Part 9 (1/2)

Odysseus folded his arms and scratched his chin while focusing intently on Agamemnon's right ear. 'A new enemy, you say? Committing crimes against Greece?'

'Yes.'

'And you want my help?'

'If you think you're well enough,' Menelaus added.

'Never felt better, sir. But you'll need an army! Every king from every city in the land must dust off his spear and s.h.i.+eld ornaments for too long and call their subjects to arms.'

'Yes, yes exactly,' Agamemnon enthused. 'I knew you'd be the first to understand, Odysseus. How many men can you bring, and how quickly?'

Odysseus's eyes lit up with a sudden fervour. He opened the mouth of his satchel and showed the salt to Agamemnon. 'Thousands! Tens of thousands. But not until harvest time.'

'Harvest!' Agamemnon cried. 'But that's over half a year away.'

Odysseus looked at him as if he had gone mad. 'Even you G.o.ds can't hurry nature, my lord. I've only just sown them,' he added, indicating the ploughed field with a sweep of his arm. 'They won't be full grown warriors until the late autumn. Why, they won't even be boys for at least two months.'

'By the name of every G.o.d on Olympus,' said Menelaus, storming past his brother and seizing Odysseus by the shoulders. 'Odysseus, I don't know if there's any part of the old you left in there, but you must listen to me. This is no joke it's important, urgent! We I need every bit of your fighting skill and your cunning. I'm at my wits' end, Odysseus! It's Helen. She's been kidnapped and taken to Troy.' Tears rolled down the king's cheeks and fell in large droplets to the ground. 'Being without her is destroying me. Unless you can shake off this madness and help my brother and me get her back, then I'll be the one ploughing with an ox and an a.s.s and throwing salt in the furrows.'

Odysseus looked at him for a long time, during which n.o.body spoke. Eventually, his eyes turned away to rest on Penelope.

'I know what it's like to love someone so much that you can't bear to be apart from them. For that reason, Poseidon, I shall tend and water these crops every day until they're ready. You'll have your army by the summer, even if they're only lads. And I'll get back to the plough this instant there are thousands more warriors in this bag and I need to get them sown before evening.'

He patted Menelaus's arm sympathetically before sprinting as fast as his short legs would carry his ungainly bulk towards the waiting plough. As he reached the top of the ridge, he slipped the leather harness over his shoulders and picked up a long stick, which he applied to the backs of the two animals. The a.s.s brayed angrily and immediately struggled against the yoke, whilst its slower companion took three more cracks of the stick and several shouts of 'Hah! Hah!' before it would agree to move. Though unhurried in its movements, its solid bulk prevented the a.s.s from pulling away, and before long the plough was being dragged back down the slope with only Odysseus's great strength keeping it straight. Every now and then he reached into his satchel and tossed a handful of salt over his shoulder.

'By all the G.o.ds,' Palamedes said suddenly, snapping his fingers. 'Was one of the cleverest men in Greece, you say Menelaus? I think he still is; but he doesn't fool me, and I'm going to prove he's not mad.'

As the plough came nearer, they could hear Odysseus singing a popular farming song, the words of which he had twisted to a martial theme.

'I sows 'em when it's frosty, The ground as hard as bronze, I waters 'em when it's sunny, My beautiful warrior sons.

I reaps 'em in the summer, 'Cos foreign wars demand, Then sends 'em in the autumn, To die on foreign land.'

Suddenly, Palamedes turned to Penelope and s.n.a.t.c.hed the baby from her arms. Rus.h.i.+ng across the field, he laid the child before the oncoming hooves of the ox and a.s.s, with the iron blade of the plough following behind. Telemachus, hearing the cries of his mother (who Agamemnon had seized and was holding fast), began to scream and kick. Odysseus threw his weight to the right and at the last possible moment steered the team past his son, the hooves of the ox trampling the ground beside his head. In an instant he had thrown off the harness and, abandoning the plough, picked up Telemachus to hold him in the protection of his arms.

Agamemnon released Penelope, who ran over and received the bundle from her husband. Odysseus then rushed at Palamedes with a terrible fire in his eyes, his insanity forgotten. Palamedes was so pleased with his own cleverness, he only realized his danger when Odysseus's fist came swinging into the side of his skull. He stumbled backwards and fell into the ploughed soil.

As soon as Menelaus realized that Odysseus's madness was feigned, he felt his own anger take hold of him and with a growl slid his sword from its scabbard. Eperitus, Arceisius and Eurybates, who had been watching the events from beneath the olive tree, drew their own swords and ran to protect their king.

'Menelaus!' Agamemnon shouted. The authority in his voice was so compelling that even Eperitus and Arceisius stopped and looked at the Mycenaean king. 'Brother, put your sword away. Odysseus was only doing what he had to do for the sake of his family.'

Menelaus looked at his older brother and realized in a moment that he was speaking the truth. The anger drained from him and he slid his sword back into its scabbard.

'Now then, Odysseus,' Agamemnon continued. 'My patience is at its end, so let's have no more of this charade. Palamedes has outfoxed you, and you'll just have to accept it. We're forming an expedition of Greek kings to rescue Helen, so give us your answer: will you come with us to Troy?'

'Why should he?' Penelope interjected. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes dark with anger as she clutched Telemachus to her chest. 'He's not beholden to you, Agamemnon. He's a king in his own right, and now he's a father. Although I have every sympathy for you, Menelaus Helen is my cousin and this news is like a dagger in my heart you've no right to ask a man to leave his family and go to war on the other side of the world. Odysseus has every reason to stay on Ithaca, and every reason not to go on this expedition of yours.'

'But Menelaus does have the right to ask Odysseus to come to Troy,' Palamedes said, propping himself up on one elbow and rubbing his reddened cheek. 'To demand that he comes, even. Isn't that so, Odysseus?'

The Ithacan king placed his arm about his wife's waist and kissed her on the cheek. He looked at the baby in her arms and touched the tip of his nose with his nail-bitten finger, smiling as the sight of his child momentarily eclipsed the troubles that were about to overtake him. Then, with a sigh, he turned to Penelope and looked her in the eye.

'My love, he's right. Ten years ago, those of us who wanted to marry Helen were made to take a secret pledge. Her father was so terrified her looks would cause a fight, I helped him out by suggesting a sacred oath.'

'What oath, Odysseus?'

'To protect the successful suitor and come to his aid if anyone threatened their marriage.'

Penelope looked away. 'And as Menelaus was the successful suitor, you're honour-bound to help him.'

'I never dreamed my own ruse would come back to bite me,' Odysseus said softly, stroking his wife's hair. 'But the moment I recognized Agamemnon's sail I instinctively knew it had. If it was only a matter of honour, I wouldn't care. But it's not. It was an oath sworn before all the G.o.ds, and if I refuse Menelaus's request I'll be a cursed man; the immortals will make my life a misery, and yours too. My only hope was to feign madness so Menelaus wouldn't call on me to honour my word, but I failed.'

'I understand, Odysseus, and I don't blame you for suggesting or taking this oath. But if the Trojans refuse to return Helen to Menelaus then it'll mean war. You could be killed, and then Telemachus would grow up without ever having known his father.'

'He won't,' Eperitus said. 'Not if we can prevent it.'

'And what can you do?' Penelope asked, looking at Eperitus and his squire with scornful anger. 'Aren't you and Arceisius deserting him to go and make names for yourselves?'

Eperitus felt the sting of her words, but gave her the most rea.s.suring smile he could muster. 'We still intend to leave Ithaca in search of glory, my lady. But it looks as if Troy's going to be the place to find it, so we'll go there at Odysseus's side.'

'Besides,' said the king, looking pleased as he slapped Eperitus and Arceisius on the shoulders, 'I've no intention of releasing either of these rogues from my service. They need somebody responsible to keep them out of trouble.'

'That's the spirit I'm looking for,' Agamemnon interrupted. 'Eperitus, isn't it?'

'Yes, my lord,' Eperitus answered, as Odysseus hooked a hand around Arceisius's elbow and led him away. The last time Eperitus had seen Agamemnon was ten years before in Sparta, when the Mycenaean king was among a group of n.o.bles who had sentenced him to death for a.s.saulting Penelope in her bedroom.

'I'm glad to see you escaped execution,' Agamemnon continued. 'Especially as Odysseus was the one in Penelope's room that night.'

'We worked that out for ourselves in the end,' Menelaus said, putting a friendly arm about Eperitus's shoulder. 'And when we realized you'd offered your own life to save Odysseus's, Eperitus, the shame that had been attached to your name was wiped away and replaced with honour. Don't you agree, brother?'

Agamemnon turned his gaze on Eperitus and scrutinized the lowly warrior with his cold, pa.s.sionless eyes for a long moment. Then the king's face broke with a smile that was surprisingly warm and inviting as he took Eperitus's hand.

'Men of your quality are hard to come by,' he announced. 'With the likes of you and Odysseus with us at Troy, Priam will soon learn that his days are numbered. And I can tell you, as sure as any oracle, the honour you've already earned will be nothing compared with what the G.o.ds will heap on you in Ilium. I'll be proud to have you at my side.'

Odysseus, who was busy unyoking the a.s.s with Arceisius and Eurybates, looked over his shoulder at these words.

'We don't know there'll even be a war yet, Agamemnon. The Trojans might still be persuaded to return Helen unharmed, which will save us all a lot of time and effort, not to mention further heartache for Menelaus.'

'Satisfying my heartache is one thing,' Menelaus growled. 'Satisfying my anger will be quite a different matter altogether.'

Odysseus left the animal in Eurybates's care. 'That may be so, Menelaus,' he said, 'but wars need fleets and armies, and the time and wealth to bring them together. If you want Helen back, a peaceful solution is quickest and best. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. I suggest we return to the palace, enjoy a few kraters of wine and a roast hog, and discuss what needs to be done.'

book TWO.

Chapter Ten.

LEAVING ITHACA.