Briseis watched as a team of men and horses worked to remove the boards from the entrances to the mines. She, Hedas, Kegarta, Verstia with Kertis in tow, sat under an awning being fanned by additional servants. Arachne was back in their quarters. Briseis had her interviewing women for the nursemaid positions she needed. Morgan and a few other guards stood around them for protection. 

     Luckily the day was beginning to cool. Briseis and Hedas needed to conduct an inspection not just of the mines but the surrounding land. The clouds overhead looked like they might open up, but Briseis would welcome the rain. Rain would be good for the gardens she hoped Hedas would be able to grow.

     Kertis crawled up to Briseis and she smiled at the baby and bounced him on her knee. The child squealed in delight. Asterion and Synlex were at weapons training. The boys had been in training for three days so far. Normally Morgan oversaw their lessons but today Briseis felt she needed him more.

     Kertis yawned and laid his head on Briseis' chest. Soon the child was snoring loudly. A team of servants came to offer them refreshments. "Take a break for our meal," Briseis told the guards. They'd been waiting for two hours. It wasn't necessary to stick around while the process of opening the mines was ongoing, but Briseis wanted to be on hand immediately once the men had the entrances cleared.

     "Would you like some wine," Kegarta asked Morgan as she began to serve the guards.

     "Yes, thank you," Morgan said.

     Another servant began to put pots of dirt on tables.

     "What is your favorite fruit?" Hedas asked Morgan.

     "Oranges, my Princess."

      Hedas nodded and waved her hand over the first pot of dirt. A green vine sprouted and it quickly grew several ripe oranges. Hedas went down the line of soldiers and servants, growing whatever they claimed to be their favorite. Hedas loved tending the things she grew. Now that her powers were no longer a secret, Hedas' quarters had turned into a near jungle.

     "My lady," Verstia had finished helping set up a table with meat and bread. "Would you like me to take the baby?"

     Briseis' stomach rumbled but she didn't want to give up the sleeping child. Briseis shook her head in answer. Verstia nodded and went to sit at the end of the table to get her own meal. Kegarta took the only remaining seat aside from Hedas', she sat across from Morgan and loaded her plate with fruit. The owls Briseis had brought were also eating from trays of meat.

     Kegarta handed Briseis an apple. Briseis took the morsel gladly. Briseis bit into the juicy green skin and sighed. Hedas grew the best fruit in the world. If Hedas was able to grow food here there was no doubt Briseis could repay Mynes quickly. A crack of thunder echoed overheard, it woke Kertis but the child didn't begin to cry. Instead he tried to steal Briseis' apple. She teased the baby with it for a while until Hedas took her seat once more.

     "The foreman approaches," Morgan said. He stood up and his fellow guards did the same.

     Briseis handed the child to Kegarta and went to met the man. Hedas and Morgan followed her. "Are you ready?" Briseis called.

     "Yes, follow me, my Princess." They walked among the men still removing rocks, wood, and rubble from the site.

     "What's your name," Briseis asked.

     "Jason, my princess, I'm head of the builders. My father worked these mines while they were still active." Jason was in his mid fifties or perhaps early sixties. Despite his age he was still a strong man. His hair was grey with touches of white around his temples. He kept a well trimmed beard also colored grey and white which he stroked while thinking.

     "But not yourself," Hedas asked.

     Jason shook his head. "No, I dislike the thought of so much rock hanging over my head." 

     "Fair enough," Briseis said.

     Jason lead them to a table in front of the mines. "The third mine is totally collapsed," he pointed to the mine on the right. I can't even begin to imagine what it would take it clear it."

     "And the other two?" Briseis picked up a piece of paper that detailed the last survey of the mines before they were closed.

     "While the one on the far left is in the best shape, it's the shortest mine. They started to cut it once the first two became less profitable, but the High Prince at the time decided it wasn't worth it not long after the work began. The middle tunnel has few areas of collapse."

     "That's good news," Hedas said.

     "Well," Jason said. "It's my understanding you want to turn these into escape tunnels, correct, High Princess Briseis?"

     "Yes. What's the problem with the middle tunnel?" Briseis ran a hand through her hair. The wind was beginning to pick up and she regretted letting it hang loose as it whipped around her eyes.

     "There are portions of flooding, massive flooding. The middle tunnel runs directly under the river and since the mine was boarded up, the river has begun to leak into the mine. If you wanted to turn it into an escape tunnel we'd have to cut a side passage into the collapsed tunnels of the first mine to avoid the water. It's too much for us to drain and I have no idea how we'd get the water up the slope of the tunnels. Manpower wouldn't do it because the water needs to be drained continuously or it'll refill. In my opinion it's not a viable option." Jason pointed at the third mine in the distance. "Do you see how far away the third mine is from the other two?"

     "Yes," Briseis said. "But I don't know why it was placed so far away."

     "There's a wall of granite in between the second and third mine," Jason explained. "It was only discovered after the cutting of the third tunnel began and we don't know how far it extends. It may very well be granite the full width of the space in between the two. Grantie takes a lot of time to chisel and remove and twice as many men to do it. Which means the only option we have if you want to use the middle tunnel is to cut into the first."

     "And it's too compromised to support that, isn't it," Briseis said matter of factly.

      "Yes, I wouldn't trust any tunnel we cut from the second to the first. The third tunnel is made of softer stone. Depending on how long you wanted to make it we could have it done in three years, two if we had the exit closer to the city. We can focus more man power on the third tunnel and get it done faster if we don't bother with the other two."

     "What about congestion," asked Morgan.

     "Congestion," asked Hedas.

     "In the event these tunnels have to be used the people will panic. The evacuation is unlikely to be orderly and smooth if we only have this one exit from the city. If I were you, I'd consider having multiple entrances to this tunnel throughout the city," Morgan told her.

     "You're right, Morgan. I have thought about it," Briseis told him. "The people would have to consent to us cutting tunnels under their homes and we may have to evict several people from their homes and businesses for it to work. I'm concerned about rebellion inside the walls if we start kicking people about out of their property."

     "We could pay them to relocate," Hedas said excitedly.

     "Slow down," Briseis told her gently. "Jason, is cutting under the city to have multiple tunnels connect to the main avenue of escape even possible? I plan to have one connect to the palace, but I haven't thought further about the rest of city because of the problems I anticipated."

     Jason stroked his beard as he thought. "Well yes it is, but it can't be the entire city we equip. It'd have to be two or three sections at most. This project is already ambitious. Finishing the third tunnel will take a lot of men since we have to cut almost the entire thing. Unless men from the city abandoned their normal work, I simply don't have the men to do it."

     "Hedas when you said we could pay them to relocate, where would this money come from?" Briseis asked while looking out over the city. The merchant district would be most logical place to have a tunnel. But where should the second and third be? Or even just a second, as Briseis doubted many of the city men would leave their normal work to aid construction two tunnels was likely all they could managed and she wasn't sure they could even manage it. The people of the city would most likely only work constructing the tunnels if the Greek threat was on the immediate horizon, and by that time it would be too late.

     "From the fruit we sale them once I get the garden up and running," Hedas said. "It's perfect."

     Briseis raised an eyebrow. "We don't even know if you'll be able to make food to repay Mynes before our deadline is up. Or if we can even create a garden in the soil here. We can't plan that many moves ahead just yet."

     "True, but I have an idea how we can possibly get help. I'll explain it to you in private."

     Briseis nodded and turned to Jason. "Forget the other tunnels and begin work on the third."

     Jason nodded. "As you wish. Now," Jason spread another map on top of the table. "Where should the tunnel terminate? Keep in mind, we don't know how long we have before an invasion, the shorter is it the more likely we'll complete it in time."

      "Morgan," Briseis directed his attention to the map. "You're a soldier and you know these lands. Where would you have the exit to the tunnel?"

     Morgan pointed to a section of the map about a mile from the city. "My father was a sheep herder. He always took my siblings and I to this area in the summer. The terrain is hard to navigate and hilly, which is why most shepherds don't bother going there despite the graze being good. But there are natural caves in that area and they are huge. If you could connect the tunnel to one of them it would save you time. You can move a lot of people through them because of how wide the caves are, the evacuation will be faster when the time comes."

     "I've never heard of such caves in that area," Jason said.

     "They're behind roots of trees that grow in front of the entrances. They can be moved aside when the people start to exit and are good camouflage. We wouldn't have to guard this exit as heavily like we would if we just put an obvious hole in the ground. It'll appear natural. And since this is at the back of the city combined with the rough terrain of the area, the Greeks would have no reason to go there. If they attack, they will attack us from the front gate."

     "Have it be as Morgan says," Briseis told Jason.

     "I'll send men to inspect these caves," Jason said.

     With that settled, Hedas and Briseis went to inspect the grounds. Hedas picked up handfuls of dirt and muttered to herself. She shifted through the dirt for so long the sun had sunk low in the sky. She, Briseis, and Morgan were dusty and covered in sweat by the time Hedas finished her inspection.

     Hedas took a deep breath and extended her hands toward a section of the grounds. At first nothing happened, then six trees sprouted from the ground. Two were apples, another oranges, and the last three bore pomegranates. Hedas fell to her knees once the tress had reached their full height.

     Briseis and Morgan rushed forward to help her. "I'm ok," Hedas assured them. "I think I'll need more help than I realized. Send for servants and have them gather every pomegranate from those trees. And have the servants set up an alter in my room."

🦉

     Briseis and Hedas stood in front of the hastily constructed alter in Hedas' chambers. They split open every pomegranate and had them arranged in the shape of a scythe, a symbol sacred to Demeter as she was goddess of the harvest. They lit honey candles and began to pray for the goddess to hear them.

     "Mother of my mother and grandsire of myself, I pray you hear my call for aid. I offer you pomegranates to remind you of the daughter you once lost and the fruit that allowed her to come back to you. I offer you my cup which you gave to me, and ask you hear my prayer. You have given me gifts, and great as the gifts are, I cannot complete the project before my feet without help."

     A shower of gold appeared in the room and it took the form of an older woman. She looked regal and graceful but stern. Her gown appeared to be made of wheat and she had tiny insects weaving in and out of her hair.

      Briseis thought the insects in the goddesses' hair were disgusting but she kept her thoughts to herself. She knelt with Hedas before Demeter.

     "Rise," the goddess said. "My grandchild, you have interesting company." Detmeter looked over Briseis who bowed her head to the goddess.

     "My lady," Hedas said. "My friend and I have gathered here tonight to ask a boon of you."

     Demeter slowly turned her eyes from Briseis. "What do you and the daughter of Athena want?"

      "I ask you bring me another issue of your body to help me grow gardens. I know who it should be. My old friend Fosum, he would do well here, and his sister too. With them by my side I can accomplish everything I've set out to do."

     Demeter tilted her head to the side. "That is an unusual request and not a small one."

     "What would you ask of me in return?" Hedas offered her hands to Demeter. "Ask something of me so I may repay you for this kindness."

     Demeter ignored Hedas and moved in front of Briseis. "You are an interesting case, Briseis. Not many are born under the black sun and to have a dual fate as you do, it makes you very...noticeable to the fates."

     "I hope the fates smile upon me. What do you mean by a dual fate?" Briseis didn't know what that entailed exactly but it filled her with worry.

      Demeter moved back to Hedas and ignored Briseis' question. "I will grant your request, my grandchild, and I ask nothing of you in return. But you Princess Briseis, I ask you to be kind to me when the time comes."

      Demeter vanished in a flash light. In her place were ten very confused people.

      "Hedas!" A man pushed his way forward. He was about Hedas' age and couldn't contain his glee upon seeing her. He embraced Hedas in a hug which she returned without thinking. Once Hedas realized what she was doing she hastily, but gently, pushed the man away.

      "I am happy to see you as well, old friend," Hedas smiled.

     Briseis surveyed the confused people in the room with them. They were a mixture of men and women, the eldest perhaps ten years older than herself, and the youngest maybe three years her junior if that. One thing they all had in common were glowing eyes. Though it was clear not all of them were direct children of the gods. The man who'd embraced Hedas had eyes even dimmer than hers.

     "Where's my daughter," one of the women asked.

     "My father is ill," exclaimed one of the men. "I need to go home and help support the family or my siblings will be thrown from our home."

     "I was just about to become prosperous in my trade! I can't stay here, it'll leave me with nothing."

🦉

     Once they'd calmed the visitors down, no small feat, Briseis returned to her quarters. It was the early hours of the morning, so the only beings awake in her chambers were a number of owls. Before Briseis dragged herself into her bed, she knelt next to the small alter she'd built to honor her mother. She prayed for Andromache's baby but if Athena heard her, there was no sign.