A New Beggar and Time With the Suitors (book 18)

As I sat in the hall near the suitors with my bread and meat, another beggar, a true one, wandered into the hall. He instructed me to leave or we would have ourselves a fight and when I offered him the opportunity to go among the suitors and beg for himself as there was room for the two of us, he harshly replied, "No." A fight it was then and one that the suitors very much enjoyed. It was entertainment like they had never seen before. As the fight began the stakes were set, and set high. The winner would receive the goat bladder of their choice and good supper pudding. The loser and all other beggars would no longer be accepted into the household of Odysseus. After each man swore an oath not to step in for Iros, the fight began and I dropped my cloak revealing my true build. The suitors and Iros were shocked and although he wanted to back down, the suitors egged him on. They called him a wimp if he didn't at least try to fight. You could see the poor man shaking from within, yet he agreed to fight. We got close and he went for the first hit. He knocked my shoulder, but on the rebound, I got him on the side of the face, breaking his jaw and knocking him to the ground. With that, I dragged him outside, the bloody mess that he was. I was congratulated by all the suitors and by bowl was filled with the optimum meal. I then started a conversation with Amphinoms as I tried to give him advice not to return to the manor for when Odysseus returned, none would be spared. He refused my advice and a verbal fight soon broke out between the two of us. My lovely wife, Penelope, soon came down among us and before addressing the suitors, she gave a harsh warning to Telemekus. Before their conversation could get anywhere she was interrupted by an impatient suitor who wanted to know what news she had for them. She then announced that it was time to marry again and that she would take the best man for her husband. Immediatly, the suitors brought her gifts galore. Once the beautiful lady had returned to her chamber with her new gifts, and I was alone among the suitors and Telemekus, we got into a bit of a verbal fight. They soon wished I had never come along, though Telemekus defended me and soon sent them off to their own homes in a druken state.