Pale gold light slipped over the hills and brightened the sky and grass alike, illuminating the metallic sheen of the sheep sleeping quietly around the area, painting the hills like dark bushes.
Lucas knelt in the shadow of his beached boat, finalizing the last lines of the sigils that decorated an oak-wood box. His fingers moved with practiced ease, painting the last arc into the box's lid in fine ash and silver.
It was the box that would carry the Golden Fleece.
The inside was lined with velvet, the inside walls were also etched with runes of concealment, distortion, and suppression. When closed, it would completely seal the life energy the golden fleece was radiating. Nothing should leak through, no life aura, no energy that would allow Polyphemus to track him.
Lucas also planned to leave a normal fleece behind, covered in illusions to simulate the golden fleece. As for making sure the energy radiated would trick Polyphemus long enough for Lucas to escape, he planned to copy the energy signature of the radiated life aura and trap some of it on the normal fleece. To achieve this, he would need to actually have the golden fleece on hand, then he could trap it in some of Harold's blood and use it to create a containment ward, allowing the blood wards to temporarily mimic the life energy aura, at least for a while.
Lucas made his way to the rise from yesterday, overlooking the ravine and the wooden-plank bridge.
He crouched low, sneaking past the flesh-eating sheep and made his way to the ravine. He pulled out his steel wire and tied it to the ground in front of him, using some magic to strengthen the connection. He made his way quickly across the bridge, though he was silent and invisible, the swaying caused the sheep to notice something was wrong and make their way over, but with the gap between planks too wide, they couldn't cross, simply watching as the bridge rocked.
He made his way across from where he tied the wire and did the same here. He believed it was better to create a new way across the ravine to escape, in case something went wrong. Polyphemus was smart enough to know that if someone stole the golden fleece they would travel across the bridge, so he would quickly act to destroy it.
As for using magic to cross, Lucas didn't want to risk drawing Polyphemus' attention so a crude tightrope would be fine.
Polyphemus opened the cave like clockwork, rolling the boulder aside and guiding the smaller sheep out into the sunlight. He muttered as he moved, humming a low tune only monsters would find melodic. Lucas, cloaked in magic, his scent masked, his form invisible, made his way inside. Shifting soundlessly between the sheep and going unnoticed by Polyphemus.
The air was heavy, rich with the scent of sweat and smoke and damp wool. Bones lined the walls like decorations with a floor mat of wool making for a sleeping area. At the far end, resting atop a crude altar of stone and hide, lay the Golden Fleece. Even veiled in the half-dark, its glow was unmistakable. It pulsed with quiet warmth, every thread radiating the gentle power of life.
He moved towards the altar, and placed the oak-wood box on the ground. Lucas opened the box, lifted the Fleece with magic, careful not to touch it directly so as not to leave residual aura upon himself,and placed it within. The lid closed with a soft click. The runes shimmered, then dulled. No trace of the life energy escaped the box.
He summoned the false Fleece with a flick of his fingers, letting it settle on the altar in the exact posture as before, then bagan casting illusions to allow it to look, feel and smell the same as the golden fleece. He also started on mixing some of the life energy into a flask of drakon blood, before using it to etch wards onto the false fleece. From a distance, it would look the same. It would feel the same, and it would radiate a false life aura for a time.
Already, he could see the blood drying and cracking in some places, telling him he didn't have long.
Lucas slipped from the cave as the last of the sheep passed into the cave, Polyphemus leaning on his crook; counting sheep as they entered by patting their bodies. Lucas started making his way across the wire and dashing towards where his boat was, he reached the rope anchoring his boat to the island, but when he went to untie it, he heard something that made him freeze.
Polyphemus.
But it wasn't the expected sounds of anger at the fleece disappearing to a thief, it was the sound of joy.
Lucas was curious at what was the reason for this, so he returned to the rise overlooking the ravine and that's when he saw it. In the hands of the Cyclops was a struggling Satyr. The rope attached to it allowed Lucas to understand it tried to attach itself beneath the sheep to creep into the cave but Polyphemus had learnt his lesson long ago, and he had caught the sneaky Satyr.
Polyphemus brought the Satyr up to his nose and took a deep sniff.
"Thought I smelled something strange yesterday. Must've been you, seems instead of mutton, goat will be on the menu tonight" the Cyclops grunted.
The satyr screamed. Kicked. But Polyphemus only chuckled.
"You little goats are all the same, thieves. But what you lack in meat, you make up for in taste, a true delicacy."
The cyclops licked his lips, already thinking of the best way to eat this Satyr.
Lucas cursed under his breath. The Cyclops turned and began walking into the cave, carrying the Satyr in his hand; in his attempts to break free, the Satyr managed to lock eyes with Lucas, a gaze filled with fear and despair.