Achilles grimaces, but he bites back the urge to voice his revulsion at the idea of guns. A coward’s weapon. Worse than a bow.

That wouldn’t improve the boys’ opinion of him. Besides, Ember is a woman and these are mortal children; they can’t wield spears and blades with Neoptolemus’ half-divine strength and skill. The guns might give them a fighting chance when facing a grown man.

“What sort of things does Ember want people to do? And why does she need to force people to do them?” Achilles knows leadership is a fraught thing. One cannot always be kind, but it’s often a sign of failure if one must regularly threaten subordinates into submission. That makes for poor morale. “Are they her slaves? Servants?”