“Well, I think you’ve probably lost it. We got word of the storm they must have encountered. It was an early cyclone. There’s nothing like those storms in the Mediterranean, nothing like them on earth. They cover hundreds of miles of ocean with winds powerful enough dismast a ship, even one your size. Waves fifty feet high. They call these storms ‘Poseidon’s hammer’. A convoy of five just escaped the fringes of it, and lost two ships, to a man... just gone. I’m afraid the Europa’s chances are not good, not good at all. The best thing for them is to go down in the storm. That’s better than drifting as a dismasted derelict for weeks, while the water and food run out.
“But I’ll send word to keep an eye out for her. If she survived, she could put in at hundreds of little fishing ports along the coast, or even passed you enroute. Or she could have gone to Taprobane, but that’s a long haul for a ship after a storm like that. But because you’re a friend, I’ll send the letters and pay the outrageous fees to get word to these out-of-the-way places. But Aulus, you had better plan on what you’re going to do without her. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you,” said Aulus. It wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear, but it was probably true. He had hoped to find the Europa safe here in Muziris, perhaps damaged, but with Gaius safe and alive.
“And another tip. Don’t go for pepper here. That’s mostly picked over two weeks back. Take advantage of your capacity, and go for jewelry, silks, ivory, and other things you can transport in bulk. You can afford to depart late, and the merchants will come from a hundred miles away when they hear you’re buying by the ton. Elephants are good, too. They bring a real big price for the animal shows in Rome, and most ships can’t handle them. Take along a native mahout. They get wild at sea.”
“Thank you for the tips. We’re going to rearrange our itinerary, and I will need an armed escort to transfer gold and silver from the Africa. She’ll be taking the merchandise back, while we go forward with the Hanaean delegation in Asia. Do you have a reasonably trustworthy official who needs to go back to Alexandria? I don’t trust her captain out of my sight.”
“Yes, I can provide you one. We’re rotating some of our urban cohort back. If you’ll transport them also, that will be muscle to keep any treachery at bay.”
Later that day, Aulus met with Africa’s skipper Apollodorus to lay out the plan. “Let’s just get it out in the open, Apollodorus. You betrayed me once. But right now, I need you to get Africa back to Myos Hormos and the cargo dispatched for sale. I want you to work through Aelia Isidora and Aelia Olympias to do that, and they will extend credit, if necessary, for the twenty-five percent customs fees at Coptos. Don’t let any money stick to your fingers.”
“I have apologized before, Senator Aulus Aemilius, and I will apologize again. We were taken in by Hasdrubal, and I want to redeem myself. I will get Africa back safe and sound,” said the captain.
“Good. And by the way, some of the Myos Hormos urban cohort is rotating back with you.” No need to tell him that the centurion of the guard knows what he has done. If Apollonius arouses suspicions, the Africa may make it back to Myos Hormos without him on board. “Have a safe trip, and if all goes well, I will pay you our agreed-upon commission, and ensure that nothing of this unfortunate incident ends up before the Sailing Board as part of your record.”
CHAPTER 28: AN AFTERNOON’S DELIGHT
The major task ahead for the crew of the Europa in Taprobane was to obtain new steering oars. Demetrios conferred with Agathias, the ship’s carpenter.
“I searched every shipwright, lumber supplier and carpentry shop in Galle. The biggest piece of raw wood that I could find was thirty feet. We need two forty foot pieces from a single tree, four feet in diameter. This is a small fishing port, the ships mostly Indian coastal lugs. They don’t have anything that big,” Agathias reported, shrugging his muscular shoulders in exasperation.
“Can we go without spares?” asked Demetrios
“Sure. And if we hit another storm like the last, the ship is lost and we’re all dead men.”
“Any alternatives?”
“There is a lumberman who will send a team of elephants to the mountains in the south part of the island, and bring back several fifty foot trees. But that’s not going to be cheap or fast. Works out to twenty gold aurei, ten now and ten more on delivery, two weeks to go and bring them back, and another week for my men to shape the new rudders.”
“Try to bargain him down.”
“I did. That is as cheap as it gets.”
Demetrios dismissed Agathias and brought the bad news to Gaius, who reluctantly went to the hold, unlocked one of the cash chests, and doled out the gold coins. Two thousand sesterces for a pair of steering oars! But there was little else to do.
The other repairs were quickly accomplished, and Gaius and Antonius kept a low profile in town. They were able to resume their workouts, running several miles daily along the beach to a sheltered cove, where they stripped off their linen kilts and dived into the ocean water, warm as a bath.
And they found a decent little inn, on the outskirts of town, smaller than the officers’ mess on the Europa, with plain wooden tables and benches, but quiet and inconspicuous. No one in the inn spoke anything that Gaius or Antonius could understand, but the serving girl understood the eating and drinking motions the Romans made. She talked to the innkeeper, a short, very dark man who eyed them suspiciously, but prepared them a meal in a small black oven in the corner. She brought them their meal, rice with chicken curry with a sharp saffron flavor, and good wine.
At the end of the meal, Antonius handed the girl some bronze sesterces. She looked at them in bewilderment, and took them to show to the innkeeper. The man’s visage became even darker as he frowned and shook his head negatively.
“What’s wrong?” asked Antonius.
“They don’t know what a sestercius is, Antonius. Offer them a silver denarius instead.” Gaius smiled at the centurion’s discomfiture.
“A denarius! For a meal like this! It was good but not that good!” exploded Antonius.
“Just give it. I’ll give you a handful of denarii when we get back to the ship, because I don’t think we’ll have much use for our sesterces from here on out.”
Antonius handed her the silver coin, and the dark man looked critically at it, bit it, and put it on a small scale. His face lit up in a smile, and he nodded affirmatively.
“What’s wrong with a sestercius here, Gaius?” asked Antonius.
“A sestercius only has the value that Rome says it has, four to a silver denarius. It has no value of its own, just a chip of bronze with a pretty picture of somebody on it. They only use gold and silver here, so that conversion doesn’t mean anything.”
“Hmm, guess we’re definitely out of the Empire.”
They left and returned the following day. The innkeeper, no longer suspicious, beamed broadly at their entry and personally showed them to their seats. They paid in denarii.
Ibrahim fretted about the delay. This was far longer than he had planned to be here. He had hoped to stay only a few days, a week at the most, and escape before the ship’s presence reached the king’s ears in Anuradhapura in the north. Now he had to consider the possibility that the king would send someone down to Galle to investigate, perhaps with soldiers to seize the ship. How far could he trust his Romans?
The Taprobanean king had an agent in Galle to keep an eye on unusual happenings, such as the arrival of the biggest ship he had ever seen. Arriving unannounced, that in itself was most unusual, particularly for a ship of that size.
It wasn’t unusual for a trader to call at Galle, although mostly they went north to Mannar, closer to the capital and the Roman praetor externa. But when they did call, they were scheduled a year in advance, to line up merchants to commit to lower prices. Even a small ship would do that, because without prior commitments, its merchants had only the choice of leftover goods, at higher prices and lower quality.
This was a huge, very expensive sh
ip. A Roman trader, with only two not-very-inconspicuous Romans on board, and an Arab who seemed to be in charge. Of course, the ship could have been blown off course by a storm, but the winds would have favored Muziris more than Taprobane. Perhaps this could be just what it appeared, but then, maybe it was much more.
The agent tailed the Romans, oblivious to the people around them and very predictable in their movements. Every day, they left the ship for a run, though why anyone would run in the heat was itself suspicious, and every day, they dined at the same inn. So it was easy to set up the best of all ways to get information. He hired a Greek-speaking prostitute to proposition one of the men.
Gaius and Antonius returned to the inn to find a strange girl sitting in the inn at their table. She beamed a charming smile and said “I sorry... I move for you,” and stood up to leave. “That’s fine, that’s fine. You can stay,” said Antonius. She was a dark-featured, attractive girl with a red jewel prominent in her forehead. Long straight black hair, slender build. Her sari barely hid her full breasts, which attracted Antonius’ immediate interest. Her brown midriff was bare, with another jewel in her belly-button. I wonder if she has jewels in any other part of her body, thought Antonius, feeling tittilated. She had that professional look about her, and the innkeeper didn’t seem pleased to have her on the premises.
“Oh, thank you. I wait for friend. You from ship here?”
Gaius looked like he had eaten something unpleasant, his jaw was set firmly, but he said nothing.
“Off the Europa. The big ship,” said Antonius, eyeing her cleavage.
“Oh, that big ship! Where you come from?”
“Uh, we’re Romans. Roman soldiers from Syria. This here is Gaius Lucullus, he’s going to get his own legion someday, and I’m the meanest Roman centurion you ever met.”
“Oh, I never meet centurion before. You from Rome?”
The innkeeper brought them their usual curry. “Ah, one for her, too. You are hungry, aren’t you? Yes, we’re from Rome.” Antonius made handsigns to convey his intent to the innkeeper, who scowled disapprovingly but went off to get another.
“That richest city in whole world! You rich, too?” cooed the girl.
“Nah, soldiers like me don’t get rich. Now, Gaius Lucullus there, he’s rich.”
She smiled at Gaius, but it was obvious he wasn’t going buying her charm. “And where do you come from?” he asked her.
“I come from Anuradhapura.”
“The capital. Isn’t that a better place to live than Galle? I understand that it’s very fine, with beautiful temples.”
“Very nice. But I not live there anymore.” She seemed flustered, losing control of the flirtation.
“Your husband lives here, I guess. What does he do?”
“Husband I don’t have. He... died.”
“That’s too bad. Have you been mourning him for long?”
The innkeeper brought the girl’s food, and she seemed relieved to eat, free of Gaius’ further questions.
They ate their meal, with Antonius solicitously observing her. She noticed and smiled. A delightful smile. She giggled and tried to contain her mouthful of rice. She introduced herself. “I Thani. You?”
“I’m Antonius.”
“Anthonus?” She struggled with the unfamiliar syllables. “Have you seen town much?” she asked, stretching her breasts against her sari.
“Not much, I’d love to. With the right escort,” answered Antonius.
“Oh, I very good escort.” Antonius was rearranging his tunic, which had suddenly become uncomfortably tight.
“I think we’d both enjoy the tour, Thani.” said Gaius.
“Oh, that won’t be necessary, Gaius,” said Antonius. “You’ve got things to do, and Thani and I will just tour the town and be back by nightfall.
“I’m actually free this afternoon, and I will take the tour with you and Thani.”
Antonius scowled at him, switching to Latin to keep Thani out of the conversation. “Look, sir, I haven’t had a woman since we left Syria. I been good, true ter me word. Just let me have few hours with her, that’s all. Yer can see, she ain’t no nobleman’s wife. She’s a street hooker, is all.
Gaius considered the soldier’s words. “I’m just concerned about you messing with whores in a strange place like this. You wouldn’t be the first to get your throat cut playing around with a strange whore.”
“I ain’t no dumb miles, I’ve been with hundreds of hookers an’ I can handle mesel’. An’ anyone wants ter take me, he’s got a fight on his hand. I’m a big boy. I’ll be back by sundown. Alone.” Antonius was getting angry.
“Well, give me your purse. I’ll leave you a few denarii to pay her off, and that will take away the temptation to try to roll you. Make sure she sees. And just have fun. Don’t tell her the story of our lives.”
Antonius conspicuously handed over his purse, and Gaius returned a few silver coins. Antonius reverted to Greek. “I just wanted to get Gaius to take my purse back to the ship. I don’t like to wander around a foreign city with a lot of money. You come? Gaius is going back to the ship, aren’t you, Gaius?” He glared at the legate.
Antonius and Thani stood up to leave.
“Yes. Have a good time.”
Of course there was no tour. Thani led Antonius down a back alley to a small apartment where she kept her bed, a small statue, and several pieces of explicitly erotic statuary. Although it was daylight, she lit a small candle for the apartment had no windows and was quite dark. Antonius admired the statue. “Who is this?”
“Oh, that Lord Bodhisat. He live long time ago, taught us how to live good life.”
“How do you do that?”
“I tell you later.” Thani stripped off her sari to reveal a lean, nut-brown body. Her breasts were full, with tiny brown nipples.
The afternoon was one of delight. Thani was not like many prostitutes, who lay motionless beneath the man, waiting for him to finish. Nor was she like others, whose display of sensuality was crude and artificial. She was genuinely sensual, and savored the act of love as much as any man. She teased him to a peak, then kept him there suspended just short of climax while her own built. She then released him, to spend himself within her while she convulsed in her own ecstasy around him. And after a few minutes of cuddling in the dim apartment, she began to tease him to a second effort. She knew positions that Antonius had not thought possible. And then to a third, a dreamy sensual event that endured for an hour, sometimes slow, sometimes violent, that finally ended with a loud cry as Antonius spent himself again. Afterwards, they lay dozing in each other’s arms, and awoke just before sunset.
“I have to go, Thani. Uh.. how much?”
“Whatever you want. Feel better?” she drew her knees up to her chin, purring in the bed like a kitten.
“Yes. You were beautiful” He handed her four denarii, all he had. She smiled.
“How long you be here?”
“Couple of weeks. We need to replace something broken on the ship.”
“Where you go after?”
“We’re going east...” he thought about Gaius’ caution and began to sense some of Gaius’ suspicion. “Away. Can’t say for sure where.”
“Will I see you again?”
“Uh, maybe. I have to go now, really.” He ducked under the curtained doorway into the alley, checking first to make sure that there were no surprises waiting outside.
Antonius felt pleasantly relieved, but he also felt foolish, having pressured Gaius into letting him have the whore. But he hadn’t told her anything. Anything at all.
Gaius was pacing the quarterdeck when, promptly at sunset, Antonius came strutting aboard.
“Have fun?”
“Sure did. Didn’t tell her any big secrets, either.” Antonius went to their quarters without further discussion.
Pali, the agent, considered the information the girl brought. Two Roman soldiers, one a legatus, a high-ranking officer, the other a centurion. If he rememb
ered correctly, that was a senior ranking foot soldier. An odd combination. Going somewhere. The soldier had said ‘east”, and then refused to say more, just ‘somewhere’. But where? East would be across the Bay of Bengal. Few traders ever ventured that way. Why would two soldiers be going east? Why would soldiers be coming to India in the first place? Traders, yes, but soldiers? Some urban cohorts came into big trading centers like Muziris, but they were just policemen. And the Roman ship, commanded by an Arab. This was strange enough to pass on to the king.
The king at Anuradhapura called the praetor externa to his throne room. Julius Ferrus bent his head, his grudging accommodation of a bow, and waited for the king to speak.
“What do you know of a Roman plan to invade my country?”
Julius was dumbstruck. “Invade your country? Why your Excellency, that would be the height of folly! Even if we could get here and take your country, you are far too distant to hold.”
“Your statement has the ring of truth. At least I think you believe it. But even now, there is a Roman transport in Galle unloading soldiers.”
“A Roman transport? Unloading troops? Preposterous!”
“The Europa. The troops are commanded by one Gaius Lucullus, from one of the Syrian legions. He is, I believe you call it, a legatus.”
Ferrus’ stomach turned flipflops. A landing party in Galle? What in the hell was going on? “That’s impossible. Even our biggest freighters can only carry a few hundred soldiers, and are used only in the Mediterranean. There are none in the Indian Ocean. And a few hundred soldiers would not be enough to take Taprobane.”
“But they could take Galle, and hold it while the remaining ships of the fleet discharge their troops in safety. Two more are even now in Muziris, I am told. These ships are about two hundred and fifty feet in length, with three masts. And well armed, with the weapons you call ballistae
The Eagle and the Dragon, a Novel of Rome and China Page 20