“They went high into the hills to the east of the city where there are still a few of them to be found and it is not too far to ride.”
“Who was on the expedition?” Alexios asked.
“Prince Isaac and his retainers and one of the Bulgarian princes. You remember the young one who always wanted to play tzykanion but his father would not let him?”
“Why not?” Alexios asked.
“Because he said it was too dangerous! Ha! Now he is dead, or nearly so, as the lion jumped directly onto him and his horse and took them both down.” The senator evidently enjoyed the story because he went on to tell them in gory detail what had transpired.
Talon ceased to hear him at this point, remembering his own experiences with a lion, and he had not had the benefit of a score of other men with spears to help him. He felt sorry for the Bulgarian who might well die from his wounds.
Finally the senator tired of the story, but not, it seemed, of being the center of the discussion. He turned his attention to Talon.
“A Knight Templar in Constantinople? I do wonder what might have brought you here, Sir?” He asked again, staring hard at Talon.
Talon glanced at Alexios. “We came to see the wonders of the city, Sir. My Master has some business with the Great Palace, but I am in ignorance of his purpose.”
“Perhaps it is to do with another crusade?” Spartenos asked with a knowing look at Damianus.
“You seem to know exactly what is going on at any time in the city, even the empire,” Damianus said. Talon thought he detected a note of irony in his voice.
“You know as well as I that it pays to be aware of what is going on.”
The senator looked over to the women and seemed to share a moment with Eugenia, but she did not seem to like the look; she turned away with a frozen expression on her face. Talon wondered what understanding might be there. He assumed they must meet often enough at the palace, but it was clear to him that Eugenia did not like the senator.
The senator persisted in his questions until Alexios came to the rescue and brought the conversation around to the topic of chariot racing. It was not long before the senator was bragging about his son’s accomplishments in the arena. It was clear to Talon, however, that this man was determined to find out more about the Templars’ activities. He decided that he was going to be very circumspect with his answers in future.
______________
The Ball no Question makes of Ayes and Noes
But Right or Left as strikes the Player goes;
And He that toss’d you down into the Field
He knows about it all–He knows–He knows.
Omar Khayyam
Chapter 10
A Game of Tzykanion
A few days later Talon received an invitation from Alexios to join him at the villa belonging to Senator Spartenos; furthermore, Alexios sent Joseph as a guide. By now the knight knew enough of the intricacy of the streets to find his way, but it was customary for a well-to-do person to be accompanied by a servant. He was dressed in clothes newly bought from the market the day before. He had shed the light flowing cotton robes he had worn in Palestine and now looked more like a Byzantine than an Eastern Frank, and this suited him well enough. He felt that the more he could blend in with his surroundings the better. The Greeks were not coy about pointing at the Templars and making comments about them, not all of them complementary.
Although the majority of the population of the city was Greek and many of them as dark as any Arab, the city could boast almost every shade of mankind, from the pale blond ghosts of the northern steppes to the black people of the African lands below Egypt, so he did not stand out as he would have if he had kept to the dress of his Templar uniform.
They arrived at the entrance to the villa to be greeted by the noisy barking of a watch-dog on the other side of the tall gates. The grill snapped open and a guard peered out at them through the hole in the door and demanded their business. After Joseph had provided the reason for their presence the smaller postern door opened and they were allowed to enter. A large dog strained at its chain leash, held hard by another guard a few steps back. Talon felt the malevolent glare of the animal was intended for him; he kept his hand near to his knife just in case. The guard bade him good evening and waved them on.
Joseph led the way toward the house and barns that comprised the villa. This was yet another house set among trees and gardens, bearing a similar look to that of the Kalothesos family residence only a few hundreds of yards away. At the door a smartly dressed eunuch greeted him politely and asked their business. Joseph mentioned Alexios and then, while Joseph stayed outside, Talon was led into some rooms from which could be heard loud conversation and reedy music. There were a lot of people present. They stopped at the entrance and the eunuch indicated that Talon should wait. He then disappeared for a few moments only to reappear with Alexios, who greeted Talon with some enthusiasm.
“There you are! I was about to send another servant to collect you, Talon,” he exclaimed as they clasped hands. His breath smelled of wine and he seemed in a lighthearted mood. “I want you to meet some friends of mine. We are having a small party to celebrate the promotion of one of my friends and his recent win at the games. Come in. Come in.”
He led the way into a room crowded with young Greeks. There were perhaps thirty people gathered there, standing or seated in small groups. The servants were moving among them with long slim porcelain jars containing what Talon supposed was wine and hydromel, a form of fermented honey, or carrying trays of sweetmeats. The atmosphere seemed to be congenial and everyone to be in a merry mood as there was a lot of laughter, and he noticed with some surprise that there were several young women among the guests. The light, reedy music played by three musicians could barely be heard over the general babble of conversation and bursts of good humored banter. It reminded him of Carcassonne where he had enjoyed the company of the nobles and Lord Roger of Tranceval under similar circumstances. There too, ladies had been present at gatherings where wine was drunk and amusement provided by jesters and musicians.
A silver beaker full of bright red wine was thrust into his hand, and Alexios led him towards a group clustered about a man of similar age.
“Panto!” Alexios called out as the group opened to receive them.
The young man stopped what he was about to say and turned with a slight frown on his handsome face to see what Alexios wanted.
“Everyone, I want to introduce a friend of mine, Sir Talon de Gilles, who is visiting our fair city,” Alexios said for all to hear. He turned to Talon.
“Talon, this is Pantoleon Spartenos, a friend of mine, who is with us today in his new capacity of primikeroi. He is now a senior officer in our regiment. We are celebrating his promotion.”
Talon nodded to the young man. Without doubt the man was very handsome, and it was also clear that he knew it. His fine light color and regular features were offset by broad shoulders and strong arms, indicating a man who was very fit; he nodded back and gave Talon a cool look.
“Talon is a Knight Templar,” Alexios explained to the group around. There were surprised murmurs, and Talon received some curious looks.
“I am honored to be here in Constantinople,” Talon said to the assembly at large. He spoke carefully in the Attic Greek he had learned from Alexios, and this was greeted with a few pleased murmurs of surprise. Then he remembered the charioteer who had ridden for the Blues. Here he was in the flesh. Talon was impressed; the man not only knew how to master the complicated method of guiding a chariot to victory but was a senior officer as well.
“We must welcome you, as your people are defending the holy places,” Pantoleon said, but his tone was cool and almost dismissive.
Talon was not sure he liked the tone of voice from the somewhat too sensuous lips or their slight curl of disdain as Pantoleon regarded him. A young woman was leaning on Pantoleon’s arm looking up at him adoringly. She giggled and looked boldly at Talon with large dark e
yes.
The chatter began again and the group turned its attention back to Pantoleon, who held forth on one of his encounters with another charioteer. Talon drew back to look around. Alexios had left the group, perhaps assuming that Talon could look after himself. But he felt a little lost and wondered what he was supposed to do. Thoughts of escaping and going back to the inn crossed his mind. He was sure that Max and Claude were having a far better time with Henry and his men.
He searched nervously for Alexios, but his friend was talking animatedly to some other people. Talon moved towards the open balcony, but as he did so he was intercepted by a man of about his age,who waved his cup at him and spoke.
“You must be this Sir Talon the Frank that Alexios keeps talking about. How do you like Constantinople?”
Talon decided that although the man was perhaps a little drunk the words had not been rudely spoken, so he responded.
“I am he, and I am very impressed with this magnificent city. Who might you be?”
“My name is Nikoporus and I am drunk.”
Talon laughed. The young man grinned back at him and said, “I see you have just met…our new Senior Officer, who is holding court over there.” His tone was dry as he waved his goblet in the direction of the laughing people Talon had just left. Talon looked at him. Nikoporus was as tall as he, slim and fit, but without the muscle of Pantoleon. His narrow face and slightly long jaw were offset by a long nose, flanked by intelligent gray eyes that looked back at Talon with some amusement.
“I take it you are not a part of his entourage?” Talon asked, his tone equally dry.
Nikoporus peered at him and then chuckled. “Is it that obvious?”
“Hmm, yes, I am afraid it is.”
“Well…I have to wonder how it is that some people get promotions and others do not,” Nikoporus said.
“Take Alexios over there….he is far too nice to complain, but he is a much better officer; and what is more…he shows up to do the necessary work with his men.”
Talon glanced over at Alexios. He wondered why Alexios had come to the party, if this was the case.
“I have only once been to something like this, and that only in Languedoc where my family live. You call it a gathering, and everyone is drinking wine, including the women...”
“Gatherings of this kind are not that common, and women rarely come to them. Panto told us at the training barracks that his parents were away for a few days on the estates to the north and the house would be empty. I do not think his mother would approve, and as for the crusty old senator, he would probably burst a blood vessel if he knew.”
Talon grinned at the thought of the Senator Spartenos exploding. His thoughts went to Alexios’ father, another crusty old senator with whom he had had an unpleasant encounter. Perhaps being unpleasant and crusty was a qualification for the role.
“What training do you do at the barracks?”
“They are cavalry officers and therefore they train with their men in maneuvers and such like on the large parade grounds.”
“You do not train with them?”
“Sometimes, but I am in the Navy. I am a Mandatores.”
“What does that mean? I am very new to all these names you Greeks have for yourselves. They are complicated and confusing.”
“Ha Ha! Yes, perhaps, but we know what we are talking about. My rank is Mandatores, which means that I am an equerry, I carry orders from the Admirals, the Topoteretai who are the fleet commanders, to the captains and others who command squadrons.” Nikoporus looked at him. “You look tough enough. Are you a cavalry soldier too?”
“I am a Knight Templar. Does that count?”
“Ah, yes, of course, Alexios mentioned that. He also said that you were well versed in the languages of the Arab and the Persian.”
“What is this? Do we have a linguist among us?” A light voice interrupted them.
Both men turned to see a small but very pretty young woman standing facing them with a smile on her oval face.
“Well, are you not going to introduce me, Niko?” she asked with a dimple, her bright hazel eyes looking straight at Talon as she spoke.
“Yes of course! Sir Talon, I would like to introduce Antonina, who is a very good friend of Alex’s family and of mine.” He reached a long arm over her shoulders for a brief hug. She clearly enjoyed the intimacy of the gesture.
“What were you two talking about when I arrived?” she asked, offering her hand, wrist up, to Talon who bowed over it.
“I was saying spiteful things about Panto, as usual. I do not agree with this promotion, as you also know. It should have gone to Alex,” Nikoporus said with a grimace.
Antonina laughed, showing good white teeth, her eyes merry.
“Niko, we all know that you do not like him much, but you have to admit he is very handsome and his father is very rich. Not only that, he is a first rate chariot driver and has won vast amounts of gold in the Hippodrome and fortunes for those who bet on him. It does make a difference in these things.”
Nikoporus took a swig of his wine. He smiled ruefully. “Yes, this is all true, but I am sorry for Alex. He wants his father to be proud of him and I think he deserved it more; but then I am just a sailor, so what do I know?” He turned back to Talon.
“We were talking about the army and horsemanship and languages. How is it that you speak Greek? Do you know, Antonina, I have just realized that this Frank is speaking to us in Greek! You speak it passably too, if I may say so, although your accent is a give away. ” He laughed and clapped Talon on the shoulder.
“Niko, you are so silly! Now I know that you are drunk and your slaves should take you home,” Antonina said, laughing with him. “You must excuse Niko, Sir Talon,” she said, smiling at him. “He can be such a fool at times, but he is adorable and we all love him. How is it that you have learned Arabic, and what was that other language? Have you lived long in Palestine?”
“I was born there,” Talon said to her with a smile. He liked her open, relaxed behavior and was beginning to feel more comfortable. “He was just telling me all the complicated names of your navy. I have to admire our ships; they look businesslike and are very fast.”
“There is a rumor that you came in a galley, Talon. Alexios said there is a lot of mystery about that ship but he had conflicting reports about it. He also said that you had something to do with the whole story.”
“It is not a long story, Nikoporus.”
“Call me Niko.”
“Very well…Niko. We stole it from the Egyptians and made our escape to Acre with it. Almost the whole crew came with me and my sergeant Max when we escaped.”
Nikoporus gaped and almost spilled the contents of his beaker.
“You stole the ship from the Egyptians?” He and Antonina gasped almost at the same time.
“Now this I have to hear about. This beats anything Panto can brag about!” Nikoporus said as he took a gulp of his wine. “Start at the very beginning and do not leave anything out! Alex, come over here!” he called. “Your friend Talon is about to declare the mystery of his ship!” Alex waved but he was engaged and obviously did not hear; he stayed where he was.
Talon gave them a very brief account of the shipwreck and their subsequent adventures, concluding with the escape through Dalmatia and the chase out to sea where Henry had finally lost their pursuers.
Nikoporus said, “You certainly had an interesting time of it. For such a good tale I want to take you to visit one of our warships sometime. Would you like that?”
“Yes, I would like that very much Niko. Thank you.” He meant what he said. There was a mystery of sorts on the Byzantine ships that he wanted to clear up for himself too.
Nikoporus gave Antonina another hug and then said, “My beaker is empty and I need some more. Where is that servant?”
He wandered off to find more wine, leaving them alone.
“I have never been further afield than Thessalonica, and that was just so that my father could che
ck on his estates. We stayed for three months and then came back. I cannot remember being so bored!” she laughed as she sipped the glass of wine she held in delicate, bejeweled fingers. Talon observed that what jewelry she did wear was expensive but sparse. Her thick lustrous hair and her slim neck were very attractive.
She noticed his glance and smiled then said, “How does our food compare to that of the Franks in Palestine?”
He laughed. “It does not compare at all. It is superior in every way!”
They were deep into a discussion of the food he had encountered thus far in Constantinople and delicacies that she described, making his mouth water, when Alexios sauntered over with another man trailing along. This was a youth who was only in his teens and looked awkward dressed in his finery. He gave the impression of being a gawky boy and bore a slightly glum expression on his angular features. His beak-like nose stood out from between large, innocent brown eyes.
“Theo, I want you to meet Sir Talon, Templar Knight. Talon, Theo is on our Tzykanian team. His father owns more horses than a cavalry division,” Alexios said by way of introduction. “I noticed that Niko was talking to Talon, but I seem to have just missed him,” Alexios said, as he took Antonina’s hand and kissed the back of it, exaggerating the gesture. She pretended to simper, dipping one leg as she did so. Talon could not help smiling at the playacting.
“Your loss, Alex. Hello, Theo. Talon was telling us how he came by his ship. Niko said that there was a bit of a mystery about it; well, now we know and you do not!”
“What is this?” Alexios asked. “Talon, did you tell them something I do not know? That ship of yours, yes, there is a mystery there.”
“Well, he told us that he stole it from the Egyptians and escaped with the entire crew to Acre,” Antonina stated with almost possessive pride.
Alexios stared at Talon. “I did hear rumors on the ship while we were sailing here but no details. Everyone on that ship is very closed mouthed. Now you have to tell it all again, not just for my benefit but for my other friends too. Where is Niko?”
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