*
Next morning, Melaina and her mother were up before dawn and loaded into a four-wheel, mule-drawn carriage. They brought a second four-wheed cart for slaves, sheep, goats, and pigs and pulled the two-wheeled chicken wagon behind. The cold wind blew through Melaina's clothes and chilled her to the bone. The weather prognosticators had miscalculated the duration of fair weather. Four heavily armed horsemen—two in back, two in front—escorted their carriage. The men had to shout to be heard over the wind. Melaina's excitement had been dampened by a distemperate mood, and she wondered if she'd had another seizure during the night. Her tongue showed no sign of it.
The Hierophant told her that they needed the military escort as a precaution. Asklepios' sanctuary was not far from Argos. The Argives, perennial enemies of the Spartans, had remained neutral in the war against the Persians, had not participated in the battle of Salamis, and had lately entertained an envoy from Mardonius. The Hierophant's little entourage would probably not encounter open hostility, but roving bands of raiders were a possibility.
The two mules pulling the carriage were strong, quick-stepping beasts of great presence and confidence. The passenger carriage had a substantial roof supported by ornamental columns, and the sides were closed with draw curtains of gaily-decorated silk separating passengers from driver. Their compartment, although private, provided little comfort from the jostling of wood wheels wrapped with iron straps. Even being tossed about was tolerable, but the tortured shriek of the axles spooked the mules. Just when Melaina thought she would scream herself, one of the horsemen halted the carriage and applied dregs of animal fat to the spindles.
Farther from the coast, the forest became thicker, and a heavy rain hit, large drops pounding the roof. The wet road dropped into a deep wooded ravine and soon became a wash. Waterfalls brought down boulders that had to be pushed aside before proceeding. Melaina took every opportunity to peek outside the compartment and watched as the road again became steeper. The mules struggled up the mountainside, wheezing as the breast bands rode up against their throats. A lightning bolt struck a tree just in front of the carriage, followed immediately by a loud clap of thunder that echoed off the hillsides. The mules lost their confidence. The left one turned stubborn and crowded his companion into the rocky cliff. At a second thunderbolt, he stopped completely, sat on his rump with front legs stiff as posts, pointed his nose toward the zenith and brayed loudly.
A horsemen dismounted and covered the reluctant mule's face with a cloth, tied it behind the ears. The mule recovered, rose to all fours, and swished its bony tail. The man then grabbed the bridles of both mules and walked between them. But the day grew darker under the heavy clouds while bitter winds swirled among the trees. The carriage struggled up the flanks of the mountain as a dense fog engulfed them. Eerie noises emerged from the gloom, and Melaina heard distant shouts. The road descended from the mountainside onto a plain, and the fog thickened. The horseman removed the cloth from the mule's face, remounted his horse, and quickened the pace. Melaina lay back on the cushions and dozed.
Shouts woke Melaina from a painful sleep, her heart pounding. Myrrhine pushed the curtain aside to reveal a band of horsemen descending upon them, as if conjured from the fog. Men in strange dress surrounded the carriage, two with sparkling-white turbans. The four soldiers who were supposed to protect the Hierophant and priestesses stood at the ready, swords drawn, but were hopelessly out-manned.
Melaina felt a pounding in her ears, and her vision blurred. She couldn't seem to wake up. Harsh words were exchanged and their own four soldiers sheathed their swords. The entourage then pulled off the road and made for a grove of pine trees, leaving behind the slaves and their carts of sacrificial animals.
Melaina struggled to remain alert, realizing that they were now prisoners.
All were forced from the carriage at sword point, and Melaina's vision cleared although she lost her hearing. More soldiers were present than she'd thought, some mere phantoms. Someone spoke her name, and a helmeted warrior-woman appeared at her elbow. A stab of pain in her temple told her she was having a seizure. She heard her mother shout, "She's falling!" The Hierophant grabbed her.
The Mysteries, A Novel of Ancient Eleusis Page 42