Heroes of Bronze "A Few Steadfast Friends" Excerpt

Nikephoros squares off with a dangerous opponent...

“Athenian!” came a mighty shout from behind him.
When he turned, there was Kritias, already dressed in his full battle gear. He wore a bronze cuirass and a solid Corinthian helmet. It seemed he took off the crest for the duel. His injured arm was wrapped in linen and fixed to his chest. On it, he wore an aspis, with a painted gorgon sneering at Nikephoros. There was, in fact, some resemblance to its owner.

Nikephoros’ heart sank. He nearly forgot about the challenge. He was in the mood to lie down, listen to the musical disciplines, and then just happily get drunk.
“You again?” he groaned.
“I hope you didn’t forget about our little arrangement.”

As if they were waiting for it, people were already approaching them. There was Bias, watching his former master carefully, as well as little Teres - always nearby, always awaiting new orders. Some of the men of Nikephoros’ crew stepped close, slowly surrounding him, to potentially protect him from an attack. Even the people celebrating Philippos’ victory were now coming over, drunk on the excitement, eager to see more violence.
“Truth be told, I nearly did,” shrugged Nikephoros, trying to sound more indifferent than he really was. He got up slowly, stretching his aching arms and legs.
“You’re just so damn forgettable...”
“Shut your fucking mouth and get ready,” snapped Kritias. “I’ll be waiting.”

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Images I made for "A Few Steadfast Friends", my first short story I've written for Heroes of Bronze. Three more short stories are incoming, before I try and get this whole thing in a printed form! 😊

You can get the short stories here:

- Martin