Disclaimer: This story is not intended to violate any copyrights held by MCA, Universal, Renaissance Pictures, or any other entity involved in the productions of Hercules: the Legendary Journeys nor Xena: Warrior Princess.Description: Autolycus and an angry mob go for a run.
Running Is Good For Your Health
by Linda Svensson
Autolycus was running. He wasn’t sure why, except that the pitchforks which the mob were chasing him with looked really sharp. For once he was completely innocent. At least he thought so. Coming to think about it, last night was kind of a blur.He buttoned his tunic and tightened his belt while he kept running. He had almost tripped on his pants when he ducked under a low branch. Damn mob had hardly let him put on his clothes before they started chasing him out of town.
He had awoken in a barn with a mild headache that suddenly had grown bigger as the main door was thrown open and entered by about a dozen upset men. Then he was running.
“I’m sorry if I messed up your barn,” he yelled back at them. “I can go back and put every straw back in it original place if you want to.” They didn’t seem to care much for his offer. If there was an answer though, he couldn’t discern it from the rest of the angry voices. All the time while he was running his money pouch kept bouncing at his hip in a quite uncomfortable way. It was heavier than it ought to be.
At the same time as Autolycus’ hands and mind were busy with examining the content of the pouch, his feet and body unconsciously kept dodging the trees and were running both here and there in trying to lose his pursuers.
Aside form a few coins the pouch also contained various other objects, which he couldn’t remember where they came from. He picked up a small doorknob in solid bronze. He stared baffled at it. How had that gotten there? As he threw it away he got a sudden flashback from the earlier night.
After quite a few ales he had been so fascinated by the taverns’ glittering doorknobs that he had decided that he wanted them for himself. He recoiled that it had seemed very logical at the time. But alas, he had been thrown out before he’d manage to break lose a second one. But a crazy act from a drunken traveller wasn’t enough reason for this kind of chase. He kept digging in the pouch and managed to fish up a golden necklace. This had to be it. He remembered lifting it from the neck of the farmer’s daughter. … The same daughter that he had invited to join him in the barn…
Fine, so maybe he wasn’t completely innocent, but they didn’t have to be so very clear about it.
~End.