Wine and Poison Chapter 4 - Requiem

The queen scowled at Thekion’s remark.

 

“Lancion is injured, Thekion.”

 

“Mother. Lancion only has a fractured bone, not a missing leg.”

 

The queen’s eyes widened at the cold words, and she clutched her hands to her chest.

 

“How could you say such a thing!”

 

She swallowed the words she couldn’t say to the king, trying to figure out how to say something that would make Thekion listen.

 

“My king! Something’s wrong, and it’s horrible.”

 

A disheveled guard rushed in, looking quite ludicrous as he grabbed the helmet that had nearly fallen off and placed it on his head. 

 

The king of Thebes shook his head as if he recognized the soldier.

 

“Peru, is there another one of you drunk and rowdy?“

 

Unlike the king’s lenient tone, Thekion was unforgiving. The king of Thebes was stern and sartorially bright, but he was also very accepting.

 

Knowing that the guards had been drinking and frolicking during their breaks, Thekion decided that this was the one time he would have to discipline them. 

 

He was about to say something about drinking and getting into an accident, but the guard’s words caught him off guard.

 

“That’s not it, no, I, uh, maybe it is.”

 

The king chuckled at his ramblings and made a gesture of reproach.

 

“Ugh, can’t you speak straight!”

 

The guard snapped, breaking out in a cold sweat.

 

“Someone has broken into the wine cellar and is breaking all the bottles!”

 

The King of Thebes’s face, once playful, hardened. Thekion jumped to his feet.

 

The royal wine cellar was where the gods’ liquor was stored. It was more precious than the treasury of gold and silver.

 

As Thebes’ family rushed out, they found the common soldiers milling about outside the cellar. 

 

The wine was fragile to heat, so it was kept in the most secret and coolest part of the palace in Thebes. 

 

Moreover, because it was the wine of the gods, it was highly sought after, so it was escorted by a group of soldiers of the highest caliber, whose sprawling appearance signaled the seriousness of the situation.

 

The king of Thebes’ face turned dreadful, he was on high alert. The invaders’ force was unknown, and he had to be cautious.

 

“What are you doing standing here? The thief must be in there!”

 

Inashan cried out in frustration, grabbing at the hem of her skirt.

 

“Queen, you mustn’t go, you don’t know what’s inside!”

 

“Mother!”

 

“My King! It’s dangerous!”

 

The King and the Prince moved, and so did their frantic guards.

 

The Queen stood not far from the entrance to the cellar. The men quickly surrounded her, their faces stiffening at the stench of alcohol that assaulted their nostrils. 

 

Their jaws dropped as they turned to look inside the warehouse.

 

Broken pieces of amphoras littered the floor in the torchlight. Most of the wine had soaked into the dirt floor, and blood-red liquid pooled in the gnarled pieces. 

 

The strong odor of alcohol wafted lingeringly from everywhere.

 

The usually tidy cellar was a mess, as if a storm had swept through it. 

 

The Queen was pale and almost faint. Her gaze fell on the man trudging through the wine-soaked dirt.

 

The intruder who had brought the precious warehouse to this state was standing in the middle of the warehouse, the scent of wine wafting through the air.

 

‘Only one?’

 

Thekion was horrified to realize that there was only one intruder who had defeated the royal soldiers and left the warehouse in this state. 

 

Not only that, but the man, dressed in common vagabond clothing, was not very tall, and his body was slender. 

 

His hat made it hard to make out his face, but he didn’t look much older than the rest of them.

 

And that was it. The wanderer struck the amphora with his cane.

 

Clang!

 

The sound of shattering pottery echoed loudly, and fragrant wine gushed out of the sharply shaped hole. 

 

Inashan, already shaken to the point of fainting, squinted.

 

The uncivilized screams became hysterical. She even burst into tears. The liquor disappearing into the floor felt as if it were not wine but the blood of her heart.

 

The wanderer raised his cane again, and Thekion and Theraon desperately stopped Inashan from lunging at him. 

 

They still didn’t know how the wanderer had dealt with the soldiers. 

 

It was a shame that the wine was spoiled, but they could not afford to lose the Queen of Thebes to an unknown intruder.

 

“I will never let you die gently. I will tear you limb from limb and feed you to the pigs!”

 

Enraged, Inashan cursed as she coughed up blood.

 

Clang!

 

Another amphora shattered with a jubilant sound like a musical instrument being struck. Blood-colored wine poured out, soaking the wanderer’s bare feet. 

 

Thekion tightened his grip on his mother’s hand, finding the sight of the wine trickling down the white skin oddly symbolic.

 

‘You can’t be…’

 

A strange, unnerving thought pierced his mind. His hands began to tremble.

 

Just then, the wanderer with the cane shook his head.

 

“Interesting, who will cut off my limbs then?”

 

The royal family, including the flaming Inashan, stiffened at the sound of the wanderer’s voice. 

 

It was a voice so beautiful and sweet that it brought goosebumps to their ears. It was as clear as a boy’s, but also as flavored as decades of wine.

 

The King of Thebes’ gaze was fixed on the cane he held. Unlike a normal straight cane, it was curved, like a branch of a vine. 

 

Horror flashed in the king’s eyes.

 

Inashan craned her neck.

 

“Get me a knife, someone good with a sword, anyone…!”

 

“I will not be silenced!”

 

Screech!

 

The Queen, who had been screaming in anger, cupped her cheeks in surprise.

 

“My dear?”

 

“Father!”

 

The astonished stares of his family didn’t faze the King of Thebes, he dropped to his knees on the dirty dirt floor, trembling like a man with an ailment. 

 

His clothes, made of fine cloth, were stained with dirt.

 

The family frowned at the King’s sudden behavior.

 

“At last, you have come, have been waiting for you ever since I received the messenger that you would visit soon, dear god of mortals,” said the King.

 

Seconds after the reverent greeting, their faces fell. The first to follow his father to his knees was Thekion, who clenched his teeth as he faced the intruder who had shattered the amphora.

 

“By the god of mortal men.”

 

The others followed suit.

 

God?

 

A god?

 

They trusted the wise King of Thebes and Thekion, but even they found it hard to believe that a seemingly ordinary wanderer was a god. 

 

Confusion flashed across their faces.

 

“I’ve changed a bit, haven’t I?”

 

The wanderer’s words were an acknowledgment of the King of Thebes’ actions. He had affirmed that he was a god!