dining room, Arbos greeted us with open arms. “Son! Kayn! We were just waiting for you. Come here and help Iris set the table. Kayn, can you follow me outside for a moment?” I nodded, watching as Ikaro went to assist his sister.

Outside, Arbos sat on a tree trunk by the fire, where the boar roasted slowly. He motioned for me to sit on the trunk opposite him. “So, lad, how are you feeling? Don’t lie to me. I know that look,” he said with a fatherly tone, his eyes sharp yet kind.

“I… I don’t know, to be honest,” I began hesitantly. “This whole thing is just weird, you know? It feels like my entire world has been flipped upside down, and the worst part is, I don’t even know half of what’s going on. I… I don’t know who I really am. Are these memories even mine, or did someone plant them there?” The words spilled out of me, unfiltered and raw.

Arbos’s response took me by surprise. “What is your favorite food lad?”

“Huh? Uh… deer, I think. But what does that—”

Arbos cuts me again “Which is your favorite thing in this world?”

I’m taken back by Arbos questions, but I answer them truthfully “I- I always liked music. I don’t what’s so appealing of it to me.”

“Have you ever loved someone?” Arbos asks again

“Yes. But I was too afraid to tell her.” I answer again truthfully

Arbos leaned back, a satisfied smile tugging at his lips. “Well, there’s your answer.”
I frowned, confused. “What do you mean?”

“Kayn,” Arbos began, his voice steady yet filled with conviction, “in all my years as a soldier, I’ve learned one unshakable truth about people. It’s this: when the world falls apart and chaos reigns, what defines a person isn’t their past or their pedigree- It's their spirit, their choices, and the courage they summon in the face of the unknown. It’s not the blood in our veins or the pain we’ve endured that defines us. It’s the choices we make when it matters most, the passions that drive us, and the courage we show in the face of uncertainty. On the battlefield, I didn’t know men by their lineage or rank—I knew them by the fire in their souls and the weight of their dreams.”

He leaned forward, his gaze piercing yet kind. “What you’ve told me—your love for music, your hesitation to speak your heart—they’re not just fragments of memory, lad. They’re threads of who you are, woven deep into the fabric of your being. Forget the question of who you were. Ask yourself this: who do you want to become? Because when the moment of reckoning comes, it won’t be your past that defines you. It will be your choice.”

His words hit me like a lightning bolt. I sat in silence, letting them sink in. “Thank you, Arbos,” I finally said, my voice quiet but sincere.
Arbos clapped his hands together, the sound sharp and decisive, cutting through the lingering weight of his words. A grin spread across his face, warm and full of life. "Enough of this serious talk. That boar's ready, and my stomach is about to start a rebellion! What do you say, Kayn? Shall we feast?" He stood, brushing off his hands and gesturing toward the house with an exaggerated flourish. "Come on, before Ikaro and Iris devour it all without us."

“Of course.” I return the smile and follow Arbos back inside, as we arrive in the dining room Arbos motions me to take a seat in the table as he prepares the boar on the kitchen. I take a seat next to Ikaro and in front of Iris as we wait for Arbos to return. While there is no hot food on the table there’s a mix of salads, beverages and fruits in the table.

“Thank you for all of this.” I say to Ikaro and Iris.

“You are welcome. You might have to pay us later though” strange as it Iris cracks a joke showing a softer side towards me previously unseen.

“Ha! It’s the least I can do.” I reply smiling as she returns the smile to me.

“So, what did you and the old man talk about? He didn’t make you taste his homemade liquor please tell me he didn’t” Ikaro says with his usual attitude.

“Oh no he didn’t, though I’m intrigued about that drink is it really that bad?” Ikaro laughs at my innocence and Iris doesn’t say much but her silence and her eyes rolling speaks by itself.

“For a man who came from the sky you think he would be more cautious on accepting drinks from strangers don’t you think sis?” Ikaro asks joking and looking at Iris who just chuckles and rolls her eyes again enjoying the conversation between the three of us.

After a couple of minutes Arbos returns now with the food as he puts in the table, Before we start eating Arbos and the family pray and thank the gods for this food, I respectfully join them.
As we start to eat the food the family and I talk about multiple things but also get to know each other better.

“So, Iris when I woke up in the room and found the knife under the table I couldn’t help but notice a Bow as well… Do you practice archery or something like that?” My question caught Iris off-guard.

“Oh… Yeah I guess you could say that.” She replied, a bit hesitant.

“Come on sis you are really good at it, tell you something brother this boar you are eating is not from the market at Helos… That’s her handywork.” Ikaro says chiming in helping her sister.

“Really?” I said, genuinely impressed. “Well, thank you for your skills, Iris, and to Arbos for the cooking. And, of course, to Ikaro for being such a great host.” I say raising my glass in a small toast of appreaciation.

“Thank you,” Iris said, her cheeks tinged with red. “I… I guess I am the hunter of the family.”

Arbos chimed in with a grin. “I have an idea. Kayn, why don’t you accompany Iris tomorrow? Help her hunt for food to sell and keep. You could learn a thing or two.”

“What?!” Iris says shocked. “I hunt alone dad.”

“And I’m thankful for it… but I wanted to make a proposal to Kayn.” Arbos takes a breath and says “Lad, I want you to stay here and help us in the farm, I can’t grant you much drachm, but I can grant you shelter, food and above all help on finding answers… You see I have contacts on Greece and here on the city of Helos that will come in handy in finding answers about your situation. If you want tomorrow AFTER you help Iris with her hunt” Arbos says looking at his daughter commandingly emphasizing that last sentence “You can accompany Ikaro and I to the city, I have some trades to make and Ikaro has to do some errands of his own, it will be a pleasure if you would come with us.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” I began.

“Just say yes” Ikaro says smiling, Arbos nods approvingly following his son comment.

“Very well then, I will help you all as much as I can.” I say.

“Excellent! You can start right away.” Arbos says, Ikaro doesn’t say much but chuckles knowing what comes next. “Here you go!” Arbos gives a bucket of water and a soap “Start by cleaning the plates, I don’t think that’s a hard task for the man fallen from the sky right?” Arbos says smiling, Iris and Ikaro laugh a little at the situation after looking at my face.

I chuckle looking at the bucket and say, “No it’s not.”

“Welcome to the farm life!” Ikaro says with a smile as Arbos and Iris laugh.

Shall we go for a hunt?

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