Greek Fire

by James Boschert

  Talon made sure that the senator and the ladies were able to see without difficulty and were attended to by their servants, then stood off to the side with Alexios, who was seated on a light wicker chair. The sun had already set but the western sky was streaked with red and gold clouds, making for a spectacular sunset.

  Talon stared back out to sea and was astonished at what he saw. The water about five miles off shore was full of naval ships. There were three large groups of galleys well spaced apart. He counted roughly thirty ships in each group. These were the war galleys of the Byzantine fleet and they were facing west. So the Admiral of the Fleet had taken him seriously after all. He said a small prayer of thanks.

  But then the crowd noticed something else, and the murmurs became apprehensive. Moving toward the Byzantine fleet was another large group of ships, and Talon felt a prickle of excitement. The Arab fleet had arrived! He wondered what the commander was thinking as he took his fleet forward.

  “I am sure that the commander did not expect to be met at sea by the Byzantine fleet,” Alexios remarked with satisfaction.

  “They probably hoped to attack the fleet in port where its superior numbers and fire ships could not maneuver and would thus have been easily destroyed,” Talon replied.

  “You were not with us today at the villa, but a messenger came from Niko, telling me that the Admiral of the Fleet had arrested the Vice Admiral and a group of other disloyal officers last night, Talon.”

  Talon looked at him in surprise.

  Alexios nodded. “Yes, there has been a lot of discontent since the disaster that we were part of, but that is no reason for treason. Niko said to thank you for what you did. He says they are ready for anything and this is as close to an ambush the fleet could get. He will be in a ship down there this evening.”

  “Then this should be interesting. God protect Niko and all the fleet,” Talon said.

  Darkness was falling as the final glow of the sunset faded and dusk began to settle over the city. Smoke from ten thousand home fires began to settle as a light fog in the lower reaches of the city along streets and avenues.

  They all heard it begin. Then the sound grew, and the crowd was still and absolutely silent as the bells began to ring. The sound was made by hundreds, even thousands of small bells of bronze being rung by hand or beaten with small hammers as each church took up the ringing until every bell in every church in the city was chiming. The tone and volume were at a pitch that indicated danger and alarm. The city of Constantinople was standing to as yet another enemy approached its walls.

  The fleets were about to close with one another. Talon remembered Nikoporus’ description of the Greek Fire, and his own encounter with it, and hoped that his friend was safe. As if to emphasize Talon’s concerns a plume of fire arched out of a ship and a gasp went up from the crowd. The battle had begun.

  He could not really tell but he thought it might have been an Arab ship that opened fire first, but instantly several arcs of flame shot out of ships nearby and soon the sea was a confused mass of shipping with long tendrils of flame leaving one ship and landing on another. The fleets were completely intermingled by now. Many vessels were soon on fire, and Talon thought of the crazed crews who would be trying to find safety in the water and finding none. An awed buzz came from the crowd on the hill with the occasional shout from someone calling encouragement to the distant fleet.

  Talon wondered at the horror taking place on the ships they were watching. The crews manning the Greek Fire apparatus on the Arab ships were sure to have been Greek; they had more than probably been terrorized into using the equipment, lashed and beaten until they had fired on their own ships at close range, knowing full well what form the retribution would take. He doubted that any of them lived to fire their equipment more than once, as the Byzantine navy singled out those ships first and destroyed them with their own fire. He muttered a small prayer for their souls.

  For the spectators on the shore and watching from the hills it was truly a scene from Hell, but eerily it was carried out in total silence. They could hear nothing at this distance of the battle shouts, the clash of arms or the shrieks of agony from the men who were dying from the awful flames that criss-crossed the center of the two groups. The two wings of the Byzantine group now joined the battle. Their lead ships struck the Arab fleet from both sides and poured flame into the flanks of the enemy vessels.

  “They do not have the numbers of flame throwers that we do, Talon,” Alexios said. “They were relying upon the element of total surprise and treachery.”

  Talon agreed, mesmerized by the sight of his first naval battle. As darkness enveloped the land and then the sea to the west, the scene became if anything even more hellish. There was a great pyre of flame in the center of the two fleets, while on the outskirts he could just make out the dark shapes of galleys breaking away and trying to escape, but the squadrons on the wings were waiting for them and gave chase, sending plumes of flame after them, setting them on fire. The ships stopped where they were and became isolated torches, while other vessels gave them a wide berth.

  “The burning ships must be a hazard for both fleets by now. They will have to get some distance from the hell in the middle,” Alexios remarked.

  Indeed, although hard to tell in the dark, it was as though the whole battle was drifting away to the west. The sea was dotted with burning hulks and other small groups moving westward. Flames still poured from some ships, but it was all now far away from the city and there was a great pall of black smoke hanging over the area that further reduced visibility.

  It felt like an eternity during the battle, but in fact it could only have been an hour before the ships scattered out of sight of the city and the subdued crowd began to disperse.

  Talon and Alexios turned away from the distant spectacle and began to help Damianus and Joannina in to their litters. Alexios would have preferred to walk but the distance was still too great, so he elected to return with his litter. Theodora decided to walk with Talon.

  As they walked, and possibly because it was dark and no one could see, she put a hand in the crook of his arm and held onto him.

  “I think war is horrible,” she stated in her matter of fact manner.

  “I agree with you, Theo, but men will fight them for whatever reasons they can find.”

  “That is why I wish to become a doctor. I think I can do much good as a physician.”

  “You have chosen well, Theo. I know you will be a good physician, and I wish you good luck with your future plans.”

  “What of you, Talon? Are you to go back to that primitive place Acre and stay a knight of the Templars, or will you stay here…with us?” this last was said almost wistfully and its meaning was not lost on Talon.

  “Theo, I cannot stay, even should I want to, for the Order has my fealty and I may not gainsay that. Besides I have packages to deliver to Sir Guy for the King. However, I shall be back in the springtime to help your brother transport cargo with my two ships.”

  “When do you leave?” she asked in a low voice, and her hold on his arm tightened.

  “I think it will be tomorrow now that the battle is decided.”

  *****

  The next day, once he was sure that Henry and Makarios had the cargo situation under control, Talon made his way back up the hill to the house of Kalothesos. Henry and Guy had told him that they suspected the Genoese ship was preparing for sea. It was time to say goodbye and he was very reluctant to do so.

  John the eunuch met him at the door and smiled with evident pleasure at seeing him. He invited Talon to follow him to the garden. “The Senator will be there, Sir Talon, and he is sure to want to talk to you.”

  “Very well, John, I shall come with you. How is my Lady Joannina today?”

  “As well as can be expected, Sir. She grieves, as does the young Lady Theodora. The funeral is to be in a couple of days at the church of St. Mary Diakonissa.”

  The senator was standing with his gardener in amo
ng the vines when John announced Talon. He looked up and smiled, then waved him over.

  “The news is all over the city, Sir Talon. We won a great naval battle last night. From what John has discovered from the street our enemies were almost completely destroyed!”

  Talon nodded and waved. He had heard the buzz of excited groups of people on the street corners and in the harbor itself. He noted that the fleet was still not back, so he assumed that they were scouring the Marmara seas for stragglers and hunting them down, even to chasing them out of the mouth of the Hellespont and stopping the siege at Abydos along the way.

  “Come with me, Sir Talon, we are going to sit among the olive trees down there. I want to discuss something with you.”

  They were soon seated comfortably under an olive tree on a wide wooden bench. John was sent off for some wine. Just as John came back Alexios hobbled into the garden and came to join them.

  “I suspect that you are coming to say goodbye, Talon,” he said.

  “I am, Alex.”

  The senator looked surprised. “I thought you might be staying for the winter, my boy?” he queried, looking disappointed.

  “I regret that I must sail to Acre, as Sir Guy is expecting me with dispatches that cannot be delayed any longer, Sir. And there is a small matter of another ship to pick up along the way.”

  “We will miss you, Talon. God protect you until we meet again,” the old man said.

  “We shall indeed, Talon,” Alexios added his own words. “With whom shall I play chess now?” he complained.

  “You just do not want to be beaten by that little scamp of a sister,” Damianus said, and cackled with laughter at the discomfort on his son’s face.

  Alexios put his hand on his father’s arm in an affectionate gesture and grinned ruefully at Talon. “I have no friends here, Talon. I am quite alone! Come back soon to see us.”

  His father snorted and tapped his stick on the ground. “Where is that wine? We will have cargo for two ships waiting for you when you do come back, Talon. Make it soon, my boy.”

  *****

  Henry and Guy appeared to have judged correctly. The activity on the galley denoted that the Genoese was preparing to leave. Talon asked his men if any unusual passengers might have boarded the ship, but the men informed him that unless it was done under the cover of darkness they had not seen anything.

  Meanwhile all was bustle on the Falcon. Makarios, not being a man to waste an opportunity, brought wagonloads of iron and bales of hides to their ship and told Talon to try and get the best price he could in Acre. Henry nodded at Giorgios and Makarios, who were standing on the quayside as the last stinking bales of hides were loaded. “He has a good nose for business, that man. The hides are for sure wanted in the Holy Land, and iron is much needed in the forges. We will get a good price for them.”

  “Do they not need salt also?”

  Henry laughed and placed a finger alongside his nose. “He thought of that too. We did not entirely unload all the salt. There are a good few ingots still in the hold, and Guy will be like a mother hen with them, have no fear.” He was still chuckling as he went to the rail and called out to Guy to close down the hatches and make the ship ready for sea. It was mid morning and a good time to leave.

  As they left with a wave to Makarios and Giorgios, who were standing on the quayside,Talon cast a look up the hill toward the villa Kalothesos and wondered if they could see his ship. They were leaving without enough notice for the family to come down to see them off. He sent a prayer of thanks to them and turned his attention to the activity going on across the water where the Genoese ship was hauling up its anchor.

  Henry, Guy and Talon watched the other ship row out through the port gates, and then Guy went to the lower deck and supervised the rowers while Henry took up his usual station alongside the steersmen. A pilot who had come aboard a few minutes ago gave directions, which Talon translated to Henry, who guided their ship across the still waters of the harbor negotiating a course between the other shipping, then they rowed out between the huge towers of the entrance to the port of Prosphorion.

  They paused long enough to drop the pilot off in a small sailing boat that had kept pace with them, and then Henry and Talon looked for the Genoese galley. It was making full sail for the chain, which was lowered to allow a squadron of naval vessels speeding in from the Bosporus to cross over. Talon stared at them, wondering.

  Word had come that morning that Nikoporus had died in the battle. Talon and Alexios had both been struck numb at the news. Alexios had put his head in his hands and wept for his friend while sitting next to his father and Talon on the bench under the olive trees. Damianus, himself fighting back tears, had put his arm over his son’s bent shoulders to console him, a gesture that Talon was sure he would never have considered a few months ago. Talon had finally left with a heavy heart, feeling that he was deserting the family. As he looked up at the distant roofs of the villa he prayed that they would know peace of a sort again before too long.

  Now he looked at the ships speeding past and wondered if the Fleet Admiral might be aboard, but the distance was too great and it was impossible to identify him from among the splendidly uniformed men clustered on the decks of the warships as they swept by. He turned to stare at the Genoese ship, and despite himself there were dark thoughts in his heart. Caravello had to be made accountable.

  Henry bawled some orders and Guy stood the rowers down and hurried the deck hands to get the sails dropped. The sails caught the wind, bellied, and then the Falcon came to life, surging forwards. Talon experienced an unaccustomed sense of pleasure as the ship pushed into the choppy seas. His attention was focused on the Genoese ship for the time it took to clear the cape and round the peninsula and start heading south; it too was under full sail and making good speed. They were accompanied by several other ships sailing in the same direction, so he did not think they would draw much attention from the Genoese captain.

  Talon could not resist a final look back over the wake of their ship to stare at the receding city, which was glowing in the warm sun of late autumn. He observed the Hagia Sophia and the huge complex of the Great Palace, their copper roofs and white walls glowing in the sun, and remembered again the chariot races and the games of tzykanion, but also the incredible variety of this magnificent city and its multitude of people.

  “You seem to get your sea legs much faster these days, Sir Talon,” Henry said. He was braced against the side of the afterdeck whereas Talon was standing free. “Have you decided that you like the sea better now?”

  “Truth be said, Henry, I fear the sea, but when I am on a good ship with a good navigator like you I feel safer.”

  Henry grinned. “You will make a navigator one day, that is for sure. All of us three sailors talked about it. The sea is for adventurers, Talon, and you are one for sure.”

  “Perhaps you are right, Henry. But I love most of all the mountains. They call to me, Henry, and I do not know how to explain it. There is always a mystery in mountains. What is at the top? What is on the other side that you cannot see?”

  “The sea has its mysteries too, Talon.” Henry said.

  “I still have some things to settle, and then perhaps, who knows where the sea will take us, my friend? However, I will miss this city.”

  “We shall be back, Sir Talon. God willing.”

  “Yes, God willing, we will be back, and I hope it is not too long before we are.”

  “Guy tells me that you have had an interesting time of it, what with the campaign and the troubles in the city.”

  “Guy talks too much, Henry. But I will miss the family Kalothesos. The senator is a good man, and his wife and children are good people. The city is a gemstone in a world that is confused and uncertain.”

  Henry nodded. “I agree, Talon. We can winter in Acre, as you wish, and then we can come back and trade?”

  “That is everyone’s intention. There is trade for us, that is for sure, and once Nigel joins us at Abydos wi
th the second ship we will be able to transport that much more.”

  Guy came onto the after deck and joined them.

  “What of the prisoner below, Sir Talon? Can I let him up?” he asked.

  “He can stay below for the time being.”

  “Are you going to ransom him?”

  “Indeed I will, and we will share in the ransom, Guy.”

  Guy laughed. “You are a dark one, Talon. We must ask before you will tell us anything!”

  “I shall tell you something about that ship over there before you ask.”

  They gave him their full attention.

  “I wish to take that ship for myself. I think three is a good number.”

  They were still gaping at him as he descended the steps to go and talk to Aarif.

  *****

  They sailed south all day, and were witness to all the detritus of a naval battle. At one point they sailed into a sea of charred wood fragments and lost equipment formerly belonging to ships. Oars, spars, whole sides, and even the bows of ships floated everywhere the eye could see. Anything that could float to the surface of a ship that had been destroyed was bobbing up and down in the waves. Henry became so concerned that he ordered the sails to be reefed, afraid that they might ram into some large obstruction just under the water. There was worse to come as they approached the epicenter of the battle. Lifting and falling in the choppy seas in among the other wreckage were innumerable corpses of the men who had died one way or the other in the great battle fought the night before. Looking out in every direction Talon could see many of the Byzantine navy ships moving about searching the waters for survivors. One approached them and demanded identification.

  Having shouted the right answers they were allowed to continue. The Genoese received the same treatment and had to stop, and this was the opportunity for Henry to fill the sails and get ahead of their quarry. They sailed past the Genoese, whose captain was being interrogated by a snappy looking naval officer. No one showed any interest in another galley going by. They were almost a mile ahead when their lookout told Henry that the Genoese was lifting sail and following them.