Scullos Island

The island's beautiful scenery, greenery, and olive groves make Scylos Island very civilized, and Skuros Island is also rich in spices.

All these products make the inhabitants of Skulos more prosperous and comfortable.

Odysseus and the Greek prophet Calcas were now coming to the island of Sculos on a sea ship, and after several months of long sea journey, they finally saw the outline of the island of Sculos.

"It's finally almost here. Calcas looked at the distant island and said, "Anyone who has been at sea for two months in a row will be happy to approach their destination at this moment.

Odysseus was full of worry: "O prophet Calcas, it will take us months to go back and forth, this is too tiring and a waste of time, are you sure Achilles is on this island?"

"I'm sure. Calcas said seriously, not only did he know where Achilles lived, but he also knew the role of Achilles in the Battle of Troy, which was the guidance of God.

For Achilles, in fact, he has never been out of God's sight, and any efforts of Thetis are just useless.

As the two spoke, the ship approached the port of Skulos Island.

At the moment, there are seven boats on the sea in the harbor, and the harbor is also full of people, most of whom come to Skouros Island to collect olives and spices.

When the ship docked, Odysseus and Calcas got off the ship, Odysseus looked at the port with half emotion and half envy: "Skulos Island is really prosperous." ”

When he saw the prosperous scene in front of him, he thought about his Ithaca kingdom again, and felt that it was not the same.

"It's normal for all the merchants who come here to collect spices and olives. Carcas said, "Let's go, go and meet our old friend, Lycomedes." ”

At that moment, Odysseus and Calcas led a group of soldiers to the palace, and at the gate of the palace, King Lycomedes received the news and was waiting there.

Soon the chariot in which Odysseus and Calcas were riding appeared in Lycomedes' sight.

When the two of them got out of the carriage, King Lycomedes greeted them and said warmly, "Distinguished guests, welcome you from afar, I have prepared a sumptuous banquet for you in the palace." ”

"King Lycomedes, thank you very much for your warm welcome. Calcas and Odysseus spoke, and with that, they followed Lycomedes to the banquet hall of the palace.

At this moment, in the banquet hall, Lycomedes called all the princes of the kingdom to attend this banquet, which shows that he attached great importance to the arrival of Odysseus and Calcas.

The banquet hall table is also full of various barbecued meats and wines.

Odysseus looked at the wine jugs on the table that were inlaid with gold, and the wine glasses were also bronze wine glasses, and couldn't help but think to himself: "The Kingdom of Skouros is really rich. ”

There was another burst of envy in my heart, with a faint hint of jealousy.

Lycomedes, of course, did not know what Odysseus was thinking, and seeing that everyone was seated at this moment, he took the glass full of wine on the table, and said, "Come, everyone toast together, and welcome our guests from afar, Odysseus, king of Ithaca, and Calcas, the prophet of Greece." ”

After speaking, he drank it all, and others responded by drinking all the wine in the cup.

The atmosphere of the banquet was very warm, and suddenly, Calcas raised his glass, stood up and said: "Dear King Lycomedes, thank you very much for your hospitality, this time we are ordered by Agamemnon, the commander of the Greek coalition, to bring back to Troy the son of Peleus, whom you have taken. ”

Lycomedes heard Calcas's request, shook his head, and said, "Son of Peleus? No, no, I can swear to God that I have not adopted the son of Peleus. ”

Lycomedes spoke in a resolute tone, not as if he was hypocritical, so that Odysseus and Carcas were silent for a while.

He continued: "But the child you speak of is about the same age, only a girl, who grew up with my princesses, and has not seen her for so long, and I do not recognize her. ”

Odysseus and Carcas were overjoyed and expressed their intention to take a look at the girl.

For the request of the two, Lycomedes was slightly unhappy, but finally agreed, and looked back and said, "Go and call all the girls in my palace." ”

Lycomedes summoned all the princesses to the banquet hall for Odysseus and Carcas to discern for themselves.

After a while, a group of princesses came, all of them about fifteen or sixteen years old, and Odysseus and Calcas immediately left their seats, carefully looking at the many princesses, their eyes scanning up and down, hoping to find some clues from these princesses.

However, no matter how sharp the eyes of the two heroes were, they still couldn't recognize which of these people was Achilles in women's clothing.

Odysseus secretly approached Carcas and said, "Is it that King Lycomedes is playing tricks, or is Achilles not in it at all?"

Odysseus is very good at tricks and tricks, and it's easy to treat others with himself, and if something doesn't go well, he thinks that others are also playing tricks to fool him.

Calcas looked at Odysseus and replied: "Dear Odysseus, King Lycomedes has no tricks, he really thought that Achilles was a girl, and Achilles must be among them, but he lived and played with the princesses when he was nine years old, and it is not easy to tell." ”

"And, even if Lycomedes concealed it, it was human nature, and it was entrusted to him by Thetis, and he had to take care of it. ”

Thetis herself was not strong and was only a secondary goddess, but she was the daughter of Nereus, the goddess of the sea, and Doris, the goddess of the sea, and also had a credit for Zeus, and it was only natural that King Lycomedes took care of her feelings.

"I see, but it's not easy to find Achilles. Odysseus said.

"It's not easy, but this time we're here, we have to get the job done. ”

Odysseus nodded, understanding the particularity of this mission, which was given by the gods, and could not be refused, and he had to find a way to complete the task.

After a while, the banquet gradually dispersed, but Odysseus and Karcas were still trying to figure out how to find Achilles.

Looking at the princesses standing in the hall, the cunning Odysseus suddenly had a plan, and said to Carcas: "I have a plan to find Achilles, but I have to get the consent of King Lycomedes." ”

Karcas was a little curious and asked, "What is the strategy?" ”

So Odysseus whispered his plan to him and conspired with him, but Calcas had to complete the communication with Lycomedes.

After listening to the plan, Calcas looked at this Odysseus again, and felt that although he was cunning and changeable, he was extremely intelligent, and could often think of schemes that ordinary people could not think of.

He approached Lycomedes and said, "Dear King Lycomedes, we will use the battle horn to find Achilles later, and hopefully it will not affect your kingdom." ”

Although Lycomedes was unhappy, he could not refuse Carcas's request.

"O great Greek prophet Carcas, just do it, and I will tell it to go on without repercussions. ”

"Thank you so much, King Lycomedes. After saying this, Calcas took his leave, telling Odysseus the good news.

Odysseus was glad to hear that Lycomedes had agreed to this approach.

He quietly brought a spear and a shield and placed them in the palace, and ordered his attendants to blow the battle horn outside, and with the sound of footsteps, as if the enemy had rushed into the palace.

The sound of the battle horn together, the princesses in the palace were shocked, the kingdom of the Greek city-state, a small country with only a few thousand people, the so-called royal palace is a relatively magnificent building, it is not impossible to meet the attack, and they have hid at the moment, only a girl is still in place.

In order to protect her beloved princesses and to show her bravery in front of them, the girl resolutely took up the spear and shield on the ground.

Odysseus and Calcas, who had not gone far, looked secretly in the corner, and when they saw that the battle horn was blown, and the princess had fled, and one of them had taken a spear and shield from the ground, they were sure that this man was Achilles whom they were looking for.

The two ran out in a hurry, and Calcas said, "Achilles, we have found you." ”

"Your father, the great hero Peleus, once swore in the marriage of Helen, blessed by the gods, to protect the lawful marriage from destruction, and now Prince Paris has destroyed the holy marriage, and all the princes who have sworn must go on the march. ”

"Your father is too old to go, so you must go in your place. ”

Achilles, who was standing, listened speechlessly, he was too young to know these too complicated conspiracies, just now he really thought that the enemy had attacked the palace.

When my mother left, she repeatedly warned herself not to reveal her identity, and now it's all over.

"You're here to help you defeat your enemies?" Achilles asked bluntly.

Odysseus rolled his eyes, had an idea in his heart, and said: "No, Achilles, it is impossible for you to defeat them alone, we will only take you to Troy according to the oath." ”

Although Achilles was not very old, he could not bear the contempt of Odysseus, and said: "Don't worry, since you have found me, I will go with you to Troy, and I can defeat Troy and kill Prince Paris." ”

The corners of Odysseus' mouth curled slightly, revealing a smile of conspiracy.

"I hope to go to Troy with my coach Fortix and my friend Patroclos. ”

"We've got fifty ships. ”

"No problem. Calcas said, glancing at Odysseus, delighted in his heart.

You must know that Odysseus's entire kingdom of Itache only has eight warships, and the legacy left by the hero Peleus is not small!