by Ken Farmer
Kaeso accepted the nod from the Captain, then turned and ordered Judoc to cast the rope boarding ladder over the side. In a trice, the little skiff had gained the hull, and both of the row-men pulled tension in the lines and - surprisingly - the passenger gained the deck even ahead of the pirate. Even as his captor was boarding, the man said with some haughtiness. "I am Gaius Caesar, Kapetánios. I give assumption that you have arrived with my release-fee?" He spoke in the tongue of Greek, no doubt in habit of such converse in the lair of the pirates these last months. But it was the manner of his talk, rather than the words. A man with less the aspect of a craven wretch held for ransom was unlikely. It was as if the man himself was in hold of his destiny - not the band of reavers that were still waiting by the wharf.
The Captain nodded, standing straight and with hand on hilt. "Aye, Sos. Julius Clavius at your service, and in commission from the honorable Triferus Papius Caesar." He waved vaguely toward the waist of the ship. "Below are chests containing fifty talents of silver, in coin, and slugs given stamp of certify by the Senior Numerarius of Rome."
The man turned as the other gained their presence. "Then, Kapetánios. May I present the leader of these putrid rogues, one Aniketos from some stinking village on the shores of the Aegean Sea." Julius just stood with a blank expression. This encounter was beyond his expectations - indeed, even seeming as a tale on the acting boards of the Forum. In his thoughts, one did not deliberately give insult to a man who had merely to give an order for an affronting throat to be slit. Even more confusingly, the pirate leader grinned at the abuse, giving even less of an aspect of a fierce villain with helpless hostage. "Now, pull your ship to yon platform and give to unloading." He turned to the pirate. "Aniketos, have your men pull a rope to drag this vessel to the shore..."
Julius stood without giving order, rather, waiting for the man to turn back from his... orders. "Your pardon, Sos," said Julius in the tongue of Latini, still with little expression on his countenance. "I am the Capitaneus of the Petrel and the commission is mine. You will be a traveler when I have given decide that the transaction has been concluded. As such, I would ask that you remember your position." Ignoring the sudden amazement on the face of a man obviously unaccustomed to naysaying to his needs, Julius said to the pirate leader in his own tongue, "In the holds I have fifty talents of silver for the release of Gaius Julius Caesar and any of his attendants. Also, there is a talent of silver and a half of gold, as agreed ransom-price for the family of Antonius Pullus."
The man, still grinning like an acting fool, nodded and replied, "Aye. What of the fee for the other oikogénia?"
Julius hesitated at unfamiliar word, then realized that he was asking about the ransom for the Domitius family. "We have that also - thirty minae of silver." About half a talent, he knew.
"Aye, then the agreement is made on both sides and in goodly fare - freedom for some and wealth for others." The man smirked, then continued, "In truth, I would have not felt sadness should our merciful offers been refused. There is a factor in Gaza that will pay well for such high-born drudges."
Julius turned away and called to Kaeso. "Break out the skiff and two ropes long enough to reach yon wharf. We will tow the silver ashore..." He thought for a moment, giving estimates of both weights and burthen of the little boat. "...Three chests at each crossing. And take care when lowering over the hull." A dropped talent of... anything would not even pause as it fell through the planks of the skiff. "Judoc. You will come with me."
Shortly, they were on the shore, surrounded by a myriad of men - and some women, although those standing away from the crowd. From their demeanor, these had to be the wenches of the pirates - all were pointing and laughing among themselves.
The empty skiff was towed back to the ship, about fifty strides out into the cove, with Judoc paying out the rope that would be used to pull the loaded boat back to land. On each landing, three chests were taken from the boat by shouting men, opened for examination, then carried off up the slope to the small... village, it appeared to be - the lair of the pirates when not reaving on the waters, no doubt. In a pair of hours, all had been landed and the Petrel was riding visibly higher in the water.
Gaius had come back in the skiff with the pirate leader, both standing to watch the process of transferring the chests from the ship. Finally, as the last began its move up the slope, the Roman captive called to Julius. "Come. We will meet our band of outcasts." To the surprise of both men of the ship, he clapped the pirate on the back with a grin. "Aniketos has promised all a feast to astound the gods upon receipt of payment. Bring your crew ashore - there is no need to stand on an anchored ship now that the commission is fulfilled."
Julius nodded. "Nay. Our ballast must be replaced and with haste. I have little wish to make this island my home by allowing it to capsize should a goodly wind arise."
At a wave, both he and Judoc were towed back to the ship, now met by the entirely of the crew as they climbed the rope ladder to the deck. Immediately he asked, "What count did you get?"
"At least sixty, without include of the women," replied Patroclus.
"That is a great number for just the two hulls," said Kaeso.
"Aye, but such a question can wait. We will resand the bilge in the same manner as taking the silver ashore. Kaeso, break out... ten of the large buckets. Put three men on the shore to fill and load the skiff." The first mate nodded and turned to give the orders that would replace the load of silver - or a portion of it - with the usual sand that served as the ballast. Until such was done, the Petrel could show only a portion of sail in any wind without capsizing to the leeward beam.
Now, he said to Kaeso, "I will go ashore to make disposition of our returning passengers. Keep your discernment sharp, and with extra care when the sun is gone - there is a strange cant to this commission and I cannot fathom the reason." Indeed, the attitude of the noble Gaius was beyond understanding. It was as if he had befriended the pirates, and almost to the point of becoming their leader. And, he remembered, on reaching the deck of the Petrel, Caesar had had no hesitation in heaping insult upon the genesis of the Captain and on the quality of his band.
In truth, the man called Aniketos was cut from poor cloth as a fearless and murderous leader of pirates. Or so it seemed.
Now, in the bow of the ship, and with much pointing into the distance by Julius and nodding by the First Mate, they spoke for a while, the Captain turning to leave at the shout from Ngozi that the skiff was ready.
At the shoreline, beside the crumbling pier, he stepped out of the skiff as his men removed the water buckets in preparation for filling with sand. Up the slope he could see the multitude of men in obvious merrymaking - no doubt gloating over the chests that would have made the ransom of a king.
Chapter 14
"Julius it is?" The man, of an age of the Captain, stared again, then said, "By the gods, it is so!"
"Greetings to you and your good wife, Marcus. And to you, Camelia." Indeed, he had eyes for the sister of his friend - that femina who was once the object of both scorn and mockery by her brother and his friend, in the manner of small boys to young girls the world over. No longer a femina, but not an aged Matron either, she had lost none of her beauty over the handful of years since he had last seen her.
They were in a large hutment on the edge of the encampment - a mere shelter made of sticks and reeds, but apparently clean and dry. In any case, in this clime, there was little need for cover other than from rain.
Both friends strode to grasp arms in sudden welcome, then the man said, "I had heard tales of your need for adventure, but to sail into the lair of such reaving scum is not a task that I would have thought proper for a noble of the house of Clavius."
Now the sister said, "Nay. I suspect that our friend would gladly sail into the maw of Hades and enjoy the venture. Julius was always the one who led your pack of fledglings into trouble, brother, if you remember. And not even the wrath of the Priest Magus at finding such noble street-rats
climbing the statue of Jupiter in the alcove dampened such play."
Now Julius smiled. "Aye, but the cane of both Fathers made some impression afterward." His friend nodded with a wry smile at the memory. Gaining a serious expression, he continued, "Where are Lucius and Velia?" The two youngsters were brother and sister, about two years apart and now about to enter their formative years before being vested as adults, although his last sight of them was as they were barely weaned.
"Out in the run of the camp," said Marcus. "I fear that the excitement of our situation overrides any seriousness with them."
There were two other people in the hut - a man and woman and both considerably more aged than the family of his friends. Marcus turned and gestured at both. "This is Antonius Pullus and his wife, Vergilia."
Julius gave a shallow bow to the elder couple, saying, "Aye, Dominus. It has been many years since I dined at your table with my family." Indeed, he could barely remember the household and not at all the two nobles by sight - a boy of minor years had concern only for the food on the table and the converse with any young friends that happened to be also invited to the fête.
The man himself bowed deeply. "You are the son of Cassius?" At the nod from Julius, the noble said, "He was a goodly man, and a better friend. His early departure from life was an ill-use by the gods." He paused, apparently attempting to dredge some faint recollection from his memory... "Aye, you are the brother of Aulius Clavius, the second son that discarded the mantle of overseer to the family business for the need to wander."
Julius smiled. "Aye, Sos. My attention at the scribing tables and the counting vaults tends to wander beyond any use. But, in my own defense, my voyaging to the ends of the Great Sea are in the interests of my family."
"Nay, young man. It was no criticism that I gave, only a feeble jest of an oldster. I would certainly not denigrate any who risked life and freedom to gain ours."
Now Marcus pointed at the scroll that Julius had in one hand. "Is that from Father? It appears to have the seal of our house."
"Aye, and both he and your Mother send their hopes for a goodly resolution of the dilemma." Handing the spindle to his friend, he said, "I will return after my discourse with the noble from Rome."
He bowed to both the wife and the sister, then turned and walked back into the camp. It was large for a pirate lair. Like the hut that he had just exited, all of the buildings, except for a longhouse - apparently the meeting house and cookery of the band - were flimsy structures. Of course, wood of building quality did not grow on this tiny island, and must needs be brought across the waters from Greece - or Armenia. Such would take a major effort and he knew that men who assumed the labor of thieves had little desire for manual labor unless necessary for their reaving.
The longhouse itself, was just that. Probably fifty strides in length and apparently made of flotsam planks, it looked as if it had been built by men without the slightest knowledge of carpentry - which was undoubtedly the actuality of the construction. There was a wide opening, but no closable door and he could easily hear the merrymaking inside.
It was the layout of the encampment - actually, just a small village - and its location on the small island that was of interest. He walked to one end, seeing a knoll with a crude tower at the peak, although such a word was a misnomer for a mere hill that was barely rising above the surrounding layout of the island. Not a watchtower in the usual sense, it was just a stacked pile of the whitish rocks laying everywhere about the ground, and about the height of two men - no doubt for use to see the distance on all sides of the island, although no sentry could be seen on its heights now. He climbed the crude steps to the top and the isle shrank to even smaller proportions than his precious assumptions. More rounded than not, it could not have been more than ten stadia across any portion. There was nothing else that he could see other than the low scrub that gave a modicum of greenery to the landscape. And, to the horizon in all directions, was nothing but sea.
Should the Admirals of Rome, or of the cities on the coast of Armenia - or even of the small domain of Rhodes - become tired of the constant reavings of their trade ships, this nest of vermin would be easy to eradicate. It would take only a galley or two in blockade of the narrow cove, then another few shiploads of Legionaries, moved ashore, to begin the extermination of all on the island. There was nowhere for the pirates to either flee or hide.
There was little else to see, and he walked back to the longhouse, having absolutely no desire to consort with pirates, but needing to converse with the man for whom this voyage had been made.
The chests were set in the middle of the floor, all opened to show the glistening contents. Most of the pirates were well along in their cups, either cavorting to each other or sitting at tables in loud converse, pointing now and again at their spoils. At a table with the pirate leader and his apparent officers, if such could be called so, was Gaius himself, giving forth as if a member of the band, and not a desolate prisoner. Seeing Julius enter, the pirate captain, Aniketos, pointed and nudged the Roman at his table. Turning around to see the newcomer, Gaius called, "Come. Have a cup and celebrate the end of our biding on this putrid island."
The pirate leader, still grinning like a fool in the Forum, pointed to a man next to himself, motioning for the place to be vacated. A cup was placed at the spot by one of the few women in the long room, then filled to the brim. "We can leave on the morrow, Kapetánios," said Gaius, as his liberator sat on the bench. Of course, he was using the tongue of his captors.
Julius tasted the wine, then set the cup down. It was sweet and goodsome, but undiluted. If the men in the room continued their quaffing at the current pace, they would be a rousing mob before the hour was over. Now he answered, "Aye, but such depends on the wind, of course. My need is to know how many are in your party."
"Only myself and Aebutius, my Socius. All others were released with the ship that carried the missive to Rome." Julius nodded. The family of Marcus was five and with the other noble pair would make seven. With Caesar and his associate, the berthing count would only be nine - the Petrel would be almost empty, compared to the lading weight on arrival at this island. Of course, his ship was not well-appointed for passengers - nobles used to having their private cabins would be sleeping on mats in the hold, but he assumed that such would be a minor inconvenience compared to being prisoners on a remote island.
"Our company will be the poorer for the loss of such highly placed companionship," said Aniketos loudly, drawing guffaws from all near enough to hear his words over the tumult.
Now Gaius said with equal blitheness, "Aye, but your loss will be only for the few months." Turning to Julius, he said, "I have given sworn oath that our fat friend here, and his stinking comrades, will be looking down at myself from their high positions - nailed to the side of this longhouse."
Julius was glad that he had not had a cup to his lips, else he might have sprayed the men across the table. He was appalled at the... impudence of a man in the custody of one who had need of only speaking a word to have the verbal assaulter carved as a haunch on the spit.
But, rather than taking insult or seriousness of threat, the pirate leader brayed his laughter again, as did all at the table. "Aye. And so he has told us from the beginning." To his men, he lifted his cup, saying, "We must needs spend our silver in haste before our fearsome guest returns in his vengeance." Again the men cheered the jape, although in their increasing state of temulence, they would have shouted fanfare had their leader recited the oath to Jupiter. Now the man stood, somewhat unsteadily. Holding his cup on high, he said, "You are free to leave on any wind. It is our hopes that your departure will be with haste. We have much need of visit to the porneíos and taverna in the upper lands. And, mayhap with a stop in Miletus that we might sharpen our skills with women and cups before encountering the skilled wenches of Athens."
With all well into their drunken carousing, it was obvious that Aniketos and his men would be beyond lucid converse and soon. Juliu
s stood, saying, "I must needs make sure of the fastness of my ship for the night." His nod to the leader was not even noticed as he walked from the building.
Passing the little hut that was the abode of his friend the family, he was suddenly confronted with his friend, and the man in considerable distress. In his short absence, the joy of the appearance of a ship from the Roman domains had been replace by despair, apparently. Standing in the opening to the hut, the mate of Marcus was distressed in no small manner, and even the young woman, Camelia, was teary-eyed.