“…97, 98, 99 and 100. There you go, bro”, Rakeh said as he poured a hundred golden coins into a small bag and passed it to Tydeus.
“Are you sure this is complete?” Tydeus asked Rakeh, smiling as he picked up his cup to sip some of his fresh wine.
“Of course, you want to count it again?” Rakeh asked curiously.
“Nah, never mind. I'm just joking”, Tydeus said as packed his bag of money off the table.
“Don't worry; when Sakoh comes back with the balance payment, the calculation will be straightforward”, Rakeh said to Tydeus.
“But why is he taking so long?” Tydeus asked Rakeh.
“I don't know, he only has one job there, to just collect the balance payment and meet us in this bar. Maybe he's busy playing hide and seek with his little bird again.” Rakeh replied to Tydeus as he gulped some wine off his cup, too.
“Or maybe those people are just delaying him”, Tydeus intercepted.
“Delaying him? Under this hot sun? They better not. I told you those people don't look like they have our price. Something tells me they're not going to pay us in full”, Rakeh said to Tydeus.
“But we needed the job; saving an old man from some useless pirate looks easier than killing a beast like Apophis, you know?” Tydeus said again to Rakeh as he poured some wine into his cup.
“Yeah, killing that crazy beast was hell, but we got paid well. Don't be surprised if Sakoh comes back here with half the money or no money at all…”
“I warned you that those people don't have our price; I don't know why you insisted that we take the job and save the old man”, Rakeh said to Tydeus.
“Well, let's wait and see. Hopefully, Sakoh would come back with our full payment”, Tydeus said as he relaxed his back to his chair to sit comfortably.
Rakeh drew his plate of food closer to him as he took out a chicken and tore it with his teeth.
He looked around the bar where they were staying and saw other bar attendees at their table, some female dancers who were performing on the small stage in the bar and the old bartender serving drinks to his customers.
“Oh boy, I'm tired of Egypt”, Rakeh said as he turned back to Tydeus, who was sitting in front of him at the same table.
“Not only you man. All we need is just one more payday. Just one more big pay and we are out of this trash country”, Tydeus replied as he sipped his wine again.
“This damn country has been battling with civil war for decades. If we are going to make bigger money as hitmen, we have to move to a better country”, Rakeh said again to Tydeus.
“True, but where do you think we could go?” Tydeus asked.
“Cana, Cana obviously. Haven't you heard?”
“The land flowing with milk and honey isn't it?” Tydeus intercepted Rakeh and almost burst into laughter.
“Exactly, That is my dream home. We could go there and just start a new life. No more fighting, no more killing demons and monsters. Just peace.” Rakeh replied as he bit another part of his roasted chicken to eat.
“You're right. We have been fighting since we were kids. I mean, we were born into a country that has been suffering from civil war. The only way to survive and earn a living is by fighting.” Tydeus replied to Rakeh.
“One more pay day right? And we are done with Egypt for good?” Rakeh asked Tydeus curiously.
“Yes man, I say we take just one more job, and we head to Cana and start a new life”. Tydeus replied.
“Cana? Did you just say Cana?” A voice came from behind Tydeus.
“This is something you must know if you're going to Cana…” A young man kept talking as he walked from the bartender's area towards Tydeus's table.
As the young man kept walking without watching his way, he mistakenly hit the cup of a hefty barbarian in the bar and spilt his wine on his clothes.
“Oh my goodness!” The young man shouted in fear.
He has just spilt wine on the body of one of the notorious gang leaders of the city.
“How dare you???” The hefty barbarian said angrily as he got up slowly from his seat.“Uhmp?! Please I'm sorry, it's a mistake. I don't mean to”, The young man began begging, going down on his knees gently.The rest of the bar attendees who were partying began making way for the hefty barbarian. No one wants to get in the way of such a hefty gang leader. The last person he fought hasn't recovered from his injuries.“Did you know what you have just done?” The hefty barbarian said angrily again to the young man who kept moving backwards in fear.“I was only trying to go my way, sir; I didn't mean to pour away your drink”, the young man continued begging as he noticed someone behind him.He turned back and saw two other gang members of the hefty barbarian.“I will show you what we do to little brats like you”, the hefty barbarian said as he lifted his giant palm and landed it on the young man's face, sending him to the floor.The other bar attendees began murmuring, some of them already
“Whhhooooaaaaaa!!” The rest of the crowd exclaimed in great shock. Did this man just throw out the hefty barbarian through the window with a single punch?As the remaining two members of the gang saw that their boss had just been defeated, they ran to attack Rakeh and his friend.The first one agitatedly came closer to Tydeus, but Tydeus immediately stood up from his chair and collided with his jaw using his head. This impact instantly brought out four teeth from the mouth of the gangster as he fell on his groins.The rest of the crowd in the bar burst into laughter as they saw this. The second gangster became confused, he didn't know who to hit, maybe Tydeus or Rakeh.He immediately faced Tydeus and began throwing punches at him. Tydeus stood his ground with his cup of wine as he dodged all the punches without flinching.As the gangsters kept throwing punches but kept missing everything, the crowd began laughing. Tydeus came close to the gangster again so he could land a hit, but h
“Hey, little you. How have you been? Where is your friend?” Tydeus said to Sakoh's sparrow as he massaged its neck while the bird stood on his shoulders.“There he is”, Rakeh said as he sipped some wine from his cup.Sakoh came into the bar towards Tydeus and Rakeh's table with a bag in his hands. He pulled out a chair and sat with them. “So what's the update?” Tydeus asked Sakoh who looked tired and sweaty.*BANG!*Sakoh dropped the small bag of money he went to collect on the table and said, “This is all I got, their village head said they would pay up our balance by the end of the month”.“Damn it!!!” Rakeh shouted out of nowhere.“I told you those people aren't going to pay us well, they don't have our price. Now we don't have our money complete after all the stress we went through last night”, Rakeh protested to Tydeus.“Oops! Just take it easy man. We are going to get another good job”, Tydeus tried to calm Rakeh down.Sakoh grabbed a cup from the table and tried to fill it wi
Tydeus and his friends remained unshaken. They stayed in their seats, waiting for who and what was coming.Only a few people remained in the bar, as the rest had run outside. And all of a sudden, great silence took over the entire bar as everybody kept mute waiting for what was coming.Suddenly, two soldiers walked into the bar. They didn't look like ordinary soldiers, with the spear and shield in their hands, the kind of armour they were wearing and the symbol on their shield, they looked like they were from a palace or kingdom.Rakeh immediately signalled Tydeus, this might be a threat or something.The two soldiers came in and stood at the entrance as escorts, which they were; two other soldiers came from the entrance, too, but this time, with someone in their middle.The person was wearing a long black cloak which covered every part of the person's body, and the face was covered with a black hood.Tydeus remained on his seat wondering who it could be. Is he about to be arrested by
“We all know the story. It's a popular one and we are not talking about fairy tales here, Alright?” Tydeus shunned Artecus.“Sorry for the interruption, my lady. But what have I to do with all that you've just said? I don't seem to see anything that actually concerns me”, Tydeus asked Isis, the king's sorceress.“The ruler of Giza, King Nezeron, demands your presence. We need you to fight with us and defend us from the notorious rebels who are about to destroy our land”, Isis narrated again.“Me? I'm no saviour. All I do is to eat, sleep and do my business. I am not a hero or whatever you're looking for. I think you have come to the wrong person”, Tydeus responded, spreading his palms to demonstrate his reply.Isis bent her head moving closer to Tydeus like she was about to whisper something into his ear,“The gods didn't direct me here to meet the wrong person. The gods never make a mistake”“Well, there's always a first time”, Tydeus intercepted Isis, the king's sorceress sharply.I
Isis, the king's loyal sorceress, arrived in Giza from Cairo with Tydeus and his comrades. The Giant gate of the city was opened for their horses and their chariots to ride in. Giza was pretty much in shape compared to other cities in Egypt which the civil war has ravaged. But into the city as Tydeus rode on his chariot with two big black horses and his friends also on their chariots, The villagers around the road all halted what they were doing and they started staring and looking at the new visitors who had just arrived in their city. Tydeus took his attention to the environment and the people around the road. They all looked sick like they had been suffering from some dangerous pandemic. Their huts and the houses looked like they were partly damaged. Even their children looked very unhealthy. The city must be filled with poor people or maybe the people are just suffering from something outrageous. Tydeus kept staring at the people of the village as his chariot moved sl
Isis's smile suddenly vanished as she kept on staring into Tydeus's eyes like she had just seen something ominous in his eyes. She continued gazing into Tydeus's eyes portentously, her face was like she had already zoned out or something. Tydeus, noticing her reaction towards his question, became confused. Has he said something wrong? “Is everything alright, sorceress?” Tydeus asked, winking one eye and yet with a little smile. Isis began opening her mouth gently like she was about to say something “King Nezeron will see you now”, General Gyeron called out from the entrance of the castle, intercepting whatever Isis was about to say. Tydeus chuckled at the sorceress, Isis, as he signalled to his friends behind him, and they all entered the castle to meet the king. They began walking in a passage in the palace as General Gyeron and two of his soldiers led the way to meet the king. The inner door of the palace, where the king's throne was, was pushed open as Tydeus and his fr
In the king's dining chamber, Tydeus and his comrades came in with the king, his palace guards and other chiefs of the land. They all sat on a big rectangular dining table with decorated chairs on each length. The table was filled with plates of different kinds of food and wines served by the king's palace chefs.King Nezeron decided to go straight to the point as Tydeus had suggested, and while eating and dining at the table, he began to narrate why exactly he had invited Tydeus and his companions to the palace.“When the Pharaohs of yesteryear built this nation, it was intended as one of the greatest Empires of all time…”“Egypt has been the richest and the greatest Citadel that has ever existed on the face of the earth…”“This nation has been a stronghold not only for the people but for other neighbouring countries. Our great government gave rise to many other existing nations on the face of the earth…”“But now Egypt is divided. The war has not only claimed lives but claimed our