Lion of Macedon

by David Gemmell

  ‘Only if he believes he is the target,’ Parmenion pointed out. ‘When you see him, explain that you are planning to strike against the Paiones, that you are tired of their incursions into Macedonian territory.’

  ‘You don’t know Bardylis, he’s the wiliest wolf in all of Greece. He must be around eighty now - even the goddess of Death can’t seem to summon up the courage to claim him.’

  ‘How strong is his hold on Illyria?’

  ‘Strong enough,’ Philip answered. ‘There are three main tribes, but the Dardanoi of Bardylis are by far the strongest. And his army is well trained and disciplined. Better than that - they are used to victory. They won’t crack.’

  ‘We’ll see,’ said Parmenion.

  Philip rose. ‘I am riding east to Crousia. The gold supplies have started again - but they are low. While I am gone, you will have charge of the army. All reports will come to you.’

  ‘How long do you plan to be away?’

  ‘No more than two weeks. Then we head for Illyria - and my marriage.’

  Philip took 200 warriors with him on the ride north-east towards the towering Kercine mountains north of Crousia. He had never seen the mines, nor met the governor there, Elyphion. But reports of the man were not promising: he had close links with Cotys, the late King of Thrace, and was a second cousin to the murdered pretender, Pausanius. But still Philip was prepared to forgive these connections, if he could woo Elyphion to his cause.

  They crossed the river Axios and rode across the great Emathian plain, passing through villages and towns, woods and forests. Game was plentiful here and they saw the tracks of bear and lion, boar and deer. It was said that to the north there were panthers with black pelts, but none had been seen in a hundred years.

  Just before dusk on the third day Philip led his troop up a high hill, cresting it as the sun was sinking behind the western peaks of Mount Bermion. The sky was heavy with broken grey clouds, and beyond them sunlight turned the heavens to purple and crimson. Philip hauled on his reins and stared out over the rolling grasslands, the forests and the mountains, shading his eyes against the setting sun.

  ‘Why are we stopping, sire?’ asked Nicanor, but Philip ignored him, his keen gaze swinging to the east, past the proud, rearing peaks of Mount Messapion and on to the mighty Kercine mountains, stone giants with beards of snow and cloaks of timber.

  Around the King the men waited. Philip dismounted and walked to the hill’s crest. The wind blew at his cloak, the night cold whispering against his bare arms, but the beauty of the land was upon him and he felt nothing but the spell of the sunset.

  Nicanor approached him, laying his hand on the King’s shoulder. ‘Are you well, Philip?’ he asked softly.

  ‘Look upon it, my friend,’ said Philip. ‘Long after we are dust the land will still be here, these mountains and forests, the plains and the hills.’

  ‘They are all yours. Everything you see belongs to you.’

  ‘No. That is folly. I am the steward, no more than that. But that is enough, Nicanor. This is a proud land. I can feel it, seeping into my bones. I will not see it conquered-not in my lifetime.’

  Striding to his horse, he took hold of its mane and vaulted to its back. ‘Ride on!’ he ordered.

  Six days of easy travelling brought them to the foothills of the Messapion range, where they camped in a hollow surrounded by trees.

  ‘Tell me more about the governor Elyphion,’ Philip ordered Attalus. ‘I want to be prepared tomorrow.’

  Attalus spread out his cloak and lay alongside the fire. ‘He’s fat - very fat. He dresses always in blue. He has three wives, but spends most of his time with young boy slaves. He has been governor for eleven years. He has a palace that rivals any in Pella - even yours. He is a collector of statues and works of art - most of them Persian.’

  Philip grunted. ‘My gold supplies dry up, but he collects works of art and builds a palace! I think I am beginning to know the man. What of the mines themselves? How are they run?’

  ‘How would I know, sire? I have never seen one.’

  ‘You will tomorrow,’ Philip assured him.

  ‘What a fascinating prospect,’ muttered Attalus. Philip laughed and thumped him on the shoulder.

  ‘Aren’t you interested in where our gold comes from?’

  ‘No,’ admitted Attalus, ‘only that it comes.’

  ‘What of you, Nicanor? Do you wish to see the mines?’

  ‘If you command it, sire. But what is there to see? Men grubbing in the earth like moles. Darkness and stench. And as they go deeper, the constant danger of a roof-fall. I want to be buried when I am dead, not before.’

  Philip shook his head. Then I give you leave to seek the fleshpots of Crousia. Antipater will accompany me.’

  ‘A singular honour for him,’ Attalus sneered.

  ‘It is always an honour to walk with the King,’ said Antipater, masking his anger, though his dark eyes remained fixed on Attalus.

  ‘You do not like me, do you?’ asked Attalus, sitting up and returning the soldier’s stare.

  ‘I neither like you nor dislike you, Attalus. In fact I think of you rarely.’

  ‘Be careful how you speak to me!’ Attalus snapped. ‘I make a bad enemy.’

  ‘Be silent, the pair of you!’ stormed Philip. ‘You think we do not have enough trouble? When Macedonia is free then... perhaps... I will allow you to declare your enmity. Perhaps. But know this, if either of you fights I will have the winner executed. If you cannot be friends for my sake, then at least suffer one another. You understand me?’

  ‘I wish for no enmity, sire,’ said Attalus.

  ‘Nor I,’ added Antipater.

  Philip settled down in his blankets, his head resting on his folded lionskin chabraque, and gazed at the bright stars - so distant, so far from all the troubles of the world. He closed his eyes, and slipped into sleep.

  He was walking on a grass-covered hillside under a silver moon when he saw the woman sitting beneath a spreading oak. He looked around, surprised that he was alone. When he approached her and bowed, she looked up, pushing back the dark hood of her cloak. Her face was pale and beautiful, her eyes dark and yet luminous.

  ‘Welcome, Great King,’ she whispered. He sat beside her.

  ‘I am not great, woman. But I am a King.’

  ‘You will be great - that is the promise of Aida; the gods have decreed it. But there is something you need, Philip. There is a talisman you must acquire.’

  ‘Where do I find it?’

  ‘It will find you. Look!’ She pointed down the hill to where a small stream was sparkling in the moonlight. There sat a second woman. ‘Go to her - and know the joys of the universe.’

  Philip was about to ask a question when the dark woman vanished. He stood and walked to the stream. The woman there was little more than a girl, her figure slim, her breasts small and round. Her hair was red, like reflected firelight, her eyes green as jewels. When he knelt beside her she reached out and stroked his beard, her hand dropping to his chest and stroking his belly. He realized he was naked, as she was, and passion flooded him. He pulled her down to the grass, kissing her face and neck, his hand caressing her inner thigh. He could feel his heart pounding.

  ‘Love me!’ she whispered. ‘Love me!’

  He entered her, and so exquisite was his pleasure that his orgasm was instant. Incredibly though, he stayed erect, his passion seeming inexhaustible. He felt her trembling beneath him, moaning and crying out. He rolled from her, but she would not let him go - stroking him with gentle fingers, caressing him with soft lips. Finally he groaned and rolled to his back, where he lay with his arms around her.

  ‘Who are you?’ he asked her. ‘I must know. I must have you.’

  ‘You will see me again, Philip. With you I will have a child, the son of a King.’

  ‘Where can I find you?’

  ‘The time is not yet. I will meet you two years from now on the Island of Mysteries. There we will be wed; thereyou
r son will be conceived.’

  ‘Your name, tell me your name!’

  ‘Tell me your name!’ he shouted.

  ‘What is it, sire?’ asked Nicanor, moving to where the King lay. Philip opened his eyes and saw the stars, bright in the night sky.

  ‘It was a dream,’ he whispered. ‘A gift from the gods.’

  Unable to return to sleep, Philip sat for the rest of the night reliving the scene of his vision. In two years, she had said, she would be on the Island of Mysteries. Samothrace.

  He had never been there - had never wished to. But now, he knew, only death would stop him from keeping that appointment.

  Soon after dawn he woke the others and they rode down into the valley of the mines. Crousia was not a large settlement, fewer than 1,000 people dwelt here, and Elyphion’s palace overshadowed the town with its white pillars and elegant statues, its high pointed roof bearing a beautiful relief showing the goddess Athena rising from the brow of her father Zeus.

  The 200 riders reined in their horses before the building and Philip dismounted. An elderly servant emerged from an outbuilding and stood slack-jawed, staring at the army before the palace.

  ‘You!’ shouted Philip. ‘Take my horse.’ The man stumbled forward.

  ‘Are you... expected?’ he asked, his eyes fearful.

  ‘I would hope not,’ answered Philip, tossing him the reins and striding towards the huge double doors beyond the pillars. Attalus, Nicanor and Antipater followed him into the building and the four men stopped in the great hallway within. Persian carpets covered the floor, statues lined the walls and an enormous mosaic decorated the ceiling -showing the Trojan prince, Paris, with the goddesses Aphrodite, Hera and Athena.

  Philip felt almost humbled by the awesome surroundings. He noticed that his muddy boots had marked the carpet, and that his hands were grime-smeared.

  ‘Elyphion!’ he bellowed, the word echoing in the marble hallway. Servants ran from hidden doorways with panic in their eyes. One, a slender boy with golden hair, cannoned into Antipater and fell to his knees. The soldier helped him to his feet.

  ‘Don’t kill me!’ the boy begged.

  ‘No one is going to kill you,’ Antipater told him. ‘Fetch your master. Tell him the King is here.’

  ‘Yes, sir.’ The boy began to move towards the stairs, then turned. ‘I am sorry sir, but... which King?’

  ‘The King of Macedonia,’ said Antipater.

  An older man stepped forward and bowed to Philip. ‘Sire, perhaps you would like to wait in the andron. I shall fetch you refreshments.’

  ‘At last,’ said Philip, ‘a servant with his wits about him.’ The group followed the man into a long room to the right. Here there were silk-covered couches, and the walls were painted with hunting scenes: riders chasing a white stag, Heracles slaying the Nemean lion, archers loosing their shafts at a huge bear. ‘By the gods,’ said Philip, ‘it makes Pella look like a cattle-shed. I would be envious, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was built with my gold.’

  The servant brought them wine from Elyphion’s vineyard—red, sweet and fortified with spirits. Philip lounged down on a couch, lifting his filthy boots to the silk and smearing mud on the cloth.

  His mood was dark and his companions said nothing as they waited. At last Elyphion appeared. Attalus had said the man was fat, but this proved an understatement - great folds of flesh hanging beneath his chin, his enormous belly pushing at the blue Persian robes he wore. His dark hair was cut short and sat atop his head like a small, badly-fitting cap. He tried to bow, but the belly defeated him.

  ‘Welcome, sire,’ he said. ‘Had I only known of your visit, I would have prepared a sumptuous welcome.’ The voice was deep and attractive, as indeed, Philip noticed, were the man’s large brown eyes.

  ‘I came to see the mines,’ Philip said.

  ‘But why, sire? There is little for a man of breeding to see. Great gaping holes in the earth, and a few tunnels full of stench. I will gladly show you the smelting houses.’

  Philip’s voice dropped low and a dangerous glint showed in his eyes. ‘You will show me what I wish to see,’ he said slowly. ‘You will do this, Elyphion, because you are my servant. Now, take me to the mines.’

  The King rose.

  ‘Yes, of course, sire, I will just dress; I will not be long.’

  ‘Attalus!’ snapped Philip.

  ‘Yes, sire?’

  ‘If this fat fool disobeys one more instruction, take your knife and open his belly from groin to throat.’

  ‘Yes, sire,’ Attalus replied, grinning at the mortified Elyphion.

  ‘Now, sir - the mines, I think,’ said the King.

  ‘At once... sire,’ stammered Elyphion. The fat governor shouted for his carriage and within minutes a wagon was brought to the front of the palace. Drawn by four black geldings, it resembled a giant chariot save that it had a wide cushioned seat. Elyphion settled himself in place and a servant climbed in beside him, flicking the reins.

  Despite their avowed disinterest in mining Attalus and Nicanor rode behind Philip, unwilling to miss the King’s visit.

  They rode for almost an hour until they came to a small valley where the earth had been gouged as if by a huge pick. Far below them they could see the slaves digging in the earth, and others shuffling from tunnels in the hillside.

  Slowly the riders descended.

  Nicanor’s eyes raked the working groups. Both men and women laboured here, their skeletal bodies covered in weeping sores, while around them stood guards armed with short, wicked whips. To the right a woman carrying a basket of rocks stumbled and fell, cracking her head against a boulder. She did not cry out, but wearily pushed herself to her feet and stumbled on.

  Ahead Philip rode to the nearest tunnel mouth and dismounted.

  Elyphion climbed ponderously from the wagon. ‘As you ordered, sire. This is the mine.’

  ‘Take me inside.’

  ‘Inside?’

  ‘Are you deaf?’

  Elyphion walked slowly towards the darkness of the tunnel, halting to allow his eyes to become accustomed to the gloom. Lanterns hung from the walls, but the tunnel was full of choking dust. Elyphion’s servant, the man who had led the King to the andron, poured water on a linen cloth and gave it to his master. Elyphion held it to his face and walked further into the mine. The ground sloped ever down and the air grew thick and stale. From far ahead, they could hear the sound of metal tools hacking at rock.

  A shower of dust clattered to Attalus’ breastplate and the warrior glanced nervously at the timbers shoring up the roof. One of them showed a split, through which earth was filtering.

  Still they walked on.

  They came to the body of a young woman which had been pushed to the side of the tunnel. Dirt had covered her eyes and filled her open mouth. The tunnel roof was lower here and they walked on with heads bowed. But it dropped lower still.

  Elyphion stopped. Tdon’f know what you want to see, sire,’ he whimpered.

  ‘Move on!’ ordered Philip. Elyphion dropped to hands and knees and began to crawl forward. Philip turned to the others. ‘Wait here,’ he said, then followed the governor.

  Nicanor turned to Attalus. ‘Do you think we could move back just a little, to where the roof is higher? Would Philip mind, do you think?’

  Sweat was streaking the grime on Attalus’ face. He felt cold and full of fear; but he stood his ground and looked at Antipater. ‘What do you think?’ he asked.

  ‘I... er... do not believe the King would object,’ Antipater answered. The three men inched their way back to the wider tunnel, stopping where they could just see the glint of sunlight in the distance. There they waited. Nicanor could not stop himself from staring at the dead woman.

  ‘Why did they not bury her?’ he asked.

  ‘You saw the slaves,’ said Antipater. ‘They’ve barely the strength to stand.’

  ‘It’s like a valley of the damned,’ whispered Antipater. Footsteps came from the tunn
el entrance and the three men moved back as a line of slaves bearing empty wicker baskets on their backs shuffled by them, heading into the gloomy depths of the mine.

  ‘I am going back to the sunlight,’ said Nicanor. ‘I can’t stand this.’

  ‘The King said to wait,’ Attalus reminded him. ‘I like it no more than you do. But let us be patient.’

  ‘I think I will go mad if I don’t get out of here,’ Nicanor replied, his voice rising in pitch.

  Antipater put his arm on the young man’s shoulder. ‘Someone should go and tell the men that everything is all right. We have been down here a long time, and some of them may be concerned. Wait for us outside, Nicanor.’

  As Nicanor nodded and ran back towards the light, Attalus turned on Antipater. ‘Who are you to countermand the King’s order?’ he hissed.

  ‘The man was close to cracking. If I had not allowed him to go, he would probably have run anyway.’

  ‘So? He would have run. What has that to do with you?’

  Antipater nodded as understanding came to him. ‘I see. He might have fallen from favour. Gods, Attalus, do you have no friends? Is there no one you care for?’

  ‘Only a weak man needs friends, Antipater. And I am not weak.’

  Antipater said nothing, and the two men waited in silence for what seemed an age. Finally the fat figure of Elyphion appeared, his blue robes streaked with grime. Behind him came the King, his face thunderous; he stalked from the tunnel out into the sunlight, dragging in great gulps of air, then he turned on Elyphion. The fat man stepped back a pace, seeing the fury in the King’s eyes.

  ‘What have I done, sire? Tell me? I am loyal, I swear it!’

  Philip could hardly speak. ‘Someone get me a drink!’ he thundered, and Nicanor ran forward bearing a water skin. Philip rinsed his mouth and spat out the water. ‘This is my gold-mine,’ he said at last. ‘Mine. Macedonia’s. Tell me something, fat fool, what do you need in order to get gold from the ground?’

  ‘Tools, sire. Picks, digging tools... baskets.’

  ‘And who uses these tools?’

  ‘As you see, slaves, criminals, thieves, murderers. Men are sentenced and sent here. Women also.’