Look for Rastus of Minos

"Tell me more about this note." You ask as you hand him back the note about Amara's private sale. "Have you heard of this Rastus son of Minos?" He shakes his head and lifts his left eyebrow in a silent query.

"Does this mean your plans have changed?" Had they changed? You weigh the various different possible courses of action that you and your men could spend their time on. Of the three possible choices - capturing Har'Amaden, rescuing Amara or raiding the hideout of Adriana's acquaintances - the fate of a lovely young teen in a city being overrun by an conquering army seems most urgent. Har'Amaden wasn't going anywhere if he was one of the select that had taken refuge in the towering Citadel, and if the Kyliadese family had prepared their sanctuary as carefully as it sounds, those lithsome twins and all their family's treasures are safer where they are currently hidden then anywhere you could store them.

"I think they have," you gain confidence as you speak "let's go ask our hostesses if they know where we can find Rastus." After a brief moment of deliberate thought he turns to you and nods with a thin smile.

"Will they cooperate, or are they going to need convincing?" The urbane words are spoken softly, but you get the distinct impression that you would not want to be someone who had information that Antonios needed. You wonder yet again just who he was and why he decided that your band of brothers. When he asked to join your squad you demanded a reason, you wanted to know why he wanted a transfer out of the command tent and back into a position where he could be killed in any number of ways. He showed you the portrait of a wide-eyed brunette in his locket and explained that his sister had been taken from a captured ship and brought to the flesh markets of Athenapolis.

At first you weren't even sure he would be accepted by the rest of the squad, he was as cultured as they are brutish. Antonios read philosophy while most of your men could barely sign their names and he would spend his pay on fine dining while your men would head to the nearest brothel. Despite these differences he quickly became a favorite of the men; although not particularly gregarious the immaculately groomed man was a deadly warrior, generous with his silver and willing to do the unpleasant tasks that needed to get done.

You value the him because Antonios had a better understanding of the political situation in this city than any other man. He knew for example, even before the official orders came down, that you would be the first men from the united army to reach the southern part of the city. He asked for the transfer so he could find his sister before the rest of the army did. You guess he would gain as much as you (or even more) by delivering Amara to her mother and gaining the High Priestess' favor.

"Oh, I think they'll be willing to cooperate, especially when we show them what Har'Amaden had in mind for them." You point to the other folded message "Better bring that one too."