by Hilary Green
Alectryon said, ‘I see one problem. With the ship round the other side of the headland, and half the town at your heels, how are you going to get back?'
At that moment the lookout whom we had posted in the stern of the ship gave a low call. We ran down to the water's edge to see a small boat heading towards us. It was a fishing boat from the town, by the look of it, and there were four men in it. They were well out in the bay at the moment and as we were drawn up in the shelter of a jutting shoulder of rock they had not yet seen us.
Alectryon said, 'If they spot us and take the news back to the town we might as well not bother with any further plans. Kerkios, get the men into the ship and be ready to put out.'
Kerkios did as he ordered and the men embarked rapidly and silently. From the after-deck we watched the little boat. It was obviously on its way back to the town, cutting slantwise across the bay. It was possible that they might not notice us. Then I saw a man rise to his feet and point and the boat rocked wildly.
'Put off,' Kerkios,' Alectryon said crisply. 'Dexeus, I want the two men rowing disabled as soon as we're within bowshot.'
The rowers in the little boat were already making frantic efforts to round the promontory before we could catch up with them, but the crew of our ship bent to their oars with a will and we rapidly over-hauled them. Kneeling in the bows Dexeus drew his bowstring to his chin and the arrow found its mark in the neck of one of the rowers. He fell backwards out of the boat and the other three immediately gave up the struggle and fell to their knees, raising their hands in supplication. We took them on board and towed the little boat back to our anchorage.
The three men could speak nothing but their own language so it was useless to question them and we simply tied their hands and feet and left them under guard by the ship.
Cresphontes said, 'Well, that solves the problem of getting back after the attack.'
'Maybe,' I said doubtfully. 'It's a very small boat.'
'It will take six or seven men at a pinch. When we have drawn off the men from the town and laid a false trail for them to follow we will come back here, get into the boat and row out to sea. You can pick us up off the end of the promontory.'
'Will six or seven of you be enough?' I asked.
Cresphontes grinned. 'From the noise we shall make the town will think a whole army is upon them, never fear.'
For the next hours we attempted to rest but I do not think any of us slept. Cresphontes roused us in the chill darkness and we prepared for the coming fight, for none of us was so foolish as to think that we should get away without striking a blow, in spite of our planning. I shivered as Dexeus helped me to buckle on my corselet. I had dreamed so often of my first battle, seeing it always as a great triumph, but now I was finding it hard to stop my teeth from chattering. I looked at Xouthos, sharpening his dagger on a stone a few feet away, and reflected that I had never seen him look happier.
Alectryon came up from the ship, already in full armour. 'I have given orders for the chests containing the weapons to be broken open and the contents distributed.'
I nodded and said, 'Good,' between clenched teeth. He gave me a sharp look and said, 'It might be a good idea to open another jar and give the men a drink to warm them.'
I nodded again and gave the order. After a mouthful or two of wine my teeth stopped chattering. I put on my bronze helmet and Dexeus fastened my greaves and hung my sword over my shoulder. My shield and spear lay ready to hand.
Cresphontes gathered his party together and gave them a few words of encouragement. We wished them all luck and watched them disappear into the darkness under the trees that clothed the side of the ridge.
Our three prisoners were pushed into the bottom of the ship and the crew shoved off and dipped their oars into the dark water. The first faint grey light of dawn was breaking. We reached the end of the promontory and lay close under the cliff, the men backing water gently to keep us from drifting aground, watching the light strengthen and waiting for Cresphontes to attack. He had said, 'You will know my signal when you hear it.'
I glanced at Alectryon. His face was set and calm. He caught my eye and smiled encouragingly. The wait seemed endless and I began to wonder if Cresphontes had let us down.
'He's had plenty of time to reach the outskirts of the town by now,' I whispered to Alectryon. 'What's he playing at?'
'That's what I'm wondering, too,' he answered.
At that moment, clear across the water, came the noise we had first heard in Cresphontes's village. Again and again the sound split the air. Alectryon laughed softly, 'Of course, the trumpet! That ought to rouse the town!'
I said, 'Ready, Kerkios?' and he answered, 'Ready, sir.'
From the town we could hear a confused murmur of sound, then men began to appear beyond the houses, running to and fro apparently without direction: and then, as bees will suddenly leave the hive in a great swarm, they set off along the ridge.
'Now, Kerkios!' I said.
At his order the men bent to their oars and sent the ship scudding across the open water of the bay. Still men were pouring out of the town in the opposite direction, brandishing their weapons.
Suddenly I was aware of the same sensation that had swept over me just before Alectryon had snatched me from the path of the bull. My limbs seemed to lighten and I felt a surge of elation. I knew that he was watching me, waiting to see how I would bear myself, and as the keel grounded on the sand I leapt from the after-deck and ran forward, waving my spear and calling the men to follow me.
As we raced up the slope towards the town I could hear shouts and the screams of women and somebody began to bang some metal object so that its clangour resounded around the valley. The men who had gone after Cresphontes would soon be back now. As we ran between the first houses an arrow sang past my ear and I heard a cry from behind me, but no one came out to oppose our advance. We charged straight up to the main building and as we reached it two men, servants I guessed, were attempting to close the heavy wooden gate across the entrance to the courtyard. One seized up a baulk of wood and swung it at me. I rushed in under his guard and thrust at him with my spear. It went in deep and was almost wrenched out of my hand as I flung him off, but it was not until I saw his body lying there on the way out that I realised I had killed my first man.
Alectryon was at my side now, and together we raced into the main room of the house. Three women, two young and one older, and an elderly man were cowering in a corner. Alectryon drew his sword and said to the men behind him, 'Take the two young ones down to the ship.'
He swung round to the old man and demanded, 'You rule this god-forsaken hole?'
To my surprise the old man stammered an assent in our own language. Alectryon ground out, 'Tell your people that we came in peace the first time but they drove us off with spears and stones. Now see what comes of treating guests in that barbarous manner!'
I tugged his arm. 'We don't have time!'
We set a guard over the old couple while we ransacked the house for valuables. We made a good haul, for the place was obviously prosperous and traded extensively. We found vessels of bronze and items of gold jewellery, curiously worked, besides several bales of woollen cloth of excellent quality. I despatched three of our men to carry the booty back to the ship. They had just left when a voice from outside shouted, 'They're on us!'
We ran out into the open again to see the men who had been lured away pouring back into the streets. Alectryon yelled, 'Keep close to me. We are going to have to fight our way back to the ship.'
The remainder of the crew rallied to his call and we formed a tight group and headed for the sea. Six or seven men sprang at us, but they were armed only with hoes and shovels and we cut them down and went on. Then some more appeared from behind a building and blocked our way. They were well armed and in the centre was a tall, powerfully built man who shouted something at us in his own language. For a second the men around us wavered but I shouted 'Charge!' and we closed with a clash of metal. I
found myself face to face with the leader and for a second his eyes glared into mine. I thrust at him with my sword and felt a blow ring off my armour with a force that almost drove the breath from my body. But my thrust had gone home too and I saw him double over with pain. I struck him on the side of the neck and blood splashed over my arm. He went down and I stooped to seize the good bronze sword he carried. This might have been my last action, for the rest of the party had already broken through and were heading for the ship and as I straightened up another enemy leapt forward. I saw his spear drawn back to stab. He could not have missed me had not Alectryon swung round and flung his shield before me. The spear glanced off it and Alectryon made short work of the owner. Then we dashed onwards towards the beach.
Here Kerkios and a handful of men were fighting off another group of attackers, while the rest were on board and ready to shove off. Caught between our two forces the enemy broke and fled and we flung ourselves over the side with the last of the crew. As the ship cleared the shore missiles began to rain about us but Alectryon and I seized our bows and poured arrows into the crowd until the straining oarsmen took us out of range.
Alectryon turned to me. 'Are you all right?'
'Yes,' I said, panting. 'Thanks to you, as usual. And you?'
'A scratch here and there. No harm done.'
I looked round. 'I wonder where Cresphontes and his men are.'
We rowed until we came to the point off the promontory where we had arranged to pick up the raiding party and waited, the tired men resting on their oars. For a moment I was afraid that something had gone wrong, but then the boat put out from the shelter of some rocks and made towards us. It was very low in the water and as it came closer I saw that there were eight people in it instead of seven.
'They've got a woman with them,' Alectryon said. 'I wonder where she came from.'
'Someone is wounded,' Kerkios said, his sharp, seaman's eyes on the boat. 'See. He is leaning on Cresphontes's shoulder in the stern.'
'It's Xouthos!' I said.
The boat came alongside and we hastened to help our friends aboard. Xouthos was only half conscious, the haft of an arrow protruding from his shoulder. We laid him on a fleece on the after deck and knelt around him.
'How did it happen?' I asked.
'The arrow was meant for me,' Cresphontes replied briefly. 'He threw himself in front of me.'
'I killed the man who shot it,' Dexeus added grimly. Alectryon looked across and grasped his wrist briefly in greeting.
Cresphontes said, 'Kerkios, can you get the arrow out?'
Kerkios had been examining the wound. 'I think so. It will be a painful business. But we should be wise to put a little more distance between ourselves and the town before we attend to such matters.'
The ship got under weigh again and soon the little town on its hill slipped out of sight. Kerkios staunched the blood from Xouthos's wound as best he could and the rest of us took stock of our situation. One man had been lost, killed, I learned, by the arrow that had so narrowly missed me. Apart from that no one had been seriously hurt, though most of us had wounds of some sort. On the other hand, it seemed no one had come away empty handed. Apart from the booty that we had removed from the chief's house there were four fat ewes and the captives: the three men we had taken prisoner the night before, the two servant girls and the woman Cresphontes had brought with him. Altogether the raid had been a success. I wondered why I felt a heavy sense of disappointment. It had been just what I had expected: but not what I had dreamed of. However, one thing was settled, and my heart lifted at the thought. My courage had not failed me and I could lead men into battle if the need arose. I thought, 'Antilochos won't be able to taunt me with that any more!'
As the ship drove along the coast, taking us steadily further out of range of the people in the town, we stripped off our armour and tended each other's wounds. As he cleaned a cut from a flying stone on Dexeus's forehead Alectryon asked, 'Who is the woman, Cresphontes?'
Cresphontes, who was leaning over Xouthos, looked up and grinned briefly. 'The chief's daughter, I fancy.'
'What? How did you come across her?'
'It seemed to me that once the people in the town discovered that we were not attacking but running away they wouldn't follow us far unless we had something that was important to them. So, when we got to the town we crept right up to the chief's house. It was simple, no guard, no watchdog, nothing to give the alarm at all. It wasn't difficult to figure out where the women's quarters were. Xouthos and I climbed up on the roof and made a hole big enough to get through - it was only made of branches with clay smeared over the top. I let myself down and found myself in the girl's room. She was still fast asleep. I guessed who she must be, seeing as she had a room of her own. She woke up a few seconds later, so I gave her a quick tap on the head to keep her quiet and pushed her up to Xouthos on the roof. Then we all crept out of town as quickly as we could, carrying the girl. When we got to the first bit of cover I told Xouthos to blow his trumpet. That woke up the town all right. The girl had come round by this time so I took my hand off her mouth and let her scream a couple of times, which brought them all running. I imagine they thought we were the tail end of a much larger force. It would have worked out perfectly except for two youngsters who were very quick off the mark and managed to cut us off somehow. They suddenly appeared on a rock above us. I didn't even know they were there until Xouthos threw himself in front of me.’
When we had gone a safe distance we put into the land again and carried Xouthos ashore. He had been very quiet ever since we took him aboard and I though he was unconscious until I saw his face twist with pain as we moved him. Kerkios ordered his men to get a fire going and then came and knelt by him, his knife in his hand. Cresphontes lifted the boy gently and took his head on his knees, then drew his dagger and put the hilt of it between his teeth.
I had never seen an arrow removed before. I saw Xouthos shuddering with pain, but Cresphontes held him tightly and he did not struggle and the only sound he made was the hiss of hard-drawn breath. By the time Kerkios had finished my own body was clammy with sweat. When Kerkios had cleaned the wound Cresphontes asked, 'Is it finished?'
Kerkios shook his head. 'It must be cauterised. Nothing else will stop the bleeding.'
He turned to the fire, which the men had blown to a fierce heat, and drew out a knife, the blade glowing dully. I caught my breath and gripped my hands tightly together between my knees, looking at Xouthos. He raised his hand feebly towards Cresphontes and I thought the gesture was an appeal for mercy, but Cresphontes clearly understood him better. He nodded and took the knife from Kerkios's hand.
Xouthos made no sound as the hot metal seared his flesh, but his body arched in Cresphontes's grip as if it would thrust itself into the ground. After that I was sure he had fainted but when Kerkios had finished bandaging the wound with a poultice of herbs from a leather pouch at his belt he opened his eyes and whispered, 'Thank you.'
Kerkios said, 'I'm sorry I had to hurt you so much, lad. But you're lucky to be alive at all. A little further down and that arrow would have been in your heart.'
Xouthos smiled. 'Then I should have died for Cresphontes. What better death could I have?'
Cresphontes stooped over him and whispered something and the boy's eyes flickered and closed. I looked at Alectryon and we rose and left them together.
There was obviously no prospect of continuing our journey that day. Everyone was exhausted and Xouthos could not be moved. For the first time I looked at the captives, huddled miserably by the ship. The two servant girls were snivelling but the chief's daughter sat erect and silent, staring before her with an expression of despair that touched me more than the others' tears. I sent Dexeus to them with bread and wine, but they ignored it.
Cresphontes sat with Xouthos cradled in his lap for most of the day. Towards evening the boy grew feverish and began to moan and stir restlessly. Cresphontes bathed his face and gave him sips of water and turned a
face of blank hostility to anyone who offered help, so we left them alone.
I ended the day feeling heavy and dispirited. The great event was over and the glory I had imagined was not there. The sight of the miserable captives and the sound of Xouthos's moans depressed me and when bedtime came I found I could not sleep. I tossed about on the hard ground until Alectryon said, 'Can't you sleep either?'
I shook my head. He rose and threw his cloak across one shoulder.
'Let's walk a little.'
I scrambled to my feet and followed him down to the edge of the water. The night was warm and still, the waves breaking with scarcely a sigh around our ankles. I waded out a little further and splashed my face and shoulders with cold water. The faint night breeze from the hills felt cool on my naked body. I had not bothered to bring my cloak.
He said, 'You did well today. You can be sure of yourself now.'
I glanced at him. 'You knew I wasn't sure?'
'I guessed. It's the same for everyone. How can a man be sure until he proves himself?'
I kicked a stone into the water. 'But what was the point, Alectryon? We lost a man's life today, and Xouthos has suffered horribly. We brought misery to the people in that town and now they will be even less likely to receive strangers kindly. Was it worth it for a few trinkets we don't even need?'
It was a moment before he answered. 'We are warriors. That is our purpose. Some men are born to till the land or to be priests or craftsmen. Our job is to defend our people.'
'To defend them, yes!' I said. 'But those men were no danger to us.'
He said quietly, 'True. But you answered the question yourself just now. We need to be sure that we can fight if we have to. You have learned lessons today that may serve you well in the future.'
I looked out to sea. 'I hope I never need them.'
'So do I,' he answered. 'But try to put all this out of your mind now. When you have rested you will feel better about everything.'
We strolled along the beach towards a low headland crowned with a small group of pines. We walked in silence, but we no longer needed speech to feel at ease together. When we reached the hilltop Alectryon spread his cloak on the soft mat of pine needles beneath the trees. There was no moon but the summer sky was hung with stars and the breeze was spiced with the resinous scent of the trees. I stood looking out over the ocean, trying to shut my mind to the images that the day had imprinted on it.
