Black Gruel, part 3

"Help!" I yelled.
The burly man stared at me for a bit, then grabbed a switch and jumped into the pigpen, flapping the pigs away from me.
"There you are – get away while you can."
"Thank you," I gasped and dramatically crawled over the fence of the pen.
The pigs were calming down now that I was out, and the lout scratched them behind the ears as you would a dog. I saw him stoop to inspect the wound in the side of one – she had lain down in the mud and was losing much blood. The big man swore and stuck the pig in the throat with a knife that hung from his belt. Meanwhile I gathered my wits and pretended to catch my breath.
I could see that the man was bewildered, and that he kept lifting up his head looking out for his friends.
"Draces!" He yelled. "Alcias!"
He muttered something under his breath, walked easily over the railing and approached me uncertainly. Immediately I adopted the position of a supplicant; bowing low before him and extending my hand towards his knees, which were the size and colour of treetrunks.
"Kind host, I beg you in the name of Zeus protect me from those wild beasts."
He scratched the back of his head.
"What? Wild…?" Then he threw back his head and laughed. "Those piggies? Those babies? Ha ha!"
I affected to tremble, and even managed a couple of tears. He stared at my face in surprise.
"Please, noble husband, I entreat you to save my life from those vagabonds!"
He looked over his right shoulder, then his left.
"Vagabonds? Where?" He narrowed his eyes "Do you mean the other two…a big one and a little one?"
"No, no, you must mean the two brave heroes."
He looked confused.
"I apologize. Let me begin from the beginning. My name is Nautes I am a destitute helot from P, a settlement four miles away. My old master recently died and before he passed he instructed me to offer my service to a man in H-----, to the the east. I was travelling in those woods late last night, looking for a root cavity to curl up in, when I heard crackling sticks behind me and sure enough I was being followed by robbers. Ordinarily I would turn and fight my ground, but these men were monstrous, and there must have been about eight of them."
"Hmmm. They were big then?"
"Huge."
"And were they dark skinned?"
"Yes! Dusky."
"And did they have big noses like, like one of those eagles?"
"Exactly. By Zeus, have you seen them before?"
"No not them exactly but I know the type. That’ll be the Boeotians. There’s a camp of them not far from here and a lot of no good they do."
"Then you know why I was frightened for my life."
"Well, it is not very manly but …not all of us are raised in the barracks, after all. And even if you were it wouldn’t do any good against those dirty bandits."
"I confess that I was frightened and so in need of comfort that I saw your farm with the pigpen and it reminded me of home. It made me think that if I slept here, among the animals, it would keep me warm and that bandits would not dare to attack a stronghold such as yours."
"Very right-thinking of you."
"But I underestimated their underhand brutality and early this morning I woke up and one of them was there." I covered my eyes and pointed in front of me. "His sword was unsheathed and he was smiling so… I was so terrified I could not even squeak, but the pigs knew what to do. They made a run for it and knocked him off balance just as he was going to lunge at me. I fear that that pig suffered the blow that was meant for me. Luckily, just as this happened, two brave, strong men came out of nowhere and gave the bandit second thoughts. Despite his size, he was startled by their ferocity and turned tail."
"So that was Draces and Alcias. Where did they go?"
"They chased him, but I was in shock and had lost my sense of direction thanks to the mist. I tried to follow to lend them a hand, but I could not find my way. It was awful…I heard screams, the clashing of weapons and the sound of flesh being stricken...."
The man frowned with concern.
"A Boeotian. They’ll have their hands full. Zeus and Mars…" The elaborate workings of his mind came to a standstill as he remembered his manners. Clearly he had enjoyed being called a protector, and proceeded to act the part.
"But I am forgetting myself. Please, guest, come in. Have your fill of food and I will provide you with a place to rest until you have recovered from your ordeal."
"Thank you," I sank lower into the ground and touched his rough feet. "May the gods repay you doubly, and may your friends be safe."
The large man awkwardly motioned for me to get up, so I got to my feet and followed him into the house.
"You’ll want to change," he said, scratching his head again. He scratched it so often I wondered if he had fleas. "You can use Alcias’s spare tunic. He won’t mind."
He fetched a coarse, but relatively clean tunic and I put it on, carefully transferring my pouch to my new outfit.
The man looked at it quizzically.
"My supplies," I smiled.
"It is so small for such a long journey! How do you survive?"
"Oh, my master was a skilled hunter and taught me many things."
The man tut-tutted.
"You will have to take more provisions with you. We have a whole storehouse of things – you will take as much as you can carry. And wine, too. Draces is stingy with the wine, but I’ll smuggle some out with you. Please -- sit down and rest while I prepare lunch and fetch your supplies." He put out his hand to take my pouch.
"Why do you stall?"
"It is too kind of you. I cannot accept such generosity when I do not have the means to return it adequately."
"Pish!" It is the gods’ law of welcoming strangers. Hand it over."
"I am too much in your debt already."
He was too quick for me. Like a falcon his arm swooped for the purse and grabbed it away from me. The man laughed triumphantly.