Hercules: The Legendary Journeys Two Book Collection (Juvenile) Read Free

make sense,” Honorius said. “We’d been trading with Pastoralis for years. Oh, there had been disputes—my father was once mayor of our city and he had a terrible fight with Slaughterius, the Pastoralian mayor, over the exchange rate between our two currencies. But nothing like this. They’d never spread lies about us before.”
    The Pastoralians had, of course, denied the charge. What’s more, they then accused the Mercantilians of spreading lies in return.
    â€œThey said terrible things,” Honorius explained as they marched on. “That we told other towns that Pastoralian sheep were diseased. That their cows’ milk would cause children to stop growing. And they said they had proof! Letters, sworn testimonies—all forgeries, but we couldn’t prove that. To deflect attention from themselves, the Pastoralians had obviously started to spread similar stories about us.”
    A meeting had been held to try and resolve the problems, but arguments became heated and demands for apologies were refused. The Mercantilians went home in a huff. The Pastoralians seemed hungry, angry and desperate enough to do anything. The Mercantilians turned their police force into an army with Ferocius at its head. Patrols were sent to circle the city and its surrounding forests.
    â€œBegging the captain’s pardon,” a young cadet interrupted. “My father was on one of the night patrols, when suddenly all these things came shooting at them from the forest. He gave me this.”
    The boy pulled a thick club out of his backpack and handed it to Hercules. It was heavy and sharpened to a point, with a dagger blade sticking out of the top.
    â€œThe Pastors use them,” the cadet continued. “Every soldier fixes his own special attachments. I saw one shaped like a giant bear’s claw, another with a big net attached—”
    â€œAnd another with an axe blade in the side,” the squeaky-voiced Sycophantius interrupted. “And there was—”
    â€œAn unprovoked attack,” Captain Honorius summarized. “The clubs came flying over the city walls. Many were injured. At dawn, a whole platoon or Pastors attacked us, howling for revenge.”
    â€œRevenge?” Salmoneus asked. “For a few rumours?”
    â€œNo,” Honorius said. “They claimed that we had stolen their clubs and attacked their people. They found our spears near the bodies. Or so said our prisoners. Our men may have left spears in the forest while hunting or training, so someone could have gathered them and attacked the Pastoralians— but we didn’t. Anyway, we drove the Pastors off—but our spies in their city say they’ll be back, and in greater numbers. It’s war now.”
    â€œFine,” Salmoneus sighed, “but what’s this got to do with Hercules? He didn’t start it.”
    â€œHe did worse than that!” Peuris cried, starting forward from the marching boys. “He was terrible!”
    â€œQuiet, son,” the captain said softly. “Get back in line. I’ll tell the story.”
    Hercules, Honorius said, had entered the scene when General Ferocius was leading a platoon to find and destroy a Pastoralian patrol that (rumour had it) was lurking in the forests near Mercantilius. The patrol had just stumbled across the queen of the dryads and her court of nymphs, when Hercules arrived. Ferocius persuaded the hero to come back to the city-state and join the Mercantilian side.
    â€œThat’s when the trouble started,” Honorius said. “We gave you food, ale, our softest beds and our most attentive servants—but you know all this. We didn’t mind because we knew that you could help us win. For years, travellers have told tales of your great deeds, your mighty powers. All you had to do was march against the Pastoralians and they were as good as dead. While you ate and drank and rested, we drilled day and night.