"Iolaus, you've gotten awful quiet. You're not sulking about those dancing girls are you? Iolaus?"
On getting no response from his friend, Hercules stopped walking and turned to see what was wrong. Iolaus wasn't by his side. Getting a little worried now Hercules continued the turn to see his partner sitting on a convenient roadside log with his right ankle crossed over his left knee and pulling on his boot. Hercules quickly made his way back to his friend.
Noticing that Hercules had finally realised that his partner had stopped, Iolaus looked up, giving his friend a 'now whose the idiot?' look. Hercules raised an eyebrow and asked, "Pace too much for you? I can slow down if you like. I know it's getting harder for you to keep up in your old age."
"I am not old! Just because those girls thought . oh what's the use?" Iolaus continued fighting with his boot.
"So, what's up?"
Finally managing to wrest the boot from his foot, Iolaus waved it in Hercules' face. "This is! Look at it, the sole's come loose. It's going to have to be fixed."
"Iolaus, why don't you just get a new pair of boots?"
"D'you know how long it takes to wear in a pair of boots? Have you got any idea of the hours of agony I have to go through until they fit right?"
"Well, if you'd get them made by someone who knew what he was doing." Hercules' voice trailed off, Iolaus' head had angled to one side listening and Hercules could hear it too. Bandits.
Yelling and waving his boot at the oncoming bandits Iolaus leapt into the fray, Hercules alongside him. They glanced at each other and Hercules shrugged, Iolaus just muttered, "Always happens." before clouting the nearest bandit round the face with his boot. The bandit went down and Hercules' wry comment was punctuated by soft (for Hercules) jabs to the jaw of his nearest opponent, "He thinks - you - need - new boots - Iolaus. - The smell - knocked - him out." Done with that opponent Hercules turned to the next three.
"Ha, ha, very funny." Iolaus ducked under a punch and twisted to kick out, with his one remaining leather-clad foot, at the man behind him. "Come on Herc, this is getting boring, let's finish it."
It didn't take the two heroes long to complete their task, and soon they were standing amongst the fallen bodies of the bandits. Iolaus carelessly slung the boot over his shoulder and gently toed one of the bandits, whose only response was a groan. "Why do they do it Herc? They must know what'll happen."
Hercules shook his head in genuine bewilderment, "I don't know Iolaus, maybe it's genetic?"
"Yeah, genetically stupid!"
Hercules sighed as he looked around, "We can't just leave them here like this. We should take them to the nearest town - someplace with a prison."
Iolaus threw up his hands and turned away, "See? See! I knew he'd say that. And now we'll have to tie them all up and then traipse ten miles in the totally wrong direction just to find a magistrate, and traipse all the way back again and then he'll offer to help move the prisoners to the town and perhaps build a prison and testify at the trial and we are never going to get to Thessaly in time for the festival!"
Hercules just looked at his companion.
Iolaus sighed, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Got some rope?"
Hercules smiled and looked down at the bandits. "Maybe they can supply their own?"
Iolaus grinned and started searching the men sprawled all round him. Hercules moved to help and said, "If there's enough rope, maybe we could take them with us on that ten mile hike. It would save some time."
Iolaus grunted, he was still wondering what to do about his boot.
Finally, all the bandits were securely bound and Iolaus had tied some of the spare rope around his boot to stop it from flapping. He wasn't happy though.
"How far is this village-town-place that we're going to?"
"I think it's about seven miles Iolaus, why?"
"Oh no reason Herc. I was just wondering how far I'd have to hop. If you hadn't noticed I've got rope tied around my foot!"
Iolaus waved his foot in the air to underline just how uncomfortable this was going to be. Hercules looked at the offending boot speculatively. "Are you sure you wouldn't prefer taking the boot off and walking barefoot? It might be less uncomfortable."
"You think? I am not going barefoot. There are snakes!" Iolaus indignantly turned away from his friend, as if the word snakes explained everything.
Hercules grinned and shook his head. "Whatever you say, Iolaus. But don't start complaining about your poor sore foot or I'll have to say I told you so."
Iolaus made a face behind Hercules' back and prodded the bandit closest to him. "Come on! I'm on a deadline here. Pie eating contests to win, grape crushing contests to avoid, dances to dance. Move!"
The eight bandits sullenly moved forwards, some still groaning in pain. Hercules led the way holding on to an end of the rope that they had made into a chain of bandits. Each one with his hands held at his sides by the rope that encircled him and connected him to the man behind. Iolaus followed the long line, and with his sword in hand he gently poked the last man in the chain occasionally just to remind him who was boss.
Iolaus regretted insisting on retaining his footwear almost immediately. The rope was fairly thin but he had wrapped it around his foot several times to secure the flopping sole of his boot. It dug into the sole of his foot with every step and he could feel the skin as it slowly rubbed and turned red. "Seven miles." He grumbled to himself, "Seven stupid miles. I will not hop. I will not hop." But that option was beginning to look very attractive to Iolaus. Not as attractive as Thessaly and the possibility of a beautiful woman bathing his sore foot but more attractive than continuing as he was. Iolaus plodded on grumbling.
Half an hour later Iolaus had finally had to give in and he quietly sat on the ground and cut through the rope taking the offending boot off with a sigh. Glancing ahead to see if Hercules had noticed he jumped to his feet and ran to catch up. "Ouch, ouch, ouch!" His pain filled exclamations were subdued; he really didn't want Hercules to get the chance to say 'I told you so'.
At the front of the line Hercules smirked to himself. He knew exactly what Iolaus was doing but he wouldn't say anything... yet.
It was another hour and a half before they reached the small town Hercules had been heading for. And their arrival made quite a stir. People ran from their houses to get a good look at the procession as it made its way toward the Magistrate's house. Children stood watching silently as the big man led his prisoners past, but when they saw the limping one booted Iolaus following behind most of the children couldn't help giggling. One boy called out, "Hey look, it's Mister One-boot. Whatchoo doin' One-boot?"
Iolaus just grumbled and limped doggedly on, the litany of 'ouch, ouch, ouch ' that had started in his head half an hour ago continuing unabated. He wouldn't admit, even to himself, just how relieved he was when they finally reached their goal. The Magistrate came out to meet them, red-faced and slightly out of breath. Had Iolaus been in a better frame of mind he would have been a little more interested in what the Magistrate had been doing to make him so out of breath, but as it was he just grunted and stopped walking, leaning on his sword and surreptitiously lifting his sore foot from the ground.
"Um, yes, um, how can I help you?" The magistrate panted, flattening his hair with one hand and hitching up his belt with the other.
"These men attempted to rob us on the road to Thessaly." Hercules said, unmoved by the man's distress. He handed the rope to the magistrate and continued, "I think that you should arrange to lock them up - don't you?"
The Magistrate, finally able to gather his senses, nodded and signalled to a couple of the men standing nearby. "Take these men to the jail, lock them up and make sure that a guard is set - night and day."
Iolaus heaved a big sigh, maybe now he could sit down.
Hercules, ever able to read his partner's mind, said to the magistrate, "Is there anywhere my friend and I can clean up and maybe get a meal? We'll be happy to give statements or testify but we're both pretty worn out and I know that I could do with a rest before I do anything else."
Iolaus gave his friend a thankful smile whilst the magistrate beckoned to a woman standing in the crowd and introduced her to Hercules as Amina, the landlady of the local Tavern. She willingly led the two men away to be fed and watered. Iolaus was too preoccupied with his throbbing foot and mangled boot to notice the exotic beauty and as he followed Iolaus watching his determined efforts not to limp the demigod raised an eyebrow in surprise.
Sighing in satisfaction Iolaus pushed the plate away from him. The boar stew had hit the spot perfectly and the ale they had been served to wash it down with couldn't have tasted better had it been ambrosia itself. Iolaus raised his arms over his head stretching his back and yawned.
"Tired Iolaus? But surely you're too young and vibrant to be exhausted by a little detour."
Iolaus felt too good to rise to the bait and just grinned back at his buddy.
Hercules tried another tack, "But then you haven't been yourself lately have you? I mean, Amina is very disappointed with you."
"What d'you mean?"
"Well, you've hurt her feelings Iolaus. She's a very beautiful woman and you 've been ignoring her - are you sure you're feeling all right?"
Iolaus spluttered for a moment before grinning and pointing a finger at Hercules. "Oh no you don't my friend, I'm not falling for that! Amina understands that these things take finesse. It's all about timing."
"And the time isn't right yet?"
"Not yet." Iolaus' grin widened as he saw the subject of their conversation approach the table, "But soon, very soon."
Amina stood beside their table and smiled down at them, "Is everything to your satisfaction gentlemen?" Her husky voice had a slight accent which neither man could place.
Iolaus smiled and gestured for her to sit with them, "Exceeding all expectations Amina." he said, smiling at her.
Hercules rolled his eyes, knowing that the reticent Iolaus had just been a passing figment of his imagination and sat back to watch the master at work. Iolaus' next question surprised him though, perhaps his foot was bothering him more than Hercules had realised.
"Amina, is there a good cobbler in town? My boot's in need of some repairs."
After giving Iolaus a little frown, obviously Hercules wasn't the only one surprised by the question, Amina went on to explain that yes there was a man in town who repaired and made boots and shoes. He was something of a loner and the townsfolk tended to steer clear of him as much as they could. He was a bit strange. Here, she tapped her long fingers against the side of her head and wiggled her eyebrows. Hercules was distracted by how enchanting he found that gesture.
Iolaus just grinned and thanked her. Shortly afterwards the disappointed Tavern Keeper made her excuses and left their table to get on with her work. Hercules turned to his friend and asked, "Sure you're all right buddy?"
Iolaus rolled his eyes theatrically and groaned. "What? Can't I pass up one pretty woman without the third degree?"
"You? Pass up making a pass? It's not natural!"
Iolaus snickered and Hercules grinned. "Okay," Iolaus said, "So I admit it. My foot's sore and I can't think about much except getting my boot fixed up. What're you going to do about it?"
"Get you a nice mineral bath for your foot and then we'll go see this cobbler guy in the morning."
"Sounds good to me."
In the morning Iolaus wolfed down his breakfast and then tapped his fingers impatiently on the table as he waited for Hercules to finish eating at a more sedate pace. Finally, when Hercules was done they followed Amina's directions to the cobbler's house. It was in a narrow lane just off of the town's main square, a sign was swinging from a pole above the door. It depicted a pair of boots.
"I guess this is the place." Iolaus said doubtfully. The shop-front was dingy and dirty and the sign hung askew and squeaked as it swung in the wind. Hercules opened the door and ushered his friend into the gloom inside.
Iolaus paused as he let his eyes adjust to the dark interior of the shop; slowly a long counter came into focus in front of him. Behind the counter were shelves with examples of various kinds of boots and wooden shapes that looked an awful lot like human feet. Iolaus shivered but was interrupted in his contemplation of what those wooden feet could be used for as his partner gave him a shove in the back.
Iolaus slapped the offending boot onto the counter, "Shop! Anyone there?" He turned back to Hercules, "Nobody's home Herc. We'll come back another time."
Hercules grabbed the shoulders of the escaping Iolaus, "Oh no you don't. You can't walk around with only one boot Iolaus. Be sensible."
Iolaus raised his eyebrows and laughed. "Okay, okay, don't be sensible. Hey, see there is someone here." Hercules had noticed a man come up behind the counter. He was standing silently waiting for his customers to notice him; once they had he spoke,
"What can I do for you gentlemen?"
Iolaus poked at the boot on the counter. "Can you fix this for me?"
The cobbler, who stood a couple of inches taller than Hercules but was slender, bowed his head over the boot. "Hmmm, walk a lot do you?"
Iolaus grinned, "You could say that."
"Well, I'm sorry. This boot has had its day. There's not enough left of it to repair. See? Here where the sole was fixed? Even if I get you a new sole there's nothing left to fix it to. You'll need a new pair of boots. Now, if you'll just let me get my measure..."
Iolaus had a horrible feeling he wouldn't be able to afford a brand new pair of boots, but he didn't want to go barefoot. Maybe he could get some sandals to tide him over until he could afford boots. "Um, excuse me. How much would a new pair of boots cost?"
The cobbler smiled, "Well, I don't know. How much can you spend?"
Iolaus gently squeezed his moneybag, "About enough to buy a meal at the Tavern. I was really hoping that you could fix the old ones.""
"Now that is a problem. I try not to charge more than my customer can afford but I have to at least cover the cost of the leather - it's so expensive these days." The cobbler looked with narrowed eyes at the men standing before him. "You're the fellows that brought in the bandits yesterday aren't you?"
Two heads nodded up and down.
"Done much in that line?"
Hercules smiled and said, "Well, you could say that. This is Iolaus and I'm Hercules."
The cobbler's eyes widened in surprise, and he gave them both another appraising look. "Well, I'd always thought that Iolaus must be taller than the stories suggested, but I guess that's one thing they got right. Hmmm, maybe that's why all the stories have you down as being a giant, Hercules. It's an honour I'm sure."
Iolaus bristled at the remark about his height but Hercules' calming hand on his shoulder prevented him from making any comment. They waited for the cobbler to decide what he was going to do.
"You just might be able to pay for your boots after all young man. Would you be interesting in doing a little job for me?"
"Sure. Anything."
"Why didn't you shut me up Herc? Why'd you let me run off at the mouth like that?"
"Hey, Iolaus, there's nobody can stop that mouth of yours! It's boots or those sandals buddy, you do want those new boots don't you?"
Iolaus looked glumly down at his feet, which were currently encased in some rather fetching sandals. "Oh yeah, I want new boots, but monsters Herc? I don't want to face monsters in sandals!"
"Come on buddy, where's your sense of adventure?"
The two friends had followed the cobbler's directions to a farm on the other side of the village. He'd been buying the leather for his boots from this farmer for years. The cattle there produced the strongest, softest leather in all of Greece. But now the cattle were being attacked by some mysterious beast, many disappeared altogether but those that remained were butchered, their hides shredded and useless for sale. The farmer had put on watches but had never seen anything. He was no hunter but then there had been no tracks to hunt.
When they had explained themselves to the farmer he'd been only too delighted to give them directions to the scene of the latest attack; he had, however, with regret declined Iolaus' invitation to join them.
"I'm sorry mate, but I've really got to get the hay in the top paddock in before winter sets and then there's the cattle shed. It's leaking like a colander see. I really would come with you but."
Iolaus grinned at the ruddy faced farmer, "It's all right, we understand. We 've both done a bit of farming in the past."
Hercules nodded his agreement and stifled a laugh as he noticed that Iolaus was holding his nose and making a disgusted face. The demigod agreed there was no way either of them were going back to that particular line of work.
The farmer looked relieved at their understanding and he led them to the door, "Before you go, it might be nothing but I suppose I should tell you anyway."
Hercules raised an enquiring eyebrow. "Well, it's probably just tall tales, you know how people are, but, there's been some talk of a village up in the mountains disappearing."
"What do you mean, just, like, poof and it's gone?" Iolaus asked.
"No, no - well - just that the villagers all disappeared. They were said to have displeased Hera by not sacrificing to her at summer solstice. I just put it down to the local priests trying to strong arm us into better gifts to Hera."
"You're probably right there, but thanks anyway. Forewarned is forearmed, and it's better to be full of rumour that's untrue than empty of any information at all. Thank you Pitilaes, hopefully we can stop you from losing any more cattle."
Pitilaes took the proferred arm in a warrior handshake, exchanging the same farewell with Iolaus and thanked them as the two heroes left his farmhouse. He watched as they walked away hardly believing that he'd had the famous Hercules and Iolaus in his home.
The partners walked on in companionable silence until they reached their destination.
"This looks like the right place."
"And what makes you say that? Could it be the cloud of flies, the churned up ground, or perhaps the lovely aroma of blood and rotting meat?"
Iolaus ignored Hercules' sarcastic comment and started casting about the area, trying to make sense of the many disturbances in the earth.
"Okay, okay. Right - there was a cow right about ... here." Iolaus planted a sandal covered foot on the ground. A cloud of flies rose as one in the air and a moment later settled back. "Standing there, chewing its cud or whatever, happy as a pig in mud."
"Shouldn't that be happy as an Iolaus in mud?" Hercules muttered.
"Hey! I heard that! Anyway, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted." Iolaus spared his companion a quick glare before returning his gaze to the ground, "Cow, happy, then what? There're no tracks approaching so whatever came, came from above. Harpy maybe? Hmmm, the cow wasn't taken away straight off, if it had been there wouldn't be anything here for the flies to get so excited about." Iolaus waved his hands around trying to convince the flies that they really didn't want to settle on him.
"Great big winged creature, with talons then. Okay. It sits here munching on cow for a bit and then decides to take the rest of the carcass off with it so it braces itself ... here, in preparation to take off and then with a big effort because it's a big cow it flaps its wings a few times to get itself going and then - up up and away."
Iolaus retreated from the buzzing flies and stood beside his partner with his arms crossed.
"All right, so I get the cow being attacked from above and a little light snack being taken before departure ... but what's all this about take off?"
"Here, these deep indentations are the claw marks, it's moved about a bit to get better purchase."
"And the flapping wings?"
Iolaus moved to the side and squatted down, pointing to a patch of mud that was smoother than the rest. "Here's where the wing tips brushed the earth. See? These fine brushstrokes were made by the feathers. Okay so it's not a harpy. Stay here a sec Herc."
Hercules obligingly stood beside the mark the wing-tip had made whilst Iolaus quartered the area. Finally he stood a good twenty yards away from the demigod and shouted. "Got it!"
Hercules looked at the distance between the two men and shook his head incredulously. "How bad do you want these boots Iolaus?"
"Bad enough Herc, heroes and sandals, nah, not a good image. And look here, whatever it is, it's no harpy."
Iolaus held up a huge feather, it was covered in mud but both men could see that under the mud the feather was white. Hercules joined his friend and took it from him. "It's got to be over a foot long." He frowned and didn't say anything more.
Iolaus waited patiently for a few minutes before starting to pace, he knew that Hercules was on to something. He'd probably heard of a big white bird from one of his relatives or something, but that didn't make the waiting any easier.
"A Roc."
"What's that? What rock? Herc?" Hercules didn't respond. "Have you been out in the sun too long? What has a rock got to do with it?"
Hercules shook his head and said, "A Roc, not a rock."
Iolaus looked blankly back at his companion, and with a sarcastic edge said, "Oh I get it, what's a rock if not a rock?"
"R - O - C. Not R - O - C - K. Okay?"
"Oh yeah, now everything's crystal clear. What is one of these Roc's? Oh. it 's a bird isn't it? A very big bird."
Hercules nodded, "Yes. I remember hearing a story about one a while back. I think it was while you were travelling in the East."
Iolaus didn't say anything, neither man dwelled much on that time in their lives.
I noticed it particularly because it was supposed to have been in Arabia and I thought ... well I wondered..."
"I never heard of one Herc. What d'you know about it?"
"Not a lot, just that it's white and very big, and that it's very protective of its young. The story I heard told of an adult Roc dropping boulders onto a ship after one of its young had been killed."
"A Roc that threw rocks, huh?"
Hercules just rolled his eyes.
"So, what do we know? It's a big white bird that's overprotective of its babies and likes to eat cow. That's not really a lot of help. Where would one of these things nest? Has it just started on these cattle because they' re easy prey or is it likely to start attacking people too?"
"That's a lot of questions Iolaus, and I don't have a lot of answers. It must nest someplace pretty remote though, or somebody would have seen one by now."
"And high." Iolaus added thoughtfully. "Look, he took off facing north, if we assume that he didn't change direction he must have been heading for that mountain range." He pointed to the distant purple shadow on the horizon. It wouldn't take long for something that big to get there from here."
Hercules followed his gaze, and then looked down at Iolaus' sandals. He didn 't like this at all. "I guess this means we've got a bit of a hike on then."
"Oh no." Iolaus groaned.
"Yup. And then there'll be a nice long climb - in the cold more than likely. How about it Iolaus?"
Iolaus looked down at his already sore feet and sighed, "What did I do to deserve this?"
"You need to ask?"
The two men started walking towards the distant mountains.
It took them the better part of two days to reach the base of the mountains. During that time they spotted the Roc as it flew over them to take another cow. The bird's shadow blocked the sun for several seconds as it passed overhead. Iolaus shivered, "That thing even makes the air cold, how're we ever going to kill it Herc?"
"What's the problem Iolaus? You've bested Hydras and all manner of beasts before. Even the gods quake in their shoes when you're on the warpath!" Hercules grinned at his partner, glad that Iolaus was still there to tease about his tendency to act first and think later.
"Oooh, funny." Iolaus grinned back at Hercules and then frowned up at the Roc as it disappeared to the south. "It's just... Ah I don't know. Maybe you 're right Herc. Maybe I am getting old."
"No, Iolaus. I don't think that's possible when you're still young enough to be so attached to your boots that even though you can't wear them you still have to carry them with you."
"How did you..?"
"It's a god thing."
"Uh-huh." Iolaus didn't sound convinced and as they started their long climb he was glad to take his mind off the battle ahead by un-mercilessly teasing his partner about his godly ways.
Iolaus wasn't complaining and that was a bad thing. Hercules knew that if his friend was sniping about his sore feet and the cold then he was really okay, but he hadn't said a thing for the last hour. The demigod was getting worried. He had allowed Iolaus to set the pace and was following behind, his big strides eating up the ground. They were making good progress but Hercules knew that it wouldn't be long before they would have to start climbing the almost vertical mountainside. Coming to a decision he called to his companion.
"Hey Iolaus! What do you say we stop here for the night? There's not much light left."
Iolaus turned and surveyed the area, frowning a little. "Well it's hardly ideal Herc. No water, and not a lot of shelter, but there's plenty of fuel for a good fire and rabbits so I guess it'll do."
Hercules grinned, "So that's it is it? The hunter's camping requirement. Rabbits."
Iolaus shrugged, "It helps to eat Herc. Especially when it gets cold. It's gonna get cold tonight, and I'm no semi-divine-super-human-hero, just the common or garden variety so I'm gonna need to eat more and stay closest to the fire."
"And get the spare blanket I suppose."
"Spare blanket? What spare blanket? We don't have a ... Hey! Are you telling me that you carry a spare blanket?"
Hercules just laughed and began gathering tinder to start a fire.
Later, when they'd both eaten their fill of the rabbit Iolaus had caught and Hercules had prepared and they were sitting in companionable silence watching the flames guzzle the dry wood; Hercules glanced across at his friend. Iolaus was looking intently into the flames, a frown creasing his forehead. As Hercules watched Iolaus shifted position and winced, reaching down to rub one of his feet.
"They're really bothering you aren't they?" Hercules asked quietly.
Iolaus started, he'd been so deep in thought that he hadn't noticed that his friend was watching him and that worried him. A couple of years back he'd never have been caught like that. Looking up at the concerned expression on Hercules' face Iolaus sighed. "They're just a bit sore Herc. It's been a long time since I've had to deal with blisters on my feet." Iolaus held up his hand forestalling the question he knew was coming. "Yeah, yeah. I'm putting salve on them Herc. I'm not stupid." He looked into the fire for a moment and snorted out a laugh. "This is gonna sound dumb but ... it's just those boots."
Hercules nodded his encouragement, silently promising that he wouldn't laugh at his friend, however ridiculous his worry.
"Well, I've worn them a long time. We've been through a lot together." Iolaus gave a wry grin, knowing just how silly that remark sounded. "I don't know what it is Herc. I just feel like everything's falling apart."
"Just like your boots?"
"Yeah."
"You're not falling apart Iolaus. Just because your boots wore out doesn't mean that you're about to."
Iolaus raised an eyebrow in question.
"You've been feeling like you aren't as young as you were, you've been wondering if maybe you're too old for this gig."
Iolaus nodded, poking a stick into the dirt.
"You're not too old Iolaus. You are not your boots. There's a lot more miles in you yet."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah!"
"Okay. I think I'll turn in Herc, are you all right to take the first watch?"
Hercules was tempted to make a comment about age and the need for beauty sleep but he decided that he'd let Iolaus off for one night. "Sure Iolaus. Goodnight."
Iolaus lay down and pulled his tattered blanket around him, wriggling to get comfortable on the hard ground. Finally he sighed and lay still.
Hercules continued to watch Iolaus sleep for a long time. Iolaus wasn't old, but he was getting older, and one day his fears would be realised. Hercules wondered what he would do then. How could there be a Hercules without an Iolaus beside him?
The next morning was crisp and bright. Iolaus bounced lightly on his toes and rubbed his hands briskly up and down his arms. It was at times like these that he really wished for a change of wardrobe or at the very least a god for a parent so he could have little more immunity to the cold. Hercules, as always, showed no sign that he felt the cold at all.
"Ready Iolaus?" he asked, giving a final kick to the ashes of the fire.
Iolaus nodded but didn't speak.
"Iolaus?"
"Yeah Herc, I'm ready. Can we just get on with it? I gotta warm up."
"Yeah." The word was heavy with the knowledge of just how bad it might get for Iolaus before the day was done. It was cold and his partner only had a flimsy pair of sandals to protect his feet.
"Iolaus?"
"What now?"
"You're pretty partial to your toes aren't you?"
"Huh?"
"You don't really want to do the whole toeless look do you?"
Realisation dawned and Iolaus gave a dramatic shudder. "Not a look that would be good for me. Toes are good. What d'you have in mind?"
Hercules reached into Iolaus' pack and pulled out the tattiest of the two blankets there. "If I tear a couple of strips off of the edge of this we can wrap it round your feet."
Iolaus looked doubtful. "Yeah, but ... I won't be able to climb with all that on my feet."
Hercules sighed. "Probably not when it gets really steep, but at least until then you'll have some protection. I know I was joking about this Iolaus, but ... well ..."
Iolaus grinned and slapped Hercules on the back. "Always looking out for me aren't you big guy. Thanks. Look. To be honest I'll be needing that blanket around my shoulders anytime soon so if you tear off one strip and then tear that in half I can probably find a way to keep it on my feet. I'll just take it off when it gets too difficult to climb. Okay?"
Hercules nodded and then laughed. Iolaus grinned and started to giggle. The whole situation was absurd. Here they were, two legendary heroes, worrying about frostbite because they didn't have any decent warm clothing.
"Your mother would give us a huge lecture if she could see us now."
"She sure would. 'Hercules! What do you think you're doing?'"
"Yeah. 'You know better than to climb mountains unprepared. Where's your cloak?'"
Hercules ruffled Iolaus' hair before starting to carefully tear a strip off of the blanket. "And Iolaus! You're even worse! Wearing sandals to go out in the cold! What is wrong with you?"
"Oh but Alcmene, my boots are broken." Iolaus put on his best puppy dog look and then giggled again. Would they ever learn?
Hercules finished with the blanket and handed Iolaus the two small strips of cloth. Iolaus sat down to take off his sandals, looking at them in disgust and carefully wrapped the cloth around each foot, slipping the sandals over the top to keep everything in place. Experimentally, he bounced up and down. Beaming up at the demigod, Iolaus pulled what remained of the blanket around his shoulders and swinging his pack onto his back headed up the mountain.
To start with the going was easy and the two heroes made good progress, but by the time they'd stopped for lunch the terrain had grown less forgiving and they had both grown quiet concentrating on the job at hand.
Finally, near dusk, Hercules called a halt. They had reached a relatively wide ledge situated just below the Roc's nest. The almost vertical mountainside at their backs had been eroded and afforded them some shelter from the bitter winds. A few straggly bushes clung to the rock with a tenacity that impressed Iolaus and which gave him something to start a fire with. Their supplies were getting low and there was nothing this high to supplement them with so in silent accord the two men reduced their rations for dinner. Water wasn't a problem, there was plenty of snow and Hercules set about melting some to make a warming tea.
"So, Herc," Iolaus said as he leaned back against the rock-face and sipped his tea. "Tomorrow's the big day."
"Looks like."
"How are we gonna do this? I mean, have you got a plan or are we just gonna go in there and improvise?"
Hercules grinned as he replied, "Improvising's good."
"Yeah, yeah, I guess so."
Hercules frowned; Iolaus hadn't responded to the attempt at humour, he must still be bothered about this age thing. "Iolaus?"
"Hmmm?"
"Look, you'll do fine. You know that there's no one I'd rather have at my back don't you?"
Iolaus looked up at his friend and sighed. "I know. It's just... what happens the first time I let you down because I'm not as quick as I used to be? What if ..." he trailed off and sipped at his cooling tea to avoid finishing the thought.
"You could never let me down Iolaus. You will always do your best - that's all I could ever ask. Maybe you will slow down eventually, but when you do I guarantee that you'll find ways to compensate, like you did when you broke your arm."
Iolaus grinned at that. "When who broke my arm? I seem to distinctly remember a smelly stupid type doing the breaking there buddy. I'm not that careless!"
Hercules smiled back, he'd made his point and his friend had accepted it. "Time to turn in, we've got a big day ahead."
"Yeah, Roc'n'roll Herc. Roc'n'roll."
The next morning found Hercules and Iolaus precariously balanced on a ledge three-quarters of the way up the sheer cliff-face. "Herc? Remind me again what we're doing here." Iolaus was leaning into the rock-face and furiously rubbing his hands together in an attempt to get some feeling back.
Hercules sighed and said, "We're here to kill a Roc that's been taking cattle so that you can get your fancy new boots."
"This Roc? It's never attacked a human as far as we know has it?"
"No Iolaus, why?" Hercules was beginning to feel a little irritated with his partner, there was a bitter wind whistling round the mountain and he wanted to get on with it.
"Why do we have to kill it? I don't feel much like I'm on a heroic mission, saving damsels in distress from fire-breathing dragons or the like." Iolaus spotted Hercules' upraised eyebrow, ice beginning to form on it, and grinned, "Okay not my best example, but it doesn't seem ."
"Yeah, I know. But think of it as a hunt Iolaus rather than a . a .."
"Quest?"
"Quest. We might not be saving damsels from instant death but those cattle do feed that village not to mention keeping half of Greece in footwear."
Iolaus finished rubbing his hands together and stretched them out experimentally, the joints were stiff and painful but they would have to do. Reaching up to find his first handhold Iolaus said, "Just tell me if I'm annoying you."
Hercules found his first hold and hauled himself up, "I always do buddy, always do."
They reached the mountain's peak without a moment to spare in Iolaus' opinion. His hands were red and raw and so painful that he could hardly move them and he didn't want to think about his feet, he'd stopped feeling them just after leaving the ledge and that had been over an hour ago. Finding footholds had been interesting to say the least. He slumped against a handy boulder. A concerned Hercules, who being a demigod was of course fine, squatted down next to his partner and carefully took one of his hands in his own. "We need to get the circulation going Iolaus, warm you up."
"Herc! In case you hadn't noticed we just climbed a mountain, I'm sweating like Salmoneous in a Turkish bath here, my circulation is fine, and anyway it's my feet that are numb."
Hercules glanced down at the be-sandaled feet in question and reached back into his pack for the strips of blanket they had stowed before they started their climb. He talked as he carefully removed the sandals and wrapped the blanket around Iolaus' feet, once he'd done that he took each foot in turn in his hands and gently rubbed to get some warmth into them. "Well, maybe your circulation isn't what it once was Iolaus. They do say that it gets sluggish as you get older." Seeing the horror-struck expression on Iolaus' face Hercules laughed, "I wouldn't worry, there's not much that's sluggish about you yet. It's cold and you had nothing to protect your feet, of course they're numb. How about your face? Can you feel your nose? I can't feel mine!"
Iolaus had leaned back as Hercules started to rub his feet, enjoying the tingling heat as feeling returned. Poking at his face with a finger Iolaus looked surprised as he answered. "I can't feel my face Herc!"
"I could rub it for you."
"Oh no! No, no. It's bad enough that I've got you giving my feet a massage - great massage by the way, if you ever leave the hero business you've got a sure-fire career there - if people knew about this my reputation would be. everyone would think. I'd never ." Iolaus looked at the blank expression on his friend's face, "You have no idea what I'm talking about do you?"
"I stop listening when you start babbling Iolaus. There - how do your feet feel now?"
"Better, better. Thanks. Look Herc, you do know that people think that we . that I'm. you know . your .. Um . special friend, don't you?"
Hercules replied with a puzzled look on his face, "But you are Iolaus!"
"Yeah, but . not like that. I mean . Herc? Are you having me on here?"
"I won't tell anyone I massaged your feet if you don't Iolaus. Come on; are you up to slaying a Roc or two?"
Iolaus scrabbled to his feet, which were now singing out as the circulation came back. He hopped about for a few seconds while the tingling eased and then snapped his head up. "Two? Nobody said anything about two! You don't think there'll be two do you?"
"There could be a whole flock of 'em buddy. Ready?"
Iolaus grinned and slung his pack over his shoulder, "Roc on!"
It was Iolaus that spotted the Roc's nest first. "Whew, it must have taken a whole forest to build that thing."
Hercules nodded as he scanned the skies for any sign of the bird. "I guess we'll have to wait for it to get back."
"And then we'll improvise?"
Hercules grinned at his partner, "I'll think of something."
They found a comfortable spot behind some boulders where they could see the Roc's nest but hoped that it wouldn't be able to see them, and then settled in for a long wait. Iolaus pulled the old blanket around his shoulders and rubbed his hands together. "He'd better not be . listen, do you hear that?"
Hercules didn't answer, he didn't need to. The sound of air whistling past great wings was like a thunderclap above their heads. For a moment everything went dark as the huge bird flew over their hiding place and then they listened as it pulled its wings in and settled in amongst the branches gathered at the top of the mountain.
Iolaus peeked over the top of the boulders to take a look. "I don't think it saw us Herc. Wow! I mean just . wow!"
Hercules still sat on the ground and said, "Very articulate Iolaus, I'm impressed."
"Well you get up here and say something articulate." Iolaus moved to make room for the demigod and sniggered as his partner stood looking at the Roc, eyes wide and jaw sagging. Iolaus tapped Hercules' chin and said, "Very articulate." Looking back at the Roc which had proceeded to tear at the carcass it had brought with it he let out an impressed whistle. "Some sight isn't it?"
It was a very impressive sight, the huge white bird was settled on a nest of boughs from a distant forest, the leaves were still green so he must have replaced his bedding recently. His feathers gleamed in the weak sunlight and his yellow eyes were constantly on the lookout even as he tore into the meat he held tightly in his black talons. His beak was short and hooked ending in a sharp point.
Hercules finally spoke, "It's like a giant eagle. Beautiful."
"Yeah, but beautiful can still be dangerous. You should know that Herc, with your relatives."
Hercules continued to watch the Roc as it ate. "We'll wait until it's finished eating and then we'll move."
Both men hunkered down behind the boulders and settled in to wait, from their position they could hear the Roc and the bitter wind meant that they didn't want to stick their heads out of the shelter unless it was absolutely necessary. After they had passed some time in silence Hercules spoke up, "It seems such a pity to have to kill it Iolaus."
"Weren't you the one who said to treat this like a hunt?"
"Yes, but ."
"But nothing. That Roc is standing between me and a new pair of boots - I need those boots!"
Hercules had to smile at the determination in his partner's voice. "Do we have to kill it to get you those boots?"
Iolaus threw up his hands, they were under the blanket so the effect wasn't as dramatic as he wanted, exasperated he nestled his hands in his armpits to keep them warm. "So now you're going to reason with it? Can you speak Roc Hercules? I know it's beautiful, but so's a stag, it hasn't harmed humans yet to our knowledge but that doesn't mean it won't. You convinced me that we've got to do this, what's wrong with you?"
Hercules frowned, he'd fought and killed plenty of monsters in his time but they were usually a danger to society, and he recognised a part of himself that didn't want to have to destroy something so beautiful. As the demigod pondered Iolaus had decided it was time to have another look at their prey and he spotted something he didn't like at all. "Herc." He whispered, Hercules detected the urgency in his voice and turned into the cold wind, "What?"
Iolaus pointed to a spot in the shadow of the nest and to their right. Hercules squinted into the wind and finally saw the small pile of something white that was bothering his friend. Just as he was starting to ask what the fuss was about Hercules realised what he was seeing. "Oh." he said in a small voice.
"Yeah 'oh', those bones are human, got any doubts about what we're gonna do now?"
Hercules shook his head grimly, it was possible that the Roc had discovered a dead or dying traveller or two but there were too many bones in the pile that Iolaus had spotted and more were littered around the nest's edge. The Roc had gained a taste for human flesh.
The two men silently regarded each other as the words of the farmer came back to them. Could those bones be all that was left of the villagers?
Iolaus was the first to break the silence "Is it.?"
"I don't know Iolaus, but it's certainly a possibility. And now he's got nothing to eat nearby he's going for the cattle."
"And when they're gone..."
"Yes. We can't be sure until we get a closer look. Why don't you range around the other side of the nest while I take a look at those bones? I'll meet you back here."
Iolaus didn't need to answer he just dropped the blanket from his shoulders and slipped quietly away. While he waited for Iolaus to return Hercules crept closer to the nest, soon he was standing under it and realised that they had another problem, there was no easy way into the nest and once there they'd be in the Roc's territory. Absently he picked up a sturdy branch that lay with the fallen bones, he tore off the foliage as he studied the bones scattered beneath his feet.
Hercules thought of the poor villagers and silently berated Hera for yet again murdering the innocent. And she hadn't bothered to clean up after herself; this Roc was a disaster just waiting to happen. She'd given it a taste for human flesh, and when it ranged further than the meadows the cattle grazed it would find more. Hercules didn't think that it would pause; it would start taking humans again. So, yet again it was up to Hercules to save man from the very gods that he worshipped, he sighed but his train of thought was brought short by the sound of his friend.
"Wooohooo-ooo! Herc! Hercules!" Iolaus was running fast but his shout of warning was enough to get the demigod moving, hefting the branch in his hand he turned and had almost no time to react as the Roc swooped down on him. Swinging the branch in a tight arc he managed to hit one of the Roc's talons as they opened in preparation to grab hold of him. Iolaus dived in with his sword, thrusting it towards the Roc's underbelly, but it was surprisingly agile for such a large creature and it turned and swooped up into the sky.
Iolaus was panting hard as he turned to see where the bird had gone, "Sorry Herc. It spotted me, had to run."
Hercules hefted the branch in one hand and slapped his partner on the back, "S'okay buddy. This guy is one of Hera's, ready to clean up her mess?"
Iolaus just had enough time to puff out a breathless affirmative before the Roc was on them again. Almost bowled over by the force of wind from the heavy beat of huge wings Iolaus moved away from the demigod so that the Roc' s attention would be split between them. "Hey! Hey there, Rocky! Rocky horror!" he yelled as Hercules pulled the branch back in readiness. The Roc' s head turned and Iolaus shivered as its big yellow eyes regarded him. Hercules swung the branch hitting the leading edge of the Roc's wing, the branch shattered and the Roc barely seemed to notice as it continued its dive towards Iolaus.
"Just once, just once it could be easy." Hercules muttered as he started yelling at the bird trying to distract it from Iolaus.
Having seen the effect the branch had on the bird Iolaus didn't hold out much hope that his sword would be any use but just as he felt he couldn't withstand the battering wind another moment he dropped and rolled under the bird, thrusting the sword in a smooth upward sweep. As the blade touched the seemingly soft white belly feathers it sent off blue sparks. Iolaus felt as if his arm was going to be torn off. The impact sent a sharp pain up through his arm and into his shoulder and he was forced to drop the sword. Without thought he continued to roll away from the bird and heaved a sigh of relief as it again swooped upwards to gain height for another dive.
The two men didn't have time to talk or to check on each other, they simply tried to get their breath as the huge bird rose up high into the blue sky. For a moment it hung there, so small they could hardly see it. But neither man was fooled into thinking that it couldn't see them. Then it suddenly grew larger and larger until they were both standing in its growing shadow. Hercules bent to retrieve Iolaus' sword and Iolaus reached behind him with his left arm, his right one dangling useless and numb. Hercules didn't have time to ask what his partner was doing before the Roc was upon him and he swung the sword with all his might. It caught a glancing blow on the Roc's neck, sparks flying from its feathers. Not an ordinary run-of-the-mill Roc this one, Hera must have had fun creating this bird's feathers.
The blow had been enough to put the Roc off track but not enough to stop it, it righted itself even as it finished its dive and opened its wings to sweep towards Iolaus. Hercules shouted a frantic warning and watched helplessly as the huge bird bore down on his friend.
Iolaus hefted something in his left hand and stood waiting for what seemed an age to Hercules but must only have been the briefest of moments; at the last second, just as the bird's beak began to open and his talons reach forward, Iolaus jumped towards the bird's head and shoved his left hand towards its face. Rearing up and away from him the Roc swung its head about frantically as it tried to get Iolaus' boot off of its beak.
"Are you all right?" Hercules ran to his friend who was panting heavily and rubbing his right shoulder with his left hand.
"Just fine Herc, except for the numb arm that is. That boot isn't going to put him off for long, got any ideas?"
Hercules looked up into the blue sky and watched as the Roc flew in big circles high above them, still shaking its head in an attempt to get the boot off of its beak. "We can't get through its feathers; they're solid as a rock, so we're going to have to go for an eye."
"Yeah, but it's so fast."
Hercules grinned and wrapped an arm around Iolaus' shoulders drawing him into his side. "Still got the other boot Iolaus?"
Iolaus nodded, confused.
"And how good is your aim?"
Iolaus' face slowly broke into a sunny grin, "Good enough Herc, good enough."
Now, most people would need further instructions, a few careful directions, one or two gentle reminders and would have to go over the plan six or seven times just to make sure they knew what they were doing. Luckily Iolaus and Hercules weren't most people and Iolaus instantly understood Hercules' cryptic comments, and Hercules knew exactly how Iolaus would carry the plan out, they moved easily and fast, a well oiled machine.
Iolaus pulled his pack from his shoulders and retrieved his one remaining boot, this one was still intact and he caressed it gently for a moment before pulling some rope from his pack and starting to fashion a slingshot. In the meantime Hercules was busy gathering some small rocks. Once he had enough he returned to Iolaus, both men constantly glancing to the sky to see what the Roc was up to.
As he filled Iolaus' boot with the rocks Hercules said, "I'm sure there's a great pun in this somewhere, but damned if I can think of it."
"You must be getting old Herc. Caught between a Roc and a hard place so to speak, or perhaps you're just on the rocs. And have you never heard that you shouldn't take a rock for granite?"
Hercules groaned dramatically and clutched at his chest, "Iolaus, Iolaus, spare me. I'm solid as a roc, and you my friend are on rocky ground."
"Uh, Herc? I think we're both gonna be Roc desert if we don't hurry up."
The Roc had finally shaken Iolaus' old boot off of its beak and was now circling high in the sky, but even from this distance the two heroes could see its hard yellow eyes regarding them as it prepared to swoop down.
Hercules hefted Iolaus' sword, "Ready?"
Iolaus twisted the rope around his hand one more time and nodded, "Let's rock."
When it happened it happened fast. The Roc swooped down, wings tight at its sides, yellow eyes seeing only its target - Hercules. The sound of the wind rushing past its steely feathers the only sound to be heard.
Iolaus bounced on the balls of his feet as he waited, lazily turning his wrist, looping the boot in big uneven circles. 'Not yet' he whispered under his breath, 'not quite . yet'. Finally, when Hercules was just beginning to get a little bit nervous, Iolaus let out a whoop and with an expert flick of his wrist let the missile fly free.
With that one turn of the wrist Iolaus had given the rope enough momentum to send the boot into the air with a great deal of force. It found its mark with a solid thud and the dazed Roc fell to the ground. Iolaus whooped again, "Right between they eyes, woohoo!"
Hercules moved fast, the Roc was already beginning to recover, the demigod hefted Iolaus' sword and thrust it deep into the eye of the bird. Ignoring the horrible squelching sound he kept pushing the sword deeper. The bird was enraged and twisted and turned its head trying to free itself.
Iolaus shouted a warning and jumped opposite Hercules so that the Roc was between them. Hercules barely had time to pull out of range of the stabbing beak. But then the Roc saw Iolaus with its good eye and turned its attention to him, giving Hercules the room he needed to move closer and push the sword in deeper.
Slowly the Roc's movements became weaker and more erratic until finally it stilled. The light faded from its remaining eye and Iolaus nodded to his partner that it was safe to remove the sword. "And you're cleaning it before you give it back Herc. Ick."
Hercules pulled the sword free and held it away from his side as he looked for something to wipe it clean on. He decided on the bird's own feathers and wiped it carefully before handing it to his friend.
Iolaus inspected the blade and said, "Hey! It's sharp! We should keep a couple of those feathers Herc, they're the best sword sharpener I've seen!"
"Good idea, but we're not keeping that one." Hercules said and pointed to a feather that was wafting down from the blue sky, a peacock feather.
"I guess she isn't too happy with us - oh wait - she's never happy with us. Do we care?"
The two heroes grinned at each other. Hera would get over the loss of her minion; she'd had a lot of practice.
Instead of climbing back down the treacherous cliff-face Hercules and Iolaus decided to take the longer and easier route down the other side of the mountain. Before they had left the mountaintop though, they had buried the human bones they had found and erected a stone cairn. The Roc they left to the elements, although they had managed to find a few of the smaller under-belly feathers that had come free in its struggle to take with them.
Iolaus had to stop more and more frequently to tend to his feet, and as the numbness in his arm was only slowly wearing off Hercules found himself bathing and wrapping his partner's feet.
"You're very good at this Herc."
Hercules sat at Iolaus' feet, gently rubbing balm into first one then the other of Iolaus' sore feet. He looked up at his friend in exasperation, "Don't get any ideas Iolaus. How's your arm doing anyway?"
Iolaus rubbed his arm, which was actually feeling a lot better but he thought he'd get a little mileage out of it, "Oh I don't know. It is a little better I think."
Hercules lunged up at the hunter knocking him to the ground, Iolaus instinctively raised both his arms in defence and groaned when he realised that Hercules had fooled him. Hercules happily sat on Iolaus' stomach and grinned down at him, "Gotcha! You can look after your own smelly feet from now on buddy."
Iolaus held up his hands in defeat, cautiously making a fist with his right hand - yes it really was almost better. He looked up at Hercules and said, "Um Herc?"
Hercules nodded still grinning happily.
"Could you um. maybe .Herc?"
"Yes buddy."
"Okay, um. What's this gonna look like? People will think that I can't take you."
"You can't." but Hercules ruefully stood up and extended an arm to help Iolaus to his feet. "Are you going to make it back to the village okay?"
Iolaus grinned and said, "Sure, if it gets really bad I'll just get a piggy-back."
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Hercules had to grin at the confidence in his friend's voice, but he knew that Iolaus would rather do anything than have the ignominy of arriving in the village the all-conquering hero riding piggy-back.
"It would be nice for you to be taller than me for once I guess." Hercules moved quickly away from Iolaus' side and left his friend hopping and laughing and waggling an extended finger at him. "No fair Herc! You wait 'til I get me some new boots!"
The journey back to the town was long and tiring. Iolaus' feet were very sore and his incessant grumbling tried the patience of the demigod. But finally they found the farmer and told him the good news - his cattle were safe. The grateful man insisted on offering the two heroes a ride into town and after having deposited them safely at the Inn he rushed off to tell his friend the Cobbler the good news.
Amina was a good hostess, ensuring that the heroes were well fed and warmed by the fire that she laid in their honour. She even wrapped Iolaus' feet for him after providing a soothing foot bath. Iolaus took a long swig from his tankard and sighed happily. "You know just how to make a man happy Amina, a warm hearth, good food and good ale," He gave her a lopsided grin, "And my eyes are happy too so long as they have nothing more to do than look at you."
Amina's eyes sparkled as she smiled back at the hunter, and both of them ignored Hercules' rolling eyes, "Iolaus. Surely you can come up with a better line than that!"
Amina chuckled, and the demigod found himself enjoyed the deep throaty sound, and it was Iolaus' time to roll his eyes. "Give me a break Herc, there are parts of me that still haven't thawed out!" He looked between his two companions and winked at Amina, "Anyway I think it's time I hit the sack, wearing sandals all day is soooo tiring!" He yawned and stretched to add credence to his statement.
Hercules hadn't heard the last statement Iolaus made, he just shuffled along the bench he was sitting on to make room for Amina, their hostess smiled graciously at Iolaus as she sat and mouthed a thank you to him.
Iolaus climbed the stairs still smiling; it wasn't often that Hercules allowed himself to respond to a beautiful woman, Iolaus never begrudged losing out to his friend.
It was more than a week later and the heroes were reluctantly taking their leave of the villagers. Word had travelled fast and a large group of people had gathered outside the Inn to see them off. Hercules and Iolaus stood talking quietly with Amina and the Magistrate when the cobbler greeted them.
"Hercules, Iolaus!" he was a little out of breath having run from his shop, "You weren't going to leave like that were you?" The cobbler pointed at the ragged sandals that Iolaus was still wearing.
Iolaus grinned, "I've gotten kinda fond of the look ." Seeing the horrified expression on the cobbler's face Iolaus relented, "We were going to call in on you before leaving - got something for me?"
The tall man shrugged his shoulders diffidently and handed Iolaus a carefully wrapped parcel. "I hope they'll be all right, I would have liked to have had a bit longer but . I'm starting to babble aren't I?" Several heads nodded and a few of the crowd groaned theatrically. The cobbler shook his head as if in irritation, "Sorry. Do that when I'm nervous, I'll shut up now."
A good natured cheer went up.
Iolaus carefully placed the parcel on a trestle table that stood outside the Inn and took a deep breath, as he moved to pull away the wrapping he realised that his hands were shaking. Hercules put a supportive hand on Iolaus' shoulder briefly.
"I don't know why it's so important Herc. It's silly." Iolaus murmured so that only his friend could hear.
Hercules' response was equally as quiet, "It's not silly Iolaus if it's important to you. Come on, open up, I can't wait to see your new boots!"
Iolaus laughed and tore away the paper to reveal the black boots inside. They were highly polished and they gleamed in the sunlight, Iolaus gently picked one boot up and sighed, they were made of the softest leather. He turned it in his hands with awe, the soles were thick and strong and with a deep tread to help him keep his footing even in the roughest of terrain. The stitch work was so fine that Iolaus had to squint to see it except for where larger stitches had been used in an intricate pattern for decoration. Putting a hand inside the boot Iolaus' eyes opened wide in surprise and he grinned up at the cobbler. "They're lined!"
The cobbler said, "They'll keep you warm in winter and cool in summer."
Iolaus shook his head in amazement and said, "You've thought of everything."
Well, they don't have wings but ."
Hercules clapped Iolaus on the back, "Come on buddy, stop admiring and put them on!"
"Oh yeah! I can do that. No offence to anyone but I am so ready to get out of these sandals!"
There was general laughter and a buzz of anticipation as Iolaus sat on the bench to swap the worn out sandals for his new boots. There was a long moment of silence and then Iolaus let out a long sigh, stretching his feet out in front of him and trying to admire the new boots from every angle.
Hercules reached out a hand and pulled Iolaus to his feet, "How do they feel?"
Iolaus just looked up at Hercules with a faraway glazed smile on his face. The demigod turned to the cobbler, "He likes them!"
The cobbler grinned as a cheer went up, but then he quickly got serious. "Iolaus, walk up and down a bit, just to make sure. And remember take it easy for a couple of days, let the boots get used to your feet and your feet get used to the boots." Iolaus complied, and walked, well actually strutted would be a better word, up and down in front of the Inn. He grinned and bounced up and down a few times. "It feels like, like, like walking on air! Thank you, thank you so much."
The cobbler gave an embarrassed cough and said, "It was the least I could do after you and Hercules defeated the Roc. If either of you ever need new boots or repairs you know where to come."
It was time to say farewell, and a lot of warrior handshakes, hugs and promises to visit were exchanged. Amina and Hercules spoke quietly together for a few minutes while Iolaus showed off his new boots to some of the local children and tried not to eavesdrop.
The crowd slowly dispersed but Amina and the cobbler stopped to watch the two heroes as they walked away.
"Iolaus, are you going to stop bouncing and start walking - we're not going to get very far like this."
"I'm taller! Don't you think I'm taller in these boots! I'm definitely taller."
"Iolaus, remember what you were told, take it easy or you'll get yourself another set of blisters, and I'm not rubbing salve in for you this time!"
"These boots are incredible, I feel so, so, bouncy! See, I am taller."
Amina could just hear Hercules' sigh and reply, "Yes buddy you're taller."
And fading as the men disappeared from sight, she heard Iolaus say, "So, what about Amina? You gonna tell me about it? Why the big grin buddy? I want details!"
The End
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