by Wilbur Arron
I looked at Melina, who just nodded. “I thank you, Oligarch Euphenes for your hospitality and your efforts to help me carry out my assignment to reach your ethnarch. I will stay close to the palace tomorrow as a precaution.”
“That would be appreciated,” the oligarch said. “I wish you both a good night.”
We both walked away. When we were alone, I looked at Melina. “How am I doing?”
“We will make a noble out of you yet,” she said with a smile.
I doubted that.
CHAPTER NINE: PORTANUS
As it turned out, our trip to Sycion was not very taxing and not very eventful. We camped out as requested about two milio from Pellana. Our escort mostly kept to themselves during the trip and at night. During the other two nights we slept in way stations: fortified locations that the ethnarch had erected along the main road to act as places of shelter for caravans and as horse changing stations for their rapid message riders. The shelter workers treated us as well as any ambassador would expect to be treated. Melina continued with her education of court manners. Just after noon on our fourth day out, we sighted farm fields surrounding a polis in the distance. This was Sycion.
The first thing I noted was the construction on the walls of the polis. It looked like the builders had recently thickened the walls. They were originally about five podia thick from the look of it, which was way too narrow to stand up against a dedicated assault. It looked like they added another five podia. No one would do that unless they were expecting trouble down the road. Outside the polis, the polis guards were training the militia in archery and spear throwing. Inside the gate, it was market day—the markets were wide open and busy. The polis was a little bigger than Korpolis yet seemed older. Many of the stone buildings looked worn with age.
We were still in the Eparchia of Syros, which ran from the southern coast to the inland mountains. Beyond the mountains, the ground rose until it reached the Plain of Lantia. The local guard met us at the gate and took us to the palace of Tetrarch Hippasus. His tetrarchy took in the west and south of the eparchia that contained the main port and a lot of the agricultural land for the eparchia. The other three tetrarchies took in the open lands to the north that extended past the mountains. Syros was about twice the size of Erinia but was more open and lacked much of its arable lands. In the north, cattle and sheep herding was the dominant business. Wool from Syros is still considered some of the finest in our world.
Hippasus met us on arrival and immediately had servants take our luggage. I presented my credentials to the tetrarch, which he noted and handed back. “I welcome you and your party here,” he said formally. “We have heard of your exploits against the barbarians. We know of your warnings that saved us here from an insidious Syrina plot. Your wife and her brother are also known to us. Relax and enjoy yourselves, my palace is yours.”
I bowed to him as my superior and replied. “I am thankful for your hospitality.” I stood and addressed him formally. “Tetrarch Hippasus, you will understand when I say we are in a hurry to get to Lantis. I have urgent business with the ethnarch and wish to get there as soon as possible.”
“Of course, I understand fully. I am making arrangements as we speak,” he told me. “For now, I have rooms waiting and will have baths drawn. If you have clothes that need cleaning, I will have my servants wash them.”
“We are grateful,” I said and bowed again.
House servants showed us to our rooms. The palace, like the polis, was showing some age. The marble was not as polished, and the baths looked as if they could use some work. Still, our room was clean and well taken care of. My other companions were placed in a smaller private room nearby. That night we ate privately.
The next morning, we all got up early, had a light breakfast, and spent the day touring the polis. It was a typical polis with shops, craftsmen, merchants, and food stalls. Melina and I walked around under a full escort of five fully armed troops. Melina saw a beautiful formal white dress she thought would be suitable. I traded in a mina of gold for some silver drachma and brought it for her. That night, the tetrarch and his wife invited us to eat with them, and only after dinner did we get down to business.
“Ambassador Sopholus, your visit has caught us by surprise,” the tetrarch confessed. “I have sent news of your arrival to Lantis. It will be several days before we get a response. It is about ten days travel from here to Lantis, and I simply do not have an escort for you. You are welcome to wait here for a reply from the ethnarch, but it may be two market intervals before it arrives.”
That was not unexpected. I had journeyed on this road twice before, to and from the Academy at Lantis, the capital of Lantia. The Vasíleio of Lantia was bigger than Argina, and it took a while to trek to places within. Still, twenty days was too long to wait, and there were only two cities between here and Lantis. That meant either sleeping outside, or in a way station every night. I also remembered to the south was mostly hilly terrain, and the people in those hills were not friendly to travelers.
“Tetrarch Hippasus,” I said and bowed respectfully. “I understand your situation. If not for the dire condition in which Argina finds itself, I would have observed more proper decorum in my travels, but time is a luxury I do not have. I cannot just wait around. I need to get to Lantis as quickly as possible.”
“I understand,” he said. “There is another possibility. There is a merchant caravan leaving here in four days for Lantis. It will be carrying goods from the ports of Crenae and Mycalessus to the capital. It is made up of half a dozen merchants and at least three dozen wagons. They have permission to camp next to the way stations at night, and they have their own private guards. If you travel with them, you will be secure. I am very sure I can persuade the merchants to allow you to travel with them. I can give you all horses and a large wagon with a driver.”
That would mean either trusting our lives to strangers or waiting up to a month for a reply. I was not happy with either alternative. I needed to consult Nomiki and the others. “I need to discuss this with my colleagues, Tetrarch Hippasus. May I give you an answer in the morning?”
“Of course,” he said.
Melina looked as satisfied with the situation as I was.
In the morning, I called together Nomiki, Chremon, Gyras, and Zila and explained the circumstances to them. They felt as uneasy as I did but agreed that waiting here a month was a waste of time. The decision was quickly made: we go with the merchants. After informing Hippasus, he sent his people off to secure our transport. Two days later the caravan arrived, and the tetrarch had a long talk with the merchants. The outcome of that talk was apparent later that day when we met the tetrarch in his courtyard. There were two men there to meet us—an older man, dressed in the gray garb of a merchant, and a heavily armed soldier with a large facial scar.
“Master Mage Sopholus, allow me to introduce Empodocles, the wool merchant. He is in charge of the trading caravan. This other man is Kaptis, who oversees the band of men hired to guard the caravan.”
I bowed slightly. “I am honored to meet you both,” I said. From the looks on their faces, I could see they were not pleased with their new charge. They were standoffish, almost frightened.
Empodocles spoke up, ignoring protocol. “I understand you will be traveling with us. Master Mage Sopholus, we have all heard of your talents in slaying the Zilar horde. Having such power in my caravan is both reassuring and a bit frightening.”
“I assure you; it was only the Zilar that forced my hand. I wish to slay no one, but one must do what is necessary.”
“Your companions, do they have any military skills?” Kaptis interrupted.
I heard a muffled laugh from Chremon. I turned to see Nomiki shoot him a harsh glance. “Kaptis, both Hyparchos Chremon and Lochagos Nomiki are members of the Ethnarch’s Guard. The other man, Gyras, is an experienced soldier, as well. My wife Melina and my secretary Zila are well versed in the military skills, and I have some talents.”
“E
xcellent,” Kaptis said, showing a smile for the first time. “I will expect them to take their turn at guard duty and to defend the caravan if attacked.”
“You may arrange such activates with Lochagos Nomiki,” I told him.
Empedocles went on. “For the first two days, we will have four horses on each of our wagons. This is because it is mostly uphill for those days. I suggest you walk your horses for the first two days. We will be lucky to make about fifteen milio a day at best. Once we get to Ithome, two of the horses on each wagon will come back here, because it is flat until we get to Lantis. On the flat plain, we will make about twenty milio a day. That is how far apart the way stations are. Our caravan is too big to fit inside the way stations, so we will form a half-circle around us with the wagons in front and walls of the stations at our back. This is usually protection enough, but some of the hill people are known to come down to try to steal out of our wagons. We make a habit of killing any hill people we catch with the wagons. They usually leave us alone.”
“Fine,” I told him. “I am looking for no trouble, only a quick journey to Lantis. It is about ten days to Lantis?” I asked.
“From here, ten days,” he repeated. “Two days to get up the hills and the eight days on flat ground. Make sure you have provisions for that long. They will have food in Ithome and Portanus on the second and sixth day, but the way stations will have none except for the horses.”
“I understand, thank you,” I said. That ended the conversation.
Hippasus provided us with a large wagon and four stout horses. There was no driver though, and none could be found who wanted to take this trip. Finally, Zila and Melina came forward and told me they could drive the team. The rest of us had horses. All four horses were old but should make it.
The trip up the hills was strenuous. I walked my way up; however, my slight build did not serve me well on the two-day climb. I was glad we went slowly to save wear on the horses, and we took several stops. Nomiki, Chremon, and Gyras did not look troubled at all by the assent. Neither did Zila or Melina, who spent the time out of the wagon when they were not driving. I found myself huffing and puffing several times, but I made it. At night, Nomiki arranged that only one of my guards was on duty at a time. Besides the effort of the climb, we encountered no problems on our journey.
I was glad to finally reach the polis of Ithome, in the late afternoon of the second day. We stopped early, and I went into the polis and bought four days’ worth of supplies for my people. We sent half the horses back to Sycion with their wranglers, and the next day, we proceeded.
Thankful that I could now ride my horse, we made good time to the first way station. The road up the hill was paved to keep it from being washed out by the rain. That pavement ended at Ithome. From here on, the path was compacted dirt, slightly mounded in the middle to allow for better drainage from rain and snow, but overall it was flat. From the top of Ithome’s walls, we could see back beyond the hills we had climbed. It was at least a milion higher than the coastal plain.
From Ithome, the main road turned right, now parallel to the hills that marked the southern border of the flat plain. The land became dry with no farms, but occasional cattle. There were no trees, only scrub brush. Our first day on the Lantian Plain passed without incident, and we reached the way station in the late afternoon. After we pulled the wagons into a half-circle around the walls, we had a meager dinner of boiled meat and beans. Afterwards, Kaptis called everyone together.
“From here until we read Portanus, we are in the territory of the many hill tribes. They scratch a living from hunting and fishing in the streams that come down from the hills. They make their lives easier by stealing from caravans like this one. They are good at this. They have been known to occasionally cut a throat or two in the process. From now until we get to Portanus, we will post guards in twos and build fires from the scrub brush, but we must all stay alert. Keep your weapons ready and your bows strung with arrows nearby. Do not wander from camp if you value your lives. The hill tribes know this ground like their own hands, we do not.”
No encouragement was needed to remain on guard all night. In total, we had twelve guards, forty armed drivers, plus Kaptis. Eight men stood guard at any one time. Nomiki took the first watch partnered with one of the guards, Chremon took the second watch with one of the armed drivers, and Gyras took the third watch with another guard. I spent the night in a fitful sleep. The guards of the way station also kept lights burning from the walls in iron torch holders. Nothing disturbed us that night, although I was sure I saw movement in the brush at the limit of my vision.
The following day was also uneventful. That night, the fourth of our journey, we camped against the wall of another way station. This station had a small caravan already present. Being only three carts and four guards, they stayed inside the station while we camped on the outside. We again slept uneasily. It was during the middle of the second watch when I dimly heard a noise that sounded like wood creaking.
“Get out!” I heard someone scream. I was still half asleep.
“DAAAAAAA,” I heard someone scream from nearby. I shot to my feet. Gyras and Nomiki were near me.
“ALARM!” Nomiki yelled out.
I saw a figure dressed in black top and trousers fall out of the back of our wagon and hit the ground with a thud. There it lay, not moving.
“Stop!” I heard someone call out close by, followed by a crash. I could hardly see anything. Gyras lit a torch in a nearby fire and ran over to the wagon, and I followed. On the ground at the back lay the figure in black. It was not Melina or Zila, thank the gods. Whoever it was had the grip of a fighting knife sticking out of its left eye and one sticking out of his chest. I quickly looked inside the wagon. Both Melina and Zila were there. Both had fighting knives in their hands.
“I have one,” someone yelled out from the front of the wagons.
“I have one too,” someone yelled closer to me.
Within moments there was a general commotion inside our camp. I took the time to charge my necklace in case I needed to cast magik. Gyras leaned over and took both knives out of the body on the ground and, after carefully wiping off the blood, handed them back to Melina and Zila.
“My ladies, I believe these are yours,” he said and handed the knives back with a grin.
By this time, Empodocles and Kaptis came running toward us carrying torches. The extra torches lit the area. Approximately ten podi from my wagon, another black-clad figure lay prone with a guardsman standing over him. His partner was nowhere to be seen. I saw Melina and Zila at the front of the wagon, each with a bow in their hands.
“I got him,” he called out in victory. “I bashed him with my shield.” At that point, the fool turned and started to walk toward us.
Two things happened simultaneously. The man on the ground shot to his feet with a knife in his hand, and from the darkness, I saw the movement of another dark figure running into the light. The man getting up from the ground staggered for a moment to regain his balance.
“Look out!” Kaptis yelled.
I heard a twang and an instant later, the shaft of an arrow protruded from the head of the man getting up. The second one was now plainly visible, and he was another invader.
“Keravno,” I called out. A lightning bolt flew from my hand, striking the man as he ran toward the campfire. The bolt caught him in the chest, lifting him up and throwing him back several podia. He crumbled into a ball, motionless on the ground. A loud clap of thunder came an instant later. The horses reared up and started to call out in fear.
The guards walking along the walls turned and looked down at the three figures now lying still.
“Moros, I ought to wring his neck,” Nomiki said, gritting his teeth. I thought he was going to beat the guard to a pulp when Kaptis reached him.
“Anoitios,” he yelled and hit the guard on the side of his head with his hand. The man went down like a sacrificial ox that had been hit with an ax.
“How many t
imes have I told you never turn your back on these people?” he yelled at the prone figure.
An alarm horn blew inside the way station, and the front gate opened revealing a troop of a dozen men with spears and bows.
Empodocles looked around and pointed to one of the dead attackers. “Who fired the arrow into that one?”
“Me,” Melina called out and climbed out of the wagon, her bow in hand and the quiver on her back.
Kaptis smiled at my wife and then looked into the darkness. “I wish I knew if there were more out there?”
“Say no more,” I told him, pulling energy out of the realms and letting the energy flow through my body. “PYRA” I called out and released a fireball high into the air.
It reached twenty podia up and three times that distance away from us before it exploded into a ball of flame. It dimly lit the ground below where we could clearly see a dozen similarly clad figures moving. The sudden bright light stunned them for a moment before they turned around and ran into the darkness, followed by at least half a dozen arrows. I heard two different voices scream in pain.
“That should scare them off for tonight,” I said.
Everyone was looking at me, stunned. The one attacker’s chest was still smoldering. Empodocles walked up to me and bowed. “Tetrarch Hippasus told me of your power, but I did not believe it,” he said. “Did you really sink a trierse by yourself?” he squeaked.
I just turned and walked back to my wagon.
“He has done that and a lot more,” Nomiki answered. “There is also another one at the back of the wagon that the two women killed.”
“Ares,” Kaptis remarked. “Hippasus told me to keep my men away from both women. I thought it was to protect the ladies. I can see why no one would try and take advantage of them.”